thelerner

And happy holidays to you . Other then the destruction of the whole economic system, what do you want for Christmas? And/or is there anything you'd be willing to give up? Again that means You give up, not vote to have other people's stuff taken from them.

Here's a plug for religion. Its nice to have family traditions. Shabbat is great, even when bastardized. A special time of peace and togetherness, beyond a normal family dinner. An important holiday that takes place weekly. We recite prayers that basically say, Wow, within this time God's mystery and spirit pervades. Hold up wine and basically say Within this wine Gods mystery and spirit pervades, within this bread.. It's nice, it doesn't get old and builds a bond between us. I'm sure all traditions have family ceremonies that bring similar feelings.

I'd say it all begins with emptiness. Training to have a quiet mind is thee prerequisite. Because there are the 5 thieves we begin by sitting with a simple object of concentration be it counting breaths, mantra, or mental trick of letting thoughts flow away of there own volition. From there we continue until we sit thoughtless for extended amounts of time. To me the goal is keeping that state in throughout the day. I think K. has described it beautifully. I think the practice of 'perceiving everything as a dream' is good if it keeps ones focus open and not caught up in maelstrom of thoughts, but reality is the chair really is a chair, you are looking at a computer screen right now, otherwise why the hell am I typing?? So its a useful practice but its not reality. In a lucid dream you can fly, in reality you can't. Strive for emptiness; thoughts, planning and logic are nifty tools, but they are not meant to be our every day state. We've confused our tools with our selves.

Out of curiosity, what did your practice consist of during this bigu period? Thanks Michael

If I die tonight my first reaction will be 'son of a bitch', because I've enjoyed life and don't like seeing it end. With a little more time I'd count my blessings then compose myself for what came next.

I think this cuts to the heart of what we want. I think meditation is a means to itself as well as an indispensable training tool but not the final goal. Living in wu-wei is.

And remember the end game. The best outcome is you gain quietness and make a friend of a neighbor. Worst outcome, no quiet, neighbor is an active enemy. There are many possibilities in between, but if you can initially shoot for the best outcome there are rewards. You deserve and its your right to have a quiet apartment, so if in the end it escalates, ce la vie, you tried. Other thoughts. No one likes being told what to do. But there is a certain magic in the words, 'Can you help me?' especially if they're said in friendly nonthreatening way. 'Can you help me' very very powerful; catch them at the right time, right place and most people want to help others, they want to be a good neighbor, they will go out of there way to be helpful. Wrong time or they catch a whiff of threat and all bets are off. Don't initially tell the neighbor to be quiet, ask for his help, explain the situation in terms of how the noise is effecting you. Good luck with it. It a hard, but common situation.

Personally I don't believe its Satan's influence, but Mans weaknesses. The problem with calling it Satan's influence is that it becomes an idea of 'out there' and since we/i are on good/right side we're obviously not doing Satan's work. Thus the blindspot they had back then, and the blind spot we have right now. If I believe its 'in here/me' then the problem is our weakness, greed, lack of compassion, empathy etc., then I can guard against it. I can create logical tests based on if it was myself, my friend or family member in that position would I judge so harshly. If he burnt innocent woman then I judge him as evil, particularly if he played accuser, judge, jury and executioner. Still it's not right to judge an entire field of study by the act of an individual. Yet power can corrupt, and those who seek great power are most susceptible to corruption. Particularly without righteous moral guidance.

You only Think you are not. When not you think enlightened are you. Yoda movie 7. Revenge of the Yoda.

We've been over this point about a dozen times. You misquote Lao-zu like crazy. Its fair to say Lao-zu wrote the Tao Te Tching, generations later someone came out with a philosophy book and perpetuated the fraud it was written by Lao-zu inorder to gain credence. Clearly it wasn't and the majority of scholars back it up. You perpetuate this fraud because it fits your views. So in every third post you quote something that's not true, but facts drip off you like water on a ducks ass. If you wanted to be accurate you could say the book of what ever says this, or you could quote Lao-zu from the TTC but you prefer to stand on the shoulders of frauds. You live with so many negative preconceptions that.. whups gotta go.

I'm with Shenlung approach, at least at first. Without a plan we feel helpless, with a plan of action we feel like we have some control back. The worst thing to do is fester angrily. So something like, Plan A start with kindness and see if you can develop some connection, go in friendly with as little pent up angst as possible. Try it for a while, once is not enough, cookies are good.. If you've tried a few times then maybe plan B would be calling each time he's loudly annoying, being pleasant but persistent. Plan C, get the landlord involved - have a record of problems in writing, plan D, the cops. We have lovely neighbors across the street, their teenage son would play basketball late at night and the sound would loudly echo to our bed room. We went plan A through D. Ultimately it worked, more importantly by creating a floor of kindness with the parents, we were able to stay friends while calling the cops in his kid. I'd add imo getting into a sound war with the guy should probably be quite a bit further down on the plan list. further add- as a person into guided meditations I'd 'prescribe' to myself Master Chens Wu Dang Emotional Peace meditation from his WuDang Album, or free itunes podcast from Roy Masters called Part 2. The Free Guided Meditation, it also deals with getting to peace with emotional issues.

