Harmonious Emptiness

As the same ol story, Buddhism is about the practice(s): meditation, presence/mindfulness/awareness. The quote in your signature is a good indication as well for how to practice Buddhism . It's true that much of the writing is for monks. Most monks don't even follow them all, however, and some laymen might even follow some of them more closely. Take what works and work towards the center. It's like trying to lift the perfect piece of pie, or taking off a sticker. You have to start around the edges very gently so that it doesn't break; as the edges open up you work more towards the center without force; then when you've gotten there you can get in a bit closer. I guess it's kind of like picking up a girl too (lol), or approaching a wild animal. So start with what you're doing right now. Eventually the rest will probably reveal itself as a natural continuation. It's amazing how we come across the teachings that we need at just the right time that we are ready for them, if we're looking for them.

I guess it's kind of like "first there is a mountain, then there is not mountain, then there is." This can describe Emptiness and Form, but also correlates to this experience. First seeing through the emotions so that they do not rule the person, then letting them arise and pass freely they don't go so high or low, but are still present, and pleasant, nonetheless

Excellent points Art! I will also say: for body focus, at least in the beginning, the trick is that you want to be aware and in the moment. If you hear a noise, you don't need to focus on it or block it out, it's just part of the moment. The same with thoughts, a thought comes and it goes. When you don't have thoughts, where else can you be but in the moment? So in being aware, you are aware of sounds but not focused on them (unless you're doing one-point focus, but that's another story). You are aware of the moment, so as things happen you are aware that they are happening. This is where the body comes in, as sensations will happen as well, so you will be aware of them and this will build your awareness, rather than forcing your awareness onto something (which would be something else as mentioned), just know what's happening when it happens. Make sense? Thoughts come, you don't grasp them. Release the grasp... Eventually the mind will settle. Keep at it with an intent heart. It sounds like you're starting to get better at it now..

Andrea Balency chillin' http://www.redbullmusicacademy.com/people/andrea-balency - the play button is in the middle grey space

Hey Leon, I think the words are pretty good. I mean, people get away (and really far) with A LOT worse. My 2 cents would be thus: 1) emphasize more words. Listen to preachers -- they hold their audience by constantly hitting the words with emphasis which wrings out their meanings. Ex.: But words are GIFTED, and I SLOW DOWN to REALIZE my ENERGIES that I atTUNE inside of me Also, it sounds like you might be sitting down when your delivering. Stand up and tap your foot or bob your head so the beat emphasis comes out as well. just a suggestion. Do what feels right to you all in all.. I don't say this as any kind of master of spoken word either... I took a creative writing course once where everyone critiqued everyone's work and basically tore the *%(^ out if it, so hopefully this isn't taken like a dis or anything... Cheers. I look forward to the next one!

Cud chewers unite! Rehashing old memories First chews are better

yeah, I was just referring to that one quote.. kind of dropped off when I clicked on another article..

They didn't seem to get it when I posted this in the "what is spirit?" topic. Maybe you will get what it is...

Nice. Thanks for the Howard Lee tip! Love this! "I used to say to my students that you may once or twice in your lifetime get into an altercation in which you may have to use something to defend yourself, but day to day on an ongoing basis, it is about defending against your own self, self-abuse and neglect, and self-destructive tendencies, emotional or physical. Ultimately, it is about self-discipline." http://www.thelightoflife.com/eng/interviews_eng/dimitri.php

Marblehead, I think the Buddhists are getting to you man!

I don't really have any knowledge or comment about that, but I wouldn't want to get into that battle either.. I'm 'a 'jus mind my keyboard .

just to avoid confusion. when I say inner circles are for cults, there is a differentiation between inner circles which are sort of "naturally occurring" and those which become overlords of the outer circles. In retrospect, most martial arts schools probably don't operate in this way as there has always been emphasis on tempering the ego in the religious influences on martial arts, but it would be something to be aware of when inner circles do exist. Cult mentalities form very easily when uncultivated characters develop spiritual authority, as might happen in martial arts schools. I'm glad that hasn't happened at the TTB, at least to my knowledge.. Seems there's enough Anarchism, intelligence, and humble pie to keep the dust down..

Warrior Body Buddha Mind, I'm pretty sure we're in agreement there. What I was showing were (some of the )reasons why it makes sense for a sifu to ensure he is not giving "secrets" away to the wrong people.

