thelerner

This has been percolating in my mind for a few months- https://www.amazon.com/Salt-Supply-Pepper-Spray-Defense/dp/B01NBAFRQJ A CO2 gun that shoots paint balls filled with disabling salt/teargas powder mixture that explode on impact into a cloud of pretty strong crippling dust. Ofcourse I'd get the original gun which is $50 cheaper. So for $300 an interesting (and imperfect but aren't they all) self defense projectile weapon. With 3 kids potentially around, I'd wouldn't want own a real gun and accidentally make it two. Likewise I wouldn't want to shoot someone dead in my house, though I'd prefer it to me. I don't see robbers as mad max types, more looking for easy targets. An advantage of the salt gun is if you let loose a 2 or 3 round most of a room is tear gassed, and hopefully smart or dumb people leave semi-blinded and gagging. And instead cleaning up blood and dealing with courts, survivors, friends, relatives.. the thieves find egress. From a review on Amazon CPO, may 2016 ..if you are, in fact, “anti-gun” or a “non-gun person” - for whatever reason - your options are indeed limited. The SALT Gun is likely your best option for home defense - and the SALT will cover your needs in more scenarios than owning only a firearm will. Why? Because the vast majority of bumps in the night are NOT from a machete-wielding horror-movie-murderer coming in to kill you. They are drunk neighbors trying to come into the wrong house. They are angry aggressors who want to fight. They are animals knocking over the trash can. They are kids trying to break into your car. They are (often unarmed) burglars hoping nobody is home and looking to take your TV, not your life. And… They are your own teenage kids or spouse coming home unexpectedly in the middle of the night. SALT is better suited for all of these situations than a firearm. None of these are situations that would normally require employing deadly force to resolve - even if they turn into situations where you become personally threatened. And in the small likelihood that there actually is an intruder intent on harming or killing you, SALT is capable of reversing them in their tracks. I certainly wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of the SALT. The military strength combination of tear gas and pepper spray in the SALT rounds will shut down a recipient's vision and impair their breathing. You don't even have to hit them with the round for it to be effective because it's designed to deploy a cloud that hangs in the air. I don't care who you are… When you can't see, and you can't breathe, you are going to think twice about continuing your current course of action. And if you happen to hit them with the round itself -ouch! I've seen the marks left behind. If you've ever been hit with a paintball going 300fps, then you know how bad that hurts, and those are gelatinous (meaning they are designed to be as soft as possible and easily break). The SALT rounds aren't quite so friendly. They are unlikely to cause severe or long term damage, but they will get someone’s attention. I mentioned the use of force continuum before. For those of you not familiar with that term, its primary a law enforcement thing but in a nutshell it's a concept that you should respond with the minimum amount of force necessary to resolve the situation. It's not appropriate to respond with deadly force to an aggressor that hasn’t the ability or opportunity to kill or severely harm you. It's a complicated discussion because, yes, it's possible to need to respond with deadly force even when your attacker has no weapon. Each circumstance is unique and dynamic. There is no easy button for this. If all you have is a lethal firearm, you are limited in when you can apply that force. You must wait until you are confident that your life, or someone else's, is in imminent jeopardy. What about every other situation? Sure, the firearm makes a strong deterrent, but it's not always the right tool for the job. If all you have in your toolbox is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a nail.

Is there a wrong way to meditate..? I dunno. My meditation is less comfortable then it was a decade ago. I strive not to fall into the trance state I once did easily. Instead I cling to empty awareness. Which is also nice, deeply peaceful at times, but not the sleeplike state of deeper trance. My senses are still on. Not clingy but on. Much of that is influenced by Adyavaita's writings and a few others. Or as my old Aikido sensei would say, the Nothing that is Something. Not the nothing that is nothing.

From the same website. Not that its so funny, but its poignant. Three construction workers always ate their lunch together. Each one of them brought from home the same lunch every day and they were getting sick and tired. “If one more time, I’ve to eat the same sandwich,” the first one said one day, “I’m going to jump off this building.” The next person opened his lunchbox and complained, “If tomorrow I’ve to eat this pasta again, I’ll kill myself.” The third man saw his and yelled, “Oh for cryin’ out loud! If one more time I’ve to eat this salad, by God, I’m going to jump.” The next day, they sat down for lunch as usual. The first worker opened his box and let out a big sigh. “Thank God, it’s rice today.” The second one saw his lunchbox and exclaimed joyously, “Finally! I love these bread-rolls.” “Damn it!” The third one said banging his box against his forehead. “Same old salad!” Without another word, he jumped off the building and died. Distraught, his friends confronted his wife at the funeral. “Why couldn’t you just give him something else for lunch? Now look. The poor guy killed himself.” “That’s what I don’t understand,” the wife said. “He always made his own lunch!”

