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This was a fascinating read. I find the sky-father deities and twin progenitors to be the weakest part of the argument. Those patterns show up in too many cultures to carry much weight on their own. I've always been interested in the appearance of a threefold pattern in the Daodejing, so that catches my eye. What intrigues me most, given my interests, is the proposed connection between Xi Wangmu, the Queen Mother of the West, and Kubala of Carchemish, Great Mother of the Mountains (and later as Cybele of Anatolia, Queen of Heaven and Earth.) I also think it's interesting that the Yijing trigram names may be Indo-European words, that the heavenly stems and earthly branches share a very old source with the Phoenician alphabet, and that Old Chinese itself may hold many Indo-European loanwords. It is clear there was real contact, influence, and exchange between these worlds. My question is, if Indo-Europeans created the Yijing and the Daodejing as distinct systems, separate from early Chinese culture, where is that system now in their own traditions? China, despite repeated waves of loss and destruction, has held onto these texts and developed their philosophy for thousands of years. If the deeper origin really lay with Indo-Europeans, where is the parallel, continuous lineage on their side? ---------------- 1. Mythological and Religious Parallels between Early China and Indo-Europeans • Sky Father Deities • Twin Progenitors and Sibling-Creators • Tripartite Functions and the Three Sovereigns • Western Paradise and the Queen Mother • Kunlun Mountain and the Cosmic Pillar • Jade, Immortality, and Steppe Connections • Foreign Ancestry of Culture Heroes 2. Linguistic and Textual Evidence (Yijing Trigrams and Language Contacts) • Yi Jing Trigram Names as Indo-European Words • Binary Structure and Yin–Yang Dualism as Indo-European Pattern • Heavenly Stems / Phoenician Alphabet Parallels • Old Chinese Loanwords from Indo-European Languages • Feudalism and Social Structure Parallels 3. Cultural and Philosophical Comparisons • Nomadic vs. Sedentary Lifestyle Fusion • Mandate of Heaven and Indo-European Moral Kingship • Chariot Technology and Warrior Aristocracy • Recording of History and Philosophical Consciousness 4. Archaeological, Genetic, and Migration Evidence • Tarim Basin Caucasian Mummies • Europoid Skulls at Anyang • Chariot and Horse Burials in Western Zhou • Steppe Cultural Motifs in Bronze, Art, and Tools • Migrations of Yuezhi, Wusun, Qiang, and Western Rong Near Zhou

The common tactic among Western teachers is to take the simplest practice possible, overcomplicate it with made-up nonsense, create artificial barriers, and then sell it in tiny pieces for as long as they can. If they didn’t do this, they’d run out of material to teach in a week or a month. I’ve seen Damien “Standing Post aka Zhan Zhuang” course. For about 6–8 hours he teaches almost nothing of value with 99% of the information tied to basic physical posture. He has zero knowledge of the energetic aspects of the practice, no understanding of the upper and lower channels, and he clearly has no clue that you need a specific mental state and develop meditation skills to gain any real benefit from the posture itself. It’s basically like a kindergartener stealing a high-school math textbook written in a foreign language, ripping out all the important chapters, and then teaching other kids how to draw carrots and cucumbers so they can count to 10. In Chinese tradition it's very common to just give students the basic stuff like physical postures and hold back the real 99% of valuable info until the person proves they're trustworthy, loyal, hardworking, talented, etc. That's why you get all these "early graduates" who basically got kicked out by Teacher. The simplest way to ditch someone annoying is to pump up their ego: "You've learned everything, you're a master now, go spread the word!"

The dzogchen path that I follow is one that is guilty of using such terminology. Dzogchen literally means great (chen) perfection (dzog). As Keith suggests, to the Western ear a more palatable and equally valid translation would be great completion. In this context, perfect or complete does not imply a value judgement from the human perspective. It is more a recognition of the spontaneous presence of all enlightened qualities in our natural mind, always present and awaiting discovery. It suggests that we don't need to add or subtract anything or change anything to have access to unlimited potential for enlightened activity. We simply need to be open and unimpeded by our tendency to "collapse the wave function" (to borrow some quantum mechanics language); by our tendency to over-identify with a limited sense of "me" that excludes so many possibilities. For me this has strong parallels in Daoism, a few examples being concepts like ziran and wuwei, as well as the idea that Heaven, Earth, and the sage not being humane/benevolent but regarding people as straw dogs. In attending many dzogchen retreats over the past decade or so, this is one of the areas that causes the most consternation and frustration among developing practitioners. Of course there are many terrible things in the world, people suffer greatly and this is absolutely acknowledged in dzogchen and serves as the very basis and purpose for engaging in practice - namely, to liberate one's own being in order to benefit others. From the perspective of the samsaric being, the world can be a very tough, unforgiving, and dangerous place. From the absolute perspective, everything that arises is simply a function of the workings of karma and dependent origination. There is a sense of perfection or completeness in terms of the fact that if anything is changed, everything else changes. Nothing can be added or taken away or things would not be as they are. In this sense the whole is perfect and complete. I wonder if there is a parallel in Hindu systems relative to the inherent perfection/completeness of Brahman relative to the incompleteness and imperfection of maya... or something like that?

