silent thunder

the beats of our heart, and rate of breathing, dictate quality of life.

contentment

We haven't mentioned any of our favorite 'unintentional' comedians. Those who are hysterical, without intending to be so... Newscasters and politicians. Any longer when i watch them, are drop dead funny, particularly when they are striving to be so serious...

well said my friend! particularly when the board, players, pieces, rules are all generated from within... and reflect back. all aspects of the game seem to stem from storyteller telling story. who tells the story and who listens to the story? i find my storyteller asking... who is it, telling the story of the game? when does the game start and cease? what is this game?

I received solid advice at some point that stuck. For a long full life, cultivate three hobbies you deeply resonate and connect with... One that promotes vitality and maintains health One to recharge your batteries with joy and connection to life One to make some money Sometimes they cross over and interfeed. And sometimes they fall away and are replaced... let them. Life skill is developed over a life time... allow this.

I found wall gazing to be particularly intense and vivid. It arose for me, unsought for and spontaneously and was a bit unwelcome. Full blown cinema quality living flowing visions in blue filtered light playing out in front of my open eyes on a blank wall in the hour of dusk, over a period of months. At that time my practice occured during the hour of sunset and dusk and usually while holding the ball... after my eyes settled on the blank wall, visions would arise, unbidden and in intimate detail. I've spent some time in the candle's flame as well. I especially appreciate eye locking in a mirror by candlelight and watching the play of alternate faces arise and dissolve. So many not human. Reminds me of the saying..." our ancestors weren't perfect ladies and gentlemen... in fact, the vast majority weren't even human." ~Robert Anton Wilson

oddly... and oddly satisfyingly... I so far haven't discovered any Rules regarding conditions for winning and losing...

Seems it first was talked about in the 1800's. But it has not really been studied as of yet. The term wasn't even coined until 2005 when a gentleman brought it to the attention of a doctor after realizing he lost the ability to visualize after minor surgery. There is no known cause as of yet. A brief article about it here for those interested.

Hey shazlor. It's called Aphantasia: when a person does not create visual images while contemplating or imagining.

Live feed from Katmai @ Brooks Falls. First time I've ever logged on and not seen a single bear at the location. But the salmon are sailing...

being. presence. this is enough... for now.

hmm... best... what is best? if not best... then improve? how improve? how much to improve until best? who determines best? one thing seems certain... a lack of certainty.

it's not what i do but how i do what i do that resonates with meaning for me how do i love? openly? nuturingly? possessively? obsessively? jealously? do i make of my love a mental concept, or object that can be earned, lost or stolen? is the object of my love free to do as its nature dictates? or does the object of my love owe me love and must remain as i love it? many kinds of love some very loving others very controlling possessing how is one loving?

Thanks for the reminder. I haven't Wilber yet, but you're the second reference to him for me in the last few days. Perhaps it's time to get a copy.

love to me is a word what the word tries to represent is beyond words seems this word attempts to describe a complex of human feelings that are equal parts inspiring, addictive and potentially obsessive and even violence inducing. truly a contradiction seems love

hmm... I meant to type it, but perhaps 'turning the senses inward' ?

what is love?

hmm... is sharing needed? not sure. it seems there can be no giving without receiving buying only occurs with selling break a stick in two and you don't have two tops of sticks. there are no waves comprised of only crests and no valleys always up with down rise with fall what is shared? what is sharable?

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That massage gun reminds me of perhaps the most valuable purchase ever... learning Qi Gong. My wife no longer needs to massage the knots out of my body. After years of Qi Gong every day, there are no knots. Knots no longer form. I worked in construction for 20ish years, though semi retired now. I wake each morning rested and without pain. All the old nagging injuries from martial arts days and crazy rock climbing days have healed. Occasional tweaks are soon liquidated with gentle breathing and motion. That's nothing compared to the growing contentment and quiet of the mind that also arose with continued practice. Qi Gong for vitality, flexibility, durability and endurance. Qi Gong to Thrive!

I came to realize my interest in and began to study Taoism through my study of Theoretical Physics. There are many mirrored aspects. It seems if one seeks with authenticity and does not shy away from what is experienced, no matter how it progresses towards source, then similarities will be experienced the deeper one digs. Source is source, whether we approach it from the intuitive mind, or the rational, it remains source and thus when encountered, similarities will be revealed... as above so below, as within, without. The truths of reality are mirrored on all levels. We each of us are connected directly to source and never for a moment can we be separated from it. Seek earnestly in any direction and encounter it. Some go within and encounter it via stillness and exploring by dampening the senses through intuitive methods of mysticism. Westerners have developed inroads through incredible seeking through the rational mind. None is more true, both reveal aspects of source, when sought authentically. Both seem to require years of dedication and training to get to the deeper aspects. Though insight it seems, always arrives in a flash. Just this week, I've been rereading Fritjoff Capra's book: The Tao of Physics after a couple decades. This book, when first encountered, struck me like a bolt of lightning and was a main inroad to peak this interest in an in depth study of Taoism and Eastern Mysticism. It reveals many innate similarities in the experiences of advanced practitioners of Eastern Mysticism and the advanced practitioners of Western Physics. I think you'd get good mileage from it in your current head space my friend. I recommend it highly.

those new spokeless wheels... are they reverse engineered from off planet tech? *drooooool.

Deeply grateful for this conversation. While not related to the bible, what I'll try and convey can be applied to any experiential object, or mental concept, so perhaps a divestment is permissible. We each have our own experience of reality don't we? Our senses are triggered, a tale is woven from this and we operate on that story. Much of my personal experiential reality has little to do with absolute reality. It involves the story built from sensory signals. My personal reality often arises and revolves around the story told about what arises in senses. Stimulus arises in awareness, the storyteller weaves a tale. This tale is not absolute reality. The storyteller translates reality and this is my personal experience of reality. We are all translating reality/senses according to our storyteller. Perhaps this accounts for the incredible range of perspectives about one set of words, compiled from sixty six books written thousands of years ago by our ancestor's storytellers. When the storyteller is quiet, and I am not translating reality, I experience clarity, bouyancy, unflinching neutrality, expansiveness, groundedness, joyfulness without manic tension, flow, effortlessness, raw simple being. Without a storyteller, all books seem to speak the same truths in a universal language. The shapes of forms lose their meaning and any inherent value... gems are as grains of sand. What shines, is presence. Every form shines in its presence, not its shape! Every blade of grass shines invaluable presence! Stones are singing presence in the sun. The jackhammer drums to the rhythm of the hummingbird's wings. All connected, but no story. No translation needed for presence. It's the universal language of beingness.