Weather Magick

[freeform]

Fear, survival instinct and addictions - water element - Zhi - circulating/turning movement

 

Frustration, anger, stress, self dislike - wood - Hun - upward movement
 

Hyper, giddy, excited - fire - Shen - expanding movement

 

Over thinking, neurotic, worrying - earth - Yi - up then down circulation

 

Sadness, attachment, grief - metal - Po - inwardly contracting movement

 

The movements signify how Qi moves in the body and in nature - might be relevant for weather patterns?

[flowing hands]

On 2/13/2020 at 1:57 AM, Starjumper said:

Actually, the Jeff thread is much more entertaining than this.

 

 

Hey I missed out on this please tell me what happened to the jeff thread!

[flowing hands]

On 2/13/2020 at 1:18 AM, ralis said:

Is this you?

 

 

 

Hey you're not in league with Mr Tin Yat of Cananda? Most genuine Daoists and shamans wear jeans and a t shirt;  The forces or heaven and earth don't give a monkeys what you wear, it's about the power one possesses. The more powerful the Daoist the less likely he or she will need silly hats, robes and paraphernalia. 

[Earl Grey]

22 minutes ago, flowing hands said:

 

Hey I missed out on this please tell me what happened to the jeff thread!

 

 

[Lord Josh Allen]

47 minutes ago, flowing hands said:

 

Hey you're not in league with Mr Tin Yat of Cananda? Most genuine Daoists and shamans wear jeans and a t shirt;  The forces or heaven and earth don't give a monkeys what you wear, it's about the power one possesses. The more powerful the Daoist the less likely he or she will need silly hats, robes and paraphernalia. 

No, I'm not associated with him at all. It depends on how you define "powerful" Casting spells with one's physical appearance can be viewed as altering the perception of the one perceiving you, first impressions do count. You shouldn't judge a book by its cover but take it from me, everyone does. Some mystics, shamans, practitioners prefer to be subtle but that isn't my style. It has nothing to do with my Taoist path but my own personal philosophy on clothing. I've found through many years of experience, viewers will either really enjoy it and resonate with it or really dislike it and they cannot look past the outfit I am wearing, even if the information I am presenting is solid and accurate. I see it as a filter, it filters out the ones who can look beyond the glittery exterior to see what may exist on a deeper level. In my friendship group, none of my friends dress like me but my clothes are rarely brought up, they have gotten past the stage of wondering why I dress the way I do. 

[Earl Grey]

39 minutes ago, Lord Josh Allen said:

No, I'm not associated with him at all. It depends on how you define "powerful" Casting spells with one's physical appearance can be viewed as altering the perception of the one perceiving you, first impressions do count. You shouldn't judge a book by its cover but take it from me, everyone does. Some mystics, shamans, practitioners prefer to be subtle but that isn't my style. It has nothing to do with my Taoist path but my own personal philosophy on clothing. I've found through many years of experience, viewers will either really enjoy it and resonate with it or really dislike it and they cannot look past the outfit I am wearing, even if the information I am presenting is solid and accurate. I see it as a filter, it filters out the ones who can look beyond the glittery exterior to see what may exist on a deeper level. In my friendship group, none of my friends dress like me but my clothes are rarely brought up, they have gotten past the stage of wondering why I dress the way I do. 

On similar note, I dress like a grunge rocker most of the time, so watching a Pearl Jam or Nirvana music video basically is how I go around town.

 

When people find out that I teach martial and healing practices, they get surprised because I just look like a college slacker. When they find out I’m also a writer, they get surprised again because they assume I’d look a little more pretentious. Then when they realize my voice is what they hear on TV for some commercials that are aired in the region, they assumed that I was some Occidental of Anglo heritage and wouldn’t have matched my voice with my face.

 

But like you’ve witnessed, people’s experiences here (such as with old scammers or pretentious members who have left) color their initial reaction and first impression of you (guilty as charged) before realizing that you’re innocuous and amicable.

