TwoTrees

I agree that he will not find this person. He was also forgetting about a teeny bit of the picture : "inclusion" being that piece. His rules are specified to men only. Sorry, I know I'm in danger of sounding like a whining feminist...but believe me, ladies and gentlemen - I am not even close to that plane of insanity either. Its just that...these days, you cannot assume anything. And I see ignorance and arrogance in dangerous combinations at times. Most people (any kind of person) is capable of incredible things if only they'd but some effort and will into it. But hard to do when this understanding and thinking is not previously considered? Although I am blabbering away about it, just wandered if now the rules remain unchanged? And in the chance that a 'gal' should be able to hold up to the terms...would she then be forfeit the money part because the rules state, and I'll quote : Perhaps she'd need an agent. Seriously, though...I'm not razzin' ya, man, just wanted blabber specifics while in the meantime...unable to accept a bet like that, myself... -M

If we divide into two camps--even into violent and the nonviolent--and stand in one camp while attacking the other, the world will never have peace. We will always blame and condemn those we feel are responsible for wars and social injustice, without recognizing the degree of violence within ourselves. We must work on ourselves and also with those we condemn if we want to have a real impact. What's important to you? Drama, entertainment, or containment, something productive?? Some things are even created out of destruction... -M

Heh, Pietro- I've seen the entire original version of your avatar. Pretty funny stuff. It's been a while since you've posted ANYWHERE...isn't that right?? Welcome to all that is, all that be...isn't that how we all should see? -M

Word! It's funny how even though health food can be abundant if you are in the right place, but overall in the world there's not a predominance... too much crap everywhere you go they want to feed your face to its fill so that in return their hopes for their pockets matching that kind of sustanence can be granted. Sorry, it's just that money has been disgusting me lately... On the other hand, I'll gladly spend the extra chip$ and eat less if the kind of sustanence I am giving myself is truly beneficial to health. Why not?? The planet already has too many fat lazy finactics struggling for centuries to get their fill of worldy desires and ownership over things being more important than the fackin ascension and development of their very temporary life force on one of the most enjoyable planes of existence...where interaction is the most blatant gift that people most often use in depreciation...man that greed, greed, is getting me heart and liver at war... gotta go steam M

...on so many, many levels.

I also moongaze...and appologize if it had not been mentioned in addition to the mentioning of sungazing. It's funny, because years ago I'd dipped into wicca and ceremonial magicks, and at that point in time I'd been really focusing on moon energy (kinda hard not to, when the calendar and sabbats and circles are all-inclusive of it). Then again, the moons beauty has always drawn me. Kinda sad to say that the sun hadn't been the same in that sense...but things are most certainly different now. But mostly when I am moon gazing I am thanking this gentle giant for keeping our world in its place amoung the cosmos and not letting us fly off-kilter and head on right into the burning sun.

What exactly was that moron planning to do with the manhole cover??? Sheesh....

Thanks for this topic, gentlemen. I work second shift for my weekly chips so it is the larger chunk of my days (or do I mean nights?) and its funny because going back on earlier days (of first shift) and the second shift people are so much more laid back and friendly and mostly reserved & quiet (as opposed to the big time gossips and nosy pokes, busy-bodying around) and I remember literally DREADING getting up, and so early that I totally miss out on the sun's first hours (yep, it was still dark and hours away at 4-5am) and I was reading on this board about the big sungazing craze (and now there are I believe a few dedicated newbies, do I have that assumption right?) and I was always trying to dedicate every chance to getting to do it (mostly sunset) and it was giving me overloads of energy while previously I was winding down and had a hard time getting to the deep sleep state, so much vivid dreaming going on... A few months on second shift and I'm lovin' it! I get to enjoy sungazing for the sunrise before getting to work and it just gets me pumpin and motivated and really attuned to the upcoming work. Even when its rainy poopy out, like from all these devastating hurricanes (or do I mean more attention is just paid to them than the past??) I can still get that energy going because the sun is in fact up, and with our powerful taoist reinforcing minds we can take this kind of energy and draw it inside. Then, I get through the night...go straight home to relax/hygienate/meditate/go to bed...get up early, do again and its nice because I finally get to run with mom mostly every morning and THAT is a definite goodness beyond detail...the greatest thing about that is that I never thought previously that this would have been possible...a true moment defining change that came from total surprise after my mother's incidence of dropping at work/dying on the way to the hospital/they bring her back and she hangs on and bounces back healthier than before has really got me more dedicated and following through with routine and discipline that really should have bloomed from within myself but I guess that kind of learning was not intended here, of course... But the nocturnal life...it aint really so bad use your alchemy, you can adapt to anything. Remember that we still never fail to evolve every second of every day. E- energy V- vehicle O- of L- lifes U- unending T- time I- interacting O- on N- nature

