thelerner

Linked to this from a off topic link about mattresses. I was just at a huge Thai spa, filled with special rooms, ie Gold room, charcoal room, amethyst, ice, uber heat etc., Some of them had just that 'pillow' for laying the head on. Lately my secret weapon is the Spoonk http://www.spoonkspace.com/, kinda like a yoga mat with thousands of plastic spikes on it. You wouldn't want to sleep on it, but for 20 or 30 minutes it loosens the back and makes it feel much better. I don't know if the secret is its hitting acupressure points or just a reaction to painful spikes, but it works well.

Due to my wife I sleep on a nice firm mattress. But at yoga ashrams I slept on a thin sponge type mattress 3 or so inches thick placed on plywood. It took a few days but I think I slept better on the thin cheap mattress over plywood; falling asleep faster and going deeper. Some padding is probably optimal but modern mattresses probably overdue it.

Fascinating video, here's the link: in a similar vein here's a story on how large mammals like elephants fight desertification - http://www.ted.com/talks/allan_savory_how_to_green_the_world_s_deserts_and_reverse_climate_change?language=en It's especially poignant because the author had written a paper in his younger days saying an ecological problem was too many elephants, which led to a mass slaughter. It was later in his life he realized what an incredibly important cog they were environmentally; how the large hoofed mammals sustained and fought desertification.

I don't do yoga, but I've hung out at the Sivananda Ashram on Paradise Island because A. its in the Caribbean, Great food, good meditation and you meet some fascinating spiritual types. <who are also ditching early morning yoga class for Starbucks. >

I was thinking the late 60's, 70's and early 80's were way more sexual then we are now. Without killer STDs there seemed to be quite a bit more casual sex then. More clubs, open life styles, casual and experimental sex. I'm far from any hip scene, (the fact I use 'hip' proves it) but I get the feeling the sexual pendulum, perhaps out of necessity, has been moving more conservative the last decade or two. times aren't as groovy as they used to be, man. With drugs too, the movement toward decriminalization, legalization; stopping 3 strikes and your out, and other bias'd crazy expensive drug incarceration policies is swinging in a saner direction. Too slow and there's inevitable backlashes, but in general its moving in the right direction. Groups like the tea party aren't exactly bastions of sex drugs and rock'n roll, but some would say they're easily led. Really, too often the definition of a brain washed group is 'one that disagrees with me'.

and/or a few bladders to blow air into. That way less weight and more customization, though you'd still want some padding so it'd breath.

I'm w/ Marblehead, its a very enlightened ideal. Still, looking at some of the prison systems in Northern Europe which to our eyes coddle criminals. Great living spaces and rehab facilities. W/ the number of people we arrest here it'd be instantly bankrupting. Still some pet programs would be interesting. Spending more upfront might be the cheapest way. As well as knocking out certain 'prison feeder' laws.

or just make into a smaller weedlike plant.

I thought I did it because it felt good, real good. I have 'sexually fasted', yet find myself happiest having sex 2 or so times a week. Course, thats me. I'm on the 'house holder' route, not the monk path. There are times for discipline and times to keep it natural. Hopefully with wisdom the two align.

Eye of Storm is a racist and anti-Semite who used the board as a soapbox to spread his prejudices. When he's back we can expect him creating threads and peppering random posts to include how the Jews are evil and taking over the world. I'd be open to Deci and ChiDragon though, they could be prickly and opinionated but didn't use the board to further racist views.

Things go wrong when you try to do right. Then again, they also go wrong when we do nothing and generally the most wrong when we don't give a damn and act selfishly. I think when things go wrong, when trying to do right, its usually because I pushed too hard, was too emotional and too attached. Without those factors, I think doing right would generally work out better.

son of a bitch.. i don't even know what square i'm on.

They're old and probably in the library; anything by Hugh Prather is good. Such as Notes to Myself, or A Book for Couples were very good humanist books for dealing with the human condition. Haven't done it lately, but I used to listen or read Eckhardt Tolle when I was in an emotional tizzy. His voice was calming and helped refocus away from the problem. later edit> oh yeah, liquor works too

Imo, good to give it some thought every now and then but bad to dwell on it. I tend to believe we're not who we 'think' we are anyway, rather we're mostly what we do.

