Down To Earth Dharma

Hey folks,

I've started up a blog to go with the youtube channel and intend to start putting some serious work into this project. I've had some good responses to the video I posted from the solo-retreat and I figure that it'd be nice to be able to contribute to the pragmatic dharma movement in some way, so I've decided to go all out and get this up and running. I want to make it clear that I don't consider myself to be a teacher and do not make any claims to this, overtly or otherwise. I want to do this as a way to help others on the path, in the spirit of adventure and mutual support, not as an expert or self-styled guru, and as an encouragement to others. I'm thinking about filming video chats with other yogis on here, just 5-10 minute informal chats about practice and tips or advice on common problems and giving them some post-production, uploading them and promoting it. I think some straightforward, down to earth talk by two yogis in real-time could be really good for people not particularly aligned with any traditions or uncertain about how to make progress.

Am I overstepping the mark? I've really thought about this, and I think that I can bring something different to the table. Like I said, I'm not a teacher and I'm making it clear from the off that I'm just a guy who meditates so I'm hoping that by adopting a different approach to this I can encourage those who haven't had the fortune of coming across KFD or stuff like vipassana, the progress of insight or jhanas yet. It's basically a Hamilton Project-inspired project and I want to acknowledge that here as those guys are working in really diverse territories but their writing is always fresh, interesting and thought-provoking and has been a real joy to read.

Anyhow, ladies and gentlemen....I give you:

Down to Earth Dharma - downtoearthdharmablog.blogspot.com/2011/05/back-to-basics.html

Looks good so far. Really looking forward to reading and watching more on the blog. You've definitely got a unique perspective, one I appreciate, and I'm sure it will add to the pragmatic dharma "scene" Thanks in advance for all the hard work you're likely to put into this!

Cheers Rev, hopefully I'll get the chance to involve as many people from this site as possible as I think that this community is an incredible resource and it's people like yourself who can inspire newcomers to these practices. I'm looking at this as being as much a collaborative effort as anything else 'cause being able to cut to the chase and provide practical advice directly from yogis on the 'frontline' will be an interesting experiment. I'll keep everyone updated anyhow but thanks for taking the time to check it out!

"I'm not a teacher and I'm making it clear from the off that I'm just a guy who meditates"

What is a teacher if not just a guy who meditated?
Not saying you should become one, but just sayin'.

This is lovely. Keep it up.

Cheers lads, I appreciate your support.

Yadid, there's a few reasons why I can't consider myself to be a teacher, mainly that I'm probably newer to these particular techniques than most people on here! Another things is that I'm nowhere near conversant with the terminology, or even Buddhism as a whole for that matter, to be able to provide advice at that level so to claim that I was a proper teacher would be misleading. I'm happy to be a fellow yogi who can offer a bit of help with the basics, but I'm also happy to acknowledge the limits of my current understanding. Perhaps in the future I'll change my approach but right now this feels like the right thing and allows for more freedom and flexibility.

I take it this is the youtube channel
www.youtube.com/user/DownToEarthDharma

That's the very one!

"Yadid, there's a few reasons why I can't consider myself to be a teacher, mainly that I'm probably newer to these particular techniques than most people on here! Another things is that I'm nowhere near conversant with the terminology, or even Buddhism as a whole for that matter, to be able to provide advice at that level so to claim that I was a proper teacher would be misleading. I'm happy to be a fellow yogi who can offer a bit of help with the basics, but I'm also happy to acknowledge the limits of my current understanding. Perhaps in the future I'll change my approach but right now this feels like the right thing and allows for more freedom and flexibility. -Tommy"

Ah I see, makes sense.

Hi Tommy,

I've been following your practice thread among others here on kfd, which has inspired and encouraged me with my own practice. I'm sure your unique voice has and can continue to do so for many other yogis. Thanks for sharing!

metta!

-Justin

Thanks Justin : )

Just read your first blog text!
Very good start! Now I'm looking forward to more!

Yeah, keep it up, Tommy. Very cool project!

