Sunya

I concur. Thanks for that. Seth, checking out that book. Thanks for the recommendation. I've read Bruce's Astral Dynamics and I agree that it's very colored by his opinions and assumptions and theories. When it comes to pragmatism, a simplified manual would be much more ideal, so I'm looking forward to reading it. Alwayson, "best" is subjective, and authorities are only authorities when you make them so. You seem to really like Bruce and that's cool. He's on google chat quite often. If you want his email PM me

Thanks. I know both Dzogchen and Mahamudra are Indic in origin, but I just meant that you won't find those practices in India since the lineages were only carried over to Tibet and stayed there. Oddiyana is now Pakistan area from what I know, maybe that's wrong. Tibetans always remain very humble toward their Indian spiritual roots and have much respect for India. They have really preserved the practices taught to them by the great Indian masters quite well due to the monastic tradition, their great attention to detail, preservation of texts, and unbroken lineages. Much remains secret though and you're not going to learn real tummo from a book, and the specifics vary depending on which lineage you learn it from.

I love that movie. Do you mean how his wife keeps haunting him because he couldn't let her go?

When it comes to physical yoga, the Tibetans have access to practice texts that precede anything found in India. The oldest surviving text on hatha yoga is from the 15th century. Tibetans use a text from 8th century. Anyway, that's only the physical yoga. Tibetan yoga is much more than that and contains many practices that were passed down orally from mahasiddhas and taught to Tibetans only. And mahamudra and dzogchen are particular to Tibet This is a complex topic, but there's certainly no "pure" yoga. Practices can be refined over the years if there is an enlightened lineage.

no responses to my post on kefir eh? I guess i'm the only one who loves fermented sour milk. mmm

I guess you're talking about kefir then. Is there really a difference between organic vs non organic even by the same company? My local shop only has Lifeway kefir and there's like a $1.50 difference between organic and non-organic. Are the organic cows fed better or something? What you say about "low fat" is interesting. Where can I learn about this? I should send this to my mom because she refuses to eat whole fat yogurt/kefir. She's afraid of saturated fats. My girlfriend was telling me that we should make kefir ourselves, and we can use goat milk too. She said non-pasteurized tastes better and is better for you, but that's also kind of risky isn't it? What do you think about pasteurization? I loooove the taste of kefir. I don't know why. I'm Russian so I probably had it as a child... I'd love to get the most out of it for the health benefits though.

You guys feel the same about kefir? I tend to not eat too much cheese. I love the taste, but I do tend to feel somewhat bloated afterwards. I usually drink kefir in the morning and it makes me feel pretty good. Can't report any negative effects, and all the probiotics are great for you Oh and speaking of dampening and mucus producing.. you guys ever try kombucha? My parents make it so I drink it sometimes. I know it's supposed to be great with probiotics, but I always get mucus from it. Really gross.

BUMP! Let's talk about cheese.

Yeah bro I hear you. It's never enough when you judge your value based on your appearance or how much weight the muscles on this body can lift, totally missing the utter perfection of each moment of existence and that the approval of others won't ever be an alternative to the satisfaction of letting go and simply being present.

Bro, how much you bench?

There is evidence that shows twins when raised separately grow up with very similar mannerisms and even mental health issues. There examples of the complete opposite also, I'm sure. The article is very biased. It's not nature OR nurture, it's both really and the most popular psychological approach today is called biopsychosocial. It's not just biology nor is it just society. Just because we haven't found a gene for a specific disorder doesn't mean one doesn't exist. I'm not talking about ADHD or anything, but chemical imbalances that cause specific disorders like depression, bipolar, schizophrenia ,etc. There is evidence that these disorders are linked to chemical imbalances and there is evidence that people are predisposed to such imbalances.

Yep That's it. The book describes the practices in much detail including proper breathing. The 5 Tibetan rites come from Yantra Yoga which is an Indian Yoga system originating from the 8th century. Though very similiar to Hatha Yoga, it's much older. Hatha originates from 15th century. It's probably best to learn this stuff in person but oh well.

Just get the Yantra Yoga book and stop messing around it's very specific and detailed.

Guys, I recently got hired at Adagio Teas. For some strange reason, they somehow thought my philosophizing skills would be be beneficial to them I drink their teas all day and I must say, it's quality stuff. I'd be happy to give a special discount to whoever wants in, just for being a regular Bum. A 10$ gift certificate will get you some wonderful tea to try Let me know. Also, if you'd like recommendations.. tell me what you like. The oolongs are my favorite

I'm about to purchase a book of poems written by Chinese nuns of old for my girlfriend and came upon one poem in particular in the book which I thought you bums would appreciate If interested, the book is called Daughters of Emptiness. FLOWER-GAZING by Chaoyi Using the soil to irrigate them, Using water to plant them in: This tipsy-turvy way of working Allows me to do as I please. In the garden full of spring breezes, The flowers chatter to themselves; They do not feel the need to show Off their colors to anyone!

very cool!

I have facebook but my gf disabled hers.. if you PM me her name I'll contact her! actually we were thinking about going into the city sometime to go to the Ruben museum which has lots of Himalayan art, perhaps your friend will be interested. Very cool

hey, is she in NYC? I live 1 hour from there in NJ.. my girlfriend is really interested in yoga as well so I'm sure the two of them would hit it off

Exercises for "growing a lotus" http://zenmontpellier.voila.net/eng/lotus/lotuseng.html

So you've been taught jhana meditation then I take it? Did you do any vipassana or no? You still haven't said what your meditation method is

Wow Seth.. awesome post man. Thanks for sharing. This thread is getting really powerful.