thelerner

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Everything posted by thelerner

  1. 1959

    On question 1, Why didn't the powerful Tibetan meditators use magical powers to defend Tibet against the Chinese. I think Mewtew nailed it. Siddhis are evidently not all that powerful. I've seen live videos of John Chang with the power of a match and even a double aa battery, amazing but martially less useful then a slingshot. 2. Rwanda happened after the Black Hawk down incident. After losing lives and having service men broadcast torn to pieces and dragged naked through streets it was simply unpopular to intervene in African affairs. Which is unfortunate we could have saved lives, ironically by killing and destroying many other lives. The U.S. is a great fighting force, but terrible peace keepers. Point us in a direction and we can wipe out whats there, but intricate peace negotiations, we generally suck at. We're not the most culturally sensitive people. 3. Cuba. The U.S. was already tangled up with China and Russia and felt it best to take back Cuba subversively. Failed miserably and decided the best course of action was containment. We tend to overly romanticize things and over estimate power. Take the fabled Shaolin temple, I quote: "The monastery has been destroyed and rebuilt many times. In 1641 the troops of anti-Ming rebel Li Zicheng sacked the monastery due to the monks' support of the Ming and the possible threat they posed to the rebels. This effectively destroyed the temple's fighting force.[6] Perhaps the best-known story of the Temple's destruction is that it was destroyed by the Qing government for supposed anti-Qing activities. Variously said to have taken place in 1647 under the Shunzhi Emperor, in 1674 under the Kangxi Emperor, or in 1732 under the Yongzheng Emperor." Mao's cultural revolution wasn't kind to it or dozens (hundreds?) of monasteries and the monks and masters within either.
  2. Journey to the East

    On the practical side. Don't put all your eggs in one basket. With regards to investing in green technologies thats particularly true, most companies involved talk a great game, but few are profitable, many will go broke. Thats not to say don't invest, just make it a small percentage you can afford to lose. If you truly believe a banker and thief are equal you'll probably not make the wisest investment decisions. I'm increasingly finding that the best ideas for ending poverty are the simplest. A great book to read is The Boy Who Captured the Wind. Very inspiring on poverty and the human spirit. On a positive note. Invest in yourself. Find something your passionate about and can grow in. Find good teachers and learn. Travel broadens the mind and opens you up to new possibilities. Travel. Charity is always worthwhile. I like the Heifer Intl. We pay for clutches of chickens distributed to poor areas monthly. Their eggs give excellent nutrition and a product to sell. They eat bugs, scratch and improve soil, even there shit makes useful fertilizer, best of all they reproduce and can be given to others to create food and income. Since they're egg laying breeds, even my veggie son agrees with it. Investing... .5% means losing about 3% a year to inflation. You could invest in SHY a short term bond fund and make almost 2% a year. Thats tiny, but 4x more. Invest half SHY, half high yield corporate and you'll relatively safely double that. Keeping the money in a bank won't help or hurt anyone. There are a couple of high yield dividend stocks you could look into.
  3. 30 minute 30 day mentorships

    Hmnn, not to much band wagon jumping so far. The point of this thread is to get people involved with each other and a short practice for 30 days. I've made a mentorship connection with TaoMeow that will start in October and I'm very happy. What I'm hoping to see is others post to say they're up for a mentorship and see who bites and how. As TaoMeow has said there's not a whole lot of coaching in dreamwork, but the point is it puts a little pressure on me to succeed; someone I'll report progress and problems to. A person with some experience. We have some very talented people here. They're a resource we're not taking advantage of. We are too disconnected. Again I'm envisioning entering a 30 day period with another member here. It shouldn't take too much time, <30 minutes, nor should the emails back and forth, they should be kept on target. We're here to explore and learn a new practice. So 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. Michael
  4. You have the best animated avatar I've seen.

  5. Apocalypse Culture

    I predict Change Sometimes when unhappy I predict Disaster.. some where some time and I'm always right. Sometimes I take news fasts, no TV, newspaper or radio I walk in the sun Watch children play I'm happier and think there's 10,000 good things going on I just don't notice. and the sun goes down again.
  6. 30 minute 30 day mentorships

    That is so cool. I am always amazed at the insights in your writing. My idea wasn't for this to necessarily be an exchange, but I'm quite happy with your offer. I'll PM you with my ideas on how to start.
  7. I won't be able to go to the Wudang event but I really hope you give us a write up about what it was like.

    I read Master Chens blog at wudangtao.com.

    I like his work and words and I believe he's authentic, but as Westerner its hard to really be sure. Even if not his words seem wise to me. Do you know of him and his organization.

    Thanks

    Michael

  8. Don't believe PUA techniques work?

    The thing about the video is at the heart of PUA. That is..are we being manipulated and set up. The video itself is a set up, certainly the first part is unabashedly choreographed. The second purports to be real. But the first guys shouting come ons to woman as they walk by. Thats not real life. His intention is obviously to fail, wink or no wink. But there is value to the latter half, but it raises the question..its still lying heavily on manipulations and set ups. It works for meeting, but if you don't get past it, you risk becoming superficial.
  9. Is Gov. Rick Perry the Devil?

