thelerner

Great story Stigweard, but as al points out meaning comes from personal connection. It can't be easily transplanted from another culture. Without the background it becomes play acting. Still some one on one time, outside of our comfort zones is important. Even if its not a RoP, there's a need to connect deeply to each other now, at this stage in his life, 14 is such a pivotal point in life. Plus I enjoy spending time with him. So far I've thrown out to my son, a week on horseback with Indians, a week at an Ashram, or a week treasure hunting (prospecting) in the west. All theoretical, but we'll see if any of them catch his imagination.

You post V, then a few minutes later post v to that, then v to the your next post. The next day you post x then y and z to the next few posts. You may not mean to sabotage discussions, but the point of this site is share ideas. You're creating litter. You may want to get a Personal Discussion section of your own. You could fill it to your hearts content with v's and other letters . Michael

I was reading this playing with gigong balls. Sometimes they're called Tai Chi balls. They're the small hollow balls you roll around in your palm. They make two different tone as they move. They're a number of techniques, roll'em one way, the other, keep'em from touching etc. They're under $10 at most chinese shops. I don't know if they'll help, but it might be worth a try. Michael

!What Mr. Don't Censor Me thinking of narcing on someone! Actually, though we're on different sides of the Max C. drama, its nice to see there are things we agree on

So as modern young person, what ideas do you have for the modern Rite of Passage. The drivers license, first job will inevitably come. What RoP would your generation relate to? Seems something should be done, either alone or with me. Hmnn, no outback aay. Fine I never liked camping anyway. Personally I lived on sailboat for 6 weeks when I was 15. It was a good learning experience, but still in the vein of wilderness. I stayed at an Ashram for 2 weeks, that was cool and certainly expanded my point of view. That would be outside his usual world experience. .. My thoughts at 46, what might be a modern approach?

I wish the West had more Initiation into Adulthood traditions, even if we had to 'steal' them from other cultures. I'm envisioning something where you are taken out of your home, out of your comfort zone and.. I don't know wilderness retreat, forced to face boredom, hunger.. Given a difficult challenge.. My oldest son is turning 14 in 2 weeks(Equinox baby), not a man, but he's getting there, no rush. Still, there should be a road trip, a challenge to face. Ideas.. hitch hiking..driving somewhere far and putting on blindfold for a few days..hmmnn if I want to go native, I should- go native, there are week long horseback camping trips run by native americans. That might be just the ticket. I've seen it advertised, was it Arizona or New Mexico... Something to think about. What other ideas are there?

Its a great video. In my opinion thee best motivational video is Randy Pausch 'The last lecture' found on Ted.com, its content and circumstance are very moving.

Does torus write a post and then uses v to delete it, or does he just write 'v' and hit reply? If he writes and erases he (& the board) would be better off if he just PM's the person he wants to get the message instead of imo 'polluting' discussions with a empty posts. Torus whats up with all the V's?

Wow, pretty cool. Nice combination of drama, technology and excellent swordsmanship. It made me think about an old unusual cartoon series, Samurai Jack.

You are the farmer and the Ipod is your wild horse (see classic story of ultimate stoic taoist farmer) lost the ipod, maybe good, maybe bad worked out, maybe good, maybe bad possible hernia, maybe good, maybe bad Stress, maybe good, maybe bad reality flips things around constantly, stay mellow and enjoy the ride.

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For me quality differs widely even in the same session. The first few minutes are settling down, itching, shifting. The next few are plagued with goals of what I want or am trying to do, then random thoughts, then the body sleeps, Quietude, waves of thoughts, back to quiet, 20 minutes are up.

My dreams are much less grandiose. In one of my guided meditations it leaves room for creating your perfect environment. I'm usually on a beach (in Hawaii), there's a bond fire going on, people are celebrating and dancing, kids are playing and I'm snuggling with my wife. Carrying it forward into daydreaming its still in the real world with all its problems, but there are weekly parties, where everyone gets together on the beach, shares food, dances and celebrates life. I like going to Burning Man events because you can find that feeling all over. There are island cultures that incorporate the sharing weekly. I'm not very religious, but Hasidic Jews make the Sabbath a time of sharing and celebration, an important holiday that happens weekly. Personally I sponsor a block party, where we seal off the street, have a moon walk and block wide potluck. But its only once a year which is too bad.

