thelerner

Competition plays an important role in evolution but so does adaptation. Evolving overly competitive- too big, too strong, too.. toothy and you can't adapt when change happens and it's catastrophic. I don't think the strongest human survives, rather being clever and able to work well with others has been our key. There's a balance between the selfish (competitive) and communal (working together) that has to be balanced for a person and society to thrive. Winning and innovating are great. Hoarding supplies, stifling other's innovation is bad. So imo nothing wrong w/ healthy competition, it can bring out the best in us, but when winners start dictating that theirs is the best and only way then there's problems.

Welcome to the site, great to have people with TCM experience and esoteric studies onboard.

I never considered myself bigoted, I had gay friends in highschool but I don't think it was til my 40's and going to Burning Man events that I really got it- Acceptance and appreciation for colorful, different, eccentric.. following your own beat and being your own person. For better or worse part of my acceptance is understanding for my brethren who aren't there yet, as long as they do no harm.

I like to think of Dao (the philosophy, not the religion) as the study of nature and it's cycles. How things ebb and flow using the tools of yin and yang and the 5 elements. The Dao seems to like things simple and quiet though it has few rules. When one follows the Dao, one flows with the circumstances of life, accepting and adapting.

I started out in highschool with a very traditional Shotokan karate instructor. He kept it simple, was passionate about the art, probably taught for free in the J.C.C. We'd end sessions with our gi's covered in sweat. Made some lifetime friends there. In College did 2 years of Taekwondo. It was nearby and college sponsored. Didn't feel as connected, it felt commercial and with less heart than Shotokan. After college starting out in business my biggest problem was stress. I found Aikido, Ki-Aikido and helped me. While practice was mostly pre-rehearsed moves, they were still full force. You attacked hard, got thrown.. then roles were reversed. Figuring out throws was like a physical koan. Good people, some philosophy, weekly ki-class on breathing, meditating, walking strongly.. even healing techniques. Great year end Misogi training in January where we'd enter ice cold streams and do some ki-ai's.

That's why I had my kids take karate when young. It was one of the few places, other than the home, where there was talk of control, humility, honor, respect.

I wouldn't be surprised to see it prehistoric cave art. Before chairs, it seems a logical way to sit. Even now, when I see a squarish rock or log, I'm sitting half lotus.

My son tells me those empty plastic balls can be useful for capturing strange otherworldly looking monsters, and these Alligator snapping turtles certainly look the part. Example: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/-Yk7WsH-4L8 I always feel very lucky when I see them, even a raised claw.

I'm not MA or particularly accomplished but that's one of the greatest benefits I got out of my decade or so in martial arts. When young and stressed if you can't release pent up energy constructively, it ends up in your head making you crazier.

I keep one of my kid's Pokeballs in the kayak as a last ditch defense if I'm ever swarmed by these Snappous Aligatormon.

They've had one that's more than a 100 years old at a nature center (The Grove in Glenview IL) for as long as I can remember. Old, mossy and rises to the surface once every 5 minutes to take a single breath the slowly sinks back down. 3 years ago near the Skokie Lagoon I stopped to see what people were staring at. It was a small Alligator snapping turtle, in the stream across from the lagoon. Last year in the spring on my first venture out canoeing there, the water was particularly clear and I saw a medium size snapper under my boat, gliding along. I slowed and watched him, til he went deeper. This year while kayaking I saw a splash in the water from fish jumping. I kept looking and a big singular claw came out of the water for a fraction of a second. Alligator snapper? Maybe. Downtown Chicago a large pond by the Lincoln Park zoo, has a alligator snapper or two in them. Always amazing to see these large prehistoric looking reptiles so close to the city. Kayaking the rivers and lagoons I'm seeing way more deer, muskrats, blue herons, cormorants and water snakes than ever before.

