Wayfarer64

Silk purse or sows ear In choosing what enters each We may look ahead

It seems as if you have reached a good level of inner calm in your practices. Breathing is the key to all practice in my opinion. Staying unemotional may seem curious to you but it is only the true inner self realizing where you are actually at and that the activities of those around you need not put you off balance. It is sad when people who we care about -(even if only for the sake of our kids etc...) just do not understand how compassionate behavior needs no hidden agenda... I do not want to pry, but it also seems a good idea to me for you to keep your distance from the guy. Perhaps just seek another person to offer him face to face companionship and hopefully guidance etc- like a shrink or councler may be able to do... drugs have deeply harmed our society, and while I am a proponent of legalizing hemp usage, and pychotropic vision searches have great value if properly done; but that is pretty much where I draw the line for non-medical drug use... escapism is a dead end... I am glad that you feel comfortible here - and can share this way it does us all some good to be open about our interactions... love to all-Pat

One persons' enlightenment is anothers' dogmatic darkness... I've listened to "born again" Christians and some of them seem totally in the dark to me, but from where they came from they have seen the light... There are obviously many ways to see the light amongst us. and each of us may grow spiritually in a variety of ways... It does seem as if there is no end to the potential of spiritual insight and growth~! There is an ever expanding opportunity to find realms of consciousness to explore... And as the whole universe is always growing and changing and new life forms come and go there is no fore-seeable end in sight!!! YAY!!! love to all- Pat

Just take a look at the thickness of atmosphere that covers the Earth. Seen from space it seems very thin and delicate to my eyes... Why wouldn't we value its' preservation? why wouldn't we protect it as best we can? What could be more important than understanding how we have changed this thin and delicate environment that offers us LIFE? If the sun changes much at all or our magnetic poles shift in a way that allows the suns' energy to blast our atmosphere away, then where will we be? Only sub-mariners will last through that sort of thing... A little knowledge may indeed be dangerous... but ignorance is never bliss! We just can not ignore these issues... love to all- Pat

We can retain knowledge of past lives. We can see forward and project ourselves into our future lives- as long as these "visions" are of actual possibilities... When much younger I had plenty of sex, drugs & rock 'n'' rolling as well... I also meditated and sought inner peace, as well as taught yoga - the one way or another approach to life just does not hold water... All of life is sacred and has meaning... The value people put on their activities is spurious at best...The way I see it is that I have one very long life inhabiting a series of bodies and collecting/negating karma olong the way.... I do not think that my hours of meditation were any more helpful to my karma than my hours of making love to various women was... I put no spiritual value on anything. Killing an evil being can add great goodness to yr karma! Kindness shown to that same being will go against you in the end! There is evil that needs to be dealt with, and great blissful goodness to promolgate - Gaining insight into the 10,000 things and their interactions is the way to wisdom - while we are alive, s0- make yr choices moment by moment... love to all- Pat

Do not expect procreative results sans testicles, when getting that piece... I for one am a pretty poor speller. This is a great relief to me that my thoughts may still shine through the jumbles of letters that I offer...

More seriously...When we dance around the things that we have a hard time facing, it becomes easiest to just believe what we want to believe... & this is often that which makes us feel better about our selves... Thus gullability... But that may change will internal growth thru introspection and meditation, so that eventually we can NOT lie to ourselves and we grow stronger without being open to foolishness and mis-direction from self-serving louts or who-ever wants us to swallow - untruths and various forms of BS... I do not think that Western Taosists are gullible as a demographic tho... so that I would argue that the premise is not valid per se... love to all- Pat

I find some deep woods and sit and be still so critters come up to me and I can smile again... Then I meditate on my many blessings. Then I do some basic stillness meditation... Then I walk home as if on clouds...

when looking for advice ____________________________ Beware of experts. when giving advice ____________________________ Be as kind as possible, but do not lie!!! when in a fight____________________________ Do what is needed to end the fight with as little damage to anyone as possible, unless the antagonists are implacable miscreants -then go for the vitals! when fighting more than one person ___________________________ Move quick, stay aware keep yr back to the wall when choosing a teacher ________________________________ Know what it is that you wish to learn if you meet someone and fall in love ____________________________ Realize that it is a great blessing and desearves yr complete attention much of the time when you have nothing to do _________________________ When does that ever happen? when you feel life is testing you ________________________ Keep yr sense of humor and realize that change will come before yr wiped out, so hang in there and prepair yr self to learn! when you have to do something that you are afraid of _______________________ Try to figure out why you are scared and address the issues with honesty, or seek advice as above! when people don;t agree with the way you live ________________________ Am I supposed to care about what other people think of me? there are very few who fit that bill & they all love me dearly. That was amusing...The best unfinished sentences are those that were given to people in prison!!!

Hey this is easy! Stay away from anything that is not in yr best interest to get involved with... It IS , yes just that easy! LAWYERS, many doctors, spell-binders of many ilks, fakers of any ilk... loathsome miscreants in general should be distained or ventured amongst/with at great risk to life, limb and wealth...Beware the monkey demon! Just check out their "auras" to see what they are all about, dontchknow?! Pay attention to the people you are in contact with. Most are to be avoided at all costs. Trust no one, espescially relatives! OK?...Now, see how you are able to cope with being alone- for many it is a blessing, a chance to go deeper within... Then you may come back a better fella!

"Leaving, soon as I came..." - Sounds like a cadish way to treat a lover! If that's yr routine the word will get out and soon no more lovers!

Every wind mill I have ever been near squeeked like a demon... I'll try some snake oil on the next one I find...

