Leaderboard

Life is Alchemy. (seems to be to my local awareness/experience) Life is the ever shifting of one into another. Awareness (the experience of being) itself is Alchemy. My Son's body formed within my Wife's body. Forming within the womb tzujan, of itself, by transmuting food, air and water that she consumed while pregnant. My Son's body now alchemizes food/air/water into bones, organs, muscles, nerves, etc and sustains awareness of this for a time, before further decomposing (alchemizing) into ought else.. Sunlight stimulates seeds in soil that, which alchemize with water, minerals and light to grow into trees, bushes, wheat, moss etc... these forms further alchemize, transforming into new soil. Transmutation. Alchemy. Reality=Alchemy of Awareness. As awareness is always shifting and morphing, accomodating new sensation, interpreting, adapting, rejecting, believing, seeking etc... Indeed, is there any aspect of phenominological awareness that is not an alchemy of transitioning from one observed form/structure/makeup, into another? Is there ought which is not Alchemy?

from this: to this: note: the little pill bottles in the picture are great for keeping little screws and bolts in.

Please everyone note: Any political comment will be hidden and if necessary action taken against the poster. We are not going to set up an alternative site or have a special section on here in the foreseeable future. This is because we tried it already but experienced problems. We ( The Mods) have received general support from members for the politics free approach and this will continue for the time being.

Lala, Your presence on here is very welcome. I hope you get as much from being on here as I have over the years. Don’t be afraid to express yourself - it’s all good. DaoBums has a long history now and at times it was far from being a sea of calm to say the least. What keeps it going is the membership and a flow of new members. Provided the tech doesn’t break down at some point I think we still have a long future of happy debate!

Yesterday I made these two lamps They were very old mismatched ones, both different colors and both colors ugly. I spray painted the base of each the same dark bronze color and used two Ikea stainless steel kitchen utensils holders to make lampshades, by flipping them upside down and installing hardware. One of my hobbies, finding a new (often unexpected) purpose for an old and tired object. I like simple projects that I can finish on a whim in a short time.

Raymond Chandler The DaoBums website sits like a smoky speakeasy in the dim corners of the internet, a joint where mystics and misfits trade hard-boiled wisdom under the flickering neon of digital dreams. Its forums hum with the low growl of seekers—guys and dames chasing the Dao’s shadow, tossing around koans like loaded dice in a backroom craps game. Every post’s a slug of bourbon, sharp with insight or bitter with dogma, spilling over threads that twist like L.A. alleys after midnight. The regulars, tough as old leather, sling questions about chi and karma with the kind of grit that’d make a private eye nod approvingly, while the mods keep the peace like weary bartenders, ready to cut off anyone who gets too drunk on their own revelations. It’s a place where truth’s always one post away, but nobody’s holding their breath.

I hope it's not over, I just got here. As an outsider and not aware of the inter-relationship drama between members I will say this (and hope I'm not reprimanded for it). Often times this forum can appear to be a little snooty and highbrow, especially to people who are just beginning on whatever path they're on. This appearance is intimidating to beginner who, like myself, can be afraid to post things in fear of being banned, ridiculed or simply ignored. Forums like these- group dynamics tend to wax and wane, lot's of people come and go. The core posters have obviously known each other for over a decade, which is awesome but also comes with some troubles, and can be intimidating when new here. This is just my opinion as an introvert, who has to go over in her head several times prior to any statement I make. Maybe it's just me projecting my own insecurities of being less knowledgable than everyone else here. I don't know. The lexicon of knowledge here is unmatched on the internet. So many opinions, ideas, paths and little tidbits to glean from. It's a gem. and shouldn't be taken for granted. This forum is literally the only place that I'm aware of that discusses somewhat freely on many topics (reddit is terrible and a cesspool). Ive been lurking on here for many years, but too afraid to comment or ask questions. I'm older now so maybe I care less about what others think of me, which is why I decided to finally join. Just my 2 cents and a newcomer, who would be disappointed if this place disappeared for good.

