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I have done one course of Russian and hear it spoken almost every day, it still seems harder to follow to me than Spanish which I only see/hear on occasion. Once you know some basics you find many words are same as English(or even Swedish). Maybe Spanish really is an easy language? Japanese is strangely similiar to my native Finnish even if the words are completely different. My Japanese teacher(native speaker) also said the languages are surprisingly close. I also quit learning Japanese on account of the Kanji department but for a different reason. I wanted to understand the original use and began to study Chinese instead... still a work in progress.

Maybe they're letting us do that for ourselves.

What the... if that's real.. holy!! That's what I make of it.

Thank you. For me that clears up several things, I'm glad I asked and didn't just go with my intuition that this looks real. I've been a visitor to an aiki dojo where all instructors could have been on the "ting jing level", they called it just aiki or sensing aiki. I have to admit it felt quite unreal how we got thrown compared to regular aikido. This is the video I linked to shanlung :

LOL yeah I wouldn't expect to hear alot of Japanese or Spanish there. I have some interest in the native languages there, especially the uralic ones and how they compare with Finnish.

Used to have mormon's knocking on the door every now and then but now it's just Jehovah's witnesses.

So you're from Siberia... curious if you speak any of the more local languages from there?

So what does this worrying have to do with New Age? You think a reptile is going to get you?

Yeah regular people can be like that because they live in a trance, reacting to everything. Free will isn't automatic.

It was not as special as people in our societies make it to be. I would compare it to being drunk for the first time.

Garlic is really good stuff. Going to have to wait until after my interview to dive into it again though. Then I'll try one bulb/day with lots of excercise. Currently I'm eating sauerkraut which is also awesome stuff that smells but not quite as bad as garlic. Here some people eat fermented sauerkraut with garlic and carrot mixed in for health. They say it's the stuff Genghis Khan ran his armies on the stuff. Would love to try it raw also: http://www.alive.com/articles/view/16713/raw_sauerkraut_rocks

Good story and the guy who started it seemed to have learned his lesson.

Last game I played was Skyrim. I liked the atmosphere in general but like most games there's just too much death and destruction. I think I'm pretty much done with gaming for this lifetime. There's more surprises in reallife exploration both internal and in nature. Today I met a young wild moose in the forest while doing standing meditation, we both looked at each other without moving for a while. Don't think anything I could see in a game would beat that.

That's interesting. I've enjoyed gentlewind's posts from the start, never felt I should avoid any of it. Long time ago I was suffering from existentialist depression but otherwise in good health. My friend was taking chemo for his cancer. I was sorry for him and that annoyed him. He told me that he'd rather fight his cancer than depression and he made me realize he was the lucky one, beating my jack high with his dead man's hand. It was a breakthrough for me, it's better to suffer in body than in spirit... and never feel sorry for someone who's content.

By judging I mean if it holds something for me, blocking someone's path by judging theirs is not something I would do. I'm thankful for the conversation.

TV watching achievements??? What next? I think this is great for advertisers though. Finally people will watch through every ad to unlock the superdupermegaultrageniusadwatcher-achievement(watched 1000 consecutive ads without leaving the chair) for +5 hitpoints to their character in some game.

I've also heard people I've respected to stay away from Tyson versions of anything. Is he really that bad? And thanks for telling about the esoteric archives. Didn't know such a site existed.

So does anyone have contact with actual Toltecs? To hear them speak of their own tradition(or even related tribes) first would be what I'd like to do before judging. I've come across two rather interesting ideas from friends who liked CC: - That there was no physical Don Juan but that he channeled a real being who is the source of his books. - The other person's view is that he practiced methods himself that he borrowed from people like Gurdjieff and mixed them into what he'd read on anthropology and Don Juan is just a literary creation. Not saying I believe in either of these... I actually learned today that the other person had an interest in CC and had read the books after I mentioned some ideas we've talked about here. I had no idea. It's interesting how far and wide his influence has been despite his person being what it is.

Yes that does seem pretty damning about the man himself. Sometimes the teacher can tap into things in you that he doesn't even have himself especially if he's studied many traditions. There are some things that just work despite where you got them. Even fiction. Some people dismiss their experiences and what they've learned when they realize their teacher was not what they thought. I think that's a worse mistake than following the fake...

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A somali was trying to help an old woman who was lying on the pavement when he was assaulted by two middle-aged men here in Finland. They must have been reminded of this incident and thought they were saving the granny instead of asking questions or thinking first. I don't usually like to use the words irresponsible reporting but to me it looks like they wanted an increase in racial violence.

Thanks, my reviewing really doesn't do justice to it. It's a teaching tool, reminded me of alot I've gathered on alchemy/hermetics over the years and connected some new dots as well. Reading it was transformative. Interesting tidbit about the author is that she lived to be 99 years old teaching hermetics behind the iron curtain.

I used to play those. Good times. I still sometimes have a tune from Amiga versions of Bard's tale 2 or the Original Pool of Radiance in my head even when it's been what 20 years ago.

I'm aware of the divine in every being and get along quite well with even the deadbeats. Sometimes I help them but even if I don't think I can help I try to be the friendly face that knows they're human and not some waste product. I've gone down a path leading to a dead end, that's why I'm a bit wary. But maybe getting burned is what I needed to start valuing life like I do now? It's a good argument you make. Yes. I understand there's no need to start over. Getting on the dao trail I felt the footing was firm ever since I started. I somehow knew I had to go this way. I've been reluctant to pick up extra baggage ever since. I know it's been good to you and you have a no-nonsense attitude. I've come to the conclusion that there is only one real spirituality, but some religions and paths distort it. That's why I'm careful to see how clean it is instead of going in head first. I have deep respect for Native traditions of the Americas like I do with with the Ancient Chinese and my own ancestors the Ancient Finns. If Castaneda is a representative of the tradition, I don't think I'll have problem learning from there. Atleast it sounds I will enjoy the stories no matter what I conclude in the end.

Recently I liked the Red Lion, by Maria Szepes. It's fiction but has plenty of hermetic/alchemical wisdom in it, the author poured lots of her knowledge in there but sadly there's bias too. The more you know about western tradtions the more you notice from the book. For example if you know some palmistry it will give you some infromation about some characters when they are first introduced. The story takes place in multiple incarnations on the road to becoming a master. Each incarnation has it's challenges but each is also necessary to progress. [My reviewing skills seriously need polish]