Basil

Thank you for the feedback!

I don't post on here very often, so most of you have probably never seen me, but I do pop in from time to time when I have a question - and my fellow bums have never failed me before. I am curious if any of you have any experience with any of the Daoist associations in the US (e.g. Daoist Foundation, Center of Traditional Taoist Studies, etc.)? I'm not sure what I'm looking for exactly, but I was just looking to see where I could take my admittedly lazy, armchair studies of Daoist next.

I've been reading this for a couple of days

What do you identify as? Eastern Orthodox What does your diet look like? I refer to my diet as "seasonally vegan." I am vegan about half the time but there are other times when meat and dairy is mixed back in. Breakfast? Almost never eat breakfast, drink coffee (no sugar) and water in the mornings. Lunch? Most days (esp. at the office) I have fruit and a small entree. For example today it was a banana and some vegetable korma. Dinner? This is the one full-size meal I have in a given day. Veggies, a grain (often rice), mushrooms, legumes, beans, and if I'm going to have meat, this will be when. Snack? I snack more than I should, often on breads. How did you come to this diet? In my early 20s I was an annoyingly committed vegetarian, even though I routinely had headaches and generally didn't feel all that well. I started paying more attention to my diet when I started getting acupuncture. My acupuncturist helped make small dietary/lifestyle changes, for example incorporating fermented foods into my diet. The "seasonal" aspect of my diet is also a product of the fasting calendar of my church and the fact that my wife does cross-fit and prefers a paleo-diet. What benefits have you noticed from it? The thing I've noticed is, that when I pay attention to how I feel, that I generally have a pretty even energy level and avoid the boom and bust cycle I used to experience. How have your different diets made you feel? See above Any other observations about certain foods, supplements, etc? In general, I try to avoid sugar and bleached white flour as they make me feel lethargic. I also generally try to avoid foods with preservatives (we make lots of little trips to the grocery store, thankfully it is not far) as they also generally make me feel unwell, especially my digestive system. Drugs/medications: side effects, benefits and food interactions? I am not on any meds, so not applicable. Any other comments or pieces of advice? Pay attention to how you feel, keep a log if need be, and make small incremental changes.

Thank you all for these suggestions - there are more options than I was aware.

i was wondering if anyone is familiar with any translations of the Shijing and had any recommendations. I know that Ezra Pound has an edition and I like his poetry but also know he wasn't the most qualified to do the work of translation.

Thank you and thank you.

I can't say that I know much about what it is like to come from an Evangelical point of view, but I still would say I'm in a similar boat as you. I am an Eastern Orthodox Christian and find Laozi to be of tremendous help along the way.

I had this edition. I was excited about, flipped through it a few times, and found that it didn't really add much to my understanding. It eventually went to a used bookstore. In the book's defense, it turns out I am not as inclined to refer regularly to a concordance as the editors assume. If that's your cup of tea, you may enjoy this one.

This looks like a fascinating new edition. Dawei, does this offer still stand?

The only app I know of and have used with some satisfaction is "Deepware Changes" for android.

For a beginner, I'd recommend Alfred Huang's version. It has a very straightforward layout and a good mix of commentaries and historical context. I have to admit, though, that I'm a reader of the Eranos and Richard Lynn's Wang Bi version.

One of my employees is the master of his lodge. I have had lots of discussions about Freemasonry and the different lodges. It seems to me from what he has said that a lot of what will determine one's experience is 1) which lodge they join and 2) what they put into it. If you're looking for a social club, that's what you'll get. If you're looking for more, you might just find something meaningful. I am not a Mason so this is all just my impression from conversations.

Thank you for your feedback. This plus the direction this thread has taken has led me to believe that I just shouldn't worry about it right now. I'll keep sitting with the Dao De Jing & the Yijing and call it a day.

In addition to Haung's edition, the Eranos edition also has a great introduction to the process though the Eranos is probably not the best version of the Yijing for someone who is unfamiliar/starting out.