thelerner

As far as psuedonumerology, I found it better for memorizing phone numbers then credit cards. I could come up with witty collections for 10 digit numbers, but when it came to credit cards and long ones I found words from different cards would blend together. Probably a matter of more practice needed, but having failed once or twice to put in the right credit card number when needed, I've given up for now and just look at the things when needed. Other one week projects. Overhauling my passwords. So I have one coherent system, easy to type and remember.

Here's a little secret on how to get multiple opponents to not want to fight. One of my old Karate buddies always lived in so-so parts of town. Playing the game of buying 3 flats, renting them out so he'd live free and make enough to buy another in a better neighborhood. The math failed when his mother went to live with him. Anyhow, my friend, big guy, navy guy, years of Karate, always said this is his best self protection- he always owned at least two dogs, like German Shepards, Japanese Akitas, or mixed breeds, all medium to large, smart working breeds that loved him and his family but tended to stare down others. There you have it, walk two large guard/worker breeds and most people will leave you alone. In a rough world, sometimes inhuman help with sharp teeth and keen senses are just what you need to avoid a fight. And he did. So did his daughter who was a little beast master, now in college. Course there's a lot of money and time in training, but there's love and companionship too.

Perhaps a bodywork angle. Like a professional masseur, combine that with teaching English. When I was backpacking in Europe and the Middle East I'd find people with relatively simple skills working and paying there way across the world. One woman cut hair, she'd let it be known she was a excellent cutter and ask around, charged rather high too, but have scissors will travel. Another had a suitcase of gold and silver cord, made and sold jewelry where ever they went. A couple guys here have lived in China while teaching English. Its a possibilities in many countries, though its good to have contacts before hand. good luck, look for synergy- your likes & talents combined with what may be in demand/monetized.

OMG, this thread is still going? Humorously, the OP didn't want this to be about Mo Pai rather I believe they were interested in comparing Long Men Pai and Mo Pai in terms of secrecy and technique. This was supposed to be a comparison of the two, not another quagmire. I've never seen such long conversations with so many participants saying 'they don't want to talk to each other'. I wish people would take there 'We are done' to heart and find a more productive discussion. Guys, you can set some sort of stop watch to time how much precious time you've wasted on this. Somewhere in hell, people are being forced to read this and suffering needless, but you participants don't have to. Free will and all that. Just give it up. Live.. spend that extra time productively.. enjoyably..

For uh, lower blood circulation and as a yin tonic, I like Pine Pollen tincture from The Rural Apothecary. Sold on Etsy.

I suppose beyond technique is time. A certain reversal. We spend maybe an hour, two or three meditating whereas the Greats might spend 20+ hours meditating. Keeping in state, while awake, eating, walking, talking even asleep.