With the use of AI you can reach the AI (artificial immortality). I have not heard someone has achieved it but who knows may be you will be the first one in history who will achieve it.

There is an interesting Bönpo practice that is intended to actively exhaust the thinking mind so that it can release into stillness. You reflect on actions of the body, speech, and mind (each individually), taking enough time to really feel and pay attention to how much energy and effort have been expended over time, going as far back in memory as possible. Take as much time as necessary to get a sense of the shear magnitude of all of that expended effort and energy. When the experience reaches a peak and feels overwhelming, you simply let all of it go and rest in the stillness, silence, and spaciousness of the present moment, similar to the feeling of returning home from a long journey or exhausting day of work and settling into your favorite chair or bed and fully allowing body and mind to rest. It's a powerful technique.

For a long long time. So yeah, a little bird chirped to me there is talk about TDB having a core of an older crowd. I chirped back to that little bird, stick around, you ain't seen nothing yet. Daoist Longevity Practices is definitely a thing. I'm sure talk will get around to Li Ching-Yuen. Let's start the thread by looking at DVD That's right Dick van Dyke looks at his 100 years, and he provides so many examples, lessons, thoughts, on longevity. If we imagine someone to have a positive outlook, ability to brighten up other's day, Relaxed physicality, ( if you need to see what song/sung looks like, look no further) Staying active, still goes to gym three times a week, to avoid stiffening up. And a sense of humor and a warm caring heart. This is how one gets Longevity. Yes, he is rich and that helps I'm sure. But being rich is not what defines him.

Someone who says things like "all is perfect" but doesn't have that as their lived experience is actually creating MORE suffering for themselves and deserves compassion. In reality the "transcendent" doesn't exist. There is nothing to transcend. What one might think of the transcendent is always RIGHT HERE. When someone with this understanding says that things are "perfect", they don't mean "ideal" they mean that they can't be any other way in this moment. The causes and conditions of this moment have come together to create things as they are right now. This isn't ever a denial of suffering, it is a statement of how things are. The only reason for a person to continue speaking teachings is to benefit others, and compassion for the suffering of others is generally what drives that. Parroting teachings even by someone who doesn't have the realization to go with it can be beneficial, but denying the reality of someone's experience of suffering isn't kind, it's true. Someone with "attainment" would want to be of benefit to those who are suffering.

Hi BigSkyDaimond, Sorry to take so long to chime in. I'm glad that you've shared with the FP community that you found "Bending the Bows" generates the most energy "flow." Although it may be hard to find because this thread is now in its 16th year, I posted in the first year--seconding someone else's comment that he had gotten enougn consisten high energy cultivation from BTBows that he called it a "cornerstone" or fundament of the FP moving meditations. I explained back then--and I'll repeat it here--that almost as soon as I did about 5 rounds of BTBows the first time that I tried it (I remember it was in La Cienega Park in L.A. at night), I was astonished (and then afterwards delighted) to feel that my Tai Chi had just spontaneously and dramatically been improved-transformed and empowered. In terms of my Tai Chi body mechanics becoming much more effortless and spontaneous. Deep energy connections were made. My head was full of alert energy and my energy was uniform throughout my body. This was 1991, the year that I started training with GM Doo Wai. I had been doing Tai Chi a solid 11 years (as I had started with Master Abraham Liu, a senior student of Prof. Cheng Man-ching, in 1980). So I was totally surprised and jazz'd when I felt BTBows enhanced the Tai Chi that was in me at the time. So all that is to say that you have joined a good number of other FP practitioners who posted the same findings in the earlier years of this thread...that Bending the Bows is a "supercharger" meditation. It's fine to take it easy and pull back the frequency of practice and how many rounds you do in a practice session. But I wanto to remind you and all other practitioners that the standard orthodox practice is one set of 18 rounds. Once a day or even once every other day is fine and good for health, immunity and strength. But try to work you way up--if you haven't already--to 18 repetitions in a set. If you get to the point again where you feel that the internal power generated is "too much", then stop. And you might try "rounding" and "grounding" things like excessive cultivation by doing any one or more of the first 3 stationary standing Meds. on Vol.1--Monk Holding Pearl, Monk Holding Peach, Monk Gazing At The Moon--for a couple of minutes. Also, an excellent way top hit the "RESET" button when you feel too much intensity, excess, or imbalance of energy is to do Monk Holding the Pearl (50 40 30 20 10) lying supine (with hands on the lower tan tien). Over the many years, I've found this to be a nice "RESET" method that only soothes and evens out almost any type of imbalance in the Qi flow. So thanks for sharing your findings about Bending the Bows. Play with it more along the general guidelines I've restated here...so you can enjoy it more and derive more benefits over the long run. Happy Holidays. Sifu Terry https://www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html terencedunn.substack.com

