Peregrino

A former girlfriend once SOAKED me after I gave her a two-hour session of "yang fingers" long before I had ever heard of this phenomenon. It definitely wasn't pee and she definitely enjoyed it, though currently I'm dedicating my attention to full-body massage work on my present girlfriend. We've had three full sessions with grape oil, minus the "yang fingers." There's still some tension that needs to be worked out, but I definitely believe fruition is on its way . . . and it sure is fun for both of us in the mean time. I would indeed like to hear more from women on this issue--esp. since this is turning into a guys' corner here, he he. What can I say? This topic is definitely more interesting to me than talking about fixing trucks!

There are several interesting books on correlations between Christian contemplation, Taoism, and Zen. I especially enjoyed Thomas Merton's _Mystics and Zen Masters_ and _The Way of Chuang Tzu_. At some point Merton confessed that over the years he found himself more strongly identifying with Lao Tse than a lot of the Hellenistic philosophers (e.g. Aristotle, or neo-Platonists like Plotinus) who have been incorporated into the Christian tradition. It's interesting to note that at least one of the Chinese translations of the Gospel of John interprets the term Logos (the main subject of the current Pope's controversial speech) as "Tao": "In the beginning was the Tao, and the Tao was with God, and the Tao was God" (Jn 1:1). John is also considered the most "gnostic" of the canonical Gospels, although by my reckoning gnosticism isn't always the romantic, enlightened, liberating path of esoteric wisdom that many make it out to be.

I visit the US about twice a year, mainly the DC area and southern California, but if my schedule ever coincides, I'd be up for anywhere on the West Coast and anywhere on the East Coast but Florida (for bile-inducing reasons I won't get into right now!) As for a European meet-up, I'd love an excuse to make it finally to Italy or Eastern Europe, but anywhere in Spain or Portugal is especially convenient for me . . . I might even be able to offer a spare guest house in Galicia, if my girlfriend's family doesn't sell it anytime too soon! There are lots of dirt cheap flights between Spain and Britain or Ireland, so I'd be up for those locations too.

One of the reasons I happily left the US was that I was tired of those kinds of "Christian" religious nuts dominating public life . . . And now Islamic fundamentalists seem set on imposing their own narrow agenda here in Europe. Sheesh! If only moderate Evangelicals would get their act together and make a clean break with the Bush regime, and if only moderate Muslims would definitively resist the extremists of their own religion . . . I think the Aeneros device would do these kinds of rigid people a lot of good!

Wow--thanks for reminding me of the kind of absurdly beautiful Amuhrican ingenuity that keeps me from renouncing my citizenship! Almost as cool as girls in bikinis with machine guns! OK, back to reading Proust . . .

I've heard that some of the Piccus DVDs repeat the same visuals but simply run different audio tracks, as opposed to putting out just one or two DVDs with multiple audio tracks. The content sounds excellent, despite the unnecessary (and misleading) practice of reproducing the video tracks. It's quite pricey, but I'd be willing to pitch in with a few others here for a Tao Bums Library copy of the series, if such is an acceptable practice on this site.

OK, so my retro guilty pleasures usually pertain to the cheesy delights of 70s pop, but here's a forlorn-sounding Euro-mullet classic I can't resist! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzdPhTLeZ7w "I have lost my way home bay-beee!"

Ha ha--it sounds like they're singing "I don't like ET!" Maybe VH1 will feature them on "Bands Reunited." I really enjoyed the Kajagoogoo episode. I always wonder where a lot of these 80s musicians ended up, esp. those involved in punk/hardcore. On that note, the new documentary _American Hardcore_ looks like a must-see--a reminder of a more envigorating aspect of a decade that I largely hated. Um, hardcore music, that is! http://www.sonyclassics.com/americanhardcore/ (Maybe my 80s-hatin' was mainly 'cause I was in high school and that age seems to be a drag for me no matter what era you live in, but the long bummer of Reagan's presidency certainly didn't help matters for me.)

I've been having amazing results since I've started taking guarana as a supplement-both tablets and powder-- this summer. I seem to have boundless energy for working out, cleaning my apartment, studying, etc. My girlfriend who used to live in Brazil had been plugging it to me for a long time, but I admit it wasn't until I saw Carlson Gracie wearing a "Guarana Power" patch on his gi that I decided to give it a try. The amazing thing is that it doesn't agitate my motor functions and keep me awake at night the way coffee does. In fact, I've almost completely given up coffee and much prefer to take guarana with water, juice, or red tea at times when I normally would have taken coffee (esp. in the morning and after lunch). Just wondering about other people's knowledge and experience of this stuff. Any suggestions for optimal use? (To clarify, I do lead a VERY active life right now, but I tend to take less on my "rest" days.) Any possible side effects I should be aware of? Thanks in advance! Peregrino

