Sloppy Zhang

Here's some advice for anyone thinking of suicide: If you are going to do it, stick your head in a bucket of water and hold it till it's done. That way, if you have any last minute doubts, you can always stop yourself. I've found that I (as well as most people) have a funny habit of second guessing ourselves and stopping at the very last minute. It all seems like a great idea right up until the second before you're about to go through with it. And if you don't have any doubts, then no problem, but it's better to give yourself that chance. (I hope no one takes this advice the wrong way, but everyone else has already gone over how you shouldn't do it and the ways to get help, which I agree with, but I don't feel needs to be repeated)

I think that everyone has lessons to learn and lessons to teach, so in all of my personal relationships (romantically, friendship, professional, etc etc) I try to learn from the other person as much as possible. So, whether or not my partner is into cultivation and meditation, I'd still try and enjoy the experience for what it does teach me. And that's what I try and do on a daily basis, even if she's super girly, high maintenance, not super duper smart, or anything like that Of course, if my partner doesn't understand or approve of my opinions and what I do, well, I don't see how we could continue in our relationship but even if she doesn't see things exactly the way I do, as long as I can still do my thing I'm good

In my experience as well it's not so much as a "tucking in". In doing the standing meditation of B.K. Frantzis' Opening the Energy Gates of the Body book, I found that when I relax, my hips naturally rotate a little bit and my tailbone moves forward. It's POSITIONED like I tucked it in, but I didn't do any muscular "tucking in". I think that Frantzis also explained this as straightening the lower back (unless you are a heavier person, in which case looking at the lower back isn't going to tell you if your tailbone is tucked or not), so once the tailbone is tucked and the head is held properly the spine is as straight as possible. At least that's my understanding. My understanding is also similar to sheng zhen and snowmonki (props to snowmonki for the specific biological terminology).

So I've seen descriptions of the I Ching hexagrams and stuff before. I've heard it say they can be used with divination... but I have not seen anywhere how to use them that way. What are the methods for doing so? And, in a slightly related note, where is a good place to go to learn about the five elements? I've seen a few posts here and there by people who really know the elements, and it looks really interesting, so where can one go to start learning?

There have already been some good posts on the topic, so I'll be short. I got, and am working through, Frantzis' "Opening the Energy Gates of Your Body." It is very good, the techniques are awesome, I'm going slowly and deliberately through it and only moving on when I really get the steps down (books always say this but who actually follows those directions anyway? ) It is very good. I also got Relaxing Into Your Being and The Great Stillness. The overall techniques taught (from what I've read of them so far) seem to be similar to Energy Gates, but Frantzis goes into some more interesting topics in the latter two, introducing some taoist philosophy and stuff. A lot of Frantzis' techniques seem very Zen. A lot of philosophical stuff can be found in some other related systems. But it is its own system, and I feel that Frantzis teaches one of the most complete methods out there (that I've seen and practiced, anyway). Sure, doing energy work might not necessarily make you a better person (there are plenty of high energy people out there that abuse their energy or wind up hurting themselves or others), but a healthy body is just as important as a healthy mind, and to neglect body development is also no good. Frantzis hits on all the major points, clearing blockages in the body and the mind, all the layers. Hm, that post was a bit longer than I thought it'd be.... but long story short, I do it, it's good, I like it. Oh, and just a little personal anecdote.... was playing a game of basketball a little while ago, it was for a fitness class in school, and I was guarding this dude, who was kind of a jerk. Anyway, when I was guarding him he threw the basketbally deliberately in my face, faking a pass..... it hurt a lot, seeing as how I was literally only about a foot away from him, and I got really pissed. But then I realized I was angry, I realized what it was doing to me, I just became aware of how my body and mind were reacting at that time, and I figured that if it continued I might not come to a very healthy resolution to the situation (well.... maybe not so healthy for the other guy, that is ) Sufficed to say, I let it go and we all walked away (relatively) healthy.

