Cameron

Reminds me of the stages of standing zen Cohen talks about . First months or years of practice are about balancing out your qi. Getting the qi to be even, flowing without too much yin or yang, excess or defficiency. But the real goal is after you get your qi balanced out and get to the point where things are just very comfortable and natural. He calls this stage of practice "nothing special". At this stage your just going deeper and deeper into awareness. Cohen even got to the point where his self dissolved through qigong. He felt nature was practicing qigong through him and the entire universe was one giant Dan Tien who's center was everywhere..or something. Sitting Zen probably follows the same stages but with less qi development..perhaps more shen development.

Bill Bodri would probably say you are not doing it right . When done correctly, the emptiness or whatever..I don't even like the term I prefer just say awareness. Even Ken Cohen says emptiness meditation is really just awareness . Being aware of whatever, letting it come and go like a passing cloud, unattached. When I got it right the Chi comes up on it's own. Feels like it is a "bliss trickle" as Bodri says. When I do it wrong it is still pretty nice. Just peacful quiet. Of course sometimes when I do it it is hell . But you have to work with those things.

Furey gives no returns on any of his products if I understand. His sex system, from what one guy has said, is utter crapola. But i haven't checked it out personally. My guess is this latest batch of stuff from him is way overpriced but if his customers pay for his products I don't have any problem with it. Though he will always get shit from alot of people like martial artists and fitness types who sell expensive equpment that he basically calls useless garbage.

Ships in 1-2 months..another one to check out! Will the onslaught of Taoist books and detox programs ever end!? And I am actually contemplating dropping $249 for Matt Furey's Chinese Health System. Will I be duped? Will Furey make a tremendous comeback and redeem his orignal post CC status? Stay tuned!

Fuc% Her! Fuc$ her opinion and if she doesn't like what you do tell her get lost!! Kidding, seriously it's always good to be respectful of others points of view and if they are extrmensits(Alot of people I know are) you just got to be aware in your dealing with a person with a less than balanced or Untaoist view of things. What the hell that means exactly I don't know but it has something to do with seeing the big picture of life and not some narrow dogmattic beleif system Which is cool if you have a narrow dogmatic beleif system but I don't think that is where it really at..you know?

acting is fun. I did the stage sound for a play in College. My teacher said my timing was so good I should seriously think about doing it professionally(I was in NY at the time). I think most of what is coming out of Hollywood these days is crap but I always thought Theatre was cool to watch. Unless the actors suck of course. Lately, I am getting into the new show ROME on HBO. Those actors must have so much fun. I guess you have to start somewhere Break a leg!

