thelerner

Vibrations.. I wonder if thats why some see Jesus, others see Buddha or Angels.. So, is Light or Sound the most accurate unfiltered perception of 'knowing' the world? I've been rereading 'The Gods Drink Whiskey' and the Buddhist professor who wrote it talks about the 5 levels of reality in Theravada Buddhism. At its base is nothingness, but after experiencing it, you have to snap out of it and bring the insight and compassion you've gotten from it, into first level, tic toc world of separation. You can't stay there, not if you want to do any good for others.

Hey, Welcome , actually I'm just tired of seeing 'thelerner- premature ejaculation' being highlighted in the Welcome section for 3 days straight!

Watching children play. Yesterday I was at the beach saw some 4 and 5 year olds having a ball getting knocked over by waves. Fun to watch and many lessons in it. On mindfulness, happiness and mindless happiness.

heck, let me bump this one up too. How Does the World Work? Are we all Schroeder's Human Beings?

long as I'm lookin through old stuff bump

There are 100's of great threads made up over the years. This thread on Dream Yoga is great- http://thedaobums.com/topic/38953-dream-yoga/?p=637462 I look forward to this one involving studying the work of famed taoist Wang Li Ping work will be be a long deep thread- Yin Xian Fa and beyond http://thedaobums.com/topic/39020-yin-xian-fa-and-beyond/?p=638696 Many great insights from all the threads in the Interview section http://thedaobums.com/forum/356-interviews/ This has many interesting answers What Results Have People Had Here http://thedaobums.com/topic/38454-what-results-do-people-here-have-from-training/?p=626644 Here's an old one The Secret of Conscious Cocreation http://thedaobums.com/topic/1701-the-secret-of-conscious-co-creation/?p=15538 Here's a long informative thread on an important subject Opening the Third Eye- http://thedaobums.com/topic/27001-opening-of-the-third-eye-and-other-byproducts-along-the-way/?p=402840

I'm thinking as a guy who does game design you're on the computer daily. Using a mouse quite a bit. That can put your arm, hand, wrist and fingers in an unnatural position as well as cause repetitive injury through over use or continual pressure in the wrong spot. Long term it can cause problems. I know my wrist and arms give me problems on days I do long writing. I'll try to shake my arm out after each long use. If that indeed is the problem then possible solutions would be moving the mouse to the other hand or positioning it in a more ergonomic way. You can also turn your phone or pad into a cordless mouse and keep it lower on your lap in comfortable neutral position. In extreme cases writers have started using voice commands instead of the usual mouse interaction.

Thought this was interesting. Bill Gates on coming changes to help the world in the next 15 years. Less controversial I saw this very interesting youtube on lucid dreaming. Starts getting serious at 2:00, nice simple method, sleep 6 hours, wake up, spend 15 minutes intent on remembering and being awake in dreams, then go back to sleep. Mentions an app Shadow and eye device Remee I may look into.

I'm hoping they'll show mercy when I explain I've been defending Northern European style socialism. damn that's alot of I's in one sentence. Also alot isn't a word. crap now I'm correcting the corrections. repetitive and not Capitalized. Hopefully they'll show mercy when I explain I've been defending Northern European style socialism. Hopefully they'll show mercy when told I've been defending Northern European style socialism. screw the

It's a book , the full title is Pronoia The antidote for Paranoia by Rob Brezny. http://www.amazon.com/Pronoia-Antidote-Paranoia-Revised-Expanded/dp/1556438184- My bottom saying is a quote from it. Helps me keep positive on the Bums, probably annoyingly and combatively so. I like it, I think without a shot of positive thinking its easy to fall into melancholy. We're inundated by the news that's a concentration of all thats going wrong in the world, so much so its easy to forget how much is going right. Here's a bit of the review- "Brezsny persuasively advises readers to go along with the universe's good intentions, but his rejection of cynicism and a bleak view of human nature isn't rooted in denial. On the contrary, he makes a case for a cagey optimism that requires a vigorous engagement with the dark forces. He asks us to rethink life as a sublime game created for our amusement and illumination."

Diary Entry # 17,365 Woke up, opened eyes. Peed. Searched for food. For the 17,365th time despite disagreeing and disproving of it, physical reality still here.

Not very persuasive. Ironically made to sell a book, through fear. Makes the first video seem logical. They call Marx a great prophetic figure? I kinda wish the people talking here could live under a Marxist government of there choice. Even if we needed a time machine, send'em to there Utopia, be it USSR, North Korea, Czechoslovakia; any Communist country of they want, anywhere in time. The only caveat being they'd have to stay there for there entire lives. We'll see how well their free thinking radicalism works out there. Both video's feel like they're from an impractical, theoretical fringe and imo aren't very persuasive.

