thelerner

We can only repeat this so many times. Most people here don't have strong feelings about Mo Pai, its no more counter culture then most arts around here. But some the practitioners tend to insult other arts, thus set up a cycle where people criticize there's. That's the problem I see. In my opinion the Panda guy exemplified this by going to random threads to tell them how ignorant there were. Doing it on constant basis. It created ire and people naturally piled on against him. It wasn't Mo Pai it was his obnoxiousness. There's no conspiracy other then politeness. The 'in' crowd is pretty much everyone who shows respect for others and there arts. Its not a hard clique to get into. You don't have to agree, this site is about discussion and argument, but there's a line where behavior becomes obnoxiousness and there is Mo Pai 'clique' that constantly passes over that line, imo.

He is distinctive .

In Western thinking an opposite is the total lack of it counterpart, whereas In Tao opposites create each other and are intimately linked. Too much yin creates yang. Its the realization that things cycle. As seasons pass elemental forces create and destroy, changing into each other. This is (imo) at the heart of Eastern strategy, arts and medicine. from fivelementtraining.com

This captures my view pretty well.

life happens. crap happens. i've found the best way to move on is to have a plan b and c available. CC555, you've got real skills. Sooner or later you'll find the right place to put them to use.

I was going to put in a flip obnoxious post like.. 'I agree, today I won't hit any woman', but it's too serious problem. As far as I can tell the only long term answer is parents teaching there children, not to give abusers a second chance. Once they see a sign of mental or physical nastiness leave the relationship, leave it early, leave it completely. Do not give abusers chance after chance. Do not assume they'll change, blame it on circumstances, or get caught up in a manic cycle of abuse then gifts/tenderness.

You know Drew's new handle is Conspirachi. I think I spelled it right.

Netflix is showing Marvel's Jessica Jones. Just finished the 13 show series and wanted more. Good quality, well paced, very noir look at a partially broken would be hero. Just as good as Netflix's Daredevil, with less action more angst and mood.

Welcome Virtue tends to leave peace and harmony in its wake. Maybe we should judge an action by its fruits.

Hawaii, I'm not to particular about the school or person. Sure I'd find something worthwhile there and have fun looking . Seriously, sometimes in wandering you find the greatest treasures. specially in Hawaii .

I'm not sure you understand my point or are just covering up insecurity with sarcasm. The problem with your thinking is its all or nothing. Its all true or its all false. In my view, hell I explained it in my first post here a couple pages ago. Ultimately I think the 'its all true pov' is naive and gullible. So is the opposite. I've only stated a dozen times that John Chang is a legitimate master and healer. Does that means he is above playing some tricks on gullible Westerns, no, not in my opinion. That what hooks people like you. He can legitimately do some things. But when its not enough to be a healer have some electrical discharge ability, its not enough for Westerns raised on Castaneda and superheros. He needs more to impress you and thus the trickery and stories begin. Whereas in the East they're not needed.

<edited Poor etiquette on my part to bring Jim into the discussion. Perhaps I wrote poorly. Admittedly I am no expert, far from it and just putting down my suspicions. Still sometimes a little distance from the matter allows a truer view. What I believe is Kosta was writing down (truthfully) what Chang told him. What Chang included ( imo) was stories and legends. It was .. romanticized.. someone said it best when they wrote earlier, most martial and family arts have a 'real' tradition and a legendary one. At the time Kosta was writing with stars in his eyes. What I'm getting at is Chang is capable of more then electro shocks, but less then what some of his demonstrations suggest. .. helped along the plot of wizard level something versus wizard level whatever in a death battle, but real.. I don't think so. I do think Mopai has juice to it but so do other arts. And those arts have real teachers, authors who actually practice the art, who teach and explain the niceties and complexities and keep people from screwing themselves up. Get people into deeper dharmas, change them, evolve them even humble them. The best proof, I suppose, will lie in the future. We will see if those working with Mo Pai get the power to knock over small empty boxes as long as Chang and friends are in the room. Will they attain the powers they long for? Dunno, we will see. Not that I care much. I like Buddhists view that obsessing with powers is a distraction, and the Taoist one to keep it natural, follow and connect to nature's rhythms.

Keep it simple. I like it. I'd you here toward Ajahn Brahms. Simple, yet definitive classic practice- Start here and look up his other books and audio karma talks on the web http://www.holybooks.com/simply-this-moment-ajahn-brahm/ 321 page download Simply this Moment and his audios http://www.diydharma.org/search/node/ajahn%20brahm witty and accessible, and it you follow it and apply it to your life pretty deep. The approach is more Buddhist and meditative then Taoish and Qi Gong, but you follow a peaceful path with Jhanas, which is pretty good.

