Cameron

It's a big one for the board right now. For me personally, I tried vegetarian for 2 weeks . Now I do mostly vegetarian with a little meat or eggs. Smile used a good example if your not prepared to slice a cows throat or cut off a chickens head how can you eat it? My present response to this is to eat much less meat than before and eat a lot more natural foods. I don't know about karmic reprecussions or any of that. It's a personal call.

And Antares isn't even the biggest star! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_stars

From my understanding both of these appraches are represented in the Zen school. Soto Zen, which is centered around the practice of shikan taza, is like a farmer gently growing his food. He takes care of the process and has faith it will develop naturally. The Rinzai school is more represented in the extreme and even violent stories of enlightenment you here about. A teacher breaking his students arm and they wake up or something. This is described as a General(warrior) bravely and strongly facing the army(ego). Like more of a struggle or battle is involved. I'll be interested in hering Adya's views of enlightenment this weekend. Interestingly, the aikido teacher I want to study with is very into zen and obviously I would describe him as a kind of modern samurai. Or as close to a samurai as your going to find these days. Cam

I had a feeling you might be behind it all Michael. So why not get back to some Aikido training old timer?

I decided around the age of 22 that LSD and mushrooms werent for me long term.

unique..the new code word for an anamoly trying to become free from the matrix. your a character neimad someday you'll have to write down a full disclosure of your philosophy in a book or article or something. Cam

Anyone who follows a girl out into the parking lot at her job to find out if she is "a head" is unique.

I saw Yogani has a new book on Tantra coming out. Is this material covered on his website or in the book or new? Anyone ordered it?

But I just got my Total Blender!?

You werent really born in 1907 right?

Yoda do you think the Aliens joke on us about how small our planet and star is!?

I am trying to make us feel better about living on a tiny planet circling a tiny star. Ok!?

I agree otherwise I wouldn't bother since I doubt I will get to the point of having no sexual desire(or would want to). You were kind of saying if someone has no desire for sex they are lost etc so I just needed to point out that from what I understand celibacy is a valid path. But you decide whatever is right for you. One way I heard it explained by a zen teacher was that celibacy is a rare state where the energy in the body has been refined to where having sex is kind of unneccissary. Probably like one in a million cultivators will actually do that successfully. I just don't discount the possibilty. Cam

I think the zen understanding is that size is pretty arbitrary anyway. The universe is contained in a blade of grass is somehting I have heard. Everything contains everything else, etc. From that perspective we aren't puny since outside and inside are one and the same.

Seeing how small we are is rather liberating, isn't it? Cam(puny Earth being)

Dan, I don't know that I agree with what your saying from a cultivation point of view. Many enlightened teachers basically taught celibacy as the fastest route to spiritual progress(along with meditation of course). While this most likely is not the path for most westerners I wouldn't claim that it isn't a valid path for someone who is truly there. Of course Ken Cohen writes in his book on qigong that even celibate monks should still excercise the jing energy with different sexual massage, prostate excercises drawing jing upwards etc. I mean, would you call the many enlightened Buddhist masters lost?

I like to think a healthy co creative realationship where both are supportive or atleast not hurting the others practices would be a good thing. I think what smile..or atleast what I was referring to..are endless sexual thoughts and feelings that may impede ones meditations and basically cover the mind in confusion. Also, pornogrophy and other such uses of sexuality in every day life..to sell products or manipulate eachother etc. I think smile is also referring to the bliss of cultivation is actually higher than sex and most people can't or arent doing the real tantra practice anyway so bliss via meditation is the more sure fire path to long term bliss. If you can do the real tantra and don't find sex disturbing to your practices(whatever they are) more power to you. I like to think that is ana ttainable goal with the right partner, right energy balance, right thought and right karma etc.

What Max said.

The dude I bought the Total Blender from on ebay sent me this free e book that he calls the Raw Food Bible. I am nowhere near raw diet now(just mostly vegetarian) but thought to share it with the bums of tao. http://www.rawfoodsbible.com/misc/rawfoodsbible.pdf

I had to represent somehow with Kain not stepping up! My Total Blender is arriving today finally! C

Yodsterz, Esther Hicks is doing a workshop in Sedona on August 27. Do you think it's worth me checking out? I think I have to pay in advance. Probably a nice excuse to do a Sedona day trip and I like her vibes. So she is channeling Abraham? Is that Abraham from the Bible or something else? Cam

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1609929464737726305

WTF?! 34 user(s) active in the past 15 minutes 33 guests, 1 members 0 anonymous members Cameron

No the hardcore black ones called SEC so I can trot around SF and NYC looking like Jet Li!

Cool! And now that Smile gave me the link I will have my awesome new arcepadicos to wear the whole trip. Those shoes are the bomb! Camster