thelerner

Actually there is a voice chat function in the TaoBums Chatroom ... perhaps we should check that out first? Stigweard's right. I'm heading to Live Chat now and hoping you'll join me. Hopefully you have a microphone on you're computer. Otherwise, move your fingers Michael

Had nice chat w/ Scotty and Cameron, but couldn't get Audio to work. I see Stigweard and Yoda ( & 8 others) are online. Geez guys what do we have to do to make you talk?? Michael

I do kunlun and I like it, but I wish they'd change the advertising on the website, its so over the top. It invites criticisms. Are the lights in the picture real? I don't know, it does seem awfully bright . I find Kunlun to be a simple powerful method. You sit in a chair and it activates a spontaneous chi gung movement that tends to clear people out. Most people who've tried it, like it. But I think the advertising is poorly done IMHO, over sell, worse trying to sell the man and not the method, which is always a mistake. Michael side tracking When you're going to join a dojo, its better to look at the upper rank students then the sensei, because ofcourse the teacher is going to be excellent, but can he teach it? Max's top students are very good, they have juice and they're good people. So if you're interested, don't let the video's and pictures stop you, they almost did me. I'm glad I took a kunlun seminar, the kunlun technique is an important piece of my practice.

One day he will be right and it will be doomsday. So far the record of his dire warnings (which come every two months for years) have proven inaccurrate. Michael

I picked up an impressive gardening magazine, 'Guide to Growing Your own Food' by Mother Earht News wiser living Series. Most articles are on organic gardening, but it covers real simple methods to more complex. Articles suc h as Compost made easy, Building better soil w/ free organic fertilizers, organic pest control, Best fruit trees ranked by taste and disease resistance. It even has article on setting egg laying chickens coops, laying out which breeds are best, care and easy coop designs. I'd like to recreate a garden area I saw in Connecticut last year. It had two raised beds a few feet apart so they made a walk way. The beds were very narrow, just a foot apart. So the gardener just picked up two water cans and walked the path and watered the two rows every other day. Plus she had several thick bridging wires between the raised gardens growing vines and twining flowers. It was very impressive. One of the super easy methods layed out in the magazine had you buying bagged soil, punching holes in the bottom, ripping open the top and thats it. Growing crops 'out of the bag'. That might be a very simple solution for filling up my two rows. A bit expensive though, but instant. At the end of the season you remove the bags, but by then you have good soil and have hopefully mixed in some good compost through out the season. What gardening do you guys do? Rumour has it Yoda does chickens . Michael With the discussions like Loose Change post, it's nice to write about getting ones hands dirty and watching things grow.

Just sprouted two tablespoons of Zesty Mix seeds. They taste good, need a little salt and dash of oil. I picked up the packet from Whole Foods. It enjoyed watching them grow, a garden seeded, raised and harvested in 4 days Michael "No. You soak them for a few hours or overnight, then you rinse them thoroughly twice a day and drain them well, eating them before they spoil is important too. I don't put mine in the sun, just on a regular kitchen counter. If you were going for more chlorophyl sun would be good though, maybe I should experiment with that too." Different seeds have different germination periods. The instructions for my mixed pack of smaller seeds were soak over night, rinse twice a day, on the 4rth day give indirect sunlight to increase there chlorophyl content. I wonder if a darker environment the first few days would have given me a larger yield? The 2 tablespoons ended up filling up about 2/3 of the bottle.

Sex and The Spirtual Quest, we could make a show out of it definately HBO material. Bruce is right that for many spiritual 'professionals' the quest for enlightenment is to go beyond the temporary. For those like myself on the householders path, I think we can enjoy cookies, nookies and other sensuals and still be on a considerable spiritual quest. I think its valid also to say there are 'professionals' who aren't focused on transcending anything, but finding the sacred in the every day, C & K would work for them too. Michael In the 'sacred in the every day' philosophy when lovers are old you still love them. When they're gone, you mourn them, cherish the memories and being filled with love, find other things to share love with.

Comet Lulin, a two-tailed green-colored comet, can be seen in the eastern sky all week, but is closest to the Earth Monday night. "After it gets dark, look for two bright stars near the horizon: one is the planet Saturn, the other is Regulus, the star, and for the next few nights, Lulin will be somewhere between them," says Kelly Beatty, senior contributing editor of Sky & Telescope magazine. Beatty says there's a good chance of spotting the comet with binoculars pointed in that general area. Let me know if anyone spots it. I'll be looking tonight

Hate to pull the discussion farther from its intent, but every credible piece of literature I've seen places the caste system at 1200 BCE or older. I'd certainly defer to any Indian historian, but it seems like a slam dunk that its older then the British. Here's one historian's view : By the time of British rule, starting from around the seventeenth century to 1947, the caste system had evolved and expanded into some 3000 different castes. The caste system although underwent great changes throughout this period but strictly speaking, never effectively eradicated. Interestingly, the first effect that the British had on the caste system was to strengthen rather than undermine it, for the British gave the Brahmans back certain special privileges which under Muslim had been withdrawn from them. On the other hand, the British legislators did not agree that the members of the lower-caste should receive greater punishment than members of the upper-caste for committing the same offense. His point of British using and strenghtening the system can be misunderstood as there propagating it, but it was already there. Michael

I kept looking for where the girl came in too I'm unfamiliar with some of the authors but the plan seems good. About the 30 minutes reading one chapter of the Tao Te Ching daily. With some things less is more, I wonder if just a few minutes reading and a few more pondering is a better approach? To me its a book to be savoured rather then studied. Michael

Whatever the causes and effects, you win when you create a good world and can function well within it. Michael Which reminds me of a story I'm working on Lords of Gossamer which touches on the subject of what is real.

