NJBob

I'm wondering if many parts of the country haven't been a fascist military industrial complex since WWII? Whenever protests got close to succeeding (like in the late 60's/early 70's) the might of the government crushed the protests. People forget the Vietnam war lasted 10 years. The Iraq/Afghan wars have lasted 10 years. Has anything changed except the P.R. is much better, and the increase in freedom of expression created by the web has been neutralized by the mass media infotainment industry, which is just PR for corporate America and the prison/military/pharma/medico/industrial complex? I'm not saying I don't enjoy all the fruits of the society, the good food, good living, high tech playground we have become. I'm not even saying we are any worse than any other society in all human history, for all I know we are better. I'm just saying the machine is here, it's all powerful, and it controls every facet of our lives. Our only choice is to make the best of it.

Tatsumaru, What you are feeling has been felt by many (possibly most) people. I don't know your age or circumstances, but I can tell you from my own experience that one of the best and most rewarding things in life are love and work. It is said if you can find a job you love, you will never work another day, and it was true for me. I was also told by a wise boss many years ago, that you can achieve whatever you want to in life, it just takes far longer than you want it to. In my case, I always loved computers, and it was my hobby. I tried learning programming on several occasions but wasn't able to do it for a living because I didn't have a degree. Still I pursued my interest while doing whatever work I could get to support myself and my wife and children. At the age of 42, I got the opportunity to become a UNIX system Admin for a new computerized drafting server that was being installed in my company. I had previously done updating of spreadsheets in my department, and had come to the attention of the bosses for doing a good job at that. It was also known I was a computer hobbyist. When the Unix Sys Admin that had been hired for the job bailed at the last minute, I was sent to a two week sys admin class and given a shot. I did that job for the next 20 years until I retired. During that time I loved what I did and turned down/refused any change of assignments. Now computers may not be your thing, but maybe something is. It may require training, giving up promotions or living on less money, but if there is any way to turn something you love to do into a career, I would encourage you to do it. To me, the chance to spend that 40 hours a week you spend earning a living, into doing something you find challenging and rewarding every day is priceless. Just my two cents. And don't be hard on yourself. Everyone fails until the day they finally succeed.

Ozrielos, The "bible" of Taoism are the 84 poems of the Tao Teh Ching attributed to Lao Tzu, more than 2500 years ago. It is said that the Tao Teh Ching can untangle all tangles. From the John C.H. Wu translation of the Tao Teh Ching, Poem 13 says: "WELCOME disgrace as a pleasant surprise. Prize calamities as your own body." Why should we "welcome disgrace as a pleasant surprise"? Because a lowly state is a boon: Getting it is a pleasant surprise, And so is losing it! That is why we should "welcome disgrace as a pleasant surprise." Why should we "prize calamities as our own body"? Because our body is the very source of our calamities. If we have no body, what calamities can we have? Hence, only he who is willing to give his body for the sake of the world is fit to be entrusted with the world. Only he who can do it with love is worthy of being the steward of the world. " To me that says if you have done something to be ashamed of, use that disgrace to better yourself and give to others.

Hi Anamatva, Elliot and Sinfest, Thanks for your welcomes and replies. Happy to be here. I think I will stick with Dr. Paul Lam's Qigong for Health set for now. It's straight forward and uncomplicated and I can feel the chi in my hands while performing the set. And it's geared for senior citizens such as myself.

Hello tao bums, I have been lurking for a long time, and finally joined. I'm fully retired for about 4 years and living with my wife in NJ. We have family and grandkids nearby. I first read the Tao teh Ching (John C.H. Wu version) in the early 1970's. In those pre-computer days, I used to browse nearby book stores several times a week as a way to unwind after getting off work. I've read many versions of the Tao Teh Ching since, but John C.H. Wu's version always seemed to resonate with me as the translation that speaks to me. For those who don't know it, a free online version exists here: http://terebess.hu/english/tao/wu.html The terebess.hu site has many other online translations of the tao and many other great works of philosophy and literature. It's a wonderful free resource. For those of you who may be looking forward to retirement at some point, I can say it's a pretty good deal. The most important part of it may be to follow the advice of Charles Dickens who said to be sure you spend less than you earn. Once you got that figured out there is the challenge of staying healthy and finding stuff you love to do. One of the reasons I joined the group was to ask a question. I know there are many who are experts in tai chi and QiGong here. My own experience has been limited to having attended some Aikido and Shoto Kan Karate classes many years ago. I came to the conclusion within a few months of studying each style that the chance of injury in class was much greater than walking the streets of NYC and Brooklyn where I lived and worked, and riding the subway alone. I've since become a solitary practitioner with the help of VHS videos on Tai Chi and Qigong. I recently have been using Qigong for health by Dr. Paul Lam, and very recently obtained (via a torrent) "Michael Winn-Qigong Fundamentals 1-5 Animals do the 6 Healing Sounds". Here's my question. Dr. Paul Lam ends each session with washing the chi (i.e. gathering it in). Michael Winn seems to end each form with casting the chi off. Winn is saying this is discarding the used or burnt out chi. Lam seems to be saying all the chi is valuable, keept it all. My gut is telling me Lam is making more sense to me. Any thoughts on this?