Sloppy Zhang

The film industry is a business. Business is all about what works, what is the cost, what is the return on investment? A Hollywood exec knows how much Transformers is going to net them based on past performance. Even if the movie is TERRIBLE, they will get X amount of tickets sold on franchise name alone. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will net them Y amount of ticket sales even if it sucks. Megan Fox up on the screen earns Z amount of ticket sales. Studios, like businesses, are less willing to take risks. They go with what they know. This is human nature. As with business, innovators can enter the market and disrupt current models. The Saw franchise, for instance, had a very minimal budget but performed very, very well. Get Out also had a low budget and far exceeded expectations. When Deadpool came out, execs weren't sure an R-rated X-Man movie would do well. Then it far exceeded expectations. Logan was a huge hit. Now there is an option for Fox to make money off of a lackluster franchise (compared to what Disney is doing with the rest of the Marvel line-up) by potentially starting a new line of R-rated comic book stories. My point here is this: the media is a business. Businesses will make money. They won't change unless there is a dollar incentive. You want under-represented groups? You need to give the dollar incentive. Marvel sales of comic books were down after including more "diversity" in their super-heroes. The primary demographic for comic books (young, straight, white, males) weren't interested. If you want to see more innovation in ANY industry, YOU must introduce that. Or wait around for someone else who does. If you don't want to, you are certainly entitled to your opinion... but realize nothing is probably going to change.

I didn't do much of the partner practices during the seminar itself. But that's just me being weird about who i'm sharing meditative space with and not wanting to open up too much In the times I have done it with a partner, I'll say I got some good stuff out of it. I'm not a master and neither was my partner, but it definitely had a different quality to it. Were we at the 2x or 4x mark? Probably not, just needs more practice Well, as I mentioned up above, there are plenty of meditation masters that ascended quite fine without sexual practices As far as secret Taoist groups, well, to be fair, he did live in Taiwan/China for several years and became fluent. Get yourself the Rosetta Stone China package and start looking for jobs in Taiwan or China

I was just at a two day course, so we didn't get way into it and I'm not a regular practitioner or an expert so there's the disclaimer. The biggest hurdle (at least in my opinion) is that it truly is a two person practice that requires two practitioners to actually be doing it. At least what Bruce seems to be teaching is it's a two way street, and not something you can do one sided (though I'm sure there are those practices out there). From that standpoint, it seems to be more of a "performance multiplier" than anything else. As in, regular meditation will give you 1x the performance. Having a second person help you dissolve a blockage gives you 2x the performance. And adding sexual energy gives you 2x the performance to that, for a total of 4x the meditative ability to dissolve a blockage. I'm not sure if there's something you can only get from a partner practice that you wouldn't get out of a normal practice (aside from the obvious stuff). But from a long term meditation standpoint I'm sure you'll be fine because there are people who become enlightened without practicing sexual meditation. But again, who knows

(spoilers below) I felt like Iron Fist is the weakest of the Defender's lineup. For sure the setup was challenging- Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage, while each fantastical in their own way, were gritty and at least somewhat grounded in a plausible reality. In comparison, a Kung Fu master (and a scrawny one at that...) is a bit of a stretch. When he first encountered the hatchet gang, I thought things were going to go well. He demonstrated a flowing technique, and while it was a little fantastical, not *too* outside the realm of possibility. But as the show went on, his fighting style seemed to get more and more "brawl"-y. And I understand why- they were trying to show his deteriorating mental state, his mind full of doubts. Etc etc. Which brings me to my first problem- he spent 15 years in a monastery and never learned to resolve any of his issues. What was the point of all of that meditation??? As a meditation practitioner, this frustrated me! Danny seems to have no ways of dealing with his anger issues, even from episode 1. I'll admit, everyone thinking you are crazy is infuriating but still.... calm down. When it comes to the Hand, I actually liked what they did. We find out there are multiple factions of the Hand. We get some lore around Madame Gao. We already know she's a villain from Daredevil, but now we see a trickier side. She DOES play the kind grandmother, because she is trying to lure Danny in. And in a world where everyone is lying to him, perhaps the most manipulative thing she can do is tell the truth and be his friend. But things brings me to my second problem- Danny is "sworn enemy of the Hand", but we as the audience know more about the workings of the Hand (from Daredevil) than Danny does! Granted, he says in an early episode that he just assumed the Hand stories were some boogeyman fairy tale... but even still, he is supremely naive in all of his dealings with the Hand. And on that note, he seems to learn more about himself from the Hand than he did in 15 years in K'un-Lun. You're telling me they never taught him how to replenish his chi after using the Iron Fist? Seems kind of important. He apparently doesn't even know he can "double fist" it (so to speak) until he sees an old video from the Hand. And yes, I know he abandoned his post and probably had years worth of training lined up while guarding the pass. But they never taught even the basics of chi management in preparation for the huge chi injection he would receive?? Finally, at the end of each of the other seasons each hero "came into their own" by the end, or at least made peace with their situation. Daredevil gets his suit. Jessica Jones hangs up the sign and goes back to work. Luke Cage is resolved to sorting out his problems. While some of them had rough patches, or even tried to deny their own identity, by the end they made peace with who they were as people, if not as a hero. Danny, on the other hand, never really makes that jump. In fact, the final scene he is going BACK to K'un-Lun because he hasn't been able to grow into his own at all. To me it feels like we only got "half" a story arc for him, and by the end we should see him (like Daredevil) at LEAST grow into his costume, even if he hasn't mastered his powers yet. I too watched Into the Badlands before this show, and initially I was glad they didn't go full "kung fu" style in Defenders, as it wouldn't have matched the gritty realism of, say, Daredevil... but now I'm not so sure. At least we could explain it by him being a kung fu/chi master.

