thelerner

I think brotherly love also has its problems as it witnessed by anyone who's had a brother. The problems of brotherly love is abundantly displayed in the bible. Starting w/ Cain and Able down to the Patriarchs. I think we have to aim for Grandmotherly love. The 'You're doing great, have a cookie and a hug' kind of love. Michael

I find the secret is you have to see who's on first , which is at the bottom of the first screen. If there is a crowd then post a global Lets Go Online, and see if you get any bites. If there is only 2 or 3 people on the odds of them seeing and/or caring to chat is negligible. Michael

Archimedes said, With a big enough lever- I can move the world. I say With enough beer- I can stop my brain waves. It would be fun to rent out these machines. I believe Anne Wise uses a similar machine in her research. There is the game 'Journey to the Wild Divine"(sp) that controlled w/ biofeedback that just measures skin resistance. They do have a new version of their game out and ship it with some additional biofeedback games. No EEG model yet. Michael

I wonder how this conversation would play out if the Shaman had instead said he was an Immortal(no floating), born a few hundred years ago. Would we follow the same lines of thought? I think we would. Michael

I've been doing K. for almost 2 months. I get leg activity after a minute or two, it becomes a rapid bumping, then after about 6 minutes it settles down to a stop for a few minutes, then begins another 6 minute cycle with less bumping. One of the posters here reported a drop in orgasmic intensity after a few weeks of K. I think the same thing happened to me, but it came back a week or two later at least as strong. I like its simplicity and its unique body effect. Still, I wonder if its just a powerful technique. Meaning that it will do wonderful things for the body and clear the mind, but done alone without an emphasis on virtue or morality you can still be the same miserable person at the end that you started as, only happier and more energetc. Michael I just saw an answer from Mantra already posted on another thread. "Does basking in the divine have anything to do with spirituality? Does removing the illusionary "blocks" that create a false sense of separation from one's divine true nature have anything to do with spirituality? What we actually do has EVERYTHING to do with spirituality and practically NOTHING to do with "super-natural" powers. "

One of my favorite quotes is 'One man's magic is anothers engineering'. Seeing the video I thought, can't be positive, but highly doubt it. I'm looking out the window now. If I see the Shaman or someone else floating by, I'll have to revise it. Still, our minds are amazing, and our bodies are complex electro chemical machines. I don't think we have the tools to fight so powerful a force as gravity. I think psychic phenomena like OBE's and telepathy will be cracked way before we see floaters There are people who are report planned and regular astral meetings with others, then using the internet or phone to confirm what was discussed. Why don't they provide firm evidence of this? Its not there bag. I think it is possible and its not a 1 in million thing. I think it can be taught and learned. Not easy, but not neccessarily a high level Siddhi either. I can't do it. Any one on board have communicating in there sleep? Michael

Here is my updated One page Productivity Wallet. Its a 2 page word 2003 document. Print out a few copies of page 1, then flip'em and print out page 2 on the back. Once they're two sided, fold'em in thirds, then in half to have a nice flat wallet-like sheet that fits in a pocket and allows you to track your day. and here is the classic 100 Day Gong Poster(brilliant, not mine), where you fill in a smile for every day you've done your Gong. Can't download it on this page. I've gone over my global limit size here. No biggie. Google '100 day gong' and you'll find it. A nice poster w/ 100 blank faces, labeled 1 to 100. You add the smile (or frown) to each day you do your practice. It starts w/ I love this day!, I __________ greet today with a smile, for I have taken a small step twoards my 100 DAY GONG, I began on __________. Then has the 100 faces to fill in. Michael To_Do_List_best_yet.doc

I like getting into Live Chats with members here. It can be hit or miss though. I find the best way is to see who is online, then do a New Topic post of 'I'm heading Online come join me'. Then I'll go to Live Chat and wait 5 or 10 minutes. I find that works 50% of the time. I just saw your post and went to see if you were still online. I see you're not. Getting people onto Live Chat can be frustrating, but the rewards of communicating live with several people all over the states and/or world is great experience. There is a nice sense of comraderie and chance to learn new things. I've had people like MatthewQi lead a few Live Chatters with a guided meditation. I've been able to coordinate practitices and herbal stuff with others on Live Chat that would be too slow and cumbersome going message to message. I'd love to see more Live Chatting done around here. Its fun. Yours Michael

