thelerner

I'm a big believer in the magic of coffee grounds for better gardening. Starbucks and other coffee shops give it away by the bag and bucketful. Very good nitrogen source, not so good by itself, but mixed with leaves and other 'brown's' it makes great compost. In early fall I'll try to throw in piles of leaves, then coffee grounds, and repeat, by spring its nice compost. Smaller or shredded leaves work better then large whole ones. The science: Summary: Use of Starbucks coffee grounds in amending mineral soils up to 35 percent by volume coffee grounds will improve soil structure over the short-term and over the long-term. Use of the coffee grounds at the specified incorporation rates (rototilled into a 6- to 8-inch depth) will substantially improve availabilities of phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and copper and will probably negate the need for chemical sources of these plant essential elements. .. However, the availabilities of phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and copper are each sufficiently high that there will be a very positive impact on improving availabilities of these elements where the coffee grounds are used as a mineral soil amendment. The coffee grounds will negate the need for additional sources of phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and copper when blended with mineral soils. .. The nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium "guaranteed analyses" would be as follows for the coffee grounds: Nitrogen: 2.28 percent Phosphorus: 0.06 percent Potassium: 0.6 percent Available nutrient levels: The pH or reaction of the coffee grounds is considered slightly acidic and in a favorable range at 6.2 on the pH scale.

Hmnn, a litmus test on behavior shouldn't be what will other people think. A better question is- does it hurt other people or myself. If it doesn't, why not. I agree Normalcy is over rated, though sometimes you have to take care about freaking out people who's help you'll need and come in repeated contact with. At times the only difference between the mystic and those labeled insane is how public there practice is.

I have 2 small gardens. I think the secret is growing in your front lawn, so you pay proper attention and pride in it. There's a method of planting I learned from Mother Earth magazine. Super simple. Buy 40 lb bags of dirt. Put'em down, lined top to bottom on your lawn. Make one slit along the bottom for drainage and rip open the top. The bags are only about $1.29 each. I also bought one large Miracle Grow and spread that soil along the top of the other 8 as fertilizer/super soil. Note this is easy, but not organic. So I have 30 feet of good soil, just 10 inches wide. It grows anything beautifully. The lawn under it ends up dying off. At the end of the season you can pull away the plastic bags and throw a thick padding of leaves/mulch on it before winter. Important protection against the harsh sun and cold, and it'll break down a bit into compost over the winter. Putting a boarder around it is good, and that can be anything. Come spring I'll mix the mulch in and spread a single bag of miracle grow on top (its plant steroid). Cherry tomatoes grow on it like weeds, and I'll usually get new tomato sprouts growing the next year from dropped ones. For lettuce I like the non-head styles and I'll plant it thick so it comes up like a carpet. Its good to give tomatoes space though. Here's the link: http://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/no-dig-garden-beds.aspx and the simple info below: How to Make Instant No-dig Garden BedsYou can make new garden beds quickly with no digging or tilling by using bags of topsoil. By Barbara Pleasant June/July 2008 To make a garden in a bag, punch holes in the bottom sides of the bags for drainage before you place them on the ground, cut away the tops. Then you can plant directly into the soil in the bags and mulch the area to cover the bags. In the fall, pull away the bags and reform the beds with a rake. ELAYNE SEARS

Quite an assumption that I and everyone else here have never met a serious practitioner. I've certainly met and talked to people who've given there whole life over to their practices. Hanging out at Ashrams (I certainly bring down the average) you see the swamis who run it, the teachers, the hindu priest, even outside masters.. these guys practice 6 to 8 hours a day. They've integrated yoga into every aspect of there life; from how they get up, how they eat, how they sleep.. More then a practice, its their religious motivation. They're hardcore in my eyes, in India, they might well be considered dedicated beginners because they only practice 7 or 8 hours a day. Thats just one ashram, at local centers I've seen and met hard core. The average member on the bums isn't, certainly those who post the most, may be talented, but not hard core, but we have some people here, from different disciplines, who I think, are pretty damn amazing due to decades of practice and native ability. They don't post much cause they practice a lot and have matured beyond forum dramas. Because you look down at most other practices you may have lost opportunities to meet high level people who've dedicated there lives to practice. Such people are amazing and inspiring but at my level there's stuff to learn from most long term sincere practitioner. also "Except that some of the most powerful ones stuck to their training out of spite and hatred and malevolence, revenge being their motivation and got to an extremely high level, beyond John Chang even." this feels a little comic booky to me. The plot of most Samurai films. I hope you don't expect to visit a high level practitioner and see them flying through the air and plotting there revenge against the dark master who killed there village and.. From the people I've seen, they lead very dull lives. Great inner lives maybe, but outwardly, they sit, eat practice. Often simple, down to earth kind of people. The opposite of the count Dukou dressed in black, with rippling muscles and filled with secret techniques to sell you.

