Encephalon

One of the (very) few joys of living in Los Angeles is the LA Library Bookstore, a tiny room in each location reserved for selling books, fifty cents for paperbacks, a dollar for hardbacks. For avid readers it is a goldmine. I have basically gone completely apeshit in the construction of a personal library of a thousand titles. I even found a book entitled “A Gentle Madness: Bibliophiles, Bibliomanes, and the Eternal Passion for Books.” I’m in good company. The gentle madness is shared by millions. I started buying titles about five years ago when I dropped my four-year-old daughter off at the local pre-school summer camp, just down the street from our library. I’ve probably contributed about 300 titles to my bookshelves over the last five years and what I now possess is a collection that would yield the equivalent of a complete liberal arts education. It started out as a personal exercise in filling gaps in my undergrad education, titles I could read as an elderly man in a rocking chair, but it soon developed into something for my child; a complete reference library that would suit the entirety of her educational needs without ever having to leave the house, or a hard-copy library that could outlive the Los Angeles Unified School District or western civilization itself. (How to airlift the collection to my off-the-grid Taoist eco-village in the Canadian Rockies is another subject.) Having spent endless hours organizing the titles I’ve settled on a chronological system; astronomy first, followed by physics, mathematics, and chemistry and then moving along to earth sciences of geology and global climate change. Biology is up next, followed by the rest of the life sciences, ecology, zoology and the emergence of humankind. Social and behavioral sciences follow, all the history, all the psych and sociology, along with the humanities – art, music, literature (150 of the world’s most popular novels) – and then an explosion of titles of my favorite subjects; Asian Studies, Buddhism and Taoism, humanistic geography, California geography, evolutionary psychology, evolution, fascism and religious fundamentalism. Two shelves are dedicated to non-fiction, current events, and any other titles that defy my ability to classify. Hiding in my bedroom are two bookcases full of literature and self-help, six versions of the Tao te Ching and twelve versions of The Art of War, and all the fucking material I’ve decided I need in order to become a world-class screenwriter. But some days, I’d rather just be a hermit in the mountains. Oh, and let’s not forget a half dozen titles on how not to be a shitty father and husband and why consumer capitalism and addiction are one and the same. And let’s not forget Ken Wilber and consciousness studies and… yeah… at one book a week, twenty years of reading. I’ll be in my 80s soon enough. What I’ve discovered from my formal and informal education, what seems a common thread that weaves in and out of multiple subjects is the general trajectory toward enlightenment. Whether it’s mastering your diet or learning how to defend yourself, designing an eco-village or creating democratic land use policy, becoming an accomplished pianist or a better parent and husband, saving your soul or saving the planet, waking the fuck up seems to be implicit and necessary. You won’t have a black belt and maintain 10% bodyfat without enormous control over your emotions, your instincts, your capacity to manage time and energy. Your ideal eco-village won’t work unless your fellow villagers mandate emotional growth and maturity. And it certainly seems necessary that in order for human life to remain viable we have to become masters of our imaginations and servants of the web of life. We have to figure out a plausible trajectory from being traumatized to becoming enlightened, and we need to get busy. A global awakening seems like the missing ingredient but other writers have already written this off as just another pipe dream, the wishful thinking of a desperate species. I am not entirely convinced that a plausible, ecologically sustainable, and spiritually satisfying lifestyle has been conceived and presented to the unwashed masses. I believe a compelling vision of the genuine pursuit of happiness can replace our morally nauseating pursuit of pleasure. A robust alternative to wage slavery, hamburgers, and porn is waiting in the wings. We just have to live the experiment, take copious notes, make adjustments and be courageous enough to share it despite the risk of ridicule and rejection. What will you do this day that is sustainable and wise? What actions will you jettison from your behavior? I’ve heard it said that practicing enlightenment is being enlightened. Sitting on your zafu, bombarded with thoughts, is still enlightened conduct, yes? Okay – I’ve written my 750 words for the day. Taobums has always been a great vehicle for aspiring writers to pursue their daily word count. As they say, from quantity comes quality. Thanks Taobums!

