Marblehead

7 hours ago, dmattwads said:

Maybe to help narrow down the topic of bit more into differentiate what would be the difference between taoism and Chinese folk religion?

Actually, I wouldn't even call it "folk religion".  Culture, yes.  And yes, Taoist Philosophy draws upon that.

11 hours ago, thelerner said:

What the Author Silvers was getting at is that those two books while important, were part of a much much larger library of must readings for religious Taoist.   ie for for a philosophical Taoist they're must reads, for a religious Taoist they're within a subsection of must read. 

I won't argue with that.  When I first started reading of Taoism I did try to read other aspects of Taoism beside just the philosophy but it wasn't what I needed or wanted in my life at the time.  Therefore I returned to just the Philosophy.

I think the best example of Fascism would be Italy pre-WWII, not Germany.  There were too many insane conditions with German Fascism.

20 hours ago, ralis said:

Fascism is a right wing idealogical movement which is easily proven if one has even a modicum of intellectual curiosity.

I must regretfully agree with Ralis this time.  Fascism is extreme Right mentality.

And after all is said and done, I am still the center of my universe.

That's one full of wonder picture.

Don't ask me.  I'm an Atheist.

But then, assigning value judgements to someone else's concerns rests totally in the assigning person's self interests.

If we could pass by those discussions of concepts we feel are petty we wouldn't be bothered by them and those with the petty problems might be able to get some useful advice.

Just saying.  We each have our own set of petty problems.

I wouldn't.

Goal?  To live and die a natural death.

Personally, I see nothing in the Tao Te Ching or the Chuang Tzu that would suggest that either of them are religious oriented.

But much of the Taoist Religion is based in the two documents.  (Buddhism as well.)

Yeah, I suppose that being around a transmitter and/or its antenna of something generating 10,000 watts or more would require certain safety precautions.  I would think that the RF energy would interact with our body's energy, especially our brain.

My experiences can go only to what I have been around.

1 minute ago, Cheshire Cat said:

 

In my opinion, it's impossible to identify a religion which isn't valid in its own terms. 

During a different lifetime I have argued that point.  I'm just trying to be nice this time around.

If they keep quitting won't be long and you folks will have a dictatorship.

I don't know enough about the religion to make any specific comments but Taoism is a valid religion with its own roots and structure.

10 hours ago, steve said:

At the end of the day, the emptiness of the individual is what matters.

I have been told that I am full of it.

Nice vocals from "Home Free".  I would likely put them in an Alternative Country category.

11 hours ago, 3bob said:

Btw. there have been a lot of studies about EMF around high voltage power-lines and their effect on humans,etc...

 

I worked around a lot of emf for years, metal shielding is supposed-to knock it down a lot.  

Yeah, lots of talk about that too but as far as I know nothing has been proven such that exceptional protection needs be taken.

And yes, most metals would absorb much of the energy.

"They're coming to take me away."

Won't go.  It says only UK or British citizens can sign the petition.

So his Fraulein is his Special Angel?

1 hour ago, wandelaar said:

 

Interesting - did that have any immediately perceptible bodily and/or psychological effects?

 

As far as I know, no.  There are stories about RF (radio frequency) burns causing all kinds of damage to one's body but as far as  know nothing has been scientifically proven.

But I promise, 500 watts of RF energy will get your attention.