Often before meditating I'll do a vispassana dialog with myself. I am not my body - I'm that which inhabits it I am not thoughts- they are ephemeral, like clouds passing through the sky I'm not my emotions - I acknowledge them and let them pass like circles in a pond. I am not my.. past.. future.. family.. possessions.. it goes on like that. I usually end it with I am breath and awareness. The repetition has helped me when I've had dreams where I die. Given me enough space to relax and see what's next. Last year I had a stint put into a heart artery. I wasn't knocked out all the way and distinctly heard the surgeon say 'Well this isn't going very well'. Maybe it was the anesthesia but while my initial thought was 'That sucks', I remained calm and kept in a space of lets see what's next.

Hmnn, probably with a whack That's what I like about Zen Buddhism.

hmnn, what's the value of x? and what spot does it mark?

<edited a bit You know what I think..? I think Kosta was telling the truth and Chang was .. romanticizing. That answer puts together all the pieces of the puzzle, imo. I think Chang is a master, great healer, can do the electro shocks with his body. But I don't think that's enough to impress Westerners, to separate him out. Attaining such mastery is a long and pretty boring journey. Hours and hours of daily practice over decades.. to master the art and healing. And in his country it doesn't overly impress people. Westerns are smart but they also very gullible. Since the early 70's we have the Castaneda effect going on. People looking for wonder and powers. It leads to bad ends, Castaneda certainly did, for himself and his closest followers. Good books though, but they're invented hodge podge created by an anthropology major. I think, not sure, so are some of the stories Chang told Kosta. He added legitimate practices from Mo Pai, but also stories, not lies exactly, romantification I call it, and he's not the only high level guy guilty of it. The fighting off natives, secret books, wizardly battles are romanticized. I think if we went to Indonesia, saw real practitioners and visited there school we wouldn't find people levitating stuff or doing pyrokinesis. We'd fine an excellent and deep school of gigong. I could be wrong but that's what I got.

I guess what people are saying is a man can be head heavy, in two ways. If you feel wobbly or off balance, move to the center.

Maybe 20 years ago I took an intro course with him when he was going through Chicago. I find him an important pioneering figure in spreading Taoist meditation. I think he's real and well meaning, yet damned by trying to take esoteric arts to the masses when they're best taught in smaller personal venues. Much is lost in mass produced books and videos. Those who have been able to take classes with him, indepth and regularly seem to fair quite well as do those who practice with full integrity. His books and videos promise much and I think people who study with him, do get amazing results but those picking a video who read the glowing reviews (which I'm sure are real) and think going through a book and practicing for a few weeks or few months without live teacher feedback are going to reach any great heights are going to consider it phoney. It's not him, its not even them, its trying to learn from book. A few can, but most won't or can't take it that deep. In short, if you can practice with him or one of his past hard core students (I like Michael Winn) it'd probably be worthwhile. Note opinions will differ, but we do (did) have people here who took Chia's teachings far and deep.

Sounds good, keep it up. People tend to be way to head heavy, keep things on the down low and we're much more in flow.

That's why you listen well and 'blink' your eyes open when you feel.. something. Every 8 or 10 steps is every few seconds. As you trust yourself it gets longer. With practice you walk straighter and find the cyclists, skateboarders make enough noise to spot early.

Funny you should mention walks, last weekend I was getting into something I used to work on. Walking with eyes closed. I'd start by taking 8 steps then 'blink' them open, then 10, then 12 steps, finally walking for as long as I felt comfortable before sneaking a quick peek. It's an interesting combination of paranoia and peacefulness.

This might not be what you're looking for, but these days I'm bastardizing some of what I'm learning in the Wim Hof cold adaption method. He likes doing some exercises with breath holds. I'll do 10 easy push ups against an incline, like a table or counter, then 10 more with deep quick breaths, breathing big when I go down, out when as I come up for 10. The last 10 I'll do holding my breath after exhaling. I'll probably increase it to 15/15/15 soon. Not particularly spiritual but I like the single page 'sheet' exercises at darebee.com . From 'superhero' workout sequences to ones with specific ideals, they might have a sequence that looks good to you. I'm currently working with there K-Sculpt workout that uses kettlebells.

For staying connected to some old friends and for keeping an ear on certain events (for me Burning Man & Wim Hoff group..) Facebook has been important. Not something to use every day. Or even post much in, but good for keeping tabs.

Perhaps the greatest loss in the modern world is the loss of camaraderie. Be it the close knit family that eats together, or the bonding group- be it church, temple, 'secret' club even regulars at a bar. We've gotten too busy and its a soul deep loss when we don't have it. The solution is simple. Take the time, find the group and if you can't, roll up your sleeves and create yourself.