doc benway

Very nice post Ryan. Welcome to the TaoBums. A little extra love is always a good thing. _/\_

I think this is a very accurate insight. Caveat Emptor.

Unfortunately, the world seems better in the "civilized/modern" areas exactly because of the misery that occurs in the "uncivilized/primitive" areas. There is a reason why the US has less than 1% of the world's population and uses somewhere around 20% of the world's resources. The developed world is such at the cost of the underdeveloped world. Arguably, one could state that it is exactly the mixing of cultures that is tending to polarize and cause extremism in some due to the threat of assimilation. The rest of your post is exactly the point I'm trying to make - we are in complete agreement. The world can only change if each and every one of us makes the choice of love and compassion as individuals. My questions about how the world could change were rhetorical. We need to really think on this very seriously as individuals so that we can find the answers for ourselves. I've suffered for years about this stuff. When I turned ~ 35 I underwent a dramatic change. After years of working hard and playing the game like a good contributor to the economy, I woke up from a perspective of moral and social responsibility. It happened to coincide with the aftermath of the Rwandan and Bosnian genocides. This was the beginning of my serious investigation into myself, spirituality, suffering, and all that jazz. Like your experience in the guard, I've come to understand that institutions, be they political, social, religious, will and have always failed. Sure there are small isolated gains and those are balanced with loss. They inevitably succumb to politics and corruption or compromise (which are all one and the same, anyway). I don't mean to sound as if I'm callous. I care very deeply about the pain and suffering demonstrated in these awful photos and the countless other injustices we could never finish listing in our lifetime. But the only thing that I can do seems to be to treat those around me with love and compassion and hope that will propagate. Nevertheless, in the history of humanity there has never been an end to suffering. Technological advancement may have improved the lives of some but I believe that there is no less suffering in the world now than ever before. If anything, those most primitive cultures that have not been corrupted yet by "civilization" are the few bastions of really moral and ethical humans, IMO. I would go so far as to say that morality and compassion are true human nature and it is modern civilization, social convention, and conditioning that have perverted our true nature. You can assert that the balance of beauty and horror in humanity is not a reflection of the balance of yin and yang but I challenge you to really look into the question deeply. We only know beauty by it's contrast to ugliness. We only know pain by it's contrast with pleasure. If all was good, we would not recognize it as such. We would have no concept of it as there would be nothing to define it as things are defined by contrast. This is the point of the very famous Zhuangzi parable about "when the shoe fits, the foot is forgotten" - if there was no dark, light would have no meaning. This is at the very heart of Daoist philosophy and science, the nature of things - Tai Ji. Which brings us back to gold's initial point - not all truth is beautiful, I'll editorialize that truth is more accurately a balance of beauty and ugliness. And yet, this is not as bad a thing as it may seem because understanding and embracing this balance seems to me to be the foundation of love. All that hot air aside, given the opportunity, I would personally and gladly exact vengeance on behalf of the poor women depicted in those horrific photos.

Then what are you waiting for? What is everyone else in the world waiting for? Why hasn't it changed yet?

Because they are afraid.

Because we cannot fathom the mind that would give birth to such an act, we make the error of seeing ourselves as separate from and "better than" those would do such terrible things. This will never lead to meaningful change. It is a very difficult thing to do, but we must try to understand the mind that would do something like this. They are also thinking clearly, within their frame of reference. They recognize the implications of what they do. Their acts are even CONDONED by their culture, implicitly if not explicitly. This is the power of conditioning. Look at South Africa - young children, even babies are raped regularly due to the myth that sex with a virgin will protect against AIDS. The government for many years did nothing to dispel the myth for fear of public uprising. They still don't do enough. Ironically, many of the rapists are already infected and simply spread the disease further. US foreign policy initiated under Bush blocked all federal aid to programs if there was any use of condoms. This allowed further spread of AIDS, unwanted pregnancy, and so on... Look at forced female circumcision. Look at Rwanda. Look at Bosnian rape camps and death camps. Look at Southeast Asian oil pipelines. Look at the diamond trade, sexual slavery in Thailand. The horrific treatment of female children in China. I'm peripherally involved with a group that provides support in the US for refugees who are the survivors of torture and abuse. The African continent is absolutely rife with political torture and exploitation. This is humanity. This is our world. For every beauty there is a horror. This, unfortunately, is the human manifestation of Tai Ji. For every extreme of good there is an equal and opposite bad, more or less. The good defines that bad, just as front defines back. We can remove the individuals, we can remove the political leaders, we can do so violently or quietly. Nothing will change from the outside. It hasn't changed since the beginnings of human civilization. People must change from the bottom up if there is ever to be any change. The source of the conditioning must change. How can that happen?

