Lao Sun Tao

In his Path Notes of an American Ninja Master, Glenn Morris talks about a painting he discovered in one of Stephen Turnbull's book.The picture shows a Ninja dressed in gold and green with a scroll in his mouth, engulfed by a spider. I think the book he's talking about is Ninja: The True Story of Japan's Secret Warrior Cult (https://tinyurl.com/y6enq5rc), but I'm not entirely sure. I borrowed the book to read in my hotel room that night, and one of the prints really caught my eye. It shows a Japanese prince identified as a ninja. The caption says "Prince so and so . . . plan- ning an assassination.', . . . The Spider Prince, as he was named in the picture, was garbed in green and gold. What do we know about the symbolic use of those colors? His hair was coiffed in the samurai manner but I don't know which clan, as I've never studied the hairstyles of the Japanese warriors. It gets a little crazier than vets and crewcuts. The Spider Prince is pictured with an old scroll in his mouth that is tattered and stained. A ragged scroll is a Japanese artistic styl- ization that indicates internalizing knowledge that one is reluctant ever to use, as it is damaging to the user's very being if improper- ly applied Glenn Morris -- Path Notes of an American Ninja Master Now, I looked for Turnbull's book but I wasn't able to find it, nor the picture described. I found two pictures that look similar to what Glen Morris' description but I don't think either on of them is the correct one. Picture 1: https://tinyurl.com/y28ryjh7 Picture 2: https://tinyurl.com/y6722mph Does anyone know where I can find the correct picture?

Huh? What the . . . Wait, what? #include <The Tao of Pooh - Benjamin Hoff.h> pooh puː/ informal exclamation 1. used to express disgust at an unpleasant smell. "she would hold her nose and shout ‘Pooh!’" 2. used to express impatience or contempt. "Oh pooh! Don't be such a spoilsport" noun 1. excrement. "mind the dog poo" verb 1. defecate. weenie ˈwiːni/ noun another term for wiener. wiener ˈwiːnə/ noun NORTH AMERICAN noun: wienie 1. a frankfurter or similar sausage. 2. vulgar slang a man's penis. 3. informal a stupid, boring, or contemptible person. HIS ESSENCE! HIS SPIRIT! NOT his goddamn fuck-up of a name. return "back to title" until "you give it at least a moment's thought" ; end broadcast. I know, I know, Shamanic QiGong Does not Exist, I know, i GOT IT. DISCLAIMER: The imaginary-and-yet-real flying monk Lao Sun Tao and Co. hold no responsibility towards the validity and effectiveness of the above magickally refined, like a freaking samurai made of Valyrian sword, technique--as it is something someone has to accept into his/her own world/belief-system/tradition, if he/she does not understand or Imagine what white-hat mindful spirit hacking is (Ego grew a little arrogant there? Maybe.) and that a little open mindedness goes a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG way. Lao Sun Tao and Co. attest that your Teacher/Master/Guru is the best Teacher/Master/Guru in the whole-wide-world, as well as his/her teachings/instructions/philosophies are the best in the whole-wide-world and that he/she is obviously far superior than Lao Sun Tao and Co. and that this text is only delivered with a slight pinch of salt and a little, only just a little bit, cringe. Huh?

http://mentalfloss.com/uk/entertainment/32680/why-is-winnie-the-pooh-called-a-pooh

So there is some kind of group going by the name Evolved-Ministry that posts a lot of videos of "telekinesis," which, I have to admit look like pretty legit. Take a look: This is QiGong, right?

It's a point of view for a path. It can work for some, it cannot for others. Just the way I see things, at the moment, and that can be changed, enhanced, or evolved in totally unforeseen ways. The more I read the more I understand I have to experience. Now, having said that, I'd really like to find out if you say you agree or disagree with this point of view and why. Right now I feel it's simple and stable as it is, but I'm open to being prodded by other views.

