Sahaj Nath

is that nityananda gurumayi's brother?

yes, that's him. he's a beautiful man. the vast majority of his teaching and sadhana is bhakti singing & chanting. he's very unassuming. surprisingly so. the way a friend put it, "he walks the earth like a lamb who doesn't realize he's a lion." a fierce soul, but an incredibly gentle ego.

i have been loving the new vids, thank for updating the hardlight channel

 

i did my first streaming intensive last saturday, it was electric

hey, i did it for you!

seriously, though. as a student who lives over 300 miles from LA, i really wanted to do this service for those of us who can't sit with him every week.

there's also a new yahoo group for Hard Light. i haven't check it out yet, but it was created for those who want to connect other people in the sangha.

and it continues to amaze me how intense the transmission can be over livestream, not to mention the videos i've been editing!

there was one video that that was so intense it felt like i was on drugs. seriously. there was nothing vague or subtle about it.

because of the editing project, i've been getting deeper and deeper into his teachings. i study hours of footage to find the clips that i've been putting on youtube. the man is so incredibly brilliant. in the beginning i thought his lectures where unnecessarily technical and i would just zone out and bathe in the direct transmission. but i've learned SO MUCH just over the past few months. the man is a spiritual treasure!

i feel so fortunate and blessed to have him in my life.

my deepest gratitude to Trunk, and to Sean for giving us The Tao Bums.

Hey everybody!

lots of new videos on the Hard Light YouTube channel. i encourage all of you to check it out, and if you like the videos, SUBSCRIBE. we're gonna be posting 2 to 5 new videos each week. i'm really happy with the latest videos from the dual Darshan in honor of Muktananda's 100th birthday. might even post some of the beautiful singing and chanting from that event. but for now, check out the two talks from Mark Griffin and Gurudev Nityananda.

Mark's talk

Gurudev's talk

i'm in Northern California. Sacramento. if you can make it here, i'd be happy to work with you & see what we can do. you can pay whatever you can afford. i'm not too hung up on money.

send me a PM if you're interested.

I just attended Jeff Primrack's Qi Revolution Seminar in Los Angeles.It was my first exposure to QIgong, so I can't comment on the form or authenticity of the form he taught. I thought, while I was there, that it was what Qigong is. The 4 days -- lead to a real high -- especially because of the 9 breath meditation -- that much oxygen has to change something in a person. And while I was doing the Qigong I felt an incredible energy. That made me want to come back.

nuff said.

if you're new to all this, i say keep it messy. try things out without locking into any one way of knowing. allow EVERYTHING to remain possible. and most importantly, explore with a passion.

now that you your OWN experience, try not to rely so much on what the Juniors & Seniors have to say. keep an open mind & heart.

in a couple of years you'll very naturally have your own ideas and opinions about qigong. PLEASE don't be in a rush to join the crowd of the elites around here. (and if you look up some of my posts you'll see i'm also in that crowd of folks who think they know everything. so yeah, at any time feel free to toss out anything i have to say as well. )

i made a thread back in January with newcomers like yourself in mind. i hope you'll take the time to read through it. and i hope that the conversation within the thread will inspire you to walk your own path, and to dare to be a wanderer.

http://www.thetaobums.com/index.php?/topic/22213-connecting-with-qi-no-system-required/

This exercise should be performed three times daily. it only takes a couple of minutes to do and over time will really help improve your chi. perform the exercise when you first get up and just before going to bed. the third time is done before your regular practice. the exercise is designed to stimulate all your surface skin nerve endings on your arms and legs, so that better communication between your brain and the individual joint muscle, or tendon will take place.

 

the more you stimulate an area the stonger you make the communicative pathway. your nerves contol the small muscles that surround the arteries which help control the blood flow. by physically stimulating your skin nerve endings, you make them more sensitive. the more sensitive you make the areas, the easier it is to mentally feel that area. the daily practice of this exercise will help sensitize your body.

 

to perform this exercise you can either sit or stand. take your right hand [palm down] and put it on your left shoulder. start lightly rubbing down the outside of your left arm [rubbing slowly, touching all the skin surface area] until you reach your fingertips. at the fingertips slightly squeeze the tips of each finger and thumb.

