If you could cache anywhere in the US

[+fizzymagic]

While answering the related topic to this, it struck me that I don't have as good a sense of where the high densities of really lame caches are. There are, of course, two all-time favorites: Jacksonville FL and Nashville TN, but where are other pockets of pestilence?

 

Don't let your civic pride get in the way; be honest! Where should we avoid?

 

In my local area, we tend to avoid Modesto, Fresno, Brentwood, and Yuba City, which seem to spawn uncreative hides. But Sacramento has some really good ones as do several smaller towns in the Central Valley. The Bay Area, in general, is pretty good; there are lots of puzzle caches and lots of hiking caches in the hills.

[+Isonzo Karst]

Just about any commercial strip in any large urban area. Especially newer construction.

 

It's been a while since I cached Jacksonville FL, but I enjoyed it a bunch. Like most cities, it's on a river, some lovely views from caches along that river; and great beach caches as well. We were at Woodstock in TN, did a very modest amount of Nashville caching. Locals (Monkeybrad!) have done a wonderful job with caches in the old part of town. We did a number of physical and a couple of virts that really highlighted the history in Nashville. An older town than I realized. Beautiful little historical district on the river too.

 

I don't know that there's a state/town to avoid, but for me it's pretty easy to say that if I'm on Strip Mall Avenue, Anywhere USA, it's for shopping, not caching.

 

Although I'm hearing that in SE FL there's a hider really raising the bar on specialty containers, some humorous stuff - and this mostly around shopping malls. That kind of info is tough to come by if you're not living in the vicinity.

[+Indotguy]

Rural Clay County, Kentucky.

[+Cav Scout]

Thats interesting. Clay County is a beautiful place. Are you worried about caching there because of what happened to the census guy? Have you even been there?

 

Rural Clay County, Kentucky.

[+goodwrench00]

Any big city!

[Clan Riffster]

Probably any large, metropolitan city. Not because thousands of acres of concrete automatically equals gobs of lame hides, but more because these are not the types of areas I would enjoy spending my recreational time in. Pollution, traffic, muggles... not my cup of tea.

[+briansnat]

I woudn't want to go to areas where guard rail and parking lot hides predominate and make searching out the few good ones a chore. I've been to a few of these areas and would not return, at least for geocaching purposes.

[+zoltig]

I would avoid areas where people have "world record cache runs" or Power Trails. To me, that just spells lame caches. The caches are set up to boost numbers.

 

Mind you that I am not taking away from the fun that those people have, but that caching is not what I consider quality caching.

 

So with that said, east of Denver Airport (DIA). There are several other areas in the state of Colorado as well. Down around the Colorado Springs area (east).

[+Team Cotati]

Paterson, NJ.

 

Lord help me, what a gang infested, rat hole.

[+brodiebunch]

I have never been to this city, but I would say Detroit, Michigan. From all the stories you hear about urban collapse, crime and despair, it has no appeal to me.

[+Mudfrog]

Probably any large, metropolitan city. Not because thousands of acres of concrete automatically equals gobs of lame hides, but more because these are not the types of areas I would enjoy spending my recreational time in. Pollution, traffic, muggles... not my cup of tea.

 

Ditto that!

[+The Leprechauns]

I am of the opinion that ANY area has its good and bad caches or caching customs. Moreover, different people define "lame" in different ways. So, I won't answer the question based upon geocaches.

 

Rather, I would begin by avoiding areas whose geocaching residents are responsible for an inordinate percentage of negative forum posts.

[+ventura_kids]

I am of the opinion that ANY area has its good and bad caches or caching customs. Moreover, different people define "lame" in different ways. So, I won't answer the question based upon geocaches.

 

Rather, I would begin by avoiding areas whose geocaching residents are responsible for an inordinate percentage of negative forum posts.

 

[+CanUK_TeamFitz]

I am of the opinion that ANY area has its good and bad caches or caching customs. Moreover, different people define "lame" in different ways. So, I won't answer the question based upon geocaches.

 

Rather, I would begin by avoiding areas whose geocaching residents are responsible for an inordinate percentage of negative forum posts.

 

[robertlipe]

While answering the related topic to this, it struck me that I don't have as good a sense of where the high densities of really lame caches are. There are, of course, two all-time favorites: Jacksonville FL and Nashville TN, but where are other pockets of pestilence?

 

I think Nashville became a forum favorite because it caught on early and the forum has just kind of kept it a favorite by folklore. In the days when 300 caches in a 100 mile circle was a lot, yeah, it had a disproportionate number of urban micros. I can't numerically quantify "lame" but I've cached a lot of other places, too, and it doesn't really seem different. There's some really great stuff in Nashville - take a look at the logs on JoGPS's Geo Mojo series, for example.

 

Light poles and guard rails are in pretty much every area these days and they're easy enough to avoid.

[+hydnsek]

I think Nashville became a forum favorite because it caught on early and the forum has just kind of kept it a favorite by folklore. In the days when 300 caches in a 100 mile circle was a lot, yeah, it had a disproportionate number of urban micros. I can't numerically quantify "lame" but I've cached a lot of other places, too, and it doesn't really seem different. There's some really great stuff in Nashville - take a look at the logs on JoGPS's Geo Mojo series, for example.

 

Light poles and guard rails are in pretty much every area these days and they're easy enough to avoid.

What Robert said. Nashville is my home town, and I usually return once a year, like the swallows to Capistrano, to see family and friends. I was admittedly horrified the first time I visited as a geocacher and found the area strewn with hundreds of film cans every quarter mile along various roads, many part of the "101 Dalmatians" series (shudder). I really struggled to find interesting caches for a couple years.

