Encephalon

it's only been two days since my original post, and the turbine-like effect has already improved. I stuck to the original nei kung technique as taught by Master Chu in NY for two years solid, and that was an extraordinary jump start. It begins with Embrace Tree followed by a series of nine movements. A local Chinese physician/TCM told me to stop this immediately and place my hands on my dan tien instead. This advice I promptly ignored and continued with Embrace Tree. And as a result, my microcosmic orbit came in fits and starts. Now, in regular Horse stance, with hands on dan tien, deep breathing and a focus on the Little Orbit, the amount of heat in my dan tien went up dramatically. Last night was the most powerful experience I've had to date; a deep gold, glowing, HOT tennis-ball size chi ball circulating over the course of one inhale and exhale. It was listing to the right and I was able to center the chi ball using the mind. Given my own individual circumstances, blockages, injuries, I am not surprised that I incurred some negative side effects. But it appears that I really haven't lost any serious time. Part of the peril of undertaking energy training without expert guidance, I guess.

Definitely go with the organic steamed veggie route. They are very cleansing and you avoid the hunger issue, which can be rough the first time out. Where are you going to be? Aquieter, less complicated environment always made it easier for me than slugging it out in the middle of Los Angeles.

Hope this doesn't rile the "Buddha vs Tao" sentiment, but this is pretty well done. Whoops! I accidently inserted a link into my private netflix account. Bad idea. But it's still there. www.netflix.com the Four Noble Truths

Yeah, one of my lesser moments

I was a geography major, so I can't claim to have mastered the hard sciences. But I was a critical thinking junkie, and I do know that a little intellectual humility goes a long way in avoiding the pitfalls of assuming more than one knows or indulging in speculative frenzies about things that are ultimately unknowable. But as a personal trainer, and a relatively new student of energy arts, basic anatomy is necessary for mind/body union, and essential (for me) in simply being able to visualize and work with dan tien small turbine energy work. (Waysun Liao terms). I cannot imagine progressing toward more advanced levels of internal awareness without knowing where my kidneys are. (They're behind the couch!)

This was filmed at a studio in Woodland Hills, CA. I used to go there and recognized it immediately.

Amazing. The results seem to contradict what I perceive as the reigning sentiment in this forum (and this is a harsh criticism here, so hold on), that scholarship and sincere inquiry exists in TTB but for only a fraction of the population. I'm wondering what the stats would be if you posted a poll about the social and behavioral sciences? My guess would be that most would find them even more pertinent, probably because the learning curve is not as long or as steep. Thanks for performing this service.

Wow. Looks like it's split into two, maybe three different conversations already. Definition of terms goes right out the window here. At this point I would have to suggest that this medium doesn't lend itself to clear communication. Whoever got Dukkha right wins the prize for tonight.

SCHOLAR WARRIOR MAXIMIZING VERSATILITY Skill is the essence of the Scholar Warrior. Such a person strives to develop a wide varity of talents to a degree greater than even a specialist in a particular field. Poet and boxer. Doctor and swordsman. Musician and knight. The Scholar Warrior uses each part of his or her overall ability to keep the whole in balance, and to attain the equilibrium for following the Tao. Uncertainty of the future inspires no fear: whatever happens, the Scholar Warrio has the confidence to face it. From "Scholar Warrior: An introduction to the Tao in Everyday Life," by Deng Ming-Dao I wish I could say I was further along than I am with regard to absolute versatility. I'm utterly convinced that faith in the American experiment will be bankrupt by the end of this year, and, unfortunately, Obama will be vilified and Sarah Palin (or some version of her) will become the spectacle's new mouthpiece. My family has mountain land, a well, plenty of Bambies to feed upon, gardens, guns. I wish it were all located up in British Columbia, but it's in N. California. I feel relatively lucky. I want to believe that all Taobums will hold up well; after all, we do have our martial side, do we not? What are TaoBum plans for when TSHTFan?

There is a limit to how much knowledge and clarity you can acquire on your own. Re-inventing the wheel seems to be a popular pastime in this forum. I would encourage everyone interested in such fundamental questions as the nature of suffering to NOT solicit information in here because you have no control over what you'll end up with. If suffering is the subject at hand, then there is no other major philosophical tradition in the world besides Buddhism that specifically targets human suffering. The most popular book on Buddhist psychology today is probably "The Wise Heart" by Jack Kornfield. It is incredibly reader-friendly. Curiosity is one of the main ingredients behind an authentic spiritual life. It's healthy and necessary, but I would warn anyone from asking too many questions at once. Study is just as important as the contemplative side. "Buddhism Without Beliefs" by Stephen Batchelor will also explain why moral precepts are not "moralizing" per se; they are not commandments from above, but challenges to act when facing the enormity of being born. Good luck.

