Albion

Dear M.H. As I USED to be a Backpacker and Mountaineer (what a difference about a second and a half can make in our world huh?), I read a couple of great books by Ruth Rudner who loved the Dolomites (and in fact, she devoted one whole book to them) and because of her writing I ALWAYS wanted to visit the Dolomite Mts. in Italy! Beautiful places, reminds me some of the American West, especially the Utah high country and (parts) of the Colorado Rockies, and even parts of my beloved New Mexico. She was an American woman hiking in European Mts., and was always treated 'differently' because of that. So sorry to get off topic. OK, I'm done now. Peace, D.A.D.

Dear M.H. If you'll look at my profile, I come from a place called "The River Valley". I always thought "Wow, what a blessing of Dao to be from 'The River Valley', and how often does Laozi use those terms in the TTC/DDJ?" I'll tell you where that place is if you wanna PM me. I still keep my telephone book from there so I have a tangible reminder! It says right on front: 'The River Valley'. Your Bro in Dao, D.A.D. P.S. And in my heart, I MISS that place, a lot!

Here is a poem that I submitted to a Daoist publication. I don't think that it'll make the 'final cut' but I like it and maybe it fits in here, maybe NOT. So, please indulge me: Laozi spoke about the Dao being like water, not even very hard things can resist the gentle push of water. Where the Dao flows we also flow. We too are told to be like water, to flow forward, to new futures, to unexpected places, to hard places, and we find as we become Dao, that nothing blocks us from becoming. Not even ourselves, our fears, sometimes our tears, As we flow on to make new places, to become someone new, to become the sage. If we discover that our center is set in Dao, we find that there is nothing that we cannot do. And nowhere that we cannot go. All the while becoming more of the nothingness of Dao, we become who we are really are.

Thank Everyone SOOOOO MUCHHHHHH, this thread is so lovely, like fine gossamer silk thread, blown by the bellows that IS Dao! May it keep expanding, and stay so beautiful, and lovely! Peace, D.A.D.

Dear Marblehead, I shouldn't go back and lust over this girl, after this many years...........but what the heck! I went to Lakewood High School in Lakewood, Calif. for a few months in 1969. There was this hippy girl......beautiful, long black straight hair on her head, she grew out the hair on her legs but always wore black (see through) silk stockings over her hairy legs, one of THE most beautiful women that I've ever seen! Still a *GREAT* memory, what like 48 YEARS later! lol There you go, now you can share it with me! lol D.A.D.

Thanks M.H. and Apech, ​ I used to read Red Pine's 'Lao Tzu's Taoteching' for many moons, I still like it, but I think even it has a pretty Buddhist lean to it. As does Derek Lin's 'Tao Te Ching'. And so does Lok Sang Ho's 'Human Spirituality and Happiness' (which contains his 'DaodeJing of Laozi'). 'Revealing the Tao Te Ching (Translation and Commentary)' by Hu Xuezhi. More Buddhism. Ditto for another favorite of mine 'Tao Te Ching--A New Version for All Seekers', By Guy Leekley. ​I also really like Sam Hamill's 'Tao Te Ching--A New Translation', but the Buddhist leanings here are pretty strong too. I like David Hinton's 'Tao Te Ching' and it seems to be pretty free of Buddhist leanings. ​I also like Michael Lafargue's 'The Tao of the Tao Te Ching--A Translation and Commentary'. I also like 'A Translation Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching and Wang Pi's Commentary' By Paul J. Lin, if I remember correctly. These seem pretty free of Buddhism's in the translations (in my opinion). I find 'The Daodejing of Laozi--Translation and Commentary' by Philip J. Ivanhoe to be pretty good too. My three favorites are: 1. 'The Way of Lao Tzu [Tao-te-ching] translated with introductory essays, comments, and notes' by Wing-Tsit Chan But there is some Buddhist slant in Chan's TTC too, I'm afraid. 2.'Tao Te Ching by Lao-Tzu' Translated by Stephen Addiss and Stanley Lombardo. 3. And the old stand by, 'Lao Tsu's Tao Te Ching' Translated by Gia-Fu Feng and Jane English. And heck, I even like the 'Tao Te' Ching--The Classic Translation by R.B. Blakney', even though it's translated by a missionary to the Chinese (the only question here is, who's doing "mission work" to who! lol). Some of Blakney's translation I actually LIKE! OK, there's my list, now let the blood letting begin! (laughs) Keep On Daoing, Differently Abled Daoist

Dear Blue Eyed Snake, I've got a pretty good case of PTSD. If you know of *ANY* Qi-Gong methods, to help subdue this monster, I'd be very happy to about them! You could send me a PM, or if you feel comfortable, you could write about them out in the open here. ​That might be a bit too much, so You decide. I've been seeing a therapist who specializes in PTSD twice a month, for about a year and a half, but it's *very slow going* so far. If you feel comfortable, please write to me by either method suggested. Thank you SOOOOO MUCHHHH! Differently Abled Daoist

OK, here I am tip-toeing, I have a question for you........I found this website: http://www.ln.edu.hk/econ/staff/daodejing(22%20August%202002).pdf I CAN'T find this translation in *book form*, not even at www.amazon.com Might you know if it is *a published book*. I agree with you that it's a very good translation, but I need to buy a new ($40.00!!!) ink cartridge, and a whole load of copy paper to copy it from the above website. It'd be way easier to simply buy it as a book. Might you know where I could buy it from? Thanks and Peace, D.A.D. P.S. After I posted this, the website of this particular TTC/DDJ, I discovered, is translated by Lin Yu Tang, not the person that I thought that translated it (Lok Sang HO). So, someone screwed up, and mixed up translators, it seems.

