i am

Yes, this thread has been over that with ChiDragon enough that I didn't feel the need to bring it back up... Same with Qigong is only to teach you how to breathe correctly

I agree that I wouldn't want this place to become really strict. A lot of cool ideas get brought up when someone goes slightly off topic. But I'll admit, there are some people, who I like, who seem to come into every thread just to shoot the breeze. Suddenly it's just a back & forth that I have no interest in. I end up just ignoring threads that were about a topic I was interested in, once I see those people show up & start their back & forth. It's not my forum, so whatever. But it's nice when people stay on topic.

Knowing is half the battle as GI Joe used to say (too old for most of you?..). Seriously. If you're noticing that you're tense, you're becoming more aware of your body. It took me a long time to realize that I've been walking around half my adult life with tense shoulders, clenching my jaw. Tons of things I do, I'm tensing up muscles that have nothing to do with that activity. I'm getting way better at realizing when I'm tense, and making myself relax. It takes some time. Just don't get more tense because you've just realized you're tense and that upsets you because you've been working on relaxing. It'll happen, if you want it to, but sometimes slowly. I'd say any and all of this cultivation stuff will do the trick. All of it requires relaxing. All of it requires paying enough attention to your body to know what's tense and what isn't. Then you just work on relaxing it...and be patient.

Ceviche is good. I love sushi. I had raw elk once. It was great. For me raw meat is really good. It's just a matter of trusting the source. With red meat especially, I pretty much only trust it if I or a good friend was the one who shot and processed it. Chicken or pork I wouldn't do... Wild game varies widely and wildly in taste depending on what it's been eating, how it was killed, and how well it was processed.

Oh, and I don't agree that no one should own pitbulls. I just don't agree that you should rule out breed when wondering what to expect from a dog. People are people. Dogs are what they are because of the selective breeding by people. They are bred for certain traits.

I find myself strangely unable to disagree with Vmarco in this instance... Every dog is different. But what any dog owner MUST understand, is that each dog was BRED for a specific purpose. They have certain iherant traits, ways they will react to certain situations. IF you choose to own a dog breed that was BRED, over hundreds or thousands of years, to ATTACK, you have to be very careful with how you train it, and how you assert dominance. There are probably tons of pit bulls out there that would never hurt a flea. But the fact is they were bred for fighting and attacking. An example is this. The way it was explained to me, with herding dogs, sheep dogs were bred to snarl, bark, snap, but never bite, and especially not GRIP the animal. A border collie that does that is given away. No good for sheep. Cattle dogs, on the other hand, were often bred with bigger, stronger jaws, and allowed to grip, because cattle can take more abuse, and sometimes need it to get the point across. The difference between an animal which has, over countless years, had certain traits bred into it or out of it, is VERY MUCH important for anyone owning that dog to know. My dog shows his fangs to dogs that bother him. He even snaps at them. But he has never once actually made contact with his teeth. When he snarls at a dog, and they don't like it and attack him, he runs away or rolls over. He does things, like herding, that I did not teach him. When I pick up a ball, he sees it, and he runs out 20 yards away in a big arc and lays down flat, 20 yards away, directly in front of me, waiting...I never taught him that. That's breeding. Never seen a non-herding dog do that. My friend who had a bull dog, would play rough. And I caught it, multiple times, pinning my dog on the ground, jaws completely around his throat, just holding him there. I had to break it up. That's what they're bred for. This was a pretty nice do who probably wouldn't have done any real harm to my dog. But this was its tendency. If you have a breed like a bull dog/pit bull, you have to be the dominant member of the pack. Or they will be. This happens with any dog, but the consequences are different with different breeds. You MUST be the alpha if you have an "aggressive" breed, but you must be gently dominant. No hitting, no beating. Respect. But if they do something that really crosses a line, the most brutal (and effective) thing I've ever learned for correcting a dog in those circumstances where they've done something that they absolutely MUST know they cannot do, is to grab them by the shoulder and rump hair on one side, and take them down. Firmly, but don't slam them. You hold them there with hands and forearms until they stop struggling and give in to your dominance. And they'll love you more for it. If you don't have that much dominance in you, you have no business owning a dog. Another thing on breeds...my border collie does not require that kind of dominance. It would scar him for life. If I look at him like I'm dissapointed, that's plenty. Most labs and retreivers don't even know you're yelling at them. Not all that sensitive. Now, as I said, each dog is different. Some need more firm corrections that others. Some are just bad...Yes, it's usually a bad owner, but like anything, some just can't live in this society. But if you aren't willing to do what it takes to make sure you're dog is never violent toward anyone, you shouldn't own one. Someday your luck may run out and you'll get one that needs it. Suddenly you and your dog are a danger to society. There are always exceptions. Each dog is different. But to dismiss breed, to compare breed to skin color in humans???? No. I'm sorry, but NO. Completely improper analogy.

