~jK~

I live in mainland China and have done for many years.

Shuuuure you do ... that is why you can't write even the character over the birds head correctly...

You guys are a joke.

 

You really need to travel to see how ignorant you are.

 

But - then again I see the reason - it took me about 15 seconds to find this report:~

 

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?.../25/MN54903.DTL

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In the most complete international study of schooling ever conducted, U.S. high school seniors ranked near the bottom in math and science, reflecting what educators call a crisis in American education.

 

Read more:

(02-25) 04:00 PDT STATEWIDE -- In the most complete international study of schooling ever conducted, U.S. high school seniors ranked near the bottom in math and science, reflecting what educators call a crisis in American education.

 

 

The dismal results, released yesterday, are the latest part of the Third International Mathematics & Science Study (TIMSS).

 

U.S. educators said the study points out the critical need for stronger graduation standards and much improved teacher education.

 

``There is something wrong with the system, and it is our generation's responsibility to fix it,'' President Clinton said. ``You cannot blame the schoolchildren. There is no excuse for this.''

 

One of the more ominous findings in the latest study is that even the American students taking advanced courses could not measure up to students from other nations. In math, they ranked 15th out of 16 nations. In physics, U.S. seniors ranked dead last.

 

In general math and science, American seniors ranked near the bottom among 21 nations.

 

Japan and China, usually the gold-medal performers in past studies of younger grades, did not participate in the seniors' round of the multiyear study.

 

Instead, U.S. seniors were outgunned in basic math by Sweden, Switzerland and Germany, among others; creamed in science by Canada; and overpowered in physics by the very country that is supposed to be looking to the United States for scientific expertise, Russia.

 

Only 11 percent of U.S. seniors understood, for example, one of the most basic concepts of energy conservation: that the amount of light energy produced by a lamp is less than the amount of electrical energy used to power the lamp in the first place.

 

On average, 21 percent of students in other countries got this right.

 

``Our students fare poorly on the largest, most comprehensive and most rigorous international comparison of education ever undertaken,'' said a disappointed Bruce Alberts, president of the National Academy of Sciences.

 

``This simply is not acceptable. It is our responsibility to prepare our youth for the next century, and we are failing them.''

 

Only 10 percent of high school graduates qualify for even entry- level jobs, he said.

 

International rankings for grade 4 were released in June and for grade 8 in 1996. American fourth-graders scored competitively, but as math classes progressed, scores declined by eighth grade.

 

The researchers hope that educators in each state will look at the results of the study and beef up standards, improve teaching practices and upgrade academic requirements.

 

California had such an opportunity last fall, when it debated what voluntary statewide standards to adopt in math.

 

But few educators and politicians could even agree on what it meant to match the state standards to the findings of TIMSS.

 

As a result, members of the state Board of Education clashed with the state Department of Education. Each side said its preferred set of math standards more closely reflected the best academic practices of the highest-achieving nations in the TIMSS study.

 

Even the TIMSS researchers got into the debate, with TIMSS executive director Bill Schmidt strongly criticizing the board's standards, and another important TIMSS figure, Harold Stevenson, praising them.

 

The standards preferred by the board members, who are appointees of Governor Pete Wilson, eventually were approved in December over the strong objections of state schools Superintendent Delaine Eastin.

 

But Bill Lucia, the board's executive director, said that despite disagreements over just what practices are likely to yield the highest test scores, the voluntary standards that were adopted are better than what California, like most states, has now: none at all.

 

``We don't even specify what math you have to take,'' he said. ``You can graduate knowing only basic arithmetic.''

 

Although the TIMSS report contains no recommendations for what states should do to improve curriculum and teaching, researchers looked carefully at the practices of nations that consistently outperform others.

 

Surprisingly, the answers suggest that use of calculators, amount of homework assigned, after-school jobs and even stress do not explain American students' low scores.

 

Instead, the highest-performing students are those who take the most rigorous subjects and whose teachers are qualified to teach them, having majored or minored in the subject area, said assistant secretary Gerald Tirozzi of the U.S. Department of Education in announcing the study results.

 

About 55 percent of students taking physics in the United States, for example, are taught by someone who never majored or minored in the subject.

 

Bob Chase, president of the National Education Association, said the TIMSS results represent a crisis in American education, and he called on universities around the country to improve teacher education departments and on school districts to professionalize the field to attract math and science experts back from industry.

 

Here are some of the study's other findings:

 

-- In all countries but South Africa, boys scored significantly higher than girls in math and science literacy.

