TheSongsofDistantEarth

OK, Scotty, how do you 'do' your cold water therapy? What's your regimen...c'mon, spill!

Yeah, like ralis said. Now scram, kid, go play in the street!

huh?

I really pity the AA "True Believers" too. They must buy into the "reality" that they have an incurable "disease", and that they will always be an alcoholic/addict. (I guess that means enlightenment is out?) There is a lot wrong with AA, and it simply doesn't fit or work for some people, and it has nothing to do with "their capacity to be honest with themselves". How nice it works for you, it's too bad you're unable to understand why the success rate of all people who come to AA is only about 5%. I have heard of people who have been in AA for 25 years and very active in the AA community relapsing, and relapsing hard. What happened, did their belief in Yoda, their 'whatever you want it to be Higher Power' desert them?? There are also untold millions who have quit their addictions all by themselves,without AA and without becoming "powerless". How is it that addiction is a "disease", yet it is the only disease for which the treatment is spiritual surrender to a Higher Power. Why doesn't that work for other diseases like diabetes or cancer? Most of the sexist Big Book is corn pone straight out of the thirties that would stick in the craw of any intelligent person. For people who's lives have truly bottomed out, it can be a lifesaver. But to say it's the only way is pure bullshit propaganda.

I'd cut out the tea if I were you, Scotty.

. Taoists ain't easy to love and they're harder to hold. They'd rather give you a poem than diamonds or gold. Yin-yang belt buckles and old faded robes, And each night begins a new day. If you don't understand her, an' she don't eat rice, She'll prob'ly just ride away. Taoists like smoky old pool rooms and clear mountain mornings, Little warm puppies and children and meditatin' all night. Them that don't know her won't like her and them that do, Sometimes won't know how to take her, She ain't wrong, she's just different but his pride won't let her, Do things to make you think she's right.

Read up what Mark Hyman, MD has to say on his website, DrHyman.com. He recommends finding a Functional Medicine physician. Here's something I posted last year by Dr Hyman on the role of cholesterol vs inflammation in heart disease.

No, I would not feel bad, and I am very interested in hearing your criticisms of the research. You may notice the link I posted was not a cheerleading piece, but rather stated that it was controversial. Truehope seems like a bunch of kind of country Canadians who seem sincere, but maybe they are inept and very invested in their product being successful, and may not be objective. There were about 150 mental health professionals of all sorts in the lecture I attended, and I know there was a recent conference in the Bay Area on Micronutrients in Mental Health. While it was not just based on empower plus, I would have expected shaky science to have been criticized more widely by now, but you never know. Yeah, PM me the article if you can find it. I'd like to be able to recommend it to people, or steer them clear of it. My initial reaction to the product was that it was very similar to many multi mineral supplements out there, and that their explanation of the "ratio" being the critical thing was pure b.s., because how did they stumble on the ratio of 36 different minerals, and besides, they cannot in any way control for the extraneous dietary mineral intake of anyone taking their supplement with it's precise ratio...

Just take the Vicodin and use it if you need it. See if you can play with the perception of the pain rather than use narcotics. Darvocet is pretty useless for most pain, and it's not a very clean drug in your system, as it is totally synthetic, unlike hydrocodone. Tramadol is not a controlled prescription, but it basically functions as a narcotic, so much so that there are many abusers out there that list it as their D.O.C. It should work well enough for bunionectomy, but it too, is not as clean as the semi-synthetic opiates. Try seeing if you can do without anything. I can do major dental stuff without narcs afterward now. But actually, my advice is to just take what you need for the 1 to 2 days afterward, and don't worry about the chi effects.

Mastery of energy does not equal enlightenment. I don't consider John Chang "enlightened".

You've read Beelzebub's Tales? You are a better man than I. I think it's meaningless unless read over a period of time along with a group and teacher that can uncover the very esoteric hidden meanings. A single person can't "get it", unless they are very advanced in the Fourth Way. Were you involved in a Gurdjieff group?

I read about 4 sentences, and didn't need to finish. You're not enlightened. Let it go, it's a trap, 'It's a Trap'...now I'll go read the rest of it for the entertainment value. Jeez, don't try acid, or you'll start thinking you're God. By the way, any one who starts off 'maybe I'm enlightened', even without the weed, is not. Jeez, man...you're going to get ribbed for this post... but you're just attained the first wonderful steps on the spiritual path...welcome aboard!

Come on, you haven't really read it! The truth, my good man, the truth! Also, the types I believe refer to the enneagram, which are nine, and are not related to Mahayana Buddhism's eight levels of consciousness to my understanding.

