Encephalon

Signs that we should pack up and move to Canada before the meltdown of American culture seem to come fairly frequently to us these days. Favorite authors, actors, film production facilities, urban planners... we both get a kick at how many sensible voices are Canadian. I've been dreaming of moving to BC for 30 years and may very well make it, although It'll be for my final 20. The town of Smithers looks awfully nice. We are honored by your generosity, Carson. Thanks a bunch.

Great book. I wish I saw DMD more copiously quoted in here. I was about to weigh in when I realized that I wasn't qualified to do so. There are so many resources to learn the microcosmic orbit. I may very well reread this chapter, although my nei kung practice (www.neikungla.com) is still working for me well. good luck.

Do you think critical thinking is much in evidence in this forum? I'm not sure what CT models exist in European academia, but in the states one of our most prominent models is here. http://www.criticalthinking.org I would love to open up a thread - "Is CT in evidence in Taobums?" It would be great to explore the common ground between CT and Taoism (and there is a great deal of common ground, in my opinion), but Taoism is also rife with metaphysics. And I'm not opposed to metaphysics per se, as long as people recognize it as such. If it's beyond the realm of verifiability and falsifiablity, a subject tends to move toward the metaphysical. But the moment you move into the subject of internal physiological states i.e., "chi," CT reveals its limits. If I did start a CT thread, I'd probably get hammered with accusations of veering off the Taoist path, which would hurt my feelings and then I'd have to go smoke large amounts of marijuana and indulge in self pity. Just kidding.

Have to agree with you here. The MJ molecule can be an aid, but only with very conservative doses and specifically defined goals. I think it can grant users a deeper level of relaxation, which is the key to just about anything, whether it's a physical endeavor or practicing a musical instrument. Even Huston Smith acknowledged the potential of hallucinogenics on the spiritual path, but he did insist that only one experience was really necessary for the fertile mind. But toking as a lifestyle? When, ostensibly, you are seeking a higher order of consciousness? Sorry. It won't work, no matter how "botanically friendly" a culture may be.

This thread got off to a poisonous start. I propose we end it here. But I am going to open up another link on the subject of MJ. Ciao.

I'm not ready to discount marijuana's medicinal properties wholesale. I've known people who were very sick and the relief they got from it was genuine. What specific conditions it purportively cures hasn't been quantified, which is criminal in itself, because it probably does have legitimate therapeutic effects. I also believe it has "inspirational effects," but again, it mustn't be used every day. I think there is promise in its use as a aid to relaxation, which is something that Norte Americanos don't have a lot of experience with any more, which explains a lot about our culture. If the scientific community could isolate the molecule that facilitates a relaxation response, without the delusional effects, we could be on to something. Again, I think it is criminal negligence that the pharmaceutical industry et al has failed to look into this. If relaxation is critical to effective mind/body union, and marijuana possesses some promise in this area, then we should look into it. But the bottom line is that marijuana sits on a fault line of the American culture wars, and it will remain there for some time to come.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m080...0/ai_n31586824/ Health, fitness, and nutrition literature, as you probably know, is riddled with hype and personal testimonials; no match for science. But if you research Bwheat, it's got no gluten, fiber and protein are very high, which makes it very filling. We mix it with flax, quinoa, and bulgur wheat and cook it like rice. Apparently it's got a lot of glutamine as well.

A little Learning is a dang'rous Thing; Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian Spring: There shallow Draughts intoxicate the Brain, And drinking largely sobers us again. How does this read in Italian? There's a hot Italian woman I'd love to recite this too.

10-4. If I remember correctly, a famous Chinese chi Kung practitioner said at least 20 years ago that he could change the entire world, and health care, with chi kung. I'm totally sold. I only wish I had started when I was 27 instead of 47!

Oh yeah!? Take this!

Ditto on the supremacy of Bodyweight exercises. In fact, most exercise equipment, and the "fitness" industry in general, is about convincing people they can slack off by using machines and still get the same benefits as free weights and BW routines. Sonnon is awesome and he'll keep your joints up to speed. I made a pair of clubbells because I coudn't afford to buy them. From grip strength all the way up to traps, they can't be beat. The only free weight routine that I would endeavor to keep in my ongoing routine would be deadlifts. See "Power to the People." They have all the advantages in size and strength gains of heavy squats without the lower back risks. Pavel's "Beyond Bodybuilding" is a vast resource, and for BW purists, his "Naked Warrior" is THE resource. I've been a trainer for three years. "Scrawny to Brawny" has a routine based on compound lifts and 4,000 calorie/day diet plans that will bulk you up very quickly. You may have to shred afterwards though, but, that's standard. Another invaluable resource is "The New Rules of Lifting," which is also about the superiority of compound lifts. No more tricep kickbacks! Get on the dip bench! Once you get the size you want you can cut back to two 45 min. routines a week. By then, if your body/mind fusion is good and you haven't skipped out on your flexibility training, your ability to DEEPLY relax will expedite your internal energy flow. Oh yeah. Don't forget to eat buckwheat. Oh! And let's not forget about kettlebells...

