thelerner

If you want to be inspired go see Dainin's PPD, just read it, its not there for discussion rather its a great example of how a dedicated practitioner works. Daily practice and teaching. No preaching, no philosophy just practice. Dedicated practice. I find it very inspiring. If we did half of what this guy does, this board would be based on telepathy. <kidding> But most of us would post less and be a few decades further along.

Instead of usual stretches, that target a certain spot and hold for a bit, there are easy relaxed movements that stretch the body out. In the KAP program for example moving like you were hula hooping was done. Fast, slow, small, large.. up to the person, feeling what there body needed. Dynamic and circular. Yet it stretched and coordinated tendons and muscles throughout the body. A bit of fluid dance/qi gong before the standing to loosen up and prepare the body might be good. Shaking too.

Poultry and pig farms have been devastated the last few years by disease, leading to huge losses, many taken by China, but here too. In the US we have places actively studying how relatively new deadly diseases transmit from say pig to other species*. New viruses put our food supply at risk. We need places like the Wuhan lab and below the Ohio State Research Program to study them, how to stop and protect against them. The downside is where there are humans, there are accidents. Its possible it escaped from the Wuhan lab. That doesn't mean Wuhan created it, rather they were studying it. Kind of a chicken and egg situation. Undoubtedly they were the first to handle it. Unfortunately the human mentality when things turn south is 'Cover Your Ass', from researcherers on up to the el presidente- Cover your ass, tell'em its under control, and its not so bad. Until the truth burst that pimple. Unless you have unusual transparency built into the system, thats the way these things go. At this point, manufactured or not is beside the point. These labs do valuable work and oversight is needed that they all have safety protocols as close to failsafe as possible, along with 3rd party oversight on problems and leaks. So instead of finger pointing, action can be taken to minimize and contain the problem. Instead of each nation blaming each other. This is an international problem and should be treated as such, not as political football. *https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/01/200115130430.htm ".. In this study, birds that were given the virus developed diarrhea by two days after infection. Healthy birds housed with infected chickens and turkeys also developed diarrhea two days after exposure. That rapid spread of disease surprised the Ohio State University scientists. "We weren't even sure the virus would transmit from bird to bird. That's a significant finding," said senior author Scott Kenney, assistant professor of veterinary preventive medicine based in Ohio State's Food Animal Health Research Program at the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC) in Wooster."

And Tonto answered back 'Close enough, White Man'.

To quote Tonto as he and the Ranger were surrounded by hostile Indians.. 'What do you mean, WE?..'

I don't know if I buy the Metal Rat theory of destruction, but learning about 1960 4 Pestilences campaign was sad. How the destruction of sparrows(!) led to mass deprivation was eye opening. It's just hitting the presses that world wide insect populations have been plunging 1% a year. Which is huge. You don't hear distant dominoes falling, but when they get close, you can't stop them either.

Some humans are missing the e at the end. Others earn it by showing love and caring to others. Balancing justice and mercy, leaving the world a better place by their being.

What is human? I've got 7.8 Billion individual answers.

It's said that the brain is an energy hungry organ. I wonder if organically, clear/bright and present mean the brain is more at rest. Not running its usual loops of judging things and labeling stuff. Quiet, clear and aware its buzzing along in its best mode. *The brain lacks fuel stores and hence requires a continuous supply of glucose. It consumes about 120 g daily, which corresponds to an energy input of about 420 kcal (1760 kJ), accounting for some 60% of the utilization of glucose by the whole body in the resting state. ...www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov › books › NBK22436

I agree. Though perhaps because of my own leanings I find the left wing here, less conspiracy and hateful <then Talk Trump in its heyday> My biggest fear a few months back was that you had some alt-right sites closing and we'd have them migrate here. I was beginning to see that happen. I was a little glad to see Sean's action but bothered by the extreme one sidedness of it. When we have active mods back, I hope they keep an eye on the politics. That personal insults and trolling are given warnings. That our political discussions evolve to be factual, more philosophical and less mocking and exaggerated. <I enjoy the mocking as much as anybody, but realize that when the other side does it, I feel uncomfortable. Like gossip, its fun to do. So, the answer is.. don't over do it??>

How do you define Gnosticism? As you can see, some are going for the early Christian group ideals, others towards magical philosophy.

