gendao

In the WEIRD world, deforestation is only a "problem" in Third World countries (like Brazil, SE Asia, etc). In First World countries, their only main concern is "too much carbon," lol... But in fact, deforestation has been and still IS a near-root problem in the WEIRD world, too! (Which is also what causes too much free carbon, btw.) That article was about how the epidemic spread of Lyme disease is just one tiny, unforeseen consequence of all the mass deforestation in the US since the European invasion. It just serves to show how many ramifications there are to "developing" (destroying) native habitat. Which is happening on a daily basis here as more forests are continually razed to build more and more "developments." Which is caused by...the ongoing proliferation of invasive humans. Yet deforestation, and all the human population growth/artificial lifestyles driving it, are NEVER officially cited as environmental problems by...WEIRD humans. Surprise, surprise. Only downstream symptoms (excess carbon, dwindling aquifers, flooding, disappearing wildlife diversity, etc) of these underlying issues are ever publicly targeted. When was the last time ANY US politician talked about domestic deforestation as a problem, or human population growth causing it and other environmental destruction? Compared to how many repeat globalist rhetoric about climate change caused by carbon emissions and how we actually always need more people (immigrants or babies) to pay for elderly care pyramid schemes... I mean, put this in your pipe and smoke it: WEIRD disposable society is so inherently ANTI-NATURE - that every year, they celebrate winter by cutting down a million tons of trees and then simply throw them away in landfills a few weeks later... Not only are so many trees wantonly destroyed to begin with - they are then discarded without ANY utilitarian USAGE (as lumber, compost, etc) whatsoever. Trees themselves here are literally valued merely as disposable ornaments - just like the ones hung on them! I mean, the absolute disregard for Mother Nature is just soooo deeply embedded and ingrained in the culture here! So YES, domestic deforestation is a problem that has NOT been addressed by the Feds - and doubtfully by Trump, either. But just because they don't run a massive PR campaign officially branding it as a problem...doesn't mean that it isn't a problem.

Well, the Feds (EPA/FDA/etc), Obama, and Hillary were all pro-GMO/fracking/deforestation/anti-cannabis//etc...and I think Trump is too. Trump is a businessman developer, not an environmentalist savior, by any stretch. So, I suspect he may trash the environment even worse than it is already...in the name of "pro-Big Biz." I think Federal environmental deregulation in favor of "States' rights" here is sort of a cop-out. Because if Trump really believed in decentralizing Federal power to the States - then why is his AG boy, Jeff Sessions, already threatening to enforce Federal laws against State cannabis-legalizing laws? Granted, Trump might yank his chain back on that - but why would he even appoint him to begin with if he already sounds like a Federalist? Just sounds like more of the same old agenda that stubbornly bans a natural "magic bullet" super plant, while promoting every GMO Frankenplant fresh out of the labs...

Woaaa WTH - is that one of those ancient elongated skulls like from Paracas, Peru? Where was this Chinese tomb, exactly?

Here's a quick fix from out in left field...hypnosis cures -4.00 D myopia in under 20 minutes LIVE!

Yes, you were 1 of the only 2 people on here I referenced! So, how long (years & training time per day) did it take you to attain that? And how flexible (or not) were you to begin with?

Well, Joe Lewis suddenly reached this level after getting punched in the liver by Joey Orbillo...

For hillsides, you will need to FIRST construct contoured swales/berms for gentler slopes and "stairstep" terraces for steeper ones... Now, AFTER you've moved all this earth around...THEN you can start planting on it!

Lol, welcome to the club. Reality is, you will probably need about 15 years to release all your muscles enough to be able to meditate comfortably in full lotus... In China, this was originally accomplished with years of grueling physical jibengong well before any meditation practice. But this prerequisite practice was discarded in the WEIRD West due to their need for always isolating the "active ingredient" and instant gratification here. As a result, results tend to vary... Look folks, this guy is even doing stretching as part of his Wim Hof routine... Whereas by comparison, it's just weird that in "Americanized" Daoism, all the focus seems to be on (moving) internal martial arts or (still) meditating circuits open - but with very little emphasis on working your flexibility open. In fact, any particular postures themselves seem to be vastly underestimated and dismissed as very unimportant. Especially ones that are more difficult to achieve. And yet, time and again, meditators then complain about how much sitting meditation strains them!

