thelerner

Actually if you wanted to waste some time you can google 'Is <insert old leaders name> the anti Christ' and get a couple hundred thousand hits of people playing the exact same game. You can also do it with any countries leader. Apocalyptic prediction has been going on forever. Easily done against any figure you don't like. People twist numbers to mean anything they want. If you want to prove through some strange alchemy or signs that someone public is the anti-christ you can do it. Number 666 was hit 3 other times that very year (http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/lottery.asp), yet those are ignored. FWIW the pick 3 is done twice a day, there's also pick 4 and others going off each day. By applying meaning after its picked you can probably come up with weekly incredible coincidences, but we don't live our lives based on which lottery numbers are picked. Like Ell I tend to see prejudice or perhaps politics on steroids behind much of the extreme dark predictions about the president. One can play the game Pin the Anti-Christ on just about anybody and they do. In any case, in my opinion, if he was the dark lord, he's done a pretty good job during a difficult time, facing hostile opposition at every turn, for every decision. Face it, an intelligent anti-christ would probably say screw subtlety, I'll just launch these 50 nuclear missiles on day one. Instead we've had imo a pragmatist in office. I have no doubt there will be equally impressive screwball predictions made against the next president of the U.S. Its easy to do if you have you have enough data to manipulate.

From the little I know, it sounds like you've been doing everything right. Seeing a doctor, doing Spring Forest, taking prescribed herbs. And its been going on for four years. I might (naively) suggest its not the initial injury anymore <that's throwing off proper diagnosis?>. There may be something as simple as the way to sit, lean or sleep position thats continually aggravating your left side. I had a long time pain on one side. The problem was I'd slump to that side when sitting. Double check your posture. Take care to see that your not leaning or slumping. Check how you sleep too, see if you're putting undue weight on one side. that's all i got, not sure it'll help much.

It's all people. It really is, not aliens, not God. People make up the government. You can join and participate in it, in creating new rules and legislature and try to end old ones. If you did you'd find it a hard job, full of complexities without easy answers and many worthy agendas working at opposing goals. If you did work in a governing body you'd have to shed your stereotypes and theoretical assumptions and deal with people and there long list of contradictory needs.

Karl, perhaps your ideal is the old West, like a frontier town. Little to no rules. Not bad places, like most, they're as good as the native people who inhabit them. Still the Golden rule in effect there tended to be: Those with the Gold Make the Rules; at least as far as civil projects happen, ie roads, laws, building, education.. As those towns evolve bigger and more complex they ended up well.. like the towns they are today. For people who are anti-tax and anti-rules the West (Alaska's good too) is often better then the coasts, small towns better then big cities. With growth comes complexity and rules. The small towns also don't have the the opportunities available in a city. Its really quite simple, you want the facilities and opportunities of modern life, you end up paying through the social contract. You can belly ache about how repressed you are, or move to a place with a lighter contract with the less opportunities and lower taxes. What would make you happy? Homesteading? Go for it. Build a shack, live off the grid. Its can be hard work and pretty boring, but you'll be safe from the statists and isn't that what life (for you) is all about. You may find yourself yearning for city life, even with the taxes. I think a dose of reality would give you much better appreciation for what you have now. You compare your present life to an imaginary world in your head and find it's horrible repressed. You should try homesteading so you can compare your life with a realistic alternative. It'd improve it because you'd be less a theoretician and more grounded.

Could you post a page or 2 from it? Perhaps something from the introduction and sample of a basic exercise? That would give people a good feel for what the book is like.

bump. re-reading some of these pages. Good stuff. Early on I said I'd condense the whole thing into a more readable form. One day..

I don't think anyone here is a hater or wishes you poorly. You could of asked if wearing a tight cockring would accomplish the same thing. The answers might be similar. Your question feels, forgive the pun, a bit too loaded and I think you sensed that when you asked it. The hope is that a person's who's mastered taoist sexual techniques has gained discipline and also studied other taoist subjects and in turn becomes a very mature person. The consequence of such study is actually losing interest in mindless conquest or teenage fantasies. On the otherhand in one of Daniel Reids books (I think the herbalism one) he talks about a modern taoist master who has non ejaculating sex with several woman a day. I don't think its the norm, and its probably more about extracting yin energy then pleasure. So it seem to me more a health thing then sexual one. In Reid's general books on taoist practices he more often talks about using taoist sexual techniques to form deeper personal relationship.

