Harmonious Emptiness

Wallow in taste Sizzle doesn't make the steak Silence is last word

I think one could differentiate between ritual and festive music. The festive music is lively and celebratory with big cymbals and bass drums, ritual and meditative music is more subdued. I wonder what ancient Taoists would make of modern music, which fuses African rhythmic innovation with Western and Eastern harmony innovations. The emotion of it might be contrary to most of what was written in Confucian aesthetics of music, but this music was more ritual and worship music, rather than festive and celebratory music. I think there is a place for modern music in society and (thus) Daoism, though not necessarily in the daily life of monastic monks who are trying to go beyond all worldly attachment. It can be a distraction, and music that is "[overly] lustful" has been especially denigrated by critical mentions of music, but, many Daoists practice ingesting of vitality-tonics to raise their energy for transmutation, so why not utilize rhythm and soul for energy enhancement?

I second the suggestion for dandelion and peppermint, and add oatstraw to that mix. Also, don't neglect kidney/water element, since liver is wood element and needs water to thrive. Dancing, spontaneity, playfulness, 5 animal frolics monkey exercise. Spring water. 8 section brocade massages the organs and helps circulation which relieves all stagnations.

a towel or two, folded several times, does the job and is not heavy in the backpack.

A few points that may be helpful especially if you eat mostly vegan: 1) read up about the purity of olive oil. Chances are, the extra virgin olive oil you're buying is highly diluted with inferior oils. 2) include chinese cabbage/nappa for highest calcium content. Note that the calcium/phosphorus is best balanced at a 2/1 ratio for calcium absorption. corn might throw this off as it is very high in phosphorus (I'm not actually sure if it has to be the balance in the food or in your overall diet though) 3) eat pumpkin seeds for protein - they have twice the amount per gram than any other other nut or seed. 4) As you probably know, to get a "complete protein" spectrum just combine any two of grains/legumes/and seeds or nuts within the same day interesting thread..

Vmarco, you should know that Lao Tzu/Li Ehr/Lao Dan did not write the Hua Hu Ching which you are quoting here

I think Cat also brings up a very good point - if you want to travel with your wife on the road of spiritual discovery, encourage her own path, not just your path. If she has spiritual leaning activity or practice or whatever, encourage and do it with her. If she wants to eat healthy, dive in! Practice mindful eating and bio-awareness in food choice. Practice your spirituality with her in covert ways, while supporting her in her own. There are more ways to live your spirituality than simply being apathetic towards this material existence. Our body is the vehicle with which we can practice and learn these things.

Yes, very good! thanks

project much NAJA?

I could be wrong, and I hope this doesn't come off sounding too sexist (inevitably will a bit), but I think men are generally more interested in talking about the intricacies of these things than women. Men tend to be more mental about it I think, on average. So it might not be too uncommon for someone's wife not to be interested in getting into the philosophical sides of it, and it might just really alienate her to push its importance since she might not feel these things in a mental way - it might not do anything for her, whereas something like Chi Gong might make her say "yes, I feel peaceful, healthy, happy, like the toxins have been cleared and emotions are balanced." Then if you try to explain this with various conceptual thinking it might just be like a dog barking at her.. trying to say something but not really making any sense (from her perspective). I'm surprised, a bit, to read on a Taoist forum that you don't see the connection between health and spirituality. You might want to look into that side of the spiritual path and have at least an enjoyable bridge where the two of you can live out your goals. There are many practices for both physical and spiritual health that you both might enjoy, so long as you are willing to leave the "highfalutin" concepts out of the conversation.

To humble one's self before a higher power and recognize the value of minimizing the self for the collective. It's quite a different experience to be in a place of worship. Hopefully it's not all worship and no wisdom, but I think anyone willing to humble themselves can benefit from being there if they are trying to learn how to minimize the self and learn how to serve their fellow human beings.

