silent thunder

but not tough bread so much...

I love bread!

The notion of physical(ego centered) immortality is perhaps the most morbid curse i imagine anyone could be burdened with... as for semen... i voluntarily cut off my sperm from the outside world years ago and where super powers are concerned... i cannot imagine anything more super than a planet filled with life forms(particularly octopi) that derived from an explosive super nova eons ago slowly coalescing in a small solar system. taoism however is endlessly fascinating

i have found sharing to be crucial to my process in matters of grief and love in particular. When i share grief, it diminishes somewhat. And when i share my love, it expands.

I've always been mystified by folks who dismiss placebo... when to me, it seems an exemplification and demonstration of the foundational nature of awareness as a whole and the potent subjective local experience influence as reflected on the whole of shared reality. Perhaps an interesting topic of its own worth exploring...

This one just leapt off the virtual shelf into my virtual hands. heading to my local second hand store later to seek it out in the tangible

The effects on local awareness of raising one's voice within a group for me has been an experience of the sum exceeding the parts. However, even when chanting 'alone', one is never seperated from the whole, so one's voice chanting into reality and the attenuation of such is always integrating with the whole... we are never operating in a vaccuum of reality. Aum Is I was part of several professional choirs in my earlier life. Utter transcendence resulted on several occasions, seemingly spontaneously during rehearsals usually as performances added a layer of distraction that did not exist during pure rehearsal and exploration of the merging of sound... but one may always approach solo chanting from the perspective of consciously merging one's own sound with the whole. It's much like the rest of life... if seeking an effect, one will find an effect, whether generated by the chanting, or the mind's seeking. Placebo is not only real, it, to me, is an expression of the idealism of reality, i.e. awareness/mind is all and foundational and where local mind generates attenuation, results will be affected by such generation and exploration. As to safe or not... I've never been able to put much stock in claims made by others. I have to experience, explore and assess the effects of any practice, claim and process on my own. edit to add: in my experience one does not need to chant, sing or speak 'out loud' for effects to reverberate throughout the awareness of reality. Chanting, singing or speaking internally and in the 5th dimension has profound and very real, lasting effect in my direct experience. No need to make auditory sound. I used to spend a lot of time in public transit and would use mantras on subways/busses/trolleys and while walking in crowds to potent effects. and somewhat related to this... I've found when chanting, a natural expression of vibratory resonance will generate within the body and depending on the chant, the location of the vibratory center within the body can shift... not only this but one may eventually direct and select to focus vibrations in certain areas of the body for desired effect or exploration (whether seeking healing or amplification of trance or transcendence). This is also possible when chanting internally and silently in my experience. As all is awareness... when awareness is engaged, reality responds. even sitting in 'silence' is a resonance of its own natural order and adds its voiceless voice to the great aum. when we endeavor to engage our simplest presence and being with attenuated awareness... we 'charge' the moment and whatever we do to our own awareness... affects The All.

now my mind is softly repeating 'irrational-non-explanation' with a wide internal grin...

your presence still resonates old friend... and your insights emanate still. re-encountering these words in this moment is as lightning from a clear blue sky! Such synchronicity. (and the added treasure of being re-minded that with the loss of every friend, comes the overwhelming gratitude with the realization that I had the unfathomable good fortune to have met them in this life of super novas and (in this case) internet forums...)

this induced a delightful belly laugh! <bow> Well played! if imitation is indeed the most authentic form of flattery, then you have flattered one of my most treasured colleagues of my tenure in Hollywood and one of my most appreciated teachers of raw life process. Richard Dragin has been a regular crew mate of mine for 24 years now. He's the one who introduced me to this saying(saying it to me on a project of particular challenge) and i can picture him waking from a deep sleep as i laughed while reading it saying to himself "i sense a disturbance in the force... someone woke up Creighton for a moment!" Richard is one of those rare humans you may be blessed to encounter (and further blessed to get to know deeply) who is present, authentic, unapologetic and incredibly adroit, intelligent, observant and lovingly relentless; on top of these traits, he's also one of the most talented sculptors, welder and woodworker craftsman I've ever had the joy to work with and observe. He embodies the traits of lineage holding masters I work with, yet he has no claimed lineage or formal praxis other than being relentlessly authentic, present and amazingly joyful. I'm going to reach out to him to share this... he'll definitely beam with joy when he hears it. thanks mate.

