Aaron

Great advice. Also it sounds like you're living with them, so I would recommend you keep in mind that, even though you may be an adult now, you are still the child in their eyes, and as a result they expect you to respect them (as they should.) That means you do what they want and if you don't want to do what they want, you find someplace else to live. I know that sounds a bit harsh, but the fact is, once you're able to take care of yourself, your parents should be under no obligation to care for you, and any care they show for you after that time should be seen as an act of charity. As a result, if you do something they disagree with, then you should try and respect them and stop doing it. Who knows, you may be practicing Qigong incorrectly and actually causing yourself to get sick. To be honest, I've never met anyone who was emotionally grounded (read sane) that became crazy as a result of normal meditation, but I'm not a physician so I would never say it couldn't happen, only that I've never heard of it. Anyways good luck and I hope things work out for you, Aaron

LaoTzu and ChiDragon Could you guys refrain from conversing in Chinese in the English sections? It's distracting for the rest of us, and the only people that can figure out what your saying are the two of you. Just a request. At least translate what you're saying so the rest of us can follow along. Aaron

Yes! I actually keep lamenting because I haven't meditated since I left my home and moved in with a fellow Tao Bum. I tried to rationalize that it was okay because at least I was reading a book, but really the book is not nearly as good as the actual practice. Of course many Westerners used to complain that Allan Watts didn't meditate and his response was something to the effect that sitting alone doesn't do much, and that once you've learned as much as you can from sitting, it's time to move on. I honestly think I can learn a bit more from sitting, so I'll sit til I think I can't. But yeah, you can read all you want to about meditation, but it's not going to do anything for you. If you're only interested in the scholarly aspect, then that's fine, but if you want to learn about meditation, it doesn't take any special training, just go someplace quiet, sit down and let your mind become calm. I think you'll gain more insight in a week from sitting regularly for a half-hour each day, than you'll gain in a year from reading regularly. At least that's my opinion. Aaron

I studied to be a writer in college, published some journalism, a few poems, and such, but never loved it. In fact I was good at it, but it was so tedious I found it hard to do. I also tended to only write really well when I suffered from depression, otherwise I rarely felt compelled to write. I've been toying with the idea of writing something, a book to be exact, but I can't seem to get started. I have written a novel in the past, but lost it as well as my collection of short stories and poems. I don't miss them that much to be honest. I would consider myself to be a very good writer, that comes from other people commenting on my writing and my own objective analysis after rereading much of my stuff later on. I think what made me a good writer was that I read A LOT, wrote something every day (for much of my teen and college years) and paid attention to how my stuff sounded. In other words you need to write something and read it aloud. I try very hard, when I'm writing fiction in particular, to remember my voice, the authentic voice that is me, rather than aspire to a voice that I think others will appreciate. In the end I think why I found writing tedious then and a bit now, is that I was more worried about how my work would be received, than whether or not it was true to myself. If you want to be a successful writer, in my opinion, then you need to write something that is authentic to you, something that you want to write about, and something that you find meaningful. If you can do that, then it's just a matter of time, if you practice, before you'll end up succeeding. But keep in mind that the majority of successful writers never publish before they reach 30 and most of them don't make a name for themselves til they reach their 40s. So don't expect instant success. Just keep practicing and studying (in other words reading), take plenty of workshops if you can, and never give up. If you can do that then you may succeed, but even if you don't you'll have done something you love. (To be completely honest, I don't love writing these days, but I am good at it so I don't mind making a living doing it. There are worse things to do in the world.) Aaron

My own recomendation, as someone who has recovered from alcoholism, you can't do anything. Send him to rehab, but if he doesn't want to change, he wont. Lecture him, if he doesn't want to listen he wont. Really all you can hope for is that he suffers enough from it that he will willingly change. You trying to change him isn't going to do anything but distance yourself from him. You have to accept that he's doing things that you don't like and that, short of calling the police or forcing him into treatment, you can't do anything about it. Even then, as I said, if he doesn't want to change, he'll just do the same thing as he did when you sent him in. On a personal note, I had a niece that was so sick she couldn't take care of her kids, lost them in fact, but still didn't quit. My family called the cops and they wouldn't do anything. I finally called the police department and talked to a detective, explained what was going on, that we knew if something wasn't done she'd end up dead, that detective went to the house, found that she broke the law, arrested her, and was assaulted by her during the arrest. My niece was sent to a state recovery facility and forced into treatment for six months. The officer that was assaulted by her, petitioned the court to be lenient, and they were. She was looking at spending 10 years in jail, but they let her out on probation. Since then she's been sober and clean, but she's still rebellious and hard to get along with. She didn't change simply because she stopped drinking. She takes care of her kids, still does stupid things, but I love and accept her for that, there's nothing else I can do. So here's the fact, and you can listen to whatever anyone else says here, and that's fine, but I can tell you from years of working with alcoholics as a sponsor and visiting treatment centers, the only real way an alcoholic or drug addict will change is if they want to change. The best thing you can do for them is let them fall. In other words don't cover for him, and don't be his babysitter either. Also keep in mind he may not even be an alcoholic, (and if he's only bing drinking on the weekends, he probably isn't.) My brother was a heavy drug user as a teen and now he rarely drinks and doesn't touch the stuff. You have no way of knowing what the future holds, so don't think that he will always be like this or that things wont change, only do what you can for yourself and be there when he finally needs and WANTS the help. As an aside, I know tons of teens and young adults (myself included) that smoked more pot than they can remember, but never ended up becoming addicted to it. It's just something that we did as young people. I sometimes wonder how I ever graduated college with the amount of weed I smoked on a daily basis. That's my two cents. Aaron

