thelerner

I like to use the term quiet, instead of empty. My goal is to have a quiet mind. Realizing there's the loud talking layer of mind, commenting and judging. There's a lower level of emotional noise playing in the background, then there's a whole steaming mess of subconscious boiling away beneath that. Full of cultural conditioning and bias's. So, striving to keep it quiet seems the best that I can do. In some ways 'happy' is just another thought, though it sets up the emotional level. These days I'm thinking 'happy' is the difference between what we expect/hope the world/outcomes to be and what it is. We'll gain greater contentment if give up constantly wanting things (and people to be) different then they are. There are gross wrongs that should irk us and call for action, but we have such hair triggers that its like living with an angry radio news shock jock, always on.

Not an expert, don't know you or much about your symptoms but here's my general philosophy: When things get strange and painful. Stop. Change a variable. In this case that is meditation. Stop meditating. At least for a while- weeks or months don't worry it'll be there later when you've worked out a few kinks. Instead do some long walks in nature, take a stroll in the grass with your shoes off. Do some nice long sets of exercise. Take a bath with Epsom salt or in a shower rub yourself down with some grainy salt. In other words, simple grounding practices as well as the basics, good diet, good sleep, keep it simple, nothing to strange.

Fascinating. I understand that there are pipes under the ground where the water 'hovers between a liquid and solid state. Then the pipes turn skywards, spraying the water into -20C air, using the bitter cold to freeze it as it falls to earth'. I still don't understand if it a pump is involved or due to physics and changes in temperature from night to day, the process runs by itself (I'd assume?). Seems to me the pipe would freeze up on top, but maybe not. High up things work differently.

Mine are 20, 19, 17 so a little late for me too but here's what I got. First do your best knowing, we all begin as noobes, feeling our way through a very complex situation with little sleep and much aggravation. Be gracious to yourself, knowing you'll make mistakes and sometimes kids cry for no particular reason.. or because we've screwed but its inevitable. (my child #2 had colic, 2 years crying..eating..crying..sleeping..crying- now smart happy adjusted young woman). The best gift for a toddler is a puppet. Few things bring out the smiles, hugs and play as well as a good puppet. We loved Sally the Snail, and Eek the Dolphin. Best interactive play toys ever. If you record everything, how much they eat, when how much poop, sleep patterns, it can give you a sense of control. We kept amazingly indepth records for our first. Didn't for the next, other then 'Let it live, Don't kill it, Your Turn' but it did seem to let us anticipate the first kids actions. We let our kids get dirty, play in the mud, climb trees. It seemed to make'em happy and its possible such dirt makes for better immune systems. Loved to Bjorn (papoose) the first kid, the others didn't take to it, but for many kids such snugness next to mom or dad and the natural movement and being outside is great. Having 3 kids very close together, meant we'd generally give 3 treats to one of them. They'd generally choose to share with others which led to a closer relations. Though there was always the odd 'I've got 3' then sprinting away. When older a tough but smart thing to do was limit electronics. None (TV, computer, tablets) Monday through Thursday, except as needed for homework. It took a few weeks of pain to get it through there heads, but it was worth it. Ending many fights and insuring good grades. With the last child, when the other 2 left for college we relaxed it, and I regret it. The hardest part of being a parent is discipline, but it has to be done. A spoiled child will not be happy and will make home life hard. Have rules, and clear consequences. Children should have responsibilities and chores. Big bonus in there life if they get jobs early, from pet watching, babysitting, raking, shoveling etc., Keep a leg in your kids world. If your kid loves Massive Online Games, familiarize yourself with them, same with any hobby your kid gets into. Make the effort to understand and be conversant in it. Give'em space but don't let there interests become too alien. Last eat meals together. Make the effort to have dinner most nights as a family. Discuss whats going on, discuss news. Talk, very important not to devolve into a TV watching, eat whenever deal; if it can be helped. And part of that is valuing family dinner above other commitments.

