Every wish you had a Master?

[Narz]

That you could go off to a mountain and learn from some dude who knew his sh!t and then come back and be the mack daddy?

I do.

This culture is full of people who claim to be adults but, in the words of Shania Twain, don't impress me much.

I feel like I'm still looking for a surrogate father. Anyone else feel like that?

I also have an insatiable craving for female attention and admiration. Probably not enough mother's milk and hugging and all that (plus I was a deprived adolescence and didn't even get a peck on the cheek from a girl until college).

Rather than be plagued by these issues my whole life I realize I have to conquer them myself internally. A little help would nice though. And I don't mean just join a local karate studio and learn some sh!t from a college professor (who became a college professor so he wouldn't actually have to deal with the real world, you know, like someone who became a job counselor so they wouldn't have to get a job ). I want the real-deal master-apprentice type dealie. Only thing is I still want to be able to eat at least some raw food (like 75%).

Please no suggestions for any Vipassana retreats or anything like that. I need something a bit more hardcore.

Are there any real masters left out in the world? Or are they like virgin lands, just dreams, legends, forgotten memories?

[Shaden]

Are there any real masters left out in the world? Or are they like virgin lands, just dreams, legends, forgotten memories?

They could well be. Ever thought of visualising a master?

[Narz]

Originally Posted by Shaden

They could well be. Ever thought of visualising a master?

I've thought about it. But an imaginary-friend master would be too easy to ignore. If I tried to ignore my real life master he'd whip me with a switch and say "You think I can't see you when you close your eyes? That's an extra 20 push-ups you owe me, punk!".

[Royce_aus]

I'd be interested to know how you go in your search for a master, there are some russian guys who do a sort of boot camp martial arts thing, but it also depends on what kind of master.
like if you want a cooking master you could try those dudes from iron chef,
hehe ok more seriously though if you want a master who covers it all, an answer for everything, you're best bet is to become the master you wish to meet.

I currently have a gungfu master who not only directs me in my martial arts, but is also developing a complete package that as well as gungfu/fitness includes new methods of thought, that can lead to to create the lifestyle you desire, similar to intention manifesting however with a different structure and slightly buddhist base, since that is how he learnt his gungfu.

[smallstar]

Cheers,

I suppose that the biggest problem you have is a motivational one. I also guess that you already know what to do, but you just can't believe in yourself enough to commit to it.

It seems that you are more in need of a motivator than a master. While masters are practically impossible to find (since in the complexity of the modern world, no-one can honestly claim to be an expert of everything), good motivators exist, while still worth gold and diamonds.

[Narz]

Originally Posted by Royce_aus

hehe ok more seriously though if you want a master who covers it all, an answer for everything, you're best bet is to become the master you wish to meet.

That's probably the way it'll have to be.

Originally Posted by Royce_aus

I currently have a gungfu master who not only directs me in my martial arts, but is also developing a complete package that as well as gungfu/fitness includes new methods of thought, that can lead to to create the lifestyle you desire, similar to intention manifesting however with a different structure and slightly buddhist base, since that is how he learnt his gungfu.

Sounds cool, how'd you meet this guy?

Originally Posted by smallstar

Cheers,

I suppose that the biggest problem you have is a motivational one. I also guess that you already know what to do, but you just can't believe in yourself enough to commit to it.

I have a few ideas, yeah. But have trouble.

Maybe I really will go on a solo-retreat for a long time (maybe six months) and work on my goals there, alone.

Originally Posted by smallstar

It seems that you are more in need of a motivator than a master. While masters are practically impossible to find (since in the complexity of the modern world, no-one can honestly claim to be an expert of everything), good motivators exist, while still worth gold and diamonds.

Maybe a once a week phone call (or visit) from a motivation expert then.

[Michelle]

I don't think you have to go off into a cave or the forest to find a master. I have two teachers/masters in my life, and if you count Steve - three.

And what I can tell you for sure, having a master does not make things easier. In fact, it makes things more difficult, because they will always bring to your attention what needs to be done next and then leave you to figure it out for yourself. So, unless you are willing to take responsibility and do the hard work, having a master means nothing because they will not do it for you.

[renie408]

Originally Posted by Narz

Maybe a once a week phone call (or visit) from a motivation expert then.

This feels like a fishing expedition to me.

[Dharma]

Start where you are and ask yourself for teachers to come into your life. I think you have a lot of assumptions of what a master is and what your 'training' will be like after you've found a master. Let go of those expectations and see what happens.

