Yoda

Maybe we could all chip in for a down payment on something fun in Beijing! You have to be at least 5'11" though... at 5'10" nobody seems to want my swimmers, but perhaps the Chinese don't have the same height requirement. -Yoda

Maybe one could donate sperm as a down payment??? Then it wouldn't be "nothing down" would it? You'd need to find a very motivated seller, of course! Sean, I'm a bit more Mom and Pop for the ccim thing, but I'd head to the library and spend a few weeks reading up on the subject to see if you want to get into it. -Yoda

Ron, Have you attained immortality, then? How does one know? Winn said that Ron Diana had attained immortality, so maybe you can sense it in another? I'm not in agreement with this view, but I'm always a big fan of the Tao te RJ. -Yoda

Cool Guru Rating site! It looks like my friend's guru comes out with a "recommend" label--that's good. Columbia, SC isn't a very exciting market, but I don't have to worry about timing for that reason. It seems that real estate investment if done long term is reasonably safe. I'd rather start as low on the food chain as I can! Keeps things low-risk. -Yoda

For anyone who wants to be a writer when they grow up, here's the recipe for automatic writing, learned this just the other day: write words at a brisk pace, two pages a day. Throw away and repeat. Apparently, over time you simply get the knack for it. tips: don't punctuate and it sometimes help to pretend that an animal is sitting on the desk dictating to you. The nuttier the animal is the better, so when your judgement says "that's dumb" you still allow the flow since even your deepest judgements wouldn't expect Shakesphere out of a duck. Apparently, it's not that hard to do, just takes time to get comfortable with it. Haven't tried it, but it sounds like a great tool to know about and goes well with the power animal channelling going on around here. And it would be a good tool for writers to experiment with. Rabbi Lazzatto (sp?) a Hassidic Theologian automatic wrote his entire theological system! -Yoda

Tenga Rinpoche was asked what the difference was between life and death. The reply: "There's no difference." I've always liked that response. -Yoda

I hope I'm right too!! All's well that ends well... so it's kinda important to have as cheery of a view as you can stomach. I used to disbelieve in any kind of afterlife--death was a nebulous downer, and the act of dying sucked. Then I believed in karma and reincarnation from the Tibetan Buddhist perspective. I was relieved that I didn't disapear, but all the bone crushing suffering of all sentient beings was a serious downer. Overall, I couldn't deal with it and it was worse than not having any afterlife. I'm not into the taoist thing where you have to earn immortality--that would provoke fear in an average attainment kind of a guy like me. Then I drifted to the new age camp, of the channelled variety. The only "proof" I have is that my sources are more accurate regarding day to day causality than the scientists, Buddhists, etc. have been for me. I figuring that non-physical entities also have a better perspective on disembodied life than human-based seers who can only visit part time with imperfect recall upon their return, as the two realms are very differently focused. But I've not had any near death experiences or conscious trance channelling myself or anything direct like that. -Yoda

"Worthwhile, but probably dangerous to give someone who's currently in mourning." The truth needs to get out of the hat. Their mourning is just messin' with their own transition. Obviously, I didn't post my thoughts on HT or anything agressive like that--just for the bumz. Ron Diana is partying on. Relax into his photo and you can see it. It doesn't take any training to attain immortal status either--the non-phys is our home turf. We are immortal whether or not we practice. Not edgy like the Tibetan version either. Fear has clouded many a pure vision. The part they had right is that we are six times smarter after we transition... That was well said. People on the edge between the two worlds whether just born, dying, etc aren't in perfect comfort. My two kids weren't completely comfortable in their bodies until about 4 months or so. People in comas have usually relocated by then, so no big deal. Being born is much harder and challenging than dying, by a longshot. Regardless, everything is cool when the transition is finalized. Challenging births and circumstances are like choosing a skilled tennis partner--you learn more. -Yoda