Personal preference: hate clitoral stimulation. It breaks my concentration. It takes the whole body out of the equation and drives in a redundant boiling point in one single location. Does this make sense? Hope so. If not, then one additional comment : annoying.

I've noticed that there are some people that cannot handle pressure or painful situations (with the strive to conquer it quickly and grow from associated experience like some others have) and thats when the moment comes that they (even if for less than one second and passes) just give up and do not care and shut down all attachment to sit and try to get the mind/thought quiet and clear...and if in that moment was your choosing to pop in with a bright and cheery (and absolutely premeditated with only good intention) Be Happy! Someone loves you! kind of attitude (but please do not misunderstand that I am in this kind of attitude to my fill most times) that is when they are not able to suppress the associated reaction with emotion outbreaks because they are weakened by the lack of motivation and constitutional reason goes right out the window. When I had a simliar encounter with my aunt at one very horrible moment in her life and I even gave her a most enthusiastic delivery to try and butter up for an answer to a request that I was hoping would be "Yes"... And at the moment my wishes for her happiness were burst out she said: All I could do was stare blankly and stupidly for a couple of seconds and haul ass on out of there. She was downright scary>!!! Found something fun and enriching to do, though... build a German import bike and got involved with comparitive religion...which sprouted so much more other fun (craziness) Point being: Hope it didn't break your momentum, man. That'd be a shame...

I have Kung Fu Hustle myself. Isn't that some entertaining stuff??? It is exactly what Kung Pow: enter the fist tried to accomplish, but failed miserably.

All rap be good, my man. (Okay, so maybe not all...but MOST) There are so many levels of it though...its almost become too general to say "rap"...funny as that sounds Gotta go bust it with some chicken now...hit ya up later

Carnivale was some CRAZINESS. I started watching it, but it was kinda hard to follow...after I missed some I just gave up. Plus, I really dislike that young blonde female actress with the big chin. (can't recall the name...) People at work keep telling me that LOST is so great! You have to get it, it's so cheap! And I haven't really had much interest in it, to be honest...for some reason it just doesn't resonate in me, I don't really dig 'drama' in the modernized way. There has to be something within it that connects me with certain interests, and believe me, of the kind that are hard to find. I've watched RESCUE ME religiously. It's one of those 'love it or hate it' type of shows...but I kept on it because of the driving charity behind it- for Leary's sudden love of firefighters and the great american hero way, he's built a foundation to give firefighters worldwide better tools, machinery, and technologies to keep the fight for people who make a difference a bit easier and safer to manage...there's a whole comments section on the season 1 DVD set, or something...it came with a booklet for information too...I thought that was waaaaaaay cool. I really dig the only heroes we have left in our humanly existence. They've become more elusive, as of late... yeah, the drama entertains, but its LOADED with things that keep you working on your own morale and outlook, and the way you just deal with life as it comes, I like it because it mirrors alot of behaviours we have going on in today's world, and shows us faces of both uglyness and beauty... just an opinion on the only thing I've really watched... plus if you haven't seen FIREFLY series it's best to get it!!! That stuff is awesome!!! SERENITY the movie is the conclusion...of course, you can watch it and get the movie but to understand the fantastic characters within the movie, nothing can do the job like the series. -Michelle

