Hello

[Unicorn]

Greetings!

 

We could say I had a spiritual approach to life since childhood. Over the years I have practiced meditation, martial arts and chi/prana related exercises, I touched upon Buddhism and Daoism and other disciplines and ways of thought. From all of these Daoism is the one I found most compatible with my experiences and views.

 

I don't consider myself Daoist as based on my limited knowledge it has a few concepts I can't fully agree with, and it feels way too human centered - just like all other systems of thought I came across so far. But who knows, maybe by some others' definition of Daoism I could qualify. Doesn't matter though. Let me just say, that my rudimentary reading of the Daodejing gave me the impression that this text hits very close to the answers I seek, and the Daoist concept of "immortality" seems to be awfully similar to a concept I know under the same name from entirely different sources, which I could sum best up as "continuity of consciousness".

 

Sadly, life's material challenges - such as earning a living - distracted me and I swayed from my previous path which focused much more on the spiritual side of life, so it's time I start working on fixing that. My goal is to seek balance in the opposing forces in every aspect of my life. I adopted the Taijitu as one of my personal symbols.

 

And why am I here? Well, I came across this forum by mere chance - if I believed in accidents, that is - and found some discussions of particular interest to me. I can't promise if I'll stick around, only time will tell that, but this may be a good place to start learning more about Daoism and see how compatible it really is with me.

[Fa Xin]

Hello, unicorn, 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,

 

Fa Xin and the TDB team

 

Hi Unicorn,

 

Your welcome to stay as long as you like. Good to have you here. The Dao speaks to us in many ways, and I’m sure you’ll get something from our little community here. Enjoy 😊 

 

You are welcome to jump right in to the ongoing discussions, revive an older thread, start a new thread of your own, or start a discussion in the "Newcomer Corner" sub-forum to expand on your introduction or ask general questions to help you get started.

 

May you enjoy your time here.

 

Fa Xin 

[Marblehead]

Hi Unicorn.  Welcome.

 

I have a pet Pegacorn.  (It's imaginary though.

 

Consider harmony rather than balance?

 

[Unicorn]

Thank you for the welcome.

 

5 hours ago, Marblehead said:

Consider harmony rather than balance?

What is your definition of the difference between the two?

[Marblehead]

49 minutes ago, Unicorn said:

Thank you for the welcome.

 

What is your definition of the difference between the two?

Balance is the attainment of a static position.  Ain't gonna happen because everything, including our self, are constantly changing.

 

Harmony, however, is changing with the changes allowing for a smooth and natural flow within the extreme polarities.

 

[Unicorn]

35 minutes ago, Marblehead said:

Balance is the attainment of a static position.

Hmmm. Wouldn't you call a disk, spinning around its center of gravity balanced?

 

Also, is harmony possible if the yin and yang are imbalanced?

[Marblehead]

2 minutes ago, Unicorn said:

Hmmm. Wouldn't you call a disk, spinning around its center of gravity balanced?

No.  I would call that harmony of the gravity of the center and the momentum of the disk.

 

2 minutes ago, Unicorn said:

 

Also, is harmony possible if the yin and yang are imbalanced?

That's the beauty of harmony.  Yin and Yang are very rarely in balance.  But harmonizing, when there is too much Yang - add Yin, when there is too much Yin - add Yang.  Oftentimes in life we need maximum Yang and then when Yang is no longer needed we retire into Yin.

 

[Unicorn]

11 minutes ago, Marblehead said:

No.  I would call that harmony of the gravity of the center and the momentum of the disk.

 

That's the beauty of harmony.  Yin and Yang are very rarely in balance.  But harmonizing, when there is too much Yang - add Yin, when there is too much Yin - add Yang.  Oftentimes in life we need maximum Yang and then when Yang is no longer needed we retire into Yin.

We started from somewhat different definitions as I would have differentiated between static balance and dynamic balance.

 

When you are riding a bicycle, you constantly have to "balance", to adjust yourself to stop yourself from falling, while you also move and turn. In the turns your center of gravity is even moved away from the line of the wheels to help the turn. That's what I would call a dynamic balance.

 

So would you say that what I call dynamic balance is the same as what you call harmony?

Edited September 19, 2018 by Unicorn

[Marblehead]

13 hours ago, Unicorn said:

So would you say that what I call dynamic balance is the same as what you call harmony?

You worked that well.  Yes, I would say that we are talking about the same process.

 

But, as you pointed out, there is a difference between static and dynamic balance.  It wasn't too many years ago that most people thought the universe was static.  We now realize that it is dynamic.  Dao is dynamic.

 

Edited September 20, 2018 by Marblehead

[dosa]

I think you are a great choice

[Unicorn]

12 hours ago, Marblehead said:

You worked that well.  Yes, I would say that we are talking about the same process.

That's good news. And I admit I like the term "harmony" more. I associate to musical harmony from it, which I think is a nice analogy.

 

9 hours ago, dosa said:

I think you are a great choice

Thank you!