I watched a documentary where they interviewed a man who claimed to have been trained by an authentic Egyptian Priest, but I can't actually tell you whether that was true or not. He had some strange ideas concerning the pyramids, claiming that they were created to harness energy that permeated the world, ley lines so to speak. In the end it was interesting, but I would've much rather have heard more about the religious beliefs passed down, than the beliefs that pertained to the pyramids. Aaron

I have to agree with you here Jack, one cannot understand non-duality without first understanding duality. I also don't feel that Taoism and Buddhism lead people astray in regards to understanding non-duality, but rather, like any dogma or doctrine, teach the people that practice to view it in a specific way. The problem with experiencing non-duality is that the experience can only be loosely described, since it transcends the physical senses and also thought, so to have the experience and then come back and try to explain it, is like trying to describe the color red to a blind person. You can say it isn't black, green, yellow, or blue, but that doesn't really help. You can even say it's like an emotion, but that's not true either, after awhile you figure out that there's really no good way to describe it, so you come up with something that seems passable and move on. My own experiences with non-duality were unnerving, in the sense that it shook my preconception of what I thought the world was, I figured out in a moment of deep meditation that the world consisted of something else, and that if I tried I could sense it (for lack of a better word) everywhere I went, whether it was a stadium packed with people or walking to my mailbox alone. This sensation did nothing to remove me from "this world" because so long as I am, I am a part of this world. That's why I believe they say, "thoughts are great awareness", because regardless of your experience, what allows you to have that awareness is the self that observes it objectively. In the same way I have a hard time with the notion of complete detachment, simply because being in the same room with someone or something, looking at that someone or something, attaches you to it. So in that sense non-duality exists, but the mere fact I'm breathing means I am living in an existence based within duality. In the end discussing these things seems an awful lot like mental masturbation, which is one of the reasons I took a break for the past couple of days to think (less) about it. I think that one does not have to come to a complete awareness of the stillness that exists, whether you call it Tao, Light, or Bodhidharma, rather you need to come to an understanding of the basic tenants, so that compassion can blossom within. Anyways, that's my take on it lately, but I'll leave it to the experts to debate non-duality further. Aaron edited for grammar.

Actually I'm not sure where you're getting your information from, but meditation has been a part of Taoist practice for well over 1,600 years. In fact the type of mediation we use today in Taoist practice, was the type that was eventually adopted by the founders of Ch'an Buddhism way back in the 6th century AD (500-600AD). Essentially what you're saying has no basis on fact, but rather it's personal opinion. When people ask you to provide proof for your arguments, you can't. I guess my question is what are your actions actually causing to happen here? Perhaps you should study a bit more on Wu Wei Wu? I would suggest that you also remember the wise words of Lao Tzu and teach by your actions and not your words, at least in this case. Aaron

This too must pass... that's what I think of when this idea comes up. It's something they teach in the rooms of AA, that all suffering is temporary, as is all joy, that in order to be able to live on life's terms, one must understand that everything is temporary, to neither depend on the good, nor bad, but accept those things that happen as they are, good and bad as you perceive them to be. Anyways, that's what I got out of it. Thanks for the insight. Aaron

edit- my text is coming out with the html tags for some reason... going to repost this.

So I was thinking today that some people must have some really interesting explanations for how awareness and consciousness began. I'm sure some believe it was always there (and I sure do), but if so, what caused this consciousness to begin creating self aware creatures like us humans? Any ideas or thoughts? If you have a creation myth concerning this, please post it, I'd love to hear it. Aaron

Hey Serene (or is it blue?), As an aside, I went to your deviant art page and I must say I love your artwork. You're a very talented artist. The dolphin peace is especially nice. Aaron

I practiced silent mind meditation for twenty years. I also studied the Tao Teh Ching for as long. I recently took a break from it. I went to college for psychology (and English) and studied under a professor who was trained in hypnosis by Milton H. Erickson, so as a result I learned about hypnosis from him and I've been practicing it and a bit of visualization exercises for a little over 15 years. I use visualization to engage in energy practices. Other than that, I'm just your average, run of the mill Tao Bum. Aaron edit- As a side note I did practice (or believed I practiced) Taoism for a long time, but upon closer examination eventually came to the decision to learn about other philosophies as well. I studied a bit of Zen for a couple years, and I am fond of Zen, but my favorite religion has to be Vedanta. Vedanta is just beautiful, no other way to say it. Anyways, I hope that answers your question.