[Lord Josh Allen]

9 hours ago, Nungali said:

 

or any magick   

 

 

I find this interesting as 'correspondence' is a big part of 'magical technology' .   Many realise the  correspondence between  weather / seasons and  elements winds and directions  . I would like to see emotions fitted in with this .  I suppose first we have to have a list of 'main' emotions  first and then see where they fit .

 

  Reveal hidden contents

Aside;  regarding the weather , I had worked an elemental / 'traditional' seasonal pattern here for a while  but soon realised it was based on northern hemisphere , so adapted . But it still isnt  right  as some places here we have 6 seasons in a year , and the 'elemental rotation order' is different  too .   The axial tilt, in relation to the Sun ( ie, seasons )  isnt difficult in its difference ( north hemisphere to south   but combined with the magnetic energy going in and out the poles , that is always constant  ( but maybe many dont consider  geomagnetic flow in their geomancy  ? 

 

 

 

 

Yes !   Standing on sea cliffs in the wind ,  visualising the wind blowing through you and cleansing .   Doing similar and other stuff using sunlight  .  Water was my fav . Having a good river nearby it was always handy for such things, and used in ritual a bit here ..... wash it all away ... and out to the ocean and let it be dissolved in The Great Sea .  I used to like, in times of turmoil , or just a lot of shit going on around me I wanted to ignore , going down from the rapids, where currents and swills throw you this way and that .

 

I would find a river sand bank in the middle of a whirlpool  where it held me natural still, with the water level just below my navel ..... ahhhhh ... turmoil all around , but the centre of the this  swirl  - the 'centre of the cyclone '   , all is still .   

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well , thats  one thing I am entirely unfamiliar with . In fact, so unfamiliar and stupid about , I went into a deep snow and ice territory once  without knowing much about it  ,   I was lucky , it could have gone very bad .

 

But the bard 'Typhon'  seem to agree with you here about snow and frost  and  'grim December '   ;  

 

Sweet, sweet are May and June, dear,

The loves of lambent spring,
Our lamp the drooping moon, dear,
Our roof, the stars that sing;
The bed, of moss and roses;
The night, as long as death!
Still, breath!
Life wakens and reposes,
Love ever quickeneth!
Sweet, sweet, when Lion and Maiden,
The motley months of gold,
Swoop down with sunlight laden,
And eyes are bright and bold.
Life-swelling breasts uncover
Their warm involving deep–
Love, sleep!–
And lover lies with lover
On air's substantial steep.
Ah! sweeter was September–
The amber rain of leaves,
The harvest to remember
The load of sunny sheaves.
In gardens deeply scented,
In orchards heavily hung,
Love flung
Away the days demented
With lips that curled and clung.
Ah! sweeter still October,
When russet leaves go grey,
And sombre loves and sober
Make twilight of the day.
Dark dreams and shadows tenser
Throb through the vital scroll,
Man's soul.
Life, shake a subtle censer
That hides the cruel coal!
Still sweeter when the Bowman
His silky shaft of frost
Lets loose on earth, that no man
May linger nor be lost.
The barren woods, deserted.
Lose echo of our sighs–
Love–dies?–
Love lives–in granite skirted,
And under oaken skies.
But best is grim December,
The Goatish God his power;
The Satyr blows the ember,
And pain is passion's flower;
When blood drips over kisses,
And madness sobs through wine:–
Ah, mine!–
The snake starts up and hisses
And strikes and–I am thine!

 

 

 

 

So,  having no snow   I just 'send it up'   for the  'Gods ' so they can partake of the feast of  pain and passion  that physical  incarnation offers . ( I think that's why we are here .)

 

 

 

Personally through, I dont want my painful memories being dissolved into nothingness . Offerings (for me ) do not remove memories . Painful memories are what made me , along with  good ones .  I might share the experience, but the memories remain .

