liminal_luke

Like I always say, why express insecurity beating people up when I can do so much more comfortably seated on a faux-leather couch, latte in hand, writing quippy posts on Daobums?

Thanks for those insightful, rather piercing observations Yueya. I just finished watching an episode of RuPaul´s Drag Race, a surprising source of life wisdom. One of the contestants stood before the judges panel visibly distraught after having received low marks. A guest judge offered this excellent advice: you´ve gotta separate your worth as a person from your craft. How often do we believe we are what we do? Overidentification with a given art -- or career or sport or social position -- is a pitfall for many. I am not the tropies I win or lose. I am not the physical beauty (or lack thereof) of my body. I am not the people who like or dislike me on Daobums. Especially not that.

Thanks! I´ve never seen goat available here but you´re probably right. Goat is a Mexican specialty in Monterrey. I visited that northern metropolis once and have vivid memories of pickup trucks loaded with baby goats bleating away, presumably headed for slaughter. It was almost enough to lead a guy to vegetarianism. Almost.

That sounds delicious. Wish I had a good local source for goat!

Made garlic confit following this recipe: https://paleomg.com/garlic-confit/. Delicious! You get two products really, the softened garlic (reminescent of roasted) and the infused garlic and rosemary olive oil. Next time I´ll add more heads of garlic for the 2 cups of oil. Saw one recipe with 6 heads per 2 cups. Can also experiment with adding different herbs, maybe thyme next time. Mash up a few of the cloves with a spoonful or two of the oil and you´ve got a good base for a salad dressing.

Some people are attracted to sexual retention practices because they are interested in celibacy -- ie not having sex. Others are attracted to sexual retention practices because they want to have more and better sex. Both motivations are valid, in my view, but they are different and lead to different outcomes.

The quote Limahong posted captures the essence of my deleted post. For obvious reasons, I decided it woud be best to stay out of a ring already occupied by a tiger and a non-duelist.

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As with almost everything nutrition science, opinions vary. Here´s one view: https://www.marksdailyapple.com/why-grains-are-unhealthy/

Happiness is in the eye of the beholder, or, more frequently, on his stomach.

I´m wondering what the point of having a retrograde (as opposed to ordinary) orgasm would be? Historically, many male Bums have expressed interest in avoiding orgasm for the purpose of "jing retention." This is a dubious practice, though I admit to some interest. I believe most would say that any orgasm, retrograde or otherwise, counts as a slip. Indeed, I´ve read that sexual arousal alone, without orgasm, can be detrimental. My sense is that the prevailing view amongst mature practitioners is that trying to retain jing by avoiding sex is either entirely misguided or an advanced practice that has no place in the beginner´s toolbox. Then again, when have I ever listened to a mature practitioner?

Several years back I received coaching in a somatic practice called zapchen. My zapchen coach, Laura Lund, told me that I my energetic tendency was to be very "diffuse": my energy was always extending out from my body in an effort to check up on others. There´s nothing wrong, I think, with having diffuse energy but it´s nice to have a choice, to be able to be diffuse when that seems appropriate and more concentrated inside myself at other times. In order to gain more facility gathering my energy in, Laura gave me the exercise of humming the syllable "AH" into my spine. I just softly make that sound, over and over again, internally directing the sound into my spine.

When it comes to avarice and aversion, I think there´s a huge difference between acting "as if" and the real thing. Two people open an umbrella in a rainstorm. One is averse to the rain and one is not, yet the visible action is the same; the invisible difference is in the mind of the storm walker. Feeling fundamentally OK with inclement weather frees a person to live more joyfully. A person can take steps to stay dry without cursing, however mildly, the cloudburst.

This topic is bumping up against a dilemma I´ve been turning over in my head for some time now: the advisability of Morning Pages. Writing "morning pages" is a practice popularized, if not invented, by Julia Cameron in her book, The Artist´s Way. You write three pages of whatever comes to mind longhand without stopping or editing in any way. Morning pages, or at least my cheating version of it, has been a longtime off-and-on practice for me. Though I sometimes find it tedious, I almost always feel better -- clearer -- afterwards, which leads me to think it´s doing me good. Still, part of me doubts. Untethered, my brain tends to spew a lot of negative stuff and I wonder if habitually regurgitating this negativity is "expressing emotions" in the negative sense @steve mentioned. Or perhaps what I´m doing doesn´t really count as expressing emotions at all, a possibility @Taomeow´s post above suggests to me. When is emotional expression, or what commonly passes for emotional expression, actually useful? When is it just deepening negative neurological tracks in the brain? How can you tell the difference?

Terrible news about NAC. Studies have shown that the supplement might benefit people with certain mental health conditions and I was planning on getting some to help my partner. It´s possible that I can get it over the counter where I live in Mexico and will look into that.

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I´m not saying that an understanding of the absolute isn´t useful in the transactional world -- for those that understand things on that level. Some might say that absolute understanding is the only useful thing. But not everyone gets it and I think enlightened communication requires an awareness of context. Why is the sky blue? The answer you might offer to a graduate student in physics likely differs from the answer you´d give to a three year old. I don´t think it´s necessary to out-and-out lie, not even to the child, but we can offer a developmentally appropriate version of the truth, a training wheels version for toddlers. We might even resort to fiction, wrapping deep truths in superficial untruths. That´s OK, imho. It´s not lying. It´s compassionately adjusting our communication style to meet someone else where they are.

What does your Self want to do? Say something true or say something useful. As Steve suggests, the two outcomes are not necessarily the same. Myself, I´d rather read something useful.

I´m somewhat of a fuddy-duddy and just looked up the acronym FUD to better understand your post. Ya can´t say bumming around isn´t a learning experience! I´m not especially versed scientifically and don´t expect an imminent appointment to any kind of public health position. So I actually can´t make educated comments on the utility of vaccines, masks, etc. What I do see here on the forum and in the US generally is a kind of hardening into positions. People are picking sides and calling names. It´s like Trump all over again except now we´re taking about covering our mouths and noses rather than electing a president. What I´m hoping for is a little softening, perhaps a bit more humility, room for doubt. Everything I believe about the pandemic might turn out to be wrong. If I can humbly accept the limitations of my own understanding, I´ll find it easier to really listen to people who see life differently. Nothing about all this will help people suffering in India; that´s a problem beyond my scope. I´m just hoping we can really talk to each other here rather than mindlessly drumming our fixed beliefs out into the cyber emptiness.

Suppose I consider my particular health status (age, preexisting conditions, etc), do my due diligence to investigate the various vaccines, consult with knowledgable people I trust, and in the end decide that it´s not in my personal best interest to be vaccinated. Do you believe that my decision is morally reprehensible? Am I obligated to do something I believe puts my own health at risk for the sake of contributing to herd immunity?

Thanks @dwai for sharing that personal account. I don´t blame anyone for choosing to be vaccinated or choosing not to be vaccinated. I blame only those poor souls who are trying to make money off of this crisis by knowingly putting other people´s health at risk. My guess is that none of the regular contributors to Covid threads here fall into that category. My heart goes out to the people who are suffering in India, whether from poverty or Covid or a horrific mix of the two.

I´ll say two things. I´m sure you have excellent reasons for swearing off the subject of the pandemic in general, and vaccination in particular. And...your absence from the discussion about this topic lately has been noticed and you´ve been missed.