 

-- Despite their relatively low performance, U.S. seniors were among those who had the highest perception of their performance, with 70 percent believing they did well.

 

-- Despite the different educational approaches and structures in the various countries, parents' education is related to students' math and science literacy.

Amazing at the amount of crutches used by so many that seem not able to find their own natural legs.

 

The way to acquire a clear mind & total focus.

 

How many of us have never cleaned our mind...

Dreams are subconscious methods of our mind trying to understand conscious realities.

The problem with dreams is that they do not stop replaying until we understand them.

This is also a prime cause of nervous breakdowns. To meditate we must go beyond this phase.

For millions of years our mind has existed in a natural environment. Civilization today is any but natural.

 

Problems in meditating come from when these dreams begin to replay as we try to meditate.

 

The method:

 

To eliminate these problems we need to do 2 things.

First make a mental trash receptacle in a corner of your mind.

Second as these dreams pop up - think of them as either needed to think about - or trash.

Throw the trash into the trash receptacle and think (meditate) on the other dreams until you understand them.

A main key in understanding this process is to know that dreams are often in a language of your mind's symbolism.

Taoists call this above method bathing as it is done at 6AM and 6PM - the same as a shower.

Most dreams come from Guilt, Hopes, Desires, and misunderstandings.

 

I learned the above when studying astral projection which is done by first mastering the Savasana. This process is done by first assuming the corpse pose

Then mentally relax each and every muscle in your body beginning with the toes and work upward. to the top of your head -not forgetting your back, arms, hands and face. Once your entire body is relaxed, imagine a red dot where your 3rd eye is located and focus on this until you can think of - nothing else for a minimum of 15 minutes.

As dreams come then use the above process.

Once you can achieve 15 minutes of clarity - 8 hours is easy.

Now for the bad news: the above is known as the "100 day process."

Good luck as this will separate the children from those with masters ability.

 

If you have trouble concentrating - or wanting to sleep - try these exercises first before beginning with the corpse pose:

The groin stretch releases sexual energy so that it balances the energy of the body tp prevent distractions from forming. (<=a major problem of mine !) - it will also help prevent premature ejaculation.

 

The other exercise was taught to me as the "cleansing breath" exercise where the only information I can find on it is in: "The Five Tibetians" pages 57, 58 & 59 where it is known as the Sixth Tibetan and has excellent pictures. In Hindi this exercise is called "Uddiyana Banda: Pelvic Contraction" and is also used as an internal organ massage.

This will cleanse you of old breath and renew the oxygen as it opens the lungs with new air.

Sorry, don't mean to sound like a cryptic guru or something; but who is it that is trying to break the ego down.

I'm not trying to say don't meditate. But if you do it in that goal oriented fashion, then it's just the ego looking for ego enhancing results. Sneaky little bastard that ego. Gotta watch him all the time. Which possibly moves us to the subject of mindfulness.

If you eliminate all of the possibilities that you might worry about - what do you have?

Meditation, to a large extent, is based on trial and error - to try and find what works for you.

Everything will not work every time as - a constant of the Tao is that nothing is pure - nothing.

Keep in mind that each failure is only a step foward as you have learned something that did not work.

One of my styles of meditation is working with astral projection (OBE) and even as I have practiced it 20 years-

I still do not get out every time - but when I do - they are reall ball buster of a learning and growing experiences.

***

Mindfulness is a critter that must be mastered before any progress can be made. There are steps.

The main one being focus. A beginners stage of focus can be learned most easily through learning Kundalini Yoga at the same time.

This book has the best/easiest way of learning it that I've seen - the author says a lot with a few easy words that do not confuse. The Five Tibetans: Five Dynamic Exercises for Health, Energy, and Personal Power

by Christopher S. Kilham

Interesting thoughts on meditations. How often do you practice it. What kind of meditation do you practice. Do you use music when meditating? Thanks!

 

These two are considered the entrance meditations:

I practice Kundalini regularly for short times - about 30 min to 1 hour in the morning.

With no time limit, after 6, pm I regularly practice the Savasana.

 

At whatever times - I practice: walking meditation, standing in line meditation (there is a difference in the breath), sitting meditation in trains, bus, in the park - anywhere I feel safe. - these help in focus as well as for some unknown reason I meditate better in crowds.

 

I also practice a few fairly unknown styles of meditation listed best in his book:

Concentration and Meditation: A Manual of Mind Development

by Christmas Humphreys

(strange name but he was high court of England judge & special counsel to the Queen )

http://www.amazon.com/Concentration-Medita...nt/dp/186204260

 

As far as music - I use it whenever I can find a style that fits into meditation.

