wuliheron

It's an exciting result, but unfortunately there have been charge parity violations with QCD. Hopefully by next spring we should have some answers from the LHC.

There are a few books on the subject, but this is the most Taoistic of all that I am aware of. It does not provide a program, just some things to think about and meditate on, but I like it. http://books.google.com/books?id=bl8Gnyan3...=result#PPP1,M1 Only you can decide if you have a substance abuse problem, but it certainly sounds like you have a headstart on developing one. You probably already know that avoiding your drug of choice while still continuing to use another substance will likely lead to trouble later. I wonder, do you binge drink? If so, this is another sign of trouble down the road. If you are interested in Buddhism and a more structured approach the following book is excellent. http://www.amazon.com/Tao-Sobriety-Helping...n/dp/0312242506

No, there is nothing inconsistent about that. However the original author spoke of the Copenhagen Interpretation which implies that the wavefunction never collapses unless there is an observer. This view has been loosing popularity as experiments seem to support the idea that the wavefunction collapses almost instantly. Brane theory is short for Membrane theory. Instead of focusing so much on strings noadays, it focuses on the membranes they create as they move through spacetime. However, you are correct that the Mirror World scenario is a version of String Theory. Unfortunately, recent calculations have indicated that there might be anywhere around 10^10^500 possible solutions (a wild guess really) for String Theory. In addition, String Theory postulates "compactified" dimensions. These are dimensions that are too small for us to see with the human eye and is similar to what Einstein speculated about our temporal dimension. In his view, if we were large enough we would be able to see the past, present, and future simultaneously because the passage of time is an illusion. In other words, we can only see the present because the dimension of time is simply too large for us to grasp, just as an ant cannot grasp the size of the earth. Similarly, the compactified dimensions of String theory would explain the action-at-a-distance we observe as the fundamental forces of gravity, electromagnetism, etc. This is more similar to Fractal Geometry, with its fractional dimensions, and really has little to do with whether the observed mass of the universe is homogenous or not. The one exception no string theory can do without would be the dimension of gravity which would connect our universe with another. However, this is a rather loose use of the term "universe". If it interacts with our universe, then it can properly be referred to as a part of our universe. Hence the use of "Mirror World" rather than parallel or multi universe. This is sometimes referred to as the "background dependent" nature of String theories. Like Relativity, String theories are "metric" (ie- geometric) theories. This has nothing to do with parallel universes which would be at right angles (an infinite or nearly infinite number of right angles) to ours and not interact with our universe. If you are interested, one of the hottest new fields in theoretical physics is known as "Noncommutative Fractal Geometry". At its heart QM is a noncommutative theory, that is, it does not obey the commutative law of algebra that says if A+B=C then B+A must also equal C. It is hoped by many that this approach might reduce the number of possible string theores to a more managable level. Whether the String Theories ever pan out or not, they have helped to bridge the gap between mathematics and physics which had grown substantial over the last century. In my opinion, if progress is to be made reconciling QM and Relativity we will need all the math people can bring to bare on the subject.

I don't know who this author is, but she got a few things wrong. First off, one of the attractions of the Many World's theory is that it does not require the participation of the observer. Instead, it relies on what is called "Quantum Decoherence" where environmental noise causes the collapse of the wavefunction. Second, multiverses are not synonymous with parallel universes. This one requires a bit more explanation than the first. Because supposidly nothing can move faster than the speed of light anything which is beyond our "light cone" cannot influence our universe and, thus, for all practical purposes can be considered another universe. The Big Bang theory implies that the universe is expanding and, therefore, the mass in the universe should be getting further and further apart. The recent observations that the big bang has accelerated also support this idea. Nonetheless some recent observations indicate that the mass of the universe may be homogenously distributed no matter how far back in time we observe the universe. Along with the long established observation that spacetime appears flat overall, this implies that there are parts of the universe outside our lightcone and we live in a multiverse where many universes all share the same space-time continuum. Parallel universes, which in themselves can be multiverses as well, do not share our dimensions of spacetime. For example, one possible parallel universe is called Mirror World theory. In this theory if you could shrink down beyond 10^-33m you would find yourself suddenly increasing in size and inhabiting a universe with different laws of physics. In the mirror world what would be gravity in our universe might be size or electric charge and these physical properties would be connected to those in our universe. In this way the action-at-a-distance of the physical forces we observe would have prosaic answers in the mirror world (and vice versa) and if we could only figure out what they are in the mirror world it would all make sense to us. The Many Worlds theory proposes an infinitely growing number of parallel universes (whether or not they are multiverses) and together they describe by a single quantum wavefunction that progresses in a very deterministic fashion. The mathematics of the modern Standard Theory of quantum mechanics are very deterministic, but behave so strangely that no language can really express them clearly. Chinese is perhaps the best language for describing QM, but even it has its limitations as far as I know. Essentially they are described by a deterministic wavefunction rotating in an infinite number of dimensions and whenever you introduce infinities into physical equations you get bizarre results. Third, there is another way that time travel into the past is possible. A physicist in Conneticut is actually attempting to build a time machine as we speak. The idea is that if you could warp spacetime enough you could establish a link to the past, but you could only go back in time as far as to when the machine was first turned on. Avoiding the grandfather paradox would then be a simple of matter of what is called "Temporal Loop" theory. Essentially the theory states that it is impossible to change the past, but you can influence the past. In other words, you could go back in time and save your own life because, obviously, you did so or you would no longer be alive. If it is a fact that you did go back in time and save your life then no matter how hard you might try to avoid doing so it would happen because, again, it already did happen. Recently someone posted a thread here about how astronomers found evidence that the mass in the universe follows a fractal pattern. Such patterns involve significant "clumping" which is a contradiction of other astonomer's observation of the homogenous distribution of matter in our universe. Each new astronomy headline tends to contradict the last and the reason for this seems to be that astronomers have only recently acquired the instruments they need to serious observe the universe as a whole. In addition to their new instruments, they could really use a quantum theory of gravity.