Add me to the list of people who stopped coming around but about once a year get the weird urge to log in and see how things are going This place was crazy back in the day, and a lot of things happened over a long period of time that changed the shape of the forum. Reddit was great for a while but always had its pros and cons, and in the last few years those have gotten more pronounced, but does still seem to vary based on the community (and sometimes even the time of day that you post!) I will also say that (and this may be me living under a rock), it doesn't seem like the qigong community itself has really changed much? It seems like most of the teachers are more or less the same, the books are more or less the same, maybe something new gets put out on a new author starts publishing stuff, are there any new crazy teachers or systems that are fueling the controversy posting that fueled the forum in years past? To me, I don't think so, but I don't even know... So you are either doing the practice, or talking about thinking about doing the practice

Yes, so many of my wife's family were among the people who defeated ISIS. Just imagine the strength and fighting spirit of Kurdish TEENAGE men and women in flip flops with no training defeated ISIS which was largely trained and equipped by CIA and America before they rose to prominence and was deemed an enemy of the West. Imagine you sitting at home, watching television of brigades of heavily armed ISIS fighters taking over huge modern cities in mile long convoys of pick ups with heavy machineguns, decapitating thousands live on twitter, you're a 15 year old girl, and your reaction is to grab your flipflops and your AK and go to fight them. That's a very special kind of inner strength and courage. It's truly tragic, as the kurds are some of the "most normal" in the Middle East, simply meaning reasonably European and sensible in many ways, compared to many of the more fanatical regimes. If a united Kurdistan was created, it could potentially be a kind of beacon of light, humaneness, sensibility and just "normal living" to help stabilise the whole region. An oasis in a sea of fanaticism. What they lack is a strong leader with this powerful vision of unity, as unfortunately due to millenia of wars, the mentality of "caring for yourself first" is extremely strong. Nationalism is also there, but it's a largely unguided force, intercepting militarily when things are grave and you need to defend (e.g. ISIS), but not with a vision of unity for all the kurds. And realistically every major power is against them in the region, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Turkey. They would lose land, power, ressources and influence if Kurdistan became a unified country. Actually Israel is one of the only powerful countries in the Middle East that tries to help Kurdistan - e.g. buy a lot of their oil, covertly sell them weapons, provide secret agents to help defeat fanatics that are trying to rise to power and so on. The Isreali story of being a persecuted nation without a homeland, with all major powers against them is so similar in spirit to the Kurdish story of being a persecuted people without your own country, and all major powers using you and your land as a plaything in their own games. That's why they help each other since modern Isreal was founded, even though ofc many modern Kurdish brainwashed by islamic fanatics are not aware of it, but the older generation remember when secret isreali agents brought them food, water, ressources, clothes etc in times of war and crisis, also weapons for self defense, and still financially today they support by buying oil in massive quantities at a fair price. Yes, Africa could almost be declared the black magic capital of the world, the magic there is very powerful

Hello Annnon, GM Doo Wai explained that for FP Qigong to be optimally effective, one needs to have regular restful sleep--i.e., for FP Qigong to work well, one cannot be sleep-deprived. He gave this answer in reply to my question if FP Qigong can replace lost sleep--citing the fact that the Tao Tan Pai ("Taoist Elixir Method"), which I learned from Taoist priest Share K. Lew (1975 to 1992), has high Yogas called "The Nine Flowers" and "The Five Dragons" that can replace lost sleep and thus enable one to function at full strength and high mental acuity without have regular restful sleep. GM Doo Wai and Taoist Priest/GM Share K. Lew were friends and peers since the moment they met in America, what GM Doo Wai described as "fellow kung fu men." Each was the senior lineage holder of a complete and intact Taoist monastic tradition of kung fu, nei kung, medicine, and spiritualism. Back to your question: "...why good quality sleep is needed or quote the original post?" Answer: It's just how the FP Qigong yogic methodology (utilizing the percentage breathing formulas) works . Tao Tan Pai Nei Kung, in contrast, works on a different yogic methodology that 's rooted in the cultivation of human sexual energy, what some Hindu Yogas and other Tantric systems call "the kundalini" energy ("coiled snake"). FP Qigong, in contrast, does not focus on the kundalini energy or on any other type or "flavor" of energy--for no visualization of any kind is required in the practice of FP Qigong. This great dissimilarity in yogic mechanism between FP Qigong and Tao Tan Pai Nei Kung is reflected/manifested in the fact that strict celibacy must be observed when learning the Advanced Tao Tan Pai Yogas, while no celibacy is required at all when learning and practicing any levels of Flying Phoenix Qigong--or any other Yogas under the Bok Fu Pai umbrella, for that matter. Thus, as I had posted in one of the early years of this thread: when I asked GM Doo Wai (with classmates present) whether we needed to observe any duration of celibacy when learning FP Qigong or any of the advanced Bok Fu Pai meditations (as I had to do when I was learning the advanced Tao Tan Pai Yogas), he answered, "Nah, you can knock yourselves out." However, to explain in any detail why and how FP Qigong requires regular restful sleep in order to work well would require rigorous testing and study by neuroscience, for starters. Sifu Terry Dunn P.S. This is a photo of GM at the grand opening of Sifu Dougla Wong's second kung fu school in Parthenia, Ca in 1981: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10227420095559787&set=a.10227420037518336