South Park is sometimes brilliant, sometimes droll. The Marklar episode was brilliant philosophy. If I had to write a dissertation for a doctorate in philosophy, I'd use that episode. Obviously I wouldn't pass but then again there's not much money in philosophy. Writing for TV on the other hand..

and the Gongsun Longzi text is off my reading list..

Simpsons did it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6YSfEKMeC8

One thing I like about Buddhism is they didn't overly dwell on metaphysics, tending to be focused on here and now. Can't help thinking after-life theology is mostly about conjecture and control.

If I'm reborn as a human in the next life.. I will file a complaint. I want some time off. for my good or bad behavior.

Here's what comes to my mind. Once you've attained wisdom you can 'live every second without hesitation (thought)'. On a daily basis we don't confront evil as much as ignorance. The conditioned mind waivers and judges, considering past and future. The wise mind acts or not, moves through life, leaving a smoother path. Thing is, an idiot also acts without thinking and leaves chaos and trouble. Until one has attained wisdom, thus leaving a path of peace, gaining wisdom is important. So, imo, its not just quiet mind we're after but a wise one informed by solid dharmic traditions.

For me, there's a 'point' lower and more inner that I seem to strike during deep relaxed breathing.

I'm more interested in seeing the advanced students rather than the master. They show if the system is learnable. Same with the martial arts, it's not the sensei you'll become, if you're diligent, it's the senior students under them. Are they talented, are they balanced? Or in the case of this thread, do they have similar 'powers'? The masters have given their whole life to the system, huge sacrifice. Top students give a few hours a day, everyday for decades.

You Are a country man. I'm still waiting for the alley cat that prowls around my house daily to bring me some restaurant coupons.

Not too esoteric but I rinse my mouth out vigorously a few times a day. After meals and whenever I'm in the washroom I'll rinse and spit til no teeny bits of food appear. This should also de-acidify my mouth, hopefully slowing or halting cavities. A bit more esoteric when I do a yoga-nidra relaxation routine at night- where you slowly relax parts of the body, I'll end by energetically circling my gums a few times, slowly in both directions. The hope being where you put your attention/chi blood and healing follow. I expect at my low level its a minor thing but do it a couple hundred times a year and it might add up to something. At my last dental visit a few days ago my dentist was surprised at the health of my teeth. Something that did not always happen in my youth since At 7 I learned a quarter would get me fistful of jelly beans.

Ya know, today is national Deep Dish Pizza day, not kidding. just what the US needs, <sarcasm> I hope we have a national Off-the-Grid weekend. Turn off or minimize all things electric for the weekend. What'll you do, what'll you eat, how will you entertain yourself and the kids?? Figure it out, you'll be the better for it. guess I'm describing the Sabbath, the one day a week when the Jews go Amish. Orthodox ones anyway. For the Amish I guess it'd be a day of.. What are those English playing at?

Can't a country boy live in a house, have a 9 to 5 job, and still practice homesteader skills? To me a country boy enjoys quiet and outdoors but doesn't have to be a mountain man, hermit or living off the grid. It's about the spirit of independence. Strong, capable, resilient.. enjoying nature and having skills. So, imo, it's still possible, in degrees, for anyone, even city folk, who don't mind learning new things and getting their hands dirty. It doesn't mean they can live off the land, but they can get closer to it. Here in the US that spirit is strong in many Western states especially Alaska. With it comes a host of possible problems, boredom, drugs etc. but many rewards too.

I think it can be a big help but works better when it's accompanied by Dharma/wisdom talks from the lineage. We tend to run into the same bullshit- self created and the stuff the world throws at us. Wise men from every tradition have good thoughts on how not to step in it. addon: I think the what makes it change a person's character is integration. My sensei used to say 'Don't leave your Aikido on the mat'. After a meditation session the assistant teacher once said 'This is the feeling you should have when you do Aikido'. (just another reason why you don't see much of it in MMA ) When I'm good**, the sense of peace I get from meditation stays with me. ** only good 3 random hours each day.

when I get my horse and buggy, you're the first person I'll go for a ride with.