Stosh

On average financially it is not wasted. What does a college degree ,in and of itself prove? Exactly ... You yourself is are a brilliant man ,but did that change with the bestowal of a degree? No moron or ahole ever gets one? Etc Does the degree indicate the panache ,the je ne se quois ,that is you? I think not . And there are probably one million things you have been educated to , which will never bear fruit.

Favorite spoof.. putin

Just google the two words, I think the pix are legit. Even if they arent ,its a darn admirable job of photoshopping. Folks spoofed the pix and those are really funny, but theres really a big quality difference. I like the idea that funky stuff happens. I picture myself, having taken such a shot, wanting to show folks this really cool photo, and noone giving me the benefit of a doubt. Who the heck knows the liklihood ? Why the tremendous resistance at the idea that the guy is not bs ing? Anyway , its a fun pic. As are the spoofs.

Speaking of which, what do y'all think of that weasel riding the wood pecker? Ciao

I think I would've liked to be Jewish. I like the slang , the food , the community. I probably would've cherry picked at the faith part though. Hmmm Dao bums really could use an official glossary.

Well , there is a lot to it, I personally don't pay any attention to the I Ching at all, so I couldnt point you at anybody ,, ( maybe you should consult the I Ching ) , but inspiration is where you find it, and Im sure there are some folks here who can comment on it better than me. I see odd coincidence all over the place, but , since I cant put it to any use.. I just let it be. To me , the habit of letting things just be, rather than pursuing- altering- interfering-predicting is one I am better off adopting... even about things relating to me. It balances my nature, which isn't innately like that.,, but thats just me.. may not be you. I doubt it could hurt to look for a teacher as long as you keep your eyes open.

First words , post 5 " Haha, no...go ahead ". Yep its in good humour , and heck ! its a thing I figure I would be likely to say myself. In my case, I do mean it on a basic level,, that while I would listen , I really dont tend to take advice. Its not that I think the advice will always be bad or useless,, its that I cant really know if the advice is going to be solid, so what would be the point in abdicating my own responsibility on making the decision.? Still , there are times that I take advice ,, ironically,, its from a often from someone who has diametrically opposed opinions to my own. Since I personally couldnt figure my way out of the conundrum , then asking someone who thinks as I do , is likely not to lead me out of it. Whereas someone who has different ideas , may have come up with the ticket for that situation. In my initial post , I didnt want to find myself pontificating , I just dont know whether you already have solutions you feel good enough to hold pat on.. OR whether you would want advice. I've jumped in on enough conversations, to know that blurting out platitudes , or commiseration , long spiels about abstracts etc can be rather unwelcome. Some ideas really require some time to ferment, understanding may require folks to walk along together down a logical path. I want to slow down a bit , make sure we are on ,and stay on, the same page. But if you already have a plan in progress to just get out of the current situation comfortably , you will have dealt yourself a fresh hand ... just don't play this new hand same as the last. The way you break those old habits will probably require you to examine the validity of them. Both the pros and cons. EX Seriously ,, Why DID I drive myself up the wall over this? Do I think its worth it ? Who is it that suffers if I screw up a job, Would I still be sacrificing my free time if I didnt let- some thing or other -slide? Is the multitasking actually fun as well as productive ? Does anyone REALLY give a shit If I am a multi-tasker, and even if they WERE impressed for a fraction of a second ? or are they just going to go back to worrying about their own responsibilities the very next second? If your actions really do not conform to your ideals , well ,, maybe your values are not what you think they are. In light of what your values really are , does it matter at all what Stosh thinks?

What else is new?

The I Ching scares you? That strikes me as peculiar ,,, then again , I dont know how anyone else sees it. .....you fear its scarily prophetic ? I suppose.

Im just asking whether you would take take advice on the issue of your stress, -either from me or someone else. You said no , maybe jokingly , but also you were willing to entertain an answer. Maybe its not a big issue for you , (I dunno. It is for many) and we could just talk about you , and your not-so-unique stresses. If its not, then the answer would pretty much be moot , yes? If you put yourself on rollercoasters , well, that is a paradigm which likely wont change with a change in employment. Sure folks act differently in different circumstances .. but often its just a matter of time before we return to a similar paradigm to that which we left. If you agree with this.. then the whole thing is humongously not moot.

Thanks, but if I am going to stick my neck out, I think its fair of me to have as a prerequisite , wouldn't that be fair to request ? the direct answer, which you did address tangentially but ,, Im not sure how to take it ,such as it stands. Is it really an answer of no? ( theres method to this madness )

Rara, I'm not really in your position, but ,,, wait , no , to a degree I am in a similar situation .. umm If I offered a solution , , which sounded tenuous and philosophical Would you jump at it? or is there some value that you feel inherent to the stress you experience? , (which would make you speculative , so that you would - negate the input, essentially Walk on past it and dismiss it. )

At least pigeons can make up their mind ,and tough it out either way.

