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Easy with the half-cocked accusations @Nungali I'm not a mod, did nothing but post my reply here, and I certainly did not report any of his posts. I like old3bob, regardless of our differences, and posted what I did in support of him, and the rest of us.

The frontpages here are shocking to me, seems to me it's now all about the threat of war and the need to increase spending on arms. To be honest I am not coping well with it, so I have decided to limit the attention I give it.

This forum (and others online) sometimes makes me incredibly sad. This is a forum of dedicated spiritual practitioners and yet we cannot get along or act like adults in the most simplistic sense: i.e., refrain from insults, refrain from trolling others, try not to hurt people, or follow a few simple rules. Creating a post takes time and can be edited or removed. Everything here is entirely intentional. So if this is the best we can do, well, no wonder the world is in the shape it's in.

How ya gonna keep 'em down on the farm, after they've seen Paree! "Using noncraft to govern a state"--a kind of "not doing", I'm sure. That's the proper subject of Dao Bums in my opinion, how that not-doing is done. The rest, as DDJ makes clear, takes care of itself.

These are fine, it’s normal to heat up from practice and have spontaneous movements This should be ok, keep practicing and just keep an eye on it. No, do 3 as instructed You can do them if you like, it won’t be bad. Just make sure you rub LDT both clockwise AND anticlockwise Probably just clearing something out. To be safe, when you practice this one keep your mind focused on LDT just to stop qi from rising.

Tomorrow, June 20th, will be the summer solstice in the northern hemisphere, and the winter solstice for our southern friends. I always think of these yearly turning points as potent times for spiritual practice and reflection. Whether you´re experiencing an apex moment of light or darkness, I hope the day brings you joy.

daily crocheting clouds knit together, above dark waters, below

Happy solstice to all.

You might like Daniel Goleman's "Emotional Intelligence". He writes that responses get stored by the amygdala, reactions to situations picked up in very early childhood and beyond, and when the circumstances that gave rise to those responses are duplicated the amygdala overrides the cognitive centers of the brain to react. Out-of-hand emotional responses is his focus, like a sudden anger. I think Bindi's right, not so much "how we can deal with them" but how we can learn about our human condition from them.

He’s on mod approval of posting - I think that was already made clear.

I see emotions as part of a holistic feedback system, designed to safeguard an individual and lead an individual to make positive life choices. Problems arise when emotions are ignored or overridden by mental strategies, in which case the emotions are stuffed away. This leads to a shutdown of this aspect of our system feedback, which is similar to caging a tiger, the emotional system doesn’t disappear but remains tense and agitated, lashing out at inopportune moments. There are multiple strategies that have been devised to deal with this caged tiger, few of which directly address the fundamental issue. Emotional flow has a place in the ultimate setup of a human being, but it is only one part of the entire system, and not even the major part. But when emotional flow is blocked it can be the major problem that we face. Ultimately we need to go beyond being led by our emotions, but only when emotional flow has been re-established and is healthy. For that matter the same can be said of our thoughts, we need to go beyond being led by them but only when our mind is fully healthy. Being emotionally in tune with the people and things in our environment is valuable, and knowing when these people or things don’t have our best interests at heart is also valuable, even if this isn’t our ultimate guide in life, and is only a part of the ultimate system. Personally I’ve worked with dreams to establish emotional health, and though it’s a very long (decades long) and hard road I think I have finally achieved it.

the other bit that comes to mind is that we "create our own weather" that is the climate around us which we experience at any given moment. Happiness, contentment, peace of mind, calm, stillness, those are an "inside job" for me. The emotional climate that I experience, well that thermostat is set and adjusted by me, and not by anyone or anything "out there". (including people, places, institutions, things) For me, i find that very reassuring and calming in and of itself. It feels more manageable.

i remember reading somewhere that when planes are flying on auto pilot they are "going in the wrong direction" something like 95% of the time, and they stay on course through a near constant process of "auto correcting" when they deviate off course. So if we mess up then we are nudged in the direction to keep us on track. " "I am told that the automatic pilot in an airplane does not work by locking onto a course and stick­ing to it. Instead, it steers back and forth over the path of an assigned course and makes the neces­sary corrections when it senses that it has strayed. In reality, the auto pilot is on course only 5 or 10% of the time. The other 90 or 95% of the time, it is off course and correcting for its deviation. I, too, must make continuous adjustments. I have stopped expecting myself to be perfectly on course. I am bound to make plenty of mistakes, but I am learning to accept mistakes as an inevitable part of the adventure of living." ---from Daily Reader

Being a mod is like having hemorrhoids you tend to sit on problems till they burst out and make you feel sore. Even trips to the doctors can leave you feeling degraded ... unless the doctor likes you that is. Then it's all ok.