Buddhism 101 The Four Noble Truths Life is Hard (suffering, difficulty, anguish) It's hard because we fuss and crave (my terms) and have unquenchable desires. Suffering is caused by attachment, desire, and ignorance. The cylce of suffering can be broken. Craving can be short-circuited. The way to achieve this is through the Noble Eightfold Path. 1. Right understanding 2. right thought 3. right speech 4. right action 5. right livelihood 6. right effort 7. right mindfulness 8. Right concentration All teachings ultimately stem from these. Buddhism is psychological and rational. "Growth of the heart by way of the mind," to quote the Dalai Lama. So, if I were to offer an example from my own life, I would use sex. I suffer because I want to have sex with just about every woman I meet. I can either try to satiate my sexual urges by finding legions of women who will cater to my uncontrollable desires, or I can do the ferociously difficult work of reducing my sexual appetite. (On a side note: when I was a personal trainer I was surrounded by gorgeous women all day long, almost as much as in grad school in LA. At one point, I went on Paxil for about three months, just to take the edge off, and it completely killed my sex drive. It turned out to be one of the most peaceful periods of my life just because of that alone.) And by the way, The Buddha admitted that if there existed another physical impulse as powerful as the sex drive, he never would have had his awakening. Pretty sobering, eh? I have to say that David Loy is the maverick Buddist scholar today. A western trained philosopher who went on to become a Zen teacher in the Sanbo Kyodan tradition, he possesses a skill of writing that is so illuminating it almost brings you to tears. Check out "Money, sex, War, Karma" or "The Great Awakening" for a treasure trove of massive explanatory power.

"I know the scientific community seems to be more concerned with their individual image/credibility than truth." Are you speaking of individual scientists concerned with their credibility, or are you speaking of the scientific community? I hesitate to ferret out the implications of what you are suggesting - that somehow essential facts of peak oil are non-ascertainable because their is some ulterior motive on behalf of planetary scientists? You There are a LOT of people who are scientifically literate. In response to your question about how ruling theocracies can maintain their power for so long, I would say it's because they've been soaking in petro-dollars for five decades and can afford to maintain state power, coercion and control. I would also speculate (carefully) that Islam enables theocratic thuggery, but I'm not a fan of the Abrahamic tradition at all, and pretty much reject all three (Christianity, Islam, and Judaism). As Gary Snyder once wrote - "Otherwordly philosophies end up doing more damage to the planet (and human psyches) than the pain and suffering that is in the existential conditions they seek to transcend." I'm not sure where you want to go with this. You might take a peak at www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net I'd be happy to look at any other data you want to introduce.

Given the size of the petroleum industry and the sheer number of petroleum geologists at work around the world, I would venture to say that the feat of siphoning off billions of barrels of oil into secret underground holding facilitites is about as plausible as faking the moon landing. They don't have to hide it; they can simply let the market drive up the price to $150/barrel or higher, which is inevitable as soon as the Asian economy starts heating up again. The US economy will never heat up again. We've indebted ourselves into a prone position. The most optimistic US scenario is rammed earth homes, chi kung, hemp fields, and maybe (maybe!) a modest national train system.

I don't place a great deal of weight behind conspiracy theories either, because they usually don't explain real phenomena and they are often not necessary for explaining real phenomena. Anyone with some basic physical science under their belt and some grasp of ecological principles can make use of available data (peak oil, especially) and see an impending culling of the human herd. I admire a lot of what got posted in here. This is an important subject, but I feel it has particular relevance for Taoists, or those who train for radical independence and self-sufficiency.

Thank heavens no one in TTB ever behaves like that! I mean, we're all selfless as melting ice, right?

At the risk of posing an irrelevant question, I just have to ask; do you use marijuana? No judgement here, I'm totally on board with the medical side of things. You might be interested in www.pmemory.com The next $300 I get ahold of will be going here, and then I'll probably jump into a pre-med or emt program.

Here be another laugh.

Perhaps this is a little negative, but I'm not surprised this thread hasn't gotten more responses. This is the real deal, bravely accepting whatever life throws at you with as much skill and wisdom as you can muster. Fussiness is considered a profound weakness amongst the warrior class. Life is so precious that to waste your attention on all the petty little BS that comes your way is to broadcast your cluelessness from the highest hill. I should know. I'm a fussy schmuck just like millions of others. I try not to be, and sometimes I succeed. What's amazing about this guy's life is that he went undefeated in sword matches, but was defeated by a man wielding a jo. Cool, eh?

mind

This was a private joke on my girlfriend. Sorry for the distraction.