Had to say goodbye to the bud. A friend once told me that "weed is best when it is used the least," and I am periodically reminded of this fact. I flushed my bud down the toilet on 7/12, inspired by an angst-ridden and delusional state as much as a sudden inspiration to take a break, and I feel terrific already. I'm especially happy to re-experience dreaming again. I've kept my CBD oil. There's a fraction of THC in it that makes this product work exceedingly well; complete elimination of any anxiety, which I think contributes to a better functioning mind. And the body-mind fusion I experience when I'm doing yoga or nei kung is just incredibly informative. But three or four times a month is the absolute best frequency.

Frank Zappa on dating advice - "If you want to get laid, go to college. If you want an education, get to the library." Clearly, the most plentiful environment for finding dates is the local junior college. Skip the day classes and sign up for one evening class, where you are sure to meet people who are committed to improving their lot, taking care of themselves, and looking for friends. And then the cold, hard truth of it cuts through my morning fog - covid-19 renders this advice pointless.

Put another way, what types of progressive legislation would you like to see initiated? Seems like just about everything seems like a candidate for reform, from ag and food policy to health care, land use to education, the Green New Deal to another Homestead Act.

Eliminate hot showers. Get on a first name basis with cold showers to support T level increase. And if you're not on zen12 during your meditation practice, I can't recommend it enough for increasing your stress threshold beyond what you think is even possible. https://zen12.com/

MY T levels were pretty low as I crept into my late 40s. I experienced the typical low T symptoms - lack of ambition, mild depression, wallowing, and a brief bout of extra special fondness for vicodin. What I mostly noticed was a failure to gain muscle even though I was an obsessive fitness fanatic working at a gym. My musculature eventually got too strong for my connective tissue and I suffered several injuries. my wife dragged me to the hospital to have my sperm cells checked out when we were having trouble having a child. My swimmers were fine, but my T levels were quite low, 270 I believe. I was eating way too much carbohydrate, still a sugar junkie, consuming plenty of dairy, the greatest source of estrogen in the American food supply. I cut out a lot of the sugar and dairy and researched everything else I could do to improve T levels. My OTC cocktail - Testo Plus - https://www.pipingrock.com/fenugreek/testoplus-fenugreek-extract-310-mg-90-capsules-3531?prd=D0000J&prisp=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIhLWAou296gIVEPDACh0K9QTAEAQYASABEgJF8_D_BwE boron - https://www.pipingrock.com/mineral-products/triple-action-boron-complex-3-mg-200-tablets-5962 zinc - https://www.pipingrock.com/zinc/zinc-picolinate-high-absorption-zinc-50-mg-180-capsules-8611?keywords=zinc picolinate&qid=1594218184 magnesium - 250 mg (as mag. oxide) My T levels now hover around 660. I gained more muscle in my fifties than in my forties. I turn 60 in September. Problem solved. The forties are wonderful. They are the old age of youth. The fifties are the youth of old age. I'm having a blast.

Well, I'd love to get the original thread on progressive legislation started again, seems like a perfect topic for assessing political longing and imagination. So many opportunities to fix current problems, to bring our culture closer to an enlightened state (a couple centimeters closer). I think it was Ghandi who said those who don't recognize the relationship between spirituality and politics understand neither. They are different expressions of values, different orders of magnitude. I hope this can unfold in here without acrimony, but if not, I'll cease and desist.

I could have framed this thread differently, perhaps by suggesting a conversation about what kind of legislation we would like to see here in America that empowers people rather than corporate interests. It may not be a practical or manageable feat here; I believe that my political longings are sound and consistent with my spiritual convictions, but I suppose anyone could make the same claim. I'm intrigued by the book suggestion "Apocalypse Never." I'm a committed progressive, a democratic socialist, but I'm always on the lookout for scholars who reveal the logical weaknesses of forceful arguments, including my own. The world depends on it. I'm not so sure we can dismiss systemic racism. It may not reverberate equally throughout our culture but it can get mighty concentrated in some corners. In the thick of Los Angeles, I'm soaking in it. The dissenting views regarding global warming should be expected in a world that has long dismissed the fact of impermanence of all things, including earth, oil, consumer capitalism. I can't wait to read the book; I could use a healthy dose of legitimate optimism. From what I've gathered from reviews, it appears the author remains optimistic about humanity's ability to grow up and enthusiastically replace consumer capitalism with something ecologically tenable. That seems likelier than some green technology breakthrough. I have a 9-year-old daughter. I'm ready for solutions!