For what it's worth, I feel a lot of empathy for what people are going through right now regarding current events and politics. I am feeling a lot of negative emotions on a daily basis and do my best to bring it into my spiritual practice. We are living through unprecedented times and events and I wish there was a way we could offer each other more support here. Debating current and events and politics has proven not to work out well here, but perhaps there's a way we could discuss the impact they are having on us and support each other in dealing with them as effectively as possible. To some degree, I think this thread is having somewhat of a positive effect and I appreciate everyone who added their comments and the mods keeping it open so far.

Hey guys, I hope this is an apropriate question for this forum, if not I apologize. A few months back my interest in taoism started, probably due to the need of seeking something new. I was always interested in esotericism and more "occult" traditions for a lack of better terms. Doing some basic google search and the classic texts (dao de jing and zhuangzi) came up, but what I associated with taoism (and hoped to find out more about) were actual practices like qigong and neidan. At the same time, what seems to be more up my alley was the discovery of chinese folk religion. Now already there is so much material (books, videos, articles) that I managed to loose oversight, I dont even know if I am looking for the right things in the right spots. Sorry for this weird rambling, the important question is: where should I start in the many schools and offshots of taoism if I want to learn more about "magical" practices and is the familiarisation with philosophical taoism (and reading the important texts) necessary?

I'd say the extreme reactionary denial or nixing of politics at this site is more or less baloney... the problem is not politics although how such is discussed can become so. There are aspects of "politics" in various forms in everything, including the air we breathe and the water we drink. (via environmental issues or through politics related to same carried out by mankind) There are politics of various forms in all religions and spiritual ways since mankind is involved. Religions and spiritual ways are not divorced from politics, their leaders and students need the ability to exist safely in this world which is not possible in a vacuum of non-politics among human beings. So I'd say its time to get real on the subject which is really covered/protected by the already existing site guidelines for interactions among members...thus the knee-jerking should stop if someone dares to bring up things that affect all of us...and which may be uncomfortable to some.

yes, the still small voice. direct link to the Divine in me. I hear it best when i can differentiate it from my thoughts and thinking mind (intuition is not that), and separate it from the reactive emotions (intuition is not that). a favorite author at the moment is Korean Zen Master Seung Sahn, he uses the phrase "before thinking, before thought" for that inner stillness.

On the second part .... I was intrigued by 'Electric Sekhmet' s name . They have been notified of my existence by Cobie already . But now I tend not to get too involved with new people unless they seek me out and/ or respond to me in some way ... unless they write something really interesting . Lately there have been people joining up and declaring all sorts of interests and intents, one responds ( or other members do ) ... and that's all one ever hears from them again . ( ... unless they get suddenly ' deported ' or something ? )

Yes. Intuition, inner tutor. My intuition, that is my soul speaking, it tells my two brain-halves what’s right.

thanks guys!

yes. i love this

I think @Taoist Texts is no longer on this board. He used to comment a lot, but lately I have not seen much of him.

another helpful resource, is after a while when you have favorite posters and you want to read more of what this or that person has written, here is the path to view all their posts. Click on their name, click on see their activity (button upper right) this shows a few recent posts but not all of them, then click on posts (left side menu list). Then the posts appear. I just looked up someone who has provided helpful information recently on several areas of experience which resonated with me; they have 1,005 posts so there are 39 pages I can view and read and mine for useful information.

also the Activity tab at top of page lets you see at a glance the most recent posts, people, and topics under discussion. I have found gems there (people and posts and conversations) that i would not have found through searching by topic or section. So that is a great section to get in the habit of viewing.

