Dreamingawake

No worries. I don't think one man reflects on everyone, nor do I have a problem with most Christians or Catholics. Hell, my girlfriend is Catholic and even keeps a crucifix over our door (personally, I think thats rather morbid but it makes her feel better ). I'm just commenting on my own experience of the one man. I don't anyones posted this one yet

Spiritually powerful, yes; good, hell no. a few years ago, when I was deployed in Afghanistan, I had a small group of friends who were all 'sensitive' that used to hang out all the time and play. One girl who hung out with us was always unhappy and had some pains that went went rather deep. One day a chain with a cross on it slipped out of her shirt and as soon as we saw it, Hector (one of my friends) and I immediately started to get the bad vibe and I actually started to feel very ill. Both of us looked at each other and realized the other felt it too. So we tell her to put the damned thing away and asked her where the hell she got it. Turns out her mom had been to Rome and that crucifix was personally blessed by the pope. Anyone who can charge an object to feel so unbearably evil has some BAD MOJO. He is not a good man.

1. time and effort spent teaching? You already started an entire thread about how teachers don't deserve to feed their families, and if I'm not mistaken, were thoroughly defeated in that debate. Even if you consider some of the things vajrasattva says to be 'advertising' he's certainly not the only one. Just the other day I saw an entire thread started to inform TTB about a new dvd about daoist meditation the threads author was releasing soon. A while back I also saw a thread about a burning hand or flaming palm something-or-other qigong where the threads author was basically using the thread to advertise a dvd set he was releasing. I didn't see you attack either of those people. This is personal. Your publicly attacking someone just because you don't like them and finding reasons to justify your actions after the fact. 2. So do you. Whether you claim to be an authority or not, YOU ACT AND POSE AS ONE. When you tell someone you know they're wrong because of your own experience, you pose as an authority on that subject. Refusing to say what experience you have to back up those claims makes you look like a fraud. 3. You hate him because he's muslim!? YOUR A BIGOT.

Sociologists understand it and explain it in a pretty detailed manner even in intro level classes but I doubt that criminals 'see' much of anything, else I doubt they would be criminals edit: grammar

Thats true, but I think we can say with certainty that any attempt to disarm or limit the offensive/defensive power of society at large is a thinly veiled attempt to keep them under thumb. People who can defend themselves are dangerous to criminals.

I wouldn't worry too much about 'giving' money to the government. All the money collected from taxes doesn't even cover the interest on the national debt. When the government needs money, it just borrows more from the federal reserve (created out of thin air) to be paid back by you. They also don't need to buy guns since they already have more than they could ever need. They just need to disarm the populace to make law-abiding citizens vulnerable to criminals (they will, and do, break gun laws anyway) and government oppression. Nothing against charities though, generosity ALWAYS comes back to you

Try and say that when they're eating your brains! The zombie/obambie apocalypse can't be far off now! As long as were on the subject of zombie cults... apologies to any christians who are offended by the above image. I think it's hilarious and had to share

The only way for totalitarians to win is to hedge their bets by playing both sides of the game. Any huge event you see on the news has at least two sides and the elite are on both of them. 'Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain' because things are much easier for him if you stare at his shell game It just occurred to me that as long as we fight about HOW they should rule us, we'll never get to IF they should rule us.. ( here, us = society at large)

OMG! He actually said it! In public!! Be careful bro; the Obombies (Obama-zombie get it? ) eat non-believers. First they'll discredit you as a racist for speaking against the new messiah, then they'll eat your brains

I may have to become a teacher one day Reminds me of GTO lol Google 'Great Teacher Onizuka' if you don't know what I'm talking about.

