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Hello Maddie, Glad to hear things are working out for you in Germany and like you said for obvious reasons! There is so much bad mojo and violent unravelling going on in some parts of the world that its hard to believe although tons of people are also pushing back on that! You are looking good and Take care....

Nice thread. My favorite is the Chinese version, I like that music.

I know it's been awhile since I was last here, and I still don't really plan on being active but there were some pretty cool people that I just wanted to drop in and give an update to. So last summer I moved to Germany to get away from the United States for obvious reasons. I'm very happy I left the US and I love Germany.

Its talking about the soul, not the container

Cyril said it, Mississippi River can't be tamed. So many great music scenes across America. Nashville, Memphis, Austin, Chicago, Delta, Detroit, LA, San Fran, Seattle, Philly, Asbury Park, OKC, Narlens, and so many more, tonight, I think of the fabulous Minneapolis Scene. /\/\ And also to the ones who don't participate at the scenes,

maybe its supposed to be a play on words, like the "Dude"-hha, but thats like just my opinion man.

Hello, bright and beautiful sunshine, Granting light, granting life. We open ourselves to you, we smile at you, At dawn, we bathe in your gentle rays, We see you off to the ocean. and we meet you in the enchanted forest, we know you are a star portal, to the land of golden radiance https://youtu.be/sG0VtuqaSwc?si=Vf-Si8mbMsltHSrp

Without the words you and them there are just things happening. Even this is saying too much. Resting in unknowniness I start to understand.

karma can also be like rust, and rust is not just a story in your head for it has mass and size that has to be dealt with. thus it can be like crusty rust covering you up and weighing you down, but there are anti-rust (dharma) help methods and laws that can remove the rusty kind.

Karma belongs to you. Karma is the story you tell about yourself in the moment you occupy. It feels like the accumulation of your life (or lives) history. When something touches your karma you'll know, as it usually triggers a thought like, "I knew they wouldn't like me", or, "this always happens to me". Take out a piece of paper and start with the writing prompt, "I'm the kind of person who...". Your answers, positive or negative, are your karma. You might find that many will fit nicely into one of these slots: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_maladaptive_schemas There it is! Karma! It isn't mysterious, it is very familiar and intimate. Each of these stories you tell is a delusion that causes, or is caused by your attachment or aversion. Ask yourself each time you encounter something that stops you, makes you upset, causes you to feel incomplete: "What am I attached to or averse to? What do you I feel HAS to happen, or simply CANNOT happen. That is where you are stuck... what this moment of dharma is for. What is the story you tell about this situation that isn't true? Why do you tell it? Only you will know, though counseling can help. - Dharma is teaching. Your experience of the world is literally ALL teaching. The fabric of reality is constantly pointing out where you are stuck. Read the news and see. Try to assemble furniture from Ikea and see. Are you in a relationship? See! When you notice that your karma (story) sticks to something - a situation or a thought - pay attention. This is a moment when you could actually dissolve this karma/dharma interaction and end the suffering it causes. For homework that is non-denominational and easy to put into action: https://untetheredsoul.com/untethered-soul Make sure you FINISH IT and actually TRY what it suggests. Unfortunately there are thousands upon thousands of copies of this very thin but dharma-dense book available used, with un-cracked spines. I recommend it to all of my new students before you get into Buddhism proper.

I appreciate @bradley's weird thought... mine is similar. Karma to me is simply the causal connection between actions and outcomes. I once had a deep insight into karma in my own life and experience that informed my understanding of the concept. I could see very deeply and clearly how every action and interaction throughout my life have come together to bring me to precisely where I am at that very moment. I could see how different choices on my part, or that of others, and my situation would be completely different. I could see the pattern of cause and effect extending back before my birth and beyond my death. I could see the web of interaction extending out in all directions, across vast distances without boundary. Most of all I could see the sheer scale and complexity of this intricate web of activity and how this makes it so difficult to always appreciate the direct connection between a given action and its effects. Dharma has many meanings in a variety of religions and contexts. It can mean something that is firm and stable, suggesting a foundational or organizing principle or law of existence. It can refer to the way we, as individuals, relate to the world and to others and varies at different stages of life. It is often used to refer to the teachings of Buddha Shakyamuni. For me, the most meaningful and useful interpretation relates more to the truth or the absolute nature of being. In the tradition I practice, the ground of being is considered the source of all teachings and all possible manifestations; so that coming into relationship with this fundamental experience of our nature opens us to our full potential as human beings.