Nice article on not just breakthroughs in desalinization, but also what's possible in wise re-use of water. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/israel-proves-the-desalination-era-is-here/?wt.mc=SA_Twitter-Share ".. The institute’s original mission was to improve life in Israel’s bone-dry Negev Desert, but the lessons look increasingly applicable to the entire Fertile Crescent. “The Middle East is drying up,” says Osnat Gillor, a professor at the Zuckerberg Institute who studies the use of recycled wastewater on crops. “The only country that isn’t suffering acute water stress is Israel.” That water stress has been a major factor in the turmoil tearing apart the Middle East, but Bar-Zeev believes that Israel’s solutions can help its parched neighbors, too — and in the process, bring together old enemies in common cause. Bar-Zeev acknowledges that water will likely be a source of conflict in the Middle East in the future. “But I believe water can be a bridge, through joint ventures,” he says. “And one of those ventures is desalination.” Driven to Desperation In 2008, Israel teetered on the edge of catastrophe. A decade-long drought had scorched the Fertile Crescent, and Israel’s largest source of freshwater, the Sea of Galilee, had dropped to within inches of the “black line” at which irreversible salt infiltration would flood the lake and ruin it forever. Water restrictions were imposed, and many farmers lost a year’s crops. Their counterparts in Syria fared much worse. As the drought intensified and the water table plunged, Syria’s farmers chased it, drilling wells 100, 200, then 500 meters (300, 700, then 1,600 feet) down in a literal race to the bottom. Eventually, the wells ran dry and Syria’s farmland collapsed in an epic dust storm. More than a million farmers joined massive shantytowns on the outskirts of Aleppo, Homs, Damascus and other cities in a futile attempt to find work and purpose. And that, according to the authors of “Climate Change in the Fertile Crescent and Implications of the Recent Syrian Drought,” a 2015 paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, was the tinder that burned Syria to the ground. “The rapidly growing urban peripheries of Syria,” they wrote, “marked by illegal settlements, overcrowding, poor infrastructure, unemployment, and crime, were neglected by the Assad government and became the heart of the developing unrest.” Similar stories are playing out across the Middle East, where drought and agricultural collapse have produced a lost generation with no prospects and simmering resentments. Iran, Iraq and Jordan all face water catastrophes. Water is driving the entire region to desperate acts. More Water Than Needs Except Israel. Amazingly, Israel has more water than it needs. The turnaround started in 2007, when low-flow toilets and showerheads were installed nationwide and the national water authority built innovative water treatment systems that recapture 86 percent of the water that goes down the drain and use it for irrigation — vastly more than the second-most-efficient country in the world, Spain, which recycles 19 percent. But even with those measures, Israel still needed about 1.9 billion cubic meters (2.5 billion cubic yards) of freshwater per year and was getting just 1.4 billion cubic meters (1.8 billion cubic yards) from natural sources. That 500-million-cubic-meter (650-million-cubic-yard) shortfall was why the Sea of Galilee was draining like an unplugged tub and why the country was about to lose its farms. Enter desalination. The Ashkelon plant, in 2005, provided 127 million cubic meters (166 million cubic yards) of water. Hadera, in 2009, put out another 140 million cubic meters (183 million cubic yards). And now Sorek, 150 million cubic meters (196 million cubic yards). All told, desal plants can provide some 600 million cubic meters (785 million cubic yards) of water a year, and more are on the way. The Sea of Galilee is fuller. Israel’s farms are thriving. And the country faces a previously unfathomable question: What to do with its extra water? Water Diplomacy Inside Sorek, 50,000 membranes enclosed in vertical white cylinders, each 4 feet high and 16 inches wide, are whirring like jet engines. The whole thing feels like a throbbing spaceship about to blast off. The cylinders contain sheets of plastic membranes wrapped around a central pipe, and the membranes are stippled with pores less than a hundredth the diameter of a human hair. Water shoots into the cylinders at a pressure of 70 atmospheres and is pushed through the membranes, while the remaining brine is returned to the sea. Desalination used to be an expensive energy hog, but the kind of advanced technologies being employed at Sorek have been a game changer. Water produced by desalination costs just a third of what it did in the 1990s. Sorek can produce a thousand liters of drinking water for 58 cents. Israeli households pay about US$30 a month for their water — similar to households in most U.S. cities, and far less than Las Vegas (US$47) or Los Angeles (US$58). The International Desalination Association claims that 300 million people get water from desalination, and that number is quickly rising. IDE, the Israeli company that built Ashkelon, Hadera and Sorek, recently finished the Carlsbad desalination plant in Southern California, a close cousin of its Israel plants, and it has many more in the works. Worldwide, the equivalent of six additional Sorek plants are coming online every year. The desalination era is here. What excites Bar-Zeev the most is the opportunity for water diplomacy. Israel supplies the West Bank with water, as required by the 1995 Oslo II Accords, but the Palestinians still receive far less than they need. Water has been entangled with other negotiations in the ill-fated peace process, but now that more is at hand, many observers see the opportunity to depoliticize it. Bar-Zeev has ambitious plans for a Water Knows No Boundaries conference in 2018, which will bring together water scientists from Egypt, Turkey, Jordan, Israel, the West Bank and Gaza for a meeting of the minds. Even more ambitious is the US$900 million Red Sea–Dead Sea Canal, a joint venture between Israel and Jordan to build a large desalination plant on the Red Sea, where they share a border, and divide the water among Israelis, Jordanians and the Palestinians. The brine discharge from the plant will be piped 100 miles north through Jordan to replenish the Dead Sea, which has been dropping a meter per year since the two countries began diverting the only river that feeds it in the 1960s. By 2020, these old foes will be drinking from the same tap. On the far end of the Sorek plant, Bar-Zeev and I get to share a tap as well. Branching off from the main line where the Sorek water enters the Israeli grid is a simple spigot, a paper cup dispenser beside it. I open the tap and drink cup after cup of what was the Mediterranean Sea 40 minutes ago. It tastes cold, clear and miraculous. The contrasts couldn’t be starker. A few miles from here, water disappeared and civilization crumbled. Here, a galvanized civilization created water from nothingness. As Bar-Zeev and I drink deep, and the climate sizzles, I wonder which of these stories will be the exception, and which the rule. "

