Aetherous

Thanks...that's exactly the wood I want to use, as well, but there are also a couple of other ingredients...so it'd be nice to get a smooth burn of all mixed together. I might just end up using sandpaper to powder it.

Does anyone know of a way to grind pieces of wood into a powder (besides using sandpaper or something)? Like a really high quality herb grinder/powderer that is inexpensive.

Best wishes to you.

Ya Mu suggested aloeswood many moons ago...it's great.

I'm personally cool with plastic cups, but not plastic water bottles...brief contact with plastic won't be as bad as sitting in plastic for months. I get spring water in glass jugs delivered by Mountain Valley. I had to google it to find it in my area...not use the locator on the website.

Apparently the Ben Cao Gang Mu goes into detail about many types of water. Here's an example, just for fun.

It actually helps to feel qi, if you relax, rather than focus hard. Focusing hard can cause qi deviation...that's the type of thing you don't want to feel (!), and it can be easy to push too far and too hard into that territory due to wanting results and progress. But the way to get results and progress, is to let go of results and progress, and just relax. Then the qi flows smoothly. Also, different practices will produce different results. Not saying whatever you're doing is bad, but maybe try some different ones.

Just a very quick brew, like 20-30 seconds, can cut caffeine to unnoticeable levels. It actually can help me fall asleep, as compared to having nothing...similar to a "hormetic effect". Just a suggestion...respecting the choice to cut caffeine sources entirely though!

I was just contemplating a similar theme last night...inhuman acts. Something that came to mind was how the people who do such things can easily be viewed as vicious monsters....but actually, if you consider the 'age' of their soul development (for lack of better words), these people are really like innocent little kids who don't know any better yet. Their souls are basically tiny and completely ineffective. In viewing them as dumb little kids making mistakes, instead of monsters that we need to battle, it helps us to not get into defend and attack mode, and do something wrong ourselves...but to forgive and forget instead, and move on with our lives.

I experienced psychosis for a few months or more...like the kind where I was actually apprehended by police at one point and taken into a ward against my will......but I healed it through this practice, as well as through teaching myself to realize when a thought seems conventionally crazy or not, and letting go of any ideas that are not totally grounded in the mundane material reality...as well as not needing to know the hidden truth of things, which I thought I had access to. Psychosis in my unqualified opinion, is usually a combination of irrational thinking, and a mental/nervous system that makes connections which normal people don't. Like the mind's filter is just not there. Today, as a result of what I practiced, I'm 99% cured, but there is still that 1% of me that will likely always feel not right, especially due to the emotionally traumatic nature of the experience. But the practice that's linked is exceptional for getting calm and normalized. It's similar to Buddhism's "calm abiding meditation on an external support". It can be really good to do in the morning, because it releases the mind and lets you flow more with life...really helpful for when you have to socialize with others. If the sense of self is flowing rather than stuck, then you have a much easier time. Also, years back I had strange health symptoms. Practicing the kunlun method took care of those after a few months. Blood pressure went down, genital problems normalized, anisocoria stopped altogether, skin problems ceased. That can be a good practice for strange physical issues, especially if you're also seeing a Chinese Medicine practitioner, who can take care of any other little things. For instance, I noticed that my upper neck would get a stagnation from practicing...perhaps due to the body trying to detox old stuff out. But it would have helped greatly if I just did some gua sha on the upper back and neck and took some ge gen. So yeah, maybe give kunlun method or yigong a shot, although it probably won't cure everything. AND...I was in a rut in my life the past few years. This is more spiritual, whereas the first was mental and emotional, and the second was mostly physical. So for spiritual problems, something that truly helped me, was to pray to God (and all the good helpers, whatever you prefer to call them) for guidance, protection, communion, communication, help, understanding and wisdom, to show me my path, etc. Truly pray for these things that you're having trouble with. My life has been turning around miraculously, and some of my other family members and friends have also been getting sudden improvements in their own lives. Getting out of their own ruts. Prayer can open things up in a way that you didn't think of, but which is totally appropriate for you. It's good for your life, to connect with the most positive forces. ... As for what you're going through, you may try the aforementioned things...but something that also comes to mind is simply making a list for what you need to work on. It's important not to be overwhelmed with what you need to do in your day to day life...putting it down on paper gets it out of your head, and then it's just a matter of taking action on each item one by one. Soon enough, the list is gone. You should know that you can achieve what you set your mind to, and what you're willing to work for. It is possible to get the life that you want. So for one, you should make a list (and constantly revise it) for what you want your life to be like. Think of it like a fun game, where you are designing your ideal life as well as your ideal self (the type of person you want to become). Then make a list for the ways you can begin to cause those things to happen. Real, actionable, items on that list. You have it within you to make these things happen. Struggles are sometimes a near constant part of life. But they are meant to be stepping stones along the path, and ways of learning through experience, rather than something that weighs you down and makes life simply miserable. So, it's good to stand up and face these obstacles you're having, as a spiritual warrior. Perhaps that is the quickest way through. Best of luck.

