lifeforce

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Posts posted by lifeforce

  1. Posted

    1 hour ago, Walker said:

    3. Serious question: why are you certain the definitions you inherited from your culture and language are more accurate than those Polynesians inherit from their culture and language? 

    4. You are a deep admirer of Deci Belle's wise posts, non? Why do you ask her for her thoughts on this, mon cheri? 

     

     

    3. The genatalia I was born with determined my gender. Hermaphrodites are the only exception to this.

    4. Deci Belle posted about Taoist Internal Alchemy, not political issues. She probably would be horrified the way things have turned out

    • Like 2

  3. Posted

    26 minutes ago, Earl Grey said:

     

    I had no idea your politics were different from mine, but from what I recall, we got along fairly well in some posts when talking about internal power. 

     

    I believe it is possible to get along, but the probability is questionable, given how very strong views on certain subjects divide people and have done so the past couple years. 

     

    If you stick around here, I'm happy to still discuss that with you since we haven't had any beef with each other.

     

    I'd like to hope others who stick around can do the same with other members on topics they can see eye-to-eye on too. 

     

    Hello Earl Grey

    I've always appreciated our correspondence and hopefully that will continue. My political stance is that I am against all forms of governmental authority. Whether right, left or centre, I find it all divisive. I only try to focus on common sense, not political bias. I don't wish to be forced into writing only 'left-friendly' posts. Opinions are going to differ, that's what makes discussion forums so interesting. It would be good to think that people who aren't politically polarised can still contribute to this forum.

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  5. Posted

    21 hours ago, sean said:

    Transphobia

     

    A word, and an insidious agenda, that the radical left have invented and forced upon the general populace as of late.

    There is, has been, and only ever will be, two genders. Regardless of your political (or non-political) stance.

     

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  7. Posted

    2 minutes ago, vonkrankenhaus said:

     

    Right now across top of page is: "No more right-wing bullshit." which looks very "political".

    Are all other kind of "bullshit" okay?

     

    And does "right wing" mean the exact same thing in every country and area seeing this forum?

     

    I never did read any of the politics type of posts here. 

     

    I joined to participate "explicitly in the context of Taoism and/or spirituality."

     

    But I can participate in this new discussion by stating that I am sorry people got into contention about political things here and maybe hurt each other or confused each other with that.

     

    Are people now being ask to take up a specific political stance drawn from American Politics situations in order to discuss Taoism here?

     

    Is it still okay to "just" or "merely" discuss Taoism here?

     

    Or must we discuss Taoism from, for example, a Maoist or Leninist dialectic or political bias?

     

    Or should the discussion of Taoism merely be anti "Trump"?

     

    I have never had any political views, but I did study much about Taoism and am in many other groups online which also discussing this and related topics.

     

    I have not joined any forums of political discussions and have little experience or knowledge of them.

    I know that I am not important here and also will never get any political stuff right as people believe in or want to or not, etc.

     

    So I will just do as always and watch the flow of discussion and try to go by whatever rules or restrictions (or now, politics?) are necessary to discuss Taoism here.

     

    I have no wish to offend anyone.

     

    Please advise.

     

     

     

     

    -VonKrankenhaus

     

    My thoughts exactly.

    • Like 4

  8. Posted

    So, just to clear things up, who is welcome here now ?

    I am not from the USA, and as such, have no interest in Trump related posts.

    As I show no political persuasion whatsoever, are my views, posts and comments considered inferior to those with leftist views ?

    I may be mistaken, but the vibe I am feeling is that only those who believe in a certain ideology are worthy of membership.

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  9. Posted

    53 minutes ago, Jeff said:

    The last few years have seen this site go increasingly more political, and further moving away from spiritual topics. Discussions around  things pro or anti trump have dominated the site, and to see this change has saddened me with the increasing polarity of the membership.  I have not participated in those topics as I dont care, and there is no point as no one ever really changes their views.

     

    But, such an exclusion statement, just makes the matter worse and further locks this site into a political format, and mostly forgoing the possibility of free and open Taoist/spiritual discourse. The simple fix rather than banning or asking members to leave would have been to simply eliminate all political trump like discussions.  There are endless number of sites to vote pro or con trump, but very few for free and open spiritual discussion.  Now it seems that one more such site has been dropped from the world, leaving us with nothing but more increasing political polarity. Spiritual traditions are about moving beyond such dualistic views into greater clarity or oneness. Telling half the world to pack up and leave does not make the world a better place, it simple increases the framework of hostility and war.

     

    This is so true. I mentioned this to Sean a couple of days ago in a post. Maybe the better thing to do would have been to delete the Off Grid section altogether and get the forum back to something resembling a spiritual learning and sharing space. Then we could have still had the input from valuable, knowledgable members without the melodrama.

    I rarely ventured into the swampish depths of the forum as politics and other associated subjects were not particularly beneficial to me. The internet is indeed awash with such places.