Still, one needs to plan ahead. I'm diverting some investments into Interstellar flight, Solar manipulation and Interdimensional travel. I feel small investments now will pay big dividends in the next billion years or so.

In the absence of true knowing, we might as well pick a paradigm that empowers us. I like Seek of Wisdom's. We don't even have to pick one. In the end, life is about the decisions we make, the actions we take and the legacy we leave. Not which end of the egg we crack open first.

I enjoy Ajahn Brahms works. He has many great talks available online. He talks about Jhanas and how they're a natural progression in ones practice. Here's a link to the first 4 chapters of his book Mindfullness, Bliss and Beyond (great book) he - http://www.dhammaloka.org.au/files/pdf/Ajahn_Brahm-Mindfulness_Bliss_and_Beyond-Chapters1-4.pdf He has quite of a bit of free material online excerpt: "Stage Seven: Jhāna There are two common obstacles at the door into jh›na: exhilaration and fear. In exhilaration, the mind becomes excited: “Wow, this is it!” If the mind thinks like this, then the jhana is unlikely to happen. This “wow!” response needs to be subdued in favor of absolute passivity.You can leave all the wows until after emerging from the jh›na, where they properly belong. The more likely obstacle, though, is fear. Fear arises from the recog- nition of the sheer power and bliss of the jh›na, or else at the recogni- tion that to go fully inside the jh›na something must be left behind—you! The doer is silent before entering the jh›na, but it is still there. Inside the jh›na, however, the doer is completely gone. Only the knower is still functioning. One is fully aware, but all the controls are now beyond reach. One cannot even form a single thought, let alone make a decision. and here's a list of his talks- http://www.dhammaloka.org.au/downloads/itemlist/category/18-ajahn-brahmavamso.html he's got quite a few. All are insightful, show good humor and nice blend of modernity and classic Buddhist thought.

I'm a big fan of all of Daniel Reids books. I particularly like his method of fasting.

Acting.. imagination.. the physical act of a smile with lips and crinkling the eyes. Feeling sunshine on your face entering the 3rd eye, appreciating what is good, the sound of hAaahh exhaling from your heart area. Here is how Minke De Vos of Silent Grounds starts her guided meditation called Deep Body Smile. breathing up to your head, relax the muscles around your eyes, infront of you envision a golden sun, that connects us with the light of our interbeing; the light of unconditional love that shines on all beings equally. Basking in the warm golden light. Breath it in to your third eye. Lightening up the center of your head like a internal star, enlivening your master glands. Shining into your senses and awakening your ability to see, feel and touch inside. Allow a serene smile to spread across your face, lifting the lips, cheeks and corners of your eyes upwards. Like turning on a light switch. another trick/skill is laughing meditation. Where you laugh and laugh on cue. Its a worthwhile skill to have.

Perseid Meteor Shower Expected To Peak This Week http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/perseid-meteor-shower-peak_55c8b1cde4b0f73b20b9e03c?utm_hp_ref=chicago&ir=Chicago&section=chicago&kvcommref=mostpopular The celestial display promises to be especially spectacular. Steven Hoffer Senior Editor, The Huffington PostPosted: 08/10/2015 12:17 PM EDTThe annual Perseid meteor shower is set to make a dazzling late summer appearance this week. Stargazers are especially excited because this year marks the first time since 2010 that the meteor shower aligns with a new moon, making for ideal dark skies, according to CNN. Even better, there's no need to run out and purchase an expensive telescope to witness the light show. All that's required to enjoy this wonder of nature is a clear night and a view from the Northern Hemisphere. The celestial display is expected to peak during the overnight hours of Aug. 12 into the morning of Aug. 13. Meteors will be visible starting around 10 p.m., but the best time to catch a glimpse will be around 4 a.m. Eastern Time, "when up to 100 meteors per hour may be visible from a dark sky," according to NASA.

Nice website. The way it reviews games, giving you indepth analysis of strategic moves, while showing the board is a wonderful learning tool.

How do we 'play' with intensity? I assume its by lowering the stance or holding the arms at a more difficult angle? Or is it something less tangible? A sharper mental awareness? Like Soaring Crane alludes to in post #6. Or is it a combination of the two?

