liminal_luke

Dustybeijing, The topic of the relative merits healthwise of a vegetarian diet versus an omniverous one is a subject that rankles many, and I count myself among the most rankled. This whole conversation might arguably have been better served if I´d held back my little dig about vegetarian doctor/authors in my first posting is it opens up a sidetrack bugaboo many Bums would just a soon do without. My apologies. Liminal

You could comb the many threads here using "Kunlun" as a search word, and you might get a usable description somewhere, but if you´re really interested I´d spring for Sifu Jenny Lambs self-healing dvd through easterninternalarts.com. She includes several practices before and afterwards that you won´t find workably described here, practices that make it worth the buy, imo. So, I guess...short answer: no. (Not that I know of anyway.) You´ll find oodles of commentary from people who like the practice and those who don´t, but if you really want to learn the most cost-effective approach is a dvd.

As several bums have pointed out, it´s impossible to be separated from the Dao. Let me suggest a different framework: when you are involved in X activity (lifting weights or whatever), are you aligned with your own highest good?

Ho Kol ha-o-lam ku-lo gesher tzar me'od V'ha-i-kar lo l'fached klal The whole world is a very narrow bridge; the important thing is not to be afraid. -Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav

Should you set goals --absolutely! Of course, rarely do we set a goal and then steadily work toward it without any hiccups along the way, or at least that never happens to me. So, for me, the big question isn´t whether to set goals or not, but rather what to do when they aren´t getting met as initially envisioned. Push through like a robot ignoring all resistance? Give up? Modify and move on? This is where things get tricky, and there´s no easy answer. Sometimes I set goals that don´t make sense for me, but I don´t know this until I start. Sometimes the goal is right-on but the method I pick to get me there is flawed. Sometimes, like now, I just need to tell myself that I won´t die if I don´t eat that piece of cake.

I still like Kunlun/Yi Gung. Also primordial qi gong, aka "tai chi for enlightenment", as taught by Michael Winn.

Wow, so many good responses in this thread -- guess this is a topic people can relate with! Most lasting relationships have seasons of close proximity, and times when, for one reason or another, someones life takes that person physically away from the other. That´s not a bad thing; it´s an opportunity for growth. An opportunity to cultivate an openess to loving and being loved that´s not dependent on being constantly propped up with the easy comfort of physical presence.

I´m someone who wants friendships to last forever so it´s very sad for me when they don´t. According to a relationship expert I read awhile back (David Schnarch?), couples tend to be more or less at the same level of personal developement; one can´t get too far ahead of the other without a breakup. Maybe that´s true for friendship too? Grow faster than your buddies and you´re sure to leave some behind. Sad but true.

not to bump my head beautiful but dangerous your stalactite love

Not to fear, insects are making a comeback among more adventurous foodies. There are several upscale restaurants in Mexico city that specialize in insect-rich pre-hispanic fare. I used to live in Oaxaca where crickets are a common snack, though they taste more like the lime and chile they´re prepared with than anything else.

The low-fat craze may have started decades ago, but it continues today bolstered by vegetarian doctor/authors such as Dean Ornish. And it´s not like he´s totally wrong: a super low-fat diet might do wonderful things for a subset of heart patients, among others. Nutrition is a stupendously complicated science. But his diet advice isn´t right for everybody. Vegetarianism isn´t healthy for everybody, though it might be good for some. My mom went on a Dean Ornish type regimen for several years, swearing off olive oil and feeling guilty when she splurged on an avocado. She´s now very sick. Of course that proves nothing, I know. But I can´t help thinking his was not the right diet plan for her. Suppose you´re a doctor who strongly believes that eating animals is murder. Might that not predispose you favorably toward studies that point to saturated fat as a health bugaboo? Might that not blind you to studies showing it isn´t? Liminal

Ah, I dunno. I´ll bet this depends a great deal on the age of the ladies you´d like to impress.

I don´t think it´s a "conspiracy" in the sense of an organized campaign of disinformation. But there´s more to what were told is healthy than unbiased science: politics, money, mental inflexibility on the part of researchers who´ve staked their career on a certain position and are loathe to reverse course, the desire on the part of some ethical vegetarians to believe that saturated fat is the cause of all ills.