Lol, over-sensationalized much? This whole article could have been simmered down to just a few paragraphs about how social media is being data mined and psychoanalyzed to better profile, cater to, and possibly influence users. And instead of its dreaded wall of text, it could have included some more useful key data such as actually quantifying the "large shifts in public opinion" it attributed to this tactic? Can it actually "convert" anyone from one side to another, or only swing a few fence sitters? And how do its effects compare to those of the MSM and internet/AI giants like Google, Yahoo, Facebook, Apple, etc - who were all fervent and vocal anti-Trump, Hillary supporters?

Well, permaculture has almost nothing to do with eco-communes. Permaculture is simply about the best way to "naturally" live on the land. While eco-communism is basically small-scale Communism. Which is why it always fails...because shared ownership nearly "always" leads to conflicts.

Agreed. But, practicing permaculture, not esoteric neidan, would be a more realistic and practical start for most of us to help reduce our planetary environmental destruction... Well again, you can subjectively appear to sit relatively comfortably in full or half lotus for half or a full hour... But in reality, your legs and body may still be quite strained in that position. That's why a better, more objective litmus test is to see how easily you can get into that pose to begin with (like without using your hands). And this is one that most people fail on. And "WEIRD" = Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, & Democratic...

But, I'm guessing that these armchair experts haven't actually achieved that themselves yet? And to be clear, I mean more than just "comfortable." I mean comfortable enough for relaxed meditation, which essentially equates to being loose enough to get into it WITHOUT USING YOUR HANDS. Which I've only seen 2 people referenced on here able to do (out of thousands). By contrast, most other posts here on the topic describe various futile fails - numbness, strain, pain, and flat-out inability even after over a month of trying... Yet this is the norm and they are not alone. When I first started myself, I also naively thought it might just take me a few months. But, months became years... And now years are becoming a decade, lol... So, 15 years is just an extrapolated estimate. Of course YMMV, but it's not that different than how long it may take to do full splits, wheel pose, etc. There is a saying in Chinese Daoist medicine that, "Extending jin (sinews) by one inch will prolong your life by 10 years." Well, there may be a corollary to that where, "It also takes 10 years to lengthen your sinews by 1 cun." But this is Daoism in a nutshell - deceptively simple and thus enormously easy to underestimate! A lot of it is akin to a bubbling brook tirelessly wearing down a boulder or whittling a Redwood down with a pocketknife. Or planting a nut tree seed and watchfully cultivating it for 15 years before you can finally enjoy its full shade and bountiful harvest then! Whereas WEIRD culture = instant gratification FAST FOOD, Daoist culture = local, organic, SLOW FOOD. Well, "John Chang" was a street kid who was too poor to even attend school (p 15 & 37). This gave him more unstructured time to practice a lot during his youth - when most WEIRDos would be locked up in classrooms. Later on, he did have a huge family, worked as a driver (for 20 years) while continuing to train himself and heal others (for free), and became destitute because his vows forbade him to directly accept any money for using his powers (p 44). So by age 37, he had grown so desperate that he furiously prayed and his immortalized Master helped him to attain great wealth (without violating his oaths) soon thereafter. Ok, but how was he able to endure training, driving, and supporting a huge family for so long in the interim? Good question. Perhaps a combination of a hard Chinese work ethic, frugality, greater tolerance to "eat bitter," saintlike patience for delayed gratification, and a lower cost-of-living in Indonesia? And his family also obviously suffered along with him, too...

