silent thunder

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perhaps off topic due to level of consideration but... Awareness wonders... who is claiming to be the Arbiter of 'what is real'? who determines such? and if such an Arbiter is found... are they ever unanimously agreed with?

Desires fall and rise... Awareness abides. Desire to know. to teach. to acquire. or release. to know The Truth to denounce through proof. Local mind slides through notions those oceans of knowledge like Life is some college clothing in concepts, and claiming truths unremittent and dripping with blaming seeking through conception through commiseration an abstinence from obliteration. seeking is seeking not finding while being is thee'ing one's beatification another's reprobation and all the while Awareness abides... A recent development that seemingly fosters contentment in local awareness and calms the waters of mind... abiding in presence and not needing to prop up notions as right or wrong, weak or strong. Awareness influences local mind it seems... and concepts may be listened to, or read and considered without instantly feeling a pull to accept or reject. Simple abidance in the presence of... consideration without a need for worship or demonization.

Hey Mig. Myriad examples. I use them on a physical level in scenic construction... every day. I also use them subtlely in my inner practice and emotional life, but to talk of such would require more time than I'm willing to devote on a short weekend off, so I'll relate the purely physical one for now. Any time you or anyone around you uses existing conditions to their benefit, or as an efficient way to move or use something they use wei wu wei in the manner I say "go with the flow". One of my heroes put it way better than I can. "Don't fight existing forces, use them" Buckminster Fuller. Whenever I or anyone uses existing energy (say gravity) to enhance a desired effect... (unloading a truck full of shit) it's in this way I'm considering going with the flow, or acting without forcing, or acting by using existing conditions In the subtle realms this is equally applicable in my experience but it also becomes infinitely more malleable and adaptable and harder to describe in mental imagery and 'word/thought concepts'. So I'll stick to the physical for this response... Take moving large amounts of heavy boxes off of a truck that has transported them to your location. We use gravity to our advantage when we move goods downward from the height of the trailer they were carried on, to ground level as an example. Ramps off the back of a truck and two wheel carts allow a few guys to unload a 53' trailer full of heavy gear in about 20 minutes. Or you build a ramp and spend some energy in that way that seemingly benefits one not a bit, but which when finished then allows you to roll the uncounted heavy boxes and myriad heavy equipment up to a higher level than the ground with much less effort than carrying it on your shoulders. Using gravity instead of opposing it... Or oppose it (by building a ramp) and then use wheels to assist one in defying it with much less effort required.

I lean towards Taomeow's and her Teacher's approach in this. It is a given to me that one will practice, and that the drive exists for such, or the question of when is best to begin would not be presented. That the question is even sought and presented, to me is an indication of a level of foundation and awareness already present in the student that is in itself auspicious and will be appreciated and enhanced by a connected teacher. Dismissing Seasonal and Auspicious/Inasupicious Timing as utter hogwash and a useless refuse to practice is alien to me, seems to me like a hammer response. There are no toxic bi-products in life to me these days. That which I call waste... is lately perceived as more akin to a resource I do not, or cannot yet perceive as a resource... and so to my disadvantage, I sometimes dismiss or discard it as useless. When a hammer is my only tool, all situations will begin to resemble nails of one sort or another. subtlety is a dance thoroughly saturated throughout the process of internal and subtle awareness work in my experience. spherical listening... whole being listening. If procrastination is the issue, then procrastination does not require Timing to engage. (My knee has a twinge, my closet needs sorting, my sister needs an operation on her crotch, an endless stream of options to avoid practice will arise and practice will not happen.) Auspicious days arise constantly, each Lunar month. True, some paths and avenues are best sought out in longer cycles of Seasons and the 12 year cycle... but when considering a practice that will span decades... what are a few weeks? Often an auspicious day is just round the corner. One need not postpone indefinitely to make good use of existing and arising conditions to suit personal goals. that said... Neither too heavily in any direction so I lean... Dancing is a rhythmic exploration of moderate imbalance leaning into flow and counterflow. And my practice, as perceived in the long term has come to resemble a life long dance quite distinctly. My appreciation for deftly using existing forces (through seasonal timing and feng shui) to one's advantage, in addition to one's own essential intentional force and drive to accomplish more with less wei wu wei (act without forcing)... comes to resemble the old Druidic tale of how the Wren became the King of the Birds. The sage, through whole awareness listening may enact and align greater forces with their own lesser personal expenditure in adroitly dancing individual intent, and personally derived force with existing conditions to much deeper impacting resultant force, than mere personal will in any given conditions... Not too dependent on logical analysis so that one is paralyzed into inaction by 'potentially imperfect timing'. Yet not discarding the remarkable advantages of timely/seasonal influences in coordination with one's goals. Dancing with one's self and one's surroundings. As without, so within.