I've got nothing against the mystical/esoteric paths. Its just, when a person is only getting the bad side and not the positives, then perhaps its time to switch to the 'plainer' world. Without being grounded and at peace, exploring the fringe isn't a good idea. Because real or imagined you open yourself up to negative forces.

God bless the libraries. With the Overlook app, I can download free books and audio books. Audio books are particularly nice because they are so expensive. You can also speed them up to 1.2 or 1.5 if you can listen fast. I've been digging audio books during some of my walks. Loved half of 'The Unfettered Soul' and all of Call Sign Chaos. Just found out that the library has a movie download service. Kanopy.com don't know if its everywhere, but its in the Midwest. It allows you to stream Classic Movies and Documentaries. Plus it has 6,250 of the Great Courses videos, which are kinda like indepth Ted Talks, running for hours of indepth classes each, with an amazing array of subjects from Nuclear Physics, to Dog Training to Tai Chi. You just need a library card to use it.

Most of us are stuck home. What y'all doing? I'm taking long walks. We're going through food mysteriously fast, so I'm going to the grocery store ever 3rd day it seems. Binge watching Community on Netflicks with one of my kids. Trying to get another to play frisbee with me. Not doing as much meditation or standing or chi gung as I'd like. Or maybe thats a cop out. I'm doing exactly as much as I'd like which is apparently little.

I'm really enjoying it. Its one of the few shows that really makes me laugh. Fun irreverent characters, played tongue in cheek by very talented actors. What got to me watch was that the writer was half the Rick & Morty team, the less crazy, more heart felt one- as my son described. He's watching it with me for the 2nd time. Its nice that its 22 minutes and so many seasons. We've just made it through the first and I'm looking forward to all the Halloween episodes. What VR helmet? There's one cheap one that works off Android, better ones that are corded.. I'll have to look into the games.. see if any are Mac compatible. Bring it. I'm bored and could use the distraction.

I have a device that tracks my sleep levels (Oura ring). Getting to sleep by 10:30 rewards me with a longer early segment of deep sleep. The same amount of sleep done later doesn't give me the longer initial hit. Going to bed earlier gets me 20 to 25% more deep sleep in. Since I consider it to be the most rejuvenating sleep level for my body, it behooves me to get to bed earlier, even though I'd prefer not too. Thus proving Benjamin Franklin correct.

I remember at times going through bouts of unforced celibacy. They'd last 5 or 6 weeks then go away. I think it was more mental, then energetic. Whatever triggers led me down a sexual path, was taking the day off. If you're not in a relationship that requires it, I'd say enjoy the sense of peace. At some point it'll probably go away by itself. lately the dreary weather and being cooped up hasn't been setting my libido off like Springtime usually does.

[sean] split from: I'd love to see the military budget highly trimmed. Hate to win a non-existent war and lose the country's wellbeing due to spending and taxing trillions on gun powder. On the other hand, Jimmy Carters statement about 'China ahead of us in almost every way', Is because China became increasingly Capitalistic. Before allowing for free markets they were 3rd world in everything in many of the statistics where they're not ahead of us. imo, Its Capitalism that allowed there boom, lifting 100's of millions out of dire poverty, creating a middle class. We have problems, so does China, it's allowed some of the worst pollution to go on, but when it comes to freedom we're ahead. They are Orwellian and getting worse in many ways (see abolition of presidential term limits). <interestingly enough you can buy a copy of '1984' but you typing it into a social media post, in context, is criminal!? (https://boingboing.net/2019/01/13/laobaixing.html & https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/01/why-1984-and-animal-farm-arent-banned-china/580156/) <wait, why are we discussing this on the mass shooting thread?? <seems like it should have its own thread.>

If posture related, then perhaps sitting with the balance more forward might help. Most people lean back, instead be more upright, even to the point of feeling as if slightly fall forward. Some weight on the feet. See if that helps. When I do longer sitting a slight bobbing motion, just an inch, forward and back at the waist helps me sit longer. My wife's been working at home. Her back was hurting for awhile. We got her chair from work, and magically the back pain stopped. Why? Superior chair, ergonomics. Especially because she sits in it for a few hours a day. See where you sit the most and double check your position in terms of proper ergonomics and tension. There are internet sites that may talk about it.

