silent thunder

thanks for this... it nudges me back the other direction and reminds me of an epiphany I had when sitting in my car after a near collision... it dawned on me, "man, for all the moments in life where something troubling or bad happens, there must me a million to one times that everything goes well, or 'normal'."

Some very clear, concise discussion. Thanks.

These were two of my favorite methods... Good stuff, thanks for sharing

I agree whole-heartedly about the thorns in the garden. I guess another way to put it is: I don't have a sense that human nature/experience has changed much in the last few thousand years good or bad.

True enough.... the power of refrigeration and a bath... poor desert dwellers. Still don't get the logic behind not mixing your clothing fibers though... edit: or selling your daughters into slavery, or blood sacrifices... or the rest...

thank you: just ordered my copy

I just drove by the Crazy Horse monument on my drive home to Cali from Michigan. That area resonates so powerfully.

I go back and forth on this. But I lean more toward the side that the amount of bullshit happening in the same, it's just that in our current state, we hear about it almost instantaneously and hear about much more of it when it does occur than in the past. Used to be a city got sacked and some folks wouldn't hear about it until years later when the trade ships brought the news. These days it's all available in real time, so we're flooded with it. That and folks are damn near obsessed/addicted to it and go lookin for it when it's no where near them.

All paths lead to Source...

I had one conversation with an Uncle, who was CIA retired. He'd been living in seclusion in Europe since before I was born and I met him when I was 17 and he'd just come back to America for the first time since his dept was disbanded. I asked him about his thoughts on the military, which was roughly this: "...anyone who has ever been conscripted, handed a weapon and sent to a foreign land to murder people he/she's never met, knows that society is not their friend.... anyone, in my opinion, who willingly signs up for a weapon, and goes to a foreign land to murder people he/she's never met, was given their big brain by mistake... " that said, it's a bastardized version of a quote by Einstein, but the sentiment is pretty much truth for me, aside from the fact that sometimes, we need to stand up and put down rabid animals that are forces of rampant destruction. in the end, there can be no yang without yin, unless somewhere in the universe there is an ocean with waves that have crests and no troughs...

mmmm Bjork... she's such a pixie! Just heard yesterday at work from a friend who went to Iceland, that heating in Reykjavik is free as they pump the natural water from the hot springs through the homes. He discovered this as he was sitting in a house that had all the windows open in winter and inquired why...

I have a stack of business cards from Aussies who sat at my bar for an afternoon or evening when I tended in NYC. Each said, "if ye ever get out our way mate, look me up and you'll have a place to stay." And having grown up in Canada's boot... Minnesota. I have nothing but love for our Northern neighbors. High class people all around!

My Dad's place in Michigan got a couple inches in early June... just ridiculous this year!

reminds me of the old saying: I'd rather be lucky than good...

Yea aside from it being a meaningless and silly practice, I can't see it affecting spiritual or energy advancement. The only real drawback is decreased sensitivity for the poor chaps whose misguided parents subjected him to it. Glad my Dad comes from a line of critical thinkers and agnostics... Before I had my vasectomy though, I consulted a few long term Qi Gong practitioners about the potential affect as the seed is such an important fulcrum/symbol in the taoist paradigm. I thought there could be serious issues there: The first replied... "I don't know, but am interested in getting the procedure as well and would like to know myself." My teacher said. "Qi finds a way." My cousin, the third I consulted also a long term practitioner who had it done years ago (like 10), noticed no drawbacks to his practice. He's studying in Hawaii now to become a Dr of Chinese Medicine and doing well. I went ahead with it. This was a few years ago and I've noticed no drawbacks either. In fact just in the last few weeks my cultivation took another leap into deeper calmer waters. And on a side note... the word vasectomy is perhaps the greatest aphrodisiac I've found for women over 40... at least in Mrs. Thunder's case...

I'm partial to a mantra Tim Conway made up. F'norkle (it's the sound made by siamese elephants joined at the trunks when they try to trumpet...

what a retarded and barbaric custom... sheesh.

mmm 9

wow, it's amazing how relative money is and how much some people have of it... to spend 25k on... wow and for the OP here's a link made by a guy claiming to be a former teacher of TM http://www.suggestibility.org/

I had what was a nice conversation with our FedEx delivery lady last holiday season when she dropped a package for us. Being heavily into her Icelandic Heritage, she was quizzing me on my ancestry which is Norwegian. After about a 10 minute confab about how I should send my DNA to Iceland because if you're found to be such and such amount of relation to Lief or Eric the Red, you get 50k and a trip to Iceland... which was all interesting and fun, but then at the very end of the conversation she leans in and says "it's just so nice to talk to another white person..." good feelings gone... My face dropped and the conversation was over. There hasn't been another. wow... just wow, they're out there and I'm always thankful when they out themselves openly... saves so much time and effort on my part.

I looked into it briefly as it was so hyped some decades ago... From what little I came across when looking into it, was that it was the most basic of mantra meditations. The $$$$ is for the coveted syllables of secrecy... Have people benefited from it? Certainly. But did they need to spend that money to gain that benefit, absolutely not. Benefit comes from dedication and to me, in the end, there is only one system... the human system and you need no teacher and there are no fees. That said, I'd still highly recommend finding a live teacher you resonate with as that can stave off many pitfalls, but to charge the kind of money that TM does, for what it offers.... I passed.

I've always contended there is only one system. The human system. It requires no teacher, no rulebook to access, no initiation, no secret handshake and no one is omitted, even if they wanted to be... The idea of schools and lineage is just that, an idea, it's not real. Be aware, learn, more importantly... unlearn. just be...

Haven't played a lot of chess, but some... I just picked up a beautiful Go board. I'm stoked to give that a go

My first exposure to Martial Arts was very similar, odd controlling behavior by the teachers, idol worship of the founder of the school, isolationist tactics and many many hinted at 'secret teachings and high level techniques' that required high fees... I stuck around for about a year before it was apparent that I needed to find a new source. One that resonated love not money.