Not speaking for anyone but myself, detachment , as a mental stance, suggests more of an independence -or freedom. one is not so compelled by illusory associations irrational fears , need for validations and so forth. At first ones knee-jerk reactions are like the 'wild ox' .. powerful ,uncontrollable, ill considered , self destructive, a hazard to itself and everything else! dragging the one who should be master , all over the place. I imagine,, that with discipline, at first ,,then later with comfortable harmony .. one gains mastery of ones own impulses , crazy judgements and self destructive fears... through meditation , self contemplation , acceptance of oneself , compassion for others. One lastly..becomes not divided against oneself. The detachment issue isn't about living like a recluse ,self deprivation, trying to run away from ones circumstance or their own identity. Its a resolution of a problematic issue -- internal conflict. One needs to step back , and look at themselves , get the clear perspective which one doesn't have in the heat of some obsession or illusion THAT is the detachment one should aim at. (clearly I am far from perfect in this regard , but certainly , this is the point I understand the the lessons are meaning to teach)

Looks like the little one is Little egret, Egretta garzetta , ... Big white one is Great egret, Ardea alba. It surprised me how many of the Netherlands birds are the same species as down here in Florida. ( the big grey-blue one is likely Grey heron , which is very similar to our Great blue heron. ) ( Cattle egret has the orange breast and stubby bill) Nice photos. You aren't familiar with Jaegers , are you, by any chance?

Liking affirmation isnt needing it. Why assume he needs it? Reality check all by itself could explain the sharing. Sometimes I like the circumstances of company..sometimes its just as well not to have any. More often than not I prefer just my own self. I suppose to some the situation of being alone is scary or unpleasant, a marker for some inadequacy..which is ironic,,since the private one is not the one requiring. I think it stands to reason that if we do have expectations of relationships,then one stands intolerant to that which one is not expectant of. So who exactly is it that personifies our expectations? Of what we think others should be like? Ourselves? Our best imagined selves?

The compassion which concerns us with the welfare of our fellows .. seems to transcend cultural boundaries as a social-universal- 'good'. But one must start from a contaminated position to arrive at that answer , and so I maintain that idea under a guise of suspended disbelief.

Nice to see your posting again. Men are part of the whole. If a man wants to pretend he can withdraw from interacting with the finite world he can pretend that. When I see the man who can literally do nothing , desire nothing, Ill consider him to be a proper Taoist in your eyes. Until then I consider your definition to exist , but as a fantasy.

If mans nature is the origin of his virtue , that is to say, he works to make his world a 'better' place successfully,, then he cannot escape or avoid acting out of virtue. His capability and tendency for compassion , enhanced presumably by returning to his native essence, is but a virtue of that ilk. Its a basic assumption that one has to make if Taoism is going to make any sense. That mans intrinsic traits are good. Even If one defines virtue ,by sacrifice of oneself as an individual , to the needs of the group,,, since one is still trying to fulfill who it is he sees himself as, or , he is trying to be a good , or he is trying to have good things happen to others which he wants to have happen. He must always act in what he sees as his own interest, in some fashion. Even if he is intentionally self destructive , he thinks he is better off destroyed. He always is trying to affect the world in a way which suits him ( his power is always unto that end, unless he is in error) So I say the questions should both be answered in the negative , or that they employ a premise which I consider false.

I dont think its idiotic at all to suggest not taking the chance of burning his corneas or other parts. Y ever see those clips of folks on TV where things go wrong like a persons throat swells shut.. and you say to yourself ummm,,,, Because as we all know, allergies can develop , or there may be a threshold tolerance which gets crossed. I EAT chili peppers , the scotch bonnets , the little thai ones , home grown habaneros etc .. Im not sticking that stuff in my eyes or breathing it in as an experiment.

I read a memo about keeping my opinions to myself , but then I realized that was in itself an opinion , and it ruined the effect.

You should last the longest , the last exposure. Knowing what to expect. Unless you have a physical or psychosomatic reaction which becomes very debilitating leaving you with enhanced and justified fears.

I wrote long on the post , just to take the time needed to lay out the idea, the contradiction I felt was there. Yeah it makes the post look like there's some button pushed. But,, Lets say youre right, that only the " real one" exists.. well then the real one is also the illusions,, and there is no 'real' nor is there 'one'. The idea devolves as one tries to be ultra correct -- ALL. That's what could be indicated, if indications could be made ! The totality of Items, people, ideas, are subsumed under the label of ALL, that which isn't , ISN'T. You cant help someone else to succeed -or fail - the idea of the entirety of ALL -undifferentiated ,, provides nothing. No information, no guidance , no logical profundity. It is a black box concept. To provide a map indicating all directions , in fact, makes no directional indication whatsoever, but one might be comforted by having a map proving there is no path.

I don't know enough about quantum physics to have much of a belief in it or not , but a portion of what I've read on the subject sounds like misled speculation, and some of it may be on solid foundation. Saying, the phrase exists nowhere in eastern philosophy , is a fairly broad claim, wouldn't you say? But even if that does happen to be true, other phrases could indeed be logically construed to mean exactly that. Who is it that should stand for all eastern philosophy , and declare they possess the one correct view ? Oh, I'm sure there are many who would just dismiss everyone who didn't agree with one point or another as not being 'authentic' in their philosophy ,, and so this just pushes the issue back a layer as to whom they were validated by. But that's all beside the point, getting back to point ... you said-implied 1 there is no one to be ill or upset. 2 Eastern metaphysics do NOT state "you don't exist", that's the materialistic position. 3 if anyone interprets it that way then they're dead wrong So basically you have declared yourself to be incorrect speaking in line one by the opinion expressed in lines 2 and 3 Not only once , but again you imply it.. Eastern metaphysics isn't simply "You don't exist, get over it", it is much more complex than that. This sentence implies agreement with the broad point of a 'not existing' , it just adds that there is complexity. That it is not SIMPLY so , says it is IS so , just complex-ly so.

That appears possible , but what light is it that I am not aware of, regarding it. IYO