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Or not... when 70% of the town's population is doing exactly that this Saturday night, I'm sort of proud of myself for staying home.

My favourite part is when the kid goes " no, no... anyone's fine!"

Loss is nothing but change, and change is nature's delight... - Marcus Aurelius Great philosophy to have with a pita dharma 38 special and a pint of Carling. Thanks mate

Would like very much to know more about your ideas, practices and experiences. Thank you. Here's a passage from a book that already has plenty to think about and work with:

A beautiful dance deserving attentive study. Thank you so much Silent Thunder.

Working on it (meanwhile I'm moving to the south of England near the salty sea). If things don't get better here, hopefully I'll manage to move to vikingland still this year. Thanks for the push rene

And believe me, right now I wouldn't mind changing my life for the life of a jellyfish!

I've heard that's the only way to understant Dao's purpose for us, not to have any purpose. Well, only spiritual athletes get that far anyway...

Thank you for your contribution Small Fur!

Lol, Blessings friend!

Hey Steve! Thank you so much for taking your time in explaining thoroughly your approach on detachment. Great contribution. I will give these thoughts the time and attention they need to be grasped. Blessings my friend.

Thanks for your contribution to this topic Lost in Translation. And yes everyone's interpretation of "detachment" is different. What I like about Jack Schwarz was that he could demonstrate his detachment for example by sticking needles in his arms without feeling pain and self-healing immediately. He used to say that this radical demonstrations had the purpose of proving his perspective of life.

You see you've found your way of getting there and are sharing it with us. That's what I intended when it came to me the idea of starting this thread. The passage from Jack Swartz's book was just supposed to be an example and a conversation starter. I want to learn something from you guys!

That is usually my approach Fa Xin. However spiritual traditions in general value detachment, that's why I'm having this need to explore it a little. Being at this moment involved in a set of not-so-pleasant circumstances the weight of the suffering is reduced and I feel that the relief from that tension may help in creating new perspectives or a more realistic and acceptable way of living and dealing with my current problems.

Thank you for your contribution rideforever.

I see that you are a fast galoping horse. Good luck in getting there!

Maybe If you compare the symbologies of the sacred books you get to the conclusion that they have deeper readings. It's my belief that they do have deeper readings and also that unless someone makes a serious investment in the path the doors to those deeper readings won't open.

Funny you've used some very meaningful symbols, including numbers, in the composition of your annedocte. You should look up for the same symbols next time you're doing your biblical studies. Maybe you learn something.

It reminded me of someone who took his secret to the grave... Forgive for being somehow "out of context" here 3bob. "Blaise Pascal wrote this down on a piece of parchment and sewed into his coat where it was found after his death eight years later. It said,

And the ego always finds means to justify the ego. Becoming aware of this made me lose much less energy in trying to talk others away from their bad actions and invest more time investigating the way I fool myself. I do understand your point 3bob. However, maturity made me realize that I will always be a "sinner", no matter how much effort I make trying to "perfect" myself. I guess that IS the reason why daoism makes sense to me.

Did you ever see a dog--which is, as Plato says, in the second book of his Republic, the most philosophical creature in the world--discover a marrow-bone? If you ever did, you will have noticed how devotedly he eyes it, how carefully he guards it, how fervently he holds it, how circumspectly he begins to gnaw it, how lovingly he breaks it, and how diligently he licks it. What induces him to do all this? What hope is there in his labour? What benefit does he expect? Nothing more than a little marrow... François Rabelais

A "Bob" isn't expensive for the fun it provides. And if one "Bob" dies you can always buy another "Bob".