Stosh Posted February 19, 2019 22 minutes ago, voidisyinyang said: Yeah so the Brits imposed their Western stupidity onto India and Africa, etc. - so just as the Chinese are now doing in Tibet. That's just how Westernized imperialism works - the trade patterns are based on export commodities, not local food sovereignty. For example in Somalia - Mogadishu was controlled by the farmers. So when Cargill dumped US food into Somalia - at 1/6th the local food price - that was not to "feed" Somalia. It was to undermine and take over the political control of Somalia. So Westerners tend to underestimate nonwestern cultures. Somalia was trading with China and India - centuries before Western colonialism with "textiles" being their main export. So just to put abrupt global warming into perspective - consider the book by Professor Alfred Crosby - "Ecological Imperialism" - it documents how intensive Western style farming (with the animals in close quarters) then spread plagues and invasive species around the world. Then as Western "growth" kicked in like a cancer - so too did abrupt global warming. That evil evil Cargill, dumping all that cheap food in places where people can't afford to eat. Taking over with all that productive seed stock and leveling the playing field. Whether Morocco has other exports has nothing to do with growing insufficient food on human waste, and destroying the natural biozone. They are not paragons of natural wisdom and productivity . Living green, actually means moving to a city, which ,due to efficiencies ,is 'greener'. Moving into nature, and hacking out an existence, is the most destructive behavior. Telling starving people how they do not need to eat any more than they do, is an exercise in futility. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
windwalker Posted February 20, 2019 (edited) Never quite get it. Those who talk about the evils of the west always seem to be the ones who've benefited from it and continue to do so while talking about its evils. Those who actually don't live in the west are trying to get to it by any means necessary to enjoy . the evils that those living in it talk about., is this right?... am I missing something? Edited February 20, 2019 by windwalker 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stosh Posted February 20, 2019 (edited) 10 hours ago, windwalker said: Never quite get it. Those who talk about the evils of the west always seem to be the ones who've benefited from it and continue to do so while talking about its evils. Those who actually don't live in the west are trying to get to it by any means necessary to enjoy . the evils that those living in it talk about., is this right?... am I missing something? We missed out on the dysfunctional self- hating guilt trip thing. The left has this contorted desire, distorted need ,to feel good about themselves, by saying that their own society is bad. They want to BE,the starving Somali, the battered victim, the cringing weakling ! To eat their own feces , subsist on grass and pebbles like the lowliest creatures do. Oh no ! don't eat that steak ! that would mean that you were at the top of the food chain , dominant , and evil. So , out of the goodness of your heart , and in the best interests of your tribe you try to help 'em get their heads screwed on straight. Teach em how to be strong and true. Remind them to accept the world as it is and yet direct their lives accordingly. But Nah, they get it wrong , start proclaiming the existence of Bigfoots , advanced space aliens probing people and all that. They never proclaim faith in Easter Bunnies and Muchkins , why is that? Its because those are harmless blameless little imaginary creatures. Edited February 20, 2019 by Stosh 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
voidisyinyang Posted February 20, 2019 (edited) On 2/19/2019 at 5:31 PM, Stosh said: That evil evil Cargill, dumping all that cheap food in places where people can't afford to eat. This must be some fantasy? Yes Western genocidal colonialism does destroy people's ability to eat. For example native indigenous people had their lands stolen - and then the government refused to pay them - so the "indians" were starving to death. Or in Central America - the colonialists took over the land and kicked the Mayans off the land. Why? Because if you want FREE slave labor - then you have to make sure people can't grow their own food. The land meanwhile sat idle - it's called "speculative investment" for a reason. Land is a monopoly. Some countries have made it illegal for rich people to own big tracts of land without actually growing food - and so poor people can just move onto the land to grow food. Quote Whether Morocco has other exports has nothing to do with growing insufficient food on human waste, and destroying the natural biozone. They are not paragons of natural wisdom and productivity . Yes again you are confusing the regime of Morocco with the traditional Berber village I visited. So that village was just having the government put in a gravel road. When I was there ONE truck drove by and all the women raised their fists in the air to protest against the intrusion of noise and pollution. The village had been self-reliant for thousands of years. The women also were tattooed because the Arabs used to steal the women and use the Berber women as sex slaves and then when the women were "used up" sexually - they were tattooed and returned back to the village. So the women just all preemptively tattooed themselves to prevent themselves from being stolen - and this tradition lives on. Quote Living green, actually means moving to a city, which ,due to efficiencies ,is 'greener'. Yes this is what Marx thought - being against the "backward peasant" and then millions of people were starved to death in the industrialization of China and Russia - why? So that the farms could feed the cities. Now we have global inequities via food dumping - so yes heavy oil inputs with heavy government subsidies enables Cargill to dump food in other countries (while the farmers dump nitrates into the ocean creating huge Dead Zones). So it's not really an either or scenario - both China and Russia tried to mimic Western industrial farming - so huge combines, etc. Quote Moving into nature, and hacking out an existence, is the most destructive behavior. yes you can just do "forest farms" - or as I mentioned with the Berber - humanure compost transforms the desert into food - for the housing they use adobe. No "hacking" necessary. But Western Asian monocultural farming did burn down the forests to create lime ash to water proof the housing - this is proven by archaeology - going back over 8,000 years ago. So the first white people (created from lack of vitamin D in the wheat monoculture diet) were literally ecological crisis refugees that fled into Europe when Western Asia succumbed to drought - ironic since the burning and clearing of the forests stopped the rain that the lime ash was suppose to protect against. Quote Telling starving people how they do not need to eat any more than they do, is an exercise in futility. Actually there's a great NGO called "Forests for the Future" - or something like that - I used to donate to them. Trees for the Future. https://trees.org/ So it's basically the difference between making someone dependent on US "donations" - or growing your own food. This is a big "debate" in business - called "import substitution" - so the Western business markets are against this. The whole goal is to make other countries "develop" export crops based on colonial trading regimes. For example the Sahel exports peanuts to Europe - at the expense of their own local food subsistence. And so Ivory Coast and Ghana export Coca for chocolate - and the same for coffee and bananas - and cotton and rice, etc. For example the British imposed rice production in Bangladesh even though the local ecology was not suited for rice - the traditional crop to grow was jute. But Western colonialism does not care. Similarly the traditional crop in Tibet is barely but the Chinese imposed wheat and rice - so this goes against the local ecological adaptations in order to benefit the importers of cheap products for profit. https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520220874/insatiable-appetite Here is a good book that gives an overview on those dynamics. Insatiable Appetite The United States and the Ecological Degradation of the Tropical World Quote In the late 1800s American entrepreneurs became participants in the 400-year history of European economic and ecological hegemony in the tropics. Beginning as buyers in the tropical ports of the Atlantic and Pacific, they evolved into land speculators, controlling and managing the areas where tropical crops were grown for carefully fostered consumer markets at home. As corporate agro-industry emerged, the speculators took direct control of the ecological destinies of many tropical lands. Supported by the U.S. government's diplomatic and military protection, they migrated and built private empires in the Caribbean, Central and South America, the Pacific, Southeast Asia, and West Africa. Yankee investors and plantation managers mobilized engineers, agronomists, and loggers to undertake what they called the "Conquest of the Tropics," claiming to bring civilization to benighted peoples and cultivation to unproductive nature. In competitive cooperation with local landed and political elites, they not only cleared natural forests but also displaced multicrop tribal and peasant lands with monocrop export plantations rooted in private property regimes. This book is a rich history of the transformation of the tropics in modern times, pointing ultimately to the declining biodiversity that has resulted from the domestication of widely varied natural systems. Richard P. Tucker graphically illustrates his study with six major crops, each a virtual empire in itself—sugar, bananas, coffee, rubber, beef, and timber. He concludes that as long as corporate-dominated free trade is ascendant, paying little heed to its long-term ecological consequences, the health of the tropical world is gravely endangered. So this whole "conversation" we're having is a moot point. It's too little too late. You can make your claims that the West is "helping" the rest of the world - and that is the prerogative of the invader to claim. But Mother Nature will claim justice in the end - as the ancients stated Justice is Blind - but that does not mean justice is ineffective. haha. Edited February 20, 2019 by voidisyinyang Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
whitesilk Posted February 21, 2019 13 minutes ago, voidisyinyang said: This must be some fantasy? Knowledge gained or experience lived? Exactly how does telling someone, 'oh it seems like you are oppressed,' help them to stop their own personal oppression? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
voidisyinyang Posted February 21, 2019 Just now, whitesilk said: Knowledge gained or experience lived? Exactly how does telling someone, 'oh it seems like you are oppressed,' help them to stop their own personal oppression? For example when I was in Costa Rica in 1992 - studying conservation biology and sustainable development - I went around the local peasants living next to a supposed protected forest. Us Gringo students were living on this ranch and we were told the forest next to us was protected. So the local peasants wondered about my bad Spanish - they asked if I was Mexican - since they didn't know about our Gringo school. haha. So they openly told me how they hunted in the forest for food. So then I went back to our School for Field Studies, 1992 - and each student had to give a presentation of their research. I repeated what I had learned - I was the only one who had gone out to interview the locals. Most of the Gringo students didn't know Spanish. And anyway - soon after that Costa Rica implemented a program to HIRE and PAY the local peasants to work as forest guardians - to protect the wild animals instead of eating the wild animals. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
