silent thunder Posted October 23, 2019 (edited) NOTE: Sweet Totoro goodness split from here: On 10/23/2019 at 5:43 PM, rainbowvein said: Softness (pic is from one of my all time favorite films.) My Neighbor Totorro Edited October 25, 2019 by sean Added note about split 7 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nungali Posted October 23, 2019 (edited) Remember the 'seed raising ritual ? Edited October 23, 2019 by Nungali 6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Earl Grey Posted October 24, 2019 3 hours ago, Nungali said: Remember the 'seed raising ritual ? Mononoke Hime and that one forest god too. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
silent thunder Posted October 24, 2019 Totorro was what my son asked to watch, every time he got the opportunity to choose, for yeeeears. He's 13 now and we still break it out regularly. Hayao Miyazaki's superpower... storytelling. 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rainbowvein Posted October 24, 2019 11 hours ago, silent thunder said: Totorro was what my son asked to watch, every time he got the opportunity to choose, for yeeeears. He's 13 now and we still break it out regularly. Hayao Miyazaki's superpower... storytelling. L VE it that you and your son share a love for My Neighbor Totoro. Miyazaki incorporates so many unique creatures as well as meaningful female heroines in his films. 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
silent thunder Posted October 24, 2019 (edited) 34 minutes ago, rainbowvein said: L VE it that you and your son share a love for My Neighbor Totoro. Miyazaki incorporates so many unique creatures as well as meaningful female heroines in his films. I walked into Spirited Away at the behest of my wife, knowing nothing about it, other than it was an anime and she was interested. I walked out with my jaw in my hands, utterly gob-smacked at the shear volume, intensity and depth of creativity, feeling and above all, an endearing love of the ideals embodied by the heroine's story arch... Chihiro/Sen in that film, how she relates to the shifting entities about her, the loss of her parents... And the eventual revelation of her enduring relationship to the spirit of the river.... A handful of characters in stories have stirred my awareness on such a deep level. I was utterly gob-smacked by that film's paradigm. What a gem. Promptly went straight to a video store and began seeking out everything Miyazaki ever had a hand in making after that. eta: Spoiler Totorro with umbrella, a gift to my family last solstice. We continually move him about the house for each other to discover. Edited October 24, 2019 by silent thunder 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nungali Posted October 24, 2019 Totoro got sleep apnea 2 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
manitou Posted October 25, 2019 On 10/24/2019 at 9:12 AM, silent thunder said: I walked into Spirited Away at the behest of my wife, knowing nothing about it, other than it was an anime and she was interested. I walked out with my jaw in my hands, utterly gob-smacked at the shear volume, intensity and depth of creativity, feeling and above all, an endearing love of the ideals embodied by the heroine's story arch... Chihiro/Sen in that film, how she relates to the shifting entities about her, the loss of her parents... And the eventual revelation of her enduring relationship to the spirit of the river.... A handful of characters in stories have stirred my awareness on such a deep level. I was utterly gob-smacked by that film's paradigm. What a gem. Promptly went straight to a video store and began seeking out everything Miyazaki ever had a hand in making after that. eta: Hide contents Totorro with umbrella, a gift to my family last solstice. We continually move him about the house for each other to discover. Great photo. Great stuff on your desk! I love the crystals. But what I get a kick out of is that you took the photo mid-composition, as your TDB's page is open to a post. Somehow, it makes me feel like something has come full circle. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CloudHands Posted October 25, 2019 (edited) 8 Edited October 26, 2019 by CloudHands Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
silent thunder Posted October 25, 2019 2 hours ago, manitou said: Great photo. Great stuff on your desk! I love the crystals. But what I get a kick out of is that you took the photo mid-composition, as your TDB's page is open to a post. Somehow, it makes me feel like something has come full circle. Reminds me, whenever I'm looking at photos, I glance at the subject (particularly with staged pictures) and spend most of my time perusing the background stuff. So much fascinating stuff going on... all the real stuff. Bit of the detective in me? lol. hmm... that just triggered a thought. As a detective... your superpower was "giving a shit to such a phenomenal degree, you spent your professional career enduring and exploring the worst of people's behavior, in order to protect the innocent and soft. *deep bow of respect ma'am.* it only registers from time to time, just how intense a life you've led, on behalf of the rest of us... talk about service! woof! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