Just want to add that E.J. Gold is a master of the Bardo. All his work relates to that, and some might mistake it for b.s. But it all comes from a Bardo orientation. Plus he is a trickster somewhat in the tradition of Gurdjieff.

oh, yeah, I could tell you a lot about E.J. I was never a student of his, but I was a guest of his at his place in Grass Valley a few years ago. he's definitely smart and interesting, and he's also a Wizard of Oz of sorts. A reeeallly interesting scene. if I feel up to it, I'll relate more, but I'm not as fast a typist as some, so I would be limited by that. Some of his books are awesome. Try 'The American Book of the Dead' sometime. Read it aloud, and it will put you in a very altered state within a few pages. E.J. Is one of the great spiritual tricksters of all time, and is a guru with a cult of personality. Some of his things have been absolute brilliance, others not so much. He kind of disappeared a few years ago from the spiritual scene, but I'm happy to hear he's still around. His health was precarious when I met him. I absolutely hate his artwork, and he is prolific, but it creeps me out. He truly is an interesting personality and should not be dismissed out of hand.

I too, admire your incredible strength and perseverance. I realize that there are not many who could follow your lead, and so I offer a suggestion. www.truehope.com Currently, there is a very promising current in Integrative Psychiatry that deals with micronutrients. There are studies that have been done that enable people to minimize their use of psychiatric meeds and, in many cases, go off meeds altogether. I have checked out the literature and also heard the Harvard psychiatrist, Charles Popper, M.D., give a lecture and present his data at an Integrative mental health Conference in Phoenix, Arizona in February of this year and I was very impressed. If you have someone in your life with bipolar disorder, I encourage you to check out www.truehope.com. The company is in Canada, I believe they are sincere, and are helping people begin to conquer their bipolar disease. Of course, Big Pharma is against it, and medicine is way behind since they are in thrall to Pharma. The company can help people design their own programs to avoid or get off meds, they also advise doctors in how to taper their patients off psych meds. apparently, when one begins to take micronutrients, the psych meds have a much greater effect, and side effects of the psych meds begin to appear. Of course, this is labeled "controversial" by many, but remember, you heard it here first: it's not going away. Here is a link: http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Micronutrient+supplement+for+bipolar+illness+draws+controversy.-a0213722841Townsend Letter google "micronutrients" and "bipolar" and "mental health" I think it's legit.

F*ck. I think you're right. Unfortunately, Blasto, I don't think there is anywhere safe to run long-term. Post-economic Apocalyptic reality-fuck is on the way, and stacking up canned goods in the mountains is not going to cut it if it's really going to happen. Stash away some good heroin to o.d. on as you go 'comfortably numb' on your way out of the earth plane.

Which actor plays you when the movie of your life comes out? Gary Busey? seriously, good story and practical research. I fully expect your life story to be immortalized in a best-selling book and then a blockbuster movie, drewhemp. Always nice to read your research results.

Just a word of caution: be very careful swimming underwater and trying to hold your breath for long periods of time. You have to work up to this, and hyperventilating before you do it raises your risk of drowning.

Yeah, that's why I didn't study any more with them. kinda creeps me out. But I don't think it's channeled, I think somehow they 'travel' inter-dimensionally or something like that. Makes you wonder, because the guy is so smart and really 'gets' a lot of known spirituality. Perhaps it's real, but I can't hang around long enough to find out. It doesn't disqualify his excellent book, 'Opening the Third Eye', though.

ooh, NSFW in a physiological kind of way. Cool! Drew Hemp, I read your blog review of Sagan. Some inaccuracies, he is an M.D., educated at the Sorbonne, not a medical PhD (whatever that is). I did the third eye meditation instructive a few years ago. He is interesting, smart, and his upper teachings are hidden (that's why his third eye stuff is available free, as a teaser), but I think his students let it slip that it has to do with teachings/contact with beings from another star system, so I don't know what to make of that. As I said, they keep it under wraps. His senior students are smart, intense, and focused. he does a lot of stuff with getting rid of entities and possession. Sagan himself is an enigma, the retreat was actually with him and his senior students, which I don't know if it's possible anymore. He does write these spiritual adventure teaching novels which I find unreadable (they're on Amazon), and he plays an electric keyboard with supposedly channeled music that comes through him. I think his third eye book (the actual paper copy is better), is really terrific to work from the throat friction is really valuable, too. To go further with Sagan reveals perhaps a cult-like scene involving other worlds and hidden teachings.

Open Focus brain

Jeez, you sound just like a medical student...they often manifest the symptoms in the organs they are studying in pathology. Nothing is really there, of course. Try Heart Math Institute stuff: simple, and it works. Also, I recommend Open Focus Brain training. Also very simple, can give you immediate relief from stress. A good way to lead into some nice meditative practices such as Mindfulness Meditation. Highly recommended.

Ah, a master of few words...(and many kicks, I presume).