I used to do a lot of dream work and kept up a very detailed dream journal. I was able to recall a significant amount of dreams each night (to the point where writing down all the detail was kind of a chore). Correspondingly, in my day time practice I was becoming more aware of the thoughts I had throughout the day. In the end, I realized the vast, VAST majority of my dream content was just leftover or recycled thoughts, either from that day or from the past week. For example, I'd see someone in my dream and think it was a big deal... then remember I glanced at their name when scrolling through my phone contacts. Okay, just subconscious processing of stuff. I've had some interesting dream phenomena from time to time. For the record, I DO think dreams can be used from a spiritual development standpoint. However, I also think that you need to have spiritual development enough to be able to distinguish between, say, internally generated mental thoughts and externally generated psychic thoughts. And that takes a bit of work. If you aren't at that point (and I myself, am not) I would suggest not attaching too much to dreams, if something stands out hold it loosely in your awareness, and if something happens something happens. If it's real, it will stick around/keep coming back.

Well, it sort of depends on what you are looking for. I personally really enjoyed the Daoist Sexual Meditation book. I also got a bit of a tune up from a live seminar last year. One important thing to keep in mind (and I'm not sure how much he mentions this in the book, I'll have to check) is that the book is about Daoist Sexual Meditation, and not Sexual Qigong. If you are looking specifically for Qigong, look elsewhere. That is to say, Daoist Sexual Meditation will help give you the extra juice to dissolve and resolve blockages. He talks about the Dissolving method in his other books, "Relaxing Into Your Being," "The Great Stillness," "The Dao of Letting Go", and "Opening the Energy Gates of Your Body" (if you can only afford one, get the Energy Gates book). Sexual Qigong is more about energizing the body, increasing sensation, increasing sexual performance/duration, etc etc. At least, that's from the perspective from the tradition of which Bruce is a lineage holder. Other traditions may have different definitions of things. But from what I recall at the last seminar, that's how Bruce broke it down.

So initially through my study of Tai Chi I learned about the dan tien, and that some consider there to be three dan tiens. From what I know, there's the lower dan tien, middle dan tien, and upper dan tien. Now more recently I've come across learning about the chakras. Some sources have attempted to compare the chakras to the dan tiens but... well there's been some confusion. The sixth chakra/third eye is almost always compared with the upper dan tien. This one seems to be most consistent. The middle dan tien, I had always thought to be in the solar plexus area, however some places have the middle dan tien listed as in the heart region, thus corresponding with the heart chakra. The lower dan tien I have seen compared to the third chakra, except the third chakra is most commonly referred to as the solar plexus chakra and that... isn't where the lower dan tien is. The third chakra also moves around in its listing, some sources list the third chakra as in the solar plexus, while others list it in the navel area, which may put it closer to the lower dan tien... Other places have listed the lower dan tien as corresponding with the second chakra, except the second chakra is also sometimes listed higher or lower so depending on where it's read it may be either more or less comparable... it's quite confusing So, I guess the first question would be: do the dan tiens and the chakras correspond with each other at all, or are they pretty much their own separate thing? Is there some overlap, especially considering areas such as the third eye/upper dan tien, there is quite a lot of overlap in terms of location within the body, and things that happen when you learn to stimulate those areas. Now if connections can be made between the two areas... what are the proper connections?

Duplicate.

Wandered back to TTB to check up on things and I see this :( We were both in some heated threads back in the day, but she always kept her cool. She will be missed.

