thelerner

I kept looking for where the girl came in too I'm unfamiliar with some of the authors but the plan seems good. About the 30 minutes reading one chapter of the Tao Te Ching daily. With some things less is more, I wonder if just a few minutes reading and a few more pondering is a better approach? To me its a book to be savoured rather then studied. Michael

Whatever the causes and effects, you win when you create a good world and can function well within it. Michael Which reminds me of a story I'm working on Lords of Gossamer which touches on the subject of what is real.

This is why Zendo's of old had teaching sticks, particularly for their theoretically oriented students. Masters would hold up the stick and say "I'm real, stick real, your head real" whack whack whack. followed by: 'Look at your thumb, consider the molecules and atoms there. Do you think whole universes are contained there? If the kid looks at his thumb and even starts to consider it, whack whack whack whack. my 2 cents Either ..........Michael ......................Or you've written this yourself which makes it even MORE valid

I keep looking but haven't seen it. They say between Saturn & Regulus just after dusk. At least thats what they said a few days ago. If its nearly as bright as Saturn I may have seen it, but I'm not sure. Michael

I'd like to defend brooms. Even in the forrest they can prove very useful. Modified they can become tools for fishing and hunting. Even unmodified they can be used for whacking other things, starting fires and uh cleaning things up. Maybe all techniques are ultimately dumb, but a man has to do something with his time. May as well do something they could build on. What looks like aimless wandering might really be getting a good look at the lay of the land. Before you set out on a firm path why not wander through a few valleys and peaks? If Real is sacred. Here's what I was taught: Sacred is what you make sacred. Has the Chinese Taoist Hermit achieved more then the Bronx Baseball nut? In terms of overall knowledge and accomplishment? By what measures? Both would be incomprehensible to the other and to a third party both would be a waste of time. So my point is..real and unreal are real fuzzy. We have to be careful making judgements about the reality others choose to live in. Michael later edit My late night posts are a bit less coherent. Goldisheavy has some good points.

Karma Yoga. Shoveling the shit together. Have them work together on charitable projects. Let the Churches, temples, mosques organize joint events that help the needy or clean up the environment. For all the bad press that religion has gotten in these posts it is important to remember the mountain of charity that religions have done in the past and continue to do- building the hospitals, orphanages, feeding the hungry. It a part of each one's history, a proud one that they can use to get to know each other and build for the future. Michael

1> Its not 2> We do. Wish people would use it more. By chat room, he means Live Chat, an option available between Gallery and REviews in the top picture. Since it can get lonely waiting. Its best to either create a new topic in Discussions or Post to people online that you're headed there and would like some company. Its great when you have a couple of people from all over the world discussing thoughts great and small. Michael

I don't think there are any 12 step programs and I'd expect books to tell you what you already know. So..practice. Practice losing gracefully. Play games, realize its just for fun and lose. Join a chess team. Join a martial art like Aikido or Judo where you're constantly getting thrown on your ass, get up and are thrown down again. LOSE Lose lose, get used to it, accept it, THERE'S NO GETTING OUT OF THIS LIFE ALIVE.

34. It is due to illusion born of ignorance that men fail to recognise That which is always and for everybody the inherent Reality dwelling in its natural Heart-centre and to abide in it, and that instead they argue that it exists or does not exist, that it has form or has not form, or is non-dual or dual. To me it means the intellect/ego is always going blah blah blah. Real living is heart centered, the real litmus test is does the action come from the heart. Michael

Check out the Healingtaousa site. Michael Winn has information & videos on 5 animals and 6 healing sounds (I believe he covers both in his Fundamentals I video). He has some good qi gong videos also. As a beginner I picked up his Fundamental II video and its still my favorite form. He keeps things simple and does a good job of explaining the energetics. If you like the videos he relatively inexpensive seminars all summer. Michael

Hmnn, nasty religious arguments on the 'Facilitating Interfaith Harmony Post' didn't start til the second page. Interesting.

I've seen calm Buddhistic parents raise bratty monsters. Unconditional love is important, probably at the top of the list, but near the top is discipline too. Setting limits and responsibilities is essential (babies, you can spoil). I literally had 5 Important Knowings for my kids. #1 was Me and Mom love you very much, but #3 was the timeless wisdom of Mick Jagger; 'You can't always get what you want'. That is a very very important piece of information for kids to internalize (as well its corrollary 'you can try sometimes, and you might find, you get what you need). Fully understanding that is half the secret of happiness. Example: IMO, a good parent does not allow the child to dictate or demand what they'll get as a present. You can take there wishes under consideration, but beware of being manipulated and getting on the Keeping up with the Jones track. Often less is more. Also, a Bjorn Papoose is 'an over the shoulder baby holder' that straps on to your front. Not all babies dig it, but when they do its wonderful. Any frontal papoose is great. Michael

To help establish good faith , I'd ask some of the members meeting to stand up and say good things, what can be learned from another religion. That might ease tension, foster good will and create some important talking points. Michael