I agree w/ Yoda. China is the motherland of so much of our studies. Anything that helps draw dedicated practitioners here is welcome. First hand perspective (like Lins) is always welcome. Michael

Systems online to try out. The very deep AYP system (google it). I never got into it, but it has depth and heart. I like Rawn Clarks offerings at Abardoncompanion.com. He has a few systems based on Bardons Hermetics that are relatively easy and (I find) fascinating. I believe both systems are free. A good live teacher is always best. Still, there is much to learn from these sites. Many of us started w/ the Healing Tao, you could peruse the healing tao usa website, there's probably a link to it in the Link section. I like Michael Winns videos. I really like his Fundamental II video which has a nice simple chi gung sequence, many people here like his primordial. Anything from Minke DeVos Silent Grounds is good. I think they have a link to her site. Her CD Tao Basics has some fantastic guided meditations on it that allow you to experience alchemical taoism pretty well. I like the CD's from Chi Nei Tsang as well. Max Christensons Kunlun has a following here. Its a simple technique. His book is just $15. You can peruse some of the long threads we have on him, see Lama Dorje, or anything mentioning Kunlun. As Trunk said there's a wide variety of people here with a wide variety of practice. Look around, date a couple, then settle down and get serious with one. You can fool around a little on the side, but to get depth you need to surrender and just Do a practice for (at least) several months til you've scratched the surface and it goes from practice to path. Welcome to the bums. Michael

I loved the film, but it was almost too painful to watch a second time. IMHO This is not a film for kids. The 'real life' violence in it is extremely disturbing. Particularly in the way its perpetrators hand it out with such indifference. Michael

Looks like a nice product and web page. Thanks for letting me know about it. I'm an old fan of LaBerge. I think scientists, academics and journalists are more likely to crack open the world of psychic phenomena then well psychics. Its great that Lucid dreaming has moved so much closer to the main stream. I wait for the day when its considered an everyday event and OBE's are common. I like the thought that OBE's are one of the lost birthrites of our ancestors, a trick that helped a weak mammal survive against a tough food chain. Michael

Hi Jaloo, Could you give us little information on how the Surya Das and Norbu practices are alike and how they differ. Thanks Michael

We've got some great tools now and many more on the pipeline. What we'll need to implement them is either a great deal more economic pain or a leader who makes it conservation and innovation a national priority. Michael

Good to have you guys back. Michael

In Japan the legendary martial artists of the past were taught by bird spirits. Maybe the name was Tenku? Michael edit, its Tengu Being shape-shifters, tengu are capable of assuming a variety of forms or casting various illusions to deceive humans, but their essential nature is invariably avian. They hatch from enormous eggs, and make their homes in pine and cryptomeria trees. Tengu in old fairy-tales often take the form of birds of prey - usually kites or kestrels - especially when defeated or tormented, although in modern times the bird they are most associated with is the crow (karasu, which in Japanese can actually refer to any member of genus Corvus). Originally, tengu were portrayed as human-like creatures with a bird's beak, wings and tailfeathers on their backs, and claws on their fingers and toes. Unlike the generic anthropomorphic birds drawn by modern roleplaying gamers, traditional tengu were usually plantigrade, featherless except for their wings, and often had ears and hair. Some of the more monstrous depictions give them scaled digits or lips, mouths full of sharp teeth, three-toed bird's feet, or somewhat bat-like webbed flight feathers. They are sometimes associated with the color red, although sources differ on whether this applies to their skin, hair, or clothing. A tengu differs from a kitsune in that his usual human form is not beautiful, and his beak often becomes a very large nose. Sometimes he retain his wings. This humanoid form has become so popular that today, "tengu" is often translated simply as "long-nosed goblin", and the creatures are associated with the phallic-nosed Shinto god Sarutahiko. The old-fashioned bird-man form of tengu is called karasu-tengu to distinguish it. The long-nosed tengu (sometimes labeled konoha-tengu) are said to be in charge of the beaked ones, although one must assume that such capricious shape-changers are merely "wearing" their appearance as a badge of their rank.

