ShenLung

That is wonderful! Some time ago, there was a question regarding sinus pressure, and sinking qi and ocular massage were recommended as well - this clears me up quickly, when I remember to do it, and not wallow in self pity for being 'ill'. Very interesting to observe, that the same technique can be effective for the relief of pressure, in two different bodily systems. My approach is very instinctive, making me leery of attempting to teach .. but it is nice to see the learned scholars arrive at similar conclusions. "Opening, loosening", instructive qi, open flow - one does not desire to recirculate the stagnation at the heart of the blockage - purging breath at intervals. One of the difficulties in using qigong for self care is, when the physician does not feel inclined to work, the patient is doubly burdened!

Source: Carnegie Library, Pittsburgh Wabi-Sabi "Taken from the Japanese words wabi, which translates to less is more, and sabi, which means attentive melancholy, wabi-sabi refers to an awareness of the transient nature of earthly things and a corresponding pleasure in the things that bear the mark of this impermanence." I also like Silent Thunder's description 🐉

Ignite Inner Fire! I'll leave the way I came in: In Wabi-Sabi!

in Wabi-sabi these pearls are so delicious! Ignite inner fire!

Aside from an odd haiku or so, I have not posted in a while .. the duties of a dragon are as they are. Naturally, I am no Dragon, but a tamer of dragons, and those duties have kept me otherwise occupied. I had lost myself in one particular role, and forgotten that I had others to play. Today, while I was about aiding one lost soul and planning another rescue via the aid of one the Age's mighty warriors, I found myself distracted, by a loose rail, along a steep cliff, just behind one of those ubiquitous convenience stores that dot the landscape. I noted the hazard, for a drunk stumbling his way along after making an evening purchase at the establishment would be sure to find an unhappy fate, if the problem was not addressed. After assuring that the attention of the responsible party was called, I made my way down to the bottom of the cliff - the other errand involved awaiting a tow truck, and I wanted to observe the workings of nature in this small oasis that I had spied from atop the escarpment: A small pocket of unkept woods, with a little creek running through it. Though the path down was quite steep, my feet remained as sure as ever. I was surprised to see that, though the skies had let no water fall for several days, there was still some flow within the creek. I sat beside a small pool there, and waited to see who would show up. I saw a few crayfish emerge from their rocks, and make their way across the sandy bottom, underneath dragonfly nymphs .. too many to count. I saw no fish, and no snakes .. was there a relationship there? I saw no frogs, either, but a few water boatmen skated across the surface, and damselflies, with their neon blue bodies paused to look on the scene with me The ecosystem was small, without many complexities, and few resources .. but tucked away in a place that was too awkward for developers to use, it thrives. I stood, and took in the qi of the place .. simple, innocent, but hardy and enduring. As I had taken the path down, I wanted to climb back up off of it, and pick up some of the trash that I had seen on the way down - there was far more there than I could carry away, I hadn't brought a bag with me. As I turned towards the path near the top, I saw a 'frog' beside the way .. and what had been attached to him. There is a certain Dragon that has been causing much trouble about the garden, and we are attempting to transmute him to stone .. there is a risk involved, that those with eyes that see evil and lips that persecute their fellows may find those stones within their hearts. Instruction in the way can be of aid to them. The tow truck was paid for from the celestial treasury - or, rather, the driver felt no desire to charge for the service, but I like to embellish, just a tiny bit. I took a few pictures of this keychain and fob, sans keys, that had been discarded there, beside the Way.

So to each there own Integral to the design Not imperfection

Rests on her laurels, when unity is achieved; Yet rust never sleeps.

Although the truth of ancient Earth civilizations is, unfortunately largely speculative, there are some facts that I find particularly intriguing: In order to develop "astronomy", it was necessary to first develop writing, mathematics, and agriculture, and then spend over sixty thousand years occupying the same geographic space to record the raw data. No civilization in the past five thousand years has come close to this achievement, obviously - no civilization in recorded history has lasted so long. We could, I suppose, grant those ancient prehistoric humans the benefit of supercomputers, and shorten the data collection time to thirty thousand years, allowing them to extrapolate the precession of equinoxes that they had not literally observed, but the fact of their output is unmistakable: an advanced human civilization in existence at the very least, twenty thousand years before the end of the last ice age.