Even if not chasing Enlightenment itself, the path there is rewarding in itself. "Conventional wisdom" of greed, lust for status, and over-reaction is often floating around like a virus, to which the depth of principles in Wu Wei can work like a vaccine. Being in Wu Wei there neither has to be adoption nor rejection. There's rarely any need to agree nor disagree for a Daoist. Seeing the world in plain view Clouds will soon be wood, wood becomes earth Dive into the great mirror

Please excuse my lateness to this thread. I think the easiest thing to do is simply search by the translators at amazon.com There are a number by Eva Wong not yet mentioned here Also search: Fabrizio Predagio, Louis Komjathy, Henry Balfour, Livia Kohn, There are 4 compilations in the Cleary's Taoist classics series. Also by Cleary: "Taoist Meditation" and "Sex, Health, and Longevity" which are both compilations, the latter attributed to the Yellow Emperor. "Treatise on Abiding in Forgetfulness" by Ssu-ma Ch'eng-chen, (trans. Cleary) might appear in one of Cleary's compilations but I'm not sure which one.

perhaps, not knowing will save me from ignorance of my ignorance (see warning-points-thing)

Your head is empty Good and bad left behind now It is what it is

Thanks for the feedback ^^ (or whatever degree was directed to my comment). I find the main shock to the knees is that there isn't the gradual pressure that comes from stepping with more of the whole foot. In time maybe I'll find some variation in qua movement to compensate a bit.

If anyone has videos on Tai Chi foundation practices, this is tha place! Here's two from B.K. Frantzis on proper form, some constants in most Tai Chi movement, and just some things to keep the internal and external flow happening:

Missed that one, thanks Astral Monk. His youtube channel also has a lot of good videos.

It's an interesting issue. Canada is getting some flak around the world for having the mines, yet it is the 3rd largest source of oil in the world, most of the oil is being bought and sold outside of Canada (mostly the US and China), and few of the companies running the mines are even Canadian. The fines are so low it's frightening though. $275,000 for contaminating a source of clean fresh-water. That's basically the same cost of a tire change on one of their dump trucks ($45,000 x 6), which is a basically a minor business expense for a company that has a fleet of these trucks running overtime all year round. These fines should be in the millions if not tens of millions in today's day and age of fresh-water scarcity and pollution.

Btw, there are also some really good articles on the same and similar subjects at the side bar of the link (which I just fixed in the OP).

Hey, yeah, feel free to share your notes version too! I'd be surprised if that many people went through the entire opening quote.

Not sure what to tell ya on that..

The difference is that the trigrams, which are paired together to make 64 hexagrams, complete and work with each other, rather than clash or compete.

Yes, exactly. Thanks for adding these points. This also brings up about how effecting the world by Wu Wei is about cultivating Dao in one's self to influence and/or maintain external harmony. Another perspective or use is to act in extreme yin in order to effect yang externally, as N.A.J.A. mentioned. However, the Dao is not to be extreme yin, it's to be in balance and harmony. This extreme yin approach creates dis-harmony which is more likely to swing back and forth between extreme yin and extreme yang, never meeting in the middle to actually create anything.

Just wanted to say I am now a loyal convert of the heel planting method of stepping. I happened upon a discovery which really changed my feel for balance on the heels: Standing on a firm cushion which is on the ground. You feel the heels sink to the floor and the front of the feet just make micro-balance-adjustment. one can feel where the balance/center of the weight sits under the heels by the part that falls/sinks down to the ground. Then find this same balance without the pillow. The heels being closest to the ground also allows the front of the foot to avoid catching on any bumps in the terrain. I see there is a lot more power this way to push from the heels using the same strength that lifts the body. Getting a feel for the pivoting on the heel from this too. I've been applying this while walking through snow and ice and can definitely see the strength, balance, and rooting difference now. I actually have to switch from heels to regular walking when I come close to other pedestrians because I noticed they thought I was plowing towards them, even though I wasn't using any more effort than usual. just that the heels are so much faster, also because the stride is longer and their not slipping on ice. Seems like it could be a bit hard on the knees though - probably a technique I'm not using, like walking lower so the knees are more bent. Mud stepping is starting to look more like a lower version of crane-stepping now too, which maintains some of the balance effect/dynamics that i didn't want to lose. This was total fluke too.. tried putting two firm pillows under my feet to damped the squeaky floor effect of rooted walking, and... eureka .