thelerner

Lilly Siou, she was one of the three people presented in the book "Masters of the Way" wasn't she. If so, she represented the naturalness of the tao very well. Michael

SeanD, when people disagree with you, you get dismissive and launch personal attacks. Within 3 or 4 posts they give up and won't have anything to do with you. Its a pattern that seems to happen on every thread you post to. Disagreement is at the heart of good discussion. You need to find a way to disagree with people that doesn't come off as rude and insulting. Yours Michael

You probably won't find any card carrying Taoists. IMHO Most people here think of Taoism as an idea rather then a religion. You're more likely to find the taoist mindset in places that teach meditation, yoga, Chinese styles of martial arts, classes in esoteric healing etc. Hope that helps. Michael

Now never comes. To me that passes the litmus test of a great truth. That the opposite of a great truth is another great truth. It is now, right now Michael

I find that within Winn's early fundamental work (literally Fundamentals II) there is the repeated emphasis on 'cooking the rice'. No more talking, do the Chi gung form. In the case of Fundamental II video uses hand and body motions to move and guide the Chi along. Each of the 5 sections effecting the chi in a different way or direction. Starjumpers post is a personally important reminder for me because I do tend to lay in bed and groove out to visualizations, they're nice, but they probably just stir the rice and don't cook it. In Aikido the symbol for Ki was explained as showing fire on the bottom, bowl of rice on top. Michael

I'm assuming from watching the video that the person is not creating electricity like some Chi Gung masters are reported to do. I assume his body is grounded and he holding a high voltage wire. A few weeks ago on TV there was a first lady of electricity and it showed her shooting huge bolts out of her fingers and other stunts. It also showed how she did it, the importance of keeping your hands high and about how others worked it. Its not about generating electricity its about becoming a conductor of it. On the other hand. We are biochemical and electrical beings. Swirly intestines, dozens of miles of wiring, thoroughly salted within, radiating waves without. No reason why we shouldn't be able to focus our inherent electrical ability. Michael

We have the retro Midway games for the game cube. Many of them are low quality. The kids enjoyed the Rampage game. Its good in that the monsters you play as cooperate, its bad in that you destroy buildings and gobble down people like popcorn. The kids love to play Mario cart at a friends house. The public library(!?) has events where they link two gamecubes together, both running Mario cart. You have 8 kids playing the same game (two TV's) and racing on the same track at the same time. Pretty neat for a cheap game machine. Michael

Not so impressive. Its an old magicians (done first by Tesla I believe) trick, for some magicians make it there specialty. Any one can do it. Normally the 'magician' has to keep his hands shoulder level to keep current away from their heart. Hook us up right and we could all do it. Michael

Hi Hannah welcome to the site. Taoism in practice and philosophy is pretty big. For me it boils down to; body and soul are a microcosm of the universe. Thats it, the rest is just practice . If you get into the Tao Te Ching, one of the best resources on the web is this: http://home.pages.at/onkellotus/TTK/_IndexTTK.html its a comparative guide to dozens of translations. The best literal, mystical and practical translations and they can be compared to each other line by line. Don't hesitate to join in on discussions here. As a beginner you're probably closer to the tao then most of us here and only one step backward to being a master. Yours Michael

My family has been bonding recently with an old game. We're playing Gauntlet Dark legacy a $14.99 for the Game Cube. Whats nice about it is that is that the characters work together to Kill Kill Kill and get from one level to another. Its easy enough for a 6 year old and entertaining enough for an adult. Michael