Well, not what we hoped for, evidently, but there are a lot of other threads regarding the very important subject of breathing/bodywork. I would very much appreciate you letting me in on what you know about KAP. I'm interested in efficient teaching techniques; I don't believe I need to be brought up to speed regarding the theory behind it.

I've had an unusual symptom getting progressively more serious over the last four months. I've never had any dermatological symptoms in my 49 years and now I have a mild rash and dryness on my chin and the soles of my feet. It really began to manifest more acutely when I started reverse breathing in conjunction with solar plexus chakra affirmations. (Any trumpet players in here? I've read that certain breathing techniques, similar to those familar to all brass musicians, can increase heat energy, according to "Pranic Healing" by Master Cho.) My MO is coming along nicely but I have to accept the possibility that 1) I am setting myself up for a significant blockage problem, or 2) that once I can get my MO to burn through my cervical spine and scalp, I'll be able to really harness the heat in my hands, which are getting pretty hot these days. In "Embrace Tree" I really cook, from the dan tien up to the face, as if I'm standing in front of one of those infrared space heaters. Could this also be a sign that I should revisit Bruce Frantzis' Water Method to cool things off? I'm on my way to Kaiser, but if there are any licensed TCM folks in here, I'd love to hear from you. The Kundalini literature is rife with excessive heat symptoms as well. They see it as par for the course of Kundalini rising. Thanks in advance.

its "quote" and "/quote" to open and close. except replace " with [ and ] Thanks Mikaelz. I really don't think I'm going out on a limb here. As far as some other posts - I don't remember where I made a definitive declaration about being a Buddhist, insofar as that identification alone could somehow answer every possible question I could throw at the Universe. I do remember saying that I count myself as a proud member of the agnostic Buddhist community, but we can all subscribe to different ideas without identifying with them exclusively. Even the Abrahamic traditions have good ideas to offer to the path of awakening, but I don't call myself a Christian. Regarding the following: This point isn't difficult, but it is often slippery. I reference the following joke regularly; Metaphysics is for people too lazy to study physics. There is wisdom, and a great deal of sanity, and a hell of a lot less work in peridically checking ones mythical universe against empirical science. Buddhism is remarkably consistent with a number of intellectual breakthroughs in many fields; physical, biological, and behavioral sciences. There is not just sophisticated dialogue between these subjects, there is consensus. Therefore, early Buddhism, as originally taught, would be a wise point of departure for examining the empirical world, because it makes no demands on your senses or your capacity to reason. If you were offered the choice, with a gun at your head, between a rationalist philosophy that promised to honor one's senses and powers of reasoning and still honored spiritual life, and one that arbitrarily suspended the validitiy of your senses and your capacity to reason, in pursuit of some nebulous and ineffable reward, which would you choose? Door #1 or door#2?

I suppose the problem I'm having is referring to Buddhists as a monolithic voice, when in fact Buddhism is as multi-vocal as just about any other religious orthodoxy. I proudly stand amongst the agnostic, rational camp of Buddhism; no room for metaphysics here. There are no "mysterious clouds" from which we must descend. So, my guess is, you are pertaining to uneducated westerners who use Asian thought as a means of adding some air of legitimacy and loftiness to what is otherwise defined as banal, boring, uniformed egocentrism, a subject that Buddhism has trained its sights on for two and half millenia. Frankly, I find Taoism even more susceptible to being hijacked by egocentrism than Buddhism, simply because it is so abstract, and because East/west dialogue has focused so much more on Buddhism in the west than Taoism in the west. The Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold path are rationalistic and empirical. Making that same claim on behalf of Taoist literature would be a neat trick. Nevertheless, Taoism is essential for body/mind union. Buddhists have a lot to learn about the role of toaist energy practices in meditation.

Yep. That's the truth of it. Short and sweet. It's right out there in front of everybody's noses, some simple historical facts and essential truths about the dharma. 99% of what I read in here would be laughed out of a lower division philosophy class. Holding religious movements responsible for the existence of suffering in the world is such an astonishingly bankrupt idea that I can only go back to my original guess; that egocentric thinking is on parade here as wisdom. It takes a lot of delusion to get to the point where you even consider that kind of nonsense. Your points are well-considered. What do you mean by "Buddhists who brutalize physical reality?" If the context of this point is necessarily narrow, pertaining to a specific point, I'll just ignore it. Otherwise, it just sounds like a perjorative hit on Buddhists in general, and your posts don't reveal that kind of sloppy logic.