Dear Dao Friends, I got the Lok Sang HO book today, and his Dao de Jing has all of his study notes in it, this is (in my opinion) a great translation of the DDJ, well worth the price (around $30.00 U.S.), but it has ALL of his Daoist writings, and not just the DDJ. The Link to Amazon.com to his book is above. Peace to all, Differently Abled Daoist P.S. If you're older, you might need glasses to read the book's text though ;-) LOL Like me!

Many years ago (the 1980's) I was involved with the occult (occult=French= "What is hidden"), specifically, with British Traditional Witchcraft, which is *exceedingly rare* In America. In *some* really olden covens, initiation is by sexual intercourse. A special 'kind of' sexual intercourse. I'm not sure "astral" sex is/was what it was, but there might be some similarities there. This put me in mind about the piece that I read about "astral sex" going on in the chat room here. You know, *a person in my mind, should NOT be used in any way* (especially sexually) unless she or he has a complete understanding of what's happening, and what he or she is DOING, and WHY. I think sexual magic is very powerful, and can be *dangerous*, to both sides of those using sexual magic, if it's not done in the correct way. This requires pretty intensive training, and it's NOT to be toyed with (in my opinion), especially not in a chat room environment. This is all my *opinion* and that's all that I really have to say about it, except everyone should be VERY careful with sexual magic......in ALL of it's forms. That's it. Just an opinion. Please understand this. Thanks. Peace, Differently Abled Daoist

Welcome to Dao Bums! Differently Abled Daoist

Well, we certainly agree on THAT! lol Peace and a great night! D.A.D.

Ahhhhh, A woman who LOVES books, is *always* a Great woman! Welcome, Peace, Differently Abled Daoist

Here is Lok Sang HO's TTC (and other Chinese spiritual writings): https://www.amazon.com/Human-Spirituality-Happiness-Tribute-Inspirations/dp/1456788051/ref=sr_1_8?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1473056381&sr=1-8&keywords=Lok+Sang+HO

Here is Chapter 1 from Lin Yu Tang's TTC/DDJ: (So I certainly COULD be wrong that these two sources of the TTC/DDJ are one!!). 1 The Tao the can be told of Is not the Absolute Tao; The Names that can be given Are not Absolute Names. The Nameless is the origin of Heaven and Earth; The Named is the Mother of All Things. Therefore: Oftentimes, one strips oneself of passion In order to see the Secret of Life; Oftentimes, one regards life with passion, In order to see its manifest forms. These two (the Secret and its manifestations) Are (in their nature) the same; They are given different names When they become manifest. They may both be called the Cosmic Mystery: Reaching from the Mystery into the Deeper Mystery Is the Gate to the Secret of All Life.

http://reporter.blogs.com/thresq/2010/05/selfhelp-guru-wayne-dyer-sued-for-.html

I'm gonna stick my toe in again, hoping the pirañas are asleep. I think that the DDJ/TTC speaks well of the mystery. I find it in many verses. That's all that I really wanna say. Peace, D.A.D. P.S. It took a lot of courage to do this!

I do remember the road where the meeting happened. I've not been 'home' in over 11 years, you begin to forget street names after 11 years. The street runs in front of Barton Coliseum though. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross wrote about all of this in a 'Playboy Magazine' interview (in the mid 1970's). She DID NOT come out and say "I CAN PROVE there is life after death" in Playboy, but the interview was very interesting. This was in a private setting, mostly filled with doctor's of various kinds (where I saw her speak), a lot of psychological, and psychiatric people of all kinds. You'll remember she asked everyone to turn off their tape recorders, and to not take photos while she talked ABOUT THIS SUBJECT. There were people from all over the South Eastern United States there, maybe well over 200 to 300 people there. I have a memory for WORDS. They have to be important, and meaningful, but I remember clearly a conversation that I had with a gal that I was that I was in Love with in 1977. Word-per-word. Bash where my Dad was from, whatever. You're a mean person. My Dad's family surname came from Dorset. This is the last thing that I'm saying about this subject. Period. To present some sort of perhaps tangible proof. I "died" for about 3 to 5 minutes. That's enough to mess up the brain's electricity big time. I now have Central Sleep Apnea, caused by this NDE. I use an Auto SV Bi-Pap sleep machine, it's "a lung" (more-or-less) that breathe's for you at night. I got Central Sleep Apnea from this incident. That in all of YOUR minds, probably proves nothing. That's OK too. I'm going to keep studying the Dao de Jing, Tai Chi, and Qi-Gong. Mostly, to borrow a phrase I'm "a Laoist". I should not have lost my temper over a person like this. That was wrong, And stupid. This is my last post on this subject. I'm thinking of leaving here all together, I've had enough mean-ness in my life to last forever, and I see no reason to put up with more. Attacking someone's relatives as breeding within the family, when you don't really know shit about the family, is just that...... shitty and mean. I hope that this thread produced something meaningful. If not, I can live with that too. We're ALL "special snowflakes". D.A.D. P.S. The Director of the Crisis Center where I worked, his name was Gorton Hitte, he died in a motorcycle accident in Arkansas, in (I believe) in 1976 or '77. I looked last night, his death certificate is online. It does NOT mention that he was a Crisis Center Director then, but it's there! I wish you all well. D.A.D.