It's for the purpose of controlling your own drives, rather than being controlled by them. Just like your bolded sentence. No need to say that legitimate Daoist lineages are not "real taoism"...just because you've been taught slightly different.

Interesting...I will think about that further, because right now upon first reading, it's not completely clear to me. However, from at least two other legitimate Daoist sources, it's been taught that you actually do tuck the tailbone forward (literally a contradiction to what you are stating is an absolute truth), and that it is for a specific purpose. For instance, the tailbone being backward represents animal nature or our drives gaining control over us, and when we tuck it forward (and also with the huiyin closing) we become more human and able to control our drives or our mind (a similar mechanism is above, with the tongue touching the palate).

Saved the world from obliteration. Or at least I thought I did at the time...and it's the thought that counts, right?

It can help us learn best, by playing the role of a teacher. But it's good to remember that we are not teachers yet, and even if we think we are, we probably lack any serious students who care about what we're saying...and that there is truth which we haven't yet sought and found, outside of our own ideas...however good the ideas might be. Grasping onto what we know now, we miss what we could know...which is akin to knowing a 10x10 room, versus walking out the door and traveling anywhere in the world.

That might be for martial arts, but there's another purpose for doing it static. Different teachers saying different things...what is the absolute truth?

On this note, for the serious students who are interested in perfect practice: it's impossible to have good posture if your bones are held out of place by your muscles. Most people's pelvises (and sacrums, and spines) are out of alignment in some way or another...and in such cases, any attempts at postural cues will be ineffective in terms of fixing what's wrong. To illustrate: No matter how awesome your zhan zhuang or martial art teacher is, this kind of thing is not corrected by standing better (by tucking the pelvis or whatever other postural cue). The postural cues in zhan zhuang have other purposes, and are not for the purpose of musculoskeletal alignment. It's well known these days that tucking your pelvis and caving in your chest while rounding your shoulders forward, is literally the opposite of good posture. But it's done in zhan zhuang for, lets say, "energetic" reasons. Good to work with either a chiropractor, or preferably a PT or ATC who knows muscle energy technique to fix any musculoskeletal misalignments...which only compound themselves when practicing in the misaligned state. It is possible to have decent standing practice while being misaligned...your qi flow will improve...but what I mention is just for those striving toward the ideal.

Your loyalty to your friend should always be good (for a spiritual practitioner, disloyalty is not ever a virtue)...you don't want to hurt your friend in any way...but that does not mean you allow an eleven year old to be tied up by your friend. That would be betraying your loyalty to the innocence of that child, of course. I would absolutely call the cops on them. Justice is represented by a scale...in one sense, this means that you have to weigh the options, and make the better decision, because there isn't a clear best decision. Things are not black and white. You don't want your friend in prison...but he needs to be there if he's tying up eleven year olds. Preferably a comfy prison...because justice is not about malice, but about ensuring that peace is upheld for all people. My sense of "loyalty" is absolutely toward everyone/mankind, and I wasn't referring to being overly partial toward only some people. For instance, I don't have loyalty to police and "the law" when it comes to things like someone smoking pot or running a red light. I have loyalty to the people involved...and like to think that I always try to weigh the options clearly and make the better decision.

