Encephalon

3Bob, I've been telling you, and maybe the general audience for months now (at the risk of earning the wrath of the Anti-Arrogant-Asshole-Association, or "4A" - get it? Foray?) that if you introduce just a splash of precision into your writing you will be taken a lot more seriously and will take a lot less shit! If you don't, you will continue to compete for attention with these folks -

Hmmmm... I read "Global Brain" and found it indespensible for constructing an intellectual support for interdependency, Indra's web, panentheism... and all the rest of my green Taoism/Buddhism. I don't have the strength to read more Bloom any time soon, but I have to wonder how he's defining his terms, because "GB" was pretty cut and dry; we're either going to think globally and find our well-being in the health of the world ecosystem, or it's game over.

There's nothing of value I can contribute to this conversation. (Quick!! Alert the media! Blasto concedes ignorance of certain matters! ) Honestly, Fritjof Capra is doing the best work here - http://www.ecoliteracy.org/ One of modern science's first western Taoists.

Glad to hear things are evolving. Many of us in here seem to be moving in positive directions. Not to detract from the comraderie, but one small point; we Libs don't assign the term "social construct" to natural phenomena such as physics or life processes. The term is self-explanatory; a man-made construction such as a church, a monarchy, or an economic theory that over time becomes imbued with some independent moral leverage. But, if there is some bonehead out there saying otherwise, send me the link.

Astonishingly enough, I have to side with Vortex here, even though the Karl Marx shrine I've constructed in the middle of my living room has begun to emit ominous warning signs. The political hijacking of the ongoing debate about nature versus nurture has usually made fools out of partisans (journalists?) on all sides who aren't qualified to interpret the scientific conclusions. I think it's been demonstrated that environmental conditioning such as chronic poverty and crime can turn human beings into basketcases, but genetic factors are just as important to the whole picture. By the same token, disguising eugenics and the alledged disparity in IQ amongst different racial groups as "Bell Curve" arguments (Herrnstein and Murray) in order to suggest that no amount of social spending on the underclass will matter since they're genetically unfit to begin with was obscene when said book was published and has been universally reputed since. Nature and nurture, left and right, yin and yang... these are all part of the great dialectic of the Tao. To demonize one over the other is to miss this ebb and flow entirely. Vortex, are you dissolving your cranium gates? Your writing sounds different. What are you eating? Are you getting laid?

Did you guys ever read "Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling" by John Gatto? He won Teacher of the Year awards in NYC and basically said the entire system is corrupt. Why he thinks this is so is the intriguing part of the story.

I think both of you make forceful arguments, and I realize I can only reconcile them because I've posted subject matter that veers far and wide from strictly Taoist subject matter, usually out of an effort to introduce levity or satire (which I believe I am getting a handle on, at least the sarcasm). But this board also serves an important function too. If I hadn't lost a textbook I'd quote a modern philosopher by name who forcefully argued that our moral responsibility begins far earlier than our actions; he believed that we are morally responsible for the ideas and information we subscribe to, as it is this information that we ultimately act upon. It would take a bevy of social scientists to explicate the mess left by Gauss', so by that principle alone I would have to say that his posts are irresponsible at best and disharmonizing at worst. So I have to side with Taomeow that the higher functions of this board are genuine discussion and group learning, while mere proselytizing is a lesser function. Whether that is a betrayal of the spirit of TTB is beyond my understanding.

The third paragraph answers the question of this post - You will know unexpected happiness. You will know the sorrow of seeing what is dearest to you cut down before your eyes. Accept that. That is the nature of human existence and you have no time to buffer this fact with fairy tales and illogical explanations.

Now, about directions to the lab...

This is precisely why I became a pedantic, critical thinking SOB. My introduction to critical thinking had a lot to do with the role it plays in making all of us, myself included, less vulnerable to influence and authority. Sadly, they are both powerful and take many prisoners.