    I don't agree with every point he makes. But have to admit its well thought out and argued.
  10. There should be something for everyone. But there shouldn't be 15 threads on say Freemasonry or Greek mythology created monthly. Its overload, its borderline spammy, it hurts the flow of the site. You can post the thousands of archaeology and creationist things you have. Just don't start so many threads. I'm glad you've taken the PUA stuff to Off Topic, but again 7? 8? 9? threads in a week on PUA. Why not combine them? There are a couple hundred members here, filling up a Discussion site with lots of threads where there is either no one else posting, or mostly you posting 3 out of 4 comments, is ..strange. Its not that your topics are bad, its just you put up too many of them, think of consolidation sometimes. my 2 cents, I will bow out, except for positive comments (for another month )
  11. I still don't understand how I'd get a car or house in the Z movement. Do I apply to the Technocrat rulers? Fill out forms and wait my turn? Earn it from work? Take it by force if I like someones else's better? If I have a unique service, what happens if I ask for payment; special things in return for it? Would that be against the law? If not, wouldn't it evolve (devolve) into capitalism, albeit an inefficient one due to no money medium? ????
  12. Global Revolution!

    I don't know. Tyranny of the masses can be pretty bad. Sometimes things fall to the lowest common denominator and historically its a strong leader that keeps us from doing the 'frightened will' of the masses and taking a harder course. Similarly, on the economic front people will vote for bread and circus and we end up bankrupt. Not to far from where our present system is now. Still in some areas direct democracy might work well. I wonder if California is a good example of it at work, in all its good, bad and ugliest?
  13. Global Revolution!

    Shhhh, you're making it very hard to be sarcastic Green Tiger "What exactly is political yoga? " I think its the age old discipline of being extremely flexible.. with the truth.
  14. Global Revolution!

    What can the little people do? Stop supporting the system. Shred your credit cards. Close your checking account and refuse to accept checks. If your employer won't give you cash(or gold) as payment quit. If your house is mortgaged sell it! Same with your car. Stop supporting all publicly listed 'fat cat' stock market companies. Be wary of private ones owned by millionaires. Stop buying and eating food from factory farms. Don't trust the government. Don't accept its money or use its roads, schools or police. Don't trust the water supply. Viva la Resistance?!!!!
  15. International day of Peace

    Only one day left to make war and antagonize. Lets make the most of it.
  16. Kunlun:4 Years later

    I agree with you about the problems of blind faith. But, I don't think teachers have to be impeccable. If you're human you have foibles. Maybe a lower standard of good caring person (but not tooo caring), expertise in their field in theory and practice.
  17. How has meditation helped?

    There's a chance I'd be even more screwed up then I am now On and off in a somewhat lazy fashion for about 25 years. About 45 minutes a day, often with a guided meditation.
  18. Particularly this: "To be a student of spirituality and a seeker of the Tao, means to understand AND accept that the 10,000 things that spring forth from the Taiji, create 10,000 paths pointing back to it that lead to the source. To understand this truth means not to discriminate. It means to always be prepared to accept everyone's "method" as equally capable."
  19. I agree. As the front of the board becomes increasingly covered in Immortal4's Topics, which are mostly filled with Immortal4's comments to himself it hurts the board. Not all, but most of these would do better in Off Topic, where he similarly has lots of Threads where he is the main contributor. It would be great so see a single archaeology thread and creationism thread incorporate many of weekly topics or put them in a Personal Discussion site here where people could want could find them, and people who don't, have a cleaner discussion site, with less archaeology and creationists Topics in them. my 2 cents.
  20. Kunlun:4 Years later

    Thanks for sharing Cam. How has your practice of Kunlun changed over the years? I'm talking about frequency, length and breakdown between 'active' and rest period. Early on it seemed to 'overload' you. How does the practice feel to you now. Thanks Michael
  21. Books in the spiritual-travel genre

    Hands down, "The Gods Drink Whiskey: Stumbling Toward Enlightenment in the Land of the Tattered Buddha", by Stephen T. Asma Fantastic book. Asma is a professor. He takes a job teaching Buddhism in Cambodia. Great travel piece, but most of all it gives you a wonderful, very deep view (IMO) of Buddhism. Its the rare book I got out of the library to read, then had to buy because beyond being a good story, I wanted it as a reference. P.S. I've been reading some Paulo Coelho, he's very good.
  22. Voice improvement

    I've been in your shoes. Whats helped me was joining a writing class, where you write then you have to read. Its a bit like impov. There is also Toastmasters which has clubs everywhere. You'll be scared and get the sweats, but you'll desensitize yourself and get better by doing. Or join an Improv class. Leave your comfort zone. Getting past the fear is most of the battle.
  23. Ah, another Qigong thread!

    There's quite a lot of free stuff floating around the internet. For example, like many here I started with the Healing Tao system. I particularly liked Michael Winn's take on it. So; you can download his free ebook on Inner Smile from healingtaousa.com and read some of his essays in the article section there. You can see his various forms on Youtube, just search his name in. From Itunes you can look him up and find interviews of him on podcasts. Its may be similar with many established people. I like Daniel Reids books on Taoism, they contain a wide variety of information. A library could have them or have a way to get them from another library. More and more books are being sold for a buck plus shipping on Amazon. You can surf books there and find some bargains. I'm sure we have a topic on best books in our Reading Discussion as well as other places. Keeping it simple. a book like The Way Of Energy by Lam, is a great foundation for Zhan Zhang(standing) meditation. Online courses can take you quite a way. Some people here swear by AYP, I think its a free indepth course on esoteric yoga. Bang for buck, KAP, an online Skype class is an excellent way to learn an esoteric energy system. About $300ish, but you get to access to an experienced teacher and group, through skype so make sure you have a solid internet connection. Or get the book 'Pathnotes of An American Ninja Master' horrible title, very good book on esoteric energy meditation.