a brief place to tell about your screen name and i have a new avatar!

[mewtwo]

So yeah i have an avatar actualy this is the first forum i have ever put an avatar on my nick.

 

As for why i have the nick mewtwo well it was the storngest pokemon back in the day when there were only 150 now there are like 400 plus. anyways i always felt a conection to mewtwo so i adopted the nick. before i was nowen as mewtwo i was know and still am known on the imdb forums as sokar_goauld.

 

What are your guyses stories behind your nicks.

[Aaron]

So yeah i have an avatar actualy this is the first forum i have ever put an avatar on my nick.

 

As for why i have the nick mewtwo well it was the storngest pokemon back in the day when there were only 150 now there are like 400 plus. anyways i always felt a conection to mewtwo so i adopted the nick. before i was nowen as mewtwo i was know and still am known on the imdb forums as sokar_goauld.

 

What are your guyses stories behind your nicks.

 

 

Hello Mewtwo,

 

My nick comes from my college years. My friends in my late teens took to calling me Twinner because I'm a twin. I used the nick back in the early days of IRC and kept it.

 

Aaron

[Aetherous]

I like to be center-ed. Also, it's like a command or a reminder: CENTER. So just reading it sort of triggers something.

 

The Japanese maple leaf in my avatar was symbolic for me a while back, for a few reasons. Showed up synchronistically, and seemed helpful during a challenging time.

[Otis]

Nice idea for a thread, mewtwo.

 

Otis is actually an old joke. My ex-girlfriend, who is Finnish, is named Outi, which is pronounced O-T. I told her once that if I ever wrote anything about my path and exploration, I'd do it under the name Otis Urrender, for Outi, I surrender.

 

Once I started blogging, I just picked up the name, and have stuck with it, ever since. Outi and I are still good friends.

 

The pig is just a photo I took at someone else's garage sale. I liked it as a profile pic, precisely because it made no claims.

 

I used to post on the Myspace Taoism group, until Myspace just closed all their groups, without warning. I've kept the same name and avatar, just in case someone I used to know might find me here.

[Taomeow]

Yeah, great idea for a thread.

 

Taomeow (with its "echo" versions -- Taomiao, Miaotao, Miaodao, Tao Mau, etc.) is a multi-layered pun:

 

a cat of tao or the cat taoist (well, I'm a taoist and I've been called assorted cat nicknames by friends and family all my life, have always loved cats, and honor a particular cat, who belonged to my grandmother and was five years older than me, as my first taoist teacher);

a blade of grass (yin wood -- my wuxing phase),

a traditional Chinese sword fashioned after a blade of grass (hence my "Sword of Tao" avatar sig),

mysterious tao or tao mystery,

the mysterious border between yin and yang and between the manifest/unmanifest,

 

to name a few. Last but not least, I like to meow. I think it is emotionally more gratifying in many situations than to go "ah" or "wow" or "yikes" or "ouch" or "sheesh" and so on. I replace most interjections with assorted meows in RL, and I probably should be embarrassed, but I'm not, I'm sorry to confess. People who hang out with me long enough start doing it too. Once you've tried, there's no turning back. Cats have over 100 different meows for different situations -- to compare, dogs have only 10 kinds of bark, and the list of interjections humans use to express emotions may be somewhere in between, but closer to dogs.

 

My current avatar is the Circular I Ching, which I consider to be one of the most profound graphic expressions of taoism ever created.

[GreytoWhite]

Mith is short for Mithrandir which is the name the elves in Lord of the Rings called Gandalf. The Shrike is a character from Dan Simmons' Hyperion Cantos. When I was an avid computer gamer a good 12 years ago I had used Mithrandir and then Shrike. I just combined the two so people would know who I was. I've used it ever since.

[neiye]

Hi

 

My screen name comes form Nei-yeh (Inward training). But since I am still not really good at it, I removed the "h" so that I remember there is still more to do: cultivation has no end.

 

neiye

[Dainin]

Dainin is the name given to me by my Zen sensei when I took the Jukai ceremony (accepting the precepts). It means "great patience", which he said could be descriptive or prescriptive!