Honestly, I never understood why hate is considered the opposite of love. Fear is the opposite of love. Hate feasts on fear. Hate feasts on lack of love, which is lack of compassion, which is lack of understanding and accepting, which is fear. Chakra-wise, fear closes the 1st charka and love opens the 4th chakra. Where does hate go chakra-wise? Like a great green man from a galaxy far, far away once said, Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering, and suffering . . . well, you know where that leads if you understand the reference. If you want to eradicate hate then forget about your 4th chakra, you can't love anyone when you hate everyone. But you can admit you are angry, and once you've done that and you have spotted, through meditation advisably, the root of this anger you can begin . . . slowly . . . to admit to yourself, as you dig deeper inside those feelings, the root of this anger. And it won't be long before you spot the fear inside you, the one and only thing that closes up your 1st chakra, and as you begin to SURRENDER yourself to those fears, then your chakra will begin to BLOOM and blossom, and every tension and every negative feeling will just VANISH. And it won't be long before the rest of your chakras will begin to just OPEN UP, and you realize that fear is nothing to fear about, and that love is build upon understanding and accepting, and that love, TRUE LOVE, has no equal as much as it has an opposite, just like light has no equal nor opposite, for darkness is just the absence of light, as fear is the absence of love. And hate . . . hate is merely a mixture of unrequited love and fear, which causes anger, which causes hate, which unravels the vicious circle of suffering. So as light has no duality so does LOVE, and once you're one with the cosmos, one with everything, ACCEPTING everything, UNDERSTANDING everything (higher chakras opened), then begin to understand that love and light is one and the same, and that's the complete whole, and grief and sadness and fear and hate are nothing but mere shadows that try to obstruct this light. They are opposites as much as a shadow is the opposite of a tree. It's all about FOCUS and state of mind, to be able to LET this light wash over you. It's not about understanding it or its supposed opposite. It's about understanding that you have to understand it can't be understood. It's about experiencing it. It's about taking the necessary steps (opening the chakras) to surrender to it. It's about surrendering yourself. Love is letting go in the light.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9918591-the-anastasi-system---psychic-development-level-1?ac=1&from_search=true To whomever interested.

My intention is to visualize using my imagination.

I actually learned about TTC through the Tao of Steve, now that I think about it. Cool movie.

I wasn't responding to your comment. This was actually what I was listening at the moment! Still, thanks for the info. I find this song very relaxing for some reason. Great lyrics too.

Well, my library seems to get bigger and bigger! Someone in another thread had suggested a free ebook that explained chi in a very nice way, trying to introduce Qi to the west. I had it downloaded but I seem to have lost it. Anyone knows what I'm talking about?

When things are first born they don't have a purpose, and those who are born for a purpose usually don't live up to it. And this goes about anything. Look at Coca-Cola; what was its purpose of creation? Look at art; what's the purpose of art? Also, if you really expect to find a purpose for something so basic then you're overreaching. To simply reject something because it has no evident purpose right from the get-go is cynical. That is why I mentioned money. I bet if this dude was making crazy money like Uri Geller, for example, you wouldn't be asking "what's the point?" you'd be asking "is this legit?" and then there would be those who believed it was legit and those who didn't. And we have reached today and people still don't know if bending spoon is actually possible or not. I wonder if I asked the people here if they believe it's possible. I wonder what would happen. Anyway, I'm bored having this kind of conversations. Carnegie said that if you lose an argument, you lose, and if you win an argument, you lose. No one can change anyone's mind except himself. And I'm not here to change people's minds but to cultivate my own. Time to fly off to another thread. Laters.

I think you've just missed the point, buddy, and you've confirmed it by stating absolutely nothing.

This is a materialistic way of thinking which can only enhance cynicism and defeatism in your mind. What you're actually asking is: where is the money, bro? where is the fame? Where is the point in anything we do if it doesn't produce money, right? inb4 "I didn't speak about money. That's not what I wrote." Yeah, well, this is what you're implying, strongly. But I don't blame you. Money is always at the back of our minds; it's not our fault. It has attached itself to our 1st chakra. Anyway, replace showing off with demonstration, look up the definition of demonstration, and you'll find your answer. I remember when I was a kid and found or did something cool, I immediately wanted to show it to the other kids, not to show off, and especially not to make money, but to convince them follow me into an adventure, find or do more cool stuff. Does this ring a bell?

So basically you said nothing. Anyway I'm not going to argue with you, for there is no point. But let me clear some things out first. A demonstration of something isn't always showing off, and allowing yourself to bypass the critical factor for a few minutes does give you the ability to feel if something is fishy or not. True, videos can lie more easily, but so can books and movies and songs and a hundred other things. If I were to investigate every bit of medium of information that presented itself to me, I'd be traveling all year long, achieving nothing. Our eyes are our basic sensor of perception but sometimes you have to go with your intuition, aka your gut. I haven't been in this forum for long, but I have seen enough to know that there are people here that don't really know why they are here. There is criticism and there is constructive criticism, and then there is stating the obvious. I don't like writing posts like this one; it messes with my Zen. People will always whine and will always be cynical, about everything and anything, no matter what. Everyone has a line, a line whose point A is the attitude of a blindly-believe-it-all and point B is the attitude of the grumpy old man who believes nothing because he had fought in Vietnam or something. From point A to point B the line stretches as far as your knowledge, experiences, and information. Now take a pencil and draw a circle on that line. This is your skepticism. Does it neighboring B?