Good stuff, but I have a problem with some of the affirmations. Frankly, I'm not tall, not that handsome, good, but not great, woman don't want fuck me where ever I go . I'm thinking affirmations can be good, but lying to oneself could back fire. I wonder if they'd work better in some cases if they were toned down? ie I'm sexy, confident, able to talk to woman, getting better every day..?? Should affirmations be base hits and not homeruns? Affirmations do have power. One way to prove it is to use Gjenken's technique to set yourself to wake up at a certain time. Use a mirror and affirmation to set a morning wake up. Find out what wording works. The power of the subconscious is amazing.

Geez, there is no Church of Kunlun, or Cult of Kunlun, its a freakin 12 hour 2 day seminar with a very hands off teacher. Take it and you're done, unless you want to try another 2 day seminar some time in the future. From my experience Max has some fantastic stories, but doesn't push any ideologies. My caveat is, it can be powerful, if you're energy sensitive and if you have problems there's not a whole lot of support, cause it is a 2 day seminar. Michael As I wrote this Torus wrote is there a Max's group? There used to be a good forum for Max's students but unfortunately it was taken down a few months ago. A shame it was a good place to exchange views, and the majority were very positive.

I tend to agree with Otis's writing. Relax, accept the sex drive. Don't be a stickler about ejaculation, especially when you're young. Getting involved in esoteric sexual practices too early and without proper supervision can cause problems. Books tend to leave out the all important boring initial steps of building a foundational practice. Here's one idea I'll throw out at you. Take an in depth massage course. Learning how to properly touch someone can do wonders for the sexual arts. Not because its sexual per se, but because thats where it starts. For example the Chicago School of Massage therapy has a 10 week course. We'd see demonstrations, strip down, cover up with sheets and do massage, non-sexual of course. But learning what relaxes and what stimulates in a real environment is invaluable. Getting familiar with touching other people and getting touched yourself is a great way to learn to relax, give and receive; and thats what its about. The ability to give good hand and feet massage is a valuable life skill. Combine it with a little bit of chi and ability to heat up organs and you've got something special.

Ahh, the 'tiger' moms. In its pure form its overdoing it. Even the mother who wrote the original sensational story ended up saying she was exaggerating a bit. To me its the side of the pendulum between anything goes and total control parenting. Needless to say happiness lies in the middle ground. But sometimes we need a push from an extreme view to get us back to the middle. So I'm glad to see there voices heard. Michael

So many of the benefits you mention have to do with creating space. Space in your mind between stimulus and reaction. When I meditate regularly I'm not easily spooked by a sudden phenomena like a sudden dog bark and unexpected horn blast. Even in a mundane act like brushing my teeth, my gag reflex is lowered to the point I can brush my lower tongue and throat. No powers, but space, control and a little more peace. Michael

Good question, closes eye, seeks answer.. Answ. Its all good man. Drop the philosophy, the darkness, the need to know. Just drop it. How bad is right now? RIGHT NOW? No one shooting at you, hopefully warm and fed. RIGHT NOW without the thoughts and filters can be pretty good. Michael

Experience it, not me, but when I'd watch Michael Winn meditate he'd have occasional 'spastic' movements. Maybe its the same phenomena. Mantak Chia wasn't spastic, he was a gurgler, mouth open and made a gurgling sound of air coming out. The non energy meditators are pretty motionless, though I've noticed in a group people pick an almost unconscious sway even if there are closed. I tend to be pretty still, (except for Kunlun practice).

double post

IMO That link IS crazy and makes no sense, it seems highly contrived and majorly screwed up. I think the author was making most of it up. His interviews(?) with woman did not ring true. One danger of the internet is that no matter how bizarre your belief, you can find someone who shares it. If you spend your time looking for darkness you'll continue to be depressed. My unasked for advice: Forget woman for a while and find a positive focus. Michael

It's a good subject, but I find the posts that really take off are based on a question, not long statements. In other words, a poll then posting a proof or two makes more sense and add in the ones later.

Nice. Though I'm not sure I'd put one group over the other. People lie, to themselves, and to studies. A study like this is good for informing peoples prejudices, but ultimately, honesty is best taken on a person by person basis. The more we prejudge the more gullible we're likely to be.