 

The guy in my avatar is Ibn Sinna aka Avicenna, a historical figure that I have a lot of respect for.

[C T]

 

Taomeow (with its "echo" versions -- Taomiao, Miaotao, Miaodao, Tao Mau, etc.) is a multi-layered pun:

 

Incidentally, Taomeow also echos with a popular vegetable called Dao Miu, a delicate and delectable green, nutritious when wok-tossed for just 45 seconds, with minced garlic and a pinch of salt, or shoyu.

 

Pics here -

Edited May 29, 2011 by CowTao

[suninmyeyes]

I like your topic mewtwo!

My name 'suninmyeyes'is here becouse I love sun so incredible much .

Having sun in my eyes(especially in the bleak winter when I joined TTB it was such a rarity) and feeling sun conecction with my heart is just so good.One of the best feelings.

My avatar is Vassilisa the Beutiful,she is a student of Baba Yaga who is in Slavic mythology an old crone/wise woman living alone in the woods.

The drawing is made by a fantastic Russian artist called Ivan Bilibin.

Baba Yaga is a very strong archetype for a female wisdom of knowing and being comfortable with life as it is -that is not cherished as much any more.That type of being has been replaced by more musculine logic and aspiring in general.

With time Baba Yaga archetype has been turned by church (with its god far away somwhere in heaven )into a nasty witch who eats young children as her story is told nowdays.Turned into commodity to say at least .

Where I grew up kids are told that if theye are naughty they will be taken away by Baba Yaga (old witch that eats children).Unfortunatley people dont understand what deeply awful impact this 'innocent'saying can have in shaping young minds.

For me Baba Yaga and old way of Slavic womens knowing is very inspiring and connects me to my own natural feminine knowing that is connected with all of life.

[doc benway]

The pig is just a photo I took at someone else's garage sale. I liked it as a profile pic, precisely because it made no claims.

The pig has always freaked me out a little, reminds me of a scene from The Shining...

 

My current avatar is the Circular I Ching, which I consider to be one of the most profound graphic expressions of taoism ever created.

I really like your avatar.

 

Mith is short for Mithrandir which is the name the elves in Lord of the Rings called Gandalf. The Shrike is a character from Dan Simmons' Hyperion Cantos. When I was an avid computer gamer a good 12 years ago I had used Mithrandir and then Shrike. I just combined the two so people would know who I was. I've used it ever since.

I loved the Shrike and just about everything Dan Simmons has written!

 

I like your topic mewtwo!

My name 'suninmyeyes'is here becouse I love sun so incredible much .

Having sun in my eyes(especially in the bleak winter when I joined TTB it was such a rarity) and feeling sun conecction with my heart is just so good.One of the best feelings.

My avatar is Vassilisa the Beutiful,she is a student of Baba Yaga who is in Slavic mythology an old crone/wise woman living alone in the woods.

The drawing is made by a fantastic Russian artist called Ivan Bilibin.

Baba Yaga is a very strong archetype for a female wisdom of knowing and being comfortable with life as it is -that is not cherished as much any more.That type of being has been replaced by more musculine logic and aspiring in general.

With time Baba Yaga archetype has been turned by church (with its god far away somwhere in heaven )into a nasty witch who eats young children as her story is told nowdays.Turned into commodity to say at least .

Where I grew up kids are told that if theye are naughty they will be taken away by Baba Yaga (old witch that eats children).Unfortunatley people dont understand what deeply awful impact this 'innocent'saying can have in shaping young minds.

For me Baba Yaga and old way of Slavic womens knowing is very inspiring and connects me to my own natural feminine knowing that is connected with all of life.

Wonderful story! I have always really liked your avatar.

 

When I first joined Tao Bums I used the nickname xuesheng=student. I try to cultivate a beginner's mind.

After a while the nature of this forum and what I hoped to get out of it suggested to me to drop the nickname so now I just use my name.

My most recent previous avatar was a photo of me taken by my brother while we were hanging out in Haarlem, Netherlands.

My current avatar is a cubist drawing made by my daughter for a class in abject art and female issues.

