Ryan T.

I would start by separating the issues. One being the potential vasectomy and the other being, probably the more important, stability of your marriage. The easier one is the vasectomy. You should only do it if you are personally, outside of the context of your marriage, comfortable with everything that goes along with this procedure. It should be considered permanent in spite of the stories people may read about having it reconnected. Personally, I wouldn't worry about the energetic effects or damage to the body. Which brings be to the more important topic... Your relationship is one of the things that can have the biggest impact on you energetically as well as physically. Before you make any decision regarding a vasectomy you probably should seek out some marriage counseling of some sort. Something like a vasectomy should not be "a real stumbling block" to a marriage. Nor should you be considering an operation at the urging or "pushing" of someone you are not completely secure with. There are great reasons to have the procedure done. It makes it a lot easier on the woman for sure. But if you are not stable in your relationship with this woman then you should not even consider it. I would also say you have no business having sex with this person if it is your relationship is this unstable. That could be a decision that could affect for the rest of your life as well. A child with someone that you don't have a rock-solid relationship with...that would be way worse for your energetics and overall health!

Until the next mating season when the "strongest" gets challenged all over again and at some point gets damaged/dies and is de-throwned. Until someone comes along and chops down the biggest tree because it is the biggest and strongest and has the straightest wood. I find the more that I apply this idea to my life the easier my life gets. It most certainly improves my internal martial arts training. I find there is a real benefit to investing in loss.

Sure, but we're talking about Jesus. I grew up "Christian" but fell away from all belief systems before I started really looking at things. Now I see Jesus as the Sufis see him...as one of our own. Of course his words and works have been distorted as most all religious figures have been.

Daschle was one of the main architects of the healthcare part of the legislation. But I think you are a little confused as to his take on the medical profession. He, as well as most doctors, see a lot of waste in the healthcare system. Should a 95 year old be able to get knee or hip replacements? How about a heart transplant? With the way things are set up currently this happens quite frequently. $60k per knee or hip! This is the kind of thing Daschle is against. You might read his book to get a clearer perspective. And doctors in the U.S. hardly work from any place of autonomy. They are limited in their schooling, which happens to funded heavily by drug companies. They are so overworked that much of current data they get on drugs is from drug reps. And the amount of time and courses of treatment are already highly regimented by the insurance companies. There is little any bill from Congress can do to make the healthcare situation in the U.S. worse. In fact, I applaud any steps to change the current system.

Those look intense. I've used the Gripmaster series. While not as pound-intensive as the Captains of Crush, the Gripmasters allow you work individual fingers. I love mine. I crunch them when I drive. I may have to look at the CoC to add to my "kung-fu grip"!

Then you probably wouldn't be on the internets talking about milk and whether or not it's beneficial. You'd be too busy self-actualizing!

This whole "milk is anti-tao" perspective just doesn't hold water in my book. While I agree that humans should not be so fixated on milk products as they generally aren't needed for good health I really feel to associate us with the animals on such broad terms is an over-simplification. After all humans cook their meat and vegetables. Any other animals do that? So is that against the tao? Not according the TCM. Bringing foods up to a higher temperature for better digestion is something humans do that no other animal does. And the other milks you mention do not exist. They are something that man has created. In fact soy is an inherently unhealthy product that is perpetuated by big agribusiness such as Monsanto, Northrup King and the like. Plus, the phyto-estrogens in soy milk are devastating to anyone except peri- or post-menopausal women. Grain products such as rice or rice milk are patently anti-tao as the ancients were always very wary of this type of agriculture. Grain production absolutely took man out of nature and tethered him to the land in very unnatural ways. In fact most of the modern problems we have are due to this "safe, steady" food supply. So while I agree that humans do not need milk products they are not as patently unhealthy as you have painted them. As for the original question. In the U.S., organic milk cannot be produced using antibiotics or hormones. And yes, unpasteurized milk retains it "healthful" values but people need to make sure they are getting it from a reputable source as it is a living food and is full of bacteria both good and potentially bad. Pasteurization defined. If a person must consume milk, goats milk is probably the best as it is the most structurally similar to human milk.

I tend to see prayer as less about an omnipotent being helping or intervening in people's lives and more about an energetic change in the way the person who is praying relates to the issue at hand. A prayer takes it out of the person's hands. The prayer says "[insert higher power here], this is too big for me to handle. Do you think you might provide me the guidance, strength, wisdom, etc. to facilitate a better outcome?" Which to me takes the person's ego out of the equation. It says I can't do this on my own. It opens the person praying up to the interconnectedness in the world. And that is something I think more people could stand to contemplate more often.