If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world. JRR Tolkien

Not all those who wander are lost. JRR Tolkien

Master Wang described three types of Daoist practioner. Mountain Daoist: Cultivation is full time, lives in seclusion, minimal to no socializing on any regular basis. Temple Daoist: Cultivation is full or part time, socializing daily/regularly within the context of temple activities. Cultivation is balanced with social/temple responsibilities. Family Daoist: Part time cultivation when duties of daily life and family/social obligations permit.

To me, 'go with the flow', seems a modern mind's paraphrase of the conceptual idea of wei wu wei.

to me, action of this nature is also wei wu wei... which i translate as 'acting without forcing' versus the more literal 'doing without doing'. action arising from authentic core drives arise without necessity of 'forging added energies'. such actions arise without forcing, but as a response to impulses to react according to one's core essential nature thus actions arising of this prompting and are a direct effortless product of local awareness flowing with natural essential nature and are not 'manufactured action' but 'action that arises of itself'. tzujan it is wholly within my nature to take action and move a snail from a busy walkway some times i move worms off sidewalks as well, while other times, i do not...(birds gotta eat) it's utterly situational sometimes we are the 'natural' energy in any given situation that catylizes the shift of change that is natural to all life processes. also tzujan and wei wu wei, even though sometimes 'great action' can be taking place... resonates perfectly with my local awareness' experience of it here is verse 20 from my haiku tao: 20 Between yes and no, how much difference exists? Twixt Good and Evil? What others value I should value this as such? How ridiculous! People ecstatic, as if at a festival: I alone, care not. They have what they need. I alone possess nothing. I alone, drift loose. Like one with no home, I am like an idiot. My mind so empty. I am different, unlike the ordinary. I drink the Great Tao.

such honesty as you share here @Tryingtodobetter seems a rare pearl to encounter... connection is the closest my local awareness has come to a reason to maintain my local awareness. walk in peace you are what you are, regardless of perception, assumption, thinking or feeling. you cannot fail or do wrong what is, is what is and you are also this peace mate

Equatorial Equilibrium

Solstice surprises

solar presence...

sense memory with this... Those ridiculously still early Winter evenings and early mornings when the Ice Sings while freezing...

no thanks, tea for me

When my son was young 3-7ish, we used to play a game at meal times. We'd thank as many aspects related to our meal as we could think of... Sun, rain, wind... Farmer... soil... The Animals... Folks who picked the food. Folks who drove the trucks that carried the food. The folks who made the trucks. who keep up the roads. who load and unload the trucks. folks who make the tires. folks who fix the traffic lights who made the stove who produce the electricity who mined the metal for the pots n pans who prepared the meal the list seems endless, reaches back to the supernova that produced our section of the galaxy...

me too mate. read one of his early posts early this morning and it really resonated...

I regularly host Time Machine Dinners. I imagine picking up three guests from any time, current or past and hosting a conversation with them. Usually I'll then spend some time reading snippets of writings from each and treating it as if they were conversing. It's led to some interesting insights and fun afternoons/evenings over the years. My next guests are Robert Anton Wilson, Terence McKenna and George Carlin