Here is a few on video:

and:

Another with directions: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbWnFaFAePo...feature=related

I also learned to play a few musical wind instruments that work with the breath and develops/improves ambidexterity. I play a total of 9 types of which these are the ones I like most: http://hindocarina.com/ -He even sends them to me in China.

Meditation is the focus of my life.

Meditation is nature's mental own health clinic.

Meditation is the vehicle that delivers enlightenment.

 

All that I am is singularly focused toward new growth through meditation.

My life has been this way since first memories.

I see no reason to change.

 

Is meditation necessary for self realization?

Meditation 'IS' self realization.

 

Maybe a better question would be: What is Self Realization?

 

Could it be billions of memories flooding back to us from billions of past lives?

Could it be the ultimate knowledge needed for survival contained within our genetic code?

Could it be the same experience that new born babies have when taking their first breath?

sometimes I put a small piece of ginger with the carrots in the juicer and it enhances the taste.

 

Twinings brand have a lemon and ginger tea which tastes nice and warming and has lemon grass. For me at least, it subdues excess kidney yin. Your combination sounds nice, maybe I'll try it later. Another way to use lime and lemon is to boil them whole to keep in the skin fragrance then add that water to the ginger shreds.

 

In China - food is seen as preventive medicine.

Cold drinks are rarely taken - even in the summertime as they artificially destroy the natural Yang force of the body.

 

Ginger, as a Yang fire root, is one of the more common seasonings that is used at different concentrations and styles such as ground, juiced (tea), and sliced as a breath mint.

 

My own favorite invention in this category is 'Tang' in cold water in a blender with about 2 sliced & frozen bananas = a frozen instant smoothie. You should see the look on my Chinese friends face when they see me make the drinks - just before they say - "You drink Bananas ???"

 

Here's a website of recipes for summer & autumn: http://www.rawfoods.com/recipes/

 

By the way - When I lived on the mountain where the Temple of 10,000 Buddhas is located - I discovered that many of the enlightened Taoists & Buddhists, with the exception of rice, use a strictly raw vegetable diet.

In the monestaries though - they cook.

Education ofcourse... Lol im training to be an electrician now.. Mili Amps Are far different from 1 Full amp.. I know about the measurements.

 

One point that, for some unknown reason, generaly isn't taught about volts & amps

Even if what you are working on is rated 1 or 1,000 volts - it could be in reality much-much more or even much less.

 

What does make the difference is the stated voltage and the ground voltage potential.

Example: if your battery is + 10V and you are working on a motor that requires 100V - then when you connect it & turn it on - the actual drain on the battery will be ... (ask your teacher-he will think you thought of it yourself)

 

 

Try education first.

What is dangerous to a person, amps or volts?

http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/1998-...98536.Eg.r.html

I know this sounds like a bad idea but...

The other day in class, my class and I were shocking eachother with the amp meter(Soon im going to have a meter myself so I want to know).. Lol well anyway 1 mili amp isent dangerous and you can actually hold onto it and feel it go through you without any physical damage. Thing is I was wondering if energetically I could convert that energy to my dan tien.. Maybe alittle less energy but without damaging my system. Any Idea?

 

You were lucky.

 

The heart works on 0.7 volts. Human blood is a salt solution: it conducts electricity like a wire.

 

If you had 1/2 of the volts of a 1.5 volt flashlight battery (1/2 of 1.5 Volts = 0.75 Volts) get into a pinprick sized hole in your skin that led to your heart - you would be fried defibrillator style...

 

Essentially - it is all depending on the entry point of the voltage, the path of the blood vessel and the exit of the voltage.. Sadly - all blood vessels lead to the heart & other organs... Quite possible that a kidney or such is damaged and the signs just haven't shown up yet.

 

Although --- There is hope & if you do a little reading you may survive ! Check out this website - it is from a retired USA military Electrical Engineer (he doesn't like talking about the military...) http://www.forrestmims.com/

Just for clarity - since political systems are being discussed:

 

socialism:

 

a theory or system of social organization that advocates the vesting of the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, of capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole.

 

fascism:

 

a governmental system led by a dictator having complete power, forcibly suppressing opposition and criticism, regimenting all industry, commerce, etc., and emphasizing an aggressive nationalism and often racism.

 

In the first, ways are sought by which the people as a whole can own and run services, such as health services run by the state for the common good. In the second a single person or an elite make decisions for the many - who may be benign or not depending on his/their personality.

