silent thunder

I'm fasting two to four days a week the last month now. Body is craving emptiness and is very grateful when the rest of me accomodates.

Black Panther debuted in 1966, Luke Cage in the early 70's. Comics have had a history of addressing some social issues and getting away with it, due to their 'childish' nature. Something they have in common with Twilight Zone and Star Trek... both of those shows regularly wrestled and presented intense social issues of the day, but it was palatable to the censors due to the 'freaky' and 'alien' settings... just enough comfortable distance to pass their scent test. I was glad Green Lantern when he finally came out not so long ago... and I loved it when Superman renounced his American citizenship saying, I don't represent one nation. Makes sense, why he'd not perceive any one nation as his home, being an alien. in the end... it's all about a good story, told well. if you got those, I'm likely going to stick around and ask if there's any more coming soon.

came home from the Farmer's Market to Ben Harper filling the house... guess my gal has diamonds on the inside

To me it triggered an allusion to the alchemical process... heart fire descends, kidney water rises, through the action of the Yi of spleen. Though I have no idea what the writers actually intended... it was an awesome small unexplained detail. I really appreciate details like that in stories, that don't get overtly explained, they provide a framework of complexity and mystery that draws the observer in, or at least they draw me in... As in life, there are many things that come with no explanation (nature takes no pains to explain herself, it is up to us to engage) whatsoever and we come away with what arises for us... or nothing at all. I recall an interview with Mick Jagger back in the mid 70's, when it had become popular to put the lyrics in the album jackets... the interviewer asked him "Why don't you add your lyrics like other bands do?" Mick's reply revealed a savvy I hadn't expected from him... "oh no mate... I don wanna do that... whatever you fill in for yourself will be much better, much more personal than anything from my life... you'll custom fit it to yourself... that's what I want."

This notion you speak of as intent manitou, is very close to me and I have long now held the sense that if there weren't some latent intent, spirit, or even remote sentience to every form we perceive, then no form would manifest and hold shape, even temporarily. This is why for some years now, I inherently approach all things, animate and inanimate as sentient, or latently sentient, for without this foundational intent of form, no shape would manifest. It seems now that the very fabric underlying all perceptual experience is one awareness. Universal. Foundational. Ephemeral. Pervasive. Utterly subtle. Permeating. Saturating. Blissful. Empty yet filled with Potential. Clear. edit to add: It's the notion repeated in so many ancient and pre-modern cultures, Native Americans, Africans, Aboriginal Australian, the Druids and the pre-industrial cultures, who all honored and paid conscious acknowledgement to the essential living spirit of all things.

nicely stated mate. incremental, sequential... steady and eventual, inevitable.

Yea, I bet she's got a magnetic presence. I was a stage actor for years and much like in cultivation there are myriad techniques you can study in acting, with the body and voice to affect influence and manage attention... but on the level above that, is being capable of commanding and holding space with no technique other than presence... that can't be taught. It's energetic... either there, or not. Hard to describe, but always know it when seeing it. It didn't matter what is said, or how they moved or if they sat still and silent... it's always... full, engaging. These masters who can fill even the tiniest role and the flimsiest writing with vital spirit that is inevitably compelling to watch.

yup... another big +1 from me on this one too.

