thelerner

There's a Vispassana pre-amble to meditation I used to do regularly. I am not my thoughts.. they are like clouds passing through. I am not my body.. I am that which inhabits it I am not my past.. those old memories and pattern I can choose not to follow I am not my future.. I am not my emotions, I am not possessions, I am not my family, I am breath and awareness.. reciting that daily helped reconcile me with death. a bit. I had an heart stent put in and heard the doctor say 'This isn't going well' and I was able to stay relaxed and see what comes next. Maybe the drugs helped. Likewise I've had some dreams where I'm dying and was able to surrender into it. So such things are valuable opportunities. Another interesting meditation is the Tibetan Chod meditation. Where you sacrifice yourself to a monster. Kind of the ultimate Metta meditation. I have a guided version of it and it's powerful in its own way. Though just a shadow of the full Chod ceremony I expect. Safety is an illusion, but an important one. It's nice to be in situations every now and then where your life is in your hands.

just now, Gold- Your “level of advancement” is known by your ability to stay centered and balanced. By how much joy and love you genuinely feel/share. from Dwai

Thing w/ Harry Patch's quote is, if the advice was taken literally the 'righteous' countries that defended w/ their politicians would be quickly wiped out, invaded and at the mercy of the less righteous country who used 100,000 soldiers instead. Or if 100% followed it, then 'Might would make Right' and the government with the stronger tougher meaner leaders could take over other countries if they so wished. hmnn, the original sentiment does have some wisdom in it.. maybe simply putting politicians on or close to the front lines would be good enough. To the OP, I agree with his sentiment. In the normal course of life, we can over personalize things and mix up good and bad.. cause we don't know everything or how things will turn out. Still, there are egregious acts that are bad and evil. Ones that people should guard and fight against.

Please be around, we need you. Course so does your art. I'm back from a month or so hiatus. Don't know if it was an intended plan, some laziness or maybe feeling without inspiration. It was good to take time off, and it's good to be back. There's a self reflection in writing on the board and a reflection reflection seeing how people react. In these strange, uh Covid days its good to have companionship. If you feel it's right, take time off, but don't stay away.

Just received my Cannabonsai kit from cannabonsai.org (good youtubes). Was just $48 (US). Pretty complete, including 2 seeds and importantly droppers for raising and lowering PH levels of water. I've killed off 3 seedling recently and while I think I learned from each tragic death, the last lesson is balance the damn PH . The kit also comes w/ Ph strips. The tiny growing area and stringent trimming means very little product. I half expect if smoking with a friend, they ask how much harvest from the 3 month effort, I'll say, 'Not horrible, but uh you're smoking it all now'. If I don't kill it, and get 3.5 to 10 grams dry, I'll be a happy man. edit.. and killed it. 5 seedlings down, 3 seeds to go.

To me, gaining 'power' and/or stretching the mind without a steady wisdom tradition including cautionary tales is like losing a couple spokes on a wheel. You can move forward but you're going to wobble, increasingly badly. A quiet mind is a wonderful thing but it can be vulnerable to paranoia, tribal conditioning and craziness. Worse, the bad stuff- mental and/or physical can be mistaken for progress. As practice deepens- be careful, be moral, be humble and keep a sense of humor.

"..Look at the sky as often as possible and your thoughts will become light and clear. Be quiet a lot, speak little – and silence will come in your heart, and your spirit will be calm and full of peace.” Saint Seraphim of Sarov Whole quote: “Drink water from the spring where horses drink. The horse will never drink bad water. Lay your bed where the cat sleeps. Eat the fruit that has been touched by a worm. Boldly pick the mushroom on which the insects sit. Plant the tree where the mole digs. Build your house where the snake sits to warm itself. Dig your fountain where the birds hide from the heat. Go to sleep and wake up at the same time with the birds – you will reap all of the days' golden grains. Eat more green – you will have strong legs and a resistant heart, like the beings of the forest. Swim often and you will feel on earth like the fish in the water. Look at the sky as often as possible and your thoughts will become light and clear. Be quiet a lot, speak little – and silence will come in your heart, and your spirit will be calm and full of peace.” Saint Seraphim of Sarov addon: Canonized in 1903 Seraphim, saint of Russia's nuclear weapons, wth. and he's done a good job, undoubtedly whispering to Lieutenant Colonel Stansilov Petrov in 1983, who decided not to forward the signal to launch.

A part of the Wim Hof method that isn't often talked about, yet is widely practiced is acclimatization. We all do it, ie by the end of winter what seemed cold, ie 40's and 50's suddenly seems warm after going through subzero weather. Wim Hof, particularly the first 10 week course does it a bit more consciously. When the weather turning colder, going for walks, meditation, getting outside w/ fewer layers and staying there increasingly longer in the cold. Gradual. Nothing special. It's really the norm in colder climates (and hotter). It compliments the cold showers, especially the training to warm yourself up afterwards without covering up immediately. We lose something when we're conditioned to a constant comfortable temperature. We become less adaptive, less tough.