 

Great thread! I've always been curious about name and avatars but never asked.

This would be a good sticky!

[TheSongsofDistantEarth]

I like your topic mewtwo!

My name 'suninmyeyes'is here becouse I love sun so incredible much .

Having sun in my eyes(especially in the bleak winter when I joined TTB it was such a rarity) and feeling sun conecction with my heart is just so good.One of the best feelings.

My avatar is Vassilisa the Beutiful,she is a student of Baba Yaga who is in Slavic mythology an old crone/wise woman living alone in the woods.

The drawing is made by a fantastic Russian artist called Ivan Bilibin.

Baba Yaga is a very strong archetype for a female wisdom of knowing and being comfortable with life as it is -that is not cherished as much any more.That type of being has been replaced by more musculine logic and aspiring in general.

With time Baba Yaga archetype has been turned by church (with its god far away somwhere in heaven )into a nasty witch who eats young children as her story is told nowdays.Turned into commodity to say at least .

Where I grew up kids are told that if theye are naughty they will be taken away by Baba Yaga (old witch that eats children).Unfortunatley people dont understand what deeply awful impact this 'innocent'saying can have in shaping young minds.

For me Baba Yaga and old way of Slavic womens knowing is very inspiring and connects me to my own natural feminine knowing that is connected with all of life.

 

I love it! Do you know of the technique called 'sungazing'? There is a Bulgarian teacher named Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov who taught the highest form of Yoga, the Yoga of the Sun (Surya Yoga). The Sun is a conscious being and manifestation of the Godhead, and therefore connecting spiritually with the Sun holds enormous benefits.

 

My own nickname comes from some music that has guided my life. There is a book by Arthur C. Clark called 'The Songs of Distant Earth', and musician Mike Oldfield did a fantastic album based on this book. The song 'Crystal Clear' on it somehow just contains everything for me.

 

I discovered Oldfield one night in the 70's at age 17, alone in my bedroom late at night, when music came on that changed my life. It was 'Tubular Bells', the 15 minute long piece written by Oldfield when he too was 17, and he played all the instruments on it. When I heard it, I knew it came from 'somewhere else', was music not of this world. Another subsequent album, 'Ommadawn', was even more astonishing, with an orgasmic spiritual climax that still sends chills down my spine!

 

Oldfield's music, which he has said does come through him from somewhere else, has been the soundtrack of my life. He had a lot of psychic pain and difficulty in his younger years that somehow opened him up as a channel for this music. I can listen to most things by him endlessly. I would like to have Ommadawn played at my funeral someday. He is now in semi-retirement, he's an elusive chap. But it's not about him, it's about the music for me, and 'The Songs of Distant Earth' carries great meaning for me.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PycZnSWMvi0

 

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDs_cm1bDWk

Edited May 29, 2011 by TheSongsofDistantEarth

[RiverSnake]

Just changed my name. Thought about things i liked (nature) and about my personality. Felt that OldGreen expressed me well.

Edited May 29, 2011 by OldGreen

[leopoldson]

very good topic!

as for me, nothing sensational, but a little personal:

My father's name was Leopold. He often said that he didn't like his name.

Our relationships were quite difficult,conflicting since childhood, we have never really communicated.

For him, the past of the family, the roots were important, for me not at all, I had the desire to cut off all that rubbish and family was nothing for me.

 

He died a few years ago.

 

I realized only recently (I shut off the details)that my dad was really part of my life, and that roots should be taken in consideration to understand at least part of what we are.

So because I can finally say that I love him although he is not physically there to hear what I say, I choose this screenname as a tribute: I like very much his name, I am proud to be his son, and I hope he can benefit from my cultivation where he is even if it is shallow.

 

The avatar is too well known here, so I don't have to explain.

 

L.

Edited May 29, 2011 by leopoldson

[doc benway]

I discovered Oldfield one night in the 70's at age 17, alone in my bedroom late at night, when music came on that changed my life. It was 'Tubular Bells', the 15 minute long piece written by Oldfield when he too was 17, and he played all the instruments on it. When I heard it, I knew it came from 'somewhere else', was music not of this world. Another subsequent album, 'Ommadawn', was even more astonishing, with an orgasmic spiritual climax that still sends chills down my spine!

