Michael Sternbach

Try to see the bigger picture.

Spooning leads to forking.

He gets what he desserts. Lucky him!

Yes, the sword (and its close relative, the dagger) can cut things apart. And such is indeed the function of the analytical mind. If it is focussed and operating guided by intuition, it will make its cuts in a clean manner, separating what needs to be separated, thus exercising its power to distinguish and clarify. If, however, it is has cut itself of from the source of inner knowledge and is now left to its own devices, it will in fact make messy cuts that tend to do more harm than good. In Tarot, many of the Sword cards are problematic, and this has got to with the general difficulty of wielding the mind's sword with constraint and direction. As for the wand, it stands for a more primordial type of energy. No doubt, clubs were among the first weapons used by early humans. Though effective in their own right, they are lacking the sophistication of the sword. They symbolize strength and dominion over the environment. Moreover, the wand is a phallic symbol. Which also suggests that it is an appropriate symbol for virility and will, which is the power to create. I suggest, you actually first pick up a stick and then a sword (or if none is available, a dagger or even a knife will do). How do they feel? What kind of movements are you compelled to perform with them? In my view, the Golden Dawn's attribution of the elements to the magickal weapons makes great sense.

Sure, but I just shifted my focus from being Star-Lord to living as a master of the mystic arts.

Hi Shad and Maheosphet, long time no see! Seems like you can switch time lines without even being aware that that's what you did. How does it differ from simply drawing a new possibility in? From a certain perspective, there is no time at all. It should therefore be possible to even go back in time and undo something you are not particularly happy about. Maybe not so much literally eliminating it, but neutralizing its ramifications in the present. Like hooking into another time line that always existed parallel to the one your present self chose to experience.

Catamaran

Tathagata

I have a version of the Matrix movies on dvd's with commentaries by Cornel West and Colin Wilson. The two philosophers don't take the story literally, but think of the matrix as a metaphor of this world being 'maya', or a mental construction of sorts. Here is a free version that might be of interest to some, even though this is audio only and includes just the first part of the trilogy. That's essentially how I am looking at these movies too: They are replete with meaning, but to get at it, you need to dig deep enough. The Wachowski brothers (sorry, sisters by now ) intentionally didn't explain the background to the movies, so you can freely use them as a mirror reflecting your own innate understanding. And you may actually find more and more of that, everytime you watch them again.

Although the language and conceptual framework of TCM is different from what is used in homeopathy, there are a number of homeopathic remedies that are helpful with states of exhaustion that could be seen as a depletion of kidney jing. While much depends on the particular case (e.g., kidney jing depleted due to very advanced age IMO can't likely be replenished by homeopathic remedies) and -above all - on the skill of the prescriber, it would generally be worth giving it a try.

Let's break your question, as presented in the header, apart: How can I tell if I'm Yang Jwing-Ming's Body Breathing Correctly? This obviously has two parts: For this to be the case, first of all, you would have to be Yang Jwing-Ming's body, which pretty much presupposes that you are Yang Jwing-Ming. This is something I feel you should know, though. - However, if you are him suffering from amnesia, be free to post a picture of yourself, many people here know what he looks like and can certainly help you clarify if you are him or not. Now once this has been determined, we can proceed to consider the second part of your question: If your (i.e. Yang Jwing-Ming's) body is breathing correctly. Which however, being Master Yang, you should be able to tell too. But I am sure I or somebody else here can help you clarify as well, if need be.

It may be hard to get whisky on the moon. But travel a little further and you can find some pretty interesting space booze. Loads of it!

Winnie

I think "we" did go. There is just too little evidence to the contrary. Plus bear in mind that there were many hundred people involved with the project. And all of them were silenced somehow? Also, the moon isn't really that far away. Sending people there should be well within our technological capabilities. Actually, I would have expected humanity to go hiking at least on Mars by now...

Who or what exactly is the sipper of sipper? Is it/he/she part of the Hinduist pantheon? Or did you mean the Zipper of Zippers? Or perhaps even the Big Dipper? (Said to be "the seven stars of the Rishis", I believe.)

Maybe I should rather say, for the adventure of it. And there is generally indeed something to be gained from the latter in the end (a treasure trove... some phenomenal insight... you name it...).

Yeah, that's where the problems start...

Hmm yes, that seems like a valid objection. That's why I favour my second proposal.

For the fun of it. Or maybe there is actually something to be gained... Let's call it the next level of transcendence.

While that's fair enough a thing to say in regards to some of the more recent publications, the Kybalion IMO is a useful book, well founded in traditional Hermetic concepts. Although published anonymously, it is now generally believed to be authored by Paul Foster Case, whose Golden Dawn based Tarot studies are well worth looking into for anybody interested in this field. I would be the first to agree that many pearls are to be found in old works of Occultism, although I am not sure what 'original' is really supposed to mean in this context. There has been a continuous flow of Hermetic writings since time immemorial to the present day; some helpful, others not so much. At any rate, old age alone doesn't make texts more worthwhile, nor does being newly created invalidate them in any manner. Also, many of the old writings, despite the timeless and priceless information they often contain, are long winded and couched in obscurities (sometimes deliberately!), and indeed quite a pain to read for any but the most dedicated and determined amingst modern readers. It's a natural process that the knowledge of the old days is being presented in more contemporary style and context, of which the Kybalion is a decent example. It too has aged, but it has done so well, overall. It too has its limitations, to be sure, but overall, I consider it a good introduction to Hermetism for the modern reader, and I have recommended it as such on some occasions. You have opened a can of worms an important topic here - as with the advent of the Scientific Revolution, so much of Western Occultism lost its previous foundation in the natural philosophy of Hermes, Plato and Aristotle. While I agree that some of the information provided by the ancients needs to be reconsidered and rephrased from a sophisticated modern perspective, the latter comes with its own limitations, indeed with blindness when it comes to metaphysical considerations, and I often feel that the authors of yore were closer to the truth essentially. There is much work to be done in reconciling ancient and modern perspectives, something I am pursuing as one of my great personal interests. As to your example of a geocentric cosmos, yes, Copernicus and his successors seemingly did away with that, and for reasons that were good enough at the time. However, eventually Einstein came and showed that neither geocentrism nor heliocentrism are 'true' in an ultimate sense, as there is no absolute frame in regards to which this could be determined. Therefore, both turn out to be valid perspectives after all, depending on where you stand as the observer. As Georg Christoph Lichtenberg said, there is a big difference between still believing something and believing it again - the former being an expression of silliness and superstition, the latter of deep thought and philosophy.

Merry Christmas

Hi dlao I found some answers. But they lead to further questions...

Being full of emptiness... That's an interesting statement indeed.