I found this excellent article on Taoism and Anarchism. I'm posting it because 1) it's excellent, relevant, and important and 2) because it was deleted from it's original source so I think it should appear here as well. "Anarchy" is often thought to mean chaos, but it actually simply means "no hierarchy" or otherwise "no authority." Though Anarchism is primarily a political philosophy, it is also very much a moral philosophy, one which envisions a society which lives in harmony, while encouraging the full development of each individuals freedom to govern their own lives so long as they respect other's rights not be governed as well. The philosophy arose in Europe with Pierre-Joseph Proudhon in France, who influenced Bakunin and Kropotkin in Russia, all writing during the 1840's, at the same time as Karl Marx in Germany who actually started writing for radical newspapers when he moved to Paris in 1943, 3 years after Proudhon wrote "What is Property? Or, an Inquiry into the Principle of Right and Government." Though the Anarchists borrowed economic ideas from Socialism and Communism, and had some influence on those philosophers as well, Anarchism's anti-authoritarian morality and philosophy did not have enough influence on the conscience of Socialists and Communists for the Anarchists to join forces with them. Proudhon and Bakunin leaned toward Federalism and Socialism, and Kropotkin to Communism. At the same time, they did not care for national identities. Their primary concern being the respect for each person's freedom to live their lives, [from article below] "By hard experience, they refrain from activity contrary to nature and realize that in order to grow plants they must understand and co-operate with the natural processes. And just as plants grow best when allowed to follow their natures, so human beings thrive when least interfered with.6 It was this insight which led the Taoists to reject all forms of imposed authority, government and the State. It also made them into precursors of modern anarchism and social ecology. " As with Chuang Tzu and Lao Tzu: "In their politics, they not only urged rulers to leave their subjects alone and opposed the bureaucratic and legalistic teaching of the Confucians, but advocated as an ideal a free and co-operative society without government in harmony with nature." thanks for reading, Harmonious Emptiness (source: http://www.toxicpop.co.uk/library/taoism.htm) Taoism & Anarchism ANARCHISM IS USUALLY CONSIDERED a recent, Western phenomenon, but its roots reach deep in the ancient civilizations of the East. The first clear expression of an anarchist sensibility may be traced back to the Taoists in ancient China from about the sixth century BC. Indeed, the principal Taoist work, the Tao te ching, may be considered one of the greatest anarchist classics. The Taoists at the time were living in a feudal society in which law was becoming codified and government increasingly centralized and bureaucratic. Confucius was the chief spokesman of the legalistic school supporting these developments, and called for a social hierarchy in which every citizen knew his place. The Taoists for their part rejected government and believed that all could live in natural and spontaneous harmony. The conflict between those who wish to interfere and those who believe that things flourish best when left alone has continued ever since. The Taoists and the Confucians were both embedded in ancient Chinese culture. They shared a similar view of nature, but differed strongly in their moral and political views. They both had an attitude of respectful trust to human nature; the Christian notion of original sin is entirely absent from their thought. Both believed that human beings have an innate predisposition to goodness which is revealed in the instinctive reaction of anyone who sees a child falling into a well. Both claimed to defend the Tao or the way of the ancients and sought to establish voluntary order. But whereas the Taoists were principally interested in nature and identified with it, the Confucians were more worldly- minded and concerned with reforming society. The Confucians celebrated traditionally 'male' virtues like duty, discipline and obedience, while the Taoists promoted the 'female' values of receptivity and passivity. Although it has helped shape Chinese culture as much as Buddhism and Confucianism, Taoism by its very nature never became an official cult. It has remained a permanent strain in Chinese thought. Its roots lay in the popular culture at the dawn of Chinese civilization but it emerged in the sixth century BC as a remarkable combination of philosophy, religion, proto-science and magic. The principal exponent of Taoism is taken to be Lao Tzu, meaning 'old Philosopher'. He was born around 604 BC of a noble family in Honan province. He rejected his hereditary positron as a noble and became a curator of the royal library at Loh. All his life he followed the path of silence- 'The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao', he taught. According to legend, when he was riding off into the desert to die, he was persuaded by a gatekeeper in north-western China to write down his teaching for posterity. It seems likely however that the Tao te ching which is attributed to Lao Tzu, was not written until the third century BC. It has been called by the Chinese scholar Joseph Needham 'without exception the most profound and