doc benway

Are you willing to share the name of your guru?

Anthony Demello tells a funny story about borders - I'll try to briefly paraphrase it. During the time when the borders were being drawn between Russia and Finland, people whose property straddled the neutral zone were forced to declare their loyalty to either Finland or Russia. Naturally, many people were concerned that choosing Finland could lead to repercusions from the Russians. On the other hand, they were not excited about being under Russian rule. An old farmer was approached by a Russian soldier and asked to declare his loyalty, to which he replied Finland! When asked to explain why he would choose Finland over Russia he replied, "Because at my age, sir, I don't think I could survive another Russian winter!"

Very simple, pay attention to everything going on inside of you and around you

Awareness

Welcome back Barb! I was thinking about you yesterday and hoping you were well. Yes, I struggle.

I think this is gratuitous. It's simply the closest frame of reference we have but whether it is or is not similar is unknown. I agree

I have no personal experience with Tongbei although I've seen some VERY good live demos. It looks to me like a very comprehensive approach to movement and training. It has a good reputation on the mat. When I look at whether or not to take a workshop or seminar, I think about the following - Will I have time and opportunity enough to devote to the art to get something out of it? Certainly, this looks like something worthy of decades of dedicated study. On the other hand, maybe I can pick up enough to enhance or give me a different perspective on what I'm currently doing. And finally, it's always good to learn from a master, even if only to study his teaching style. I'd probably do it if I had the opportunity. If you do it, please give us a report!

Amazing!

Out of that list, my favorites would be Michelle Yeoh and Stephen Chow, though Chow more for his directing and writing in addition to acting alone.

I don't know what compassion is... but I do feel it

Ahh, but it's straight in the first place because of all the shampoo, conditioner, and brushing that we do to look presentable.... So if just let all that go, it would have been curly anyway!

I think practices have value. Also, letting go of practices has value. One of the most important lessons we learn from/about our practices is that, ultimately, they are not needed. But Peter Fenner puts it beautifully when he says, "If we hadn't done what we didn't need to do we wouldn't know that we didn't need to do it!" Awareness is the the only thing that is utterly necessary, IMO. You may want to read some Jiddu Krishnamurti, if you haven't already.

Another Domeniconi tune - Schnee in Istanbul

I've had one common theme on occasion since childhood. I'm at the beach and a very large wave approaches. Can't say the world is ending but mine certainly is... I often next find myself backed up against a wall, climb higher and higher as the wave crashes in... Very intense.

One of the best books I've read in a long time is The Untethered Soul by Michael Singer. Clear, concise, very well written. More practical, less philosophical. Here is a website about the book and author - http://www.untetheredsoul.com/index.html

One of my favorite guitar pieces played by the crazy genius who wrote it, Carlo Domeniconi ... It's a long clip but some pretty amazing playing and improvisation. And here's his Hommage a Jimi Hendrix played by Pavel Stiedl - One more - Yang Xuefei Domeniconi, the guy up top, wrote a piece for Yang, based on the Yijing. I just ordered the CD, it should be pretty cool.

Hi gold - long time no see I hope you're well. "Aha! I knew it" I appreciate your enthusiasm. Actually, no - I didn't make the assumption that I did not or will not exist. I might have existed before, or maybe not. What would it look like if "I" did? Is that any easier or more difficult to imagine than if "i" didn't? Is one preferable? I think it's quite valuable to explore both. I haven't settled on one as correct and the other as incorrect. There is always "I"-ness. You and I come and go and there is always I existing in everything that is. Nothing ever feels like them (except maybe in some unusual psychopathology) - we are all I. THere certainly seems to be a quality to I that transcends me, my knowledge, my experience, my very being. And it has a quality that transcends time and individual lives. You may try to hold onto what you know now and talk about how all these worldly things will affect "you" after death, but death is not about holding on and carrying forward, it's more about letting go and rebirth. At least, that's how it feels to me. I'm simply suggesting a look at all that. I'm not suggesting an answer, a belief, or a logical proof. There is value in looking into it for ourselves and working through all of the possibilities and why they make sense today but not tomorrow and so on.... I agree it's better to be here and now, this is where the work is done. And that is also the same as what was and will be. I don't particularly prefer one question to another - who were you before, who now, what after... all the same question, I've worked with them all quite a bit. But if someone is stuck on what comes after, it offers a complementary perspective that may be of value to think about before, no? And so what if something you call "unborn, deathless mind" exists - the nature of that has nothing to do with the trivial contents stored in patterns that control and inform you now. Those are just ripples in the surface of the ocean. They come and they go. I do think the question - 'what were you before you were born' can stimulate one to intuit or to feel, rather than just think. At least it did for me. That's the purpose of the Zen witticisms, as you know, although for me it is more about poetry than wit. Poetry allows us to point with words at something behind the words. You seem to prefer the logical proof rather than a puzzle. But it is a puzzle, at least it is for me.