silent thunder Posted October 25, 2019 Soft Power. Like the ability of music to affect my mood. The music does not force, but exudes response and is undeniably powerful... yet via opening, presence, not coercive action. Affecting impact without coercion. Through attraction, unfolding and offering, encompassing, expanding, and supporting... affecting effect through offering, rather than convincing, coercing. what a great idea for a conversation @rainbowvein. thank you! 2 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
manitou Posted October 25, 2019 (edited) 2 hours ago, silent thunder said: Reminds me, whenever I'm looking at photos, I glance at the subject (particularly with staged pictures) and spend most of my time perusing the background stuff. So much fascinating stuff going on... all the real stuff. Bit of the detective in me? lol. hmm... that just triggered a thought. As a detective... your superpower was "giving a shit to such a phenomenal degree, you spent your professional career enduring and exploring the worst of people's behavior, in order to protect the innocent and soft. *deep bow of respect ma'am.* it only registers from time to time, just how intense a life you've led, on behalf of the rest of us... talk about service! woof! I'm speechless, my friend. And I offer the reverse - If you can recognize it, you are it. I see in you a kindness that comes so naturally to you, you probably don't even realize that you do this. And your ability to stand in the shoes of another is unmatched. Thank you so much. I was watching Netflix this afternoon. I found this little comedy TV show called Perfect Harmony. This is the most striking TV show I've ever seen. If you happen to catch it, you will be able to see that it was written and no doubt directed by a Master. A Master that understands wei-wu-wei to the core. The central character is a cantankerous old man. When he speaks, he speaks either a funny sarcasm or the absolute truth as he sees it. And by his silence and understanding of Not-Doing, all gets done around him. He is the personification of the Dao. 3 thumbs up from me. Edited October 25, 2019 by manitou 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sagebrush Posted October 25, 2019 bs cloudhands link Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
manitou Posted October 25, 2019 I don't know why this screen is still here. I thought I got rid of it. And it doesn't seem to let you cancel. So again, 3 thumbs up from me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
manitou Posted October 25, 2019 1 hour ago, silent thunder said: Soft Power. Like the ability of music to affect my mood. The music does not force, but exudes response and is undeniably powerful... yet via opening, presence, not coercive action. Affecting impact without coercion. Through attraction, unfolding and offering, encompassing, expanding, and supporting... affecting effect through offering, rather than convincing, coercing. what a great idea for a conversation @rainbowvein. thank you! The wu wei of music. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sagebrush Posted October 25, 2019 it reminds me of a young boy that has a babysitter. he asks the babysitter who is a female if she has a vagina or a penis. now he is a smart young boy and has learned from his heart doctor dad and his nurse mother-body parts. but he is uncertain about who has what parts. she said she has a vagina and the young boy then went skipping away down the hallway making up a little song daddy has a penis and Teresa(sitter) and mommy have a vagina. should we continue down this path? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nungali Posted October 26, 2019 (edited) 6 hours ago, silent thunder said: .... Affecting impact without coercion. Through attraction, unfolding and offering, encompassing, expanding, and supporting... affecting effect through offering, rather than convincing, coercing ... Hmmmmm .... at training this morning ; A. 