doc benway

resort

Atlas

Exactly how I feel when I take off the N95 at the end of the day! 😂 Airgasm!

😆 Yeah man, that’s me! And I love camping!! I noticed some leaves falling, felt a nice cool breeze, and recorded it on my deck with my phone... 2nd take, 1st was a touch too slow.

Now

I played Autumn on a flamenco guitar. I like the percussive sounds and the buzzing for that song. I’m also a big fan of the cello, closest instrument to the human voice.

I got one about a year ago. Not quite the same as a handpan. Rather than pounding out sections to change pitch, this one has cut-outs - much cheaper and easier to make. Nice thing is it allows harmonics to be played but sounds a little more subdued than the original handpans.

I once took care of a beautiful young girl who tied a rope around her neck and jumped from a 5 story window. The rope broke, she broke her back, and was paralyzed from the waist down. Her desire to die evaporated and her will to live was immense during her recovery. If only she’d found a way to access that before jumping...

Hair

Heart

~ Moderator Message ~ To the OP - The Men's sub-forum in the Grotto is the ideal place for discussions related to male sexual cultivation and semen retention. While this sort of discussion is certainly permitted in the general forum, you may find more specific and open discussion there. Please let me know if you would like me to move this thread to the Men's forum and give you access. Thanks

In order to help others effectively, you need to first take care of yourself both physically and mentally. It’s valuable to find a way to continue with your practice as you do this work. You may have to make some adjustments or modifications to your training and it may help to give yourself permission to do so. Yes it does. It’s a great blessing to have the opportunity and skill to make a difference in the lives of others. 🙏🏽

I remember the first time someone stuck a popper under my nose, totally unexpected. She looked like Grace Jones. Wow!

I am doing well. Spending a lot of time with family. A blessing I never expected at this stage of life. Both adult kids back home, with their dogs. A second chance for me. I was a bit of an absent father at times, the source of some of my deepest regrets in life, and we’ve been through some terrible family traumas when the kids were young. Being all together is astonishing! I am so deeply grateful. I hope others can find this sort of silver lining in relation to the pandemic. Returned to playing some music, which I’d gotten away from for a good while. One of those things I can sort of put at a distance, avoiding it if certain conditions aren’t met. Waiting for a good ‘fuck it!’ to get me in gear again, which has happened. Getting a lot of satisfaction from my work. After 29 years, it’s still surprising at times but there’s an ease and a certainty that allows it to flow. The fear is not there much anymore, working in the Covid environment. People are a bit more appreciative than in the recent past and seem to see a healthier, more grounded perspective about the value of life and what’s worth sweating. Being here is weird. I’ve felt like a pariah since beginning to moderate. I expected it from the last time but nothing prepares you for the abrupt change in one’s relationship to the community, mostly in a not-so-good way. Helping people with tech stuff, to the limited degree I’m capable, is satisfying. Feeling the frustration, and pent up anger, seeing all the long-standing baggage and feuding, the lack of empathy, patience, and support, all of it is disheartening. It certainly offers lots of negative energy for practice. The recent negativity from rene, while certainly understandable, was painful. I genuinely miss many of the folks who’ve gone and while I sometimes joke about the whole thing I mean them no harm, it’s mostly painful for me hence the poor attempt at humor. So many broken relationships over ideology, not to mention the horrific ideology itself and its consequences on vulnerable lives. My practice has been a huge support and there are so many opportunities to study and practice with others online. The pandemic offers such enormous potential for deepening one’s practice, whatever that may be, at so many levels. While I acknowledge all of the pain it has brought, I am deeply grateful for its lessons. I really appreciate you starting this thread dwai. You’re a good dude. Here’s to coming together as a community and helping one another through tough times. 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽

Hippity

Yes, dzogchen also. Everything is the path - sounds, lights, and rays. I sometimes see practitioners who claim to work with “energy“ but somehow don’t address their emotional life. Not sure how that works. The single most powerful and practical energetic movement in our experience to work and play with is emotional. Warning - if you’re not seeing changes in that part of life, the practices are not working.

Nothing quite like Zeppelin’s rhythm section! Cool vid about Bonham. Talks about Kashmir ~5:05

Meely

Beautiful feline!

I do remember saying that. It was said with some degree of sadness and some bitterness for what tore us apart. And also with irony though I don't recall the specific context. I mainly stayed out of the political ruckus that went on here but it did help to poison the board. Still does somehow. I actually miss you and many others who left over the political stuff. I've said that several times here as well but I guess you didn't notice that. Anyway, I wish you well.

Sorry to see you go

Hey rene! Nice to see you around. I’ll take care of it, should all be there just napping.

Reading this now, she is powerful!

Just finished watching the second episode of Lovecraft Country on HBO. I grew up on Lovecraft and felt conflicted when learning about the racist and anti-semitic subtext to some of his work. I haven’t read Matt Ruff’s book but I’m really liking the series, with contributions from the likes of Jordan Peele and JJ Abrams, so far. I find it very creative in its celebration of Lovecraft’s considerable contribution to the genre while rooting the narrative in the horror of the black experience, then and now. Looking forward to the ride! #Black Lives Matter

Hi Michael, Welcome to the DaoBums. My unsolicited, personal advice is free to newcomers interested in Mo Pai... Beware! MoPai is a dead end. No accredited teachers or lineage holders exist outside of Indonesia. All authorized teachers are forbidden to teach Westerners. What little information is available (2 practices of a 72 level system) is of dubious authenticity. The right way to get started is to find a teacher of a different system. It’s important to be a discriminating consumer in the search for neigong. Keep an open mind and I hope you enjoy your time here.