I´d be interested in the upshot of this for cultivators as well as those who simply want to safegaurd their health. Are these pathways kept clean and tidy bouncing on a rebounder or doing various shaking practices? Is this something that can be tuned into in meditation?

Dreambliss, One way to work towards a sense of limitlessness is to consider what you take to be your current limitations in a more open and free (limitless) mindset. You can transform apparent limitations by changing your view. For instance, rather than consider how onerous a particular condition is (not having any money, for example) you might consider how your current circumstances actually benefit you, teach you what you need to learn, etc. Cultivating a free and easy attitude -- and even, dare I say it, gratitude -- toward apparent limitations can help make them seem less limiting and more easily changed. Just my two cents, Liminal

The doctor has one opinion and your visions another, but in some cases even two opinions is not enough. My advice? Use that intuitive sense you have (as well as your own research of your mom´s condition and various treatment options) to lead you to other medical professionals for a third, fourth, or even fifth opinion. As you gather information and viewpoints from a wide spectrum of healing modalities --functional medicine, chinese medicine, ayurveda...etc -- you´ll likely find more clarity about the way forward. Liminal

the straight razors edge so much sharper than gillette deadly but so smooth

Tao stillness, Have you attended any of Sifu Jenny Lamb´s healer training retreats? If so, I´d be very interested in your impressions. Thanks!

I can´t speak as to the opinion of the Creator, but personally I consider thelerner our local expert on things Jewish.

I also love walking and try to get in my 10,000 steps daily using a pedometer. A pedometer is such a handy gadget because it´s so motivating. You realize that every little bit counts and feel inspired to walk a little bit extra here and there throughout the day. Ten thousand steps isn´t at all hard to reach, but it´s a little bit more than I would do without a pedometer so I usually have to go on a special walk in the evening. One time several years back I was waiting for a realtor friend outside his office. Realizing that I could get some steps in rather than just sitting around the lobby, I went outside and started pacing around the parking lot. The other realtors remarked to my friend Greg about the unusual activity saying that he had an especially nervous client. Liminal

Thanks CummingsJD, Very interesting, and instructive, reading. I agree, reluctantly, that cutting off the health coaching is for the best. It hasn´t been effective so far, and there´s not a lot of reason to think that would magically change in the future. He is indeed clouded and his mom could well be part of that. Not sure how it all results in a bouquet for me except that maybe it will be a relief to concentrate my energies on myself. Thanks again. I think you were spot-on. Liminal Luke

At my present stage in the cultivation game I don´t experience time especially fluidly. I´m not hopping around changing past and future at will. Even staying in the"now" is a formidable challenge. And yet I don´t doubt that it´s possible to change the past and travel far into the future. Such miraculous things seem possible to me because I believe there´s more to the universe than what I´ve experienced so far. So much more. In fact I´m absolutely sure of it.

If you have time for one more, I´ll throw my question in. The situation: My partner has serious mental health difficulties and I´m constantly trying to coach him with various practices and suggestions for his wellbeing (and, consequently, my wellbeing!)-- sleeping right, being social with people, chi gung, etc. The question: Can such health coaching efforts on my part bring him out of his delusional thinking, or am I ultimately incapable of changing his brain chemistry and perhaps better off not trying? Thanks!

Moderation is a great idea in theory, but I find it difficult to pull off because it´s not very gratifying to my ego. My ego prefers hardcore practice or nothing, often nothing. Take the ever-popular topic of "jing retention." I´ve read people saying that it´s good to retain in a moderate way, according to a schedule based on age for instance. Guys in their twenties can ejaculate a few times a week, once a week in your thirties, and so on. But have we ever had a thread advocating that approach? Not to my recollection. If guys are interested in the subject at all they want to go at least a hundred days, or, in one notable instance, ten years. More power to them, I say. Maybe it´ll be a good thing if they pull it off. But there ain´t nothing moderate about it.

How to suppress the mind when the mind you want to suppress is the same part of you that wants to do the suppressing? Maybe allow the thoughts to be there and feel into that space in and around them where it´s calm and quiet.