Ell

As an alligator, yes.

Everyone else around me seems to be running towards marriage....

One theory (if you could call it that....I remember reading it from a printout of a weird graphic novel/comic strip) that has stuck with me through all my spiritual pursuits/everything is that, past religion, past all our huge lofty human ideas, life all really just comes down to two drives: food and sex. The desire to stay alive and the desire to reproduce. But the huge caveat was that some think there's one more element - the mystery, the enigma: art. The desire to create. I always thought that was a powerful notion.

I find this to be a very interesting read/theory. Upon initial review, I kind of feel as though I'm part both, too. I'll have to think about it.

Fuck everything.

This will solve nothing, and nobody will listen, but the great secret to sex and dating is that the answer to any question about girls is, "depends on the girl" (and vice versa regarding questions about guys).

I would agree with this. With me personally, I haven't noticed anything regarding pitch, but I'd say that when my mind is quieted, not racing as much, as a result of whatever means I'm using to explore peace, there's simply less I feel the "need" to pipeline down & get out out of my mouth. So, yes, I probably have slowed down quite a bit as a result of my practice. As I'm writing this so many at least somewhat-related idioms from ALL OVER the spectrum come to mind.... Those who talk don't know & those who know don't talk Speak soft and carry a big stick Loudest one in the room is the weakest one in the room ....then again, "slow is smooth, and smooth is fast," so I suppose it's all relative....

Someone should tell this dude about semen retention....

So, despite not really being a big fan of flying, not really having a ton of money, and not speaking the language (hah!), I am set to be the best man at a destination wedding in Italy come November....what an adventure it should be for me the guy who's never been outside of North America.... I've been looking for stuff to get excited about seeing (you know, during the free time outside of my buddy's wedding). I'm really looking forward to visiting the Vatican, even though I'm not nor ever have been Catholic. There seems to be a lot of amazing history there in addition to all the beautiful structures. I would really like to go to a pro soccer game, but I don't think anybody's playing on the days I'm there.... Any suggestions from the more worldly members of the forum? I'll be mostly in Florence and Rome. And, please, for the sake of my mental health, let's keep it fairly light. No negativity, Vatican City conspiracy theories, etc. The stressful side of travel is stressful enough as it is!

Second week of November. Whole week.

It wasn't in my top ten, to be honest....but it's important to this friend that I'm there. So we'll see what happens, hah

What an amazing video/story. I love to hear about stuff like this. Also, as a producer/independent filmmaker myself, I always have aspirations kicking around of tracking down stories like these, people doing things not thought possible, etc. Congrats on your success. Just a nitpicky, alternate opinion for you to think about, said with all due respect: get that "don't know" out of your mind in regards to your last sentence. The doubt about it is as much the sickness as anything. Even when training is stressed, or necessary, I believe, and have seen first hand,that the power of belief cannot be understated.

Add me to this list. Like nine tailed fox, I've been interested in learning to read and write Chinese, not quite as much to speak it. I took nine or ten of a series of brief instructions that are up on iTunes U. They were good, slow, but good, and I began to at least recognize some characters. Ultimately, I decided that for my learning style I need it in a hard copy book, something I can mark up, put book marks in, review, review, review. And that's kind of where my journey with it stands at the time being, as I've just not got around to finding said book....

I've only been in fights on the hockey rink.

It looks kind of familiar - perhaps just similar to many Chinese silk paintings I've seen. I have a recurring dream where a girl with blue hair leads me through the woods, and at the end, she disappears and I get attacked by a German Shepherd.

One thing that has led me down a dark hole during my more anxious periods in the past is the similarly emergent "cybercondria" i.e. one punches in a symptom and uncovers a myriad of "experts" on the internet who have literally no idea what they're talking about. Nonetheless, one trusts them and, very suddenly, "has" an incurable disease.... There was an HBO documentary awhile back about a young South Korean couple whose baby starved to death while they were in a gaming cafe for hours and hours. It sounds so heinous, and indeed it is, but when you watch some of it you really see that these people are just inept, entranced zombies.

"Marry a young wife and have children." -The I-Ching "A dog will ruin your carpet, but having a kid will ruin your life." -My friend Mike

Welcome, friend. For what it's worth, in my opinion, a lot of the stuff talked about in places like this board is notoriously overthought. And that's all fine and good - it's kind of fun to put the gears up in your head to work - but every now and again I have that moment - which I somehow trust more than any "master" - where it hits me that there's nothing to get and I'm already there. Anyways, hope you find what you're looking for.

Hello all: So, I THINK my inquiry is relatively simple....I have kind of skimmed the I Ching and its meanings and general usages in the past, but I'm just now really getting into studying it and using it for my own personal consulting. The first version I picked up was by Thomas Cleary. My understanding after first read-through was that to consult the practitioner simply picks out two hexagrams that they believe define a given relationship or situation. Imagine my surprise, then, when I later went online for supplemental information and found all these discussions of RANDOM selections by coins and sticks! At first, the former method (if it is indeed an accepted method) made a lot of sense because the nature of the situation in mind would seemingly inevitably possess characteristics of the literal element of nature. But then I fiddled around with the coins method (on iphone apps/computer generated/etc) and that seemed to provide very interesting - perhaps more interesting - results, too. And that seems to be more widely accepted the more I read.... So, do some out there indeed consult the book without using coins/sticks? What are these methods names/associations? Benefits of each? Sites that do a good job of explaining exhaustively? Personal recommendations? Hope I'm not coming across as TOO naive....I'm new, but I'm very into it... All the best Ell

Why'd the guy have to lead the turtle like 100 yards away from his girl turtle? That's a hell of a walk back. I'm not totally sure it's worth it.

I probably do but I'm not at the stage where I'm willing to admit I have a problem yet.

Personally, I'd refer you to the South Park episode entitled, "Mystery of the Urinal Deuce."

I'm right in the thick of the adult-men-yelling-at-each-other-over-air-pressure-in-balls storm and it's been a nightmare for literally six months straight. Everywhere you turn. Sometimes it feels like I'm in a strange dream. On a more serious note, the positive newspapers going out of business is scary, but what's more scary is if you're one that believes that people seek out reflections of what they feel inside...

I've heard good things about John E. Sarno and DDP Yoga.

Hey, who woulda thought? ISIS bringing people together...Welcome to the board.