Hi Cap, I guess we've already "met" on the thread about the ideagasms DVD, but greetings again from another part of Europe! (I'm a "part-time" American living in Vigo, Spain.) At first I viewed Stephane with a mixture of appreciation and skepticism. Some of his practical advice on male-female relationships made sense to me, but I couldn't alway go for his metaphysical take on things. I have to say now, though, that I have a very deep respect for him when it comes to matters of sexuality, based on the DVD with Ghita. Wow! Have you checked out the "Girlfriend Training Program"? The title makes me laugh, but since my girlfriend has a very good sense of humor and definitely appreciates the contents of the DVD, perhaps she'd be open to the new material as well. Happy trails, Peregrino

It also occurs to me that other significant changes I've made since this summer are also boosting my energy levels. Besides eating more mindfully in general, I think a key practice has been incorporating regular calisthenics breaks during the day, following Pavel Tsatsouline's "greasing the groove" principle. I can thank an early Tao Bums thread on "Pistols" for introducing me to this practice. I remember Hagar mentioned that weightless squats have really increased his energy levels, and while I also incorporate push-ups and sit-ups* into my breaks (and will add pull-ups once I put the bar up), I feel especially "pumped" by doing the squats. I have no doubts that the squats are giving me big boosts, both for daily activities and for athletic endeavors like sparring; however, I think the guarana still gives me a boost too. On days when I can't take so many exercise breaks (teaching several classes in a row), I can still pop a guarana or two and feel another lift.^ *And I do mean sit-ups, not crunches. On athother day I want to start a thread on training the much-neglected psoas muscles. Oh man, I'm thinking in twelve directions at once today! Must have taken too much guarana!

Yellow pee I've noticed, but that could also come from other supplements I take. (Could Omega 3 do that?) I believe the powder I take is pure or well-nigh pure. My girlfriend's brother brought it over from his last trip to Brazil. The tablets I take are either Herbalife (don't know about the company rep overall, but they're the easiest guarana source in Spain) or a Fair Trade brand called "MunDos." I'm not sure about the MunDos breakdown since I don't have it in front of me, but the Herbalife stuff is made from about 80% guarana seed powder and then some binding agents which the labelling deems "natural." I find the herbalife tablets (1025 mg) give me a somewhat stronger boost than the MunDos. The Herbalife label states that the mixture contains 4% naturally occurring caffeine, but I have to stay again that I don't have the usual caffeine problems of sleeplessness or jitters. About the only side effect I've noticed so far is that on rare occasions, if I take more than eight tablets on a really busy day, I can get keyed up, but not shakey. That is, I think really fast, talk really fast, make plans to tackle several different tasks at once, etc., but even then I find it's relatively easy to center myself simply by stopping and being still, maybe doing a few minutes of mindful breathing. With coffee such counter measures still won't do the trick to keep me from getting over-stimulated. Thanks for the input so far. I guess my main worry is about long-term effects. So, I guess no one's heard of any heavy-duty problems like kidney damage or other scary stuff? (Fingers crossed!) Sometime I'll have to do an experiment involving a long term period of going cold turkey from ALL stimulants. I was a heavy coffee drinker before I used guarana, so I can't really say what my "natural" energy levels would be. At the very least, I think it's a great way for people to break free from coffee addiction!

"Divining the Brain" by Steve Paulson: It's the headliner at salon.com today. You'll need to view an ad before you can read, but it's free. (Otherwise I'd have just given the url.) The neuroscientist in question, Andrew Newberg, talks about establishing a science of subjective experiences--as does Ken Wilber, but it's interesting to me that academia might finally be catching on.

I've since acquired a copy of the ideagasms DVD and my experience has been similar--immense gratitude and responsiveness on the part of my girlfriend so far every time we have the massage session, but still no water works . . . but no rush, either! Every step of the way is really enjoyable for both of us, and her libido really seems to go through the roof. Looks like we'll have to stock up on more grape oil, though . . . Any idea of online sellers with good bulk rates? Best, Peregrino

