thelerner

Feminism is a good idea. Basically it calls for equal rights and opportunities for woman. Like any movement it gets a little crazy at the extremes, where an enemy must be found and unfortunately that unifying enemy is All men and the patriarchy. Thus the radicals waste energy and at times look ridiculous. I want my daughter and and nieces to have the same rights and opportunities as any one else. Society loses potential when some are kept from there aspirations. Let the individual decide there path without prejudices.

and sometimes what looks like a demon is really an old childhood anger or grudge that's throwing a tantrum and if left alone will settle down all by itself.

I've never heard of him or his school. On your recommendation (which I value) if he were close to Chicago I'd go.

and that's why I always keep 2 rocks in my hand. One for reserve, the other for existential mathematicians.

This is an oldie (1989) but goodie. http://www.amazon.com/The-Tao-Health-Sex-Longevity/dp/067164811X The Tao of Health, Sex, and Longevity by Daniel Reid Edit by Admin: Fixed Link by Staff

When going through hell, keep going. - Churchill Still Hell is better with the company of friends or to a good sound track. I really like this song when I'm down. It's smooth and bluesy and reminds us to Breathe, just breath.

Call me an abstinence lightweight, when I go past 8 or 9 days, I get angrier, less patient. I'm increasingly negative, I want woman/sex but my thoughts about them turn a little darker. After 2 1/2 weeks of abstinence I get a bit more even, maybe even a dullness. The day of and a few days after sex I'm clear and happy, then the cycle begins. It probably is a testosterone thing, a hormonal cycle both powerful and subtle. I'm at my happiest having sex twice a week. edit add> Its like men have a 'PMS' cycle tied to ejaculation. So many eastern traditions have 100 day gung celibacy rules that there must be something to it. Couse without a holistic system to transmute such retention into spirit/energy/whatever it can create more problems then it solves.

Yes, definitely. Because its so damn easy to quote something thats out of context. Without someone raised in that tradition its easy to misunderstand the relevance and importance (or lack of) of any statement. As I said its a very easy game to play and on the internet you can find it against every religion. Quotes (& histories) that prove what black-hearted murderers they are; its vitally important to get input and explanation beyond a quote. We need the explanation of a native, without proper knowledge of the historical context and modern interpretation we'll never get to the truth. And we are likely to be manipulated by someone's agenda. A dead book can't explain the intricacies of a living tradition. Its a game played by many racists and without someone to put things into perspective its easy to be infected by it. The antidote is to talk to a knowledgeable person of that religion, without appearing to want to sabotage them, and learn. Often we find out its been dropped, the religion has moved on, or that it was always a minority opinion. <more editing & addition> I'm just putting out here, that we should be careful about saying and implying All (X) believe (Y). Because often such generalities are wrong. You know what I've gotten from this conversation. I disagree with the apologists who understand, sympathize and rationalize the murders actions. I'm also weary of those who'd blanket blame on all of Islam. It should be pointed at the segment thats responsible. Its also made me reconsider my thoughts on the death penalty. It made me turn against it. You need to draw a line somewhere. The apologists were getting dangerously close to 'in these conditions its understandable to kill these people'. How far does that go?? If you're religious enough is it okay to kill or throw acid on your daughter as an honor killing? Where does a license to kill begin and end? For me, I acknowledge and approve of self defense and killing someone who's attacking can be justified. I understand war happens and is always horrendous and full of lies yet at times necessary. The attackers shouldn't be killed. The highest principle of civilization is to value and defend lives. Obviously in the U.S we've fallen short of that ideal, yet things change and history's pendulum moves back and forth. Beyond our primitive violent instincts there has been a slow but accelerating movement away from many historic prejudices. Most violence is caused by fear. I guess we should all get a little braver, and greet and talk to those we perceive as enemies.

I'd also ask that we do our best to keep this thread clear of vicious sentiments aimed at any religion (though I'm certainly guilty of expressing some of that myself), especially when ones that tend to be 'All blank are blank', because like all generalities they tend to be untrue. We don't have a large Moslem group here to defend itself, and in the past when we have its devolved into My Religion (or lack of) is So Much better then yours. One its against board policy, two it brings out the worst in us. E

In my view, and its shared by many, maybe..hopefully most of the adherents of the 3 Abrahamic religions is that we are indeed well.. cousins, if not brothers. We have gotten into some pretty viscous fights at times, yet at others we've gotten along okayishly. Its not unusual for some sub group to get crazy, yet I think the majority tends to be saner, yet the crazies tend to rise to power. As far as the internet goes, I find its poisonous to get information on a religion solely from sources that are obviously against it, and/or hate it. In other words its better to find out about Islam (or Christianity/Judaism) from an internet source that is Islamic, or better yet ask a Moslem, visit a mosque, talk to an Imam. As part of there religious education my temple has the kids find out about Islam by going to a mosque, talking to an Imam. Likewise they go to Cathedrals and find out about Catholicism from priests. Because there are sects and periods where religions and countries go nuts there will always be a way to paint a religion or country in the darkest light. Its very easy and its not accurate. If you been around a 1000 years + you've got skeletons in your closet. That's not to be too lovey dovey, imo there are problems with radical Islam. It has not always been so and hopefully will continue. You can historically point to Saudi funding of 100's of Wahhabism schools that have helped poison some of a generation.