Not me but some info on Zoroastianism, the original religion of Iran and perhaps the origin of monotheism going back 10,000 years... My ancestors, the Zoroastrians of Iran (pre-Islamic) were members of the Indo-European family known as the Aryans. They called themselves Zoroastrians because they believed in the teachings of the first Aryan prophet, Zarathushtra. Zarathushtra was the first prophet to preach a monotheistic religion, and He was born in Iran about 8000 years BC. He revealed that there was only one God, Ahura Mazda and that life in the physical world was a battle between good and evil. As per man's actions, he would either cross the "Chinvato Peretu" or the sword bridge after death, and reach Heaven, or fall from it and go to the abode of the evil one. In the final days there would be a battle between good and evil, evil would be vanquished and the world would be purified by a bath of molten metal. Mazda would then judge the world, resurrecting the dead and His Kingdom would be established on earth. Zarathushtra's songs are called the "Gathas" which linguistically may be older than the Indian Vedic scriptures. The Gathas are written in an ancient Avestan dialect. This is a sister language to Sanskrit of India, and Greek and Latin of the West. The reason is, the common ancestors (common to the ancient Iranians, Ancient Indians, Greeks, and Europeans) were one and the same - the Indo-European or Aryan peoples. Surprisingly, many so-called Christian concepts actually were derived from Zoroastrian Aryan ideas which thrived in Iran for thousands of years until the Arab invasion of Iran around 1300 years ago. Concepts such as heaven and hell, God and the evil adversary ahriman, the coming of the Saviour or Saoshyant born of a virgin, the end-time purge of the world by Fire followed by the resurrection of the dead (Ristakhiz), the making fresh of the world (Frashogard) and the final battle between good and evil leading to the final defeat of evil. These beliefs filtered down to Judaism during the reign of King Khushru (Cyrus) of Iran. Although proud to be Aryans, Zoroastrians also believe that all races in the world are created by God and are equal - a true sign of the real ancient Aryan's nobility and tolerance. Cyrus, King of Iran who was an Aryan rebuilt the temple of the Jews after freeing the Jews from Babylon - for this, he is still remembered by the Jews and called the "Anointed of the Lord" in the Bible. The Jews still celebrate that act of the true Aryans in a festival. Many Jews then stayed in Iran under Cyrus and his successors such as Darayus, as equal subjects under the King. Books of the Bible written after this stay have taken all these Zoroastrian concepts, from there they came to Christianity and other religions. There are scholars who consider Zoroastrianism as such to be the mother religion of the present day world's faiths. In fact the edict of Cyrus proclaiming equality for all his subjects is enshrined in the United Nations today. The original Aryans were realy multicultural and tolerant of all races! So, it is probable that the Jews were influenced by the Zoroastrian faith of Iran in those days - and took on the concepts of heaven/hell, God's evil adversary, the resurrection and the final purification of the world - the virgin birth, the Saviour etc., all these concepts being Zoroastrian. There are other similarities too - certain purificatory observances such as the impurity of menstruation etc. are found in both faiths. Indeed, the very idea of the Messiah, and the very concept of Jesus could be Zoroastrian in origin. Zarathushtra's religion was the prominent one in Iran until the conquest by the Arabs, around 1300 years ago, who converted Iran to Islam. To preserve the Zoroastrian faith, this most ancient of faiths, indeed the "mother" faith of all mankind, a band of the Zarathushtrians sailed by boat to India about 1300 years ago, and settled in India where they were called the Parsees (from "Pars" ie. Iran). I am a descendant of these migrants. Rare as diamonds are, we number 100,000 or so in the world today. We keep the holy FIRE in our temple as the symbol of Ahura Mazda, and our priests feed the fire with sandalwood and cedar and intone the ancient sacred Mathras (verses of praise) in the ancient Aryan Avestan language. The Mathric incantations have incredible divine potent power, a power used to fight evil. We also revere the elements of God such as water, earth, wind, and the creations of God such as the Sun, moon and stars. We wear the sacred Aryan girdle or the "Aiwiyaonghanem" around our waists, a sign of our ancient Aryan lineage and religion, and the white "Sudreh" as a garment. My real name is "Pourashpa", an Avestan Indo-European name meaning "Owner of Grey Horses", horses signifying spiritual wisdom. As per the ancient custom, it should be always mentioned with my father's name ie. Pourashpa Puthra (son of) Hormuzd (my father's name). The ancient Avestan Pourashpa does have a mystical meaning because we believe the entire language itself, and its pronunciation (our ancient prayers the Gathas are in Avestan, these are the songs of Zarathushtra) itself has a powerful mystical effect in the fight against evil. The Link between Zoroastrian & Germanic mythology: Recently I read a book on "Runes" by D. Jason Cooper. In this book, Cooper suggests a close link between Pre-christian Germanic mythology and Zoroastrian mythology. He says that the Germanic peoples had travelled from Iran and India, and had kept some myths they had known before travelling, aspects of Indo-European thought seen in the Rig-Veda and the Gathas. As examples: German mythology says the doom of the world will come after 3 winters with no summer in between, then the fires of "Muspell" would sweep the world. In Zoroastrian mythology the final battle between good and evil will take place after 3 years of winter with no summer in between. Then a river of molten metal would sweep the earth, purifying the righteous as a bath of warm milk and scalding the evil, purifying them too. Also, in both mythologies, two necessarily antagonistic forces (good and evil) and their contention has brought the material universe into being, in both cases a sacred cow is involved, in both cases the death of a sexless giant is involved (the first man, GayoMaretan in Zoroastianism). In both cases, the forces of good and evil will contend till the final days. Evil or chaotic forces are contained underground in both cases. Nails are considered a help to evil forces in both. (Loki and his ship of nails of dead men). Cooper also says that Germanic mythology as we now have it is a late corruption of the original, Ragnarok was originally a purification after which the world was restored to its pristine state. Only later it became the destruction of all Gods but a few. Not so in the Zoroastrian case. I was once surprised to read a book by a German author, written in the early 1900s, on German shepherd dogs which at the very outset quoted the "Vendidad", particularly passages in this ancient book which described the creation of the faithful Dog by Ahura Mazda (God) Himself. That showed the popularity of the Vendidad in Germany to me at that time. I also like to mention here that Edgar Cayce the "sleeping" prophet of the USA, the famous clairvoyant once mentioned that Iran was the ancient site of the "Garden of Eden". A most interesting thing to say, perhaps indicating the very ancient culture of old Iran. Please write to me if you have any questions on this ancient religion of the Aryans, called Zoroastrianism. Your friend, Porus Homi Havewala.

