thelerner

Well.. sometimes I want something short and sweet (that's what she said) and actually it was a play off your comment '..the lowest form is marital' vs. martial. unless I've fallen for another double entendre.

yes, but to get that good you have to be married to it.

I admire the discipline that comes with the cold showers. Add 30 fast deep breaths then a hold and you are well on your way to Wim Hof method - It's a 10 week course that doesn't take too long, incorporates dynamic breathing, many health benefits and gives a substantial energy boost.

Why don't we chalk up the bad feelings generated here to long hot summer days and the fact that the OP was made to create tension and arguments. We have many here who practice and love Tai Chi. It's lovely meditative art, that at its highest form is deeply martial. However you ain't gonna see it in the MMA any time soon, though the wise fighter would do well to take it up after there bodies are breaking down after years of abuse. I was taught hard style is for the young, hard/soft for the mature, and soft as one moves on. Perhaps we can renew this thread with a better spirit.

In truth Mo Pai is treated the same way as other arts here. There was a Mo Pai promoter who'd tend to write in multiple threads that he had the real thing and what everyone else was studying was fantasy. Note he'd also say the same thing about people from other schools of Mo Pai. He was a troll and spammer and banned multiple times. Mo Pai is a good system, but it is not without problems. Every system is critiqued to some extent here and those which make the most extravagant claims often are judged harsher. Its human nature. While I've never practiced Mo Pai, one thing I've gotten from it is the importance of sitting on the ground when you can. A nice simple fact that people can experience easily for themselves, yet somehow the banned member would create long term vendettas against those who had a different view. If you're coming here with a chip on your shoulder as an imagined martyred Mo Pai practitioner don't bother writing here. We've had a dozen or more long repetitive looping threads of that flame out. On the other hand if you want to talk about and share your art, great, that's what we do here. Discuss.

Speaking of meditation cushions, I like buckwheat filled and prefer the crescent shape. Plus a soft low cushion or blanket under the cushion and my thighs. Better then a cushion though is sitting outside and for me the best outside seat is a low tree stump.

It starts next year. A course to memorize 80 poems over the year. I've been meaning to sharpen my memory and this might be a delightfully old fashioned way. Here's the link to join- http://masterofmemory.com/poetryoptin Like so many things in life. I expect it to be hard, then once the brain learns and surrenders to it, hopefully becomes easier and easier. Reciting a good poem can be as soothing as nice glass of wine. http://masterofmemory.com/poetry/

I thought so to, but the {+} to the left of {quote} is the Multi-Quote button and it'll carry one or more quotes to other threads. Woulda been simpler if it'd kept saying multi-quote but.. change..

This is the internet, should we allow 'facts' or 'proof' get in the way of a discussion????

I can't wait to find a stopped train and see if I can rock it with an Aikido hips/hands/ push/pull practice.. not too different then the Tai Chi rocking I'm seeing. If I'm absent assume I was successful but not so much in explaining my actions to the police watching.

Fa Xin had an elegant and powerful reply to negative thinking. Superior because it's aimed at the situation not a person. Keep Perspective.. Settle.. Breath.

Please keep this thread on subject. (Brian and voidisyinyang) why don't you create a new thread in Off-Topic (or elsewhere) to discuss your interest. -The Mods.

If those messages are a year and half and two years ago, it's probably time to let it go. You're probably bringing ten times the attention to them then they'd ever get. Seems to me posting positive things about SFQ helps, and digging up and reprinting very old negative messages hurts. Also bringing manslaughter, murder and military bases into the 'argument' seems like moving in a less focused direction.

Hoping for supernatural help from advanced beings seems.. low odds. Though there are times to take that bet. Better to do something. Through Heifer.org I'm technically giving out a flock of chickens to a family every month. Eggs for nutrition, selling and making more little chickens. Hopefully it helps some groups. Locally each month we make lunch bags for the homeless. Considering the needs of the world, its not much, but you do what you can, one starfish at a time.