"Eye of the awakening" import by Savatage This is kind of a 'best of' album that was put together by some Swedish lover of their music and I must say...it's powerful stuff -musically speaking- here, of course. "Somewhere in eternity" B side album by VAST (Visual Audio Sensory Theatre) VAST has this sound that kind of echoes Trans Siberian Orchestra or Stabbing Westward or Beta Band styles they like to sweep you from diggin' the groove to crooning and then the very next moment you find yourself doing air guitar type moves with --get this-- drums!!! How does that happen? I'm really stuck on some deep rockin music right now that takes me between different moods on the same track...there's some kind of hippy-crack to it that I'm going to give up trying to describe now.... I just keep it playing as I get my day job (or do I mean night?) responsibilities done. And the day goes by nicely, I may add. Who wants to listen on some of these?? Or just a fun-endeavored sample?? PM TwoTrees and I'll ship something out that perhaps may grow on you if you listen in once or twice hey! that's kinda neat... well... ok... I think I may listen to it yet once more... if ya want to get a listen, all I'm sayin is that I'd lend a tune. (as it do ya, please; be it mp3 or music CD) -Michelle

In watching the world, we go through thousands of processes. You may grow older in moments like these, you may understand something simple or something great, you may even see everything from further like arriving at a peak or so close you could not previously fathom how it is you've arrived at that place-things become more mysterious, more simple, more true, suddenly you feel like a human-music without a melody to conform habits. All you are doing is being in the moment that you co-exist with all of the universe. There couldn't be better seats in the house! How trivial, mean and unbearable would be a fully satisfied world, how sad without the lessons that observation brings. You look over your life and simultaneously see the imperfection of the finished tasks, the hopelessness (or hopefulness) of the dimensions and the demands of the tasks awaiting you. We see condensed in the whirl of only one moment - like the drowning unlearned - all the moments that we were a coward, lazy, a liar, selfish, the things we are less proud of and they sometimes threaten with flood over everything. You can spend every second of your life observing without fail. But the recognition of ourselves could be the most edifying encounter, the greatest journey and the most frightening discovery... While we are on the subject guys and gals, can you elaborate on some of your most valued observations? What kind of emotions connected you with your senses? When enraptured by such emotions it lets you tap deep into your truest self and sometimes if you are lucky, you can bring it forth and learn something of the universe's most valuable gifts: the persistence of memory.

He had announced going to a 10 day retreat, and then hasn't been back by I think over a month. What's up with that?? You out there, man?

Tell me about it...I work in a warehouse. The overhead (119 miles, to be exact) of conveyor belt systems and reset horns for sensors and trash compactor machines/lines going 24 hours a day, it certainly calls for us employees to speak more loudly in the building just so that we are heard. It's a lovely system they have, for those shy or with low voices get centered on in the "teamwork" part of our review, so it gets a little controversial at times. I usually start the day with "SPEAK UP, BOSS, WE CAN'T HEAR YOU!" in the shift start-up meetings. And from that point I have to be sure to remain an audible person myself, I am responsible for the facilitating process of the department: make sure all work flows through the fastest and most accurate way possible, and to keep everyone working together as a team and that everyone is considered while some cases call for inclusion. All in a day at the factory, just gotta stock up on herbal losenges.

I think that letting all read the board but disallowing replies until they do the 'hello at the open bar' is done first...you could even direct them to that page when they click reply without being logged on...just a thought two pieces, but it'll do...

Hey all, Michelle here. I was born 1980 in Ausburg, Germany. What you call a "military brat", one very cool thing I remember before moving here to the States in 1985 was the way that they built houses. Because of some kind of previous countrywide security, they had these special locks on ALL doors. They could lock you inside as well as outside. So my family wore a copy of the key on a necklace so that we'd always have one. That's something I haven't seen here yet!! The only religious part of my family are Kabbalistic Jews. When my mother and I arrived here, (where most of my family are, she was also born here in OH) I found that hardly any were religious AT ALL. My hunger for knowledge ensued. I had to seek out all forms myself. I also did comparitive religion, going into and trying to learn as much as I could and as fast as I could, but not without any attempt to being thorough. For most, I had too many questions and the answers given did not satisfy or resonate with me. Here I am at Taoism/Buddhism and the like and I've not been unhappy yet. I'm pretty comfortable in practice and thinking and believe I have truly found my home in it. with Heavenly Heart, Michelle

...that's what I had meant, sorry to be vague. I believe it even states it on your license if you are.

