Taoist81

This is Stephen Colbert's project inspired by Glenn Beck. Especially notable is Glenn's quote at 3:21. http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-r...e-10-31-project

A summary can't do it justice, but... Spoilers : ).... The segment is a satire of Glenn Beck's recent 9/12 project. The quote that was referred to above was one that Glenn Beck made on September 9th 2005, a few years before he started touting his website and "project" to remember the way "we" (he excludes anyone who doesn't believe in God or who doesn't espouse "conservative" values) felt/acted after 9/11. His quote was: "This is horrible to say, and I wonder if I'm alone in this," Beck said on his radio program that day, "you know it took me about a year to start hating the 9/11 victims' families? I don't hate all of them. I hate probably about 10 of them. But when I see a 9-11 victim family on television, or whatever, I'm just like, 'Oh, shut up!' I'm so sick of them because they're always complaining. And we did our best for them." Colbert emphasises this with his own line: "The 9-12 project is not for families directly affected by 9/11, just people building their careers on it," Another great element of the segment is Colbert's depiction of how most people actually felt right after 9/11....but standing on stage in a gas mask and athletic cup with a shotgun... http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/01/s...r_n_181673.html

There are teachers out there who see things exactly the way you do. The Kung Fu school back home was one in which there were no charges (except a fee that the University who owned the gym we used charged non-students, the Kung Fu school got none of the money) for teaching. It was simply expected (and part of the training) that you would in turn teach when you had begun to learn. Each level taught the one below it. Same thing with the A.'.A.'.. You actually get expelled, permanently, from the Order if you are found to be charging in any way for spiritual teaching through the Order. Some other Orders have similar philosophies. Some require you to donate to charity, or the like. Just keep looking for what you expect. It is far more common to find a supposed Master or "tradition" who charges a ton and actually teach crap just to make money, than to find a "real Master" who is that concerned about it. Taking money and the "ownership" type mastership out of the equation makes it much less likely that someone who hasn't "walked the path" before would bother trying to fake it. There is much less to gain for the frauds and much more opportunity to "enlighten" for those who have something real to offer.

Wouldn't you agree though, that the only way to see if something was being channeled vs. being made up would be to see if the "being" could give some information that the "channeler" was unlikely to have found out, or have information delivered in a coded/complex manner that could be verified by an outside source? For example, if Ramtha was from "Lemuria" he could give information about technology (that we haven't discovered) they used, since they were advanced (supposedly), or he could give some new development in practice. So far all Knight has done is regurgitate old New Thought teachings and perform parlor tricks.

This was on MSN this morning and seemed notable here: http://lifestyle.msn.com/relationships/art...6&gt1=32023

Personally? No, it has nothing to do with JZ being a woman, there are many wise women today and throughout history. It is more about the story and the lack of even an attempt to back up the story. It really is about as believable as L Ron's stories. Same with the "research" noted above. They tested her with a fancy lie detector, and the E-meter is a fancy lie detector. People in Scientology say they "get a lot out of the practice", people who go to Ramtha's indoctrination camp say they "get a lot out of the practice". Note: If anyone is a Ramtha follower, this poster is happy for them and would defend their right to be one. It may be stupid or a complete fraud, but it is your choice.

First, one can train oneself to "beat the box" when it comes to something like a lie detector (as they mention galvanic skin response and heart rate). These are things that are usually involuntary but with a little time and practice can be controlled. Look at scientologists for "clear" examples (pun intended). Also, the other post may have been a bit harsh, it is possible that she is putting herself into a sort of trance (which could easily cause the reported effects) just as other "channelers" have done in the past. Still, unless Ramtha can offer information that "proves" his existance there is no reason to think it is more than a fraud at worst or psychological phenomenon at best.

Thoughts? Yeah: Fraud. Some bored housewife who read some newagey self-help books and decided to use a (pitifully) fake british accent to rip off people who just want someone to tell them they know a "secret". None of what they/she teach(es) is new/different from any of the other new age/New Thought teachers and no evidence of a technologically advanced atlantis or lemuria has been produced. This is no different than the Fox sisters or any of the other so-called channelers that don't bring forth any information they didn't first read somewhere else.

You need to do some reading. While there have been cases in zoos of homosexual animals they are far from the only examples. In nature, with people observing without interacting from a distance, many examples of homosexuality have been observed. The most notorious are the bonobos (who seem to be a completely bisexual species) but many other species have as well. Oh, and homosexuality doesn't always involve the anus.

Not to confuse fact with fiction, but this just seemed amusingly fitted for this thread: http://dune.wikia.com/wiki/Buddallah http://dune.wikia.com/wiki/Budislam

Not all abortions are created equal (just like not all reasons for abortions are). Though we might agree on third trimester abortions (i.e. that they should be banned except in cases that threaten the mothers life because the fetus is actually viable and can at least theoretically survive outside of another being). The puppies are living beings that are not a part of another creature's body, that is why people are bothered by it. As for Obama's vote (speaking as someone who did not vote for him, but also doesn't hate him) he explained the position he took on the bill you reference. The language of the bill would have effectively banned abortion outright, by the definitions it made/used. You like many others have fallen victim to the doublespeak that is so rampant in our political landscape. A bill is proposed with the "description" or title that sounds like one thing, then the actual bill would do something else, just so political opponents can say later "See, so-and-so voted against breathing" or some crap like that. Just look at the majority of the bills passed by the last administration and compare their titles with what they really allow. Snopes often has good breakdowns of these. But there are lots of groups that are specific to politics for this.

