Songtsan

the metals I will be wearing are silver plated w/ gold...right now I just have stainless steel...

GPS trackable: -Keys -keychains -wallets -purses -sneakers -jewelry -anything else of value intended purpose: -prevent recovery in the case of theft, loss, etc. -track where the item goes using apps...in the case of sneakers, you could track where you hiked, etc. (phones already have apps for this, but not everyone always wants to carry a phone on them) -if your children become kidnapped, and they wear these things, you can track them

Many dogs will eat until they gorge and stuff themselves....it is habit conditioning bred into the genes because in nature, especially among carnivores, its feast or famine. As omnivores, humans have tendencies towards both feast or famine mentality and the grazing mentality.... If one function overexpresses, it can definitely lead to obesity. How scientific do you plan on getting in the book? Daoist practices definitely effect hormone cycles and upregulation/downregulation of hormone receptors in the brain.... To tie this into yin yang theory would be great and is something I am interested in. Daoism is a science based on observation of nature. Science is this too, yet also more invasive in its empirical methodology. If this book is marketed towards westerners, who have been brought up in a heavily science-ified culture, creating the correlations between ancient and modern wisdoms is a good thing, because it will get them hooked into wanting more. It apparent that anything based on East meets West can easily become a big seller nowadays

I have my ears gaged, but the area is the ear lobe, which didn't show up as being anything on the maps of the acupuncture points on the ear....if there are no points here, can it affect anything? I also have my nose pierced on the side....there are many Tibetan thangkas which show Buddhas with stretched ear lobes....I would tend to think that the lobe is safe

People have fasted for over a year before (but they started as extremely obese)....the length of a fast should be determined by your starting weight....I might very likely die with a 30 day fast myself....I personally don't recommend long fasts to those who have low amounts of lean mass already.... When you say that kundalini leaves the body, do you mean to say that tapas of any sort burns up kundalini - basically likened to old karmas surfacing, being recognized and released through awareness methods?

hmmm....structured versus non-structured weight loss plans: If you try to assert dominance over your daily routines regarding eating, this could be likened to structured meditations (i.e. meditating for 1/2 hr in morning and evening), versus a non-structured, more wu-wei style approach. You can discuss the merits of both or focus more heavily on one method. So if this is to be a spiritual book, then the underlying spiritual philosophy is important. What is your major spiritual focus? This will heavily influence the book. Notice how there are not a lot of extremely overweight animals in nature - usually nature's cycle supports optimal BMI in this regard during normal times... it is our ability to use technology to make life easier which makes it easy for us to gain weight, and also our tendency to specialize. In the past, humans used to have to be jacks of all trades, generally speaking. For one to rely on other specialists to do certain things like grow, cook food, make your furniture means that we often end up creating situations in which over-training occurs. Secretaries get carpal tunnel syndrome, warehouse slaves get bad backs from repetitive lifting all day long, and so forth. You could discuss the importance of integrating a variety of movements and skills in life, how excessiveness leads to burn out. If one were Daoist, you could perhaps discuss how overexpression of a function leads to imbalance.

For scars, one of the most effective treatments is myofascial work. Essentially when a scar forms, it causes all kinds of collagen fiber cross-hatching, which binds the myofascia and disrupts the flow of energy through the connective tissue, 'pulling' on far-away areas of myofascia much like pulling on a single piece of yarn will warp the shape of a sweater. So using the various techniques within myofascial massage over time to spread and separate the fibrosities which form will return normal energy flow to and through the area. As far as piercings, I have my ears gaged and my nose pierced. If metal in the skin does effect chi disruption, it seems that a high level qigong master should know...does anyone know any?

What goes up must come down and vice versa. Is this killing yin energy? Is this the part where you withdraw from sensations, to return when the heavenly energy returns?