I'm missing the Big Burn now, but I hit the Midwest regional, Lakes of Fire. It was a blast, I lucked out and found a great camp to hang with, Tea and Strumpets, super nice people. Great thanks to Chillary. Its much smaller and milder then the big burn in Nevada. Hangin, drinking coffee at a coffee camps, beer at Belgian Beer bus, movies at Videogasm. Lots of nice of memories. Speaking of memories, here's a great video on the spirit and scenes and heart of Burning Man-

Every day is a winding road. Every election a choice between rocks and hard places. I always choose rocks, cause rocks not only beat scissors and ballots they can also be thrown at your opponent. nothing beats rocks, cept maybe sticks.

So.. another eclipse going through the U.S in just 6 years (April 8, 2024). Coolio. Wonder what the world will be like then? Who will lead us, will this thread still be going on?? and will I head down to Carbondale again, 7 or 8 hours of driving (one way) to experience the totality. Probably, I'm up for anything that involves the word totality.

Sorry Bax, you're right. Due to earlier perverse interest I looked into flat earth theories, rhetoric and psychology and these days my youtube 'suggestions' are littered with them. Unfortunately I have a bit more zeal on the subject then I should.

It's a lot more then nasa/japan/russia. Looking up countries that have launched satellites you need to add China (who've done some great probes and orbiters around the moon), UK, India, Israel, Iran and ofcourse the European Space Agency. There are a half dozen private companies launching and testing there own rockets, ie see SpaceX. What are exactly are you calling a conspiracy? We've had weather satellites for decades, f you ignore there data you won't see hurricanes coming. We've had Global Positioning satellites for years, without them, GPS wouldn't work. There are communication satellites that beam TV and internet. We're in the midst of a new space race, with multi million dollar prizes for private companies who can send a probe to the moon and have it send back hi res pictures for 500 yards. Another company is going to send into orbit a large origami sheet that will unfold into a very large and visible pyramid shape until it decays a few weeks later. There are so many things going on in space exploration. Fascinating ones you can follow. Interested in pictures from space, the ISS has a 24 hour video camera. Pictures of the moon, nearly a decade ago, China launched a probe to circle and create high resolution pictures and maps of the moon, you can see the actual landing sites and debris of the from the Apollo landings. You can download apps or go to NASA and see live feeds of the crew and what they're doing. You can follow satellite launches and use apps or computers follow the satellites as they orbit the earth. All you need are a good pair of binoculars and you can see them with your own eyes. Lots of apps for it. Lots to see and learn. The cutting edge moves forward. Frankly the shape of the Earth was known hundreds, if not millennia ago. At this point we're studying other solar systems, black holes, nearby planets, galaxies etc., while Flat Earthers are still looking for a 25,000 mile long wall that keeps the oceans from spilling over the edge.