beautiful work in the Chinese language'.3 The text consists of eighty-one short chapters in poetic form. Although often very obscure and paradoxical, it offers not only the earliest but also the most eloquent exposition of anarchist principles. It is impossible to appreciate the ethics and politics of Taoism without an understanding of its philosophy of nature. The Tao te ching celebrates the Tao, or way, of nature and describes how the wise person should follow it. The Taoist conception of nature is based on the ancient Chinese principles of yin and yang, two opposite but complementary forces in the cosmos which constitute ch'i (matter-energy) of which all beings and phenomena are formed. Yin is the supreme feminine power, characterized by darkness, cold, and receptivity and associated with the moon; yang is the masculine counterpart of brightness, warmth, and activity, and is identified with the sun. Both forces are at work within men and women as well as in all things. The Tao itself however cannot be defined. it is nameless and formless. Lao Tzu, trying vainly to describe what is ineffable, likens it to an empty vessel, a river flowing home to the sea, and an uncarved block. 'The Tao, he asserts, follows what is natural. It is the way in which the universe works, the order of nature which gives all things their being and sustains them. The great Tao flows everywhere, both to the left and the right. The ten thousand things depend on it; it holds nothing back. It fulfils its purpose silently and makes no claim. (34) Needham describes it not so much as a force, but as a 'kind of natural curvature in time and space'.4 Like most later anarchists, the Taoists see the universe as being in a continuous state of flux. Reality is in a state of process; everything changes, nothing is constant. They also have a dialectical concept of change as a dynamic interplay as opposing forces. Energy flows continually between the poles of yin end yang. At the same time, they stress the unity and harmony of nature. Nature is self-sufficient and uncreated; there is no need to postulate a conscious creator. It is a view which not only recalls that of the Greek philosopher Heraclitus but coincides with the description of the universe presented by modern physics. Modern social ecology, which stresses unity in diversity, organic growth and natural order, further reflects the Taoist world-view. The approach to nature recommended by Lao Tzu and the Taoists is one of receptivity. Where the Confucian wants to conquer and exploit nature, the Taoist tries to contemplate and understand it. The Taoists' traditionally 'feminine' approach to nature suggests that their way of thinking may well have first evolved in a matriarchal society. While at first sight it might seem a religious attitude, in fact it encouraged a scientific and democratic outlook amongst Taoists. By not imposing their own preconceptions, they were able to observe and understand nature and therefore learn to channel its energy beneficially. The Taoists were primarily interested in nature but their conception of the universe had important corollaries for society. A definite system of ethics and politics emerges. There are no absolute Taoist values; for good and bad, like yin and yang, are related. Their interplay is necessary for growth, and in order to achieve something it is often best to start with its opposite. Nevertheless, an ideal of the wise person emerges in Taoist teaching who is unpretentious, sincere, spontaneous, generous and detached. For the Taoists, the art of living is to be found in simplicity, non-assertion and creative play. Central to Taoist teaching is the concept of wu-wei. It is often translated as merely non-action. In fact there are striking philological similarities between 'anarchism' and 'wu-wei'. Just as 'an-archos' in Greek means absence of a ruler, wu-wei means lack of wei, where wei refers to 'artificial, contrived activity that interferes with natural and spontaneous development'.5 From a political point of view, wei refers to the imposition of authority. To do something in accordance with wu-wei is therefore considered natural; it leads to natural and spontaneous order. It has nothing to do with all forms of imposed authority. The Tao te ching is quite clear about the nature of force. If we use force, whether physical or moral, to improve ourselves or the world, we simply waste energy and weaken ourselves: 'force is followed by loss of strength' (30). It follows that those who wage war will suffer as a result: 'a violent man will die a violent death' (42). By contrast, giving way is often the best way to overcome: 'Under heaven nothing is more soft and yielding than water Yet for attacking the solid and strong, nothing is better; it has no equal. The weak can overcome the strong; the supple can overcome the stiff.' (78) The gentle peacefulness recommended by the Taoists is not a form of defeatist submission but a call for the creative and effective use of energy. 