steve

I love wool. Blankets, socks, sweaters, hats, occasionally pants. Good stuff.

Since we all participate in a forum discussing the subject, it's certainly reasonable to discuss the words we use for the topic. If we weren't hung up on words we'd be practicing rather than reading and posting. My favorite this week is 'being'. Until recently I favored awakening but that implies that we're currently asleep and I don't really think that's quite right. How can we be asleep when we are aware of the "I-ness" all the time? We never really can get away from the "I am" feeling so we're not really asleep. The problem is that we simply have difficulty not identifying it with the body/mind. Enlightenment implies a change from one mind set to another, re-enlightenment implies another change beyond the first, neither captures the essence for me... opening has a genuineness about it . I guess I like opening and being.

Amazing! Diva has always been one of my favorite films, my wife's as well, since it was first released. The music is brilliant, as is the story. I'll have to check out some of his stuff.

Well said! The Dao has nothing to fear from man since man is but a blink in the Dao's eye. I totally agree regarding the diamond and pennies analogy... some wonderful principles were developed as a guide for right, natural living. Gurus and teachers interpret things as they see fit and we accept their interpretations. There's nothing that will lead you further astray than a well-intentioned teacher! This exercept from Laozi seems salient to this discussion: Can you hold the door of your mind open wide to the universe? With the natural grace of a child, at the same time, can you become a parent? Can you befriend all without prejudice or taboo? Can you perfect your sight, discover your faults and master yourself? Can you balance the forces of both sexes within? If you can, give birth to a new life and carefully nurture its growing. Show the way without strife, stay in the lead and in the right, without your followers knowing yours is the Great Way. --Lao Tze

I don't see the Dao De Jing as the "bible" of Daoism. I don't even see it as the most important work of Daoist literature. It's simply one of many written works in the canon. I found it very difficult to get much our of the classic works until I had connected with some of the core concepts. This came through practicing Dao meditation. There are other readings that have helped me grow in my understanding dramatically as well, some not in the Daoist canon but expressing very similar ideas in different ways. Many have been posted in other threads or stickies. Here is a list of a few readings that have helped me return to the Daoist classics with a deeper level of understanding and appreciation: Alan Watts - What is Tao? and The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are Osho - When the Shoe Fits (Chuang Tsu), The Empty Boat (Chuang Tsu), Tao: The Pathless Path (Lieh-Tsu) Raymond Smullyan - The Tao is Silent Anthony DeMello - Awareness J Krishnamurti - To Be Human and A Light to Oneself UG Krishnamurti - The Mystique of Enlightenment Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj - I Am That David Godman - Be As You Are: The Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi Jeff Foster: Life Without a Centre: Awakening from the Dream of Separation Good Luck! Branch out a little if you feel like you have attached too much to any particular book, point of view, teacher, or idea. After all, it's all just stuff created by the mind. It's all really a distraction from what is behind it all... Here's a nice quote from Sri Ramana Maharshi Do not meditate - be! Do not think that you are - be! Do not think about being - you are! I'd like to add to myself - stop reading so many books - be!!

Rant on.... Homosexuality exists in our daily life. Homosexual persons are individuals as are heterosexual persons - black, white, fat, skinny, strong, weak, attractive, ugly, smart, stupid, feminine, masculine, responsible, irresponsible, doctors, lawyers, addicts, killers, pedophiles, priests, senators, buddhas, awake, asleep, it's all the same. Overall, they tend to face more challenging situations throughout their lives then their hetero- counterparts due to our religion/myth-obsessed society and culture. We tend to lump them together so that we can feel more confident in our ability to "understand them" as if that were possible to do. Just like we lump together blacks, Jews, Christians, Buddhists, politicians, cops... As long as we label people, we will never see them for who they are - us!, we will only see our image of who we have decided they are. Drop your images of "homosexuals" and give people the courtesy of seeing them as human. They are you! The "I" is the same. Everything else is illusion. Once this is understood, compassion will be unavoidable. PS - with all due respect, I think it's ludicrous to talk about whether any Daoist immortals are gay - they're myths for goodness sake, who cares who a myth wants to fuck? Who cares who your neighbor wants to fuck? Why should you or I care? What difference does it make that the people who wrote stories about Daoist immortals chose to describe them as straight or gay? Don't you think it simply reflects the authors and their socio-cultural biases? Or are we facing a myth that is now accepted as literal fact, that's even scarier... You and I are every bit as immortal as are the so called Daoist immortals, we just don't see the forest for the trees - wake up! Sorry for the rant but I have seen alot of suffering among homosexual friends and family members and the ignorance and insensitivity that surrounds this topic pisses me off... Rant off... PS - Cam - don't take this as a slam at you for starting the thread - it's not