Does negativity breed more negativity, or does it elicit positive change? "The rich get richer and the poor get poorer" is a popular saying, and very likely a truism that applies to many aspects of life. That would be like negativity breeding more negativity...and positivity breeding more positivity. Another thing to think about: people literally look in the mirror, and how many of us say that we're overweight, yet don't do what it takes to change that? They know what to do, but it's just not happening. Pretty much everyone. Like 95% of people. It does happen that every once in a while, someone has the willpower to change themselves...but it's wishful thinking that holding up a mirror to the person is going to cause them to see the error of their ways. They probably cherish their ways, and totally identify with that already. Most of us have this wishful thinking of being able to change others, because most of us naturally poke and prod at people a little bit when we see them doing something we don't entirely agree with. Especially family members. If we can look in our own "mirror" and change ourselves away from ever micromanaging other people's lives, just that would be an amazing miracle. And human beings don't have the wisdom to be able to discern whether someone is ready for a life lesson or not. Even the fates don't do that great of a job at it...because miserable situations don't always equal character development! There's already enough misery in our world. Seems to me, it takes the spiritual equivalent of being the greatest brain surgeon in the world, in order to effectively heal someone's karma through having them get passing grades on their life lessons. Just some thoughts to share with you.

I scour every single one.

The two bolded parts are conflicting.

Care to share your review of it? Maybe I'll check it out.

Casual gongfu ceremony. I like how the teas are generally steeped very short (less than a minute), so you just get the essence of the flavor, and not the bitterness. Oolongs, baby.

Well, sometimes people just are who they are, and you can't really change that. I'm thinking of a friend of mine...I always had the intention to be there for him as his good friend, to show him a better way to live by example, to talk about it at times without forcing a change on him (which is actually a very unfriendly thing to do). His life might have turned out much worse if I hadn't been there as his friend at times...but it's not like he became a really good person after all. He's still basically a criminal type, despite us having been fairly good friends for many years. I would still help him out if he's in a jam...not just because I have almost a complete lack of respect for authority...not because I will get some reward spiritually, although I think that is the case...but because I'm a friend to him. Sometimes you just have to accept people as they are, and KNOW they aren't changing. Or learn the hard way, by continually failing to change them. And then if you're on the spiritual path...it's your choice to either be good to them as they are, or to shun them for who they are. The former is good cultivation, and the latter cultivates the opposite of spirituality. True spiritual cultivation is to be accepting of them with their faults. It can help to think of them like a unique spice...you don't want to rid the entire world of black pepper just because you took a tablespoon full of it at once. It serves a unique purpose in the bigger picture...in the right combination. If you're the friend, then be the spice that brings balance to that black pepper. It might mean that life gets less easy by being around such a person...but that too is part of real spiritual cultivation. Also...in talking about criminals...there's a point where I would not help them. Like if it's a serial killer or rapist or something (not speaking from experience, this is just hypothetical). Sometimes you have to lend your hand in administering justice, and it's good to have a well calibrated scale, to weigh out your options. Sometimes a true friend could stop helping the criminal, for the sake of the greater good.

I personally think it's a virtue, and is literally always good. Even if lets say, you're a loyal friend to someone who is a criminal, and give them shelter when running from the law or something. What you're doing is good. You might be the only person in the world who has unlimited compassion for them...and that can mean a lot. Who they are doesn't hurt you as much as your decision to either be loyal or not...the decision not to be, is what can truly damage you. Even if you were to be thrown in prison for being an accomplice to the crime, for helping your friend...which undeniably seems like a horrible thing...at least you can sit in there with a clear conscience. This is called honor...which in the past, was a more important concept to more people than it is today. So, that decision in the moment is really the only thing you have control over. To be loyal or not. You do not control your friend's decisions...that's on them. You being unfriendly does not help them to change their ways. You only control how you respond to this world, and spiritual cultivation deals precisely with this decision that you make. Will you respond positively, helping others, being a good example, being a true friend? Or will you be unloyal...be a poor friend...not help people who need it...focus on the negative...? Anyway...I get that it doesn't always seem like the wisest thing. For instance in abusive relationships. You have to take care of yourself first and foremost in life. Just providing a case for my view on loyalty being a virtue.