With so many amusing and sexy topics on the board right now, I am almost reluctant to start a thread on something as sobering as politics, but I did come across this website dedicated to a subject of perpetual interest to me, namely the relationship between Taoism and politics. I agree with this Taoist blogger from Australia about the need to face up to the very real threat of radical Islam. (Just guess which of these countries recognizes the right to pursue Taoist practices: 1) Saudi Arabia; 2) Iran; or 3) Israel. Hmm . . . ) However, I part ways regarding the fiasco of Bush's Iraq invasion. I'm not a fan of John Howard, either, from what I know of him, but for heaven's sake, it should be clear by now that not all who vigorously oppose jihad are friggin' rightwing nutjobs! (Interesting that this defiant Taoist is an MMA fan--on that point I can concur with him . . . Nothin' like combinin' meditation and the art of whoopass!) : ) To me the proper "Taoist" response to the jihadis and the states who sponsor them wouldn't entail tolerating--and therefore encouraging--barbaric behavior (appeasement), but neither would it entail ill-conceived invasions that smack of empire-building while exploiting the fear of terrorism (e.g. the Iraq war). Western democracies have every right to defend themselves, but that doesn't have anything to do with imposing "democracy" on cultures that don't want anything to do with it. For the most part, I think democratic nations should simply ISOLATE all countries that impose sharia (including our "allies" in countries like Saudi Arabia). The price of this policy would be a radical campaign to end dependence on foreign oil, for starters. Of course, a Buddhist or Christian perspective might dictate practicing "compassion" for one's enemies (or non-neighborly neighbors, if that sounds too "dualistic" and "judgmental" for some of you). I personally believe that such an approach often simply *enables aggression*, and would not be in keeping with the Taoist ideal of harmonious balance; i.e., it would involve *excessive* yielding when resistance is called for. Sri Aurobindo has been very influential for me here, but I'm interested in what other Taoists or Taoist-inspired people on this forum have to say. --Peregrino

I can personally verify that psilocybin goes great with hummus! In many Muslim countries, the disaffected youth are turning to drugs quite knowingly on their own, but I agree that the elite/more fanatical would need rather more creative methods to become turned on. Your optimism is inspiring, Way. Maybe with the passing of time I'm becoming more alarmist on these issues. I can remember my grandparents going on about how the West was on the verge of being overrun by communism, but I never really worried about any kind of *Red Dawn* scenario, though I do remember an ongoing fear of nuclear annihilation. Again, though, I have to reiterate that the situation is very different in Europe than the US. Most European countries have negative birth rates and absolutely depend on immigration to keep the system going. I want to make it clear that I'm not anti-immigrant, but I think the model of education has to be far more assimilationist in the midst of so many imams preaching "conquest of the West through our women's wombs." (That's not just a recently stated strategy, it goes back at least to the 70s, when an Algerian president said that Islam would conquer the West precisely by outbreeding.) With luck, the coming generations of Islamo-Europeans will tell the imams to stick it and will continue enjoying the kinds of things that make Europe great (greater social safety net and less puritanism than the US, for starters). If Islamo-European women adopt even a moderate form of feminism, the balance could stay stable in favor of liberal and secular democracy. . . But then, who can really predict with assurance which way the memes will go? I can't predict for sure that Islamic men and women in Europe will really opt to take on more liberal/secular ways while Europe continues to be a prime recruiting ground for jihadists. There are far more European-born jihadists than American ones. The ideology is that strongly rooted here already . . . History is full of misguided doom-and-gloom prophesying, but there are also plenty of instances of false confidence leading to total collapse and ensuing dark ages. Anyway, I'm really enjoying this discussion, and want to look into the "Pronoia" book that Thelerner mentioned earlier.

Wow--this discussion is taking a really interesting turn! To clarify: I meant to say that many Western men raised almost exclusively by women--and often lacking in positive male role models--frequently assume (*an unwarranted*) moral inferiority to women because of messages they've had drilled through their heads about male pathology and irresponsibility, although of course there are many who compensate by turning to the shadow side of extreme machismo to make up for a lack of healthy male mentoring (e.g. gang culture). I wasn't implying any kind of homophobia--the homophobia of Islamic theocracies is precisely the kind of thing I think Westerners must resist. History is full of men who took on the more assertive and rigorous virtues while have limited or nil sexual interest in women. This might sound flip, but I've just started thinking about other non-militaristic possibilities for securing democracy. We can't turn Islamic extremists into non-dualistic meditators overnight, but how about dumping planeloads and planeloads of magic mushrooms all over the most fundamentalist zones? I'm half way serious on that one . . . I remember reading about an Allied intelligence plan to dump lots of pornography on Hitler's compound. Who knows--maybe it had an effect! One more thing--I certainly don't consider the US "soft" on military matters--if anything, a lot of people either in the military or who make military decisions seem to be more taken by the "shadow" side of masculinity I mentioned above, ranging from soldiers who massacre civilians to chickenhawk presidents compensating for never putting themselves on the line for wars they supported in their youth. *In Europe* on the other hand, the situation tends to run towards the opposite extreme, especially in Western Europe. There really does seem to be a common attitude of "let's not respond to violence with violence or we might end up even worse off." Sorry, that attitude didn't do any good the last time the continent was massively threatened. By the way, if the shit hits really hits the fan, I'm all for qualified women taking up arms. A majority might not qualify for ground combat, but some studies seem to indicate that women make better snipers or tank operators . . . That way they don't need to have men holding it over them that only male protection keeps them from living under sharia. Then again, maybe the magic mushrooms will do the trick . . .

