thelerner

Don't know about legit but for seeing if a teacher is worthwhile, try a class or two. Find out the expense, class schedule, rules.. some history. Talk to the advanced students, see how they behave, their skills and attitude. If you join that's what you'll become.

I was kicked off a Reddit writers short fiction forum. Early on there was prompt for a story. I forget what the prompt was but they wanted like, 400 words. I wrote I could do it 75, wrote my story thought it was good, and got kicked off for not following directions. sigh.

Attachment?? Feed, potty train, clothe, rinse repeat for 18 to 24 years. Then kick'em out. For their own good and yours addon.. <heck I'm not even so sure if potty training is required. just open the door and let'em 2 or 3 time a day>

"Intention is fine, but attachment is bad" by Arthur Brooks inspired by some Dalai Lama talk

I like the thought- enlightenment in this life is possible. I listen to the Waking Up app**. It draws from different sources, the main contributor is Dzoghen-based. Comes at life and enlightenment from many different angles, but to me the countless dharma talks boil down to 4 words- Rest in Bright Awareness. Do that consistently and you're enlightened. Probably a lesser enlightenment but one's feet are in the right pond.

Silence is golden Shhh Shh Shh Shh Shhh Shhh Shh You're thinking too loud

Divide time into small enough units and things are pretty good. Like, Right Now, things are great. I'm fed, comfortable, in no pain.. Right Now, like the T-shirt says, Life is Good. If I stretch my thinking into the future than worries and problems arise.. and inevitably the future and its dramas pull me into it. But now, is pretty damn good. No complaints.. the berries of the moment are delicious. Perfect enough that I want nothing, need nothing.

I notice whoever wrote this put down 'lifestyle choice' in both acceptable and not acceptable things to insult. This makes me want to personally attack them. I won't but wonder if a mod could clean up this paradox . or maybe it's a not a paradox and put there to make us think

From the OP. "..It's acceptable to voice disagreement with another member's opinion, technique, politics, approach, lifestyle choice, etc. But no insulting (or links to attacks) of individuals, nationalities, genders, political preferences, lifestyle choices, etc..." WWLZD, probably nothing. I assume he wouldn't be spending alot of time on the board either. Someone recently 'liked' the post and I re-read it for the first time in years. I wondered about '..acceptable to voice disagreement.. lifestyle choices. Followed by no insulting.. lifestyle choices. On the third hand, if I was still a mod I'd keep it the way it is. We can voice disagreement over lifestyle choices but not insult over them. Ie, the difference between 'I think that's wrong' and 'You're an idiot for doing that'. So maybe there is no paradox, just politeness. Syfy author Robert Heinlein wrote Politeness is the lubricant that keep civilization rolling**. Recently I called someone here 'condescending', and that was wrong. I did change it, but seems to me I should have written his posts come off as condescending. ie I interpreted them as condescending, instead of declaring the person as condescending. It's a small difference but less personal, less accusatory, maybe giving room for the person to think about how they phrased things, instead of reflexively attack. **actual ill memorized quote- Honorifics and formal politeness provide lubrication where people rub together.

Cool stuff. You did it with an AI photo type editor? I was wondering which one and what was the process? Thanks

