thelerner

Hope you have you have a good move, they can be trying. I'll keep a look out for messenger owls and keep a light on here for your return.

After a 30 year absence Fleetwood Mac was back in town. I was going over there classic Rumours album and was amazed at how good the accoustic pickings were.

ChristianMagus, in the case of board etiquette repeatedly using capital letters COMES OFF AS SCREAMING and is frowned upon. also In the past experience when we've had very religious people, Christian, Moslems, Hindu's.. who set themselves up as sole and final representatives of there religion, they generally don't last long here. In other words, its great to be proud of your form of Christianity (not sure which sect you are from), but beware of coming on too heavy. It tends to create backlash. Just be sensitive the fact there are people with other belief systems including Christians with other beliefs. I wanted to add something constructive here but can't find it. A teacher who impressed me was Anna Wise, who unfortunately passed away. She considered herself a Christian and a Taoist. She did much early brain wave testing of various high level meditators, from a wide swath of groups. One of the most impressive was a Christian faith healer. I'm looking through her book 'High Performance Mind', but I can't find his name. But he did have one of the most distinct brain waves, in this case it was multiple waves going on at the same time. Mantak Chia is one of the few who also displayed that phenomena.

That's a very concise outline of the entire Healing Tao system. Hard to believe it could done in 3 hours. Seems like doing the entire 34 pages of 'morning' practice would end just about when it was time to go to bed.

Yeah. The worst things about fighting be it physical, internet, or whatever is the ripples. Like knocking down a chain of dominoes you'll never know what you've set in motion. But once you set a negativity loose in the world, it may keep going and going and whether you know it or not you've made the world a little worse. On the third hand we're only human. Sometimes we can walk away, othertimes we can't, but we can try to create more peace then problems. ie Realize when we've gone negative and try to balance it with some positive uplifting comments. Be aware of slights we've given others and try to balance them out by going out of our way to help others. Kind of a self imposed penance.

I agree, kinda. There are teachers who won't talk about what you 'should' feel. They want students to find out by themeselves authentically. Otherwise they'll be influenced by what they expect. Expectations can play a significant role in what you experience. Often its best to be a blank page. Otherwise your cultural bias's and beliefs will become your lenses.

You make some good points about moving/nature/awareness but I gotta disagree with adding 'stress' to your list of no's, 2,500 years ago. Wasn't stress and suffering the reason Buddha became the Buddha? I'd also want to double check on pollution too. A big community with no plumbing or refrigeration can get quite polluted. Even porn might be more a mindset problem then exclusively a tech one. Still your solutions are right on.

It was taught by skype, maybe 6 or 8 weeks where a group would skype 'live' with Santiago. I enjoyed Glenn Morris's book, (Pathnotes of a ..) bad title, great book. I'd also purchased his Meditation Mastery tape series. Glenn was a synthesizer taking and testing what he thought worked best from several systems. That would lay the foundation for KAP. You could see clear influences from Healing Tao, also from Hinduism- the chakra system. What I liked best was the secret smile practice. Doing the skype class reinvigorated the practice for me. When I'd do it regularly I'd be clearer, happier, more on. I also enjoyed the tummo taught in it. I probably never practiced long and earnestly enough to get the full potential of the system but there are a couple pieces of it I've integrated.

I've backpacked with Australian companions, and found- they are the friendliest craziest people on earth. This video has reinforced that opinion .

Santiago Dobles who teaches KAP (http://kundaliniawakeningprocess.com/) is in Florida. I did an online Kap seminar with him years ago. He seems like a top energy and martial arts guy. You can probably look him up online.

Short answer. Everything. Give away or donate then join a monastery <choose wisely>. Just beware retreat ain't Vegas, no free lunch, it can be a very hard life, unless you have an egoless temperament. On the third hand you can have a very spiritual time at a yoga ashram, for a few weeks or months. Some get pretty extreme. The Sivananda ashram on Paradise island is a nice middle ground. <maybe a bit further from the ascetic side depending on where you stay and how you conduct yourself>

There are people who search so exclusively for 'extra special' that they walk over unpolished diamonds. Also people might be overestimating there own extra specialness too. I think we make someone special by .. treating them special, finding out about them. Sure its good to have mutual interests, but beware if you're looking for a clone or a supermodel. What I'm saying is don't be so quick to declare whole groups off the table. In the OP a girl who labeled herself 'spiritual but not religious' wrote him off and in consequence he'll never date anyone who puts down again. That sentiment is self defeating, in dating and probably in life. Cause dating (& much of success) is a numbers game. It usually won't work out but when it does, its sweet. There's a learning curve to it. My advice is be open, get experience, so when you find the right person you'll be an interesting worthwhile catch yourself.