If I were a betting man, and I am, I'd say that Findley is young and pushing the envelope, just like young people are prone to do. And, throwing in marijuana is tantamount to removing the envelope entirely! If someone doesn't outgrow their nose-picking phase by the time their 30, they run the risk of deep foolishness sinking in. If the pattern remains into your 40s, then you'll spend the rest of your life in remedial training. But redemption is always possible, and it is for this reason that longevity practices were held in such high esteem by Taoists; so you could clean up your act before you croaked and ensure that people wouldn't piss on your grave. Independent study of Asian scriptures is just has problematic as it is for fundamentalist Christians who claim a grasp of Christian theology simply because they read the Bible. At the very least, serious study begins with participating in a study group and testing the veracity of one's views with other seekers. This is the point I brought up about spiritual materialism and the ego's use of anything, even God himself!, for the purpose of egocentric thinking. When the blustery nature of this dialogue blows itself out, we might want to reboot and discuss marijuana further. I subscribe to Dr. Andrew Weil's advice; save it for Saturday nights. Period. You'll acquire the benefits of inspiration - and some cool somatic experiences - but you can spare yourself the delusional side effects of smoking daily. Alhtough I REALLY wish I could get high all day long and write screenplays like the Farrelly Brothers!

The above rant is about as ill-conceived, belligerent, and delusional as I have witnessed in here. It reminds me of a line I heard years ago; the corruption of the greatest good becomes the greatest evil. To maintain civility in the midst of discourse about spiritual matters just seems the most fundamental and requisite act before anything of any value can take form. Taoist psychology points to selflessness - "as selfless as melting ice." The point is to allow the Tao to subsume your ego until you are one with it. The willingness to bitch out and curse others in here is so diametrically opposed to an authentic spiritual trajectory that I can only assume a fundamental absence of knowledge of the role of ego in identity formation. "Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism" was a popular book about 25 years ago. The ego will try and hijack anything that serves its own ends. When it utilizes spiritual matters on behalf of its own selfish ends, the ego only becomes bigger, more bombast, more delusional, less sensitive to nuance and authentic insight.

Anyone know what the story is with this stuff? Fear No Man Discover What The Martial Artists & The Army Don't Want You To Know... www.CloseCombatTraining.com It's kind of weird seeing this in here.

I understand this may violate common sense assumptions about the pertinence of subject matter. But I still like to think of modern Taoists as wise brethren. http://www.doomers.us/forum2/index.php/topic,29978.0.html and http://www.stevespages.com/page7c.htm

You are so right! I'm particularly impressed with gratuitous belligerence followed by a "Be Well!" signature.

Being mindful not to create a "soup" of instruction and methodology, would anyone care to chime in on this particular work? My MO is coming along, and I do practice Clyman's condensing breathing. Should I just cool it for now, or is there some essential point to this book that would improve my overall understanding of energy work? You guys have been great so far, particularly with book reviews. Thanks in advance.

Yes, thanks again. Redundancy works!

The idea that DMD is a pseudonym is surprising. I Understand that the Chronicles of Tao is somewhat fanciful, as was Opening the Dragon Gate, but DMD is a fairly accomplished painter, poet, and writer with a lot of material to his name. I own all his books but the latest and find his sensibility too grand to dismiss.

It's very encouraging for me to see young people with such a robust level of self-worth, positive expectation, and a solid footing in a Taoist tradition (which I believe to be, on the whole, the world's most brilliantly conceived and balanced philosophy, incorporating body, mind, and spirit). I think this bodes well for a segment of the population, at least. I'm one year south of 50. I worshipped at the Bart Simpson Alter of Underachievement for the first 35 years, and eventually went on to get my master's. A lifetime of fitness, after sobering up at 22, has kept me in very good shape. The nei kung and chi kung and vegetarianism will probably grant me an extra 15-20 years of life so that I may live long enough to die with no regrets. My only concern, and this is mostly for younger people, is that our culture has just about run its course. With peak oil, resource depletion, and fanaticism of all stripes, the opportunities I both squandered and took for granted will not likely be available come 2020 (I'm a serious "doomer;" comes with being a geography major I guess). I heartily encourage everyone to buy a copy of Scholar/Warrior by Deng Ming-Dao and pay attention to the historical elements of early Taoist life, because after cheap energy disappears, life could become very similar; rural, simple, physical. I've said in this forum before that Taoists seem to have a natural advantage in the coming economic contraction. I hope I am correct. If your "plan" includes becoming the most resourceful, talented, skilled, useful person you can become, then you will find a life of immeasurable value and meaning. If you end up in the middle of Los Angeles with a degree in English Lit. but no means of securing food, water, or your own safetly, you, like millions of others, will perish. May the Tao be with us all. http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/BreakingNews.html http://transitionus.ning.com/

Some of you have probably used them, the $6,000 vibrating platforms you stand on while doing body-weight exercises. Then there are the simple vibrating foot massagers you see at amusement parks. I am also incorporating an inversion table with my morning Tibetan Rite Routine. Personally, I think they all work toward loosening people up, but I ain't no chi master (yet).

You might want to consider doing a little research on your own before soliciting the help of others. The available info on line is too vast to measure.

Just about anything by David Loy is essential reading, IMHO, but his "Nonduality: A Study in Comparative Philosophy" is extraordinary. http://www.amazon.com/David-Loy/e/B001HP5E...t_athr_dp_pel_1 For a brief intro to his ideas, check out "Money, Sex, War, Karma."

Why, of course it exists. They pour it into the municipal water supply.