thelerner

A few minutes ago a future me suddenly appeared and said I was going to get involved in silly circular posting to no purpose. I shot the time traveler, but took his message to heart. clap clap Michael out.

I think in the West happiness is all to often considered a pursuit w/ things as a goal. Whereas other places, often in Island life, happiness is a state of being. Maybe we need to see happiness as a byproduct. Perhaps peace is the worthy goal. Such as- today I won't worry about anything. I'll protect my sense of peace as if it were my wallet. Smiles and good deeds will be my currency.

I don't like to be the first person to point out this elephant in the room. But there it is, I think TI nailed it.

I'm heading to live chat Join me?? anyone.. okie dokie

If we're to keep our present population then we and the earth are probably better off not going the hunter gatherer rout. From what I've read stuffing millions into a few square miles of city is better for the earth then spreading them out over 100's miles. Strangely high apartment living is better for the environment then pastoral cabin living. It also ends up being less polluting, using wood (or coal) to create heat is inefficient and highly polluting, the high rise using natural gas is less polluting. I assume Sushil is hoping for both hunter gatherers and the world population reduced by a huge percentage. Cause otherwise if we all spread out, our collective environmental foot print would be even more devastating. We'd eat endangered animals and burn down forests whole in search of wood for warmth. Sushil what makes you happy? What good is living life in despair? I hope you find some reasons to celebrate every now and then. Odds are you're wrong about mankind having a few years left. By many markers we're doing better environmentally then in the early 70's when acid rain was killing large swarths of forest and some great lakes were dead of life and actually catching on fire. Population growth particularly in the first world is leveling off and even going down. Alternative energies are growing past infancy. Shit happens, but so does good, and shit can make good fertilizer. There is hope and solutions to our problems. There are real significant problems, as Ralis points out, but we know them and we can take steps, often prodded by self interest and economic reasons to correct them. Our industrial power and science can be pretty useful in solving problems once we put our minds to it. edit: late addin from -K's comment Disasterbation Turns You Blind http://www.treehugger.com/corporate-responsibility/disasterbation-turns-you-blind.html

Maybe it mundane, but I also find it allows me to sit longer w/ less discomfort.

name='sree' timestamp='1357062985' post='389175'] "Ok, you more or less see Lennon’s goal the same way as Marblehead: it works only for the individual because there are too many people doing their own things. Granted, forcing others to do your thing is not your Way (道 i.e.Tao). Well, I don’t think that is the Way of the Tao Te Ching either. What about a society of one, namely, you? Think about it. You said Lennon’s goal is realistic for an individual. Is this a half-assed belief or did you examine Lennon’s manifesto seriously and came up with the realization that it is not a silly ditty by a pot-head but practicable and actionable wisdom? Is John Lennon's dream practicable and consistent with the teaching of the Tao Te Ching?" You ask a lot of questions. Is John Lennons dream practical? No, if you give up your possessions right now. You'd have problems, so would I. I like my stuff. Thinking everyone else will give up theres is to coin your phrase pot headed. Governments have tried it, it usually ends as an economic and moral disaster. Is his song consistent w/ Tao Te Ching.. Uh, ones a deep philosophy hitting dozens of areas, the other is a short ditty ode to communism, they're in such different realms its hard to say. Do you learn about the TTC from the song? Not really, so I'd say no. Did he believe it? Obviously not, since he didn't do it or live by it. I like Lennon. Strangely I read a book decades ago about hippies living on the rumor that Lennon was going to buy an island and found a utopia. They believed it, didn't happen. Old book, Season of the Witch maybe.

It might be a bit more common kind of truth. I'm just afraid you're setting yourself up for disappointment with the belief that people under a different calendar and religion are naturally better. People are people. If you can't get along with them where you're at, then a 13 month lunar calendar may not make a difference. People on this site have 2 eyes and only Reggie is a Sheeple because his dad was a shepherd and mom a lamb. I think the habit of calling people who disagree with you Sheeple (Reggie excluded) is the kind of thing that won't translate well where ever you go. This is a taoist forum where most people have much more experience with esoterics then most. If we're the Sheeple how do you react in the other forums or with people in general? You tend to argue and insult easily. How self aware are you of your behavior?? Even on a Happy New Year topic, you create fights and dissension. Its good to argue and have a unique viewpoint, but you won't find a place with harmony until you clean up your destructive psychology. P.S. Which country are you thinking of visiting? China??

A man in a moving truck asked the old man 'What are the people in this town like?' The old man asked back 'What were the people in the town you left like?' The man in the truck said 'oispdf -089js slkjdf sldfj 0wer 09iwer poisf98s' 'They're the same here' the wise man told him. That tends to be the truth. Be more kind and less judgmental and you'll find lots of good people.

Yes, I think Lennon's goal is realistic for an individual. When you start talking about society then no, it is not. It comes from a place that wants others to think what you think and act the way you'd want them to. And that my friend becomes an ideal begging to be corrupted. Force people into a particular version of heaven and you get hell, whether its a parent or a government. Avoid those who promise heaven and do not give up freedoms lightly. Live and let live, don't hurt others, that's not so bad. Tao Te Ching is a serious piece. That's why we're talking about it 2400 year later. I think many Beatles songs will outlive Lennon's 'Imagine'. I like the song, but 'All You Need is Love', might be a better anthem . or maybe this one, because like the universe, a song doesn't have to make sense. We can close our eyes, smile and be swept along effortlessly. Picture yourself in a boat on a river, With tangerine trees and marmalade skies Somebody calls you, you answer quite slowly, A girl with kaleidoscope eyes. Cellophane flowers of yellow and green, Towering over your head. Look for the girl with the sun in her , And she's gone. Lucy in the sky with diamonds Lucy in the sky with diamonds Lucy in the sky with diamonds Ahh... Follow her down to a bridge by a fountain Where rocking horse people eat marshmallow pies, Everyone smiles as you drift past the flowers, That grow so incredibly high.

