thelerner

Like the OP I'd say contentment and boredom. Doesn't seem so bad to me. .

One thing I miss about formal group meditation practice is I don't have a sensei correcting my posture, which even after years tended to be every 4rth or 5th time.

I was taught good science tells us what makes up the world. And good religion tells us how to relate to it.

Just downloaded it 2 days ago. Not too much different. I immediately started to get emails from google alerting me someone was trying to log into my email account. I got like 4 of those messages, scary until I looked on the map of where the logger on was. It was my house, updating the system made google forget my computer.. I think. I loved my igoogle home page until google discontinued it. These days I use Ighome to set up similar screens with all my interests.

I just bought a big bag of goji berries for $5 from a local ethnic grocery store. You get away from those who label items as exotic super foods and you can find some really good deals.

hmm.. maybe you should work on grounding type things. Long walks in nature, sweaty work outs, putting attention in the dan tien (also rubbing the area in a circle) after meditation.

I strive for liberosis.

Rawn Clark (abardoncompanion.com) talked about a group of higher level Hermetic magicians he'd get together with on an astral dream plane. As I recall he said they'd talk by phone afterwards to double check on details of discussion. He made it seem like its pretty high up there as far as dream work goes.

Makes sense, later you'd need to get something to rid yourself of the cat problem. Then it'd bigger and bigger predators until finally they'd be after you.

I use AC DC to power my chi all the time. Usually its Highway to Hell or Back in Black.. Let There Be Rock [2003]

Soaring Crane has the definitive quote that answers why things stay the same: Ask: Who wants change? And they all answer: Me! Ask: Who wants to change? And they all answer: ...

I admire your ambivalence. It shows humanity. I've felt the same. then used poison/traps. I simply don't want mice in my home/business. There might be third alternatives, live trapping, but in truth do that and set them out in the winter and its the same as killing them. Its a nasty business, up to each of our consciences. It made me a little queasy. I'm live and let live in there habitat but not in mine. That being said, doing what I can to seal up small entrances not keep food out helps. On the third hand, as a gardener I probably give 1/3 of my produce to the wild.

As long as my youtube recommendations are mostly on flat earth videos and probably will be for the coming future .. I thought this was an unusually thoughtful video on the subject. Examining both sides with the most respectful sensibilities. <its short too which is both welcome and unusual for this subject> Spoiler alert, the earth is flat.. if you're a muon- The muon (/ˈmjuːɒn/; from the Greek letter mu (μ) used to represent it) is an elementary particle similar to the electron, with electric charge of −1 e and a spin of 1⁄2, but with a much greater mass (105.7 MeV/c2). Likewise this is strangely informative. How do We know the Past existed? What rules do we need to sort out basic knowledge. There's a good explanation of philosophical razors from Occams to Newtons Flaming Sword which help us sort it out.

I like ghee. Takes a high temp, and has a nice buttery nutty taste. For keeping things simple its nice to make a big pot of soup/stew at the beginning of the week and enjoy it for a few days.

There's a theme picked out for this years big burn. Da Vinci's Workshop. Sounds like a fertile seed for the creative. This is a good site for Burn nostalgia, full of history, pictures and video- http://www.burn.life/ I hope to hit a burn in 2016. I'd like to sign up to be a volunteer too. While there is lots to see, if you want to enjoy community you have to support community. Also I tend to burn out from 3:00 to 6:00 at these events, so it'll be a good time to re-engage my energies somewhere fruitful.

It's fake, a hoax, someone passing off what they want others to believe and putting on Tesla's name. Worldtruth.tv doesn't seem to me to be a very reputable source, unless one is looking for new angles on old conspiracy theories. Some of the health articles may be good, but why go to a conspiracy site when there are so many good health sites out there with similar information without the hyperbole. Tesla was an uncontested, sometimes troubled genius. It's too bad he has become the patron scientist of conspiracy theorists. There is actually much more truth (imo) in this thoughtful comic send off then the fake interview:

This thread has many great posts and insights in it. I'd love to keep it as ontrack as possible. It's such an important subject.

While tech gives us some godly powers I doubt we individually have the potential to be greater than gods. I'll probably believe that until I see people flying around under there own power or hear a god say, wow that guy even better then me. Being a mountain hermit is hard work and very boring. It's open to anyone who wants to but its not easy. Nor is living in a monastery, but people did it 1,000 years ago and you can do it now. Where ever you go.. rich man has rich man problems, poor man has poor man problems, monk has monk problems. All see the grass greener on the other side, but in truth, we all face similar problems. What happened to humanity?.. nothing.. We're much the same.. maybe more distractions and comfort these days.