You have two feet firmly planted in the tik tok world. Not a bad place to be. Logical, well adapted to our reality here. Yet..as I've traveled and met people. One of my feet, a few toes are a little across the line of tik tok into.. a realm of other possibilities; of dimensionality and coincidences we don't normally see. Other people's experiences and stories have convinced me enough that I put the unknown into an 'I don't know, maybe' category. Stuff that's above my paygrade, but I'm willing to drop my skepticism and listen. Pretty much the top of every field of human endeavour has individuals performing things mentally, physically that are impossible for me. With training I can get better but I'll never touch the level of of these one in a million individuals. Could be the same in the spiritual field. People of great natural talent planted in the right spot to get the right training. People like wise funny head monk Ajahn Brahms, who has tons of informative dharma talks. Highly respected meditation teacher; a few of his teaching include seeing the Thai forest through other eyes and fantastic otherworldly creatures there. Rabbi David Cooper writes about being a meditation hall and seeing a little guy dancing on a lecturer's shoulder and asking a fellow student there, 'You see that?' and they say, yeah, looks like Leprechaun, right?' There's no profit for a rabbi admitting he saw a leprechaun, nothing to do with his heritage or teaching, quite the opposite, yet that's what he wrote. Michael Winn talks about a dream flight school where students would gather in dreams to learn how to dream fly. Rawn Clark talked about meeting up with other advanced Hermetics during dream time for discussion and later on the phone to verify. At Yoga ashrams I've listened to top yogi's explain that the Hindu gods are real. The prayers and chants are methods for talking to them as surely as he talking to us, but it takes dedication and heart. Same as Taoists.. get hardcore enough and see and get guidance from spirits etc., Is it real? Maybe.. certainly above my payscale, but sometimes we get surprise checks in the mail. In the meantime, every now and then looking at Life as Dream, yields perspective and wisdom that I find useful And the tik tok world is a little boring. To keep a foot, an ear or an eye open for that other reality can make us live a better, more open in this one. Though I am admittedly a slacker who holds some skepticism and their wallet.

:), I was able to cross direct hit by hurricane off my to do list. Not at Burning Man this year. I feel a little regret. Disasters can make indelible memories. People get to be their best (or worst). Like in Hurricane Irma we had 3 families in a 2 bedroom condo. No power, no water.. yet I remember it fondly. Raw power, up close. I tried for tickets to the smaller, mellow regional Burning Man in Michigan (Lakes of Fire) this year. Tickets used to be cheap and easy to get, not anymore. Didn't get them. Don't know if its a secret but at the Big Burn there's almost always a death or two. Often laying down on the desert floor admiring the night sky when a bird shaped art car runs over you and/or bad trip overdosi. But keep your head, stay alert.. and your odds of making it out, are great. Not this year apparently but in past.

What I like about kayaking is you lose track of the century. It's illusion but banks are covered in trees, you see deer, muskrat, cormorants, blue heron etc., Paddling quietly the world seems unchanged. The whoosh of cars unseen could be wind spirits. My small plastic kayak fits inside my mini-van. Driving around the city I'll ask google maps if there's a kayak launch nearby and sometimes along a tributary, there is.

Are there dollar bills pasted on the wall?

Please consider me a brick wall and I'll consider you at a different point in life and philosophy than I.

On enlightenment I think there's a psychological enlightenment where one is at peace with almost everything. A Oneness, everything is cool. It's intensified during a satori experience and for the enlightened it keeps going. The 'Me' thinking disappears and perspective is greatly broadened. Peace all the time with everything, might not be possible while living in society. There are extremes where even the enlightened are disturbed and call out cruelty, but the norm is peace. I also think there's a physical 'enlightenment' where the body's subtle energies are aligned and circulating. It gives greater energy and vitality and changes one's perspective. Being psychological enlightened doesn't necessary bring this physical enlightenment and vice versa. Though sometimes they are aligned. I hope we all have tastes of enlightenment. That it's not too foreign to our personal experience. We don't live there. Paradoxically thinking now I'm enlightened can remove the state but hopefully we all taste it now and again. Isn't that the purpose of cultivation?

I wouldn't want to live in Hedonism but I don't mind visiting. I guess it's the same with asceticism. I dig my cold showers cause it feels good when I stop**. Hedonism, asceticism** compliment each other, though wisdom means returning to the middle path. **These summer days there is no icy cold, so it's pretty much all refreshing. I will switch from warm to coldest back to warm then back to cold. Gives my epidermis and psyche a little workout. **Yet ascetism isn't pain or necessarily suffering, at its best its simplicity. Hedonism can be complication, like karma there are consequences to Hedonism.. course there consequences to everything but Hedonist experiences a little more so.

