old3bob

I'd say one of those tests is that "they" can not give one anything in essence that we don't already have - although it may be more or less hidden or undeveloped in us. (Thus there can be no forced lording over) as for a school that has the term "neo" tacked onto it who knows for sure? Thus as beginners we should at least "judge a tree by its fruit"

"to think" includes to doubt....but I get your point. And thus we might ask and or also have doubts as to who is qualified to clarify which is another can of worms or poison arrow...

to me endless and mind blowing speculations and transcendent sounding projections that try to jump over multiple "steps" are dubious at best, and can also become like "poison arrows" as called in Buddhism.

I appreciate the quote below to un-blow a blown mind: "Teaching of "Non-form" indicates non-attachment to form. Misinterpreted, it is adopted as holding to absence of form. Abiding in no forms at all, one falls into the abyss of void. Only in no grasping to form or non-form lies true liberation".

any misuse of powers will answer to inductive reactance. (using an electrical term analogy) Whereas zero resistance to the working of Spirit will have zero reactance...which would be at 100% purity. (thus not unlike a super conductor in using another electrical analogy)

The Doctrine of the Upanishads by Swami Krishnananda https://www.swami-krishnananda.org/disc/disc_72.html

Commentary on the Isavasya Upanishad by Swami Krishnananda Part 1 "The first two mantras of the Isavasya Upanishad are supposed to give us in a few words a perfect philosophy of life. There are thinkers who feel that if none of the Upanishads becomes available at any time, and if only these two verses remain, that will sustain the world of philosophy. What this Upanishad in its commencing mantras tells us at the very outset is something which we always forget, but which has to be kept in mind constantly if there is to be any meaning in our living in this world. What it makes out in the beginning is that there is the same invisible content pervading all things, connecting everything with everything else, and bringing about a relationship of all diversity, whatever be its nature – organic or inorganic, living or non-living. Whatever be the nature of the diversity of content, irrespective of this nature of diversity, a mysterious link brings them together into a perfect formation and leaves nothing unrelated. Right from the highest heaven to the lowest atom conceivable, everything is taken notice of, and all these things are put in their proper position. The manner in which things are put in proper position is called organisation. Where such a thing is not done, it is chaos and a medley, a pell-mell, a presentation of meaninglessness. The relation that this unknown content manages to maintain is proportionally manifested. It does not strike everything with the same blow. The prick of a needle by a physician varies in its intensity from the hammer of a blacksmith or the axe of a woodcutter, etc. We have examples of difference in the manner of the placement of values. Yet everything is connected. The brain, the heart and the lungs, and the limbs of the body are placed in a position of unitedness. This is something known to us in our daily life. But they are not just chaotically related. They are in their different particularities placed in the proper context. The different limbs of the body perform different functions, one not overlapping the other, one not repeating the function that the other does, yet not contradicting the function of the other. Such a relation is maintained throughout the variety of creation, presenting a beautiful picture of perfection that this creation really is. The different kinds of work that the limbs of the body perform do not create ugliness in their performances. We know what the teeth and the tongue do, the ears and the eyes do, and the legs and the feet, fingers, and so on do. Even the hairs on the body have some function to perform. But irrespective of a distance apparently being there between their functions, all of them look perfectly all right. The feet are as beautiful as the nose and the eyes and the face. Their position is the one that is intended for us. When a particular thing occupies a position intended for it, it looks beautiful. When it does not occupy that position and occupies somebody else’s seat, it is not beauty. Incidentally, it appears to us that beauty is not a solid substance which we can touch with our fingers. It is an arrangement, a pattern, a relativity of adjustment and a proportionate recognition of values, bringing all these values into a completion, such that the whole which they constitute gives a magical touch of perfection to every little part of which the whole is made. The whole gives its beauty in a requisite proportion to every part which belongs to it, and of which it is constituted. The different limbs of the body look beautiful because they cooperate with the wholeness of the organism, which we call this body. Any particular part of the body which does not so cooperate hangs unconnectedly with the system. Its beauty vanishes in a second. A hair that is severed from the head has no beauty. It has a beauty only when it is stuck to the head, in the place where it has a position. Even the nail on a finger has its beauty. It loses its beauty when it is cut off from the finger. Isolated parts, unrelated to the whole to which they really belong, become ugly, redundant, unnecessary things, contingent aspects, and not anything contributing to vital life. The meaning of life, in this light, appears to be a participation that is called upon everyone in relation to that organisation to which each one belongs. Extending the analogy of the physical body to larger organizations, we will feel that we live only when we participate in a larger-than-ourselves. When we do not participate in a system to which we necessarily belong, we do not really live. We just hang on. There is a difference between hanging on and actually living. A paralysed part of the body may hang on, but it is not living. It is not a part of the body. It exists. We can see it hanging lifelessly, as it were, to no purpose. The life of a person comes to no purpose when the participation expected of that person in the context of the whole to which that person belongs is absent. The society of human beings is an organization, and everyone belongs to human society as long as one is a human being. The very finitude of human organisms compels them to participate in a system known as society. There is no necessity for a perfected individual to participate in anything. But the perfected individual is a misnomer, because that which is perfect cannot be an individual. Anyone who is an individual, human or otherwise, is, therefore, not perfect in any sense of the term. Thus, considering even the lowest category to which one belongs in a conceived wholeness, the human individual has to participate in the organic activity of society..." https://www.swami-krishnananda.org/disc/disc_186.html