Interesting archive. I might give it a shot. I don't know about giving one photographic memory but it seems like a good mental memory workout. It's also reminiscent of a story Aryeh Kaplan recalled. Where there was a contest who could learn the most pages of a religious book. At first it'd take him days to memorize one. Later 3 days, then 2, then 1, then he found he could do it with a single reading. He said he didn't feel he was getting smarter, rather it was like a filter of his mind was dropped. from archive-" Meditation #26 Meditations Upon Books for cultivation of memory, awareness, & intuition All Fringe Wizards read a great many books but we could be making the process a lot more efficient and productive. Here are meditations I have devised for that purpose: Part 2 >>33 Part 3 >>34 Part 4 >>35 Part 5 >>36 Book Meditation, No Visualization, Reciting Type 1 book meditation, no-visualization, reciting basic (do this with a book you are just reading now) 1. Read a sentence. 2. Look away or close the eyes. 3. Recite the full sentence you just read perfectly. 4. Read the next sentence. 5. Repeat - until you can do this easily then move onto intermediate. Type 1 book meditation, no-visualization, reciting intermediate 1. Read a full paragraph. 2. Look away or close the eyes. 3. Recite the full paragraph you just read perfectly. 4. Read the next paragraph. 5. Repeat - until you can do this easily then move onto advanced. Type 1 book meditation, no-visualization, reciting advanced 1. Read a full page. 2. Look away or close the eyes. 3. Recite the full page you just read perfectly. 4. Read the next page. 5. Repeat - until you've finished the book.

The biologist J.B.S. Haldane posited 70 years ago, once we left the jungle and switched to agriculture, it is quite likely that adapting to infectious disease became the main driver of natural selection, replacing attacks by large animal predators- That's from an article Know Thy Immunity by Norman Doidge. https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/science/articles/doidge-plague-journal-immunity Interesting read. Those who survive the bad plagues and epidemics, pass there genes on. Beyond basic immunity, there are factors of fleeing, nutrition, hygiene.. luck..

Realize too, that advice given on the internet, without knowing you, or the problem indepth, is akin to shots in the dark. Suggestions that may or may not work for you. Because you know yourself and are more familiar with the problems, taking out a sheet of paper, writing down your troubles, and coming up with a couple plans, a,b,c.. might be a more direct source of help. I assume when Spotless mentioned Jeff, he wasn't giving some clairvoyant info, rather he meant a member here, Jeff who often volunteers to give people body scans/readings. I'd caution against going the whole psychic route. Leave the world of entities and coincidences alone for awhile. Hit the basics, improve the little things and not look for someone with a 'magical' advice or answer.

idk, people are retarded?.. journalists are clowns?.. doctors are scammers?, super experts don't know anything.. I understand its frustrating. I don't understand why you can't go outside and exercise. Are you sure you can't? Where are you at, there's a chance you misunderstand the shelter in place orders. In Illinois we're not forced to stay inside, most people go for long walks or runs, ie staying 6 feet apart and wearing masks when we're in stores. You're right this is hurting the economy, badly. It's not destroyed though, money is still good, groceries and hardwares are still open, but closures are hurting people badly. The last decade has seen virus's much worse then covid19, like ebola, that had a 30 or 40% death rate but thanks to experts and drastic measures they didn't spread. We've had plagues that killed off 25% of the population. It's suggested the native American population suffered plagues that killed 80 to 90%! Generations would lose 10% to plagues and 20% to super plagues. We might be able to do better. Maybe we're over reacting to this. We'll have to see. To some extent it boils down to how much are elderly lives worth? They're the ones at highest risk from a very contagious illness. Is losing 10,000's or 100,000s of them worth shutting down much of the economy for a month or two? I don't have a problem with perhaps overreacting now, as long as we learn something from it.

Who'da thought, WW3 Man vs Virus. I'm sure we'll win this round. But will we put in place, what we need to win the next rounds and the boss battle?

A new member wrote, 'When I meditate I lose myself in my mind..' If by that he means too many thoughts, then that is indeed problem 1, in meditation. I think most teachers these days are in the 'let thoughts settle, by themselves' camp. Observe, don't feed or judge, let them go.. return to the quiet mind. Early in my meditation years I'd fall into trance where time would go by quickly, yet that trance state wasn't too far from the dopey state. These days I'll strive for a 'brighter awareness' when I meditate. I'll also take more time to see that my bodies comfortable. A zafu of the right size, cushioning under my legs, scratch what needs to scratched, burp, fart. Having a body that's exercised a bit seems to help. When you meditate.. what do you do? How do you prepare?