Deci was always big on turning The Light onto itself. I always had trouble discerning what she meant. Trying to find another word for what Light meant. I tried substituting awareness. Finally with more help from Ajahn Brahms writings and the book 'Jhanas- Knowing and Seeing', my new understanding is that Light is light. Its the phenomena of seeing a bright light in the inner eye that comes once concentration and awareness passes a certain boundary. Nothing intellectual, rather a common experiential sign post along the way. Probably one often re-interpreted through cultural bias's.

exactly. perfect answer. that is how taoism deals with music.

Simple sitting isn't so simple. Lots of ways to sit. When on the floor, most traditions have you on firm pillows (in zen - zafus) that life your butt a few inches off the floor. Sitting a few inches (5 -7ish) higher alleviates some stress on the legs. I usually sit in half lotus with one leg resting on the other. When I'm feeling tight I'll loosen it up a bit, so neither leg is on the other, that can help. After 15 years of meditation and sitting as still as possible, I took a seminar in Stillness-Movement gi gung where a small natural bob motion was acceptable while sitting. That's helped me sit longer without discomfort. These days I'll usually sit with a blanket around me too. When cold bundle up.

Great idea, it can be used beyond flip flops into shirts, creating tan lines for chest, arms and back.

I always thought one piece of its power is derived from energy going where you concentrate. Most of the time the organs are on auto pilot your attention brings a dose of relaxed attention/intention/energy to them. Might also bring a bit of extra blood flow and/or some good hormones also. Not only to the organ but also to the brain area that controls it. Its a way of building a stronger psycho-somatic link to a vital piece of our machinery. Probably works whether you buy in to the whole organ/god/element philosophy or not. Just like researchers have found laughing has amazing health affects to; way beyond what the simple mechanics would imply. Inner smile while tortured?? If you've developed very high concentration then yes, you may be torture resistant. Anything lower then high mastery and while you'll last longer (yippee) and recover faster (perhaps) it'll still get you, imo. Personally, I had some bodywork done by Master Clyman. It was akin to torture (undoubtedly beneficial on some level) and through I was able to relax and laugh at the pain and situation in the middle of it. Because of that I got a longer session and had an amazingly painful time. (smiling, laughing, tell oneself I can take 30 more seconds of this repeatedly, only goes so far) Thus showing resistance to torture is not always in one's best interest.

Avoid when you can, fine. But like 'the plague'.. might be overdoing it. The human body is adaptable and if you avoid a common irritant too much and you might get sick when you're inevitably exposed to it. Beware of purifying yourself so much common tap water makes you ill. From what I've read there's a sweet spot, getting some fluoride is good for you. Later add> Americans live longer (&probably have better water quality) on the whole then Africans. Grass is always greener on the other side though. later later add> looking at statistics, in some cases way way longer. Songstan if you want an interesting look at Stats for life and death style, good links - http://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/life-expectancy-africa http://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/usa-cause-of-death-by-age-and-gender

Minke De Vos of Silent Ground has a great audio CD called Tao Basics. She's got a 30 minute indepth guided meditation on it called Deep Body Smile that goes is very well done. Also contains meditations on Sexual Energy and Microcosmic Orbit that are excellent.

long time no read. Good to see you back here .

While I like some of the sentiment, its not false victim mentality if African Americans are repeatedly and institutionally being profiled and treated differently then whites. Still the solution isn't the Rush to Outrage or Riot culture we've developed. Its better handled through strong civil and legal avenues as well as organized assemblies to air grievances. I lay lame in a lot of places. Most- I blame the people doing the crimes. They're number one and deserve punishment. Single mothers vs Police force profiling and prejudice? Both have damn hard jobs and could benefit from earlier training. Maybe mandatory training with any increased welfare check? This is the 21st century, if you don't have a job, maybe there should be an educational component, at a library or community center (or less preferably online) required (w/ daycare) for those getting government checks. Some taught by local leaders. An out of the box solution would be each police force having criminal rights people on hand who'd educate police in keeping away from brutal force as well as making sure those arrested have there rights protected. Maybe having police work less hours and more facilities to blow off steam would help too. Reforming drug laws would go a long way too.

Interestingly, isn't tea very high in fluoride? Researching... traditionally brewed tea is 3.37 parts per million of fluoride. Tea does accumulate fluoride and there's more in older leaves. Yet, so what, I only drink a few hundred billion parts each cup and fluoride is low on my list of boogie men.

Hot Chocolate w/ Irish Creme liquor on a cold winter day comes pretty close for me.