Within, lantern warms the scholar's simple study -- books, brushes, inks, cats.

Don’t make me facepalm you 😀

I think the level analogy may be misleading, because it implies there is something to gain. I like the melting analogy (this is in classic Zen literature, such as Hakuin and Chinul) better because it captures the process a bit more precisely in my mind. A few points: 1. It is not either/or, it is a spectrum. Melting ice takes time, but there are certainly degrees. 2. It is about relaxing and letting go rather than picking something up. We have everything we already need, there is not something new to add. Rather, it is about opening and expanding more than anything. 3. The process is natural refines the more you do it. At first, it may be very gross, very conceptual, very effortful. These tend to reduce naturally on their own with practice. Ice is ice. A rough block sitting outside and a finely sculpted castle look very different, and function very differently, but their nature is the same.

My experience is that precisely the opposite is true. Realizing that "you" have never HAD control is the way forward. Mastering stillness from a Zen perspective is very much similar to the classic Tao model - you simply stop pushing against reality with your thinking mind. You stop feeding the cycle of thoughts and eventually the thinking mind tires and stillness arises naturally.

I thank all of you for the replies. Greatly appreciated. Personally doubt being enlightened at all. Just have a mind that is curious about the truth. Like the saying goes, there are three things that can not hide forever The Sun, the Moon and the Truth. I know the first two. Still working on the last one. Wonder about the world and its mysteries? Yeah, being a simple person, I do wonder at things I just don't understand. For example, why observing the electrons passing thru the double slit would change the outcome of the pattern behind the double slit? My wondering doesn't change anything. Other than confuse my mind for a moment. Then move onto other things. The world is full of paradoxes. And as human, we all just live with what there is. Being on a Forum allows me to express my thoughts and learn. I think learning is what keeps one open to new possibilities.

Since my inhibitory impulses are out of control, I´ll take the Devil´s Advocate position and say that control is usually illusory, overrated, often desired and seldom achieved. The whole idea of control is perhaps misconception Numero Uno. Seems to me that the more we try to be in control and less we are. If control is possible at all, I think it requires humility and surrender, requires us, in short, to be less and less controlling.

