thelerner

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Everything posted by thelerner

  1. entity issue, advice needed

    thelerner replied to Josama's topic in General Discussion

    Because I don't believe in entities, or at least have filed them into my thick, 'Don't Know' file; I wonder if this gives me immunity to them? I.E. I don't believe in ghosts so I lack awareness of them. Course such insensitivity cuts both ways. We don't what we're missing by cutting off senses. My mom just had cataract surgery and remarked 'The world has gotten much more colorful'

  2. Hacked Taobums

    thelerner replied to Awen's topic in Forum and Tech Support

    I suspect its You not TB. In other words since as far as we know its only happening to you, that its a virus or strange setting on your system. If you're a PC system, I'd make sure my antivirus software was up to date. If you don't have SpyBot consider downloading, its compliments anti virus programs and gives an extra layer of protection. You can also try downloading a new and maybe latest version of your browser or trying new one. Note switching from Firefox to Chrome helped sati. Sometimes its the browser (ie Chrome, Firefox etc.) thats infected and using another one helps. Last case situation you can use Window's 'Restore' to reset to a time you didn't have the virus. Note Restore is haphazard when it comes to virus control. that my 2 bits, I'm not a pc doctor, but play one on the internet.

  3. Demand A Plan

    thelerner replied to Immortal4life's topic in The Rabbit Hole

    Hmnn conspiracy theory that the conspiracy theorists are paranoid, nuts <or on there way?> Maybe. But I think most people on both sides have room for doubt <myself included> in some or most cases. I even think those who make a business out of this don't believe it all but its there hobby. BUT there are the True Believers, who like Timothy McVeigh, who live and breath that America <or THEM> is killing millions off each year and HAS to be stopped by some heroic figure. There may be 100'000's of McVeighites around the world because there are media outlets that specialize in paranoid scenarios, the MidEast is rife with them. Thats where my strong feelings come from.

  4. Demand A Plan

    thelerner replied to Immortal4life's topic in The Rabbit Hole

    You ever think Infowars just takes every event where more then a dozen people die and say The Government did it? And thats how they get the government killing off 290 million people. If you looked at each separate event in depth you'd find a different reasons and motivations for each act. I think its turning off your mind to create an ad hoc explanation for everything. Paranoid and sloppy thinking.

  5. Interview with Bruce Frantzis

    thelerner replied to Jetsun's topic in Systems and Teachers of

    Wow..another TMer for my Best of TaoBums Writings.

  6. Visualization for Repairing Injured Tissues

    thelerner replied to Marks of Glory's topic in General Discussion

    I think this practice comes from the Healing Tao. Sometimes in the morning when the sun is relatively low I'll face it with my eyes closed. Watching the sun through closed lids I'll see bright fluorescent colors. I'll run/breath the colors through my core, bones, muscles, etc., I don't choose the colors but they tend to go from bright yellows fading darker into purples. I suppose if there is part of the body that needs special attention you can spend a bit more time putting the colors there. Its supposed to be healing, it feels good to do. It's not exactly sun gazing since the eyes are closed.

  7. Spiders

    thelerner replied to eye_of_the_storm's topic in General Discussion

    May I say, I admire your strength, flexibility and crime fighting abilities .We need to respect our elders and I suspect Spiders have been around a long long time..

  8. Not that I'm paranoid or anything but uh.......

    thelerner replied to h.uriahr's topic in The Rabbit Hole

    I don't drink koolaid, it rots the teeth and mind. The more biased you are the more slant you see. Those with absolute bias's see conspiracy absolutely everywhere. Usually taking the form an all powerful perfectly performed act, yet the people who plan it are psychotically wrong about what it will accomplish. So the fabulous master minds risks everything to kill a few dozen children, is there the guarantee it'll lead to banning guns in the U.S? No, the odds of it happening are ZEEEEERRRRrrrroooo. DUhhhhh. <maybe large clips will be banned, so you'll have to buy the millions available on the black market> This is mass murder # 12. It happens 2 or 3 times a year in the States and it results in nothing. You can pretty much blow the head off a senator and nothing happens (or should I say happened). If you're murderously ruthless and half way intelligent you know there are 100's of millions of guns out there (+300). You know these acts will spur huge new guns sales. You know the odds of an actual ban are damn near zero, and odds someone along the way will spill the beans because killing children is frowned on, is great. Seems to me its stupid 5 ways and I only mentioned 2. The only truly stupid people I see aren't murderously dumb, they're foolishly biased and willing to buy the latest smelly load peddled by paranoid hate mongers. "It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." - Aristotle True, but there's an element of vile slander to this that makes me spit it out quickly. Hopefully I'd feel the same way if either side claimed the other was killing to children to make there point.

  9. Spiders

    thelerner replied to eye_of_the_storm's topic in General Discussion

    I don't know nothing about souls. But I do know about nervous systems, complexity of brains etc., So I eat plants without regret and often choose fish over mammal. That tends to guide my eating habits more then metaphysics.

  10. How to make money?

    thelerner replied to skydog's topic in General Discussion

    Huh, I thought you were going to saycatch'em, skin'em and eat'em <who needs to work?> Seems you went in the other direction .

