hello and bio

[DaveSearbyMason]

greetings to all here . . . . . .

Dave Mason : Bio

My practice began in 1976. Prior to that, I had like many, wandered up and down the aisles of various spiritual supermarkets but never checking out with anything. Like many, I had wandered through swamps of despair and went into Therapy to drag myself out.
A difference occurred when I committed to a specific approach, in 1976, influenced by the following . . . . .

(1) Zen
Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind is a book of teachings by the late Shunryu Suzuki,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen_Mind, ... r%27s_Mind
I learned from several Zen masters about Meditation and Mindfulness. This book is the best.

(2) Tai Chi
"There are three levels of Martial Arts.
The first, is to be physically stronger than anyone else.
The second level, is to be faster than anyone else.
But the highest level of all is
To not be there in the first place".
( Rose Shao-Chiang Li )
Rose Shao-Chiang Li extended my knowledge of Mindfulness; you have to do it all the time, not just during specific times like meditating or practicing the form of movements.

(3) Self-directed studies resulting in my website : https://thesearchforthesecondtruth.com/about/

From these studies I selected the following quotes that summarise things for me:

“The myriad of named things
spring from an inexhaustible matrix,
these point beyond themselves
to the all encompassing unity.

The enigma of things deepens
into the fathomless beyond,
from mystery to mystery is the gateway
into the streaming wonder of existence.
( Lao Tzu ).

“My heart burns like fire
But my eyes are as
Cold as dead ashes”.
( Soyen Shaku )

The result of the three strands above lead me away from organised religion or specific teachers and now I just sometimes help people that ask. Meditation and Mindfulness are techniques that any can use and they do not require a belief system or any prior knowledge. Like any profound thing though, there is a central truth applicable to all – you overcome fear in proportion to how committed you are to turn and face what scares you, (but you don’t have to do it alone).

Good luck to all

[JonW]

Hi Dave,
Welcome to the forum.
Good you have you on board. I'm enjoying your posts.
I look forward to getting to know you on here.
All good things,
Jon

[DaveSearbyMason]

thanks Jon
I noticed that the Twitter feed is stalled. also, the 2 other emails no longer work?
cheers
Dave