thelerner

Lead to gold - any guide books out there?I have such a book. I am willing to lend it out for 1.25 Trillion dollars in gold or lead.

Thanks, good site, connecting people with organic farms then setting up room and board situations. I'm sorry that there's a $40 or $50 membership fee for it, but maybe thats the way of the world.

Nikolai1 mentioned this site- http://www.diggersanddreamers.org.uk/ and asked if there was a similar one for the U.S. I don't know. Nice site though. Links to The Utopia Experiment, Intentional Communities Symposium, New Eurotopia- listing 430 progressive communities across Europe. As well as general Resource guides, directories and Noticeboard. Is there a similar site for the U.S, Canada or elsewhere? Where one can find Communal Living Links and such?

With stars you never know when there real persona starts and the publicity persona ends. Miley Cyrus is outrageous but that might be a reaction to feeling over controlled by Disney all these years. I couldn't find out through Charitywatch how much money donated to Happy Hippie went to people vs the organization, but the website is very well done. Dispensing good information on resources that can help people. Until I hear differently it seems like a solid source for good. Interesting article. I think Ham is the fundamentalist who built a multimillion dollar non-floating Noah Ark and creationist museum. Not too surprising he'd be against and try to get publicity from Cyrus's coat tails.

Because its a 'clean' informative thread I'm hesitant to mention it here, but there is an excellent post about experiencing a Wang Liping seminar. Here it is: http://thedaobums.com/topic/38541-what-do-you-think-of-this-level-of-a-master/?p=628842 . There may be other old ones floating around too. Positive or negative nothing substitutes for first hand experience.

I agree with this, I often use the two terms to mean the same thing. Still its nice to have native speakers remind us about the niceties every now and then. Its certainly doesn't seem worth fighting about. It gets close to what is Real Taoism and the whole religious vs philosophical debates.

Saints of many traditions really. I've always thought its because the painter paints what he sees. Saints have bigger aura's and the easiest part of an aura to see is at the top of the head which looks kind like a halo. Later on it became formalized and canonized as a round circle at the head, but it was originally top part of the aura. as always imo after most of these sentences. Note in some old paintings the whole body is surrounded by light, could be artistic license, but I think an artist draws what he knows, auras. Great artists have the eye for 'em. back to OP I'm reminded of a the story of a samurai who scoffs at a bunch of meditating monks; yells to them that there meditation has as much chance of enlightening them as rubbing a rock will make it a mirror. I've always thought the samurai was a too hard on them. That there's a chance the samurai also meditated and that it might be the extremely long hours he was complaining against. You could say Bodhidharma thought the same thing and introduced moving meditation, exercise, even martial arts to monks training.

, there is wisdom in silence

I agree, but you can find much practical stuff in Zen writings, particularly contemporary ones. Its just that they're less quotable. I get my zen inspired dharma lessons from infinitesmile.org, podcasts from Michael McAllistair.

Cool about the smell. I find when I'm doing well, in the groove, my gag and startle reflexes go away. Sudden loud sounds don't startle me, my toothbrush can't cause me discomfort anywhere. The opposite happens when I stop meditating and my get less deep calm.

Growing veggies can be done by the very lazy (such as myself). Years ago following Mother Earth magazine directions I laid 10 40# bags of soil end to end on my lawn. Slit the bottom, opened up the top and planted into them. I used cheap $1.20 bags of soil and supplemented with one bag of Miracle Grow soil. Things grew great. The next year I removed the bags, mixed one bag of Miracle Grow into the line. Following years I'll add in a mix of coffee,leaves and grass cutting compost. I do a poor job of trellising, but somehow things grow and thrive nicely. I usually do a gazpacho mix, tomatoes (favorite little sweet 100 & yellow hybrids), cucumbers, and peppers. By keeping it on the front lawn, I'm more conscientious and can grab a handful of sweet grape tomatoes any time I come and go. Best of all, a couple of neighbors have joined me in front lawn veggie gardens.