 

But that was 5-6 years ago. Today, those caches are mostly gone, and Nashville is infested with interesting, high-quality caches placed by JoeGPS, Monkeybrad, robertlipe, and other creative cachers. I had a great time caching there this year, in between seeing family and attending GeoWoodstock. The MTGC site also has some good cache recommendations for visitors, several of which I visited.

 

So, fellow cachers, please remove Nashville from the Geocaching Hall of Shame. It's a great place to visit and cache! (Removing Tennessee tourism hat. Robert, I'll PM my PayPal address. )

 

OT: San Diego has dropped off my list of caching destinations since my fellow Northwesterners came back from an event a couple years ago complaining about how boring the hides were. They said there were tons of lame PnGs, and locals complained if they couldn't find caches quickly or had to walk more than 200 ft from the car. Don't know how true this is today, but it stuck in my brain. (Apologies to certain forum members who live there.)

[+bittsen]

I would avoid any place in Central America where there is a "war" going on. The thought of being held captive just because I wanted to sign a piece of paper is, somewhat, unappealing.

 

Having said that, if I was guaranteed to survive the experience physically and mentally intact, i think it would be one heck of an adventure and do it.

It's the whole "dying" while caching thing that I would be avoiding.

[+TheAlabamaRambler]

I think this has to be a troll for attention on a slow day; my reading of fizzymagic's past posts tells me that he is far too experienced to believe that any one area is comprised mainly of "lame" caches!

 

Secondly, the characterization of Nashville, which we used to call Cacheville, is long dated. That community has done a great job of reducing the 'dreck' and now has a well-deserved reputation for having many great caches.

 

I've cached in 28 states so far and haven't found any place where I did not have fun.

 

Lastly, I LIKE micros, and many have been among some of the toughest and most fun caches I have found, so the characterization that they are "mostly lame" is strictly in the eye of the beholder. If you don't like micros, avoid them. A simple checkbox in your PQ will assure that you don't even see them. ANY cache-populated area will have plenty of other caches to hunt.

 

To answer the OP, no, there is nowhere I would avoid caching!

Edited November 15, 2009 by TheAlabamaRambler

[+TrailGators]

OT: San Diego has dropped off my list of caching destinations since my fellow Northwesterners came back from an event a couple years ago complaining about how boring the hides were. They said there were tons of lame PnGs, and locals complained if they couldn't find caches quickly or had to walk more than 200 ft from the car. Don't know how true this is today, but it stuck in my brain. (Apologies to certain forum members who live there.)

You didn't offend me. I created the SD Consensus Favorites list and post it in my signature line to let people know where to go to find the caches that we enjoy more. There are some awesome caches in San Diego. It is a beautiful area with the ocean, mountains and desert all within driving distance. Of course, if you hit the only the urban areas without a plan, you'll find the same types of caches you'd find in any urban environment.

[+Harry Dolphin]

Well, I shan't tell you where it is, to avoid irritating the cachers more than I have already. But 90% of the caches there seem to be in lamp posts. Lots of beautiful places, but most of them are in the shopping centers. And, sadly, the new cachers there think that this is the way it is supposed to be.

[+TheAlabamaRambler]

Well, I shan't tell you where it is, to avoid irritating the cachers more than I have already. But 90% of the caches there seem to be in lamp posts. Lots of beautiful places, but most of them are in the shopping centers. And, sadly, the new cachers there think that this is the way it is supposed to be.

Geographically how big an area does this include? Could you drive say 20 miles and find caches more to your liking?

 

I have to wonder if this is not one small area where one or a few cachers set the standard for those close around them.

[Mr.Yuck]

I think Nashville became a forum favorite because it caught on early and the forum has just kind of kept it a favorite by folklore. In the days when 300 caches in a 100 mile circle was a lot, yeah, it had a disproportionate number of urban micros. I can't numerically quantify "lame" but I've cached a lot of other places, too, and it doesn't really seem different. There's some really great stuff in Nashville - take a look at the logs on JoGPS's Geo Mojo series, for example.

 

Light poles and guard rails are in pretty much every area these days and they're easy enough to avoid.

What Robert said. Nashville is my home town, and I usually return once a year, like the swallows to Capistrano, to see family and friends. I was admittedly horrified the first time I visited as a geocacher and found the area strewn with hundreds of film cans every quarter mile along various roads, many part of the "101 Dalmatians" series (shudder). I really struggled to find interesting caches for a couple years.

 

But that was 5-6 years ago. Today, those caches are mostly gone, and Nashville is infested with interesting, high-quality caches placed by JoeGPS, Monkeybrad, robertlipe, and other creative cachers. I had a great time caching there this year, in between seeing family and attending GeoWoodstock. The MTGC site also has some good cache recommendations for visitors, several of which I visited.

 

So, fellow cachers, please remove Nashville from the Geocaching Hall of Shame. It's a great place to visit and cache! (Removing Tennessee tourism hat. Robert, I'll PM my PayPal address. )

 

 

I thought it was removed years ago! Didn't someone hold a "micro round up" event there years ago where micros were archived and "rounded up"?

 

I have never been to this city, but I would say Detroit, Michigan. From all the stories you hear about urban collapse, crime and despair, it has no appeal to me.

 

I remember a European posted a Geocaching.com Google map screen shot of the Detroit area, and asked why there was a "hole" with no caches (basically, it was Detroit proper). Then people posted some other screen shots of Inner cities with cache holes. I thought it was one of the most interesting threads ever.