 

 

 

Cool !  I mentioned before about collecting the hail as it falls from the sky and smashes the bloodwood flowers .  Even at other times , I will rush out in hail and put a bowl out to catch some for some ' stormy ice water ' .

 

 

 

 

Similar is done in western magic , mostly with  ' body mudra'   ie  a 'pose '  (based on a 'God force ' ) but often include  a hand and finger shape , especially  'triangular' 

 

 

 

(  note plain black robe  ..... no 'fancy pants '  here    )

Hi, interesting. I do agree with what you say about the memories. Personally, I feel one should not attempt to "forget" those "negative" experiences but instead create an agreement with them. I acknowledge that I have them but I don't let them disempower me, think of it as an agreement with one's regrets, traumas, emotional suffering. It cannot be undone but it can be laid to rest. I'm not a Master of this by any means, I just experiment and wander mostly for my own inner benefit. Great pictures. I also rush out to collect various creations of nature. I keep jars of stormwater around the house. You might be interested in an exercise I'm currently doing, known as "Eating Vapor" It is traditionally performed at sunrise, a time when Yin energy gives rise to Yang. Mists, fog and clouds carry with them vital energies that can be beneficial for absorption, one can "energetically eat" fog to purify/heal/activate parts of the body. Mist that travels through pine forests and pine trees is known to be very auspicious.  As it passes through the trees, it becomes enhanced or charged with more qi. I spend about 35 minutes every morning gathering power from the fog. Here in Britain, especially in Winter, it is always foggy. I live in a rural area so the pollution here is almost nonexistent. 

 

Not all mist and fog are safe to absorb though. One should not meditate in a swamp area, this energy is considered toxic and it can cause stagnation of qi within the channels and meridians. Moisture builds up in the lungs and this may result in sickness. Generally speaking, if you see lofty fog, rising high in the sky, if it looks light and ethereal, it is safe. If you see heavy, dark, slow-moving fog which is low on the ground, it should be avoided. Each weather type can be broken up into Yin and Yang categories, Yin is not inherently inauspicious and Yang is not inherently auspicious, they only become so when directly compared. So, an example of Yin wind would be a wind that is strong, intense, freezing cold, unsettling, this type of wind drains qi from a physical landscape which means it could also drain you. Yang wind is warm, gentle, quiet and refreshing. It often blows over oceans and large bodies of water, it has qualities of healing and dispelling of negative spirits. I consecrate a lot of my own talismans by invoking the powers of a certain direction of wind, I then allow the wind to blow over the object to turn it into a ritual tool. 

 

It isn't that difficult, even for a novice. I try to explain it in ways people will understand. 

[Lord Josh Allen]

 

 

 

 

3 minutes ago, Earl Grey said:

On similar note, I dress like a grunge rocker most of the time, so watching a Pearl Jam or Nirvana music video basically is how I go around town.

 

When people find out that I teach martial and healing practices, they get surprised because I just look like a college slacker. When they find out I’m also a writer, they get surprised again because they assume I’d look a little more pretentious. Then when they realize my voice is what they hear on TV for some commercials that are aired in the region, they assumed that I was some Occidental of Anglo heritage and wouldn’t have matched my voice with my face.

 

But like you’ve witnessed, people’s experiences here (such as with old scammers or pretentious members who have left) color their initial reaction and first impression of you (guilty as charged) before realizing that you’re innocuous and amicable.

A grunge rocker? Nice! You've done some voice-over work as well? That's great. I sure could use some healing methods. I've never been into martial arts but I respect it. 

[Earl Grey]

2 minutes ago, Lord Josh Allen said:

A grunge rocker? Nice! You've done some voice-over work as well? That's great. I sure could use some healing methods. I've never been into martial arts but I respect it. 

Sure thing. It all depends on what you’re doing besides your chaos magick at the moment. Are you doing any qigong? What healing arts have you tried or currently employ yourself?