I understood your hypothesis, I'm just at the opposite spectrum if you think ethics are mind-control and lies. The master disciple relation should be very close and go beyond simple 'asking' and into deep knowing. The master should know his close students. addon> or maybe I'm wrong. For those people who've studied under higher level systems under guidance of a master level teacher did ethics enter into the teaching? Was there in any way a litmus test for continued study? In two arts I've been exposed to, Aikido and yoga, ethics were very important. You showed low character you'd be tossed out because of it. Some made it through, but the system working properly weeded them out. Heck even in Mo Pai, John Chang crossed an ethical line and paid for it. Spiritual development and ethics are not as separate as you might assume. They're connected because schools can't afford to teach and create powerful assholes. Not understanding the connection may be part of the reason Mo Pai is no longer taught in the West.

I heard an interview on NPR a few years ago, it was about a man who had similarly lost emotions. He commented it was similar to what some Eastern religions seemed to be aiming for, but the state itself felt ghostlike and empty. Note, he wasn't a meditator, it was a brain fluke. Ultimately he tested low for some brains hormone thingy and when he started taking some psychoactive drug his feelings returned.

I don't blame big oil. Matter of fact some big oil companies are sponsoring much alternative energy. Not that there heroic, but selling energy is selling energy. Solar and wind prices have been dropping dramatically. Battery storage is still problematic, but we're finally seeing some movement, albeit expensive on that front. Still, no big breakthroughs, just incremental improvements. For 40 years I've followed alternative energy, and yearly seen hyped products that never make it. In the age of the internet I (naively?) don't think its evil forces, as much as the numbers not adding up or initial costs too high. Oh well, planting my garden today. $3 plants turning into living factories that produce many pounds of vegetables.

Unintended consequences are a bitch. the ones gendao talks about were pretty predictable though. its a bad cycle that spirals down.

I find that sad. If you have something precious and dangerous, why wouldn't you demand the receiver be of the highest personal ethics? Build it into the teachings so that when inevitably tempted, students on the path don't go astray? Otherwise you'd get crap like two advanced level guys fighting each other to the death on the high end and endless petty bickering on the low. Without ethics, power becomes self indulgent and self destructive.

Thing is, he has. And he's happy and secure with it. While I disagree with him in some areas, Drew is an amazing practitioner with deep of knowledge and experience. Someone well worth listening too. addon after a near decade: I believe this was aimed to aggravate Wells a bit, maybe ¾. Some % was sarcasm. Last but not least though he was certainly manic, the system that Drew learned and was dedicated to was a good one. He may have taken it to woo woo places, but I admire his dedication to his original system and because this is ten years old, I forgot the name.

This is a review (on Looper.com) speculating about an Unenlightened one. I thought it was very funny. Art Imitates Life Interestingly, the fact that this movie exists at all is a testament to the fact that no one learns from their mistakes. The folks building the Jurassic World theme park didn’t figure out that this is a bad idea. The people visiting Jurassic World should know that they are totally going to get eaten by these crazy dinosaurs. The people making Jurassic World haven’t figured out that making a movie with the word “Jurassic” in the title isn’t enough to make a good film. Lastly, the people who pay money to see it should know that they are totally going to be made bored by these crazy dinosaurs.

Right , your opposed to all other masters because.. there isn't enough evidence, like adventure books where villages are slaughtered and high level wizards do battle. Only your master (who won't teach you, cause your white) is the one. You talk about where cons come from, this is usually how they start- My system is the best-est and real-ist, all others are frauds, then it moves into developing fear .. without it we're doomed... just forward this to the other two dozen mo pai threads that go down in flames. Let me short circuit this now, since its been repeated in a dozen threads. You: He's scientifically proven. Me: Can he telekinetically pick a piece of paper off the floor? You: I don't know, maybe, that wasn't part of the science test. Me. Point of science is it measures. How much can he lift, in grams or ounces or compared to a sheet of paper? If there are scientists conducting tests, how much wattage can he produce? Its $5 for a voltage meter. You; Its not that kind of science. Me: Uh huh. Then I'll find the usual dozen '...'. Because I've questioned your 'god', and the Fundamentalist can't take it and has .. In truth I have great respect for Chang, especially as a healer. I'm sorry your interpretation of being involved in Mo Pai requires insulting other masters and arts. I think its an obsession that accomplished people look down on and don't participate in. Especially on the level you two do it.

