Harmonious Emptiness

Yeah, I can concede that Freud was able to come up with a lot of it himself. However, I still have the feeling that he swept a spark of influence under the rug. He had to have been familiar with Buddhism if Jung was reading the I Ching as much as he has said he was. Granted as well, Freud did add a lot to understanding the mind. I just find his "discoveries" too reminiscent of so many other "discoveries" of things that other cultures developed 1000s of years before, only to be accepted by Western culture when "one of their own" presented the exact same ideas. I won't even get into the whole Khemetic/Egyptian thing, but yes I agree that these ideas existed even before Buddhism.

Taomeow, your cat knows the Tao.

Ah, true. I had some pretty faulty info on that one. However, I'm glad that out of all the debunks and rebuttals on this post, this is the first one that couldn't be corrected with factual info. Seems I'm the only one willing to admit it though

Taoist monks often learned acting skills so that they could appear to be a regular person with regular reactions, without actually losing their virtue. This way they could go into the world and function as needed to continue on in learning about the world or getting to where they need to go and doing what they need to do. Getting angry at someone suggests an ego self defending itself, but could on the other hand be necessary to preserve the integrity or safety of something sacred. The fireworks display could be put on, but all the while it's just a master displaying a dragon in the sky rather than he himself turning into a beast. It's more common to turn into the beast and then back into the sage, metaphorically speaking, since, fortunately or not, the world is a training ground to seize Dharma before it is a treasure chest of meritorious activity paving our way home

You might want to look into a Netti kettle to clean out nasal passageways entirely but safely. This will also assist with breathing during meditation, and wont mess with air filtration. For anti-oxidant and other cleansing, I recommend green tea, or jasmine green tea which is a bit easier to drink. For super antioxidant, coffee berry capsules have about 10 times more antioxidants than any other source, but they'll run about $1 each. By far the richest source. Also, roiboos (red bush) tea is probably the best all around tea for immune boosting, and general health upkeep. For any non caffinated herbal tea, you should let it steep for 20 minutes to get the medicines out of it. This is usually overlooked. Just cover the mug with a plate to keep it hot. Tap water attacks my sinuses and throat almost instantly, though I may have an allergy to chlorine. I've been told that if you put tap water in the fridge (don't use plastic. Wine bottles are best.) for 24 hours then the chlorine dissappears. This seems to be true as the water doesn't bother me when I do this. If you can get a reliable source of spring water then you'll also be upping your mineral content, but a lot of it is just distilled tap water. Eating raw, or high-heat/fast-fry, is best for mineral retention, but drinking water 30-45 minutes before or after eating also washes away huge amounts of minerals since they dissolve in water. If you can't go without drinking with a meal, drink minimally, and don't guzzle cold liquids since that will seize up your stomach and keep it from absorbing nutrients. Maca might decrease your allergies too, since it helps your whole system. You'll have to google that one for all the info... but start with a half dose for the first week or two, and take a week or two off every 6 weeks. The manganese can make you a bit aggressive so that's something to be aware of (and maybe why it was employed largely by warriors). Exercise is also important to proper glandular function and the like. I've recently discovered my own Tai Chi inspired version of running in the park. You are welcome to practice it too if you think it will be helpful to you.. I think I will call it: Wa-King. Very beautiful.

BOL, I think that you absolutely should, for better or for worse, go the Himalayas. One way or another, the life experience of achieving something that you are determined to do, facing the imminent fears of doing so, and overcoming all obstacles in doing so, are of immense value to the growth of any person, layman to Lama. You also have a strong amount of "piss and vinegar" that may translate to personal strength which a Lama may see as something that can be transmuted into determined spirit, provided that you are humble enough to accept his deep criticism, and that you are willing to learn to love, even your enemies, unconditionally. I agree that it is important to believe in yourself and not let detractors determine what you believe you are capable, however, for you to succeed in finding an enlightened Lama in the Himalayas who will take you under his wing, I ask, for the sake of yourself and for the sake of the Lama, that you will be prepared to accept criticism graciously. That does not mean to necessarily believe it, but at least have an attitude of "I am trying to work on myself, so though I may not agree with you, I'm glad that you mention this so that I can consider if this is something for me to work on." As I'm sure you know, when learning from a master, pride can be the biggest wall to our teaching. Obeisance may not be necessary to accept another's guidance, but frustration with the teacher (not just people in a forum, though some may be teachers as well) will lead to you wasting your time. If you are capable of the respect and selfless humility that will be demanded of you up in those mountains, then I think you have vigor to get the job done. If you get pissed off and angry easily, you will dissipate your vital energy with emotional outbursts, and the Lamas will know better than to try to teach someone who has not tamed themselves in this way. Final note: In The Diamond Sutra, chapter 9: Does a holy one say within himself, "I have obtained perfective enlightenment?"... No... If a holy one of perfected enlightenment said to himself "such am I [a holy one of perfected enlightenment]" he would partake of the idea of an ego entity, a personality, a being, or a separated individuality....

