rparr Posted June 30, 2017 (edited) Hello all. I have been mildly interested in Taoism for a few years now, but I have yet to delve into the study with any zest. I plan to do some reading and perhaps interact here to make an attempt at learning what I can about this intriguing way of life. As for me -- I have a website that I just put up : http://www.butchparrow.com -- and it might do a good job of giving you a good idea concerning who you are dealing with. I write poetry. I have not written anything for a while though. I also enjoy storytelling. I'm writing a fantasy story. I like the idea of ALL (good) creative activity. I would like to learn more crafts, such as pottery and weaving and such. I have, since childhood, had a prominent interest in the ways of indigenous peoples. I think it started with The Ewok Adventure : The Caravan of Courage, which I watched many, many times as a child. I would like to be an instructor of wilderness survival skills someday. I would like to master as many as I can and spend as much time as possible in forested areas doing woodsy things. I used to be a very, very quiet person. Then I was thrust into a few situations where I had to 'shape up or ship out' and although there are times where I have nothing to say I do talk more than I used to. I read a lot of books (perhaps too many... mostly fantasy and science fiction) to sharpen the area of my mind that has to do with making words (and potentially eloquence too.) I want to foster inner peace and find new ways to free myself from bad habits and such. I think learning about Taoism will help. About all I've ever done in this area is read 'The Tao of Pooh' as a teenager. Heh. Edited July 3, 2017 by rparr 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Marblehead Posted July 1, 2017 Hello rparr, and welcome. Your membership is approved and we're happy you found your way to us. We look forward to accompanying you on some of the way that you still have to go. Please take the time to read the post pinned at the top of this Welcome page and take a look at the forum terms and rules. This covers all you need to know when getting started. For the first week you will be restricted to ten posts per day but after that you can post as much as you like. Also, until you’ve posted fifteen times in the forums, you’ll be a “Junior Bum” with somewhat restricted access and will be allowed only two private messages per day. Good luck in your pursuits and best wishes to you, Marblehead and the TDB team Hi rparr, I'm sure you will find a lot here to view and hopefully post comments to. You are welcome to jump right in ongoing discussions, revive an older thread, start a new thread of your own, or start a discussion in the "Newcomer Corner" sub-forms to expand on your introduction or ask general questions to help you get started. May you enjoy your time here. Marblehead 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kar3n Posted July 2, 2017 Welcome to the bums : ) 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rparr Posted July 4, 2017 On 7/1/2017 at 10:02 PM, Earl Grey said: Welcome! Life and circumstances shape us like clay is beaten and burned until it becomes beautiful pottery or sculptures, and you are no exception if that's what led you here. Hope you enjoy your time here! That is an interesting theory. Mine is different. If we look at 'who we are' as being similar to -a house-, -a home-, it is like the circumstances we are in provide us with the materials and tools we have to use to build and furnish that house. The experiences we experience provide us with the metaphorical wood, cohesive substance, cordage, ore, flame, hammer, anvil, etc. I think it is perfectly possible for two people to go through two very similar lives and end up two very different people because they took what they had been given and went on to create two very different points of view, attitudes, and values. I do not think life shapes us. It provides us with many possible ideas, but the shaping is our own job. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Limahong Posted July 12, 2017 (edited) On 7/4/2017 at 11:20 PM, rparr said: I do not think life shapes us. It provides us with many possible ideas, but the shaping is our own job. Hi rparr, Interesting thought. But can I add that we can shape ourselves to some extent only. Even when we thought that we are shaping ourselves, other forces/energies are at work unknown to us. Such that the outcomes turn out to be different from expectation. - LimA Edited July 12, 2017 by Limahong Enhancement of sentence. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rparr Posted July 30, 2017 (edited) On 7/12/2017 at 0:08 PM, Limahong said: Even when we thought that we are shaping ourselves, other forces/energies are at work unknown to us. Such that the outcomes turn out to be different from expectation. I acknowledged the idea that our experiences and circumstances plays a role in our shaping, it provides us with the things we have to do the shaping with. Although in many ways the unexpected may pop up as circumstances twist and turn and make plans go off-kilter, I firmly believe that who we want to be we will someday be -- with the utmost precision. I alone make decisions regarding who I want to become. I alone make steps towards who I will become. If I want to be dry and it is raining, that is a force making me wet... true. But it is not making any decision about who I will be once I have my way perfectly, which I think happens once our soul is old enough. One day the entire universe is what we will have to do the shaping with, and we will make ourselves as we please (with perhaps a few parameters... I am still not one to believe in the ability to end the universe and all life in it). I continue to believe that we shape ourselves... external forces may only make that act easier or more difficult. The one who wishes to fly will not be bound by gravity when the day comes to fly. We are the dreamers who dream ourselves into new avenues of experience. Edited July 30, 2017 by rparr Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