welcome! there are discussions and topics in the forum on any and all of the above noted interests in bold. a good place to start is throw each of those bold topics one by one into the search and start visiting threads. what works for me is to randomly visit threads, see what piques my interest in what is being discussed, and go from there. If someone is discussing something of interest, i ask "can you tell me more about this, what resources do you recommend" and people on this site are quite helpful and responsive. as you go along you can then see what jumps out at you and explore further. I also find and start noticing there are certain posters that consistently resonate with the interests I have so i will visit other threads they may be participating in and invariably there is related information that I also find helpful. what brought me to Dao Bums was wanting to find out more about different forms of qi gong, and there is robust discussion around that, I have found. It does help (for me anyway) to hear people discussing their experiences with different types of qi gong and helped me decide to try out two forms which were different than what i had been practicing (on and off) since 2019. You can also start a topic and ask whatever question you might have. Have fun exploring, jump right in, ask questions.

possibly @Nungali occult traditions; @-ꦥꦏ꧀ ꦱꦠꦿꦶꦪꦺꦴ- qigong; @Taoist Texts neidan, @wandelaar philosophical taoism

Try to keep up Luke - there will be a written test soon.

For the record, I´m glad that Old3bob appears to be back and did not report any posts in this thread. As @Nungali points out, my own posts have not been entirely current-events free. I plead guilty. In my defense, I´ll mention that the point I was trying to make was not that people should feel any which way about No Kings day or any other political issue. My point was that it´s possible -- a good idea even! -- to feel warmly towards people who don´t share one´s politics. We´re all just human here and most of us want what´s best for our fellow humans and the planet, though we may have starkly different ideas of what "best" looks like.

Welcome back, Old3bob!

Yes. In Laozi's time custom was to start with what's most important, and the DDJ imo starts with 4 chapters on "self-development".

i read those as how we rule ourself, a guide for how to govern our own life. sacred texts are first and foremost a guide to self-development. As one reviewer puts it, " The central thing the Tao Te Ching asks us to be aware of is not the world, but our self." sample translations verse 65 and 57. And I look forward to Cobie's input on what the Chinese text actually says. "Therefore, it is said:"Those who implemented the TaoDid not use it to make the people shrewd;Rather, they used it to make them simple."The reason why the people are difficult to ruleIs that they are crafty.Therefore, using craft to govern a stateIs a pest to the state;Using noncraft to govern a stateIs a blessing to the state.Constantly remember: these two constitute a guideline;Constantly remembering this guidelineIs called a deep and remote virtue.The deep and remote virtueIs deep indeed, remote indeed;And, though contrary to all things,Will eventually reach Grand Harmony."- Translated by Chichung Huang, Chapter 65 "Govern the kingdom by the normal way.Fight the battle by the unexpected way.And one can win the world without using force.How do I know this is so?By the following:When there are too many restrictions and regulations, people become poor.When there are too many weapons, the kingdom is in disarray.When there are too many tricks, bizarre things happen.When there are too many decrees, the crime rate increases.This is why the sage says:"I do not force my way, and people live peacefully.I keep quiet, and people live normally.I do not interfere, and people become rich.I do not covet anything, and people would be honest." - Translated by Thomas Zhang, Chapter 57

The idea on how to be a good ruler is sprinkled everywhere. Perhaps Chapter 57 and 65 could be examples.

If you'd study the DDJ long enough, I think you should know what the DDJ is all about by now.

calm embroidering but crotchety while at my daily crocheting

I also feel empathy for what people are going through right now and think it would be great if we could support each other without arguing about the merits of any given view. My mom marched in a recent "No Kings" event, her first political protest in her more than eighty years. She sent me a picture of herself out in the sunshine, smiling and waving a tiny American flag. She said it felt good to be there, in the world amongst so many other people who felt as she did. I was happy for her. Although I´m wary of much that is going on in the US politically these days, my own politics has slid somewhat rightward since Covid and I wouldn´t of wanted to march in No Kings myself. But that doesn´t mean I don´t care about the thoughts and feelings of those who disagree with me. Those who disagree with me are not "idiots." In fact, many of them are smart and well-informed, kind and thoughtful -- some of the best people I know. I gather from another thread that the mods are currently debating Old3bobs status in the forum. He consistently brings up political topics, even though it´s the current policy of the board not to do so. It´s not my place to comment on his future here, but one thing´s clear: he´s a person that cares about the state of the world and he´s hurting. I think so many of us are hurting. I´m not much of a Buddhist but sometimes a Buddhist saying fits the moment. May all beings be free from suffering.

pops needle in arm of chair where I sew, peaceful calm embroidering.