Master T.T. Liang had ten theorems for his daily guiding principles. This is number 2: "If I believe entirely in books, better not read books. If I rely entirely on teachers, better not have teachers."

How does one define oneself as an "accomplished" energy practitioner? Or is this one of those "if you have to ask" things?

Why do we think that what we "call" photosynthesis is not killing? Or really I think it all comes down to energy transformation. Sometimes I think we just have to accept the limitations related to the fact that we are spirits having a physical experience. Our need to consume other stored energy sources is just part of those limitations. We eventually will be consumed in some shape or fashion. I do quite well with what I eat. I have spent a large portion of my life dedicated to ethical food choices, both personally and professionally. This topic does make me realize that I have not been doing enough on the spiritual side of my diet. Along with greater gratitude I have also been focusing very intently on my internal economy to become more and more efficient with what I consume. I haven't really done any energy blessings/cleansing with my food but often I will pray over it. I believe that to hold a vast amount of energy blessing/cleansing though...so maybe I do! And I do not draw an ethical line in the sand when it comes to fruits/vegetables vs. meat. All deserve our gratitude!

That makes no sense to me. When in nature would you eat or even be able to eat an avocado seed? Our mouths are our natural juicers/blenders. If my mouth can't do it then it's not to be done!

My experiences have led me to believe that anything we can think of: can happen, is happening or has happened!

As others have stated service can be a true help to situations of the heart. Your practice should be an important part. Remember "the stillness in stillness is not the true stillness". As your practice develops you will be able to take more of the meditation and groundedness with you into all your experiences. This kind of leads back to what I posted about your push hands practice the other day. Working under a good teacher can help lead you out of the wilderness so to speak. But if you are unable to continue on with your teacher for the time being just continue(religiously) with what you have learned. It will help. The other thing you may want to consider is that either/neither you or your mate should be in this relationship. If your relationship is causing you the greatest problems you may want to look into counseling if it is a relationship you are dedicated to or you may want to just "nip it in the bud" if it is still early enough to not be too invested in it. Whatever happens I think you are in a good place as most people, no matter what the age, never have the type of realizations that you are having. Pain sure is a good catalyst for change!

I would. I find most people's ideas about what push-hands should feel like to be completely off from how it is intended to be. People focus in a lot on the push. When, especially in the beginning, it should be all about the neutralize. IMO, unless people have several years of experience under a good teacher they should slow down their push hands. My understanding is that push hands help you to better understand your own weaknesses and faults. The pushes or positions that make you the most uncomfortable or trapped are the situations that you will be able to learn the most from. So if you do not have any guidance from either a proper teacher who is overseeing your push hands curriculum or a partner who knows enough to put you in those situations from time to time to stretch your comfort level I don't see how you gain any real insight. Plus, as a beginner do you want someone else who is also a beginner propelling you into the wall or mattress or whatever you use when you want to issue a bit of power? And I am a big believer in the system. Form, weapons and two-person sensitivity work all come together to form the whole of the experience. I learn the form to give myself a base for weapons and push hands. I practice weapons to learn the different energies each weapon(sword, saber and spear) has to accentuate which adds more depth to my form. I practice push hands to eliminate those deficiencies which keep me from being fully relaxed and eventually to learn more practical applications in a clinch-type setting. This of course makes my form that much more relaxed and meditative. For me in my practice, it all starts and ends with form. I have also seen people get hurt by people who don't know what they are doing. It really is about investing in loss. Push hands is a great ego-deflation tool. Most people don't know this and anxiety can build up in a partner and when it comes time to push they let that anxiety come out on you. If you are going to be relatively new to push hands and practice with someone who is also relatively new to push hands go soft and slow. Practice basic drills. Maybe some 4 directions. And I would probably avoid willow. Most of this is, of course, just my opinion based on my limited experience with this topic.

The horse stance issue may just be your body still getting used to that length of duration. Give it more time and it should come together for you. IME, push-hands requires the guidance of a teacher. Two relatively inexperienced practitioners can feel out some some things but questions should be brought back to your teacher or at least someone that has years more experience with it than yourselves. Practice time is very important but if you don't have someone to bring your specific questions back to it will take much longer to increase your skills. What aspects of push-hands are you two working on? And what exactly do you mean by "flow"?

How deep is your horse stance?

Ask you teacher! For the most part the exercises you are doing are ones that he has practiced for years. Explain your issues and I am sure he will be able to give advice or alter your practices to help alleviate this pain. There is plenty of advice you can get from the forum but he should be the first person you ask!