Feature discussions on the relationship between longevity and caloric restriction, like when yang (activity of hunger producing neuropeptides reaches its zenith, then turns to yin (downregulated receptor sites or some kind of thingy need to research the techno-speak explanation)Tie in the relationship between spiritual concepts such as wu Wei and eating habits; 'don't eat when not hungry'; spontaneous eating. This book is an excellent idea Josama. In fact, this thread will become the book. So it should get renamed and pinned.Sorry about the formatting in this post...typing from tablet. Here is what we do: members involved (per Josama's approval, since you are the organizer/originator of the idea and the one with the passion to begin the project), continually edit their posts with edit updates, etc. Each post could be either a section of a chapter or a chapter)... Losing focus...be back later

There are enough good thinkers/writers/philosophers/teachers on this site that we as a whole could group publish an e-book/book on just about anything. I see internet forums as books in a way and also like personal journals for the people.

Eye Appeal is Half the Meal.....words are spells, they can create great changes in our bliss/suffering dichotomies. The label 'The Pit' and the associated description, such as 'its dark and smelly in' is direct propoganda to make one want to avoid taking the chance of being shunted to the dirty basement, and its blatant conditioning to make someone feel that certain feeling/expressions are unnaccetbale and thus not sacred and of value Our mods are not enlightened enough to make anything other than knee-reaction programmed decisons which ae based on memes and programmed social norms. We need more Freedom of expression here - without the judging and compartmenalization which is so rampant. Speaking your mind, even if it not PC, is an expression of a persons heartmind and it should be better treated here. I am not talking about people who are merely trolling and playing games without any sense of caring how people may be negativeky affected. I am talking about postings by people which stem from an honest expression of their pain, fear, feeling judged and ridiculed. We are people here, not avatars. Stop pretending to be some perfect already enlightened compassionate being. If someone else isn't there yet, their expessions should be valued as their state of being while on the path. It has equal value whe someone comes in criticizing, questioning the dominant theories which people are brainwashed into. Its classism pure and simply. It ceates a divisiveness between us and is tainted with divisiveness which creates dis-ease in the community. A simple creation of a forum called, 'controversial subjects' with sub forums with various names such 'Rants and Raves' which could have threads like 'Why I don't like such and such system' or 'this member is an en energetic vampire' could be here. Another sub forum could be 'drugs and spirituality.' If a person joins and isn't at least 18, maybe they should not be allowed in there. It is clear that many members of this site would like to have more freedom to 'be themselves here,' - the site seems to be partial (I.e. disciriminatory) to members of certain personas and expressions. Keeping the forum separate would provide a safe wall which would insure that the main forum would still appear to.be a safe, calm place. Controversial issues and people are happy to engage in high energy exchanges which can involve intense criticism of other members of groups. If labels and insults come up, we can easily rephrase them. For example, if I call someone an idiot, I could rephrase it to say that I think they lack the proper background, experiences, and ability too grok the issue.

Had new idea, haven't read most recent posts; create levels and levels of realms within taobums that one can post in...no one need ever be banned ever again! You could have different levels of Samsaric hell realms where people's threads/posts can be sent, or they can post (if they know that their post belongs there)....think gradations on a continuum. The titles of the realms should all be titled with honorable labels...it would make things really fun I think, versus everyone taking things so seriously. This is the gist of the idea- don't anyone chop off its head yet. I need to flesh it out more.

I'll help. I have a background in health & fitness and whatnot...what's your plan of attack? when writing books I usually start with the skeleton and flesh it out as I go. The skeleton in this case being the overall organization of the book such as chapters and the path the book takes. Know your target market and know how to speak in the way that keeps them engaged. In the personal training industry, the best personal trainers are like entertainers...which is why there is such a big crossover with the 'life coaching' industry. Your book should not be too dry, analytical...it should contain stories that motivate and inspire. As it is a spiritual book, you can of course tie it into spiritual theory and practices. Such as the relationship between attachment/aversion and how they affect our actions (or lack of actions, such as failure to exercise due to aversion to pain). Also, it should discuss the downfall of being too ego-driven, which can lead to ill health through pursuit of a perfect body (ties in with overtraining big time). You can keep it mostly metaphorical/allegorical, but you should at least find a way to discuss the mundane parts of integrating a program plan and evaluating said program. What I mean is that to some extent you will have to discuss issues regarding exercise & nutrition prescription and the science of it, which might seem analytical to some. You might start by asking questions. Do surveys. Find out why people choose to do/not do the things they do/don't do. I can certainly discuss why I choose to not progress. Might discuss ways of ridding non-useful behaviors. Well, yeah...anyways I can add a bunch as this is by far and foremost my area of expertise.

