thelerner

Tiny little bird flitting around outside my window. A wren?? Anyway.. I tend to think of the way as downgrading desires into preferences. You can prefer one thing to another, but no big deal or disturbance if you don't get it, its all good; or most of it is. Similarly you can still strive in an art, profession or skill, yet it is approached in a relaxed fashion. Taking the long road. Find the right rhythm, when in accord with the nature of a thing, the path is easier.

I was looking on a thread and SonoftheGods mentioned Googles ability to do specific searches on single websites. I did one for thetaobums and near the bottom of the page websitelooker came up. The interesting stat was that 5.1% of our traffic is from Bulgaria. I find that interesting, maybe I'm in a skeptical mood, but are we really that popular to the Bulgans or is it something seedy? Like a spam source? .. Bulgaria 5.1 Other 38.9 Country Users Rank United States: 22.8% - Australia: 21.6% - United Kingdom: 11.6% - Bulgaria: 5.1% - apologies to Bulgarians in advance.

I have trouble with that too. Can you point us to the guidelines?

I'm not saying turmoil. I'm saying thoughts, the kind one 'hears' and assumes 'that's me'. The thoughts that are recognized, directed, driven then put on autopilot until (like breathing) we're distracted away from them. Its a simple but vital practice to go periods consciously dropping thoughts, letting them settle and keeping the mind as quiet as possible. Even in the midst of decision making. For some people deciding without conscious thought works beautifully for others not so much. Such choices aren't made mindlessly or through chance, rather the powerful subconscious is active and at your command. Its a way to experience life without weighing options or using logic. It can make life noticeably better because too often our 'intelligence' is used to rationalize our desires and prejudices.

This used to happen automatically for me. When I'd 'Cut' from the 'Share' option in Youtube using Firefox and pasted it into a thread the whole picture would show up. Nowadays that doesn't happen, I end up with a link. I guess there's some code I need and couldn't find w/ a search though I'm sure its here somewhere. Thus, whats the way to have youtube video's show up in a thread? Or if you can point me to the right thread, thanks.

There is a state that is unthinking but not mindless. Even for say, athletes, to get maximum performance they often need to shut off there minds, be in the moment. For high level problem solving it can be important to stop thinking at a problem and letting it percolate in an empty mind. I do this with the Jumbles and Sudoku all the time. There is a power within the quiet mind that the weighing thinking mindset lacks. If you can access it And it works for you then you've tapped into the power of Zen and will do quite well in life. You've thrown away crutches and your accessing your minds full power. That being said if you keep a quiet mind and your life and decisions suck, then its time to go back to the older slower more primitive operating and think your way through things.

Something to check out is Sean Denty's PPD where he's working through Wang Li Ping's system and book. It might be interesting to page through it to get a feel for what's reputed to be an authentic powerful system http://thedaobums.com/topic/39020-yin-xian-fa-and-beyond/?p=638696 >add SonOfTheGods site is pretty good too-> http://lonemanpai.com/ Its impressive when you can find sincere experienced people who'll share there art. We've got a few of them here. You don't have to go all cultlike about it, but sooner or later you need to spend serious time dedicated to an art.

is desire the opposite of fear? Yet also its twin? Like the ends of a magnet? with both, its wise to acknowledge them, understand they can have a good purpose and find ways to deal with them skillfully so they're allies not addictions.

what.. how can Saturn be evil?? its got a halo around it . While there are lessons to be learned in the bible and Roman myths, I think its a mistake to take them literally. You're bound to pick, choose and twist whatever meanings you want out of them. They become a projection on how you want the world to be. And many dream of being a heroic prophet and saviour. Proudly telling the world, Beware Saturn the source of all evil. To me, he had a bad vibe, Evil Everywhere. Its in the air, in the print.. like Elvis- its in the sausage. Like any preconception look hard enough for your obsession and you will see it everywhere; its the lense you see the world out of and a virus in your mind. Most of us have them, but when they're based on something so negative, it gives a certain energy and heat, but it'll also leave you scared, paranoid and burnt out.