For me, if I need to sneeze, I sneeze. If I need to wriggle, i wriggle. The way I see it, the point is not "to sit in meditation for 30 mins" or to "hold posture for 40 minutes" or whatever. The point is to do the practice right. As you get more practiced, and as others have said, as you go deeper, doing the practice right carriers you further and things like sneezing and running noses don't come up. Using myself as an example, as I'm doing my practice the first few minutes is usually me and my body getting settled. I work out physical and mental kinks here and there. So the posture I start in isn't the posture I finish in. I don't start really getting into it until I get into it for a little bit. Once I get into it, things like sneezes and wrigglings fall by the wayside. Not because I am forcing myself to not do those things. But because I am focused on my practice, and they just don't come up. At some point I come out of it. Sometimes this is after a few minutes. Sometimes this is after many minutes. But my goal isn't to add minutes each time, or beat myself up over losing minutes. My goal is to do my practice a little better (or at least not worse!) each time. And let whatever else happens happen.

For me, if I need to sneeze, I sneeze. If I need to wriggle, i wriggle. The way I see it, the point is not "to sit in meditation for 30 mins" or to "hold posture for 40 minutes" or whatever. The point is to do the practice right. As you get more practiced, and as others have said, as you go deeper, doing the practice right carriers you further and things like sneezing and running noses don't come up. Using myself as an example, as I'm doing my practice the first few minutes is usually me and my body getting settled. I work out physical and mental kinks here and there. So the posture I start in isn't the posture I finish in. I don't start really getting into it until I get into it for a little bit. Once I get into it, things like sneezes and wrigglings fall by the wayside. Not because I am forcing myself to not do those things. But because I am focused on my practice, and they just don't come up. At some point I come out of it. Sometimes this is after a few minutes. Sometimes this is after many minutes. But my goal isn't to add minutes each time, or beat myself up over losing minutes. My goal is to do my practice a little better (or at least not worse!) each time. And let whatever else happens happen.

I second this. I've only heard a description of the "Five Rings," but never actually seen any visuals. I think it's a subset of the "Opening the Energy Gates of Your Body" practice (I don't think it's covered in the book). I think any senior instructor with advanced Energy Gates certification might know it.

"Astral Projection" is discussed in Franz Bardon's "initiation Into Hermetics" (of which Rawn Clark is an advanced practitioner, if I recall his writing correctly). I put "Astral Projection" in quotes because, to my understanding, there is "mental projection" (projecting the mental body, as described in Bardon's Hermetic tradition) and a true "astral projection" (projecting the astral body as described in Bardon's Hermetic tradition). From my understanding, true "astral projection" is a lot more intense and does involve a significant portion of a human's energetic being leaving the body (to the point where if someone touches your body as you are projecting you'll die). I think this is close to even projection in Taoism (where one of the immortals projected his spirit and had a disciple guard the body for X amount of days, after which the immortal would have returned or be "dead"). Mental projection is a bit lighter, and in my opinion is closer to the projection that, say, Robert Bruce and Robert Monroe teach. Personally, I had decided to stay away from "astral projection" due to the numerous dangers that have been written, but my practice in lucid dreaming led me to experience phenomena as written about by Bruce/Monroe and a couple of others. Whether this is "true" "astral projection", whether it's just one end of the AP spectrum, I'm not sure. Just throwing it out there.

I'm of a similar opinion. I totally believe it happens and that people do it. Has it been scientifically documented to the point that it can be brought reliably to the public? No. But that's a whole different discussion that I've been in too many times. Yeah, but see that kind of puts it at odds with the whole "hey you can verify your experience!" thing... For instance, some people suggest taking something like a playing card. Shuffle a deck randomly and put a card out of your line of sight. Then astral project, find the card, see what it is, then come back to body and verify it. I've attempted that experiment multiple times, and each time not only does the layout of the room shift, but so too does the card itself! Maybe it's too small an "entity," maybe my focus isn't refined enough? But as soon as I turn my awareness and focus it on the card, the card itself shifts right before my eyes

I am of a similar mindset. In such setups as illustrated above, it should be easy to prove. 1) Establish 2 people have no physical way of communicating with each other 2) Have them do their AP 3) Compare notes later Further methods and procedures can be implemented to ensure the researchers performing the experiment are in line. If this is such a prevalent practice, there should be a large enough talent pool. Assuming people actually WANT to prove it. In my experience control varies. Different LDs/Projections have different degrees of vividness and control. Sometimes willing takes me someplace instantly or performs a change. Sometimes the experience is literally akin to running into a brick wall. I haven't found any way to "train" to "better control" these states. Sometimes I'm in a state I can control, sometimes I'm not. Regarding various levels, I do believe I've been able to get into what Robert Bruce writes is the "Real Time Zone". Of course, due to the "changing nature of the astral" it makes it pretty much useless for verifying anything physical. Which is disappointing, because there's a lot of cool things which could be done if you could verify things on the physical.

"That's not true, there are exceptions, I really like quite guys who aren't typical alpha male assholes." "I'm not into the whole Barbie girl thing. I like weird quiet girls."