No need to feel sorry, it wasn't your intent to bring back an old memory. You can try harder to explain it if you want, but I think I know what you're going to say. On this topic, I'm sure we'll never agree. I don't believe in accepting others explanations for how things work, one must test these things out for one's self. That's the key to opening up to the universe, not allowing someone to tell you how to do it or why you need to do it, or what it is. The real reason to do any of this, including thinking such ridiculous things like, "what begat awareness" is because we have a desire to know. For those who say, "be done with knowledge", keep in mind, Laotzu wasn't talking about not learning or not being curious, he was saying, don't learn simply for learning's sake. Don't cram your head full of material, like sutras, tracts, etc. simply because you've been told you need to learn them. Experience the world, don't read about it in books. Aaron

I'd seriously consider seeing a psychiatrist. You may be suffering from delusions. I'm not a doctor so I wont make any diagnosis, but this could be serious and should be checked out with a medical professional. As a hypnotist, let me just say that it would be highly unlikely, in my personal opinion and experience, that you would still be in a hypnotic state, the more likely answer is that something that has occurred recently may have caused you to start behaving the way you have. Again, see a doctor and get this checked out, especially if you feel depressed or have thoughts of harming yourself. Aaron

My father used to say, "You can dream about this in your right hand or shit in your left hand and see which fills up faster." It pissed me off when he said it, I mean really that analogy is just vulgar and meant to shock people. I actually started to tune out what you said after that, but decided to put my own feelings about that phrase and people that use it aside and examine the rest. I guess if you follow the bandwagon and believe everything that you've been told is true and infallible, then yeah, no point. Of course you could think for yourself and examine it anyways and figure out if it's a waste of time, then say, yeah it's a waste of time. Now to put it bluntly, you're following the flock, the sheep dog has nipped you on the butt and told you where you can roam. That green valley over there, you can't go there, that's not where the sheep dog wants you to go. So do you keep fearing the sheep dog and stay with the flock or do you one day wake up to the fact that you're just doing what the other sheep are doing and what every sheep that has come before you has done, and simply sneak off in the dark and make a life for yourself? Of course some wolves might get you, or you might wander into a desert, but hey that's the price to pay for freedom. At least that's how I see it, so please, don't feel the need to tell me what I can and can't answer, what I can and can't dream about, it's not your business to tell me, nor was it my fathers. The wise have only told you what they've experienced, not everything that can be experienced. Lao Tzu didn't know about nuclear fission, does that mean I shouldn't believe it exists? Jeesh, when are we going to move into the 21st century? This is like the Christians that still believe that wafer is the body of Christ and wine the blood of Christ. Science can disprove that and I think in the end it will disprove that your mystery is all that ineffable. Aaron

Well at least you didn't give him an F. I really don't think there was anything narcissistic about your thread, aside from referring to yourself in the third person, but that's just a sign that you know who "you" are and not any kind of personality disorder, I'm hoping. Aaron

Hey my thoughts are with you Patrick. I'm really sorry to hear about your mum. I wish there was something I could do, but if nothing else, know I'm thinking about you. Aaron

I just wanted to say you're beautiful too K. I wish you'd say more things I could disagree with, so we could talk more. Aaron

Well I'm sure the parents are more than willing to convert if that means their children are inoculated and cared for. I would ask what we're doing for those children? Are we really going to complain that they're going over there and helping people and doing something that they believe is right? I mean, if it was up to me, I'd have them do it simply out of the goodness of their heart, but in lieu of that selflessness, I wont dissuade them from saving some child from blindness or death, simply because I don't want that child to be a christian. With that said, you're a beautiful person Sun and I hope life is treating you well. Aaron