Cool! I just saw a banner ad above this thread for New Balance--just an N on a barefoot. We got the man's attention! After reading 20+ books on running, I've found the ultimate: "The Lore of Running" It is way too fucking cool to deal with. About 800 pages of serious research and recommendations from top runners in history including training theory from the turn of the century. Just like with strength training, endurance training has come a long ways in the last 30 years--it is much more powerful and effective now. Huge strength can be had in 5 minutes a day over the years, but endurance does require the body to endure for longer periods than that, but the psychological benefits are worth it. So I'm running/walking, sungazing and standing zz--knees even with toes-- (while sungazing), doing good on the sperm front, etc... I'm the ultimate warrior! -Yoda

nice article. Someday I'll do it. -Y

Doesn't sound like a problem, increase your knee bend if you want to breathe more. The gunslinger looks just like high noon in Dodge City. Many people move the hands slightly forward a few inches, but do whatever feels best. My experience with the gunslinger is that it is the safest way to really get a charge from standing--the energy stays low and strong doesn't get stuck upstairs. I get angry if I spend much time focusing the energy on the head or heart. -Yoda

I haven't read them. Maybe my instructions were handed down from them. -Yoda

The Pet Detective rhinocerous birthing scene has gotta be up there.

It turns out that when I run barefoot I stare at the ground in front of me. When I tried looking at a distant point, I'd step on something after a bit. Looking down is reasonably focused, though. I can see that focusing on a distant point could induce a trance state, but I'd need to wear shoes to check it out. Peter--two marathons? Very cool. Ron--amazing work. I can't wait to get up to that level! -Yoda

I usually let my eyes wander aimlessly. I'll check out focusing on a destination point. 2 hours a day--killer! -Yoda

Ken Cohen in Way of Qigong says that spontaneous movement is a very effective form of qigong--b/c you know what you need and you get it. -Yoda

Just rereading Sexual Teachings of the Jade Dragon and going over the checklist of how to increase sperm production. In addition to suggestions like exercise, ginseng, cool baths, eat walnuts, bathe twice a day, they suggested shaving the pubs to take you back into the time machine to early youth. I'll report how it goes! -Y

I just meant that running is a great way to get your daily pranayama in. Also, it's easy to do breathing imagery exercises like breathing through the feet, balls, macro/microcosmic breathing, color visualizations, smiling practice, etc. -Yoda

The articles section could be used like that. I've sort of done that with the sungazing article that I've updated a few times as new perspectives have occured to me. Maybe we could rename the article section to "articles and favorite topics" or something. I'd love to do a walking/running section. Just a distillation, to get the intricacies you'd have to probe the personal practice discussion of the practitioners in question. I'd also like to do a "Ron for beginners" and a "Plato for beginners" article, as they have great stuff but aren't likely to distill it for us. The idea being that it's a distillation area, not a discussion area. -Yoda

I can see that, too. -Y

Winn says that it's pretty rare for channelled dudes to actually impart practices. Usually they stick to philosophy and psychology. That's been my experience as well. My theory is that the non-physical crowd isn't familiar enough with the physical to offer practice suggestions. Keep me posted! -Yoda

Channelled Jesus standing!! Just my thing!! If I wasn't so glutted, I'd jump right on it. I hope somebody gets into it and posts about it! I hope someone brings this up on HT, too. Turbo, did you overdose on it? Side effects? -Yoda

mbanu- Spot on as usual! I can actually feel the chi flow of it. That gives me another angle I hadn't been considering. I've read some meditative traditions are into shaving the head and some are into letting the hair grow long. Same with washing vs not washing the hair while on retreat. I suppose the net benefit lies in the individual practitioner's particular situation. FloJo kept her fingernails long, maybe to catch the bone energy? In one photo, she had a thumbnail three inches long. On another subject, my fingernails but not my toenails have been growing more quickly in recent weeks. I'm thinking this is b/c I'm getting more exercise these days, or maybe that I'm practicing rudimentary retention, but it could be that I'm drinking more milk. Or just getting more sunlight. Dunno. I was on a month long meditation retreat and everyone there reported that their fingernails and toenails were growing quickly. (they fed us lots of tofu, no milk) I'm finding it odd that my toenails aren't keeping pace. You'd think with two months of running and walking (often barefoot) I'd get a little more toenail action. Any thoughts? -Yoda

Don't worry, the site automatically blocks me from posting pictures. 24hr verdict: It works. It's itchy. Factoring the relative effortlessness of this practice, it's good. -Yoda

Well, thanks to the book, I'm lookin good and ready to star in a skin flick any day now. -Yoda