Apech

here, dragonflies snort, the sound ripples the water a soft summer breeze. (I like the avatar Mark)

Still in Portugal for a couple of weeks yet. The use of sesame by the ancient egyptians is disputed as while some say that tomb paintings show it was used in bread actual physical evidence is only from later periods and may be arabic influence - no one knows in other words. But if instinct is anything I would say they knew about it.

lasting just so long... immersed, I try to hold my breath waiting and waiting.

The light won't change it's resting ... its an energy saving bulb.

Thanks for sharing this about your father. I know it is a trivial and minor point but what is "sweet black sesame custard" ... is it nice? Do people eat it?

Dear Taobums, I have been meaning for some time to post some more stuff about Egypt. Recently I have been mainly working on the Pyramid Texts and am writing a three part article as follows: 1) Introduction and sarcophagus chamber 2) crossing the Akhet 3) coming forth by day and some hints on practice. The first part is attached. There is a huge amount of detail in the Pyramid Texts and I have only given an overview mainly to show that the the texts describe shamanic practice as well as funerary practice. I've also tried to keep things as objective as possible. I've practised for many years based on AE teachings but I don't like writing about subjective experience, so sorry if the whole thing comes across a bit bookish - but that's the way I am. Anyway I hope that anyone interested enjoys it - welcome any questions or feedback. Cheers. A.

Thanks again Marbles for this. Just a warning - there's stuff about what sounds like no-self in there ... watch out you might turn Buddhist if you carry on this way ....

inside time's full flow I dropped my watch and my phone now there's no alarm.

I think the other posters are right who say there is nothing anti-taoist about running a business and making money. It would be a challenge of sorts to run a business in a Taoist way though because of the commercial pressures in the world which tend to make people aggressive and protective. But I think it would be very Taoist if you could recognize and respond to the ebb and flow of market pressures and demands in a wei-wu-wei way ... but I think that you would have to be quite 'advanced' to do this. Good luck with everything.

blocks being in time outside the temporal sphere I'm still waiting here.

Good question I'd like to know what that is called too. IMO it's not an attempt to avoid confrontation it's a fairly intelligent way to get the other person to think about their actions. Directly challenging them would probably make them defensive and into aggressive denial - and therefore less likely to be able to think about the effect of what they are doing.

Your post caused me to think about forgetting and I think I forgot to think. Thanks.

If you do not see clearly, understand or have realized the nature of reality then you are ignorant (of it). Most people including (most of?) us are ignorant in this sense. It has nothing to do with IQ, life skills or application it is simply that we have not reached that stage of awareness yet. Without this we could not distinguish the sage from an ordinary man/woman. It is not a personal criticism. This ignorance is part of how things go wrong.

two realities How am I supposed to choose? Maybe toss a coin?

on the face-to-face my nose pressed to the mirror so which me is me?

Hexagram Main moving line Transform hex I think this is right - but done online with no books so someone say if I've made a mistake please!!! Basically I would say your situation is brought about by necessity and maybe not the basis for creative change e.g. deciding what to do with your life. You are acting honorably/well but you need to keep thinking what would happen if things don't work out i.e. with regard to the kids - they are necessarily the main focus of course. Don't make big plans yet ... hold fire and wait to see how things develop before that.

Hi Mal, try here: Macrumours scroll down side for iPad comments/articles. I haven't got one and was very skeptical when they came out cos I couldn't see the point but everyone who has one is delighted from what I can gather,

Tao of chemistry A periodic table A Chair in Science.

I have no real problem with what has been said above by effilang and others - in fact beautifully put for the main part. However I wonder if one problem is the term meditation which encompasses all sorts of practices which are quite diverse in nature. Some of the practices are helpful and some are not. There are mental practices and energy practices, visualizations and so on which are really just techniques and not (IMO) strictly mediation at all. I think if someone has had bad experiences in practice then it is likely that they have mis-defined the goal and the process to themselves. Trying too hard is a classic problem - mediation progress is measured in years and not weeks or even months (although I know some things can be achieved and it depends on your spiritual maturity when you start). It is best I think to start by just examining what is going on in your mind and being - with a kind of detached interest. Following the breath is a good way to gently develop inner concentration and it is important to relax of course. If you want to attempt anything more complicated then I would suggest try to find an experienced teacher with whom you feel you have good rapport (watch out for charlatans of whom there are many) and read round the subjects that interest you to get a good conceptual understanding. Practice with out expectations, enjoy it, observe with interest and do not rush. Just my thoughts. John

Welcome Terresa - enjoy your stay at TTBs.

There was a study in India (where there is a very high population density and widespread poverty) where in a certain village instead of delivering programmes like mass birth control and charity food handouts they just delivered two things. Proper public health like clean water and sanitation + a medical center and education to a reasonably high level. The result was that infant mortality plummeted and the families in the village started to have fewer children, individual prosperity increased and people started to live settled happy lives. Some of children became teachers and doctors etc. which added to the community in other ways. This is a kind of intervention but is very different from laissez faire capitalism. Not sure what point I am making here but your OP made me think of this because sometimes non-intervention can look like intervention. Health and education allow people to make their own decisions, act responsibly and need less government/nanny state. Just some thoughts Cheers John

Enjoy your vids. I don't want to contradict Mal but I did think you were talking a bit fast - not too bad cos I could follow it but maybe slow it down a little if you do another. Also liked the t shirt.

Being forgiving denotes a generosity of spirit ...you are for - 'giving', in other words you make a choice to give energy to heal the situation rather than perpetuate the blame. There was a famous case in England of the mother of a boy killed in a racist attack who publicly forgave the attacker(s). She would have been justified in hating them because the attack was cruel and senseless but she chose to forgive ... it is a conscious choice and a noble one. It was very moving to see it. Forgiveness heals the wounds of the past and as someone said it is not the same as 'forget' - in fact it is about not forgetting. Back to Satan and serpent ... The serpent Satan is said to have offered the knowledge of good and evil to Adam + Eve ... he is said to have 'tempted' them. I have seen this interpreted as being about duality. Good and evil are a duality and the 'tempting' is about entering into the time process. In ancient symbolism 'time' is shown as a segmented snake, each vertebrae representing a moment in time and the snake being like the stream of time. But also that time is just a kind serialization of the eternal (which is sometimes shown as the Ororberus or 'serpent with tail in mouth') ... in Egypt this was called 'mehen' meaning 'coiled' or sometimes the 'great world encircling serpent'. The 'fall' of Adam and Eve then is simply that their minds became fragmented into the 'parts' or elements of experience - they began to see the world as comprising separate objects in space rather than a continuum, the snake is a symbol for that continuum ... and specifically in that fragmented state. Our job, if you like, is to realize that the snake is continuous and part of that process is to realign the scattered energy (hence the symbolism of the snake which is wound round a staff - or sometimes two snakes). To do that we need to forgive the snake/Satan for having lured us into the mess we find ourselves. My thoughts. John

Hi, Weird and wonderful? OH yes see what you mean, welcome to the clib.