doc benway

I agree - that was a good book.

I will never tire of your posts Hagar. You really bring a wonderful perspective to our forum. How to measure progress in something that, by it's very nature, is to be without a goal? When sitting becomes an end and not a means, when daily life becomes the meditation, perhaps that is a measure of "progress"? Certainly there are methods that are constructed of exercises where some measure of progress or some particular insight or experience is needed before graduating to subsequent steps. One can argue - is this meditation?

Wonderful stuff! Reminiscent of Alejandro Jodorowsky and his use of film, comics, and the Tarot.

Ever since I've been a member, I've been surprised at the relatively few number of members who seem genuinely compassionate and loving. There are a few and they generally drift away. Many people are looking for something for themselves and don't seem too concerned with much else. This is not a new phenomenon. If those of us with room in our heart for love and compassion are patient and continue to participate, it may change. And if it doesn't, we can come and go as we please.

I injured my back when helping a neighbor to pull multiple, large tree stumps out of his yard in 1990. There was a short period of terrible, acute back and leg pain. That subsided and then I was left with fluctuating levels of low grade, chronic pain. It seemed to get considerably worse over a period of several years. A few years ago, a close friend and training partner suggested that I investigate the work of John Sarno - a physiatrist out of New York. I listened to a set of his CD's. His insights and ideas about the root causes of many forms of chronic pain (especially, but not limited to back pain) made a lot of sense to me. After a few weeks of looking deeply into myself from the perspective he presents, my pain improved considerably - by perhaps 80%. Not only that, my anxiety and suffering associated with the pain improved to an even greater extent. I was able to discover some deeply repressed anger, frustration, and related emotions. For better or worse (better, I think), I then had to begin to address these repressed issues and I continue to work on myself to do this day. Sarno's basic premise in a nutshell is this: the majority of chronic pain is the expression of repressed rage. Humans living in high tech society experience enormous anger, frustration, and rage. These emotions are socially unacceptable and undesirable, and are therefore repressed. Rather than facing the content that is so emotionally and psychologically infuriating and debilitating, our brains distract our attention by creating or magnifying physical symptoms which are infinitely easier to understand and express and are more socially and culturally approachable in terms of communication and receiving care. This can be very easily mediated by the autonomic nervous system through shunting of blood flow and so forth, thus creating all kinds of physical symptoms - pain, numbness, tingling, dizziness, weakness, and so on. One problem is that whatever treatment they are provided with simply reinforces the belief that they are ill, impaired, disabled, and so on. It doesn't matter whether that treatment is medicine, surgery, acupuncture, massage, qigong, etc... These folks need to understand that their body is reasonably healthy and normal and it is their emotional, psychological, and spiritually being that needs attention. Mind you, this is just a theory based in a single paradigm, but based on my personal experience and on my professional experience as a physician, I am completely convinced that it is very close to some part of the reality. A related approach is to look at the consequences of pain, injury, or illness to a person. People are conditioned to come to a health care practitioner or other care giving persons for help with a physical symptom - ie pain. They tend to repress, deny, or ignore the profound effects the issue is having on them economically, emotionally, psychologically, sexually, socially, and so on. If they are able to gain insight into all of the other aspects of their life that are affected and how they are reacting to this emotionally, spiritually, and psychologically, they can achieve much more meaningful breakthroughs than if they simply have the physical problem treated. My personal experience with acupuncture helped show me the truth of this from the receiving end. I've come to the point where I will often point some of these things out to my patients when they seem to be playing a significant role in what's going on. Although, I'm careful to get into it only with people that seem to be open to such considerations. Many people just get angrier when I tread into such territory then it becomes virtually impossible to help them. Those that are open enough or suffering enough to hear what I am saying invariably break down into tears which instantly confirms that I'm on the right track. This is the first step to meaningful healing for these folks. If I address only their physical problem and the other stuff persists, their problem will undoubtedly surface again, whether in a related or unrelated form. I'm sure there are more complex and subtle processes at work and these observations can be looked at from a number of different paradigms, but this much is certain - pain is an indicator, not a disease. It should be looked at carefully, with an open mind - a beginner's mind. There are times when it can be a great teacher. There are times when it can be a life saver. It can be horrible and crippling. There are times when it is appropriately masked with drugs (acute trauma or illness, terminal illness). One thing that I cannot tolerate - that is when it is exploited for profit, amusement, or other inappropriate reasons. Sadly, that occurs not only in Western health care, but Eastern and alternative health care fields as well, not to mention the spiritual arena.

No question that mainland China is rife with government sponsored "Taoist" masters and Wudang experts that are trying to revitalize the beautiful arts that were decimated by the cultural revolution. Most of these are corrupted versions, heavily influenced by the new Wu Shu and watered down methods. Some remnants of the real masters no doubt have survived but are unlikely to be terribly accessible without serious direct referrals and personal connections. Taiwan was a haven for many who fled the purging but I would bet you will still need some well connected help to gain contact with the real deal. On the other hand, wherever you are, you will run into the teacher you need if the the universe is ready to accommodate you. Best of luck.

