thelerner

Intellectually I can't swallow even the first fundamental understanding " (iv) Did you choose to get born'? ..that a form in the shape of a human being got created almost accidentally (without any concurrence or selection on any one's part), which you subsequently accepted as your self. Therefore, 'you' as such do not exist either as a 'fact', or as an entity." Not saying its wrong, rather to truly understand it won't be made by my intellect. The Catch 22 is only by experiencing it will I know it. Maybe one day in deep meditation I'll know it, but not by reading or pondering.

Sometimes switching browsers helps.

The question isn't is Tai Chi fake, its is it beatable? Yeah, while at its highest level its got plenty of juice and some magic, it is beatable. Take Brazilian Ju-Jitsu the first few Mixed Martial art world wide tournaments the Gracie family ate up the competition. Its top guys beat multi people and were undefeated in a single tournament. Then people studied the style, practiced against it, anticipated it, and as in all things, the winning becomes a liability. People of different arts are beating it, but only because they specifically train against it. Thus its still a very valuable art to know, a veritable must to know in MMA competition. With its power comes vast weakness of course. It's penchant for taking things to the ground and turning your back to the crowd and locking into another means its vulnerable on the street where attackers are not one on one. A good Tai chi teacher has great lessons to teach. I'm talking the few who are serious martial artists and the many who see it as a holistic art to develop calmness and inner energy.. chi. I'm an Aikidoist, in my mind the art loses some martial prowess inorder to be true to its philosophy and tradition.

Got a new plant for my garden. The human bean. We'll have to see how does this year. The guy who sold it to me said it was a worthwhile stalk, except for its tendency to shade out or strangle parts of itself. You gotta give it sun, water and lotsa fertilizer plus keep reminding it that its all one plant.

This is the same group mentioned a year or two ago putting up a large Baphomet statue. Lots of uproar and press, but it hasn't happened. I tend to think this is along the same lines. More about getting free press, then putting up a statue in small town. Dollars to donuts it won't happen and in year or two there will be another similar stunt.

You don't need meditation to open your eyes to the suffering in the world. Simply opening up a newspaper can suffice for that. What good meditation does is open up space in oneself. Where one can look at the suffering and instead a knee jerk reaction, not too far from fight or flight (& ignore), one has a compassionate route. Listen deeply, roll up there sleeves and find out how they can help.

I've gotten some tinctures (particularly Pine Pollen) here- https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheRuralApothecary?ref=l2-shopheader-name; but lately trying my hand making my own. I went the easy route, buying some cheap organic herbal tea. In this case Turmeric/Ginger + licorice, lemon grass.. soaked in a jar w/ vodka for 6 weeks, then into 4 oz tincture bottles. Cheap and uh, hasn't killed me yet . http://www.thedaobums.com/topic/26799-recipes-for-some-day/?p=742341 Turmeric is an underrated herb. I bought a 4 oz turmeric/ginger tincture for $18 and thought, I could make my own pretty cheaply. The organic turmeric at my local grocery store was $7.99, the organic ginger seemed pricey too. In the tea section they had on sale an organic Turmeric/black pepper tea for $3.99. So I bought that. The tea bags actually contain lemon grass, ginger, turmeric, black pepper and licorice. Not a bad mix, 2.47 ounces in total. Cutting the bags open in an 16 oz mason jar filled it a bit over 1/4 (1/2 after liquid added). I filled it 3/4 with Smirnoff Vodka, 80 proof. It's got a nice red tinge to it already, which shows good turmeric content. I'll give it a shake every day or so and leave it in for 2 week or 3 or 4 weeks (longer the better, I'm already not using as much herbs as recommended. Then strain and bottle. Costs = $3.99 for tea, about $8 of vodka for 12 or 13 oz depending on how much I wring out of the herbs. Any thoughts I should let it sit longer? I assume because the herbs are already 'tea' size the soaking doesn't need to be as long. I'd welcome any thoughts on it. Sometimes people will add a little rock sugar to tinctures for flavor.. maybe. *Let it seep for 6 weeks, got 2 bottles of 4 oz tincture from it. Could of had more but too lazy to squeeze. Good color, seems much like the bottles I bought for $18, but half the cost and they had 'helper' herbs in it ie pepper, licorice, lemon grass.

