thelerner

Cool, we need more poets. Ones with hard words wrapped in soft stanzas. You seem alot like Me.

Glad to have you onboard . I always wanted to visit Silent Grounds. I don't think the island retreat is happening these days. I've gotten a lot out of Minke's audio CD's.

When I started a 'Q's For Teacher Response Only' thread, It felt like I had put out Spam bait. Mods have a hard enough time without having to check and issue 'credentials' plus put out fires such credentials would bring. Still even with official Teacher status it'd be great to bring more of 'em here. Let me throw this out. At some point we could start a thread 'Are you a Teacher? Tell us about your Art & Experience In It' and make clear that this would be a no spam, no troll zone. The noutroll zone as it were.

Why?? Its obvious. There have been 4 Jurassic Park movies. Special effects for all of them combined was 666 million dollars. So once they can reproduce the dinosaurs from Chickens they'll be able to reduce the costs down to say $66.6 million. A huge savings. The whole movie could then be autobiographical <about a producer who created dinosaurs for a movie about a man who created dinosaurs for a fun park> and as people have stated.. what could go wrong?

I feel in the future chickens will re-evolve into dinosaurs, they'll become intelligent too. And religious. The name they'll give their devil will be Colonel Sanders.

Flash back: In the days when dinosaurs ruled the earth and the internet was young, innocent and naive: When I looked at the Kunlun site I groaned, at the over the top writing, especially the 1 hour = 1,000 hours of other programs (still do). But a couple of respected bums who did the seminar gave it high remarks. A couple of bums were going to the Phoenix seminar, so I thought, its cheap, different and gives me a chance to get there a few early and have a nice mini vacation. I especially to meet Yoda and Cam (who clearly was gaga for Kunlun) We met up with some fellow bums a few days early in Sedona, did some hiking. I enjoyed the seminar, I'd never been exposed to that kind of spontaneous chi gung. While I picked up the movements, I never got hit by the bliss other people reported, even after practicing it for months. For better or worse its still my go to bathroom gi gungs. When I'm on the pot, especially at night I'll hit the position. My knees jitter, my upper torso will occasionally jerk and twirl. Its a bastardization since I'm not doing it as long as I should and especially not doing the important and required closing sitting afterwards. I'm very glad I went. Great trip, interesting people, Max was fascinating. Kunlun became a tool in my box, but not a main practice. edit: I know I did a write up about the Kunlun experience. I can't find. Here's a link to what I wrote during the trip, just before it started but the seminar write up must be somewhere else: http://thetaobums.com/topic/695-michaels-stuff-fluff/?p=42 Kind of fun looking through my old posts.

I never found this comfortable but KAP and Glenn Morris recommended sitting on your heel edge, when sitting cross legged. This heal to perineum modification sealed up a leak spot. For me it felt uncomfortable and made my foot fall asleep faster. Others reported success with it.

The pen is more powerful then the sword. And paper makes it even more useful. Journal. Get into the habit of writing without self editing. Write out dreams and desires. Write out weaknesses and problems. Write out goals and aspirations. Write out love between your brothers and your sisters, all over this la-a-and.

To me the big question is how deep does karma go? You can't argue w/ cause and effect, but with a wider view, things don't fall straightly, or according to our view- moral, personal and objective. I guess that is the question behind all religion and mysticism. Is there a mechanism keeping score and what are its rules?

Personally I think thats more a function of conscience then cosmic law. If you're a good person, empathy and sympathy effect you on a mental and spiritual level, as you move along an emotional scale towards psychopathic, you may get a free ride from such deep down internal pain. In other words those without a conscience can act like assholes, without the psychosomatic reaction a balanced person would have.

Kunlun ala Max used to advertise Egyptian rods. Never had any experience with them myself. Here's a link though: http://wands-of-horus.com/en/wands-en.html eeyouch, not cheap. And as I recall for some practices you needed 2. I've been interested in harmonic tuning forks, they're much cheaper and at least if you bang'em they make noise.

it is very subjective. We tend to remember the best of conversations and the past always seems greener. Still, I was going to say Same, then I moved up to 'Increased'. Mostly because we don't have the flame wars we've had in the past. I'm hoping it moves up significantly.

Weightlifting is great but there's a whole world of exercise regimes out there. If lifting weights is causing you this much agitation, consider stopping. There's kettle bells, which may or may give you similar problems. Body weight exercises run from simple to highest level athletics. Running, aerobics, tons of different exercises. Even a move to yoga, tai chi or martial arts might be a good change. Personally I like kettlebells.

