thelerner

Its great to have someone here who is so knowledgeable about the religious, traditional and magical implications of tao. You don't have to create arguments when you disagree with someone. We're supposed to have different views. We have a chance to learn from a wide variety of people with incredible backgrounds. Michael

Lets try to get some Live conversations going tonight. Post here that you're going to Live Chat and um..go there. Wait a while til someone else comes. Or you can check the status of Live Chat, I think it shows on the bottom of the page if anybody is there. Sometimes it takes a while to get people on line, but we've had some nice conversations with 4 or 5 people. Lets try it out. Type to you tonight. I'll probably join up 9:30 pm US central time. The point is for people to join up at any time tonight and get some good conversation going. I know its a little U.S. centric to call it tonight, but in 9 or 10 hours I hope to have some conversations going Michael

You may want to try using music or dharma talks to 'tame' the monkey mind a bit when meditating. This is using training wheels, but if it helps you sit still w/ a quiet mind for long time good. Eventually you can get into the habit of sitting without the aid. The music, soothing from new age to classical. Dharma talks..I'm partial to the podcasts at InfiniteSmile.com the Zen inspired talks of Michael McAllistair. He's excellent. Beware, the real secret (he says) is 10,000 hours of sitting . Why sit quietly? Its a reset button for the human psyche. Trouble is it only reboots one layer at a time. Michael

I live in the tic toc world where bumps and groans are caused by drafts and settling or as Scrooge would say, the old bit of roast beef from last night. This Newtonian understanding of the world probably causes me to walk (or sleep) past all manners of inner and outer phenomena rushing past me. That said, I can't help thinking its a combination. That incidents leave psychic prints, and in the twilight between wakefulness and sleep your mind picks up on it and runs with it. Michael In the corners and cliff notes of holy Judaic writings there is talk of the other worldly things of seeing into the future, demons and possessions. Most of them tend to say, 'Stay away, give it no mind and it will tend to ignore you.'

A good source for chocolate and chocolate nibs is thespicehouse.com . They have a wide variety of spices, exotic salts, you name it. I've made Karen's Chocolate fudge. Very simple, very tasty, very healthy. Michael

Tummo classes are pretty rare. Its hard to find good information on it. I'm in the KAP class. I'm making slow progress, some of the other guys seem to have found the burn though. I wonder if there is an Indian equivalent? I assume there is. If you have any local tribes nearby you should ask them about it. On a less exotic front you can start calling yoga schools and tai chi schools, there may be an eclectic teacher out there who doesn't advertise. Yours Michael

Thank you for printing this. Often the religious taoists look to the west and the 'taoist' teachers and practices here and think (and say) 'What ever that is, it isn't taoism' Yet I think most people here would see the worth of the P & T scripture and agree with it. Say they strive for its ideals. So there is much common ground. To go a step further, the Western non religious taoist probably sees so much Religious Taoist dogma and rules as old cultural customs and non essential window dressings. Follow a path with heart, live with respect to others and you're environment. Michael

I'd think twice before schooling someone like Lin in Taoism. Make sure you're discussing the same word. I think 'Teh' goes beyond the Western definition of virtue. Michael

'Doing' Kava kava isn't a tea you can put into hot water. Serving it authentically is time consuming. I like the site. here's an interesting quote from it. Decaffeinated by Theanine This is the paradox of caffeine. The higher grades have more caffeine, but it has even more of another tea compound - theanine - to make it feels less caffeinated. Theanine has been known to promote relaxed awareness and calmness. White Tea (%) Caffeine Theanine Caffeine to Theanine Ratio Silver Needle (Natural) 6.1/// 4.5// 1.36 Baimudan 5.7// 4.0/// 1.41 Gongmei 4.8 ///2.6 ///1.85 Shoumei 3.8 //2.1//// 1.81 Look at the table above. The highest quality white tea, Silver Needle, has 36% more caffeine than theanine. The lowest quality white tea, Longevity Eyebrow, has 81% more caffeine than theanine. Yes! This is natural decaffeination at its most sublime. If you ever wonder again why Silver Needle and White Peony feel more calming than the lower grades, this table explains why.