 

then start rubbing up the inside of your left arm to the armpit. next , rub down from the left armpit, down the left side, down the outside of the left leg , until you get to the foot. at the foot , you should rub the entire foot area and slightly pinch each toe tip. then, rub up the inside of the left leg to the groin.

 

at the groin you change hands, starting with your left hand. rub down the inside of your right leg to the foot , rub your entire right foot and slightly pinch each toe. rub up the outside of the right leg, up the right side till you reach your armpit. next rub down the inside of your right arm to the fingertips. slightly pinch each fingertip and thumb.

 

rub up the outside of the hand, up the outside of the arm to the right shoulder. this process should be done three times in the same clockwise method each time you perform the exercise.

 

perform this exercise as described for two weeks after two weeks start adding into this exercise the following variation. when you get to the part where you are ending your third rotation of rubbing around your body you should change to doing the fourth rotation like this:

 

instead of actually resting your hand on your left shoulder, start with your right hand about an inch or two above the surface skin of the shoulder.

perform the exercise just as before , except you are not making actual skin contact this time ev en as you get to the part where you gently squeeze your fingertips or totips, you dont want to actually make contact, but still go through the process. do a fifth and sixth rotation.

 

then complete the exercise by putting both hands above your head so that your fingertips are almost touching . your palms should be facing toward the top of your head, but should be 3 to 4 inches above the skin surface of your head. next bring your hands slowly down the front of your body , not making contact, intil you reach your chi point. you should start your inhale as your hands leave your head area, and finish the inhale as your hands stop at your chi point./ LOWER DANTIEN. you should exhale into your chi point, then tighten up your whole body for a second just as you finish your exhale.

 

with time you will feel your chi actually stimulating and bouncing offf your skin surface even though you are not making contact.

 

this exercise will also help your chi circulate better throughout your body, and keep you properly polarized, maintaining a better positive and negative ion flow.

 

when you first start you might want to perform this exercise with only your shorts on. with practice you can feel the energy with or without clothing being there.

 

Thanks for reading,

 

Peace be with you.

a worthwhile practice to explore, even for those who are already fairly sensitive. it stimulates the nerve fibers to such an extent that, if you haven't experienced it before, you will very likely be able to tune in and feel your whole body breathing from the pours.

i read through it really quickly, so forgive me if i missed it, but i think you left out a couple of key points:

1. the "rubbing" action doesn't require stroking your arm in different directions. it's just a straight pass down the top of your arm and back up the inside or bottom.

2. the practice should be done fairly quickly. there is some benefit to slowly, sensually going through the exercise, but it's generally a vigorous practice that can leave your whole body abuzz with qi.

and finally,

3. to maximize benefit, a minimum 100 repetitions should be performed. 200 is better. 300 is ideal. once you get a speed and rhythm going, you can simply keep track of the time. for instance. if you can average 20 cycles per minute, you can simply practice for 15 minutes rather than count to 300.

before i got into shaking, blood washing was one of my staple practices. Francesco Garripoli has a milder, slower, standing version which he calls meridian cleansing. i think it's pretty clearly a derivative of blood washing.

anyway, i thought these points might help those who may wish to experiment with it.

if you're going to perform it with speed, i would recommend sitting on the edge of a chair. and it's totally okay to raise your leg as you pass your hand over the legs & feet, rather than bending all the way over. raising the leg will make your repetitions faster.

please to take this as a challenge or anything. i just hope some folks can find the additional info helpful.

Old Green posted a video from Sadguru in a thread i made back in January. it had the kind of truth that can get you into trouble in certain circles. it had MY KIND OF TRUTH!

GREAT video.

Hey everybody! it's been a long time.

HARD LIGHT CENTER OF AWAKENING

Excerpt of a talk by Mark Griffin...

"The optimum situation is one in which you maintain a sense of identity as the universal identity is brought forth. If a person gets too much energy too fast they lose touch with the world. The landmarks of their reality change so quickly that they can't keep up with them and become disoriented. The Guru moderates the speed of the unraveling of the karma so that you feel more or less like yourself as you go through all this. You feel a constant sense of pressure and change, but maintain a sense of identity and remain connected to the world."

wanted to let everybody know that Mark is coming back to the Bay Area for a SECOND TIME this year! the past couple of years he's only come once. so if any of you in NorCal would like to spend a day with a truly incredible being, he's going to be in Sebastopol, August 11th at 7415 Hayden Ave. the Intensive will be held from 10am to 6pm.