'Practise non-action. Work without doing' (63), Lao Tzu recommends. In their concept of wu-wei, the Taoists are not urging non-action in the sense of inertia, but rather condemning activity contrary to nature. It is not idleness that they praise, but work without effort, anxiety and complicati on, work which goes with and not against the grain of things. If people practised wu-wei in the right spirit, work would lose its coercive aspect. It would be undertaken not for its useful results but for its intrinsic value. Instead of being avoided like the plague, work would be transformed into spontaneous and meaningful play: 'When actions are performed Without unnecessary speech, People say, "We did it!"' (l7). If people followed their advice, the Taoists suggest, they would live a long life and achieve physical and mental health. one of their fundamental beliefs was that 'whatever is contrary to Tao will not last long' (55), while he who is filled with virtue is like a new-born child. In order to prolong their lives the Taoists resorted to yoga-like techniques and even alchemy. The most important principle at the centre of their teaching however was a belief that 'The world is ruled by letting things take their course. It cannot be ruled by interfering.'(48) The deepest roots of the Taoist view of wu-wei probably lies in early matriarchal society in ancient China. The Taoist ideal was a form of agrarian collectivism which sought to recapture the instinctive unity with nature which human beings had lost in developing an artificial and hierarchical culture. Peasants are naturally wise in many ways. By hard experience, they refrain from activity contrary to nature and realize that in order to grow plants they must understand and co-operate with the natural processes. And just as plants grow best when allowed to follow their natures, so human beings thrive when least interfered with.6 It was this insight which led the Taoists to reject all forms of imposed authority, government and the State. It also made them into precursors of modern anarchism and social ecology. It has been argued that Taoism does not reject the State as an artificial structure, but rather sees it as a natural institution,, analogous perhaps to the family.7 While the Tao te ching undoubtedly rejects authoritarian rule, it does read at times as if it is giving advice to rulers to become better at ruling: If the sage would guide the people, he must serve with humility. If he would lead them, he must follow behind. In this way when the sage rules, the people will not feel oppressed (66) Bookchin goes so far as to claim that Taoism was used by an elite to foster passivity amongst the peasantry by denying them choice and hope.8 Certainly Lao Tzu addresses the problem of leadership and calls for the true sage to act with the people and not above them. The best ruler leaves his people alone to follow their peaceful and productive activities. He must trust their good faith for 'He who does not trust enough will not be trusted.' (l 7) If a ruler interferes with his people rather than letting them follow their own devices, then disorder will follow: 'When the country is confused and in chaos, Loyal ministers appear.' (l 8) In a well-ordered society, Man follows the earth. Earth follows heaven. Heaven follows the Tao. Tao follows what is natural.(25) However a closer reading shows that the Tao te ching is not concerned with offering Machiavellian advice to rulers or even with the 'art of governing'. The person who genuinely understands the Tao and applies it to government reaches the inevitable conclusion that the best government does not govern at all.9 Lao Tzu sees nothing but evil coming from government. Indeed, he offers what might be described as the first anarchist manifesto: The more laws and restrictions there are, The poorer people become. The sharper men's weapons, The more trouble in the land. The more ingenious and clever men are, The more strange things happen. The more rules and regulations, The more thieves and robbers. Therefore the sage says: I take no action and people are reformed. I enjoy peace and people become honest. I do nothing and the people become rich. I have no desires and people return to the good and simple life.(57) Contained within the marvellous poetry of the Tao te ching, there is some very real social criticism. It is sharply critical of the bureaucratic, warlike and commercial nature of the feudal order. Lao Tzu specifically sees property as a form of robber: 'When the court is arrayed in splendour, The fields are full of weeds, And the granaries are bare.'(53) He traces the causes of war to unequal distribution: 'Claim wealth and titles, and disaster will follow '(9) Having attacked feudalism with its classes and private property, he offers the social ideal of a classless society without government and patriarchy in which people live simple and sincere lives in harmony with nature. It would be a decentralized society in which goods are produced and shared in common with the help of appropriate technology. The people would be strong but with no need to show their strength; wise, but with no presence of learning; productive, but engaged in no unnecessary toil. They would even prefer to reckon by knotting rope rather than by writing ledgers: A small country has fewer people. Though there are machines that can work ten to a hundred times faster than man, they are not needed. The people take death seriously and do not travel far. Though they have boats and carriages, no one uses them. Though they have armour and weapons, no one displays them. Men return to the knotting of rope in place of writing. Their food is plain and good, their clothes fine but simple, their homes secure; They are happy in their ways. Though they live within sight of their neighbours, And crowing cocks and barking dogs are heard across the way, Yet they leave each other in peace while they grow old and die.