thelerner

Yawning's great, nature's way of teaching us deep breathing and dynamic tension. Early on during meditation my eyes tear, and my nose runs. I've always thought of it as a relaxation response and/or an overcompensation for not getting as much sleep as I should.

It'd be a good practice to take time to look deeper into; What am I- Afraid of: Greedy for: What attracts me: What do I avoid?..

Congratulations, that's great. I might ask him, What are the sign posts of progress? Similarly, what are signs of problems with our practice? You know what else I might ask, if you get the right moment.. something like 'I live in cityX, we're known for, somethingY, is there anything you'd like that I can bring or send to you?' Beyond being a master these guys are also people. There may be certain things in your town, maybe a travel book or food item that they'd like for themselves or a relative. Its a great way to start a relationship with them and/or just express gratitude.

None for me yet. Other then to finish up the Wim Hof 10 Week program in under 3 3 1/2 months. Get back on track with regular exercising. And take advantage of the Chicago, the plays, music and special events there. I'd like to bike more, kayak more, write more. Suppose I should put specificity to those wants.

Avoid “Us vs. Them” mentalities like the plague. http://highexistence.com/50-life-secrets-and-tips-pt-3/ “Us vs Them” mentalities might be the single greatest source of hatefulness, violence, and war in human history (i.e. things that suck for everyone). We evolved to form groups, but when we over-identify with our ingroups to the point of developing group narcissism, we tend also to begin directing animosity and hostility toward outgroups. We begin to see the world as a collection of groups that are necessarily in conflict with one another. We create a world of good guys and enemies, and in this separation we sow the seeds of aggression and violence.

'Cept for the dim mak, seems like you've accomplished all your new year goals already!

I hope I am.. <unless I'm in a boat>

You don't seem like no noob to me. Your just sitting is pretty impressive. Moving qi gong routines compliment sitting nicely. I'll often point people towards a simple one like Pangu demonstrated here. Few are simpler. It may not look it but it hooks you up to some nice energy:

cloudy in Chicago yesterday, so no chance. One day I'll drive north and north and north til I can't drive no more and see the colorful lights blazing in the sky.

What do you do when all men doubt you?When even 2 or 3 guys doubt me I'll often spend some time considering that they could be right and ponder what I could have done to handle the situation or philosophy with more skillful means. When everyone doubts me I'll usually fall back on the truism 'The opposite of a great truth, is another great truth', odds are we're approaching a problem and looking from 2 different angles.

The Tao is a path. You can fill it up with all the thoughts you want, positive, negative, self loathing.. whatever. Thoughts don't mean much other then making you feel good or bad temporarily. What matters is are you on path? Are you heading somewhere? Figure out where you want to go. Often a pencil and some paper are your best tools. Start easy and keep going. Sometimes when life hands you lemons, its time to get a new life. And that takes bravery, energy, planning and chutzpah. But you can do it.

Look at the one long enough You see infinity. Look at infinity long enough You see emptiness. byme

Well Nungali, I did buy the Aerospace 3.0 for you. Matter of fact I bought 2! Unfortunately while flying to your place, they crashed together.. sniff sniff.. now I have none . So just wanted to say Merry Christmas & Nungali, you owe me 2 aircraft. love Michael

We've lost so much intimate connection with the sky. Go back a couple hundred years and probably all mankind knew the stars and planets like there own neighborhood. The heavens were literally the greatest show on earth. Unfortunately living in a modern city, the stars are barely visible. Even worse, there are so many distractions that spending hours looking up, with eyes and spirit is rarely done.