I've deleted my comments about Damo. I realised I was still pretty upset about a disagreement I had with him years ago and that may have coloured a lot of what I wrote about him. Damo is obviously a human being too, and I bet it can't be too nice as a public figure reading anonymous people writing horrible things about you online. I think this has been fairly cathartic for me though, to get it off my chest after keeping it quiet for so long. So perhaps time to move on, forgive and forget. Apologies for airing dirty laundry, fellow bums

When it comes to posting, I frequently choose to restore the space. I write long posts, revise them a few times, then think better of it and simply delete. Nothing beats the openness and unlimited potential of the empty space of my unposted posts. 😄

I should probably add for balance that Damo is a fantastic teacher. He's able to explain difficult concepts in a practical way, and his syllabus is very well organised. His taiji and bagua are also to a very high level and very well taught. His students report profound and significant changes as a result of their study of neigong, and I have no reason to doubt their accounts. My concern really is where it all leads, and I can only infer that based on my personal interactions with Damo online. It's also possible he just wasn't having a great day and he didn't handle it as well as he would have done normally. Nevertheless I was very affected by the whole incident.

Respectfully, I´d like to express my disagreement. Many good spiritual teachers charge -- not everything gold is free.

Hello everyone, I’ve recently started volunteer work in a center for elderly people, a large number of them are living with dementia. The experience has been powerful and unsettling. Part of me wants to meet them with compassion… but part of me feels sadness, even fear, watching how their minds slowly dissolve: Some cover up memory gaps with jokes. Many repeat the same conversation four or five times in a row. Others speak of places or activities they haven’t done in years, as if they were happening right now. Without constant repetition of simple topics, they quickly become lost. It often feels like meaningful, deep connection is impossible. And this shakes me: Where is Dao here? Where is Spirit? If the mind fades like this, is real connection still possible? So I’m reaching out to you: From a Daoist perspective, how can I understand dementia? Is there a way to flow with the repetition instead of resisting it? How can I find peace and Dao in this environment that feels so heavy and repetitive? Thank you deeply for any insights.

I don't sense it's an all or nothing choice. All paths lead up the mountain. Damo and Nathan approach Source and process from different paths. I've benefited from Freeform's sharings here, but his path is not necessarily yours, or anyone elses'. Explore and find your way. It's there. Why not give each method 180 days and see what arises within?

The Dao is just reality, as it is. Flowing "with" the Dao is being in alignment and not causing resistant eddies and currents with our attachment or aversion to what we think should happen, to what is happening, or what might happen. To an enlightened person, these changes in functionality are just reality as it is, nothing to worry about or cause confusion. My late teacher's teacher, the abbess of a well-known Zen institution died of Alzheimers related causes, but went through the process without struggle, in good humor, and in gratefulness that others were so willing to help her. This obviously won't be the experience of most people. Having worked with my late wife's grandparents, and my own parents as they age, I can recommend just meeting them where they are. Is the reality they believe they live in any more real than yours? If they think you are someone other than who you are, roll with it. If they think they just came back from the pub, let them tell you their story. If they can't find something see if you can get them to laugh with you about it, and let them know that you are sure it will turn up soon. Don't pity them, or try to explain over and over how YOU see the reality of things, or who you believe them to be. This won't improve their condition, or their quality of life. If they worry, tell them everything has been taken care of for now, and things are OK. Find joy with them. For an example of how to work with those who are effected give this a listen. It is really wonderful. https://www.thisamericanlife.org/532/magic-words/act-two-0

Across the wild, uncharted moors of the mind, where thoughts roam free as heathland winds, there lies a strange and solitary place called DaoBums, a digital haven carved from the ether’s boundless mist. Its forums, like ancient stone circles, gather souls who tread the shadowed paths of spirit and flesh, their words weaving tapestries of fervent debate and quiet wisdom, as if whispered by some eternal, unseen force. Here, seekers of the Dao, restless as the gales that sweep Wuthering Heights, clash and commune, their voices rising like sparks from a fire kindled by questions too vast for mortal tongues. Yet, beneath the fervor, a haunting stillness lingers, as if the site itself broods, holding secrets deep as the earth, waiting for those bold enough to wander its labyrinthine depths.