Hey, Michael, who is the author of "Coming to Your Senses" ?? That sounds exactly like the kind of books that I like to read while on lunch at work. I do not sit and eat and jabber, I like to find a corner or go out to my car and just delve into a book, it really breaks up the day and I really get a sense that I actually got a "break" from work. It's one of my real treats, kinda like the godiva chocolate bar for the sweet finatics, only my sweettooth has never been a large one. Right now I treat myself to "Thinking and Destiny" by Harold Wallace Perceival. A few years back there was a guy in our department who was highly intelligent and amazingly outgoing and totally dedicated worker and husband/daddy that knew this professor and I saw him reading it one day on lunch and I quickly asked him about it, so he could get back to his reading (I know how aggrivating it can be sometimes when someone is talking at you when they can clearly see the book in front of you) he showed me the contents page and I could hardly believe what I was looking at...so many deep subjects! Some of them are the ones that most people avoid talking and writing about because there is so much controversy about them. And I asked him where he got it...and he said Hey! I'll sell ya one. I bought one. I think it is a very good guide to critical thinking and some very good points on the behavior and patterns of mankinds impact on the universe. He uses such amazing universal language...it is very simple and easy to understand, yet the implications lying just under the surface has incredible detail and a volume of underlying meanings...it kinda leaves me more self-realized everytime I dive into it for 30-60 minutes. Well! That was kind of a review I guess, but I'm not quite finished with it yet. It's very dense in a way that I can read 10 pages and feel as if I have actually read through 100 of them. Long days and pleasant nights, Michelle

Will we truly ever need them again after lifeforce has left it's human prison/body machine/centralized form? It's a really good question...because one starts out on the path with contacting, communicating, and practicing via organ and sense and thereafter continually using them kinda like tools to accomplish better assimilation through meditation and keeping yourself connected to the ever-being oneness of Tao... True, these will die with the body, and so why not let them also be shared onto another who can use it again and perhaps for the same purpose? Or are the implications all wrong, and do less desired effects, possibly even the very opposite? Is a person's intention with their life's work and focus important to the outcome? Is it detrimental to soul and lifeforce to dismiss these gifts of humanity, or to share and let them remain a valuable asset to life's energy? I'm an organ donor myself...but have often wondered if that was a good idea or not... ...well, we can change our minds (or remain ademeant) every 4 years, I guess! -M

Esmarelda here. Quote from movie: She's the cabdriver!! OMG!!! You're a hardworking individual enshrouded by an overwhelming sense of mystery, beauty, and intrigue. Though always on the go, you keep focused, helping -- often rapturing -- those you meet. Yeah...certainly fun to find out what kinda wackjob ya are. Be, -Michelle

I'd say that it is pretty amazing how thoughts and light (especially with mirrors bringing the 'reflective' property into play) can bend the way you perceive things. I've sat in front of mirrors, staring before-and the results have often been any of (but not limited to) intriguing, unnerving, or revealing...but most always I've uncovered just one tiny layer of the millions that lay just on the surface. I'd also say that it most certainly does something to you-very subtle, yet you can definetly tell that certain incorporeal entities lie just beyond your accustomed normal seeing conditions...and it really does show you just how agile (or not) your constitution can be in trying to keep your thoughts and greater sense collected, and taking in this experience and learning from it as opposed to freaking out and becoming victim to the mystique and unknowable without opening up to it and perhaps getting to understand what is really going on in how it coincides with your current reality. I also try to always keep in mind that appearances can be deceiving... Yep, mirrors are a very interesting gift of mankinds invention, say true! Whatever you cannot understand, you cannot possess, -Michelle

There are so many aspects from all over the world regarding power animals/ animal guardians. One very favorite entertainment of mine is observing them, interacting on many possible levels. It's funny, but unless certain animals have been around humans or have certain temperacies, I've noticed that most all I have encountered (save most household bred types) really do not appreciate the company of most humans. Their true natures are held true to desiring the natural habitats and living conditions that comes from the roots they were born in. There have been special cases throughout time in places that animals end up in totally different environments that they were initially brought into. (Yes, marketing and human desire to OWN everything is an example here) And that is where the power of adaptation and communication (hopefully blended with compassion and understanding when the circumstance arrived, but not always) show us exactly what we are capable of. I am adamant in the thinking that we have certain strengths and bonds that pertain to animal traits and capabilities. I've been tapped into bear and otter perspectives in native ceremonies. I've always been especially intrigued and embodied by some of their aspects. Also, as I've said before, astrologically speaking----am a Monkey~fish!!! Good topic starter, sir decor conneisseur -M