silent thunder

sounds like you've encountered the place of no mountain... it can be disconcerting to lose one's gravity for that which used to hold interest and inspire passion/reason to act. the tao however, is as a bellows... inspiration/apathy are an expression of this. trust that change is a constant and to remain as you are for long, is unlikely? persevere on your path, the mountain will coalesce once again (then disappear, re-coalesce, disapear...)

@blue eyed snake If only I could thank, like and wow that post all at once...

um, ok.

prove it

.

Absolutely. The right tool used in an appropriate situation with the correct application yields good results, usually.

Indeed.

Comprehension is nurtured in the presence of a teacher.

Seems some conflation in comparing Qi blockages to muscle knots.

Not surprising that coach saw mainly a grappling art given his focus. We see what we recognize after all. I suspect there may be a bit more beyond his ken at play...

So much for contentment...

Bathing in Yin flow. Embody simple presence. Contentment abides. Wishing All a content and present Yule and Solstice.

This piece is so piercingly simple and evocative for me. The phrasing is... impeccable and the chord progression, sublime. nuvole bianche: white clouds and here's the full album

Look forward to your next sharing @Infolad1 You and Zhong infused some much appreciated substance to the conversation. As it is, this one seems spent. ciao!

Really appreciate your return @Infolad1 you always offer fuel for exploration and sustenance for curiosity. I'm looking forward to checking out Niebauer's work over the holiday break, thanks for sharing the links. His insights seem resonantly reminiscent and harmonic to those of Fritjoff Capra's The Dao of Physics, and the works of David Bohm and Krishnamurti. This bit particularly resonates personally. Few absolutes remain in my paradigm of late... but there is one that does not waiver is this: Awareness is what is and we(if any thing) are awareness.

there is no way to independently verify that any of this actually happened As I read your response this bolded part highlighted for me and it occurred to me that what you say here, can be said about the story you use as your basis for questioning rudi... is itself another collection of words claiming authority of a sort, on no basis but your own words and claims. It's an amorphous, ephemeral process, attempting to share an intimate subjective life experience with another... using only words. We all experience life from the center of our own awareness. And when we attempt to share a personal experience, we share it in the form of words that make up a story. We all have to gauge on our own the stories we encounter, what conveys sincerity and what is diaphenous. I find a few contributors here to ring sincere. rudi and you among them.

Wang Liping recommended Secret of the Golden Flower. The Wilhelm translation

School must have let out for the holidaze early this year it seems...

For the same reason you write all your responses through chatgpt?

Hey James. Welcome to the Bums.

@oak Nice one!

Cats choose. You do not.