It's true that IMA has its share of.... shall we say, less than competent fighters, and less than realistic training. But what system doesn't? Karate, TKD, all of these got tons of bad people in them after becoming popular. IMA gets hit harder because of the new age hippies wanting to find some "meld with the universe" moving meditation. Heck, now that BJJ has gotten popular, there are some bad teachers in that system too, people rolling around on the floor humping each other thinking they can become the next Royce Gracie. But traditionally taught IMA is just as good as any other of the popular "effective styles" you see around today. Plenty of conditioning, sparring, practical combat applications. Just because YOU haven't trained in it, and just because there's not a video of it at your fingertips, doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Most IMA masters concur that there aren't a lot of high level IMA masters in the world today that can use what they have in a fight, but again, that's due to the people who want to train IMA in the modern world. So it's not like you're gonna go down to your local gym and find a Xingyiquan master hitting the heavy bag you're gonna have to go to China or Taiwan, or places that have a high Asian population density, because that's where those masters are from and that's typically where they live and teach. Unless you're lucky to have a master come do a seminar or move next door. Don't be so ignorant as to judge a style (especially one that you haven't trained in!) based on some videos around the net... that's just sad.

That is still just your sense of hearing picking up sounds from someone else, doesn't prove anything happened at all. I don't know because I can't see it, I have no idea what's happening to it. Err, no, it's NOT irrelevant because you DON'T know that it could or would affect anything. You only ASSUME that to be the case because of what your limited physical senses have told you in the past. The boat being seen further down the river is just that boat being seen at that point in time. You don't know that the boat went directly from start to finish, from A to B, it could have gone from A to Z to B. Again, that's the whole point: the act of observing something defines the event, if you don't observe it then you have an undefined event! A good example of this is the wave-particle duality of light (please look this up because that's what I'm referring to in this paragraph, also look up the double slit experiment). If you isolate light in one instant you see that it's clearly a particle, when you observe it light is a particle, so you expect it to behave like a particle by, say, moving in a straight line. Then you stop observing light, let it do its own thing, then you observe it at a later point of time. It's STILL a particle, just one tiny particle.... but in between the first and second observation it behaved like a wave. At point A it was a particle, at point B it was a particle, but somewhere between there it was a... wave? But see, if you were to do the same experiment and look at the light between points A and B, you wouldn't see a wave, you would again see a particle. Reality (light being a particle) is influenced by the act of observation, whereas when you DON'T observe all kinds of shenanigans go down. No. It's inherently unprovable using the limited senses at our disposal, and the ways in which we convey our experiences Unfortunately for scientists and other people who want to seem all cool by saying they don't believe in anything unless they see hard proof, well, they run into some problems. Even hardcore scientists have no means of conveying what the heck is going on right in front of their faces. And that's frustrating and hard to accept for some people. Again, that's because some things people just can't (or choose not to) accept, and so they try to cram an inherently unexplainable experience into a limited sensory experience that they can convey to someone else (though perhaps they are really just trying to explain it to themselves).

Why is the MOMENT of choice an HOUR long? Don't have the time to watch it right now, maybe later.

Lol, science discovers spirituality. But that's the thing though. How DO you know? There is no proof that anything exists beyond our own consciousness. Unless I see you type a post, unless I hear you say something, effectively, you never said anything. If I see a pencil on the table, and someone else sees a pencil on the table, that doesn't mean there's a pencil on the table. It just means that my vision sees something, and my hearing hears someone say something. I don't see what they see. I can feel something, and they can feel the same thing, but I don't know that they feel the same thing unless they tell me, unless my mind receives another signal. If a tree falls in the forest, and no one is around to hear it, does it REALLY make a sound? How do you prove that it does? You can prove that if someone was there in person things happen a certain way, but when you're not there who knows! The problem, and this is exactly what they said in the video, we don't know ANYTHING about what happens beyond our senses. Unless we physically HEAR a tree falling.... then we have no idea, we can't grasp anything beyond out senses, which are quite limited (just think about how narrow the visible light spectrum is).

Well, a large part depends on whether you believe in qi or not. Some people will tell you that the "internal martial arts" focus on qi cultivation early on in the beginning so that you learn to deliver your moves with the proper alignment so that the qi can flow in a certain way to give you natural strength and everything. In external arts you certainly do have stuff that works with qi, but that's mostly after years of doing intense physical workouts and stuff. For the people who don't believe in qi, they just analyze the internal martial arts from a bio mechanical sort of way. The internal martial arts rely on relaxed, but structured, unified body movement. You aren't tense in the way that you think of tensing a muscle, but you aren't limp. It's sort of counter intuitive, but the relaxed feeling and allowing the body to generate strength based on its body structure can be quite powerful. Of course, it takes a lot longer to get to that point as opposed to just brawling your way through. However, the interesting thing is that commonly thought of "external arts" use the same principles that the internal arts use. Any good boxer will tell you not to tense up but stay loose, stay fluid, so you can relax so you don't waste energy. People have analyzed some of the strongest boxing and MMA punches, and they say that power is generated from the ground with the whole body, keeping a relaxed body until the point of impact.... which is something you hear in IMA a lot. So, just stuff to think about. Is there really a distinction at all? Or do all roads lead to Rome?

