thelerner

Its a bit of a parlour trick, but takes some practice in timing and extension. Withstanding the push of 20 people. We used to do it quite a bit in Ki Aikido. The truth is 2 people are harder then one, and 3 is harder then 2. The funny thing is after 3 it gets easier, people force collide with each other, they're not used to the position and aren't able to coordinate there strength. So if you can do 3 you can do 10,000. The trick is initial conditions. As the first pushes, push against them just as they make contact. This neutralizes much of there force. Its easier to show then write about, but its not that hard a skill. My sensei John Eley had may cool tricks. He'd hold up a wooden pole chest high in the middle with one finger. He'd have two large men at each end push against it as he held the jo out. If they were balanced he'd push them both back w/ his one finger. Otherwise you could see if one pusher was stronger then other John would remain still and you can see the other pusher being pushed away by the fulcrum effect. I never did master that one. If he held a bokken (wooden sword) out you'd be able to push against it sidewise and it wouldn't move. I think he could do two people pushing sideways against a sword. Easy parlour tricks, things like the unbendable arm is easy, just relaxed extension. There's the unbendable body where you 'lay down' have you're head on one chair feet on another, so you're spread out. You then have 3 or 4 people sit on you. Hypnotists use that one, again its a matter of relaxed extension. Board breaking is a parlour trick to some extent. I've seen beginners break double boards with no training as long as they made a tight fist, had confidence and good follow through. Imagery helps in all of the above. Tricks I'd like to work on is having my chi influence a candle flame. Nothing dramatic, but being able to move it a bit. Beyond trickery I'd like to work on longer breath cycles of over a minute. I'm currently working on tumo. Michael

In Mak Tin Su we have someone who is willing to tell us the thoughts and philosophies that are (probably) practiced in actual Daoist Sects. Its hasn't been westernized or cleaned up for our consumption. But its authentic and (probably) what you'd learn if you traveled 5,000 miles to the actual monasteries. You don't have to agree with it, but I think we owe Mak Ti Sin a great deal of respect for sharing his views here and giving us a glimpse of the Chinese world and thought. More respect then say I'd deserve for stating a similar view because I'm not a learned priest. To me its ideas I'm tossing around. For him its a deeply held path. I'd hate for negativity to chase him away, it would leave the bums much poorer without a knowledgeable, authentic source. Michael

Hey Pero, I get where you're coming from, Karma as simply cause and effect. Easier to swallow without putting moralistic connotations to it. Personally I see my own moralistic karma operating, mostly through my own sense of conscience, creating situations unconsiously where by I reward or punish myself based on judging the worth of my actions. Michael

Here is a Trunk link of such places: Tons of info about this sort of thing at the Intentional Communities Website (ic.org). http://www.ic.org/ Great link connecting caring communities. He also had some links on super abundant minimalist farming. Cool stuff. Michael

Nice picture, the buldings are an inspiration on how form follows fuction follows nature. Can't help but think of Atlantis meets the I Ching. Yours Michael

I think societies who totally buy into consequences being due to Karma or gods will stagnate. If disease, poverty, disparity are the result of 'natural' order, to fight against them is against nature. So you end with plagues that kill millions every few years, classes of people doomed to direst poverty because they're born untouchable or what not, children dying and no need to look into solutions cause karma. The greatness of the West is based on the ideal we can progress, do better, learn more, solve problems. Dark ages is when people don't ask questions or accept simplistic reasoning without looking deeper. Michael

We had a long thread on doing full lotus. It had many links on the benefits and stretches used. Here it is: http://www.thetaobums.com/index.php?showto...p;hl=full+lotus I think that will get you there. I read it and was impressed. I still don't do full lotus, but I've been tightening up my half. Michael

I forget the book, but it had a story in it about a young man who wanted to study Buddhism at a Monastery in china (or was it Korea?) sometime in the 60's. After making arrangements he was stopped at customs by security and told he couldn't go through. "Don't you know there is a war on?" The monk to be replied "Making a cup of tea, I stop the war" The guard considered and let him through. Michael I consider myself Bi. I like coffee and tea. Recently I bought a mini file grater, it came w/ a bag of nutmeg, cinamon etc. I use it daily to grind both into my morning coffee. What nice is it slows me down, makes me feel and smell the herbs.

edited away attempt at humour I was taking the conversation frivolously. But like so many things spiritual. Where are the immortals? Its hard to aim when you don't have a target you can see. What I'm getting at is discussions of immortals is problematic and always theoretical. Just defining what an immortal is, is controversial. So take it with a grain of salt. Michael

Trunk had some interesting websites on small self sustaining commune style villages and super productive micro farms. He may be a source for some good links. There are tiny monasteries, mostly Roman Catholic that dot the American landscape. There are few here in Chicagoland. With few monks, they're used as especially peacerful bed and breakfasts. They offer little more then peace, quiet and contemplation, but thats a welcome change for many. Part of a future plan might include that type of B&B. Contacting Silent Grounds it may be both instructional and a cautionary tale. They had a retreat on a Canadian Island, it was a great program run by very dedicated people, but I think it ultimately folded. Minke De Vos was instrumental in it, you can contact her through silentgrounds.com, I think there is a link in Links section here. Yours Michael