My first experience with kotodama, sacred sounds was Japanese, Old style Shinto stuff, from Aikido. It's founder, Morihei Ueshiba was a mystic who felt great power from chanting the vowels. There's a whole formal system. I later learned some Kaballic systems for chanting and felt it had much in common with Shinto. The book Ecstatic Kabbalah explores how and where sounds hit and stimulate your body. I've been to an Ashram or two, and in the morning and afternoon there is much singing and chanting. It's fun. Initially, the meanings are a bit of a turn off, ie we revere the blue skinned, 6 armed.. but personally I don't focus on it. Rather my enjoyment is harmonizing with the other voices, feeling the power and serenity there. Its good to know the meaning of the chant, but if you subscribe to there religion, then you should able to enjoy the chant as sacred sound, or (a little blasphemy but who cares) interpret the chant, symbolically in your own fashion, ie he says Krishna, I interpret, God, or the Universe or Loving force etc., Course if you subscribe to the religion, then best to follow its rules a little closer and more accurately. To higher ups these are specific messages to there Holy Incarnates. Which is why ultimately it's not a bad idea to find a chant that has proper meaning for you. I've settled with Rawn Clark hermetic YHVH canticle as my go to.

I'm reminded of a certain Kabbalic paradigm. It's not that there's one God in the universe. It's that the whole universe; all of time, thought, space and matter are within God's mind. We are.. (aspects within) God's dream. Personally such musings seem less valuable then the Dark Chocolate covered Espresso beans on my desk. Though both can keep me up on nights I indulge too deeply.

I'm a Newtonian Boy Living in a Quantum World.

never mind. (actually a call for politeness on this thread but worried such a simply plea would lead to trolls defending there trolling. i don't know about the tao, but the bickering and insults going on do the writers no credit )

I grew up watching Bozo. I admired the childishness, humor and gentle wisdom of the character. When I bought my first house Bozo, literally, lived on my block on the corner house. Thus I knew Bozo, I was a friend of Bozo, you people should only hope to be Bozo.

I find the morning shower to be a unique time to practice. It's early morning, our minds are clear, we are given often rare privacy and are in a unique echo chamber engulfed in the element of fluid change. Hopefully most people feel the power here, even if they have no practice. With one we can make it sacred time. I have a chant, really a canticle since its not only 'sung' but there's specific imagery which moves the attention inside and outside the body, as well as progressively more difficult levels of performing it. Really any singing from rock to opera has a purging/clearing affect in the shower. More so if it has longer vowel sounds, which gets closer to classical kotodama (sacred sounds). Thus an easy spiritual/physical act. We can go deeper by flipping the dial. I mean literally turning it to cold. Here we face discomfort, even an illusory sense of pain. Yet we can accept it, the benefits of facing our discomfort/fear is stimulation that enhances our wakefulness and immune system. <note imo cold showers best done slowly, warm, cold, warm, working up gradually>

I've heard loofahs work well for dry brushing. I think Daniel Reid recommended them for such in one of his Tao books. Also use a light touch, and keep the loofah dry and clean.

Reminds me of the quote, the difference between crazy and wise is timing and who you discuss things with.

Back on subject- mostly now w/ Spoiler alert addons Supposedly Sept/Oct of 2017 we should see DEFENDERS w/ Daredevil, Iron fist and Luke Cage and new comer Squirrel Girl coming together. After that Daredevil breakaway- The Punisher Season 1 Mostly a cooking show where Frank explores Veganism then Jessica Jones Season 2, Early 2018 - Explores Jessica's bi-sexual side, note new MA rating. in Fall 2018 Daredevil Season 3 Where Daredevils killed in first minute and replaced by female clone after that Luke Cage Season 2 Finds out his mother is Amish and goes to Pennsylvania to explore his heritage. No sign of Iron Fist dos, but that may be a good thing. Defender appearances will probably run through all the subsequent solo seasons too. I think Marvel and Netflix deserve high applause for the general quality of all the series. They're setting a high bench mark for what a non-network can do.

http://www.sciencealert.com/solar-power-is-now-the-cheapest-energy-in-the-world It's official: solar became the cheapest source of new energy in lower-income countries this year, giving both companies and governments alike another reason to ditch coal and gas for renewables. Data from Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) show that the average price of solar energy in almost 60 countries dropped to US$1.65 million per megawatt during 2016, just below wind at US$1.66 million per megawatt. That's based on average prices across 58 emerging markets, including China, India, and Brazil, and it means renewable energy will be an increasingly attractive way to go for companies investing in new power plants in the future. "Solar investment has gone from nothing ... five years ago to quite a lot," BNEF analyst Ethan Zindler told Tom Randall at Bloomberg. "A huge part of this story is China, which has been rapidly deploying solar." Bloomberg Last year, China invested $103 billion in solar projects, more than the US ($44.1 billion), the UK ($22.2 billion), and Japan ($36.2 billion) put together. Prices have also been dropping at auctions, where private firms bid against each other for big electricity contracts. In January, a new record was hit in India with a contract to supply solar power for $64 per megawatt-hour (MWh), and by August, that had dropped all the way to $29.10 per megawatt-hour.

