GrandmasterP

For sure there's a vocation to spiritual healing work as 'work' and those called to that work tend to do little else whereas those without the calling aren't attracted to it. We have healers at our centre mid week and 10 til 1 on Saturdays, their ( free but donations accepted) sessions are always busy. Maybe we all do some spiritual healing for ourselves and loved ones sometimes though and they for us.

Love it. There's a zen story similar. The abbot of a zen temple owned a cat that liked to walk round rubbing against the monks when they were sitting zazen. So every night the abbot says to a junior monk... " Lock the cat in the kitchen." Eventually the cat dies, so does the abbot. All these hundreds of years later in that temple every zazen session begins with the 'sacred' ritual of "locking the cat in the kitchen".

Works either way. Your OP there implies usefulness and readiness for when needed. Talons folded in flight as not needed in flight. Fowler et al... talons open in flight and open to the exact 'size' of the prey. Though how in the world they measured that beats me. Along with who funded the research? There's a research bid meeting I'd have loved to sit in on. " You want to do what!!?"

Well buddy whichever sort of Buddhist you are, or claim to be ; from reading your posts thus far on here I'd venture that it's one of the less tolerant sects. As long as you're happy with it, that's the main thing. There's a path out there to suit all types and conditions of folks. Birds of a feather flock together. Enjoy.

" The girl that once I was lives on in me. Where else would she go?" ( Camille Paglia). +1 Manitou. Cultivation invigorates. Arthritis apart I feel younger now than I was twenty years ago. Totally spiffy and tip top today as I submitted my application for Early Voluntary Retirement this afternoon. Even if the powers that be say "No" it was a real blast handing them the application.

Could anyone named Fowler ever do better than research into raptors?

Fowler et al ( 2009) suggest otherwise in their paper - 'Predatory Functional Morphology in Raptors: Interdigital Variation in Talon Size Related to Prey Restraint and Immobilisation Technique.' The bigger the prey specie the wider apart the hawk's talons are in flight.

Call me Mr Pedantic if you must, but don't hawks fly with their talons sorta open so as to be able to grab prey on the wing?

Your well rid man. Anyone who scarfs your last bag of Doritos is NOT a keeper.

...might we not have a sub forum called " Off Topic" for topics that aren't quite as way off as the ones on here are?

Shouldn't it be Hermeticism in the thread title? Hermetism looks wrong. Eremitic is to do with Hermits I do know.

General is good. Kudos on changing it back to General.

Acid Reflux is a tricky beast for sure. It can be acidic gases as much as fluids. Some people with persistent coughs have acidic gas reflux and don't know it. Easy way to find out is to self medicate with safe patent remedies. Windeze or similar plus an antacid such as Rennies. If when you take those the symptoms disappear or decrease then it was reflux. If they don't then it's something else. Hope that helps.

Posted before about this. There's a big MMA scene here in the Midlands UK. Dojos stage contests between each other, those are tough gigs and some of the fighters you'd maybe not want to bump into on a dark street to look at them. The thing is though that those contests are staged to raise money for kids' charities, they raise a lot of money and do a lot of good. Those MMA fighters are truly nice humble guys with respect for each and their 'art'

Thought so. You enjoy that coffee there bro.

"There was no point freezing your nadgers off on top of some mountain while communing with the Infinite unless you could rely on a lot of impressionable young women to come along occasionally and say ‘Gosh’." ( Terry Pratchett)

Deserts are cool ( at night). Here's a tale from one of those old eremitic " Desert Fathers"... "A brother in Scetis committed a fault. A council was called to which abba Moses was invited, but he refused to go to it. Then the priest sent someone to him, saying, "Come, for everyone is waiting for you". So he got up and went. He took a leaking jug and filled it with water and carried it with him. The others came out to meet him and said, " what is this, father?" The old man said to them, "My sins run out behind me, and I do not see them, and today I am coming to judge the errors of another." When they heard that, they said no more to the brother but forgave him."

So Yeshe is the same thing as bullshit then?

That's one of the possible answers to the Rinzai Zen school koan... " Why did Bodhidharma come from the west?"

Tony has to win on points as he can't be hit because as Tony says " No one is there." Tony and me go back a long ways we were Osho sannyasin before Osho was Osho back in the Bhagwan days. Tony's one of nature's gentlemen. A really nice chap. He only charges £10 for his monthly talks and anyone can go. Unwaged and students get in free as does anyone who can't pay. He has no centre or anything he just rents space in a Quaker Meeting Room and the door take pays for the room and some exes. You do get some regulars who treat it as a satsang type of gig and that's a bit funny in a way as Tony is up there saying ( paraphrase).... " There's NOTHING for you to get here, nobody is telling you anything."

Hi Sunchild. What you describe is far more common than you maybe imagine so please don't be 'down' on yourself for it. In mindfulness that 'brain fog' type of thing we call 'autopilot' and more people have it than don't. Some more than others butbrecognising it is half way to addressing it. Med school student blog piece here on 'autopilot' and there's more on the Mindfulness sites. https://sqonline.ucsd.edu/2014/04/mindfulness-and-the-dangers-of-autopilot/ Hope that helps and all good wishes to you for every success.

Lobby has just morphed into "Entrance". Sounds like we're intending to hypnotize newbies. OK ' Lobby' sound like we could be lobbying their support ( that happens) but ' Entrance'? Nah. How about 'Welcome'?

How about.. " New members post here first... ( formerly known as " The Lobby")"

There's good eating on a vulture.

Thanks for returning to those original sub forum names Dawei.