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saw this on facebook just now: To beer Or not to beer That is the question. (William Shakesbeer)

Maybe if its measurable it is no longer real happiness, just signs and symptoms.

of an irate nun no one can escape her wrath God too will cower...

I think the truly successful person is the one who knows contentment. If a person learns the true meaning of contentment, even a simple bowl of rice on its own can bring a lot of joy. Then, if one day someone gives you a little soya sauce to go with the rice, its like a real treat. This is like the epicentre of a fulfilling life... desiring nothing, grasping at nothing. Whatever we receive without desire becomes a cause for grateful sharing. Theravadin monks put this into practice every day on their alms round. As the saying goes, "When you desire nothing, you have everything." No harm can ever come to a person who has severed the chains of clinging and aversion. Letting go of desires wells up a sense of lightness and bubbliness in the heart. Some call this 'being spontaneously happy'.

This maybe how we can prevent a mantra/realisation from losing its effect....

Whats your question again?

its Baldrick's delight as he approached hell's kitchen rubbing his belly....

... ...

Thank you v much! Best wishes, hope you have a lovely Sunday too. Rain, sunshine and rainbows here. Not bad at all.

As it stands now, i think the norm is a good yardstick to go by. There's really no usefulness in speculating about what happened 200 years ago, is there? We are hopefully talking about sensibilities here - its neither petty nor gross to pay attention to personal hygiene. Doing enough, without neglect nor going overboard with daily cleaning habits. Such a practice is reasonable, given that we are interacting with society. If not, one can do what they like, but you'd be surprised how many sadhus along the Ganges river take delight in cleaning themselves as part of their worship routine.

There is a marked difference between clean, natural BO and BO from those who think they are being au naturel when they go for days without attending to personal hygiene and expect others to accept their indifference. I know its good to be true to oneself, but at the same time, we cannot impose this on others in an offensive, arrogant manner. Surely we can have preferences, but not to the point of being loud, i think. There is such a thing as amiability that plays a role in human interactions.

Could be wrong, but i think genuinely intelligent individuals are usually gifted with sensitivity (in good ways) and quite humble in the sense that they know exactly when to be assertive and when its not needed. They instinctively know how to let others take the lead in order to groom them, without losing an inch of balance... its this quality i admire most in those whom i would equate as genuinely intelligent. In life, one of the best things we can hope to cultivate is the ability to be flexible and adapt in such a way that we can immediately relate to others (humans and other beings) as well as to situations - this helps to put things in perspective quickly and will prevent potentially icky situations. To do this usually requires a kind of vision that enables one to cannily predict probabilities - whether this canny ability is inborn and the cause of one's intelligence, or a result of it, i dont know, or maybe its a bit of cross-influence. So, in this way, yes, genuine intelligence is primarily intertwined with wisdom. Having a certain depth to one's intelligence means knowing when to cut bs, and wisdom allows the cut to be painless for everyone involved. Its those who worship their own intelligence above all others that sucks big time. Imo.

those dry orange reds splattered inside the oven unperturbed by time...

I agree. (insert pinching-nose emoticon)

Thats fine.

Hahaha!!!! I believe you did come very very close to levitating there, Nungali!!

Actually its not the empty space in the head, Marblehead! The body is made up of approx 9.5% hydrogen, and its most concentrated around the upper body, around the chest area. Its not a coincidence that those who attempt to levitate often begin the intention by concentrating on the lower bodily regions, thats where most of the weight of the body is. Not sure if this is related or not, but some believe that heart-based individuals will have more 'floating' or 'flying' dreams than those who are not. Also, those who are more centred in the navel region will have more erotic dreams. Something i heard - not my experience though.

Yeah, i have come to know this by now, but you know something... i am still using it. In addition to the fact that i like the fragrance, each time i light one, it brings me in touch with children that are abused and taken advantage of in parts of the world, and thru this connection, i send them good thoughts that they will find peace and freedom in their hearts, and that someday, hopefully soon, their circumstances will improve. If we are mindful of everything we think and do, then all our thoughts and actions can be a bodhicitta dedication.

This is Galway, a quaint little city i call home. They made this video recently as part of the launch of the 'Wild Atlantic Way' tourist promotion thingy. http://vimeo.com/105023242 I love the vibe here... pretty peaceful and easy going.

spirituality feels like a kind of okayness with everything.

Apparently 9.5% of the body is already primed for levitation. The trick is to up the percentage to roughly above 50%, its assumed.

http://www.shen-nong.com/eng/herbal/index.html from the same site.

Check this out - i think it will help enlighten your search quite a bit. Just look at the comprehensive list of all the classical TCM texts, in chronological order. http://www.shen-nong.com/eng/history/chronology.html

Well, that's the thing, in days of old, there was probably a very narrow interpretation of 'religion' - these days the nuances are much more apparent. That is approximately the point i was making... Is there a fundamental difference in attitude (not taking benefits into account) between someone who, without fail, gets up at 4am each morning, puts on his gear and goes out running/jogging for an hour, and another who sees discomfort in not going to church 3 times a week? Could both be deemed religious, with or without the addition of the word 'God' into the equation. What about one who is prepared to kill to defend his or her property? What is the underlying drive behind such a mental frame?

I think the words compulsion, obsession, passion and fanaticism could easily be interchanged with the word 'religious'. Often, there is a kind of amusing confusion happening when people are asked if they would call themselves 'religious'. It immediately connotes the idea of a god, or gods being worshipped like clockwork, and the trend today is for most people to answer in the negative. But people tend to worship many things in life besides godly beings who are believed to reside in higher realms - freedom being one very apt example. The object of focus is secondary - it is the prevalent attitude that is brought to bear upon the object that determines one's fervour, isn't it? Taking a look around, i can see many things that people would obsess themselves over as a replacement for the god who died recently in their lives and got replaced.