(80) The anarchistic tendency of the Taoists comes through even stronger in the writings of the philosopher Chuang Tzu, who lived about 369-286 BC. His work consists of arguments interspersed with anecdotes and parables which explore the nature of the Tao, the great organic process of which man is a part. It is not addressed to any particular ruler. Like the Tao te ching, it rejects all forms of government and celebrates the free existence of the self-determining individual. The overriding tone of the work is to be found in a little parable about horses: Horses live on dry land, eat grass and drink water. When pleased, they rub their necks together. When angry, they turn round and kick up their heels at each other. Thus far only do their natural dispositions carry them. But bridled and bitted, with a plate of metal on their foreheads, they learn to cast vicious looks, to turn the head to bite, to resist, to get the bit out of the mouth or the bridle into it. And thus their natures become depraved.1O As with horses, so it is with human beings. Left to themselves they live in natural harmony and spontaneous order. But when they are coerced and ruled, their natures become vicious. It follows that princes and rulers should not coerce their people into obeying artificial laws, but should leave them to follow their natural dispositions. To attempt to govern people with manmade laws and regulations is absurd and impossible: 'as well try to wade through the sea, to hew a passage through a river, or make a mosquito fly away with a mountain!'. 11 In reality, the natural conditions of our existence require no artificial aids. People left to themselves will follow peaceful and productive activities and live in harmony with each other and nature. In an essay 'On Letting Alone', Chuang Tzu asserted three hundred years before Christ the fundamental proposition of anarchist thought which has reverberated through history ever since: 'There has been such a thing as letting mankind alone; there has never been such a thing as governing mankind. Letting alone springs from fear lest men's natural dispositions be perverted and their virtue left aside. But if their natural dispositions be not perverted nor their virtue laid aside, what room is there left for government?12 'The Taoists therefore advocated a free society. without government in which individuals would be left to themselves. But while pursuing their own interests, they would not forget the interests of others. It is not a sullen selfishness which is recommended. The pursuit of personal good involves a concern for the general well-being: the more a person does for others, the more he has; the more he gives to others, the greater his abundance. As the Taoist text Huai Nan Tzu put its, 'Possessing the empire' means 'self-realization. If I realize myself then the empire also realizes me. If the empire and I realize each other, then we will always possess each other.'13 Human beings are ultimately individuals but they are also social beings, part of the whole. Anticipating the findings of modern ecology, the 'Taoists believed that the more individuality and diversity there is, the greater the overall harmony. The spontaneous order of society does not exclude conflict hut involves a dynamic interplay of opposite forces. Thus society is described by Chuang Tzu as an agreement of a certain number of families and individuals to abide by certain customs. Discordant elements unite to form a harmonious whole. Take away this unity and each has a separate individuality . . . .A mountain is high because of its individual particles. A river is large because of its individual drops. And he is a just man who regards all parts from the point of view of the whole.14 Taoism thus offered the first and one of the most persuasive expressions of anarchist thinking. Its moral and political ideas were firmly grounded in a scientific view of the world. Although Taoist philosophy (Tao chia) contains Spiritual and mystical elements, the early Taoists' receptive approach to nature encouraged a scientific attitude and democratic feelings. They recognized the unity in the diversity in nature and the universality of transformation. In their ethics, they encouraged spontaneous behaviour and self-development in the larger context of nature: production with possession, action without self-assertion and development without domination. In their politics, they not only urged rulers to leave their subjects alone and opposed the bureaucratic and legalistic teaching of the Confucians, but advocated as an ideal a free and co-operative society without government in harmony with nature. Taoism was not aimed by an elite at peasants to make them more docile and obedient. The Taoists social background tended to be from the small middle class, between the feudal lords and the mass of peasant farmers. Nor were they merely offering advice on how to survive in troubled times by yielding to the strong, keeping a low profile, and by minding their own business. on the contrary, Taoism was the philosophy of those who had understood the real nature of temporal power, wealth and status, sufficiently well to find them radically wanting. Far from being a philosophy of failure or quietude, Taoism offers profound and practical wisdom for those who wish to develop the full harmony of their being.