This is why Zendo's of old had teaching sticks, particularly for their theoretically oriented students. Masters would hold up the stick and say "I'm real, stick real, your head real" whack whack whack. followed by: 'Look at your thumb, consider the molecules and atoms there. Do you think whole universes are contained there? If the kid looks at his thumb and even starts to consider it, whack whack whack whack. my 2 cents Either ..........Michael ......................Or you've written this yourself which makes it even MORE valid

I keep looking but haven't seen it. They say between Saturn & Regulus just after dusk. At least thats what they said a few days ago. If its nearly as bright as Saturn I may have seen it, but I'm not sure. Michael

I'd like to defend brooms. Even in the forrest they can prove very useful. Modified they can become tools for fishing and hunting. Even unmodified they can be used for whacking other things, starting fires and uh cleaning things up. Maybe all techniques are ultimately dumb, but a man has to do something with his time. May as well do something they could build on. What looks like aimless wandering might really be getting a good look at the lay of the land. Before you set out on a firm path why not wander through a few valleys and peaks? If Real is sacred. Here's what I was taught: Sacred is what you make sacred. Has the Chinese Taoist Hermit achieved more then the Bronx Baseball nut? In terms of overall knowledge and accomplishment? By what measures? Both would be incomprehensible to the other and to a third party both would be a waste of time. So my point is..real and unreal are real fuzzy. We have to be careful making judgements about the reality others choose to live in. Michael later edit My late night posts are a bit less coherent. Goldisheavy has some good points.

Karma Yoga. Shoveling the shit together. Have them work together on charitable projects. Let the Churches, temples, mosques organize joint events that help the needy or clean up the environment. For all the bad press that religion has gotten in these posts it is important to remember the mountain of charity that religions have done in the past and continue to do- building the hospitals, orphanages, feeding the hungry. It a part of each one's history, a proud one that they can use to get to know each other and build for the future. Michael

1> Its not 2> We do. Wish people would use it more. By chat room, he means Live Chat, an option available between Gallery and REviews in the top picture. Since it can get lonely waiting. Its best to either create a new topic in Discussions or Post to people online that you're headed there and would like some company. Its great when you have a couple of people from all over the world discussing thoughts great and small. Michael

I don't think there are any 12 step programs and I'd expect books to tell you what you already know. So..practice. Practice losing gracefully. Play games, realize its just for fun and lose. Join a chess team. Join a martial art like Aikido or Judo where you're constantly getting thrown on your ass, get up and are thrown down again. LOSE Lose lose, get used to it, accept it, THERE'S NO GETTING OUT OF THIS LIFE ALIVE.

34. It is due to illusion born of ignorance that men fail to recognise That which is always and for everybody the inherent Reality dwelling in its natural Heart-centre and to abide in it, and that instead they argue that it exists or does not exist, that it has form or has not form, or is non-dual or dual. To me it means the intellect/ego is always going blah blah blah. Real living is heart centered, the real litmus test is does the action come from the heart. Michael

Check out the Healingtaousa site. Michael Winn has information & videos on 5 animals and 6 healing sounds (I believe he covers both in his Fundamentals I video). He has some good qi gong videos also. As a beginner I picked up his Fundamental II video and its still my favorite form. He keeps things simple and does a good job of explaining the energetics. If you like the videos he relatively inexpensive seminars all summer. Michael

Hmnn, nasty religious arguments on the 'Facilitating Interfaith Harmony Post' didn't start til the second page. Interesting.

I've seen calm Buddhistic parents raise bratty monsters. Unconditional love is important, probably at the top of the list, but near the top is discipline too. Setting limits and responsibilities is essential (babies, you can spoil). I literally had 5 Important Knowings for my kids. #1 was Me and Mom love you very much, but #3 was the timeless wisdom of Mick Jagger; 'You can't always get what you want'. That is a very very important piece of information for kids to internalize (as well its corrollary 'you can try sometimes, and you might find, you get what you need). Fully understanding that is half the secret of happiness. Example: IMO, a good parent does not allow the child to dictate or demand what they'll get as a present. You can take there wishes under consideration, but beware of being manipulated and getting on the Keeping up with the Jones track. Often less is more. Also, a Bjorn Papoose is 'an over the shoulder baby holder' that straps on to your front. Not all babies dig it, but when they do its wonderful. Any frontal papoose is great. Michael

To help establish good faith , I'd ask some of the members meeting to stand up and say good things, what can be learned from another religion. That might ease tension, foster good will and create some important talking points. Michael

Thanks for the link. Duly recorded as a favorite. Today's question is on responding to a neighbors violence. It gives me some food for thought. Michael

I admire it, but I couldnt' honestly sign it. There are people who, because of there actions, I would discriminate against. Similarly there are groups(not many) whose basic beliefs are so extreme and negative that I am prejudiced against them. Violence is bad, and should be one of the last options, but in truth I believe there is a time and a place for it. To actively live by the manifesto is wonderful, but too often there is yuppy new age sentiment of - I'll wear a rubber band, sign a petition, and I've done something, yay for me. Too easy. I'd rather limit myself to things less grandiose, but real. Money to the Heiffer charity, an hour at a food bank. Michael