The Wolf is the man. " Just because you are a character that doesn't mean you have character". Plus I think Hervey Kietel is a cool cat to begin with.

It would be cool if everyone checked out the ancient mythology of there anscestors. Maybe we could start an ancent hystory and mythology thread or something.

some more... Iran is the ancient name of Persia, and it is derived from the root "Arya" or Aryan, the Indo-European branch of peoples who settled in that land. The Aryans of ancient Iran were Mazdayasni Zarathushtris, ie. Worshippers of Ahura Mazda (the name of God in Avestan) as revealed by the ancient prophet Zarathushtra, thousands of years before Christ. However, all the ancient Zoroastrian scriptures speak of an earlier homeland from where our people came, the lost "Airyane Vaejahi" or seedland of the Aryans. From this homeland, the Indo- Europeans or Aryans moved to upper India, Iran, Russia and the nations of Europe such as Greece, Italy, Germany, France, Scandinavia, England, Scotland and Ireland. Sanskrit, Latin, Avestan are all sister languages, and the present day upper Indian, Persian and European languages are related eg. Baradar in persian = Brata in sanskrit = Brother in english. "Persia" is actually a late European term for the land of "Farsi" language ie. Iran. The Arabic phase in Iran only began 1300 years ago, and we had to escape to India to preserve our Zoroastrian religion. The "Vendidad" is one of the ancient scriptures of the Zoroastrians, actually called the "Vi-daevo-dat" or the law to fight against evil. In the first "Fargad" or chapter, the Golden Age of the ancient Aryans is outlined with their greatest king, "Yima Kshaeta" (Yam Raj in the Indian Vedas) who banished old age and death. Then, the ice age broke on the ancient home and the Aryans were forced to migrate southwards, to the southeast and the southwest. Mr. Bal Gangadhar Tilak, a great Brahmin (Indian Aryan) scholar of India in the last century studied the Vedas and the Vendidad to find an ancient homeland of the Aryans. The Vedas are scriptures written by the Indo-Europeans or Aryans after they migrated to India. From the descriptions of the weather patterns mentioned in the Vedas, Tilak concluded that the ancient home must be in the Artic regions ie. above present Russia. The Aryans migrated from the ancient home to Iran and from there to India and Greece and Europe. Tilak also said that the most ancient historical scripture was the Iranian Vendidad, which actually describes the ancient homeland of the Aryans, the Aryan King Yima Kshaeta who ruled over it (Yama Raja, lord of the underworld in latter day Indian Hinduism) and the onrush of winter, sent by ahriman (the devil) which caused the great migration. This is the famous first "Fargad" of the Vendidad which fascinated a lot of European scholars in the last century. The ancient Aryans believed that the world as created by Ahura Mazda was perfect, with no evil. The first man Gayo Maretan had no disease, no illness, no hunger and thirst. Only the good creation of God existed eg., the Dog, Cow and Bull, Horse, Cock, Birds etc. Then ahriman the evil one attacked the world and caused evil to appear, disease and illness and old age, and the animals and the first man started to die. Night began to fall (before the sun was at the noon position - fixed, so there was no time). The evil brood of animals appeared eg. snakes, insects, and the cat breed. So evil in the ancient faith is an external introduction, which one day will be purged when the world will be bathed with the purification of fire - the latter also found in old German mythology. Paradise itself will be established on the earth, in the form of the Kingdom of Ahura Mazda. The English word "paradise" itself stems from the Avestan "PairiDaize", meaning the same. Also, the word "garden" probably stems from the Avestan "Garod-man" meaning the House of songs - the ancient name of heaven for the Aryans. The Kings of ancient Iran were very proud to call themselves Aryans, their rock edicts indeed say so. "I am an Aryan, the son (Puthra) of an Aryan." This was righteous pride, because the word Aryan occurs time and again in the ancient scriptures of the Aryans - such as the Yashts (prayers to the divine elements) and the Vendidad (the law against evil). About a time frame - today, many scholars tend to place Zarathushtra very late in time (around 1500 BC). The Greek historians at the time of Cyrus placed the first prophet at around 8000 years bc, that seems a more possible time to the former. However, the ancient Aryans were much sooner than that. Note that as per the Vendidad, Yima Kshaeta (King Yima) is the ancient king of the Aryans in the ancient homeland Airyanam Vaejahi (the seedland of the Aryans), and his memory is retained by even the Indian Vedas as Yama Raja (Yama King) because the Indian Aryans still remembered their ancient king after their split up in the migration, but they made him "Lord of the netherworld" later on. Unlike the Indians, the Iranian Aryans still retained a perfect memory of days gone by -the perfect time in the ancient homeland, when Yiam banished disease, death and hunger from the homeland. This was indeed the true "Golden age" of humankind. So, what about the time? The migration actually started before the ice age struck. When the ice and winter set in (sent by the evil one), the ancient homeland was destroyed. If the home was in the North Pole, look for a time when the North Pole was not covered by ice - that would be thousands and thousands of years before. I have estimated that time when the ice age struck as 20,000 years ago in my book, but the time could be much earlier. There were kings before Yima too, ruling over the Aryans. Note too that the civilizations of Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa in old India were actually Aryan, and they were starting to decay around 4000 bc. which means they had been in existance for thosands of years before (scholars admit this). They would have been built by the Indo-Aryans much after their initial separation from the Aryans of Iran. An American friend said: "Observation: There's an incredible thread here between something I've seen mentioned about a "Golden Age" of humankind..when humans were so close to their Creator they didn't need writing or speech or tools to sustain themselves..and the Zoroastrian story." Thats right. Zarathushtra was sent by Ahura Mazda to reaffirm the ancient faith (that was taught to Yima Kshaeta and before him, the first man Gayo-Maretan). He was also given the "AGUSTO-VACHO" ie revelations unheard before. He was thus the first prophet, to be followed by three Saviours. When the final Saviour comes, the world will be purged by fire and evil destroyed in a final great battle. Then Ahura Mazda will rule. The mightiest words in the religion are in the Ahunavar, a great prayer. The ending words of this prayer in Avestan are, Kshrethamchai (Kingdom) Ahurai (God) Ayim (will come). "Does the Vendidad have one set of general principles in one place, like the Old Testament Bible, or is it necessary to read the whole..." The Vendidad is itself the ancient Law against evil. Throughout the book, there are Fargads (chapters) which explain the various evils in the eyes of Ahura Mazda. For instance, prostitution and homosexuality are abhorred, so is ill-treatment to dogs. Ahura Mazda praises the Dog as His Glorious Creation, who He created as the guardian of the Aryan household and farm. One Fargad details the ancient history of Yima Kshaeta, and the ancient homeland... According to Lokmanya Tilak, one of the great fathers of Indian Independance and a Vedic scholar who had also made a detailed study of other Aryan cultures, the Vi-Daevo-Dat contained the most ancient history of mankind, since it properly explained the origins and the migrations of the Aryans. In a translation from "The Saga of the Aryans", the history of the migration is explained in the form of a talk between the ancient Aryan prophet Zarathushtra, and Ahura Mazda (Avestan name of God in the Vi-Daevo-Dat.) : Zarathushtra asked Ahura Mazda: "O Ahura Mazda, righteous Creator of the corporeal world, who was the first person to whom You taught these teachings? Then spoke Ahura Mazda: "YIMA the splendid who watched over his subjects, O righteous Zarathushtra. I first did teach the Aryan religion to him, prior to you. "Yima spoke to me, and said he would like to spread the religion among mankind by teaching others. It was then that I replied: "O Yima you are not created for this task by Me. You are not learned enough to increase the religion among mankind - you are not the Messenger of the religion. "Yima the righteous told me then: "O Ahura, if I am not created for the task of increasing the good religion, then I would like to advance the world, to increase it and be a righteous king and protector. I ask You this, that in my kingdom there be neither cold wind nor hot wind (neither extreme winter or summer), there be no sickness nor death. That my subjects be undying and unwanting, and gloriously happy under my reign. "I Who am Ahura Mazda, was pleased with this. I brought Yima a weapon - a Golden plough which was dagger shaped with golden forks, to signify that his authority was divine, sanctioned by Me. He became the mightiest King (KSHAETA) the Aryans had ever known, the most righteous and most splendid Aryan man. "When Yima's rule extended to 300 years, then the Aryan land had prospered so much that the land became full of cattle, men, dogs, birds and red flaming fire (the fires kept burning in the house of every Aryan). Place could no longer be found for cattle or men. "I made this known to Yima, and he proceeded towards the south, towards the path of the high sun (west), increasing the land with his golden plough (conquering and cultivating the lands). The boundaries of the Aryan kingdom were thus extended in breadth, one third greater than before. The king stood as an Aryan on the mother earth, praising the country with words fit for prayer. "When Yima's rule extended to 600 years, the state of abundance reoccurred. This led to Yima proceeding again towards the south and the west, extending the boundaries of the Aryan kingdom two thirds greater than before. Thus happened the second great migration of the Aryans. "When Yima's rule extended to 900 years, abundance again led to Yima increasing the land with his golden plough, towards the south and west. This third great migration made the Aryan kingdom three times larger than before. "In the first 1000 years of his rule, Yima the splendid enjoined righteous order on his Aryan subjects. He controlled invisible time itself, making it so much large in size so as to praise and spread the righteous law. "That glorious age of the Aryans did not last for ever, O Zarathushtra! It was time for the evil one's attack. I Who am Ahura Mazda spoke then to Yima Kshaeta: "O splendid Yima, towards the sacred Aryan land will rush evil as a severe fatal winter; evil will rush as thick snow flakes falling in increased depth. From the three directions will wild and ferocious animals attack, arriving from the most dreadful sites. "Before this winter, any snow that fell would melt and convey the water away. Now the snow will not melt (but will form the Polar ice cap). In this place, O Yima the corporeal world will be DAMAGED. Before in this seedland the grass was so soft the footprint of even a small animal could be observed. Now, there will be no footprints discernible at all on the packed sheets of hard ice that will form. "So, Yima; make a mighty VARA, an enclosure as long as a riding ground, with equal four sides. Here bring the families of Aryan men and women, cattle, dogs, birds and the red flaming fire. "Inside the Vara, make water flow in a canal, one Hathra long. Keep earth inside the Vara, to grow green vegetables as food. Make cattle pens, to house the cattle of the Aryan people. "Let love blossom unfailing in the enclosure, among the young couples therein - make for them a residence, with rooms, pillars, long extended walls and an enclosing wall." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- And so the ancient scripture continues. From the above, it is quite clear that the migration took place to the South and the West ie. from the ancient homeland (which Tilak said was in the Artic) to the South ie. Iran, India and to the South-West ie. to Greece and all the countries of Europe. The cities of Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa were built by the Aryans who migrated to India, when the Vedas were written. They flourished for thousands of years, before sucuumbing to some other catastrophe of nature, or perhaps invasion by non-Aryan tribes. The book written by the author titled "The Saga of the Aryans", is a historical semi-fictional story, based on the scriptures of the Aryans and the above research on pre-history.