This reminds me of a related study that showed that even in dangerous situations such high vehicle traffic areas peoples' attention was drawn to animals. The authors speculated that in nature other animals are one of the biggest hazards and, so, we have evolved to pay attention to them. It would also explain why so many cats and dogs quickly spot the smallest of animals in their proximity yet never seem to understand the danger moving vehicles present. It also reminds me of someone I met who, like me, lived in Hawaii for over five years. We both left because no matter how clean and beautiful the environment it was like living on mars for us. Both of us needed the hardwood trees and abundant life of the apalachian mountains to feel most at home.

The enlightened perceive the novelty in each moment, the rest of us perceive the similarities. I would guess that your persistent deja vu is your ego's attempt to retain control. Just accept it and I'll bet it goes away.

Without acceptance awareness is impossible, and if you completely accepted everything life brings you why would you want to "turn it off"? As for how to apply your awareness in your life, that is unique for each of us. As Taoists like to say, "Many paths, one mountain."

It is my understanding that everyone is supposed to interpret the Koran for themselves. Perhaps you can look for the Tao within the Koran and then apply that in your life. Although I am not Muslim I find the work of Khaliel Gibran to be very Taoistic as well.

Neurolinguistic programming is a bit dated, but still quite useful. Taoism emphasises relativism which means happiness and unhappiness are relative terms. What one person says makes them happy another says makes them unhappy even if they are statistically rare. Just because they might be statistically rare does not invalidate their feelings anymore than enlightenment being a rarity invalidates the enlightened. A more modern relativistic view is "Relational Frame Theory" and its offshoot, "Acceptance and Commitment Therapy". Imagine an alien from mars lands on earth and, unknown to us, their eyes see red when we see blue and vice versa. Although we may never realize this difference between us we can still have perfectly useful converstations about colors.

Yes, our emotions and thoughts involve a great deal more than just our brains. Still, a man with no legs is not half a man.

Enlightenment is a sustained state of pure awareness brought about by the unconditional surrender to or acceptance of existence. "Surrender" or "acceptance" is as much an emotional act as it is an intellectual one and among Taoists is considered to be a spontaneous act one can cultivate through meditation. You could compare this to learning how to play the piano or another instrument. At first you need to learn different ways to move your hands and practice them endlessly. However, the ultimate goal is to get to the point where you no longer need to think about what your hands are doing. Instead, you just play and get lost in the act itself. The most accomplished pianists can do this while improvising for hours on end. The enlightened, so it is said, have such a spontaneous state of mind that they can do this for anything and everything. They live in the perpetual present without dwelling on the past or future, hopes or fears.

Sorry, my mistake. The same kind of thing is happening today, but instead of land or handouts americans want jobs. Although soilders are legally entitled to their old jobs when they come back from war, usually they come back to find that someone else has taken their place. With the economy in the toilet and unemployment going up more soilders are going to come home to poverty and handouts.

I have friends who were in the peace corps. One wandered Africa on horseback teaching people how to dig wells, rotate crops, etc. The other was sent to the middle east to teach rural people English, but when she got there it was very clear that learning English was the last thing these people wanted or needed. She left her little school house, walked into a small nearby town, and hooked up with another foreign woman who was working as a midwife... something they really did need.

www.edepot.com has great resources.

