mrtiger

Does anyone know any of any good Taoist forums? This one has finally lost all credibility.

I couldn't agree with this more. I feel the same about most paganism too. I imagine the big book burnings that have taken place over the years have really helped hammer the nail into the coffin of these ancient arts. In fact most of the Western systems - such as Kabbalah, Alchemy or Freemasonry - just confuse me. I think it's partly been due to the need to suppress beliefs from the reach of the church over the years. In the West we also like to intellectualise everything. Obviously that's the path for some people, I'm just not smart or patient enough. Mind you, I'd love to see what the Vatican have in their archives.

It sounds really interesting. Do you know any good resources on Chi running?

So you're suggesting running first, then Qigong? It's really just to get a bit of fresh air in the morning. Get the heart and lungs going. Get outside in the early hours I guess.

Hi Ya Mu, forgive my ignorance but what is SM running qigong? Is it mentioned in your book? I'd like to buy a copy but I'm an old school book reader so I'm waiting for the next edition.

I'm thinking of adding some small runs back into my routine. At the moment I'm getting up early and doing 1hr - 2hrs Qigong. Would people recommend I run before of after my morning Qigong session?

There is a wider discussion here. I appreciate that you don't want to go down that road. So I'll leave it there. Potentially and interesting topic though.

Can you view the question from the perspective of someone with different responsibilities to your own? What if you had a wife and children to feed, rent and taxes to pay? Have a think about the wider picture.

Have you ever heard of the Babylonian fish people? Apparently the Babylonians claimed that they got all their knowledge from beings who lived in the sea. They would come to the surface and teach them during the day and at night go back to the ocean. This went on for a long period until eventually there was a huge flood and the creatures disappeared forever. From then on the head priest / scholar would wear a hat shaped like a fishes mouth in honour of them. This then evolved into the Pope's mitre that we know today. I believe the Dogons (an ancient African tribe) have a similar story. So you can take some solace in the fact that you're not the only one to be visited by creatures from the deep. I can only find really flaky links to support (do a google search) but you can hear scholars from Cambridge and the British Museum discussing the fish god this and many other aspects of the Babylonians here... http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p004y25j

If you're going to cut and paste news stories, may I suggest that you: 1) Quote your source and 2) Make clear which words are your own and which are the words of others

If everyone was apathetic then no one would be trying to fix the world and the people in it. This would not be a bad thing.

As far as I understand, moral judgements are not in accordance with the Dao. Because the yardstick of what is right and wrong is constantly changing it is very difficult to define immoral behaviour. Things that are acceptable in our lifetime, for example sex before marriage or pregnancy out of wedlock, would have been frowned upon even 100 years ago. Or take homosexuality, it was acceptable in the Hellenistic period, then it became a taboo as Abrahamic religion swept the region up until today where it's increasingly an acceptable part of our society. However... it i is still punishable by death in many countries today. Similarly things that are deemed as wrong now were part of everyday life back in the day, such as public hangings, bearbating and slavery. But back to 2012 and our notion of what is wrong and right. Vegetarianism is an interesting one. I believe it's right for me but if I judge others for eating meat I'm actually judging myself. Why? Well, what about the microbes in my food? The insects (and sometimes other creatures) who die when I drive down the motorway or the snails I unwittingly kill when I prune the laurel. To live is to kill and destroy. I heard a great saying the other day. I think it's a Yorkshire saying which is a country in Northern England known partly for it's simple and down to earth people: "Those who matter don't mind and the who mind don't matter"

Does anyone know any good resources that I could look at to help me balance my element? I'm thinking food choices, herbs etc.

Ha ha

This book arrived today. It looks great very nicely printed and easy to read. Really looking forward to getting into this.

. Thanks that's really good advice.

I think the caveat here should be "for you". If I'm emotionally charged, excited or nervous a cold shower calms me down and helps to bring me back to the centre. You've explained this in a good way but ultimately it's counter to my own experience. And I suspect I'm not the only one. I've openly considered what you've said and I'll bear it in mind as it's interesting and it way well hold truth for other fire types. But as long as cold showers help me calm my inner and outer fire the theory is of no importance. I think the thing I've taken from this is that the five element theory isn't rigid and it's certainly not a 'one size fits all'.

It's an interesting opinion. Who knows the objective truth, if indeed there is one? Subjectively I find them beneficial and I would recommend them to anyone who wants to cool down.

Well it works for me. Koichi Tohei talks about taking about cold showers in 'Ki In Daily Life' which is a book I would really recommend to you all. Personally I take a warm shower followed by a cold one. The hot one opens the pores, the cold closes them. Hot/cold bathing goes as far back as the Romans and is still very popular in Japan today. Obviously a shower is a more economical and practical way to achieve the same end. You should try it Stosh and Chi Dragon. You might like it!

Winter melon sounds interesting. I've been having tofu and miso, no spices but a bit of spinach and a few mushrooms through in. What do you make of Rye bread? Is it suitable for Fire types?

The cold shower is a good call.

I wouldn't have thought of Watermelon as having fire properties either to be honest but then I am a complete novice. Would you say watermelon is a warming food then? How so?

I'm watching you all taking notes.

You guys all clearly love this drug. And you don't want to hear anything negative said about it, even if it's true. Your emotions have clouded your reasoning.

Do you think there is a middle position? I.e. Sometimes people conspire other times things just happen on their own accord. That's the view I take. I used to work in the media. It's why I take an issue with the people who claim the reporting of this story is a government coverup. The media doesn't work like that. Sure their are vested interests in some camps but they tend to be along parochial, political lines e.g. Fox News vs New York Times. Unified they are not. They is no overriding agenda there. I question some big world events. I believe governments have conspired against us in a big way at certain time in history. What I don't believe is that they would have planted a story about a drug noone in the wider world knows or cares about. I call it a balanced perspective. I encourage you all to let go of your delusions and come to the middle ground.