That reminds me. I haven't used them in a while, but Salt Rubs; Sea or Kosher salt often in almond oil, make for nice showers. Rubbing the oily salt vigorously on your skin, wakes you up (especially if you have a sore) and is uniquely cleansing. Plus it's always nice to get anointed . You shower it off afterwards, but the oil sticks on your body, moisturizing it for awhile. Not a bad idea to warn the next person what you've done. The floor gets slippery.

Are you Sure? You don't want to fly down to SanFrancisco or whereever and ask for paper work, double check the numbers, get lie detector tests.. a home inspector.. witnesses who'll collaborate.. You can't be too careful or use too many charts.

Interesting. In extremities one can do evil things, while not becoming evil. When we enjoy it or it becomes an easy option, then we're treading down a dark path. Best we minimize it and do positive actions to restore balance in ourselves and our environment. I also don't think we're 50% good and evil. Evil gets a lot of press because its easier and faster to destroy then build but while we can be callous to strangers, by and by, most people are good. I'm reminded of a Jewish teaching on the Good (giving) Inclination and the Bad (selfish) inclination, where all character traits run the gamut between them. There is a saying that without the Bad (selfish) inclination the world would be dull and tasteless. It gives us ambition, the drive for family and do great (or horrible) things come from it; its a wellspring of our individuality. Too much of the selfish inclination is Bad but some.. is helpful; like pride can be good, egotism is bad. Standing up for yourself is good, being a bully is bad. The parable goes without it we'd lose our individuality and drive for family. Course humanity is rarely in danger of that, most often the case in this world and we live too much for ourselves and the world is worse for it and so are we. Yet we've seen some of the nastiest regimes in modern history, tell their people will share and be equal, or we'll kill you, and then they do.

They seem very complimentary to me. Some forms of yoga get into long holds on position thus getting a bit zhan zhuangish.

Every year I tell myself, I will build/buy a trellis system for my plants to hang on, and every year I wait, either forgetting to or putting it off so long I rip off productive branches trying to my plants into hoops. This year I say again- I will have a good trellis system. That's what separates the greens from the fiends.

There has got to be an amazing story on how you went from teepee to large powerboat. If you have time and the inclination, I'd love to read about it.

The world is too much with us. Modern news is a distillation of all the bad things happening in our town and our world. Too much news, creates impotence. A feeling of powerlessness. Being at peace, centered, then doing something that helps another is.. the opposite. We should be practicing more then reading (or writing) about practice. We should be helping others, more then reading about problems across the world. Do what you can do, where you are. A great man once said 'Making a cup of tea, I stop the war'. Karma yoga, turn off the news and volunteer to help others, or just look for opportunities during the day to brighten other peoples lives. We're not superheros, but being good people is enough. I find Gratitude and Generosity are essential in this world, but easy to forget about in day to day life. Be grateful, give thanks; appreciate what you have- from not being in pain, to having enough to eat and all in between. Often the best expression of gratitude is passing it on, being generous, even when its a smile or going a little out of the way to help another. Being Generous we build a better world, being grateful, we stop to enjoy it. And Red Cairo, that includes being good to yourself.

I rarely use soap or shampoo. Instead I thoroughly rub and scrub myself and my crannies in the shower. I massage my scalp, run my hands repeatedly up and down my torso. I think my hair and scalp look better for it. I used to have dandruff, but using cold water and much fewer shampoos (once or twice a month) have knocked it out, better then any medicated shampoo I've ever used. Course, this is me. Your mileage will vary.

Yet when you look at the individual cases, sometimes, you find, it's simple nepotism not racism nor reverse racism. A director likes an actor knows they're talented, has worked with them before and casts them, fans and purist be damned.

Here is the story with a little more depth and context- http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/04/taiwan-dog-cat-meat-animal-welfare-china-korea/ Good news, though Taiwan had banned slaughtering cats and dogs back in 1998. This is putting more 'teeth' into it with bigger fines and harsher sentences.

Show them the highest possibilities Teach and inspire them to get there. Leave them to become there own master.