liminal_luke
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Everything posted by liminal_luke
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In general, I donĀ“t think setting out to make someone -- male or female -- cry is a good idea. Even if it seems to help the relationship or make for better sex. There are easier, more harmonious ways, to do those things. That said, no relationship is unending bliss and we can grow from conflict. Sometimes there will be tears and thatĀ“s ok. Liminal
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What would you tell your 20 year old self?
liminal_luke replied to qvrmy11vz's topic in General Discussion
Oh to ask this question! I'd like to ask the bums over 70 or so what they'd advise their 48 year old selves. Darn it though, but somehow that inquiry doesn't have the same ring of rightness to it as your OP. Then again, perhaps it's just my ageism (or the late middle age blues) that makes me think my desire for life-advice less valid. Much of the advice I'd give my 20 year old self would serve me just as well today. Trouble is, I'm not so sure I'm any more willing to take it now than I was then. Well, maybe a little more willing. I dunno. What advice would you give your 10 year old self? Your 15 year old self? Maybe you've gained more wisdom in the last five or ten years than you think. And how much of that advice would still apply? Liminal -
Thanks Joeblast. That was very helpful. I'm somewhat of a measurement junkie, and I do think it helps keep me motivated and engaged, but can also be detrimental when it becomes somewhat of a neurotic fixation. Not so very different, perhaps, from the way I use my pedometer. The point is just to go for a walk. Liminal
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Joeblast, I'm a little confused. Do you think there's value in training to slow down the breath rate? At the moment my goals are more to stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system and just generally ratchet myself down a bit (blood pressure, heart rate, anxiety). I set the metronome so I'm breathing at 5 bpm, which is pretty easy for me right now but also feels therapeutic in terms of calming down. Figured I would work at gradually slowing down from there. I'd like to see if I can get down to a breath a minute or so. Do you think this is a worthwhile goal, or am I going off on a tangent? Thanks for any thoughts you'd like to share. Liminal
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Turns out the metronome idea works great. I thought it wouldn't be slow enough but on webmetronome.com you can set it up to accent every 4th beat. That way I inhale for 4 beats and exhale for 4 beats. Works great. Soaring Crane--thanks for the recommendation of the Zazen meditation app. Will check it out. Liminal
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Might work Silent Thunder. I think most of them play too many beats per minute but it's certainly an option to consider.
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Archbishop of Canterbury 'doubts God exists'
liminal_luke replied to Nikolai1's topic in General Discussion
IĀ“m a big fan of petitionary prayer. Oh sure, itĀ“s shallow and dualistic but isnĀ“t it nice that thereĀ“s a prayer style perfect for ordinary people who just want a little help getting through the day. Even mystics occasionally need some divine assistance, and I think thereĀ“s something reassuringly human about that. Liminal -
I personally want no part of an enlightenment that isn't hitched to a good dose of compassion and good will. Calling people "fatties" simply serves no useful purpose. Does the insult policy hold across the board for all bums, or do brilliant and/or realized people get a free pass? Liminal
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As something of a system flitter myself, I know firsthand how resisting spiritual monogamy in favor of chasing the next new thing can set one back. Don't let the impulse to change things up (because you're anti-authoritarian, or a free spirit, or just deep down scared of where a given system might take you) sabotage your cultivation. Liminal
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It's kind of astounding that anyone would object to a Women Cultivation Section. Women are still free to post about topics of special concern to their gender in the general area if they choose. But if they prefer to discuss among themselves (us guys are still free to listen in) what's the big deal? Awhile back there was a thread where anybody could post questions but only teachers could answer. To my memory, nobody raised a ruckus. Liminal
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where's your belly button? No, not there, a little lower ...
