Encephalon

I just read this in Thich Nhat Hanhs Going Home: Jesus and Buddha as Brothers. I wish to God I wouldve picked up this book when it came out in 1999. It would have clarified so many issues I was trying to tease out and organize with respect to my geography and ecology studies but also the themes of Buddhist environmental ethics and Christian stewardship, deep ecology, and eco-psychology. What you do folks think? Agree or disagree? What are the implications? TWO REALITIES "There are two levels of relationships. The first level is the relationship between us and other beings. In Christianity, we hear the expression horizontal theology. This kind of theology helps us see and touch what is there around us. Horizontal theology helps us establish links with what is around us, including human beings, animals, vegetables, and minerals. Our daily practice should help us get in touch with these beings, animate or inanimate, because by getting in touch with them, we will be able to get in touch with God. Getting in touch with God is symbolized by a vertical line and is called vertical theology. These are the two dimensions. If you do not succeed in getting in touch with the horizontal dimension, you will not be able to get in touch with the vertical dimension. There is a relationship between the horizontal and the vertical. There is interbeing between the two. If you cannot love man, animals, and plants, I doubt that you can love God. The capacity for loving God depends on your capacity for loving humankind and other species."

CLPM, Take this info for what it's worth. It might be of value. Much of my work as a geography major had to do with post-industrial scenarios, peak oil, sustainability, etc. and some of the most promising trends are coming out of the Transition Movement, which got its start in the UK. Transition as in the transition from oil-dependent communities to sustainable models. Anyway, the movement is worldwide now and it tends to attract a lot of interesting and creative people, young and old, who are learning how to stay ahead of future changes. I've lived in intentional communities before and am planning to move into one in three years, and I gotta say, they don't have problems with loneliness or meaninglessness. Communities with shared values can be are extremely healthy ways to live (some are cults, yes, but you can spot them a mile away). So I posted the link for the Transition UK below. Check it out and maybe you'll be inspired by some options you may not have thought of. All the best. Scott http://transitionculture.org/2011/09/21/transition-in-the-uk-my-talk-at-sunrise-off-grid-2011/'>http://transitionculture.org/2011/09/21/transition-in-the-uk-my-talk-at-sunrise-off-grid-2011/ http://transitionculture.org/ http://london-transition.org.uk/ This one is for the US http://transitionus.org/

That's interesting. I wonder if that might account for differences in aptitude for nei kung practices. "But for me so far my sensitivity has been a curse in my life as the world in general is so insensitive." I think this is true for almost everyone who wasn't the high school quarterback getting pawed by the cheerleading squad, but I'd Like to believe that sensitivity toward one's own nervous system can enable us to get on with the alchemical reactions necessary we need for growth and healing.

I just purchased a copy of "Letting Go: Meditation for Modern Living" by Bruce Frantzis. If the reviews are any indication, this is the volume needed to get the info needed for more precise instuction in the inner dissolving method, specifics that are not available in "Energy Gates..." or the "Relaxing into Your Being..." series. Thanks for bringing up this parallel, by the way.

Natalie Jean and her father Scott say "Right back atcha!"

I too am satisfied that the mystical tradition dissolves the gross differences between the traditions, although it seems fairly well established that the Abrahamic tradition's vertical hierarchy does not incline toward ideas of horizontal interdependency. The Book of Genesis wasn't too keen on the concept of Indra's Web either; the closest it comes to ecological awareness is stewardship, with Man in charge, harvesting that which he needs from those below. I'd also plug in a bit of geographical determinism as well (as any self-respecting geographer would do!). The cosmology created by a culture cannot help but be informed by the state of the natural world in which it evolves. Both Buddhism and Taoism originated in rich, lush environments that were brimming with biodiversity, India in Buddhism's case and China's Yellow River Valley in Taoism's case. The Abrahamic tradition came straight out of the desert... and in my opinion, it shows.