This subject has been lingering within since I first read "Buddhism Without Beliefs" by Stephen Batchelor twenty years ago. "As soon as awareness finds itself baffled and puzzled by rainfall, a chair, the breath, they present themselves as questions. Habitual assumptions and descriptions suddenly fail and we hear our stammering voices cry out: "What is this?" Or simply: "What?" or "Why?" Or perhaps no words at all, just "?" The questioning that emerges from unknowing differs from conventional inquiry in that it has no interest in finding an answer... This perplexed questioning is the central path itself. In refusing to be drawn into the answers of "yes" or "no," it let's go of the extremes of affirmation and negation, something and nothing. Like life itself, it just keeps going, free from the need to hold to any fixed positions - including those of Buddhism... Perplexity keeps awarness on its toes. It reveals experience as transparent, radiant, and unimpeded. Questioning is the track on which the centered person moves." This is a profoundly important point and I fear I might tarnish the subject with the following observations, but curiosity seems to be a fairly accurate indicator of how deeply connected people are to the world. (In fact, one writer has equated spirituality with the feeling of connectedness, and ecology with the science of connectedness, which I thought was insightfully cool.) We all know people who have unquenchable curiosity and they are a delight to be around, and we see others with virtually no curiosity at all aspiring to positions of power; Sarah Palin comes to mind, a woman of virtually no interests, no curiosity, no scholarship of any kind. And of course, we have Our Dear Leader in the White House, a man who champions the failure of being even fleetingly interested in anything beyond his own immediate self-interest and whose spiritual inclinations are essentially non-existent; he's simply not connected to the world and possesses no empathy for others. This dearth of empathy often appears as an absence of intelligence itself, but in the final analysis, empathy and intelligence become indistinguishable, just as the Buddhists have claimed from the very beginning; wisdom and compassion eventually merge. Distinctions between the two impulses blur, and what is most loving often proves to be the most wise.

"Genius sees patterns in the world. Madmen impose patterns on the world." Forgot where I read this, can't attribute, but it sure describes contemporary cultural divisions, at least in America, yes?

And yes, weed amplifies my sense of chi flow, and yes, my ten years of brainwave entrainment have made my highs profoundly richer and imaginatively off the charts. The trick is keeping the right ratio between creative amplification and focusing ability.

I was actually thinking of starting a similar thread before I saw this. Go cannabis! I'm really enjoying the high-CBD oil that my sister makes every quarter or so. The anti-anxiety effects of high-CBD make for an exceptionally powerful medicine that leaves me feeling completely void of any concerns. But I do prefer a splash of THC thrown in for the synergy. If I'm ever out of oil, I simply buy a bunch of high-CBD flower and a small amount of full-blown THC strain and mix it up. No anxiety, no paranoia, with very little erosion of focusing ability. I'm satisfied that the Endocannibinoid receptors are linked with the traditional meridians. That's enough for now. I'm gonna go get hi! Thanks for starting this thread!

Years ago I poked through a book on Morita therapy, a Japanese theory of psychology which seemed eminently sane. There was a section that investigated the wisdom of expressing gratitude for the helpful material objects in your life, mostly as an exercise in increasing gratitude in general. I have deep gratitude for my noise-cancelling, over-the-ear headphones. I have my white noise, focus, and brain entrainment files on my iphone and together these two tools dramatically reduce the level of noise pollution in my life. I have dozens of audiobooks loaded up and am never without a moment to learn something new and valuable. Other than that, I'm especially grateful for my pressure cooker which has increased the quality of my diet immeasurably. My piano and my book and music library are probably strong contenders too. I suppose the coffe pot with the built-in timer is mighty handy, and the four different styles of fans make our lives pretty comfortable. What cool stuff do you have?