@PestiferMundi "-!Answer!-" 1.1. Name of the qigong training method that allowed you to feel qi energy for the first time (really important that it's the first time, as doing something comes a lot easier once you've experienced it once, and practicing other things after that first time may have only been effective because of that first time)? Flying Phoenix 1.2. If it wasn't exactly qigong (Chinese origin) but of some other origin (e.g. Korean "Sundo" or Japanese "Kiko"), what is it and where does it originate (answer all of the following questions as you would if it was a qigong method)? N/A 1.3. State the source of the qigong training method (book, course, etc. - include the author/creator name) - Not quite sure about the forum rules, but if you aren't allowed to directly link to it because it's seen as "advertising" or something else unacceptable, I'm sure you can at least just state the name of it and the name of the author/creator. DVDs and zoom lessons with Sifu Terry 2. What was the qi energy experience and what made it "undeniable" to you that it was qi energy (what distinguishes it from all the other body sensations or energetic experiences you've already had, that made you believe it was qi)? Felt like a cool menthol heat moving around my body. Not a feeling that occurs naturally. 3. What should one avoid doing during practice that may unintentionally get in the way of generating that energetic experience (if the source you stated already goes into detail about this then you can just say to refer to the source material)? Don’t overthink or be too tense, just relax 4. Were you using any herbs, drugs, or hallucinogenic substances within a week of that experience, or on the very day of that experience? No 5. How long did you practice before you first had that experience? (e.g. around 1 month)? About a week 6. How often did you practice (e.g. every day or only on weekends), how long was the practice session (e.g. 20 minutes), and how many sessions (e.g. two 20 minute sessions per day or one session)? Every day for 2 hours 7.1. Did you practice any martial arts prior to that qigong training method or did you practice it along-side the method, if yes then name it/them (if there is a book/course/etc. source, please state it too)? No 7.2. If yes to Question 7.1, is the martial art you practiced directly related to the qigong method (e.g. The Yiquan martial art from my observation basically has a hardwired qigong training method - Zhan Zhuang)? N/A 8. Did you practice any kind of occult/meditative exercises prior to that qigong training method or did you practice it along-side the method, if yes then name it/them (if there is a book/course/etc. source, please state it too)? No 9. If you are willing, include any other details you think would be relevant to the training and the goal of experiencing qi energy for the first time? Practice every day 10. What are the possible risks of the method if overdone, if not done properly, or even if done properly as the method is "extreme" (assuming the practice bears such risks)? Zero 11. Does the method have advanced levels/goals after the first bare minimum goal of experiencing qi energy for the first time and what are they? (e.g. Flying Phoenix Qigong has multiple volume dvds, never tried it but if the volume 1 standing exercises allowed me to feel qi energy, the next obvious step would be to continue training it and then move onto the volume 2 seated meditations, but not all qigong methods have such a clear and outlined path so that's why I'm asking this question)? Yes, progress to the next dvds and then have lessons with Sifu Terry for the advanced practices ——————————————————— If you want to try what Flying Phoenix feels like before getting the DVDs or starting lessons with Sifu Terry, check out this video of GM Doo Wai doing the “Monk Holds Pearl” exercise: You can do it standing, seated or lying down. You can ignore the part about the ginger. Try it out and let me know how it feels!

I see it more as a meta-theory about how magic works. Basically, it puts the center of power in the individual instead of external authorities or powers, such as God, gods, planets, archons, correspondences, etc. So if you can invoke a proper state of mind summoning Cthulhu, it doesn't matter whether or not here is an external being that matches it. I don't think it (or any magical system) generally works because I don't think most people honestly think it will work. I think the mental habits need to be a bit more fluid than average.

Overcome with sadness. Poor, poor kitty. But this also reminded me of something that happened to me a few years ago... I was doing taiji in the usual spot in the park one day and a hawk dropped a snake at my feet -- narrowly missing my head, it whooshed by my ear inches away. That hawk was in the habit of showing up for taiji almost every time, making a few circles over my head and then flying away. I guess that one time it decided to either deliver a gift or attempt murder --depending on whether it loved my taiji or hated it. The snake was a very large Garter. At first I thought it was dead, for a couple of minutes it didn't move -- then slowly started showing signs of life, and eventually slithered away. Sturdy creature -- no legs or arms or neck to break! The height it fell from must have been considerable (I don't know how high though since I wasn't looking up at the sky at the time) judging by the tremendous thud it landed with.

P.S. Pens are on my mind in conjunction with longevity of late, seen information (and believed what I saw for once) that one of the best ways to protect/preserve one's brain later in life is to write in longhand. Apparently this activates three times as many neural connections as clicking keys or finger-poking screens. And of course it's got to be a fountain pen (personal opinion, corroborated by aficionados.) So I hunted down on ebay and bought this present for my vintage brain:

104 year old woman: "Dr Pepper is good it has sugar in it." 104 year old woman: "Two doctors have told me if I drink it I'll die." 104 year old woman: "But they died first."

I agree with what Luke said, it depends on the relationship between therapist and patient. A lot of traditional teachers have discovered that Western psychological treatments can be helpful to forming a healthy ego which, ironically, is often considered a prerequisite to transcending it. A lot of traditional teachings were developed in much different circumstances.

The world is entirely perfect and complete, with the exception of this thread.

the working of karma is perfect but karma itself veils the perfect....