Even in the cold Midwest we have Parrots! Seems after a home breakout a few nesting pairs have been thriving for 40 years in Chicago's southern suburb of Hyde Park. The first pair of monk parakeets was discovered in Hyde Park in 1973. The trees and green spaces maintained by the University of Chicago provided them with the wide diet they prefer and the ability to build their eye-popping nests where as many as 10 pairs of birds can live at a time, allowing them to make it through the cold months. But the parakeets’ biggest threat all this time has been man. The Hyde Park parakeets are watched over by the University and local bird clubs. But the species has also been spotted at Rowan Park on the Far Southeast Side and downtown. During the spring and summer they find plenty of food. In the video below, a monk parakeet enjoys eating a dandelion.

I'm no chakra expert and may be barkin up too physical a tree but rolling back and forth is good to get knots out of the back. Sit cross legged, have your back and neck curved, roll down, then back up. Nice practice to unkink the back physically and perhaps energetically. In the practice called Stillness-Movement meditation instead of being still while you meditate, you have a slight natural rocking motion. Seems to help loosen things up near the sacral area. You might give it a try.

Those slackers.. they'd be 'down under' where ever they were. with affection M.

Don't know what they do, but there's a good piece of Michael Winn's Fundamental II form that works the right and left channel nicely. I think its called sun moon something something. It's a simple movements, hands clutch an imaginary soft ball. Standing, feet shoulder width apart, you breath in while slowly moving your hands up your right leg, up to your shoulder. Feel the energy moving with it. Try to breath from the right nostril. Breath out move hands slowly down right side til they're low and neutral by your waist. Then breath in moving the hands similarly up the left hand side, feeling energy and striving to feel as if your breathing mostly through the left nostril. Then it down and neutral again and you keep going like that. On the down its almost like your sending energy into the ground, then neutral then back up the other side, initiated with a new breath. Sorry for the poor description but its actually a very simple movement and after a while you start feeling the energy moving up and down each side, and without touching your nose it creates one sided nostril breathing, which yogis recommend.

To become addicted is indeed horrible and life shattering. To enjoy a glass of wine with dinner or a beer or two with friends can be positive socially and health wise. I brew apfelwein, an apple wine and its nice to have people over to taste each new creation. It's also nice to have guys over to share a glass or two of whiskey. It IS a double edged sword but done properly it can be a wonderful social lubricant. From most studies, for men, moderate alcohol use is a health tonic and leads to longer life. (thinning blood, raising good cholesterol plus other possible flavinoid related stuff) It's probably not worth the risk if alcoholism runs in your family or you tend to binge drink or you simply don't care for it or see the toll it takes on society and decide to take a stand against. It's all good. In my culture the root word for wine is in the same group as medicine. Wine is considered a bit sacred, not to be abused, except for a holiday (or two) where one is supposed to get smashed. Half my friends abstain and that's great. The body recognizes alcohol as a poison (& in a way, it is), it lowers inhibitions and reaction time. It has the potential to do very bad things. Too much destroys creativity, yet at times, there is, imo a sweet spot. The buzz zone or just before it. It's a drug that one should be weary of, used not abused or not used at all.