I think there was a tiny window here that closed around 9/11. If you came following breadcrumbs after 2000, you were already late to the party. And at this point, it's like knocking on doors trying to crash a small backyard party that was over 20 years ago, lol... Look, a lot of these Eastern esoteric arts are simple, but extremely demanding. You need some serious DAILY self-discipline, integrated into a healthy, holistic life balance - which is basically the opposite of WEIRD culture. 1) For example, Chinese all practice various forms of internal arts at around 5 AM (sunrise or earlier) every morning. This is why you see them doing Taijiquan in parks at the crack of dawn, not early in the afternoon, lol. Well, if you want to get up early, then you have to go to sleep early. That means disciplining yourself to naturally synchronize your schedule with the Sun. Which means no late nights out or up surfing the web. Not to mention FAP/ejac restrictions! Now, how many WEIRDOs can even do JUST THIS, day-in and day-out, for starters??? 2) Well OK, let's hypothetically say you can somehow manage that... You may then notice that the recommended position in most all Chinese meditation is to ideally do it in FULL LOTUS position. (Although "John" is pictured here only in half lotus:) Haven't done yoga before? OK, well then add about ~15+ years of progressive stretching before you can even COMFORTABLY sit in full lotus enough to actually meditate in it! 3) OK, well let's say you started immediately and have been diligently stretching for 15 years. And, you can finally get into full lotus without using your hands! YEA! But it is now already around 2032! Time is always of the essence when it comes to the MARATHON training these arts involve. This is not like just getting swole at CrossFit after 2 months... Hence, "John Chang" started training under a genuine MASTER's personal instruction at age 10 so he could complete Level 4 by age 32!!! While your average WEIRDo is seeking instruction across the globe in their mid-20s or later... I believe Jim McMillan started practicing even far later in life and only reached Level 3 before he died at 68 (and that was already considered quite an achievement)? 4) 15 years from now, "John Chang" has long been completely MIA and Kostas "Danaos" Dervenis is an even grumpier old guy going into retirement. And you yourself may also be busy with a full-time job, girlfriend, or family... Yet you are now finally ready just to START seeking qualified neidan instruction. Well, GOOD LUCK then, MATE! Point here being that your average naive n00b just thinks he's a young Luke Skywalker and all he needs to become Obi-Wan is to find Yoda, pass GO, & collect $200. When in fact, you're more like a kindergartner who needs to pass through 12 grades of schooling before he can even apply for college and then hope to find a great prof, lol... Look folks, if it was that easy, there'd be tens of thousands of "John Changs" already. And yet, there are only a tiny handful... FFS, there's farrrrr more NBA players - and just think about how hard it is to make it into the NBA!!! Now, let that sink in for a moment - you probably stand a better chance of making it to the NBA, than ever reaching Level 4 in MoPai! ...Still interested?

What happens to "you" each time "you" fall asleep or wake up? Who are "you" in your dreams and out of them? To know itself, it lost itself. Became dual. Polarized. Self-contrasting. To find itself, it forgot itself. Sought monism. Depolarized. Indistinguishable. Can it know and find itself at the same time? Can it know without losing, and find without forgetting? What is "it?"

You say it will inevitably run over budget and schedule...yet will still save you 30%? And result in a higher-quality home than that of an experienced builder? You sure about that? I think all those figures are pretty high, but regardless...how can a single DIY house beat all the volume bulk pricing of mass-produced, tract housing? And how can your average Joe with no construction experience ensure a quality product from all his subcontractors - if he has no idea what to check for? For example, a sidewalk laid near your house should generally be sloping ever-so-slightly down away from the house, rather than towards it (to drain water away from the foundation). Or, if there are any spots in poured concrete that are too wet, they will be rougher and weaker once set. Now for every construction project, there are a lot of details like these to supervise/inspect for. Yet, how in the h*ll do you expect some regular civilian to suddenly know all this and be a competent, much less great, general contractor? I think it's easy to gain a false sense of competence from watching a lot of popular home "reality shows." But real life is a lot messier and the devil is in the details... For example, tiny homes are heavily-hyped on TV now. But in reality, they are basically just glorified MOBILE HOMES. And, most are not even lived in permanently - but rented out as cutesy B&B's. This is because most simply aren't PRACTICAL on a LONGTERM basis - due to their miniscule size and often zoning laws... So, all these shows featuring them are basically just rental ads.