Quite true. The way we smoke tobacco in modern society is exploiting and denigrating to the spirit of the plant. We grow thousands of acres of the stuff, harvest it impersonally and profit from the addiction associated with it - regardless of the presence or absence of additives. Natural tobacco is like natural opium, it's still toxic and addictive. The natives treated it with respect and communed with the soul of the plant like shamans do with all the natural resources they use. They used it sparingly and for religious or healing purposes, not to feed a craving. In addition, it appears that there were some extremely potent strains of tobacco that were injested (possibly through the nose - not by smoking) that led to hallucinogenic experiences similar to ayahuasca, peyote, sage... The garbage that is grown commercially is probably very different. There's interesting info on this in Supernatural: Meeting with the Ancient Teachers of Mankind by Graham Hancock. Don't get me wrong - it's your choice whether to smoke or not, I don't mean to tell you what you should do, but don't compare what we do in modern society with what native shamans do and did - the intent and consequences are completely antithetical.

Simple observation - sore as hell today! Started a weekly (maybe twice weekly) training routine with (stronger and younger) taiji classmate: 2 man set x 3 fixed da lu drill ~ 5 minutes moving da lu drill ~ 5 minutes cai/lie drill ~ 5 minutes taiji self defense techniques ~ 20 minutes push hands - fixed and moving ~ 20 minutes ---add arm and leg qin na and sweeps ~ 10 minutes Then had to teach class for 90 minutes.... could barely get through the jian form, legs were jelly. Hopefully it'll get easier as we do it more regularly. PS A pop in the back is generally nothing to worry about unless it's associated with pain, numbness, tingling, weakness, or loss of sphincter control. The joints often pop - probably due to nitrogen coming out of solution as movement creates a vacuum in the synovial joint. Tendon snapping can occur as well, particularly around the scapula. I'm not much of a believer that the facet joints subluxate much in the absence of severe trauma - once you've dissected or operated on a spine and seen the inherent stability in the joints due to bony architechture and ligamentous support, it's a tough stretch of the imagination to imagine it popping in and out of anything.... Sure, muscle spasm can cause the joints to malalign slightly, but they don't move very far.

I currently follow both and I believe, for me at least, that they can't be separated. I am open and receptive to what is present NOW - this instant, and again, NOW, whenever possible. At each instant I try to feel "my" presence or being whether it be through physical sensation or emotional sensation or that sense that can't be verbalized of simply "being" in the moment... "I am" Simultaneously, "I" try not to identify the "I" with the thoughts as they arise and diffuse. The instant the thoughts come, time comes into play, and we try to name the nameless.... THe nameless is the real, the named is just an image, a word or words that can never come close to capturing the reality. The illusion is created by the interpretation of that which is "accepted" by the mind so, in that way, accepting and denying can't really be separated until the illusion is seen through. In other words, it seems as if I'm "accepting" the instantaneous input or awareness and "denying" the illusion created by linking that awareness to memories and projections into the future. It all sounds so complicated when putting it into words but it's really simple, it just takes a lot of attention/awareness. And the more I practice, the more I enjoy the practice...

Reality - that which is present, in the moment - NOW..... NOW.....and ..... NOW. The experience of NOW.... Pretty much everything else is illusion - past, future ... all just memories and thoughts created by the projection of memories. Real is NOW Taijiquan is a wonderful exercise for training the continuing focus on awarenss in the present moment with the entire being. Dao meditation is also very valuable for the same thing. In addition, meditation allows one to observe the workings of the mind and gradually become aware that "I" doesn't really mean anything. It is an illusion created by the organic being the serves as our frame of reference but it is not the same as "I"...