Hi SodaChanh, Yes, any combination of practice FP meds.--and especially the FP Long Form--can put you right out of time. Meaning that your energized and very relaxed mind can sometimes "remember" where your energy has been...or other memories can float up into awareness. Your state of consciousness after you finished your third round sounds sublime. I was in L.A. and Hong Kong for a total of 6 weeks starting on Oct. 8 and I was doing 2 rounds of the Long Form each day to maintain minimum balance and functionality. It didn't help my jetlag or sleep deprivation from too much work. So I had to fall back to some heavy-duty Tao Tan Pai Yogas (which I've done since 1974) to replace lost sleep and recover from jetlag. But the intensity of the trip due to my busy schedule kept me from getting getting de-jetlagged in HK. I was always on L.A. time when I was in Hong Long. And the jetlag from flying east only got compounded (worse) on the flight from HK back to LA. But once back in the States, I finally did allow myself to get adequate sleep fully recovered. All that is to say that, as I stated in early years, GM Doo Wai told me--and I've proven it to be true time and time again--that FP Qigong requires normal restful sleep in order for it to impart its health, immunity, longevity, and intelligence benefits. But in times of stress, FP practice will at least keep you from cracking up physically or emotionally. It induces and maintains allostasis very nicely and sublimely. Enjoy your practice, SC! Sifu Terry https://www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html terencedunn.substack.com

This is perhaps the most important discernment in dzogchen. What is the mind, what is its nature or essence, and how are the two distinguished and how do they relate to the self and ultimate reality? The ways of teaching this can be complicated because different people require different things to "get it." It's not a conceptual or intellectual definition because that is still the territory of the mind, which generally considers itself the only tool available for "understanding," not yet trusting anything outside of its realm, and yet not appreciating its own limitations when considering that which may be beyond its grasp. So there are several methods, often relying on simile and metaphor as well as meditative methods. This might be a topic for a different thread.

That guy is NEVER going to survive, unless he gets a little crazy.

Ok. I'm going to talk through this and the next two stages (from the papyrus of Khonshu-mes). Sorry about the title I couldn't think of anything better. It's from a papyrus written in the 21st Dyn. in Thebes for the priest Khonshu-mes. It is one of the so-called mythological papyri which were produced in this late period which consist of almost entirely illustrations with little or no text. We are starting in the West which means the body. With death and mummification. Sorry the pic is a bit blurred but I probs with the image capture and getting it big enough. I'll go through what it shows and try to explain what it means in subsequent posts. Questions welcome (but please try to stay on topic if at all possible).

@Tommy I think you might be as enlightened or even more enlightened than most of us. Don't you though feel or sense something mysterious about our existence. When you feel or think these things don't you think it's kind of extraordinary that it's happening at all? In my moments of clarity I feel like this ... a kind of wonder about it all. Maybe you don't - not that it matters.

Then I guess that I will never find enlightenment in this lifetime. I have no control over my physical desires. When I am hungry, I eat. When I am tired, I sleep. No control there. I have no control over emotions. When I see my wife, I feel love there and a gentle peace. When I see something outrageous like a person being hurt. My empathy or compassion goes out. I feel emotions. No control Then my thoughts comes without my intentions or control over them. Where it is cold, I seek the warmth. Yeah, enlightenment is not for me then. When I was younger, I had always wanted to experience the awakened mind. Find liberation. As I am much older now, I have seen my friends and my relatives pass away. A few years ago, my mother died. Then a couple of years after, my father died. I use to think enlightenment would give me emotional distance from situations. Sort of to be in the world but not a part of it. Now it doesn't make sense not to feel emotions. I don't seek enlightenment. It doesn't hold a value for me. It isn't something I can share. It isn't something that can be traded. It is what it is. To me, just a word written in some books. I do like to be on forums where I can meet some very interesting people. And I am grateful for the lessons I have learned here. Yeah, sorry for my misconceptions.

Thanks for the reply, but ironically I've already tried that very same video (and others like it). Youtube is filled to the brim with qi sensation videos like this one with slight differences, but they all pretty much use the whole "move your palms towards and away from eachother" thing. IDK, maybe my standards are just too high/strict and I'm expecting too much, but with a lot of these exercises the sensations you feel are things I've already felt under normal circumstances and they don't really feel "distinct enough" to me that they would warrant a different classification as "chi energy". There was one video that was a bit different (and I'd say the most significant one I've tested) by Lee Holden, but I think that was because the actions in it were directly stimulating nerves in your hand and that's why you get the noticeable tingling sensation in your palms (hitting your finger nails against eachother rapidly for a certain duration, you'll see it in the video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1A5OrXDlkI A lot of these exercises just looks like the placebo effect to me (doesn't seem like "the real deal", like something essential is missing). Like the most common exercise where you are told to rub your palms together for a while and then move them towards and away from eachother. A lot of people will feel warmth on their palms and exclaim they felt chi, but you literally just rubbed your palms together, which generates heat, so of course you'll feel warmth, especially when you are moving your palms against the cooler air which allows you to more easily feel the temperature difference, and you are now hyper focused on your palms so that makes it even easier. I'm looking for something much more distinct than those things, something like what @-ꦥꦏ꧀ ꦱꦠꦿꦶꦪꦺꦴ- described - "Felt like a cool menthol heat moving around my body." Like that experience, I'm also looking for an experience that is inexplicable by anything else (I can't come up with any rationalization other than - "that was qi energy, it definitely worked"). This is why I asked the questions I asked, and it's why I'm looking for a "complete practice" that is well known, as it's more likely to yield those kinds of results (as these things are passed down and refined through generations). I think when you begin to train something with a mindset that it "undeniably works" rather than "that was interesting but it could be explained by other things", you'll take it more seriously. I want to weed out all doubt, and that's why I'm looking for a specific kind of practice.