Yes, or if possible, entrepreneurialism. Start businesses that contribute to a conscious society by the products used and produced. This supports conscious businesses while allowing conscious employment and consumption.. keep thinking.. keep talking.. keep believing.. have faith in faith. It works! (for the naysayers: try doing something with no faith that it will succeed and see how much crap you can wade through for it. Faith in faith is confidence in confidence, my sympathies if you object...)

I have only, at most, read books by these teachers, but here's my top five 1) Master Wang Liping 2) Lao Shi Ken Cohen (especially for his knowledge of Aboriginal healing, although I don't think he actually teaches that.) 3) Sifu Chris Matsuo 4) Geshe Kelsang Gyatso 5) Master Helen Wu (granddaughter of Wang Zi Ping who was maybe mythologized in "Chronicles of the Tao." She actually teaches at my alma mater though I didn't know about her at that time .) Nonetheless, really my number one to learn from is the master who appears out of the mist and wind with just the right teaching for me at the time.. I guess they are always there even if we don't know it

this topic might help: http://www.thetaobums.com/index.php?/topic/20471-calm-spaciousness/page__p__290524__fromsearch__1entry290524

I guess my view is in contradiction with itself but, 1) masters studied their arts for decades to learn the "secrets" so they might not want to just hand it over to someone who's only been doing their regular thing for a few years unless they feel a deep affinity for that person, like a family member. Otherwise they worked all that time and then someone just walks in and takes what they learned without the effort and, if they don't show the right character, will walk around full of themself, which would just spite the master and all his hard work... 2) Inner circles are for cults. If there is an obvious inner circle and the people inside them act better than those outside of them, they are of low character and not worth aspiring to join anyways.

Thanks Deci Belle ! Though I can hardly take credit for the idea...

I was thinking, also to my earlier list you could add Lemongrass. I take these herbs together fairly regularly myself for general cleansing, except for the echinacea since echinacea should not be taken regularly for prolonged periods of time. You might also add licorice root (for spleen) if you don't have any heart issues. I add a large pinch of each to a tea ball, and 2 or 3 pinches of lemongrass since it's hard to get a hold of, put the ball in a tall mug of boiled water and cover it for 20 minutes before drinking to get the medicine out of the herbs. You could also steep them in a cooking pot and then reheat it on the stove (don't kill it in the microwave) later in the day. For your situation taking it twice a day (is all I could recommend, though you might take it 3 for the first 5 days or so) and taking a one or two day break every week. It can take even 3 months for some herbs to show noticeable results, but given your condition and the effectiveness of these herbs they should help right away to cleanse your system(s), and will strengthen the organs moreso over time. Again, Echinacea shouldn't be taken regularly for prolonged periods of time so as your condition gets better you could leave it out for a while. I would keep taking the rest as the condition disappears, but not as strictly, like once a day 4 times a week, and Echinacea when I need an immune boost for whatever reason. The lemongrass gives it all a nice flavour and: Health Benefits of Lemon Grass: It contains an antibacterial and antifungal properties It helps to detoxify the liver, pancreas, kidney, bladder and the digestive tract. Helps boost the immune system Helps reduce uric acid, cholesterol, excess fats It helps alleviates indigestion and gastroenteritis. Helps improve the skin by reducing acne and pimples It helps tone the muscle and tissues. Helps in menstrual troubles Helps reduce blood pressure and improve blood circulation Helps reduce cellulite Act as sedative for the central nervous system. May help prevent colon cancer. Helps in reducing fevers Help in flatulence and colic Relieves arthritic pain and rheumatism If your doctor knows anything about herbs (not likely, unfortunately) then you could double check with him or her for support.. (edited to remove sage (tea, not smudging sage which is toxic to ingest) recommendation since the rest should be taken more regularly than sage should be used)