Being a father has been a mixed bag, which is one way of stating the obvious. I am glad I waited until I was old enough and relatively healthy enough to not pass on too much of my own neuroses, but, oops, too late, she already has some. From the perspective of Chinese astrology, I'm a rat who married a horse, which was bad enough, but then my wife popped out a rabbit, and putting rats and rabbits together is like cozying up with a blanket made of steel wool. But she has my nervous system; imaginative, some good somatic intelligence, can replicate melodies with ease, and a fierce curiosity. My only reservations, and these keep me up at night, is the prospect of how to raise a child with an ecological education in a world that appears to be failing ecologically. How to teach a child to love nature, only to realize that once she's old enough, our planet's perilous journey towards mass extinction is going to break her heart, perhaps even drive her mad with grief, as is demonstrably the case with millions of others. Roy Scranton's piece, "Raising a Daughter in a Doomed World" captures the sentiment shared by parents everywhere. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/16/opinion/climate-change-parenting.html And yet, we go on, we continue, because if impermanence means anything, it's that there is always a chance real progress can sprout when and where we least expect it.

I'm using this diet plan to get back to my ideal weight of 30 years ago, lower my risk for heart disease, have more energy and eat as if the planet mattered. I have 90 days till my 60th birthday and plan to lose one pound a week. Anyone who feels similarly inclined is free to join me; it's always easier when it's a group effort. Daily Plant-Based Nutrition Guide Running on Real Food.pdf

"In my experience, quite a number types of inflammations result from food allergies. Perhaps you eliminated some allergen from you previous diet and this is why your skin condition improved." Yes indeed.

Well, as is my custom... After posting positive data yesterday, I had a small attack, ended up in my pantry, grabbed a small handful of organic chocolate chips in one hand and a small serving of walnuts in the other and crammed both into my pie hole. Then I did it again. And this morning? My face broke out in app. 13 pimples, a rash the likes of which I haven't seen in years. So, if there's my incontrovertible truth... sugar is EVIL.

Week #1 - lost a single pound, nothing to rave about, but my skin condition, some sort of eczema, completely cleared up. My appetite came way down also. This is huge for me since I've had a bad over-eating habit for at least forty years. The steady consumption of smaller, healthy meals kept my energy level pretty even - no crashing - and the simple joy of momentum and actually following through with the plan is growing. I've come to believe that any psychological attribute you want to achieve must be pursued in concert with the physical. A warrior body requires a warrior mind. I've talked this theory up a tree; now is the time to walk my talk. Daily Plant-Based Nutrition Guide Running on Real Food (1).pdf

Looks like a great title and it's on sale from Shambhala Books! i need to refine my eating/kitchen habits. https://www.shambhala.com/browse-categories/sale/compassionate-kitchen.html

Your Taoist/Buddhist friend wins the lottery and builds a small village in the Canadian Rockies. What is it like? Who's there? Off-grid? Vegetarian? How would you spend your day (besides raising food and practicing chi kung, of course)?

Some might remember me differently, but thanks for the kind words. I recommend zen12 because it's straightforward and the customer service is good, but 12 minutes is mighty handy. The last few months have been closer to 20 minutes. But mostly, I can feel the progress of the last twelve months exceeding the rate of progress of the preceding 9 years, if that makes sense. I am noticably more alert, focused, imaginative, and optimistic than 11 months ago. The effect I'm having at this point in time could very well be cumulative. Its being bandied about as a substitute for meditation, as an accelerant of meditation, and there is overlap between zazen, say, and this. Clearly the entire contemplative element of zen, not to mention the critical component of renunciation and the training of the will is missing from this entirely. But if you're a 20-21st century mess like me, its good to have some extra tools handy.