I have found that what one thinks of as negative energy from others is energy hitting on shared issues. If you didn't share the obstruction the energy would flow on through. It would have nothing to hit or get stuck on or feel negative. What I have found is when you experience those moments use them to work within yourself. Reside in the feeling of that energy, let go of the mental stories and just reside. It is that residing beyond the mental stories and with the obstruction/energy that allows one to let go of the issue/obstruction. Jonesboy (member) <more a deep insight then a quote>

May I ask, what is your philosophy regarding kicks? To some it gives power, reach.. to others.. well as one martial artist said if we were supposed to kick we'd have 2 more legs.

Haven't looked closely at it yet, but Wim Hof has a free 3 part mini class/instruction videos out. Might be a good resource for those who want to look into the system- http://explore.wimhofmethod.com/video-miniclass/ Video #1 Wim Hof teaches you how to do more push-ups with his breathing technique. The scientific breathing techniques will significantly improve your energy levels, detox the body and release toxins, relieve stress and tension, and strengthen your immune system. Video #2 teaches you how a simple cold shower can help you to burn fat, boost your immune system and increase the “feel good” chemicals in the brain called endorphins (natures own mood boosters). + Free 20 day cold shower sheet Video #3 is all about commitment. Why you should take action today

While its certainly a dark subject, I'm surprised to find it in Hun Dun. So much of this is about balancing the math. Creating a theory that best matches what we observe. Computer modeling has made this a much more visible art. The actual math for gravity is pretty simple, we plug in known and theoretical masses, distances and see what the modeled universe does. Contract, expand, stay the same? Our old models didn't work, there was missing mass. We couldn't explain observed expansion. We needed Einstein the universal constant that Einstein had dropped, partially because at the time astronomy didn't discover the galaxies were moving away from each other. Undoubtedly we'll jump from theory to theory, hopefully better modeling and predicting what we see. Its a pretty recent science and though it's attracted some of the brightest minds there are, it will undoubtedly change.

I love bridges and flowing water. We cross the great rivers because we're brave. To see or learn something new. Trees are great meditators, they seem to sit quietly all day. Yet below there roots grow, expanding into new territory, each year there branches expand a little further. To live is to grow, explore, share.

Historically, men have bulldozed and fought there way to carry out there will. There are also times when key woman have have used feminine wiles and graceful surrender to change the course of history, in a way that wouldn't work for men. While things run on a spectrum, the two sexes do have different inherent strengths and weaknesses that they can play to.

Without full contact/ street level sparring, you simply don't know how you'll handle yourself in a real fight. Perhaps not even then. Pre-rehearsed practice, where you know what's coming and you're in a comfortable dojo with friends imo doesn't prepare you for the street. It may help, but unless you have dozens (or hundreds) of hours of free sparring, you're at a disadvantage. imo, A 'master' who performs miracles against his students, even high level ones, has no guarantee he can perform them in real combat. On the other hand I've practiced with some who seem to create there own time and space around themselves and they are probably pretty street sound.

Good to have you onboard. That reminds me. It'd be nice to have a 'Best of..' site in the occult section. Like a best of Astrology.. tarot..

I kinda smile at such things, viewing them more as uber nerds then 'money grubbing egotistical morons'. I think the courses are 25 pounds each so its not going to break the bank. Probably cheaper to get married in the Church of Jedi then at a regular church too. I'm more tolerant of such bubble gum philosophy. With hopes the few 'real' concepts they include get people interested in the real thing. I doubt the flow goes the other way. Matter of fact it'd be fun to spend a long weekend with a couple writer friends and come up with our own Jedi mumbo jumbo rules and regulations for Jedi training. Humnn, seeing that its already done, I guess I'll have to do: Sacellum of the Sith. I can see it now- let go, have fun, go out on a date, break rules, have a few absolutes, leave the hermit swampages for the Jedi.

My local nursery has a apple tree which'll bear 3 different apples. Pretty cool.

Dawei asked this question in another thread and I thought it was worth of its own. I think a warrior for peace defends but rarely attacks. His cause is always humanity, never nationalism, religion or abstract notions. His dual goals are protection and ending the conflict while minimizing harm to civilians and when possible the opposition.

