TheSongsofDistantEarth

Scotty, poles shifting and atmosphere has nothing at all to do with gravitational pull. Sorry, these giants could not have been the norm, any more than leprechauns are the norm in ireland.

No, not a "plausible theory". It's physics. Which is a five sensory kind of reality, which apparently isn't your thing. So defensive bro, so defensive.

No, this Vajrahridaya clearly stated that they were both drunker than they should have been. Whatever. You can keep your rationalizations. A 30 foot being with physiology similar to humans would not be able to get up from a lying position on the ground, nor even walk. Basic physics indicates that their mass would be much too great for their muscle and their cardiac and pulmonary function would be compromised as well. Limits of human Size Nice lucid dream, but I don't think you were building pyramids! Never underestimate the human capacity for self delusion.

Ha ha. This is your rationalization of your drinking? Great. I remember something from eSangha where someone with the name 'Vajrahridaya' and his then GF had a fight online, of all places, and he begged off the next day that they were both way drunker than they had a right to be. Sounds like he might have been intoxicated internally? Rationalizations are just that...rationalizations. How come Dzogchen gets to go against the Buddha's teaching? You constantly hold the buddha's teaching in the highest regard, except for this? If you stop drinking for a couple of years and then can truly take it or leave it and partake rarely/occasionally, then that sounds like what you are talking about. But if not, it's just another rationalization that conveniently suits what your ego wants to do. When it comes to this topic maybe you should just...look...in...the...mirror...

Vajra is free to ignore his dissenters and detractors, but is clearly incapable of doing so (at least thus far). He spends lots of time and energy defending himself and telling others who they are, yet claims everyone else is just projecting onto him. He loves to project onto others by retorting with lots of 'you' statements, proving that he too, has buttons that are getting pushed and he seems incapable of leaving ralis on his ignore list, too. If he's that interested in moving on from criticism, he should just move on, so what if ralis or I or anyone else criticizes his debate points? . I bet the critics would retreat if he quit responding to them. Otherwise, he's just feeding the cycle. One of the precepts clearly states that Buddhists should 'refrain from taking intoxicants'. Isn't this a form of attachment? What's your rationalization for this?

Wow, this always blows me away when a long time member who has posted hardly at all weighs in on a discussion. ben has been a member since 2005 and has only posted 13 times?! Wow. Very cool!

One could also say that Vajrahridaya has certainly generated complaints and plenty of aggravation here. That is no criteria for suspending someone. Please stick to the insult policy Taomeow, you can't reign in ralis for taking Vajrahridaya to task on his postings. He's not insulting his character, but rather Vajra's rather insistent position of being right and in posession of the true way. I find it disturbing that you are basically insisting that ralis put Vajra on ignore. Vajra posts here a lot, and he has refused to back down on the superiority of his path and his meditative realizations. Ralis doesn't have a vendetta, nor do I, Vajra simply is obnoxious in many of his posts here, and anybody should be able to call him out. If other members find it annoying, then they can put ralis on ignore. And for all Vajra's spiritual attainment, he is unable to let anything slide by him, he always has to respond with a bunch of 'you' statements about the other person. If Vajra would either respond to the criticisms which he conveniently sidesteps, or simply let them go by, much of this would be avoided. TaoBums is a pretty raucous place, with some very spirited debates. To step in and attempt to moderate this outside of the insult policy is censorship. Opposition does not always feel comfortable, and the valued "thin skinned and sensitive" members need to realize this. I also don't think Vajra is "alienated", he just doesn't like opposition, but it sure hasn't stopped him. We have free speech here outside of personal insults, it would be a serious mistake to ban ralis, or anyone else for "alienating" members with his positions on topics. I basically am now letting most of Vajra's stuff go by, because opposing him is pointless. Despite his claim that he admits when he has been wrong "many times", in actuality I recall only once when he has done that here on TaoBums. I appreciate the difficulty in being a moderator, it can't be easy. Please discuss this with other moderators to reconsider your position on the censorship that you are proposing. Usually it's better to be more on the side of freedom of expression rather than suppression, otherwise there is a chilling effect on the discussions.