Hmnn, maybe learn, do, forget learn, do until natural, then forget repeat until .. you forget the goal.

Happy New Year and blessings to all. May we get what we deserve and deserve what we want.

I thought Manitou brought up some good points when she stated: There's a lot of meat here. She makes good points. Maybe we concentrate too much on learning and not enough on self correction. We become increasingly lobsided. I admire Rawn Bardon's method in IIH (Initiation Into Hermetics) because one of the early exercises in creating two lists <he calls them mirrors> one for our best the other for our worst traits <then its organized elementally>. Very interesting psychological approach. But the first step to knowledge is knowing oneself, warts and all. So we can see where our actions and thoughts are coming from and head them off. Otherwise even if we act without thought, we may be coming from the same old patterns that had in the beginning. I read most of Castenada's early books. I think there's some good exercises in them but don't buy into the whole system. It's the only system that goes into cleaning up one's history. An interesting concept.

I don't know if the song is even consistent with the life of Lennon. John Lennon was a well known singer, composer, musician and founding member of the Beatles with a net worth of $150 million at death. So he actually had a fair number of possessions. I respect the man and his campaign for peace, but he wrote a lot of songs. I don't think each one was a manifesto. I imagine sometimes a song is just a song. Googoo gachoo. I always have a problem with people preaching stuff they don't follow. Particularly fat cat preachers who live large while telling others what they need to give up.

I like Healing Tao USA's stuff from Michael Winn. Particularly the Fundamentals II DVD http://www.healingta...hael Winn#bbckf which has a nice simple form ocean breathing and 5 Movements, simple and direct. He has some samples on Youtube, you can look'em up and see if you like them. He explains the forms well. If you post the question in the Discussion Area you'll find many more opinions. Quite often on persons treasure is anothers chaff.

I think most religions, certainly all the old ones have traditions in their mystic wings dealing with 'Know Thyself'. They may not be main stream, but they exist, created by wise men and sometimes if your born into a religion you may have a predilection for its mystical tradition even if you rebel against its main stream dogma. For Catholicism I expect RainbowV and Jetsun came up with good sources.

The LoTR's need to be seen in a theater, so much of the grandeur of the films was the elaborate sets, from the Shire, the vistas, the cities Elven and Human. The sound effects from blast of Dolby bass during battles to directional sounds coming from arrows.. I could see living in a hobbitlike Shire. Thing is you'd need a substantial amount of money to create such a disneyesque place, at least one with a sizeable community. But once you had it, cheap heating and air conditioning, fantastic unspoiled views, gardens everywhere, even the roof.. Good sense of community, being taller then everyone around you.. lots of good points.

Ah, but where is the Do(a)nut?

You can get some inspiration by visiting the Personal site of some our members, see what they've done and what they've gotten of it. Spend some time looking up some of the longer more specific posters. I started like many at the beginning. Counting breaths. Count 10 breaths then return to 1, because even something that simple can be hard(!), you can separate the count as 1 for breath in, 2 for breath out, 3 breath in...10..go back to 1 breath in. Its the basic that can take you pretty deep. Ofcourse you don't cling to thoughts, let them drift away, strive to appreciate quietness. Such a simple practice can be profound and foundational. From there look at some systems of practice, try out a few and see which one you connect to, then keep to it. Imo seek peace over power. There are many practices, to me the best include moving, sitting, healing and dharma talks somewhere inside them. Lately I've been listening to thus pushing Ajahn Brahms material which has a deep approach to it. I listed some of his free books and many free lectures somewhere on the site. Even start at your local library, see whats available close by. A good teacher is invaluable. Yours Michael

New month, New Year coming. Here is your chance to get involved with another member to learn to teach. If you have an practice you'd like to share with someone for a 30 days, then post here. Anything you'd like to learn and think there's a member here who can help you then ask. I encourage other people to post here and say 'I'm open for a mentorship, I'm interested in X' or 'I know Y, is anyone interested in me sharing it with you?' Or drop the X's and Y's and just say your open to learning or teaching. I envision the sharing to be done through back and forth emails with feedback. It may be better to learn a small specific skill then try to bite off to much.

What made 15 minutes of zhan zhuong much easier for me was listening to Rawn Clarks Archaeous series while standing up. Its a guided meditation which 'stack's the elements. Your feet to hips are earth, waist & stomach are water, chest region air etc., I find that the 15 minutes go by with my hardly noticing them and feeling much stronger then doing it without. free at abardoncompanion.com Its not meant as a zhan zhang practice but works very well for it.

Well there's Tai Chi and then there's super powered kung fu. I missed Tai Chi Zero in the theaters but mean to rent it. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1981080/ Needless to say it falls into the super powered category. Which actually makes up most of the genre these days. Jet Li is a legitimate martial arts master with long years of training. Some of his films will show solid solo routines. Hate to say it but while beautiful to watch real Taijiquan may be to boring to show in an action film.

You raise a good point. I've known some pretty high level people who'd only meditate 20 or so minutes a day. Ofcourse the experienced meditator may get more from less and hit emptiness faster because they've put in the 1000's of hours. During waking hours and even in sleep they're closer to Tao then we are, literally there brain waves are different. I see meditation as a method or technique not a goal.

Hmnn... being aware as a negative thought arises and letting it go, not allowing it to fester and circle. Easy to write, hard to practice..

I think the sign of a mature religion is followers ability to disregard old decrepit pieces of it.