My Dad was from the Somerset area (still to this day "a Celtic Place"). My Mom, of Scottish descent, was an American. My Dad came here when he was boy. He became *a naturalized American citizen*. I'm an American, but I'm proud of my Celtic ancestry, on both sides of my family. I honestly at this point, don't really CARE that you think that I'm a liar (or care about ANYTHING ELSE that you think, for that matter). I could've used the Kubler-Ross quote very early on in this conversation, but it was *my experience*, that I wanted to write about. NOT what E.Q.R. said *long before* my experience. I'm DONE in this discussion with you. D.A.D. P.S. We're ALL "special snowflakes"!

I saw Elizabeth Kubler-Ross speak many years ago (probably 1976, or '77) and she said (after she asked everyone to turn OFF their tape recorders and to NOT take photos of her at that time): "I have scientific PROOF I can present in a laboratory that the human soul or spirit SURVIVES DEATH, but you see, I'm afraid if I present this in a public format, that I'LL BE RESPONSIBLE for a mass wave of suicides". I went to this gathering with a psychiatric nurse tech. I worked at a suicide prevention center then, this was in Little Rock, Arkansas, I no longer remember where the building was, where this gathering was, but I clearly remember what Elizabeth Kubler-Ross SAID! So, to ALL the nay sayers.......... D.A.D.

My Dad was a Brit, what do Brits call someone like YOU? "An arse hole". But I'm an American, and WE call people like you "ass holes". Fine, now you can ban me. D.A.D.

I will honestly tell you that *I do NOT know* what lies beyond the final stage of living, but Elisabeth Kubler-Ross wrote a book and called it "Death, The Final Stage of Growth". Here is what I BELIEVE: The Universe (the Dao) HAS OUR BACK, if we are pursuing De. I believe that we live, and die, in a Loving environment. I felt NOTHING but PEACE, and if this was just "the first part of the experience" how much better might the later stages be?? I Believe that we are LOVED. But that's just me, and you are welcome to believe that we're NOT, or that we vanish into nothingness, but I personally find that to be a foolish and absurd idea, after what happened to me! This is truly NOT mean't to be an insult, nor to strike at you in any way. Just please give me the right to believe what I believe, and I'll do the same with you! OK, how's that? We are ALL in this together, ALL of us, and the sooner that we figure this out, the better off we'll ALL be! Have a really great evening, and may the Great Dao Forever Be At Your Back! Differently Abled Daoist

Hi Not Void, Downloaded the book! Yay! It took almost ALL of my ink and the printing paper is almost gone too (bummer :-( But I DID get the book! I had NO idea that anyone in the Daoist world, wrote about life after death. Astonished I am! ;-) There's Yoda again, he shows up from time-to-time. Laughs. Thanks again for the link, I had just enough money to buy the book, Dao IS wonderful! Welp, thank you again, it took about 2 hours, but I finally got it all. Victory dance, as a disabled person would dance. lol Your Bro in Dao, D.A.D.

P.S. The last post was for 'Not Void'. Thanks D.A.D.

​Dear Not Void They had to close my Paypal account down because of a hacker (And I KNOW who it is) broke into it, might there be SOME other way where I could purchase this book? Could you please let me know, I could send YOU the money, and perhaps you'd help me get the book?? Please send me a PM and let me know, OK? Here is what I was *trying to say*. There seems to be a preponderance of folks who call themselves Taoist/Daoist on the old Tao Bums (where I was) the old 'Dao is Open' forum (where I was) and at Derek Lin's 'Tea House' (No offense mean't Derek!), all of whom SEEM to believe in the concept of "nothingness" after death. My experience clearly showed me otherwise, I had not found Daoism then (yet) but I had read the Tao Te Ching (Witter Bynner's [spelling?] translation), which I have in a box now, because the books and I are in a battle for space and the books are winning! ;-). I will try to write more this afternoon perhaps, perhaps it's wise to leave it right here. If you could send me a PM, I'd like to have that book, it could join forces with it comrades, and it might add to their fun! lol Thanks a lot. No offense mean't to anybody here at all, OK? Keep on Daoing, Differently Abled Daoist