Yoda

Feeling negative jams the otherwise groovy love vibe from delivering a fun ride. My favorite story of bad things happening to me is when a friend of mine had a friend whose lung had collapsed spontaneously. That freaked out my friend and then a few months later his lung collapsed spontaneously. He told me the story and then I got freaked out by it and my lung collapsed spontaneously a few months later. When I was in the hospital wondering 'why me?' I picked up a Readers Digest and opened it at random to a Norman V. Peale quoting the Hebrew scriptures: "that which you fear the most shall come to pass." Very enlightening moment.

psychotherapists, doctors, insane family members, weird work relations... if you don't get screwed over by a guru yet you have screwy energy, somebody else will pick up the slack. Law of Attraction and all.

just having a guru is problematic. Goes against the Tao.

Sean, It's difficult to find a guru, coach, author, or CEO who is as happy as your everyday little kid. Keep that in mind as you read those books! -Yoda

I'm curious what tones a woman would get. Or what their boys choir sounds like?

Mandrake, Interesting about calcuim. In countries with a high Calcium:magnesium ratio, heart disease is a problem like in the US. In countries with a low calcium:mg ratio like Japan, it's no biggie. -Yoda

Check this out: http://www.dragondoor.com/qigong/news/arch...qigong_can.html Gives more context to the idea that stretching, shaking, dancing, breathing, etc can be therapy.

I love this on popcorn, MMMM!!!! sounds yummy!

I've noticed that Chia's morning meditation dvd is similar to Sonnon's WW and intuflow and John's system looks like it falls in somewhere in between. Looks cool. And talk about a well reviewed book...

can you get the same kick just buying whole sea salt?

I've never been a big fan of eating breakfast but over the last couple of years I succumbed to the research about school kids doing better with breakfast and started eating breakfast myself. All I have to show for it is a physique that's a notch less sexy than where it was. I've decided to blame my breakfast habit for this development. From here on out, it's fired. Rats live more vigorously and have greater longevity if they eat every other day and I think the fasting lifestyle is what I want to get back to. http://72.14.207.104/search?q=cache:5oK3iZ...us&ct=clnk&cd=3 It's drifting me back to a Warrior Diet type of an existence. I think getting off caffeine has enabled me to go without eating comfortably for indefinite periods. I've been off caffeine for the last couple of months and skipping breakfast seems to be the next step. Edit: due to popular backlash, I've toned down the title line of this post from two !!s to simply one !.

Great post, Cam. Steve's workouts are very humbling to behold--the guy has a shitload of energy and he doesn't practice retention. I've studied him for years now, but can't replicate his results thus far. It's very true what he says that there's no good link between high cholesterol diet and high cholesterol in the bloodstream. The Magnesium Factor explains why there has been so much misunderstanding on the subject: High fat diets will nail you if you are borderline Mg deficient which many modern, westernized cultures are. The fat blocks absorption of key minerals. It's the Mg deficiency that in turn leads to high cholesterol in the blood and artery damage. Mrs Yoda ran into this problem on a low carb diet. The reason Steve doesn't have this problem is that the boy takes $500+ worth of supplements per month including his minerals. The author of the Magnesium factor recomends upping Mg 500+mg/day for 6 months before embarking on any major dietary or exercise program to protect your energy levels and health from depleting factors.

thanks!

Cam, How does Tao in the Bottle compare with the Shuo Wu? -Yoda

Thaddeus, So far all my little "Operation Yang" programs from herbs to sungazing to extremely active retention have crashed and burned... now maybe I'll try being a girl like Matt and Winn suggest... I have best results with yang tonics if done occasionally. That way I can enjoy their rush but not get hinky. I like your suggestion of cultivating the feeling of being a sexually active alpha male and that feeling is what our biology is driven to strive for so it creates a good inner tonic for the system. In reading "Our Inner Ape" we have two close primate relatives: the chimps and the bonobos. The Chimp alpha male burns through his yang quickly out of stress, tension, and paranoia. Viking kings usually died before 31, and chimp alphas don't last long either--fun while it lasts, but unsustainable. Bonobo culture is actually ruled by the females, with not nearly as much fighting, the reigning alpha female can stay on top for more than just a year or two, and the book suggests that our genital size seems to indicate that humans are more naturally on the bonobo side of the equation--more lovers than fighters but that we are flexible and can operate on the extreme fringes of yang and yin behaviors. Nice thread! -Yoda

I think it is reasonable to assume that there are many, many, many planets out there with smart life walking, oozing around, etc. But I'm not convinced that it is possible to travel faster than the speed(s) of light, so I'm pretty sure that we are all islands. "You can look, but not probe." As they might say. I do believe in non-physical life and that those beings can sometimes see and be seen by some of us at some times in this dimension. I saw my Grandmother's spirit when I was a lad, for example. I'm thinking that lightships travelling through the air are physical interpretations of spiritual vision. I do think that spirits, ancestors, etc do play a supportive role for us in this dimension on a moment to moment basis. And I think that the creation of the big bang required a lot of cooperative focus from the spiritual dimension. And some people do take birth and keep much of their awareness and power that they had in the spiritual dimensions and maybe these charismatic individuals became very influential 'gods' and 'avatars' that we hear about today. The non-physical realms are such a distinctive phase change from our embodied experience, it's no wonder that there's lots of mystery and disagreement about it. I really couldn't live happily without a belief in a cushy afterlife. ps, I just read that in traditional Christianity everyone was taught about hell in great detail (the levels, the torture devices, etc) and heaven was taught to be vaguely 'nice'. In traditional Muslim countries it's just the opposite--yummy treats await the good Muslim and only very vague threats of hell. The Vikings took after the Muslim slant.