I would add that the less I try to change others the more inspired they feel to change themselves.

A related possibility is the pantheistic beliefs of people like Spinoza. He proposed that everything is part of God and, therefore, all of us have free will in at least the sense that there is nothing else to oppose God. His ethics are based on this idea and include both our thoughts and feelings as guides to what is ethical. The more serene we are, the more in touch with God's will.

My take on this is that Taoism was created by Indians who combined their pantheistic beliefs with the native Chinese shamanism. As a result Taoism is widely considered to be the most feminine of all the world's major systems of thought. In general, shamanistic/witchcraft beliefs are much more feminine than other systems of thought. Ironically there are few women in the west that are particularly interested in Taoism. Those that I have talked to say they prefer the rituals of shamanism and witchcraft, but they greatly admire the philosophy of Taoism. My own daughter is among them. Actually it reminds me of what I have heard about Taoist priests. It is said that if pressed some of them will admit that they are agnostic, but they teach their religion because the people really seem to get something out of it. My daughter says much the same thing. She doesn't really believe in magic or god(s) and agrees with Taoist philosophy, but she really like all those rituals.

You could say america has more than its share of drama queens and occationally we get hit in the face with the cold water of reality. That is the Peter Merel translation by-the-way. I often use it when I post because of its unusual lucidity. The Roman empire is considered the first welfare state. They would draft farmers and other middle and lower class men to fight their wars in foreign countries. When they conquored a country they would skim off the 99% of the wealth that the 1% owned and use some of this to build roads, aquaducts, etc. to improve the living standards of everyone else. Then they would collect the rent from them. When the soilders came home they found that some senator had confiscated their property. In its place the state provided welfare of one meal a day, access to the public baths, and access to the games. This was considered a pretty good deal at the time and at its height 40% of the three million Romans were on the dole. Until emperor Cludius built a sheltered harbor in winter the ships had difficulty unloading food and the Romans starved. They would then riot and charge the emperor's palace. Of course, you can't keep that kind of thing up forever. Eventually the Roman empire grew so large it split in two and the eastern empire collapsed. The melodrama of violent and sometimes deadly "games", episodic starvation, theft, endless warfare, and religious extremism continue to this day. However, the world is quickly becoming a smaller place and the international community is now capable of pressuring the empire to change its ways.

Part of the reason for so many secrets coming to light after thousands of years is that the communist Chinese government went out of its way to obliterate Taoist practices as so much superstitious nonsense. Rather than allowing their traditions to die many practitioners opted to spread their beliefs and practices as widely as possible. Another reason is that it used to be considered treason to teach Chinese martial arts to outsiders or "foreign devils". Fortunately for us the world has become a much smaller and more friendly place.

American politics are just as melodramatic as everything else american. What has struck me about the election is how many people now feel hopeful about the direction the country is taking. Out of dispair has come renewed hope that the republican party simply could not provide at this time. Some say with the democrats now ruling both congress and the white house it is time once again for the people to strike a new deal with the powers that be. Without Action Not praising the worthy prevents contention, Not esteeming the valuable prevents theft, Not displaying the beautiful prevents desire. In this manner the sage governs people: Emptying their minds, Filling their bellies, Weakening their ambitions, And strengthening their bones. If people lack knowledge and desire Then they can not act; If no action is taken Harmony remains.

All religions have an underlying philosophy, so it is not an either/or proposition. Many religious Taoists believe in some kind of ultimate enlightenment and/or rebirth, but not all. If you believe that religion requires faith in and worship of something there are many Taoists who are not religious. Personally, whether there is a god(s) or enlightenment or rebirth or whatever does not matter to me. Meditation of all kinds makes me more compassionate and serene. All the rest is just so much window dressing without these.

For me "To love is to be happy with." To be accepting and nonjudgmental. option.org

It is always darkest before the dawn, especially when it comes to fundamentalism which is extremely melodramatic. During the ninties the Southern Baptist church saw huge numbers of their flock leaving. They were sick and tired of all the hellfire and brimstone preaching. Likewise, the current political movement in the US towards the democratic party can be seen in part as a reaction to the overly melodramatic rightwing politics. I find it humorous that the Bush administration thought that the best way to combat Islamic extremism was to raise their standard of living and restore demoncracy in Iraq and Afganistan. Just as Christianity florishes in capitalistic and classist societies, secularism and more moderate religions florish in middle of the road socialist-capitalist societies. The harder people hold onto their beliefs, the quicker they slip out of their hands.

Being rational means being reasonable or of sound mind which, of course, brain damaged people are not. Intelligence and knowledge are not the same as having good judgment, survival instincts, etc.

No problem.