Anybody watch Ancient Aliens? They seem to think maybe we were formed by aliens who visited in ancient times, mixing their DNA with ours, and that brought us to our current advanced state, when compared to the rest of life on earth. Anyway...I believe in energy vampires, but I believe 99% of them don't realize they're doing it, and I believe that with a little practice I could pretty easily protect myself from them.

Wow. Right above all the reasons why you should drink your own pee. Well, I'm pretty open minded. But I'd say from this stuff...probably what they can all agree on is that going with strictly distilled water for up to but no more than two weeks at a time, is probably ok. I might try just distilled water for a few days and if anything happens.

I went to college in Utah. I got my fill of missionaries.

There's one listed on there that I've seen on some drives for quite some time now. Just a half-hour away from my house. I've been wondering about it for a long time. Will have to check it out. Thanks! It nice that we can complain about tap water, because it has chlorine and some other stuff in it. Compared to what many people on this earth are faced with drinking, our tap water must seem like the most pure thing on earth.

I agree with Gerard. I was very lucky, in that I happened to email the right person, and they were feeling nice. They recommended me to a friend of theirs who they had grown up with on Wudang, not as priests, but in the martial arts schools since 8 or so years old. The guy had taught in the school, but decided the school was only teaching external kung fu and no real internal arts anymore, so he stopped teaching there. He now only teaches if someone he knows introduces you to him. And the only western diciple he has, he only took because a. he had taken the time to learn Mandarin and b. he was very dedicated and showed it in his practice. The guy wouldn't have taken me as a diciple because I don't speak Mandarin. It's amazing, though, how much lack of skill they'll overlook if you a. speak the language and b. show how dedicated you are. There are just too many people who think "hey I'll just jump into this!". They need to see how serious you are. But it sounds like some monastaries/cultures in other countries are not like this. The schools on Wudang that I saw would take anyone. Half the people there were just "doing something". You know? Not dedicated martial artists. It was just something cool to do with their time. Some were there for 1 or 2 or more years. Just trying to find some meaning in life...but not dedicated to martial arts, meditation, or Chinese culture in general.

Ha. I cut 80% of my deer into "stew meat", and freeze it in individual dinner size packages. That way I can thaw just as much as I need for that meal out a time. I don't do many steaks or burger. That's a lot of meat all at once. I fry up the little strips or chunks of stew meat and add all the veggies, then the rice, once it's done. I don't own a bbq. About 80% stew that gets fried with veggies, about 10% sausage for breakfast, the other 10% steaks. The steaks get seared in a cast iron skillet at pretty high heat. Just enough on each side to brown the outside, and still basically raw in the middle I want the meat to last as long as possible, and the amount a "normal" person would cut into a steak will last me a dinner and two or three leftover-lunches if I cut it into stew meat.