Yes . We could focus on this part of the definition ; '' the belief that belief itself is a tool to manipulate reality and that one can shift beliefs as needed to achieve goals. ' So, I assume , the ritual system and 'paraphernalia ' of magick is geared towards cultural belief ( hence different types of magick ; from modern western, to 'Javanese' to Buddhist , etc . ) and relies on a stong 'set' in the psyche - which is why a lot of older western magick is in the 'theater ' of Christianity (or its opposite , ie, 'demon based ' or 'sourced' ) . That is , in this situation , it is firmly entrenched in the psyche and the belief system . So can ( and how can one ) change or ;shift' belief systems so as to have them so firmly entrenched in the psyche that thay have the same 'impact ' . I doubt this part . However , the issue of belief systems 'manipulating ' realty seems better explained by 'Daimonic Reality Theory' ( ex Harpur ) seems more realistic . I 'operate' sort of like that , but my belief systems only 'validly ' changed ( ie, changed to a deep enough influence that they did 'manipulate' reality , after evidence accretion - ie . if you try something and get the same result many times , then its easier for the belief to become entrenched in the psyche to be effective . Also it broaches the whole idea of inner Vs outer influence . What are your thoughts on that ?

I am English but I live in Portugal. Oak is Portuguese but lives in England. It’s a kind of yin yang non duality thing.

Yes, it does translate to metaphysics. 玄: dark, deep, hidden, or mysterious. 学: study, learning, or a field of knowledge. Historically, 玄学 also refers to a Chinese school of thought from the Wei–Jin period, and a scholastic approach to earlier Daoist texts. So our ability to determine whether all discussions of the Dao are "xuanxue" depends on which definition we use. Metaphysics is the study of the unseen, unknown, the mysterious. It is the study of the underlying fabric of reality. So all study of the Dao is literal 玄学. But the idea that the Dao is emptiness and ziran is the expression of this emptiness (the original inquiry of the thread), is strongly developed from the historical, scholastic 玄学 movement. This view influences much of how we discuss the Dao in modern context. Before the Wei–Jin 玄学 movement, Daoist discussion was framed less as an exact, comprehensively designed system, and more like guidance for living, governing, and cultivating life. As you know, in early texts like the Daodejing and Zhuangzi, the Dao is usually pointed to through images, paradox, and lived examples. You get lines like “the Dao that can be spoken is not the constant Dao,” or stories that show how forced control backfires. The focus stays on how to move through life: wuwei (not forcing), softness, timing, simplicity, protecting your vitality, and letting patterns unfold. Even when they use words like 无 (wu), it often works like “the generative absence that makes functions possible” (like the empty hub of a wheel, or the empty space in a bowl), rather than “emptiness” as a full metaphysical theory. And 自然 (ziran) reads more like “so-of-itself” or “things unfolding on their own,” not “the expression of emptiness." But the Wei–Jin 玄学 approach shifts the focus. It takes those earlier Daoist lines and tries to make them philosophically exact and defensible, which are later blended with Buddhist concepts: debates about 有/无 (being/non-being), what is “root” (本) and what is “branch” (末), and how a deeper “source” relates to the visible world. Commentarial reading becomes a major method, and the Dao starts getting discussed in more systematic, abstract terms–often as the underlying “non-being” that grounds “being,” with ziran framed as how that ground shows up in the world. That scholastic style is a big reason modern discussions of Dao define it as emptiness. So 玄学 describes the study of the unknown, and it also describes a historical movement that sought to define the unknown in exact, and yet paradoxically more abstract terms.