 

The martial arts are not just beating people up, they are more of an emphasis on the arts. What I find is that healing before martial skill is necessary because it is more useful to heal and also gives more insight with the overlap of the healing skills into the martial skills. In Xin Yi, for example, we stand in Zhan Zhuang to rewire the body for all sorts of purposes, mainly martial. As a nice starting benefit, it leads to great health for our particular use, and later on alchemical applications that can lead to some mystical experiences, which I’ve written about before such as standing at a particular time in the evening and my students seeing the same thing with my face morphing into a wolf or limbs shrinking or enlarge in size and my hair color changing.

 

Zhan Zhuang with my theurgical practices is also great for grounding my rites, so whether one studies Agrippa or Bardon or Crowley, they tend to become more sensitive to the effects if they don’t feel them having greater effect from what I have observed in me and my students.

[Lord Josh Allen]

 

 

 

 

 

3

5 minutes ago, Earl Grey said:

Sure thing. It all depends on what you’re doing besides your chaos magick at the moment. Are you doing any qigong? What healing arts have you tried or currently employ yourself?

 

The martial arts are not just beating people up, they are more of an emphasis on the arts. What I find is that healing before martial skill is necessary because it is more useful to heal and also gives more insight with the overlap of the healing skills into the martial skills. In Xin Yi, for example, we stand in Zhan Zhuang to rewire the body for all sorts of purposes, mainly martial. As a nice starting benefit, it leads to great health for our particular use, and later on alchemical applications that can lead to some mystical experiences, which I’ve written about before such as standing at a particular time in the evening and my students seeing the same thing with my face morphing into a wolf or limbs shrinking or enlarge in size and my hair color changing.

 

Zhan Zhuang with my theurgical practices is also great for grounding my rites, so whether one studies Agrippa or Bardon or Crowley, they tend to become more sensitive to the effects if they don’t feel them having greater effect from what I have observed in me and my students.

Not much qigong at the moment really. I haven't had access to any teachers so the information I've found is purely from books. I've tried some of the healing methods that Mantak Chia teaches. "The Six Healing Sounds" and I've enjoyed working on that path. I never knew martial arts could be so mystical as you say. I haven't heard of Zhan Zhuang before. I know this is unrelated but I do practice Bugang, Pacing The Seven Stars. Do you have a YouTube channel or a website where I could read/watch? 

[Earl Grey]

2 minutes ago, Lord Josh Allen said:

Not much qigong at the moment really. I haven't had access to any teachers so the information I've found is purely from books. I've tried some of the healing methods that Mantak Chia teaches. "The Six Healing Sounds" and I've enjoyed working on that path. I never knew martial arts could be so mystical as you say. I haven't heard of Zhan Zhuang before. I know this is unrelated but I do practice Bugang, Pacing The Seven Stars. Do you have a YouTube channel or a website where I could read/watch? 

Oh geez, Chia is a polarizing individual on this forum, but from a safety standpoint, even his own school says not to follow his old books like iron shirt books because they did immense damage. Chia didn’t even finish his studies before proclaiming himself master and teaching both mixed and incomplete methods while proclaiming his own genius and lineage.

 

The Six Healing Sounds are probably the safest thing you could learn from his work, but my professional opinion is that he is a waste of time.

 

I generally don’t put videos of myself on YouTube, but some of my VO work is there posted by my agency or the firm using me as talent. Any videos I have are privates for specific students, and I generally prefer to Skype because each student has individual adjustments needed that a general video just won’t do at all, and if they do use a general video, I have them use my teachers’ videos as guidelines while I make corrections and observe their progress.

 

As far as advising you, I don’t know what you’re interested in or enough about you yet, so aside from interacting here in the forum, PMs, or a Skype call and Akashic reading, every student has advice specific to them.

[liminal_luke]

I like the idea of using the outside (weather) to work on the inside (personal psychology).  The idea that our environment reflects our internal state is all over literature: it was a dark and stormy night...