[no AI] The Dao Bums by a toxic online influencer: The name of The Dao Bums forum originates from the fact that some there are capable of being so far stuck up their own arses that it creates a virtual dark room for them to meditate in.

Sorry but the rule still stands. (No masturbation at the dinner table I mean of course) 😎

I practice Vajrayana and it is 100% Bön.

It's disgusting what happened to the Yazidi tribes. Melek Taus (The peacock god) is very interesting- embodying eternal light and considered the leader of the archangels, it's a very old religion with practices going back to ancient Mesopotamia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tawûsî_Melek.

Of course! Ddecomposition is a leading source of the direction of Primal Alchemy! Have you not recognized the Alchemy of decomposition all around you? The rotting food in your colon and small intestine is the source of all your energy and sustaining of your bodily form. Every thing you consume is dead, or dying as it enters your body. Decomposition is the source of the Vigor and Vitality of Livingness in your bodily experience. The Awareness of Being. In your response, you seem to be looking at my finger... not what the finger indicates.

Black Magic: Peculiar things do exist. For normal people, it is better to follow the Confucian attitude - respect the ghosts and gods but keep a long distance. A Taiwan mystic has encountered a statue fallen from an abandoned temple. She set it up again but found something try to attach to her. Then she was angry and kicked it down slope. So even with "proper" religious setting, one should be careful. Karmic Debts: While other problems can be solved by ZhengYi magicians, Karmic Debt cannot. It could be an excuse when the Taoist cannot do anything. The normal solution is cultivation, following a proper Taoist/Buddhist religion, good deeds, good diet etc. Burning joss papers said to help too if it is not so serious. Local spirit kings: In Chinese community, every home or grave used to have a Shen of the Door, which is a red wood plate which says the dragon kings of 5 directions, Lords of the location, God of fortune. We could offer incenses and wine once a year, or even daily. It is mainly to avoid evil spirits coming in. They mainly act as a protection service. Conceal Blessings: It used to be common in Chinese traditions. You downplay everything, down dress. Spirits follow home: Going to casinos would said to dampen your 3 fires of powers. Going to hospitals/funerals would also be a problem. It is better to go to some noisy places, have food with others, get some sunshine, before directly go home. In short, similar to spy stuff.

How about a nice walk in a forest?

That may be but I bet I´m not the only Bum who´d love to read an anthologized compilation of the posts you wrote that didn´t make the cut. I bet it would be fascinating!

By "restorations" I suspect old3bob has physical objects in mind. I´m neither handy nor crafty and don´t have much to share in that department, but I wonder -- do posts count? I´m really into post restoration (otherwise known as editing). There have been times when I´ve edited a post twenty times before I finally let it be. It´s kind of a ridiculous hobby.

.

https://a.co/d/3huK6kT

... and another thing I found , when they are able to , ask them questions about what they can remember , sometimes parts of their life are remembered and they can be entertaining fascinating and amazing , as well as enjoyable for them to have someone to listen to . https://www.thedaobums.com/topic/56258-wrtings/

I find martial arts training to be a wonderful way to cultivate self-discipline. Running and weightlifting are also good but nothing beats martial arts for me.