whitesilk Posted February 21, 2019 I am glad that you are venting, how did you help them when you had the opportunity to do so? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
voidisyinyang Posted February 21, 2019 20 minutes ago, whitesilk said: I am glad that you are venting, how did you help them when you had the opportunity to do so? Have you read "Christ in Egypt" yet? So you want to assume that there is a separation between "me" and the people I was interviewing - the "Ticos." https://the-eye.eu/public/concen.org/01052018_updates/D. M. Murdock - Christ in Egypt - The Horus-Jesus Connection (2009) pdf.pdf Jesus really was Horus from Egyptian alchemy - as that book proves. So the point with Abrupt Global Warming is that Apopis is in charge - the Cosmic Mother as Apocalypse. We are delusional to believe in separate egos. As our economics professor stated in Costa Rica - the best we could have done to help Costa Rica was not to fly down there - due to al the carbon emissions from the airplanes. So in terms of "complex life" on EArth - the "venting" that you refer to - this is a closed system. The carbon emissions then absorb and re-emit the infrared radiation from the Sun. This is happening at a faster rate than ever before in life on Earth - over billions of years - what modern humans are doing now. So what modern humans are doing now is worse than an asteroid or comet hitting earth, or super-volcanos, etc. Abrupt Global Warming is teaching us that we are Doomed. I have a book on Amazon.com called Do-Ohm Up the Yin-Yang! https://www.amazon.com/Do-Ohm-Up-Yin-Yang-Spiritual-Training-ebook/dp/B012Z45TR2 So I got into Daoist qigong meditation training because I knew we were doomed due to the wrong Western metaphysics. I had an article published about this - my final master's degree research. http://www.nonduality.com/whatis8.htm The Rotten Root by Drew HempelIt is now, only under the severe crisis of postmodern late-capitalist globalization, that access to experiential nondualistic knowledge is finally beginning to be recognized by the globalized West.Introduction: The Root Problem This investigation is based on the assumption that there is a severe global crisis of injustice and ecological damage that primarily stems from the elite-controlled institutional policies of western culture. Working from that premise the issue at hand is how to overcome the root of the problem that drives the interlocking oppressions symptomatic of westernization. Since the root problem has been analyzed at length in the past, I provide simply a brief presentation and then focus on the facets of implementing the solution ã the subject of my experiential applied research and what I contend to be dialectically transcending nondualism. In terms of format, because of the very broad and untraditional nature of my project, the introduction references are contained in my thesis and the sources for my applied research are listed at the end of the text. Whether it's the Dalai Lama or, Hanne Strong, one of the organizers of the UN Conference on Environment and Development (the Earth Summit) or, Charles Mills, author of The Racial Contract -- there can be found a focus on one common underlying problem for all levels of oppression. For theorists it is described as an inaccurate "naturalized" hierarchy: There is a repression of the self, a projection of that repression on to others -- call it an externality or a prejudice -- and then the denial of others' rights as justified through that projection. In the history of the West, this Self/Other oppressive dynamic has been traced back to Plato and Aristotle by their concept of dualistic, materialistic and rationalistic "natural law." Thus as people were labeled subhumans, natural slaves, and savages, they, along with the Muses, were devalued (i.e. destructively controlled and killed through indoctrination, slavery, disease, starvation, and organized slaughter) and an elite linear, imperial "utopia" was envisioned -- this is the beginning, the root concept, of western culture. From that primary definitive vision of the West, this root crisis has become globally encompassing today: The Great Chain of Being, the witchhunts, the enclosure acts, the papal decree of "territorius nullius," Manifest Destiny, the "natural" efficiency of the homo economicus, corporate personhood, and the World Trade Organization. Just before the beginning of the West there was an ecologically and socially just culture of nondualism (definition below) that taught integration and balance of knowledge through self-discipline, concentration and wisdom. The recent Oxford graduate, Dr. Peter Kingsley, documents that this Pythagorean culture was stripped down and driven out as the definitive years study in Egypt, combined with many excursions into eastern areas, the knowledge of Pythagoras became very fertile fodder for the materialistic elite. A great imbalance of power was thereby established. Pythagoras taught orally and his knowledge was integrated via experiential theory -- as compared to the reified and closed, dualistic and linear, symbolic knowledge system of "the West." Ironically the latest in scientific findings describe the universe as one great multidimensional, yet connected harmonic string of energy-knowledge (nondualism) -- literally the same scientific principles as Pythagoras. Unfortunately current western scientific "progress" continues to be based on externally forcing nature (and those cultures living close to nature) to reveal internal truths, thereby creating the great global sufferings via the same root of limited and inaccurate unbalanced methodology. As Kingsley and others have documented Pythagoras was a powerful healer who knew of his past lives, and had the power to experience life after death. Not only was he a spiritual leader, similar to Jesus Christ, but he taught a system for realizing this knowledge -- the same essential system as the laws and practices of the Buddha, those contained in the ancient Vedas of Hinduism or those found in the hundreds of endangered indigenous shaman practices found worldwide. Through extensive research and my broad background in music theory, philosophy, and global development policy, I have reconstructed the scientific harmonic principles of the teachings of Pythagoras (as described in my masters thesis). These principles are the basis for understanding transcendent dialectical mind-body dynamics, group social power dynamics, and the transcendent dialectical means for analyzing and organizing technology and social institutions. Nondualist principles have been intuitively grasped in piecemeal by previous western cultural producers and were subsequently systematically rediscovered during the western social upheaval in the 1960s, developing into the potential of New Paradigm Science (again as described in my masters thesis). It is now, only under the severe crisis of postmodern late-capitalist globalization, that access to experiential nondualistic knowledge is finally beginning to be recognized by the globalized West. A truly transcending global dialectic is being visualized -- one that addresses the root of the mass global suffering and goes beyond the traditional dualistic schisms systematic to western power relations threatening the future of the planet and humanity. The Systematic Principles of Nondualistic Direct Knowledge or Immediate Awareness The scholar David Loy, in his Yale University publication Nondualism: A comparative philosophy, analyzes the nonwestern systems of thought and documents their successful universal application. The systems that Loy investigates reveal a transcendent means of knowledge derived from principles of organization that are accessible to all of humanity. But intellectually describing these systems is one thing, as I did with Pythagorean thought in my thesis -- actually realizing the power of nondualism is another ã a process that I will describe in this investigation. Once that power is established or stabilized it is much easier to truly pass that direct knowledge or immediate awareness on to others. To realize or actualize the power of nondualism, great self-discipline, concentration, and wisdom is required. The common principles found in all systems of nondualism (whether it's from the Vedas, Buddhism, Taoism, shamanism, or Pythagoreanism) are the following: 1) The whole universe comes from the void or absolute nothingness that is the original form of universal energy. Total Emptiness equals Total Energy this is ONENESS/NOTHINGNESS (nondualism). 2) This Universal Energy (nondualism) divides into connected harmonic principles of organization. Complimentary opposites, through their mutually excluding logical extremes, reveal their common underlying transcendent ONENESS/NOTHINGNESS and evolve into (and evolve via) this third transcendent truth-state. 3) From this Third transcendent state All Myriad Things of the Universe are further formed (i.e. modeled by the synthesis or the third stage of the complimentary opposites). All these myriad things/processes or forces are derived from the first FIVE SYNTHETIC SETS OF HARMONIC COMPLEMENTARY OPPOSITES (These five sets or categories are grouped by matching elements, directions, color, frequency, animal, planet, etc. and all five are direct manifestations of ONENESS/NOTHINGNESS). 4) DIRECT KNOWLEDGE OR IMMEDIATE AWARENESS OF THE UNIVERSE -- NONDUALISM (beyond the first five perceptible senses and the first four perceptible dimensions) IS POSSIBLE BY MEANS OF HARMONIZING OR RESONATING WITH THE SYSTEM OF CONNECTED BASIC COMPLIMENTARY OPPOSITES. THIS KNOWLEDGE -- ENERGY IS POTENTIALLY OMNIPOTENT, OMNISCIENT and at the least is required for understanding how to achieve PERSONAL HEALTH and HAPPINESS and POSITIVE PERSONAL RELATIONS. These principles of nondualism need to be further applied in detail (as will be done below) for them to be utilized and more accessible as a means of achievement. Although westerners are intellectually taught the golden rule (treat others as you would treat yourself) this ethical basis for developing western knowledge and science is, because of the limitations of dualistic materialism, replaced by actions of "the end justifies the means" or literally "he who has the gold rules." But it is exactly this principle of humanity -- the pervasive and recognized existence of suffering, the knowledge of delusion, or the limit of ignorance -- that provides such an excellent motivation for achieving the harmonic means of transcendent dialectical problem-solving. Because of the recent unique position of China as a location of ancient nonwestern civilization and rapid industrialization after the institution of scientific materialism, there have been hundreds of scientific studies documenting the details of achieving nondualism and the applications of nondualism. These applications have become known as qi gong or "energy work" but come from ancient Taoism. Their usage has been documented to be over 7,000 years old. Although it has been integrated with Buddhism and Confucianism, the nondualism of China or the Tao is considered the most ancient true way of organizing society. The thirteenth-century taoist adept Chang-chun, the Master of Eternal Spring and originator of the Dragon Gate branch of Complete Reality