So easy to say and so hard to do! What a wonderful thing to cultivate. As someone continues to cast dispersions at me or confronts me in some way, I can simply disengage and move on. There is nothing more powerful than knowing when and how to simply walk away. If we can't just walk away from an internet confrontation, what does that say about us? I think it's worth investigating...

I disagree - I think it is more closely related to "who you are" after you die than is anything and everything that accumulates during life. All of that stuff is what defines "me" during life. It is absent after life ends when "you" let it all go and return to the source... as it were. But then again, this is all speculation.

I arrived after you had already left but I jumped in on the live chat late last night (for the first time ever) and really enjoyed the brief interaction with some nice folks. It was too late for me to stay long but I will be back.

Who were you before you were born?

People are funny - that's for sure. There were times when it would make me angry and bitter. Now, I really feel for their struggles and it feels good to care. They do the best they can, for the most part. It feels great when you can see that you've helped them. It hurts a bit when they would rather suffer. As far as outcomes studies - universities! Lots of complementary medicine programs in major universities. I think the complementary practitioners need to connect to our health education system. This is where the research will be done - there is no money for it in the private sector because it's not a product. Same with traditional medical research - the lion's share of the real science gets done in the schools and university hospitals. Only product driven stuff gets any attention in the private sector. This is the way it has always been for science.

I agree with you here 100%, Michael. I'm a medical doctor and I am strongly opposed to "chronic pain management" as it is handled by the majority of Western pain management docs I encounter. Physician supervised opiate addiction is a very poor method for handling chronic pain in the long term. I guess it can be a transitional tool but it is hazardous. It takes a very careful approach to integrate that into a healthy and holistic recovery program. I think it is a problem to look at pain as an illness and that is what a lot of "pain specialists" are doing and encourage this approach in their patient. Pain is a symptom, not an illness. If you simply mask the pain with drugs (or other treatments, complementary methods included), you may create additional problems for the patient/client without addressing the source of their problem. As you describe, I work with complementary providers of a variety of disciplines (massage, acupuncture, nutrition, psych, biofeedback, meditation, reiki, qigong, taiji, etc...). I try to be open to what the person's conditioning and mindset will allow them to accept and engage in most effectively. I see so many people being failed by the Western system and yet the system makes it very difficult for them to get out of the vicious cycle. The people i see who are most negatively affected by the system are those with worker's compensation and auto accident cases. The combination of lack of patient education, lack of willingness to take responsibility, opportunistic doctors and lawyers (and other providers) often creates a situation where people are harmed much more by the "efforts" to help them recover (well-intentioned or otherwise) than they were by the original injury. They get so deeply invested in the role of the damaged and wronged person that they can be very difficult to help. I see it every day and it's terribly frustrating to face. i have a close friend who is very skilled in complementary healing methods and we have this kernel of an idea of a multi-disciplinary treatment center for chronic pain that is linked to detoxification (from drugs but also from other toxins - food, water, energetic, emotional, etc...) and cultivation of health and well being. This group of people would benefit enormously from such an approach but first we need to convince the insurance carriers that the treatment approach is effective. Hence the desperate need for outcomes studies in this area. That's the only thing that will help get these programs into the mainstream, I think. Every thing is about outcomes these days. Do any of you know of any quality Medical Qigong practitioners in the Baltimore/Washington area?

Poor thing, he looks like he could use a hug... Probably something he doesn't get very often!