?? I didn't write anything about self-flagellating. I don't think I put any words in your mouth, just stating my thoughts on the matter. My belief we don't need suffering to experience happiness or rather we don't need pain to appreciate the beauty in the world. To this extent I'm more in the Taoist camp then Buddhist. Take the classic picture the Vinegar Tasters (https://www.shortform.com/blog/the-three-vinegar-tasters/). The vinegar (life) isn't bad, it doesn't make the wine sweeter rather you have to enjoy it properly, use it for what it is. Accept the vinegar as vinegar. I like the sun, I like the dark, I enjoy company and fine when they leave. It's all good, mostly. Painful stuff happens and while it's nice when it stops, it doesn't necessarily make me happier during the good times. I just saw the play Tommy, where he's tries to get the world enlightened by making them temporarily deaf, dumb and blind. Good songs, but not a great strategy. I read an article that the West misinterprets the Buddha's teaching on suffering.. but it was so long ago I've mostly forgotten it.

Do we need suffering to bring on happiness? Seems to me if we can appreciate 'better than normal' we're in a happier state. It's not remembering terrible times and comparing them to now that brings me happiness, except for when I'm in a bitching mood. It's appreciating the little things, sun, walk, people I'm with.. appreciating them and then forgetting them and being in the somewhat normal experience.

Karma yoga. Being a volunteer and helping others. Getting involved in a charity that requires weekly presence, could be food pantry, building houses, lawn work for the elderly, delivering food to shut ins etc.. There might be some sacred spot, temple church graveyard etc., that might need volunteers. In a world of me me me, committing to helping others can get you out of that mindset. In the world of meditation there's Buddhist Metta meditations on accepting and sending love and acceptance. On the extreme of that is a Tibetan form like Chod - https://www.lionsroar.com/how-to-practice-feeding-your-demons/ In youtube you can find a guided meditation for the unusual practice.

Cross legged, when I'm good I sit in half lotus. On a zafu (cushion) and these days its nice to have a folded blanket under me for my knees. After 15, 20 minutes my lower back will sag an inch or so, almost imperceptibly but it shows a lack of awareness and energetically might be poor. I did 13 years of shin shin toitsu Ki Aikido and we'd have hourly Ki classes that included breathing and meditation. It'd be that sensei who'd often correct my posture over the years. As well as try to push me over while meditating but that's an Aikido thing. I'm also influenced by zen sitting. Got much out of Stillness Movement qigong, they allow a slight rocking motion from the waist that allows for longer more comfortable sitting. They also have the hands resting on the body at the dan-tien, which I like. These days I keep my hands cradled under my shirt. I assume lay people like myself have quite a bit more slack when it comes to proper monastery rules. The rules for guys doing 4 to 8 hours of meditation a day, every day are going to be different then the householder.

Never heard that. In the traditions I've been involved with beginners can use back support but as you progress, sitting without back support is encouraged. Sitting for longer periods my sensei would often correct me for 'slouching' my lower back. Something I often auto-correct these days. I've found when I take my blood pressure sitting w/ a slight crouch raises my numbers a bit, where staying relaxed but straighter gives me lower blood pressure.

I'd be interested in an extrapolation of size of craft. If it showed up on the plane's radar you'd have distance and should be able to put together an educated guess on how large and some more details.

What is your favorite fairy tale, and why? Tell me about a memorable time at a restaurant. Which place and why? What scares you? What do you think I have in my left pocket? What's the difference between angels and aliens? If you were a movie star, which movie would you want to be in? What is your favorite ride in the playground? Tell me about a time you stupidly hurt yourself. What is an underrated sexual move?

Thing is, with extraordinary claims one needs extraordinary proof. So, while these could be true, until I see extraordinary proof, I don't invest much time or thought into these.