thelerner

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.

Its the exact same in the martial art world. We are right to hold masters in high esteem but put them up too high on a pedestal and we risk getting crushed. For them and for us the worst thing we can do is pretend our flaws (or crazy) are somehow signs of progress. Or worse that our insights allow us to rise above common morality. On the third hand when you're a star in any field, 1,000s of people want your time and act like they deserve it. To protect it you get a little callused. So some degree of aloofness comes with the territory.

Welcome. I've taken classes with Michael Winn and been very impressed with him. Be aware there are many groups of people here. Many positive, some negative and depending on the subject we tend to flip around. So if you find negativity, understand in some cases its people making assumptions without experiencing the teacher. Plus a fair amount of chauvinism that only there system is the true one.

Meditation is good. Lots of benefits to it. Try a few styles, see if one clicks with you. Most people do just fine and don't need any special precautions. Though in the beginning once you've learned to quiet your mind, the thoughts you do notice will seem louder. Then the job is to accept and quiet them, til there's another layer.. A few people do too much too soon or are particularly sensitive. In both cases, just slow down or even stop for a while. Ground.. take a walk in nature, do some exercise. Don't obsess. In the case of energy style meditation where you move energy around your body, its good to have a live teacher. Though many of us started without one. But there especially when the going gets hot or strange, back it down a few notches or stop. The easiest meditations (imo) are hypnotic audios, guided meditations things like yoga nidra's or even biaurals sounds. All of which put you in a trance state. While fun and useful, ultimately they're crutches that have to be dropped and the student has to learn to sit quietly, face and tame ones mind.

Where you use the word force, I see the word law. We live in a nation of laws, you'll like some not others. There are countries you can go to without them, but they tend to be very nasty. Also its not about liking people. You don't have to like those with a different accents.., but you can't legally discriminate against them in terms of housing and employment. Maybe that's the point you don't understand. You think there's mind police forcing you to 'like' others, maybe at gun point or something. You have the freedom to be prejudiced and bigoted, just not for some legal and commercial transactions. It's not about the world. Its about countries making laws to protect there citizens, even the minorities against bigotry. They're not forcing you to like people, but for certain legal transaction, you have to treat people equally. All in all, such laws make these countries better places for everyone to live. Where could you go to escape from these draconian rules against discrimination in the work place and housing? Most of the civilized world would be abhorrent to you. There is a reason you'd have to leave kinder gentler places and look for dictatorships and nasty places to find your logical society where prejudices can flourish. Probably you'd find it a nightmare. As I see it, most people want to live in progressive countries with laws that protect minorities. You keep going back to 'gun pointed at my head', being forced, and violence becoming acceptable. So much fear. addin> on the third hand, I admire your bravery in standing up for the very libertarian view you believe in and the vigor and consistency you have in defending it.

Good question. My answer: They'll have to learn to respect others, even minorities. Actually many (most?) do already. Prejudice will/is still be very easy to get away with. Ultimately you can't legislate it away, but civilization is evolving mostly towards tolerance. Not quickly, but for the past few generations have been much more tolerant, in general, then there predecessors. Course often that was a low bar. Karl.. I'm guessing you're a white dude, as am I. You have no idea what its like to be turned down for jobs and housing because of your color. No clue to the fear that comes about losing your job if people find out your gay. Thankfully, modern civilization is turning the tide against man's prejudices. You are gonna be forced to live in a society where you can't discriminate based on sex, color, religion or sexual preference. Get used to it. No one is gonna put a gun to your head, but if you just get in the habit of showing people respect, you won't even notice. It really is a good thing.

me too, yet the call to go bland has a certain masochistic appeal to me. Later this year I'll have to try it for a few days or a week. Keep it simple, mostly one food at a time.

Turning dark to light I fool myself once again Only mind changes

When you are losing an argument your writing becomes even more exaggerated and twisted. If the only way to rationalize your beliefs is to see the other side putting guns to peoples head then you might want to adjust your beliefs a little closer to reality. Laws against discrimination are not a magic wand, but they've worked for woman and minorities. Perhaps if you were in a minority that faced discrimination or straight out ban on where you could work, live or marry you'd gain a little more sympathy. Maybe even hope for a law that would help you and yours.

and always changing and always returning back my awareness stays

Yoga for the first, there is life time of study and refinement possible there. Tougher skin.. Golden Bell/Shield qi gong. Not the easiest style to find but its out there.

People should have the right not to be discriminated against. If this seems like being 'forced' to some, then they'd better get out of the way because the wave of modernity and social justice is going wipe them away. Sorry if its a burden but you'll have to treat them as you would anyone else. It's like you are under the opinion that homosexuals can walk into a place and demand a job, automatically get an apartment or force you to marry them. They can't. Its all about creating a level playing field because for generations, they'd be black balled from all of the above. There are fundamentalists who've cried foul and pain over having to give equality to woman, other religions and people of color. They're going to have to suck it up again and take on live and let live attitude. Believe me, it'll do'em some good.

Mantras, don't step into a shower without one. I'm surprised everyone doesn't have a mantra, prayer or song that they do in the shower. The quiet, privacy and acoustics really amplify there power.

On a sexuality basis, I've always thought we swim in a soup of hormones from birth. They put us on a spectrum that runs male to female with most falling towards the ends but not all. Some are in the middle some, a few, at extremes from there gender. There may be environmental pressures that might be mixing up the usual odds a little, ie more estrogen and various chemicals in food, probably not a good thing. On there the other hand there is also an openness in society to be who you are. That, in my opinion, is a good thing.

I'll throw in Michael Winn of Healing Tao USA, just google him and he had youtube videos. I also like Michael Lomax as Brian mentioned. Just the few changes in how to sit were well worth the seminar. Max Christenson and his system is worth experiencing. If you have an interest in Buddhism, especially the deeper side with jhanas and want a teacher who's both contemporary and has a great sense of humor google Ajahn Brahms. He has many free dharma talks for download and even some books. Two points. It good to look around and experiment to see what connects with you, but ultimately you have to 'marry' one system. Though you can still flirt with others occasionally. Also, As I've gotten older I've been focused on less potent systems, getting back to just sitting. Nothing wrong with keeping it simple. Last thing, its nice to have a chanting system in your portfolio for when you're in the shower.

Instead of being scared, how lucky to see it and what a great opportunity to look for pieces. Provided you survive the initial bombardment ofcourse, which are actually pretty damn good.

bump, its been a couple of years. Maybe some new answers & ideas.

I forget the name of it. Either Waldo or Magic Inc, but in the 1940s sci fi writer Robert Heinlein wrote a short story about society poisoning itself through there invisible energy waves.

I've thought it might cool to come up with some sort of 'way of the needle' practice. To be able to put a needle through the web between your thumb and pointer finger without pain or much blood. Nothing too rad. Some sort of gradual biofeedback series of lessons, maybe using self hypnosis. Course I read a book about Jack Schwarz when I was young. I'm doing the Wim Hof method 10 week course now, it'd be fascinating to see more courses that deal with biofeedback and hacking the body and brain.

One of my kids tended to fall quite a bit. I don't think it bothered them too much, it didn't seem to hurt them either. While not graceful, they fell well. They grew out of it. If you think it's serious you can take her to a pediatrician but like many things, kids/toddlers simply grow out of it. They may have taken after me. When I was a kid I saw specialist and ended up bouncing balls with each hand and having an eye patch on each eye for a while. That was back in the late 1960's so maybe things have changed since them. Course bouncing a ball never goes out of style.