I did a kunlun seminar last year. I was enticed by taobums who found it an amazing experience. Like Sean O., Trunk, even Sean Denty who follows the foundation path and generally dissed everything had good words to say about the kunlun practice. So I went, I found the people friendly. The spontaneous gigong style is completely different then any other practice I've done. Its a worthy addition to my arsenal. I can see how people can be put off by Max's advertising and heavy 'handed' approach. But up close he seems to be a nice caring eccentric guy. More importantly he doesn't buy into the I'm the Guru approach. He's open for questions. I can see problems arising because some of the techniques are pretty powerful, doing too much, too fast, without proper 'close down' or if you're particularly energy sensitive and the practice can burn you. Thats not neccessary an indictment, just a blanket statement for many alchemical methods, but this one in particular. I'm glad I went, I still do the practice and enjoy it. I'd recommend it to others, but I'd let them know its a trip thats really different. Michael

Great show, not only entertaining but it led to some good discussion with my kids on element theory, right/wrong, honor, redemption etc.. Michael

Its great to have someone here who is so knowledgeable about the religious, traditional and magical implications of tao. You don't have to create arguments when you disagree with someone. We're supposed to have different views. We have a chance to learn from a wide variety of people with incredible backgrounds. Michael

Lets try to get some Live conversations going tonight. Post here that you're going to Live Chat and um..go there. Wait a while til someone else comes. Or you can check the status of Live Chat, I think it shows on the bottom of the page if anybody is there. Sometimes it takes a while to get people on line, but we've had some nice conversations with 4 or 5 people. Lets try it out. Type to you tonight. I'll probably join up 9:30 pm US central time. The point is for people to join up at any time tonight and get some good conversation going. I know its a little U.S. centric to call it tonight, but in 9 or 10 hours I hope to have some conversations going Michael

You may want to try using music or dharma talks to 'tame' the monkey mind a bit when meditating. This is using training wheels, but if it helps you sit still w/ a quiet mind for long time good. Eventually you can get into the habit of sitting without the aid. The music, soothing from new age to classical. Dharma talks..I'm partial to the podcasts at InfiniteSmile.com the Zen inspired talks of Michael McAllistair. He's excellent. Beware, the real secret (he says) is 10,000 hours of sitting . Why sit quietly? Its a reset button for the human psyche. Trouble is it only reboots one layer at a time. Michael

I live in the tic toc world where bumps and groans are caused by drafts and settling or as Scrooge would say, the old bit of roast beef from last night. This Newtonian understanding of the world probably causes me to walk (or sleep) past all manners of inner and outer phenomena rushing past me. That said, I can't help thinking its a combination. That incidents leave psychic prints, and in the twilight between wakefulness and sleep your mind picks up on it and runs with it. Michael In the corners and cliff notes of holy Judaic writings there is talk of the other worldly things of seeing into the future, demons and possessions. Most of them tend to say, 'Stay away, give it no mind and it will tend to ignore you.'

A good source for chocolate and chocolate nibs is thespicehouse.com . They have a wide variety of spices, exotic salts, you name it. I've made Karen's Chocolate fudge. Very simple, very tasty, very healthy. Michael

Tummo classes are pretty rare. Its hard to find good information on it. I'm in the KAP class. I'm making slow progress, some of the other guys seem to have found the burn though. I wonder if there is an Indian equivalent? I assume there is. If you have any local tribes nearby you should ask them about it. On a less exotic front you can start calling yoga schools and tai chi schools, there may be an eclectic teacher out there who doesn't advertise. Yours Michael

Thank you for printing this. Often the religious taoists look to the west and the 'taoist' teachers and practices here and think (and say) 'What ever that is, it isn't taoism' Yet I think most people here would see the worth of the P & T scripture and agree with it. Say they strive for its ideals. So there is much common ground. To go a step further, the Western non religious taoist probably sees so much Religious Taoist dogma and rules as old cultural customs and non essential window dressings. Follow a path with heart, live with respect to others and you're environment. Michael

I'd think twice before schooling someone like Lin in Taoism. Make sure you're discussing the same word. I think 'Teh' goes beyond the Western definition of virtue. Michael

'Doing' Kava kava isn't a tea you can put into hot water. Serving it authentically is time consuming. I like the site. here's an interesting quote from it. Decaffeinated by Theanine This is the paradox of caffeine. The higher grades have more caffeine, but it has even more of another tea compound - theanine - to make it feels less caffeinated. Theanine has been known to promote relaxed awareness and calmness. White Tea (%) Caffeine Theanine Caffeine to Theanine Ratio Silver Needle (Natural) 6.1/// 4.5// 1.36 Baimudan 5.7// 4.0/// 1.41 Gongmei 4.8 ///2.6 ///1.85 Shoumei 3.8 //2.1//// 1.81 Look at the table above. The highest quality white tea, Silver Needle, has 36% more caffeine than theanine. The lowest quality white tea, Longevity Eyebrow, has 81% more caffeine than theanine. Yes! This is natural decaffeination at its most sublime. If you ever wonder again why Silver Needle and White Peony feel more calming than the lower grades, this table explains why.

_/\_ In the face of cruelty and insanity, we must be reminded not to become what we hate. The only sane response is to show kindness and help others. All actions cause ripples. Michael

Lets see the first word is Go the next is ...away or far Then personal possesive must be .. I a verb .. trying then comes a compound word ..to.meditate Just kidding Michael

That is a really manipulative reply she gave you, a world class psych . Ultimately you can't save others, they have to save themselves. I'd say put some distance. Michael