Your absolutely right. I keep saying it in the hopes that it might sink in. You keep blaming capitalists for the actions of socialists, communists, and fascists. if you want to talk about systems designed to create the super-rich and super-poor, then lets take a look shall we? In fascism the rich corrupt the government to their own ends through lobbying, bribery, and 'color of law' until they literally own the government. In socialism and communism you convince the middle and lower class that the rich have too much at the expense of the little guy. Then you encourage the something-for-nothing, take-from-the-rich-and-give-to-the-poor ideal and get them all wound up with promises to make everybody 'equal.' The people willingly give the few who orchestrate the whole thing ALL the power so he/she/they can play robinhood and those few simply never give anything back. Now they have all the power/wealth and nobody else has a pot to piss in. That is how these systems are designed. They are simply different methods of creating a totalitarian dictatorship. Capitalism has at it's heart the earn-what-you-get, fair-compensation mentality. When you say teachers deserve to be compensated, your supporting capitalism. So when you turn around and bash the very idea you just supported it's a little confusing to anyone who expects continuity of thought or coherent logic. If you try to hate and love the same thing at the same time, create a self defeating ideology which is generally the exact opposite of what anyone on this board would want. At the beginning of America, the founders said that ALL government was, at best, a necessary evil. They decided that a limited government was the best that could be done. As long as it's powers were kept in check, it could never interfere in society on too large a scale. FDR intimidated the supreme court into submission, then appointed corrupt judges to rapidly expand the powers of government in direct violation of the Constitution. He convinced the people that it was OK because he was gonna give them a 'new deal' free money for everybody. This was the start of many, if not all, of the problems to be found in our government now. However if you listen to the propaganda put out in school and the mass media without actually checking the facts yourself, you will be taught that capitalism is responsible and we need more government power to stop the greedy capitalists. Meanwhile those 'greedy capitalists' i.e. the corporate elite are actually greedy socialists/communists/fascists sending you on a wild goose chase. As long as you hate capitalism like a good little sheep you'll never question the real problems. Really, I suspect that your not so much arguing for the idea so much as just arguing with me. I suspect that I offended you with my remark about ghettos and trailer parks (not my intent). Guess what? I've lived in both too and I got the hell out as soon as I could. Most of the people I've known in and from those places (while often nice enough people) had a terrible entitlement mindset and spouted socialism/fascism/communism and how much they hated capitalism and rich people without ever really having any idea what they were talking about. Generally the extremely poor (often found in ghettos and trailer parks due to said poverty) also have little or no education (again, due to said poverty) and so only know what they see in the media; which mean they know NOTHING about how to run a sensible government. This is not an insult; this is a fact. Just because you are from a ghetto and generally seem to have a good head on your shoulders does not mean that everyone else in your area is the same. Go talk to your neighbors and they'll probably agree with 99% of the propaganda you've repeated here. I should point out that I'm not trying to offend anyone; least of all, you lino. I generally like your posts and think we would get along in person (so long as your not hot tempered ) I'm just pointing out a huge flaw in logic as I see it. If I've struck a nerve then look inside and find out why. Wow that was much longer than I meant it to be soo.. I'm off to bed. Much love and peace to everyone here.

I didn't call the average 'joe blow' an idiot. Your getting a little too heated and putting words in my mouth. I also said nothing a bout a middle class so when do you suppose I 'imagined' that? Those who have lots of money prescribe to something-for-nothing just as much as poor people. Hell you could say that is a large part of the CAUSE of these current problems since they used their money and power to corrupt the system in their favor. Court is easier for rich than it is for poor because of money but that is also due to this corruption. FDR EXTENDED the great depression by several years, with his hoovervilles and company towns, and it was the corrupt bankers that helped put FDR into who actually CREATED the great depression as an excuse to create the central banking system which has helped created our current financial problems. My perfect world is actually very different from the one you use to demonize someone for disagreeing with you. I can understand the need to use emotional imagery but, yes you are very, very wrong. The conditions you describe are a direct result of the something-for-nothing corruption of the corporate elite I'm talking about. Their standard method for the last 50+ years has been to implement corrupt socialist/fascist ideals than blame capitalism for the problems they just created. And guess what their solution is? That's right, more something-for-nothing socialism/fascism. The worse things get, the more they blame capitalism until Russia err... America totally collapses. Used to be one had to prove to the government that a corporation served the public good and benefited the community at large to be granted a charter. Now it just takes a little paperwork to nearly completely absolve oneself of financial responsibility. That's NOT capitalism. That's corruption. Under capitalism, the 'middle class' flourishes while socialism and fascism crush the middle class into oblivion leaving only the super rich and the super poor. Look for instance at the graduated income tax. The super rich pay almost no taxes because they can afford the best tax lawyers and the super poor pay almost no taxes because they don't make enough to take. The 'middle class' on the other hand get 1/4 or sometimes even 1/3 of their yearly income stolen to pay for bloated, useless bureaucracy.

I cut out the rest of the quote to save space but your entire post sums it up pretty much perfectly

The gov was designed to protect itself from idiots. Stupid people are WAY too easy to control and could therefore be used to corrupt the system through mass manipulation (as is so common today). The only people who could be counted on to make educated responsible decisions were educated people and back then the most easily measurable common denominator was land ownership. This benchmark may not have held up well over time but back then thats what they had to work with. Or do you think the people from the ghettos or the trailer parks of today demanding big brother wipe their ass for them have any idea how to run a sensible government? I'm not saying the system was perfect, but until it became totally corrupted around the time of FDR, it worked damn well. America was the smartest and most powerful nation in the world until it started rotting from the inside from corruption with socialist/fascist ideals. The something-for-nothing mentality destroys everything it touches. Accusing me of being brainwashed for believing in honesty and fair trade doesn't really hold up well to a rational mind. The idea that more socialism can solve the problems caused by socialism is how we end up with things like the banker bailout. Last I checked, all the propaganda being put out in the media SUPPORTS big brother/totalitarian socialist government and claims that the fair trade ideal that has been almost totally out of play for 50+ years is somehow responsible for all the problems that have sprung up since leaving fair trade. Wake up bro, a lot of what your saying comes directly from the talking heads in the school/mass media propaganda machine. If you believe that teachers should be compensated for their time/energy/work, then why not everyone else?