 

Heck no, I won't single out any one area. I do know of one Midwestern State that I would consider to have an extremely high incidence of lame hides all over the State. No names, of course.

[+Team Cotati]

I am of the opinion that ANY area has its good and bad caches or caching customs. Moreover, different people define "lame" in different ways. So, I won't answer the question based upon geocaches.

 

Rather, I would begin by avoiding areas whose geocaching residents are responsible for an inordinate percentage of negative forum posts.

 

You've obviously never been to Paterson.

[+Chrysalides]

While I'm sure there are worse places, I'll avoid places where there is a good chance of stumbling onto illegal marijuana plots.

Edited November 16, 2009 by Chrysalides

[+Team Cotati]

While I'm sure there are worse places, I'll avoid places where there is a good chance of stumbling onto illegal marijuana plots.

 

No, you are wrong. There is no worse place.

 

Possibly East St. Louis, but that's it.

Edited November 16, 2009 by Team Cotati

[+Morning Dew]

I think Nashville became a forum favorite because it caught on early and the forum has just kind of kept it a favorite by folklore. In the days when 300 caches in a 100 mile circle was a lot, yeah, it had a disproportionate number of urban micros. I can't numerically quantify "lame" but I've cached a lot of other places, too, and it doesn't really seem different. There's some really great stuff in Nashville - take a look at the logs on JoGPS's Geo Mojo series, for example.

 

Light poles and guard rails are in pretty much every area these days and they're easy enough to avoid.

What Robert said. Nashville is my home town, and I usually return once a year, like the swallows to Capistrano, to see family and friends. I was admittedly horrified the first time I visited as a geocacher and found the area strewn with hundreds of film cans every quarter mile along various roads, many part of the "101 Dalmatians" series (shudder). I really struggled to find interesting caches for a couple years.

 

But that was 5-6 years ago. Today, those caches are mostly gone, and Nashville is infested with interesting, high-quality caches placed by JoeGPS, Monkeybrad, robertlipe, and other creative cachers. I had a great time caching there this year, in between seeing family and attending GeoWoodstock. The MTGC site also has some good cache recommendations for visitors, several of which I visited.

 

So, fellow cachers, please remove Nashville from the Geocaching Hall of Shame. It's a great place to visit and cache! (Removing Tennessee tourism hat. Robert, I'll PM my PayPal address. )

 

 

I thought it was removed years ago! Didn't someone hold a "micro round up" event there years ago where micros were archived and "rounded up"?

 

I have never been to this city, but I would say Detroit, Michigan. From all the stories you hear about urban collapse, crime and despair, it has no appeal to me.

 

I remember a European posted a Geocaching.com Google map screen shot of the Detroit area, and asked why there was a "hole" with no caches (basically, it was Detroit proper). Then people posted some other screen shots of Inner cities with cache holes. I thought it was one of the most interesting threads ever.

 

Heck no, I won't single out any one area. I do know of one Midwestern State that I would consider to have an extremely high incidence of lame hides all over the State. No names, of course.

 

Caching in Detroit is fine as long as you can read the geocaching.com maps.

 

http://www.geocaching.com/map/default.aspx...;zm=12&mt=m

 

The map isn't displaying just right, but if you move it a bit to the NE you get the idea.

 

That map represents approximately 70 square miles in one of the largest cities in the world (pop. 1,000,000+). There are 16 caches. Whacha ya think? Fun caching in that area?

 

Pretty amazing isn't it.

Edited November 16, 2009 by Morning Dew

[+wimseyguy]

The one memorable line from one of the worst movies was "Take them to Detroit!" It struck fear into those it was directed at.

 

I think Lep summed it up very well. In any mature caching community there will be great caches and routine one. But if I am dreaming of ideal cache runs, they rarely include suburban sprawl shopping centers, parking lots, and traffic. Unless of course I am planning the next 24 hour record run.

Edited November 16, 2009 by wimseyguy

[Mr.Yuck]

I am of the opinion that ANY area has its good and bad caches or caching customs. Moreover, different people define "lame" in different ways. So, I won't answer the question based upon geocaches.

 

 

Which begs the question, what does someone who thinks a Wally World LPC, or a power trail of identically named, identically hidden, roadside micros is just the Cat's Pajama's consider a "lame cache"? Nothing, I suppose.

[+Arrow42]

Which begs the question, what does someone who thinks a Wally World LPC, or a power trail of identically named, identically hidden, roadside micros is just the Cat's Pajama's consider a "lame cache"? Nothing, I suppose.

 

A single cache at the end of a two mile hike, perhaps?

[+hydnsek]

Which begs the question, what does someone who thinks a Wally World LPC, or a power trail of identically named, identically hidden, roadside micros is just the Cat's Pajama's consider a "lame cache"? Nothing, I suppose.

Probably a cache where you have to hike 10 miles to claim a single smilie.

 

Edit: Darn, Arrow42 beat me to it.

Edited November 16, 2009 by hydnsek

[Clan Riffster]

But that was 5-6 years ago. Today, those caches are mostly gone, and Nashville is infested with interesting, high-quality caches placed by creative cachers.

Sounds a lot like Jacksonville.

[4wheelin_fool]

Don't let your civic pride get in the way; be honest! Where should we avoid?

 

The moon.

 

It has no satellites at all, but at the same time it is a satellite, but is absolutely useless for providing any info for geocaching down on earth. The only cache up there, left by Neil Armstrong, is an American flag which would be completely unsuitable to use as a logsheet anyway.