The doorway most people use today is books, translations, and philosophy classes, and xuanxue is the style that treats the Daodejing (and the Yijing and Zhuangzi) as high metaphysics. Xuanxue (Dark/Profound Learning) was a Wei–Jin era way of reading the classics, especially through big commentaries like Wang Bi’s Laozi. Those commentaries became hugely influential, got copied and taught for centuries, and shaped what later readers thought the text "really" means. So when people discover Daoism through reading, they often meet it through a lens already polished by xuanxue. Later Daoist traditions, especially internal alchemy and the Quanzhen world, developed emptiness / stillness / nonbeing language while in relation to Buddhism and Confucianism. Modern presentations tend to pull from that shared vocabulary. Not only that, but ritual Daoism requires extensive training, community, ordination networks, temples, and lots of context. Online spaces and modern education reward what’s easier to share quickly, like Dao = emptiness, ziran = expression of Dao, wu = the root, and other simple abstract statements. So modern Daoism looks like xuanxue because the most visible vehicle for Daoism is textual, and xuanxue is the most established, widely inherited framework for reading those texts that way.

One more thing. I find Dvd7 med #4 good for awareness meditation. Do that first or end your meds with #4, then abide in pure awareness for the amount of minutes you like doing.

Abraham was from Sumer. The Jewish Book of Genesis contains a cut down version of the Sumerian account. In the Sumerian account you can read why god refers to itself as "we" The earliest known manuscript version of the OT is newer than the oldest manuscript version of the NT. In the Middle Ages there was a major industry in discovering ancient writings, translating them, and losing the original. Fortunately the Renaissance Man/Woman was of such a spiritual caliber that the inventions were often worthy of the alleged author Read Anatoly Fomenko for a statistical analysis showing which histories are invented from which realities. https://www.amazon.com.au/stores/author/B0032J096G Free versions: https://archive.org/search?query=anatoly+fomenko&and[]=mediatype%3A"texts" > who are the children of man and the children of god? In the Sumerian account, the aliens bred the human slaves from their own genetics crossed with a hominoid already on the planet. The humans turned out to be noisy and hard to manage, so the Sumerian aliens bred an upgraded human with more alien genetics to control the slaves. The upgraded humans are traditionally known as royalty - directly descended from the gods. There has been much interbreeding since then, so royal blood may not mean much now. Details of the genetic failures can be found in the Sumerian accounts. The hard work shows in the Jewish Genesis where every time the god makes something, he looks at it and sees that/if it is good Perhaps 12 other alien groups have had a go at breeding humans more suited to their agendas. WW2 was the latest macro attempt. These days the processes are nano-scale

I get them a fair bit here .... 'Wedgies' * . Whirling high in the sky above the valley floor . But if you go to about 20km away and go to the top of 'Mount' (probably a hill, to you guys ) Killerkrankie , a high point around here , the north face drops off down a steep vertical cliff to nearly the valley floor below ; one can lie on the top of the rock and peer over and look down on the circling eagles . Some fly up level with you, sufing the wind as it is forced up the cliff face . Sometimes a gust will blow them into the cliff and they are so close you can see the fethers fan out , the wings flex... even the muscles under the feathers flex as the do manouvers to avoid smashing into the cliff .... they make noise in the wind as they do this too , sometimes coming so close you can see their eyeball turn and fix on you as their body tracks past .... rather magnificent ! * Australian Wedge Tailed Eagle

I took a short walk today, maybe 15 minutes. 3 minutes in, and a very nice and sleek eagle, white tail, white head, did 3 passes by me and let me see which tree he landed in. I've seen bigger eagle here, but this was probably the smoothest in flight. Nice aerial display. Just 25 feet up. My cats generally stay close to home, where they are safest

George Burns famously smoked cigars daily. Lived to 100. Che Guevara famously smoked cigars and didn't make it to 50. So ymwv, I'm no doctor, and am not prescribing or diagnosing here. I doubt it was cigar smoking that finished off Che Guevara. Maybe, stirring up revolutions in South America was the culprit So, a word to those who strive for longevity, don't go and get yourself executed.

try if you dare you might get worse than “sore eyes”

@Taomeow this is very good news. I have given up smoking except the occasional one bummed off a friend. But I was intending to start cigars from my 80th and of course I drink red wine almost daily. I may bring the smoking forward on this news. After all one needs an occupation - to misquote Oscar Wilde.