Not my bag but here's a page that might give you some good leads: http://www.freeherspirit.com/free-spirit-podcast-interview-asia-suler/ "Today I have the pleasure of presenting my interview with Asia Suler of One Willow Apothecaries! Asia Suler is a writer, teacher, energy worker and herbalist who lives amongst her gardens in the Blue Ridge Mountains. She is the concoctress behind One Willow Apothecaries, an Appalachian-grown company that offers lovingly handcrafted medicines. A unique combination of western and energetic herbalism.. Resources mentioned in the show: That tree podcast I listened to (go listen to it! It’s amazing!) The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben (I seriously need to read this!) The meaning of Wu The Chestnut School of Herbal Medicine with Juliet Blankespoor Rosemary Gladstar books on herbalism (also on Amazon) (me I've got one from her) Sarah Thomas of Clarity Stone Medicine Sarah Ingerman for shamanism and shamanic journeying and drumming tracks Robert Moss for shamanic dreaming techniques Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer Asia’s blog post about how to practice shamanic journeying" me There are books on herbalism, and then there's the ones that have recipes like Pick at night during the full moon.. bottle when the moon is full again. Those kind of things are fun.

I think the vast majority of people in the West (addon West implying (Europe & Americas.. non-Orient) who study and respect Taoism are philosophical. Imo, unless you have an altar and observe their hierarchy of immortals and gods, you're in the philosophical camp. Not a bad place to be.

You've explained your philosophy about woman. Out of curiosity, how has it affected you in life, your relationships with the opposite sex? With your mom, sisters, lady friends.. wife?

Let's see.. You should read things closer, otherwise your loud prejudices keep you from reading the actual words and intent. It's not that "all paths are the same" what people of experience are saying, based on there years and the people they've met is that different practices have led people to enlightenment and liberation. Shhh, different practices have led people to enlightenment and liberation. OK? We're not saying all practices are great or perfect or the same.. just different practices have connected well with some people and led them far along the path. At 51, having traveled the world, with an interest in mysticism, that's what I've found. Amazing people from different practices. You have a very misogynistic, sexist mindset. You seem to prejudge half the world's population and every art that is not your own harshly. You seem like a bitter man, like your only contribution here is negativity. Circling back to the OP, such negativity seems like it'd move a person in the opposite direction.

The cook who spends his time insulting other cooks, is not a perfect cook. By definition they can't learn from others. A great cook is one comfortable cooking and learning different things. Certainly they've taken the time to master one, but to think that is all that exists is parochial. SeekerofHealer you keep throwing out, 'Only my way is the right way' in different threads. We understand your view and you don't need to state it several times in other people's conversations. Perhaps you can start a thread on TWIM, but beware there are people like you out there who might troll it. It's sad but they're out there.