 

Western countries now tend towards some kind of social democracy whereby power is handed to the elected few for a fixed period, whether this parliamentary democracy (e.g. UK) or a Presidential system (e.g. USA).

 

Socialism does not = fascism ... that is just a daft slogan of (ironically) the right wing.

 

I would just like to add that the National Health Service in the UK was set up in the UK following the second world war which had both crippled this country economically and caused untold suffering to its people. The feeling was that the returning 'heroes' and their families deserved a better life and that there was a moral debt to be paid in terms of living conditions and health. The problem with the NHS is that it is incredibly expensive and the doctors (who are in effect self-employed) rip the system off by charging enormous fees and 'moonlighting' on private care. If you choose to go private in the UK then you end up seeing the same consultant as you would anyway - but just a bit quicker. In terms of pharmaceuticals the NHS does not attempt to produce drugs - that is not what it is set up to do - but has to buy them from the multi-nationals, usually at high prices (for new drugs) because they are motivated by profit.

 

Lao Tzu pointed to the three greats of the Tao:

 

1< The Tao = all there is in the universe.

 

2< Yin & Yang - through which we gained understanding through perspectives.

 

3< Leadership - Through which all of humanity is able to rise above the other a-a-a-animals.

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The belief system of religions is the most dangerous single path of any peoples.

if you think China is Communist you obviously have no idea about Politics or Chinese history. China is Socialist with a pseudo Capitalist market system and a pretty Totalitarian political regime. instead of a dictator there are different "branches" and "leaders" but its all one party and people have no control really. Communist would be small gov't not big gov't and there would not be different social classes. Communism never worked because its an artificial attempt at change through external means. Communist will never work until people change and greed/selfishness is eradicated. It has always failed because greed is still in the human mindset therefore causing corruption and failure

last time I checked, Bush isn't president anymore.

 

Was it 12 or 16 years of the Bushites? Either - in my opinion- was too much for the world to be forced to tolerate.

Correction: China was Communist under Mao, began to move toward Socialism under Deng and Nowadays China is moving more toward a Marx/Lennon philosophy. I doubt most in this discussion are able to get into Marxism though - it is quite algebraic.

 

If a "Totalitarian political regime" is anywhere in China - I haven't seen it and i've covered the southern borders from Hong Kong to Burma and the East coast from Hong Kong to Beijing - in a 20 person mini-bus. We stopped in many, many towns to eat, sleep and pee.

 

Although - I did see the Chinese military go into Macau to clean up the gangsters after the Portuguese left but they left once their work was done. I was just in Macau a few months ago and it is still ok.

 

It amazes me how many can chirp up with so little experience.

 

Communism never worked because its an artificial attempt at change through external means. Communist will never work until people change and greed/selfishness is eradicated. It has always failed because greed is still in the human mindset therefore causing corruption and failure