Wow! and all that on 6 kwh a day. 1 kwh is used by a light bulb running for 1 hour. So just the lights in my apartment use the same amount of energy in about 2 hours.

If you read the all the posts here, you'll see that there is enough land (not being used + fixable land). Also dependence on fossil fuels is not necessary (read all the posts about hemp down to $0.50cents a gallon). Potable water supplies would be hugely increased by switching to hemp and organic farming since pesticides would contaminate, and hemp based fuel causes no CO2 (once it's made with hemp fuel itself. Plus building with hemp takes CO2 out of the air and puts into infrastructure, saving the CO2 released by cutting down trees). When, and if, "Think Global, Act Rural" is made available in English on utube, there will be a huge switch to growing organic, since it is shown, by experts, to be better in every way -- cheaper, more yeild, healthier farms, healthier everybody, healthier water, easier (explains how to fix and maintaining soil the natural way --sorry tractor, pesticide, and chemical fertilizer companies), etc.

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It costs that much now because of scarcity. A 200ml bottle of hemp oil costs about $15 and it's one of the most oil producing plants out there, if not THE most. During WWII people had to grow it between their houses since it was an emergency situation. With that kind of access it would cost next to nothing. Check this out too: "Hemp Ethanol will Only Cost 50 cents per Gallon" http://hempnews.tv/2009/09/06/hemp-ethanol-will-only-cost-50-cents-per-gallon/

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I'm not sure what it is exactly that you're trying to find, but you haven't looked too deeply. Not that any of them are going to reveal themselves to you, but living off atmospheric energy, and ones internal energy, has been heard of for a long time in Taoism. You say that Taoists are hung up on sex -- no, they just understand it and learn how to harness its power for other things. Some traditions are so controlled by sex they are afraid to even be around a woman for fear they will lose their way. What kind of self control is that? They can't even be around a woman without losing their virtues. Life is a gift to be enjoyed with wisdom, not hidden from. If you have control of yourself, sex is no more dangerous than a pack of matches. If you don't have control of yourself, sex can be harmful. We don't become spiritual by controlling our surroundings, but by knowing and cultivating our mind, body, and spirit to be connected with the Tao.

When this documentary is available on utube, you'll see that you can grown other low lying crops at the same time to take care of the soil. Plus, rotation of the crops would not be that difficult with proper governmental support, like employing the military to get the work done and off the ground (which would be doing a lot more to promote world peace than they are doing right now). The production of hemp fuel would quickly become more efficient were it given the attention it deserves, and it is already not that difficult since the oil is easily extracted. The biggest cost issue right now is it's scarcity and red tape driving up the cost of the raw materials. The other biggest issue is that, as shown here, even people sympathetic to the cause don't know these facts, and so it is dismissed on the basis of wrong or incomplete info. The Global economy would also thrive having this resource potentially produced anywhere anything can be produced. But this again would be a problem for the people with power since right now people beg them for a job that pays 50 cents a day in some parts of the world where they would not need these companies for anything. The rich heads would topple and the economy would work on smaller businesses. This does not pose well for the people with influence in politics, ie., the most crooked of capitalists who maintain power over foreign resources and labour by maintaining scarcity and dependence.

Without needing to plow (as shown possible in the movie by having specific soil covering plants (looked like grasses) who's roots keep the soil broken enough for life to live in it) the need for oil on a farm will be drastically reduced. Plus, it has been estimated that one years crop of hemp oil produces enough ethanol and biofuel to run the farm's machines for about the life of the farmer. Hemp literally produces up to 10 times as much biofuel per acre than corn. That means having ten farms for every one that uses corn. It might take oil to make the biofuel at first, but once it's running you can do it with biofuel. Then everyone can grow their own fuel - Petroleum Mafia's ain't gon like dat. If the government sponsored hemp farming for this purpose instead of spending superflously on military, every house would be separated by a wall of hemp plants. It also reverses soil erosion and makes for good soil, so there would be more farmable land as a result and everyone could grown their own food as long as there was sufficient rain, since there would be usable farm land ev-er-ywhere. So you have oil, and you have food everywhere you don't have concrete. There's not much else to do but come up with cool stuff to do with hemp fiber. You could also give up eating meat with hemp based high protein replacements, so you save tons of grain and water. The toxins put in the air when hemp biofuel is burned is taken back when it grows, and you can take the fibre with the CO2 in it and use it to strengthen concrete, giving it some flexibility against earth quakes. When trees are cut down they release lots of CO2, but not when harvesting hemp. The areas with trees waiting 20 years to grown could be converted to hemp plantations with 3 crops a year. I'm not sure what would be left to solve after this, other than keeping the control freaks occupied with cricket