Oneness of Mankind: A precious Persian carpet decorates UN Headquarters in New York New York, Aug 24, IRNA-One of the world's most valuable hand-woven carpets was hung on the wall of New York-based UN Headquarters on Tuesday in the presence of Iran's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Mohammad-Javad Zarif. The carpet has been woven by the well-known Iranian carpet weaver Mohammad Seirafian from the city of Isfahan in central Iran in 10 years. One of the special features of the 25-square-meter carpet is that the famous verse from the prominent Iranian poet, Sheikh Musleh-Uddin Sa'di Shirazi (1184-1291 AD), Oneness of Mankind has been woven into it in pure gold. Meanwhile, the English translation of the verse installed next to the carpet attracts the attention of viewers and makes them wonder at the majesty of Iran's culture and civilization as well as the wisdom of Iranians. The verse reads: All men are members of the same body, Created from one essence. If fate brings suffering to one member, The others cannot stay at rest. You who remain indifferent To the burden of pain of others, Do not deserve to be called human." The Iranian carpet is characterized by its unique motifs and design and each centimeter of it contains 200 knots all tied manually. Traditional natural colors have been applied to the carpet, which are resistant to sunshine and become more attractive through time. The carpet was eventually hung on the wall of the UN Headquarters auditorium, while due to lack of space on one hand, and the bulk of requests from various countries for hanging their proposed works in the building, even at a one-meter space, on the other, was almost impossible. According to an old tradition, the world countries normally present gifts to the UN. Thus, during the premiership of the late Mohammad Mossadeq, a precious carpet was presented to the UN by Iran and other gifts followed during the following years. "The significance of hanging Iran's new gift to UN is that it was presented under the condition that almost no space was available for hanging the objects received over the past year. "However, despite such a lack of space, the carpet has been hung at one of the most convenient venues in the UN Headquarters, which is often frequented by various diplomats," he added. Zarif referred to the event as a success for the national art and culture and added that Sa'di's famous verse known as `Oneness of Mankind' was inscribed on a plate and hung above UN Headquarter in New York a few decades ago. "According to the surveys conducted on the issue, the move has been unrivaled over the past three decades. Moreover, the UN basic policy may not actually be worded more optimally by any other concept, except this verse of Sa'di.