earlier tonight i was watching a video from one of Mark's 2009 retreats, and his presence came through with so much intensity that i felt just like this guy!

genuine, loving relationship. it's the highest sadhana

That would be great, but even if people know of good yoga classes, Bhajan groups, or anything that can support him better than just an online connection, then please post

actually, there's a student of Ratu Bagus in Virginia who might be someone good to know. i could put the original poster in contact with him, but after reading through this thread (thanks for bringing it to my attention, don_vedo), i'm not so sure if that's the right direction to take.

there are hundreds of generic recommendations out there, and many of them are going to contradict because the process is not a "one size fits all" kind of thing. none of them are wrong necessarily, but a lot of them are likely to be wrong for you. who you are is every bit as important as what your condition is, and that's why it's such a good idea to have a PRIVATE dialogue with someone who can help you navigate to a better place.

it seems to me that you are interested in getting off the ride altogether, and you don't have a lot of interest in discovering where it can take you. in other words, what you really want is to get your life back. if this is true, it's important for anyone who could help you to know this. and it makes a world of difference in terms of what practices/lessons/foods/whatever are going to be best for you. often people are eager to promote what THEY want in your situation without listening well enough to who YOU are what what YOU want. you need to work with someone who is going to take the time to listen and understand the important things about you. someone who is going to ask personal questions. someone who knows how to guide you to where YOU want to go, and who has taken the time really know where that is.

of course, this ALSO means that if you want some serious, quality advice, you need to be willing to open up, get personal, and share of yourself. this isn't something you'll want to do in an open forum.

i could probably help you, but i honestly don't think i'm the best person for the type of guidance you're looking for. what i CAN say, however, is that SETH ANANDA knows his stuff. and more importantly, he LIVES his stuff. he doesn't just talk the talk. it would be worth your while to start a private dialogue with him and just see where it goes.

if all else fails, you are welcome to contact me as well. i will definitely interview you with a series of questions, and if i don't help you directly, i'll at least have the information i need to put you in the right hands.

distance aside, my guess is that Seth can do more for you than most of those folks that you could meet in-person. you've got nothing to lose. we don't betray confidences.

Berkeley intenstive

Saturday, May 5th (a week from tomorrow)

Hard Light will be holding an intensive

in Berkeley, CA from 11a -7p

(also available streaming over the www)

as always, it was a great intensive. a few of my peeps attended, just like last year when he came to the bay area. don_vedo and i drove down together. he wrote about the experience in his practice journal. i thought it was worth sharing.

http://www.thetaobums.com/index.php?/topic/23464-may-2012/page__view__findpost__p__337394

Juice is gained just like muscle strength is gained, through "working out".

 

Juice can also be gained through sincerity of practice and will as well. You dont necessarily have to practice for x amount of hours for x amount of days to see results just so long as you have the determination and the right sincerity. For those who dont have that special inner drive, lots and lots of practice will gradually build juice.

SO TRUE!

Do an hour a day shaking practice.

definitely one of the most overlooked, undervalued practices. totally compatible with qigong, and it makes a lot more sense than taking up Tai Chi for weight loss. you can get a good sweat going in just 10 or 15 minutes, and the practice is 100% adjustable to your physical ability, so the practice can be as intense or as gentle as you need it to be. as far as health benefits go, it does just about EVERYTHING, cleansing and energizing the entire body at a cellular level. and if you're a qigong practitioner already, this practice will substantially increase the overall energetic charge in your body.

you might want to try shifting between shaking and spontaneous free flow movement. it'll make the hour a lot easier, and yet just as effective.

it's as simple as this, yet surprisingly powerful:

santiago breaks it all down, but you can also just let yourself go and in time everything he covers will be done on its own, in its own way.

outdoors is nice, but so is indoors with a good playlist. there's really no way to get it wrong. just go with your body.

The writer calls it a Brief, but this is the most comprehensive guide (that i have seen so far) on the practice of WG Qigong:

 

http://dyqg.blogspot.com/2006/03/briefs-ofwild-gooseqigong.html

haven't seen this thread in some time.

the writing is actually the first half of Grandmaster Yang's book, Verbatim. it's a short book, but it IS really good!

i don't know if the second half of the book is out there somewhere, but it might be. either way, that blog is DEFINITELY a good read. the principles covered are worth reading, even if you don't practice wild goose.