Remember that the same skepticism and attitude you're throwing at--without actually doing a little research like taking a look at the other videos this guy has uploaded--is exactly the same skepticism and attitude other people are throwing towards your QiGong or any other "exotic" practice you're doing. I thought this forum would have been more open-minded than that. Shame.

Quick question, what if you mess up your breathing while focusing on your breath? Sometimes I try to be aware of my breath but end up change the flow of my breathing because I accidentally control it. Any tips on how to avoid that?

I'm just getting started with QiGong. I had bought some Mantak Chia books, but after reading through them I felt something cheeky was going on, so I decided to do some more research on the subject. Long story short, looking for ways to do the microcosmic orbit properly sent me to another thing and another and I ended up discovering a whole new orbit of knowledge. The books were insubstantial, true, but the things mentioned were not. So here I am, trying to figure and sort things out.

I could name a few books but I prefer to jazz it up a beat.

To everybody, I'm going to throw an attitude so I'd advice you to read the following lines having that in mind, or just skip them. To OP, I'm gonna be harsh with you, Taoway, and that's because you represent an old part of myself that I have buried a long time ago and I don't particularly like. First of all you sound like a whiny bitch. "Ooh, I have average penis, and I don't feel comfortable with myself. I visited some website out of the millions of websites around the world, and I found that there are some women who like big dicks. And not just big dicks, monstrous, gigantic, veiny ones. The ones that can tear a hole through a wall. Oh, what can I do? I feel so depressed!" Yeah, well, you can't find something you are not looking for, but you can find something that you are. Guess what! You found "proof" to validate your depression. Well done. And not just that, but you've managed to add to your depression and peak it higher and higher. So high that you need us to sort this mess out for you. Yeah, the guys here are all really nice, and most of them speak very logically and supportingly. But will this really help you? How do you know they aren't just saying that? After all, they are just a bunch of strangers on the net. They may even have smaller dicks. They may be just saying that to feel good about themselves by making you feel good. Too many Mays and we are in August. With a grain of salt, that's how you should take everyone's opinion. 95% of the world doesn't know jack shit. We are all talkers. Talking to others the things we don't dare to talk to ourselves. And mother Earth keeps turning. And we are 7 billion people and everything is fucked-up, black and gray and depressing. And the Earth keeps turning. And we are moving straight to hell. And we are all talkers. Talkers make me thirsty. Bring me a chicken. How the hell does that relate to big dicks, you might think. It's simple. We, as a species, have managed to destroy everything around us and now we are up to destroying ourselves, everyone in his own way, everyone through his own insecurities. Ads, movies, the media, and misconceptions in general throw at us a load of crap everyday. And whatever sticks, sticks. To whomever sticks. And guess what, once it has stuck it's on you. Then what do you do? You have to BUY to fix it. Invent a need to sell for the need. Oh, the Mad Man's dream. Wake up and look around you. Have you talked to girls? Real girls? I have. They don't care about size, and those who do care, are the ones who'd been with half a city. Well, duh, if Madonna's Like a Virgin is my sexual anthem I would care about size too. And bravo, by the way. You've managed to find a whole website with those women. Flawless Victory. Yes, I have talked to girls and I quote: "I don't care about size as long as he knows how to fuck." Another girl's quote: "Big penises are cool, make me want to touch them. But I prefer average ones." Final quote, although I have many: "I prefer average ones. I can't deepthroat large cocks." Now, I hope the above quotes make you feel good. But you should consider the possibility that they are fiction. That I have never, in my life, talked to girls about penis size, nor have I asked them if it really mattered. Stop acting like a bitch and go find out for yourself. This whole thread is mental-masturbation. I acknowledge the psychological state you were in, but the guys' opinion, no matter how valid and comforting, will slowly fade away. Their effect will slowly fade away, and then you're back to square one. And then what? DEPRESSION. MORE DEPRESSION. Man up and go find out for yourself. I could submit and whole study of how the nerves inside a woman's vagina only extend to 10-11 cm, and how everything else is just an illusion. Or how penis enlargement pills do actually work, no matter what "knowledgeable" doctors claim. But there is no point. Stop taking strange words to mold into personal experience. It can't happen. No explanation will help you. Stop discussing something you should experience. Life is to be experienced. Get out there and do it. It's not your penis but your attitude. I never expected to find a thread with this kind of issue in here and this really messes up with my Zen. Do some qigong and feel your penis grow to its magnificence. It's that simple. And then go out and see what happens. Don't believe everything you think. And if these lines make you think with your usual grumpy, pessimistic voice: Easier said than done. Then I tell you this: If you want to feel depressed about your size, fine. I am not gonna waste any more time trying to change your belief. But at least give an actual experience a chance to make yourself depressed. Articles, and sites and whatever crap you manage to find doesn't count. MAN UP! P.S. Read She comes first. If you still aren't 100% confident about your size when you finally find yourself alone with a girl, this can be your plan B. This will surely add to your self-confidence. It's just science. Edit (check the 2nd Law): http://www.thedaobums.com/topic/20392-20-axioms/?hl=%2Bholographic+%2Buniverse