I agree w/ Freeform, about the Tao not being anthropomorphized then turned into a 'look here' it agrees with me perfectly . The Tao is mysterious, not to be explained, but danced with. I think its closer that when the unaware/common man/busy person is shown the Tao, they see foolishness. Michael

National Public Radio did a piece on a Christian Monastery in the U.S. One of the monks made contact with Japanese monks and planned a meeting with them. One thing the author said was that most people coming into the monastery tried to act monkish, but every movement, everything they did, cried out-I'm not a monk; regardless of how they tried to imitate. When they saw the Japanese Monks it was clear that these were fellow brothers. The walk, posture, eyes, manner were the same. I think monasteries are great places to pick up some peace. A nonsectarian one with no particular religious flavoring would be ideal. I think that was the idea behind Silent Grounds, which unfortunately went up for sale a few years ago. Michael

You've gotten some excellent advice here. Having an experienced person check your stance and make adjustments would be even better though. Only thing left is practice. Standing practice is very powerful. There's a guided meditation I'll sometimes use when I stand. Its from Rawn Clarks Abardoncompanion.com. Its a free 15 minute meditation, the first from his Archaeous series. Like all the mp3 meditations there it is free and easy to download. Like most he starts by relaxes the body. What makes it unusual is the elemental style of it. He equates the hips down to earth. Strength. Hips up to rib cage as water, flexible but substantial. Ribs to neck as air, light. Above as sun, awareness. It makes the time go by faster and a 15 minute stand seem easier. Others might have touched on this. When I stand or sit, I mentally have an elastic chord slightly stretching up the back center of my head, one slightly stretching down near my tail bone and two more slightly pulling my shoulders, stretching them (lightly) wider, opening my chest. Michael

I'll try exotic teas every now and then. During winter I like the gunpowder w/ rice type. But I'll always go back to my tea of youth. Constant Comment by Bigelow. With a little sugar and lemon wedge. Michael

I think the Ayervedic (sp) method teaches that one meal a day (lunch I think) is the path to wisdom. In a link from to Buddhist master (Hsuan?) it states he just eats one meal a day. I think there is an Islamic sect that preaches one meal every other day. Less food has been the only dependable way found to lengthen life span and stall many degenerative diseases. Still, some of the practitioners look a bit skeletal. Michael

Seasons greetings and Merriment to all Michael

One thing I liked about the martial arts is that was the occassional testing. There was a list of skills or techniques and you had to perform them to pass. I suppose if we had a steady meditation teacher there might be some sort of bench marks occassionally. But many of us don't have that. What kind of tests, benchmarks or trials make sense? Off the top of my head I can think of: Sit down, time yourself, Count 200 breaths. Shoot for at least an hour and half to equal 30 second breath cycle. All night sitting. Two hour standing- 2 hours standing hugging a tree position. Going outside at sunrise, finding a proper spot and staying there til sunset. Taking a needle (sterilized?) and poking it through the bit of webbing between thumb and pointer finger. Getting even stranger: moving a candle flame mentally. Making your image disappear from a mirror (in a darkened room). Fasting? Thoughts.. Michael

Hi IL, I'm from the U.S Midwest, Chicago. There was a nice guy from Germany who posted here a bit. His name was Gerd. So he's into this stuff . Maybe he'll see this and post here. Otherwise I've got his email if you're interested. Yours Michael

Little1, little1, little1. You used the word bust. This is a sign of sexual deviancy and inner impurity. If we've learned nothing else from curator it is that rudeness and arrogance are the way to karmic brownie points. Please correct your verbage in the future, lest its pungency effect his highness negatively. M.