thelerner

In truth, if I was paying $7 bucks and change for gas, and the government proposed to raise it another .30, especially at a time it was at a record low per barrel. I'd also protest, with sign saying they're tone death idiots who don't care about the public. In my opinion, the protest is good, the violence within, by a minority of the crowd is bad. They don't want 'freedom' they already have it, though it makes for catchy signs. What they want is reduced tax burdens.

William James put it best: “A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices.” also- “The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.”

I'm sure people in France were saying the same thing when there riots here in the U.S. I'm guessing it'll peak and simmer down like these things usually do. The governments already reversed a couple policies. Course I don't think any side is thinking enslavement either. That's not to say governments don't make bad decisions, but its usually not quite so nefarious as enslavement.. its trying to find comprises or managing limited resources. ie if you do any leadership work, government or business even non-profit you inevitably end up helping some, screwing others, intentionally or unintentionally. Nature of leadership and decision making.

you shoulda phrased in a more judgemental way. ..like I've decided to leave this topic alone. or I pronounce this thread over for me. or I rule this discussion repetitive and pointless to myself. or so long suckers, and thanks for the fish.

On the last segment of my meditation I let go and just sit. Before that there's a segment where I breath as quietly as possible. Shooting for no audible sound. This means not breathing as deeply and more care between transitions. It also brings out heightened attention and focus with some nice byproducts.. in the body, out of mind, full attention

I think save it for when you need it. If you're constantly thinking judgemental thoughts, that's a problem, too busy a mind. When things are very wrong, or very right, judging is a form of common sense.

I liked that book, a good antidote to the mass of sappy self help books, grabbed the audio from the Overdrive app that lets you access books and audios free from the library. & for your listening pleasure- great tune. and this video was on the same page. Might be worth a look. Though perhaps we shouldn't give a f*ck

Come on, two years, 712 pages, 10,000+ posts, a discussion filled with too much flame bait, spam and ill will on all sides. That's not book burning that's a 5 story library filled with (*%#!. One that's still here for anyone who wants to wade into it. To me, its about Balance. There are times when a thread becomes obsessive to people. To see that there are calls of censorship because now they'll have to write in Hundun. That their great political thoughts and jabs won't get as much attention, is good. Cause after 700 pages it wasn't healthy for them or the board. It's generating too much ill will that's spilling into other posts. Other political threads will be born, but hopefully in a better spirit then the Talk Trump one. This is not without precedence on our board, when a group gets obsessive. In this case its 2 mutually antagonistic groups. I beg people to let it rest a little. See what its like not to rant for or against or insult a political party or figure for awhile. Or there's always Hundun.

I see evil as real and generally quite bad. Often its done in terms of selfishness, greed, ignorance, tribalism and shortsightedness. In some cases people are psychopaths and twisted, enjoying the pain of others. It's not just Them, to varying degrees such things are in all of us. I think the above also explains the oft sad state of the world pretty well. Not only do I not see a need to bring supernatural beings into the equation, I think its bad because it shifts responsibility away from the real players and causes.

Hey, I didn't say they were good things. Sadly destruction's easy, building is hard, for all the reasons you list above. Pointing out the evil in others is easy, being able to see it in ourselves is tough, cause imo Man is more rationalizing then rational much of the time.

As Jung liked to quote- Bidden or not God is present

I like your definition, nonetheless, We used to have a thread called something like Destroy A Wish, where someone made a wish for something and another said, Wish granted but.. some awful but logical thing happened because of it. So in that vein, hitting a child in order to stop them from causing a catastrophe is good, ie hitting them on arm to stop them from firing a gun. If resources were very slim, its better to enslave a person and be kind to them, then let them and there children starve. At times some Evil may be is necessary. Evil gets things done quickly while good and justice are beginning a long debate. Sadly when times are hard and resources few, evil flourishes and tends to take the lead. If evil make the hard unpopular decisions, then steps down afterwards, maybe that's not so bad. In that good intentions can wreak havoc with there unintended consequences. maybe my 50% Nihilism score on the personality test was fairly accurate.