So.. what living pop figure would you choose for a guru?? At the moment, I can't think of anyone. Thats bad because its important to have people you look upto and can model your behavior from.

True to a point. You certainly see this dynamic happening in Venezuela. Where the solution to shortages has been to strangle the producers and distributors. Still there are lesser evils. Food and housing should be affordable. I don't mind a tilt towards subsidies to make that happen. In some ways we've been doing the opposite as far as food. By making laws and requirements for ethanol, we've ended up skewing corn prices upward, creating hardships for poor.

No big comet, but we have this for the next few weeks: http://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/red-planet-rising-mars-shines-brighter-it-has-years-n72501 If you want to see Mars at its best, now's your time: This month, the Red Planet looks bigger and brighter than it has for the past six years. That may sound like the Great Mars Hoax — the occasional (and totally false) claim that Mars will loom as big as the moon in the night sky. But in this case, the claim is totally true. This month, Mars will have its closest encounter with Earth since December 2007. The reason has to do with orbital mechanics. As Earth and Mars trace their elliptical orbits around the sun, the distance between the two planets varies dramatically. There are times when the separation amounts to almost 250 million miles (400 million kilometers). On April 14, that separation narrows to a mere 57 million miles (92 million kilometers). "These opportunities only come about every two years," said Alan MacRobert, senior editor for Sky & Telescope magazine. "Most of the time, Mars is pretty darn far away." Sky & Telescope This chart helps you locate Mars in the east-southeast sky an hour after sunset, as seen from mid-northern latitudes. On April 14, the moon and the bright star Spica pair up just below Mars. Mars is easy to spot in the night sky: For skywatchers living in mid-northern latitudes, it sparkles like a yellow-orange gem in the southeast just after dark. By the middle of the month, the planet will get as bright as the star Sirius. Mars is currently moving through the constellation Virgo — which means it makes a pretty pairing with Spica, a nearby blue-white star. For a real treat, gaze at Mars through a telescope. Under optimal viewing conditions, even a 4-inch telescope can reveal light and dark regions on the planet's disk, and maybe even dust storms. The northern hemisphere is tipped toward Earth, highlighting the north polar cap in Martian springtime. "The polar cap shrinks as the season advances and exposes the dark ground beneath it," MacRobert said. "You can follow this week by week with a good amateur telescope." To identify the features you see through the lens, use Sky & Telescope's Mars Profiler to generate a map that's just right for your coordinates and observing time. Check out Damian Peach's guide to photographing Mars, and connect with other skywatchers via your local astronomy club or the ALPO Mars online portal.

wrote a book on dieting and admitted he was not at a healthy weight. (something like that) Seeking popularity is kinda like love of money- it tends to be warping.

Welcome .

What members should learn from this is that there is a little less rope and a little less tolerance for rudeness, insults and trolling. Before you post in anger or indignation, think twice and err on the side of civility. We don't want to stifle lively discussion, speak your truth but stay within the bounds of our forums rules and decor.

My sensei used to say there is the nothing that is nothing, and the nothing that is Something. Likewise there is the emptiness that is nothing and the emptiness that is something. When we hit, we stay relaxed, no muscle, intention and the nothing that is something. Similarly when we meditate we strive for the emptiness which is something. The concept doesn't translate very well, but there is the experience of it. The nothing that is Something.

mindlessness is an empty mind that notices nothing. Mindfulness is a quiet mind that notices much.

I think The more awake you are. The more cultural conditioning you've shed. The more free will you have.

Gotta ask. Are you bowl guys into tuning forks? Different tools, but similar modalities.

My reflex (sometimes) is to write nastier and angrier then appropriate. In my case, editing is a good strategy.

I'm always baffled when discussions within one of the most peaceful philosophies turn nasty. How can we change that here on the bums? I don't want this thread to devolve into name calling or finger pointing. Rather what can be done to end this strangeness. I understand all sides are passionate and come here from different traditions. Still what can be done to end sniping, trolling and insults here. 1. Burying the hatchet. Don't carry old grievances into new discussions. 2. Be honest and polite before being offensive. ie Please don't ... or could you please discuss that in a new thread. Buddhism is all about skillful means. What's the best way to cut these things off before they escalate?