Yoda

Imo, practicing some form of energy circulation on a daily basis is the key to managing sexual energy when it's activated such as rite number 6, microcosmic orbit, spinal breathing, etc. And some form of meditation practice is key to managing the energy circulation practice. There are resources on advancedyogapractices.com that I follow and googling vajroli mudra might yield more info. This kind of "bandha" or breath lock practice is reserved for down the road in Indian traditions so maybe that's why the Colonel was reserved about the practice. Maybe googling "vacuum breath" would pull up more info too. So far, I've not incorporated it as a practice.

interesting post. I'd love to see some links on the benefits of tobacco.

I wouldn't sweat the grades and I would focus on having fun. I had a lot of fun in high school and I ended up getting Bs no matter how hard or how little I studied and somehow it all turned out well. In college, I turned this B attitude into a science by finding out exactly how little work I needed to put in in order to get the B. I learned how to "get the point" of a book or article without reading it (a handy skill) and to review my notes etc on a daily/weekly basis so I wouldn't have to cram later. By the end of my schooling, I could sense what questions would be on the test... you don't have to be a psychic either, it's easy to vibe out the teacher. There's never been a place in my life for resumes, bosses, grades, etc. Most taobums are like this and I'd bet you turn out that way too. jmo, of course. -Yoda

In the book I'm currently reading (something like intro to deep tissue massage) just said to think of massage as a form of stretching. That'll help one's deep tissue/myofascial release technique to think along the lines of stretching rather than compressing or pumping the muscle. Especially, don't squash the muscle against a bone.

Well, I'm thinking the similarities are greater relaxation and energy flow in general. There are passive stretching techniques and many forms of assisted stretching that sort of happen to you too. I'm thinking the big difference is that massage is just the same as stretching but on a smaller scale.

Trunk, Like the new avatar! Leidee, If you can do a triathalon then you have enough aggression. Focus on how well intended your mom is and then change the subject. My mom was born in the 40s and she wasn't allowed to run for fear her uterus would be hurt!! The generations will never see eye to eye and that's the way it should be. -Yoda

I don't know of Scottish tao bums, but my 7 year old daughter (in USA) has requested a Scottish pen pal... know anyone?

Ian, I don't think of it as entities, but I do think that there are very powerful currents out there that once you tap into it sort of sweeps you away. For us in the USA, the beginning of the Iraq War was like that to the point that practically nobody opposed it, questioned it, debated it, voted against it, etc. I even heard on our National Public Radio a normally politically progressive interviewer sort of acted/seemed genuinely taken aback when he interviewed an expert suggesting that weapons of mass destruction wasn't the primary motivation for the war. It was spooky. Jmo, and I hope my views don't offend anyone (but f**k you if it does Just kidding...), but I don't think that anyone can rationally explain why we took such a course of action--the net, net bottom line of removing Hussein and installing a 'democracy' just wasn't worth the energy. But when you back up and consider the strong currents of karma/law of attraction/emotional energies swirling through everyone and when I tap into the flow of aggression in my own life I can understand why these things happen. On that level, it's perfectly in accord with the tao. And on that level, it's perfectly appropriate to have a military and to lash out here and there. Even when it doesn't make sense rationally, killer whales will play with their food before they kill it, cats play with wounded mice, etc. If you got aggression, you are going to use it and that's fine. I'll just not own a gun... that's my compassion in action. If you do think of it in terms of entities, I'd recommend that you think of them as helpers attracted by the emotions that one transmits and they offer to add their power to your intent. The belief in possession where an entity can control somebody when they have an entirely different vibration going on is both dis-empowering, inaccurate, and will drive you nuts. Been there done that. And finally, I think that everyone including dictators, presidents, citizens, killer whales and entities are all fundamentally good. So much so that it's fine to play rough. Life can be like a rugby match for those who care to play in the field of aggression. It's all here for us to have fun with. -Yoda

I got too angry when I did too much retention/sungazing/standing/caffeine. The healing sounds and not owning a gun are five star anger management tips that'll buy you time to get to the ipod! Now that I'm on a more meditation and vegan based practice, anger is where I'd like it to be. When I fast too long I actually don't have enough anger and that sucks too. I haven't verified this, but the word aggression is said to derive from the word meaning "to move forward" and it does get things done in the right proportions.