For 30 days do all writing with your non-dominant hand. Observe any subtle changes.

Good point

I did see a shamanic psychologist once, but only one time...didn't get rid of the voices though...interestingly he started the session by tracking my eye movements back and forth...I really do have a left/right split I already know that. In fact, one of the most effective antidepressants I've ever used, Effexor, is also known for improving communication between right/left hemispheres...I've been labeled as schizo affective bipolar type. Still, it (the demon/shakti/other self/whatever) has such amazing abilities in what it can do that I am not totally convinced. I am a double Gemini and there is also a noted increase in schizo-type disorders in those born in the spring/summer months...I am willing to accept the split brain theory and always have been...damn that would suck to have lived half my life thinking I was possessed when it was actually that. What's funny is that I have been convinced before that this was in deed the case, but the things that have happened seem beyond beyond anything I could possibly think up or do.

There was a study done where people used the glasses that make everything upside down every day and after about two weeks their brains had auto-corrected so that things appeared normal again. Then, when they took them off they had to readjust the other way. I wonder what happen if you kept doing it over and over? Would the time to see things accurately shorten? I think I might have to buy a pair of those in any event...I'm glad you posted that!

Well, if we chop our arms and legs off, we could still survive...so it isn't the arms and legs that die...what parts of a human can you get rid of while still leaving their essential human 'aliveness' intact? Maybe even using medical science. I saw something about a head transplant being possible the other day, although I didn't look into it. Let's say that we took out all non-essential brain parts...what is left?

Who knows what these 'negative entities' are really anyways...it is certainly possible that you made a decision before you were born to experience this because you wanted to clean up some karma fast. People with Kundalini awakenings are often bothered by demons and whatnot. If Kali wishes to chop the head off your old ego, then certainly what better way than to 'send in' some demons to do their work and break you down. It is possible that in past lives you raped and murdered (I'm betting many of us have done some bad things). It could be that the arising of demons is actually part of the spiritual fire process. I always like to face my demons, battle them, and make friends with them. Try out all kinds of things. If they keep bothering you, try asking them what their issue with you is. You might find that the issue they have with you is the issue you have with yourself.

I also mentioned before that the left-hand path is often a dark and scary ride, and that practitioners of it can seem weird or strange to those who choose the right hand paths. "People are strange, when you're a stranger." At the root level of Self, all beings are divine, even the strange and scary ones - emanations of God through the unlimited forms. In approaching that place of fearlessness and non-aversion, we must prove our mettle. To limit things to only 'proper etiquette,' etc. seems to be handicapping growth. If you have a tree growing in your yard and you don't like the look of one whole limb of it, to cut it off because you think it's ugly is spiteful. The tree didn't give a shit that you liked or didn't like it, it just wanted more space to make leaves to collect sunlight. There is a balance to all this. I am sensitive yet strong, I can handle having my limbs chopped off if they are festering and holding me back. I always invite 'careful pruning.' If there is no opportunity to enter the spiritual fire, then how do we burn our ego dross? Attempts to make everything bright and shiny can backfire and create stagnation. An apt metaphor would be someone who chooses not to physically exercise because it is uncomfortable. You might be comfy in the short term just loafing about watching TV, but in the long run you will be ill. Short term gain, long term pain. How about the name, "The Dark Side" where it is understood that, 'dark' means 'not well understood' (i.e. things are strange when you are ignorant of what they are about) Personally, I think that banning Deci Belle, myself, or any of the other 'creepy critters' that people can't handle is not the way. There is no magical garbage pit out there which you can throw waste into....if you don't deal with the waste by transforming it into something that can be used, it will not magically disappear. So much wisdom lost due to aversion and attachment to forms is a sad thing. Note that there is a flip side to every coin, and that my aversion to being 'aversed to' is also ridiculous in some ways... I do remember an interesting story I read once of two Taoists having a conversation. One man was waxing philosophical about trigrams and elements and all kinds of stuff, and the other would just answer with a fart or a grunt. Both were masters. When Buddha held up the Lotus flower and the one guy smiled (Sariputra? or somesuch name), he could just as easily held up a severed head and the same message could have been said. What difference lies there between that which is deemed beautiful and that which is deemed ugly? Form is the difference. Function can be the same. If function is the same, then the object is at root the same, as appearances are illusions.