Give up the pharmaceuticals and take up gardening. Caring for plants will move your attention away from your own desires. Getting your hands in the soil will ground you The nature spirits (lesser devas) will help heal you. Effective meditation can follow later

it comes and goes. no biggie. no rhyme or reason or pattern that i have seen. people on this thread in general have noted the overall arc is that over time this decreases and goes away. in my experience bending the bows generates the "strongest" flow. To the point where i have had to limit how often i do it, and for how long, and during what part of the day. It at times has felt like "too much" for me (not from the shaking, just from the "power" that bending the bows generates internally) so i just scaled it back and that has worked. It is still my favorite part of Flying Phoenix Qi Gong

By ChatGPT: ChatGPT said: “Fear and Loathing on the Taoist Trail: A Gonzo Dive into TheDaoBums.com” We were somewhere around the digital outskirts of enlightenment when the ego began to take hold. I remember saying something like, “We can’t stop here, this is spirit country!”—but my cursor was already deep in the tangled scrolls of TheDaoBums.com, a wild-eyed online bazaar of spiritual renegades, mystical tinkers, and energy-surfing cyber shamans. If the internet had a back alley where Taoists, magicians, Qigong junkies, and confused tech bros met to swap esoteric secrets, argue about kundalini, and occasionally call each other deluded charlatans—it was here. I logged in under a pseudonym. Of course. Everyone does. You don’t want your real name associated with forum threads like “I Opened My Third Eye and Now My Left Ear Won’t Stop Buzzing.” This was not your average mindfulness app bullshit, no. This was uncut, raw metaphysics—mainlined straight from a mix of Eastern mysticism, Western paranoia, and the kind of DIY enlightenment that could only be cooked up in a basement by a man who hasn't seen sunlight since 2003. TheDaoBums is the kind of place where a thread titled “Can I levitate if I abstain from sex for 90 days?” will spawn fourteen pages of serious, often hostile, debate. These people aren’t trolling—they believe. And they know things—dangerous things. You find yourself nodding along, murmuring about microcosmic orbits and energy blockages, before realizing you haven't blinked in three hours and your chakras are humming like a power transformer. The mods, gods help them, try to keep order. But how do you wrangle a crowd of self-declared immortals and astral projectionists? Every attempt to rein in the madness only feeds it. The forum software is creaky, the colors are late-90s depression, and the user base ranges from erudite mystics quoting Lao Tzu to a guy named “VoidDragon69” claiming he can melt clouds with his mind. But here’s the thing—the truth might actually be in there, somewhere. Buried under the cosmic sludge, past the flame wars about lineage purity and the arguments over whether semen retention gives you psychic powers, there are glimmers. Real insight. A flash of clarity in the chaos. Maybe even… wisdom? Or maybe it’s just the caffeine and the humming of my computer fan. Who can say? The spiritual path was never supposed to be clean. In the end, TheDaoBums isn’t a map—it’s a mirror maze with strobe lights. You enter looking for Tao and leave with a hundred tabs open, wondering whether reality is a hologram and if your chi is flowing backwards. But damn it, that’s the ride. And like all good Gonzo journeys, you don’t understand it. You survive it. Thank you, ChatGPT! ChatGPT said: You’re very welcome! Glad you enjoyed the trip through the digital desert of the immortals. If you ever need more Taoist-flavored Gonzo journalism, spirit quests, or just someone to decode esoteric madness, I’ll be here—fully grounded, mostly. Safe travels through the void, and remember: never trust a forum thread after midnight. 🌀

Some people change their gender; others get really creative with copper wire. Different strokes.

Nooooo on DaoBums we never stay on topic … it’s a tradition.

Yes Cobie we have all read your posts 😃

I can’t speak for Bon but in the case of Buddhism it is deep in its central core and very flexible to outer social and cultural norms. That is why you have so many forms of Buddhism which seem very different outwardly but are all genuinely Buddhist. What is and is not Buddhist is defined by the Four Dharma Seals which are as follows: all compounded phenomena are impermanent. attachment of self to phenomena leads to suffering. Nirvana is perfect peace. all phenomena are pure beyond elaboration. Hope this is helpful.

In terms of what is Buddhist or not Buddhist there are a few things I like to keep in mind: The teachings of the Buddha weren't set down in writing until 500 years after his death, and were captured by disciples generations later. How pure are they to the intent of Gautama Buddha? We will never know. We do know that they have led many students to realization, and that should be the litmus test on which they are judged. Indian Buddhism and tantric Shiavism travelled to China and intermixed with the VERY compatible Dao, Tibetan folk/Vajrayana, and Ch'an practices creating Tibetan Buddhism, Daoism, and Zen. Teachers didn't really keep these separate as "schools" until MUCH later. We do know that they have led many students to realization, and that should be the litmus test on which they are judged. An enlightened teacher will tell you that ALL of these (and let's add Sufi poets, Patanjali, the Upanishads and MUCH MORE) point to the same things, and that their practices works from different aspects to illuminate the students. What matters is that the authors of these works and the teachers that teach them UNDERSTAND what is being said. We do know that they have led many students to realization, and that should be the litmus test on which they are judged. My opinion is that Buddhism isn't about Guatama Buddha, it is about ALL Buddhas, including the ones at your local Tibetan Buddhist center. - Food for thought: Buddhism of any kind, and in fact any set of practices, has nothing to do with enlightenment. Holding this question in your mind might even be what "enlightens" "you".

