thelerner

Should there be a modifier, ie be true to your best self? Or do you lose power by neglecting your shadowside?

Turtles and Trains all the way down.

From what I've been hearing Detroit is getting better. Though its got quiet ways to go, but its been climbing out of a deep hole.

Speaking of flagging awareness, I'm assuming its a guy, but wouldn't bet the ranch on it. Ie, the face, the hands seem masculine yet the outfit could be feminine.. addon> more flutes on the ground by the amplifier. So, its a good guess Inuit(?) flute performance. Shoes are interesting. They're modern, new, sneakers, white and blue. Earrings on both ears. Dark shadows under nose and lip tend to imply facial hair and man.. The other woman is expensively dressed. The hat is fancy, well made and could have fur strips, nice high heeled shoes, expensive Bag KV(?) and shopping at a place with an UK net address.

The person in native clothes (Inuit?) is wearing a flute and there's an equalizer/sound machine in the background so I believe they are performing. The person next to them does look like a well to do (Russian?). There are wide range of Indian and Inuit tribes in the Northern islands and climes. They're performing and the woman is well to do local taking a picture with them.

Any books in the list you particularly liked or recommend? Addon, many of them are pretty short. May as well peruse through myself.

well.. it's quieter for one thing. Much more peaceful. Frankly, I like it. Live in one of the buildings with a family. Each person gets there own 1,000 sft apartment. Awesome. As long as there's good internet and a Starbucks nearby, sign me up.

They are a very practical people.

To notice and remember coincidence is to hone awareness. Whether random or the universes subtle message system, its a good skill to develop. I collect old 'wheaty' pennies. I've found 2 of them the last 2 months, a 1936 and a 1946. They're increasingly rare enough so that people go years without finding one. My secret.. I like them, I look.. I've collected a few hundred of them in change. I find coins on the street all the time. Today it was some strange oriental coin. I'll ponder what message the find might represent, with dimes being bad luck. I don't always follow it, but I like the philosophy to treat waking life more as a dream, and take dreams as serious messages.

I'd kinda prefer it she stayed active for a bit.

Hmnn, evolution.. connection.. bottle of bourbon by my side and 10 thousand light years thataway is a cloud of alcohol 1,000 times the size of our solar system. holding 400 trillion trillion pints. We could turn Jupiter and Saturn into Juniper berries to make it Gin. Or life.. alcohol being an organic compound a possible building block for life. My bottle releases scents of burnt caramel and vanilla The alcohol cloud is theorized to smell of strawberries One day we'll look and it will be gone. Just as I know one day this bottle will be. http://mentalfloss.com/article/51271/there-are-giant-clouds-alcohol-floating-space http://io9.gizmodo.com/5911365/how-alcohol-is-formed-naturally-in-space

Those who embrace the darker narcissistic side of YOLO tend to live shorter, often unhappier lives. Life tends to echo your character around you. We're not God, but we build our lives around us. We can choose to give it meaning and live our ideals. And along the way I postulate, kindness, helping others, sharing.. kindergarten stuff is way more important and leads to greater satisfaction then shiny toys and ego puffery. So even if the truth is less then merging with dao, if our existence is a light switch turning off and our bodies merely worm food, even then a life well lived has meaning. Imo, we can't ever really be sure, the universe may be kinder and multidimensional then we know.

Question.. country by country in the East, how wide spread is the belief in reincarnation? In India is it the norm? How about China (always the elephant in the room) and Japan.. Cambodia..?? Extra credit if you match the belief to its specific religion.

It's just propaganda and photoshop. Be strong, picture them in glasses. and when they take you away, call me for a character reference.

At minute 16 Isis starts a deadly forest fire to kill off a man in a bear suit. Why is ISIS always so cruel.

I like the theory that a close ancestor of ours spent time in the swamps. A few thousand maybe 10's of 1,000's of years which made us naked apes (fur being impractical due to dry cleaning costs), with bigger brains that ate fish and were good for cooling. Some mammals like whales and dolphins headed out to sea, we spent time in the swamp, then came back to land. Can't say its a well received theory, but its out there and I'd put $2 bucks on it.

I tend to agree with Marblehead. Postulating aliens just moves the football back a few yards, til its punted by default to either a supernatural cause or given incalculable space and time random factors aligning just so. I think 'moderns' tend to substitute Aliens for Angels/Gods. Bringing the same problems with them. Whether its either, I hold there secrecy against them. Mankinds love of heroic literature points to a need and acceptance for a such a uniting figure.

I'm probably wrong, but I hear this as the eternal cry of teenagers everywhere railing against the injustice of there parents rule (or more likely I'm just personalizing it). One rule of thumb is if you have to make a Hitlerian comparisons then the thing you're trying to rationalize is probably not good. Generally lies for personal gain, are bad. In my view they tend to be a bit slipping down the hill of morality. It feels like you're saving something but in the end you'll find yourself in a bad place. Hmnn, perhaps in Taoist terms, bad Te. Taoist default towards simple and lies move away from that. Lies to help others.. suppose it depends on the situation. Sometimes taking the punishment, just or not, makes you a little stronger person and you can move on from the incident. What seems bad now, won't be so bad later, just a part of life's craziness. And craziness happens. Don't go to extremes to avoid it all, suck it up, clear your mind, keep going forward. In taoist terms, wu wei, do nothing, take the punishment, and if you ignore the mental anguish that we create for ourselves, we find its not so bad. Sometimes in the course of life its actually barely a minor hiccup, though at the time its full of drama. On the other hand if its serious, you've weighed the consequences and worst case scenarios then taoism is also about skillful means, learning to harmonize in your environment. If certain actions will create a more harmonious place then it might make sense. I kinda feel the Golden rule is still in effect, how would feel if others lied to you in a similar situation? And how would it be if you kept having to repeat the lie.

Don't know about the Dog Whisperer (like the show & I don't have a dog) but I can understand authorities wanting to break into a cell phone that was used by a murdering couple which might have leads.

You guys are so skeptical. I don't think Jaromir's going to like what you've wrote.

I'm all for the block that is simultaneously an attack. That's (one of) the heart of the Aiki sword. I suppose body motion, is often the difference between the 2.

Scary thing is, I pretty much agree with the first video. Usually his videos are total parodies, yet what he says here about the upper block is, in my book, true. Blocking when you're close enough to get hit is playing a dangerous game of reflexes. Better to move in, move out or shift your body.

I don't have a horse in this race, but I assume Winn & Chia's beliefs are not 'made up', that they can be found in some (ancient) branches writings on Taoist soul cosmology.

Source: KTVK-3 TV News

Michael S. you're preaching traditional old style Kara te. Which is what I learned doing Shotokan in the late 70's. Some modern dojo's have gotten increasingly influenced by boxing (& MMA) these days. Not without reason but it hurts the purity of the art, imo. Some styles had wonderful kata's filled with dynamic tension that built muscle and general toughness.