Taoism, was of such power that Genghis Khan requested he be the personal advisor on preserving the ancient civilization of China. By the abilities and wisdom of Chang-chun, millions of lives were saved in China. He is known as a spiritual immortal by Taoist tradition and until just a few years ago his lineage and skills were passed down, in secret, through a process of intensive, exclusive training, generation after generation. The Harvard Ph.D. in East Asian studies and translator of numerous ancient texts, Thomas Cleary, recently published Opening the Dragon Gate: The Making of a Modern Taoist Wizard by Chen Kaiguo and Zheng Shunchao. Opening the Dragon Gate is the authorized biography of Master Wang Liping and Master Wang is an eighteenth-generation Transmitter of the Dragon Gate branch of Complete Reality Taoism. Just like the Kogi, who for hundreds of years have kept secret an ancient civilized system in the unattainable wilderness of the Andes, the Dragon Gate Transmission of Complete Reality Taoism has now come public with its powerful esoteric knowledge. This dramatic change of approach was due to the modern spiritual revolution of "energetics" or qi gong in China that started in the early 1980s. Everyday in China qi gong is now practiced by the equivalent of the whole population of the United States. Master Wang explains that powerful Taoist nondualist energy-knowledge is also now being presented because of the current westernized crisis of the planet and humanity. Opening the Dragon Gate distinguishes three types of government for humanity. The first is by law, the second is by principle and the third is "Government by the Tao, or the Way".... As the book states: Government by the Tao, or the Way, is on an even higher level, nurturing the people by means of the Way, returning to naturalness and going back to reality, assimilating humanity to heaven and earth, taking no artificial law as law, but being orderly without being managed. Lao-tzu said, 'The sage says, ‘Since I contrive nothing, the people are spontaneously civilized. Since I like calm, the people are spontaneously upright. Since I have no interests, the people spontaneously prosper. Since I have no desires, the people are spontaneously innocent. Government without artificiality is government by the Way. This is the highest level of social development, and the highest attainment of government. Described in detail in Opening the Dragon Gate, the training and accomplishments of Master Wang Liping are extraordinary to say the least and since he has come public he is conducting extensive training and healing in China. As the concise and powerful Taoist teaching, considered to be authored by an all-powerful immortal Taoist adept, The Secret of the Golden Flower, states, "When you keep presence of mind, only then do you have autonomy. When you have autonomy, only then can you manage affairs.... However, presence of mind is easily interrupted. Practice it for a long time, though, and it will naturally become unbroken.... Ordinarily, once people let their eyes and ears pursue things, they get stirred up, only to stop when things are gone. This activity and rest are all subjects, but the sovereign ruler becomes their slave. This is 'always living with ghosts.'" "The conscious mind is like a violent general of a strong fiefdom controlling things from a distance, until the sword is turned around…. Now steadily keep to the chamber of origin, turning the light around to look back, and this is like having a heroic leader on top with great ministers helping. Once the inner government is orderly, the strong and violent naturally become tame." For an example of another powerful Master of the Way (of nondualism), one can attend the upcoming free public information sessions conducted by Master Chunyi Lin, a taoist teacher who lives in the Twin Cities and teaches through Anoka Ramsey Community College. His motto is "A Healer in Every Family, A World without Pain." Master Lin continues to heal many people of severe cancer (lymphoma, breast, lung, etc.) and of Parkinson's Disease and many other severe health conditions. He is doing research at the University of Minnesota Medical School and has been contacted by several other interested research hospitals that have become familiar with his success. He treats people from all over the world by sending energy focused via the telephone and other high technology. Master Lin, by drawing in universal energy, treats twenty to thirty people a day, has a four month waiting list for appointments and he only needs to sleep three to four hours a night. He meditates four to five hours a day and teaches almost every night. Master Lin recently brought the Coon Rapids City Council to China for a sister city educational exchange program that focuses on qi gong. For endorsements and testimonials (i.e. a doctor from the Mayo Clinic) see http://www.potentools.com/body/qigong/endorsements.htm http://www.potentools.com/body/qigong/testimonials.htm The Development of Nondualistic Direct Knowledge or Immediate Awareness Just in the past ten years there has finally been translated many of the ancient meditation texts of Taoist Yoga and Taoist meditation has been the subject of much academic research. The principles of nondualism are achieved through various techniques found throughout the world: Mantras can be repeated in order to focus in the mind and create energy resonance that purifies the person. Another approach is to use self-enquiry ã a question that turns the attention of the mind back onto itself. For instance "Who Am I?" -- repeating this question with true doubt, while meditating, will cause the investigator to contact the living nondualist energy that is the source of their thoughts. Taoist Yoga focuses on a more accessible approach. In qi gong people are taught basic, very simple active exercises that use posture, breath and mental focus to open up the energy channels of the body. By using certain breath, hand and foot movements based on the knowledge of complimentary opposite energies of the mind/body, a person can enter a stage of deep relaxation and focus that will cause the living energy-knowledge -- nondualism, to be activated. Once activated the energy is further developed through still meditation. Taoism teaches that when a person is conceived great universal energy/knowledge is focused. Not only is the genetic energy passed on from the parents but the energy of Heaven and Earth is passed on as well. While the baby is being developed as a fetus in the womb, this energy is balanced ã it enters through the umbilical cord and circles up the back and down the front of the body. The baby naturally holds its tongue up to the roof of its mouth and this acts as the switch that connects the front and back energy channels of the person. After birth the energy of the person slowly begins to separate, settle and become unbalanced: The lower half of the body is associated with Earth energy and the upper half is associated with Heaven energy. As the person undergoes puberty and further development the energy of the body is continuously dissipated through emotional stress, pollution and environmental stress, unbalanced nutrition, and normal hormonal and reproductive processes. Taoist yoga teaches a person how to perform "needleless acupuncture,” whereby the practitioner consciously recognizes and activates the subtle energy of the mind/body, balances that energy, and then uses resonance to take in more energy and consciously connect with higher energy levels. This is the process of going back to the root of a person's existence, of mind-body awareness ã of understanding the power dynamics of not only the self, but also the interactions of the self with the outside environment. Under nondualism it is known that humans represent a microcosm, a holograph, of the universe and that the universe is a hologram with each part containing the energy of the whole -- another way of describing nondualism. In the beginning of the practice a person will feel great heat being generated in the energy centers (the Earth center, the Heaven Center and their combined Center in the Heart-Mind). As the practice develops the energy will surge, like high-pressured water through a hose, up the back and down the front of the body. The person will experience different internal organs of the body become very hot ã the kidneys, the thyroid. This is the subtle energy resonating and opening up the subtle energy channels of those organs. Many hormones will be stimulated during this process and there will be a feeling of great energy, serenity, bliss, and lucidity. As the practice develops the energy will be experienced as electrical and magnetic fields that actually move the body. Ailments of the body will be healed. The person will have the ability to send out energy to heal others and the person will need less sleep, less food, and will not have normal cravings. As the body energy channels continue to resonate, higher levels of energy will be activated eventually leading to the opening of the Heaven center or the Third Eye of the person. This is beginning of spiritual cultivation and the beginning of samadhi in yoga. At this point all the energy channels of the body will be open. When meditating the person will not feel their body at all ã it will become one with its surroundings. The mind's thoughts will stop on one point of focus. The breathing of the person will slow down to such an extent that for all purposes it comes to a stop. The person will experience a bright light when the eyes are closed and when they are open as well. The person will develop psychic abilities and will process the thoughts and emotions of others as direct energy vibrations. The person will experience their aura, their subtle energy field, extending out around them and interacting with/processing the conditions of those around them. This experience is the development of direct knowledge or immediate awareness. Unfortunately it is very common to develop "over-exuberant heroics," meaning that a person becomes very excited about their new exalted state, they become attached to the powers and lose focus of the nondualist principles that the powers are derived from. At this stage the person wants to tell everyone about their "awakening" experience and wants to act out on their powers when instead this is the time of the greatest need for continuing to focus on the nondualism source, to focus on the macrocosm within. Also at this stage, beside the problem of getting too excited and out of balance from attachment to the powers, it is also very easy to become scared. To literally not feel your body, or too literally feel your pituitary gland in the middle of your brain become heated up and charged full of energy is a bizarre experience to say the least. To literally experience psychic powers as the norm of processing reality, to experience one’s aura extending out -- a field of energy vibrations rippling and processing the thoughts and emotions of others before those thoughts or emotions are communicated through words or body language ã these can be intimidating experiences. Also to literally not need to eat food or drink water because one can rely directly on the subtle energy as a means to create protein or to have one's thoughts stop and one's breath stop all this can be startling to say the least. As a practitioner of Spring Forest Qigong, taught at Anorak Ramose Community College, I practiced for four hours a day over a three month period and I began to experience some of these symptoms of the beginning of samadhi or what is called "the emptiness" in qi gong. I didn't see the bright light and I didn’t have my body disappear or my