A boat in a bowl Like a mind without focus Has nowhere to go

With mind still and clear Ultimate truth realized: Compassion is all

Adrift and unknown Even the cherry blossom Still follows the way

Ah my sweet repose Rain drumming on my windows Blown by the north wind

I went to the store yesterday to stock up on supplies, but the only thing left on sale was bacon …. I should have consulted the calendar Happy New Year, Bummers!

We still call schooling Words, repeated endlessly Where are our own thoughts?

greetings, bummers! I have already received the answer that I was looking for, and many thanks to the DaoBums community for your help. In the interest of consistency, I will put the question forth. I have a dear friend who is becoming the heir to the art of Shotokan in America, and is currently undergoing intensive training in chi manipulation. After observing his progress, and learning about his training regimen, I have determined that there are many refinements that are lacking in his instruction. This is not his fault, nor the fault of his teacher; they were left out of the discipline entirely, due to the novice status of the discipline's founder. If I teach him what he is lacking, it will alter Shotokan completely. What should I do?

Dao is the study of existence as it is; there is no dogma, only the journey to uncover the truth. What is, Is.

I would say that yes, through the practice of qi gong, I have reached a point where I do not feel that there is anything at all to be anxious about. Thank you, that answers the question I had when I logged in

Really loving Disturbed's cover of 'Sound of Silence', but working on learning the guitar music for a handful of Badfinger songs, 'My Baby Blue' amongst them.

The Master of the Hidden Storehouse is a very easily comprehended work attributed to Keng Sang-tzu, a disciple of the old scholar, and is a classical treatment of the taoist philosophy with emphasis on leadership and governance. I found this little gem buried in the back half of a book called Thunder in the sky, an english language translation by Thomas Cleary which includes two texts: Master of Demon Valley, and Master of the Hidden Storehouse. The book is published by Shambhala, isbn# 1-57062-660-x (in case anyone gets bored with the pace that I lay it out on this thread and wants to get a copy for themselves). After reading this book, I must conclude that it is essential reading for anyone who wishes to be effective in a leadership role from the point of presiding over a nation, a state, a province, a villiage, a neighborhood, a house, or themselves. The lack of understanding of the way when it comes to governance in our world's leaders is shocking, but not unexpected, as the persons most likely to seek public office are, by their natures, the ones least likely to be competant to fill these roles. By way of overview, there are nine segments in this text: Preserving the way intact, Applying the way, The way of government, The way of leadership, The way of administrators, The way of the wise, The way of education, The way of agriculture, and The way of war. Get your ink and brushes ready: you will want a copy of this text preserved for future generations.

Bah, would love too ... but I've got an Ultima shard that I am currently avoiding writing code for I'll have to stick your link in favorites and get back with ya when my noodle needs a change of pace! Roleplaying game design .. an excellent means for developing Mental Fortitude! (ie: patience)

Generally, wisdom is an instinctive discernment; the ability to judge whether an idea or course of action is likely to yield beneficial results. It is not typically a product of scientific reasoning. A person might be capable of mustering their intellect and make rationalisations in order to approximate wisdom, but in order to do so with accurracy, their depth of knowledge must be quite vast. Many members of the scientific community do not lack in intellect, and may be fairly knowledgable in their particular fields of interest, but the number of brilliant scientists with intimate knowledge of a multiplicity of fields is relatively small. There are simply too many unknown variables involved in complex processes to rely solely upon local conciousness to make wise decisions. I would prefer that, should I be depending upon answers from an outside source, I should recieve my general information from someone with experience in using their instinctive wisdom, and then flesh out the specifics with the knowledge of science.

Slept like a baby Rain like a blanket, soothing Awake in my dreams

Enjoying Ramen with a slice of cheddar cheese Oh, simplicity!

Screaming with delight, children chase after fairies only they can see

Spring thoughts in winter: Though deep snow fills the valley, my heart remains warm.