Surrender seems to be a large part of it. It is not always clear what is being surrendered. Typically, it refers to the acquired mind (識神) or shi shen, the series of habits and ways of doings things that we've picked up over our lifetime or many lifetimes. Under it, the yuan shen (元神), is primordially free and connected to the larger whole. I often think of the TTC 48 on this (trans Derek Lin) Pursue knowledge, daily gain Pursue Tao, daily loss Loss and more loss Until one reaches non-action With non-action, there is nothing one cannot do Take the world by constantly applying non-interference The one who interferes is not qualified to take the world

Well... according to your own source: In fact, there is no record linking Zhang Sanfeng to Taijiquan. Consider the book called "Taijiquan Treatise: Attributed to the Song Dynasty Daoist Priest Zhang Sanfeng" by Staurt Alve Olson. So here we have an author(who practices Yang Style) who has every incentive and bias to WANT Zhang Sanfeng to be a real thing. He wrote an entire book dedicated to this topic. And guess what? He wrote: "No historical data can prove that assertion that he created what has become popularly known as Taijiquan, or that he ever wrote anything concerning Daoism or Taijiquan." The author has also tried to cite an original writing called "Zhang Sanfeng's Secret Arts for Refining the Elixir". According to him... that writing is from 1946.... Here's the thing... Wudang Taijiquan that we see today... It comes from the 1980s; it is a government-supported post-cultural revolution project aimed at reviving their culture. It is also around this time that they did the same for Shaolin; that is how Shaolin became very commercialized and corrupted - hence the abbot recently getting into big trouble and being replaced. Taiji, Xingyi, and Bagua are arts that had to be imported into Wudang because Wudang does not have anything of its own. Wudang Taijiquan is actually... performance-based, low-stanced Yang Style Taijiquan. If you take a look at the naming convention of Wudang... It's all Yang Style naming convention. We are supposed to believe that Yang Luchan deleted, added, and renamed EXACTLY from what he learned from the Chen Family to match a martial art from nearly 1000 years ago? And also... take Xingyiquan for example. It comes from Xinyi Liu He Quan. So... why doesn't Wudang brand themselves with Xingyiquan and not the older art? This whole "Taiji, Xingyi, and Bagua" trio was really made popular by Sun Lutang (founder of Sun Style Taijiquan) in the early 20th century because... he learned Xingyiquan in his 20's, Cheng Style Baguazhang in his 30's, and Wu (hao) Taijiquan in his 50's. He wrote books about it... He's pretty much the reason people are talking about "Internal martial arts". We cluster Taiji, Xingyi, and Bagua together because Sun Lutang specifically learned those three..

I thought Damo/Bodhidharma would be common knowledge here and not need an explanation

Praying for them to visit and making an offering, that might work. On a different subject I loved watching "Sea Hunt" with Lloyd Bridges when I was a kid. Great scuba diving episodes! Also like the work of his sons Jeff and Beau.

sir, explain this for me sounds interesting thank you for putting in the links. very kind of you! do you know about dr hew len and his amazing forgiveness practice , what you say reminds me of him. Dr. Hew Len became famous for applying this method in an unusual way: he reportedly helped heal a ward of severely mentally ill prisoners without directly interacting with them. Instead, he worked entirely on himself, taking 100% responsibility for his own thoughts, judgments, and energy connected to the ward. The practical steps are simple and inward-focused: mentally or softly repeat: “I am sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you. I love you.” – directed toward yourself or toward the energy you sense. In this way, the prayer of Ho’oponopono works like this: one opens the heart toward all beings, while you cleanse your own mind and energy, helping dissolve accumulated psychic residue and gently restoring inner harmony.