breathing stop. I did develop psychic powers, have my aura extend, have no need for food, need less sleep, and feel my pituitary gland become charged up. I did conduct very successful external energy treatments (no touch) of others whereby they had their symptoms disappear after feeling heaviness leave their bodies, intense heat, electrical shocks, internal movement. Although I fell back into the other extreme of normal reality, I experienced enough to get a taste of "the otherside" -- the nondualistic source. The Otherside or the Nondualistic Source In Taoist Yoga, once "the emptiness" is obtained and stabilized then a person's power of healing and power of wisdom is greatly increased. Because Taoism focuses on balancing the mind and body with all other levels of energy, longevity or immortality is also obtainable and explainable in Taoist Yoga. Not only is there an ability to project the energy of the person across space-time dimensions but as the energy is continued to be developed then the power of physical replication and transformation is also possible. In the final stages a person is able to literally dematerialize the body and to finally exist in a cosmic form that is "at-one" with the universe. This person is considered a "celestial immortal" by Taoist standards, meaning they can exist outside the space-time continuum and have achieved the Tao -- nondualism. To the "normal" westerner this all seems ludicrous but the academic book published by SUNY, Taoist Meditation, actually gives the explanations of how this state is achieved in methodology. The principles are the same as the nondualist principles stated above -- it is just a matter of deepening the practice. After the initial levels of samadhi or emptiness, direct knowledge or immediate awareness can not be captured by the normal means of communication and is essentially impossible to explain except through direct experience. The ultimate nondualist state is beyond any form, any concept, any sensation, any limitation of time and space, any source of mind and matter. Of direct consequence for modern western culture are solutions to psychoanalysis, to social and economic conflict, to health issues, and to realizing the effects and potential of technology. Without this basic knowledge of nondualism power relations can not be understood very well, an accurate model of reality can not be maintained and a sense of unfulfilled desire will lead to an unbalance of power. Many elite societies of leaders in the West have attempted, as a means of maintaining an unhealthy, imbalance of material power, to keep secret and utilize this nondualist knowledge that Pythagoras once taught. This extreme of Western control, since it relies on maintaining ignorance of nondualism and utilizing it for limited, inaccurate development, can not last. The motivation to externally control the environment and people around you through destructive superficial means simply does not last when one can truly stabilize direct knowledge or wisdom through nondualist means. Sources U of M Master of Liberal Studies thesis: Epicenters of Justice: Music Theory, Sound-current Nondualism and Radical Ecology by Drew Hempel (Lightmind Libraries, 2000) found at <http://lightmind.com/library/hempel/epicenters.html>;Vipassana and Social Change at http://www.vri.dhamma.org/general/vipintro.html; The Beverly White Community Outreach Project; Engaged Buddhism in Thailand: to cure AIDS, Enivornmentalism etc., http://www.buddhanetz.net/projekte/thailand.htm; The Engaged Zen Foundation http://www.engaged-zen.org/home.html; Opening the Dragon Gate: The Making of a Modern Taoist Wizard by Chen Kaiguo, translated by Thomas Cleary and Zheng Shunchao (Boston, MA: Tuttle Publishin, 1998); Healing Society: A Prescription for Global Enlightenment (Walsch Book) by Dr. Seung-Heun Lee (Hampton Roads Pub Co, November 20, 2000); Twenty-Five Doors to Meditation: A Handbook for Entering Samadhi by William Bodri, Lee Shu-Mei (York Beach, ME: Samuel Weiser, July 1998); Cultivating the Energy of Life by Liu, Hua-yang, (Boston, Mass.: Shambhala, 1998); The Secret of the Golden Flower: The classic Chinese book of life by Lü, Tung-pin, b. 798.; Cleary, Thomas (San Francisco, Calif., 1991); Working Toward Enlightenment: The cultivation of practice by Nan, Huai-chin. (York Beach, Me.: Samuel Weiser, Inc., 1993); To Realize Enlightenment: Practice of the Cultivation Path by Nan, Huai-chin (York Beach, ME: S. Weiser, 1994); Tao & Longevity: Mind-Body Transformation: An original discussion about meditation and the cultivation of Tao by Nan, Huai-chin., and others (York Beach, ME: S. Weiser, 1996); Grass Mountain: A seven day intensive in chán training with Master Nah Huai-chin by Nan Huai-Chin., and others (York Beach, Maine: Samuel Weiser, Inc., 1986); Taoist yoga: Alchemy and immortality by Chao, Pi Ch‘en, b. 1860., and others (York Beach, Me. : S. Weiser, 1984 1970); The Root of Chinese Qigong: Secrets for health, longevity, & enlightment by Yang, Jwing-Ming, (Jamaica Plain, Mass.: YMAA Publication Center, 1997); Taoist ways to transform stress into vitality: the inner smile, six healing sounds by Chia, Mantak, (Huntington, N.Y.: Healing Tao Books, 1985); Awaken healing light of the Tao by Chia, Mantak, 1944-, and others (Huntington, NY: Healing Tao Books, 1993); Awaken healing energy through the Tao: Ancient Chi-Kung: learn how to circulate energy through acupuncture channels by yourself by Chia, Mantak, (New York?: Taoist Esoteric Yoga Center & Foundation, 1981); The Jade Emperor's Mind Seal Classic: A Taoist Guide to Health, Longevity and Immortality by Stuart Alve Olson (Translator), (St. Paul, MN: Dragon Door Publication, 1993); Eight Brocades Seated Ch'Ikung by Stuart Alve Olson, Patrick D. Gross (Editor) (September 1997) Eric Naylor; The Venerable Phra Acharn Mun Bhuridatta Thera, meditation master by Bauw Ñanasampanno, Phra Maha.; Siri Buddhasukh. (Samudra Prakarn, Thailand : Buddhist Books Service, 1995); Nothing ever happened by Godman, David (Boulder, Colo.: Avadhuta Foundation, 1998); Self-enquiry: being a translation of the original instructions by Ramana, Maharshi. (Tiruvannamalai: Niranjanananda Swamy Sarvadhikari Sri Ramanasramam, 1947); The Secrets of Chinese meditation: self-cultivation by mind control as taught in the Chan, Mahayana and Taoist schools in China by Lu, K‘uan Yü, (York Beach, Me.: Samuel Weiser, 1999 1964); Taoist meditation: the Mao-shan tradition of great purity by Robinet, Isabelle. (Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 1993); Tranquillity & Insight: an introduction to the oldest form of Buddhist meditation by Sol*-Leris, Amadeu. (Kandy, Sri Lanka: Buddhist Publication Society, 1992); Calm and Insight: A Buddhist manual for meditators by Khantipalo, Phikkhu, (London: Curzon, 1994); The Tao and Chinese culture by Da, Liu. (London : Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1981 1979); The Tao of Health and Longevity by Da, Liu (New York: Marlowe & Co., 1990); The Bhagavad Gita translated by Easwaran, Eknath. and Morrison, Diana. (London: Arkana, 1986); The Price of a Gift: A Lakota healer's story by Mohatt, Gerald Vincent., and others (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2000); Awakening Spirits by Tom Brown Jr (April 1994) San Francisco: Berkley Pub Group; Asceticism in Early Taoist Religion (SUNY Series in Chinese Philosophy and Culture) by Stephen Eskildsen (November 1998) State University of New York Press; Entering the Tao: Master Ni's Guidance for Self-Cultivation by Hua-Ching Ni (May 1997) Boston, MA: Shambhala Pubns); 8,000 Years of Wisdom by Hua Ching Ni (October 1994) L.A., CA: SevenStar Communications Group; Miracle Healing from China-Qigong by Charles McGee, Effie Poy Yew Chow (June 1994) Medipress; Chi Gong: The Ancient Chinese Way to Health by Paul Dong, Aristide H. Esser (Contributor) (January 1995) Marlowe & Co; Encounters With Qi: Exploring Chinese Medicine by David Eisenberg, Thomas Lee Wright (Contributor) (August 1995) W.W. Norton & Company; Raja-Yoga by Swami Vivekananda (June 1980) Ramakrishna Vivekanada Center; Mysterious Samadhi by Surath Chakravarti (April 1984) South Asia Books; The Summits of God-Life: Samadhi and Siddhi: Liberation, Enlightenment, Nirvana and Realisation by Sri Chinmov (June 1984); Ch'an and Zen Teaching by Kuan Yu Lu, Charles Luk (December 1993) Samuel Weiser.The Ampersand Copyright 2001 Drew Hempel. All rights reserved. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stosh Posted February 21, 2019 39 minutes ago, voidisyinyang said: Have you read "Christ in Egypt" yet? So you want to assume that there is a separation between "me" and the people I was interviewing - the "Ticos." https://the-eye.eu/public/concen.org/01052018_updates/D. M. Murdock - Christ in Egypt - The Horus-Jesus Connection (2009) pdf.pdf Jesus really was Horus from Egyptian alchemy - as that book proves. So the point with Abrupt Global Warming is that Apopis is in charge - the Cosmic Mother as Apocalypse. We are delusional to believe in separate egos. As our economics professor stated in Costa Rica - the best we could have done to help Costa Rica was not to fly down there - due to al the carbon emissions from the airplanes. So in terms of "complex life" on EArth - the "venting" that you refer to - this is a closed system. The carbon emissions then absorb and re-emit the infrared radiation from the Sun. This is happening at a faster rate than ever before in life on Earth - over billions of years - what modern humans are doing now. So what modern humans are doing now is worse than an asteroid or comet hitting earth, or super-volcanos, etc. Abrupt Global Warming is teaching us that we are Doomed. I have a book on Amazon.com called Do-Ohm Up the Yin-Yang! https://www.amazon.com/Do-Ohm-Up-Yin-Yang-Spiritual-Training-ebook/dp/B012Z45TR2 So I got into Daoist qigong meditation training because I knew we were doomed due to the wrong Western metaphysics. I had an article published about this - my final master's degree research. http://www.nonduality.com/whatis8.htm The Rotten Root by Drew HempelIt is now, only under the severe crisis of postmodern late-capitalist globalization, that access to experiential nondualistic knowledge is finally beginning to be recognized by the globalized West.Introduction: The Root Problem This investigation is based on the assumption that there is a severe global crisis of injustice and ecological damage that primarily stems from the elite-controlled institutional policies of western culture. Working from that premise the issue at hand is how to overcome the root of the problem that drives the interlocking oppressions symptomatic of westernization. Since the root problem has been analyzed at length in the past, I provide simply a brief presentation and then focus on the facets of implementing the solution ã the subject of my experiential applied research and what I contend to be dialectically transcending nondualism. In terms of format, because of the very broad and untraditional nature of my project, the introduction references are contained in my thesis and the sources for my applied research are listed at the end of the text. Whether it's the Dalai Lama or, Hanne Strong, one of the organizers of the UN Conference on Environment and Development (the Earth Summit) or, Charles Mills, author of The Racial Contract -- there can be found a focus on one common underlying problem for all levels of oppression. For theorists it is described as an inaccurate "naturalized" hierarchy: There is a repression of the self, a projection of that repression on to others -- call it an externality or a prejudice -- and then the denial of others' rights as justified through that