Stigweard

Thanks for the encouragement. Yup potentially a big task but worth the effort as far as I am concerned.

LOL @ Shaktimama If that is your 2 cents worth then what do I get for a dollar???

A perhaps well-timed bump for virtue

You can PM Sean http://www.thetaobums.com/sean-m3.html for details on a yearly banner ad. It would be greatly appreciated if you did contribute to TaoBums like this

@Deepbluesea @sykkelpump @mikaelz @ralis I can hardly believe that you would be slinging insults at each other in a thread devoted to the possible suspension of another member. Really!!?? Just cool it OK? ... Please

Do you have an issue with people putting promotional messages in their signatures? Where lies your line of spam designation? How would you implement and enforce such a protocol here on TTB's? Actually let's open it up to everyone here. What is the TaoBum's definition of spam? What is allowable and what is to be not tolerated? Remember we are you humble servants whose only purpose is to do your bidding.

You may have noticed the I Ching Readings banner ad that I have paid for

Gee whiz there must be something in the food supply. Or maybe they have pulled back on the fluoride dosage in the water ways. Spam is called spam because it has many of the same characteristics as the lunchmeat Spam: * Nobody wants it or ever asks for it. * No one ever eats it; it is the first item to be pushed to the side when eating the entree. * Sometimes it is actually tasty, like 1% of junk mail that is really useful to some people. The only reason why Drew's post came to our attention was because we were getting multiple PM's from members who found it an issue. And after 30+ consecutive new members getting a SFQ linked post we agreed that it was a little excessive. "Dial it back" can simply mean to have the SQF link in the signature and make a warm and friendly hello. You don't need to be like a Chinese taxi driver accosting the tourists as they come off the train.

There are two simplistic ways of viewing knowledge: It can either be "Knowledge as Given" or "Knowledge as Problematic." Knowledge as given sees the subject content represented as facts, ie. a body of truth to be acquired by students. The transmission of the information may vary, but is based on the concept of knowledge as being static and able to be handled as property, perhaps in the form of tables, charts, handouts, texts, and comprehension activities. Presenting knowledge as problematic involves an understanding of knowledge not as a fixed body of information, but rather as being constructed, and hence subject to political, social and cultural influences and implications. Multiple, contrasting, and potentially conflicting forms of knowledge are represented. So the question arises: Is the Taoist ontology "Knowledge as Given" or "Knowledge as Problematic"? What are the implications of your answer?

One of the true arts of leadership is the ability to take "corrective feedback." We have listened carefully to the sentiments expressed here and have decided to set in stone a protocol that we will never delete a members post. I think Trunk's words sum up our feelings here: I would add that we are here first and foremostly in service to this forum. We're here because of our deep appreciation and enjoyment of what The TaoBums means to us, and what it means to you. I know Mal has jokingly said that this is a benevolent dictatorship, however I see it personally as the exact opposite. Speaking at least for myself, being a moderator is the lowest rung on the ladder here, we are servants whose primary directive is to provide each member the best experience possible. As servants though, sometimes we do have to do the dirty work of taking out the trash.

Have updated the guidelines: 4. Executing moderation action NOTE: Under no circumstance will a moderator completely delete a post. Members have the primary ability and right "to post." If the full contents of a post requires editing then full explanation why will be noted in the relevant post, but the post will remain.

Steve f would say: "Answers are dead, only questions are alive." I think this sums up the idea of "knowledge as problematic".

I would say that Taoism has elements of both static and fluid knowledge. For instance the laws that governed the earth and the universe 6000 years ago are still the laws of today. And I think we can be confident that Laozi and co. did a find job of articulating those laws as close to perfect as possible. What has changed however is the culture of humanity. So, in the trinity of Tian (heaven), Ren (humanity), and Di (Earth), it is Ren that is most mutable. As such the Dao of the ancients must be expressed in a way that is in harmony with the Dao of contemporary life.

Every one of my requests to authenticate your facts given were valid regardless of whatever "tone" you have assumed I had. You have asserted that Water is the first in the sequence. My question was simple: Why is that designation made? If Water is first phase because of the 1 single heaven dot then, to remain consistent, Fire must be the second followed by Wood, Metal, and the Earth. But this isn't the creation cycle of the Wuxing so a discrepancy occurs and I am very interested to discover why. So lets get ourselves on the same page here. You have quote the Ta Chuan as the authoritative source for this discussion. Here's an online copy: Ta Chuan section 1 Ta Chuan section 2 Could you please point me to the sections that support your comments?