Good lookin' out, Trunk!

and for those who live in the area or who might be interested in going, the event is only $35. pretty damn cool, and SO worth the visit!

 

Many misunderstand Buddhisms instructions on non-attachment.

i don't think this is about non-attachment so much as it is about clarity.

we do not see things as THEY are. we see things as WE are.

this entire thread is an expression of that.

whose view is most clear? most likely the view with least judgment. the view with the least self-contraction.

but what do i know. i need to get my hands on some of that pakalolo.

haven't heard that in years! they also call it the crip. that was definitely awkward for a minute. you don't ask a black dude from California if he smokes crip! hahaha!

Hawaii questions:

 

Was Queen Liliʻuokalani's 1893 replacement by a Provisional Government illegal?

 

Was the approval for Statehood in 1959 by 94% by voters on all major islands, somehow rigged?

 

Did the 1993 joint Apology Resolution regarding the overthrow was passed by Congress and signed by President Clinton, apologizing for the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom throw fuel on a smoldering fire?

 

Should sovereignty of the State of Hawaii be handed over to Majesty Akahi Nui, King of Hawaii, and its Constitution be relaced with the Consitution of 1840?

http://freehawaii.org/1840.html

 

Is the FreeHawaii of Whites movement synonymous with the American Civil Rights movement?

 

Is the FreeHawaii of Whites movement synonymous with the Zapatista movement in Chiapas?

 

Is the FreeHawaii of Whites movement synonymous with the FreeTibet movement?

 

Was the American Revolution of 1776 illegal?

do you get that each one of your questions lacks much relevance? or am i supposed to answer them?

and just for the record, the fact that i'm black and they don't see me as the enemy doesn't make me one of them.

obviously, their answers to those questions are different from yours. but that doesn't change the situation. the fact that you might think they're wrong doesn't make them go away.

i don't need to take a position on their politics to know what they believe and what their motives are. i can be sympathetic to many of their frustrations, however, when there is so much abundance and wasteful gluttony on one side of the island, and locals are left with little or nothing, not just financially, but culturally as well.

i understand theirs frustration, but i have no stake in their politics.

and the article is from a few YEARS ago, not a few DAYS ago, or even a few WEEKS ago. Hawaii can HARDLY be labeled a dangerous place for whites. most folks won't even notice, and of those who do, it'll mostly be something small like seeing a scowl or being called a Haole once or twice. might taint the otherwise Dinsneyland experience, but not a reason to fear the islands.

Hi all, I heard you can move Chi up your feet. So I started trying to do it. I am working on my left foot as my right foot is injured. So I'm working on trying to move the chi up my left foot and I would feel a pressure at the middle, bottom of my foot when doing it. I do what I think is the beginning stages of pulling chi into my foot. On top of the pressure. I am really starting to get a tingle and pleasurable sensations in my left foot. Am I really pulling chi into my body or am I just activating chi or something?

 

Peace!

you can move chi anywhere in your body. if you're new to this sort of thing, the only warning i think worth heeding is to not strain yourself. don't try too hard. don't force anything to happen; allow it to happen. forcing things can get you into a little bit of trouble, but experimenting is a positive, natural inclination. i say go for it. screw all the warnings. you're probably not moving enough chi to get yourself into trouble anyway.

your personal exploration will teach you more than a lot of studying will. lots of studying can load you down with a bunch of unnecessary rules and limitations. some people adopt those rules and limitations even before they have their first experience of chi flow. don't let that happen to you.

i wouldn't play too much with the spinal column without guidance, but you should feel free to explore your own body and your own body's connection to chi. and if anything gets uncomfortable, there are plenty of folks here who can help you clear it up.

have fun!

oh, and if you have a hurt foot, why not practice with that foot? don't worry about meridians or points, just intend for loving, healing energy to be drawn in, and breathe that energy into the foot. breath it right into the skin, into the whole foot. breathe in love and healing, breathe out pain and sickness. nothing forced. playfully.

see what happens.

and please check out this thread. i made it just for people like you.

http://www.thetaobums.com/index.php?/topic/22213-connecting-with-qi-no-system-required/page__p__316243entry316243

WTF, this is disturbing man. I've been about 3 times on Oahu and Maui and didn't see anything like you are discribing.

