strawdog65

Take their oxygen, Inhale deeply breath of life, Exhale only Tao

Need I say anything at all? WE ARE PART OF EVERYTHING There is no real separation, That is the illusion, See beyond the curtain, Awaken the sleepers.

Thanks for your reply Immortal. I sincerely hope that somehow, the Art of our time period can be saved. I think that it is the best of who we are that speaks through the artistic works of man/womankind, whether it be literature, dancing, plays or paintings. If it has stirred a movement within you're being then it is important to be remembered. I do hope for us being remembered as the time of awakening to our to consciousness.

Manitou, I see that the emotional impact of a life considered has welled up. I know what you are feeling, not from your perspective, but my own. I can clearly remember the unadulterated belief that at 18 I could do anything my mind could imagine. And being a young Idealistic art student I believed I was going to make a huge splash. Create all new genre of Art, and wield it to my very will. Imagination has never been an issue with me...obviously. Only after being thrust into the big wide world...and going from the big fish in a small pond to the little fish in a huge pond in the city! Only then did even the slightest view of the harsh reality that was the world hit me. Disillusioned with Artistic integrity being prostituted to merely "sell" things to the media marketing zombies of the world, I bailed out. For many years I felt saddened that my fullest potential(to me) had never been met. But there is a shiny silver lining to my sad tale. I NEVER lost my passion for Art. My artistic nature has never been trampled under foot, it remains intact. I am thankful for this. The business world can kill the Love of something inside of you in a very short time. Then too, there is the Tao. My path was meant for me... I know this because without the expectations I placed on myself as a youth...I have lived a life with few regrets. As a youth, I decided what I should become, what I should measure up to. As a middle aged man...I see now that youth is poorly used on the young. My expectations, My desires for what I thought should be...were based on what? Not my experience in life...since I was too young to have had much at all, not my philosophy at the time, because it was truely larval at best. My expectations were based on childhood fantasies coddled by my friends and school teachers. There is nothing wrong with a positive outlook as a youth... but there is a definite lack of reality. Manitou, I feel your hurt. Life has become what it is meant to be. I believe that. If you have had a life of Love and few regrets, Then you are the being you are meant to be right now. You and the Tao are one. Peace+Love+acceptance=Life

I agree that cyclic renewal through destruction is a positive force. Thanks for that!

Yes...History is just that. His Story. Good point!

Thanks for your interesting reply Marblehead! I agree with the points you mention, there is no actual creation without the raw materials from the destruction of something else. I guess how I am applying the question is in the framework of needless destruction of our biosphere and the dwindling of the species. It is entirely debatable as to how much of this is because of the influence of man/womankind. But as a yardstick of measuring our intelligence towards the world, can we not create and treat our world and all the diverse forms of life here in a more reasonable and sustainable way? An example I would make is that of animals that are so well adapted to their environments that there is no need to destroy. Dolphins for example...highly evolved, highly intelligent, perfectly adapted to their environment. Just because we have these large brains and opposable thumbs, does it really make sense to destroy and consume everything , with regards to NO thing. When we destroy the world we also destroy ourselves. The attitude that we are above all this and untouched by the decisions we make is irresponsible. What we can not change we endure, What can be changed we must. We can influence the future, By this moment, NOW. Peace

Now nothing makes sense Blind sight together unseen Waves crashing on rocks

Welcome Sweeney! Ripples in a pond... Cold stone underfoot.

That's interesting. Because of our mind being filled with western belief from the onset, we perhaps have such issues with connecting with the central messages of Taoism. I encounter strange looks whenever I explain what I believe in! I once had some one ask me why I prayed to Mao Zedong? And then proceeded to think me a communist! The very Idea to western/judeo/christians of a belief system not organized around scheduled events and not centered around taking place in a building to be considered a "real" belief, is bewildering. And to think it is intuitively correct to my mind! To break down the barriers...we must change our way of living. To destroy the god of materialism. To lose ourselves to find ourselves, To know we are the smallest part...of everything else.

Now if only I could find my car!

Hey Manitou, You struck a vein I see! I wanted to add something to all of the other things being said in answer to your question. ================================================= What is the purpose of life? ================================================= It is the smile on your face, and the happy heart, of knowing you have done your best in this life. It is having no regrets for the obstacles you have faced and the Love you have shared with those fortunate to have been in your life. It is reaching the end of your days and knowing Love is the most important gift you gave freely to this world, and YOUR Love made a difference. Peace Manitou!

Time to change, I totally get what you are saying. I think that it is some form of zoning out. I sometimes get that feeling when there is a lot of eye contact, it almost feels like a state of trance. Either you are entirely uninterested and are really getting sleepy, or you are harmonizing with their vibe is what I believe. Does the time slow down and you feel unsteady? Maybe it's a brainwave thing? I have wondered about this experience before, but I have found very few people that have talked about it. Anyone else ever feel this trance like state come on when having conversation with people? It's not something you knowingly do...it kinda feels random. Thoughts?

