Dreamingawake

Wow, I didn't think I'd ever reach the end of this thread! After about page 20 I just started skimming =P One thing I'd point out is that women may not be the best people for a man to get relationship advice from. That's a lot like going to a restaurant and asking fellow patrons the best way to prepare that amazing steak you're eating. They can tell you what they like about it but the vast majority of them have no idea what goes into making it so enjoyable. Similarly, any woman can tell you what qualities she likes in a guy or what experiences she prefers but usually will have no idea what goes on under the surface to make any particular date or guy really great. From what I've read here ( and if I've understood him correctly ) sloppy has been pretty accurate and straight-forward. The differences in a lot of these actions are slight. Some guys will buy a woman a drink (or a book) as a tactic but there are just as many who do it just because they feel like it. If you're out with your friends and you're buying a drink you'd likely get one for your buddy too. In fact guys tend to just take turns buying rounds. So if a girl and I are hanging out having a good time and I'm buying a drink anyway, why not get her one too? I've done this as many times as not and don't see any issue with it. I feel like many of these 'tactics' are really just a crutch or maybe training wheels would be a better example. Take a guy with poor social skills and give him something to hold onto so he doesn't panic, then put him in a bunch of social situations to force him to learn how to interact with women and eventually he acclimates and learns. He then forgets all about that script he was supposed to be repeating because he's relaxed enough to just talk and have a good time. They do the same thing with martial arts. "When your opponent does this, you must do that." You practice and then spar and eventually you get so used to people trying to crush your face that you relax and just react however you feel is appropriate. It's really pretty simple. If two grown, healthy, happy people like each other, they're probably going to get naked and that's a good thing. It's only a big deal if you make it one. Edit: An addendum to my first point. That should in no way be read to minimize or undervalue women's experiences, opinions or input. The same applies to women getting advice from men. Each sex can give the other perspective but not much else.

One of my all time favorite books. It teaches through the context of combat but the essential lessons are applicable in everything.

I see it all the time too. Living out here in vegas I've known more than a few really beautiful women that spend entirely too much time sitting on the couch by themselves eating ice cream and watching lifetime network because guys don't have the balls to go talk to them. Oh sure they get 'hit on' 30 times a day and they've heard every cheesy pickup line ever but most guys don't really talk to them. So whether the guy is super hot or has a full body rug she'll give him a shot because he's the best she's got on a friday night.

I find it kind of telling when people try to separate sex and spirituality. "i'm too busy being spiritual," or "my thoughts are too deep to have a decent conversation with a 'normal' girl." There is no separation. The more you grow the more you'll be able to connect with more people in more meaningful ways. That connection is pure magic and some of the statements here seem like an attempt to use budha to protect you from the sour grapes. The grapes are not sour, they're wonderful. You just need to learn how climb. As for cheap tricks, I've learned a few. I learned tricks to diffuse volatile situations. I've learned tricks to not get punched in the face and to take body shots from almost anybody. The military taught me tricks to increase my accuracy across many weapon systems. I learned tricks that make me much more successful in a job interview and make me much more likely to keep the job after I'm hired. I learn tricks that help me beat video games. Anyone who's tried to learn any skill has been taught 'tricks' to help them along and increase their success. Why should learning to interact with other people(especially the opposite sex) be any different. Saying guys who apply themselves to learn how to connect with women are creepy only makes sense if you have negative views of sex. Creepy people don't get laid. Women evade creepy people as if they smelled really, really bad. Actually that's everyone, not just women =P Most of that community IMHO are probably guys who see where they fall short and are taking steps to improve. It's to be expected that they'd go to extremes. How many of the old time strongmen performed superhuman feats in adulthood because they trained so hard to compensate for the sickly bodies of their childhood? Well that's my view anyway, or at least part of it. I hope it's at least a little helpful.

