Although I’ve been through the CD3 session of the ARVARI Remote Viewing Course, I’ve chosen to delay my review of it because of several inclemencies I’ve experienced during and after the sessions.
The whole idea of remote viewing is strange enough to most people. It’s just too “out there” and of course it’s a joke now because of “Men Who Stare at Goats.” The thing is there are very strange customs and practices in this world that don’t make sense until we apply them in the real world. When we do that, we’re able to look at the big picture of how things fit together.
Do you remember “Karate Kid?” “Wax on, Wax off” didn’t make much sense, right? Not until Mr. Miyagi demonstrated how “Wax on, Wax off” is applied in a real world situation of self defense. In fact, there are a number of practices in old world martial arts that are considered very strange, if not mundane, to the “civilized” Western Mind, yet have practical uses in real world situations.
The same concept applies to psychic senses like remote viewing. Like an old world martial arts dojo, each school of remote viewing has it’s own methods of teaching. These methods are very strange, much like the method on CD3 of the ARVARI Remote Viewing Course, but like I said, I’m not going to review CD3 yet. And as you know, when I say it’s “very strange,” then you know it’s got to be out there.
Instead, I want to share an important lesson with you; it’s one of many lessons in martial morality. In martial arts, remote viewing, or any esoteric activity that takes intense discipline there will always be people with the attitude, “I’ve already learned this. I already know that. What more can you teach me?” For the moment, I want to discuss humility.
To help me with this lesson, I’m taking an excert from Master Liang, Shou-Yu and Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming’s book entitled, “Baguazhang: Emei Baguazhang Theory and Applications
Martial Morality1
From a teacher’s perspective, it is very had to find good students. When people have just begun their studies, they are enthusiastic and sincere, and they are willing to accept discipline and observe proper manners.
However, as time passes, you gradually get to see what they are really like, and sometimes it’s quite different from how they acted in the beginning. Because of this, teachers quite frequently spend at least three years watching and testing students before they decide whether they can trust them and pass on to them the “secrets” of their style. This was especially true in ancient times when martial arts were used in wars and fighting techniques were kept secret.
These days, money is the key to getting into any martial arts school. There’s just not that much being taught in U.S. Dojos in the way of martial morality. The old school teachers really do like to take at least three years to observe students before imparting esoteric fighting skills.
Within that time of observation, old school teachers want to make sure their students have the discipline to not only learn their craft, but to also adhere to martial morality; old school martial artists are, in fact, pacifists who prefer that their knowledge be applied altruistically with deadly response as the last resort.
Have you ever watched pro wrestling? The athletes are also actors playing out a characters who can be egotistical, ruthless, selfish, etc. Old school teachers already lay out the ground rules for discipline within their dojo to their students. Egotistical students by their very nature lack discipline. The teacher already already knows that students who lack discipline also lack the humility to submit to rigorous, mundane practice sets, so they do not last.
The egotistical ones usually drop out after earning their blackbelt, but this is the level where the real learning begins. Therefore, let’s discuss humility for a moment.
Humility2
Humility comes from controlling your feelings of pride. In China, it is said: “Satisfaction (i.e. pride) loses, humility earns benefits.” When you are satisfied with yourself, you will not think deeply, and you will not be willing to learn. (Burt Goldman, the American Monk said something similar.)
However, if you remain humble, you will always be looking for ways to better yourself and you will keep on learning. Remember, there is no limit to knowledge. It does not matter how deep you have reached, there is always a deeper level.
Confucius said, “If three people walk by, there must be one of them who can be my teacher.” There is always someone who is more talented or more knowledgeable than you in some field. The Chinese say: “There is always a man beyond the man, there is a sky above the sky.” Since this is so, how can you be proud of yourself?
I remember a story that my White Crane Master told me when I was seventeen years old. Once there was a bamboo shoot that had just popped up out of the ground. It looked at the sky and smiled, and said to itself, “Someone told me that the sky is so hight that it cannot be reached. I don’t believe that’s true.” The sprout was young and felt strong. It believed that if it kept growing, one day it could reach the sky. So it kept growing and growing. Ten years passed, twenty years passed.