Hagar - as always, your words are direct and true. How is it that humanity can transform itself? We have suffered like this for centuries. Nothing has helped us - not our religions, our politicians, our philosophy, technology. None of it - What will it take for us to wake up and begin to love?

I met Livia Kohn at a seminar once a few years back. She is very knowledgeable, particularly about female energy related stuff. I don't know what/if she teaches or practices but she's written a lot and may be worth looking up.

"What is the point?" What is the point of a sunset? What is the meaning of a bird's song? We only look for the meaning of life when we are not living.

Good responses so far - Similar to the points made by apepch7, I think it's very instructive when you are unhappy in a situation to also look at what it is in or about yourself that may be making you feel unhappy. Recognize that it is not the external world that makes us feel good or bad - it is our own expectations, desires, disappointments, and so forth. We tend to change the situation in hopes of improving things but often end up bringing our same baggage to the new situation. I'm not Buddhist but I see great value in the concept of "right occupation". If possible, try to work in a role and environment where you feel like you are making positive contributions to others, yourself, your community, and so on. All jobs tend to become wearisome eventually. Sometimes it is simply knowing that you are doing good in some way that makes it more palatable in the long run. This aspect of my occupation didn't mean much to me at one point in my life but does now. Good luck!

I personally did not like his approach or presentation when he was active on this forum. I have no independent knowledge of his credibility or practices.

I appreciate the honesty of this post. I think this is a healthy sign. It's fine to follow the guidance of the "authorities" to a point. It's even more important to recognize exactly what you are saying - no one knows any more than you do. The thing about authority is that it only exists in so far as you choose to accept it. I think you might enjoy the work of one of my favorite authors - Jiddu Krishnamurti. The book To Be Human is a very good starting place. His basic premise is that there are no methods or authorities - one must do the work on one's own ultimately. I think this is a great point that is usually overlooked. By the time someone reaches the point of being able to let go of the crutches and authorities, they have invariably depended on them to some degree for some period of time. Would they have reached those same conclusions without that preparation? I don't know the answer but it begs asking.

I don't have that feeling about you at all. Welcome and be yourself

My favorite beginner books on Daoism are: When the Shoe Fits: Stories of the Taoist Mystic Chuang Tzu by Osho The Tao is Silent by Raymond Smullyan Ultimately, Daoism is not about knowledge or reading or even any particular practice (although many would probably disagree with me on that point). That is why the Daoist sage is always portrayed as a bit of an eccentric and simple-minded peasant. If your goal is to practice Daoist cultivation, I would urge you to look for a teacher, not a book.

Different words describing one reality... Agreed.

Most systems you will find in the West and in books, and in China, for that matter are incomplete or relatively recent and often constructed by unqualified people. You may want to investigate the modern history of QiGong in China. You will not like what you learn. I don't believe that any (or at least many) QiGong forms were intended to be complete systems of physical, mental, and spiritual growth. The old QiGong sets that I've learned are relatively short collections of exercises. Often they are designed for a specific purpose. For example, I practice ShiBa LuoHan QiGong and it is a great set to practice very hard for martial conditioning or very soft for Qi cultivation but its best to focus on one method or the other for an extended period of time to maximize the benefits. Similarly, I practice an "ancient" Eight Brocades set that is clearly more intended for overall Qi balancing/meridian opening and so on for health. TaiJi Quan can be a relatively complete system, provided the soft and hard elements are balanced as already mentioned. Nevertheless it is incomplete without Dao meditation and neigong practices which may or may not be an inherent part of the system being taught (usually not). As Marble mentioned, the important thing is to balance life as a whole and you may need a variety of practices to achieve that. It may be difficult to find everything you want/need in one system. In fact, IMO - there is really no need for a system at all..... unless we believe it to be so.

It wouldn't surprise me, not one little bit... May I join you as well?