Does anyone else have any knowledge on the traditional date of the Old Boy's birthday celebration? Without going into Mak's title of "Chief Master of Taoism for governing Taoism in this world" ( http://www.taoismcanada.com/eabouttinsi.html ) there seem to be some inconsistancy's in when this celebration is in China. For example, this temple is starting the celebration on the 14th: http://www.china.org.cn/english/culture/161189.htm While the Chinese government set up the Lao Tzu research institute on the 11th in "honor of his birthday": http://en.chinagate.cn/development/special...nt_17426090.htm Is there one traditional date or is this a difference of lineages/traditions?

Some people argue that it ended because the only "discoveries" that were made then were those stolen from the countries they conquered. Remember, the golden age of Islam was when the Caliphs had an expanding empire. Once they were slowed down....well, they slowed down. Not an endorsement of the theory necessarily, it is just worth mentioning. Rome also grew technologically while it expanded, then when Christianity took over it crumbled. Very good observations! : ) Some of what seems like crap when taken literally takes on a very different meaning internally. Also, note, much of what is abhorrent about Islamist societies is not from the Koran, it is from the Hadith or cultural traditions. This is not to say that there are not some things in the Koran that when taken literally cause bad things to happen, there are. But spiritually they have their place most of the time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Sufism Re: Islamists being the new Communists. That is exactly what has happened. You should check out the documentary The Power of Nightmares.

No Islamophobia here (best friend is a Saudi Muslim). Just honest discussion of the beauty and ugliness in a particular faith tradition (most, if not all, of them have both) Actually it is understandable for those who would like to live under Sharia. It is simple ignorance and lack of education and personal responsibility. Same with all the other moral codes (note: not "ethical" codes) that are based on misunderstandings of human nature. Most violence arises from the same thing: Ignorance. There is hate, crime and violence in every culture, Sharia has never, and will never stop that, only education will. People everywhere need to learn to accept other peoples lives as their own and take responsibility for their own lives. Many Muslims do feel this way, though just like many (MANY) Americans (speaking as an American), many other Muslims don't. You are dead on with the "stuck in the Middle Ages" comment, but excusing it doesn't help. Neither with fundie Muslims nor Fundie "other -isms". Oh, and as V. mentions above, not all Sufi Orders are Shiite. There is at least one that is Sunni, and some that aren't even Muslim. Most Sufi Orders (like most true esoteric traditions) are to some extent non-sectarian and accept any Muslim who can say "la illaha il'allah" etc..

More people are realizing. The Libertarian party grew by around 28% last year alone (the only reason this is pertinent is that they are among the only politicians that seem to actually want less government control) and groups like LEAP (http://www.leap.cc/cms/index.php) are growing as well. All it takes is enough people getting sick of sickness and we will no longer be sick...

Oops! That is what happens when you pull info from sites without looking at the dates carefully. The lunar calendar is obvious, but at first it looked like the differences were in the same year. Thanks for pointing out the mistake....

The thread may not have started with much Taoism, but the solution to the problem is wholly Taoist and finally at least one city, El Paso, is starting to push the Federal government for it (though this was met by a "bi#ch slap" from Congress). The connection? Lao Tzu had this to say: "...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 people become rich. I have no desires and people return to the good and simple life." (Chpt. 57) Legalize it and let the corporate thugs wipe out the funding these terrorists and gangsters have been getting. Then you would pull the rug out from under them and simultaniously stimulate the economy with thousands of legitimate jobs, both industrial and agricultural...

Without debating what is better or worse, where do you fall? http://www.theadvocates.org/quizp/index.html

Mak, Please honor this humble request that you not "bomb" this board with your millions of posts like you used to. The information can certainly be interesting, but it overwhelms the board for those who aren't interested. Could you please just make one post and post the links to your articles, or just put all the articles in one thread? That way those of us who want to can search through it, without forcing those that don't to skip down pages to get to what they want to read. Thanks, Taoist81

snip Some do. Universalist Sufis are an example of a non-traditional Order that now has few ties to Islam. Some of the traditional Orders do as well. This is quite true. A Saudi friend (not an Islamist, he even drinks now) described Sufis as "crazy". snip All of the Abrahamic faiths include abbhorant teachings. Christ came "not to bring peace, but a sword" and as a "resurrected being" instructed his followers to, contrary to his previous peacefulness, go out and sell their coats to buy a sword if they didn't have one. As you note elsewhere the Torah has violence (and commandments) as bad as the Koran, and similar esoteric beauty. Both Judaism and Christianity have at least a few hundred years of evolution and maturity on Islam though. Keep in mind, however, even Christianity still breeds the likes of the Westbro Baptists and the abortion clinic bombers. In time Sharia will evolve just as all traditional morality systems do. Just as women no longer conceal their ankles in Western society, less Muslim women wear the Hijab. this will fluctuate until traditional religion as a whole dies out and only the inner truth (if it survives) will remain. As for Zeitgeist, it is a few tidbits of truth mixed with a load of crap. Check out The Power of Nightmares for a very enlightening look at the rise of the Islamist and Neoconservative movements and how they fed each others growth. It doesn't include the sensationalist and bad conspiracy nuttery of Zeitgeist, but does show the real "conspiracy" of the Neocons and their version of the "Noble Lie". You will never look at Bonanza the same way again.

http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23321/sufi...-pakinstan-iran

Yes to your first question. Sex, like most things in life, can certainly be used as a tool in your "spiritual toolbelt". Though, in something of an agreement with the poster above, this is not through the "new age tantra" stuff. It is something that comes about through deeper connection with your "higher self". There are many things in life that can be used as tools to touch the divine.

"over in 1990"? Nasa doesn't seem to suggest that. http://www.nasa.gov/worldbook/global_warming_worldbook.html