I'm just using my 5lb clubs right now, but I look forward to toughing up to start swinging a sledge! It gives me a bit of a Viking/Thor rush.

Yes, diarrhea is a sign that one is taking too much magnesium. The cheapest source of Magnesium is Epsom Salts, just take less than the directed amount unless you'd like to sit on the can all day. I had a friend who flew out to Phoenix and I was to be her tour guide through a backpacking trip in the Grand Canyon. She said she was constipated, so I had heard that epsom salts would help and I mixed her up a tall glass of the stuff... Very much the opposite problem during the expedition!! Nor was she happy with me until it worked out of her system and we saw the Havasupi falls. That was pretty cool! Actually the Magnesium Factor ties in with two other books I've reviewed: The Obesity Myth and the one about Vitamin D (I forget the title). This book is team written by an MD and a PhD is very much in agreement with the Obesity Myth that being overweight isn't the big deal most people think. The Magnesium Factor gets into a bit why. The Mg Factor discusses vitamin D but stresses that one must first correct Mg deficiency first before addressing vitamin D deficiencies as Mg is crucial for Vit D assimilation but taking too much D would interfere with bringing the body back up to proper Mg levels. In some people Mg levels can be corrected within months, but it can take years, depending on the individual. The book doesn't fully get into 'why' the medical community has largely missed the boat about Mg and its connection to cardio disease. Perhaps b/c Mg is dirt cheap and no drug company will fund research, perhaps b/c it's extremely difficult to test Mg levels in a live person, perhaps it's b/c the medical community has already decided that heart disease is all about weight, stress, cholesterol, etc. The book suggests that these things do correlate with heart disease, but are often symptoms of the underlying Mg problem. The book says the the rise of heart disease over the last 100 years is about the ratios of sodium, potassium, and magnesium getting out of balance. In any event, Mrs Yoda is feeling much better now. And her pulse and blood pressure are down to normal levels after 2 weeks of Mg 800mg/day. She's not completely over her arrhythmias but that is improving dramatically and the book suggests that after 4-5 months of Mg that her arrhythmias should largely be a thing of the past. I'll take Mg too just for kicks to see if I can gain any improvements from it. (600ish mg/day) I'll run it up and then back off when I get too poopy. PS, Mg can "cure" heart murmurs and reverse artery damage in many cases too, so it's never too late. PPS, check the Mg levels of your drinking water--that might possibly cover it right there if you have the right kind of hard water. So, it's recommended reading if you have any cardio type concerns. -Yoda Incidently, over the last several months of Mrs Yoda complaining about her heart I told her that it was "just mental, get over it" so I've not been the perfect doctor myself, but I've come out rosey in the end after cracking the case on perhaps my biggest victory I've had with google to date. (fundamentally, all aspects of physical experience do arise from vibrational transmissions--so I was 'right' as far as that goes, but relationships have a truth of their own, don't they?)

Just read "The Magnesium Factor" by Seelig. Very scientific, good read, recommended for anyone with heart issues to get what they won't hear from the drug company cyborgs. Mrs Yoda's doctor--a nice guy & well trained & lots of experience with heart issues--totally missed the boat here. I'm sure Mrs. Yoda isn't the only one misdiagnosed. Apparently, the author recommends using table salt that is a mixture of sodium, potassium, and magnesium. "Whole" sea salt and smart salt are examples. The modern diet is too much sodium. Also, if you are underwhelmed by your ability to exercise strenuously, you might try taking magnesium. Magnesium is stored in the soft tissues of the bones, so it can take years to bring magnesium levels in the body back to normal. Also, it can take years before the effects of an imbalanced diet brings about problems in weight gain, heart function, energy levels, etc. The book also recommends magnesium supplements if one is engaged in any form of regimented diet and/or exercise program or is taking calcium supplements or drinks soft water.

How about buying two sledge hammers and cutting the handles down? Sure, you have to be mindful, but you have to be mindful of regular clubbells too. That might fit in better with the jetsetting lifestyle.

Awesome review, thanks! I'm not yet at rubbery, but I can definitely move better. I'm wondering if I am more rooted. My brother tried a good hearted surprise shove on me and he was the one who moved. Perhaps my body is getting better at keeping its balance.

i'm far enough along to realise i have definately moved. How has it changed you? I've noticed a systematic increase of relaxation and flow in the past 6 months of it. Subtle, but definitely noticeable and consistent. If this slight improvement continues at this pace for the next few years... that'd be nice. The one big change is that I no longer sleep with a tight jaw. In another year, I'll be a good ole slack jaw southerner! Amen!

Any reviews? Should I get a pair for Mrs Yoda?

I like the butterfly metaphor too... we take bodies to increase our focus, to eat and fatten up on wisdom and desires and then to take that knowledge back to the freedom and limitlessness of our non-physical spawning grounds when we've had our fill.

I'm not fully grokking Winn's article, but it reminds me of Tibetan yab-yum drawings. (woman sits on the tantric master's lap while having sex drawings) Incidently, a lot of people consider this to be an actual physical sex position, but it's intended more on a subtle energetic level as referred to in Winn's article. Lamas have asked that female practitioners be drawn in the seated meditation position with a mini male practioner sitting in her lap to show that this alchemy is the same for either gender. Chia and much of Taoism seem to focus exclusively on the chi/pranayama dimensions of practice. It's nice that Winn is starting to connect the system to more mystical, meditative dimensions.