I'll echo that sentiment... Insatiable curiosity about natural and incredible states of consciousness I experienced as a young man and the profound levels of awareness I embodied as a very young boy, forged in me a primal pull to be able to replicate and return to them. It's why I was drawn to explore Taoism and the Internal Arts. I have many visceral memories of my body growing light when breathing and seeing a certain way... of floating and hovering as a small boy, as well as a deep, abiding sense memory of complete dissolution of body/individual self into samadhi/satori. In researching ways to replicate these experiences, Taoist philosophy, martial arts, meditation, Vedic and Tibetan cosmology kept popping up, as well as opportunities for experiences with a few natural entheogens and the usual man made offerings of the mind. I tried most of them and I will say unequivicolly, the most potent and beneficial experiences to manifest for me were not chemical at all, for me it was pranayama and tummo breathing. But as for ingestibles, I highly recommend natural entheogens as opposed to things 'bob' made in his bathtub or spare room. I'll echo the words of others and suggest that when you go the plant/chemical route and are new to it... always have one sober buddy there to keep you anchored and if you've never tried something before... you never know how you'll react, so try a tiny amount first. It's how our ancestors discovered the myriad medicinal properties of the pharmacy of nature. Also, I found that my mental state for the previous six to ten hours before a trip was of paramount importance and sets the overall potential atmosphere of the coming journey, not just for you, but for everyone who is there with you... you will all affect everyone else. So if' you're planning on taking a mental journey in the evening and have had a really intense emotional exchange/experience that day, know for certain that when the doors open via the substance, that experience will likely be a focal point. This can bring amazing healing, or more trauma, depending on the nature of it and how you respond. I've talked many friends out of bad rabbit holes of consciousness when they spin onto a topic and get lost in the inertia of it. However, it's the hard places in us, that are where awareness is needed most and where the most potent healing comes from... I myself have had two life changing vajra/healing insights while using psilocybin. Experiences that melted years of ignorance and pain in a moment of insight. Above all, who you have with you, really important you love and trust them. As for me, any more if I want to incite insight a shift in awareness I drop into my body via the breath, or I extend out via the breath. Quickest way to alter consciousness is through the breath. One of my experiences pranayama breathing exceeded all previous experiences with entheogens and chemicals... and came closest to the states I deeply sense recalling as a boy... Now aside from it being free and utterly essential to life, let alone illegal, it may well manifest spontaneous self healing! I highly recommend it. I also have had success with purely physical pursuits. I got deeply and dangerously into free hand/no gear rock climbing to induce changes for a while. The kind of focus and intensity required for some portions of climbing can result in dissolution of self and some remarkable experiences, but at such a potential cost, thankfully that desire receeded early on. On my honeymoon, I nearly fell off a 600 ft vertical while climbing alone in The Needles area of The Black Hills in South Dakota. Breath is key in climbing. Calm, steady, focused, alert, non-spastic... lol. I also find water to be potent. Once a profound waking dream state and out of body experience overtook me while I was taking a shower. Or the blissful state I used to get into... swimming in this very slow repetitive languid manner for unknown minutes on end as a boy... again that related to breath... when the body is empty of breath... in the breathing out... when you bring in the next breath... those rhythms... the pulsing of it... it's really all inside you all the time. Accessible right now as you read these letters. Fields of energy that the body and mind manifest within, it's all just resonane, frequency and vibration... Tesla was on to that shit, no doubt! I wish you insightful journeys mate.

I can hardly watch the lad who portrays Iron Fist when he's 'recharging his qi'... it's cringe worthy indeed. Tom Wu, on the other hand, is rather stunning when he moves. Obviously gifted and dedicated, he is the actor who portrays the character Hundred Eyes, (a blind Taoist warrior monk of the Wu Dang sword tradition in the Marco Polo series). He moves with subtlety and grace. I did a brief search and Tom won two bronze and a gold medal representing Britain in a Chinese International Wu Shu competition back in 1988. It shows. He also has a relationship with Michelle Yeow (or Michelle 'Kick Ass' Yum as I always think of her...) that complicates things nicely late in the season. Man she I dig her. If you haven't seen it, there is a tasty 30 minute short stand alone episode of Marco Polo: One Hundred Eyes: which gives the back story of how the Taoist monk Li Jinbao comes to be in service to the Kahn. I dug it. I watched it after it popped up one night while randomly googling 'taoist assassin monks' for fun. That got me to watch the series. That character is the sauce and Wu portrays the hell out of him.

That gives me an idea... perhaps a sub section of hun dun... The Flame Pit: Two trolls enter... everybody loses.

My son, 11, routinely says when we turn something on... "why is it always so predictable?..." I did make it through Iron Fist and Marco Polo recently.... but just barely. Other than that, I don't remember the last tv show I saw... they just don't have any gravity for me any longer. Nothing to draw me in. These days when I'm looking for something to watch that might engage me, I check out the Enlightened Movies thread here and give that a try... there have been many gems there.