It seems almost trite to even respond since my situation is so different. I feel like I should wait until people who live on your side of the pond can answer. I was drinking myself to intoxication probably 3 - 4 days a week when I was 19, but I was in the military and had plenty of people to join me. If you can increase your social connection by just one soul you'll make progress. You mentioned that you like to write. Are there writers groups in London that you can join? I don't know if that's worth anything. Just don't turn into a raging drunk like I did.

http://www.amazon.com/TAO-Letting-Go-Meditation-Modern/dp/1556438087/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1323815623&sr=1-4 I'd be eager to hear from anyone who's already used it. I am hoping it delves more deeply into the specifics of the inner dissolving method, including the dissolving of emotional blockages... ...not that I have any (it's for a friend).

Whew! Glad that's over. I just wanted to say that the irony of seeing me admonishing someone else on exercising gentle persuasion instead of belligerent condescencion was not lost on me! In my defense, I've tried to speak competently about the few issues I have some experience with and have tried to see to it that we not presume to have more knowledge than actually do. To the best of my knowledge I hope I've never tried to pummel other people over the head with lessons on the nature of compassion!

Given that your attitude is so obviously fucked up, it would seem unlikely that sensible people would choose to engage you in this, or any, topic. I'm done.

I have no wish to discuss anything with you, much less investigating compassion with a contentious attitude. You're free to start your own posts, of course.

VM, I too am exceedingly talented at lifting a sentence fragment out of someone else's text for the purpose of demonstrating my exalted station. Buddhism does not speak with a monolithic voice; it has changed and has been changed by the various cultures it comes into contact with. I'm really not interested in your hit pieces on Thich Nhat Hanh or any other teacher or school. Please reconsider the kind of presence you wish to construct in here.

I concur. This is also what I was told by a qigong master/aikidoka.

I apologize if I inadvertantly made the case for blind faith. That was not my intention.

Thanks for that. I am not a Tibetan Buddhist, but firmly in the humanist/agnostic camp of Stephen Batchelor. I also use Jack Kornfield and Ken Mcleod for meditation instruction.

In the world of Hollywood screenwriting, getting your script past the reader is a tremendous hurdle, because there are so many of them out there. "I read (the script)to the first typo," is how one script exec put it. They're basically looking for a reason to put it down and pick another one off the pile. Here's my library of How-To screenwriting books. I'm not buying anymore, now that I think about it, except for possibly the one aforementioned. Your Screenplay Sucks! 100 ways to make it great willian akers ****** The 101 Habits of Highly Successful Screenwriters Kar Iglesias ****** Writing Screenplays That Sell Michael Hauge **** The Screenwriter's Workbook by syd Field ***** Story by Robert McKee ***** Plot and Structure by James Scott Bell *** Writing Treatments that Sell by Atchity and Wong **** How NOT to Write a Screenplay by denny Flinn *** Characters and Viewpoint by Orson scott card ** Building Believeable Characters by Marc McCutcheon *** The Writers Journey by Chris Vogler ****** Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell ***** The Dharma of Dragons and Daemons: Buddhist Themes in Modern Fantasy by David Loy and Linda Goodhew (I'm reading this now- my favorite contemporary Buddhist scholar) Awakening the Heroes Within: Twelve Archetypes to Help us find ourselves and transform Our World by Carol Pearson ***** Book on CD- The Heroes 2 Journeys" Live workshop by Michael Hauge and Chris Vogler ***** Book on CD- "Screenwriting For Hollywood" workshop by Michael Hauge ***** I really dug the archetype analysis. The message of Vogler (who formulated Campbell's material for screenwriters), and Pearson is that if you can identify the archetype of each main character in your story, your characters will be strong and authentic. Vogler also does a magnificent job of describing what makes a story worth telling.