  11. What the Bodhisattva said

    thelerner posted a topic in The Rabbit Hole

    So apparently there is one confirmed Bodhisattva on this board. Here's what he said to me, "I come to this board, read and read then laugh and laugh" What did he say to you?
  12. More truth has been said in jest. Like a camel I can go for without for a week or two, but I prefer to drink every 3 or 4 days. And times of discipline or circumstance can draw it out for a month or so.

  13. Personal Responsibility/ cultivating sagacity.

    thelerner replied to 三江源's topic in General Discussion

    A firm stand on foolish animals misreading signs.
  14. Course sexuality is rife with the placebo effect, ie when you wear a certain hat or socks you become magically more sexually attractive. If you believe it, it helps. That why I keep my 'Lucky' socks carefully guarded. I don't know if we look (or smell) better to woman after a week without, but they sure look sexier to us.
  15. Why would you want to?? Banned people are the most interesting and teach us the most, even if its just about toleration and letting things go.

  16. meditating on fur

    thelerner replied to mantis's topic in General Discussion

    When I started Kunlun I got a small sheep skin rug from Ikea. It still feels good, I keep it under my zafu.
  17. Fine. lips sealed, no more critism from the likes of me. apologies for being so negative.

  18. How to make money?

    thelerner replied to skydog's topic in General Discussion

    When I was backpacking through Europe there were fellow packers who had traveling skills that would make them money. I knew people who made jewelry and cut hairs that had been traveling for months. They didn't make much but it was enough to keep them in food and hostel lodgings. Likewise there are many who in foreign countries who teach English, still others who Nanny in other countries and are prized for their American accent. Likewise there is cheap student travel available. See if there is a STA, student travel agency near you, go in and talk to them, they're treasure troves of opportunities.
  19. I remember the story in the Chicago Tribune. Its 3 or 4 years old. Thing is its from an honest paper and there's no mention of people or monastery in it. You presented it. I read it. I simply don't buy it, but I did the courtesy of spending some time reading it. You can't win them all.
  20. A mind can be so open the brains fall out. Sorry, I don't buy what Jon is selling. Marvel and Dr. Strange were there first. The whole super secret tibetan monastery thing has already been done to death in fiction. There is a type of manic genius who grabs onto an idea and spits out volumous reams of information creating an elaborate mythology. Some of good, some great, most poor, inevitably self contradicting and all of it made up. Scientology is a great example of this. There are so many such books that its practically its own New Age subgenre. later edit: I posted the above without reading much of the links. I read some. Its not even a good example of the 'Idiot finds Hidden Enlightened Ones' genre. Carlos Casteneda could pull this off because he wrote well, and had deep insights into the esoteric, after all he was an anthropology major. This is cliche after cliche. Even Casteneda didn't have the chutzpah to literally trademark his 'invented' people. The conversations quickly move away from the Elder Monk Raga's knowledge of Buddhism and into New agery because I doubt Jon Peniel has a depth of knowledge about Buddhism and New Agery is easier to flow with. Its easier to have the monk say I'm descended from Atlantis then mention a real Buddhist lineage because it'd be too easily torn apart. I could be wrong, but seems fictional and poorly done at that.

  21. dharmapalas book practice?

    thelerner replied to mewtwo's topic in General Discussion

    This might be helpful, a post from the lending book section: This year my favorite author has been Ajahn Brahms a pretty hip Buddhist monk. Two Three downloadable books of his can be found on this discussion page, Just this Moment, and The Jhanas. http://community.dha...hn-Brahm-eBooks Reading long documents on a computer is a pain. My tablet has the Kindle app. It allows me to load pdf's and other formats onto it for easy 'magazine like' reading. Still not as good as a book but saves on ink & paper. edit again: You can find dozens of Ajahn Brahms audio lectures at http://diydharma.org

  22. meditation - not contriving the breath

    thelerner replied to konchog uma's topic in General Discussion

    I'm moving in the opposite direction..more contrived breath . I recognize this isn't where I want to end up, but I want to spend one month, on deeper slower breathing. Maybe its a nostalgic thing. See how far I can push it in 4 weeks then drop the practice and sink back into natural. I noticed and been a little disturbed by how shallow my breathing was during meditation last month. Maybe I shouldn't care. Still I'm committed to one month. I'll add after 15 or 30 minutes I drop the long breath and settle into what ever my body wants. If I can hit close to a 40-40 breath cycle, I may go into the programs 3 cycled breath work of inhale, long hold, exhale.
  23. Glenn Morris talked about leading people through Kundalini and how many were suddenly astounded at how sheeplike and asleep every one around them was. He seemed to see it as unpleasant phase people went through, before coming back to humility where growth could begin again. It's a phase thats as ego filled or more then what they started with. But a little further and you get over the superiority, back to beginners mind and new lessons emerge.

  24. The pursuit of happiness is the road to hell...

    thelerner replied to eye_of_the_storm's topic in General Discussion

    When life hands you lemonsGet a new life. or get some gin and turn the lemons into something really useful.

  25. [HHC Study] Hua Hu Ching Chapter 1

    thelerner replied to Aaron's topic in Huahujing

    Also let us keep in mind (and respect??) rule of post # 1 this thread is intended to be a chapter study of Chapter one of the Hua Hu Ching. With that in mind please restrict your responses to the chapter at hand. Any discussions regarding the validity, origins, or intent of the Hua Hu Ching should be directed to another thread and not this one. While my views are similar to Chi Dragons, there is some good philosophy in the Hua Hu Ching and I look forward to the discussion of them.