This is a very important key. I asked AI (Grok) about smokers and drinkers among the verified longest lived individuals. Here's a partial list (there's a bunch of others too who have birth documents but "are not fully verified" so I skipped their names) Name Country Age at death Smoked? Drank? Notes Jeanne Calment France 122 y 164 d Yes – ~2 cigarettes/day for 96 years, quit at 117 Port wine daily The absolute record holder (verified) Antonio Todde Italy (Sardinia) 112 y 346 d Yes – cigars and cigarettes most of his life Wine daily Oldest verified man in Europe when he died in 2002 Christian Mortensen USA (Danish-born) 115 y 252 d Yes – cigars and cigarettes until late 80s Occasional alcohol Oldest verified man ever until 2012 Maggie Barnes USA 115 y 319 d (disputed) Yes – smoked unfiltered cigarettes for decades Moonshine occasionally Age debated but widely accepted at the time Susie Gibson USA 115 y 108 d Yes – smoked cigarettes until 106 Occasional whiskey Quit only when she couldn’t light them anymore Richard Overton USA 112 y 230 d Yes – 12–18 cigars a day until 109 Whiskey in his coffee daily America’s oldest WWII veteran when he died in 2018 That Richard Overton guy surprises me. Not so much the 18 cigars a day but whiskey in his coffee. Coffee pairs perfectly with cognac. Whiskey?.. Assuming he started when he was legal to drink, that's almost a century of misguided daily use of a rather uncouth beverage. But I guess couth/uncouth is not a factor in longevity.

Speaking of longevity, I´m reminded of the many profiles I´ve read featuring happy centenarians who drink, smoke, cuss, and just generally live life on their own terms. They´re not afraid to get their claws out on occasion, when situations warrant. More than kombucha and bubble baths, this may be the key to a long life.

So now the beginning of the complicated part: The organs placed in the Canopic Jars were the lungs, liver, stomach and intestines. It is not that the Egyptians didn't know about other organs but these were chosen deliberately. Their relative positions in the body are shown as follows: The organs were paired as follows: lungs and liver stomach and intestines Collectively the first two were under the protection of Hapi and Imsety (two of the sons of Horus); and the second two under Duamutef and Quebhsenuef. As pairs these were sometimes known as the Souls of Pe and the Souls of Nekhen. Where Pe and Nekhen are the ancient capitals of Lower and Upper Egypt. Pe (as part of the double town Pe and Dep had the tutelary deity Wadjet ( the cobra goddess ) and in Nekhen - Nekhabet the vulture goddess. They are also related to the two crowns, Red of the North and White for the South. Symbolically the upper part of the body is North and the lower part is South. So liver and lungs related to red and stomach and intestines to white. The task is to unite the two kingdoms north and south into one. So the task in terms of the body is to unite the upper and lower parts into one. NB. there is also the head which we will leave till later.

I didn’t realize you were so young!

Next month I will be sixty. That´s not an age that gives me bragging rights among my friendship group of "old gays" in Palm Springs, but I´m proud anyways. I´ve continued. I´m here so I belong here -- who can say otherwise? Maybe someday I´ll belong somewhere else, but that will be a different story.

恒 (Héng) : Perseverance, Persistence, Enduring Constancy. One of the "virtues" deeply embedded in taoism.

Meaning is an imputation devised by the thinking mind. It belongs to "YOU". Buddhism (like all other traditions) is a vehicle to realize something BEYOND conceptualization and the thinking mind. The vehicles themselves are empty of meaning, and ultimately NOT the realization. Some quotations might be fun! Realization only comes from EXPERIENTIAL gnosis. No amount of intellectual fabrication can get you there. Stop where you are. Allow the mind to be come still - here and now is where understanding happens.

I mentioned some of the possible drawbacks of psychotherapy earlier so I should probably also mention what a wonderful, human thing it is to ask for help when we need it. Going to therapy can be a very wise way of asking for help.

It´s impossible to say that psychotherapy is "bad" or "good" because so much depends on the quality of the relationship between the client and therapist. Psychotherapy has been helpful for a lot of people but it´s not always helpful.

I personally do not know how the spirit would penetrate all existence since I have found no such thing in myself. Some have mentioned that they can travel thru the astral planes. Guessing that might have something to do with the spirit. For me, I do not have such experiences. And so, I do not see, feel, or grok that there is such a thing as spirit. This not to say there isn't a spirit. Just that for me, it doesn't exist. I live and breathe. Wake up in the morning, cook myself a meal, boil water for coffee. What life is, it is in front of me. When I read the saying before enlightenment, chop wood carry water. after enlightenment, chop wood carry water, the question arises what changed?.