But how can we honor the fact that someone meant no ill intent, was just being themself in a way that is culturally appropriate for them, and was still told they were no good? The intent behind something is important. If the form that the intent was expressed through is unappealing, remember that attachment to forms is the root cause of suffering. There must be a more enlightened way. Otherwise it seems that there is a type of forced change from an within-group culture which is attempting to expand its control. To have a forum that states that it is egalitarian be too PC is against the way of nature... are you going to say that a bear doesn't belong just because bears are grumpy animals sometimes? In honoring the nature of others, we also honor ourselves.

I might also just try to bury my body under a cool tree and become part of the tree....

So basically everything becomes exaggeratedx10 - rejection of small parts of me feels like a rejection of the whole....I know that nobody here rejects me on the whole....everybody rejects small parts of people all the time, except for truly realized beings who have transcended dualistic thinking. Black/white thinking is a huge cause of suffering. While I do like being hypomanic, it has its downsides when one becomes so convinced of ones belief system that one deludes oneself into thinking that everyone else is against you. Hypomania (which perhaps could be likened to excessive Yang in the head?) leads to egomania, megalomania, or just plain mania all around. Those who have the tendency of letting passion flow through them unchecked, due to the sheer bliss of it, become demons.....Righteousness is like this. While people who have mania can often be very charasmatic (think Hitler, etc.), the extreme energies which pour out of them infect others like a virus. I betcha Hitler had some level of Shaktipat - just really bad Shaktipat... Shaktipat being the ability to extend your emotional body outwards to infect others emotional bodies If a true saint has this ability, then hell yeah hang out with them, but if a polluted person (polluted in this case meaning someone with power hungry, control motivated agendas) has this ability then its not so good. I've studied Swami Muktananda a lot and it turns out that although he was a strong vector of his Shakti, he was polluted sexually, and many devotees that received Shaktipat from him actually had to share in his karma... I actually have the ability to give Shaktipat and have since about 2000....I have done it in person and over the internet, without trying I have basically become a vector for the Shakti, but I have very polluted energies of a deviant sexual nature which passed to me through the people that molested me. Demons are real. They are desires. Desires aren't bad or good ultimately, they are just form/illusions, yet there are desires which lead to negative (socially unacceptable) karma, and vice versa

I will admit that I was being paranoid - see, I have had life-long paranoia since forever (genetic). I did no drugs whatsoever until I was almost 19....no cigarettes, alcohol, weed, or anything except sugar. I have had extreme moments like this all my life...when I was in third grade I remember breaking down in tears saying, "Nobody likes me!" My hypervigilance, exaggerated startle response, excessive fight/flight response are all like this

So was it just the form of the thread, the use of swear words, etc.? I must admit that: 1) I am in the midst of a relationship breakup 2) I am detoxing from quitting sugars and doing an anti-candida regimen 3) I am also doing an anti-parasite regimen at the same time (oregano oil, black walnut shells, garlic, neem and more) 4) I am quitting my anti-depressant, which while it does help, also makes me extremely nauseous and kills my appetite and sex drive 5) I am quitting alcohol and marijuana Doing all this at once - not for the faint of heart! If I became irritable and extreme, it is probably due to detox effects and inflammation in the brain from the toxic substances being released