Guys, I think any mention of a high level master is going to draw criticism (somewhat repetitive ones) from Zoom and Ken Brace because they believe any master who is not Mo Pai is probably a fraud. Its a creed that not only has to be repeated in any thread about masters, but several times in each thread. If they studied an art that didn't specifically ban there race and nationality I wonder if they'd be so vigilant against other styles and masters?

I've also heard Jenny Lambs method is similar and safer. The problems I've heard about Max from some members isn't that it doesn't work, but that it can be too much and open you up to bad things. And there may be no one available to help you. Its probably a rarity, but its enough that people should proceed carefully if at all, especially if they're energy sensitive. With any of these energy practices, if things get strange, slow it down or stop.

It goes a bit beyond faith. You can read his book, and various articles of people who've studied under him. Read reviews of people who've attended his seminars. What they're like and what they've gotten out of it. You can educate yourself and make a decision. I find that better then relying on psychics. If money an issue (understandable) don't go, wait and save up, move to another practice or find someone else in his art who teaches. Forget hype and powers, cause you won't get them from a seminar, you can't spend a week with a olympic athlete and think you'll be able to do worthy routines or match there skill or strength afterwards. The question is- does he know his stuff and can he teach it. Will he inspire you? A long term steady teacher is best, but these high level guys can provide powerful motivation, inspiration and give clarity on specific issues and practices. Moonnite, have you read his book? That's step number one. If it doesn't click with you then the search ends there. Its not a shot in dark, by faith, its a question of reading the reviews and talking to people who've done a seminar. You'll probably get out of it what they did,

I'm no expert, I went to one of his seminars many years ago <I don't know if his teachings have changed over the years>. A few of the senior bums had been to earlier seminars and reported favorably. Later on it was fascinating to read about people's experiences with it on a dedicated forum, which unfortunately was taken down after a few years. If lineage is important I wouldn't go the Max Christensen route. His system is simple, influenced by Jenny Lambs. If your looking for historic roots, good luck. Its a system of simple spontaneous qi gong. Most of it is hit the position, stay there, let movements come spontaneously, sit and come down afterwards. His book teaches it. Going to a seminar deepens and helps 'empower' it. For some it takes them pretty deep. People reported some amazing effects from it. Its a very 'be your own guru' kind of practice. Other then seminars, which were reasonably priced (imo I paid $300 for 3 days) he didn't really sell or preach anything, though his stories I took with several grains of salt. Max is definitely a fascinating character. In my limited expertise, the man's got juice. The seminar I went to took place in a dojo, and Max did some casual push hands kind of stuff. His pose, his power, the little I experienced of it seemed real to me. His transmission didn't particularly effect me, though it did others, it was the little martial cross hands I did with him, impressed me greatly, and that was just for fun. Red Phoenix is a secondary exercise, one that works with the upper dantien (center brain) area. Very simple, but working in that area is potentially hazardous so its only taught by those who've gone to seminars. Its not particularly dramatic, but for people who are sensitive such exercises should be done with caution. I never got into it, and am cautious of working purely with that area, being an old time aikidoist where its all about the lower dantien. Golden Dragon body is some sort of ultra rare super high state of body/spirit transformation that 99.99% don't have to worry about. I never got the bliss many others reported, but it fills a hole in training. I have systems for sitting, standing; I know a few qi gong routines, but Kunlun is a different animal. Mainly you sit in a position that brings a certain tension which brings about spontaneous movements. Its not a main practice of mine, but when I'm up late, I'll do it in the washroom. Hit the position and my body moves without conscious control and releases tension, physical, mental, spiritual(?).

I'm reading a book by a Japanese woman and her goal is to honestly love every item that you have. This tends to mean getting rid of 1/2 to 3/4 of all possessions. She gets very anthropomorphic about her things. Putting items away neatly and thanking them sincerely each day. That might be the best approach. Whether you have much or little. Each possession special and loved, yet also held lightly enough to bless and say goodbye to once its purpose is fulfilled.

Has anyone else noticed there's no such town or city called Ouija in CA ? typo? <from Op "Go to Ouija, CA, Bike around there..">