I'll tell you, I had a musical epiphany at a drum circle once. There was this group of brothers (literally and figuratively) from Mali or Ivory Coast, I forget which one now, and they were putting on this show on the grass in a huge circle of people. Literally, they were just swaggering up behind each other and doing flips over each other, six feet in the air, and landing like they just hopped over a puddle. They just hopped and bounced and flipped over each other like basketballs, effortless. Then they made pyramids, jumped over like 12 people in a row, stuff like that while the others played drums. What I realized is that they were able to bounce and jump and balance higher off of the drummers and the crowds energy. It was like they floated on the energy or something and you could feel it -- that if you let up in your energy they would fall or miss the jump a bit. When I was drumming later and they came by to mess around some more, it was really really obvious that the higher the energy was the higher they could go. That was some serious stuff. I'm thinking they must have come from some kind of secret African bird cult or something man, they were born in trees man I'm telling you... No gymnast does that so easily. These were tall dudes and they just flipped over each other like they were giving them a high five.. I'm getting pumped just thinking about it. Whoo! edit to add:

What it is... Give it a few minutes for the vocal

I strongly suggest that you look into the following herbs, to brew together (for 20 minutes) as tea. Get them organic if you can, of course. Essentially they are blood purifiers and diuretics, + much more: (edit: do check with a doctor especially if you take other medications, as they may interact negatively.) Plantain tea http://www.herballegacy.com/Ahlborn_Medicinal.html Echinacea http://www.globalherbalsupplies.com/herb_information/echinacea.htm Red Clover http://www.natmedtalk.com/womens-health/19370-red-clover-benefits.html (half way down the above link they talk about its use for men) http://www.quality-nutritional-supplements.com/uses-of-red-clover.html The red clover is especially for diuretic purposes, which may not have been mentioned in those links. Some briefs from the above links: "Red Clover offers nutrients galore Red clover is a perennial herb that grows wild throughout North America, Europe and Asia. The red flowers contain the therapeutic isoflavones. In addition to its phytoestrogens, red clover is a valuable source of calcium, chromium, magnesium, niacin, phosphorus, potassium, thiamine, and vitamin C. Isoflavones are related to the flavonoid group and retain many of the group's characteristics. They fight infection, suppress appetite, and are cleansing of the blood. They have expectorant, antispasmodic, and relaxing affects, and can be used for inflammatory bowel disease, kidney problems, liver disease, skin disorders, and weakened immune system." "Echinacea prevents the formation of an enzyme called hyaluronidase, which destroys a natural barrier between healthy tissue and damaging organisms. Action: alterative [an agent capable of favorably altering or changing unhealthy conditions of the body and tending to restore normal bodily function, usually by improving nutrition] antibacterial [an agent that destroys bacteria; bactericide] antibiotic [an agent that destroys or stops the growth of micro-organisms] anti-microbial [an agent that destroys microbes] antioxidant [contributing to the oxidation of free radicals which are believed to contribute to premature aging and dementia] antiseptic [agent for destroying or inhibiting pathogenic or putrefactive bacteria] particularly for the Lymphatic System antiviral [an agent that destroys viruses] hormonal effect" "Plantain is #1 in the field of blood poisoning treatment. You can see the healing at work. Swelling goes down and the “red” line recedes. Limbs poisoned can be saved using this herb. It is used as a poultice on the outside and taken as a tea on the inside. Michael Tierra, L.Ac., O.M.D. states that plantain is an herb that will “dry excess moisture and remove excess fat where toxins are retained.” (Tierra, p. 13) Plantain is also a diuretic so is useful for kidney and bladder problems. It is taken throughout the day as a tea to help the kidneys and bladder. It is used in bed-wetting challenges. It also helps dropsy and water retention. Sometimes diuretics should be teamed with a demulcent herb to buffer the effects on the kidneys. There is no research or recommendations that taking plantain tea requires ones. Actually, plantain itself is a demulcent also. "

CT and DB Thanks for those quotes and comments. I think a combination of these responses made me think about how it sometimes said that our senses and the Buddha are also indistinguishable. What I'm thinking is meant by this is that our original nature is in this spontaneous awareness. When we are there, we have Buddhas eyes, Buddhas nose, etc.., and everyone has this, everyone senses spontaneously, and everyone has Buddha Mind. Marblehead Thanks. There are also many many passages in The Chuang Tzu that speak to Mindfulness very directly.. Like the same side of two coins of the same value from the same country and the same century, in the same hand, paying for the same.. yeah....

Reminds me of the parable of the thief trying to steal gold in the market place. "All I could see was the gold." People run for the powerful feeling of trying to diminish someone with power, blind to their own hasty ignorance.