There are about a dozen forums I'm a member of and don't visit. They're simply not my cup of tea. I'm not interested in them, there discussions. You know what I do. I don't go to them. That simple. If I've outgrown a forum or site, I don't visit it. The same thing has happened with some old friends, acquaintances even lovers. Our lives and interests diverged and we went our separate ways. Glad to have had them in my life. They gave something to me, and I hope they got something worthwhile back. But life flows on. Part of growing is accepting change and moving on. Aletheia, glad you found Drew here. Manic, erudite and eccentric- not every ones cup of tea but I'm sure he's a great resource for many. A valued but often reported member for years, currently on a one month suspension. I expect he'll be back and people will read his latest passion and perhaps his <free pdf!>. You want to go, Go. Don't come to the site. Erase it from your computer log. That is the mature decision. Just go. Spend more time in practice. Perhaps find or create a forum that will treat you better. Good luck, god bless, good bye.

If you knew nothing you'd probably believe the earth was flat. That's certainly the way it appears. If you lived on an island with high ground, you might observe boats coming from every angle appeared bow first. As if climbing over a hill in every direction. Maybe if you traveled far and wide, you'd notice everywhere the sun rises and sets. If you developed the mathematics, you'd find the Pythagorean theorem which would help translate distances with the use of angles. Mathematically you'd begin to realize the distances of the planet, the sun and moon. As generations went by, you'd explore the planet. Start mapping it out, increasingly accurately. Discovering engineering and physics you'd leave behind horses create cars and planes. Bold explorers would map out the world. Genius's would work out longitude and latitude systems to safely navigate the seas. Accurate maps would be essential. Geologists trying to understand the forces that created our world. Looking up into the heavens there'd be astronomers building ever better telescopes to map out the solar system. They'd face hard questions, like why do planets move retrograde, ie reverse there orbits every now and then. What is the ether. They'd look to math and chemistry for answers. Fly high altitude balloons to confirm or deny there hypothesize. Build ever better telescopes, eventually launching them into space in ever increasing detail throughout the entire electromagnetic spectrum. The implications within the computers we're now using are mind boggling. Take any element of it, say the keyboard- From the history of mining its component materials, to the history of its design, to the components that travel across the globe before assembly. The facts of our near light speed communication in the internet. It's a wonder.. miraculous a hundred ways over. There are new horizons to discover but uh, we discovered the shape of our planet, and the moon, the sun, other planets, the Milky Way a long time ago. These days science has cataloged and studied much quite a bit of the known universe and is looking for earthlike planets tens of trillions of miles away. It's not easy, but amazingly that's what we're doing. On the flip side with electron microscopes we're looking at material atom by atom. We've freezing things down to near absolute zero, we're getting closer to fusion and breakthroughs in many exciting vistas of science. Hopefully we'll be able to use such discoveries wisely. Cause with all the discoveries, its still just stuff. There's more important things. But stuff is good, keeps us warm and fed. Connected yet distracted.

For those near Chicago's north side, these are a lot of fun. Haven't caught them in awhile, but really enjoyed the ones I went to- http://www.lifesurfing.org/workshops-events/full-moon-meditation/ "Silent Sitting and Dance Meditation The full moon indoor meditation night is a 3-cycle meditation. 3 cycles of 45 minutes silent sitting meditation alternate with three cycles of dance meditation. The meditation will initially be guided. On full moon more energy is available, which, when silently contained and expressed celebrative in dancing - can reveal to us our natural state of inner peace and joy." Wonderful energy there. Plus the anticipation of trying to make it back to your car in a somewhat iffy neighborhood.

Perhaps same path different tact are the writings of Barry Long. He has a couple of dharma speeches on youtube and since I enjoy guided meditations, he also has one of quieting the mind and purging thoughts- I've saved it into an mp3 and fast forwarded it, forget how far.. His other talks are well worth listening to. Nicely direct without cultural jargon.