I went to a Bahai meeting. Intersting and pretty peacful philosophy. I like there archetecture alot. Arabs conquesred Iran like 1000 years ago and forced Islam on it's people .The original Iranians were Zorastrian.

There are all kinds of myths and legends about these guys. Is any of it true? Who knows. Eric Yudelove said something that stuck in my mind years ago, " We can't roll the video footage". But if that is your beleif sounds cool enough. I think Zen, martial arts and Taoism complement eachother nicely and fill in gaps to form a more complete system. Explore!

Zen is Buddhism . It is taught within the context of Shakyamuni Budda's enlightenment and supposedly a direct lineage of master's back from Hui Neng, Bodhidharma back to Shakyamuni. Of course, it is generally regarded that the Chinese(atleast in ancient times) didn't make much of a distinction between the two and would mix and match techniques as necissary. I basically practice in this spirit.

I briefly joined that Shing Yi group I told you about and you also checked out(Kieth) We had some nice conversations about Qigong and cultivation. Really nice group and nice vibe but I had to decide between that and BJJ, and I decided to do BJJ. Right now I am strongly thinking about doing Ken Cohen's 3 year correspondesne course. basically you study with Ken several times a year in Colorado and write papers. Sort of like a Qigong degree or something. That would be the next level for me. I don't particulaly see any point in having a group of beginners together to talk about it for me the next level is just studying directly with a group or teacher that knows alot more than me. Another Taoist group just opened up literally across the street from me. Teaching taoist martial arts and meditation. I may check it out when I have time. And I drop into the local Zen center occasionally. they have one night a week where we do zazen and then drink tea and chat with eachother. it's all about zen not Taoism though.

I remember last year when Sean first created the site we were thinking of doing a study group to get through Bill's books(esp Measuring Meditation) but I ended up pulling out last minute. I would not be against doing this with that or Eric's book. Maybe not now..but anytime in the future. It's nice to bang ideas around as you are studying it. But whatever if not it's all good. I have alot as it is as far as reading goes.

Right I do the same if someone is interested I'll go " It's like the Chinese version of Indian yoga". I like Bruce Fratzis explanation and is probably easy for a non practitioner to understand, " In Yoga you stretch alot so that you can relax, in Qigong you relax alot so you can become more flexible". Obviously there is a whole lot more to it than that but that works for someone who wants a quck explanation I think.