I laughed when my mom sent me a link to this... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0LvKg5aCG0

Sadly, we will not be permitted to solve our energy crisis until our masters have made enough money. Anyone want to guess when that might happen? Great posts everyone!

Beautifully and succinctly put.

For the most part, most of our knowledge of "the sages" is based on myth, legend, fairy tales, and exaggerated stories handed down for generations. Detailed and exacting knowledge is questionable at best. That said, I would infer that people with the desire to cultivate themselves intellectually are often similarly disposed to cultivate the spiritual and physical aspects of themselves. Martial arts were one of the more common ways to do this in those times in China. Therefore, I think it's reasonable to assert that many of "the sages" were, in fact, martial artists. The jian, for example, was rarely, if ever, used as a weapon of combat but was favored by the upper classes, intellectuals, and martial artists - not the military. Another suggestion of the intersection of martial arts and scholars, intellectuals, and, perhaps, sage-types.

Some thoughts - Pain is a critically important experience. It's easy to address "physical" pain but the discussion doesn't stop there. It is an indicator that something is threatened or at risk. It is a protective mechanism. If a physical part is not healthy, it often needs some degree of protection or rest. Pain reminds of us this. Pain helps to prevent us from damaging ourselves. It helps us to investigate whether something is not healthy or well adjusted somewhere. At another level, pain is an indicator that there is an opportunity to grow. It can indicate a shortcoming or weakness that can serve as a focus for development or improvement. Pain can be a stimulus to rest or a stimulus to act. Pain can be embraced and appreciated for it's value or feared and avoided at all costs. It only becomes suffering when we treat it from a perspective of fear and anxiety. When we embrace it (to whatever degree we are capable) it can be a great teacher. This is a problem I have with the current push in the medical profession for "pain management." Pain should not be treated as an illness to be abolished. Most "pain management" I observe amounts to nothing more than facilitated opiate dependence. Pain is a natural and necessary experience (another is death) that only becomes toxic when it is expressed as a way of distracting us from psychological and emotional content that is more difficult to deal with. I really liked a brief discussion presented by Anthony Demello on psychological pain in his audio set - Wake Up To Life. He was a Jesuit, psychotherapist, and a spiritual guide. He often found himself deeply torn between treating a person's psychological pain (fulfilling his role as psychotherapist) vs allowing the person to experience deeper and more profound levels of pain which could potentially lead to a spiritual awakening and understanding of the need for major life change. Great topic for discussion - so much more could be written about this but enough for now...

It's a beautiful thing! I picked up Radix based on Ralis' recommendation as well. Cloud Atlas was a challenge for me at times but completely satisfying. What did you think of Cutting for Stone?

Just finished Cloud Atlas and loved it. I have tickets to see Crime and Punishment on stage in a few weeks - great book. I'm currently working my way towards: Radix - Attanasio Little Bee - Cleave Matterhorn - Marlantes Unbroken - Hillenbrand Cutting for Stone - Verghese and interspersed with the fiction, some non-fiction: Dhammapada The Gateless Gate - Yamada My own martial arts notebooks - reviewing training notes and teaching methods

In science, a theory is much more powerful than a fact. A fact is a single, observable event. A theory is a coherent explanation that has the power to predict future events which is exactly what evolutionary theory does. Science will never declare evolution a fact as it is much more important as a theory. The counter arguments made by creationists (even when they hide behind pseudo-science like ID) are not legitimate theories. They have no rational explanations for explaining or predicting events. They have no predictive power. They have no experimental basis. They are all about making an observation, claiming it cannot be explained by existing theory, and then making a completely gratuitous assertion that is untestable to explain it. Michael Behe himself (the God of ID) has admitted under oath in the Dover trial that by his definition of a scientific theory, Astrology much be considered a science. This is what happens when the rigorous protocols of the scientific method are relaxed as is advocated by Immortal4life in his desire for "progressive science." Is that what we are looking for? A return to Astrology and Witchcraft? I believe that is exactly what the Creationists and those that hide behind ID want because those "progressive sciences" help to support and legitimize a return of religion in general, and Christianity in particular, to the throne of humanity which has been usurped by science and rational thought. They would be right in their argument that science has not solved all of humanity's problems. Rational thought has not abolished crime, inhumanity, and suffering. What they choose not to give equal time to, however, is that neither does religion. Religion in it's most pure form was in total power during the darkest days of humanity (Middle Ages, Inquisition, Holy Wars) and it will never be any different. If anything, religion is even more corrupt and has deviated further from it's core since then so how could it be any better today? Humanity's suffering and failure to defeat inhumanity will never be corrected by religion, government, or even science. It is an internal struggle that manifests itself as an external problem. It is quite simply a result of the illusion that we are separate individuals. True religion can lead us in the right direction, that is - if each of us embarks on a personal, internal examination of ourselves until we reach the truth. Not what Immortal4life and his ilk want - that is, a conversion of everyone to their belief system. If each of us has true faith - NOT belief, then there is real hope. Belief is the fervent hope and desire that an unobservable, unprovable, and untestable idea is truth. Faith is when we have the confidence and courage that if we completely let go and rid ourselves of ALL beliefs, that which remains and we experience personally is truth. Not some religious vision fueled by years of conditioning and indoctrination, but simply and purely what each of us is at our core as we observe it personally. When we work long and hard enough to strip away the layers of the onion and see the truth at the core of ourselves, there is an understanding of love and that is the only thing that can stand up to our inhumanity. Sorry to preach but this subject is very close to my heart. I love you all - even you, Immortal4life. But you especially have a very long way to go to understand the message your savior was trying to impart. It's been twisted and corrupted by the institution that claims to protect it. You may consider reading or listening to the beautiful works of Anthony Demello - a Jesuit priest and psychologist who was truly enlightened and has the ability to help people see real truth in Christian scripture, if they have the courage to open their eyes and hearts.