I don't think I learned a whole lot in college(Business major, Comp. Sci minor-specialty in vacuum tubes& punch cards), but it gave me a safe place to think and avoid a boring 9 to 5 job flipping burgers. As a 42 year old I realize now how immature I was on many levels at 18 to 22. The 'Universe will Provide for those with Passion' paradigm is nice, but I've seen starry eyed kids and adults fail because they didn't have plan B. College can give you a plan B, and time to figure things out. If your parents will give you a hand paying, then take advantage of it. If you'll be paying yourself, do it, but watch the $$'s, research aids and grants, and have a major where you can earn back the money. One of my roommates had to go to graduate school because he owed so much money on his undergrad degree that he felt he'd never be able to pay it back. Let it ride was his philosophy, and it worked out for him. I have another friend who majored in philosophy. 'Why?' we'd ask him. 'Because I like it' was his answer. He ended up going back to school for a teaching degree, but has no regrets about 4 years spent chasing philosophy. He has a nice house, nice family and 2 1/2 months off a year. Not bad. Yada yada Michael

A smallish comet is visible to the naked eye, just before dawn and to the east. http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap070105.html Let me know if anyone spots it. Michael

Keep us posted, no pictures please Its not the most spiritual topic, but I don't think its against the spirit of the site. Some of our longest threads have been the most sexual. During the recent thread of female ejaculation I was thinking, 'people, get a room' Hell if you grow 3 or 4 inches I can imagine quite a few of us (guys and gals) thinking, "Which herb and do you twirl clockwise or counter clockwise?" Michael

Its still your birthday in my time zone Have a good one. Michael

Trunk are you going? Michael

How he ever got to be the leader of the Jedi with an attitude like that is anyones guess. You've gotten some good advice here. I think it boils down to do your best, Work smarter, not just harder(teachers can be surprisingly helpful when asked), find a passion and play with it regularly. Your not alone, high school is high stress, from the clicks to the 'What are you going to do for the rest of your life' to the "These are best years of your life". Pretty much everyone is or was in the same boat. Life is easier when you have friends to help you deal with it, so don't ignore them when you're going through periods of angst. Michael

Before he was poisoned by Darryl Hannah, what was the real Pei Mei like? Wait scratch the first part of that. Michael

I think they call it Marking your Territory Michael

I realize the strength of standing practice but don't do it regularly. Sometimes I'll just stand, othertimes I'll be motionless but imagine my body going through a chi gung form. Often its more intense then doing the form for real. Sometimes I'll stand and listen to Rawn Clarks Archaeous guided meditation series. Its unusual elemental structure of seeing the legs as earth, belly as water, chest as air, head as fire/awareness connects with standing practice and the 15 or so minutes fly by. Michael

Cool. Thanks for taking the time to answer. I am impressed with the depth of your knowledge and your ability to condense it so well. Michael

On a physical level is that in some way refering to some Kan and Li concepts where you reverse the heart fire and watery kidney energy? I.E Yang (heart?) energy down, Yin (kidney energy?) up? Thanks Michael

Hi David, What is Tuina therapy? I've never heard of it. Also are there any unusual practices that Master Tseng does? I'll probably post this on the main discussion site, but what makes a lineage? Are they essentially family practices traditions that survive the test of time? Okay enough with the questions Glad to have you here. Michael

In Kaishan Gi Gong they required 100 days of retention. It could be early in training or a bit later, but they thought it had to done and the sooner you did the easier it would be. The concept of 100 days of retention appears in many schools. Part of it is psychological, if you have the will to lay off for 3 months plus, then you're a serious student. I think we've all documented there are mental and physical effects of longer retention. If you raise the bar to knock out sexual thoughts then you make it that much more difficult and profound. It seems to put you on a higher level energetically where you can transform or burn. Michael

Ah, but what is the spirit? There is a basic Me that is awareness, but there's a big chunk of Me that is my memories and ego. How much of that is immortal? How much should I want it to be immortal? Michael

I think we have to acknowledge we're multi dimensional. At the tick tock workaday level things often suck; pain, death, stupidity and finally loss of hair. But there is the deeper level, where right NOW its fine, this breath tastes good, the sky is beautiful and the ground is beneath my feet. Where death is a home coming and Stuff is just stuff. That truth is also there even at the worst times, maybe because of the worst times, it is accessible to us.