AHhh and by VOIDing I mean automatically suspending for 6 months everyone who has posted on the thread over 7 times (I have only posted 6), thus knocking out most of the mods and making me a defacto ruler of the board. Finally.. well that took long enough. my first decree is we are no longer be the Dao Bums, we be going back to the Tao Bums, or maybe Dharmo Bums... I'll have to think about it.. thank you Trump, you served your part well.

Maybe I'm missing the point, but if it were up to a vote, I'd drop the Trump thread into the Void. It's been flame bait since it began. There's been little or no good from it, and lots of ill feelings and bitterness. Seems like Void stuff to me.

and isn't that why visually there's white dot and black dot in each opposing colors center.. Course you can only take a metaphor, especially a visual one so far. Yin and Yang are very useful fundamental concepts but are so big that its easy too high fallutin' with them.. ie it often works best when applying to a specific action. Otherwise its gets too abstract, at least for my tastes.

You mean the signature. You're right, too long and distracting, I've been meaning to erase it but too lazy.** **it is erased. i miss it though. it had certain dreams and ideals in it. read or not they'd percolate in my subconscious when viewing.

hmnn, imo I'm way more hedonistic then ascetic. I'd probably reverse those numbers. I probably register as more spiritual then materialist because I already have so much stuff/crap. I'd probably put more points into Pragmatism. Maybe throw a couple more points into Rationalism, though Romanticism is much more fun and perhaps more meaningful in the long run. P.S couldn't copy and paste from the site. I had to create a screen shot and paste.

Seems to me you answered your questions when you wrote 'I should probably find a new hobby and take a step back'. Living and being is its own preaching. Way more powerful then a strangers rants on the internet. It reaches less people but shines truer.

I was just reading a story about modern tribe in Alaska. They were hunters, willing to use modern tools, but it was very very hard life, starvation and deprivation were a constant threat. They used dogs and sleds to get around on the treacherous tundra. They were in no way blood thirsty m**therf*ckers. The hunt was spiritual, the animals were spiritual. A polar bear killed had special rituals around it so that its soul could find solace easier. Special ways of preparing it afterward to show respect. Hunting and the need for meat did not make them any less spiritual, nor less practical, when push came to shove.. they'd prize and love their dogs, but also ate them if needed, and there were hints at cannibalism, not so far back. There lifestyle, so close to nature had huge advantages when it came to 'spirituality'. Maybe lack of spirituality is eating without thanks. Disregarding the chain of life that brought us food. Missing the divinity within the natural order, which they, the tribe did not. addon> 'civilization' has been a touchy proposition for the last 3,000 years maybe..a short time versus the 100,000 or so years mankind's been around. I'm hoping that for the most part our ancestors led somewhat spiritual lives. Looking for greater meaning seems to be hard wired into us. Though close quarters does not bring out the best in us. We are not great hunters, its only by banding together, caring for each other, that we've survived.

Welcome. Like you, even after all these years I still tend to energy insensitive. Yet I don't think that means good things aren't going on. The fact you've gotten over panic attacks means there are positive changes happening. So I wouldn't worry about 'feeling' energy. Traditionally masters wouldn't talk much about it because it tends lead students into 'imagining' instead of letting things happen. For energy blocks.. hmnn, you might want to try shaking. Bend the knees a bit, start shaking your hands, like you're playing drums, let it travel up your elbows, get the whole body into it. Shake rhythmically til your heels are moving up and down. Play around with making it big and small. Nothing wrong with going really big, full Ape, including grunting. Keep it up for awhile, at least 5 minutes. Go longer as it becomes comfortable. When you want to stop, just slow it down, then in stillness appreciate the sensations in your body. Your nerves and pathways should have had a good wake up call. Some practices will have students shake for 30 minutes or more. Matter of fact I sit using Ya Mu's Stillness Movement style, which has gentle bobbing motion during sitting. I find it allows me to sit longer and certainly helps with keeping my legs from falling asleep.

