silent thunder

I hear what you're saying and when in a certain frame of mind, can even agree with it. But it doesn't last anymore. That mindset cannot self sustain. The food for it has grown thin and lacks potency. In the center of the wheel, there is no centrifugal force, no inertia. 829 pages and counting of folks who all consider they have a bead on what is 'objectively right' and yet there is not much agreement... aside from everyone considering they are right.

it's still going...

Haters are not seeking a conversation, they crave the expansion of their hate. Haters do not engage in communication, they vomit bile in the hopes of spreading misery and killing joy. Killing joy in others is of paramount importance. My response is usually to not merit such with any response Sometimes it seems prudent to listen, or read what they have to say and then respond without malice, without escalating in a way that then disengages and removes further connection. My usual response if one seems merited is a simple "ok." It's ok for you to think and feel this way. I acknowledge you, your thoughts and your feelings. I hear you and acknowledge such. This is the extent of it though. No need to defend against or engage further. Don't engage or acknowledge repeats or rephrasing of same. Disengage toxicity. Life is precious and short. When I realize I've wandered into a toxic bog, I don't stick around. I move on. I don't blame the bog, or my perspective of it. When I step in dog shit, I move on and wash. I don't step in it again and again to show it who's boss... And remember, it's not possible to have a conversation with someone seeking to create conflict and argument.

still funny though it sure would, but who determines what is right?

We share our home with three cats. A Short Hair, a Maine Coon and a Norwegian Forest. I often have waterfall, or rain or birdsong youtubes on in the background to offset street noise or the sound of our neighbor rehearsing (vegas lounge singer). The Coon and the Norwegian will watch for quite a while... the short hair she's having none of it. "can't smell em, they're not real."

If you give someone $100 and never see them again, it is probably money well spent. ~anon

We rarely quote nowadays to appeal to authority... though we quote sometimes to display our sapience and erudition. Some authors we quote against. Some we quote not at all, offering them our scrupulous avoidance, and so make them part of our "white mythology." Other authors we constantly invoke, chanting their names in cerebral rituals of propitiation or ancestor worship. ~ Ihab Hassan

On extremity of emotion... Be what you are! Get unconstipated! Open up the throttle and live!

fun... celebrate the body, don't demonize it. good stuff.

Was just thinking about @Taomeow as I was brewing a cup, then sat down and read your comment @ilumairen. Now I'm thinking about her potential responses to this thread and grinning like a chesire cat. Even in her absence, she provides content for me. pardon my interruption if you will, carry on...

I can't stress enough the effectiveness and importance to me of light stretching and shaking. Shaking seems nigh on magical at this point in my life. Before and after any forms. And as with my above deseription during the forms work, never stretching into pain, only discomfort. Cheers!

Helped me to imagine my body dangling from a line attached at the bai hui point, top of the skull. I once worked for months with a dancer on posture while studying acting. I wanted to get rid of my personal physicalities so that I could more effectively seem to embody the posture of a character. To do that I had to have someone show me my unconscious physical habits and train them out. Imagining my body hanging from a hook at the top of the head was effective in helping me with sung. It drew my head up with chin slightly down, taking the slump out of my body without added tension that would arise when I tried to 'hold myself up' which adds a bunch of musculuture involvement that should be best left to sort itself out when the bones are aligned. A dancer once gave me potent advice when she was teaching and helping me in that study. I recall it vividly still decades later, she said: "your bones keep you upright, not your muscles. you don't need your muscles to stand, only to move. your bones fit together naturally, stack upon each other naturally, let them. there will be no tension eventually with alignment, the bones will fit together as designed and you won't use your muscles to stand, only to move... that's what the bones are for, support. it will become effortless... your muscles keep your bones in place, your bones support you." There was some discomfort as my muscles had to accomodate correct alignment, but this passed rather quickly with daily practice. The body is so fluid. Looking back I can see she was teaching me ZZ without mentioning it as such, probably assuming I'd dismiss it, this being Minnesota back in the late 80's lol. How grateful I am for her simple attention and instruction. Eyes to the horizon. Chin is slightly down. Natural curve, but not a curved spine. The skeleton stacks up under this point naturally, dangling in perfect alignment. Feet under shoulders, never locking knees or elbows. Mainly for me it came down to: Don't push to extremes, but work into your discomfort zone. Discomfort is ok, pain is not. The old adage "no pain no gain"? I threw that out years ago. Discomfort is progress, pain is damage. In my experience. It will pass with time. Your body will adjust and you'll encounter new thresholds. Seems like a sign of progress from where I'm sitting and reading. I'd say you're on the scent. keep at it mate and congrats.

Our marble of friends Marblehead passed away last December. Not a day goes by I don't recall him with deep affection and often a chuckle thinking of one of his adroit comebacks. What an authentic joy he was to communicate with, even when we steeply disagreed. Truly one of the rare ones. *raises a mug* Cheers Marble... wherever you flow now.

dawg... I'm missing dawg.

wind blows leaves about. sage occupies the center. no disturbances.

little sumpin sumpin...

Simulacra and Simulation by Jean Baudrillard translation by Sheila Faria Glaser

"All perception is based on gamble." ~Husserl We all interpret our reality and we do so by filtering from a partial pool of information from our senses in the first place. We don't perceive the world as it is, conscious awareness deals with partial information, which it then interprets and seldom are we even aware that an interpretation is taking place. Particularly if we are not skeptical or inquisitive by nature and do not endeavor to question aspect of assumptions that usually lie beneath conscious thought. Religious dogma, scientific dogma and common sense are the most prodigious pools of unconcious reality tunnel construction and projection. Common sense is often just what you've heard from others (ueually before the age of critical reasoning) and thus never really questioned for yourself. Just because most folks agree on something does not connote veracity, only consensus. Just because you thought something, doesn't make it real, true or important. They're just thoughts. Just because many people agree with it, also does not connote veracity. It was one time for example, common sense that the sun revolved around the earth. All it took was to walk outside look at the sun's progression across the sky and then assume your perception of data accurately reflected the reality. This partial and interpreted information forged and projected into what seems like a seamless and very convincing complete picture of reality, but is in fact an interpretation of a partial picture, projected outward and accepted often without question as complete reality. This fallacy is the basis of Naive Realism. I see the world accurately with my senses. Robert Anton Wilson puts it far more succinctly than I can in some of his works, here's a short video of his description of Reality Tunnels and evisceration of Naive Realism.

A nice overview of the materials used and some of the techniques of traditional katana forging.

cucumber sage for the win

on second thought...