projection. In the history of the West, this Self/Other oppressive dynamic has been traced back to Plato and Aristotle by their concept of dualistic, materialistic and rationalistic "natural law." Thus as people were labeled subhumans, natural slaves, and savages, they, along with the Muses, were devalued (i.e. destructively controlled and killed through indoctrination, slavery, disease, starvation, and organized slaughter) and an elite linear, imperial "utopia" was envisioned -- this is the beginning, the root concept, of western culture. From that primary definitive vision of the West, this root crisis has become globally encompassing today: The Great Chain of Being, the witchhunts, the enclosure acts, the papal decree of "territorius nullius," Manifest Destiny, the "natural" efficiency of the homo economicus, corporate personhood, and the World Trade Organization. Just before the beginning of the West there was an ecologically and socially just culture of nondualism (definition below) that taught integration and balance of knowledge through self-discipline, concentration and wisdom. The recent Oxford graduate, Dr. Peter Kingsley, documents that this Pythagorean culture was stripped down and driven out as the definitive years study in Egypt, combined with many excursions into eastern areas, the knowledge of Pythagoras became very fertile fodder for the materialistic elite. A great imbalance of power was thereby established. Pythagoras taught orally and his knowledge was integrated via experiential theory -- as compared to the reified and closed, dualistic and linear, symbolic knowledge system of "the West." Ironically the latest in scientific findings describe the universe as one great multidimensional, yet connected harmonic string of energy-knowledge (nondualism) -- literally the same scientific principles as Pythagoras. Unfortunately current western scientific "progress" continues to be based on externally forcing nature (and those cultures living close to nature) to reveal internal truths, thereby creating the great global sufferings via the same root of limited and inaccurate unbalanced methodology. As Kingsley and others have documented Pythagoras was a powerful healer who knew of his past lives, and had the power to experience life after death. Not only was he a spiritual leader, similar to Jesus Christ, but he taught a system for realizing this knowledge -- the same essential system as the laws and practices of the Buddha, those contained in the ancient Vedas of Hinduism or those found in the hundreds of endangered indigenous shaman practices found worldwide. Through extensive research and my broad background in music theory, philosophy, and global development policy, I have reconstructed the scientific harmonic principles of the teachings of Pythagoras (as described in my masters thesis). These principles are the basis for understanding transcendent dialectical mind-body dynamics, group social power dynamics, and the transcendent dialectical means for analyzing and organizing technology and social institutions. Nondualist principles have been intuitively grasped in piecemeal by previous western cultural producers and were subsequently systematically rediscovered during the western social upheaval in the 1960s, developing into the potential of New Paradigm Science (again as described in my masters thesis). It is now, only under the severe crisis of postmodern late-capitalist globalization, that access to experiential nondualistic knowledge is finally beginning to be recognized by the globalized West. A truly transcending global dialectic is being visualized -- one that addresses the root of the mass global suffering and goes beyond the traditional dualistic schisms systematic to western power relations threatening the future of the planet and humanity. The Systematic Principles of Nondualistic Direct Knowledge or Immediate Awareness The scholar David Loy, in his Yale University publication Nondualism: A comparative philosophy, analyzes the nonwestern systems of thought and documents their successful universal application. The systems that Loy investigates reveal a transcendent means of knowledge derived from principles of organization that are accessible to all of humanity. But intellectually describing these systems is one thing, as I did with Pythagorean thought in my thesis -- actually realizing the power of nondualism is another ã a process that I will describe in this investigation. Once that power is established or stabilized it is much easier to truly pass that direct knowledge or immediate awareness on to others. To realize or actualize the power of nondualism, great self-discipline, concentration, and wisdom is required. The common principles found in all systems of nondualism (whether it's from the Vedas, Buddhism, Taoism, shamanism, or Pythagoreanism) are the following: 1) The whole universe comes from the void or absolute nothingness that is the original form of universal energy. Total Emptiness equals Total Energy this is ONENESS/NOTHINGNESS (nondualism). 2) This Universal Energy (nondualism) divides into connected harmonic principles of organization. Complimentary opposites, through their mutually excluding logical extremes, reveal their common underlying transcendent ONENESS/NOTHINGNESS and evolve into (and evolve via) this third transcendent truth-state. 3) From this Third transcendent state All Myriad Things of the Universe are further formed (i.e. modeled by the synthesis or the third stage of the complimentary opposites). All these myriad things/processes or forces are derived from the first FIVE SYNTHETIC SETS OF HARMONIC COMPLEMENTARY OPPOSITES (These five sets or categories are grouped by matching elements, directions, color, frequency, animal, planet, etc. and all five are direct manifestations of ONENESS/NOTHINGNESS). 4) DIRECT KNOWLEDGE OR IMMEDIATE AWARENESS OF THE UNIVERSE -- NONDUALISM (beyond the first five perceptible senses and the first four perceptible dimensions) IS POSSIBLE BY MEANS OF HARMONIZING OR RESONATING WITH THE SYSTEM OF CONNECTED BASIC COMPLIMENTARY OPPOSITES. THIS KNOWLEDGE -- ENERGY IS POTENTIALLY OMNIPOTENT, OMNISCIENT and at the least is required for understanding how to achieve PERSONAL HEALTH and HAPPINESS and POSITIVE PERSONAL RELATIONS. These principles of nondualism need to be further applied in detail (as will be done below) for them to be utilized and more accessible as a means of achievement. Although westerners are intellectually taught the golden rule (treat others as you would treat yourself) this ethical basis for developing western knowledge and science is, because of the limitations of dualistic materialism, replaced by actions of "the end justifies the means" or literally "he who has the gold rules." But it is exactly this principle of humanity -- the pervasive and recognized existence of suffering, the knowledge of delusion, or the limit of ignorance -- that provides such an excellent motivation for achieving the harmonic means of transcendent dialectical problem-solving. Because of the recent unique position of China as a location of ancient nonwestern civilization and rapid industrialization after the institution of scientific materialism, there have been hundreds of scientific studies documenting the details of achieving nondualism and the applications of nondualism. These applications have become known as qi gong or "energy work" but come from ancient Taoism. Their usage has been documented to be over 7,000 years old. Although it has been integrated with Buddhism and Confucianism, the nondualism of China or the Tao is considered the most ancient true way of organizing society. The thirteenth-century taoist adept Chang-chun, the Master of Eternal Spring and originator of the Dragon Gate branch of Complete Reality Taoism, was of such power that Genghis Khan requested he be the personal advisor on preserving the ancient civilization of China. By the abilities and wisdom of Chang-chun, millions of lives were saved in China. He is known as a spiritual immortal by Taoist tradition and until just a few years ago his lineage and skills were passed down, in secret, through a process of intensive, exclusive training, generation after generation. The Harvard Ph.D. in East Asian studies and translator of numerous ancient texts, Thomas Cleary, recently published Opening the Dragon Gate: The Making of a Modern Taoist Wizard by Chen Kaiguo and Zheng Shunchao. Opening the Dragon Gate is the authorized biography of Master Wang Liping and Master Wang is an eighteenth-generation Transmitter of the Dragon Gate branch of Complete Reality Taoism. Just like the Kogi, who for hundreds of years have kept secret an ancient civilized system in the unattainable wilderness of the Andes, the Dragon Gate Transmission of Complete Reality Taoism has now come public with its powerful esoteric knowledge. This dramatic change of approach was due to the modern spiritual revolution of "energetics" or qi gong in China that started in the early 1980s. Everyday in China qi gong is now practiced by the equivalent of the whole population of the United States. Master Wang explains that powerful Taoist nondualist energy-knowledge is also now being presented because of the current westernized crisis of the planet and humanity. Opening the Dragon Gate distinguishes three types of government for humanity. The first is by law, the second is by principle and the third is "Government by the Tao, or the Way".... As the book states: Government by the Tao, or the Way, is on an even higher level, nurturing the people by means of the Way, returning to naturalness and going back to reality, assimilating humanity to heaven and earth, taking no artificial law as law, but being orderly without being managed. Lao-tzu said, 'The sage says, ‘Since I contrive nothing, the people are spontaneously civilized. Since I like calm, the people are spontaneously upright. Since I have no interests, the people spontaneously prosper. Since I have no desires, the people are spontaneously innocent. Government without artificiality is government by the Way. This is the highest level of social development, and the highest attainment of government. Described in detail in Opening the Dragon Gate, the training and accomplishments of Master Wang Liping are extraordinary to say the least and since he has come public he is conducting extensive training and healing in China. As the concise and powerful Taoist teaching, considered to be authored by an all-powerful immortal Taoist adept, The Secret of the Golden Flower, states, "When you keep presence of mind, only then do you have autonomy. When you have autonomy, only then can you manage affairs.... However, presence of mind is easily interrupted. Practice it for a long time, though, and it will naturally become unbroken.... Ordinarily, once people let their eyes and ears pursue things, they get stirred up, only to stop when things are gone. This activity and rest are all subjects, but the sovereign ruler becomes their slave. This is 'always living with ghosts.'" "The conscious mind is like a violent general of a strong fiefdom controlling things from a distance, until the sword is turned around…. Now steadily keep to the chamber of origin, turning the light around to look back, and this is like having a heroic leader on top with great ministers helping. Once the inner government is orderly, the strong and violent naturally become tame." For an example of another powerful Master of the Way (of nondualism), one can attend the upcoming free public information sessions conducted by Master Chunyi Lin, a taoist teacher who lives in the Twin Cities and teaches through Anoka Ramsey Community College. His motto is "A Healer