Moderator Request: On Behalf of the OP writer. Enough sarcasm and witticisms Please allow the subject to get back to the writers intent. If you can't resist, please consider adding (through edit) into old posts and allow the thread to flow, preferably absent the usual circular arguments and baiting.

Thoughts on Luna cy. It's not Men are from Mars, woman are from Venus. (how come men get the planet with all the monsters?) Females are from the Moon, they are Lunarians.. Dianas'. The menstrual cycles of most lady mammals is 28 days.. lunar. Our evolution and reproduction is intimately tied to our satellite partner. I certainly get more energy during the full moon. It's a shame 'civilization' doesn't pay more attention to the lunar cycle. Celebrate it a bit more. Judaism has a combo solar/lunar calendar with leap months to keep seasons from wobbling too much out of range. I should probably keep one, but never do. Opening our lives to a little more shamanic influence, nature, the equinoxes would probably be a step in the right direction. The moon doesn't think too much of itself. It waxes and wanes, Full and slight. It knows patience, seasons Change and return.

Too often we are more rationalizing then rational. Once we label something as good, we go on autopilot to describe other things in the category as bad. We disagree with a person on one subject, so we label them and from then on try to find other ways they fit into a stereotype we made for them. A very bad habit.

Our vision is like a camera with tight focus. We lock onto to what we look at and are unaware that most things in our vision are a blur. Yet because our focus isn't on them, we don't notice, usually. Similarly with people and things we care about, gain our focus. We're aware of there moods and changes. Can spot them or hear them in a crowd. This summer I've developed a bit of a snake focus, so I see them around more. With familiarity comes comfort and greater ease.

My main expertise is to think the word M()F&%^%#! and not type it.

I'd recommend a long soak in Epsom salt bath. Whether the interference is psychic or bacterial, long salt soaks tend to help. Candle light, soft music and sliced peaches optional.

I asked this rhetorically on another thread, so its only fair I put it up myself. (Hoping others will reply with they consider the fruits of there practice) So.. what are the fruits of my practice? Wim Hof method, cold tolerance, better breathing, better mind over body control. Vispassana, which for me is the saying I do before I meditate, ie I am not my body, I am that which inhabits it, I am not my thoughts, they are like clouds passing in the sky.. I am not my emotions..past, future, possessions, name.. I am breath and awareness. The fruit of this one is less fear of death. Years of 'I am not my body..' helped during a minor heart operation when I heard the surgeon say 'Well this isn't going well'. I was able to be stay relaxed, see what happens next. Though maybe the drugs helped too. And in dreams I've had dying practice, and its a good thing. Meditation: I'm a dabbler, which is probably never good. After exploring several techniques, the last couple of years, I mainly just sit. My breath cycle is long, I get a sense of peace, maybe some good things (nothing special) are going on in my body. I'll do some simple gi gung routines, again.. relaxation, extension, benefits of slow gentle movement and relaxed concentration. We hold so much tension during the day. That simple meditation is an antidote to the stress of everyday life. Who knows how much more screwed I'd be without it? In lines, I have my zhan zhuang meditation routines. In the shower I chant, in bed, particularly in the morning, I get to just the right breathing..nothing on top, just gentle belly slow and steady. The practice I've gotten into a little more is reverie. An even lighter state of meditation (if that). Opened eyed, mind empty, staring at water and the light reflected within. I like it. Fruits, I think my practice does me good. Mentally resetting my mind, nerves and perspective. Physically the relaxation eases internal stresses and releases good juices (hormones, enzymes, etc.,) Nothing special or out of the ordinary, but nice, pleasant. Its helped me be successful in life, in my own terms. At some point I'll move back into the esoteric energy arts, but for now its been a welcome vacation, expecting nothing, getting nothing. Keeping it simple.

No rings, but whether hell or bliss, attaching to a state creates a road block. .. or so they say. In any case, good for you. A body and mind capable of bliss, is ready for greater things.

I gotta stay reminded of this.