Aetherous

In my world view, that is precisely the definition of a devil.

"He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster." - Nietzsche Personally, in general I'd rather let people have their free will. Even if they are demons. I don't claim full awareness, so maybe their actions are for the greater good. Maybe they just need some help...or can't help themselves in doing the wrong thing. If "they" cross a certain line, I have no qualms with taking away their ability to do harm, out of compassion for others. If you feel like it's okay to take someone's life, then it must be okay for your life to be taken. If it's okay for you to steal from others, then it must be fine for others to steal from you. This is precisely why we, as spiritual people who desire a happy life, should avoid imposing our will upon anyone else. We love our freedom, so in order to maintain it, we make sure others are free. We value a long life, so in order to get one, we protect others and help them to live well. We value our personal property, so we never take from anyone else. Do unto others... So if you want to be called a demon, and for people to hunt you down and take away your ability to impose your will on anyone else...then feel free to continue on your current course. If you want to help others there are better ways to do it...be a force of good in the world, rather than fighting fire with fire. Rather than going up against those who have been given power.

Yes, it would be nice to not need anything. Good luck with achieving that. In the meantime...

I think a person learns to appreciate the job they have, when they become fully aware of the alternative. Such as having no job (and therefore no food, shelter, water, clothing, transporation, etc)...or working for minimum wage at McDonalds (barely having those things). If you can work towards getting a lower middle class job (usually needing a college degree or apprenticeship, or just persistence in applying to various places) then you will be comfortable. Taking care of the base of your Maslow's hierarchy is the first step to freedom. I suggest you start spending a lot of time looking for jobs you might enjoy. Really put some thought into it. Maybe doing some job shadowing. Instead of (no offense) whining about how reality sucks...sympathy won't ensure your survival. You must work... there's a big difference between slave wages and lower middle class. If you fully knew the difference, you wouldn't take so much issue with the fact that pretty much everyone has to work to get by...you'd be grateful that you had the opportunity to not be a slave.

For "diagnosing" personality types, they're definitely onto something. But the only lengths I personally go to regarding the elements and the hands, are that perhaps each finger has a different type of energy. Lol...I don't buy into much of what's out there, and don't think it's all that useful. People are much more complex...for instance, a person with long fingers could be said to have more psychic capability or intelligence. A person with thick fingers could be said to be more suited to manual labor or a steady schedule. Maybe this is true for the individual...maybe not...does it matter, either way? People generally know who they are and what they like to do already. At most it's a party trick. I personally found the mien shiang information to be much more useful, in terms of knowing what a person is probably like (aside from intuition).

Not that I'm aware of. Maybe that information is private in most cases? Would be nice to see a website like that, though. IMO, it should be illegal for money and media to influence a political campaign. But cash rules everything around me. About Obama's puppet masters...the most shocking thing for me has been his administration pushing the unconstitutional aspects of the NDAA.

To me it seems almost entirely unbiased, at least when it comes to specific claims being made by the two major parties.

Agree with Apech and CT. How does something like this fit into the idea of having a consort or karmamudra? That's a real aspect of Tibetan Buddhism as far as I know...

Grandmaster....your vibe is young for that age. I thought you were about 30.

Yup. By the way, slightly off topic, but with the debates I think it's a good idea to go to Fact Check afterward.

In my opinion, you were taught almost entirely incorrectly. Especially with the idea that all other faiths are false. But that kind of idea is representative of a lot of what passes for Christianity. It's unfortunate and has led to so many problems in our world. But Christianity has done a lot of good, too. Sticky situation. Studying the Bible (including its history according to the experts), rather than the modern church's ideas, is the key to gaining a real understanding. You should feel free to come away with your own interpretation of what's in the Bible. I recommend that you focus on Jesus' words. That is especially important, since the entire religion is supposed to be about following his teachings. Funny how the exact opposite often occurs. Jesus personally recommended James as his successor, according to the Gospel of Thomas...that's definitely a good book of the NT to delve into. You don't have to call yourself a Christian in order to appreciate some passages of the Bible.

Where is this advanced technology form of Tao?

Likewise...the scuffles were all just misunderstanding. Just clouds in our sky.

This seems like a very accurate answer.

Nice to see attempts at keeping moderation fair. Seems that moderation here has been nice lately (unseen or at least uncontroversial). Appreciate it, Trunk, and no hard feelings from any scuffles before.

"Change at Hand" is another one, coming from a palmistry angle.

Yup, it's primarily facial diagnosis. The author's website and blog go into detail about other various things...worth looking into, and you can always return a kindle book if you don't like it within a week.

I've tried to become involved in various traditions...there is a kind of glamor to be identified with some famous (or infamous) occult group...but it's too unnatural. My intuition inevitably leads me away every single time. Sometimes they aren't nearly as good as what's simply public knowledge...like the Taoist practices and philosophies. Or in my opinion, Christian teachings. Sometimes the people involved in various lineages seem incredibly corrupt, and sort of stupid, upon closer inspection. Do you have the strength to stand on your own two feet?

Mien Shiang. Between Heaven and Earth.

If you're stuck thinking about how bad something was (past), say for instance, you were highly embarrassed earlier today... Or if you're stuck worrying about what might happen tomorrow (future), say for instance, you're pretty sure you're going to lose your job and be evicted... Then you're most likely missing out on the inherent beauty of the life around you. You probably don't feel the natural joy of simply being alive...your mind and energy is preoccupied with other shit. So, not being caught up in the past or future can be said to be very empowering. Natural joy...a lack of problems...those are empowering things. Of course, no one is really "in" the past or future. There is no past or future in reality. Thoughts about the past or future happen in the present moment...to the point where some people think that they have to capture the present moment in order to transcend the time dimension. But "now" is unavoidable, and time is an illusion. I prefer to view this all as: letting go, calming down, stilling the mind...rather than calling it entering the now. But words are only so important...if you're doing it and experiencing some benefit, good.

Awesome subject matter.

Ah yes, quite familiar. I've lived there for much of my life, and read the book True North for a class at NMU (which was partly about this). I think probably every single ancient tree is gone, which is so ridiculous to me...and now it's all ugly jack pines.

"There is a time for war."

Yes, if you've ever held an actual ceremonial tobacco leaf, or smelled THAT smoke...it's way different. Such a good feeling. http://www.furandhide.com/showcat.asp?id=7 <- a good source