I rest in the middle of the hurricane. Yang thunders, Yin sucks I sit, so centered the storm cannot touch me. I live from breath to breath and that is enough

I prefer not to. I'm editing and reediting my stuff constantly, even stuff years old. For better clarity and grammar. Also there are times I'll edit in Addon> to answer a post from below, so that answering a trivial question doesn't 'litter' the thread with comments that are side lining.

I agree with those who say work with what resonates with you. Ones practice doesn't haven't be either or. Still, seems to me everything other then a quiet mind is kind of a crutch (good ones) but still keeping you from the hard work of facing and learning to control the monkey mind. While I'll enjoy and practice chant and guided meditations, to me the real work is letting breath meditation fade into emptiness and balancing there.

Putting aside the warming of the Earth. What about air pollution? Water pollution? The acidifying of the ocean? These are real threats that are shortening the lives of real people. Hurting the quality of our environment. China has 7 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pollution_in_China) of the most polluted cities in the world. Millions of people suffer in them. Thanks in part to the Paris agreement they're not putting in 100's more coal plants. That a good thing for them and for the world. Beyond CO2 it releases a poisonous brew of heavy metal and contaminants released. That's not to say its not valuable, but we'd better wait and or invest in truly clean coal, before burning and releasing poisons. Having stringent pollution controls is worthwhile. It is an investment in the future. India and China are not getting away with something, they are devastating there land and robbing millions of good health. I was in Pittsburgh for a few days last month. In the 1940's it was the Steel capital of the world. Made more then anyone else, the furnaces were always burning. And the buildings were all blackened. In cemeteries white marble was quickly turned black. In hospitals pneumonia was rampant, with higher rates then other cities (according to my tour Driver). Nowadays it's a nice clean city. They still keep a few buildings blackened as a reminder. Maybe they didn't have a choice in the 1900's. But we have one now. To seek our intelligent ways to be cleaner, conserve more. Not to poison ourselves. The world is huge, but if it was aquarium sized and we put in the millions of tons of contaminants (or the equivalents) into it, we'd see a difference. Yes there are other important factors- Sun cycles, volcanic, but for our own sakes, we should do what we can. Simply to be good care takers of our tank, we'd better do our best to keep it clean, not pollute faster then filters can take. Forget nations, We are Mankind- We should be wise enough not to turn our environment into a cesspool. The industrial revolution is fine, until it starts shortening lives and blackening the skies. Then responsible government has to step in regulate pollution, lest we slowly slowly kill ourselves. Knock over one domino too many. In my life great lake died.. from uncountable life, to dead, catching fire. We stopped pollutants and it came back. The ocean is showing strain, the great Reef of 1,000's of years is getting bleached. The ocean is warming and acidifying. If it goes, mankind will be hurt.