Actually lots of times- at least 75! We've been landing and crashing things on the moon since 1959! Since the USSR crash landed the Luna 2 on it on September 13th 1959. on YouTube, US newsreel Ten years later the U.S landed men and walked on it America astronauts landed on the moon a total of 6 times between 1969 and 1972: * Apollo-11 * Apollo-12 * Apollo-14 * Apollo-15 * Apollo-16 * Apollo-17 There was a failed attempt by Apollo-13. They never landed, though they did go into lunar orbit. Footprints from these 12 people are on the moon (http://www.universetoday.com/55512/how-many-people-have-walked-on-the-moon/)- Besides Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin – who were the first two astronauts to leave their bootprints on the Moon — there were also Pete Conrad, Alan Bean, Alan Shepard, Edgar Mitchell, David Scott, James Irwin, John Young, Charles Duke, Eugene Cernan, and Harrison Schmitt. If you're thinking of going up there, you'll find quite a few man made objects, from 5 different countries, literally 100,000's of pounds worth. Some of it landed, some intentionally crashed, some accidentally crashed. For a fascinating list and pictures - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_artificial_objects_on_the_Moon including not 1, not 2, but 3 U.S space rovers. Oh, and in 2014 we crashed the LADEE into the moon because it's 7 month mission and fuel was over. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_Atmosphere_and_Dust_Environment_Explorer The Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE, pronounced /ˈlæd.iː/[5]) was a NASA lunar exploration and technology demonstration mission. It was launched on a Minotaur V rocket from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on September 7, 2013.[6] During its seven-month mission, LADEE orbited around the Moon's equator, using its instruments to study the lunar exosphere and dust in the Moon's vicinity. Instruments included a dust detector, neutral mass spectrometer, and ultraviolet-visible spectrometer, as well as a technology demonstration consisting of a laser communications terminal.[7] The mission ended on April 18, 2014, when the spacecraft's controllers intentionally crashed LADEE into the far side of the Moon,[8][9] which, later, was determined to be near the eastern rim of Sundman V crater.[10] China launched 2 high tech probes in 2013. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chang'e_3 With a landing mass of 1,200 kg (2,600 lb), it also carried and deployed the 140 kg (310 lb) rover.[3] It serves double-duty as a technology demonstrator to be further refined for the planned 2018 Chang'e 5 sample-return mission.[34][35] The stationary lander is equipped with a radioisotope heater unit (RHU) in order to heat its subsystems and power its operations, along with its solar panels, during its planned one-year mission. It has a scientific payload of seven instruments and cameras. In addition to their lunar scientific roles, the cameras will also acquire images of the Earth and other celestial bodies.[1] During the 14-day lunar nights, the lander and the rover will go into 'sleep mode'.[22] Lunar-based ultraviolet telescope (LUT) The lander is equipped with a 150 mm (5.9 in) Ritchey–Chrétien telescope that is being used to observe galaxies, active galactic nuclei, variable stars, binaries, novae, quasars and blazars in the near-UV band (245-340 nm), and is capable of detecting objects at a brightness as low as magnitude 13. The thin exosphere and slow rotation of the Moon allow extremely long, uninterrupted observations of a target. The LUT is the first long term lunar-based astronomical observatory, making continuous observations of important celestial bodies to study their light variation and better improve current models.[36][37][38] Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) camera The lander also carries an extreme ultraviolet (30.4 nm) camera,[39] which will be used to observe the Earth's plasmasphere in order to examine its structure and dynamics and to investigate how it is affected by solar activity.[25] Lander cameras Three panoramic cameras are installed on the lander, facing different directions. The lander is equipped with a single descent camera that was tested on the Chang’e 2 spacecraft.[36] Rover The development of the six-wheeled rover began in 2002 at the Shanghai Aerospace System Engineering Institute and was completed in May 2010.[41][42] The rover has a total mass of approximately 140 kg (310 lb), with a payload capacity of approximately 20 kg (44 lb).[1][43] The rover may transmit video in real time, and can perform simple analysis of soil samples. It can navigate inclines and has automatic sensors to prevent it from colliding with other objects. Energy was provided by 2 solar panels, allowing the rover to operate through lunar days, as well as charging its batteries. At night the rover was powered down to a large extent, and kept from getting too cold by the use of several radioisotope heater units (RHUs) using plutonium-238.[44] The RHUs provide only thermal energy and no electricity. Stereo cameras There are two panoramic cameras and two navigation cameras on the rover's mast, which stands ~1.5 m (4.9 ft) above the lunar surface, as well as two hazard avoidance cameras installed on the lower front portion of the rover.[36] Each camera pair may be used to capture stereoscopic images,[53] or for range imaging by triangulation. Monitoring by other lunar missions The descent of the Chang'e 3 spacecraft was expected to increase the content of lunar dust in the tenuous lunar exosphere, as well as introduce gases from engine firings during landing. Although there is no formal cooperation between NASA and the China National Space Administration, the landing provided an opportunity for NASA's Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) mission to examine possible changes to the baseline readings of the Moon's exosphere, and will allow it to study how dust and spent propellant gases settle around the Moon after a landing.[54][55] For example, one of the lander's combustion byproducts is water vapor, and LADEE may be able to observe how lunar water is deposited in cold traps near the poles.[54] NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) took a photograph of the landing site on 25 December 2013 in which the lander and the rover can be seen.[56] LRO also attempted to photograph the lander and rover on 22 January 2014, and on 18 February 2014.[54] Status The rover was still intermittently transmitting as late as 6 September 2014.[50] As of March 2015, the rover remained immobile and its instruments continued degrading,[57][58][59] but was still able to communicate with Earth radio stations.[60][61][62][63] While amateur observers were unable to detect transmissions from the lander, Chinese officials reported that the craft was still operating its UV Camera and Telescope as it entered its 14th lunar night on 14 January 2015.[64][50] The Yutu rover ceased to transmit data in March 2015.[51] "NASA Images of Chang'e 3 Landing Site". 30 December 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2014. "Chinese lunar rover alive but weak". icrosschina.com. "China's ailing moon rover weakening: designer". October 2014. The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter circled the moon and took many high res pictures making a 3D map during its mission - It also has picture of the landing sites where you can see the abandoned part of lunar modules. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_Reconnaissance_Orbiter GalleryLunar Reconnaissance Orbiter mission photos First LRO image (June 30, 2009) Apollo 11 landing site Apollo 12 and Surveyor 3 landing site Apollo 14 landing site Apollo 15 landing site Apollo 16 landing site Apollo 17 landing site Close up of Apollo 17