Ha! I've been thinking more and more lately, how "lucky" I am to have all the quiet time I want. Outside of the work day, anyways. But family is it's own journey, probably a more important one. It's complicated...I have a stand-up desk at work, so while I'm on the computer, I can be standing. This is great. There was just a study out showing that sitting for long periods of time is as bad or worse on your cardivascular system as smoking. But they're talking mostly about 4 hours or more at a time. Because sitting is apparantely so bad, and I have a stand up desk, I decided to look around for what research there is on standing for long periods of time. It puts stress on your cardiovascular system, too. I think, if you're healthy, standing is better than sitting. But really, the heart of the matter is that not moving is what's terrible for us. Being stationary is not how humans were meant to be. Lots of things need movement to work. So even though I'm standing at work, I'll sit for a while when I'm tired, and I take a lot of trips back & forth to the water cooler to put more hot water on my tea leaves. And I get the dog on a good walk on the local trails on my lunchbreak, and right after work. I think that when you're sitting or standing in meditation, the posture and what you're doing with your mind can negate some of the bad effects of being stationary. But we need movement...it's not just sitting that can be bad for us.

It's already been mentioned, but I'll throw in my experience too. I spent two weeks on wudang mountain. I would liken the temples there to...amusement parks for Chinese tourists. I don't speak mandarin and I didn't dig deeply into Chinese culture, much as I would have liked to, so take my observation for what it is. But that's what I saw. Maybe outside of wudang it's better? Or maybe there are a couple places left? I don't know. But I felt terrible for the monks. The government has only allowed Taoism to flourish because they see tourism dollars. Tell me how much of a practice you would have with BUSES, buses full of Chinese tourists, 8am-5pm (more or less from what I remember), bringing tour groups, led by young men and women with big stuffed animals or flags sticking up from their backpacks, speaking into an amplified microphone, talking to the group. Tourists climbing all over statues and railings, dropping their plastic water bottles and trash wherever they want, taking photos of you (especially if you're western), taking photos of themselves mimicking you, etc. On the other hand, since I was staying on the mountain, I caught some early morning prayers with music and singing that was very moving, and some very nice, quiet nights. I mean, certainly you'd be living a more spiritual existence than you can in daily life in most western places, unless you really know how to make everything part of your cultivation. But my guess is that it would not be what you're expecting, if all the temples are like wudang temples. Probably somewhere around 50%, to completely make up an uneducated number, of the monks time was spent catering to tourists. Loud, disrespectful tourists, for the most part. BUT, do what's in your heart. Find out for yourself. Worst that happens is you find it's not for you, and not what you expected, and you can go on with life not having to wonder "what if?". Best case it's not as bad as I'm making it out to be, or, by making that first leap, you meet people, learn things, and find connections to places where you can still study. Fluent mandarin is probably going to be a prerequisite, if you want a Chinese Taoist to take you under their wing and take the time and effort to teach you. Otherwise you're just another westerner who thinks Chinese culture is cool. Dime a dozen, these days.

Pan fried, yes. Lamb and eggs over kimchi sounds good! Thanks for the link.

Thanks. And actually, if I go back and actually read the thread, all my questions are answered...

I have a question.... My weight should be, as best I can, draining into my feet, right? So it's all down in my feet, not in my knees or hips. If I'm already starting out wrong, let me know... But my energy should be sinking to my LDT? I've just been going on the thoght that I don't want my weight hung up in any joints, so I'm doing my best to let it transfer straight down into my feet. But I want to make sure that I'm not also just constantly, the whole time I'm standing, trying to sink my chi down into the ground every morning, if that's not what I'm supposed to be doing. Any advice on this?