As mentioned above, Dr. Hauschka is excellent. They use a lot of Biodynamics/Organics. Hauschka is pretty old school at this point. There are a couple of new kinds on the block that both my wife and I just love. Suki is great. I especially love the Lemongrass Cleanser! The other one is evanhealy. Wonderful products! Both Suki and evanhealy are very much about organics and sustainable practices as well. Try not to buy any of these products retail though. Find a friend that works at either a Whole Foods or a natural food store/coop. Generally staff members from these types of stores can order directly from these skin care companies at cost or just above.

So aren't you kind of throwing the baby out with the bath water? It sounds to me as if you are against inhumane treatment of animals. If that is the case, then you could surely eat the myriad of organic, free-range, grass-fed, cruelty-free meats that have been made available more and more in recent years. All of my studies seem to indicate that eating grains is far more unhealthy and unnatural for humans to consume. And I still don't understand how you can talk about compassion for the animals with no real consideration for the plants. I pretty sure the only "karma-free" diet(Sorry, only word I thought appropriate) would be of fruit that dropped from a tree that you would only eat a portion of to still allow the seeds of the fruit enough nutrition and protection to potentially grow to its potential. The plants think. The plants feel. Where is your compassion for their suffering?

How do you know we're not?

I don't know so much about the new age "movement" as I do about those who talk about it. Those who talk about it tend to have a shallow understanding of the ideas they speak of. Crystals, herbs, chants, talismans and such. These things can have great power but, IME, most people who speak of them tend to have generally smaller insight in their uses. Plus, the people who speak most about their usefulness tend to be the least together people I have known. Of course this is all anecdotal but anecdotal evidence can reveal a larger truth. It is the same thing with life coaches. The vast majority of life coaches I have met seem to me to be the most in need of life coaches. It's like AA or something. They think by helping others(and calling themselves a life coach and charging for it) they will get their own life together. I also agree with what mikaelz said. But I think the same thing happens to many of us on this board including myself. Many of us have a huge mix of traditions and practices. Many of them have not been given their due diligence. We are always looking for the better practice, the next martial arts form or what have you. If we all took even a year to focus on what we already have, even if it isn't the best practice, I believe we would find a much deeper and more profound understanding of ourselves. Not that many on here don't do this but many do not.

Not necessarily. Most people are at different places and to say things like sex, orgasm or ejaculations are needed is a an over-simplification. I believe people should listen to their bodies and have some level of analysis about what they are or are not doing. I have not seen any practice which can or should be applied with a "cookie-cutter" approach. Although I do agree that sex is quite natural I find that we, in the West, tend to have an unhealthy fixation on it. Even the idea of celibacy seems to me to be a bit of a fixation. Things are appropriate when they are appropriate. When you have respect for yourself and your partner(potential or otherwise) this just is not an issue. And as far as advice is concerned, I say try to release yourself from the fixation. Immerse yourself in your studies. And by far the best thing I have found to keep myself away from fixation, sexual or otherwise, was and is to immerse myself in service to others. True service without thought of self.

I, personally, have explored many different diets. From true vegan to red meat eater. To start, I really try to see all food as sacred and a blessing. While I do agree that many meat eaters over indulge in the flesh and some moderation could be found, I also find most arguments regarding vegetarianism to be flawed. There is much research that shows that plants have just as much ability to think, feel and exist as any other creature. We as humans have only recently been able to start to grasp the slow and subtle nature of these otherly beings. For me, to summarily draw a line in the sand to say that this is life(meat based food) and this is not(plants and such) is akin to when slavery was practiced. Slaves were viewed as savages from the jungle and that was used a rationalization to what was done to them. Those broccoli and lettuce fields in Southern California are just much factory farms with as much suffering attached. We just don't have the senses to observe how these creatures live. To for me personally, I try to be grateful for everything I have to eat. And living where I do in the cold north of Minnesota, I find it necessary to consume flesh-foods in order to maintain my energy levels, especially during the colder months. I see grains as more harmful to spiritual development than meat. From a natural perspective(Taoist?), meat is readily available. Grains take an awful lot of work to create and cook in order to get anything out of them. Taoists from the beginning were wary of agriculture(read: grain production) as it is unnatural food stuffs and requires much more work. We also become a slave to the land. But I do believe every person needs to find a balance of what works best for their own body and actively work to refine those needs.

Hyperbole much? Complete bullshit? Nothing in western scholarship regarding the East is at all accurate or insightful? Overstatements do nothing to correct statements one believes to be inaccurate. This is an interesting topic. Strangely I was just thinking about this as I drifted off on a nap this afternoon.