There was a time when I enjoyed collecting, working on, shooting, reloading ammo for, and carrying guns. At that point in my life, I was very Yang, into self defense, and paranoid, it was an interesting journey. I came to a point where it meant nothing to me anymore. One day, I really looked deeply into the experience of killing someone, were I to be put in that position, and I realized that, at the time, I had no desire to kill, even in self defense. Gun carry supporters like the saying: "I'd rather be judged by 12 than carried by 6." I don't know if I can honestly say that. At this point in time, I don't feel that death is my enemy so much anymore. I still love and study martial arts (without using any practical or modern weapons) but more for spiritual and health reasons (even though I get into quite physically and seriously). I don't feel any need or desire to use or carry guns at this point. If I am attacked, I may or may not be able to successfully to defend myself. That will be the case with or without a gun. It doesn't enter into my thoughts very much anymore - my fear has diminished. I do have a few thoughts on the matter since the question came up: Guns are not evil, they are tools used for punching holes through things at a distance. If you choose to buy a gun, learn how to use and maintain it safely, and practice once in a while. Keep it securely locked up at all times that it's not on your person. I'd wager that more children are accidentally killed by guns each year than bad guys killed by private citizens... If you choose to carry a gun, learn how to use, carry, and maintain it safely. Learn how to hit a chest/abdomen high, grapefruit sized target consistently at ~ 5-10 yards without using sights and practice frequently. If you can't do that, it's much more likely to hurt than help... I think the energy is in you, not the tool. I can kill someone just as dead with a teaspoon, it just takes a bit more effort...

Here's an interesting website a friend sent me. I haven't spent much time on it yet. Thought there might be some interest here... http://www.eng.taoism.org.hk/daoism&hu...p;art/music.asp

I've given up asking people how they are. It's always "Hi, how are you?" then I'm required to say fine and reply, "How are you?" Neither of us generally wants or necessarily feels comfortable to take the time to discuss our physical or mental health, the health of our loved ones... Now when someone asks me "How are you?" I say fine and leave it at that. Some people are really taken aback - it's entertaining.

The two primary human motivations seem to be fear and desire. Both are deeply integrated in our psyche due to a combination of biology and sociology. As Lin said, desire can never be satisfied nor can fear be eliminated by the mind. There is nothing wrong with seeking what makes one happy and letting go what makes one suffer. Recognizing the fundamental "oneness" of humanity leads to compassion. Compassion helps you balance what makes "you" feel good at the expense of making "them" feel bad. The way to liberation, however, is by achieving a state that transcends fear and desire and even transcends compassion, as ironic as that may sound - I think this is what cultivation strives for, whether Daoist, Buddhist, Hindu,... - going beyond the mind. At that point, it is irrelevant to discuss "good" and "bad" desires anymore. Fear and desire are left behind with the mind/person.

One of my classmates often puts on some music for taiji/qigong practice. I don't know what it is specifically, but it's a mix of Asian and South American music mostly leaning toward solo or ensemble indigenous flutes.

Bring some of the good stuff! It's hard to get over here...

Perhaps, after a period of quality instruction or practical martial experience. A teacher is important, IMO. Bad habits are very easy to develop and a discriminating eye requires a lot of experience. Also, a teacher should be someone who can show you what has worked for them in the past so that you don't have to repeat all the same mistakes, especially in a combat situation. A very good student can glean a lot from the classics but needs some first hand guidance for optimal results, IMO. Focus and intent vary dramatically depending on the goal of practice at any particular point. There are many things worthy of focus, practice, study in the forms - quiding the qi, maintaining song, breath coordination, posture, diffusion of awareness, continuity of awareness in time, expressing fajin, the list goes on and on. External and internal should be coordinated so that the external will reflect the internal. One thing I look for in a student/competitor/teacher is whether I can sense their intent in their movement. Preach it? Yea, unfortunately, I like to talk a lot - much more than my teacher would like... More importantly, I try to practice it! Frequently - I usually practice with an overly heavy sword (or staff or whatever weapon I'm working with) to build strength and endurance. Sometimes I'll then use a medium or very light wooden model or do the weapon form without a weapon at all. Valuable training techniques for sure.