 

~~~Communism did save the 400 Million people that Mao Tse Tung cared about from starving in China And allowed them to recreate the new China that now has enough USA $ to destroy the USA economy ($1.95 trillion at the end of March). Source: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-04/...nt_11167852.htm

 

By the way - the Vietnam War was an effort to destroy the southern ricefields of China - and force starve the peoples of China - which is why USA poured Dioxon (code name Agent Orange) all over it before leaving. http://www.vn-agentorange.org/

 

Back to the Totalitarian nonsense - The reality is that the Chinese government takes very Harsh criticism from its people at lending so much to the USA after the history of Vietnam etc ... When Clinton bombed the Chinese embassy - people rioted in the streets accusing the Chinese government of being far too tolerant. I saw it in person in Hong Kong.

 

You think the common people of China don't know who has been extending your credit cards ???

These same people do not accept the luxury of credit cards for themself.

So what happens if you become dissatisfied with the choices of the Communist party and you want to elect someone else?

Remember Bush? What did you do?

 

IF you had read history and you would know what others have done.

I suggest that you begin here:

http://faculty.frostburg.edu/phil/forum/PlatoRep.htm

 

As one too lazy to read history must ask others - Here is an operative point from the above URL: "The democratic election of a leader who plans to replace a capitalist democracy with a fascist warfare state, for example, is a case in point. Hitler, it is worth remembering, was elected by a democratic vote, and it is surely not irrelevant to ask whether those who voted for him did not suffer from an unacceptable degree of ignorance and lack of political education. "

 

Study the Chinese electoral system and you may understand more.

It is the same "grass roots system that Perot was trying to install."

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Could be you within Chinese propaganda.

 

Vajrahridaya, I don't play dragons & dungeons.

I've preferred to live in reality for a loooong time.

I am stating facts that are easily proven by simply clicking your mouse on the URL's.

What is your point? From this end you come across as Joe McCarthy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_McCarthy

LOL. I don't think so. Communism was a complete economic failure in China. It was only the infusion of capitalism that caused China's economic boom. If you want to see how Communism works, go to North Korea.

 

And while the injection of Capitalism brought about the economic boom in China, the retention of the communist party means that personal freedom is still severly limited and political freedom is non existent.

 

Do we really need to detour down this road? The only thing that strikes me a relevant here is that both Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu were radical individualists. I believe that they would find government to be overly intrusive in virtually every country on the face of the earth today.

 

I don't know where your fantasies are coming from but from where I sit in China,

Communism is alive and well in China as is Capitalism.

 

I can't help but wonder if you even understand the terms Communism and Capitalism?

 

Kind of off topic, but... Along the maturation of the thread I suppose.

 

I think the best societal structure would be a Marxist ideal Communism which would be more of a Communalism. Where everyone shares in the work and profit and we all share in duties. Though of course there will always be those fit to do one thing over another. There will always be those that inspire and they can be the inspiration speaker? One who gets the people energetic enough to keep together and do the work? Which is really what a Guru in any Ashram is supposed to be, is an inspirer, not a dictator. It can be successful, but I don't know if it truly can be on such a large scale as current globalism demands? I don't know? It's worth questioning I think.

 

I repeat: I can't help but wonder if you even understand the terms Communism and Capitalism?

Some one has been slurping up sugared spoonfed news...

 

Think this: The Government funded the Mass Transit Railway system through the Communist economic system and then made it public on the Stock Exchange through the Capitalist economic system.

Now Hong Kong has a mass transportation railway system that runs every 3 to 5 minuites.

Take a look:

http://www.mtr.com.hk/eng/train/intro_index.html

By the way - it carries 2.3 million passengers daily in Hong Kong

18 Million daily in Beijing.

Guess what - No Traffic Jams!

I can ride in air conditioning from one side of Hong Kong through the New Territories to the mainland of China for about 5 US$ - It takes a total of about 45 minuites.

 

Here is a map to help you understand the system:

http://www.hong-kong-travel.org/MTRKCRMap.asp

 

By the way - there is also a bus systen that was funded by the government and later listed on the stock exchange system - the busses run every 9 to 15 minuites - And a mini bus system that is privately owned and operated by the drivers And a taxi system privately owned and operated by the drivers.

Child labour exists in all countries. I, for one, have been working, in USA, since I was 6 years old and was proud to be working at that age and still am happy with it. Actually I created my own business at that age - shinning shoes.

 

It cannot be denied that to judge one nation, to be in touch with reality, All nations must be judged in comparison.

 

History of Child Labor

http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/childlabor/

 

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/history-of-child-labor.html

 

http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units...04.01.08.x.html

 

Eventually the Dungeons & Dragons mindset that seems to prevail with many posters, claiming supernatural powers etc. etc, will need be eliminated in favor of reality.

I think that the "opiate of the masses" argument put forth by Marx and Engles was made pretty much worthless after we got a chance to see what communism did with their atheist states. The situation was and is absolutely no better. In fact, I think that it is worse in many ways, since people tend to not have strong sources of hope and they have no basic ethical model to guide their lives. Like it or not, socially proscribed ethics and morality is very important for societies to run smoothly, even if these things can sometimes be restrictive for the spiritually inclined minority. I would personally be terrified to live in a country made up purely of existentialists, even though I love the study of existentialism and personally believe in many of its tenants. I just do not have that much faith in the masses, I guess, to suggest that everyone think that there is no absolute right or wrong. Maybe this is just the high school teacher in me.

 

Totalitarian governments exist plentifully in countries with Christianity, Buddhism, Atheism, and practically any other -ism. Even an (agnostic) democratic state can run into some pretty horrible tyranny of the majority. This is a universal societal problem that every group most fight to counter, no matter what the predominant religion or belief might be.

 

Communism is an economic system - the other side of the coin is Capitalism.

Comunism is used to help a nation create economic systems that can evolve.

Capitalism is an evolved economic system.

Nothing is pure - absolutely nothing.

Come to China to see it working.

 

Buddhist teachings are for the person to create a healthy mind.

Take a look: http://www.amtbweb.org/tchquote.php

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