moment

Hadst thou no poison mixed, no sharp-ground knife, No sudden mean of death, though ne'er so mean, But 'banished' to kill me--'banished'? O friar, the damned use that word in hell; Howling attends it! How hast thou the heart, Being a divine, a ghostly confessor, A sin-absolver, and my friend professed, To mangle me with that word 'banished'? ---William Shakespeare

Questioning the status quo can result in banishment, imprisonment, ridicule or being burned at the stake, depending on your era, your locale, and the sacred cows you wish to butcher. ---Gene Spafford

I know you did not. I take that upon myself. I needed it as an example as to why clear policy is needed when using stronger moderation.

And yet the aforementioned moderator favored certain political continuum and beliefs over others in her comments and rulings. The administrator of that time hid entire active threads with no explanation. Checks and balances is a real problem. A constitution of sorts in that regard approved by a 2/3 majority and accepted by Sean may be an answer. BTW, the only person who was always fair was Marblehead (as a semi-official moderator)

Ah, spiritual cultivation, got to love it.

Sean has been offered lots of help. It is up to him to use it.

Agreed!

Yes, absolutely! He is?

A definite evolutionary spiritual process.

He knew and you are welcome.

I totally agree with this and I suggest that we do have total free will in the spiritual (wu) state. But I will suggest that we have limited free will in the manifest (yo) state as well. True, the limits are tighter for some folks than they are for others but still. Be well!--- Marblehead, July 8th, 2009 Okay. I admit that Taoism is also a religion. (You do know how hard it was for me to say that, don't you?) And I pretty much agree with the rest of what you said. The Tao is all encompassing. (But no, I don't embrace all that I experience in the Manifest universe.)---Marblehead, May 20th, 2014 For me, spirituality points to my inner essence, my state of mentality regardless of external conditions.---Marblehead, December 1, 2018 The last song Marblehead posted in what are you listening to on December 1, 2018

One does not always feel the energy going up the spine until it explodes inside of the head. There are myriad reasons for this.

I love Hamlet! I somehow did not feel Shakespeare in that last line--- but!, I liked it!

Trolls are a waste of everybody's time. They weren't even a needed part of the Harry Potter story-line.

Marblehead loved the Daobums and it showed.

I am glad you are back, Lima.

I think all Tai Chi people ( I more than most) sometimes forget we are Tai Chi players. Our lives in many ways are an extension of our Tai Chi and if it is no longer play--- we are doing something wrong!

I have to be very careful here. 1. What in my post would make you believe I was talking about you? 2. Why would you think I was personally accusing you? To be honest on point one; I did have you mostly in mind but, that is not the point of the point.:) On point two: It was not an accusation, if you think about it for a second, I believe you will understand what I mean by that. Having said all of that, your response was a surprise. Kudos! It was excellent. Thank you

Narcissistic personality disorder is a mental condition in which people have an inflated sense of their own importance, a deep need for excessive attention and admiration, troubled relationships, and a lack of empathy for others. But behind this mask of extreme confidence lies a fragile self-esteem that's vulnerable to the slightest criticism. People with narcissistic personality disorder may be generally unhappy and disappointed when they're not given the special favors or admiration they believe they deserve. They may find their relationships unfulfilling, and others may not enjoy being around them.

Focusing one's whole attention on something helps bring about loss of ego and transcendence. Worship is a means to an end. Anything that has real power for you can be used as a devotional. It is that sense of spirituality that helps focus your concentration. Even if you have had no higher experiences, you should consider your ritual of meditation as such.

The trick is to target the opinion without using possessives.

I believe that at least 99% of the time, there is a better way than direct personal attacks.

To contact the deeper truth of who we are, we must engage in some activity or practice that questions what we assume to be true about ourselves. A. H. Almaas

The Chinese view of “emotions” is more complex than it might at first seem. Emotions are not seen as merely psychological phenomena, but rather as pertaining to the sphere of existence, of one’s being in the world as an individual entity. For this very reason, emotions are often at odds with one’s inner nature, which is inherently transcendent. When emotions and inner nature join one another, emotions turn into qualities — personality, temperament, attitudes — that allow a person to express his or her inner nature in life, according to his or her individuality.--- Liu Yiming