I've never been on the Big Island but I was planning to go there very soon.

I know they have good BJJ and Silat, but supposedly Taiji is garbage and some Kung-fu monkey style for kids.

 

Did anything ever happen to you personally - or these are just stories that you heard? I know they hate whites but I've never heard anything about crimes.

 

Anybody else knows anything like that about the Big Island?

pretty big exaggeration, if you ask me. bigotry is pretty rampant among the locals, but violence? with as many rich people that travel there every year, exploring areas in which they are NOT welcome or invited, you'd think there would be an outcry from the folks who definitely have the means to make a fuss.

Oahu has some serious ghettos, but they don't discriminate. those neighborhoods are a threat to EVERYBODY!

there is a committed movement among the locals for Hawaiian sovereignty, and they definitely look at white americans as the occupying class. that's true. there's also a HUGE resource gap between the locals and the tourists which fuels the resentment. i was appalled when i went to Kauai for 4 months and saw neighborhoods in 2nd and 3rd world conditions, just 10 miles or so outside of the well-developed tourist areas.

as a black guy, i received a lot of love from the locals. they see their struggle as being in line with the civil rights movement and the south African apartheid rebellion. given those affinities, there are some small pockets of radicals who engage in vandalism and intimidation tactics from time to time, but being a Californian, their idea of criminal activity hardly hits the radar screen. when i was there the locals on the island of Molokai refused to let a ship dock because the people were looking to purchase land on the island. they threw rocks at the ship until it left. so that kind of thing happens from time to time.

marches, protests, acts of civil disobedience. and a DEEP love and support of one another, and for those who are less fortunate, regardless of color. actually there are quite a few white locals in the movement as well.

there's certainly a dark side that doesn't get shown, but that silence is actually to the detriment of the locals who are struggling, NOT the tourists. visitors really have very little to worry about. and if they did, you'd hear about it. that's what i think, anyway.

http://www.flixxy.com/hubble-ultra-deep-field-3d.htm

 

Well, for whatever reason I can't insert the video today but it's better watching at Full Screen anyway.

 

This is what they saw when they aimed the Hubble at an "empty" part of the universe for 11 days.

beautiful and awe-inspiring. it was contemplation on things of that nature which most inspired me as a child to pursue mysticism. my heart ached at the thought that i might never know the far reaches of the universe.

thanks for the post. i had never seen that video before.

This seems to be go around a lot lately. Did you watch the video of Gabriel Cousins too?

no need to disparage lifeforce's experience in this thread. he didn't say he was enlightened. he very HONESTLY shared his experience of shaktipat. and that was a beautiful thing. many of us recognize what he was experiencing, and he'll likely be processing that descent of Grace for a long time.

i just clicked on the most recent comment, so i haven't read the OP yet, but i do believe that what happened to lifeforce is totally legit. the kind of thing that he himself scoffed at, until it happened to him.

Hey there, I was wondering if anyone has experience using excess Jing to heal sick areas of the body or clear out blocks in meridians? I recently posted about sick energy in my lower back and have had success by abstaining from any activity and allowing the excess jing to 'push' the bad energy further along my MCO and eventually out my arms. After I was finally able to get it moving it actually lodged in upper back area for about a week and until I was able to move it out of my arms and crown by doing extensive cardio and hatha yoga stretching.

 

My concern is that the lack of any sexual activity isn't healthy (no sex, masturbation, sexual chi gung). I've even been able to stop nocturnal emissions which has made all the difference. I've been doing this 6 weeks and it seems to be working better than anything I've tried over the past few years. Should I wait until the sick areas are completely healed before I resume activity? It's working so that is what my body is telling me but I'd like to get other opinions.

 

PS - I should mention that I've also getting acupuncture and doing about 2 hours of MCO daily.

 

Thanks!

have you tried shaking?

i would trade in my 2 hours of MCO for an hour or 2 of shaking practice. let the orbit take care of itself for a while.

assuming that your self-assessment is accurate, i can't think of a faster or more effective way of clearing blockages in the body than shaking. bring some ecstatic practice into your contemplative work.

the beauty of this type of approach is that you don't have to diagnose or pinpoint anything. you just let go. the body knows what it needs. and so does the spirit. all you need to do is let go, get out of the way.

give it a shot. give it two days, and if you're not convinced, scrap it.

you can draw some inspiration from these, then do your own thing. get as wild and free as you like. your body will let you know what it wants.