[Mr.Yuck]

I am of the opinion that ANY area has its good and bad caches or caching customs. Moreover, different people define "lame" in different ways. So, I won't answer the question based upon geocaches.

 

Rather, I would begin by avoiding areas whose geocaching residents are responsible for an inordinate percentage of negative forum posts.

 

You've obviously never been to Paterson.

 

Can I get some love for Elizabeth? The City in New Jersey, I mean.

 

I took a wrong turn in Plainfield once.

[+The Leprechauns]

I am of the opinion that ANY area has its good and bad caches or caching customs. Moreover, different people define "lame" in different ways. So, I won't answer the question based upon geocaches.

 

 

Which begs the question, what does someone who thinks a Wally World LPC, or a power trail of identically named, identically hidden, roadside micros is just the Cat's Pajama's consider a "lame cache"? Nothing, I suppose.

While I don't necessarily agree that Wally World LPC's or mindless series of numbered roadside micros are "the Cat's Pajamas," I will often find myself logging these, and enjoying them -- if only for the journey provided to and from that cache and its neighbors. Not every cache needs to be one of the terrain 4 epics that I found on my backpacking trips this summer in order for me to derive some amount of pleasure from the find.

 

Take away the search for the container and the act of signing a log, and you stray into my personal lameness territory. Earthcaches and Flash Mob Events would be at the top of Lep's Lame List. Puzzle Caches would be right up there, too. I want geocaching to take me outdoors, not coop me up indoors to solve a complex code or math equation. Driving down a winding country road on a fall day to stop at a guardrail by a bridge is infinitely preferable to studying a steganography image at my desk.

 

I recognize, however, that others enjoy the caches that I don't enjoy. So long as I can filter them out, and so long as they don't restrict my ability to play my game, such caches don't bother me and I don't need to start forum threads preaching their lameness.

[Mr.Yuck]

I am of the opinion that ANY area has its good and bad caches or caching customs. Moreover, different people define "lame" in different ways. So, I won't answer the question based upon geocaches.

 

 

Which begs the question, what does someone who thinks a Wally World LPC, or a power trail of identically named, identically hidden, roadside micros is just the Cat's Pajama's consider a "lame cache"? Nothing, I suppose.

While I don't necessarily agree that Wally World LPC's or mindless series of numbered roadside micros are "the Cat's Pajamas," I will often find myself logging these, and enjoying them -- if only for the journey provided to and from that cache and its neighbors. Not every cache needs to be one of the terrain 4 epics that I found on my backpacking trips this summer in order for me to derive some amount of pleasure from the find.

 

Take away the search for the container and the act of signing a log, and you stray into my personal lameness territory. Earthcaches and Flash Mob Events would be at the top of Lep's Lame List. Puzzle Caches would be right up there, too. I want geocaching to take me outdoors, not coop me up indoors to solve a complex code or math equation. Driving down a winding country road on a fall day to stop at a guardrail by a bridge is infinitely preferable to studying a steganography image at my desk.

 

I recognize, however, that others enjoy the caches that I don't enjoy. So long as I can filter them out, and so long as they don't restrict my ability to play my game, such caches don't bother me and I don't need to start forum threads preaching their lameness.

 

Good answer. Hey, I didn't start the thread. I'm sure it's all in good fun, and obviously inspired by another thread.

[Clan Riffster]

such caches don't bother me and I don't need to start forum threads preaching their lameness.

But... but... Does this mean this thread won't devolve into an anti-micro thread?

[+fizzymagic]

I think this has to be a troll for attention on a slow day; my reading of fizzymagic's past posts tells me that he is far too experienced to believe that any one area is comprised mainly of "lame" caches!

Well, it was meant to be provocative, and to be a relief from the endless kvetching on the "I am Offended" and "Rogue Reviewer" topics. And I actually want to know. Does that make it a troll?

 

I've learned that Nashville is better now, and that's valuable info. I've learned that Lep thinks the question is not meaningful, which puzzles me, since he clearly doesn't think the same about the converse. But aside from that it hasn't been as enlightening as I had hoped.

[4wheelin_fool]

I think this has to be a troll for attention on a slow day; my reading of fizzymagic's past posts tells me that he is far too experienced to believe that any one area is comprised mainly of "lame" caches!

Well, it was meant to be provocative, and to be a relief from the endless kvetching on the "I am Offended" and "Rogue Reviewer" topics. And I actually want to know. Does that make it a troll?

 

I've learned that Nashville is better now, and that's valuable info. I've learned that Lep thinks the question is not meaningful, which puzzles me, since he clearly doesn't think the same about the converse. But aside from that it hasn't been as enlightening as I had hoped.

 

 

You have come having wandered through every life form and yet you have not found true happiness anywhere. All the while you have done nothing but wailed and roared with your ego. You have the desire to be free but you cannot find the path. Such a path is extremely rare. A circumstance for a meeting with a Absolute Enlightened Person (Gnani Purush) is extremely rare indeed. All the circumstances will come together and disperse, but circumstance of a meeting with the Absolute Enlightened Person (Gnani Purush) is the only one, which will give you eternal bliss & show you to Path to Enlightenment.

 

There are two Paths to Enlightenment:

 

One is the common and the main path, called the Step by Step (Kramik) path where there is a gradual spiritual evolution. In this path, if you are fortunate enough and find the company of spiritual people, you may climb up to five hundred steps. On the other hand if you land amidst the company of non-spiritual people, you may go down five thousand steps. It is a very arduous and a grueling path. You have to do a lot of incantation of God’s name, penance and renunciation in order to progress and even then there is no telling when you will achieve Enlightenment.