I want my 1 minute 38 seconds back. also I find myself skeptic of his conclusions.

While the Bubonic Plague is nothing to sneeze at, still "There have been 42 cases of plague in California since 1970, and nine were fatal... The disease is usually treatable with antibiotics if it is caught in the early stages."<from article).. so its horrible to get, but in California its not in the top 500 things that kill people. As usual the deadliest animal of all is man, followed by the mosquito which kills off 725,000 people a year according to WHO. On a lighter note, mosquitoes also pollinate fruit and flowers, so nothing is all bad.

Valid p.o.v but it might be limiting too. Does the body know its fake? Or does it release hormones and trigger a string of chemical reactions from the brain on down related to happiness and feeling good. There is reality behind the placebo effect and biofeedback. In my view the secret smile, both versions tap into it. Stress kills (slowly) and deep relaxation (& happiness) is revitalizing.

probably not, the tao treats us all like day old coffee. it doesn't play favorites. >I'll add so far I've mastered half of it. The ability to not do..

a year and a half after the last post- Things are much much better. http://www.bbc.com/news/health-33961010 -"For the first time since the Ebola outbreak was declared in Sierra Leone, the country has recorded zero new infections. There were no new Ebola cases reported last week according to the WHO. At the height of the outbreak Sierra Leone was reporting more than 500 new cases a week. Last week, for the first time since May last year, there were zero new cases. But authorities are warning against complacency. OB Sisay, Director of the National Ebola Response Centre (NERC), said: "This does not mean Sierra Leone is suddenly Ebola free. "As long as we have one Ebola case we still have an epidemic. People should continue to take the public health measures... around hand-washing, temperature checks, enhanced screening.""

Totally don't understand this. You have zero rights, but lots of privileges. You want to have rights. What rights do you want, that you don't have now? Really, no dancing around it, no philosophizing, or playing semantic games, shifting blame or avoiding the issue you keep bringing up. What rights don't you have?

Are you in cage now? Shackled invisibly? Can you literally not move to another state or city if you wanted? Do you realize there are places that where you can't. That there are places without freedom of press, religion, free speech or travel. Honestly I think you can't appreciate the freedoms and rights you have. Ironic since the OP here is about Russia where such freedoms were suppressed for generations and still constrained. In my mind, not listing the Freedoms and Rights 'stolen' is because they'd look petty; not because because its straw man. Truthfully I dismiss it as the belly aching of wealthy first world privilege, as well as the age old human instinct that our generation has it so bad, it used to better in the past. Exemplified by pretty much every generation. I digress, even though its undoubtedly straw or tinny, please list all the rights and freedoms you live without.

I've been getting into female singers interpreting old hits. Like Natalie Merchant doing Bowie's 'Space Oddity', Cheryl Crow's 'Sweet Child O' Mine', or Fiona Apple's take on the Beatles 'Across the Universe', Alanis Morrisette doing Sting's 'King of Pain'.

Another route is meditating after hard exercise. For some people that is the perfect time, when the body mind are exhausted. Finding the timing may be the key. For some its first thing in the morning when the mind is calm, or late at night when things are calm. Extremes aren't always bad either. I've found at my local pool, with screaming kids and lots of talk all around is strangely conducive for me to meditate. There's so much random noise and movement around me that it aids letting go. Similarly so does sitting on a beach. Thinking of my lower body as earth, my belly as the water being held by the earth, my lungs above like the sky, my head beaming down like the sun.