I'm in the middle of my tenth year of consistent brain entrainment programs. I started with Holosync, finished up and went on to other programs and am now in the 12th and final monthly session of Zen12. I am entirely convinced that this is a deeply therapeutic program that does wonders for enlivening a neocortex that has been distorted or impaired by trauma. I've been on a mission to "fix" my own predicament, mostly healing from developmental trauma, using a variety of techniques including general fitness, nutrition, nei kung, and yoga, all of which have played their part but in terms of obvious benefit, brain entrainment has been the most powerful. (Nei kung and other energy arts are ultimately most powerful, but in terms of delivering results in a short time span, that's not their style). I've read Bill Harris' Thresholds of the Mind and I might as well have highlighted the book in its entirety. My Witness is much greater than my Reactor and very little bothers me that I used to find intolerable. There is no substitute for proper medical care (and that includes fishing for diagnoses in TaoBums - I've done it too!) but you owe it to yourself to try this program and stick with it. Zen12 takes one year, 12 monthly programs, and the price of $37 is within range of anyone. https://zen12.com/

Here in Los Angeles we are blessed with "June Gloom," an overcast condition that offers some blessed relief from the heat and the UV bombardment. It cools down at night enough for a box fan in the window and I am overwhelmed with gratitude that the long summer of intense heat has not arrived. Every night that cools and promises fine sleeping with oxygen-rich air is a blessing. It's also cleaner due to reduced traffic, although it's starting to return, and gas has gone up 14 cents in less than two weeks. My ambitious exercise routine has been replaced with daily rebounding, at least through the month of June. I feel biomechanically repaired when I use this regimen. I have the tools and the opportunity to wake up, unlike so many unfortunate people dealing with life and death issues around the world, so I am trying to express gratitude in my thoughts and deeds. I am grateful for the opportunity to grow old - turning 60 in September -- and while this is truly a blessing, it comes with the anguish that my own daughter will not likely have the same opportunity. This combination is preying upon my conscience and I hope to find some semblance of peace despite the worrisome forecasts.

https://www.amazon.com/Essential-Spirituality-Central-Practices-Awaken/dp/0471392162/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1590621617&sr=8-1 This was written in 1999, well before I was anywhere near "awake," or at least cognizant of the level of my negative unconscious conditioning. Besides being best friends with Ken Wilber, he's a walking, talking encyclopeadia of spiritual development and a professor of psychiatry who writes in an extremely accessible style and it feels like you're getting a course in comparative religion as well. Taoism and Buddhism get a lot of attention here but there are plenty of Western corollaries. Had I read the book 20 years ago, my spiritual evolution would have likely been advanced. https://www.amazon.com/Body-Keeps-Score-Healing-Trauma/dp/0143127748/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1590621992&sr=8-1 What can I say that could do this work justice? For anyone who's been wrestling with pernicious and destructive forms of negative conditioning, those of us who aspire to be better but seem unconsciously programmed to self-destruct in slow motion, here's the bible of getting free. Trauma, and particularly early childhood developmental trauma, is so rampant in America it easily explains much of the sociopathology we are drowning in as a culture. I wept tears of relief for weeks after reading this. https://www.amazon.com/Sober-Truth-Debunking-Programs-Industry/dp/0807035874/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= For the fellow Bums who took the on-ramp into addiction and found 12-Step programs antiquated, moralistic, and just plain antiscientific, this work will blow you away with possibilities for healing and put to rest any lingering worries that abandoning AA meetings will sentence you to the pit of Hell. I could probably add 4 or 5 more titles if I expanded the criteria but these three form a profoundly accessible resource for those of us who don't have access to expensive treatment or proper mental health care. I can't imagine how my nei kung practice would have advanced had the information in these three been internalzied first, but the practice feels even more satisfying now. `

"The Handbook of Chinese Horoscopes" by T. and L. Lau is my go to reference although I'm still using the 7th edition from 2010. My Triangle of Affinity for the Rat includes the dragon and monkey. I took your advice and purchased an Ox pendant. Could you explain the prescription for Ox energy? Is this because of the year? Thanks in advance.