I've got tetris on my phone that I play here and there. I totally love Wii bowling, but I don't own a Wii.

thanks!

Very cool!! What's moxa, btw?

First of all, your problem is actually a good sign that you are very sensitive... so it's a good thing in the big picture. In addition to taobums, the forum at Advancedyogapractices.com is a good resource for people who have kundalini overdoses. Grounding activities like taking walks, spending time outdoors, exercise, stretching, showers, heavier diet and suspending energy practices for the timebeing might help to experiment with.

I was just told about a tooth regeneration website: http://www.merkabaweb.net/forum/topic.asp?...le=regeneration There was an account of a young woman regrowing her teeth through faith and some helpful hint and links for anyone interested. -Yoda

Cool thread! I got Neil Slade's books and it didn't do anything for me. If I remember correctly, the main technique is to imagine stimulating the front half of the amygdala and I seem to remember that stimulating the front half of the brain through visualizations of your choice is best and stay away from the back of the brain. I forget why and I didn't stick with the practice. There are stellar reviews of the technique around, so I'm sure that it can get good results for people. If I remember correctly, the visualization might be tickling it with a visualized feather, flipping an imaginary switch, zapping it with light, etc. What really stuck with me from Neil's books is cloud busting... pick a cloud and mentally intend to dissolve it. If you start with a big cloud it won't work, but I think that the implication is that you can build up to it. It is fun. I think there is something to it, but detractors would say that very small clouds are constantly dissolving. I've tried cloud observation/busting from both paradigms (I'm a geminii, I can do that) and I do believe that clouds are very psychically sensitive. But either way, it's a fun game.

Per Scientific American Mind Magazine: Studies of chimps and human sleeping patterns plus historical accounts suggest that the "natural" sleep patterns for human beings is actually not of one period of 8+/- hours of sleep per night but rather of two sleep periods: first and second sleeps with a period of wakefulness between the two sleeps. In today's era with electrical lighting, we tend to stay up later and compress these two sleep periods together, but many people even now do wake up in the middle of the night and stay awake for awhile. Researchers suggest that this isn't a problem at all, so just learn to enjoy it. Historians say that this period between the sleeps was used for various reasons in different cultures... chatting, hunting, sex, contemplation, etc. I guess the chimps don't contemplate, but they are active between the two sleeps as well. Just knowing this has encouraged me to use this time more productively.

If it's good enough for Plato then it's good enough for Yoda.

Imo, Yogani would say that the Bodri/Yogani paths are essentially the same but Bodri wouldn't.

The classical approach to spiritual cultivation is to really load up the disciplines and then get into meditation and energy practice down the road. An alternative way is to teach meditation then energy practices and then, if you are so inspired, to bring in the elements of discipline later as the energy practices develop. Imo, Bodri's work is excellent but too difficult for me to follow. I've found advancedyogapractices.com to be essentially the same message but delivered in a more mellow context which is easier for me. -Yoda

I don't have any answers but welcome to taobums!

I've only seen the original one, but I'll check this one out... it turns me on to see older guys with good bods. Plus he's using kettlebells. Hopefully, he doesn't meditate or do taichi or anything like that on screen. That'd be too corny.

Nice... I hadn't considered anything along those lines before. Good to be aware of.

They are pretty cool. From simple biurnal (sp?) cds to the goggles where you can check out mandalas, they are very fun. I'd say the most important thing for the spiritual aspirant is to practice some sort of stillness meditation daily. This sort of technology can make the meditation experience *much* easier to access and a much easier habit to keep up. Some say that after a few months, you've learned all you can and others say that you can keep going with them indefinitely. I think both sides of the debate have their virtues. For instance, I don't experience mandalas anymore, but when I used goggles, the mandalas were common. I'm not sure if there's a real benefit to seeing them or not but I bet there would be some sort of brain growth that one would get with them. I was most active with the technology from 88-92 but I've checked in recently with them and it seems to be the same thing still.

Awesome about the drums!!

Interesting timing... one of the kids around here has squirrelled away the knob of my club somewhere. I agree, it could be a better design and it's a good idea to work out away from other people if you are really swinging them.