hyok

Buddhists did this in the 70's or 80's where scientists measured their heat levels in blizzards and such. Their body temp. remained stable in a freezing environment. This was all documented and recorded and still exists today. Moreover various institutes are completely designed around the study of Chi so I don't understand which labs and which scientists you're referring to. In my experience, the highest experts in any field of science usually have a deep-seated private spiritual base. It may not be God, per se, but it is of the mysteriousness of the Mystery of the Universe. But i dunno, why doesn't Max or Santiago or Mantra68 do it? Isn't there some show like Ripley's Believe It or Not that would showcase this? And even if it is documented and scientifically proven, then what? It becomes a piece of information that, even though is proven, will be shadowed in doubt and disbelief because most people are, and i hate to say this, stupid. Already physicists are saying that there's something more and there's a strange convergence between science and spirituality occuring, but what has that done to change public opinion? While i'm sure it's changed some peoples minds and brought them towards the spirit, but on the whole people just don't care to take the time, and if that's the case then what's the point? It'll just end up being some conspiratorial freak show for people to judge and ridicule in the background and may end up doing more damage than good.

If in the U.S., it's going to be all about money. 100 acres in Montana will run from half a mil. to a couple million depending on location. I don't know any practitioners with that kinda money, and ideally it should be run by 2 or 3 people with one being the money source so final decisions can be made. I like Pietro's idea of it being an open-house of sorts, but If i won the lottery tomorrow, I would create a sanctuary that functions on multiple levels. Not just purely for Taoist practitioners, but a place for traveling minds, wanderers(not transients) and lost souls where one can gain isolation, friendship if need be and definitely education. Just thinking about a top-notch library makes me want to jing my pants.

I was in the same boat. Used to be an alcoholic and now i'm clean. For me, it was really simple, man. There's nothing else. This is it. For most of my adult life I thought I'd figured it out, and what i'd figured out was that life was shit and other than some beauty between people at times, most everything else was messy while so much cruelty and suffering happened around the world. But now... now it's different. There's reason and meaning behind it, and it's not just a good one, it's a magical one. I don't think there's any easy method of quitting bad habits. One just has to suffer through it. Just takes some will power initially and the confidence develops as the habituation diminishes, but wrap around the idea that there is Nothing Else More Important Than This and it seems to help. Well it did for me.

Pretty simple: When was the last time you caught the common cold or a flu?

What a sight!

Look up tonight for a spectacular treat in the sky Biggest full moon for years enhanced by shooting stars... http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/weat...icle5327206.ece

Some great posts, Karen. You're truly a cornucopia of health knowledge. As for me, i'm going on 9 years so far. Was into self-healing long before discovering the Tao. While i've experienced the comings-on of colds, learning to pin-point the location of the infection as well as being fully aware of it seems to help the immune system eliminate it (usually within 24 hrs) before it begins to flare up and expand. 'course, i'm just guessing, but I used to get sick every year like clockwork up until 27 when I started doing this.

lol. funny video. Well if appearing younger than one's age is a sign of regeneration or immortality, i must have reached it cuz i'm 35 but i look like i'm 24. Although being Asian, it's really hard to tell how old we are, even amongst ourselves.

I'm transitioning to a full vegetarian diet, but I get into these moods where I am craving fatty foods, like Real Bad, so i'm wondering if anyone can suggest a good vegetarian alternative? Something non-dairy. Thanks in advance.

Interesting info, MM. Especially the banana ice cream. def gonna try that this weekend. Thanks!

^Nice! I've been cooking with olive oil lately, but i'm definitely going to look for a local source of hemp oil. Never tried the stuff so it'll be interesting. Thanks for the info!

Avocados! YES! Thanks Scotty. Basically something creamy. Like ice-cream or cheeses or anything with a creamy fatty texture. I've been buying bags of trail-mix at the local farmer's market, but at some point within a couple of weeks, i get this strong craving for indulgence in fat. Even fatty bacon sounds good during those times! UGH.

What's a mini-seizure? to me it seems like the lights are a concentrated flow of electro-magnetic energy. Seems like when we close our eyes, most all human beings basically see the same visuals of primary colors in a static field with variations controlled by our consciousness which, when taken for what it is, resembles a faint and fuzzy mandala... perhaps what occurs during long states of meditation is nothing more than consciousness willing the body to act as a conductor for the energy that surrounds us and develops in our bodies, and the more this progresses the more visual representations we have of it.

I apologize for confronting your superior knowledge on the subject of immortality. My main reason was to let Dragonfire know that he/she is not alone in their observations in reading comprehension.

You probably could've worded that better. Trash Filter, there've been numerous threads on immortality which most members on this forum seem to believe as being very possible. Why? Well, probably because it's discussed so frequently in Taoist texts. Btw, how old are you?

The jobs report last week stated that over 500,000 lost employment in the month of November. That's one month, and every economist and analyst is expecting 2009 to be even worse. Not to derail this thread, but it would be a prudent move on the part of the taobum membership to at least take a few small measures in creating a storage of some kind, be it food, savings or even gold, because it's going to get a lot worse than most people realize before it gets better. Unless of course all you need is moisture in the air for water and sunlight for energy.

now here is a REAL master...

LOL!!!!!!!!! that was hilarious!

At the moment, I am realizing that I need to focus on calming my thoughts and truly attaining some semblance of stillness of mind as well as defeating my furious need for desire and reward, as well as the desire to feed my ego and feel like Somebody in the world. These things seem to be the most basic, fundamental first steps towards whatever it is that enlightenment is and/or means which I don't feel i've come even remotely close to mastering, but with that said, thanks for the post alwayson. It's nice to know for future reference should the subject ever arise.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViJH6KGYFr0 Anyone know either of these two tracks in the video? The last track is just freakin' awesome. Makes me want to have oily sex with nekkid Indian women and reach enlightenment at the same time!

I may not agree with everything Mak Tin Si posts, but i read everything he posts.

I've taken reiki tummo lvl 1 and 2. The focus seems to be on reiki healing methods and opening up the chakras as well as kundalini awakening (which i'm still on the fence about) and an overall goal of ascension. My experience generally was good. Had some very real energy openings occur, not sure if it was through shaktipat/attunement or the group setting and group healing, but things definitely changed afterwards. They really stressed smiling and the heart chakra, something i wasn't really prepared for but in hindsight i'm beginning to understand it more. I will say though, like many other workshops, there are selling points that don't materialize into what we may have expected. Some of the material was really, almost to a fault, simplified (to me) and I know that everyone experienced something different, but they experienced something. I'd say the intent of the program is definitely positive and good.

I used to read about people experiencing communication with ascended masters. In fact, the grandmaster of a workshop i'd attended claims to have been taught by ascended masters during deep mediatation. At the time I was kinda "iffy" about the whole thing, but these days it seems more and more real to me and makes a case for what exactly can be derived from communication with ascended masters. Does anyone have anymore info on this? Also, has anyone ever experienced anything regarding such?

Sounds like your spinal channels and energy centers are opening up. I've heard that its easier for rear energy centers to open up as opposed to frontal. If it gets stronger or begins to spread to other energy centers, that would pretty much confirm this is true.

This is similar to what I saw at another workshop. I couldn't help but think it was really contrived and wondered what their motivation was. Thanks for the VERY honest and insightful post, Talkinghead. It was a pleasure to read.