 

The other path is the Stepless (Akram) path, where you are not required to climb any steps. It is a ‘lift’ (an elevator) path where you can continue with all your daily mundane activities, fulfill all your worldly responsibilities towards your wife and children, and still achieve Spiritual Enlightenment & finally liberation! Nothing will hinder your progress towards liberation. This is an exceptional path and one, which comes around once every million years.

 

In Kramic path, one works very hard to get the awareness of the Soul then only he can get the idea about the Soul. However this awareness does not become established permanently. The one on the Kramic path has to keep maintaining this - the Soul in his awareness. It is akin to you reminding your self about your business appointments if you run a business. The seeker of the Step by Step (Kramic) path has to keep reminding himself about the Soul, that Soul is like this, Soul is like this… and once he has conviction, he can remain in such awareness. His conviction will be instilled on the basis of the attributes of the Soul. Whereas in this Stepless (Akram) Science there is the direct experience of the Soul, because here The Self is attained through naturalness, and that is the True Enlightenment. It is attained without any effort.

 

All worldly happiness is a by-product and to realize the Self is the main production. People have abandoned the factory of main production and instead have started factories of by-production, so when will they ever realize the Self? The entire world wanders around in ignorance as a result of not knowing the Path to Enlightenment and as a consequence, they get lost wherever they go. If you want to attain Enlightenment Science, ultimately you will have to go to the Absolute Enlightened Person (Gnani). Even when you want to go to the Railway Station, you have to ask someone who knows the way there. But this Path to Enlightenment is narrow, complicated and like a labyrinth. If you attempt it on your own, you are bound to get lost so look for a Absolute Enlightened Person and follow his footsteps exactly.

 

The Four Noble Truths with the Eightfold Path is the way to obtain Salvation for Gautama Buddha which comes with Nirvana after enlightenment. It brings Salvation from the sufferings on earth, and, most important, salvation from the curse of reincarnation.

 

He promoted 'The Middle Way' as the path to enlightenment rather than the extremes of mortification of the flesh or hedonism (pleasure), emphasizing rather meditation.

 

The Four Noble Truths: He describes temporal life as featuring four noble truths:

1. Diagnosis: The condition of all existence is suffering.

2. Cause: Suffering is caused by selfishness, desire and craving

3. Prognosis: Selfishness, desire and craving can be overcome... and then, suffering ends on earth and the cycle of the curse of reincarnation is gone.

4. Treatment: The Eightfold Path:

 

 

In the traditional Step by Step (karmic) path delusion is destroyed with delusion. For example, we need soap to wash a dirty cloth, but the soap will leave behind its residue and stain and so we need bleaching soap to remove that stain. Bleaching soap will remove the soap stains, but leave behind stains of its own. In this manner whatever tool is used, that tool will leave behind its own stain and so one never becomes absolutely pure. Absolute purity can be achieved only when one meets a Absolute Enlightened Person (Gnani Purush). The Absolute Enlightened Person (Gnani Purush) who is absolutely pure Himself, is the only one who can separate each atom of the non-Self and destroy all your sins and give you your pure Self (Enlightenment of your Soul). Only then the puzzle (of life) will be solved and you will attain Enlightenment Science. Otherwise, you will continue to ‘wash the stains from your clothes’ for endless life cycles, each time leaving behind the impurities of the ‘soap’ you utilize.

 

The Step by Step (Kramic) path of step-by-step to liberation, represents a comma ‘,’ an unfinished journey, incomplete dissolution of ego, ‘I have renounced, I am a ascetic.’ When this leaves then the ego, ‘I am teacher in the path of Self-realization,’ remains. Afterwards as the progresses, the ego ‘I am principal in the spiritual path’ remains. Thus one will be in comma (incomplete) only. In this Akram path, once one attains the state of pure Soul—‘I am Pure Soul’ the comma is gone and there is a full stop.

 

The ‘full stop’ (period) of the ego, is Akram Vignan. The ‘comma’ of the ego is the Kramik path. Stepless Science (Akram Vignan) is the internal science, which takes you to your eternal bliss and therefore, is also known as the ‘Science of the Self.’ The other is the ‘Science of the External’, the non-Self. It gives temporary happiness. Ultimately, the external science perishes, whereas the internal science is eternal.

 

The foundation for the new, direct, and step-less Path to Enlightenment called Akram Vignan. Through the divine, original scientific experiment (The Gnan Vidhi), this knowledge is imparted to others within two hours. Thousands have received the grace through this process and thousands continue to do so even now. ‘Akram’ means without steps; an elevator path or a short-cut, whereas ‘Kram’ means an orderly step-by-step spiritual path. Akram is now recognized as a direct shortcut to the bliss of the Self, Path to Enlightenment.

 

So this is the path of understanding. This is the path of knowledge of your Real Self. This is a very shortcut, it is to the point and it gives perfect effect. You can achieve Enlightenment within a short time; it’s a very short process. The only thing is to find a person that can give you this knowledge is very rare. Such people are very, very rare. Out of thousands of years, you can find such a realized person by way of this path. And once you come in touch with such a person and acquire knowledge from them, then you can achieve the eternal knowledge very easily and within a very short time.

 

This path of instant moksha has come to be known to the world as Akram Vignan. ‘Akram’ means a full stop path of the ego, meaning the ego has ended whereas ‘Kramik or Kram’ means a path of ‘comma’ of the ego, meaning the ego has yet to slowly and gradually dissolve away. The ego has yet to be dissolved. Akram means no method. Kram means to rise higher in spiritually, step by step. Akram means to enter and rise higher in an elevator or a lift, and attain the goal immediately. Kram is the main traditional eternal path. Akram is the new shortcut path and will be available for a limited period in the cycle of time.