Makes me think of when meditating and thoughts try to LOOK at what is happening and put it into the logical thought reality rather than focusing on the One and feeling the internal feeling.

I've read a Shaolin Grandmaster say that a Shaolin monk will not generally allow himself to be killed and so, since the person will not stop projecting his harmful energy, the monk redirects it, sometimes resulting in the aggressors "suicide" since he was defeated by his own energy and not that of the monk.

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Thanks for your responses. I would like very much to learn KAP from you, were my finances not recovering from a recent splurge. This thread has been helpful for me as well.

That would be very interesting to hear.. what the Dalai Lama talked about with a mind/body/spirit like Dr. Morris, and how Dr. Morris expressed the messages conveyed. Any anecdotes you can share? He must have been a fascinating person for you to have at least learned meditation from. Must have had a very harmonious spirit.

Even the Dalai Lama quotes his sources from time to time. It adds import and weight to the message. Personally, I'm more inclined to consider something said by The Buddha himself, or a celebrated Native Healer than a semi-anonymous forum member. Dr. Glenn Morris' book looks really interesting. Had never heard of it, might pick it up soon. In defense again, there was a relevant part of an Amazon review "And the crowning piece of excellence (in all three of Morris' books actually) is the bibliography at the back - a whole slew of volumes for you to pore over, from psychology to yoga to martial arts, to round you out and make you think."

Man, it's all about confidence. As a woman put it to me once "Women will date a cab driver if he has confidence [ie. doesn't have to have money etc.]" That's why women like "bad boys" because they project confidence and independence. That's the other thing -- too many guys, "bad boys" included and especially, blame the world as if they're entitled to this that and the other. This is actually "mama's boy" syndrome -- still feeling like we're entitled to being served whatever we want. So, if you have confidence and are not a mama's boy in disguise (read: bad boy) then you have 3 legs up on most of the competition. Nice Guys are too often nice just because they want something back for their being nice. Sometimes they turn super manipulative because they were trying to get a free ride by being the servant and it didn't get them where they felt it should so they become controlling -- still super dependent on the girl, still turning her off. Confidence and independence + intelligence = happy and desirable man that plenty women tryin to find. I think you also need to heal your spirit, and you seem to be holding a heavy grudge. Holding a grudge takes you further away from God, the Tao, etc.., so you ought to find the strength and benefits to YOU of forgiveness so you can live in love again, and enjoy life in peace and harmony. Also consider this fact when you do find a potential partner: as soon as the word ME enters into any kind of relationship -- there's trouble. Now that's it from me. I don't have time trying to make someone happy that doesn't want to be happy. ?

two great hormone balancers are Maca Root powder, and Burdock tea. Burdock is a root, so you actually have to boil it for 20 minutes for the medicinal stuff to come out properly. Google Maca and you'll see lots of good stuff about it. Just be sure to take small amounts for the first week or so and don't overdo it as it might make you a bit more easily frustrated from the aggressive influence of high manganese content. Combine this with the other suggestions here and I don't think it will stand a chance.

Transmutation of sex energy is best learned during sex. Bring your partner to orgasm and then stretch your neck, hunch your back, and bring your accumulated energy up to your head, ie, away from your genital area. Focus it through the microcosmic orbit (you'll have to look that one up if not familiar with it as yet) until you have calmed down. You will feel more energy than you had before sex, and you will have learned how to circulate this energy in a context far more difficult than most. You can also focus the energy to different organs, creating a nourishing feeling. To start, do this earlier in the day and then have sex again later so your not too pent up getting used to it. You should also focus on absorbing the Yin energy from your woman (especially when she is "celebrating") and giving her your Yang energy during sex. I seem to be recommending this on every post now, but check out "The Tao of Health, Sex, and Longevity" by Daniel Reid. Great discussions from The Yellow Emperor and his Taoist entourage on the importance and use of sex in health and longevity.