Welcome, honored to have you here. I look forward to your contributions. I notice you posted the same introduction in two other forums on the same day. Which could be a good time saving technique. Like many here I enjoy reading first hand accounts of peoples travel meeting and learning from Eastern masters. Sincerely Michael

Nice name .

Ah, the ones who want to improve the lives of the working poor are the evil vampires and those who'd cut social welfare programs and lower taxes on the rich (who've done incredibly well during the recovery) are the good guys? I'm not saying they're the bad guys, thats not an accurate way to put economic ideas, but clearly the solution of stripping resources to the poor whose income has mostly stagnated (or up 10 or 14% in the past 10 years) and give tax breaks to those who's networth has doubled or tripled in that time, seems backwards. Unless you're living in an Ayn Rand novel. I think the conspiracy theory that Leftist are doing it in order to control the masses is crap sold by Faux news and ditto heads. The desire to help people at the bottom and middle class, provide opportunity and stronger social net is a noble one. The U.S is rich enough to do it. You don't have to fall into over regulation or even European style socialism to achieve it. There is a sweet spot and we're not hitting it. I don't buy the 'when the economy is healthy enough' problems will be solved. I think its a myth. The U.S economy has been in a slow but steady increase for the past 5 1/2 years. Yet we are still a nation that has been seeing an increasing separation between have's and have nots for the past 2 decades. It dangerous. If we can reduce regulations and government without compromising safety that'll be part of the solution. Likewise reducing military spending from a level which is greater then the next 20 countries combined will also free up countless billions that can be used to improve general welfare. Modern progressive societies (except the U.S) have generally come up with a health care as a basic human right. Moving to a single health payer system could move us from the country that spends more then any other on health care and has results lower then majority of first world countries to one saving billions and having much better results. There are probably billions that can be diverted to provide better lifes. Matter of fact in most metrics we're lower then other first world countries. Mostly because our poor (and middle class) are so much closer to third world standards. (Our mean/average is skewed by having so many super rich) We probably need to work both angles to improve the situation. Increasing 'Capitalist' measures while improving education and opportunities and basic living conditions for the poor and middle class.

Before I sit down I'll stretch and shake a little to loosen up. After sitting I'll circle my body around a few times to find a good balance, usually a bit more forward lean to counter act my tendency to sit too far back. Then I'll go through a Vispassana saying, either a long version or short. The short being: I am not my thoughts I am not my body I am not my emotions.. past.. future.. possessions.. desires.. I am breath and awareness. The longer version would include reasons why I'm not those things.. ie not my thoughts- they are ephemeral, passing like clouds in the sky, they are a tool, best kept quiet. I am not my body- it is my vessel, a valued possession I'm intrusted with. I am not my emotions.. I acknowledge them and let them settle like ripples on a pond.. That kind of thing. I probably make up slightly different wordings each time. But its an important reminder to get into a proper state. When I was operated on last year and they were fiddling with tubes leading into my heart I heard the surgeon say 'Well this isn't going well' and because I've repeated 'I'm not my body' so many times I didn't particularly feel much fear. Course it could have been the drugs..

I tend to believe man is a rationalizing animal. And while theory sounds good, in real life it's.. less so. This can be rationalized as Pure Capitalism though 'the best' no longer exists anywhere because ..?.. it was too good and pure to live. Beyond theory, in our Reality the countries that seem to be providing the best life style in terms of education, freedom, health, longevity, and general prosperity are the Northern European countries like Sweden, Norway, Switzerland. Living there is a bit like hitting a lottery. They have, I believe hit a sweet spot. Not perfect but better then the U.S in most metrics. In the U.S we are pretty lucky, but if you live here and roll a 4 or lower on a 20 sided die, you're living a shorter, nastier, less healthy, impoverished (compared to the middle) kind of life. Whereas simple theory cannot adequately show this, a book like 'Nickel and Dimed, On Not Getting By in America' (http://www.amazon.com/Nickel-Dimed-Not-Getting-America/dp/0312626681) is a good read to get knowledge and empathy for the millions of working poor who are trapped. In the 18 and 19th century there were legal indentured servants, today there are millions of almost 'indentured servants' trapped by debts. They bear some, even most of the responsibility but there's also system in place that like a greased slide thats real easy to fall into. Even if you have 10's of thousand of dollars put away, millions, probably 10's of millions are an unlucky accident or illness away from it. Karl, you're bringing out the leftist in me. I need a radical, someone like InnerSoundQiGong to come in so I can swing back right. I've got a perfect line I'm waiting to use.. 'While fascism is out of fashion I ..'