This speaks for itself without speculation (imo) Isa Upanishad (Isavasya Upanishad) Source: "The Upanishads - A New Translation" by Swami Nikhilananda Invocation Om. That is full; this is full. This fullness has been projected from that fullness. When this fullness merges in that fullness, all that remains is fullness. Om. Peace! Peace! Peace! 1 All this-whatever exists in this changing universe-should be covered by the Lord. Protect the Self by renunciation. Lust not after any man's wealth. 2 If a man wishes to live a hundred years on this earth, he should live performing action. For you, who cherish such a desire and regard yourself as a man, there is no other way by which you can keep work from clinging to you. 3 Verily, those worlds of the asuras are enveloped in blind darkness; and thereto they all repair after death who are slayers of Atman. 4 That non-dual Atman, though never stirring, is swifter than the mind. The senses cannot reach It, for It moves ever in front. Though standing still, It overtakes others who are running. Because of Atman, Vayu, the World Soul apportions the activities of all. 5 It moves and moves not; It is far and likewise near. It is inside all this and It is outside all this. 6 The wise man beholds all beings in the Self and the Self in all beings; for that reason he does not hate anyone. 7 To the seer, all things have verily become the Self: what delusion, what sorrow, can there be for him who beholds that oneness? 8 It is He who pervades all-He who is bright and bodiless, without scar or sinews, pure and by evil unpierced; who is the Seer, omniscient, transcendent and uncreated. He has duly allotted to the eternal World-Creators their respective duties. 9 Into a blind darkness they enter who are devoted to ignorance (rituals); but into a greater darkness they enter who engage in knowledge of a deity alone. 10 One thing, they say, is obtained from knowledge; another, they say, from ignorance. Thus we have heard from the wise who have taught us this. 11 He who is aware that both knowledge and ignorance should be pursued together, overcomes death through ignorance and obtains immortality through knowledge. 12 Into a blind darkness they enter who worship only the unmanifested prakriti; but into a greater darkness they enter who worship the manifested Hiranyagarbha. 13 One thing, they say, is obtained from the worship of the manifested; another, they say, from the worship of the un-manifested. Thus we have heard from the wise who taught us this. 14 He who knows that both the un-manifested prakriti and the manifested Hiranyagarbha should be worshipped together, overcomes death by the worship of Hiranyagarbha and obtains immortality through devotion to prakriti. 15 The door of the Truth is covered by a golden disc. Open it, O Nourisher! Remove it so that I who have been worshipping the Truth may behold It. 16 O Nourisher, lone Traveler of the sky! Controller! O Sun, Offspring of Prajapati! Gather Your rays; withdraw Your light. I would see, through Your grace, that form of Yours which is the fairest. I am indeed He, that Purusha, who dwells there. 17 Now may my breath return to the all-pervading, immortal Prana! May this body be burnt to ashes! Om. O mind, remember, remember all that I have done. 18 O Fire, lead us by the good path for the enjoyment of the fruit of our action. You know, O god, all our deeds. Destroy our sin of deceit. We offer, by words, our salutations to you. End of Isa Upanishad

I can't remember the last time I talked with a switchboard operator (or made a party line call as in one line that several people used)...alas one cpu will never replace all those helpful people!

Wishing you a good and quick recovery also without further complication's! old3bob

these days kids are mostly seen behind a computer....and hand writing is not used much.

absolute simplicity, is the secret which (manipulative) powers of the mind can not fathom.

