Dame Du Lac

Does anyone know much about "working meditation"? I'm specifically referring to periods of intense focus or altered states while performing daily tasks. I understand that this is common in Japan, for example while chopping wood or preparing food, and I was wondering if anyone has experience or tips with the practice. I'm picking up nalbinding and would like to combine my "crafting time" with my meditation time.

As a woman, who also frequents 4chan, my experiences with incels is that they're a self fulfilling prophecy. They usually have major self esteem issues and do very little to actually attract a woman, and then go all in with more and more extreme stances until they corner themselves into being completely unappealing. Eventually, they get to the point where they blame their problems on the shape of their skulls, even though I've talked to many incels, online and (unfortunately) in person who were actually physically attractive. By the time they get to the point they've begun describing themselves as "incels", they're already so far gone that whenever the topic veers into the political or philosophical they come pre-packaged with all kinds of bizarre, offputting ideas and can't maintain their appeal beyond the surface level. The issue is overwhelmingly ideological, with incels constantly pushing misogyny and bizarre pseudo-science, not physical. A part of this is the moping, whiny attitude about how they feel they're entitled to sex. Believe me, I work in a male dominated field and there are some "alpha males" there. When you hear how these guys talk about women and sex in private, they're just as unattractive as an incel, the only difference is these guys are all cheating on their wives and not looking for a real relationship, so their hookups never get the chance to realize how gross they are, or else don't care because they're never doing this again.

I'm slowly getting into the practice of Zhan Zhuang, but I've noticed when I stand in Wu Chi I feel certain sensations. Most of these I ignore or recognize as tension I try to relax, like a lightness in the arms or tiny motions in my knees, but a weird one is that my right thumb tends to go totally numb. Is this something to worry about? Also, I was told that before and after practice I should gather chi by standing straight and resting my hands over my dantian area, but it's not in any of the resources I use to study. Is this a normal, safe practice?

Ive been homeless before. Frankly I prefer it to being a useful member of society. Theres so much useless chaff that goes into maintaining a democratic civil society. I personally dont have the time or energy for it. Once the dog passes away, and if I'm single, I intend on disappearing again, perhaps into the pine barrens or the swamp this time.

really id rather the total isolation. human company is exhausting. id kill for a drought here though, ive had enough flooding for the decade.

a tiny shack out in some secluded location, like a forest or swamp, providing mostly for myself but making the money i need through magical and religious work. Just me, the trees, and the Gods.

Does anyone have any resources or experience on worship in Daoism or Chinese folk religions? Most of what I can find online only lightly touches on these aspects and is primarily interested in things like martial arts and meditation. Are home altars a thing in Daoism? I understand that the majority of what we would see as worship is done by daoshi on behalf of others, but is there a book or website about common folk traditions, Daoist adjacent religious expression, etc?

wow, i was talking to someone about strangler figs the other day, but i wasn't interested enough to look up pictures, they look amazing! are they parasitic or do they just use the host tree for support?

So for those who are curious, I pulled Wen's "how-to" on jiaobei up now that I'm home, and she does in fact refer to the process specifically as "empowering". In a western sense, I associate the word more with "imbuing with energy/intent" but, a the risk of sounding a little more abstract, the document reads more as "imbuing with personality". I'm also going to mention when I first read the document, I was a little skeptical, because the resemblance of this ritual to a wiccan or generic ("non-denominational") pagan one is absolutely uncanny, but I read more about and more that she wrote and I heard good things so I went ahead with it. I'm not sure if it's a traditional process or one she made herself for her audience, though.

yeah thats more or less the kind of process i was referring to. i consider it the antithesis to "empowering", at least in the way its usually used in western magical spheres. That's essentially what i do for the idols on my altar, just using a different method.

at least according to her, but im not sure it's "empowering" in the same way a european occultist would think of it.

Wen was actually recommended to me by a friend when I first got into daoism because of my background in the occult and paganism. I absolutely love her videos and am planning on buying her book once the ole paycheck comes in. i actually used her resources to make my jiaobei.

Ive been eating paleo for a few weeks now and i actually feel the difference. I feel "lighter" in a way, ive been more rested in general. Cutting out carbs and processed sugars is something i recommend if its possible with your health. I also eat minimal dairy. Most of my diet is fruit and protein, i have 3 eggs each morning and eat apples for snacks, thinking of adding almonds into the snacking mix. 2 meals a day, my supper can be pretty varied.

This may just be me, and maybe because I'm young, but I actually find sleeping on the floor with only a blanket very comfortable. It sometimes takes some shifting, but eventually I manage to rest my head on my bent arm just right, and get my hip at just the right angle against the ground to be perfectly comfortable. It's a great perk to be able to sleep just about anywhere!

If you want to try sitting meditation again, I do it with my back against the door for support. Sometimes I do this cross-legged, other times sitting on my knees, and occasionally even straight-legged. I'm not sure what most consider "walking meditation", but in my own practice I often take walks and just observe. It's the same principle as "ignoring thoughts", I don't let myself think about what I'm experiencing on the walks, I just walk. If an observation hits me, I "file it away" and then think more on it later if it seems significant, if not, I just trace the thought back to it's source and move on. Some of my more meaningful observations have come from these walks, and I love the rifling through my insights after the fact.