 

"Enlightenment" is the central masterpiece of Gautama Buddha, and it is what he got sitting for 7 weeks under a fig tree (the bodhi tree), near Benares, after having wandered around for 7 years to search for the cause of suffering... all of a sudden, "in a flash", "he saw the light", and became the Buddha, the enlightened one... his divine eye was quickened, and he was able at last to extinguish all his ignorance, desires, and craving... and life's problems were no longer an enigma to him.

 

The Buddhist word for enlightenment is "bodhi," which is the basis for the title "Buddha." He was the first to be enlightened and thus was called "The Buddha." The root meaning of bodhi is "to awaken"; thus the Buddha is the "Awakened One." The rest of humanity is asleep.

 

Enlightenment comes essentially one step before nirvana. It is the realizing of the true nature of the cosmos, the link between samsara and nirvana. It is at this point that one can view their past lives.

 

Results of the Enlightenment in Gautama:

 

He got two kind of results: A positive and a negative:

Negatively, the eradication of all greed, hatred and egotism from his mind.

Positively, the cultivation and development of metta, compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity as inherent aspects of one’s personality. "Metta" is a Pali word and is usually translated into English as "love", and if we simultaneously think of the words "friendship", "love" and "kindness", we will have some understanding of the true meaning of "metta".

 

With this "Enlightenment", Buddha sought to remove much of the supernatural from Hinduism. Hindus worshiped too many gods, and used too many relics, magic prayers, superstitions, candles, incense... and he saw no need for a church institution or authority or priests or rituals; no need to believe in "miracles" or supernatural agencies as means to obtain "nirvana", after the "enlightenment"... he dared to question the authority of the Vedas and advocated abolishing the caste system... and even suggested that the concept of God be abolished...

 

How to obtain Enlightenment:

For Gautama it was very simple, he got it "in a flash" under the Bo tree, as we just mentioned.

 

But it is not so simple... the many traditions, sects, branches and denominations follow different special techniques, most of them from Hinduism... and thousands of Buddhist monks and nuns dedicate their whole life with vows of poverty, celibacy, and obedience to try to obtain it.

 

The Four Noble Truths are the basis to obtain Enlightenment... and most specially Meditation.

 

Meditation:

 

In general, to obtain "enlightenment", man's own "mind", "body", and "character", are the greatest obstacles: Please read Meditation and Yoga in Hinduism.. it is the main tool Buddha took from Hinduism... but without gods!...

 

1-The "mind", is suppressed, for example, by repeating thousands of times a "mantra", a meaningless word for the student, until the "crisis" comes, when the mind gets so boring that stops reasoning, letting only the "animal mind" at work; or by trying to solve for months or years a "koan", an impossible riddle, like "what is the size of your right hand's sixth finger?", until the mind gets so tired, that it gives up, stops reasoning; or trying for months a ridiculous impossible astral projection; or looking for hours at a "yantra", a geometric figure, a triangle...

 

2- The "body", is restrained by sitting for hours in a difficult position, until numbness occurs... and this way you seek to release the spirit from the limitations of the body, say the Buddhists.

 

3- The personal "character", is controlled by having a guru or a master that continually humiliates you...

 

All, until your mind gives up, becomes obsolete, and your body becomes numb, and you feel yourself like nothing, without self, without any personality... and then, "comes the crisis", you will give up your "human mind" and experience the "animal mind" with all kinds of illusory hallucinations and the bliss of having the joy and peace of an animal, without any reasoning, without any concern of yesterday nor today nor tomorrow nor the after death... just the simple instinctive let it go of any animal...

 

And this is what is called "enlightenment", and "god-realization", and "union with the universal mind", and "heightened awareness", and "cosmic consciousness", and "transcendental bliss"...

 

True is not perceived to be an absolute or objective revelation... "knowledge" is not "to know", but "not to know", it is only a "subjective intuitional experience", the thinking has been replaced by feelings; logic plays no part on it, it is the negation of one's rational faculties... it is an "ego" religion, where one's own enlightened self becomes the arbiter of all actions and the gauge of the truth... there is no need for God... you are God!... even if you do not know how to make flowers or stars or atoms... but you are God!...

 

The light upon which a Buddhist stumbles is the false glow of one whom the Bible depicts as a deceiving "angel of light", Satan (2Cor.11:14)... because in that state on numbness and without the control of the "human mind" the devil settles in.

 

Nirvana (nibbana):

Nirvana for Gautama is to live the life on earth as the result of the Enlightenment, it is not a place, but a state of mind in which one is released from desire, craving, fear... and, most specially, Nirvana brings a Buddhist out of the cycles of the curse of reincarnation for ever.

 

Nirvana has many names in Buddhism and Hinduism Traditions:

-"Enlightenment"... "Nirvana".- "God-realization".- "Union with the Universal mind".

- "Heightened awareness".- "Expanded consciousness"- "Altered perception of reality".

- "Cosmic consciousness".- "Satori"...- "Transcendental bliss"...

The discipline to obtain it may be yoga, Zen, ascetics, meditation... and the religious frame may be Buddhism, Hinduism, Unity, Theosophy, Scientology, Transcendental Meditation, Hare Krishnas, Rosicrucianism, EST, New Era...