Thanks for replying Jenn, I feel sure that we are not the only sentient beings in this universe or other dimensions. Maybe one day we will be discovered by truly evolved beings that can help show us that we are all just children in the wilderness. Things will get better as long as we all do our small parts to affect the whole. We have an effect on the world consciousness everyday by the energy we put forward, by the Love and compassion we give out openly and freely towards others. We are all important, We all are making a difference, and one day our hatred of others will be shown to be as wasteful as it really is. Peace!

Well said CowTao. I agree with your thinking. I do think that our actions should contribute something positive to whatever the situation may be. In my original question I was being entirely idealistic, an Ideal to strive towards to me is never a negative thing. There will always be conflict in human society, that is unavoidable since we are animalistic in the thoughtlessness of our actions. I believe it was the Dali Lama who said, (concerning china) "Our enemies are our greatest teachers." And you have illustrated this point just beautifully. When there is a conflict....this is a opportunity to work on ourselves, make ourselves more understanding and patient. To learn that winning only serves the useless vanity of the non-existent "me".

I accept what you are saying. I see your point. I would be ok with people not acting in a hateful manner. I guess what I was striving for is bringing the idea of oneness to the world in general. I would bore of complete agreement as well, but we can challenge one another and still be kinder and understanding while doing it. The labeling and separating we do is what I believe to be the root of our feelings of being better than others, merely for being different.

Question... The very act of creating a religious text... Is this not predicated by the hand of man? Are not all religious text's merely the work of Man? I mean no slight in saying this. Words... regardless of how they originate, have true power when they mold the fabric of societies. As all religious text's have had this effect, there's no way to downplay the power they possess. Man/womankind have made all of the significantly consequential works we read today. God is absent. God, and belief in him, only merit admiration for the positive influence the Idea of God has had on the minds that seek no further answer. Of course..I am not included in that group.

CowTao! You are so right! Thich Nhat Hanh...Is such a man. Going back to the sixties, he has always been a voice of reason and compassion. Awesome!...Thank you for your reply.

I've been thinking a lot about how we interact with others. How, many times we are just reacting without giving much thought to what it is we are doing or even why we are motivated to make many situations worse just by our own action/reaction. Most times so unnecessarily. My biggest challenge is to reel in that blasted "monkeymind, and give more thought to how I am affecting everyone around me. Which brings me to this poem I put together today. Please enjoy or dislike at your leisure. "In My Tree" Don't think, Just react, The Monkeymind, In control. Emotional turmoil, For actions unwarranted, Bad feelings, My composure undone. Who controls this body? Who controls this mind? Who is reacting to Now? I look inside, And find, No one there. Just this shell, A complicated machine, With a ghost inside. A passenger, On a strange ride, One that never ends. The pauses between, My only retreat. Silence suckles me, Absently to her bosom, Seclusion so short. The silence, Broken, A cacophony. Laughing loudly, Goading me back, I hear the Monkey, He's in My Tree.

Welcome Angelo! May the sky always open to meet you!

Welcome Bob! Enjoy the shared path. May the stones always be warm beneath you!

Hello, This is my first time posting a new topic and I am very new to this forum. I have a philosophical question. If you were able to live the life of a sage in the wilderness like was possible 2500-3000 years ago, would you do it? If yes, why? And if No why not? I have often contemplated what it must have been like to wander with little to no possessions and learn Taoism in its most natural and uninhibited state. I would say yes. The appeal of being in true harmony with nature, unencumbered by the demands of our present upside down society, draws to me as a moth to a flame. I look forward to reading your responses! Tao is truth.

I intuitively feel that this is true. Returning to the source at the time of our physical shell's collapse makes sense to me. I own the book this quote is from. It is a book entirely about manifesting a peaceful understanding that death is not something to be afraid of. Our western mindset is stuck on all things in the physical realm, so this is refreshing to read. And of course death is not the end at all. From physics we are shown, once energy is created, it can only transform, but never actually be destroyed. We are at our purest form...energy. We come from no beginning and and we arrive at no end We are Tao!

Awake! Rumbling, Water coursing between rocks, Gurgling of a mountain stream, Icy cold water splashed, Upon my face! Awareness, Thrust into being, Pulled apart, No longer whole. Taught to see, With only my eyes, Differences are all, Oblivious to the whole, Life loses meaning. Separate....we are not! Finding my way back, Seeing through this facade, To the source. Away from this world of 10,000 things, All the strawdogs are burning, Black smoke mixed with blue sky. My body has faded away... I am the Wind... Moving through the treetops, Unseen and constantly present. I am Water... Flowing over and around obstacles, Powerful and passive at the same time, Never to be fully contained by force. I am the stillness of the Earth, Everlasting calm lying deep within, Time affects me not. My essence is a flickering flame, Illuminating the naked truth, My heart and mind open to the Way. Just as the Earth knows no hurry, And the stream flows at its own pace, The breeze gently caresses my flame, Challenging me to awaken, without leaving me in darkness. Encompassed in true nature, Completeness rediscovered!, My sense of self recedes. Who am I?, A silly question, For only Tao remains.