I don't want to discredit your claims or anything. I have never been to a Vipassana retreat so I can't really say what's going on. But, in my opinion, you gave up too easily. You should have stayed for the whole course and draw your conclusions afterwards. You could survive for five more days, no matter how intolerable you found the place to be. Then, who knows, maybe something would have clicked. 5 days is half the course, which makes half the experience, which isn't an experience really. Someone could say that you couldn't handle your inner struggles and decided to blame everything else. A valid argument, in my opinion. Having said that, let me ask you a question. Let's say that this whole thing really was a cult and they really wanted to brainwash you or whatever. Do you think if you have stayed for 5 more days they would have achieved that? Don't get me wrong; what you've done is something I see myself doing, considering the things you've mentioned, and this is the reason I'm questioning it. However, throwing the word "cult" around is very serious, too serious to just throwing it around so loosely. I have done a lot of research on Vipassana and this is the first time I see this word surrounding it. Perception shapes reality. If you consider that you have to, for 10 days, follow exactly what people instruct you to do and temporally reduce your freedom a cult, then yes Vipassana is a cult, a cult that demands no money and has no initiation, no leader and no followers. And I know it doesn't have all that, not because I know it from personal experience but because it cannot have all that. Vipassana is a meditation technique. If I found an apple merchant intolerable, his teeth ugly, his remarks inappropriate, his attitude disgusting, I wouldn't blame the apples, nor I would tell everyone that apples are shit, or that no matter how delicious and red the apples were it wasn't worth it. What's intolerable to some can be amusing or irrelevant to others. Anyway, my advice: if you don't want to go back there, fine. But you should seriously consider doing the practice whatsoever. The whole course is on youtube. Now that you've seen how things are done you can do it on your own, no problem. As technique Vipassana is simple and powerful. Don't give up on it because of technicalities.

Although Haraldsson admits that he cannot prove conclusively that Sai Baba's productions are not the result of deception and sleight of hand, he offers a large amount of evidence that strongly suggests something supernormal is taking place. For starters, Sai Baba can materialize specific objects on request. Once when Haraldsson was having a conversation with him about spiritual and ethical issues, Sai Baba said that daiiy life and spiritual life should "grow together like a double rudraksha." When Haraldsson asked what a double rudraksha was, neither Sai Baba nor the interpreter knew the English equivalent of the term. Sai Baba tried to continue with the diseussion, but Haraldsson remained insistent. "Then suddenly, with a sign of impatience, Sai Baba closed his list and waved his hand for a second or two. As he opened it, he turned to me and said: 'This is it.' In his palm was an acorn-like object. This was two rudrakshas grown together like a twin orange or a twin apple," says Haraldsson. When Haraldsson indicated that he wanted to keep the double-seed as a memento, Sai Baba agreed, but first asked to see it again. "He enclosed the rudraksha in both his hands, blew on it, and opened his hands toward me. The double rudraksha was now covered, on the top and bottom, by two golden shields held together by a short golden chain. On the top was a golden cross with a small ruby affixed to it, and a tiny opening so that it could hang on a chain around the neck." 58 Haraldsson later discovered that double rudrakshas were extremely rare botanical anomalies. Several Indian botanists he consulted said they had never even seen one, and when he finally found a small, malformed specimen in a shop in Madras, the shopkeeper wanted the Indian equivalent of almost three hundred dollars for it. A London goldsmith confirmed that the gold in the ornamentation had a purity of at least twenty -two carats. Taken from The Holographic Universe Thoughts?

I really like this book, but there is a part there about Sai Baba that perplexes me, considering all the rumors and accusations that have been going on pointing him out as a fraud and a sexual offender. What is your take on that?