"Nirvana" for Gautama Buddha:

Nirvana for Gautama Buddha was meant to live this life on earth, he always avoided to mention the after-death... and to be honest, if there is no Heaven, no Hell, no Reincarnation, most people would rather live this life as a rich Muslin with 4 wives and plenty of abundance and comfort, rather that the life of a Buddhist monk with vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience...

... Finally Gautama Buddha died... and now he is either in Heaven or in Hell, like Albert Einstein and Christopher Columbus and Kennedy and St Francis... believe it or not!... anyone of them who is now in Heaven did all right in life; if anyone of them is in Hell, he was an idiot during the only life he had on earth.

 

Probably the only time Buddha spoke more clearly about the after-death was at the time of his death, his last words... "the poisoned mush-rooms are opening for me the final gates to "Nirvana".

 

"Nirvana" today, after Buddha:

After Gautama, the Anti-Buddhist Traditions added a new element: With this "nirvana", after "enlightenment", not only all desire is eradicated, but it will also eventually end with the curse of suffering successive reincarnations, without giving any reason or any proof for it...

 

For a Christian, the reason is that if you believe in Jesus, all your bad deeds or bad karma will be eradicated, and if you live with joy and peace on earth, doing good deeds in the grace of God, you go to Heaven after death... the problem for the Buddhists, like for the Hindus, is that the cleaning of the bad deeds may take even thousands of reincarnations...

 

This "Nirvana after-death", is different for each one of the thousands of traditions.

- In the Tibetan Buddhism, students are promised Buddhahood very fast... after completing "only 7 reincarnations"!.

- Jodo promises to enter the Pure Land after death; but a Heaven that is not the Christian one, rather "nothingness", "to stop being as a person", united with the Absolute like a drop of water in the ocean...

- Zen Buddhism, like Gautama, do not mention much the after-death... but you have to die!... what is it going to be next?...

 

The "Tripitaka": The "three baskets", includes Buddha's sermons, rules for the monks and philosophical teachings, with 100 volumes, about the size of 70 Bibles.

- The First Sermon of Buddha at Benares

- "Way of Mindfulness" of Buddha, with the cemetery meditations

 

The Three Marks of Existence:

1- anicca or impermanence, nothing stands still. Our lives change in many ways from second to second

2- dukkha or suffering, which is also the first noble truth... everybody suffers.

3- anatta or not-self, you will never find a permanent essence, self or soul in anything! Other religions have the idea of a soul but Buddhism doesn't. Instead, it sees the individual as a combination of five factors known as khandhas. Each person, therefore, is made up of consciousness, feelings, mental formations (including volition), perception and corporeality (the body). None of these, according to Buddhism, do they constitute what might be called a soul.

Through meditation, these three marks play an important role. The idea of insight meditation is to see things as they really are and this means realizing at an experiential rather than conceptual level that suffering, impermanence and not-self underlie everything. Paradoxically, to realize this is to bring an end to suffering. Not surprisingly then, the three marks of are fundamental to Buddhist thinking and practice.

 

The Five Skandhas (Precepts or Commandments):

1. No killing or hurting any creature.

2. No stealing.

3. No wrong indulgence in sexual pleasure.

4. No lying.

5. No use of intoxicants.

 

The Six Realms of existence, or the six worlds:

1- The world of heaven. This is the world of enjoyment, pleasure or pleasant things. The condition of heaven is impermanent, and this state of mind will also change.

2- The world of humans. (Human beings) In the world of humans, sometimes we are happy, sometimes we are sad, sometimes we are laughing, sometimes we are crying.

3- The world of asuras. This is the world of fighting, or strife. The realm or state of mind of fighting.

4-The world of hungry spirits. This is the realm of dissatisfaction, not being content. The state of having endless unsatisfied desires, or greed. Figuratively speaking, always being hungry.

5- The world of animals. It is the realm lacking reason. The state without reason. Without reason, mistakes are made, causing hardships or suffering to self, and at times others. Without reason, being dominated by one's desires.

6- The world of hell. Hell refers to the realm of suffering. The state of suffering and pain, which through cause and condition people will enter.

 

The Ten Perfections and Nirvana:

 

Giving. As a full jar overthrown pours out the liquid and keeps back nothing, even so shall your charity be without reserve - as a jar overturned.

 

Duty. As a yak-cow, when the hairs of her tail become entangled in anything, would rather suffer death than injury to her tail, even so should you keep to your duty - as the yak to her tail.

 

Renunciation . As a man in prison, suffering pain for long, so shall you look upon your existences on earth as in prisons, and turn your face toward renunciation and await release.

 

Insight. As the beggar-monk shuns no families from whom he begs, whether lowly or high or in between, and acquires his daily fare, so shall you at all times question the wise and gain insight.

 

Courage. As the lion, whether when lying down or standing up, lacks no courage, but is ever light-hearted, so also shall you in each of your individual-existences hold fast to your courage.

 

Patience. As the earth bears all that is cast upon it, both the pure and impure, and feels no resentment nor rejoicing, so also shall you receive favors and rebuffs alike with indifference.

 

Truth . As the star of healing is balanced in the heavens, and swerves not from its path in its time and its season, so shall you remain fixed on your path of truth.

 

Resolution . As the stone mountain, firmly based quails not before the tempest, but abides in its place, so shall you abide in your resolution once resolved.

 

Loving-kindness. As water quenches the thirst of the good and the bad alike, and cleanses them of dust and impurity, so also shall you treat your friend and your foe alike with loving-kindness.

 

Serenity. As indeed the earth looks with serenity on all the pure and impure that are cast upon it, even so shall you approach with serenity both joy and sorrow - if you are to attain wisdom.