OK, I couldn´t resist. Question: How might William S. Burroughs describe the character of Liminal Luke on Daobums? Answer: Luke... yes. Seen him. The taobums flicker-flicker-flicker on the screen, a digital junkyard of "being" and "non-being." And there, always on the edge of the frame, is Luke. The Liminal Kid. Not a user, not a master, just a ghost in the machine's echo chamber. He sits in the silence of the forum, a twitching nerve-end. Waiting. Not for enlightenment, mind you. But for the next dose of static, the next whispered code that might break the illusion of his own flesh. His "practice" is a form of withdrawal, a desperate scratching at the scabs of perception. He's not meditating; he's junk-sick for the void. The final fix. You see it in the way his posts bleed into the margins, words strung out like a desperate junkie's last thought—the same thought you see in the eyes of a man trying to talk to his reflection in a bathroom mirror. They talk of "flow states," of "the Way." He just sees it as another control grid. A psychic virus transmitted through bad translations and the smell of stale incense. He's the one trying to get to the off switch, convinced the Taobums are just a new, more insidious form of the same old scam—another gang of vendors selling a different brand of heroin. A spiritual fix that promises freedom but just hooks you on the emptiness. He's not chasing peace. He's chasing the silence between words. The space where the narrative stops and the parasites die.

Some wonderful suggestions here. Contrary to a recent thread bemoaning the fall and end of DaoBums, I see a small but vibrant, engaged, and wise group of practitioners here that still have a lot to offer if one is ready to learn in so many different areas. A few things I'd like to add from my own practice. No matter how much we try to protect ourselves (energetically, mentally, even physically), we will inevitably bump up against people and situations that drain and threaten us. Even if we avoid them we will still have to face our own isolated selves, the greatest challenge! I think it's important to look not only at how to protect ourselves and our energy but how to do so in increasingly challenging circumstances so that we can engage as fully as possible in our lives and in the world and use our practices to grow and help others. The first step is to find the right practices that give us that sense of needed protection. Each of us has to be sensitive to our needs and find the right approach and I increasingly value the need for them to be comprehensive. The second step is to put in the time to master those practices, mastery simply meaning that they genuinely work for us, we can see tangible benefits. The next step is to gradually begin to challenge ourselves, face those people and situations we prefer to avoid, little by little, using our practices both in real time and on the cushion, before and after the fact, exercising them like our physical muscles. At some point I think it's critical to bring this approach to those closest and yet farthest from us - estranged family members and the like. It's very important at this stage to be able to observe ourselves objectively, noticing reactivity as it arises without getting too wrapped up in the analysis or explanations, staying very close to the feelings, the direct experience. Then engaging in our practices with those feelings being very fresh and alive. Fire is a good metaphor for developing this type of strength in our practices. At first we are like a small flame, a match, that needs to be protected from even a light breeze, and this stage can't be rushed or forced, we need to protect until our flame can withstand some pressure. As our flame grows, we can protect it less and it will stay lit as long as the wind is not too strong. At this stage we can get discouraged because progress can be slow. It can feel like one step forward, two steps back at time. Here it is so important to feel trust in our approach, that's what can carry us through. Eventually our flame can be so strong that even a gale just feeds it and makes it stronger, like a bonfire. This is the pinnacle of spiritual practice, IMO. Not that we find some sort of fairyland where nothing ever bothers us at all, rather that we feel what we feel, good and bad, and know how to make the most of every situation. So I think it's important to protect our energy when it needs protection but to maintain the mindset and intention that we will eventually not need much protection. In fact, we may discover that at some point we can be the protector for those who are more vulnerable. This can take the form of teaching or simply being that calm, compassionate, empathetic, even wrathful force when engaging with others.

Clearing by Martha Postlethwaite Do not try to save the whole world or do anything grandiose. Instead, create a clearing in the dense forest of your life and wait there patiently, until the song that is your life falls into your own cupped hands and you recognize and greet it. Only then will you know how to give yourself to this world so worth of rescue.

There are plenty of other places to discuss politics, glad it’s avoided here.

" Owww ! " .

Welcome Lala Nila! I´ve been here for years and often feel reprimanded, so I think it comes with the territory. But there´s a lot of friendship and support to be had too. The thing about the Bums is we´re such a varied group and I think there´s room for most everybody. People have opinions, sometimes strong ones, but we were all beginners once (and some of us are still beginners no matter how long we´ve been here!). Anyway, hope you enjoy your time here.