Agreed, and sadly it's often accompanied with ignoring their own "inner voice" as they have learnt to look outside themselves for "correction"

 

While things become a lot looser once that "same level of mastery as the originator of that system" is achieved. Many people don't get to experience that freedom as they continually "trade in" one system and start another. Often just approaching the "creation of a foundation" from another perspective, yet seeing these "new practice rules" as if they were a "new truth"

YES!

you put that so well.

I think the whole thing is a work in progress, so to speak.

The difference is, I don't need to look for anything anymore, it has all been taken care of. I just have to let IT do the Divine work.

The constant bliss/love energy may only be the start.

For instance, morality, character and behaviour towards the rest of creation still needs work, I'll be the first to admit that. I've already seen evidence of a change there.

There has been an instant change in my diet. Without any thinking or reasoning I've cut out all sugar, coffee and artificial, processed ingredients.

I've had no alcoholic drinks (not that I did much anyway), and have cut out all animal food and by-products.

My meditation has changed also. I'm not sure if it is actually meditating in the classical sense anymore.

I just sit, with eyes wide open, in full lotus and just BE. No breath control or awareness, no noting, no visualizations. Everything is perfect as it is.

I am becoming a super conductor for the Divine. Cleaning up body, mind and spirit simultaneously.

Good times.

good stuff

i think you're in a pretty wonderful place, my friend.

some people treat the bliss as a high to indulge in and to chase after, terrified that it might abate, yet they pretend its otherwise.

some people try to control, suppress, or resist the somewhat devastating nature of shakti, believing they are somehow being smarter or more mature based on some book they've read.

the real secret is that there are no secrets. you can let it all go. let it all flow. the force that moves through you is the same force that governs the stars.

bliss, uncorrupted, can work in your life like the finger of GOD. it's worth seeing where it takes you. it's worth discovering how truly intelligent its guidance is.

and like i said in the above post, just keep in touch. let us know how you're doing. there are good people here should you find yourself in troubling waters.

here are some wise words from my boy Vic, singing in my living room.

Not wishing to sidetrack the Connecting With Qi... thread, I thought I would share my thoughts here.

Some of the details of my shaktipat/kundalini awakening experience are in this post.

The feeling of constant bliss is wonderful.

I still go about my days as normal and to others I appear and act no different, even to my wife, children, family and work colleagues.

However, there has been a BIG change within me.

I have been touched by God, the Divine or whatever anyone wishes to call IT. Names are not important.

IT is flowing through me making every cell, every atom, fully alive.

I see, feel and experience the world very differently. I feel connected with EVERYTHING and EVERYONE. Not just intellectually, I can actually feel it.

Every task, however mundane it used to be, now becomes a pleasure. Life is wonderful and not a struggle anymore.

No system or tradition or ritual or religion is needed anymore. Was it ever needed ?

The task is accomplished.

That is all for now, my mind is buzzing.

so beautiful.

stay in contact. keep us informed on how things are going as you bear witness to your own deconstruction and expansion.

the other night i did some free writing while abiding in that state you are in right now. in a sense i wrote it for you. i hope you enjoy it.

http://thunderpath.wordpress.com/2012/01/13/continuously-evolving/

fair enough, you guys.

i wasn't trying to be pompous OR a jerk.

guruyoga, i'm a fan of most of what you've written since you've arrived. and if the context hadn't included Mark as the teacher, i would not have commented at all. i'm also a student of KS, but there's a HUGE difference between practicing independently and practicing within the presence of the Guru. the difference was enough to change my life, personally. so i felt it important to point out.

If grace is all there is (I don't disagree with this though), then why be aware of the the central channel or bellows breath or anything?

good question. when i'm dialed in i don't really 'do' any of those things. i did the very first time i sat with him, but i cracked open in a pretty big way that first time (you probably hate that expression too, but that's how i talk), and since then it's been way more about witnessing the truth of his teachings than employing techniques. i assumed that was true for everyone who has chosen to stay with him.

i agree that the core makes itself evident. in think we just use different words to express that.

anyway i have no interest in generating hostility in any thread that talks about Mark. so if i offended, then i apologize. it seriously was not my intention. and if my personality just rubs you the wrong way in general... it is what it is.

regardless, i like what you have to say.