 

Nirvana is probably one of the most difficult concepts to define in a way comprehensible to the Western mind. Some have defined Nirvana as the state of Not-being. This is both correct and incorrect. For Nirvana is a release from the cycle of reincarnation and the end of individual existence. Nirvana is also the blissful state in which all suffering ceases and the individual is joined with the World-Soul.

 

Hope that helps..

[+Anno Lynke]

Don't let your civic pride get in the way; be honest! Where should we avoid?

 

The moon.

 

It has no satellites at all, but at the same time it is a satellite, but is absolutely useless for providing any info for geocaching down on earth. The only cache up there, left by Neil Armstrong, is an American flag which would be completely unsuitable to use as a logsheet anyway.

 

they left some pretty cool swag there that moon rover would be a blast

the only problem is i could never afford to trade up

[+Team Cotati]

I am of the opinion that ANY area has its good and bad caches or caching customs. Moreover, different people define "lame" in different ways. So, I won't answer the question based upon geocaches.

 

Rather, I would begin by avoiding areas whose geocaching residents are responsible for an inordinate percentage of negative forum posts.

 

You've obviously never been to Paterson.

 

Can I get some love for Elizabeth? The City in New Jersey, I mean.

 

I took a wrong turn in Plainfield once.

 

Won't make THAT mistake again......will you? Too funny.

 

Next time you find yourself in The Garden State, give Trenton a try. You'll discover where the name 'The Garden State' originated.

Edited November 16, 2009 by Team Cotati

[+Castle Mischief]

 

STUFF

 

Hope that helps..

 

You owe me a new scroll wheel. Was that absolutely necessary?

 

 

Me, I'm avoiding all cache placements in active volcanoes. Talk about lame.

[+wimseyguy]

I am of the opinion that ANY area has its good and bad caches or caching customs. Moreover, different people define "lame" in different ways. So, I won't answer the question based upon geocaches.

 

Rather, I would begin by avoiding areas whose geocaching residents are responsible for an inordinate percentage of negative forum posts.

 

You've obviously never been to Paterson.

 

Can I get some love for Elizabeth? The City in New Jersey, I mean.

 

I took a wrong turn in Plainfield once.

 

Won't make THAT mistake again......will you? Too funny.

 

Next time you find yourself in The Garden State, give Trenton a try. You'll discover where the name 'The Garden State' originated.

You seem to have an odd dislike to NJ. Interesting coming from the state that has a City of Industry.

[Skippermark]

If I'm doing a numbers run, I'll cache anywhere and find any type of cache, but if I'm on vacation, sightseeing, or hiking I want to see cool places.

 

It's hard for me to name a specific city or area where I wouldn't want to cache because I've seen dumpy areas in scenic vacation towns, and I've found some great spots in big cities. which are often considered "dirty."

 

As far as NJ that's a state that has both beauty and trash. The part of NJ that many people see while driving along 95 near NYC (or on their way to Atlantic City) isn't pretty, but head a few miles off the interstate, and you're going to see some beautiful areas. Caching in NJ has given us some wonderful memories.

[+bflentje]

I was just out in White, SD, the heart of beef cattle country. I was amazed at the amount of micros.. I only found ONE cache larger than a micro, over the course of a four day trip. I don't know if it was bad planning on my part or if it's micro-h-e-l-l

[Mr.Yuck]

I was just out in White, SD, the heart of beef cattle country. I was amazed at the amount of micros.. I only found ONE cache larger than a micro, over the course of a four day trip. I don't know if it was bad planning on my part or if it's micro-h-e-l-l

 

Thanks for the warning. One never knows when one might find themselves in White, South Dakota.

 

Micros: Not just for urban area's anymore.

[+TrailGators]

I was just out in White, SD, the heart of beef cattle country. I was amazed at the amount of micros.. I only found ONE cache larger than a micro, over the course of a four day trip. I don't know if it was bad planning on my part or if it's micro-h-e-l-l

The milk has been spilled. So it's better to just filter out the micros. You can also ask the locals for their "favorites" or "must-do" caches and add those back in including the micros (if you enjoy non-numbers micros).

[+Col. Bucky]

You can also ask the locals for their "favorites" or "must-do" caches and add those back in including the micros (if you enjoy non-numbers micros).

That's a really good suggestion. There are geocaching organizations in most areas and, if I were visiting somewhere I'd never been before, I'd try to find a web page for one of those organizations and ask some of the locals where to cache. Who better to know the area than its residents?

Edited November 17, 2009 by Team_Bucky

[+Harry Dolphin]

Well, I shan't tell you where it is, to avoid irritating the cachers more than I have already. But 90% of the caches there seem to be in lamp posts. Lots of beautiful places, but most of them are in the shopping centers. And, sadly, the new cachers there think that this is the way it is supposed to be.

Geographically how big an area does this include? Could you drive say 20 miles and find caches more to your liking?

 

I have to wonder if this is not one small area where one or a few cachers set the standard for those close around them.

 

True. It is just a small area. Lots of great caches ten miles away.

[+TheAlabamaRambler]

... But aside from that it hasn't been as enlightening as I had hoped.

I find it telling if not enlightening that the 'where would you avoid' thread goes on while the 'where would you cache' thread has dropped off the first page!

[+Castle Mischief]

... But aside from that it hasn't been as enlightening as I had hoped.

I find it telling if not enlightening that the 'where would you avoid' thread goes on while the 'where would you cache' thread has dropped off the first page!

 

Friction and angst are the life-blood of the interweb. Truly, it is easier to generate more heat than light.