TheSongsofDistantEarth

1. Biology of Belief: Unleashing the Power of Consciousness, Matter and Miracles by Bruce Lipton, on the new science of Epigenetics and how Mind/Matter and thought has profound effects on our biology, our lives, and the collective lives of our species. 2. A Guide to the Good Life (The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy) by William B. Irvine, on the wisdom of the stoic philosophers and the relevance for today. Can't wait to read-I think Stoicism is little understood, but has profound relevance for the modern Taoist. 3. Possessing Me: A Memoir of Healing by "SFJane" Alexander. Basing my interest on Jane's posts here, this will be an incredibly interesting and important read. I may just have to read it next (once it arrives). 4. The Emotion Code- How to Release Your Trapped Emotions for Abundant Health, Love and Happiness by Dr. Bradley Nelson. 5. The Essential Marcus Aurelius -Translated and Introduced by Jacob Needleman and John Piazza. 6. You Shall Know Our Velocity by Dave Eggers. 7. Timeless Secrets of Health and Rejuvenation by Andreas Moritz. 8. Qi Gong for Total Wellness- Increase Your Energy, Vitality, and Longevity with the Ancient 9 Palaces System from the White Cloud Monastery by Dr. Baolin Wu. This is a re-read for me, it's really amazing for a Qi Gong book. 9. Street of Crocodiles and Other Stories by Bruno Schulz. A modern masterpiece of writing. 10. The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov. I love Russian writers and Russian Literature! This had really great reviews on Amazon. And embarassingly, I have many more...I wish I could take a year off just to read!

I'm really particular about fiction, needs to be really good. If it has a spiritual component, that's a plus but not necessary. Some of my favorites are 'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance', any Garcia Marquez, Fowles' 'The Magus', 'Shantaram', Russian Literature, Mary Renault's 'The King Must Die'... (no 'pop' fiction). Please, if you have any favorites, I'd love a recommendation to take on my vacation and bury myself into. I mean the kind of fiction that colors your world and perceptions while you read it and for weeks or months afterward and the effects linger...aahhhh....

Check this out. It feels very powerful to me. Use of meridians, somehow, to re-connect your brain hemispheres. Try it and post your experience/impressions. Apparently it's good for depression, too. Keep in mind that cultivators may or may not be 'switched' much of the time. But it seems good for teaching others (non-cultivators) perhaps demonstrating the existence of energy in the body, and as a daily, easy, energy health practice. I love stuff like this!

Wean Yourself Little by little, wean yourself. This is the gist of what I have to say. From an embryo, whose nourishment comes in the blood, move to an infant drinking milk, to a child on solid food, to a searcher after wisdom, to a hunter of more invisible game. Think how it is to have a conversation with an embryo. You might say, "The world outside is vast and intricate. There are wheatfields and mountain passes, and orchards in bloom. At night there are millions of galaxies, and in sunlight the beauty of friends dancing at a wedding." You ask the embryo why he, or she, stays cooped up in the dark with eyes closed. Listen to the answer. There is no "other world." I only know what I've experienced. You must be hallucinating. -translated by Coleman Barks

I dunno, you might just be a fool...

Greetings, I deeply feel and appreciate your integrity... Songs

Desire for a different reality? Why do you think God invented drugs?

Quoting Ayn Rand? Uh-oh...

It's called Seminifeor, known as 'Satan's Testicle' (also 'Beelzebub' Left Nut'), and is thought to bring dismal fortune to the bearer. I recommend you chuck it into the Thames at the stroke of midnight on a moonless night, facing away, over your shoulder, whilst whistling 'Danny Boy', lest your best days slip away under a funk of funkeddy-funk-funk-funk.

Gives me da chills. Can you repeat the effect on another day, same place and time, etc.,? If so, proceed to run screaming from your shadow...oops...on second thought...um... (Cat head bumps don't count for anything, sorry).

Cut down on the noodles?

What is your source for learning the Swimming Dragon?

It's a common delusion that the money trip is the thing keeping you from spiritual progress...

um, you forgot about 'chem trails'... .

"freewheelin conference room' indeed...! I don't think so...it actually sounds too open-minded and 'liberal'

PEA will mess up your chi and shoot your blood pressure through the roof...best left alone...

yep, definitely enlightened...now what was so hard about that?

Yes, New Age guys say that too...

All the things the 'New Age Girl' says are not bullshit, just having a valleygirl say them in an exaggerated way makes them sound stupid. She easily could have said in her Cali girl schtick: "Oh, I can feel my own chi!!" "I'm in harmony with the Tao...", "Qi Gong is sooo cool!", etc., making anything but a materialistic viewpoint sound stupid and New Agey. I didn't really find them funny, the humor and portrayal was too broad and meant to evoke a response.

JB...I raise my hand for it if not already spoken for...I have an awesome spot to place it...

Sounds like you are quite attached to this bliss...

Got the 'Lifetime Membership' for $47. Feels good to support this site financially! If you're a regular participant, think about contributing to help keep our nice lively community going strong.

A totally brilliant book is Christopher Alexander's 'A Pattern Language'. Here's from a reviewer on Amazon. "Alexander and his co-authors present us with over two hundred (roughly 250) "patterns" that they believe must be present in order for an environment to be pleasing, comfortable, or in their words, "alive." The patterns start at the most general level -- the first pattern, "Independent Regions," describes the ideal political entity, while another of my favorite patterns, "Mosaic of Subcultures," described the proper distribution of different groups within a city. The patterns gradually become more specific -- you'll read arguments about how universities should relate to the community, the proper placement of parks, the role of cafes in a city's life. If you wonder about the best design for a home, the authors will describe everything from how roofs and walls should be built, down to how light should fall within the home, where your windows should be placed, and even the most pleasant variety of chairs in the home. An underlying theme of all the patterns is that architecture, at its best, can be used to foster meaningful human interaction, and the authors urge us to be aware of how the houses we build can help us balance needs for intimacy and privacy." http://www.amazon.com/dp/0195019199/?tag=googhydr-20&hvadid=8108790008&ref=pd_sl_2hh3qewt3f_b

Babananananda, your avatar picture seems very silly. Is that your real appearance, or do people just look like that in Finland?