[Earl Grey]

Just now, liminal_luke said:

I like the idea of using the outside (weather) to work on the inside (personal psychology).  The idea that our environment reflects our internal state is all over literature: it was a dark and stormy night...

How about this weather?

 

 

[Lord Josh Allen]

 A while ago I did a dissection of the Tao Te Ching. I'm sure some of you will find it interesting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7aqPZWQbNQ

[Lord Josh Allen]

 

 

 

 

19 minutes ago, Earl Grey said:

Oh geez, Chia is a polarizing individual on this forum, but from a safety standpoint, even his own school says not to follow his old books like iron shirt books because they did immense damage. Chia didn’t even finish his studies before proclaiming himself master and teaching both mixed and incomplete methods while proclaiming his own genius and lineage.

 

The Six Healing Sounds are probably the safest thing you could learn from his work, but my professional opinion is that he is a waste of time.

 

I generally don’t put videos of myself on YouTube, but some of my VO work is there posted by my agency or the firm using me as talent. Any videos I have are privates for specific students, and I generally prefer to Skype because each student has individual adjustments needed that a general video just won’t do at all, and if they do use a general video, I have them use my teachers’ videos as guidelines while I make corrections and observe their progress.

 

As far as advising you, I don’t know what you’re interested in or enough about you yet, so aside from interacting here in the forum, PMs, or a Skype call and Akashic reading, every student has advice specific to them.

I see. I've heard things about Mantak but then again, I've heard things about everyone. I get lumped in the Taoist crackpot category along with Mak Jo Si of Tin Yat. The wider Occult community has the same issues, scammers and con artists. As of right now, my interests are mostly weather magick and natural spirituality. Maybe one day we could Skype, I'd be up for that. 

[Earl Grey]

5 minutes ago, Lord Josh Allen said:

I see. I've heard things about Mantak but then again, I've heard things about everyone. I get lumped in the Taoist crackpot category along with Mak Jo Si of Tin Yat. The wider Occult community has the same issues, scammers and con artists. As of right now, my interests are mostly weather magick and natural spirituality. Maybe one day we could Skype, I'd be up for that. 

It only took a couple pages to see you’re not one of them, even if our initial knee jerk reaction was to group you alongside them.

 

Granted, some people from formal lineages would raise an eyebrow with some things in your channel, but a dialogue between you all to help distinguish everything might be a good start.

As far as I see, what I read is that you come off more as a chaos magician who employs some Taoist influence rather than what usually characterizes a Taoist magician. Some of the things my teachers have told me, such as Terry Dunn, can share some frightening stories about his teacher in Tao Tan Pai, which he has hinted at before in his Flying Phoenix thread.

 

Also, if you are interested in a good beginner practice for qigong and healing, his Flying Phoenix practice is highly recommended.

Edited February 15, 2020 by Earl Grey

[Lord Josh Allen]

7 minutes ago, Earl Grey said:

It only took a couple pages to see you’re not one of them, even if our initial knee jerk reaction was to group you alongside them.

 

Granted, some people from formal lineages would raise an eyebrow with some things in your channel, but a dialogue between you all to help distinguish everything might be a good start.

As far as I see, what I read is that you come off more as a chaos magician who employs some Taoist influence rather than what usually characterizes a Taoist magician. Some of the things my teachers have told me, such as Terry Dunn, can share some frightening stories about his teacher in Tao Tan Pai, which he has hinted at before in his Flying Phoenix thread.

 

Also, if you are interested in a good beginner practice for qigong and healing, his Flying Phoenix practice is highly recommended.

I thought you might like to see. This is my altar called "The Altar of The Seven Stars" used for weather magick, meditation, evocations, and invocations. It is basically an outdoor platform constructed in my garden, elevated from the ground, it faces South, the direction of The Red Vermillion Bird. I've used it now for about 10 years. It would probably make an ideal place to practice Zhan Zhuang. I practice a lot of Feng Shui as well. 

