thelerner

Addon> some of my thoughts were inspired by this article (amongst others) - http://www.cracked.com/blog/lets-briefly-stop-to-notice-things-that-arent-terrible/ Now with color pics and charts Despite many terrible natural disasters, the U.S as a whole is doing pretty well. Economically unemployment is low and continues to move lower. Wages long stagnant are beginning to move up. Downtowns and cities that were stagnant like Detroit, DC have been on the move up. The stock market is up, interest rates low, so are energy costs. These aren't necessarily new trends, but they're picking up steam and continuing. GDP might be a cold statistic, but it going up means millions more with jobs, often good jobs. People able to support there families, help there communities. Environment is always a mixed bag, but the worst drought in recent US history has abated. Nuclear power plants planned have been put on hold. Many of the oldest dirtiest coal plants shuttered, and renewable energy sources getting very competitive. War is hell, and right now, most of our troops are at peace. Daesh/IS has been steadily losing ground and its propaganda wing. The Middle East is smoldering rather then burning, which is progress. It looks like Syria's Assad has won; won a graveyard but hopefully it means the fighting and massacres will end soon. The US relation with Russia continues to get cold, but cold is better then hot. We've been here before but now with more trade and inter-connections. And it may not seem like it, but remarkable strides have been made against world wide poverty, hunger and disease. Hard to believe but it's gone down faster then the most optimistic predictions a decade or two ago. http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2015/07/what-progress-has-been-made-in-ending-global-poverty/

hmnn, I guess its because we see the physical with our eyes, and that we can follow but there are levels (in some systems) of reality beyond the gross physical, and to follow them we need.. other awarenesses. (awarenesi?) well in the case of Archaeous (http://abardoncompanion.de/Self-HealingArchaeous.html), it starts with physical, then integrating the astral, the mental, vacating the physical, vacating the astral, resting the mental then a process of re-integration and equilibrium of the elements. Nine lessons in all. Course I pretty much stop at lesson one, the physical and doing it as zhan zhang exercise, standing and feeling the stacks. I've done the deeper levels but they don't connect as well. In general I find simple and stick to it.

This is what I've heard. And kinda jibes with the Western science of every cell in your body having a count down timer of how many times it'll reproduce faithfully. Once the count is reached the cell, starts mutating.. self destructing. We die not just from organs failure, but our very cells going haywire. On the other hand, for Jing as male enhancement.. ie general male yang tonic, I like Pine Pollen tincture (from The Rural Apothecary). One of the few supplements where you feel a real difference in a few days.

Sorry for the tangent but.. This is why I like the hermetic practice of the Archaeous where you stack the elements onto your body and as you get progress through the levels move further into astral elements of it. - http://abardoncompanion.de/Arch-Info.html "..At every step in the Archaeous, one works in conscious cooperation with the pathways of influence and power which Nature herself provides. The technique mimics one of Nature's most essential processes: Integration + Separation + Re-integration . . . the rhythm of life itself. To this fundamental equation, is added the practitioner's own magical will, along with the focus of healing.."

Good answer, but I'm unfamiliar with weigong. May I ask what it is, and how it smooths things out?

Nothing to apologize for. At times, we all howl at the moon. giving various parties and the universe the finger. It's good for the soul. We're not saints and internet does not make for the clearest and polite setting for discussion. Far from it, without inflection and faces we lose all kinds of meaning. I get the feeling, most of the time, if the two parties were together at a coffee shop or over a beer, the conversations would be much more civil and some common ground and respected disagreement reached sooner but the anonymity of the net, and the habit of focusing arguments, sometimes unaware on vastly different aspects, means misunderstandings and heat and anger where it shouldn't exist. Worse, we're also playing to an unseen crowd, so the ego steps in, demanding a win, so we get personal way to fast. Lastly, like Ralis, there are times I am outraged at the racism, subtle and overt that goes on here. It's mostly in the Hundun and the political threads, both are given more leeway. Yet that's my 'perception', to others its their honest uncensored opinion. There's a murky ground between and there times people get away with it, times I'm too sensitive, and others when they've gotten suspensions and even bans. The mods strive for a balance, which inevitably leaves people on either side unhappy.

Welcome to the site and look forward to your participation. Hawaii is not just beautiful but a unique nexus of East meets West.

When I was younger and going on nutritional kicks I'd buy Royal Jelly stored in honey. Even had a special ceramic spoon for it. Then the next fad came along and dropped it. Probably the best tasting nutritional food you can eat. Great in tea too.

What's the buzz about it? I notice Trader Joe's has some.

Seems to me there are threads that quickly go from controversial to cess pit and stay alive. They're breeding grounds for bad feelings. They'll often wind up in Hundun section and are probably best off closed, but that has to balanced with free speech and the hope that regain civility and good conversation versus talking and insulting each other will flow. For my sanity and equanimity I try to avoid the most contentious threads. And have to recommend that people take breaks from them- de-tangle, maybe create a topic on something positive.. balance. Otherwise the bitterness accumulates. If your thoughts are turning to this site during real life, and they're filled with anger and bitterness, its time to take a break or better yet, simply don't read the threads that push your buttons. Life is short, other then stating your peace, your not going to change anyones mind, matter of fact, once an argument has circled round once or twice, neither side is gonna look good, no matter witty or voluminous there arguments get. One thing I've gotten out of this is that mods could do better acknowledging to parties that they're looking into it. So writers aren't left wondering if there reports are ignored. Behind the scenes there is discussion and debate.

