RiverSnake

Lately I am finding it difficult to be around electronic devices, they seem to really bother my body...I can only imagine being plugged into a head of wires and the effect it would have on my body, quite bothersome. My 2 cents, Peace

Lol, nope, wasn't me, could just become annoying, atleast I would find random people calling me and asking me questions about my practices a bit tedious, but too each his own. My 2 cents, Peace

You probably should just PM your number....rather than posting it here....just a thought. My 2 cents, Peace

Yeah, i grew up Christian as well, but pretty much snored during sermon cause it was so boring. That, and i have heard so many stories of "recovering christians", it makes it difficult to approach any aspect of it without deep trepidation. Cool stuff, thanks for sharing your zapping. My 2 cents, Peace

Congrats to all those involved. Another firm step on the path. My 2 cents, Peace

Thanks for sharing, its something I have been contemplating lately. Despite my avatar, In the past I never really felt a connection with "him". But he is beginning to resonate with me on deeper and deeper levels. My 2 cents, Peace

Anyone ever personally "work" with the Being/Entity Jesus? My 2 cents, Peace

I find it of value to right down such experiences, be it through poetry or simple prose. I find value in looking back at my experiences and reflecting on them. However, at the same time one should not be attached to these experiences or try to hold onto them....trying to hold on to experiences is not productive....detachment is a good rule to follow in this area, no matter how wonderful and blissful the experiences may be. My 2 cents, Peace

DP

"Magic of the North Gate" by Josephine McCarth has finally been released. I am still re-rereading Magical Knowledge the first book for the 3-4th time and still am finding gems floating in it as well as its still expanding my understanding of Magical practice in so many ways. You can't beat the price of her books, she puts a lifetime of knowledge in every book and its only 6$. Looking forward to getting my hands on this one when I get some extra change. I highly reccomned her works. http://www.amazon.com/Magic-of-the-Northgate-ebook/dp/B00ESK9DII/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1377906461&sr=8-2&keywords=magic+of+the+northgate My 2 cents, Peace

Wow, there's a lot of depth there. Thanks for posting Tibetan_Ice. My 2 cents, Peace

I founds that quote by the Dali Lama quite interesting. Thanks for sharing TibetanIce. Do you have the whole excerpt of that article? My 2 cents, Peace

DP

Consciously making decisions i think is the key. Its so hard to be conscious and self-aware when your young. Nature doesn't really want you to be aware, just procreate. I feel this is often why in many cultures for both Men and Women have there own "rights of passage" in which youngins go through certain culturally defined rituals to mark their growth and safely integrate themselves into the social structure. My 2 cents, Peace

Welcome to the TTB

A very interesting and profound statement. However, I think offshoots is a bit too strong of a word, I would say "influenced". No tradition was born in a void, but emerged from within a specific culture during a specific time and was undoubtedly influenced by other mystery schools, but a certain style and flavor develops within each tradition based on the personality and experiences of the practitioner. For example, Morihei Usheba practiced many other martial arts, but through the culmination all of his knowledge and experience in the martial world he created Aikido....which although is heavily influenced by other styles, it is still very distinct in its own and IMO it would be inappropriate to call itsimply an offshoot, such a rule of thumb could be applied to mystery schools as well. Though, that's just me being nitpicky. My 2 cents, Peace

You way wish to try out the 30 day mentorship program here on the TTB. Perhaps Sifu Rel would oblige. http://thetaobums.com/topic/20701-30-minute-30-day-mentorships/ My 2 cents, Peace

I have found that there are levels of perception and understanding. There were certain principles or truths that 1 year ago I could just not penetrate through and they would go way over my head because at that point I was not ready to recieve such knowledge or I didn't have the necessary experience to understand certain things. Such unfolding continues for me till this day.....it really is quite a fun and interesting phenomena. My 2 cents, Peace

What are my cultural values? Pleas explain them to me?

Sexual energy can express itself in an Infinite variety of ways, the most basic is busting a nut inside a women and creating another human, this satisfies nature because it keeps the species going....but human beings have other forms of expressing our sexual energy that animals don't......such as art, music, dancing, martial arts, meditation....etc......we very much are sexual beings but that energy is not limited to physical sex nor will such limited expression ever satisfy oneself fully. Is monogamy natural?....what's natural is sexual energy and its desire to express itself....it can be expressed by having many partners, a single partner....or by having no partners and finding other ways to express it as stated above. Society orchestrates certain social systems to funnel sexual energy effectively so there can be some semblance of stability within society via family structures, monogamy, polygamy.....etc.....there just different systems with the same goal. You can say these systems are unnatural and I want to throw them out.....ok......now what?.....people need social structure and patterns just as much as they need to sexual expression in whatever form they find.......sounds like your a bit sexually frustrated alwayson. My 2 cents, Peace

Lol, its funny.....when I first started out I got those exact same books. There both good stuff, I wish you great bounties of Chi in your practice. Welcome to TTB. My 2 cents, Peace

Detachment and developing internal equanimity is important.....otherwise you will suffer just as deeply as those you pity. My 2 cents, Peace

A good thread regarding variousw styles of Chi Kung. See which one you are most drawn towards: http://thetaobums.com/topic/27757-what-is-the-best-qigong-lineage-to-start-out-with/ My 2 cents, Peace

Not a bad little 70s Kung Fu flick, enjoyed it

It's not about what's holy or unholy, good or bad. It's about "WHAT YOU WANT AS AN INDIVIDUAL". Not everyone wants to cultivate the path and attain higher levels of self realization....however, if you do and are very determined to do so then you should use all of your energy for that particular direction. However, if you want to have a family and and be a successful in buisiness then you should put all your energy in that direction. If you want to be a male player and get as many notches on your belt then put all of your energy in that direction.....but just make sure your doing all of the above while fully conscious and self aware. It's not about good and bad....there are consequences for all of the above "directions", one might say the practitioner faces some of the most painful but liberating consequences there is. As individuals we just have to make up our minds as to what we want to do, you cannot walk in all directions at once. My 2 cents, Peace