I wonder if the sad truth is that has always been the case. That our impression of past greatness is because we only hear about the greats; the masses are always ..watered down.. Maybe it was ever thus.. Still I think with knowledge, dedication and some luck, there are masters out there teaching and even without them there are crumbs to follow that lead to some pretty high stuff. Particularly now.

I'm a great believer in how hard and much you train gets you places. I also think the mentally unbalanced neigong practitioner get hurt way worse then the unstable weightlifter. Bad weightlifting will hurt your body, I've seen serious 'practitioners' lose family, friends and descend into paranoia and madness. Power amplifies you, and if your not balanced it often brings out the worst. I think we have to start letting go of the trapping of egoism as we get higher. And that includes I am Right, and My way is best. It doesn't mean you stop long hard practice, it means you stop identifying with vanities. <thankfully I'm not to high, so I can still enjoy them>

When we mention Power its not too long til a repetitive insult circle forms. It gets nasty, then sent into The Pit. Why don't we drop the drama and old feuds and get back to the OP. Legitimate Qi Powers.. I wonder if the shamanistic traditions gives us the best indication of what they are? What are the common threads that run through shamanism? In many ways shamanism is at the root of Daoism.

Hmnn, when you hear voices in your head or voices in your penis, its probably best to not obsess over them. Find a skillful way to ignore and do something constructive.

Since paper, especially newspaper makes a big target for chemicals and stuff, I'd be interested in seeing a match spontaneously light itself in video demo. In many kinds of regular chi gung during the closing they often rub hands together, often they get very hot. I can't shock anyone but I've surprised people by touching the with very hot hands. I wonder if there'd be some interesting skill in lighting a match by putting it between your hands and rubbing them together hard. Don't know if its possible and might be painful if it worked. Which brings us to candle work. People who can move the flame with there mind. I suppose it could be easy to fool yourself, gently breathing on it and thinking its your mind. Another front is dream work. From the simple, remembering several dreams a night then to lucidity. Which doesn't make for impressive demos. On the other hand if astral travel is possible then it should be easy to 'prove' it.

There's a clover machine at a Starbucks by me. Its good, particularly in that you have a choice of exotic beans and they freshly grind them. It makes a very tasty cup. On the other hand I don't notice the same 'oil' slick on top that I see when from using a french press. Maybe I'm not looking closely enough. Edit, sipping some Sumatra from the clover machine now. The 'barista' confirmed no oil slick created. There may be a double soak system that knocks out the oils.

You're hard core and way more experienced then I am but.. WTF. In my limited understanding (I did a couple months of Kaishan Golden Shield) the line between building up and hurting yourself is very close in iron crotch training. I'm not sure the rewards are worth it. If you had an experienced instructor it'd be different, but without one, I think the risk is higher then the potential gain. There are so many things to work on, why mess with the family jewels without expert advice. There are other practices for vitality with much less risk involved. And the risk can be long term and permanent. I'm thinking of TB old timer Plato who'd done such weight lifting and decided it wasn't a healthy practice. edit>You may want to ask the question on the http://forum.healingdao.com/practice/ site. They may have people who have experience since Mantak Chia had included it in the curriculum in the past.

also http://blog.lolwall.co/content/dolphin-comes-nowhere-asks-diver-help/2014/01/10# There are worse things to reincarnate as.

First season is great, most of the second is good, third season going downhill, fourth meh. If I had time traveling powers, I'd stop it at the end of the 2nd season. Then I'd keep Star Trek going for a few more seasons. Actually just messing with TV would take up decades. Then I'd move on Spielberg mistakes.. these repairs would take up most of my time travel time.