Meat is murder! Tasty, tasty murder :wub:

I suspect the big draw of this system is that 'you don't get to know.' It's the forbidden fruit. If the details of the system were public knowledge then the same people who chase it the hardest and talk about how it's the 'best' even though they know nothing of it would probably be the ones to criticize it the most. The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence

Generally speaking I'm not sure there's any absolute morality so to speak. When you see one lion kill another for leadership of the pride nobody says there's anything 'wrong' with that. Certainly nobody but the zebra/dinner minds much if the lions are hungry either. The idea of morality strikes me more as a practical matter of mutually beneficial understandings. You don't kill your neighbor in his sleep and steal his tv because you wouldn't want him to do that to you. In return you get to sleep soundly, wake up in the morning and watch the news over breakfast. When someone violates this trust, we band together and seek revenge as an example to anyone else who might have similar ideas. This we call civilization. Used to be we just clubbed them to death but now we put them in big expensive prisons with tv's of their own. This 'civilization' brings with it a kind of security so it would seem the more civilized we are the more likely as a species we are to survive. At it's core it's fairly simple. "I'll try not to hurt you if you try not to hurt me." So if you want a moral code to stick to I'd suggest keep it simple. Just try not to hurt anyone if you can avoid it. For the most part the rest of the 'morals' are simply attempts to manipulate others for the sake of furthering the agendas of their originators. Thats my two cents worth but take it with a grain of salt because I make no claim to being any kind of good or moral person

*facepalms* (NOTE TO MODS.... WE NEED A FACE-PALM EMOTICON!! ) How is this debate even still going on? One person on the forum has an irrational fear of dogs and an entire debate springs up as if this were some legitimate spiritual issue. I've known a few people who were absolutely convinced that black people were genetically predisposed to be ignorant and violent yet no person with even a modicum of sense would entertain such a ridiculous idea. No amount of logic or proof will convince someone who is determined to maintain hatred or fear and there's really nothing any of us can do to change that. Maybe he'll come back next lifetime as a "vicious" puppy and live next door to a guy who's convinced he's the devil because he didn't have the good sense to be born a yellow lab All that said, I vote WEAGLE!! :wub: It would be so cute with the giant paws and the droopy ears

LMAO! I haven't had much time for lurking lately. Is he still going on about that nonsense?

They make some solid and very obvious points and seem to have covered your questions pretty thoroughly. What else is there?

I hear they're GREAT with liver and a nice chianti

Thanks a bunch Marblehead. I was just curious and thought I'd missed it somewhere. excellent post btw

speaking of lazy I haven't kept up with this thread for the last week or so and can't remember where I left off (lots of pages). Did Lao ever actually say what his method was? All I found was 'read the ancient sages and believe what they wrote.' I could be wrong but I'm not entirely sure how just believing something I read in a really old book is gonna do anything for me. Perhaps I misunderstood and there's more to it?

This is just my own perspective but worrying about karma is a bit like worrying about gravity. You don't really think about it most of the time but you still make sure not to step off any tall buildings or steep ledges. Trying to figure it all out is like trying to know where every ball will go when you break in a game of pool. It's much more useful to focus on the cause/effect relationships you can control (ie one ball at a time ) Hope thats helpful

I never stated that lack of fear would stop dog attacks. There is a huge difference between being fearless and being strong. Straw man arguments and personal attacks don't negate the information I'm offering. Clearly you've had some bad experiences and if you want to let fears based on those past events rule your perceptions then that is certainly your choice to make. Just please don't attempt to spread fear and prejudice under the guise of 'spiritual truth.' The world already has plenty of that going on without your adding to it.

Happens to me all the time! especially if I attempt to dance

My last post reads a bit more aggressively than I had meant it to but I sincerely believe it's point is worth investigating for anyone worried about dogs of any breed or size. If you are stronger than than the dog than it will never attack you except as an act of panic if you're provoking it. if you choose to let fear cloud out your heart and will until you are on par with a rabbit then of course it will look at you like it would the rabbit.. LUNCH! You are always free to choose to be stronger and I believe most, if not all, people are capable of being far stronger than any dog. As far as 'vicious breeds' go most of the traits associated with the 'pit bull' class of dogs were actually bred into them to make them tough enough to stand up to and distract actual bulls to PROTECT humans. They were ranch dogs prized for their loyalty to and protective instinct of humans as well as their courage and hardiness. If these traits are sometimes perverted and corrupted by vicious people thats an entirely different issue. Assuming a dog is vicious because of it's tough build makes about as much sense as assuming a man is vicious if he has a tough build. I assume many people on this forum are very muscular since martial arts seem to be popular here but I would never assume they were a 'vicious breed' of human just because they were tough. If the average person gets in a fight with a 250lb weightlifter they're likely to get hurt much more than if they pick a fight with a 140lb video gamer. This doesn't mean weightlifters are 'vicious' and need to be locked up in zoos. Just the same if you get into a fight with a 100lb american bull terrier you might get hurt a lot more than you would by a 50lb sheep dog. It's not because the dog is vicious it's because the dog is tougher and stronger. @mokona that kitty video was awesome!! :lol: It made my already great day even better :D