?? Is this short hand for 'I can't think of any?' Rights, you don't have any- religion, free speech (can you talk against the government, have you ever?), is there a free press that can criticize the government? Are they taking away your guns, your cars, your home, your land? Are you William Wallace where they can take away your lives, but they'll take away your freedom. Geez, you have freedoms, you just don't appreciate them. Are you angry you need a state (sanctioned) license in order to drive? Do you really want anyone, any age to be on the road. You may disagree with many laws but they were by groups who wanted to save lives, like raising drinking age to 21, it was done and it has saved lives. Many such state privileges were created that way. Not so much draconian as people looking to solve social problems. Versus your philosophy which often boils down to, they'll learn after they're dead. I.e. you sell bad meat (or whatever), after enough customers die, people will stop buying from you. Yes, there are taxes, but they've always been around. Yes there are regulations, some intelligent to protect the public, others admittedly are stupid. There even confiscation (w/ payment) through eminent domain, but that not done very often, nor is it new. I was recently reading an article about growing in a dictatorship (http://www.cracked.com/personal-experiences-1856-arrested-clapping-6-realities-life-under-dictators.html); where people didn't have rights, they disappeared, property taken at the whim of bureaucrats. Karl you write like your living under a dictatorship or communism and your not, not by a long shot, except in your imagination. Its not 1/100 as bad. Where others starvation, they complain there soup has too much pepper in it. Such first world problems. I find it myopic and wonder if these people understand what true repression is.

Just for clarification. What freedoms have you given away? Have you really lost all your rights?

Nature is a pretty big subject, but when it comes to controlling and changing animal species and crops mankind's gotten really good at it. And thats a good thing because its kept millions, maybe billions from starving. For millennia we've selectively bred animals and crops until they're almost unrecognizable from there original state. I'm not talking GMO either (though I'm the rare bird that pro GMO w/ certain caveats), I'm talking selective breeding done way before modern genetics were known about, though with genetics accelerated our abilities. I tend to doubt each hamburger would cost $200. They sell about 6 million burgers a year a day! A $200 subsidy would cost.. let see, one billion 200 million each day or four hundred thirty eight billion a year. That seems high to me.

Meditation: Beginner Cheats- Putting a zafu/cushion against the wall so you can lean back which makes it easier to sit short term. Meditate laying down. quietly listen to music you connect to. quietly listen to bi-aural rhythms. Find some on internet Listen to a self hypnotic session. Find'em on the internet or as a free podcast. Listen to a breathing app. Timed breathing is excellent practice. Count your breaths, from 1 to 10 or like I do up to 100 then begin again. In each case afterwards, give full meditation, sitting in silence a try afterwards. Its likely you'll find it easier then. <hmnn instead of treating your mind like a disobedient dog, you can treat it like a cute baby seal and you are a furrier. jussubf

I've heard gelatin's nutrition wise are amazing bangs for the buck. Too often disregarded because they're an old remedy, yet they're the power behind bone broths which are making a come back in nutrition circles.

Welcome to the forum. I like your name.

Glenn Morrison described Kundalini as a biological affair. I go by his description. From KAP 'What is Kundalini'- http://www.kundaliniawakeningprocess.com/blog/what-is-kundalini/ In 99.99% of people, kundalini goes unharnessed, lying dormant deep within their nervous and endocrine systems. In the unawakened human being, these systems are poorly connected, “rusty,” poorly synchronized, and unable to carry much more “signal” than keeps that person alive. Kundalini awakening occurs when the various parts of the brain, spine, and nerve ganglia, along with the different endocrine glands, begin to rejuvenate, better link, and synchronize. The gonads, adrenals, and digestive glands (connected to the experience of lower emotions) connect to the master glands at the heart, throat, and brain. These systems rapidly rejuvenate, function more efficiently, and begin to carry larger quantities of bio-electric (neurotransmitter and endocrine) traffic through the body. It’s a little like comparing a 56k Modem to a Broadband T1 line. EEG and EKG scans show that “awakened” individuals have more efficient mental and biological processes." me> Quite simply we are bio-electrical beings and Kundalini is a rewiring for higher voltage. Kundalini's been described for 1000's(?) of years in Yogic circles. In my mind its a circulation thing, a very powerful, possibly dangerous phenomena that's seen across many cultures. Don't know much about AYP. Some people seem to connect to it, others don't I don't see any problem with charging people to learn about a system.