Well of course Nature will live on, but with a lot more obstacles (like pavement, buildings, etc) in the way. Moreso, a lot of heirloom and native species will have simply gone extinct due to extended habitat loss and displacement. And once gone, these gene sequences that took millions of years to evolve - can't be recovered. This is something your average, disconnected WEIRDo can't appreciate - because they simply view Nature as a big green blob with few distinctions. How many edible plants can you identify on a random local hike? It's like asking a WEIRDo to locate any of the Middle Eastern countries that we've been bombing for decades now on a map. Well if they can't even care enough to locate them, of course they don't care if they're also destroying them!

十牛 Takes effort to become effortless...

Of course, so humanity's collective answer is c) - find something else to blame it on and "take action" against that, instead! That way you can shift the blame and even pretend to be part of the solution, when you are actually at the root of the problem! You know, a mature, old-growth forest is an apex ecosystem that takes centuries to grow. And a native one cannot simply be replaced. Yet, the most narcissistic WEIRDos on the planet have no problem just razing them down in matters of months...mainly to graze hamburgers. For a 7 billion population that is still increasing exponentially in some places! And as if this problem wasn't already bad enough, what happens in just another 25 years when the population adds yet another 3 billion??? Well according to mainstream WEIRDos, as long as we're cutting back on carbon emissions, then we're being totes green and everything will be A-OK! You see, PEOPLE aren't really the problem, CARBON (a convenient, inanimate blame-sink) is!!! Because carbon is what is clear-cutting forests to intentionally revert all habitats back into artificial perma-grasslands (purdy lawns) and impermeable pavement!

As the West Coast has had some much longer droughts naturally before...it just comes with the territory (like snow in Alaska). So, the best thing that residents can do there is to prepare and adapt for them. 2. Meanwhile, frequent wildfires are NOT natural - and most are caused by humans... 7. & 8. Again, Americans code infrastructure to route all rainwater away from their habitats and straight down into the ocean. Which is EXTREMELY WEIRD. In permaculture, you aim for the EXACT OPPOSITE - to capture and retain all water that falls on your property. Now, if WEIRD Americans had done this - then there would have been no flash floods or mudslides (unless they were just in a flood plain). Instead, groundwater and reservoirs would have been recharged from the extra rains. PS - Great idea! Please do.

Well in permaculture (based upon far more ancient agrarian traditions like Feng Shui, etc), "the problem is the solution." So, "too much drought & rain" also means "not enough reservoir capacity." But, that's the problem. If you want a complete answer...you really have to question completely first. Sure, rain would have been the quick "WEIRD" fix, but the priest would have also prescribed longer-term, holistic solutions like: 1) If you are living in a flood plain (like New Orleans)...move. 2) Increase the water permeability and retention of your land, wherever you're at. This helps to both ensure stored water for droughts and the ability to absorb extra water during heavy rains. In our bodies, this would be similar to the 8 Extraordinary Vessels. 3) So if you had good reservoir capacity - all the extra rain would be a blessing, not a "curse." The subjective "problem" then was not the rain, but your barren land. And perhaps the priest should rather have been summoned to reforest and recountour the land, instead!

And the manifold impacts of being "WEIRD" are also deeply mental and subconscious, too! For example, "WEIRD" people tend to grow up in very linear, unnatural environments - which then affects our perception of the world like an invisible template.

Interesting points...especially regarding enzymes.. Another key is to check that the vitamins forms are all natural and bioavailable, and not synthetic. For example, one good litmus test is if the B12 is methylcobalamin folate, and not folic acid or cyanocobalamin. You will notice that most brands contain cheap folic acid, and not FOLATE (which is what you want!)

And yet the Khoisan women have typically deserted their more "egalitarian" men in favor of invading Bantu "bad boys" - which is one reason why such "pro-woman" tribes eventually die out. Due to female sexual deselection. Essentially, the Bantus (and then Europeans) came in and took "their" land AND women! And so it goes - just ask the Native Americans too... About their happy Disney ending!