RESOLVE Banish uncertainty. Affirm strength. Hold resolve. Expect death. Make your stand today. On this spot. On this day. Make your actions count; do not falter in your determination to fulfill your destiny. Don't follow the destiny outlined in some mystical book: create your own. Your resolve to tread the path of life is your best asset. Without it, you die. Death is unavoidable, but let it not be from loss of will but because your time is over. As long as you can keep going, use your imagination to cope with the travails of life. Overcome your obstacles and realize what you envision. You will know unexpected happiness. You will know the sorrow of seeing what is dearest to you cut down before your eyes. Accept that. That is the nature of human existence and you have no time to buffer this fact with fairy tales and illogical explanations. Each day, your life grows shorter by twenty-four hours. The time to make achievements becomes more precious. You must fulfill everything you want in life and then release your will upon the moment of death. Your life is a creation that dies when you die. Release it, give up your individuality, and in so doing, finally merge completely with the Tao. Until that moment, create the poetry of your life with toughness and determination. - 365 Tao / Daily Meditations - Deng Ming-Dao

I would like to see this thread moved to The Basement. Nothing can come of this post but a siphoning of mental and spiritual energy away from our collective progression on The Way. Bantering with absolutism of any stripe serves no purpose.

I'm not the unimpeachable source, of course. I became an expert on counting to one, nothing more.

I think this question gets to the heart of the controversy regarding what was lost when Chinese Buddhism came to Japan. There are stories of Japanese zen meditators having to travel to China in order to be healed by Taoist physicians. The physical dimension of Taoist cultivation came up short in Buddhist Japan, where it became an intensely cerebral practice. I have heard that the Shaolin tradition did not let this happen, but I can't trust my memory. Taomeow probably knows the history like the back of her hand. I practiced Soto school "wall-gazing" for about a decade before making the Great Leap Forward into Taoism, and during that time I never got a palpable sense of any energy movement in my tantien, even though, as you know, we are supposed to sit with our hands clasped against our "hara." I guess I'm just too "Chinese" or too "Indian"; changing my mind using my mind calls for more superpowers than I can muster. Changing my mind using my body is a far more practical approach, and has given me greater mindfulness than many years of zen or TM.

There is a wealth of information in this board, or this "Sangha," if ya wanna be Buddhist,( ) and you'll get plenty of it for the asking. We just need to know your age, health conditions, dietary habits, the amount of time you can budget for personal cultivation, and most importantly, your short-term and long-term goals. Then we can send you to our lab.

I could swear I read somewhere that the MCO IS naturally active in everyone but that it remains below the level of perception until it is cultivated.

ARgh!%$#$! Simple Jack stole my thunder. He's absolutely right. Keep Olympic lifts the bulk of your regimen and don't even think about isolation exercises like bicep curls or tricep extensions until you're in your body-building phase. "Power to the People" is one of the top 5 strength training books out there, and "The New Rules of Lifting" and "From Scrawny to Brawny" has a boatload of info on compound lifts and dietary advice for bulkers. Olive oil is great, but I'd jump on the coconut oil bandwagon if you can afford it. If you come across a briefcase full of $100 bills, try this - http://www.dragonherbs.com/prodinfo.asp?number=033

I can only assume this was another swipe at me, given my well-established self-imprisonment by my five senses, but I assure you, I wasn't expressing animus to any creature, terrestrial or non.

You can PM the owl story if you wish. I'm trying to expose myself to film genres that I've usually shunned out of emotional sensitivity, mostly issues regarding Nazi and recent central American history, and racial violence of the Deep south, just so i can use these tensions in my own writing projects.

In fairness to Scotty, I pushed him to explain his assertion that I was an arrogant ass, to really support his argument with forcefulness and evidentiary support instead of simple namecalling. "Put it on the mat," right? I thought he came through, even though I have obvious reservations about his logic. The bottom line is that I betrayed my own promise to limit my TTB contact to those with whom I have comraderie and share similar milestones of personal practice. It is with this cadre that the thrust of Scotty's accusations are a non-issue, although they are evidently true for him.

Uh, I was playing with Ralis' humorous post, pretending that we shouldn't single out bats and blame them for impersonating aliens. Am I to believe that people actually took my post seriously?

I see absolutely no humor in this at all, and am deeply offended, in fact. To single out a single species for alledged malfeasance is the height of irresponsibility and smacks of criminal negligence. I'm reporting the creator of this post to the authorities, and all of you complicit in this travesty.

I hafta say, Mokona, that's some hilariously dangerous advice! Maybe we should all get hammered on Halloween and rip each other new ones... as long as we glean truth and wisdom from the exercise!

Stay tuned for Part II, where the power of my pen shall heal Humankind of all woes and strikes fear in the hearts of gods! Take that, heathen!