I've known people who are natural genius's at pulling this off. They exude calm and possess calming smiles and kind disarming words. They are, in my opinion, the saints of this world.

I'm a Chicagoan, now a Suburbanite. I lock my front door and my car doors and teach my kids to do the same. Why tempt fate? If I didn't nothing would happen, til the thousandth or so time, then a problem. I also teach them, never be afraid, always be alert; that's the cost of living in (or near) the big city.

Early in my training we had an amazing woman who was a assistant sensei. Her technique was great.. smooth, unlike the main sensei gentle, because she was purely shin shin toistu ki aikido, where he came up the ranks before it was a separate style. So his technique could be brutal at times. Anyway a year or two in, she left Aikido for Kung Fu. Her new sensei was female, and had won Olympic Gold in TaeKwondo, amazing because it was in Korea that year, and it wasn't her art. Thankfully the woman would come back every now and then with stories. One was that her new sensei though still in her twenties was retiring. Too many aches and pains. Harsh constant training and competing had given her arthritic symptoms at a young age. Without competition and hard sparring its easy your fool oneself. And with such, comes inevitable injuries.

When I do standing meditation, after Earth (feet to waist + hands), I'll spend time on the water element. In the Archaeous practice its focus area is from the waist(+ forearms) to your solar plex. I'll take time to feel aspects of the physical area, then move onto aspects of water, adapting, lifegiving, changing, powerful, flowing..

I like this commentary on it- https://internalmmablog.wordpress.com/2015/09/13/chinese-martial-artists-disgust-of-mma/ ".. With that in mind, something really bothers me about the TCMA community as it stands now. They have completely refused to accept that MMA is an effective sporting platform in which to test their skills with as little rules as possible for a sanctioned sport within our current society-accepted morals. This troubles me some. In some sense, I do understand that from a self-defense/combative stand-point, fighting on the ground is dangerous, and can be deadly; however, it is completely necessary to learn for fighting in MMA bouts. I know that there is a stigma amongst the Chinese who train in their martial arts that ground fighting is what dogs do, and you don’t want to be a dog (I have had Chinese friends tell me personally that they think MMA fighters are beasts/animals and not even human). Then there is Chinese Wrestling (Shuai Jiao), which is exclusively done on the feet, with a rule set that if something other than your feet touch the ground, you lose! This is fine, and Shuai Jiao is a fantastic martial art that can add a lot of value to other TCMA, and there is historical evidence that a great deal of masters throughout several Chinese styles would train in Shuai Jiao in addition to their art. Even if we look at several of the forms of different styles, they tactically only make sense in the context of Shuai Jiao..."

Don't know if someone else mentioned this earlier, but ontop, 'STAFF' seems to include way too many, not only old staffers but dozens of others.

Perhaps 40 years from now upon meeting again the Tai Chi master will jog up to the MMA fighter, kick their cane away and shout 'I win!' then quickly jog away. Ten years after that show up at the MMA fighter's funeral, look down at the casket and say 'I win again'. Some victories are more important then others.

LHP's, hah, on the bums we're already dealing with Third Hand possibilities.

A young man said to the old rabbi, 'I am afraid the devil is chasing after me'. The old rabbi asked him about his lifestyle. After listening, the rabbi told him 'Seems like you're the one doing the chasing'. My tradition acknowledges the occult, but has rules to stay away from it. There are enough real problems in the world without dragging in baggage from another. Start bringing demons and devils into your thinking and you may start seeing them everywhere. Worse you could fall into the habit where those you dislike, those who have a different opinion on things become automatically devils. You fall into black and white thinking, which fools one into thinking they're always in the right/white. Course rules are made to be broken, and if things strange enough, I might get help from a source I trusted.

The answer I get is: I am breath and awareness. that's an intellectual understanding. I don't put much credence into it, but that's what I got.

While I like the sentiment expressed. Maybe there's not much difference. In that 2000 years ago was a very superstitious time, undoubtedly many bad things back then were considered caused by devils, certainly the preponderance of any kind of mental disease. If you're trying to start a new religion you need a little more then a martyred holy man, you need miracles, lots of them, probably wouldn't hurt to throw in what Caesar and Plato reputedly had, ie virgin birth. I rather live in a world that followed more of Jesus's teachings and disregarded any divinity claims then what developed.