Well, imo, the phenomena you speak of is only in a fraction of a fraction of people. If you buy into a fundamentalist framework consciously or subconsciously you reap its fruits and problems. For example what really sets off the need for exorcisms? Popular movies. After the movie the Exorcist was a big hit, suddenly a few calls became thousands to the Vatican for the sudden need for them. Was it a demon invasion? no, popular hysteria, playing out in people's subconscious. As the movie went away the calls lessened til they went back to normal, til the sequels. I can't help but think that NDE's are similar. A book becomes popular, becomes a movie and suddenly people knocked unconscious have visions; and are applauded for them. The hardcore dig up anecdotal evidence for it, while ignoring (or not looking for) anecdotes that have Buddha or other deities or people in them. Having been born in the 60's, it's interesting that the 'square' 50s produced the hippies of the 60s. To my memory the 70s with the advent of wife swapping and free love was way more hippie-like then what's followed since. I find today's media much more restrained sexually then 70's and 80's. More drug free then the 90's too. To most European society the US is pretty Prudish, though overly violent. If you want to become a Christian Fundamentalist, great, but I wouldn't do it based on exorcisms, alien abductions or NDE's. Decisions based on fear, will always be suspect. Going back to the title.. I guess by practices you mean, meditation.. taoism.. Buddhism. Christianity has a fair share of meditation practices. It's filled with saints and mystics. From what I've read the monks in a Christian order are not that far from Buddhists or Zen monks. One article suggested they are much closer to each other then they are to regular folks of there respective religions. In other words, meditation is good, physically, mentally, spiritually. You can find a style that fits your outlook, even if that's holy prayer or chant done wholeheartedly. Likewise you can study Buddhism or Taoism for there philosophical brilliance in how they view the world. Then go back in 2000 years of Christian history and find similar words in the mouths of Christians mystics. They're there, but in the other traditions they're the main points, not semi-lost side tracks. Studying the philosophies of other traditions does not make you.. impure or make you change your religion, rather it gives you a little more wisdom and allows you to go deeper into your own to find its connections to universal truths. I will add those who are emotionally sensitive and go into meditations that move internal energy without being grounded and in a state of equanimity and do too much, too soon, can end up with things getting strange and bad. Though often simply stopping the practice will get the person back to normal.

Insight Timer is good. Nice way to time your meditations, as well as set tones for breathing patterns. It has social network functions too. The app I use most is Kindle. Lots of good books available cheap and it loads up .docs and pdf's nicely for phone view. If you get the Overdrive app too, you can download books and audio books remotely via the public library.

Caveat emptor. What does one expect from a such a meeting? What can you learn in 20 minutes? A secret password, gain mystical powers.. nah. Maybe you can get inspired, get some sort of transmission? Maybe worth it if you've got lots of money or a particular passion or connection to a person. Without knowing details I kinda think spending $300 eu for a month or three for yoga, meditation or martial art lessons at a local dojo will bring more real improvement then a short trip to miracle man. Even if they're legitimate, don't expect a 20 minute fix to cure a 20 year problem. Personally I've paid $300 but that's for a long weekend with classes in the mornings and evenings. Well worth it, imo. Who knows, it could be there are rare people who could make 20 minutes worthwhile. Then again, often the difference between $25 and $400 champagne is the how well the maitre d is dressed.

Yes and good points. But.. fish eat the smaller pieces of plastic and die, whales and dolphins choke and are trapped by larger pieces. Personally, I'm sloppy and don't mind a small mess, but once it spreads out a few miles, then I think someone's culture is getting a little too lazy. Western sized Garbage and it's byproducts are a form of communal laziness. We can do better, be more efficient. Keeping things clean is a pain at first, but worth the effort in the medium and long term. It's been said environmentalists make lousy neighbors but great ancestors. You know the difference between walking now versus 25 years ago? Dog shit, 25 years it was radical for dog owners to pick up waste. Any long walk you'd see a dozen or so droppings on the ground. Every week or so step in something unpleasant. During the winter it'd be particularly bad because it wouldn't go away, near the end we'd be dreaming of a white Christmas without all the brown spots that lined the sidewalks. Yeah, its biodegradable but unpleasant, not healthy since it feeds rats. Public opinion (and pressure) made a difference and in a small unnoticed way, it's improved our lives. We should do better with plastics are most likely to end up in the middle of the ocean. Work on the easy pollution fixes first, then move on.

I bet our Western garbage patch is the biggest. yay we win. I wonder if heat and compression would do anything? Compress it and you've got potential reefs. Course that may be as easy as compressing a small town, yet we have awesome tools at out disposal, ie see mega-mining machines. We've been chewing up and spitting out mountains for a hundred years. Maybe a few bites at a time.. I'm envisioning a megaship, that sucks in waste compacts (Simpsons did it first) and excretes it out in a tight form that conducive as an artificial reef. The Kaiju that saves the ocean is one that just eats and poops. Next is dealing with massive oxygen deadzones, killer algae, depleted populations, massive coral bleaching die offs, genetic threats from farmed fish.. All dominoes teetering.. Putting aside the whole Global Warming controversy.. Is there any question that we've been screwing up the Oceans? If we knock down one domino too many, destroy too many eco-systems, we invite our own disasters.