hello folks, I wanted to address what I feel are the differences between empathy and sympathy, as well as the apparent misunderstanding regarding intellectualism in regards to compassion. For me empathetic compassion is compassion without action, you feel compassion, but you do not act on it. Sympathetic compassion is when you feel compassion and act on it. So when one has suffered a great deal, take the alcoholic in recovery for example, many feel a need to help those alcoholics who are suffering, in most cases asking nothing in return. They do this, in the beginning because it is part of the steps, but many over time do this as a natural reaction to seeing another person suffer. They have developed a sympathetic form of compassion derived from their own experiences. In regards to intellectualism, I understand what Everything and Zerostao are alluding to, but I think it is a misconception to believe that our actions can ever be devoid of thought completely, the only people who act without thought or intent (imo) are people in a coma, and then I'm still a bit skeptical. So long as we interact with this holographic world, we will always interact as the person that exists within it, which requires thought and insight, and a reflection of the past and present (and future), to do otherwise would mean that we are removed from this world. Any notion of oneness that comes does not preclude the understanding that you are still you, even though you may understand on an intellectual or intuitive level, that you are also everything else. However, the knowledge of this, I believe, does engender a deeper understanding of the need for compassion and also inspire a more natural response. In other words your compassion can once again become like that of a child, who responds, not because they feel they are doing something right or wrong, but simply because they want to ease another's suffering. So in that sense one can develop an intuitive compassion, but there is still some intellectuallism (self-ego) that influences it. I've yet to meet anyone who has removed themselves from suffering permanently (simply because in order to exist in this world, one must give themselves over to suffering), but when I do I will be the first to admit I was wrong. Jetsun, I agree with what you have said as well, in the sense that you can't change other people, only yourself, but I also believe that part of sympathetic compassion is making someone aware that you are willing to help them. Anyways I'm off to take a shower. I just got back from riding a bike about a mile uphill... talk about suffering. Aaron edit- CT I would love to hear your input, even if it may be contrary to what I said. Actually that goes for everyone. I am not so set on this belief that someone can't convince me otherwise.

I disagree. I think I could put much more thought than four or five sentences into this if I wanted. In fact I think what I have said is a gross oversimplification, but so be it. The first thing I'd like to point out is that the fact that you said you found yourself standing on sympathetic ground implies an intellectual basis. Compassion without intellectualism doesn't really exist after all. So what you say here, for my purposes has no value, rather it's the driving force behind the intellectual intent that I find important and want to explore further. Also, reality is only largely intuitive for those people who are intuitive thinkers, for logical (sensing) thinkers, it's actually analytical and experiential, but that's neither here nor there. Remember reality is only how you perceive it to be, so labeling your experience to be the actual experience can be problematic. I think your apparent lack of understanding of the differences between sympathetic and empathetic compassion (which is what I feel you are talking about) is probably due to the fact that you haven't experienced much suffering. I think it is very difficult for one to come to an understanding of the nature of suffering, without also experiencing it. Aaron

I don't accept Christian philosophy as being true and above reproach, but I do accept the right of others to follow that path if they choose too, so long as it does not interfere with my own path. I think that's the important distinction to be made. For instance if Sunnis and Shiites want to kill each other, and both feel they are doing what's right, who am I to tell them to stop? If I step in the middle and say, "you guys are wrong, stop doing this." Most likely what will happen is that they will ignore me, but then again they could just kill me and keep doing it anyways. I mentioned this elsewhere and I think it comes into play in regards to this topic as well, a perfect country is like a small village that is so close to another village that they can hear the roosters crow, but neither village is concerned with what's going on in the other village. Because they worry about their own lives and not the lives of others they are able to live in peace. In the same way, so long as someone is not coming into your home trying to convert you by force, what good is it to worry about what they are doing? Let them live in peace and more often than not they wont worry about you. I know you'll say, "what about the missionaries", but lets be honest, how many missionaries have stuck around to talk to you after you've said, "i'm not interested!" In the end it often takes stepping out of ourselves and not allowing these things to personally offend us, in order for us to find a place of harmony in our own existence with others. When you can stop seeing it as an assault on you, but rather as another person's way of viewing things, then you can begin to live in peace with others. I have very few issues with Christians, Muslims (I lived next door to a Muslim community center and mosque for over a decade), or any other religion, simply because I try very hard to live and let live. Anyways, that's how I see it. Aaron

This is a topic that seems to pop up now and again. I used to have a strong bias against those people who believed that Westerners were incapable of understanding the deeper meanings of Eastern philosophy without some form of indoctrination or deprogramming. In my opinion many of the teachings in Eastern philosophy don't require any real knowledge of Eastern society, so long as one is open to the ideas and can view it through a lens that is not colored by their own religious background, but even then I think the gist carries over. I guess my question these days is why is it so important for a someone to view things in their original context? Is it so wrong for someone to perceive Buddha as being Christlike or the Tao Teh Ching to be inspired by God? I'm not saying I believe these things, but I have softened my position on this topic a great deal since I first started running across this topic a few years back. In my own opinion it's important to remember one's own cultural identity (since that identity is the basis for examining who they are) and that one should not be required to erase that in order to understand another philosophy. If a philosophy does require this, then one has to question the merits of that philosophy on a universal scale. Aaron