's intent is to wallop me with a stick. Mine is " Affecting impact without coercion. " So I stand there, relaxed , hands to the front and down , with my head unguarded . And " Through attraction, " he attacks my head, moving forward and striking down . I 'unfold' , stepping off-line and forward and opening my arms, he misses , but my position is offering a target for another hit with the stick . He swings it back at me with a backhand but I have closed range with my first step, now I can ' follow ahead' inside his movement controlling his swinging elbow from the outside , follow ahead of his movement with his swing and I am behind him and 'encompass him' ( close arms on him; one on the rear of his neck, the other still at his elbow) , and lower my centre . Down he goes - but as he isnt good at break fall so I take my hand off the back of his neck down to support his back and go down on one knee 'catching and supporting' him . ... I didn't coerce nuthin - A. did all of that Edited October 26, 2019 by Nungali 3 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nungali Posted October 26, 2019 29 minutes ago, silent thunder said: If you replaced those trees with bamboo , coloured the fireflys green, added some green and blue luminous mushrooms .... it would look like the riverside bamboo grove here on a good spring night . - oh yes ..... we do have a Totoro ..... but its a 'Bamboo Totoro ' . ) 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sebastian Posted October 26, 2019 Just updating this thread with something my wife shared. They have a Totoro tree in Japan. Apparently it's a cedar tree that is over 1000 years old. It's located in the village of Sakegawa in Yamagata Prefecture, and is unsurprisingly nicknamed "The Totoro Tree" (トトロの木 or Totoro no Ki). There is a legend that if couples visit the tree and hold hands under it, they will have a child. 7 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
manitou Posted October 26, 2019 13 hours ago, Nungali said: Hmmmmm .... at training this morning ; A. 's intent is to wallop me with a stick. Mine is " Affecting impact without coercion. " So I stand there, relaxed , hands to the front and down , with my head unguarded . And " Through attraction, " he attacks my head, moving forward and striking down . I 'unfold' , stepping off-line and forward and opening my arms, he misses , but my position is offering a target for another hit with the stick . He swings it back at me with a backhand but I have closed range with my first step, now I can ' follow ahead' inside his movement controlling his swinging elbow from the outside , follow ahead of his movement with his swing and I am behind him and 'encompass him' ( close arms on him; one on the rear of his neck, the other still at his elbow) , and lower my centre . Down he goes - but as he isnt good at break fall so I take my hand off the back of his neck down to support his back and go down on one knee 'catching and supporting' him . ... I didn't coerce nuthin - A. did all of that what a fabulous description of non-action. It reminds me of my Bujinkan ninja friend who does amazing things by not appearing to move at all. The DDJ in action, as far as I can see. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rainbowvein Posted October 26, 2019 Keep the sweet Totoro goodness flowing... 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nungali Posted October 26, 2019 Whats big , soft, big bellied, has a weird loud call and often appears alongside smaller ones of same and lives in trees ? yes, we do actually have a 'Totoru type' creature down here . we even got a 'ground Totoro ' too 3 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rainbowvein Posted October 26, 2019 Love the koalas and other fuzzy Aussie creatures. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sebastian Posted October 27, 2019 Totoro’s mind is clear and lucid like the moon because he has soft thought. A lot of us, like myself, have a tendency towards hard thought. Well, I’m an engineer, so it comes by the trade of the business, but so do a lot of lawyers or politicians, or anything that requires heavy mental work. Hard thoughts mean tightening the mind and seeing the world and your problems as an equation to solve. Artists, enlightened ones, and very gentle people often see everything like a day-dream. Like Totoro, they enjoy soft thought. The thoughts still come and go in their mind space, but as a soft breeze. There is no strong control or direction applied to them by the thinker. Ask yourself, can you really be a soft person if you have hard thoughts ? Can hard thoughts change the world ? Remember in DDJ, “no violent force can last long”. The symbol of hard thought in the West is “The Thinker” by Rodin - Look at how much tension is in his face. Maybe Buddha or Totoro could be symbols of soft thought in the East. And one last thing. Curiosity is a good foundation for a soft mind. Look at Totoro’s big eyes. He doesn’t say much, but he is taking in so much. He is listening, curious. Open to any possibility. And open to any opportunity to help. This makes his thoughts gentle and flexible. Then his outer actions reflect his inner gentleness. But his actions are unpredictable, they could be anything, even a random weird sound like a growl because he is coming from a deeper place then hard thoughts, deeper than the intellect. But to be like Totoro we need to learn to be gentle with ourselves first. If Totoro was still judging himself with hard thoughts, then I don’t think his spirit could shine like the full moon, like it does now 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
