Chang

"White Male" is used as a term of abuse by feminists, Cultural Marxists and their ilk. The inference being that white males have all the power in the world and are very much the oppressor towards the female and other races. This is simply taken by them as "fact" and is not a matter for argument or debate. I find it difficult to believe that you are not already aware of this and suspect that you are simply poking the snake with a stick but it matters not.

I am not the person to ask as I do not have a problem with white males. There are however a lot of people who do and perhaps some of them will see fit to reply to your query.

Jacinda Kate Laurell Ardern identifies herself as a Socialist and a Progressive. We should look upon her as a sort of female Justin Trudeau and give serious thought as to which of the two is the most feminine. Ardern will pursue a Cultural Marxist agenda in New Zealand promoting diversity and equality, we may expect things to begin going down hill at a steady rate but should remember that it will not be her fault but will be the fault of white males who still hold power everywhere. Here she is pictured with he beta male partner Clarke Gayford. The couple have a cat.

Will we see morning Awaking from sleeps false death To see, move and breathe.

Man shall be trained for war and woman for the recreation of the warrior: All else is folly.

Freedom from fury And calm in the midst of joy Equanimity.

Reasonable light A warm wind and a gentle rain See how the plants grow.

Gotta toss to play In this game, lifes rich pageant All piss wind and woe.

It all evens out As day by day life unfolds Good bad and ugly

No one gives a shit Thats right. Especially me What you looking at.

You can hardly see Through your haze of opinions past, present, future.

Ah Deci Belle - gone but not forgotten. Arrogant, self opinionated and deeply unpleasant. I was on the Mod team when they received the "Bums Rush." The sort of person who, if locked in a room alone would manage to fall out with themselves. For the record I always thought that Deci was male, not that that would have made any difference in regard to their being banned.

Let the games begin The egg and spoon race to start Then hop skip and jump.

Common citizen Hews the wood, carts the water A Pleb about town.

Keepers of the peace Is a thankless job at best Long hours and low pay.

Meaningless twilight Not bright day nor yet dark night Dimness and gloom reign.

This is but one mans interpretation of the text of his choice. Both the translations and interpretation can mean all manner of things to different readers. It would also be a mistake to believe that a Chinese speaker would be in a better position to interpret the meaning of the DDJ. I posted this simply because it may prove of interest to some members of this forum, nothing more. It may prove a light on the path for some readers and yet be worthless to others, Read it, ignore it or discuss it if you must but really "have someone read the article or is there a review on it?" At some stage you will have to make your own mind up on things rather than being led by the nose.

All weather fathomed But the mind still troubled is With doubts dark and deep.

From mountains crashing Comes the great watery floods Tumbling rumbling flow

I would not choose to train with Damo Mitchell but I am not you. Let us look briefly at teaching and teachers. Before considering a teacher you must first decide what it is that you wish to learn. I assume that you are interested in Taoist Martial and Internal Arts. Lotus Neigong teach Yang and Hunyuan tai chi as well as Bagua and Xingyi. Beside this they also teach Acupuncture, Tui Na and Wai Qi Liao Fa along with various forms of Qigong - Dao Yin, Waigong and Neigong. It is a massive though disjointed syllabus but looks impressive to the naive observer Mitchell is originally from the west country and I am not sure how well represented he is in London as regards teachers and teaching. You would need to investigate. So you will need to decide what it is that you wish to study and then look for appropriate teachers. You will also have to consider how easy it will be to attend classes. Travelling in London can be a slow and unpleasant business so it were best if you find a class near to where you are living. Progressing in the Taoist Arts is a slow but steady affair. On paper Roni Edlund (Damo's girlfriend) is an accomplished master of the Internal Arts. In practice she is simply an attractice girl with a fit bendy body. So again you will have to decide at some point if you are to be a simple dabbler in these arts or are you in for the long haul? My advice would be to decide what it is that you wish to learn and then begin your search for who can teach you. Are you interested in these arts for health only or do you wish to master the martial aspects? There is much to consider and I wish you luck.

I must admit to being most unimpressed by "Damo" Mitchell. He has travelled a good deal in China and in other Asian lands training with various teachers and has cobbled together a system of sorts. He is certainly a great self promoter having various websites, publishing books and producing impressive looking video's but................. Check his websites and see if you can find provenance for his teaching. You will find numerous teachers named and numerous styles and systems studied from whom he has taken what interested him. His is a self created system with bits and bobs taken from here and there and with Mitchell as the Grandmaster. There is nothing wrong with this and it has been done extensively in the past with Masters taking this and that from other styles and systems and then making it their own. The point is that to do this you must be a Master already, you must know the principles that make things work - the internal workings of the Internal Art. Damo Mitchell is sadly lacking in this respect. Check some of his video's where he or his students are practicing various forms. Look especially at the feet and the manner in which they adjust the stance whilst stepping. It lacks both control and rooting. The forms look impressive - I will admit that - they are certainly showy but they lack substance. Mitchell is without doubt a great front man for his organisation and his administrative abilities are worthy of admiration as is the amount of work and effort he puts into practice. His organisation Lotus Neigong International is certainly growing apace and I am sure that he has no shortage of fee paying students. But take a moment to look at his "Brief Biography" http://lotusneigong.com/damo-mitchell/ Taoist Arts, Buddhist Arts, Western Hermeticism. For a man of his obvious youth he has simply done too much, a jack of all trades and probably a master of none. As a final note I am always deeply suspicious of a man who promotes his partner to Master grade in his organisation. Rony Edlund (Damo's partner) has only been studying Internal arts since 2007 and yet appears to be second only to him in the organisation. It is all a bit much.

I believe that Brian went into a self imposed exile following a falling out on a political thread. Hopefully he will return in due course.

Less tea, more crackers Alas no more cakes and ale To cheer the weary

You are heading down the wrong road if you believe that retirement to a cave will develop your qi or internal strength. One would retire to a cave to avoid food for the senses thereby aiding meditative practices. To buld Internal Energy it is good to practice where such energy abounds - in the open surronded by trees for example.

The lake in slumber Unruffled by gust or breeze My mind in repose