The above comments are all good. On a short term practical note. I'd say starting in the first 2 weeks of March masturbate every other day. When the urge strikes.. just hold off one day. Listen to music, practice kata.. know you can do it the next day. Figure out what substitutions work best. Often its retraining the mind, not to go there.. or there or there. Obviously quitting the porn habit will help, finding another internet subject will help and reset your computer/browser with a kid guard so it can't go there. Literally a change of underwear styles or body position in bed can help. If successful, two weeks after that wait for the weekend. Hold off, you can do it in a few days. Imo while frequent masturbation may be problem, I don't think some masturbation is all that big a deal especially in the teens and twenties. There are some traditions that demand celibacy or at least 100 days, but if you're not involved with them, don't worry. Don't beat yourself up over it

I think I got this concept from a Buddhist reverend (Kubose?): A truth spoken in anger, harshly or offensively is no longer the truth. He may have used the term false speech instead of the word truth. Seems contradictory yet in person to person matters I've found it quite true.

Thanks, I like the idea of a rotating pool and hope all mellow members choose to take turns moderating and in doing so give back to the board that they've enjoyed. I expect its a good learning experience and chance to exercise ye olde wisdom muscles. My goals- to have an iron fist that squashes pointless, petty. circular arguments and also have a velvet fist that will sop up the blood from when I use the iron one.

The interesting thing is.. we kinda do have super powers already. No telepathy but I can talk people instantly a thousand miles away, no super speed, but I have a car and can get on a plane. I can't move faster then a speeding bullet, but I can fire enough to stop most things that are moving. What would we want to accomplish and what would we need such super powers to accomplish? The reality of the world is you push, things push back. Try to accomplish something exceptionally good and you may wind up creating a monster. Try to punish a criminal and you may well be giving brain damage to some poor womans disadvantaged son. Huge wealth, immortality may well be nasty traps. To rule is not so sweet. Technology has already given us incredible super powers and we use it to distract ourselves and for pointless entertainment. We could become ultra powerful and all we'd do as masturbate all day. Better to seek .. something else. Super powers or a few months alone with a good books, a journal, food and provisions. Maybe the quiet cell is better.

Hmmn, what would I do?? Same thing I do everyday.. fight crime and poverty while keeping a secret identity.

I don't know, I think there's been more then one zen student who received a whack or lost a finger being a little too clever. The Koan after all is not about an intellectual answer.

I definitely put Max in the trickster category. Thats not a bad thing, it just means more allegory then literalness in his stories and aims.

