Sloppy Zhang

In the brilliant words of one of my professors- So what? What's your point? You compile some results of the most minuscule bit of the English speaking population.... to what end? What are you trying to say?

Well according to your argument, I'm well within my right to interpret what you say however you want, and I'll be right because I believe I'm right, and logic can just "sod off" right? Having second thoughts about whether this is really the type of world you want to live in? It sucks when people believe whatever they want, despite you telling them they have no logical basis for such beliefs, doesn't it?

Whoa.... Great point.... I saw the movie, but didn't think of that once....

I was about to go back and quote each of your posts and step through where I got what I said. Then I realized I didn't have to. Why? Because according to your argument, it doesn't matter what the speaker's intent was. If I took it to mean a certain thing, I was right, because that's what it means to me. You said this: And aside from it being an all around sexist remark, it is happening right now. You said something to me regarding your opinion regarding logic. I socked you with my metaphorical handbag, and now you are complaining to me about how much you detest it. What goes around comes around! [edit] Wow, I had actually never seen that video before. Linked to it for fun... talk about ten minute waste of my life!

I did. And it's good to know that if most of the people believe the world is flat, you wouldn't stand up and tell them that the world is round, to avoid them calling you a pedophile and burning your house down. You'd rather have your house, share their reality, and tell others to say that the world is flat, lest they become sex offenders too! Since we're in a forum of cultivators practicing (hopefully) some kind of a system of radical self honesty or critical inquiry, I thought it prudent to inform you that just because there are a bunch of people out there who have a firmly determined reality devoid of any critical insight, it doesn't mean that their position is in any way credible beyond the confines of their own shared reality. And you informed me that you "don't give a sod". To which I said that it is good to know where you stand on the matter At which point you then informed me that there are lots of people out there who have a firmly shared reality in which some things are true because they believe them regardless of whether there is any evidence to support them, even after a careful scientific inquiry. Which brings us now full circle, and I say that it still doesn't make them right, no matter how many people believe the emperor is walking around fully clothed.

Not at all. How good to know.

1) When I push with my ass like I am taking a dump, I am trying to get shit OUT of me. That doesn't seem suitable to keeping energy in. But I don't know anything. 2) I like your avatar, Dorian Black. You always pick the cool guys

And logic would dictate that even if 100% of them thought it meant free spahgetti dinners, it is still a falacious argument.

Dude, if you talkin' John Chang... you best be posting links. It ain't advertising, it's sharing knowledge.

This is turning into a forum meme. "In general". And by "in general", I mean the people who are even aware of the conversation going on.

Except that you said: And Marblehead said: Which would indicate that the set of Limburger cheese that Marblehead would like "in general" would actually be the Limburger cheese that Marblehead had eaten, NOT the entirety of Limburger cheese in existence. In the way you've set it up, there is the implication, without explicitly specifying, that the "Limburger cheese" being liked "in general" is, in fact, "the Limburger cheese that had been eaten up to that point by the speaker". Which would mean that, by the standard you have just presented- Would in fact just be "the women you have met", as you have already demonstrated with the cheese that one does not need to specify that their comments are limited to the ones that they have eaten. After all, one couldn't have eaten the majority of Limburger cheese any more than one could have met the majority of men and women to reliably comment on the matter. Anybody confused?

Then that still does not reflect on the majority of Limburger cheese. So if we go by the poll's suggested phrase "in general women act in a certain way", and if we go by the way of understanding that you put forward, and which Marblehead thinks is pretty close in general: Then the understood meaning of "in general women act in a certain way" would then be "most of the women that I have eaten met act in a certain way". And as such, the comment would not be a reflection of 50% of the total population of women, but only a reflection of 50% of the total number of women that the individual speaker has encounter (which could be painfully few).