in Every Family, A World without Pain." Master Lin continues to heal many people of severe cancer (lymphoma, breast, lung, etc.) and of Parkinson's Disease and many other severe health conditions. He is doing research at the University of Minnesota Medical School and has been contacted by several other interested research hospitals that have become familiar with his success. He treats people from all over the world by sending energy focused via the telephone and other high technology. Master Lin, by drawing in universal energy, treats twenty to thirty people a day, has a four month waiting list for appointments and he only needs to sleep three to four hours a night. He meditates four to five hours a day and teaches almost every night. Master Lin recently brought the Coon Rapids City Council to China for a sister city educational exchange program that focuses on qi gong. For endorsements and testimonials (i.e. a doctor from the Mayo Clinic) see http://www.potentools.com/body/qigong/endorsements.htm http://www.potentools.com/body/qigong/testimonials.htm The Development of Nondualistic Direct Knowledge or Immediate Awareness Just in the past ten years there has finally been translated many of the ancient meditation texts of Taoist Yoga and Taoist meditation has been the subject of much academic research. The principles of nondualism are achieved through various techniques found throughout the world: Mantras can be repeated in order to focus in the mind and create energy resonance that purifies the person. Another approach is to use self-enquiry ã a question that turns the attention of the mind back onto itself. For instance "Who Am I?" -- repeating this question with true doubt, while meditating, will cause the investigator to contact the living nondualist energy that is the source of their thoughts. Taoist Yoga focuses on a more accessible approach. In qi gong people are taught basic, very simple active exercises that use posture, breath and mental focus to open up the energy channels of the body. By using certain breath, hand and foot movements based on the knowledge of complimentary opposite energies of the mind/body, a person can enter a stage of deep relaxation and focus that will cause the living energy-knowledge -- nondualism, to be activated. Once activated the energy is further developed through still meditation. Taoism teaches that when a person is conceived great universal energy/knowledge is focused. Not only is the genetic energy passed on from the parents but the energy of Heaven and Earth is passed on as well. While the baby is being developed as a fetus in the womb, this energy is balanced ã it enters through the umbilical cord and circles up the back and down the front of the body. The baby naturally holds its tongue up to the roof of its mouth and this acts as the switch that connects the front and back energy channels of the person. After birth the energy of the person slowly begins to separate, settle and become unbalanced: The lower half of the body is associated with Earth energy and the upper half is associated with Heaven energy. As the person undergoes puberty and further development the energy of the body is continuously dissipated through emotional stress, pollution and environmental stress, unbalanced nutrition, and normal hormonal and reproductive processes. Taoist yoga teaches a person how to perform "needleless acupuncture,” whereby the practitioner consciously recognizes and activates the subtle energy of the mind/body, balances that energy, and then uses resonance to take in more energy and consciously connect with higher energy levels. This is the process of going back to the root of a person's existence, of mind-body awareness ã of understanding the power dynamics of not only the self, but also the interactions of the self with the outside environment. Under nondualism it is known that humans represent a microcosm, a holograph, of the universe and that the universe is a hologram with each part containing the energy of the whole -- another way of describing nondualism. In the beginning of the practice a person will feel great heat being generated in the energy centers (the Earth center, the Heaven Center and their combined Center in the Heart-Mind). As the practice develops the energy will surge, like high-pressured water through a hose, up the back and down the front of the body. The person will experience different internal organs of the body become very hot ã the kidneys, the thyroid. This is the subtle energy resonating and opening up the subtle energy channels of those organs. Many hormones will be stimulated during this process and there will be a feeling of great energy, serenity, bliss, and lucidity. As the practice develops the energy will be experienced as electrical and magnetic fields that actually move the body. Ailments of the body will be healed. The person will have the ability to send out energy to heal others and the person will need less sleep, less food, and will not have normal cravings. As the body energy channels continue to resonate, higher levels of energy will be activated eventually leading to the opening of the Heaven center or the Third Eye of the person. This is beginning of spiritual cultivation and the beginning of samadhi in yoga. At this point all the energy channels of the body will be open. When meditating the person will not feel their body at all ã it will become one with its surroundings. The mind's thoughts will stop on one point of focus. The breathing of the person will slow down to such an extent that for all purposes it comes to a stop. The person will experience a bright light when the eyes are closed and when they are open as well. The person will develop psychic abilities and will process the thoughts and emotions of others as direct energy vibrations. The person will experience their aura, their subtle energy field, extending out around them and interacting with/processing the conditions of those around them. This experience is the development of direct knowledge or immediate awareness. Unfortunately it is very common to develop "over-exuberant heroics," meaning that a person becomes very excited about their new exalted state, they become attached to the powers and lose focus of the nondualist principles that the powers are derived from. At this stage the person wants to tell everyone about their "awakening" experience and wants to act out on their powers when instead this is the time of the greatest need for continuing to focus on the nondualism source, to focus on the macrocosm within. Also at this stage, beside the problem of getting too excited and out of balance from attachment to the powers, it is also very easy to become scared. To literally not feel your body, or too literally feel your pituitary gland in the middle of your brain become heated up and charged full of energy is a bizarre experience to say the least. To literally experience psychic powers as the norm of processing reality, to experience one’s aura extending out -- a field of energy vibrations rippling and processing the thoughts and emotions of others before those thoughts or emotions are communicated through words or body language ã these can be intimidating experiences. Also to literally not need to eat food or drink water because one can rely directly on the subtle energy as a means to create protein or to have one's thoughts stop and one's breath stop all this can be startling to say the least. As a practitioner of Spring Forest Qigong, taught at Anorak Ramose Community College, I practiced for four hours a day over a three month period and I began to experience some of these symptoms of the beginning of samadhi or what is called "the emptiness" in qi gong. I didn't see the bright light and I didn’t have my body disappear or my breathing stop. I did develop psychic powers, have my aura extend, have no need for food, need less sleep, and feel my pituitary gland become charged up. I did conduct very successful external energy treatments (no touch) of others whereby they had their symptoms disappear after feeling heaviness leave their bodies, intense heat, electrical shocks, internal movement. Although I fell back into the other extreme of normal reality, I experienced enough to get a taste of "the otherside" -- the nondualistic source. The Otherside or the Nondualistic Source In Taoist Yoga, once "the emptiness" is obtained and stabilized then a person's power of healing and power of wisdom is greatly increased. Because Taoism focuses on balancing the mind and body with all other levels of energy, longevity or immortality is also obtainable and explainable in Taoist Yoga. Not only is there an ability to project the energy of the person across space-time dimensions but as the energy is continued to be developed then the power of physical replication and transformation is also possible. In the final stages a person is able to literally dematerialize the body and to finally exist in a cosmic form that is "at-one" with the universe. This person is considered a "celestial immortal" by Taoist standards, meaning they can exist outside the space-time continuum and have achieved the Tao -- nondualism. To the "normal" westerner this all seems ludicrous but the academic book published by SUNY, Taoist Meditation, actually gives the explanations of how this state is achieved in methodology. The principles are the same as the nondualist principles stated above -- it is just a matter of deepening the practice. After the initial levels of samadhi or emptiness, direct knowledge or immediate awareness can not be captured by the normal means of communication and is essentially impossible to explain except through direct experience. The ultimate nondualist state is beyond any form, any concept, any sensation, any limitation of time and space, any source of mind and matter. Of direct consequence for modern western culture are solutions to psychoanalysis, to social and economic conflict, to health issues, and to realizing the effects and potential of technology. Without this basic knowledge of nondualism power relations can not be understood very well, an accurate model of reality can not be maintained and a sense of unfulfilled desire will lead to an unbalance of power. Many elite societies of leaders in the West have attempted, as a means of maintaining an unhealthy, imbalance of material power, to keep secret and utilize this nondualist knowledge that Pythagoras once taught. This extreme of Western control, since it relies on maintaining ignorance of nondualism and utilizing it for limited, inaccurate development, can not last. The motivation to externally control the environment and people around you through destructive superficial means simply does not last when one can truly stabilize direct knowledge or wisdom through nondualist means. Sources U of M Master of Liberal Studies thesis: Epicenters of Justice: Music Theory, Sound-current Nondualism and Radical Ecology by Drew Hempel (Lightmind Libraries, 2000) found at <http://lightmind.com/library/hempel/epicenters.html>;Vipassana and Social Change at http://www.vri.dhamma.org/general/vipintro.html; The Beverly White Community Outreach Project; Engaged Buddhism in Thailand: to cure AIDS, Enivornmentalism etc., http://www.buddhanetz.net/projekte/thailand.htm; The Engaged Zen Foundation http://www.engaged-zen.org/home.html; Opening the Dragon Gate: The Making of a Modern Taoist Wizard by Chen Kaiguo, translated by Thomas Cleary and Zheng Shunchao (Boston, MA: Tuttle Publishin, 1998); Healing Society: A Prescription for Global Enlightenment (Walsch Book) by Dr. Seung-Heun Lee (Hampton Roads Pub Co, November 20, 2000); Twenty-Five Doors to Meditation: A Handbook for Entering