thelerner

nice graphics and layout.

When you get old enough you walk downstairs and find yourself staring at the fridge wondering 'why am I here?' Then you see a post it note saying Get Mustard. So you open the fridge, take out the almost empty mustard jar and bring it up to bed then wonder, 'Why the hell did I bring this up here'.

sorry I missed you.

Thank you for sharing. No guidance, only a question.. What (if anything) would you do differently, knowing what you now know?

imo if we went to 'pure' capitalism we'd inevitably end up back here or something more feudalistic. You don't think people take advantage of technology now? Thats silly, factories are being more automated and money saving devices are as or more sought after then ever. My problem with your simple scenario is you can't imagine the fisherman buying up the whole lake and turning other fisherman into low wage workers. You can't imagine him using his wealth to buy up the berry farm and doing the same. maybe worse and realistically (some) Businesses will cost cut until the lives of their employees, the public and environment is at risk. Thats the fact, Jack, and we need rules regulations to keep such crimes from happening. On the other hand, there are solid arguments that we have too many now, but to argue we should have none seems naive to me. You see unfettered capitalism as without sin. I see it as a mixed bag, something that needs controls because people can be pretty shitty to each other and there needs to safeguards installed for the good of society. As always its about finding the sweet spot and economically thats a moving target. The seeds of recession are planted by exuberance of prosperity.

Sounds like you've really found an art that connects with you. I certainly felt that way when I first started doing Aikido. A certain euphoria; I think many get this when they find the right art. As weeks turn to months I found the 'highs' leveled out. And as months turned to years to a decade plus.. I gained more perspective, seeing the good and bad. A mellowing out.

any youtubes showing good exercises to accomplish this? Actually that's open to everyone. I was thinking baoding balls (aka qigong balls) are good ways of keeping the hands supple and toned, especially for heavy mice users. Speaking of youtubes:

let me experiment here is me just writing down the url on the top of a youtube: here is me writing down the 'Share' lets see what happens when I hit Post. I think what'll happen is the cut and pasted url will work and the share will give me what I usually get, just an address. <later edit. Gotcha, I was doing too much work, thinking I needed to use Share, when all I needed was the URL address name at the very top [query] section, no Share required. Thanks.

I've heard that too. I think the reason was that it 'messes with your qi', which to me sounds kinda fuzzy. We had a heck of an electrical storm here a few days ago, I've never seen so much continuous lightning flashes. I didn't practice, but did grab a reclining beach chair, took it a nearby field and enjoyed watching the lightning. *note while it was an extreme storm, it wasn't raining where I was and it seemed like it was in the distance.

I disagree with the premise. You don't have to be prone to violence to get sex & intimacy. That may be more a teenager's style of thinking. Most people don't live in the fantasy world like Gor. We may do a lot to impress the opposite sex, but we rarely fight each other. Even in the past I don't think most cultures had death matches over mating rituals. Though perceived status undoubtedly plays a strong role. I might agree that civilization itself is man's attempt to impress the ladies. And while a gladiator may make a woman hot, they're not really the best to settle down with and marry. Same goes for a stripper. Normal people find and attract other normal regular people. In truth millionaires and movie stars are way more an aberration then the norm. Mankind commits atrocities but its usually not in the name of love (of woman). Also, strong or weak we protect our families, that's hard wired into us.

nice, emotional, dramatic.. makes me look up to see if there's a masked man in the rafters . forgive my lack of knowledge, but is this a rift on an earlier classic work?

So what's better, eating cooked edamame (soy beans) or tofu? I'm guessing that in moderation both are fine, least that's how I eat. I'll probably have a serving 2 or 3 times a week.

Sexual desire is normal. And enjoyable. With some knowledge and discipline it's a pleasurable part of life. Sex is easy, the consequences of reproduction hard.

I have no familiarity with it beyond Thor and Thor II. Could you quote a few favorite lines?

These days I find the language of propaganda is the language of Outrage. A picture or small clip, somewhat edited, an inflammatory headline that only tells a partial, highly partisan side of the story. All sides seem to use it.