I eventually got around to writing a new blog post for this thing:

downtoearthdharmablog.blogspot.com/2011/...liefs-suffering.html

Just a wee bit of stuff on beliefs and suffering. The project is still happening overall, but I need to get my post-production and animation stuff installed on a more powerful PC so the video part is on hold for the moment. Hopefully I'll get around to writing more regularly, I've got some stuff going on in daily life which I won't bore you with which has meant I haven't been as active on here either lately. Anyway, I'll sign off for the moment.

Keep writing, Tommy. I love your stuff. Very much appreciated "Beliefs and Suffering."

Kenneth

"I allowed my emotional attachment to Buddhism and to people within the pragmatic dharma community to cloud my judgement and cause me to suffer"

Really honest, very real - I really like what you're doing Tommy.

I don't know how you feel about this, but I get the feeling that writing our practice journals, and for those who are keeping websites, the writing that goes with explaining what is true to us (as we see in now) for an audience, is like a form of practice.

It is somehow a way of exploring, understanding and communicating to ourselves as well as others. It is, for me and likely for others, something that naturally pulls you once your practice has matured to a certain level. What happens after that is what I'm interested in now.

"I don't know how you feel about this, but I get the feeling that writing our practice journals, and for those who are keeping websites, the writing that goes with explaining what is true to us (as we see in now) for an audience, is like a form of practice.

It is somehow a way of exploring, understanding and communicating to ourselves as well as others. It is, for me and likely for others, something that naturally pulls you once your practice has matured to a certain level. What happens after that is what I'm interested in now."

Kenneth - Thank you so much, I really appreciate you taking the time to read it so knowing you enjoyed it is the icing on the cake. : )

Ron - I absolutely, completely and utterly agree with you on this, what you're saying makes perfect sense. I've always considered a journal as a part of my practice, even since my early days of meditation, it provides an ongoing reference and a practical demonstration of the entire developmental process from a unique standpoint - A real-life yogi and their real-life descriptions of experience as it happens. Taking it a bit further, we could even view the very act of keeping a journal as part of the noble eightfold path since we all strive to be as honest and direct as possible* in our descriptions while not allowing the planning process to interfere with our ability to practice.

I think the ongoing recording, whether it's via blogs, sites or whatever, of meditative experience, developments and insights can be hugely useful, as you know for yourself. For me, the process of writing a piece like this let's me re-structure and clarify the ideas I'm trying to communicate and so it forces me to break out of the mental patterns involved in writing purely for my own benefit. This almost always becomes an insight practice in itself as the need to step outside of my internal semantic maps to communicate in (an attempt at) a way....

(cont)

(cont)

...that can be easily understood by anyone reading it means that I can see my own beliefs and thought patterns from different perspectives.

For a long time I didn't write anything at all, the feeling that I couldn't express these insights I was experiencing at that time became torturous and it's only since coming to the DhO and this site that this has changed. Now it seems like the most natural thing in the world, doing this is part of helping others reduce their own suffering by giving them the tools with which to make changes in their lives. At a personal level, it's a wonderful way to document ones experience and then, if you choose to, share it with others so that they can avoid the pitfalls and mind-loops which you've been caught in. To quote Errol Brown: Everyone's a winner, baby, that's the truth.

Whether making love to you is such a thrill, I will leave that between you and your respective partners as it's none of my business. Ha!

Hey hey,

Long time no see, I know, and this is something I'm going to change in the coming weeks as I re-start a practice journal on here. In the meantime, I've written a blog on access concentration and how it happens as this was something that threw me when I first started out with insight practice. This one will be the first of a series of articles with an emphasis on the practical, but focusing on the basics and breaking down terminology so that people unfamiliar with the Buddhist framework will be able to understand it.

downtoearthdharmablog.blogspot.com/2011/...gmatic-approach.html

A'ra best.

Good to see you back on here, Tommy.

I like the article: short, sweet, and well-focused (ahem).

Nicely done. I look forward to your new thread!

Hey Tommy,

Nice description / instruction, thanks for sharing. I look forward to hearing more from you. [=

metta!

Justin