Again it looked at the sky. The sky was still very high and it was still far beyond its reach. Finally, it realized something and started to bow down. The more it grew, the lower it bowed. My teacher asked me to always remember that “The taller the bamboo grows, the lower it bows.”
There was another story a friend told me. Once upon a time, a student came to see a Zen Master. He said, “Honorable Master, I have studied for many years, and I have learned so much of the martial arts and Zen Theory already that I have reached a very high level. I heard that you are a great master, and I have therefore come to see if you can teach me anything more”
The master didn’t reply. Instead, he picked up a teacup and placed it in front of the student. He then picked up the teapot and poured until the teach reached the rim of the cup, and then he kept on pouring until the tea overflowed onto the table. The student stared at the master in total confusion and said, “No, No, Master! The cup is overflowing!”
The master stopped pouring, looked at him and smiled. He said, “Young man, this is you. I am sorry that I cannot accept you as a student. Like this cup, your mind is filled up and I cannot teach you any more. If you want to learn, you must first empty your cup.”
In order to be humble, you must first rid yourself of false dignity. This is especially true in front of a master. A person who is really wise knows when and how to bend, and always keeps his cup empty…
The more we grow in knowledge and skill, the more we should realize that there are deeper levels of knowledge and skill to acquire. We must humble ourselves in light of those deeper levels, if we are to learn them. Perhaps, you are asking, “How can I possibly humble myself?”
I realize that being humble is very difficult in Western Culture. For example, the ability for a person to speak highly of himself, to make promises like a politician, is just as important as his skill set at a job interview. By the same token, that same person must put the needs of his potential employer first.
We always discipline ourselves to higher achievements when our goal is a worthwhile reward: A university gives you a scholarship when you demonstrate scholarly aptitude which, in turn, puts the university in a good light. An employer gives you a job with the promise that you help make his company more money in return. Your life partner gives you love when you give love in return. In reality, all these quid pro quo rewards are brought to you through discipline for deeper levels of fulfillment.
At a deeper level of attainment, we experience humility when we realize there is so much more to accomplish because there is so much more to learn and so many more places to apply that knowledge.
Unfortunately, many people literally “hit the wall” because swollen egos and dangerous pride are also part of their curriculum. Swollen egos and dangerous pride are the source of careless, “push and shove” personalities who believe they are better than most people; they believe that most people are beneath them and the world owes them something.
From personal experience, I can tell you some of the most insidious and ignominious people with the best educations in the world are running Fortune 500 companies. These white collar “high school kids” are insidious and ignominious exactly because they have swollen egos and dangerous pride.
They think nothing of “pushing rocks” upon and humiliating their competition with vindictive actions; they lack the humility to make a profit without being evil and destructive to others because they’re only smart enough to be evil and destructive to others.
Human civilization is being held back right now exactly because these egotistical, dangerously prideful people who run the largest companies in the world “hit the wall,” that mental barrier that tells them, “I’m that damn good;” they are the “heels” of multi-national corporations.
For those of you who believe the lawlessness of these corporate “heels” who cause irrevocable damage to their competition while preying on weak minds is the only way to truly “survive” in this world, there is an uprising.
Humanity has survived the millennia through acts of good, not evil. You can’t turn the tide of humanity’s awakening to the corporate dark ages. You can buy the mass media. You can buy politicians. You can buy doctors. But you can’t buy goodness away from humanity.
The age of awakening is at hand. That awakening includes those who have the humility to learn the more esoteric skill sets of advanced human performance. One of those skill sets is remote viewing.
Remember, we’re watching you. We know who you are, we know what you’re doing.
Thanks for your time,
Healing Thoughts,
Randolph
reference
1 Martial Morality, p. 9; Emei Baguazhang; Yang, Jwing-Ming; 1994
2 Martial Morality, p. 10; Emei Baguazhang; Yang, Jwing-Ming; 1994
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