[flowing hands]

2 minutes ago, Lord Josh Allen said:

I thought you might like to see. This is my altar called "The Altar of The Seven Stars" used for weather magick, meditation, evocations, and invocations. It is basically an outdoor platform constructed in my garden, elevated from the ground, it faces South, the direction of The Red Vermillion Bird. I've used it now for about 10 years. It would probably make an ideal place to practice Zhan Zhuang. I practice a lot of Feng Shui as well. 

 

So what is your lineage, your pai, your teachers?

[Lord Josh Allen]

7 minutes ago, flowing hands said:

 

So what is your lineage, your pai, your teachers?

I have none. 

[Earl Grey]

13 minutes ago, Lord Josh Allen said:

I thought you might like to see. This is my altar called "The Altar of The Seven Stars" used for weather magick, meditation, evocations, and invocations. It is basically an outdoor platform constructed in my garden, elevated from the ground, it faces South, the direction of The Red Vermillion Bird. I've used it now for about 10 years. It would probably make an ideal place to practice Zhan Zhuang. I practice a lot of Feng Shui as well. 

There are lots of schools of thought for Zhan Zhuang, but for what I represent, nature is the best place to do it rather than before an altar. Nice setup though.

[flowing hands]

Just now, Lord Josh Allen said:

I have none. 

 I don't mean to be horrible, but I thought as much. I have been a traditional Dao shaman for nearly forty years. I was accepted by the immortals masters in a temple in Malaysia and have practiced under their tutelage since. One thing that separates me from others is the fact that I am physically possessed by the spirit master who has taught me all sorts of things including award winning martial arts. Now if you really want to alter the weather and I have, you have to have real contact with the Immortals in heaven otherwise both the weather and the immortals will ignore you. Your altar should face the East, that is the Dao heaven, the south is Quan Yin and the west is Buddha. In this video, you will see the inside of a small temple of the sect, me practicing martial arts back in the 90's and me begging the immortal master to come and draw the traditional Fa Fu and Fa Shui. I am actually wearing a robe of the sect. I have worn it three times in forty years!

 

 

 

[Rocky Lionmouth]

15 hours ago, ilumairen said:

 

 

Hiya Rocky,

 

Nice to see you looking completely unscathed by the airborne necromancer's vile intent... 

 

 

 

 

Zuup Ilu! Why thank you and likewise! ❤️

[Walker]

On 2/13/2020 at 9:04 PM, steve said:

sorry for so many words.

 

I don't think there is anything to apologize for. Thank you for taking the time to share a bit of your story. 

 

Quote

I like ChiDragon. I think he is passionate and open, albeit deeply misguided. If you look back at my interaction with him when he was here before you'll see I have no illusions about his level of competence. He is self-taught and his practice and understanding are fundamentally flawed, IMO. I take nothing he says seriously but it's my hope that he may learn something from his interactions here and grow as a practitioner as a result. While he certainly does try to give the impression that he has a level of deep understanding and mastery, he also generally shows respect to others and an openness to criticism to a degree. There are lots of self-declared masters that come and go here in all sorts of disciplines. I decide for myself what their level of skill and understanding are and agree that it's good for us to give warnings to the less confident members about people like this. 

 

I see. I have bolded the points I hope that he will read from your assessment. I don't share your hopes, but I hope you are right and I am wrong.

 

@ReturnDragon, please take note of what even a person who is quite fond of you thinks about your ideas about Daoism.

 

Quote

I haven't seen anything like that yet from Josh. Yes, he wears robes and I have no clue how legitimate they are. I'm not bothered by people wearing unusual or exotic outfits. That's their prerogative. I try to notice when judgement comes up toward others and look at what that says about me and where I want to be in my practice and my treatment of strangers. I am on a path of reducing judgement and cultivating acceptance of others for who they are. There is a line, however, and when I see disrespectful or abusive behavior I do tend to become very protective of the vulnerable.