Hmm ... why does the Hetu make it obvious? Because water is 1 on the cycle?? If this is was the basis of the attribution then Fire would be second because it is 2, which is why I suggested the sequence of Water, Fire, Wood, Metal, Earth. Careful with your assertions of other schools of thought being "full of crap." Statements like this begin to sound like bigotry. Rather than make these sorts of statements, could you perhaps simply provide conclusive proof and references to back up your assertions? Sorry your Russian language reference proves nothing in relation to Taoist ontology (the Water-Wood interface does however link back interestingly to the Jia Tze reference I gave earlier). Reference your statements please. I don't have a book of embryonic development and the best I could find is Interactive Prenatal Development Timeline - Intermediate. According to this the first organ to develop is actually the heart. I need you to explain further. What do you mean when you say "brings down the 7th element"?

I'm hearing you. I just want to know why you are saying Water is designated as the first element in the sequence. Most systems use Wood as the start of the sequence.

Lets have a look at this: OK so Water in the North (bottom of the Hetu), from your perspective, starts the sequence by virtue of the 1 / 6. Correct? So the sequence is Water, Fire, Wood, Metal, Earth. Correct? So how does that then relate to:

WinPro07, You may be right about Yoda. In the process of moderation sometimes we target the big and nasty whilst the more subtle posters slip beneath the radar. Quite rightly Steve has been warned and your posts also deserved being called out. If you feel strongly about Yoda's posts then please copy and paste them here highlighting how they have breached our moderation guidelines.

winpro07, Steve has been duly warned for his behavior and is on official suspension notice if any further violations occur. Trust me when I say you have not been singled out. Your posts that were deleted (which were derogorative photos of Steve that were presumably photoshoped by you) were also clear violations so you can consider yourself in the same boat. On that note we are closing this thread until further notice. PS If you disagree with any moderation action please do so in the Forum / Tech Support Section. <-- The Moderation Team -->

Heya Taomeow As always I enjoy your interactions. Yes, the Taiji Tushuo (太極圖說; "Explanations of the Diagram of the Supreme Ultimate" or "Diagram Explaining the Supreme Ultimate") cannot be viewed as purely a representation of Taoist ontology. Drawn by Zhou Dunyi (1017-1073), predominantly a Confucian, it was a synthesis of Confucian ideals with the I Ching and Taoist Naturalism. Interesting. In the Ten Celestial Stems, Jia (yang wood) is always presented as the first in the sequence. It is the image of breaking through, like a sprout breaking through the earth. In the Twelve Earthly Branches however it is indeed Tze (yang water) that initiates the sequence. It is the image of the reproductiveness of life, like a seed beneath the earth, absorbing moisture and nutrition for development. When the Ten Celestial Stems and the Twelve Earthly Branches combine to form the full 60 phase cycle the first phase is therefore Jia Tze. It is a recognition that the "initiation of life" requires both the male "penetration" and the female reproductive womb. The reason why Earth is placed in the middle is because it is seen as the unifying, stabilizing and harmonizing force amongst the five phases. After each phase of the four phases a harmonizing earth phase ensues.

I'll wade in here beside Mal and say that the vibe in here is in no way shape or form constructive. We have been true to our form of being invisible as best we can with the moderation, but things here are getting out of hand. If you checked our Moderation Guidelines you would see we have clear "no-go" zones including: * Insulting other members * Negatively charged and personally attacking terms (ie: fool, idiot, stupid, ass-hole, etc.) * Profanity and vulgar language * Threatening other members Normally we have a very high tolerance level and let a lot pass by, but this thread is escalating in its cumulative violations. It would be a shame to start the new year with a bunch of folks taking a TaoBum vacation. Just a thought.

I have recently received a question from a friend of mine and I am not able to answer him properly because I am not experienced in this particular type of breath work. If you have experience, or know of relevant resource instruction, I would welcome your input. ------------------------- If it wouldn't be too much of a problem for you, would you mind asking your friend about a technique? I found this on two totally separate sources - one belongs to a Hungarian alternative healer (who unfortunately died this summer so I can't ask him), the other is a document on yoga. (I already tried to contact the yoga institute which published the document but they didn't answer me - as usual.) So here it is. The technique states that holding back your breath for 60 seconds and repeating this 60 times at minimum every day generates such a self-healing capacity that you will get rid of ALL diseases and infections, and as long as you keep practicing, you will remain totally healthy. The Hungarian man's version tells to start with 20 seconds, and it suggests a couple of weeks of practice before going for 30 seconds, etc. - for the sake of getting used to it. The yogic version also includes that the time-rate between inhalation, restrain, and exhalation should be 1:4:2 - so if you inhale for 10 seconds then you hold your breath for 40 seconds and exhale for 20 seconds. Well, if your friend knows more (which I hope) about breathing, could you please ask whether this self-healing thing with this particular exercise could be possible, and whether it is important to stick to that 1:4:2 time-rate?