thelerner

Hey Wayfarer, as Trunk said, it was meant mostly in humour, also the reality is I'd walk past one unless they were glowing real good. In our culture one persons holy man is another's insane lunatic. If Jesus walked through downtown, unless he was pulling rabbits out of hats, he'd be met w/ 'Get a job, hippy', or worse. Heck the chasm between the religious true believer who worships and talks to G-d, and the atheist is large and volatile. They look at each other, one says get a life, the other, get an afterlife , both see the other as less sane. I started these 2 threads because I feel between both points. I need to get clarity. I can barely bring myself to worship G-d, let along any other entitities. By worship I mean trying to silently connect, feel G-d within and without. Michael

Hey Yen, I had a lot of resistance to buying a book like Invoking Angels. I enjoyed the authors previous book but was let down by 'Angels', I paged through it and didn't buy it. But then so many traditions have you calling on higher powers. For me that seemed like a cop out. There's me, teachers of all stripes and G-d. Why introduce figures that are probably my own imagination into the picture. Ultimately I suppose the reason is at a higher level its not your imagination(maybe). I'm still far from calling Taoist immortals, I'm more likely to shake my fist at one and say 'Get a job, you hippy' then have an indepth conversation with one. I don't see taoism as a path to power, far from it, unless its power over yourself. At least the Invoking Angels is roughly from my own ancestoral back ground. It's not a new age view of thousands of personal angels, its more a few hierachical angels as a facet of G-ds prism. Accessible, through focus on their qualities... Not that I buy into it, but I'm reading and meditating on it. Maybe such things rub off on one, til there is a gradual enlightenment. Or not. Thats the story today. Yen, who have you met on your journeys? Michael

Details Cam, When, where, how long and how many dinars? Michael

Thanks Yen Hui, I'm not interested in contacting spirits or gaining powers. What attracted me to Bardons work is that his first steps are so sound psychologically. The introspective work is so thorough in his system. If that is all there was, it would still be a work of genius. I want to know whats there. Whats here. Whats behind the curtain. What are the options that I don't know exist. Again, I think there's one universe. We see it through the lenses of our system, the prism of our conditioning. For those who see outside the Tic Toc. What system helped you see beyond? How much was native talent? I know its not an intellectual phenomena. There's no formula, treaty or rule that lowers the veil. There are pointers and grace, and spending time on the mat. Michael

Just left Yoda and MatthewQi in the Live Chat room. They'll probably chat for a while longer. If you read this, join'em. Goodnite Michael

Hi Agharta, how do you use the healing clays and what are they exactly. Michael

Achhh, you're twenty, you would probably survive anything short of an atomic blast. Your body is incredibly resilient, you've just ..'over charged' it. People here will give you good advice. Try the HTusa site as well. Michael Winn has experience treating such problems, post on his site (HTusa) and try emailing him as well. Some people have had good results from Dr. Linn's (google it) site. A recent post here mentioned Kundalini syndrome, there are several links on it to problems like yours (google Kundalini Syndrome or page down to the discussion here.) The best advice will probably come from a TCM Doctor, perhaps an accupunturist, maybe there's a chi gung instructor in your area. Talking to someone with experience face to face is better then our educated guesses. I take it you have stopped what ever practices you were doing. Take it slow, consider the advice and know that you will get better. Michael

see ya there. M

Yoda turned me on to these. I've been working on perfecting a recipie. Todays is very good. It is: Frozen Spinach - 2 or 3 handfuls the organic from traders joes works well Kefir yogurt plain - I suppose any plain or vanilla yogurt would work, 2 or 3 ounces milk - I use cow 2%, any 'milk' with some fat in it, 2 or 3 ounces half a banana half an avocado - optional but highly recommended, makes it smooth and luscious, decreases spinachiness dash of vanilla - optional but increases the depth of flavor Its thick so start the blender on a low setting to avoid air pockets. Add water to thin it out a bit. Add some ice if your spinach isn't frozen. Blend for a minute or two to knock out lumps. Enjoy it really tastes great Michael

An interesting angle is 'Is that which make us live longer, good for us?' In a couple of large studies the moderate drinker outlives the non drinker (and heavy drinker). A glass or two a day provides substantial protection (30-40% ?) against the number one killer, heart disease. Thins the blood, provides various protective flavinoids. Its certainly not all bad. Its also high in calories, addictive, poisonous in high doses, a kick in the liver and brain cells even at low doses. For myself, I'll have a glass of wine with dinner a few nights a week, a beer or two with friends on a weekend, get smashed once or twice a year. Michael

Here's a collection of posts on Kundalini and its possible problems: - http://members.aol.com/ckress/resource.html For a quick reading I like what Glenn Morris wrote about Kundalini in his "Pathways of an America Ninja.." (bad tittle, good book). Go through the Healing Tao USA site, some of Michael Winns articles have direct bearing on controlling kundalini. Above all, if things get over heated slow way down. Stop practice for a while, exercise, go for long walks, have beer with a friend. Its easier to see the physical overheating and harder to see the mental, ballooning ego, paranoia etc. An experienced teacher is important when you're doing extreme meditation periods. Hope the above link gives you good advice. Michael