Are you assuming we've all immediately gone and read the book??? how amusingly droll.. let me stick up my pinky and make a face. there. done. maybe i've been too much British tv..

Is getting what one wants worth turning into an asshole? I think its good to be what you are, but don't buy that many guys aren't naturally nice. I think it gets into a false dichotomy. One that can be just as guilty about changing a mans nature. You can be nice and get what you want, wealth love, sex, etc. Cooperation, coordination, building networks and trust can be as powerful as ruthlessness. In truth strategies should be thought of as tools in ones bucket and not define us. I'm sure there's middle ground. One can be assertive and nice. Be empathetic yet not be walked on. Being balanced doesn't mean being timid. Taking chances and putting ourselves out there does not mean we have to be aggressive. There may be value in some of the PUA (Pick Up Artist) stuff out there, but much of it is easily seen through manipulative garbage that isn't playing the long game.

Here's an important quote from long ago from Max himself. He starts out saying not to teaching kids under 18, then writes- "I have been asked by people why we do Kunlun on an animal skin or rubber mat. (The traditional method was to use deerskin or a piece of large leather, but a rubber mat will also be fine, but not as good as a natural skin.) The answer to this question is that all yogic traditions used the fur for insulation purposes. If you touch the bare ground while practicing, the qi can leak from the lower areas of the body, thereby draining the kidney qi. Also the animal skin acts like an energetic barrier keeping the qi from leaking into the ground. The fur prevents the magnetic potential generated by the practice from penetrating into the earth. Walking barefoot on the ground is good for your health and grounding when you are not practicing. Outside practices: Don’t practice in a windy area (disperses your chi), around large body of water (greater takes from the lesser) or direct sunlight (over heat). These are important and wise rules to follow. Practicing outside, under the shade of a large evergreen tree works best, as it acts like an energetic filter. Another “don’t” is practicing between 1-3pm, because of the negative influences energetically. For those who practice various forms of yoga, a “don’t” method is Bikram (hot) yoga, bastrika methods or various forms of kundalini. The reason is that with Kunlun, we are practicing the “Water path” or downward flow through the spine, while others methods are the upward or “fire’ path. The Kunlun path is gentle, peaceful, without using force, while the fire path is more aggressive in nature, meant to open the chakras through alternate nostril breathing, fire breathing and other fire based practices. Now kriya yoga will work fine with Kunlun, as long as the practices are separated by at least four hours. White tantric kundalini that uses mantras is also fine. Emptiness methods, laughing methods, mantras, other Taoist methods like five elements, pole standing and Chinese martial arts can also compliment this art. Another important “don’t” is using illegal drugs and alcohol with our methods. This is a foolish thing to do as these substances do not mix well with the Kunlun system. The use of such substances is not beneficial to your health or to your practices as you want a clear mind during awakening. Furthermore, the high or relaxation you experience while on drugs or alcohol comes at a price. The mingmen, also known as the gate of life, closes, and your life force diminishes. So keep clear minded and the inner light will also become clear and bright. Individuals with bipolar disorder should not do Red Phoenix or Kunlun because these people need grounding first in the outer world. Doing the one- breath and the five elements would balance the five emotions and the organs as well. An important fact to know and remember is that awakening is 99% of clearing the mind of its negative virtues and ego’s. When the energy of Kunlun flows through you, the mind and body purifies. The body is a container of mind experience reflecting both positive and negative attributes generated by mind experience, the body purifies with the mind when one or the other releases negativity. The most important thing is to live your art. “Do” live life simply and treat others with compassion, just as you want to be treated. Be positive about your life and the hidden possibilities Kunlun can and will reveal to you."

We are Groot.

interesting statement. Karma = Drama.. not a bad working definition.