silent thunder

Wow I am happy for you! Washington is gorgeous! My son's Godfather who is my oldest and dearest friend lived there for a couple years. That whole area of the planet... Oregon.Washington and BC sings a stunningly beautiful song to me. We live just south of Los Angeles and my average commute when working is about 2 1/2 hours a day. We just spent a few weeks up on Mt Hood in Oregon on vacation and we've decided that we'll be retiring there when our tour in the desert is done. The old growth forests of the Northwest are home, there's no other way to say it. Let me know if you ever want to meet for tea, (or something stronger) sometime. I recently spent a wonderful evening chatting and having a late dinner with another local bum.

that. is. beautiful! thank you my friend! *deep bow*

I don't recall where I heard this, but it resonated and seems appropriate. "if we were all to sit in a great circle and confess all of our darkest, deepest sins. we would laugh hysterically at our collective lack of imagination." ~anon As to my sins... I'm with a few others here... and don't believe any longer in any biblical or religious notions of sin. I have an inkling though, of the harsh and painful impact my ignorance can inflict on others and myself. There were also some years I feel were 'lost' to anger and resentment. But these have released into the acceptance of what is and what has gone. I'm much better at no longer dredging up the past to cause yet more pain in the present. Particularly regarding the few times in life where I lashed out to hurt others with my words and was very successful to my later deep dismay. These have not been fully released... but baby steps. They happened, I accept it, I acknowledge it and recognize that that man and this one, while we look similar, are not the same men... and I release it again. Every time it arises... release. Like a bellows really. and I no longer vow to myself not to make any more mistakes, I intend to try and make better mistakes.

I surely do my friend. At least there's some quiet before and after the "conversations"...

According to this article, the term umami came rather recently... about 1908 and was coined by a chemist. Here's a short quote from the article.

edit: on second thought... na

Whoa boy... I've spent so many hours hearing just fine, while not listening to a thing but my imagination. All of my early school years and teachers come to mind.

You may have, though I don't recall. Your monkey nature was apparent to me immediately. Animal spirits speak in a language I am quick to pick up on. In fact, your monkey nature kept me from interacting with you at first for some time. I assumed at first that you were intentionally poking people, trying to make them upset, making fun of them, or making light of the topics and seeking to disrupt and troll folks. But I no longer believe everything I think which is a wonderful thing... so I held off believing that initial thought/judgement and I'm glad. My assumptions of your intentions came from my own projections and now I see a playful, clever monkey who interacts quickly, lightly and with wit and word play and a fun, light heart. Now I consider you an observant friend who in his manner of interacting, has a natural way of keeping things light and also of checking our usual notions of a topic or idea by bringing them up in a different perspective.

For me, Anand/Limahong very much embodies the spirit of Monkey.

hmm... I'm compelled to offer a challenge to the bolded statement. Lyrics in music are poetry and I sense music is a big part of your life from your contributions here. Can you say that this has never helped you? Over the years I have learned to use music in times when I am so willfully given over to a certain mood that even if I sense I can change my mood, my willfullness won't allow it. In these cases, I sometimes play music that I know will affect change in my system and alter the flow.

As always my friend, your responses are appreciated for their candor, frankness and simplicity. I deeply appreciate your presence here. You and my Father would have got on famously I imagine. You remind me of him in many ways. Your very reasons for not perceiving any magic, are the very points that cause me to see it everywhere I look these days. How wonderful this universe is, to accomodate such disparate views that coexist in harmony and are both completely relevant! Have a great day my friend.

Ego is a verb to me. The process of movement/action/intention toward conditions/things/ideas that are pleasante/favored, or desired... and equally and simultaneously, in the reverse action through movement/action/intention to avoid and move away from those that I do not. It is not an it... not a thing, just as I am not a thing, but an ever shifting flow of conditions/responses and intentions. I do not seek to diminish, or do away with ego any longer. Like my mind, which is quite useful in certain situations, I want it to be strong and viable when appropriate... then effortlessly, it folds up like a Hawk's feet in flight and is all but forgotten.

before one can walk to a store and purchase a mundane, normal, non magical item... first, the entire universe must manifest. in light of this, even the most mundane of happenings to me, is utterly imbued with the magical.

I find describing the experience of dao with words to be nigh on impossible... When abiding in simple presence and awareness, I readily experience what I call dao, though the word whenever used to describe such, seems but a movement of mind and sound and so far, has never seemed to convey the experience. This is not discouraging to me, rather, it is a reflection of the abiding truth in the first verse of the DDC. My mind is useful for many tasks... but not to all tasks. I seldom strive any more to force my mind to grasp the ungraspable.

Yea I picked up on the particular/certain situation pretty soon. I'm hoping she'll be adaptable enough to settle in to this clime while so young. There are a plethor of her species here at the Japanese Garden in the Huntington Library grounds, some over 200 years old, so I'm hopeful. I'm planning on repotting her next Spring.

I have deep empathy for you mate. Before working with Wang Li Ping, I had become accustomed to occasional discomfort and on some rare occasions, outright pain in my meditations, (either physical or mental/emotional). What I did not anticipate was the experience and effect of extreme ecstacy. This I found more distracting and not as easily assimliated into meditation and life as discomfort. It made even simple tasks very challenging if nigh on not possible... I hold space for you mate.