There's a saying Too Pure twice poisoned. Watch your diet too closely, keep it too pristine and you open yourself up to vulnerabilities. A person who never exposes himself to pesticides could get majorly sick walking through a neighborhood or near a farm. For example, most of the water I drink is filtered, but I think its important to drink tap water every now and then. I need to keep up tolerance for it, otherwise I could get sick from a random ice cube. Likewise I have air filters in my house, but if that was the only air I took in, eventually going outside would be uncomfortable. I applaud my children when they get dirty. It strengthens there immune systems. Some caffeine is not bad. Trace amounts of pesticides are not bad. Without some traces we'd open for sickness. Populations that drink the most teas are healthier then those that don't. One point three billion chinese can't be wrong. Random thoughts Michael I'm drinking a banana(not organic) spinach (organic) milk shake as I write this. Its..spinachy, my recipie needs tweaking

Thanks for your post Trunk. I suspect you're right. The question is how to do it without feeling phoney or hypocritical? I ran into this same problem with Chi Gung and even Aikido. The imagining of energies flowing out of your arms, linking colors and feelings to movements. I over came the reluctance and there was a huge improvement in quality and depth of both arts. I guess it begins as a focus. Michael

Can't say I know anything about the man. I suppose there are some good Tai Chi people around here. I've mostly been into Aikido. Chicago has many great schools, a wide variety of Aikido styles. Truth is the last few years I've been laying low, not seeking much of anything, feathering the nest, taking care of younglings. I went to a Fusions I- IV class at Winn's Tao Mountain last year. It was taught by Masahiro, he was certainly the best Tai Chi person I've ever seen live. He didn't teach it there, but if you came to class very early you could watch him practice. The movements were natural, balanced and effortless. You can pick up the flavor and philosophy of Tai Chi from a book, but I don't think you can learn it without the feedback of a teacher. Some Chi gungs forms are simple enough to learn from a video, but even then a live teacher help is invaluable. Michael

The sun shines bright and warm in my heart I go hAAaahhhh My body feels the breeze, the air is dry and crisp I breath out SSsssssss The lake is cool and lovely, it fills the space and reflects the tao I humm out Schooooooo The forrest is sacred green and full of life I whisper Shhhhhhhhhh I lie on a mesa it begins to rain between the drops is dryness darkness before and after the lightening silence before and after the thunder even in the midst of storm it is dry dark and silent Michael

Thad, as far as angels go, years ago I would have said, Judiasm really isn't concerned with Angels, there are a couple of appearances in the 5 books of Moses, but they're considered powerful but lesser beings who serve G-d. Ofcourse with a religion as old as Judiasm you have many interesting angles. While Angels aren't mentioned a whole lot in the original 5 books, there are sacred books where they get front row seats. I paged through Rabbi Aaron Cooper's book on Angels. Very interesting, Angels presented almost like Saints (albeit ones who had never been human). It used them as focal points in prayer. He makes some interesting points, though I don't think they're neccessarily widely accepted or focused upon in mainstream Judiasm. Its still not my cup of tea. A few of my guided meditations have you 'speak' to your subconscious, role play with it, ask it questions. I've never been good with them. It usually too clear that I'm making up the answers my self. I 'feel' myself thinking. In Buddhism, prayers that call for the enlightenment of all people seem wrong to me. Who am I to say what others should get? And its not like my prayer would or should have power over others, it enough that it should have a little bit of power over me. Michael

If you were a monk living in a taoist monastery football might be frowned upon. Outside of the monastery the path of tao is pretty wide. Strive to be natural, don't be a slave to your senses.. the rest is commentary Michael

Wow, what a fantastic story and great learning opportunity. If I was 20 years younger and 3 kids lighter I would be tempted. Michael

My bad. My reply was late night ramblings. I have great respect for Capoeira's history and practitioners. The Dan story struck me as something out of the movies. Michael

Glad to have you here, feel free to make some noise. What brings you to do research on Master Liao? Michael

That is the exact same story I learned about the origins of Capoeira. The man who told it to me also said that Kung fu was started by a Roger Fu. Apparently Roger had an immature gagging reflex that made him thrash about when he tried to swallow food. Roger learned to turn his choking into a deadly weapons. He was once mugged by the entire bat mitton team and used it to DEFEAT his enemies. Later he changed the name to Kung fu, because Roger Fu wasn't catchy enough. Michael

Naruto is no Avatar, but its still a pretty good albeit slow moving 'deeper' tune series. I saw that episode, you're being soft hearted. The guy was a murderous villain in my book. One last deed doesn't undo a lifetime of evil. Course its such a manipulative set up to begin with, one must ultimately blame the writers . Michael

Hmnn, maybe 4 choices. Surrender to him, Fight (or ignore) what he says, or Find a compromise if possible. Strict is not neccessarily bad. If he's a good man, consider surrendering. If you choose this path, then do it totally. You'll have to come up with your own fourth choice. Michael

I haven't done a spring cleaning fast in years. I'd usually just do 4 to 6 days and follow Daniel Reids book 'The tao of health sex and longevity'. Which was distilled water with fresh lemon, later on a bit of maple syrup. He also had you on psylliium seed (metamucil) and volcanic ash for additional inner cleaning and hunger control. Doesn't feel much like spring here Chicago, snow yesterday, snow tomorrow. Keep me informed of your experience, I'll do a fast later when it warms up. The use of protein makes sense, unless it de-triggers the cleansing mechanisms that fasting is supposed to use. Michael