Good to reiterate. Food is either medicine or slow acting poison. Choose with utmost distinction.

I loved the Iron Fist character and storyline. The show is passable but weak in my opinion. Marvel Studios... currently stationed in a brand new complex out of Atlanta Georgia, is going to churn out as much material as they can, while keeping costs low, particularly on tv series. Several of my friends are there for the next three years straight working on the slew of upcoming Marvel content they are churning out. I was offered a position, but refused it, as I don't want to relocate my family, or work away from them either. The amount of time it takes to stage high quality fights is not conducive to a television series budget... and often limited by the abilities of the available talent. The amount of time to film, vs prep and construct all the elements in a tv show is much harsher than in feature films. So basically, they have not devoted the resources to the fighting choreography for the tv series that they may for a feature film. hope this helps.

I just ordered my counter top distiller. Thanks for the nudging reminder of the importance mate!

Well said words. That really resonates. crossroads... choice... I have long held the notion that what I used to consider to be my choices... are actually the post-act rationalization of the predetermined, compulsory actions based on behaviorally conditioned responses that would have happened regardless of intent and are largely unconscious acts. Looking back and analyzing why I did something, or did not do another, in various situations will yield what appears to be a 'choice' that I made and in the moment it may also feel like a choice. However, with awareness in the moment, there is a palpable realization that there is in almost every moment, no choice at all... not in any effectual manner. There are the conditions of life, of which I am a part, and then there is the response to those conditions that I will affect, and there is hardly an option for any other action aside from the one I will inevitably take... Breaking it down after the fact, I used to look at an act and analyze it and say, 'this is why I made this choice at this crossroads', yet the reality, in the moment, when I'm aware and not sunning myself, is that based on how I view the world and how I have been conditioned by society and my family and my own self... there is one action that can be predicted almost like a chemical reaction and this to me indicates clearly that there is not really choice at all, rather justifcation after the fact, for my compulsive, predictable behavioral conditioned responses to stimuli. edit: to clarify the final sentence/thought.

I like orgonite. I'm gathering appropriate materials as I encounter them and will be making my own pyramids soon.

yup see it now... Nice!

my internal emperor has two advisors... heart and mind I always consult them both, but as time has progressed I notice now when there is a strong disagreement between the two I follow the heart

yes, this... this haiku came to me when I was saturating myself with extraneous monkey mind judging/valuing/bs i share it with you muddiest waters left undisturbed by process rest in clarity

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cool idea I also can't see your pic Brian, quite a few here fall into the same hole it seems... just a line of text with the file name and an endless loading screen. most show up fine, but quite a few are lost in textloading land I use my son's laptop, here is his current desktop: and this is his lock screen:

Yea, with the deep abiding awareness within the very cells of the body itself, I can't even comprehend the shock and potential horror of this transformation. My sense is that it will be beyond the scope of the organism to maintain integtrity and will result in dissolution of the body and head both. Life imitates art in this real life Dr Frankenstein story.

aye, tao is eternal, unborn, ephemeral and undying words are shifting, adapting and constantly trying to encapsulate that which lies beyond their ken

Yea for me it's important to drink mostly distilled and I came to that conclusion when I was learning nutrition therapy to treat the irregular heartbeat and my blood issues some years back. Though I do not distill my own water, perhaps I'll look into that as well. And one of the common responses I hear from folks regarding distilled water, is 'oh but that's dead water'. My experience tells me otherwise. But I am not a fundamentalist about it. Nor many things these days. I whisper to my water and all things before I consume them these days. We are fortunate that here in Torrance, we have a 22 million dollar reverse osmosis plant that filters our tap water and our ground source is drawn from a wetland/marsh, one of natures finest filters, the entire bay that I live in, used to be covered in wetland before humans moved in... then for a century or so, it was home to massive citrus groves. I tested our tap water out of curiosity and found it's ph slightly better than the filtered water we purchase.