One more thing: By the term "moderate" (Islam, feminism, manliness, etc.), I in no way imply "diluted" or "wishy-washy", but a passionate dedication to a harmonious balance, allowing for the incorporation of appropriate virtues that have passed through a careful discernment process. Perhaps "integral" would be a better term, e.g. an "integral manliness" that incorporates traditional masculine virtues while rejecting nihilistic pathologies. On that note, I highly recommend the book *Manliness* by Harvey Mansfield, an old-school liberal who thinks the time has come for men to get over any complexes about their implicit moral inferiority to women and re-assert the *enlightened* values of their forebears without repeating their mistakes--i.e., don't throw out the baby with the bath water!

Ha--then you and a co-cultivator need to check out Stephane Hemon's practices at www.ideagasms.com . . . But the figs would be great afterwards as a well-needed nutrient-replenisher!

Glad to hear from you again, Cloud! I think just focusing on the Guru Syndrome (whether or not the Guru is "pseudo") would be most fruitful. As it stands, I don't have much to say myself as I'm still recovering from the nightmare of a transatlantic flight from Paris and all the TLC that "Homeland Security" entails! Take care, the frazzled Pilgrim

That's a good site, but I agree with Kurz that you should only do static stretching (whether passive or isometric) at the end of a workout. Appleton proposes both static and dynamic stretches for the warm-up, but I find that dynamic stretches without the static ones are much more effective for warming up before a martial arts, cardio, or weight training workout.

If you can't meet anyone from the list while in LA, you might want to check out Topanga Canyon--an oasis of sanity where you can go hiking far from the smog, strip malls, and billboards. Lots of hippy/boho types hang out there and it's easy enough to get into interesting conversations at coffee shops. There's also a great restaurant there, the Inn of the Seventh Ray. Every woman I ever took to the Seventh Ray while I lived in LA was absolutely enchanted!

Articles on the Muslim-Buddhist conflict in Thailand: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/3955543.stm http://tricycleblog.blogspot.com/2004/11/t...in-tak-bai.html Maybe there are moderate Muslim voices in Thailand who can negotiate for a separate state, but I have no sympathy for the Jihad types who behead Buddhist monks, and, if they follow radical Islamist ideology to the hilt, would not be content until they have subjugated all "infidels."

Oops, the Sri Aurobindo link was bad, but it should work now. So Max, you think there is such a thing as "moral violence," after all? Sorry if I mischaracterized you then. Beyond individual self-defense, I think it's crucial to think about collective safety. It would be great if people dedicated to killing us would agree to an "honorable" conventional war on a battlefield, but modern warfare is no operatic Chinese kung-fu film! So then, what are the best ways to deal with hostile forces who want to wipe out or subdue entire civilizations? I'm all ears for a peaceful solution--something that will WORK! Remember, not all ideologies are as willing to negotiate with non-violent opposition as the British were in India. I really don't think the Israelis would keep going to war with Muslim countries if those countries didn't want to destroy them completely; i.e., Israel doesn't look to eradicate the Islamic world, just defend itself, however questionable its measures can seem at times. Considerable extremist elements in the Muslim world, one the other hand, are fanatically dedicated to DESTROYING ISRAEL--they're not interested in any "two state solution." The only reason they haven't done so is because they still lack the military might, though Ahmadinejad in Iran has repeatedly said that Israel should be nuked out of existence as soon as the Muslim world has access to the bomb. Such extremists would LOVE to drop bombs hundreds of times more powerful than what the Israelis are dropping right now, and they've been saying so for years, not just during the present conflict. Speaking of India, I'll throw in some Sri Aurobindo quotes right here, as I can't resist data-dumping! The pacifism meme can be a great force in the world, but I'm not convinced that it can apply to all contexts. Tolerance is also a great virtue, but it should not take a weak form--i.e. appeasement of INtolerant ideologues! The next one hundred years will be interesting (perhaps in the sense of the Chines CURSE, "May you live in interesting times") in Europe and elsewhere. I'd love to see EVERYONE following the pacifism meme, but as the demographics shift here in Europe, I think the "democratic pluralist" meme should be followed first, and supported by whatever means the situation justifies. As bad as democracy can be in many of its present manifestations, theocracy is ALWAYS infinitely worse.