In the world of Hollywood screenwriting, getting your script past the reader is a tremendous hurdle, because there are so many of them out there. "I read (the script)to the first typo," is how one script exec put it. They're basically looking for a reason to put it down and pick another one off the pile. Here's my library of How-To screenwriting books. I'm not buying anymore, now that I think about it, except for possibly the one aforementioned. Your Screenplay Sucks! 100 ways to make it great willian akers ****** The 101 Habits of Highly Successful Screenwriters Kar Iglesias ****** Writing Screenplays That Sell Michael Hauge **** The Screenwriter's Workbook by syd Field ***** Story by Robert McKee ***** Plot and Structure by James Scott Bell *** Writing Treatments that Sell by Atchity and Wong **** How NOT to Write a Screenplay by denny Flinn *** Characters and Viewpoint by Orson scott card ** Building Believeable Characters by Marc McCutcheon *** The Writers Journey by Chris Vogler ****** Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell ***** The Dharma of Dragons and Daemons: Buddhist Themes in Modern Fantasy by David Loy and Linda Goodhew (I'm reading this now- my favorite contemporary Buddhist scholar) Awakening the Heroes Within: Twelve Archetypes to Help us find ourselves and transform Our World by Carol Pearson ***** Book on CD- The Heroes 2 Journeys" Live workshop by Michael Hauge and Chris Vogler ***** Book on CD- "Screenwriting For Hollywood" workshop by Michael Hauge ***** I really dug the archetype analysis. The message of Vogler (who formulated Campbell's material for screenwriters), and Pearson is that if you can identify the archetype of each main character in your story, your characters will be strong and authentic. Vogler also does a magnificent job of describing what makes a story worth telling.

Sorry, I don't share your fawning adulation for the capitalist order. If you missed my SNL "Happy fun Ball" analogy, then I'll use nuclear power instead; the only way to safetly harness the power of the capitalism is to regulate it carefully, like uranium. This has been for over a 100 years the question on the minds of the sober and the sensible.. how to save capitalism from itself. Once it is allowed to mutate into a socio-economic order that rewards the darker side of human nature, it becomes toxic. I don't expect you to understand any of this. I was serving in the Air Force when Carter was president. I remember clearly how the Reagan campaign turned the federal government into Public Enemy #1, while unaccountable corporate power was passed off as Man's best friend. I am old enough and educated enough to understand the fluidity of ideas, their ebb and flow, their ascendency and descendency. You are neither. You come in here like the captain of Sarah Palin's cheerleading team, brandishing the latest version of the Herbert Spencer school of social Darwinism like it were gospel, but it's just as repugnant as ever. The closest I could come to this drivel would be to turn on Fox News, but alas, you're to the right of Fox News.

My wife works for Kaiser pharmacies. There are plenty of pharmacists who do a professional job getting people the meds they need to stay alive and healthy. That doesn't make them complicit in Big Pharma's greediness any more than the mechanic who worked on the breaks of the getaway vehicle used during a botched robbery. In light of the principle of interdependency, we could drive ourselves insane imagining all the hidden complicities we might be connected to, but that doesn't make us culpable. Any Life Science career path you take is going to remain valuable in the years to come. It is your choice to tread an ethical path or not. If I won the lottery I'd be hiring a chemist to make the biodiesel to run my farm machinery with!

I've heard it said repeatedly by published authors and many screenwriters that doing it for any reason other than for the love of it is a recipe for failure. I am heartened by two realities; one, that the film industry is desperate for good stores (which explains why so much crap gets produced), and two, the world is brimming with people talented enough to make their living as writers, but most simply don't finish their projects. As an alkie, pud-whacking procrastinator I sure do understand that. But, I live in LA, have all the time and resources I need, and a critical impulse to transmute a useless social science degree into a dozen marketable stories, so I guess I'm fortunate. I've heard it said that our job is to decipher our gifts, turn our gifts into skills, and work like hell to turn those skills loose on your goals. I sure wish someone could've told me 30 years ago that I'd be a terrific sheetmetal mechanic. This aspiring artist shit is a lot of work, and risky too. I do wanna make some cash, though.

I heard through the grapevine that Thoth was up to his old tricks again. I suppose he's just trying attract attention to himself after being marginalized for so long.

My ex-girlfriend reminded me of a painful episode from our past and has encouraged me to remove this post.