Thing is I could ask people here are there any socialist countries that work. And they'd give me good solid answers (..Sweden, Switzerland, Norway, Canada..) and defend them intelligently. They can name them because they exist.. in reality.. now. They're not tied to concepts like 'in my imagination' or 'I theorize its possible' They exist and thrive now. You can visit them. The idea you have in your head is just that. Your wonderful fantasy. Basically its silly for me to argue about an idea (fantasy?) that you have in your head. Just like its silly to argue with a child whose solution to world problems is why don't we all share. Wonderful idea, but in practice it falls apart as numbers get bigger <kinda becomes communism when people try to enforce it.> All I could say is, go create it. Just be careful, in creating your utopia, you might start a tax to pay for roads or schools or electrical factory, then some ideologue would make you the enemy for daring to start such evil travesties. In order to get big important things done, you'll end up forming government or you won't get first world things done. In many ways what you're really after is anarchy; a nice idea, that rarely works out well, for countries.

Fantastic deflection. Way to avoid the question. righht, slavers used the argument I can see it now, Ol' Ironchains saying 'After we sell these slaves lets get on the internet and challenge Karl to answer a simple question. The other slaver says, Won't work, he won't answer direct questions, he just moves onto tangents.' Just like when I asked, what rights were being taken away from you, you didn't answer the question. You avoid and deflect. I think its exactly a strong government that keeps a country from going lawless and falling into warlords/dictatorship (like N. Korea) When government falls apart, crap tends happens, at least on the larger scale. <I'd argue the exceptions are protected by the law and order around them. Set such anarchic utopias in a lawless country and they'd probably be destroyed.> In other words, you can't think of a country that close to your ideal of almost no government. You don't even dare list any countries which are somewhat close to your ideal. A country that had no government except by family or block would end end up like Somalia, Libya, Haiti. I'd ask how your fantasy land would develop electricity and roads, things are too expensive for a small group but I doubt I'd get an answer from you. You'd avoid and deflect.

Jeez.. usual bollox of not answering my question. Is there any country close to your ideal or like your ideal financial system it's based on fantasyland, ie doesn't exist in real life anywhere. I assume there's no country close because in the real world, it'd fail. It doesn't exist because its a bad idea. I assume you'll dodge and deflect but do you have any countries you'd like to emulate? <& thank you for your insight that we aren't third world countries. <also we're probably not third world because we developed Unions that fought for and created a 40 hour work, 5 day work week and nonlethal working conditions. Things you take for granted did not come easy. Didn't want to mention that cause it gives you more reason not to answer my original question.

Might work in a low tech 2nd or third world country. But if you want technology, electricity and modern commerce you need roads, power plants, $$ commitment to education, police to protect within, and sadly an army to protect from outside. Do you have any country that'd you'd want to emulate? Or is a place like Haiti the closest to your dream? Little government, low taxes..

to me the answer is Shit Happens. Bad things happen to good people and bad. Maybe karma is a soothing psychological invention, like heaven. Perhaps the truth is random events happen and being at the wrong place at the wrong time puts a person infront of the 8 ball. Bad luck, bad timing. No ones keeping score or handing out cosmic justice. We can make the world a better place. In general instead of asking 'Why?', its usually better to ask 'How can I help?'

I'd recommend finding a martial art teacher who's into the esoteric side. Even 'regular' martial arts are great for heightening the senses. Particularly weapon training. There's probably no cookie cutter, do this, get that. (cept maybe dropping acid and that's a pretty short term, possibly costly approach) Extraordinary accomplishments will take extraordinary effort over a long time. Plus the hyper sensory awareness cuts both ways. I hear chimes during the night I can't locate during the day. Trains miles away keep me up. Smells and textures disturb me at night. Its 5:50 and I've been up for hours. Listening to cars come, the 4:00 paper delivery thunk. Careful what you ask for.

Perhaps if you didn't worship Saturn <or use ie> this wouldn't happen to you. I worship Mercury and Venus (sometimes Ceres (it's a minor planet now) and I paste and clip just fine.

Reading that tells me why she often wasn't a happy person and gives insight on why she left friends and close admirers miserable and at times betrayed. and http://www.salon.com/2014/04/29/10_insane_things_i_learned_about_the_world_reading_ayn_rands_atlas_shrugged_partner/ (must admit I didn't like Atlas Shrugged but did like Anthem. I think she's good to read, but good to grow out of too)

From my Ki- Aikido days we learned relaxation was kinda like a streaming fire hose. No muscular tension but a dancers extension. The feeling can be likened to right after you've thrown a ball and you keep your arm out and feel the ball moving away as if through the fingers. Extend intent/ki/chi. So in many of the holding ball stances, the relaxed extension flows through the arm, through each finger and thumb. A gentle living extension. In Aikido when we do forward rolls starting over the curved arm. If your using strength the arm may collapse under your falling weight, or using relaxed extension the arm keeps the circular shape perfectly and you roll nicely.

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.