I think what'll happen is the majority of MIT Climatologists will write a letter saying his viewpoints don't represent the current, past or mainstream science. Whoops they did it already- https://insideclimatenews.org/news/06032017/climate-change-denial-scientists-richard-lindzen-mit-donald-trump. There's no Church, just science and the scientific method and community. Not always 100% accurate but moving towards making better models. Quite simply the majority of those who've spent there lives studying climate see problems ahead. It's too bad its become a political thing. From the link- "As [Lindzen's] colleagues at MIT in the Program in Atmospheres, Oceans and Climate, all of whom are actively involved in understanding climate, we write to make it clear that this is not a view shared by us, or by the overwhelming majority of other scientists who have devoted their professional lives to careful study of climate science," said the March 2 letter, signed by 22 current and retired MIT professors. The MIT staff addressed specific inaccuracies in Lindzen's letter, including his assertion that "carbon dioxide is not a pollutant." "The risks to the Earth system associated with increasing levels of carbon dioxide are almost universally agreed by climate scientists to be real ones," they wrote. "These include, but are not limited to, sea level rise, ocean acidification, and increases in extreme flooding and droughts, all with serious consequences for mankind." Lindzen has spent years downplaying the significance of man-made climate change through his published research, testimony in lawsuits and appearances before Congress. He has compared "global warming believers" to a "cult," and called the most recent assessment by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the world's leading climate science body, "a political document." He served as a meteorology professor from 1983 to 2013. He is now a distinguished senior fellow at the Cato Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based conservative think tank. Lindzen responded to InsideClimate News with a one-page statement that echoed the contrarian points he made in his letter. He also criticized MIT's climate program. "Since MIT's administration has made the climate issue a major focus for the Institute with the Program in Atmospheres, Oceans, and Climate (PAOC) playing a central role, it is not surprising that the department would object to any de-emphasis of this issue," Lindzen wrote. "For far too long, one body of men, establishment climate scientists, has been permitted to be judges and parties on what the 'risks to the Earth system associated with increasing levels of carbon dioxide' really are," he said, referencing something James Madison wrote in 1787. A petition accompanying Lindzen's letter was signed by 300 other people. Lindzen described the signatories as "eminent scientists and other qualified individuals" in his letter. A review of the names by the Guardian, however, revealed few biology, chemistry, climate, earth and physics scientists. Many are well-known climate contrarians and deniers. They include Willie Soon, an aerospace engineer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics; Steve Goreham of the Heartland Institute, an industry backed organization that denies climate science; and William Briggs, a statistician at Cornell University who questions climate models. "In stark contrast to Lindzen's letter, ours was signed only by those who know something about the climate system," said Kerry Emanuel, an MIT professor of atmospheric sciences who signed the letter opposing Lindzen. The science advocacy group the Union of Concerned Scientist also annotated the letter to point out its errors. The MIT letter noted that professional societies including the American Meteorological Society and the American Geophysical Union have all released statements affirming the scientific consensus on man-made climate change and its grave risks. A recent analysis found that 140 of the world's national academies and top scientific geosciences, biological, chemical, physical, agricultural and other organizations have issued statements about human-caused warming. "We owe it to future generations to remain engaged with the international community to seek the widest possible efforts to understand and mitigate [climate change] threats,"

Imo having no attitude can easily slip into negativity. For many, we default into worry and dwell on worst case scenarios. Maybe that's an evolutionary type thing. So we need at least a little positivity just to stay neutral.

Having a positive attitude can be hard. Not only does the world seem against us, but often so is our biochemistry. It helps to keep your eyes on the positive, which often means not reading the news (a concentration of the worst happenings in the world) and not giving too much time to negative people, who'll bring you down. On the plus side, planning things that are good, as simple as a walk or checking the web to see if there's any (preferably free) concerts or lectures near you. Getting out for a walk, and seeing if you can grab a coffee with a friend is always good. Joining something, learning something.. movement and direction are usually positive. One thing I'll do to boost my mornings lately is listen to a Kim Walsh guided meditation on Happiness and Contentment. Since I know the induction I'll fast forward 9 minutes, making it 13 minutes long. It puts me under while I'm still in bed and gives me positive messages that hopefully seed my subconscious. A nice preamble to the day when I have time. I've turned it into an mp3.

wrong place.... ..... ... squirrel

Tonight is the full moon, also known to Indians as the Strawberry moon. Not because of color but because for some, it was strawberry picking season. Also called the mini-moon it appears (14%) smaller because its a bit further from the earth.

I'd throw out the Wim Hof Method. It features an adaptation to the cold, and a fast breathing style that tends to be detoxing. Many have found it to be useful in terms of anti-inflammation. Personally it's cured me of dandruff, others report more dramatic healings from it. Not really Qi Gong, but an interesting mind/body course where at the end of 10 weeks your breath, cold tolerance, inflammation markers and self knowledge/will power will definitely be increased. Lots of information on it on the internet. Its basically a 10 Week online course of progressively getting used to cold water, ie cold showers later, cold baths. With a very fast breathing style and some light yoga. You can do the 10 week formal course or get much of the benefits doing it 'light' with information from places like http://highexistence.com/the-wim-hof-method-revealed-how-to-consciously-control-your-immune-system/ Plus there are a couple of threads on it here on the bums. *it's simple, but not easy, then again, if I can do it, so can anybody.

Through a glass darkly, the rum and coke swirls a'roun a sweet seduction