Trick question? My dear marblehead, not at all! I wasn't referring to brands. I was referring to the total amount of Limburger cheese that was on this planet from the time that you were born until now. And while you may have eaten your fair share of Limburger cheese, I don't think it is anywhere near 50% of the Limburger cheese that has been around in the time that you have had the ability to consume said cheese. And while it is perfectly conceivable that some Limburger cheese is not always kept well, I would think it's pretty fair to say that someone who deals in cheese and is preparing it has some knowledge of how to handle it. So given that you had the inclination and the ability to procure said cheese, I think it's fair to say that you would attempt to consume it. You know full well that it COULD taste disgusting, or it COULD be improperly prepared. But you chance it. Why? Well, I would think it'd be a pretty fair statement to say that it's because "you like Limburger cheese in general". You haven't had close to 50% of it, let alone more than 50%. And while I'm sure you've had your share of "not good" Limburger cheese, I'd think the majority of it has been pretty good in your experience, or else you wouldn't chance eating it as often since the chances would increase that it'd be not good. So there you have it- a situation in which "in general" does not apply to more than 50%. A completely reasonable, natural usage of the phrase, and if you said it to someone, they would understand that when you said "in general I like Limburger cheese", you are NOT in any way suggesting that you have consumed half of the Limburger cheese which, even if you just consider this very moment, is currently in existence.

Have you, marblehead, personally eaten every limburger cheese that has ever been made? I understand that's a very tall order. So I'll ask something a little different... What percentage of the limburger cheese that has been around in your lifetime would you say that you have eaten?

What's your favorite food, marblehead?

Depends on the situation and the context. It can mean majority, yes. But it can also indicate a frequency of perception. And that has very little bearing on numerical majority. An example you (stig) used in another thread was "general epidemic" of a flu (it could be some other disease, or anything really). The number of people with the flu may be well UNDER 50% of the population, but could be significant enough that someone could correctly say that people "in general" have the flu "this time of year". It'd be nice of you to edit the poll to allow for more options that may more accurately reflect the poll takers' opinions. Or remove the poll and just make it a general discussion. Also, I consider it rather poor form to go to the open discussion in some attempt to resolve a discussion started in the pit. Furthermore, if you were attempting to somehow cite this as a source for what people "in general" think "in general" means, please keep in mind that argumentum ad populum is a logical fallacy. Tally ho indeed.

Hmmm.... "Your focus determines your reality" - Qui-Gon Jinn, Star Wars Episode I I've been masturbating my whole life. Like.... since I was four. It never caused me to have any problems. Ever. I'd usually ejaculate about 3 times per session, with about two or three sessions a day (right before I went to sleep, and when I work up, or else walk around with a huge erection for fifteen minutes every morning). Some days I'd do more, some days I'd do less, depending on what my body needed. It was very natural. If I was really tired before I went to sleep, I wouldn't do it. If I was having sex with a partner, I'd usually do it less (as I had an outlet). If I was super worked up, and couldn't got to sleep, I'd do a bit more. At the age of 18 I started to get into methods which were big on this "protecting the essence" and whatever associated with masturbation. Decided that, for the betterment of my cultivation, I'd have to stop. Didn't ever try to burn my penis off, but I did do that rubber band trick that you recommended in another thread. Well this went on for almost a year, me trying to stop. Got to a point where I'd about almost tore my hand off with the rubber band I started to exhibit obsessive compulsive behavior, not only with my mind, my sex thoughts, and my rubber band, but also with other things in general, such as opening and closing doors, counting repetitive actions, and things like that. I knew I was REALLY messed up when I started to become obsessive about hand washing (because that is a well known OCD type thing- I knew counting was too, but I considered hand washing the next level). So then I figured that since I was obsessed and determined for masturbation and sex, I'd try semen retention and whatever. Well had a couple of scares with that, so decided to stop (and I don't suggest anyone do it either). The point is, I NEVER had a problem with masturbation or energy or anything before in my life. It was a natural part of my day. I had discovered it naturally, did it when I needed to, and if I didn't need to, I wouldn't do it. Problems started when I was TOLD "masturbation wastes energy", "you are losing your essence", "you are stimulating lust". Before, I'd do it when I needed to. After, the focus of my entire day for most of a year was about whatever was going down in my genitals! It was crazy! So then I said screw it. If I want to have sex, I'm going to have sex. If I want to masturbate, I am going to masturbate. I am much healthier now. I am much happier now. I am much more energetic now. Maybe I'm just a super stud. Maybe I will burn out when I hit 25. But as of now, my suggestion is DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT. The more you bother about it, the more it will bother you. You will go through a lot less pain, a lot less anguish, and you will lose a lot LESS energy if you stop thinking about it, and listen to what your body actually needs. Also, intrusive thoughts are nothing new, or unnatural. We have thoughts about everything at all parts of the day. Our minds are powerful, and can think about more than we can consciously keep up with. If you get a hang up every time you think about sex, if you smack your wrist or burn your dick, every time you think about sex, you are GOING to be doing it CONSTANTLY. Because instead of dropping it and moving on, as you would normally do, you focus it and give it an inordinate amount of power. More than it'd normally have (that is to say, none). At least, that was my experience. If you're the type of person like me, who gets pretty obsessive in general, who goes balls to the wall, who is really determined to cut out all sexual thoughts, and is really vigilant about every time something remotely sexual happens, you are going to inadvertently CAUSE more connections with sex in your mind than you are stopping (because instead of thinking "think spiritual" you are saying "don't think about sex", and your focus will still be on sex!) So, yeah, that's just my experience. It bothers me that there is a fixation upon sexuality (or rather, not being sexual) when it comes to sexuality. Because, in my opinion, it tells people they have a problem when, most of the time, they really don't. It gives them a problem that they have to fix before moving on. And it makes it so that they can NEVER move on. Especially if they are a teenager with raging hormones going on anyway- then you are guaranteed to fail. Especially if you live in modern, media driven society, dominated by pictures of attractive, mostly naked women in advertisements. Anyway, I think that's long enough. The strict stopping methods might work for you. For me, they caused more problems than they fixed. And to be honest, there was never even a problem with me to begin with. I just felt compelled to write this. To let anyone willing to read all of that know. So have at it (whatever you decide to do).