Maybe... Maybe I was in a bad mood when I wrote this. I did think about writing it both ways. But then I thought: are joy and bliss an emotion, or just the absence of emotion? Is pleasure distinct from pain, or is it just the absence of pain? Is a desire a wont of pleasure, or just the pain of not having the thing desired? Is love an emotion, or just the fear and pain of losing the thing loved? Are we running from pain, or running towards pleasure? I stop running.

Oh well.. this debunks so many stuff I think I need to read again half of the forum lol

AI (Artifical Intelligence) is not a credible or reliable source of information. It not only has (a) built-in inaccuracy, but (b) the inaccuracy increases and grows and gets worse over time. Inaccuracies and mistakes and errors not only appear, they propagate and spread and multiply over time. When information is not available, AI invents false answers and fabricates data and sources and information including URL fabrication. For instnace, research at Columbia University shows AI cites incorrect sources 60% of the time. (Researchers ran 1,600 inquiries across 8 different platforms. ) The premium paid versons delivered incorrect information more often then their free counterparts. AI can not interpret or distinguish between what is correct or incorrect information "As of 2023, a typical AI model isn't assessing whether the information it provides is correct. Its goal when it receives a prompt is to generate what it thinks is the most likely string of words to answer that prompt. Sometimes this results in a correct answer, but sometimes it doesn’t – and the AI cannot interpret or distinguish between the two. It’s up to you to make the distinction. AI can be wrong in multiple ways: It can give the wrong answer It can omit information by mistake It can make up completely fake people, events, and articles It can mix truth and fiction AI is "just mimicking reasoning, rather than actually performing that reasoning.” Reliability is just not there with AI. In March an AI tool correctly identified prime numbers from a list 96.7% of the time. Three months later in June of the same year, the same AI platform, the same task, the same list, but only 2.7% were correctly identified. AI is simply not reliable. source article 2025 "AI search engines cite incorrect news sources at an alarming 60% rate" article 2023, University of Maryland Research Guide, "What does AI Get Wrong" article 2023, Scientific American, "Yes AI Models Can Get Worse Over Time"

Mammalian Politics. Regardless of the claims of some here , humans are a political animal . Now if you try to get away from that ... say, by going to live in a temple as a monk ... will there be any politics there ? HOOOOO BOY ... you betcha ! Name any other group or collective of humans ... politics ? Same answer . Its an essential part of understanding our nature ... aside from those limited areas where people think they are studying our nature ( various forms of spirituality and religion - divorced from politics ) yet are still wholly ruled by it ! Any one that has studied , even a little bit , of any thing social anthropology or related subjects will have encountered this . A quick AI view on the topic AI Overview "Mammalian politics" refers to the study of social behavior and power dynamics within animal societies, particularly among mammals, drawing parallels to human political systems. It explores how animals form hierarchies, resolve conflicts, make decisions, and cooperate, often using concepts from political science and sociology to understand these animal behaviors. Key aspects of mammalian politics include: Leadership and Hierarchy: How animals establish and maintain power structures, whether through brute force, coalition building, or other strategies. Decision-Making: Examining how animals collectively decide on actions like foraging, migration, or conflict resolution, sometimes exhibiting forms of animal democracy. Cooperation and Conflict: Analyzing how animals cooperate within their groups, the types of conflicts they engage in, and how these conflicts are resolved. Social Structures: Understanding the complex social organizations of different mammalian species, including the roles and relationships within those structures. Evolution of Leadership: Investigating how leadership traits and behaviors evolve within mammalian societies over time. Biopolitics: Exploring the ways in which power and control are exerted over life and populations, often in the context of wildlife conservation and management. Examples of mammalian politics in action: Chimpanzees: Chimpanzees demonstrate various political strategies, including coalition building, alliances, and power struggles for dominance, according to National Geographic. Red Deer: Red deer herds may make collective decisions about movement based on the behavior of a significant portion of the group, effectively voting with their feet, according to the Center for Biological Diversity. African Buffalo: African buffalo females use a form of voting to indicate their preferred direction of travel, according to the Center for Biological Diversity. Ravens: Ravens exhibit behaviors related to equality and inequality, such as sharing food and reconciling after fights. Squirrels: Squirrel populations and their conservation efforts can be viewed through a lens of biopolitics, with strategies for managing native and invasive species, according to ScienceDirect.com. By studying these aspects of mammalian behavior, researchers gain insights into the origins and dynamics of social organization and power, potentially informing . I am not saying it should NOT be a 'taboo subject ' here though ... one of our most basic functions is to shit . Its perfectly reasonable to ask ; " Please don't drop your shit here . " And since politics originally started by 'higher' mammals throwing their shit at each other .... we know how its going to end up . I still think 'the pit' was a good idea . But I know some people thought that a secret 'fight club' in the basement was ..... 'not nice' .