Thanks for the link. Duly recorded as a favorite. Today's question is on responding to a neighbors violence. It gives me some food for thought. Michael

I admire it, but I couldnt' honestly sign it. There are people who, because of there actions, I would discriminate against. Similarly there are groups(not many) whose basic beliefs are so extreme and negative that I am prejudiced against them. Violence is bad, and should be one of the last options, but in truth I believe there is a time and a place for it. To actively live by the manifesto is wonderful, but too often there is yuppy new age sentiment of - I'll wear a rubber band, sign a petition, and I've done something, yay for me. Too easy. I'd rather limit myself to things less grandiose, but real. Money to the Heiffer charity, an hour at a food bank. Michael

Don't worry so much about kidhood, you'll be on baby watch for quite a while . Lots of contact, hold'em smile at'em. Get a Bjorn papoose, hopefully they'll like it. If they do its a nice experience to walk around with them, good exercise for you both and it allows you to get things done while being w/ the kid, a huge huge plus. Sleep is a big problem, sleep when they do if possible. If you're anal enough, track both eating and pooping times. We did for our first born and we were able to anticipate his needs so it seemed less disruptive for all of us. Last, babies cry, some of them cry a lot. My #2 was collicky for two years. Do what you can for them, but realize its not your fault, they will grow out of it. Michael Answering the question. Single most important thing..Be the parent 80% of the time. Loving, caring, but also strict, setting rules and boundaries. Be a friend 20%, on there level, no teaching, just play. One of the joys of parenthood is having a chance to access the ages we once were. So be a baby w/ a baby, toddle w/ the toddlers. Have fun just rolling a ball around. Best toy, a puppet, because it allows you to fully interactively play.

I'll soak up some sun early in the morning or late evening or in the middle if its cloudy, I won't stare directly at it though. Be careful, it can damage your eyes, its also very yang and can be over energizing. If its bright I'll just face the sun with my eyes closed and let the various bright colors circulate.

I was going to put in a question earlier. Do animals deal with mara/ maya? I think most of us would say no. Because they live in the here and now. Our ignorance happens because we're trying to figure out the unknowable future, regretting a misremembered past. IMHO the world (maya) is real. We are the illusion, because we rarely just accept It without covering it up in layers of thoughts, judgements and stories. Michael

Didgeridoo music is deep, on lots of levels. At Tao Mountain a few years back an aussie brought a humble PVC pipe version. It made awesome music. Michael

Violence starts as anger, and anger comes from a sense of loss. The fear of something being taken away. It starts in the gut, with a shallow breath and moves to hurt the source of the loss. Its a madness that warms and focuses while causing us to burn and separate. Michael

It gives me a place to keep my stuff. M.

Highschool: Shotokan Karate (excellent taught by strict traditional teacher) College: TKD (after Shotokan this felt very..commericial, it was the only one offered) then 13 years Shin Shin Toistu Ki Aikido (good stuff, mellow, hands on, included meditation, healing, breathing, body/mind explorations) These days, Kuchi waza and Wu Wei Michael Kuchi waza = tongue technique. Generally used as sarcastic device in dojo As in "Excellent Kuchi Waza Michael, now get on the mat and practice.

When I was backpacking for a few months I had a copy of Stephen Levine's book 'A Gradual Awakening' with me. Its style of Vispassana probably started me on a spiritual path. I've been influenced by Glenn Morris's 'Pathnotes of a Ninja.." bad tittle, great book(I also picked up his Meditative Mastery tape series), and it led me to taking KAP classes w/ Varjatsu here . Freebies!!! I enjoy the Zen Inspired talks of Michael McAllistair downloadable as Itunes podcasts, my favorite. Zencast is another good one, it has many excellent indepth audio courses and talks on Zen. Multi-week lessons free! Rawn Clark's ABARDONCOMPANION.COM site has an excellent series of guided meditation and kabalic chants. For you Buddhist Jews, the Awakened Heart Project for Jewish Meditation and Comtemplation has some great podcasts. Indepth History I like Dan Carlin's Hardcore History podcast. Haven't listened to it much, but on Trunks recommendation I subscribed to the Guru Radio podcast w/ Mark Griffin. Michael

To a fundamentalist anything that doesn't kowtow to there brand of dogma is satanic. That said there are enough 'bodies' out there strewn along the kundalini path that it could be taken as evidence that kundalini is satanic. If you're unbalanced, doing energy work can tilt you over the edge. Way too many people aren't practicing under an experienced teacher. Course that includes me, and I'm just fine.. I think I read an article that showed Lucifer's heyday was right after the movie "The Excorist" came out. From extremely rare occurances, suddenly possessions were the rage, dozens coming in from every city. Most calls from Catholics, but every religion was calling the Vatican looking for exorcists. When the movie died down, so did the calls. Movie induced mass hysteria? demons taken advantage of an opening in human consciousness? I tend to think its the former. Most of our demons are our own strangely loved creations. Michael