I think at 40 he's entitled to get some.... for spiritual reasons.... yeah..... Right, if that's the case, then I hate to break it to him, but he ain't being spiritual. He's PRETENDING to be spiritual. He has carefully lied to himself for years. I hate to potentially insult the meaning of your friend's very existence (because who know, those 40 years of virginity might be exactly what he needed to (not) have this lifetime), but if he's gone 40 years and not having sex for spiritual reasons, but he's STILL "obsessed" with sex, well, uh.... he's still stuck on the same obsession that 12 year old boys get as soon as they realize that girls aren't icky (well... maybe a little bit ) Some say it does for a lot of reasons. I'm not all TCM like, but it could affect the blood and the organs or whatever. On a more esoteric sense, animals and heavy meats are associated with lower vibration, and base animal instincts (being that they are from.... animals). So if you have enough of them in your diet, it could be a weight that drags you down a few too many notches than you'd like. But that's also the same reason that people who are getting too far "out there", and become spiritually ungrounded are encouraged to eat the heavier meats, do some intense physical exercise, and maybe something sexual. To bring you back down and ground you.

Oh, I think there are more difficult things. If it helps to think of it that way, sure. But a positive rather than a negative. Yes, you need to find something you are interested in. Something that draws you in. Something that excites your imagination, challenges you to be involved, but at the same time does not repel you at the slightest rock of the boat. Chances are good it's already in your life, you just have to coax more of it out of you. Anime. Anime. Me too. And the thoughts wander to.... anime. Right. Sooooooo.... anime. Have YOU ever wondered about the force that must be generated by a singe being which would be capable of destroying an entire planet as depicted in such anime as dragonball z? Have you ever wondered the lengths to which one must go in order to replicate that energy? Has that thought ever prompted you to examine how fuel sources work, which leads you on to a 3 hour binge of wikipedia engineering articles, leading you somehow into subatomic particle theory???????? Yeah. That's much better than wasting your jing on internet porn. Anime.... or atomic theory. The problem is that when your obsession and your hobby fuse..... anime porn.... Whatever your friend does, he must NOT go down that hole. Especially if he is curious. Because there will be a whole hell lot of things to be curious about, click on, and never return from You're never too old for anime.