we tend to pay taxes several times a day. Every time we buy things as well as for.. listen to the Beatles song Taxman https://youtu.be/MbQiVQuiu04. Your 'values' seem to be that paying taxes makes you a victim, going so far as using a Nazi comparison. Seems like a bad way to live thinking you're being robbed every day, several times a day and not appreciating any of the services you get for it. You realize it's not about where you live? If you left your province, you'd still end up paying taxes and living under another governments laws, regulations and tax structure. Nobody likes it but its part of the social contract we make to live in our civilization. Other then a fantasy in your head is there a place where there's no taxes, regulations or laws you'd have to follow? <and would you be strong enough to defend your stuff against others who live there> Your values are you want to be a total libertarian.? Pay no taxes, follow no laws or regulations unless you voluntarily agree to them before hand. Fine, but you don't live that way, rather you live and complain loudly that the world doesn't match your anarchic utopia. It seems.. pointless. There are guys here who actively seeking out or at least researching anarchic utopia's. Which is great, I've actually written up some of the Anarchic communities in the Anarchy thread. Personally I'm a Burner so I live a week or two outside the constrains of many societal rules. (Nice place to visit, but Burning Man is not long term sustainable) You want Utopian community you have to be the one who moves, cause society isn't going to change for you. Getting back to the OP, its silly to live your life hating- thinking your being ripped off by the Sicilian mafia and your a Jew to to a Nazi government. If you truly feel that way, that's awful.

What you consider 'high ideals' are what I consider living in fantasy world. One where the Sicilian mafia is robbing you several times a day, every single day of your life. Course you admit yourself you don't live your high ideals, you just complain bitterly and with great exaggeration about how things are.

I bumped it up in the 'Group Studies' section. Here is a link to the 'Secret Smile' practice by Glenn Morris - http://thedaobums.com/topic/9719-dr-morriss-secret-smile-breathing-basic-kap-1-giri-for-the-tao-bumbs/?p=116420 Its a great exercise to brighten up ones mind, body and spirit, one I should do more of.

bump. Someone was talking about the Inner Smile practice and thought this is a powerful similar kind of practice.

and yet, you compromise by living in a society that does those things. I assume you further compromise your high ideals by taking advantage of the many benefits that come from taxation.. like streets, public education, even such things as clean air. There are crimes that morally anger me, but taxation and distribution are part of the social contract we make. They are unpleasant realities but I don't think they rise to the level of hatred. You can avoid'em by going to a third world country where life is more caveat emptor.

Well if it makes you feel any better the US's last nuclear test was in 1992, over 23 years ago. With treaties and cutting edge computers they're not really needed. Its shocking there were as many as 140 in 1961. Much of it was simply an expensive dangerous cold war pissing contest between the US and Russia with France being curiously high, perhaps a Napoleonic complex from - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_weapons_testing A summary table of all the nuclear testing that has happened since 1945 is here: Worldwide nuclear testing counts and summary.

Tearing down other people's religions is easy. Maybe there was a time it was intellectual or even brave. These days I think it is those who are religious who are the brave ones.

Life happens and we catch people at there worst. When random factors align in horrible ways and people.. we, do bad things. What we see is only a tiny slice of the reality there, people caught in a bad instance. When someone hits a child or does something that seems pretty evil, its good to breathe out the anger, clear the head, create a little mental space that acknowledges you don't know all the factors going on right then and there. Without that pause we're likely to add and make the situation worse. Fighting is easy, moving towards peace is hard. That's not saying you don't act (if you have to fight- fight, let the universe decide), it's saying gain a little control over the fight or flight hormones running through your body so you can think clearly. Breathe out the anger. It allows your first words and your presence to be less confrontation and opens up options beyond a straight up pissing match and fight.

I see hate in similar terms as anger. Don't deny it when its felt but don't feed it either. See if if you can figure out if its correctly aimed, its roots and pay special attention to the role you played in it. Then don't let if fester, that's the worst thing you can do. If you can't get over it, then strategize, come up with a something you can do preferably positive (or not) to move the situation in a better direction. If there's nothing you can do about it, then either focus on doing some good somewhere else or work on controlling your mind better. Do not be controlled by the whims of your emotions.

Seasons Greetings and wishes for a fun and productive New Year to all.

I've always found you can find something useful from darn near everybody. Doesn't mean you want to pick up there whole system, but there are excellent forms and ideas you can pick up from most teachers who have been out there for few decades.