Stigweard

I was so hungry That even spam looked tasty Desperate measures

With out condiments(?) No ginger or wasabi? That's just not sushi

Shop shop till you drop Frantic retail therapy What is the real cost?

That's pretty much the nuts and bolts of it

Humour

LOL I thought it was being a little too quiet around here. All good ... have at it boys, play fair, no punching below the belt.

Don't forget to brush And flossing will extend life Get into the gaps

Drummers beat goes on Boom ta da boom ta da boom I'm lost in the pulse

Thanks for this Ian -- Will be sure to follow this up if I end up in the Old Country.

You see ... I KNEW we were kindred spirits I used to be a museum technician/professional as well ... how bout that! These days my 'vocation' as in a job is as a Sleep Consultant ... helping people get more restful, healing sleep (the statistics are that over 50% of the population are suffering from some sort of sleep deprivation). As an avocation ... well you have to put Taijiquan at the top of the list but I really believe that this is my 'true' vocation. I guess another way to ask this question is: "If you never had to worry about making money or fulfilling any social obligation, what would you do for the sheer LOVE of it?" Again Taijiquan is simmering nicely on the surface. But travel would be right up there. My wife and I have planned out a couple of years on a world-wide study tour ... spending time with various teachers. Carol is a Druid/astrologer/artist so spending time in England/Wales etc. is her call. Me? I'm more of a wilderness wayfarer come kung fu lad so I would be heading for that sort of attraction. A couple years as Shen Ku masters then back home where will will distill all we have gained into a 'mystery school'. Now that is what makes my heart sing.

Oh dear ... does that mean we all need therapy?

This was posted in another thread ... thought it would be at home here --------------------- Within the infinite spectrum of awareness universally possible we have a narrow bandwidth called the 'human experience'. This bandwidth is atrophied even further to a meagre sliver due to social conditioning. When I agreed with TaoMeow that 'enlightenment' is to be fully human my description of that would be someone who is embodying the full human potential. The question remains then that, if the practitioner is able to gain full mastery of one's awareness, is it possible before physical death to access alignments of awareness that lie beyond the human potential?

Strange how one's mind works Dancing swarm of Faery lights Grab it you cannot

I now seek balance Silly clown's acrobatics The crowd laughs aloud

strings of lambent tears caress softly then are gone whispers echo back

Within the infinite spectrum of awareness universally possible we have a narrow bandwidth called the 'human experience'. This bandwidth is atrophied even further to a meagre sliver due to social conditioning. When I agreed with TaoMeow that enlightenment is to be fully human my description of that would be someone who is embodying the full human potential. The question remains then that, if the practitioner is able to gain full mastery of one's awareness, is it possible before physical death to access alignments of awareness that lie beyond the human potential?

I second that motion.

Actually I have significant respect for both SJ and Buddy, and neither of them are fools. A little over-done in a few areas perhaps but fools they not

The 'we' meaning 'you' obviously has.

StarJumper, I would like to confirm alot of what you are saying with my own experiences including: * Various experiences of insight / enlightenment * Profound Qi perception -- radar hands etc. * Taoism as sorcery * etc. etc. Your words can only originate from experience so I salute you as a brother and compadre of the way. So what I am about to say comes from someone who stands as a friendly contemporary practitioner claiming no superior achievement and someone who is presenting an objective view point. Again I will say that you have obviously achieved significant advancement benefitting from a wonderful teacher and many incredible hours of practice, training, and cultivation. Like myself, many in this forum have and will benefit from your experiences and understanding. The inevitable "however" in my post is that your enveloping self-importance is not only distorting the effective transmission of your understanding but it may also be inhibiting your advancement. An analogy is a well-frog who discovers the nearby creek and he loudly croaks and sings about how clever he is in his achievement not realising that just around the creek bend there is a large lake full of frogs. What I am saying my friend is that your attachment to making such a 'big thing' of your achievement and promoting its importance may currently be your biggest obstacle to your growth. Also, because of the excessive extension of your personality in this forum, many people including myself are simply turning off from your posts as I have no need to expose myself to your unrefined exertions in order to excavate the gems that some of your posts do actually contain. And I believe it is this principally that has attracted you so much criticism in this forum. Personally, I want to hear about the success of your experiences and understanding on such matters that I find very interesting.

Do you really think so?

I will completely agree with what you are saying Todd and confirm the same experience in my life. One of my early mentors told me that the path of unconditional love is: Allowing Excepting Loving Embracing We have a tendency to fight against the reality of things that seem 'unsatisfactory' to us. This internal struggle often manifests as being offended. For example if someone cuts us off in traffic we often get offended and upset because we 'can't believe' that someone has just done this to us. Not only is this reaction a complete waste of energy but it can also cause an accident to happen because the emotional response will either delay an appropriate reaction or create an inappropriate reaction. I'm sure we all can think of many examples of where we have reacted similarly. When I encounter an energy blockage within my own energy system an initial reaction may be to try and 'fix it'; to try and change it. But that energy blockage is merely part of my mind that has enmeshed itself so by trying to change it I am applying part of my mind against another and only creating more internal tension. Which is why the instruction is to simply be 'aware' of the situation, breathe into the area naturally and allow the subtle change to manifest of its own accord. On another level ... I have absolutely no idea what it would be like to have the full quotient of light that is possible within the human experience (my definition of elightenment). My conditioned mind can only concieve within the limits of my world view. If I attempted to achieve enlightenment according to what my rational mind depicted I would only be chasing my own tail so to speak. I can only let go, relax, and allow this awesome mystery called life to continually surprise and delight me on my journey.