And conversely, we need the friction and tension of engagement in life to push our comfort limits. As much as we like to think it's the case, sitting in meditative bliss all day does not develop your interpersonal senses, so that an annoying friend or tense relationship will still throw us into reactivity. I think the best way is to be in life with frequent retreats for the perspective paul walter talks about. I also am coming to believe more and more that the digital aspect of our lives is becoming more and more pervasive and that if over indulged, as is becoming more commonplace, it is a big hindrance on the path. Young people who have grown up with full digital engagement actually have their brains hardwired differently, it will be interesting to see if they can attain maturity in their interpersonal relationships and attain spiritual fruition as well with their short attention spans.

I've been watching them quietly build the nest, and apparently lay the egg cells. They seem very self-contained, but I am concerned that they will get territorial and protective at some point in the nesting cycle. I have been stung by a wasp, going in to my home when I was younger by a psycho wasp, I wonder if they get aggressive once the little wasps are hatched or whatever they do when they come out of those paper colored cells. For now they seem very quiet. Not sure what I'm going to do, seems wrong to flush them out now.

Watch more TV! Spend more time on the internet! Text your Congressman every day! Put flowers in the barrels of soldiers rifles and then blast people away when they lean in to smell them! vsaluki rocks!!

It's very important to go somewhere you won't see other people, or at least an isolated area you can be alone in a more populous spot. It's nice to be in a place where you can hang out naked and not worry. Really nice if you can find nice rocks and boulders to do qi gong and Zhan Zhuang on and then get energy from the rocks. Really very powerful. Try to go around barefoot, especially hanging on the rocks. My big advice is to pack in somewhere for a day, set up camp, and then hang there or take exploratory day hikes from your base camp. Backpacking everyday on a short trip will take up too much energy, plus it takes you until day 3 or 4 just to feel good carrying the pack and not sore. Bring a camp chair, or the Therma Lounger or something you can sit in and be comfortable, and also something you can meditate on. Don't worry too much about how to structure the day. You may even want to sit quietly and just watch and listen for an hour here and there. Sometimes a flask of bourbon is nice for sipping some whiskey prior to dinner, not too much though. Try to have access to a promontory, or somewhere you can get up higher with a view off a mountain or valley. It's a great thing to be able to actually be up somewhere to watch the dawn and the sunrise. Consider getting up at 3:30 and meditating until you watch the sunrise. You might think about fasting for a day, or just drinking Master Cleanser or something like that for a day. I agree with thelerner, sleep out under the stars. I never sleep in a tent unless it's raining, or unless the Summer insects are too intense. If you bring reading, make sure it's something like the Tao Te Ching or Dhammapada, don't bring anything too mental or involved. You want to be able to read something and meditate on it. Don't bring some Tom Clancy novels. Do bring a journal. Bring something to draw or paint with, even if you're not artistic. Access to water to dunk in is incredibly cleansing and purifying, you can do a ritual where you spiritually offer up all your impurities before submersing yourself in water. Works even better if it's cold and takes some resolve to get into. Also, getting into the water many times per day will clean your aura and make you high in a good way. Camping near water with the ability to climb up a nearby ridge is a great choice. Where in the country are you?

Drink tea! it's good for America!!

_/\_ .

Vortex rocks! JoeBlast rocks!

Is "assholiness" a real word? Taobums sucks now. Too much ragingly right wing 'tudes. Ugh. Country's finished anyway, we'll never be able to solve our problems with people like this.

Pea-Tartier's rock!!

_/\_ .

Delusional!!!

Ooh, I actually found that picture arousing...

Drew, do you still smell like shit from eating meat? haha. Scotty, did the DiaDENS work out for you? Did you keep it?

Roger that, Blasto!