I'd put it as not in the mind which is of things, but when mind is perfectly stilled...

tried this a few times...but it will take a whole lot more than just a few trys to create a good stone tool or blade.

water sports can be great fun and challenging, btw. I found competitive water polo (in high school) to be very exhausting , thus taking the fun out of it.

no matter how great one side or the other is at pulling, the trap will remain for both.

MARCH 27, 2020 The Propaganda Virus: Is Anyone Immune? BY KOLLIBRI TERRE SONNENBLUME “One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we’ve been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We’re no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us. It’s simply too painful to acknowledge, even to ourselves, that we’ve been taken. Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back.” —Carl Sagan I haven’t eaten fast food chicken since 2001, or a fast food burger since 1995. Giving these things up was part of an ongoing process of cleaning up my diet in terms of both health and ethics, and I haven’t missed either of them. Yet regularly, when I catch a whiff of KFC or McDonalds, I’ll experience a momentary pang of desire, even though I’m sure I’d get sick if I actually consumed any of that crap at this point. The reason for this is simple: many aromas released by fast food restaurants are scientifically developed in laboratories for the purpose of triggering physiological responses. My craving is not a sign of missing fried chicken (I don’t) or reflective of an inherent bodily need for beef (there’s no such thing) or even an instinctual response to the smell of cooking meat (that claim lacks scientific consensus). Rather, it ironically points out that my senses function normally (as in, within the range of the average or conventional) because they are responding as they are supposed to. Obviously, as with everything else, different people will react more or less strongly to such stimuli, with some percentage instead experiencing the opposite of the intended reaction (distaste). Despite such exceptions, the rule stands. These companies wouldn’t be using these methods if they weren’t more effective than not. A tremendous amount of money and time goes into developing these things, and it’s not wasted. Propaganda is analogous. Under the heading of “propaganda” I am including public relations, political grandstanding, corporate news, and a lot of “entertainment.” Both the messaging and delivery mechanisms are carefully honed using polling, focus groups, psychological research, and much more. It’s all very scientific. In this essay, I am focusing on news media, because that’s what I’m most familiar with, but much of what I discuss here applies across the board. The sophisticated nature of propaganda means that merely being “smart” is not enough to escape its effects. Indeed, the propaganda served up to educated people is merely another set of flavors, and is otherwise no less successfully manipulative. NPR appeals to its listeners by assuring them they are intelligent (and more intelligent than Fox viewers). But while NPR listeners might, by and large, have received higher levels of schooling, that’s merely a signifier of class and not proof of independent thinking. As early as 1982, it was already obvious that TV news was becoming insipid. Don Henley, formerly of the Eagles, took a searing view of the news with his hit song, “Dirty Laundry“: We got the bubble-headed bleach-blonde who comes on at five She can tell you about the plane crash with a gleam in her eye It’s interesting when people die, give us dirty laundry Since then, things have only gotten worse—much worse. The internet has expanded propaganda’s reach from people’s living rooms to handheld devices that they take everywhere they go. I have a friend who aptly calls smart phones “Personal Propaganda Devices.” I’m a vociferous critic of the corporate news media, but I don’t consider myself immune from its pernicious effects. I find that it takes constant vigilance to stave off its mental and emotional assaults. Even though I barely ever consume corporate media directly, I still have to be wary of its influence, which seeps out into other media, and—worst of all—is carried and spread by countless individuals as if they are stating their own thoughts and opinions. “Viral” indeed. I am reminded of a passage from J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Two Towers,” in which the author describes the voice of the wizard, Saruman, who was a turncoat and a con: “Suddenly another voice spoke, low and melodious, its very sound an enchantment. Those who listened unwarily to that voice could seldom report the words that they heard; and if they did, they wondered, for little power remained in them. Mostly they remembered only that it was a delight to hear the voice speaking, all that it said seemed wise and reasonable, and desire awoke in them by swift agreement to seem wise themselves. When others spoke they seemed harsh and uncouth by contrast; and if they gainsaid the voice, anger was kindled in the hearts of those under the spell. For some the spell lasted only while the voice spoke to them, and when it spoke to another they smiled, as men do who see through a juggler’s trick while others gape at it. For many the sound of the voice alone was enough to hold them enthralled; but for those whom it conquered the spell endured when they were far away, and ever they heard that soft voice whispering and urging them. But none were unmoved; none rejected its pleas and its commands without an effort of mind and will, so long as its master had control of it.” Tolkien wrote these words in the mid 20th Century but they ring with relevance today. Scholar Tom Shippey hit the mark when he described Saruman’s language as that