JustARandomPanda

I sometimes drink a glass of wine if I'm in pain. I have fibromyalgia and sometimes the alcohol helps dull the pain. Not a lot but it does help some.

I fail to see how meditation does not help be in the "now".

I'm swinging by the Chat room now (it's 9:25 pm cst where I'm at). Here's hoping I meet a fellow Taobum or 2.

I have often wondered why some people hit the REPLY button only to make the point of their post being about how irrelevant the topic discussed is. If you *really* think thought is something that can not be discussed or answered in a thread why bother to post that reply at all? In any case I disagree with the 'leave such questions alone' people. If such advice were heeded science and engineering would not be what it has become today. Neuroscience would not be what it is today. The Dalai Lama engages in discussions on the nature of consciousness, awareness, thoughts, etc often with scientists from around the world so obviously he thinks there's something useful about doing so and he doesn't strike me as a noob when it comes to daily Tantra, inner Alchemy and meditation practices. I think the question Twinner asked is perfectly good one to ask.

Found this article today at Scientific American. It's an excerpt from a new book and has intrigued me enough I'm going to buy it. Thought I'd share the link to the excerpt with everyone. People Will Talk: The Surprising Science of Reputation

Just found this today at the Scientific American website. It's a new book being released titled People Will Talk: The Surprising Science of Reputation. Here's an excerpt from the book. And here's my excerpts of the excerpt as it possibly pertains to this thread

Is there a DVD out there that teaches Accupressure Qi Gong for opening the energy gates and/or increasing chi?

Thank you for the link Gerard. I have considered taking up Zhan zhuang. I haven't so far because I have a lot of feet pain. But perhaps with Zhan Zhuang I can learn to get past it? hmm... Gerard...what book is this Zip file from? I may need to get it.

What I do not understand is why disparage someone who is trying to reach out to people who might otherwise have no interest in learning about Buddhism or any other spiritual tradition? We all have to start somewhere. Thich Nhat Hanh's books at least get people (who otherwise would have zero reason to) to discover or learn about Buddhism and seeing that it is worth investigating. When has it ever been wrong to try to build a bridge to others?

I would gladly help our fellow bum Twinner.

Curiosity is getting to me Encephalon. I know it's a Buddhist thread but I'd really like to hear what your Taoist Meditation consists of and how it's different from a Buddhist one.

I seem to connect best to downward flow when I focus on rooting. Focusing on my Lower Dantien also helps. There is also a practice my teacher Tao Semko taught. I'm not really sure if it will help with downward flow but it *does* help people like me who are too much "in their head" (i.e. overdeveloped upper chakras with underdeveloped/neglected lower chakras). Just in case you're like me I share it here: 1. Start bending your knees like you're doing a ballet plie 2. With your hands and arms at either side (as you're doing the plie) pretend you are twisting the lid off a jar lid with each hand 3. As you twist the jar lids off straighten the knees again 4. repeat the above This helps connect you with earth. Good for grounding.

-K- You rock! Thank you for the link! How the heck did you find it anyway? Just curious.

I practice the White Skeleton Meditation although I don't know if that is better or worse than any other techniques mentioned in this thread.

So easy to say and so hard to do. But I'm slowly getting better at it.

Yay! My Fave Full Lotus Afficionado is back! Drew, Taobums has missed you. Sigh...maybe someday I'll be able to sit in Full Lotus. Right now the best I can do is Half Lotus. Are there any benefits to Half Lotus or is it only Full that does anything?

I also bought both of these books. Will read the first few chapters today and report back on my thoughts so far. Cheers!

Just wanted to second that.

It is my understanding that at every stage of cultivation the ultimate goal is that I let go. Which is easier to say than to do. The first thing I am trying to let go of is thoughts... Because for me thoughts often lead my desires. Still the thoughts....then just see what arises and passes away. And just keep that up all the way to the Void. BTW - I have the Livia Kohn book and just want to alert people it is a very dense/scholarly book. Not at all like any other Taoist Alchemy book I own. But still there's much in it worth checking out.

I've been taking a break from practice for far too long. Sometimes this happens. I'll practice for a *long* time then all of a sudden just stop for a while. Dunno why but just do. Anyway...I'm getting close to wanting to get back to it. It's probably not a good idea to take extended breaks in any case but...well..there I go. Maybe sometime this coming week I'll get back into the swing of things.

Yes. This is what I've been reading about too. Apparently the supposedly "scientifically discredited" abiotic theory of oil is being used successfully by the Russians in finding and exploiting new oil fields (ie. Abiotic - that oil does not come from dead plants but rather that it is continuously being created anew via reactions deep within the earth's mantle and is thus a continually replenishing source of energy). If the abiotic theory turns out to be true it's going to turn the "peak oil" theory on it's head. It's also going to make it a lot harder to bring other alternative energy sources online as oil will never run so low that the price skyrockets years long enough to allow these alternative sources a chance to deploy widely at competitive costs. Whereas drilling in the West has 9 dry wells for every one that has success the Russians are averaging 6-7 new active wells for every 10 drilled. Apparently they were successful enough at it that Cheney went to Russia on behalf of his employers (this was prior to him becoming Vice President) to try to get the Russians to share their technology. Supposedly the Russians blew them off. Which makes economic sense to me. Why hand over keys to your economic future to companies that will later become your competitors?

To be honest I *wish* Off Topic was a hot-bed of Taobum posting activity. I've long wondered how to make it more interesting to our community here but I'm at a loss about that. Really what I think it needs is a "seedbed" dedicated group willing to discuss things with each other there that would generate a lot of lurking activity. As more people lurked more will be lured into eventually participating. In fact...I would LOVE for I4L's posts to voluntarily go there as they just might be part of what could help spark sustained activity in that forum. Same thing for Encephalon or Ralis or Vortex or any other number of posters here whose non-spiritual topics I always find thoughtful, fascinating and deserving imo of serious debate and consideration. I'd make more posts in Off-Topic myself if I thought other people would give a damn and start responding there. Instead you pretty much hear crickets chirping. It doesn't have to be that way. I think Off-Topic has the potential to be a fun forum if enough "seedbed" posters gathered together and started posting there with dedication. And as for the segregation issue I honestly haven't seen it effecting the General forum that much. There are still plenty of Taoist topics in General. There's plenty of Qi Gong, Nei Gong, Internal Alchemy, etc in General. The good thing about dedicated forums and the General forum is that it gives people the opportunity to choose which forum they wish to participate in. The other reason for the special-interest forums is that the mod team was getting a LOT of complaints and I do mean a LOT. You guys mourning the death of the "General Discussion Only" option are a very vocal minority.

Enjoy Caption for the attached image:

I am reminded of TheyRule.net Info on Cato Institute Also a TheoCon weighs in (recommended read. It's different than the pasted article below and is short.)

Enjoy. The following clip's Air Date was April 3, 2011 Alan Greenspan admits there needs to be more regulation and policing to stop foreclosure fraud. More info: http://www.wamufraud.com/ http://stopforeclosurefraud.com/ http://www.stopfraudclosures.com/