minus

i call myself a taoist because my belief structure is based on the ideas of philosophical taoism. But as far as being a practitioner or scholar or even a serious student of taoism, i wouldn't call myself any of those things...too lazy, to be honest. On the other hand, it's convenient for me in conversation, (and lazy people like me love convenience,) to refer to myself as a taoist to distinguish myself from christians in the christianity based culture i live in. It has occured to me, though, that the most widely accepted definition of the word taoist might refer to more dedicated students of taoism. So my question is, is there, to anyone's knowledge, a specific tradition in taoism regarding the usage of the word taoist, or is the term open to multiple interpretations? minusmini.bmp

Lol. Ah,HA! I FOUND YOU OUT you phony "taoists!" minusmini.bmp

When you feel lonely, you are suffering from a perception......not a condition. Being everywhere in everyone and everything and every non-thing.......that's a condition. Being alone.....that's a perception. It's a perception you can have even in a crouded room. It's a perception that arises out of the way we interpret the differentiation of being wherein our skin is percieved as the outer border of ourselves. What our skin really is though, is just another layer of differentiation in an endless continuum of differentiation that goes on forever in every direction. Being is being. It differentiates, but it does not exist here and there separated by nonbeing. Non-being by it's own definition does not exist. How would it? Being appears in places, and doesn't in other places, but that doesn't mean that it isn't everywhere always whether it is appearing or not. I think anyone who understands this can be free of lonelyness.....Of course there is the boredom not having the mental stimulus of conversation and there is missing the jokes, stories, and what-not that constitutes the enjoyable aspects of being with someone, and that can viably be called loneliness, but it's not nearly as painful as being under the false impression that there is a "you" somewhere in a state of being "alone". I get to feeling lonely sometimes when I have spent a long time by myself, but if it really starts to bother me I just say to myself " Hey, you aren't suffering dillusions again are you? Stop it!" -

Cool story. Deep. I'm not so sure about the rabit, but I got a feeling if owls could speak in human language that would be the kind of thing they would say. - Thanks for thanking me. Not that i ( as opposed to I ) am the the origin of the idea. Only the wording (if it hasn't been used already by someone in the world). - minusnano.bmp minusnano.bmp

Does it count if you're holding in a drag off a joint?

I think it's funny that some responded to your post focusing on whether the ideas expressed were yours or came from a book----I don't think there are ideas that don't come from a book somewhere, but I guess it just shows how centered on ideas and judgements we are: would you be a different person than who you are if your post had been your "original" thoughts? Of course not....which is one of the points you/Gina Lake was trying to make, am I right? Of course I am because MY judgements are the best! lol

I think it's possible to be selfless and still compete. You can let everyone walk all over you and still be full of yourself about how wonderfully selfless you are. Competition is one of the many ways of nature that you encounter everywhere. One thing I like about Taoism is that it isn't about always doing or not doing this or that, but rather it offers insights on applying flexible inteligence to whatever situation one encounters. It's an important question though; how much do you get into the rat race? I don't think the idea is to avoid competing, but maybe to roll with the punches and find the "path of least resistance" to your objective, which probably doesn't involve "duking it out" with someone for an apartment. lol Selflessness to me is not being a martr but being aware of the illusory nature of the concept of self as a finite body. -

I am a philosophical Taoist not a religious Taoist, so my response is that there is, in reality. nothing to pray to, no one to do the praying, and nowhere to go when "you" die and no one to do the dying. Reincarnation is just being changing form....you don't go anywhere because you are already everywhere, always have been and always will be. But, like I said, that's my perspective as a philosophical Taoist. I actually know nothing at all about religious Taoism---I have no interest in any kind of religion because all of them are, in my opinion, based on distorted perceptions of reality. Not that I (or anyone for that matter) has a 100% distortion free perception of reality, but maybe some perceptions are more distorted than others. -

I havn't read the book you mentioned, and I don't really know if this is even relevent to your question, but I have had the experience of feeling uncomfortable energy sensations....always around other people though. Go figure....but I also found the cure: I imagine myself enclosed in an eggshell equipped with a one-way valve that spits out anything that doesn't feel good. Always works for me. -

I thing "free will" is just like "separation". They are figments of human imagination, but what would we have without em?

My name is Doug (minus works too). I am a Taoist hippie who suffers from depression (biological--in other words a chemical imbalance) and is working----slowly but slowly at becomming a professional artist. l hope to use this forum mostly to confer with people about applying the principals of taoism to real-life problems and broadening my understanding of Taoism and to offer my own input (however dubious) on the same. If you like, you are welcome to learn more about me and check out my art work at www.myspace.com/psychedelicosmicat