 

 

Tubular Bells also was very significant for me in the '70's. I have to check out more of Oldfield's stuff because I never did.

Around the same time I was also affected by Chris Squire's "Fish Out of Water" and Jon Anderson's "Olias of Sunhillow" and Yes, I was a Yes fan.

[Nanashi]

Nanashi is Japanese for nameless. I adopted it as a zen pseudonym for myself in 2001 and then kept using it as my haigo (haiku poet's nom de plume or pen name) when I began composing poetry full-time. The concept of a nameless name is a very Taoist one to me.

 

The little avatar is a ronin. I used to live by a motto, "cutting through illusion with the sword of truth" while training my body through kenjutsu and my mind through zen. I also identify with the "knight-errant" ethic, and the literal translation of ronin — one adrift the waves.

 

Which I wanted to tie in with what Dainin said about his name (I always suspected a zen origin there, but the pic threw me off). Dai is "great" of course, but I would ascribe nin to mean "endurance" — a powerful idea. Patience can apply too, but that seems more like a soft virtue, not a lifestyle. Stripped of its popular culture references, Nin-ja are "People of Endurance" — perhaps many can attest to life being a test of one's endurance.

 

Also, with Steve mentioning xuesheng, I feel the same way towards life. Shugyosha, or shugen-ja, is a person of testing.

Edited May 29, 2011 by Nanashi

[rain]

I am rain

what goes around comes around

we are all

water

 

simple plain as magic

 

where did the raindrop go?

why did the sun appear?

 

simple plain as wonders

 

for your bare feet..sensation

dusk

Edited May 29, 2011 by rain

[Taomeow]

Just changed my name. Thought about things i liked (nature) and about my personality. Felt that OldGreen expressed me well.

 

That was your post number 555. In numerology, this number spontaneously arising signifies a "right thought" or "right action."

 

(I've often wondered how buddhists know what thoughts and actions, words, etc., which they are advised to seek/avoid along the eightfold path, are right or wrong. Taoists consult assorted oracles and study subtle sciences to figure it out, rather than rely on their own subjective opinion or that of the guru or the scriptures or the popularizers. I do believe it's humility, if nothing else... but don't let me mess up the cool thread OR annoy the buddhists.)

[mYTHmAKER]

mYTHmAKER

Knowingly and unknowingly we create myths about ourselves and others.

What is real? What is unreal?

My avatar is the tarot card The Magician.

[suninmyeyes]

I love it! Do you know of the technique called 'sungazing'? There is a Bulgarian teacher named Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov who taught the highest form of Yoga, the Yoga of the Sun (Surya Yoga). The Sun is a conscious being and manifestation of the Godhead, and therefore connecting spiritually with the Sun holds enormous benefits.

 

Hi Songs,

Yeah I have read some stuff about sungazing ,all I can remeber is that according to one teacher you have to start slowly daily and then build up slowly and sungaze for longer periods.

Have read Aivanhov ,it was a book about chakras and one about spirit/astral world,some stuff he writes is interesting.What is the main practise in his Surya Yoga?

As to connecting with sun -I love him since I was a child,we are friends.

I have actually been looking up surya yoga these past few days funnily enough ,it an alchemical practise.Hamsa Yogi too who teaches it and talks about it.

Edited May 29, 2011 by suninmyeyes

[Otis]

My own nickname comes from some music that has guided my life.

Cool music. Thanks for the share.

[Otis]

The pig has always freaked me out a little, reminds me of a scene from The Shining...

LOL! And I always thought it was so neutral.

[Stigweard]

 

Stigweard is the etymological root of "Stuart".

 

Interesting that that Stig means a hall or pigsty and Weard means ward or gaurdian.

 

Which means that I am a pig herder YAY!!

 

[Otis]

Which means that I am a pig herder YAY!!

I must submit!

[Adishakti]

Orgasmic. Really, really.

 

 

 

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=PycZnSWMvi0