According to my teacher (from Taiwan), there is very little continuity left among Buddhist or Daoist lineage/martial practice in mainland China. He constantly talks about the "monks" and "martial artists" paraded by the government for tourist purposes. He tells some funny stories about the "monks." The answer is martial intent. Modern wushu sacrifices martial efficacy for drama, beauty, and demonstration of physical/acrobatic ability. Martially effective stances are not as low or wide as wushu stances. Posture is maintained rather than exaggerated for effect. Hand postures serve more than visual purpose. Posture (at least in taiji, xingyi, and bagua) adheres to the classics and songs, rather than pleases the judges for competition medals. This is a consistent difference when looking at traditional vs wushu forms. A perfect example is the use of the flexible sword for it's light weight and dramatic vibration rather than for it's strenght and weight for cutting.

One practice is to focus on whatever is happening at any given moment with all your being, all the time. Give yourself over to it entirely. Smell all the smells, feel whatever is in contact with your skin entirely, pay attention to every sound, taste, etc... If you're interacting with another person really try to see them and hear them as if you've never met them before. Make every moment new. Allow yourself to do whatever it is you are doing while being totally immersed in your situation - be fully present and aware. Whenever the thoughts creep in and distract, return to your senses and the present moment. Over time, it gets gradually easier. It's very difficult in the beginning. It's only when you are fully present in the moment that you are really alive. Experience it and enjoy it. Life is much too short, beautiful, and valuable to live in your thoughts. The thoughts will be there, waiting for you, you can do fine without them.

Now that's the fighting chicken form! Awesome footwork...

Yup - it's human nature. The need to "become" something "better" than what we currently are. People exploit that human desire. The longer you follow someone, the farther they take you from the truth... The truth is right here, right now, it's just obscured by a fog of thought...

Looking for something new to discuss.... Lately, the main thrust of my cultivation has been through developing real-time awareness on an ongoing basis, minute to minute, day to day... It ain't easy, obviously. I still practice seated and standing meditation, xingyiquan, and taijiquan. One thing I've noticed is the great value of the taijiquan form in helping me to achieve this real time awareness. So far, I have not found a better technique to practice this. This seems to be, at least partly, linked to the experience of not only three dimensional awareness of the body in space but the fourth dimensional awareness in time. I wonder if much of the health and well being benefits in practicing the taijiquan form are linked to strengthening the awareness - linking the "I am" with the physical experience, without the intervening fog of mind and thought. Obviously, there are physical benefits of the isometric and isokinetic movements, but there is something that goes beyond. This is something I really emphasize to my students. Any comments?

Nice thread - here's my experience today: My teacher's been encouraging me to do taiji form for 1 hr daily to help my asthma. I find it hard to find the time. Last night I decided it was important. Woke up this am at 5am without an alarm - decided I'd rather sleep than train but something wouldn't let me go back to sleep. Went out front and did the Yang 108 twice without break (~25 min each) followed by a Yang variant that supposedly predates Yang Chen Fu that's about 80 postures and takes ~ 15. All in all I did a bit more than 1 hr straight. I felt much more aware than usual. Very in touch with sounds, sights, the feel of breeze on my skin... In addition, the yi was leading the qi very consistently throughout with fewer lapses than usual. Felt much less sore than I expected in the legs, although there are several deep postures in the "ancient" form as my teacher calls it and they really tired me out a bit by the end. The day has been glorious. Several things have transpired that would normally annoy me and they haven't. My awareness practice has been better than usual at work. I haven't gotten as much shortness of breath as I often do on muggy days like today. I feel very aware and energized. Good day - hopefully, the trend will continue...

This week: 1. Nisargadatta Maharaj 2. Alan Watts 3. Jiddu Krishnamurti 4. Osho 5. Me

We practice two qigong exercises called turtle and crane breathing. The basically consist of a rotational movement incorporating the head, neck, and upper spine in forward and reverse directions, coordinated with breath and intention. I'll try to find out where my teacher learned them.