My alone time comes in the mornings. (and sort of on my drive home aside from the freeway friends ) Evenings are spent with my wife and son and we play a lot of games together. But mornings are delightful solitude and abiding as i am, in simple presence. Thinking or not. For many years now i wake naturally around 3:30. On school days that gives me an hour and a half before leaving for work. i make my lunch, then go to my beloved backless chair, fold my legs and tuck in with tea or coffee. Maya jumps up once settled and Snoopie's across my lap. (she's done wonders in aiding opening the kua over 12 years) sound bathing most days, never anything with a story though... this one is a regular If i don't work and it's a free day i go for a long meandering walk barefoot through my neighborhood. The hour before dawn is such a treasure! It's like that pause of stillness at the end of a long, deeply relaxed exhale. So blissfully calm and quiet and yet pregnant with simplest presence! Most of the night critters are settling in for dawn and the day folk are still asleep. i think of it as the Temple of Silence i write every day when i don't work, generally it's after my walk, when bliss and bouyancy are flowing. On my drives home which are not truly alone time due to driving... i tend to listen to interviews, lectures, satsangs. Of late, Bernardo Kastrup has been my new love. His insightful musings on Idealism are the bees knees!

@Rocky Lionmouth. Missing your authenticity, insights and fearless open hearted presence. Wherever you are, i wish you peace and hope you are thriving!

It's a strong observation to realize the block with words and thinking in verbage. It has become crucial to incorporate in my process a deep foundation in silence and in being/presence without verbage. It's soo easy for this to all become about thinking word thoughts and reading, analyzing and discussing. Not villifying words here, but sharing how much benefit and depth i experience in the raw presence and being of silence and quiet in the mind. After motion, stillness. After talk, silence. Tao's action is as a bellows. My tradition is heavily based on quieting and stilling the body-mind... and the eventual development of this spaciousness is key in allowing contact to arise with the inner teacher.

Gotcha. Tak.

Bit surprising to discover I no longer have the option to delete topics in my PPD options that remain are merge, pin/unpin, hide/unhide or lock/unlock. Is this an intentional change? Or perhaps some miqueue in my browsers... thanks for any help/info.

This displays a very simple lack of understanding of a cultural saying which is actually quite loving. In Tibet when a child has eaten and is still hungry the parent will say 'You may take all of me' instead or 'take my tongue' meaning... I would give you anything, everything, the world, even myself. It's quite loving. To project your sexual connotations onto it is a reflection of our culture, not the inclinations of HHDL. So many cultural sayings(not to mention fairy tales) if taken literally are quite horrific. They are understood in context however when one is familiar with the culture. Rest well folks, or don't...

Whatever you do in the pursuit of truth or reality takes you away from your own very natural state in which you always are. It’s not something you can acquire, attain or accomplish as a result of your effort. All that you do makes it impossible for what already is there to express itself. That is why I call this your natural state. You’re always in that state. What prevents what is there from expressing itself in its own way is the search. The search is always in the wrong direction, so all that you consider very profound, all that you consider sacred, is a contamination in that consciousness. You may not [Laughs] like the word contamination but all that you consider sacred, holy and profound is a contamination. There’s nothing that you can do, it’s not in your hands. This is something which I can’t give because you have it. It is ridiculous to ask for a thing which you already have. There isn’t anything to get from anybody. You have what I have. I say you are there. UG Krishnamurti The timing of finding this in an old post is tantamount to the dao poking me and grinning... such treasure as this!

Insofar as the OP inquiry... what should we do about it? that initiated a good chuckle, Tak! wei wu wei mate. As for the lack of responses to direct queries? tao spoken is not Tao is my suspicion to the lack of responses... or perhaps it's the tone of query? For all that I seldom speak directly of tao, not one of my offerings or responses has ever been without its influence i can safely claim. peace

Do you really contend that translation is not interpretational or subjective at all?

Yea, the first few weeks of April is a true slush fest, at least in Minnesota. On top of the snow melt you get the bone cracking Thunderstorms on top of it. I miss those Thunderstorms dearly as the changing leaves of Fall... When I get to retire... I'm resolved to heading back north to the old growth forests of Washington or perhaps BC. They get four seasons there, but none of them are so extreme.