Thank you for that lightening up! The fact remains that hooey has legs! If any one's soul could be stolen through mechanical devices the cosmos would be pretty freaking dangerous indeed!

I just hope to live long enough to meet all whom I am meant to meet! Anyway, so far I've met several persons who have helped me a whole lot...And others who I believe I have aided some as well... I'd very much like to play the blues with Kenny Wayne Shepherd some day soon! Anyone out there know him?

Hi Mak Tin Si- the poems are in English and can be found at the link or hitting the yellow Wayfarer Sonnets banner link that Sean has kindly provided... I will try to PM you a copy of them - but they are not in a ready form to do so just yet...Only proto-types are - which may have to serve - Many thanks - Pat

Hey there Cloud Recluse - It has been a while HUH!? I have heard that it was Krishna that Jesus was the incarnation of... these combo-myths are just piling up! Still... I'll stand by my earlier ideas... that being a lad living along the silk route JC was exposed to many ideas and isms from both east & west...That the multi-goded Romans get no street cred is notable... they had some real clout back then! But, Zoaroastrians weren't any slouches, nor the Mythradites, neither are mentioned here...ALL of those dieties had strong followers in their day. It was just a fluke that Constantine chose Christ as the guy to rebuild his Empire around rather than any other small-time sect of that day... Or was it just meant to be? so we could hold forth here and now?

[/b] Thanks for that! I'm glad that the emotional sound of fury had no content... Paying attention to the bombastic swill of "my Dharma is bigger than yr Dharma"... BS used to really get my dander up here as well... I had an early slur-fest with one Sean Denty a few years back that I meant to be funny but got way out of hand... I have no sensai, sifu, master or guru these days. and prefer it that way. I see meditation as the most meaningful activity towards any spiritual attanments... Bragging about such things usually just does not ring true anyway...The non-importance of any of our "wisdom" here is important to realize- we each and all know too little to crow about it! Love to all is all I can say- but Lenny Bruce had it right too- saying F*@#k you is a beautiful way to say I love ya... Pat

I recently was asked to read this book and sought it out on line... Has anyone read it yet? http://www.dharmapunx.com/htm/book.htm

Well that was something else, mjjbecker, Funny I just wrote how anger may clear blockages on another thread and then came to this...There is often a much needed (cathartic) urging for a trans-personal purging upon us here at the Tao Bums... it does loosen the blockages, no doubt! Question and seek, repeat - and stay aware of the world around you... T. Jefferson said our nation -(The USA) should have a revolution every 20 years...It may be that we each could use the satory of a slap in the face every so often... If done with compassion! A proverbial wake-up call that progress can be made, even if it is through doing nothing whatsoever... I think you mean well by the bums, & just aim to induce change, possitive change... For us each to question and take the chance to get off the track one is on and make a new way forward...upward onward... over and out... love to all- Pat

It seems that there are many many levels of this. Just listening to a friend vent may be cathartic and help to heal the hurts as well as bring us closer to each other. The laying on of hands and the going to a doctor are other means to the same end. The Christian Scientists refute the notion of doctors being needed; while some folks spend huge amonuts of time and money with the medical proffessionals... I for one have not been to a doctor in 15 years. When I turned 40 my mother got me an appointment with a doctor for a check-up. I went to make her happy for my birthday... I was fine then and feel fine still....BUT- If I die tomorrow -it would not surprise me a bit ...Fate is seldom a matter of health! People die from a broken heart or an infected tooth...or just because their time is up and they must move on to other realms of being... In any case stay well- it feels best!

For me the direct route towards realizing my own part in the Tao of my own now has been contemplating the YiJing... I do not know where that lands me in this brew-ha-ha... Was this wrong of me? Will this create anger and angst amongst us? This is a sad thread. Our various minds, expressing ideas on these pages have often induced anger amongst us bums, but this thread seems rancorous without any basis... Please, lets cool our jets and take a better look at the question as it relates to each of our own practices and systems and paths trodden while seeking.- Or maybe after we just meditate a bit longer on being calm with each other...These differences are just stages we each go through... Then expressions of anger may clear blockages too...so have at it ...if you must...

There was (IS) a wonderful movie made with Phillip Glass' music called Kyanoskotski- A Hopi word (-& not the right spelling I'm sure )- or "Life out of Balance"... If this is the time to bring us back into balance I will continue to do as I have been doing day by day trying to address the lack of harmony and imbalance I find along the way I trod.... Love to all- Pat

Thanks for that insight Mak Tin Si! I would like to hear back from you what you think of the poetry I've written as companions to the Yijing. Sean has kindly given me the banner that appears from time to time -and here is the link... I hope anyone may enjoy these poems and take a chance at becoming user-friendly with the book of changes through any way they seem comfortible in trying to receive a reading... http://www.lulu.com/content/265718 Love to all- Pat

I heard Cohen speak with Deepak Chopra at an Open Center event some years ago- he seemed much more aware and together than Depak did... In any case thanks for the link!- Love to all- Pat

I think Maher just wants folks to question their beliefs, any beliefs - and put some supposedly logical reasoning to the test as well... All religions ask us to give up much of our humanity in order to fit into proscribed behaviors devised by MEN!!! Having read the bible & the Koran - I can only wonder how anyone can believe this stuff! even the Yi Jing has a few very questionable verses and ideas - such as pigs & fishes are the MOST stupid of creatures... I see a case for most fish but pigs are indeed quite smart... etc etc... think for yourselves kids!!! Love to all- Pat