, Love, dating.. marriage. its all optional, you don't have to do it. You can live a good life without it. But there are advantages to sharing your life with someone else. There are countless benefits to a good marriage. Dating can be a pain, but it can be fun too. Falling in love is a wild trip, built both into our genes, our jeans, and perhaps a little bit from that God is love stuff. Is this about being dumped and then trying to find 'spiritual' and social reasons to justify giving up on dating and romance? Seems like you're looking for a Professor to student relationship. One where you explain reality to some starry eyed girl. Not a good strategy. Solid recommendations, be funny, be open, listen as much as you talk. Don't send hour long philosophy youtubes. It may sound shallow, but compliment her, hopefully honestly. Everyone has good things about them. Do stuff together, and when you talk philosophy, don't do it in terms of absolutes.

Hmnn, in some ways any art can be thought of as inherently selfish. I mean, if you show off your art, be it music, painting or what not isn't that putting excessive work into a temporary asset? Yet many taoists were great artists. In that vein I think you can be a body builder or hard core weightlifter and keep to taoist principles and its simply your thing. What makes you an individual and not a stereotype. So I think few things are anti-Dao if done in the right spirit. I remember one or two yogi's who were renowned for there fantastic strength.

Pretty deep insight into the human drama.

Probably not necessary, I assume moving 4 posts in the same thread is as easy as moving a thread with 20 posts. Course you know what they say about assuming; it makes an Ass of U and Ming.

Which places stand out? Where did you enjoy going the best? (I could understand a moderator moving this thread to Off-topic)

I've dreampt of traveling the U.S slowly in a small RV w/ a kid or two but everyone gets so busy.

My sensei used to say something like 'Keep your mind in the emptiness that is not empty.' And describe it as not the hippy mind that is empty, but the meditator's whose mind is empty but awareness is sharp. Likewise he'd say we hit with the no-thing that is something, an aspect of no power that is strongest. Then he'd demonstrate, hitting us on the front shoulder and it'd go numb.

I think coffee shops like Starbucks would make a mint if they offered a mugs of miso during the winter. Its fast cheap healthy and really hits the spot. Heck they should sell a tablespoon of coconut butter too. How far behind the cutting edge do they want to be. whoops, going off subject. Other ideas for winter tonics? edit errata> Cool Facts About Miso and Its Health Benefits:-With as little as 11 calories per gram of protein, it’s a great source of healthy protein. -A low fat, high flavor addition to dishes; the strong flavor of miso means a little goes a long way, allowing you to cut down on calories and salt. -It keeps your systems in balance by alkalizing the body (the body needs to be in an alkaline state, as opposed to an acidic state, to maintain wellness. Acidity is created in the body as a reaction to substances such as animal protein, coffee and sugar.) -An excellent source of B vitamins, which may include B12 (There are conflicting reports on whether miso is a viable source of B12. This disagreement may be due to the variation of fermentation time and where and how the products being tested were produced.) -Aids digestion and nutrient intake (This is possibly due to the digestive enzymes, lactobacilli, salt-resistant yeasts and beneficial micro-organisms present in miso) These benefits can be lost if cooked away, so avoid boiling or overcooking miso. -A good source of manganese, tryptophan, zinc, phosphorus, copper, omega 3 fatty acids, lecithin, and linoleic acid. also Mugi = Barley, very nutritious.

Winter is coming. Some feel thats a good time to take a tonic for a little extra umph. Are there any tonic's you'd recommend? Either a commercial formula or a home made recipe?

Hmnn, I don't know if there any 'single thing' you can do to liberate yourself and find the truth. But, this might be a single thing that moves you in the right direction. ie, you want to practice overcoming debilitating suffering and fear, try going blind! I'm sure its life shattering, but this is going blind in a safe environment. After a while many participants have psychic episodes that aren't liberation, but might be sign posts that point towards it. maybe.. It'd be worthwhile to try, if you had the money, nerve and long time practice. I suspect we're only hearing from the successes, some people freak out early and can't go on.

There is some interest in it. Dream topics pop up relatively often, this would be a place for deeper discussion on aspects of dreamwork, as well as an e classroom with joint reading assignments and exercises. Perhaps it could be a subforum under Group Studies? Any place it'd fit in without cluttering up the board. If it doesn't have a self sustaining group by the end of a year, we could stash it away.

Mantak Chia's group in Thailand Tao Gardens has Dark room retreats. Its fascinating to read what happens after a few days. Pituitary gland opens, senses expand etc., Here's a link to Minke De Vos's experience in it: http://www.silentground.com/VisionaryAlchemy.htm and Dennis Huntington's http://www.universal-tao.com/dark_room/thedark.html

I think there is great value in considering it true and not true. To keep the two considerations like heads and tail of a coin. In the tic toc everyday world it is not true. I am typing what you're reading from a distance. I am not you, I am separate with a long history, as is everyone else. Yet considering the other side of the coin, allows you to take ultimate responsibility for the world. It becomes a Rorschach test reflecting your mindset. You see and interpret it differently. You live a better life, rich in synchronicity. Robert Moss's work is all about seeing'real' life as dream, and taking dreams as seriously as 'real' life. He has some good stuff on the shamanic side of dreamwork.