    • Like 5

  10. Posted

    23 minutes ago, sean said:

     

    Well, capitalism and fascism are right-wing and we've all seen how ruthlessly authoritarian and murderous those ideologies can be. Knee-jerk tropes about inherent flaws in Marxism and communism nearly always avoid admitting the horrific failures of capitalism. Its fundamental dependence on mass consumer culture and cheap labor (or slave labor whenever possible), ceaseless, unbridled destruction of the planet for the profit of a few, widespread inequality and poverty proximate grotesque wealth, half a million homeless in the U.S. adjacent millions of empty homes, an institutionally racist police force originating from slave patrols, trillion dollar wars but not a dime for citizens with cancer going bankrupt from for-profit healthcare, etc, etc. China is one of the most capitalist nations in the world by the way.

     

    Sean

     

     

    I totally agree.

    That's why I'm against ALL forms of political ideology. Governments have failed the very citizens who, allegedly, voted them in, be it left, right or centre.

    Signing off for now. Best wishes.

    • Like 4

  11. Posted · Edited by lifeforce

    16 minutes ago, sean said:

    You're also mistakenly equating leftism and authoritarianism when the two in are no way conjoined.

     

    Well, marxism and communism are leftist and we've all seen how ruthlessly authoritarian and murderous those ideologies can be.

    China is now an Orwellian dystopian nightmare with it's social credit system and ultra-surveillance. 

    We'll just have to agree to disagree on this one. I don't wish to get into tit-for-tat arguments.

    Over and out.

    • Like 1

  14. Posted

    2 minutes ago, rideforever said:

     

    What does it mean ?

     

    Trying to be with the natural rhythms of life, while the rest of society follows the herd. The path of the Dao is lonely and sometimes difficult, but also very rewarding for those willing to see it through.

  15. Posted

    1 hour ago, sean said:

    I'd submit that imagining one doesn't have a political preference is always a blind spot or disingenuous.

     

    If you don't mind I'd like to chime in here.

    There's no imagining on my part. I've been a true anarchist since as long as I can remember, waaaay back into early childhood, before I'd heard of the word, or even understood what it meant. I've never voted. The whole system is a complete farce and undoubtedly rigged anyway to keep us all in conflict with each other. 

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  18. Posted

     

    With all the talk of leftwing/right wing politics bullshit, and the banning of members for expressing their views(albeit in a rude manner),

    here is a slice of pure British anarchist punk from 1980. Crass were, and still are, one of my favourites. This is true anarchism. In the lyrics of one of their other songs "Left wing/Right wing, you can stuff the lot"

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  20. Posted

    3 minutes ago, rideforever said:

     

    And which pub is that, and what is for lunch ?

    What kind of work do you do and what kind of company can cope with a  non-conformist ?

     

     

    Oh, there are plenty of excellent country pubs in my locality. Meat-based lunches are my favourite. Yum !

    I'm a primary school caretaker. I try to keep my social interactions to a minimum.

    • Like 1

  22. Posted

    The bolded part sums me up. I consider myself a bit of an outcast, and I'm probably thought about like that by others. 

    I don't hang with the crowd. I avoid social gatherings with work colleagues. Observations of the behaviour of such colleagues has shown me that they are all two-faced backstabbers, who'll do anything to try and make progress on the promotional ladder. Lying and talking in small cliques about each other, it really is disgraceful to see. Then they want to be your 'friend' at Christmas, birthdays and the like. I say no thanks to that, I may have my faults but I have my integrity.

    I also don't watch TV. The mindless chatter surrounding soap operas, reality shows, talent(less) shows and the horrendous herd-mentality that is modern sports, is a complete waste of time.

    I don't partake in social media.

    I don't have a smartphone.

    All of these things, in this modern world, mean that I'm looked upon as strange, weird, difficult.

    At 50 years old, I'm past caring what people think of me. 

    I have my practices, my walks in the countryside with my wife and our pack of dogs, my books, my occasional pub lunch.

    The freedom I enjoy is priceless.

    • Like 1

  23. Posted

    TRAP

     

    Age is covered with cosmetics,
    Gray hidden with dye,
    Confidence is sought in men,
    Awareness deferred for the future.
    She toils on her job,
    Enduring tension and fatigue,
    Subsisting on tranquilizers,
    Pinning futile hopes on her children.

     

    Many people allow themselves to be trapped into a miserable life. When we see this, we might think "How tragic," but in actuality, they did it to themselves. We should all know how our lives are going, for we need only track the decisions that confront us every day.

    There are people who think that it does not matter what they do. Or they shrug that they are victims of circumstance. That does not justify an unhappy life. Illness, stress, divorce, maladjusted children, and fear of death trap us.

    Those who follow Tao do not want to end up in this way. They want to be free. They do not want to be victims. Therefore, although it is a difficult path, they constantly seek to expand the parameters of their lives. They do not suffer to be exploited or enslaved, and they will eschew what is considered "normal" in order to be happy.

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