The government was designed to PROTECT the rights of the people. no more, no less. Check out the constitution and you'll see what I mean. All the evils we see in government today are perversions under color of law. Anyway, we are derailing this thread. I only brought it up to point out the large scale consequences of the selfish something-for-nothing mentality that leads to the idea that teachers should not be compensated. And before people start whining "We pay in other ways!" no, your just selfish and coming up with excuses why this makes you more 'spiritual' than the ones teaching. It's called the sour grapes theory.

I agree that spirituality can be difficult to quantify at best. However, A teacher's time and energy can and he/she has every right to be compensated for that time/effort just like any other teacher. Teachers are human too. They don't lose their natural rights the moment they start teaching 'spiritual' things. Teachers still need to eat and provide a home for their families just like the rest of us.

What your talking about is NOT capitalism, it's CORRUPTION. Imminent domain means the government takes your shit and gives it to someone else which is an interesting feature of SOCIALISM AND FASCISM. In true capitalism the government would exist only to PROTECT your rights rather than abolish them by stealing from you. Your using examples of the problem to bash the solution. That's dodgy logic.

Not to derail the thread but what is so vicious about capitalism and what does it have to do with 'life hating principols?' If I create something, that thing is mine. I have the right to request compensation before it can be taken from me. Thats what's called 'fair' in most civilizations that I'm aware of and it's the basis of capitalism. The idea that something can be had for free at the expense of others who create/produce because I deserve it since I don't create/produce is selfish and narrow-minded. It also shows extremely low self esteem since this mindset comes from the idea that since I can't make myself 'equal,' I'll demand to be made 'equal.' Take a look at Americas economy. When it was closest to 'true' capitalism, the US flourished yet now it has become socialist and fascist in the extreme and is now only a few years away from total collapse. Things that affirm life BRING LIFE. The idea of fair trade (capitalism) makes countries flourish, and the selfish idea of taking without giving back (socialism/communism/fascism) destroys them just as quickly. Almost all money in the world now is fiat. This means it is not connected to any concrete thing of any value anywhere. It's just worthless paper. For instance, a dollar bill; a bill for what? Generally, when presented with a bill, you pay it. All money is printed and then loaned at face value to be collected with interest which can only be paid by borrowing MORE money. So every 'bill' printed is actually exactly what it says; a mark of debt. But what is the debt to be paid? ENERGY! Money is a symbol to represent the exchange of energy; nothing more and nothing less. It's no more 'mundane' or 'spiritual' than sex, prayer or trading pokemon cards. Cutting and dividing everything into "you can only exchange energy this way under these circumstances" but "it's not ok to exchange energy under these circumstances" amounts to MENTAL MASTURBATION and trying to push this 'reasoning' on me or anyone else is just an attempt to squirt in our eyes This idea that spiritual teachings should be free is selfish bunk. P.S. paul none of this is specifically aimed at you. your post just stood out so that's where I jumped in. edit: typos

Talking to strangers seems like a good idea (it's ok to talk to strangers when your a 'grownup') and I think it worked/works for me. For added challenge talk to the ones who make you nervous, ridiculously hot women for instance. For creativity I would suggest making a habit of looking at things from as many perspectives as you can. ' how would so-and-so look at this?' same for problem solving, I guess. Thats the best I can come up with right now, but hopefully someone with more experience will chime in with some solid advice.

Many vaccines are more dangerous than the diseases they're supposed to protect you from. If you're training properly, then your immune system should be functioning pretty well so as long as you stay positive you should be fine.

True but your thinking of color as it is now. When it first came out, they only had a few ridiculously bright colors. So you have black, white, gray(s), and a few colors so bright as to not even fit in or add anything useful to the show. This is where 3D is now; at that not-quite-useful stage. In a few more years it might be a very different story. In 10 years most homes will have 3DTVs.

For those who haven't seen it yet, it's 'Dances with Wolves' meets 'Pocahontas' in a galaxy far, far away.. It is pulled off extremely well and yes it is beautiful to look at. 3D changes the game like color did back in the day. I'm probably gonna go see it again in a couple of days since my girl hasn't seen it yet.

I've come to the conclusion that arguing online should be purely for entertainment's sake. It can be lots of fun if you don't take it seriously or care about the outcome.

I prefer Oscar Wilde's dying words. "Either that wallpaper goes, or I do."

Brilliant!! I'm gonna try that now wait, I don't have fudge.. maybe if I heat up a home-made chocolate chip cookie...