Interesting. Saying that.. you must believe in immortality, though, as I understand in Daoism, its not a singular simple concept, ie there are multiple levels of 'immortality'. Forgive me if you've talked about this before, but what is your take on physical immortality? Should it be considered an end goal or a vastly unlikely distraction? (ie a one in 100 million lottery ticket you have to work 60 years to buy)

I've reported myself. Though now that I'm a moderator I realize reports are a pain. Particularly 'he said, she said' types where both parties end up insulting each other. The mods have discussed it, the thread being referred to has gotten more then one report. To me its a case of good intentions on both sides being argued, then getting ugly. Not an unusual case when someone presents a practice another finds dangerous. Yet, after a warning and explanation, it's probably best to let it go. Assume people will be responsible, and not get into circuitous arguments. In the end we've been mostly wu wei on this, hoping the responsible parties, who have earned our respect for there views and writings in the past, will sort it out themselves, even if its just stating one's truth and walking away.

Speaking of cameras, I'm thinking of installing a security camera or two in my house. The latest connect to the internet, night vision, have motion detectors, 2 way speakers, and loud alarms. Some even have face detection. It's tempting to buy 2 ($400 high but no monthly fee) for home security, have them text me when tripped and I'm out. The one I'm looking at can hook up to Amazon Echo units and with ITTT (If This Then That programming) if you bought compatible lights, you could have tripped motion set off a 'red alert' with flashing lights and Danger Danger playing on the Echo unit. Or set it to volume 10 and blast the Stones 'You Can't Always Get What you Want..'

I can't be the only who feels better after 'losing' liquid jing. also I take it we don't have living examples spiritual immortality and/or actual immortality. How good are our role models? Seems to they get pretty spooky once they achieve ie. not really going back to the monastery to teach classes.

Jing.. there's the belief that masturbating loses jing. To me the real culprit is too much thinking, worrying, speculating.. planning, hoping and conniving. That's where the real loss is. Plugging it won't lead to immortality but probably goes a good way towards enlightenment or something similar.

Bureaucrats love information.. reports and projections. Thing is, it quickly becomes information overload and 170 million cameras capturing billions of hours of millions of images computed stored and pretty much winds up in the trash. Anything usable made into a needle in mile high haystack.

I liked what Aeran said, but if that hasn't worked perhaps the direction you need to look at is living with it, not healing ie it is what it is. Accept the pain and work on strengthening the surrounding systems. It's paradoxical but sometimes in surrender there is peace and progress.

There's a thread in the Forum and tech support section where you can ask for one. I like mine. It's a personal blog. I have a general section for random thoughts and diary features, a story section plus sections for specific ideas and things I'm working on.

Your writing reminds me that there is a time to pause and collect. Stop looking for new things, new ideas, new methods measuring this versus that and accept the 'winter' season of practice- keeping it deep and simple. <course I'm in the midst of doing the opposite now, but that's me. I've been in winter mode for too long>

Respect. Don't remember how he cooked, I met him at an anniversary party for the IMU (Inner Metamorphosis University) which hosted Full Moon Meditations. I remember him being big on Himalayan salt. I assume he kept things simple but practical.

I knew a city hermit, great guy. One peculiar but very daoist thing he did was keep the heat and electricity off in his apartment all year. He got ambient heat from floor and above so it wasn't too bad. No lights, so when the sun went down it was dark. He did it that way to be closer to nature.

Interesting how common sounds often mean similar things in different languages. Take ai or aye. In many cultures it means yes, and Yes, is not a bad connotation for love. Like Ohmnn, Aii tend to be a central connection sounds. In some kotodama (sacred sound) systems moves from heart (Aahh) to throat/truth (Eeei). It's one of those things you feel personally, see where Aaiiee vibrates as you say it slowly. Getting away from Daoism, I was taught that love is positive feelings and emotions to a person (or even an object). It's a little more clinical, but the more you connect a person to something positive, the more you love them. I love my wife, because I connect her to many pleasurable things and support. I love pizza because its salty, fatty.. crispy too. Most of all I love when my wife brings me pizza.

If someone had bad vision we wouldn't tell them if they were more optimistic they'd see better. Or if they needed reading glasses, that if they had more energy they'd be able to forego them. Yet the brain is as delicate as the eye and when it has problems we tend to give similar advice. I'm reading the book 'Change Your Brain, Change Your Body..' (Daniel Amen), and he makes the case that sometimes mental problems can be caused by say, falling down and hitting your head at 8, bad drugs at 17 or one hundred martini's too many at 50. That we damage our brain, screwing up our filter and focus leading to emotional problems and that such damage can be clearly seen under MRI's or deduced through questionnaires. Further that there are nutritional solutions and methodologies that can repair the physical brain, and the mental problem gets fixed as a result. Thus for some problems, we can't think our way or change our mood its not a software problem. Rather they require fixing the hardware. Don't know if its correct, I haven't finished the book but I think its an important point to consider. For some problems like dopamine and serotonin imbalances, the book claims exercise helps, ie gets more blood flowing. For others supplements are recommended.

I'd add, don't let the benign introduction fool you. If you tap on his name, and look at his older posts, you'll find most them deal with curses and calls for destruction of..lots of groups. If you look at his posts under a dozen different names, the tone is the same.. its not just wacko eccentric; its hating, cursing, I am messiah- kind of stuff.

Reading history. Not an absolute but many shining examples of it. You find it inconceivable that experienced soldiers might put down there weapons and from that point will fight no more? Or that Conscientious Objectors can be pretty much the bravest people on earth, putting themselves in harms way to protect others or stop fighting? Perhaps the best modern phenomena of Soldier becoming pacifist is the Veterans for Peace (google it) movement, but be assured its by no means modern or an American phenomena. People who know war best, can become its harshest critics and pacifists. Similarly you can look up acts of heroism by CO just as easily. Many acts of bravery above and beyond.