liminal_luke

I´m of the opinion that all human beings are ultimately unknowable -- a very good thing. You, Lairg, are perhaps more unknowable than most.

The Dao that can be told is not the real Dao. The Daodejing, as understood by a given person, is likely not the real Daodejing. Very cool! (I love a little mystery, the sense that the outside world -- other people, classical texts, the universe -- aren´t completely knowable. To me, that´s reassuring.)

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Caring about craft more than money is always dangerous, but in the best way.

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The word "evil" is useful if you´re an author writing a thriller about serial killers. Less useful is you´re trying to have a rational conversation. In practice, it´s usually used by people who want to distance themselves from their shadows through projection (all the bad things I refuse to recognize in myself go in the evil basket). It´s also handy for depressives who want to load up on self-loathing. Evil does exist, I´m pretty sure. But it´s a hard thing to talk about because the word carries too much emotional weight.

How wonderful that your future self is taking such an active interest in your present! Very cool. I would take the suggestions under advisement, evaluating them as you might any other advice. When I go to the doctor, I see myself as getting an expert opinion which I then research and make a decision about. I don´t automatically do what anybody tells me but rather figure out what makes sense to me. So the question is: do the suggestions your future self is making make sense to your present self? If so, I´d take them. If not, you can still tuck them away in the back of your mind and see how things develop. my two cents, LL

I reckon most of us have bumped up against The Unexplained. I know I have. My experiences wouldn´t pass scientific muster but they were personally compelling.

Seems to me that Steve´s view of seeing the qualities attributed to Gods and Goddesses as human is useful in a practice context. Such an understanding helps to avoid the error of projecting out our negative (and positive) qualities. By keeping the focus on a human level, we´re able to work with the qualities as they show up in our lives -- everything is within our "locus of control." A great advantage of TRW´s teaching, in my limited experience, is that the practices are always brought to bear on particular lived contexts. So practical! And yet I´ll admit...the ghostbuster in me likes to imagine a world inhabited by a plethora of not-entirely-human spirits, some benevolent, others not so much. Is this actually the case? Sadly, my limited powers of perception prevent me from saying for sure. But the idea of such beings adds an aura of numinous mystery that appeals. Ultimately, of course, the point is to collapse the illusory sense of separation between world and self. It´s often said that the "separate self" does not exist, and I suppose this goes for the self of Gods and Goddesses too. If Gods and Goddesses do exist then, at least on some level: they are us and we, them. All this is above my paygrade, but you know how it is with Bums like me -- we love to talk.

Bonpos with demon denial problems, smug non-dualists, Bud Lite tipplers, torch-wielding villagers -- this thread really has something for everyone. And to think that some mods (bows head in shame) thought it should of been locked.

If we ever have occasion to drink beer together -- and I think it would be fun -- I´ll be sure to bring Modelo. Goes well with chips and guacamole.

Beer drinking is a mostly peaceable activity -- as long as nobody brings Bud Light.

In the interest of preventing war, I try not to get into dietary debates with hard core vegetarians.

It´s not the tea, it´s the tea drinker.

-- Paul Reps