Apech

spontaneous, child-like... I ran in the road laughing making traffic jam.

Hi If you do energy work you can expect things to happen - like heat, tingling, rushes of energy. These are positive signs but its important to just stick to your practice and not get too into them - because the practice is obviously having some effect - but if you focus on the effects then you are kind narrowing down what the energy wants to do (does this make sense?). If you combine energy work with emptiness meditation it should create space for you to see what's going on. The seeing stars thing might just be post-postural hypertension or it could be you are opening out some channels which were blocked before. Just take it easy and observe the process - let it educate you. Cheers. A.

I can see where you are coming from but I think you have missed something. Mathematics (including geometry) works in the real world because it is applicable to real events. Otherwise it would be impossible to have science especially physics. As mathematics is the study of numbers and relation to each other, how they vary in proportion to each other and for instance how physical space obeys mathematical laws (geometry) physics can be seen as the science of applying these laws appropriately to the universe. Even infinitely complex systems can be described using simple mathematical equations in chaos theory. The fact that this is true can be seen in the presence of patterns like the fibonacci series in nature. This is not designed in but is an expression of the relationships things have to one another. This works from flowers to spiral galaxies and is not an accident of scale. The same can be said of other ratios and proportions such as the 1,2,5 seen in the human body. Number therefore in inherent in the universe and since we are not anything but part of that universe in our selves as well. If you perceive patterns in your life and in the world around you this is not superstition or accident or empty symbol but reflects the fact that reality is a continuum within which we live and breath. A continuum does not have parts but does self divide into modalities which appear to us as the objective world. It is from this fact that number and mathematics arises. Where superstition comes in - is in thinking about 'lucky' numbers and so on - without any attempt to understand their significance. Cultural bias toward number reflects the preferences in the mind-set of the culture which is why the Chinese don't like 4 and some people avoid 13 and so on.

Start standing on one leg? Cool.

come! the joys of spring... fun in the autumn as well lets come together.

Hi and welcome! Sounds interesting where you are - tell us more. A.

Need to fix this! purity, leaf, stem a herbal mix, a potion, Love's a perfect thing. ah that's better ...

Hi Non, As we are on this site I guess we are all into cultivation in one way or another. This being the case I think its important to apply this view to all life's circumstances. I'm not talking about the old subject of semen retention - which I think is a bit of a red herring - but to the idea that there are principles of polarity at work in our selves and in the world. Yin and yang in other words. Yin and yang arise from a non-dual source (for want of a better term) i.e. the Tao. The Tao is beyond them and therefore beyond male and female also. In the world, or in our bodies this is reflected in the fact that our gender is very much a case of hormone balance. There are no absolute males or absolute females on this earth. I am not saying that there are no differences between men and women because the physical differences are obvious and the psychological differences are equally obvious. I am just saying that in the same way that it is impossible to have a magnet which is all North pole it is impossible to have an actual being which is wholly male. Obviously in terms of an individual's development, for most of us, we are clearly male or female with different make up, interests and concerns. This leaves us being male or female while having an intuitive sense of our non-dual source, that is, we feel somehow incomplete. As a being in the world we then tend to look around for our missing part which is where the 'soul-mate' idea comes from. The idea that there is another being in the world who can help us find wholeness and completion. This is only partially true of course and some people who turn away from looking our for this completion and take up a solitary life (i.e. as a monk or whatever). But while this is ok for some it is really a kind of refusal to engage in what life has set up for us. What life has set up for us is a world of dualism where the underlying unity of beings is hidden from us. This means we interact with people of the opposite gender as if there is no non-dual source. Men chase women and women chase men and the energy that drives this is sexual pleasure. This chase is a kind of game and it has to be a game because essentially it relies on people not realising their essential wholeness. This game is a very good way to learn about yourself because as most men will tell you if they are honest it is very, very challenging. The time spent feeling and looking like a blundering fool is worthwhile, as is time spent feeling miserable and lonely. It is 'unfair' because it is not based on reason but on willful behaviour. It also doesn't make any sense, unless you mean by sense the underlying sense that there is a non-dual source. Those who appear successful at this game have learned certain tricks (like PUA) but actually it is a game they being allowed to win - which is something they don't generally realise. It is important not to get bitter about any of this challenging though it is. If you find the current situation is not working for you then make a decision to turn away (for a time). Work on yourself to develop more - knowing that the 'kingdom of heaven is within' (to use a Christian expression) - remember that the path is a long one and there is no rush and you will be surprised at how quickly things change. Cheers. A.

the norm expounded tells us what is average climb half a mountain.

I already wrote to my MP and she in turn wrote to the Dept. of Health ... she sent me the reply but it said nothing in the usual government style.

Hold your own!

a small one at that she said, with disappointment ... shrinkage had occurred.

with warmed baked beans too... semi-congealed bacon fat a trace of egg yolk. (yum!)

my grandpa's worn grave, cos he died so many times we remember him.

magnifying Yang... just because it looks so small without that spyglass.

Nice one! yet outlasts the rose even with another name like forget-me-not.

I call it my brain others call it a toilet the door says vacant.

Hi I have meditated in both seated in a chair and cross legged - I have never managed a comfortable half or full lotus (not even when I was younger and more flexible) I think the proportions of my legs prevent this for me. I can empathise with your experience because I know that changing posture or technique can be quite unsettling. This is partly because of habit - its hard to relax into new positions because they feel unnatural and your attention is distracted by the very act of sitting in a new way. Obviously if you are committed to a new way of practice then you need to give it bedding in time as it is the time of change which disturbs you. I think a straight spine is important and becomes increasingly important with time - but the straightness comes from inside out - through feeling and not from outside in through rigidly imposing straightness (in the way you see in military parades!). Its important to use feeling to align your body and it may be that you can avoid or lessen the reaction you describe by spending a few minutes feeling into the new posture so that it becomes natural. Try breathing from the diaphragm and relaxing into the posture on the out breath. More important than all this is to do the meditation you are interested in and allow it to develop - do whatever works for you and just continue to explore - there isn't really much that is right or wrong, just what works and what doesn't (IMO). Cheers A.

leaving no regrets... a suitcase and a handbag left in lost luggage

On another thread Taomeow said: 15 The ancient masters were subtle, mysterious, profound, responsive. The depth of their knowledge is unfathomable. Because it is unfathomable, All we can do is describe their appearance. Watchful, like men crossing a winter stream. Alert, like men aware of danger. Courteous, like visiting guests. Yielding like ice about to melt. Simple, like uncarved blocks of wood. Hollow, like caves. Opaque, like muddy pools. Who can wait quietly while the mud settles? Who can remain still until the moment of action? Observers of the Tao do not seek fulfillment. Not seeking fulfillment, they are not swayed by desire for change. (Feng and English trans.) I thought I would start a discussion - is this a good translation?

Hello and welcome - hope you enjoy this site.

Tao99, Your first link doesn't work for me ... not sure why. Second looks good. Cheers. A.