liminal_luke replied to soaring crane's topic in Daoist Discussion
The closer to the Earth you get the more uncomfortable people are. I'm no expert on yin and yang, but I suspect the reason people put their hands on their chest when instructed to go below the belly button is the same reason we've had such a hard time deciding that this board should be a more women-friendly place. Liminal -
I'm sure it's old news for many but I've never worked much with mantra and the power kind of surprised me. My partner suggested we meditate together yesterday with a video on youtube, and we ended up selecting Om Mani Padme Hum set to music. Wow...just listening and occasionally humming here and there--deeply centering. Liminal
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I like this post, and certainly feel it applies to me. ( I won't presume to say for anybody else.) I've gotten quite caught up in the drama of this thread the last few days, and it's been a little destabilizing. No big deal perhaps, but not what I hope to get out of Taobums. Not saying it's not a "good" thread. Looks like a dedicated space for discussion of women's cultivation has come out of it, and everybody--including myself--seems to think that's a good thing. It's just that I've gone on a mini emotional roller coaster. At one point I kind of attacked Atherous whose posts I generally like and agree with. I also went off on a rant against the "homosexuals are born that way argument" that was used by Seth, in a very well-meaning way, just a few posts back. Both of those posts I really liked when I wrote them and judging by the "likes" I got seemed well-received. Yet afterwards they left me a little unbalanced. Did I put my desire to make a (clever) point ahead of my desire to get along with other bums? Just some thoughts. Anyway, thank you Spotless. Liminal
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Thanks Sebastian. Feel especially inspired to try "Moon on Lake." Just the thing, I imagine, to bring me back to relative tranquility after spending too much time on the Taobums and Women thread. Liminal
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I didn't catch that Zanshin. Guess I was too stunned by the part about how he was better than all the short bald ugly faggots who got the girls that weren't paying attention to him. Newsflash: Short bald fat guys who are chasing women in a bar are still heterosexual, no matter how ugly you consider them to be. The real faggots prefer men. Ok Seth, Harmonious Emptiness...we definately need what you guys are selling. Bring on the anti-hate speech policy. Liminal
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OMG Mike...If I had any doubts about the advisability of a more explicit hate speech policy here at Taobums you've certainly quashed them. How's that kundalini coming? Liminal
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Seth, I liked this part of CT's post but I see your point. Or at least I think I do. Implying that people should always and only focus on modulating their reaction to offensive comments from the inside rather than actually taking action (by, say, insisting that a policy against hate speech be enforced) can have a certain blaming-the-victim feel to it. Maybe there's room for simultaneously cultivating the inner and the outer. I'd like to be a person who ... (1) Is courageous and strong enough that I don't feel the need to bolster my own ego by putting anyone else down. (2) Is willing to speak out and demand that others are also treated with respect and dignity. (3) Am so grounded in myself that the comments of others, no matter how cruel and unjustified, do not throw me off kilter. I'm not there yet on any of these three, but this is the direction I personally would like to go. Liminal
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I reckon technology-savvy, bagua-practicing magicians make excellent stalkers.
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Thanks for your post C T. I thought the above quote especially beautiful. Liminal
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Just as an aside, I personally don't care for the argument about gay people not having a choice. Not that it isn't true. Attempts to consciously change sexual orientation just because a person wants to, however badly, are almost always doomed to failure. I just think the choice argument is a lousy way to justify being OK with gay people. I mean what if we said that about blacks. " Oh, it's OK that you're black because you were born that way and couldn't help it. Naturally you'd prefer to be white if you had a choice but since you don't have that option we'll accept you as is." Yuck, right? I didn't set out to be gay, but now that I am I wouldn't change even if somehow I could. Why should I ? I don't expect all black people to want to be white. I don't expect all women want to become men. And ,by golly, I put my time in as a self-hater as a teenager and I'm over it. Not gonna change for nobody and I'm not even gonna pretend to want to. Being gay is OK because being gay is OK. Period. LIminal
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It's legitimately tough knowing where to draw the line. Personally, I'd love to permanently throw out everyone who offends me but I also believe that bums (and in particular yours truly) have to take some responsibility for their sensitivities. Case in point: Some years ago a very few respected teacher and member of this forum made the statement that gay males could never become immortal. Many agreed with him then, and, I've little doubt that many would agree with this sentiment today. To me it was every bit as offensive as if he'd said the same thing about women or blacks; more actually, since it hit me personally. I wish a moderator had stepped in and banned him and his supporters forever and ever. Didn't happen. And as much as the whole thread had me in a tizzy, I do think maybe there ought to be room for debate on the subject. Or maybe not. A recently suspended member said, among other things, that different races have different strengths and weaknesses. Is this sentiment taboo or no? And if he voiced a similar sentiment about gender...? Liminal
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This reminds me of Michael Winn's counterforce breathing, another method that involves alternating between small and large spheres. As the abdomen expands on an inhale the practitioner imagines the sphere in the lower dan tien condensing super duper small. As the abdomen contracts on the exhale the chi sphere expands outward. Perhaps just to basketball size; perhaps infinitely huge. The polarity between the size of the sphere and the phase of the breath sets up a deeply centering dynamic. Liminal
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yinyangyinyangyinyangyinyangyinyangyinyangyinyangyinyangyinyangyinyangyinyangyinyangyinyangyinyangyinyangyinyangyinyangyinyangyinyangyinyangyinyangyinyangyinyangyinyangyinyangyinyangyinyangyinyangyinyangyinyangyinyangvyinyangyinyangvyinyangyinyangyinyangyinyangyinyangyinyangyinyangyinyangyinyangyinyangyinyangyinyangyinyangyinyangyinyangyinyangyinyangyinyangyinyangyinyangyinyangyinyangyinyangyinyang .......................................................................................center............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
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Taker beware. Sometimes "free" things really are free such as those Costco food samples Spotless mentioned. Often enough though, sellers will offer free samples in order to create a sense of indebtedness. Just the other day a cheese vendor offered me a sample on the street "with no obligation." No thanks. That slice of cheese came with a heavy energetic price tag, and I knew it. Liminal