silent thunder

Ok so this has me curious... my name is Creighton which means by the creek or by the river. Is there a Chinese equivalent to this? Thanks.

I just don't buy the 'the scots are a dependent child of the UK who can't take care of themselves' routine for a second. Perhaps that's not what you guys are implying, but that's what I'm inferring from what you've said.

Maybe... but with the amount the scots add to the british coffers and their much smaller population, I suspect they could have taken care of their own.

Seems the fear factor won out, but in the end, as I said, there aren't any truly independent countries any longer, we are all tied to each other somehow... I wish them all well. Great land, great culture and great people!

My least favorite instrument is the human voice and I often find the words of songs distracting from the experience. Not always of course there are some amazing exceptions to this for me, but in general, I prefer instrumental music, or music sung in foreign languages so I can just bask in the sounds without the mind trying to interpret the story...

Somewhere in the middle of life most people will come to the realization...'is this it?' It follows a point in life where you have experienced the myriad of human emotions. By this point in life, you've run the gamut of human emotional experiences. You've fallen in love, you've had your heart broken, probably multiple times. You've achieved some measure of success in your business and some measure of failure. You've partied, and done some measure of crazy, stupid, dangerous things... You've probably had children and seen them grow, absorbing and experiencing all the joy and terror that goes along with that. You've gained friends and lost them. In short, there comes a point, where you realize on a deep, subtle level, that you've experienced about all the things you are capable of experiencing as a human in society and thus you hit the point of 'is this it?' Most refer to it as a mid-life crisis and the standard response is to reach back into your past experiences and try to manufacture the deep connection you got when you earlier experienced certain powerful things, so many will go out and buy that car they always wanted, or a boat... others will go for a love affair, or break off an old relationship in favor of seeking a new love. While this may stave off this realization and the accompanying pain and fear for a bit, it returns as they 'newness' once again fades from these manufactured experiences. The result is for some, I think, wonderful, for in this mindset some will turn within. As the realization hits that there is nothing new 'out there' to experience, this can be a natural function for turning inward and exploring the spiritual inner landscape as we cross the threshold into our later life. Not all will hear the call and among those who do, not all will answer. But I believe this is a psychological built in mechanism to trigger the possibility in us, to turn within and begin a pursuit that opens vistas unattainable in the old way of life. my two cents anyway...

deleted... posted in the wrong thread...

must... link for me... please... thank you.

unreal beer, real thirst? slaked thirst and a slanted mind. who's to say what's real?

Right on man... I dig your style. Never, ever give up.

Music is a language of over all sensation for me; body, mind and emotions are all influenced. It can completely rewire my current mood and alter vibration even when I consciously resist it. I dig your focus and your drive. You might want to check out Solfeggio Harmonics. I find the greatest influence on my creativity is my level of curiosity... when my curiosity is high, the zone becomes larger and what I'm working on flows with less resistance.

beer is just pee that doesn't know it yet

I can't think of a truly independent country any more... banking, finance, corporate and oligarchical influences, alliances, religious influences, economic dependency on the world markets... striking a functional balance is neat and all in the end, serfs are serfs, rulers will do what they must to maintain power.

I highly second the recommendation of Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche's book The Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep. Very concise book with practical exercises. Couple of short threads on the topic here: http://thetaobums.com/topic/34079-dream-and-qi/ http://thetaobums.com/topic/32042-dream-work-cultivation-in-the-dream-state/ Happy Hunting!

However it plays out... I hope they flourish.

I don't think it's about effort, or fear based motivation to awaken, but in letting go, so sure, if you can let go, it takes only an instant...

Ok you bench and I'll sit on the ground nearby under a tree. I love sittin on the ground chattin.

I am semi-retired so I have many days to myself as my wife still works and my son is at school and usually don't utter a word. I have for the last few years... been practicing appropriate silence as a response in many conversations and situations, it's been awesome. I've learned so much more about people as my listening has increased. It came from a realization I had while sitting with my young son. The most valuable thing I have, the most precious thing I can give... is my complete attention, my full presence. This was all he ever really wanted anyway, no matter what we were playing with... It has led to some interesting twists as people, who are expecting an immediate response, will fill in the gaps, sometimes answering their own questions for me, or offering a plausible response for me... only in a very few cases has there been hostility or aggression to it. People fill in the gaps. As to the real silence of our true self... even when my mind and mouth are quiet, the body is still so noisy...

It's kind of flattering to give me this kind of credit, but nope, most of my speech isn't that altruistic. I've got no desire to change anyone. I share openly out of a desire to be entertained, and to be enlightened. I very well might change my mind, but I don't hold or expect the same for others. If they find benefit, awesome, but I don't hold that intention in my sharing. It leads to taking things personally when disagreements naturally arise and then communication shuts down as listening takes a nose dive into thinking up good defenses for a position. It also leads to a preachy tone in person that is usually one of the quick signs for me, that a conversation will be short. As for 'yes game' conversations... I haven't run into too many of those on the internet, nor in my live conversations between theists and non-theists or agnostics... But I will say that Taoism is one of the few 'religiously tinged' philosophies that I can hold some very compelling and lengthy conversations with scientists about without things derailing into name calling and logical fallacy.

I stopped being interested in trying to change anyone's mind... that went a long way in making things more pleasant all around. Now I participate in interesting and respectful conversations, if they're not pleasant, respectful or interesting... I leave. No harm, no foul.

snow angels...

Perhaps... as long as they're open minded skeptics and not the usual skedicks running all over... they're as bad as the fundies to me. edit: spelling grrrr

do we really always think we have more time?