I don't see people acting like they're beyond their own limitations here. Quite the opposite. Most here know that its a long haul; those touting or hoping for a quick fix are usually in for a few lectures. However, imo, one thing that distances us from 'liberation' is the judging mind. The one always weighing and judging others is probably moving in the wrong direction. The person pointing a thousand fingers, is probably growing more ego then independence.

in my book, there is great wisdom in keeping it simple. sometimes complex is an interesting spice to add, but the main dish, is best kept simple. maybe a few times a year I'll crack out complex meditations with several diamond shaped bagua's with the tao chi symbol on them, paired and rotating around various parts of my body, counter to each other (or some similar craziness) but most of the most time, I just sit quietly. That's all, breath comes in, breath goes out.. Mind and body.. do what they will. & as Einstein once said- “Make things as simple as possible, but not simpler.”

I'm more an oatmeal eater then conjee, but I like a fried egg on top. Often I'll go savory with Mediterranean Herb mix, with rosemary, thyme, parsley etc.. put in at cooking time.

Looking up TWIM (Tranquil, Wisdom, Insight Meditation- kind of a new ageish name) it seems to be a new age combo of Buddhism with an accent on combining Vispassana and Insight meditation. Looks like a good practice, nothing to exotic about it, which is good. I'm surprised a practitioner is so dismissive of everything else but thats a common conceit (and trap imo) amongst new enthusiastic practitioners of an art. Thankfully after a few years they tend to drop the 'My Way is the Only Way, everyone else is wasting there time' baggage and start seeing similarities between there practice and others. Here's a good interview on TWIM by Most Venerable Vimalaramsi Mahathera and Samaneri Khema http://begintosee.blogspot.com/2010/07/what-is-twim-meditation-as-taught-by.html

Without acknowledging boundaries, one may wander somewhat randomly. For me, better to explore and map them out then as I grow, expand them. Speaking of boundaries, a couple of meditation traditions have practices where you 'reach out' to infinity, the ends of the universe. Like a paired yoga routine, they move back and forth between putting attention inside, often the hara, then expanding outside. An interesting play of mental boarders. Anna Wise who did EKG experiments on various styles of meditations noticed a difference in brainwaves when a person kept there attention 'inside' themselves or 'outside'; as if seeing themselves from outside. I forget which to which. Without discipline we're probably constantly switching our inside/outside point of views.. ie everytime we judge something we're moving outside, then switching inside for internal commentary. A loud and busy process. Cool a woodpecker on nearby tree. small young almost downy, he's walking up the tree, poking it with its beak. Where was I.. eh who cares.. speaking of rambling disconnected thoughts. When it comes to the taoist practice of 'sealing the senses' which in some ways is sealing a boundary. I like Rawn Clarks Center of Stillness Meditation. It's free (abardoncompanion.com) and after relaxing you, it takes the 5 senses plus emotion and thought, separates them into sphere's and puts you floating in space, above the web of your life. Interesting, and not an easy guided meditation to get, but worthwhile.

As strange as that sounds, people going into a state of ketosis; a strict diet where the body burns fat instead of carbs, have found it to cure some difficult conditions. Best to investigate it thoroughly before though.

Here's a hard pill for civilized people to swallow. In a land of plenty, slavery is indeed an abomination, that must be stopped. In a place where hunger is rampant and starvation threatens, then horrible as it is, slavery may have a place. Better fed then dead because where there is life there is hope. It's also society's job, the ruler and the people, to stop such dire poverty from occurring.

Heck if I know. Which is why I'm throwing it out. What are the basics? The beginnings? What are the first few steps on the journey to aligning with Dao? Sitting meditation.. Reading the classics (which).. Giving up concepts of duality?