Intersting topic. I try to just go with the flow if possible . The reality is 99% of the time if I bring it up witha friend or whatever they are like "huh? oh yeah..your heavy into eastern philosophy and stuff." If I get a little deeper and try to actually explain thigns I do it almost always is met with the person giving me a WTF? look or just kind of going yeah that seems interesting but don't have any real inclanation for that. I even tried teaching practices to a couple freinds or family and there was really so little interest now i don't bother. Also, most people I know personally are so strong in there personal views, religion philosophy whatever for me to bring up my stuff is like going to war. It becomes "my stuff" vs. "There stuff". Like my grandfather on my father's side of the family is a Haji meaning he has gone to mecca(actually a bunch of times) and is so heavy into the beleif of Islam for me to talk about eastern philosophy is a total waste. Now they would just go " Yeah..umm, cameron is into zen..or something..LOL". Mom is a Catholic and literally goes to mass daily...i actually tried explaining all the Alchemy formulas to her onece..merging they yin and yang energy in your body like self intercourse..opening the orbit, etc. Mom was probably like oh fuck what did I do wrong, LOL. And the weird thing is though my real life friends and family are stong in there beleifs most Tao or zen people I have known or so quiet about there stuff anyway. Like outside of a meditation center or private talk they would never bring it up. it's not like something that they need tot each other people but there personal stuff. I actually asked Eric Yudelove about this years ago and even though he has written several books on qigong or alchemy he said it's better not to talk about with others. Unless of course they are fellow pracittioners. Alot of these concepts are just too foriegn and weird for other people especially if there is no interest to begin with IMO.

About how to change your fotune and your karma . It seems to have as it's basis Emptiness meditation(emptying out or freeing yourself from ego) which basically limit you from achieving your goals or more money or whatever and doing good deeds which supposedly results in merit. This merit is considered essential to your culitivation and hapiness by him. As a practical example of this Plato, who is friends with Bill, told me you should give 10% of your income to a charity you care about without fail and this will produce merit. I havent ever heard this by any other Zen teacher so it is pretty unique .He breaks down how the Universe works and how everything is one and interconnected so by helping others you basically provide energy to help yourself somehow. I havent read it all the way through yet but plan on getting around to it and his other books when I have the time.

Just curious. I played with the practices in this book a little but in the 5 years or so since this book came out I don't remember one person on the HT board or anyone here actually doing the system as Eric wrote it. Eric said the practices in this book teach sexual alchemy on a level never before written about and no one has checked it out? I know, he got kind of a negative rep from how things went down years ago but that was just personal drama which most people go through at some point. So has anyone actually done the system as he wrote it?

It's all good if you have time drop me a line we can grab a beer or something. (Edit..I mean a Green Tea! Of course!)

Just see what is....so easy yet so hard.

This also raises an interesting question, what if you don't particularly like someone on a personal level but that have alot of interesting things to teach. I mean, what's more important, the person or the knowledge? of course one could also make the argument if someone's conduct or behavior is not really what you would call enlightened(whatever the heck that means) than they are not really teaching something worthwhile. but maybe that is all an illusion. If a book is good or a system works well for you should it matter if you like or don't like the teacher or writer? I mean, none of us is ever going to be good friends with Eric there is no question about that but should that stop us from beneifitting what his book teaches? I would agree it does add another level when you really like someone. Like I really genuinely like Ken Cohen alot . I liked him even more in person and like what he teaches. He embodies what he teaches. So how important is this?

I am not going to bring up issues long dead and buried. Eric was very friendly to me in his last couple months we emailed. So I have no problem with anything he said at this point. Now, someone just informed me Eric has recently been involved in some more Drama(not that I necissarily have a problem with that we all have drama on some level). My feeling about it now is it would be better to either here Eric's side of the story if he cares to come here and chat or just drop all that bs and focus on the practices on his book " Taoist Yoga and sexual Energy". If TTB's would be intersted in following this program together week by week that would be fine with me. Let me know.

Ever wonder why some people have the need to be excessively noisy? like I am standing a few inches away from someone and they are pretty much yelling. it's as much woman as it is men and I am probably guilty of this to at times. what is this about. Are people mroons? I can understand if your a football coach and your yelling at your players from the sideline but yelling or just speaking very loud when your right enxt to someone? Or you get the obnoxious dude who is projecting his voice into an entire room so you can't help hear what he is saying. Damn, I probably do that alot. Pointless!