Where did old3bob ever claim that ! You are making a lot of assumptions about his assuming . He does ? or are you ? I assume that one .... I assume certain laws protect me from harm .... like assault or safety in the work place .... I think I have a right to safety when I travel on a bus ... at least to some level . I will end as I began ... you made a lot of assumptions there .

I understand your concern, I share it too. But I've never once found that arguing with people who have different political views than me has convinced them they are wrong. There's a thing called cognitive dissonance - people find ways to accommodate facts that sit contrary to their own views, to the point it resembles mental gymnastics. That's because there's a whole lot of ego and self validation bound up in being right, or winning an argument. Go vote or protest. Speak out and campaign for what you believe in. But - in my experience at least - it doesn't do anyone any good arguing online.

Here, as I see it, is the trouble with political talk on the board. Most of us come to this forum wanting and expecting a friendly and supportive atmosphere. We´d like to be able to learn from others and share what we know in an environment where we feel respected and valued. Mostly, political discussion isn´t like this. Many people feel contempt for those who disagree with them politically. This can lead to name calling (officially against the rules), but even when Bums manage to avoid bumping up against forum policy there´s considerable disharmony and bad vibes. The bad vibes tend to leach into the board in general and spoil the experience for many. As a recipient and occasional purveyor (apologies!) of bad political vibes, I know of what I speak.

** Mod Note: Post removed regarding sexual violence and victim blaming. **

I just 'happened' upon this on the internet ; our riverside regeneration project : All the green areas that turned to grey was invasive bamboo that idiots planted . I(t has come on since then as a heap of native seedling trees and shrubs have been planted . A big part of this is to help the breeding of a local rare turtle that only lives in our river ... it nearly got wiped out by a virus in recent years , but now seems to be slowly recovering . The main grey area ( old grass and mulch in winter ) that turns green ( after some cycles of mowing ) is the NW tip of our riverside festival site . The bit along the river that stays green ( to the right ) is the old original bamboo grove . I asked for that to be preserved and contained ( that's the grove I sometimes mention that at the right time of year and conditions has green and blue glowing toadstools, aqua colored glowing ground fungus and golden twinkling fore flies - all at the same time , if you are lucky . To the left of the left side rapids in the shadows is our naturally spa pool . . . great for a massage . Under the trees on the left are rocks with some deeper parts - turtle holes . The inside of the turn is a river sand / pebble beach . Next festival , our spring ; https://undiscovered.events/lovefestbellingen2025 OH DEAR ! I didn't realize I was in the film at the end ! ( 'male elders ' circle )

Most of the good things I see, I am looking back at .... or they are contained within the bubble I have made around myself .

I find the two approaches to be mutually reinforcing. I don’t always authentically feel and embody equanimity as easily as I think I do or would like to. The simple, formal practice is there for those of us who need it and can help us to actually feel that equanimity, or other enlightened qualities, in the challenging moments by first getting familiar under controlled and supportive conditions; and to know(gnow) what it is when it actually arises. At least that’s been my experience with dzogchen, which is very similar in practice to zen. That said, my exposure to the practice was regularly accompanied by talks, reading, and reflecting. The method of transmission was to hear the teaching from a credible lama, read the text, reflect on the meaning and actualize it on the mat, then in life’s day to day. The mat is a training ground where we can identify, with certainty, the source of equanimity and develop skills to access it, and be stable. Then the challenging situations of life become the whetstone and eventually the fuel to open and stabilize more.

I take it back. I know nothing John Snow