Ok I said I would just call it done but this is really ridiculous. I have worked with actual trained attack dogs with multiple military branches in several countries. I've been confronted in the civilian sector by jackasses who thought they could scare me off with their big 'vicious' dog and yah know what? It's bullshit. They take one look at me smile and wag their tails. Your so called 'vicious breeds' flat out refuse to attack me. Even the ones that've been beaten and tortured into true nastiness only snarl and back away. zerostao probably can tell you everything you need to know to handle almost any dog (as could i) but you've grown too accustomed to venom and fear to listen. Here's the simplest most direct line to cut through all of it. are you ready? The stronger spirit wins! If you choose to let your prejudices and fears crowd out your heart and will so much that a 90 pound puppy can look at you as prey then you've chosen and earned your lowly place on the food chain. Just remember your always free to choose again.

Your missing the forest for the trees sunshine. You clearly aren't willing to entertain any idea that that might disagree your prejudice. I'll just call it done and wish you the best, though I suspect your looking for anything but..

So now I'm curious. Are you only prejudiced against the several breeds and their variations commonly called 'pitbulls' or against all breeds bred for size and power? Great danes and mastiffs were both bred as guard dogs (ie to attack people). How about Fila's? they were bred in Brazil as war dogs. While there are many, many breeds all over the world bred for attacking bears ,trespassers or enemy tribesmen you zero in on a dog that became popular with families for it's happy playful nature and strong work ethic. Much later, some particularly nasty people found out that if you torture and antagonize an animal long enough you can make ANYTHING vicious and these dogs being rather tough tended to survive more fights. Saying pits are predisposed to violence because they were preferred by animal abusers over labradors makes about as much sense as saying black people are predisposed to picking cotton because they were preferred over irish slaves (also somewhat common) by slave owners. It's completely absurd to blame a breed of dog (or a race of people) for conditions they had no control over. btw apologies in advance in case anyone here happens to be offended by references to past slavery. I'm merely using it as a tool to point out the extreme absurdity of a particular point of view and do not condone (obviously) the practice of slavery past or present anywhere in the world.

Just thought I'd point out that there's no more reason to hate or fear a dog based on it's breed than to fear or hate a human based on his 'breed' (ie race). Vicious owners make vicious dogs. I've known many 'pitbulls' and they've ALWAYS been giant indestructible puppies IME.

I used to love finishing a shower by alternating hot and cold a few times. I don't do it too often anymore though as I usually finish showering before my girlfriend and she absolutely hates pretty much everything cold

This actually does still happen here in the states. To my understanding it usually follows a certain format. Company A wants the land your house/farm/whatever is on so they come to you and offer to buy it (often for far less than it's actual value.) --> when you refuse they get the government to seize your property for which you are paid a nominal fee of pennies on the dollar. --> the government then hands the land over to the private company. At least in china they don't beat around the bush to try to make it appear fair

It does seem a very sad thing to see such a brilliant light go out

I'm still trying to figure out how any of this is such a big deal We've all seen plenty of topics get moved to new areas without compliant. There've even been threads that got cut/split and moved into multiple threads in an attempt to keep things here semi-organized and it never seems to be an issue. Why is it suddenly such a problem where a thread is located? It's still open and there's even a convenient link in general discussion where it can still be seen by everybody so now it's visible in two forums instead of just one. Now the thread has double the visibility so if anything I would expect steve to get a 'thankyou' instead of a lot of whining and crying over a non-issue