Has there ever been a recipe thread on TTB? I'll bet people around here make some great healthy (and not so healthy) food. My typical, staple meal for lunch and dinner is: Low temp fried deer, onion garlic carrot celery (with the leaves), and any other veggie on hand that sounds good, plus brown rice. All mixed together. Didn't get a deer this year, so my current favorite, in front of me right now, is: Quinoa, simmered about 20 minutes. Somewhere between 10 and15 minutes, add chopped...everything. Right on top, no stirring. What was in my fridge, and sounded good, was garlic, green onion, celery, carrot, beet greens, bok choy. Then when it's been 20 and the quinoa is done and veggies are steamed, add braggs liquid aminos for salt and flavor, some pepper, and some turmeric. Lately to this I've been adding kale, sautéed separately with garlic & onion, then added to the rest of it. The fact that its fried gives it all a different flavor, instead of just all steamed veggies. That was Sunday nights dinner, and Monday & Wednesdays lunch. Really simple, with the most processed thing being the braggs. This type grain-veggie mix is probably 80% of my diet. Meat mixed in when I have it. Always way more than I'm going to eat that night, so I can have it for leftovers for lunch, instead of ending up grabbing something on the town since I'm busy at work.

There are definitely a lot of people just playing the game, trying to fit into the hippy "love" thing. I'd rather be with people whose love for each other is obvious and doesn't need to be spoken, than with a bunch of people not necessarily feeling it, but constantly talking about love. But if I had a choice between people who give hugs, talk about love and mean it, or people who are afraid to express those emotions, and make fun of people for it, I know who I'd pick.

Yeah, all deep philosophical and book quotes aside, you're just living in a society which doesn't outwardly show love a lot. People associate hugs and "I love you, man" with silly hippies, and see it as lame. So they make fun of it. It's not cool to be all lovey. But a lot of of people who would make fun of, will definitley give you a hug if everybody else is doing it. "Wait a minute, maybe it IS cool...I don't want to be different from THIS group, either, so hug away!" "And by the way, I love you, man!"

Yes. People resent, without understanding that's what's going on, people living a life they're afraid to live. And only certain people, who aren't living that life, can handle being friends with someone who is. And what's the deal with fear of the truth?? Crazy. There was a good line in Into the Wild...can't remember it, but something along the lines of "above all else, give me truth." Not give me all hurtfull info and insult me, not never keep a secret. But when i ask, either tell me the truth, as you understand it, or say "none of your business." But don't lie...

I guess I'm lucky to live where I do. There are of course the vain closed minded people around here, too, but what an "adult" should be doing with their lives is pretty open to interpretation, where I live. I think it's partly because you couldn't really make a ton of money here if you tried. So the kind of people who stick around, don't much care what you do with your time, more or less, as long as you aren't bothering them.

The only thing I drink cold is beer. And even that, not ice cold. It's tough to find a cold beverage in China. You'll find bottled water in a sliding glass door "cooler", but I don't think they turn the cooler on...

I can't stand cold water. I've always liked room temperature water, but after getting more into Chinese culture and trying out warm and even hot water, I'm going more and more that direction. Even the water sitting in my filter/pitcher on the counter top is too cold, in the winter.

I saw a documentary about Buddhist monks living in a certain mountain range in China. One of the guys said something along the lines of "if you are prepared, and have your practice, the mountains can be a great place to cultivate. If you don't have your practice down, it can be hell". Solitude only works if you've hit a certain point. How old are you? You don't have to answer, I only ask because even though I've always spent a lot of time by myself and taken long cross country trips by myself and gone overseas by myself, the older I get, the more I don't mind being alone. Unless you're married, the kind of close friendships where you're hanging out daily, just to hang out, usually go away. You only get together with people if there's some sort of "event", or thing going on. You don't just stop by after work and plop down on the couch and say "hey, what's going on? Want to do something?". At least that's been my experience. I think maybe once you start getting really old, you start maybe having those relationships again, though... Anyways, you are absolutely heavily influenced by the people you spend the most time with. I find that the more I do my own thing, the less I'm like all the rest of my friends when I do spend time with them. When I spend a lot of time with them, I start picking up some of the ways they say things, etc. But once you've found more who you are and what you want and what you are, you can keep that, even when you spend a lot of time with other people.