[dor]

Originally Posted by Shaden

They could well be. Ever thought of visualising a master?

Becoming a warrior

[edit] Drona's rejection

In the Mahabharatha, Ekalavya is young prince of the lowly Nishada tribes. He is interested in learning advanced skills of archery and comes to Drona, the legendary master of all forms of weaponry and the instructor of Arjuna and his brothers. Drona, however, rejects Ekalavya on account of the prince's humble origins.

[edit] Self-training and prowess

Ekalavya is undeterred, and entering a forest, begins study and practice by himself, having fashioned a clay image of Drona and worshipping him. Solely by his determination, Ekalavya becomes a warrior of exceptional prowess, superior even to Drona's best pupil, the young Arjuna. One day, while Ekalavya is practicing, he hears a dog barking. Without looking, he fires seven arrows in rapid succession to seal up the dog's mouth. The Pandava princes see the dog running, and wonder who could have done such a feat. Searching the forest, they find a dark-skinned man dressed all in black, his body besmeared with filth and his hair in matted locks. It is Ekalavya, who introduces himself to them as a pupil of Drona.

[Narz]

Thank you dor, I remember that story.

[mtrimpe]

Let everyone be your teacher. Everyone comes into your world to teach you something, so let them.
Let the beggar on the corner teach you to give more or appreciate more what you have.
Let the degrading remarks from a friend teach you to create more resolve.
Let the inspiring boss teach you to spread inspiration into the world.
Let them teach you.

[Nala]

Why not be your own master?

Looking to someone else as your master has always seemed to me to be a very limiting viewpoint.

In this age, you have all the books and the resources you could ever want or need ... so become your own guru.

[JHL]

I think mtrimpe is on the money. Everyone is your teacher, everyone is your master in some way. The universe brings to you everything you need, exactly when you need it.

Perhaps you are simply not noticing? There is that old adage that he who's eyes are fixed on the stars, miss what is at their feet. Oh dear, that sounded trite. But I said it, ergo you needed to hear it (thats my story and I'm sticking to it.)

[Shaden]

Why not be your own master?

Looking to someone else as your master has always seemed to me to be a very limiting viewpoint.

In this age, you have all the books and the resources you could ever want or need ... so become your own guru.

Now there's a very good idea... but I'm not aiming for the label of guru. More along the lines of personal master ... until that is another woman walks into my life...

[Narz]

Originally Posted by Nala

Why not be your own master?

Yes, that's what I'm going to have to do.

[mtrimpe]

As long as you believe there is a you, there is a word for being your own master; it's called narcissism.

[Nala]

Mtrimpe, I respectfully disagree. A narcissist is primarily concerned with herself rather than society and often has an exaggerated sense of self-importance.

What I mean by "be your own master" is to take what you need from other sources, people, experiences, etc. and teach yourself the best way for you to live.

This does not mean shrinking the world down until it spins tightly around you. To the contrary, it means wanting to be of the world in the best way that you know how, without slavishly leading your life according to the words delivered from on high by some guru or master.

[bellbird]

I think other posters have done very well in offering their input, good ones too. I'm not a dog so I don't need a master and I'm not a cat and don't want to have personnel.

The danger in looking out for a master, to me, is putting your power in their hands, I'm not too fond of the devotion dangers that might be implied there, and the dependancy. Is it your aspiration to become a Darth Vader "yes master" or flay your sword around like Luke Skywalker? If you want to learn about certain areas, then someone will come into your life when you need them or look for them to help out. "When the pupil is ready the master will appear". It could be a yelping mother-in-law too though...

Anyway: true, there are some wonderful enlightened beings on this planet and they are also very human... I agree with mtrimpe's on the 'let them teach you'. Answers you will find within yourself but only experience and practise will provide wisdom (well for me anyway)
All the best!

[Antiventurecapital]

Originally Posted by Narz

Are there any real masters left out in the world? Or are they like virgin lands, just dreams, legends, forgotten memories?

After you pass 40, you realize that there is no such thing as a master. Sure some people are really good at one little thing or another, but there's no one person who has it all together. There's an old saying about all heroes having feet of clay. Read the biographies of famous people and you quickly realize that all of them were disasters in at least one area of their lives. That's called being human.

We finally grow up the day we recognize that "no one is coming" to save us from the world or ourselves. You make up your life as you muddle your way through. There is no master, no manual, no motivational speaker, no god, no anything that can offer more than a tiny piece of the puzzle on how to run your life.

In the end, we realize that everyone just tries to make the best of it while they can. Hopefully their successes will at least equal their failures.