A possibly Shocking idea.

You've written this at least 3 times to different people. Its your go to argument when someone disagrees with you. Do you ever entertain the possibility that you're wrong? Is it conceivable? You're aware enough to know that the person you quote would disagree you. Are you humble enough to entertain the concept that the ideas YOU cling to may be flawed?

I don't get the last line. It seems contradictory, if heaven is impartial then its not on one side or the other; its impartial. <treating us all like strawdogs> This is a bit negative but looking back I don't see Allan added anything substantial to the two Golden Flower threads. Other then repeatedly saying others know nothing and he does, he shared nothing of theory or substance. And that's a pity because obviously he knows a lot.

I think this is growing and has been recognized for a long time. Manhattan for example is crazy crowded, but Central Park is amazing, open fields, ponds, sculpture, zoo, musicians etc., I'm sure keeps millions sane. The same can be said of Chicago, not just the large parks by the lake, but city and suburban planners put in parks with at least some wide open spaces in most neighborhoods. I think I've seen more green and trees in the U.S's cities then I've seen in the big capitals of Europe.

I was thinking along the same lines. I assume density of population has less to do with crime rate then culture conditioning, both nationally and on block by block basis. I assume proverty will always provide tinder for crime though.

In the grand halls of philosophy you are probably right, but in the real world, where we eat, sleep, make a living, actively make decisions, if you can't begin to recreate predictive models based on the view, it's all false. Seems to me you'd end up paralyzed, not moving at all. Or you're forced into a semantic games. In the real world there's an 85% chance of rain tomorrow, but you know- its all false- the rain is not in the sky, it is in our minds. That is ridiculous. I may be an ordinary man, but I'll be smart to bring an umbrella and let the superior man get wet. edit: later addon- What I've admired about Taoism is that it states a base person <like myself> is superior to a superior person. That and its comfortability with paradox. comfortability..hmnn, i wonder if i could patent that word, its so useful.

but the sword of youth is persistent. Every generations shocks the previous one with its musical tastes or does it best trying. As I recall the city Chicago banned trumpets because they played the music of the devil- jazz . I've seen the rise and fall of punk rock, popcorn bad rock (like Kiss), rap, gangsta rap, hip hop, etc., Art is about emotion and good artists push against convention into new territory. Anger and rebellion are a natural stage for most teens, it comes with the territory of exploring boundaries and bursting hormones. Still 3bob has a point, music may hit us deeper then we assume. I'll add K. has a great point- metal, teen angst stuff like Green Day is greatly cathartic, sometimes its just the right medicine for the mood.

The older I get the more I'm willing to settle for lower on the truth scale. I've gotten so low, I'm willing to believe things 5% true if it gives me an accurate working model with good predictability.

Your earlier post answers my question:

Raises hand, 'Me, but only for a few days a month. Then I freshen up' There seems to be more irritation and sensitivity in the air then usual. Not surprising given recent events, but lets be aware of it and try not to take offense where none is meant.

I'm glad you've added the words ..of awareness to follow light. It helps, but I need more..bread crumbs.. I'm still trying to conceptualize 'Reverse It', and I'm not forming any mental imagery. I guess I was hoping it was an energy work kind of thing, course if it was easy everyone would be there. I need more, a map, a metaphor, even a finger. <course it'd help if I read the book> wait is that admitting I'm an idiot? maybe, but Golden Flower hasn't been a particular practice of mine other then tangentially. i'm just here for the popcorn and see if i can at least grasp a frame work of the process and it's end game.

I think Sinfest had the best out of the box answer, though I initially thought along GrandmasterP's thinking about over powering the wizard. Take'em both, drink the 2nd, enjoy the wealth, when ready give $$ to kids or trusted advisor, drink the first live long and healthy outside of civilization, a true Taoist, almost immortal. This is pretty good too.. maybe this'd be the way to go. I probably waste most of my time anyway.

Personally I've found its better to be a mono-orgasmic man who takes his time, is willing to let rhythms and erections come and go, while creating a bedtime dance. Once your past your 20 & 30's you should take a serious look at kareeza. 1. Bring along a can of whipped cream and draw various bikinis styles on your lover then lick'em off. Cherries and chocolate sauce get messy but add to the fun. 2. Forget about the Ultimate anything. You're there to have mutual pleasure, share an experience and connect. Forget porn movie pumping, get lost in fun and sensuality.