_/\_ In the face of cruelty and insanity, we must be reminded not to become what we hate. The only sane response is to show kindness and help others. All actions cause ripples. Michael

Lets see the first word is Go the next is ...away or far Then personal possesive must be .. I a verb .. trying then comes a compound word ..to.meditate Just kidding Michael

That is a really manipulative reply she gave you, a world class psych . Ultimately you can't save others, they have to save themselves. I'd say put some distance. Michael

Use a pen. Real success is in making a good healthy habits. Figure out what you want. Don't worry about getting IT. Work diligently, be faithful to the habit, create the daily habits and the goal will take care of itself. Once you're on the path you tend to be protected from the demons, they go after those who meander around. There's a nice poster called '100 day gong', you can google and download. Michael

I've had salt on my mind. I met a guy a month or so ago who swore by special himalyan salt. I was at a spice store yesterday. They had 8 or 9 varieties of exotic salt, French, hawaian black and red.. they also had Pink Himalayan Salt- a unique salt which from the fotthills of the himalayans , originated form Marine fossils over 200 million years ago $2.99 for a couple ounces in a nice 2" cube container. I've been putting a dash into my drink, I just tried a method above putting a little bit on you're tongue, waiting for saliva and swishing it around. I'll probably try to make a sole w/ it and add a little bit to my water first thing in the morning. Michael

I've caught views of Bruce Lee through snippets of books where he is mentioned casually. One unusual lesson concerning Bruce is perfection can come at a heavy cost. One of his students who would later write for the Kung Fu series, wrote that Lee was a perfectionist who always pushed himself very hard, maybe too hard. His physique was amazing, but he'd injured himself very badly lifting weights. His films were ground breaking, but he'd be a nervous wreck while doing them. The writer commented Lee would play with his children by putting them on his legs and doing leg lifts using them for weight. Even in play he'd find a way to work out. Admirable, but without rest we burn out. There was an old martial art book that had an unusual comparison. The author had experience with both Lee and Morihei Ueshiba the founder of Aikido. The writer said that Lee was a true master capable of lightening speed. But that he would be no match again Ueshiba's divine skill. The guy who wrote it wasn't an Aikidoist either. He pointed out neither the 70 year old Ueshiba or young Lee had anything to prove. Michael

You can bond a newborn chick to a piece of wood. As long as the wood is an early and consistent source of food. Humans bond too. We create incredibly strong ties that are both physical and emotional. Its not just in your head, its deep within your body too. The question is what are you bonded to? If its not nourishing break it. It won't be easy. Throw your physical and mental energies somewhere else. Work out hard, find a hobby and try to get passionate about it, even if you're just pretending. Need I say stay away from the old object of desire? Michael By the way, the question was not self centered, we've all experienced it one way or another and there's no magic wand, other then the cliche time heals all wounds and you'll get over it.

Not according to what I've been taught and read. Though one yeshiva I was at mentioned there is the writing, more folk tale really of each 1,000 year period being the equivalent of 1 day of creation. This year is 5769, so that clock has a lot of time left on it. Michael

I find the best way to get people chatting is to create a New Topic that says, I'm going to Chat Online, its (what ever time) please join me. Then you sit and wait there(at Online Chat). You get people about half the time and its very worthwhile, sometimes mindblowing to be conversing in real time to people across the globe. You can send Private Messages to people as well to increase your chances of getting a group online. But if you just go there without an announcement you're usually waiting alone. Yours Michael

I can understand seriously considering it if you follow other Mayan customs- there religious or social ideas. But if you don't prescribe to the Mayanite viewpoint of anything, then why pick up on a single somewhat fuzzy concept? Othen then the drama? or to sell books and tv shows.

On her website Karen (forget her name here) turned me onto Coconut Oil fudge, its very good, kids like it. I can't find her recipie but this one is very close. 'COCONUT OIL FUDGE 1 1/2 cups coconut oil 1 1/2 cups raw honey 1 cup cocoa powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional, tastes fine without it) Dump it all in the blender and mix till smooth. Pour it into a pan (I use a 9x13 glass pan) and let it set up. Depending on your climate and time of year you may need to refrigerate it if it's over 70 degrees or so in your kitchen. Cut into small pieces and try not to eat it all the first day. First - you don't need to use the blender, stirring it up by hand right in the pan works fine without having to clean the blender. If your CO is too hard you can soften it gently by heating up the glass pan and then add the CO. Substitutions and additions - a quarter to a half cup of flax oil swapped for an equal amount of CO will give it a softer consistency. ground up brazil nuts, sunflower seeds and/or pumkin seeds add extra nutrition ground up sesame seeds will give it a texture like a nestle crunch bar. cinnamon tastes surprisingly good in it. I don't bother with the vanilla anymore since I can't taste it. I do add a little extra himalayan salt because I think it accents the salty sweet flavor.' I think Karens recipie was as simple as 1 part coconut oil slightly warmed to liquid state 1 part honey 1/2 part coco powder. I've added rice crispies to it, as well as vanilla and a bit of salt. 2 or 3 healthy ingredients depending how you look at it, make up a very healthy indulgence.

Great to have you onboard. I look forward to your input. Yours Michael

Without the Penis there'd be no Tao though you do have a point

That all sounds complicated. Looking at a beautiful woman usually tends to enlarge mine.

I ask myself what does the Tao have to say about the matter ... and hear only wind.... this one probably belongs in the Off Topic section