of a politician, and one could also consider it the language of media propaganda. Propaganda is not merely about what is being reported and what is not—though the omissions are certainly damaging enough; it’s about setting the limits of what is acceptable to discuss. Says Chomsky: “The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum.” This is exactly what we see, everyday, in virtually everything printed by the NYT and WaPo: the defining of conventional constraints and the shrill rhetoric admitted within them. Freud referred to this kind of kind of thing as the “narcissism of small differences.” Politics is reduced to electoral politics (through the expulsion of community organizing, direct action, etc.), and electoral politics is reduced to a battle between Republicans and Democrats. Writer Kristine Mattis captured the superficiality of this hyper partisan politics in her essay, “Democracy is Not a Team Sport“: “Team alliances in such trivial matters as sports and pop culture may be of little significance, save for the time, effort, and money spent on these trivialities which could be better spent on matters of consequence. However, strict team alliances in politics serve to manipulate the masses and obfuscate the issues. What results is a highly polarized, divisive society in which the suffering of the people and the crumbling of our ecological life support system go on almost unabated. Those at the top of Team D and Team R forge forward, reaping the rewards of our toils on the bottom.” In reality, the two teams have far, far more in common than not, starting with their ardent devotion to capitalism. Conversely, we are strongly discouraged from bringing up third parties or non-Capitalist alternatives, even though the beneficial influence of both (and more) is readily apparent with even a cursory glance around the rest of the world. I will emphasize that I do not ascribe the propaganda environment in its entirety to a grand conspiracy, though it would be naïve to deny that many discrete details and methods have indeed been carefully planned and tested. But that’s only at the practical level. At a deeper level, the kidders are themselves being kidded. A NYT reporter doesn’t need to be given orders; they believe their own hype. Chris Hedges hits this topic in “Empire of Illusion.” He explains how the elite of the US, including members of the mainstream media, attend the same upper crust institutions, where they are molded to conform to what are no more than high class forms of narrow-mindedness. Gone are the days where the beat reporter shared beers with the factory worker at the local bar. Too many reporters were elevated from such humble strata, and came to associate—both in person and in their own heads—with the managers and owners they should be calling to account. At the same time, the economic status of factory workers fell as manufacturing jobs were outsourced and unions beaten down. On top of all that, 40% of newsroom jobs have been cut since the year 2000. The tethers that once grounded media in the lives of everyday people were cut. So what do we do with this information? Admittedly, the only way I’ll ever be able to drive down a suburban shopping strip and not be lured by the aroma of fast food is if I lose my sense of smell or if all those joints shut down. I’m afraid the same is probably true of propaganda. Short of a lobotomy or a media collapse, we will all remain vulnerable to its powerful draw. I believe the best choice is to shut it out the best we can. Just as it doesn’t make sense for me to get a burger and fries at the drive-thru just for the point of seeing whether or not it’s still bad for me, there’s no point for me to imbibe in corporate media “just to keep track” of it or to “know the enemy” or whatever, unless I am specifically engaged in media criticism, with my senses on full alert. Propaganda works by being insidious, not obvious, and it’s far too easy to get pulled in. As Malcolm X said: “If you’re not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing.” We should also support alternative media, which has is always under assault from the mainstream, but especially in these days of algorithm-driven censorship. I also strongly recommend that people follow the work of Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting, Media Matters, Project Censored and other media watchdog groups. They do an excellent and admirable job of slogging into the propaganda trenches and revealing the muck they find. I get FAIR’s daily emails and they help keep my eyes and my mind open. And finally, we should remember that Mark Twain’s words apply to all of us in one moment or another: “It is easier to fool people than to convince them they have been fooled.” Kollibri terre Sonnenblume is a writer living on the West Coast of the U.S.A. More of Kollibri’s writing and photos can be found at Macska Moksha Press.

I could surf but not ice skate worth beans...(thus a danger to myself and others with knife like runners on my feet ;-)

hmm, glad i could watch Mash all over again during covid even if the guys in it played kind of macho drinkers.... (which was partly in context for the time and place)

see your six or seven volumes and raise you a wall full...(all at once )

to back that up shouldn't there be 6 or 7 volumes of text...(not all at once but spread out over several days)

Since Seth has been mentioned several times....didn't he go over to some type of magical/sorcery path? It's been a long time but I remember some later posts like that and I don't recall them being about Buddhism or Hinduism.

look ma no fenders for when I slide off the back! (not retro but what the heck when its fun) and some crazy snow cycling...

https://www.hindujagruti.org/hinduism/knowledge/article/what-is-the-origin-of-tandav-dance.html