Non

There has also been research cited in Gabriel Cousens' book Spiritual Nutrition that suggests eating foods at temperatures higher than 105 degrees can even denature enzymes (protein) in the mouth/saliva, and the in pathway the food/substance takes all the way down to your stomach. Though of course that's a hard rule to follow as I still drink warmed teas. Gabriel suggests though that it's best to have food no lower than room temperature, warmer is better but not warmer than say 118. There's conflict about the true "raw food" temperature as 106 is actually the temperature enzymes start to break down, (not all but some) and the rest having different temperatures up to 118 where all enzymes and protein become denatured. Think about fevers. The temperature may not make all that much a difference as the heat quickly diffuses upon entering the mouth, and I'm sure the enzymes can be replenished enough if it's not too much. This just goes to show though, that hot or excessively warm temperature in food is not all that necessary,though at times it may help in certain conditions.

NEUTRAL FOODSTUFFS: Seeds Nuts Vegetables Cereal grains Beans Sea vegetables Temperate fruits (such as apples and pears) http://www.angelfire.com/id/croon/chinesemedicine/yangyinfoods.html There's also a list there of the natures of different foods. There are lots to choose from which are warming/hot in nature. Its also interesting to note tht all the yang foods are only animal foods while neutral are the veggies. Maybe that is only in relation to each other but if you further divide the neutral foods into yin/yang you'll find some are more yin some more yang. Of course there are different flavors like sweet, pungent, acrid, sour, salty.

yes yes. As I've said before though Gerard it can be worked around. How do you think animals eat? They eat raw foods all the time. With the elements you can make things work. I've now made a shift in my diet to include a lot more sprouted foods. So Im starting to sprout a lot.. and want to work my way into growing sprout greens like sunflower, chia and more. Then I can make a garden one day to grow baby greens. I also have been eating veggies only as condiments and focusing on the greens, fruit and nuts/seeds. The best greens are the baby greens, sprout greens and shoots, and microgreens like alfalfa, clover, broccoli, radish, sesame, etc. but when it comes to beans I don't really do well with beans unless they're sprouted like the Chinese bean sprout.. Just make sure the food isn't physically cold in temperature, and get some more warm/yang foods. A lot of the sprouts have a warming effect like broccoli sprouts, radish sprouts, fenugreek etc. Nuts/seeds, grains and beans are considered more yang and can be warming but it's hard to digest the starchy foods raw even if sprouted unless they are sprouted for a long time. Right now though Im only using fruits and low starch veggies and sprouts for carbs. It's still low carb as I only use low glycemic fruits with a salad. Like I said just make sure it's room temperature or slightly warmed and it's good. Also I've noticed that before my hands got cold but since I started eating more carbs in the form of low glycemic fruits I was a lot warmer. I'm still eating less carbs but Im just not denying myself carbs because I wanted to keep myself near ketosis. Ever since I did that my digestion also improved. Acid fruits are really good detoxifiers. Sweet foods tonify the spleen also. So I think there's something to that. I'm not against the use of herbs like medicine. Some things require heat to get a certain effect and that's ok. As long as the majority of my diet is raw I think it's good. The Essene Gospel of Peace states that the most holy diet is one that is vegan, not cooked and overly processed. I have a lot of faith in the vegan diet, and also the raw vegan diet. I've been raw for almost a year now and the muscle I have now is still pretty good. I don't exercise as much as I used to though because of my schedule but if I wasn't doing good I think I'd be losing a lot more muscle and would be a lot skinnier. I've had the distending underbelly problem too for some time but I think it's clearing up once I started eating more carbs in the form of fruit. Not in excess though of course because I still get bloated with excess fruits, heck excess of anything will do that, including emotional swings that will affect liver spleen harmony. I also attributed it to the use of coffee and teas. I stopped coffee but now I have to stop tea. I did it before and I noticed my digestion was a lot better. I also disinfect all my veggies with hydrogen peroxide, I soak and/or sprout any seed I have..and I try as much as possible to not eat anything that is too yin or cold, both in temperature and in nature.

probably just shaolin wushu not even genuine kung fu like the northern shaolin taught at my school.

I know this is a risky subject being male but this is an interesting movie I found googling: http://www.mooninsideyou.com/ What can we do to prevent menstrual pains in women, from a TCM, qigong POV? Dietary principles? Some people int he raw foods movement have reported being free of menstrual pain. Some believe once the sexual energy is transmuted, menstrual pains can be relieved. Or perhaps karezza or taoist lovemaking can help.

I don't agree with putting down others to assert yourself, even if in a playful manner. If girls want to see muscle ("confidence", etc) then just be yourself.

I am mostly daoist but I have been interested in advaita vedanta, jnana yoga and self inquiry, as well as buddhist meditation (mahamudra). I find these types of practices are lacking in popular taoism. I want to find a teacher and likeminded people.

self-inquiry/atma vichara?

I like this thread.

i ordered from coffeefool once because I'm a coffee fool. was not bad, but I was EXPECTING SWEET COFFEE like they advertised. I guess they meant "sweet" in quotations. I guess truly sweet coffee does not exist. It only can have an aftertaste of sweetness, or a hint/smell of something sweet.

well.. I guess it's true. Whatever comes to mind, of course related to sex, is a complaint about how all men are dogs, only care about sex, etc. Which might be true but do they understand that some men are just deprived, of not just sex, but "love" and it's the way it is rationalized? But then they just throw out the baby with the bath water. So men complain about too little opportunities with women. Women complain about too many opportunities, and not enough "real love". I'm sure there's more but that's usually a big one. Of course there's a lot more. haha, at the risk of making it seem like this is the ONLY one I think about because it's the only one that I'm concerned with lol.

agreed man.

Whatever. most people reading this will probably just think I'm pathetic. I'm being honest.. I'm very different from most people.

blah. (not to you) I dont know what parties are. I have never in my life been to a party that is with peers or people in my age group. I've never been invited, and in fact never knew how to get myself "included". And I don't feel too comfortable with clubs/bars. Especially since I don't mix well with the styles of music which only serve to further reaffirm material attachments.