glooper23

Thanks for posting.

Today, I created a thread asking if I should contact my one and only ex. And then an interesting concept hit me while meditating. Hopefully you can see why I felt this deserved its own thread. I typically look at love as the absence of hate. I love nice people because they are good. That is, they don't do bad things. By loving these people, I typically put the people who don't do nice things into a bad group. I look at them as the role model for what not to do. I choose to brush them aside, using them to remind me why I love the good people. And now for the interesting thought. Why not love all? Why not love the "bad" people; the "shitty" weather; the "sad" moments? While meditating on this, I envisioned the possibility that by loving all, my true nature will rise above and do the things only my true self would do. By loving all, the things around me that are of the highest good will be what I move toward. Instead of wanting to talk to my ex, I could love her by upholding my promise to not contact her. And then I will smile and think about how I love everything else. Instead of saying, "alcohol is evil, I will never drink it", I can allow myself to love alcohol. By doing this, I may remove the desire of it because I'm already happy and don't need a quick chemical thrill. I was meditating on an exercise given to me by a system I'm following called "The Master Key." http://www.psitek.net/pages/PsiTekTMKSContents.html The 5th lesson instructed me to meditate on a place I desire to be. I sat there thinking this somewhat conflicts with Taoism, as it is telling me to desire what I don't have - as if I need something external. I suddenly decided to meditate on the place I would really love to be: where I am right now. It helped me feel calm and peaceful, shutting out thoughts that were of things I no longer really desired. This process also helped me imagine the possibility that love will solve "problems." I'm currently watching my mother's house while she's gone, and the to-do list is quite long for a place with 6 animals. While meditating, I somewhat worried about all I have to do tonight to take care of the creatures. But by loving everything, including the current moment, I saw myself switching mentalities. Instead of having to take care of the animals because I have to, I imagined taking care of them because I want to. Suddenly, the concern that I accidentally starve the dog or let a bird out of its cage vanished. And it did so because I now had the confidence. When I needed to do things right, I panicked, dreading the situation. When I decided to love and want to take care of the animals, I loosened up. Now, I'm going to go put medicine in the cat's ear.

So about three months ago, I had an emotional breakdown. It is actually what spurred me onto Taoism and meditation. During this breakdown, I threatened my ex girlfriend because she decided she no longer wanted to be in contact with me. At the time, she was really the only friend I was communicating with, which influenced my drastic reaction. After doing so, I apologized and said I would not contact her again. Today, I am a much different person and would like to say hi to her. What's your call? May I send her a message, or should I stick to the promise? My reasoning is that if I don't contact her, she may think I am still the same as I was and never reach out to me.

Thanks for the tips. I only recently got into these interests, so it will be an adventure finding similar people. I'm on a free dating site, and there are only 6 women in the USA who have Taoism listed in their interests.

That's true, Scotty. The reason I asked is because I wish I had last time before snapping at her.

1. Same sense of humor 2. Accepting when I act like myself 3. Interested in talking about the same topics (Taoism and meditation, for example).

To be honest, I didn't put much effort into making more friends. I have many acquaintances and a few friends I can tell anything to. But my attitude had been ruining the connection. I don't have much in common with my closest friends, which is why I consider myself to be more lonely than friendly. When I go back to school in a few weeks, I will have a better attitude. Thanks for the responses.

Thanks for the thoughts.

Interesting, indeed! Thanks.

haha, aren't you lucky.

I actually requested a silver cap instead of ceramic, but they advised against it due to aesthetic concerns. Would you be against any sort of metal in your mouth? And why? I heard that metal attracts more bacteria.

The dentists I've recently gone to try to avoid metal (amalgam) fillings as much as possible.

Then clearly you had less of a need for their removal than I. What's interesting is this: did growing up in the US culture cause me to attain these frequent canker sores? Many doctors suggest they arise from stress. Need I say more?

I was against having them out because I thought God put them there for a reason. Yada yada yada... A year ago, at the age of 22, I had them removed. I will say that I get less canker sores due to less surface area for bacteria and plaque to cling to. My teeth also hurt less because the protruding wisdoms were causing the others to move. All in all, I'm glad I had the surgery done. As far as more severe cases, I'm sure there are instances where people survive without the surgery; but they will deal with pain and nerve damage.

I remember the first few times I swallowed store-bought milk. It gave me a stomach ache for about a week.

Hey Capital, is that you in your avatar?

I'm willing to accept the following issues: 1. The USA lives in a republic. By definition, a small number of officials make decisions for the large population. It has become quite commonplace for the general public to have little to no knowledge or concern for what decisions are being made. 2. The initiatives put into place that all but require the public to consume chemicals (water, radiation, processed foods, etc) seem to be unavoidable. If they are intentionally trying to control us, that's a problem. However, it's rather difficult to prove that. What I find more concerning is the very fact that 1 and 2 are taking place. It's motivating me to want to separate myself from society as much as possible. I would prefer to grow my own plants, heat my own house, and learn through experience rather than a textbook that says America is great and why.

I'm intelligent enough to know that I technically have never seen the constitution, other countries, an atom, etc. I'm fully aware that what I'm told isn't necessarily true. Therefore, I can believe the possibility that the US government blew up the Twin Towers; that fluoride is in the water to "calm" me down; that there is a big brother who wants to control me for their own agenda. I can consider the possibility. And then there is part of me that wants to think these "evil-doers" are no more human than I am. Granted, they have higher clearance and access to more resources. But doesn't it seem outlandish for these high up people to do these things to their families and friends as well? And if you say that their friends and family are given special water that doesn't contain mind altering chemicals, what about their friends? Wouldn't they feel bad knowing their friends are drinking this water? At what point does this special group of humans who are privy to this New World Order separate from the common man? Do you see my point?

Playing devil's advocate, I wonder if this article is simply creating a conspiracy out of nothing. Perhaps these body scanners do give off radiation; perhaps our water does have fluoride; and surely we are eating genetically altered foods. Could it be that the "Cartel" is focusing on the benefits rather than the negatives? Could they be installing the body scanners to protect our flights, knowing there could be a very minor health issue? Does it always have to be that the "man" wants to destroy us by camouflaging it in ways of helping? Do we always have to pin the people at the top as evil-doers who don't breath the same air as we? If we set aside the whole conspiracy angle and focus primarily on the health concern, it is interesting. Is this article suggesting we can alter our DNA by thinking differently? Could my dad have developed cancer because his negative attitude unlocked the capability in his DNA?

Thanks for the explanation.

I'm glad for you, david2885.

Good work. I've meditated at least 15 minutes each day, with some days going as long as an hour. The past few times, my bad began to tingle and feel extremely relaxed and warm. Does anyone else get this sensation?

Was this genetic engineering of the 2nd and 3rd chromosomes done by a human, or was it part of natural evolution?

I'm not desperate for anything. However, I am using Taoism to change many aspects of my life. Because of that, I would like to hammer out confusion and contradiction I see in the philosophy. Thank you for the responses. I like Sloppy Zhang's argument that the supposedly negative actions are neither good nor bad. By pillaging, the child is meeting needs according to his / her own nature. Perhaps a Taoist would claim that the child will continue to pillage so long as he / she does not learn the concept of treating others well. And then, Little1's argument would come in, claiming that the child can only learn that concept through proper conditioning. But if the parents were not conditioned by "true natured" influences, they will influence their children in similar ways.

What would you say about a child who likes to hurt animals? Or a child who hurts their younger sibling? And when you ask, they simply say it's what they like to do? Can following the true self contradict natural instinct?