Often, when I'm pushing, I try to open myself to the tactile, visual, and auditory input totally. I try to just be there with that and respond without thought, interruption, plan, or desire. To me that is meditation but I'm not sure that's what you're referring to. Other times, my pushing practice is more goal oriented like working certain footwork patterns, qin na, neutralizations and so forth. Ultimately, I think the meditative mindset is a critical component to being skillful in pushing, much like in the form. The only difference is that in the form you only need to be mindful of yourself. In pushing, you need to be mindful of yourself and your opponent. At a high level of skill, when the posture and timing and other factors like zhan, nian, lian, sui, bu diu and ding are refined, I think you can let go of yourself and just be (with) your opponent without yourself getting in the way.

That video makes me sad. Human cruelty is as boundless as human compassion.

Some random thoughts on hallucinogens... (I'm in a wordy mood, watch out) For the most part, people use drugs in developed countries for recreation and distraction from pain and boredom. Part of this is because much of our social conditioning has unfortunate psychological consequences. At some level, I believe that people recognize the negative effects of our conditioning and, intuitively or accidentally begin to use hallucinogens as a way to experience states of awareness that help transcend the insanity of our social conventions. Once those conventions are seen through, there may be an increased chance of breaking through in a more meaningful and permanent way. This will require abandoning the drugs and bringing the insight into the daily reality. Continued use of the drugs will eventually become an escape and distraction and will be self defeating. The other real concern is the potential for harm related to hallucinogens. There is a group of people who will have very serious side effects, sometimes irreversible. I've seen it in two very close friends. They are probably people prone to psychosis to begin with. The purity, dosages, environment of use, and so forth are very poorly understood and controlled in the vast majority of instances. Participating in an ayahuesca ceremony with an experienced guide is very different from what most Americans, Asians, and Europeans will experience in their experimentation. I have very mixed feelings. I have my own personal experiences and I have the experience of helping my children to navigate the same treacherous waters. I don't advocate the use of hallucinogens due to the inherent risks. I do think they sometimes can help people make limited progress but it's a very slippery slope. Be careful and responsible, please!

Why try to change our thoughts? Why struggle against what we are? We ARE the universe, God, whatever word you like. We are exactly that each and every one. The connection is much more pervasive than anything we could think up. It is me, it is you, it is us. How could we possibly be anything else? Our unique sensory apparatus evokes the whole ball of wax. Without us, it does not exist. Without it, we do not exist. Only we've been deeply conditioned to feel separate. This is what Wu Wei is all about. There are negative feelings and there are positive feelings. They define each other. They come and go - always have and always will. Making an effort to change, suppress, or transform them is going against and is fruitless and will cause frustration. It simply means that what you are and what you feel is not enough. It means there is desire to be something else or feel something else. You will never be without negative feelings. To struggle against them only brings suffering. Suffering is not being in pain or being sad or any of that, suffering is the psychological pain we feel when we fight against those things. Suffering is not being what you are, it is wanting to be something other. Accept the feelings, positive AND negative. Open up to them and welcome them. Feel them as deeply as you are able. Be aware - completely aware of how it feels physically, psychologically, just be with it. Don't worry, it will change soon enough, whether up or down. Growth comes from conflict and pain, not from pleasure and satisfaction. The universe will always provide exactly what each of us needs, whether we recognize it or not. It will not always make us feel good or be what we think we want. The universe is absolutely perfect. It's just that up close, sometimes it seems chaotic and insofar as we are attached to things, the tendency toward change is painful. So I don't try to think in a certain way or imagine things as I want them. I try to be in the world as it is and do what needs to be done and what feels right. Acceptance brings a degree of peace, security, and freedom that otherwise is lacking for me. Sorry to pontificate but this subject is really close to my heart. YMMV of course....

I adore this version of Ave Maria sung by Barbara Bonney, thanks for posting that. A few others that really touch me: Claudio Monteverdi: Chiome d'Oro nm0jieRLYNs Gabriel Faure: Apres un Reve 0_H_tp0m8DQ Leo Delibes: Flower Duet from Lakme BSmog1svxXw

I'm more likely to get a direction if you are the one sticking the tongue out. I find a woman's tongue to be very visually sensual. I don't know about the exercises you describe however.