After reading about rene's soon to arrive Maple tree... this thread laid a hand on my mind's shoulder and said... "please revive me." This little bonsai was my 49th birthday gift from my son: She's settled in after a brief period of adjusting. Turns out I was watering her too shallowly and she was getting a bit too much intense heat and sun. While we traveled up the coast this summer for a few weeks, we are fortunate to have a wonderful young lady who cares for our animals while we're gone. Though the plants don't usually fare so well, so we took Okasa along with us. She was so smitten with the diffuse light of the old growth forests of Oregon while lounging on the deck outside our cabin, she was reticent to get back in the truck and return to the desert. I assured her, we'd be returning again on a more permanent basis in the not distant future.

Welcome Back Mate! Lately I have this recurring sense arise spontaneously of having just returned home when I haven't gone anywhere... and when traveling about there is the feeling of never having left... There is a familiarity to all places... even the strange ones and no matter where I go, there I am again. Such familiarity and comfort arising everywhere and tied to nowhere. The center is everywhere. Good to see you back old friend... it's like you never left.

Hey falcon. I'm grateful that my words had meaning for you... this place has enriched me so much over the years. It's amazing, I'm so grateful for it. I studied Shao Lin Five Animal and Jeet Kun Do with Master Richard Huang and Larry Tan in NYC. Seven years ago, I met and learned Qi Gong (two forms) from Master Zhou Ting-Jue. Two years ago I met and studied stillness with Master Wang Li Ping. While I spent many years of dedicated daily practice of the hard forms and Qi Gong... I no longer have a rigid, or fixed practice regiment the way I used to. The influence of the Qi Gong and Stillness particularly have opened up my inner world so it blends with the outer into a living process of constant release, non grasping and unfolding in presence and being. I still play qi gong and sit in stillness spontaneously as the impulse arises, but I have found that the principles of both now manifest into my every waking movement and activity... at work, while hanging out at home... while making and eating my food, it all has become a cumulative process of unfolding and release into the pure being of what is in this moment now. Formal practice has unfolded and disassembled into awareness and presence... raw beingness as the principles of the practice have seamlessly imbedded themselves into unfolding awareness moment by moment and now steadily manifest a process of relentlessly stripping away previously held notions and illusory beliefs in favor of savoring presence in what simply is.

Not so much as I'm speaking of the concept, but I guess, if applied to forms in animals and most organisms yea that does seem to be the case. My intended meaning is more experiential... awareness and beingness based though. The universe of form reflects from micro to macro. The curvature of my ear is the same ratio as the spiral of galaxy arms and the seed patterns in sunflowers. To gain access to the great mysteries of the external... do I need to travel to the other galaxies? Or does the same tao/anchor/source reside within my own form as well? In my experience yes, definitely. So for me, the most direct access point to the mystery of the experience of the Unity of All... lies right here within. *thumps chest* As I experience what lies within 'me', my awareness, that which seems to lie outside of 'me' is reflected continually and brings deeper understanding experience of the unity, reflected nature and connectedness of all forms to each other, which results in a living awareness, a living experiential beingness of unity with all that is and all that is not. Whether this fits the bill of enlightenment I have no idea. Lately that word has pretty much lost its usefulness for me, too many layered and subjective/personal meanings to be used effectively any longer. Like that other term God... ugh, how to ever know what someone else means when they speak it? But for me, unity and connectedness seem to convey that which I understand as enlightenment or awakening. Among the non form, the reflection is even more direct and simple to observe... emptiness is emptiness on every level that I have encountered . Lately I experience my process of internal awareness exploration as an unfolding. Or like an onion, unpeeling. Unpeeling layers of illusory beliefs, assumptions, monkey mind, subjective notions of should and should not... When peeling the last layer, what is revealed at the center of an onion? Emptiness is revealed. This emptiness within, is reflected everywhere in the previously seeming 'without'. Unity consciousness flows in through this experience, awareness of the profound inter=connectedness resonates with unified awareness and bliss. The experience of it is vivid, clear and vital. But is still readily fogged over by lesser detailed side paths of monkey mind and life in the human shaped world. So far it's not full abiding, but it's a nice window that often opens when I'm quiet inside... and the view is spectacular.

for me... the path within as within, so without as below, above

ebb and flow push and pull all the myriad expression of the 10,000 being and nonbeing to my human perception nature seems to oscillate between apparent opposites yet have been revealed to be not separate, but varied expressions of one process the way

What a great reminder! Thank you for sharing this! When I'm shouting inside, it's hard to connect to the life songs about me and my experience of life is diminished, disconnected, stifled even. Whole body listening. Spherical awareness. Full spectrum listening... seems to be one of the first teachings in so many of the ancient traditions/lineages. Quiet the self and hear what is natural. Listening with one's whole being as opposed to simply processing sounds with the ears while judging with the mind is a paradigm shifting process that elicits a myriad of benefits. Not just for increasing energy cultivation, but in all my relationships... particularly with the obvious ones such as work mates and family/friends, where so much of the english language when closely analyzed, is misdirectional. The words often carry a direct meaning contrapuntal to the intended sharing. Whole body listening cuts through the haze and misdirection of word objects to the underlying intent and conveys authentic communication. Whole body listening conveys benefits in all relationships however... while riding a motorcycle at high speed it was a life preserver on more than one occasion. Whole being listening while in a forest, or underwater in a lake nature is a paradigm shifting experience. Spherical awareness while choosing a meal, while preparing and consuming it... reveals layers of previously unexperienced life, or it does in my case. Full awareness listening... reflected across all the great old traditions/teachings... quiet the self, internally and externally and reveal the song of reality. Abide in being here and now, simply... once the waters are settled, clarity and emptiness ring with the endless songs of life to which we are always connected, but not always aware of.

within every motion, lies a point of empty stillness from which it arises about which it pivots and to which it returns this empty point of stillness... a gateway cultivate this