Samadhi by William Bodri, Lee Shu-Mei (York Beach, ME: Samuel Weiser, July 1998); Cultivating the Energy of Life by Liu, Hua-yang, (Boston, Mass.: Shambhala, 1998); The Secret of the Golden Flower: The classic Chinese book of life by Lü, Tung-pin, b. 798.; Cleary, Thomas (San Francisco, Calif., 1991); Working Toward Enlightenment: The cultivation of practice by Nan, Huai-chin. (York Beach, Me.: Samuel Weiser, Inc., 1993); To Realize Enlightenment: Practice of the Cultivation Path by Nan, Huai-chin (York Beach, ME: S. Weiser, 1994); Tao & Longevity: Mind-Body Transformation: An original discussion about meditation and the cultivation of Tao by Nan, Huai-chin., and others (York Beach, ME: S. Weiser, 1996); Grass Mountain: A seven day intensive in chán training with Master Nah Huai-chin by Nan Huai-Chin., and others (York Beach, Maine: Samuel Weiser, Inc., 1986); Taoist yoga: Alchemy and immortality by Chao, Pi Ch‘en, b. 1860., and others (York Beach, Me. : S. Weiser, 1984 1970); The Root of Chinese Qigong: Secrets for health, longevity, & enlightment by Yang, Jwing-Ming, (Jamaica Plain, Mass.: YMAA Publication Center, 1997); Taoist ways to transform stress into vitality: the inner smile, six healing sounds by Chia, Mantak, (Huntington, N.Y.: Healing Tao Books, 1985); Awaken healing light of the Tao by Chia, Mantak, 1944-, and others (Huntington, NY: Healing Tao Books, 1993); Awaken healing energy through the Tao: Ancient Chi-Kung: learn how to circulate energy through acupuncture channels by yourself by Chia, Mantak, (New York?: Taoist Esoteric Yoga Center & Foundation, 1981); The Jade Emperor's Mind Seal Classic: A Taoist Guide to Health, Longevity and Immortality by Stuart Alve Olson (Translator), (St. Paul, MN: Dragon Door Publication, 1993); Eight Brocades Seated Ch'Ikung by Stuart Alve Olson, Patrick D. Gross (Editor) (September 1997) Eric Naylor; The Venerable Phra Acharn Mun Bhuridatta Thera, meditation master by Bauw Ñanasampanno, Phra Maha.; Siri Buddhasukh. (Samudra Prakarn, Thailand : Buddhist Books Service, 1995); Nothing ever happened by Godman, David (Boulder, Colo.: Avadhuta Foundation, 1998); Self-enquiry: being a translation of the original instructions by Ramana, Maharshi. (Tiruvannamalai: Niranjanananda Swamy Sarvadhikari Sri Ramanasramam, 1947); The Secrets of Chinese meditation: self-cultivation by mind control as taught in the Chan, Mahayana and Taoist schools in China by Lu, K‘uan Yü, (York Beach, Me.: Samuel Weiser, 1999 1964); Taoist meditation: the Mao-shan tradition of great purity by Robinet, Isabelle. (Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 1993); Tranquillity & Insight: an introduction to the oldest form of Buddhist meditation by Sol*-Leris, Amadeu. (Kandy, Sri Lanka: Buddhist Publication Society, 1992); Calm and Insight: A Buddhist manual for meditators by Khantipalo, Phikkhu, (London: Curzon, 1994); The Tao and Chinese culture by Da, Liu. (London : Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1981 1979); The Tao of Health and Longevity by Da, Liu (New York: Marlowe & Co., 1990); The Bhagavad Gita translated by Easwaran, Eknath. and Morrison, Diana. (London: Arkana, 1986); The Price of a Gift: A Lakota healer's story by Mohatt, Gerald Vincent., and others (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2000); Awakening Spirits by Tom Brown Jr (April 1994) San Francisco: Berkley Pub Group; Asceticism in Early Taoist Religion (SUNY Series in Chinese Philosophy and Culture) by Stephen Eskildsen (November 1998) State University of New York Press; Entering the Tao: Master Ni's Guidance for Self-Cultivation by Hua-Ching Ni (May 1997) Boston, MA: Shambhala Pubns); 8,000 Years of Wisdom by Hua Ching Ni (October 1994) L.A., CA: SevenStar Communications Group; Miracle Healing from China-Qigong by Charles McGee, Effie Poy Yew Chow (June 1994) Medipress; Chi Gong: The Ancient Chinese Way to Health by Paul Dong, Aristide H. Esser (Contributor) (January 1995) Marlowe & Co; Encounters With Qi: Exploring Chinese Medicine by David Eisenberg, Thomas Lee Wright (Contributor) (August 1995) W.W. Norton & Company; Raja-Yoga by Swami Vivekananda (June 1980) Ramakrishna Vivekanada Center; Mysterious Samadhi by Surath Chakravarti (April 1984) South Asia Books; The Summits of God-Life: Samadhi and Siddhi: Liberation, Enlightenment, Nirvana and Realisation by Sri Chinmov (June 1984); Ch'an and Zen Teaching by Kuan Yu Lu, Charles Luk (December 1993) Samuel Weiser.The Ampersand Copyright 2001 Drew Hempel. All rights reserved. Are you kidding me? I'm not reading all that! Try again. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
windwalker Posted February 21, 2019 (edited) Edited February 21, 2019 by windwalker Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
windwalker Posted February 21, 2019 38 minutes ago, Stosh said: Are you kidding me? I'm not reading all that! Try again. haha,,,,made me laugh 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
voidisyinyang Posted February 21, 2019 1 hour ago, Stosh said: Are you kidding me? I'm not reading all that! Try again. Self-censorship - it's what the cool kids are doing! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ralis Posted February 21, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, voidisyinyang said: Self-censorship - it's what the cool kids are doing! Exactly! Frank Luntz's propaganda works. It shocking that most haven't a clue as to where their belief systems BS come from or even question such. Edited February 21, 2019 by ralis 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flowing hands Posted February 21, 2019 Yes this all fine, but no one in six pages has answered my post!!! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rideforever Posted February 21, 2019 On 15/02/2019 at 10:15 PM, flowing hands said: Give us some ideas to help solve this problem. Do not follow the crowd or take their ideas or emotions at face value. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stosh Posted February 21, 2019 (edited) 22 minutes ago, flowing hands said: Yes this all fine, but no one in six pages has answered my post!!! Big Wars. Disease. Global warming will all shift the number of people down. But you know that already. A more subtle more kind-ly factor, is that affluence decreases population growth. So the obvious answer is that people should kill each other and make money. It's the way of nature. Animals fight to spread themselves out. And reduce the number of young as they go up the food chain overall. Edited February 21, 2019 by Stosh Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
whitesilk Posted February 21, 2019 On 2/17/2019 at 4:27 PM, whitesilk said: On 2/15/2019 at 4:15 PM, flowing hands said: As Dao followers what do you think we can do to help this disaster? Boycott Paypal, don't buy a Tesla and live a real life. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flowing hands Posted February 21, 2019 Yes, but what changes have you made in your own lives to help the environment and to help other life? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
voidisyinyang Posted February 21, 2019 11 hours ago, ralis said: Exactly! Frank Luntz's propaganda works. It shocking that most haven't a clue as to where their belief systems BS come from or even question such. Oh and let's remember Jevon's Paradox as well. The West is based on what Professor David F. Noble called "The Religion of Technology" - the title of his excellent history of science book. So there is this deep seated lie that technology is somehow increasing efficiency of energy and therefore can overcome entropy of environmental destruction. This is completely turned around of course. For example entropy is defined as the infrared heat that the Earth emits after the solar radiation - so there is a conversion from high frequency to low frequency with increased entropy. But this model of entropy just ignores the fact that life on Earth is based on absorbing the energy of the Sun - so plants and bacteria perform photosynthesis that then stores the carbon. So that means the infrared heat is then allowed to escape the earth and it is not trapped by too much CO2. That is how the biosphere naturally cycles on Earth - and so it's not entropy but rather it's controlled by quantum frequency as coherence since photosynthesis as quantum biology depends on quantum entanglement - to then store the carbon. But the West considers clearing land and developing technology to be "progress" and therefore "against entropy." So the definition of entropy is completely turned around. So then even our supercomputers can not model the ecology of an equatorial rainforest - too many interactions. And yet we subsidize Cargill to then illegally built soy elevators - to store soy and then induce farmers to sell soybeans - so the rainforest and peat bogs are all destroyed, the Pantanal wetland - to convert to monocultural soybean farms relying on Monsanto herbicides and genetic engineering. This is considered to be going against entropy!! haha. So in traditional nonwestern cultures - the Forest is the Mind of Earth - and the West is literally performing a lobotomy on Earth and then calling it "progress." And then Jevon's Paradox, of course, is that the more "efficiency" is produced then the more "demand" is increased for said "efficiency." Why? Because consumerism is driven by the commodity fetish which is a psychological void that can not be filled - it's patriarchy as ejaculation addiction - the Missile Envy as the Edifice Complex or Oedipal Complex going back to the myth of Egypt - due to lack of proper psychophysiological training by the males. So that's why I call this the Alchemy of DeNile. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
windwalker Posted February 21, 2019 34 minutes ago, voidisyinyang said: to store soy and then induce farmers to sell soybeans - so the rainforest and peat bogs are all destroyed, Why is it that you and some others never attribute agency to those farmers and peoples living in the areas you attempt to make into victim hood. Those living in the areas will do what they need to do to survive its not about persevering things so others may watch it on tv from their comfortable homes. Its easy to romanticize a life style that one has never lived. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mrpasserby Posted February 21, 2019 (edited) My recent findings within the Chinese information about the god(s) is made to sound like a fairy tale, but in my experiences within the unseen world, it has real substance subtly disguised as myth. The human like self absorbed nature of the god(s), the fact that there are also caring creatures other then the god(s). The multiple changing nature of the god(s) as one ascending while being replaced by another. Especially this well preserved information about new gods being added while other gods are ascending is invaluable if you view climate change with a unseen world view as I do, wherein the changing of the god(s) can be the cause of climate disruptions on the physical plane. The Four Dragons: Once a great drought had spread across the land. Four dragons from the sea noticed the plight of the people and traveled to beseech The Jade Emperor in the Heavenly Palace to bring the rains to the people. He was very busy ruling the heavens, earth, and sea and distractedly agreed to the send the rains on the next day if they would return to the sea, but soon after the dragons departed, he forgot his promise. After ten days, the rains still did not come and the people began to die of starvation. The dragons could not simply stand by and do nothing, and so they decided to use their bodies to capture great masses of water from the sea, taking it upon themselves to bring the rain. The people were grateful and prayed their thanks to the Jade Emperor, who soon discovered what the dragons had done, and became angry that they intervened without his blessing. The Jade Emperor ordered Mountain God to trap the four dragons. However, from each mountain that trapped a dragon there sprung a new river. From Yellow Dragon came the Yellow River, from Long Dragon the Yangtze River, from Black Dragon the Amur River, and from Pearl Dragon the Pearl River. The rivers thereafter flowed from west to east and north to south, the dragons ensuring that the peoples of China would never be without water again. His predecessor and successor[edit] The Jade Emperor was originally the assistant of the Divine Master of the Heavenly Origin, Yuanshi Tianzun. Yuanshi Tianzun is said to be the supreme beginning, the limitless and eternal creator of Heaven and Earth, who picked Yu-huang, or the Jade Emperor, as his personal successor. The Jade Emperor will eventually be succeeded by the Heavenly Master of the Dawn of Jade of the Golden Door (金闕玉晨天尊).[3] The characters for both are stamped on the front of the arms of his throne. In two folk automatic writing texts produced in 1925 and 1972, Guan Yu became the 18th Jade Emperor in about 1840 AD;[4][5][6] however, some have disagreed that Guan Yu has succeeded, and thus the Jade Emperor and Guan Yu are often worshiped separately.[7] In Tientiteaching, the reigning Jade Emperor has 55 predecessors.[8] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jade_Emperor Edited February 21, 2019 by mrpasserby clear up the meaning Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