I've read it but don't have a copy these days. Question- is it against the boards policy to quote a few paragraphs every now and then (its a very short book) so we're all 'literally' on the same page? I'm guessing there are many versions out there off copyright. (not that'd want to mess with Sun Tzu ) If so, I'd recommend Woodcarver paste a bit of the section he's thinking of to get more people involved in the discussion.

I'm thinking France for its sense of stye, savoir faire and vivaciousness. I'm Italians for a sense of family connections. Up until the last year or 3, I'd say Greece for being laid back. Speaking of laid back I'd put in a place like St. Lucia, a Caribbean island that hosts a large party each week in the category of doing better. I'll include Key West in the U.S too, while a bit commercial celebrates the sunset each night and has wonderful large carnival free atmosphere afterwards. I give kudo's to Europe and Canada for appreciating a slower pace, being less materialistic, the idea of having less but making it special. What other things do some countries do really well?

Thank you for this. What a great practice for honing awareness.

If a tree falls in the forest and hits a bear pooping in the woods.. does it make a sound? The answer is Yes. The tree, bear and poop all make a sound. Likewise you can consider Bodhidharma Buddhist. And a very practical one at that. imqo. in my quirky opinion.

Two thoughts: One- Young is relative. Maybe you'll be a youngish 40 year old, more established and ready. Two- as my grandmother once said, 'If the iching told you to jump off a bridge would you?' actually she may have talking about my friend, still, same principle applies. Dumb advice is dumb no matter who gives it. If you follow the iching religiously then be open, but don't seek it out, or actively pursue it, ie let fate run its course.

I sometimes think of meditation as a reset switch. Meditate for awhile and you end up relaxed, mind clear. With the Secret Smile you end up mind, body and energy systems moving beyond 'reset' into positive mode.. feeling good; literally feeling relaxed, confident, laughingly happy, loving and with a bit of sexual energy. As the doc said energy moves best through a happy body. Working with internal energy can have pitfalls of falling into depression or paranoia. This counter acts that. I've gotten out of the habit but at my best I was doing it when ever I was in the washroom and doing it often, even an abbreviated version led to feeling positive and stronger.

I collect wheaties, pre 1959 cents, a few weeks ago I got a 1936 penny for change. I thought about it for a few days and considered an omen, that I should take some profits in the market, walk a way a bit. So I did. Its worked out okay. Thing is, on the face of it, its illogical to see omens at all. There's no way getting a penny of a certain date should mean anything at all. Yet 1936 was deep into the depression. Getting old coins is increasing rare (recently got a silver quarter as change). Two rarities combine, so..? practically everything that happens is unlikely, at least in combination. What do I think? I'm uncertain, but one way to think is that I wanted to leave the market and that getting the coin gives me a reason to. Thus no omen, but a permission to do something that was percolating in the back of my mind. I haven't made up my mind about the nature of reality. I hope its not so mechanically tic toc, yet that tends to be my default. Still even if it was there are layers to the mind, subtleties grasped that the conscious mind misses. Tapping into that is its own kind of power.

One thing I've observed is some people can't stay long term on a vegetarian diet. They get weak and eating some meat brings back better health. I have a good friend who was a militant vegetarian in high school experienced this when he hit his late 40's got hit with severe allergies, skin conditions and lethargy. He bounced back when he reintroduced meat to his diet. Hardcores will deny it until there vitality fades and they even die. Sad because a serving of fish once or twice a week would be all it takes to renew there health. Its by no means a blanket statement, 10's (100's?) of millions of people live happily vegetarian style, but its doesn't work for everyone. I also believe the opposite is true, swinging more towards vegetarian would be far healthier for most of us.

Hmmn, is the OP a pre-amble to the movie Seven or Silence of the Lambs? Feels like a free flowing stream of rationalizations. Particularly for things one will regret. When somewhat psychotic ie '..you truly experience these states you will feel that no humanly created law can bind you any longer.' very importantly police can still arrest and jails can still bind you, caging you in a small toilet room for decades. Thus you should carefully watch ones behavior when one is in such moods. or perhaps I'm missing some therapeutic value here, akin to know the mind of a serial killer to help them?