 

I was certainly not respectful of Josh, but I think he knows (or ought to know) that he was playing a certain gloating game here, and I played back with a roasting game--I think some roasting is fine, provided it doesn't descend into threats or hate speech such as with attacks on race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, etc. By that same token, I think gloating is fine, so long as the person trying to floss can take a bit of playa hating (which, to Josh's credit, he did very well ).

 

I know that many others don't feel the same way about insults. I accept criticism and won't try to convince you that my behavior was correct, but I will say in all honesty that I am presently comfortable with my own behavior in this thread (perhaps in time I will come to conclude that I am presently wrong, that I can't say). I will write to Josh in a moment more respectfully, though. 

 

Quote

Yes, Tibetan Buddhism and Daoism take things very seriously. That is wonderful and valuable, it helps to keep the lineage alive and uncorrupted and the teachings pure. I am responsible for my own attitudes and behavior in my relationship with my path and lineage. I am not the sheriff of Bön. I try not to judge others for their choices in their relationship with their path. There are protectors of the lineages and that is their responsibility as well as that of the lineage holders. I personally would never wear robes that I did not earn but if I felt offense with someone else doing that, I would discuss that with them directly and openly, whether in public or private. I would not assault them with insults and ridicule due to the festering of unexpressed emotion. That goes directly against the nature of my personal practice. 

 

Good idea. I will do that in a moment. 

 

Quote

I really appreciate you taking the time to discuss this with me. 

Peace

 

The feeling is mutual, thank you as well. 

Edited February 16, 2020 by Walker

[Nungali]

14 hours ago, Lord Josh Allen said:

No, I'm not associated with him at all. It depends on how you define "powerful" Casting spells with one's physical appearance can be viewed as altering the perception of the one perceiving you, first impressions do count. You shouldn't judge a book by its cover but take it from me, everyone does. Some mystics, shamans, practitioners prefer to be subtle but that isn't my style. It has nothing to do with my Taoist path but my own personal philosophy on clothing. I've found through many years of experience, viewers will either really enjoy it and resonate with it or really dislike it and they cannot look past the outfit I am wearing, even if the information I am presenting is solid and accurate. I see it as a filter, it filters out the ones who can look beyond the glittery exterior to see what may exist on a deeper level. In my friendship group, none of my friends dress like me but my clothes are rarely brought up, they have gotten past the stage of wondering why I dress the way I do. 

 

Well,  heaven forbid if an Englishman  that explored esoterica  EVER dressed up !

 

McGregor Mathers

 

      

 

  

 

Crowley

 

 

Allen Bennett ( He was the second Englishman to be ordained as a Buddhist monk (Bhikkhu) of the Theravada tradition ^[1] and was instrumental in introducing Buddhism in England . - Wiki  )

 

... and so on .

 

 

[doc benway]

53 minutes ago, Walker said:

 

I don't think there is anything to apologize for. Thank you for taking the time to share a bit of your story. 

I appreciate that

 

53 minutes ago, Walker said:

I was certainly not respectful of Josh, but I think he knows (or ought to know) that he was playing a certain gloating game here, and I played back with a roasting game--I think some roasting is fine, provided it doesn't descend into threats or hate speech such as with attacks on race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, etc. By that same token, I think gloating is fine, so long as the person trying to floss can take a bit of playa hating (which, to Josh's credit, he did very well ).

 

I know that many others don't feel the same way about insults. I accept criticism and won't try to convince you that my behavior was correct, but I will say in all honesty that I am presently comfortable with my own behavior in this thread (perhaps in time I will come to conclude that I am presently wrong, that I can't say). I will write to Josh in a moment more respectfully, though. 

I agree, playful roasting is cool although anything digital can be easily misconstrued - I wasn't pointing anyone in particular but the general tenor and pile-on vibe I was feeling...

I appreciate you owning your choices and discussing with me.

 

53 minutes ago, Walker said:

Good idea. I will do that in a moment.

The feeling is mutual, thank you as well.