So, this is completely honest from me, personally. From my first post in this thread, I was raised in a good family by a feminist mother, really into spirituality and overall want to see the world filled with good people... But not everyone is self aware. "How can women help while maintaining their integrity." What do you mean by this last part? The fact is, a lot of the women this young beta males are surrounded by are not spiritually aware, and even socially aware. I'm talking ages 13-25 year old girls (and even up to 30). The best way for these guys to become happy? Learn how to play the game. 1) Play sports, work out, do things that involve and increase your testosterone. Find friends that pump you up, expand your social circle 2) Expand your social circle more- network from your physical activities, I know a lot of 20's guys who play recreational sports and then go out for beers after. This gets you out and puts you in a situation where you are socially dominant (which people like) 3) Expand your social circle to include attractive women- because that's really what guys want, they want attention from women. Women like guys who are socially dominant/savvy, and who are out there socially. Even if you don't do anything else, getting to this point will get you successfully 4) Learn game- and by "game" I don't mean "how to lie to women," but how to flirt, how to push her buttons, how to push/pull, what makes a good date, how to behave around other men/women If you're in high school, try out for a high school sport. If you're in college, join an intramural team. if you're out of college, join a casual community sports team. Is this an "enlightened" way to go about it? I don't know, but it's a REALIST way of going about it. In my opinion, all of the guys just saying "be yourself and women will be attractive to you" are people already did the above in their lives, consciously or not. They already had an invigorating hobby which boosts physical confidence, they had a wide social circle, they were around women (if you don't hang out around women you don't learn how to behave around women), and they dated women (so learned how how to date and to "game" naturally). And all of the women saying "just be yourself and women will be attracted to you" are really just being attracted to the usual traits listed above, and oblivious to the yin beta male. Just sayin.

Young yin beta males are marginalized by society. We can run around and play the blame game as we have been doing... "Women aren't sexually attracted to yin beta males, so they reject them" "Society tells women they should be attracted to masculine alpha males, don't blame women" "Us women just want men with confidence" Blah blah blah.... But the fact is, young yin beta males are marginalized, so they are frustrated and sad and lonely and misunderstood. Similar, you might say, to young women who don't fit the "feminine mold".

How do you control where you project? I just do my usual projection dance, and I wind up where I wind up.

I've personally never had much success with this

i would also like to examine this statement as well. Even MEN don't get exactly equal pay for exactly the same job/work. There are lots of factors which contribute to pay: 1) Previous work experience 2) Budget when the company made the hire 3) Negotiations which took place between the applicant and hiring manager 3a) The applicant (did they fight to negotiate salary or sign on the first offer?) 3b) The hiring manager (do they lowball initial offers, are they open to salary negotiations, etc) So (let's stereotype) even if a woman came in and was aggressive with exactly if not more background experience and did a lot of negotiating for salary, if the company was in a bad state at the time of her hire she STILL may have gotten less pay than someone else... who might even be a man. There are a lot of reasons why companies don't like their employees talking about pay, and it's not JUST to keep men and women having different salaries. Companies are there to make money for the SHAREHOLDERS, NOT for employees to be treated "fairly" (though treating employees fairly DOES tend to increase performance).

I've got one for ya: "You're a dick." Nothing sums up a person who is borish, rude, uncaring, insensitive, selfish, and ignorant as much as reducing them to the male genital. Yes, we can do that with female genitalia as well, to be sure But notice that a person can be reduced to a man's AND a woman's genitalia (insults are equal like that, I guess) and BOTH have negative definitions (different, yes, but both negative). I'd also like to talk about that, because it was quite interesting watching the gears in that boy's head turn... It's almost like, he thought of an abstract conceptual group and individuals in different ways... Kind of like, "black people". Or... "asian people".... or... "white people"... Or "the upper class"... or, "the poor." Or "men." I would say all HUMANS tend to categorize groups as mental shortcuts and ways of making decisions, but that individuals they have real relationships with trump however they view the group. For example: there are lots of homeless black men in my downtown area. I am wary of them because they have harassed and insulted me in the past, so I avoid areas where homeless black men congregate. Does that mean I am racist/classist/sexist against the homeless group, the black group, and the men group? No. It's a cognitive shortcut my brain uses which evolved to help humans survive. It's just something I'll have to deal with. We could create a separate thread just about racism. How many people on this board are black? Maybe we should tone down the "locker room talk" to make the forum more inviting for black people?

Are we astral traveling to an astral plane? Or astral traveling to an astral analog of the physical plane? How can I astral travel with the same success rate that I have when I hop on a plane and go somewhere? How do I prove I actually went on a real trip?

Well the root of the term "feminism" does imply a focus on women (thus alienating men). Whereas anti-sexist activism would encompass things affecting men and women (thus not alienating anybody). By this same logic, maybe it should be up to men to decide if, and if so, how, "feminism benefits men." And not for women to tell men how feminism benefits men. We men will tell you when it starts to benefit us.

Thought Billy's mom was a fiend.