Sadly.. nope. looks like this is an internet rumor. later edit> Going through the internet its a fascinating study in internet rumor-ology. Its easy to check out, yet you see it championed on a dozen sites (like David Icke's) when even a cursory look would prove it wrong. On the other hand she did sue her lawyers for $150 million and while there may have been a judgement against them, I can't find if it was monetary or not. Which I find highly doubtful since the only person confirming it is herself, while she hawks her book. http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/matrix.asp Snopes rates this story as FALSE here is an excerpt: ... The Matrix in 1999 she was struck by how closely it resembled her story. She filed suit against the makers of the film, seeking over $1 billion in damages. (This page provides links to a number of files and articles about her lawsuit.) Stewart's case was dismissed in June 2005 when she failed to show up for a preliminary hearing of her case. In a 53-page ruling, Judge Margaret Morrow of the Central District Court of California dismissed the suit, saying Stewart and her attorneys had not entered any evidence to bolster its key claims or demonstrated any striking similarity between her work and the accused directors' films. As of this writing, Stewart's case is no longer before the courts. She has announced that she does not plan to let the matter drop, so possibly this case could someday be re-filed and heard, but for now it is over. A less than accurate newspaper article about Stewart and her case (quoted in the Example box above) caused many to believe the woman claiming authorship had won her copyright infringement suit and was about to receive a multi-billion dollar settlement. That 28 October 2004 article, penned by a second-year communications student for the Salt Lake Community College Globe, erred in mistaking Stewart's 4 October 2004 successful counter to a dismissal motion for her having prevailed in her suit. The article asserted Stewart "will recover damages from the films, The Matrix I, II and III, as well as The Terminator and its sequels" and would "soon receive one of the biggest payoffs in the history of Hollywood." What Stewart had won was the right to proceed with her case, but nothing more. The Globe subsequently posted the following correction: In reference to the recent article entitled "Mother of the Matrix Victorious," some information has been deemed misleading. Ms. Sophia Stewart has not yet won her case against Joel Silver, Time Warner and the Wachowski Bros. The decision on October 4th enabled Ms. Stewart to proceed with her case, as all attempts to have it dismissed were unsuccessful. Ms. Stewart's case will proceed through the Central District Court of California. Thanks, The Globe Staff A number of web-based news sites (such as Thaindian News and African Globe) have continued to create confusion over the case by republishing the Salt Lake Community College Globe's outdated and inaccurate article from 2004 which erroneously claimed that Sophia Stewart had won her case. Barbara "case closed" Mikkelson Last updated: 20 November 2013 Another good article on it: http://www.examiner.com/article/debunked-sophia-stewart-vs-the-matrix-story-still-circulates-web from Examiner.com excerpt .. Winning a copyright infringement case against a studio is nearly impossible. While humorist Art Buchwald sued Paramount over Eddie Murphy's Coming to America and won, it's rare to triumph over Hollywood studios because of the high number of people who claim studios stole their ideas but have no real proof. After awhile, cries that "Hollywood stole my idea" start to sound like shouts of "I'm innocent" behind prison bars. A few people have a righteous cause. Most, however, are lying to themselves...

demi-godlike?? I've seen Mo Pai videos. Its generally things like John Chang having a 1/50th of a watt diode bulb in his hand; he tries to light it, fails, tries again, fails, brings it the corner of the room, success.. demonstrating with a few tries 1/50 of a watt of power. Same with Jim McMillian a practitioner and teacher for a decade or two. In his video he moves his hands back and forth a few times and some small stacked boxes fall forward. Maybe 1/2 ounce, even an ounce of power has been shown after great concentration and decades of study. The Mo Pai demonstrations I've seen aren't demi-godlike; even if legitimate they show tiny tiny amounts of power, so small it'd be easier to light match or just blow to get the same effect. Compared to humans athletic abilities, these 'powers' are laughable. They make lifting up spoon and feeding yourself seem demi-godlike. With that being said, I'm sure J.C should be considered a master. But. If I gave him a 20 watt could he light it up? I doubt it. If I dropped a sheet of paper on the ground could he lift it up and waft it to my hand. I doubt it. Does he have healing ability? Yes, I believe that and I'm impressed. But, I also believe the top Reiki people do too. Are they as powerful as J.C. at healing? Maybe. The problem is Reiki's got a well deserved reputation for giving away master titles like they were popcorn, thus there are a lot of low level people going around calling themselves Reiki masters. But there are also, I believe (no studying), people with actual juice that use Reiki and are high level. And while I doubt I'd ever formally study Reiki, if there were a high level practitioner I'd give them respect, they'd be interesting to talk to and I'd try to learn something from them.

He's written so many times that 99% of all paths (other then his & 3? others) are garbage that he's closed his mind to new ideas. I find the majority of his comments have little to do with cultivation and mostly just arguing. If Mo Pai comes up (as here), don't expect to learn anything, it'll be a rehash of hundred of pages of childish back and forth, over and over.

I've been making lots of lentil soup lately. Red lentils cook up quickly. chopped carrots, onion, celery, a potato or two skinned and cubed- cooked in oil for 5 or 6 minutes. Then put in 1 cup red lentils- stir 4 cups broth or water w/ some soy secret ingredient, lemon peel, just outer yellow, cut into small pieces. Works as flavoring and tastes good. other ingredients..whatever.. cumin, salt, pepper, garlic powder, hot sauce, (whenever I add cumin I like to add chocolate powder) Cooks up beautifully, the longer you simmer the better it tastes.

One thing I just noticed about Chat. There's an icon that breaks it into its own window. Thus you can hang out there and wait for a 'bite' and still look through the rest of the internet. I'll have to see it it automatically updates or only show new text when I'm in that window.