Very nice thoughts on the "real thing" I myself am currently in the process of getting out of.... well... what I guess could really be a huge period of doubt. I mean, looking at it objectively it's useless, and isn't getting me anywhere, but I just can't help feeling that what I'm doing isn't the "real thing", but when I look around and do other things, they just don't feel "real", and I wind up back where I started. But I guess everyone needs to go through doubt, seriously question what they are doing, and come to their own conclusion. And like you said, sometimes you gotta break the rules and do what's right for you. Again, very well said.

Yes. I have had the same problem. The solution? Hundreds of hours of research and personal practice until you come to an answer that satisfies you. Well sometimes it doesn't take hundreds of hours, but it can. There's an interesting thread here about mapping the subtle energy body: http://www.thetaobums.com/index.php?showtopic=1566 That was a very important thread for me, because of the chakra vs. dan tiens issue. Everyone kept saying that the second chakra was the same as the lower dan tien, but that didn't sit well with me, especially as the lower dan tien is considered the major energy center providing energy to the body, but that sounds like the third chakra, and it all got very confusing. That thread lead me to a conclusion for me. (look specifically at affenbrot's post about the kanda) The thing is that there's so much partial info out there, and a lot of people with partial info passing off their info as correct. The indian energetic system is COMPLEX. The chinese energetic system is COMPLEX. There are things that are very similar, but very different. There are some things that are, for all intensive purposes, the same. Sometimes you just have to get the info firsthand yourself and draw your own conclusions. In fact, that's what you have to do anyway.

Amidst all the "transmission or no?" discussions of the past, I think someone (perhaps trunk), explained it the best. And that is, when you get a transmission or initiation, it's really you just merging with the thought-stream or vibration of whatever lineage or person you are getting the transmission/empowerment from. So, not saying it's unnecessary, but it's possible that you can align yourself with the lineage/person simply through your thoughts/actions. All kinds of stories from various lineages talk about people who go on a pilgrimage, or pray at a shrine, and are visited either in real life or in dreams by deities/immortals/various people and receive a transmission directly like that. Everything from spiritual to martial lineages have been started that way (or so they claim). Just something to think about.

So why are you angry? Laugh a little. If a joke isn't funny, that shouldn't give you a reason to be angry, it's just not your type of joke... Well first of all it's not your responsibility to "handle" ANYTHING. It's her life. Just as the joke says, "how many psychologists does it take to change a light bulb? Just one, but the light bulb has to want to change." So too must this girl WANT to change. Sometimes an opinion from a friend is enough to start a change. Sometimes they have to fall. Hard. And then sometimes they'll NEVER change. So you have to realize that it's her life. Don't feel burdened to get her onto what you feel is the "right track". You can't see the future, you have no idea what lies down the road for her, maybe something incredibly good happens. I'd say express your opinions a few times on things she could do, but in a nice way. Like, "you know, people who end up doing X say that they really learned a lot from the experience, and it made their lives better", something along those lines. But if she doesn't take the hint after a while, leave it. As for the "way" and all that, recognize her for what she is: a unique individual with her own traits. Appreciate her for what she IS, not for what she ISN'T, and not for what you wish she COULD be. So next time she can't spell something, just smile, and appreciate her for her Also, as a final note, remember there are lots of different types and areas of intelligence. You might think she's stupid, but she might surprise you one day by saying, "I can't believe you didn't know what, what are you, stupid?"

Rapidly evolve into a sea creature. (joke from the Ice Age movie, hehehe) Maybe it's a good thing you re thought that, see this trailer: To be honest, my big plan is.... cross the bridge when I come to it If the poles flip, the world floods, then I'll drown and die anyway.... If earth suddenly lost it's magnetic field, I'd be killed in any number of ways simultaneously (fried by the normally blocked solar rays all passing through my body, erratic weather, etc etc) So, I mean, I could develop super awesome psychic powers and save the world then , but I don't have them now, so I can't tell you at the moment.