I just watched this excellent NOVA documentary on the Dover, PA trial http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-404729062613200911# something I followed closely while it was going on. The one thing I find really striking is the fact that multiple folks on the plaintiffs' side (opposing ID) received hate mail and even death threats. These presumably came from the "religious" contingent that supports teaching ID. There is no greater irony to me than the violent predisposition of religious believers...

Just finished reading Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. It explores themes along the lines of reincarnation and the soul. Just brilliant, IMO. It was inspired by Italo Calvino's If on a Winter's Night a Traveller... but whereas Calvino left each vignette unfinished, Mitchell creates a mirror effect and resolves each story.

If I may... Realize this every moment, it is always, ever, now. This is what all of the traditions are trying to tell us about eternal life and immortality and so on. Living deeply here and now with complete awareness and connection is to live eternally. Forget about trying to cheat death or worrying about reincarnation and future lives and what happens after death. It is those who don't know what to do with this life who are so preoccupied with what comes after and having future lives. If you live deeply in every moment, death holds no power over you.

Glad I could help Matt. I usually start sitting quietly with an intention of total awareness. I do a slow internal scan and then open myself to awareness of everything going on inside and outside of "me" for a bit, including breath awareness. Then I devote some time to a number of internal routines that are a part of the system I currently practice which is called Kun Lun Xian Zong Pai. If you're interested in that, feel free to send me a PM or email.

My favorite!

Before the current crop of moderators were selected, Sean did it all by himself and folks got away with a lot more. Part of that was Sean's philosophy toward moderation and part was due to the sheer volume of posts that needed to be reviewed. I don't think the increased moderation activity has limited the freedom of expression or exchange in any meaningful way. It has limited the nastiness, however. I think the moderators do a very good job. Unfortunately, conflict seems to be a part of human nature and a lot of folks don't value civility. As long as that is reality, forums like this need moderation.

That was nice

For those new to it, Taiji Ruler is a Qigong set done using a Taiji Ruler. Here is a nice resource for a ruler though they can be found on Ebay a little cheaper. It involves several body movements done holding the ruler between the two palms and moving it in different patterns mostly while gently rocking back and forth between the ball and heel of the feet with one foot slightly in front of the other. When I learned Taiji Ruler Qigong several years ago, I was instructed to practice it daily for 100 days to experience the full benefits. I never made it beyond ~ 6 weeks due to other practices taking priority. I did feel that it helped with grounding and I felt like it improved my capacity in the middle and lower dan tian. That's about it. I was also actively practicing other things at the time (microcosmic orbit, Taijiquan, and Xingyi 5 elements) so it's a bit tough to really know what was related to the Taiji Ruler vs other practices. I never really was that impressed with the set and abandoned it in favor of my established practice of Shiba Luohan Gong and 8 Brocades.

I've struggled with this for years. I work long hours and early mornings. First - make your commute and your work a meditation. Second - to practice specific Daoist meditation techniques, I find that I simply must MAKE the time. I will never FIND the time. It means getting up an hour earlier than I would otherwise. I find my sitting to be much more effective in the early morning. In the evening I am too emotionally and psychologically drained. For each hour of meditation, you need 1-2 fewer hours of sleep per day. Meditation is more restful to the mind and body than sleep. It may not seem so in the beginning, but after some period of steady practice this may become evident. Good luck!

Put a pair of the 57/08 or 57/09 pickups on the PRS - pretty close to a Les Paul, just a lot lighter and better quality control! That said - nothing sounds quite like a Les Paul, especially in the hands of Robert Fripp. Saw King Crimson live in '74 and '81 = two of my favorite shows of all time.