liminal_luke

I think I get it. You don´t want to revere the plants because that implies a power differential, that the plants are somehow above you and deserving of worship. You will not bow down. I´m exquisitely attuned to issues around power and control myself, and loathe to put myself in a one-down position. I´ve been beaten down quite enough by people who think they are better than me, thank you very much. Perhaps you have too? So why am I OK with being reverent, even worshipful, towards a plant? Because in allowing myself to be made small, I become, paradoxically, larger than I was. Surrendering my ego, I am lifted up. Letting go of my brittle boundaries and my sometimes overly strident insistence on justice and fairness, I open to love. Bottom line: I know I´m there to learn from the plant; the plant is not there to learn from me.

What´s wrong with reverence? Reverence signals humility, a willingness to enter into a relationship with the plant spirit. With reverence you´re a shaman smoking a peace pipe and connecting through tobacco with unfathomable mystery. Without reverence you´re just another bloke taking a smoke break.

I like this. I don´t get a "leave it to the authorities" vibe. I get a "respect the power of the plant spirit" vibe, a useful attitude, I´d say, for any would-be shaman. Learning from a book might be a good first step, but if this is your path don´t stop there. Take it all the way. Devote your life to getting a first-rate education. Open yourself to finding that experienced curandera and becoming an apprentice.

It pains me to exit my intellectually fuzzy safe-space of liberal matyrdom long enough to take issue with you hard-headed engineering types, but somebodies got to stick up for gender studies. Gender studies is simply the study of men and women, how we´re different or not so different, and what various cultures make of that difference. Judging from the popularity of past gender related threads, that´s a subject that lots of folks around here -- of all different political stripes -- take an interest in.

I think I know what Walker is talking about, as far as in-person stance correction, because I´ve experienced it. I´d be standing there, thinking I was doing everything right, and my teacher would come and make some small tweak to my position, maybe just adjust an elbow slightly or change the curvature of my fingers. Anyway...he´d make some subtle change and bam, the chi would suddenly open up. Of course, later I´d try to put myself into that same position but never could get the same effect. It is indeed very subtle, perhaps not impossible to convey in writing but impossible to learn from writing. Impossible to learn from video. I´m very much a do-it-yourself kind a guy when it comes to spiritual practice, but sometimes a teacher really is invaluable.

That´s not surprising. We´re a pretty varied lot.

I suppose that´s true, although you seem to have a very different take about what "initiating force against others" means. At least different from me. After considerable conversation, I´m now convinced that I won´t be able to sway you to my point of view. That´s one thing I´ll bet we can agree on. Anyway, I´m not much for philosophical debate really, so I´m going to stop trying.

You did once refer to yourself as "Sheriff Karl," which I found sort of heart warming.

Huh? Original posters can now choose to delete posts by personal whim on threads in the General section? I had no idea. As far as I know it hasn´t happened to me, but if it did that would be a strong disincentive for me to post at all. Sometimes (well, increasingly) I´m just fooling around. Saying something because I imagine it´s funny or amusing. But sometimes I put some real thought into communicating something that I find important. If my posts disappeared simply because an OP disagreed with them, I´d have a problem with that.

Perhaps it´s an overly charitable view, but I¨m of the opinion that every penis is a cosmic penis.

a girl attractor explains his own process of mechanization

God of beginnings Seven days and seven nights Or just one big bang?

Oh God. Please say it isn´t so.

I´d like to echo Aeran´s advice to find some sort of class or in-person instruction, and Steve´s suggestion to combine meditative focus with physical activity. Two spot-on suggestions there. In my own practice, pesky paranormal experiences haven´t been a problem. Pesky emotional experiences however...now that´s a whole different ball game. Many times I´ve been overwhelmed by feelings I didn´t want to deal with. Sitting will do that to ya. My understanding of addiction is that it´s largely about avoiding difficult feelings. Many people, when faced with some emotional unpleasantness, opt to numb themselves with some compulsive or addictive activity whether it´s taking drugs, eating cookies, sex, or shopping for shoes. Recovery from addiction will necessarily involve facing these feelings. Meditation can be great as it can reveal yourself to yourself in a powerful and healing way. But it can also be too much of a good thing, especially in the beginning. You´ll want to pace yourself. You´ll want to have support -- a teacher, a counselor, a 12-step sponsor...someone.

This is the line that stuck out at me. I know the feeling well; nothing can get me down so fast as comparing myself to others and feeling like I come up short. The thing is, it´s just not true. It´s so easy to read posts here and think that everybody else is ahead of you...spiritually, emotionally, whatever. But the truth is that us bums are all over the place in terms of our development. Some are really on top of their lives, and others are struggling big time. I´ll bet you´re just like me: ahead of the game in some ways, and a bit behind in others. If so, welcome to the bums -- you´ll fit right in. Liminal

I don´t bother with the ignore button. If I ignored everyone who deserved to be ignored, who would I fight with?

I´d love to see such a writeup of a MoPai practice too. In my opinion, those kind of practice journals are one of the most valuable parts of Taobums. Takes courage though as it can be personal.

keep droppin´those beats in that big pot over there then add some carrots

I´m just (re)starting a yoga journey after a few decades off, and wish I could attend your class. The anatomical approach sounds great. Good for you for taking that next step (often scary in my experience) and sharing your know-how with others. Liminal

I´d suggest any method where you simply stay with what is. Vipassana or something in that vein. Be aware of your emotions. If all you´re aware of is how robotic and disassociated you are, stay with that sense of disassociation. How does disassociation feel in your body? Chances are it feels pretty rotten so you´ll like want to get away from this (un)feeling. But if you keep at it I think things will eventually open up.

How about bone broth? You can´t get more keto/low-carb paleo than that, and it´s warm and nourishing. Here´s a link about health benefits https://www.jadeinstitute.com/jade/bone-broth-health-building.php

it will end in tears marinara sauce or bust I plant tomatoes

I like your definition of tolerance, Redcairo. It´s a pretty low bar. When I say I tolerate homophobia I don´t mean I agree with it or think it´s a good thing. I don´t. I mean that I wouldn´t take action against it (other than to voice a contrary opinion), or encourage others to, the way I would if something was intolerable.

You always get the other kind...

I am tolerant of both a homophobic´s right to be homophobic and homophobia itself, though I dislike both. People are free to believe as they choose in all circumstances; people are not free, however, to act as they choose in all circumstances. Refuse us employment on that basis or service in a restaurant or a government marriage license then I will absolutely use the power of law (where it exists) to enforce my right to equal treatment. The law has nothing to say about someone who merely wants to kill --nor should it--but police start to take notice when that someone gets out his ax. Is this kind of force ideal? Of course not. Ideally it wouldn´t be necessary but we don´t yet live in that kind of world.