I took a little something called a science class when I was in high school.... I also took an astronomy class this semester, and the professor had made his own presentation on the climate change. He's not a climatologist, but seeing as how there is weather on other planets as well, he's pretty familiar with some certain principles, as well as general chemistry, how things work when they are in the atmosphere, green house effects, etc. Sufficed to say, I trust him and his research over some random people on the internet. I don't know how old you are, so I don't know when the last time you were in school. Given that global warming has gotten a lot of attention recently, it's been sort of a big deal, so people have put a lot more effort into gathering data. So.... yeah, the spike/high point/whatever you want to call it is SIGNIFICANT. Like, I wish I had a good graph of it, but it's pretty shocking. "Off the charts" barely does it any justice because it is.... well, off the charts. Not from what I've seen. And again, I trust the distinguished scientists and professors that I've taken classes with, that I've had discussions with, and whose research I have seen first hand over yours. Sorry.

Yeah, I've heard about the first/last letter thing before. It's really cool, and props to you for having the skill and discipline to make a whole post like that!

Well, on the topic of the climate, scientists have methods for measuring CO2 levels going WAAAAAAY back. There is CO2 trapped in the ice at the polar caps in layers, and you can cut out layers in the ice and see levels of CO2 from pretty much ever since the ice got there. So, the "spike", is a HUGE spike that hasn't been seen EVER. Period. Well, at least not since the ice at the bottom of the ice caps, which has been there for, well, a lot longer than just a couple hundred years. It's not a bandwagon. It is a proven scientific FACT that has been reviewed over and over and over again. Now for the sun, our methods of understanding the sun's history are not as extensive, seeing as how the sun is a lot further away than the ice caps. But as technology increases we will probably learn ways to understand our sun better. Also, we can look to other solar systems that have stars similar to ours. In our universe we have "older and younger brothers" as it were all over the place. We can see how stars birth, grow, and die, we can figure out where our star is, what it's doing, and what we can expect. Global warming at first was considered a myth or a bandwagon, then science was able to make a more firm statement. I'm sure this "quiet sun" thing will go the same way: all kinds of rumors surrounding it until the science can come to a more informed conclusion.

I know what you mean. What you have to do is think of doing the work that you need to do as just another part of your training. Your mind wandering during, say, class, is no different from your mind wandering during meditation. In both cases it's not going where you need it to go. If you truly seek to master your mind/thoughts, then you should be able keep your focus on that class (think of it as a sort of single pointed meditation ) Or you could just shrug and go "meh" like I do (not recommended if you care about stuff )

Um, yes, 2+2 CAN equal 5. For sufficiently large values of 2

Thanks for the advice, but that's not quite the problem To be honest, from my experience, the "friend zone" is a load of crap, and it's just something the "bad boys" made up to make the "nice guys" feel like they're never going to get laid ("finish last" as the saying goes). And if someone "rejects" you because they want to stay "friends" and "don't want to let anything get in the way of that" (or some variation on that), that usually just means they aren't interested in you sexually/romantically, and are just trying to be nice about it anyway, not necessarily that there's a "friend zone" that you are "stuck" in

how would you finish these sentences when looking for advice I use google to see if someone else has asked the same question when giving advice I speak from my own experience while trying to put myself in their shoes when in a fight I hit hard and fast.... if it's a fist fight when fighting more than one person run away! Or get stabby when choosing a teacher I do background research, talk to other students, ultimately try out a few lessons, try and catch the vibe, then decide if you meet someone and fall in love try to become their friend, get to know them, hang out, have fun, profess my love, then usually wind up in a corner alone crying when you have nothing to do visit the taobums! when you feel life is testing you I tell it I have enough tests in school, then I ignore it when you have to do something that you are afraid of either I don't do it, or I remember it's a test and I do it when people don;t agree with the way you live hit hard and fast, or get stabby I say "good for them", then say that this is America and everyone is entitled to have their opinion

When parents tell their kids "don't talk to strangers", that teacher is the person they have in mind.

Nice post. I think that was very well said.