voidisyinyang Posted February 21, 2019 6 hours ago, windwalker said: Why is it that you and some others never attribute agency to those farmers and peoples living in the areas you attempt to make into victim hood. Those living in the areas will do what they need to do to survive its not about persevering things so others may watch it on tv from their comfortable homes. Its easy to romanticize a life style that one has never lived. the farmers are not the indigenous cultures of the Amazon - if that is what you're implying. So you have loggers and farmers - but the indigenous cultures did not rely on monocultural export crop farming. So in terms of "victimhood" - there are many different layers to that. In terms of "persevering" the equatorial rainforest - well the indigenous cultures are actually now relying on GPS technology - to guard their land - so I'm not sure how "romantic" that is. haha. But indigenous cultures have been brutally attacked as genocidal assaults for Western expansion. A good book on this is https://books.google.com/books?id=gWVVBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA187&lpg=PA187&dq=The+Myth+of+Progress+bodley&source=bl&ots=D35vfdWdSV&sig=ACfU3U29eUBvWiIOd4FDgJLMH7_fAP132A&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi_sJGe7s3gAhWk6oMKHe1oD0IQ6AEwA3oECAYQAQ#v=onepage&q=The Myth of Progress bodley&f=false Quote John H. Bodley Rowman & Littlefield, Aug 14, 2014 - Social Science - 410 pages 0 Reviews Victims of Progress, now in its sixth edition, offers a compelling account of how technology and development affect indigenous peoples throughout the world. Bodley’s expansive look at the struggle between small-scale indigenous societies, and the colonists and corporate developers who have infringed their territories reaches from 1800 into today. He examines major issues of intervention such as social engineering, economic development, self-determination, health and disease, global warming, and ecocide. Small-scale societies, Bodley convincingly demonstrates, have survived by organizing politically to defend their basic human rights. Providing a provocative context in which to think about civilization and its costs—shedding light on how we are all victims of progress—the sixth edition features expanded discussion of “uprising politics,” Tebtebba (a particularly active indigenous organization), and voluntary isolation. A wholly new chapter devotes full coverage to the costs of global warming to indigenous peoples in the Pacific and the Arctic. Finally, new appendixes guide readers to recent protest petitions as well as online resources and videos. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dawei Posted February 21, 2019 7 hours ago, flowing hands said: Yes, but what changes have you made in your own lives to help the environment and to help other life? This was a pretty challenging thread to wade through with all the posts info... I actually appreciate all the positions and comments but it leaves the original post incoherent at best. I'm not sold on the 'data' because how many ice ages have we had,, last one was 11,000 bc, yes ? And how many warmings or extinctions, and are we out of the chance of no more ? Highly doubt that. The celestial cycles turn; man, as a population will logical input more over the years into the atmosphere (and biosphere, to give a nod to Ralis points). The poles may be affected more than other areas and that seems an interesting localization problem to study. I'm no green earth type; I don't try to save the whales, sea lions, trees, CO2, etc... I just live according to a drum beat I feel is there, like a beacon of Light... Looking back on my life, over the last 30+ years, I have moved more and more away from meat... but more and more to seafood. Does it really help to shift the meat one eats ? I eat less fat stuff, so buying less of it overall. I'm not going to put the cake industry out of business but I'm not interested in such indulgences. According to the step-daughter, I save water because I rarely shower without my wife... naivety at its best. I don't like to use any more electricity than needed.. not to save or conserve, just seems why waste something... like wasting my time on something. I refuse to buy cable TV... not because of cost... one can get most of it free online.. most just don't know it. I bought a new car this year; first time in my life I bought a new car... I realized I could upgrade an old car of 20 miles per gallon to 35... when I drive, I coast a lot.... why waste gas. We buy gas whenever it is lower cost. I'm not sure what that means except we save money. We grow some foods which is challenging at a development where they monitor what you put outside... we plan to get a house with a yard where we can grow lots of our own food... not compelling reason except to avoide all the chemical middle men. We rarely eat out, so we are not typically trying to support local commerce and business; we just do what we really feel we need to do or want to do based on some fun feeling. As I said, I'm no greenie weenie... I just sense what seems to make sense to do... for me. I don't ask another to do as I do. 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stosh Posted February 21, 2019 7 hours ago, flowing hands said: Yes, but what changes have you made in your own lives to help the environment and to help other life? I haven't had to make changes , I already live frugally. I don't destroy beyond my use , catch and release when fishing , although that's been years since.The environment concerns me but honestly I am not going to save the earth by myself , it needs to be attempted with general accord. (Although the ice age didn't show up , and global warming is part of a natural cycle... its actually fine if people run around declaring the sky is falling down if it brings about concern sooner than later. ) 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flowing hands Posted February 21, 2019 10 minutes ago, dawei said: This was a pretty challenging thread to wade through with all the posts info... I actually appreciate all the positions and comments but it leaves the original post incoherent at best. I'm not sold on the 'data' because how many ice ages have we had,, last one was 11,000 bc, yes ? And how many warmings or extinctions, and are we out of the chance of no more ? Highly doubt that. The celestial cycles turn; man, as a population will logical input more over the years into the atmosphere (and biosphere, to give a nod to Ralis points). The poles may be affected more than other areas and that seems an interesting localization problem to study. I'm no green earth type; I don't try to save the whales, sea lions, trees, CO2, etc... I just live according to a drum beat I feel is there, like a beacon of Light... Looking back on my life, over the last 30+ years, I have moved more and more away from meat... but more and more to seafood. Does it really help to shift the meat one eats ? I eat less fat stuff, so buying less of it overall. I'm not going to put the cake industry out of business but I'm not interested in such indulgences. According to the step-daughter, I save water because I rarely shower without my wife... naivety at its best. I don't like to use any more electricity than needed.. not to save or conserve, just seems why waste something... like wasting my time on something. I refuse to buy cable TV... not because of cost... one can get most of it free online.. most just don't know it. I bought a new car this year; first time in my life I bought a new car... I realized I could upgrade an old car of 20 miles per gallon to 35... when I drive, I coast a lot.... why waste gas. We buy gas whenever it is lower cost. I'm not sure what that means except we save money. We grow some foods which is challenging at a development where they monitor what you put outside... we plan to get a house with a yard where we can grow lots of our own food... not compelling reason except to avoide all the chemical middle men. We rarely eat out, so we are not typically trying to support local commerce and business; we just do what we really feel we need to do or want to do based on some fun feeling. As I said, I'm no greenie weenie... I just sense what seems to make sense to do... for me. I don't ask another to do as I do. Ah at least someone has answered my post! This is what I think ; when we are Dao we live and breathe it, for this is the only true way to be as a Dao follower. So we think about the other life that we depend upon and the Dao has given life too equally. 4% of wild animals left in the world is a disgusting small amount. 60% of cattle, sheep, pigs etc is a huge amount. 90% of wild flower meadows have been lost, incredibly important insects, the pollinators, are disappearing at an alarming rate. Few insects, few birds and the knock on effect of human interference and not living simply is taking its toll big time. This is not sustainable and goes against the Dao. "Whatever goes against the Dao will never last". So what small steps can we take? Buying power is a very important tool to influence the world and what is happening; a very simple and effective way to influence what is being produced that does not pollute or destroy. Give up eating meat for several days a week if you are a meat eater. Use less dairy products, the Chinese believe that cows milk is for cows and not for humans. Grow your own food and include plants that are good for bees and insects. Use public transport where you can. Use a bike, they make really good electric bikes these days. Go off-grid for your energy needs. A solar off grid system, with lead acid traction batteries (100% recyclable and can last up to 30 years) can power most homes or part of a home without resorting to using nuclear, oil, gas or coal powered electricity. The list can go on, but as Dao followers we should be thinking about cause and effect, about the whole interaction of life and how we are dependent on the balance of life. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