A high of 4, low of -7 and no sun. brrrr rrr. yet.. the investor in me thinks.. when the going gets cold, look at all the beaten down natural gas stocks.

While here in Chicago ..

Moslems have also inflicted an amazing amount of punishment on other Muslims in recent history. Numbers running well into the 100's of thousands a year for a quite a while. The West is certainly not innocent but much of the murder and mayhem is imo home grown. The pictures you show, are you sure they're not all Moslem on Moslem violence? If you researched each one, could they have resulted from the millennia long Sunni Shiite conflict? I don't know, but you may very well be showing pictures resulting from that religious schism and blaming it on the West. <sorry if this is a side track, but this happens quite a bit on the internet> Also to the above post, Islam gives Judaism and Christianity special rights as Peoples of The Book. Buddhists and Hindu's do not get that 'special rights' and in some darker fundamentalist Islamist circles are open game. Unfortunately B'ai Hai's can be subject to scorn and punishment because they're considered by many heretics.

Question, did you learn the Four dragons from Damo Mitchell at a retreat or from a video? Also what can you tell us about it. His site describes them as 4 short spinal 'awakening' sequences. <I always like short and easy anything>

That's not a bad idea. Might be worthy of a thread in itself, ie having people say what they think is Reality vs Illusion. What I find is when you fake it, act enlightened when you're not, you get kinda goofy and its hard to live in the 'real' world. Cause playing the 'nothing truly exists' paradigm can be brutalizing. Unless you're truly egoless. <oh, and the opposite of an egg is Colonel Sanders. .so much the opposite, it blows your mind>

For some reason I am reminded of this.

Beware letting off murderer's to easily. Most poor disenfranchised people who don't kill others. Beyond basic morality there is common sense intelligence of what comes next and these terrorists reap more repression, violence and prejudice for there people. France is not Saudi Arabia or Iran, they cannot dictate what a free country does. There social mores and taboos do not have to be universally accepted by other countries. Though if you choose to live in those countries then yes you should abide respectfully. Things are not equivalent. In some ways its an insult to Islam to say they 'don't know any better, that's the way they were raised'. Because the vast majority do know right from wrong and know such terrorists acts are counter to the spirit and law of there beliefs.

Would you recommend people go intense (5 -8 hours a day) for a period of time? Just to try it, hammer out some consciousness issues.

I agree to dwell on, to look long into the abyss, it stares back and infects us, we risk becoming the horror we oppose. I'd also add, we need the big hearted people in the world (like Manitou) who point the way to being real human beings. There is a time to mourn and a time to celebrate the lives of those who have passed. The best justice is a life well lived.

I kinda have to agree, maybe not spamming, but a little over posting. Nothing wrong some of this enthusiasm into a personal page. Writing so many times a day (6, 7, 8) into the same thread, dilutes its value and sorta interrupts the flow of the site a bit. Sometimes too much is too much. and i notice the admin agreed with Brian's post.

In my professional opinion, its slightly better then a Vogon's. Vogon Poetry -http://hitchhikers.wikia.com/wiki/Vogon_poetry

I've been various forms of yoga nidra lately. One thing they have in common is allowing you to repeat a culpa 3 times; asking for a benefit, an aspiration. Today I did a longish one, 42 minutes. I was pretty deep and I requested an open heart. and I'd still kill them (or lifetime imprisonment). I understand why they did it, recognize there uniqueness and value as human beings. I don't buy into an automatic assumption of poor repressed childhoods nor if true does that move me too much. Often these guys are simply murderous thugs. I see an ultimate aim of a world with no music or dancing, forbidding any news, literature or expression that's doesn't fit a tight fundamentalist narrative. A dystopian where all views must conform to the leader's religious zealotry.

Taking your practice forward in a slow steady way, ie not too much too soon especially for energy type practices. Long walks, quiet sitting, keeping the mind and emotions calm. Keeping the body in shape, working out; getting a decent sweat. Zhan Zhuang, ie standing practice is good. I'm mostly repeating what people have written above. Here's something a bit new. Talk to friends, see if your getting too airy, too.. well ungrounded. Take it seriously. If you are then slow down your practice a bit or if its bad put it on hold for a while.

There was some early insanity. One of the founders went by the handle Ron Jeremy, was quite the practitioner of crazy wisdom and that cut both ways. When he'd get angry he'd lash out IN FULL CAPS RAGE swearing and posting pornographic pictures at the object of his scorn. Good guy normally, but without restraint when angry. Bad begets worse and creates multiple flame wars. These days they're put out very quickly. Maybe too quickly. But the site has thrived. The mods and administrator are always looking for the right level and its not easy. Its a hard volunteer job done with love, patience, humor and exasperation.

I take it the OP is a plea for understanding for the men who murdered 12 human beings in France? I have none. I would see them painfully killed and call it justice. The psychopath who kills the family next door because of some perceived slight is still guilty of multiple murder. To excuse them is to give a green light to any fanatic of any religion who feels they have they the right to kill others at will for any argument new or old. Historical rationalizing is easy, protecting the innocent not so much.