Stuff I do.. Lately after eating, I'll continually rinse out my mouth, ie gargle w/ water, repeatedly (3 or 4 times) til no little bits of food come out. I assume it's these little bits that turn acidic and hurt mouth health. Perhaps long rinsing also knocks down some of the acidic nature in the mouth for a little bit. Anyhow since I've been doing this I've gotten good dental reports. I use Sensodyne toothpaste. Otherwise my teeth are sensitive to hot and cold. This is controversial but at night after brushing I'll spit out the toothpaste and foam, but not rinse out, ie leave a thin coating on my teeth. To my mind it strengthens them. I'll often do Wim Hof breathing, an unique form of body stress that might turn on some good hormones. Likewise take cold showers In winter they'll get real. Why? Again, a unique form of stress that 'exercising' circulation and releasing some good hormones. Tracking my sleep w/ Oura Ring. It records sleep time and depth. Heart rate, temperature, movement.. using the data to plot to show how well you sleep. A nice tool for an insomniac like me. Best motivator to change something is to keep records of it. Any unusual health things you do??

Better to burn on, then burn out. Thank you so much for your years of service. (i figure its about 35 in internet years) The hard decisions, the sleepless nights, the pillows strangled . You were and are, a rock and beacon of considerate humanity.

Invest like a farmer. Know the land, the seed, the seasons. Try to anticipate consumers wants and trends. Grow some crops for their yield, others for future value. Grow with an eye to the future for what people will want to buy. Karmic wise, live under your means. Be thrifty yet generous when you can. Invest steadily if possible. Some long shots, but most in something diversified and safer, like the major indexes. Try to create a safety fund, for hard times and unexpected expenses. Understand the market that gives can also bite you hard. Keeping it simple is good. 50%- big Index funds (SPY,DIA,QQQ etc) 25%- high dividend stocks, 25%- individual stock with great expectations.

I'm hoping to get members to write up the systems and books they respect. Name..what they like about them.. short personal experience.. kind of thing. Preferably keeping it short. Others can give short critiques, but I'd rather not get bogged down into long arguments. Accept that not everything works for everyone and let this thread be a resource for people looking for ideas to try.

On my walk yesterday I exaggerated my arm swings. It slowed me down a little but felt good, like skipping to raise the arms higher during a walk.

Very cool , a house is sort of like a member of the family. Glad you gave it a good welcoming birth.

To me, Dao Bums has been a place to shoot the shit, learn a bit, exchange thoughts great & small and make a friend or two.

Tired of endless daily grind of cooking dinners, I've ordered out a bit more then I like. Thought I need to re-energize myself and the best way to do that is to plan out and share menu ideas. So what you guys got cookin?

I have a journal of gratitude, writing down what I'm thankful for and I realized it wasn't complete, it was missing something. So I added generosity to it; things I'd done for others and it was a much better journal. Gratitude and generosity are two sides of the same coin. One you want to keep in your pocket at all times.

Money is also about security and choices. Security is good, though total safety is an illusion. It's horrible to worry about paying rent, food.. necessities. It's nice to have a cushion and savings. Still, a first world problem is too many choices. I think it leaves us less happy. Wasting our time chasing after shiny things and too distracted. If we can, we should mold our life into what we want. One hour, one room, one meal, one job at a time. If we can.

There's an Aikido warm up that is very similar and I've felt better doing it. Just swinging hands up and down repetitively, though in this case they 'cup' a bit together at the top.

I guess, mothers and saints often have it. Best most of us can do is forgive and not forget. Help but not make ourselves too vulnerable or victimized. When it comes to some of the worst rascists, Klan, neo-nazi's the reflex is revulsion and to fight but the people who've made a real difference are those who've shown them love.. even respect. These saintly people have turned around some of the worst, whereas guys like myself, probably just add tinder.

Didn't want to de-rail the thread more so answered in the Canna Bums thread in the Rabbit hole. Back to OP. 61 is a great age. I've heard its when a man is at his peak mentally, spiritually and sexually. Only thing is the mental peak only lasts a month. The spiritual peak, sadly only lasts for a week. The sexual peak, only lasts a day, so it's important to have lots of sex, pretty much daily because you don't know which day the peak will be on.

Moved from the Turning 61 thread. 3 Seeds were $30, but got a $6 discount so $24, but wait! shipping was an expensive $10, so $34, so $11.50 a seed, not so fast paying with a credit card meant getting 3 extra mystery seeds. So kinda $6 a seed, but I'm hoping all I need is one. That it germinates and gets me a dried oz or 2. I am a man of simple needs. I picked the Blueberry something because they seemed like ideal indoor plants. Self flowering, short, low smell, probably a hybrid of indica and sativa as I recall. <90% indica but I'm mellow w/ that> My plan is old school- grab one, throw in my mouth, and swish it around for a bit. The acids and saliva should soften the outer coding, change its RNA and establish a telepathic link with the plant. This way if I'm ever in trouble, say getting arrested I can call to it for help. Course being a plant it can't move or talk or do much. Still 20 years later when I'm in prison I'll notice a guard who seem a little dopey. I'll call to him, say 'Let me out'. He'll nod and say 'Why not.' And I'll be free thanks to the plant's progenitor. Thus, best $34 I've ever spent.

By bonsa-ing I'm just thinking of a heavy 90 degree tilt. I read good things about such training.

Encephalon, you've inspired me. Finally pulled the trigger and ordered 3 Blueberry autoflowering seeds. To honor my coming 57th birthday, grow one little plant bonsai style. See how it goes and grows.

Thought I'd make a thread for people to record unexpected consequences of things going on in the world. NASA is delaying the launch of some satellites* because of Covid. Oxygen is in such high demand (due to Covid) that they don't want to take so much O2 off the market. **At a space conference last week, SpaceX President and COO Gwynne Shotwell said, “We certainly are going to make sure the hospitals are going to have the oxygen that they need” for Covid patients. But if anyone has some liquid oxygen lying around their basement, “Send me an email."