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How do you cultivate and strengthen bonds with those you love? What do you do to foster a sense of community and belonging in your life? I'm always looking for ideas to incorporate into my own routines. Some things I do or have done... Buenos Dias walk....making a point to wish strangers on the street a good morning. I'm an introvert so this one doesn't come naturally to me but it's always given me a good feeling when I've done it. Calling mom....when my mom got a breast cancer diagnosis we started emailing daily. She's fully recovered now but we've continued our daily contact, eventually transitioning to phone calls. Calling is better. Watching reality TV with my partner. As a bonding activity, I imagine reality TV is pretty far down on most people's lists but, what can I say, we enjoy it. It's fun to comment on the various contestents and I've learned a surprising amount about fashion and baking. Some things I think about doing... Eye Gazing...this has long intrigued me and I hope to start an eye gazing practice with my partner starting today. Hugging till relaxed. The Shrink’s Links: Hugging till Relaxed, the Video – Keith Wilson – Counseling (keithwilsoncounseling.com) sending handwritten notes through snail mail

Hi fellow bums, I have a friend that recently moved outcountry to an ecovillage, and that got me thinking. There are probably many of us who from time to time would benefit from either living an extended time with a heavier focus on cultivation - or even into stricter retreats - but who can't find the environment and support which would provide that. What about an ecovillage for cultivators, eclectic in styles but where the common ground is some kind of devotion to spiritual pursuit? How would such an enterprise be set up? How would it be operated? What would the rules be? I'd be happy for the collective input and brainstorming. Mandrake

Hello everyone, Glad to join the forum! I've been practicing Taoist exercises and learning the philosophy for about a year and a half. I've learned a lot and made some mistakes along the way. So far I've kept my practice private, but recently I decided it's time to change this and reach out to the community. I have a few questions about The Dao Bums: What's a good way to get introduced to the forum? Is there a list of rules that I can read? (the ones I found tell me I don't have permission to access them). What is a good way to share the details of my Taoist journey so far? If I have specific questions (say about Kan Li meditation, or about the spiritual interactions of the organs) how should I go about asking them? Is there a place where people keep regular journals of their spiritual journey? It would be great to read about other people's on-going experience and post about my own. Thanks! asbc

Here's a hypothetical topic of discussion (and knowledge mining) -- If you were given the choice and ability to create a Daoist community (let's say in the US), what would you consider to be integral parts of such a community? How would you go about building one? Is such a place even practical or possible in today's world?