As a person with occasionally obsessive tendencies, that is one and the same for me

Exactly. You need to eat. Sleep. Go to work and/or school. Hang out with friends. Watch tv or whatever. Then there is the transition times, driving to and from. No way you can do a hobby 24/7! I have some experiences with obsessive thoughts myself, and I can attest that it does. Of course, it depends on the type of person you are. Many people advocate some pretty intense abstinence routines and trying to convert a bunch of energy. And sure, that works for some people. For others, it doesn't. Since Vajrahridaya is coming at it from one side, I'm coming at in from the other in case your friend needs a different strategy. And I'm telling you, like most obsessions and addictions, the thing that gets you is your habits that you've accumulated during your free time. If you're at your job, your obsession is probably taking a back seat. If you find yourself thinking "what should I do now?" that's probably where the obsession does its most work. That's why you get a hobby, that is significant and interesting for you, to fill in the gaps between when you are doing other things. You have to de-condition, or should I say, re-condition yourself, to associate different thoughts with your actions. Because intrusive thoughts are nothing new. People have micro-thoughts about sex all the time. Some people have conditioned themselves into focusing on those thoughts to an obsessive degree- sometimes because the strategy they are using to "defeat" these thoughts is just as obsessive as they are. So effectively all you have done is compound the problem, whereas, if you just let it go (as you would naturally do), you would never have a problem to begin with! Perhaps for the first little bit. The trick is to not have "gaps". So if you are not doing your hobby, you are brushing your teeth and going to bed. If you aren't driving to or from work, or currently at work, you are thinking about your hobby. If you catch yourself thinking about your obsession, think about your hobby. Does it involve work? Yes. But so does energy transmutation, which I think, with no supports, is far more esoteric (literally) and harder to pull off. Just tell your friend to get a hobby. Seriously. Seriously. Hobby. If he's doing energy work along side it, even better. Whatever the energy work is "not enough" to cover gets covered by the hobby.

Wasn't it only for 30 days? Or is it permanent? But there's a warning- And I think one of the reasons for the ban was for continual, disparaging comments, which, in my opinion from reading his posts, came about because of of some pretty bitter resentment towards women. So he would have been disqualified either way.

I feel like my heart is open, and I can connect emotionally.... but I just look at guys like this and I feel so inferior: What's a good tantric technique to make my **** hard and strong?

Watch this video, and more importantly, read the description- Basically his idea was to create the most convincing video evidence. Of course, a reasonably skeptical mind would ask questions such as "why do it on a table, there could be anything under a table". The believers would believe unquestioningly. The skeptics, rather than presenting points of reasonable doubt, would staunchly DECLARE what they KNEW to be the "trick". Both of them were equally closed minded and incorrect in their assertions! Videos are good. With the proper input and the right amount of dedication, they can go a long way into ruling out common stage tactics- for instance, a longer video could show the set up, take place in a more neutral area, involve material that was produced spontaneously by other witnesses. Of course, street magicians make their living on fakery involving those some premises! So really, the only way is to get it done under controlled conditions, with the right observers, proper procedures, and the ability to replicate (which means those undergoing the tests have to be willing to actually perform multiple times in front of people who think they are phonies, and they must have the skill and experience to reliably perform under such strains- time and time again, a would be Randi Challenge winner got nervous on the test day, failed, and blamed it on the nerves).

This site has plenty to say about such demonstrations- Never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever EVER use your hands! Too easy to get false positive result. Heat from your hand can cause movement! THAT'S why it's easier without the glass around it! The design of those psi wheels make them as easy to move with the least possible force, that way your measly beginner level chi blast will be easy to detect. The problem is it gives you a false positive! No wonder it gets harder under a glass! No wonder you don't see people moving anything bigger than a psi wheel! An age old question! I've asked that question a few times around here, and caught a lot of flak for it! It's much easier to say you can do something, post some videos that are pleasing to the eye for an uncritical, quick to believe young mind, to sucker in some believers!