taoareyou

The troll has gone from anti-industry rants to a standard issue anti-US rant. Just when I thought he couldn't have less credibility. lol. I wonder how long this will be allowed to go on?

Sushil, like every forum troll, isn't interested in logic. A population of seven billion people suddenly abandoning technology to become "hunters and gatherers" would decimate the "biodiversity". Animals would once again be hunted to extinction. Farming is a technological step above gathering and certainly something that would have to be abandoned by our industrial society. Farming that supports the populations we have is incredibly hi-tech. Without technology, without industry, we would quickly consume all the food sources before they could naturally replenish on their own. He claims to have studied the issue of the problems of industrialization for over 15 years but has only come up with a solution that will have a more devastating effect on the planet than the problem. He personally attacks those who point out these flaws. Someone who is sincerely trying to "sell" an idea, or convince people of the validity of their point of view does not insult their audience. Trying to bully anyone into a position with "if you don't agree with me, then you don't really understand the issue, so leave" is the practice of someone who is simply seeking confrontation. Conclusion: Standard issue troll, spamming forums, looking for arguments for their own entertainment. Nothing more to it.

You spend so much time telling everyone in all these forums what they should do, giving them suggestions as to what you feel they need to focus on while at the same time stating that "Endless Discussion, Debate and Argument is a Disease and Insanity of Industrial Society that invented the Printing Press, Radio, Television and Internet". You are like a gun store owner calling for the ban of guns. To have credibility, you need to practice what you preach my friend. So here is are my suggestions for you, ones that will let people see you as someone who is serious, rather than a standard issue Internet troll: 1. Stop posting rants attacking humanity. Sure fire sign of a nutcase. In fact, stay off the Internet as a whole. 2. Live the lifestyle you want to promote. Nobody goes to an obese person for fitness training. 3. Start small. Find others near you who are of like mind and grow. Let others take notice of you and they will spread the ideas to more. As long as you continue the method you have chosen, you are defeating yourself.

Making up statistics to support alarmist views only hurts the credibility of your message. A message that you copy and paste to multiple message boards. Such as: http://www.ldsfreedo...hp?f=2&p=344543 http://www.davidicke...hp?p=1061230767 http://www.online-li...and-Environment A simple Google search for the name: "sushil_yadav" results in many more examples of this same thread elsewhere. In my opinion, you don't post here to have a discussion. This is just one of MANY message boards you spam with your rant against society. A rant that offers no solution other than devolving. Abandoning industry would likely be the death of billions of people, since ancient tribal methods cannot support the current population. Calling for a solution that requires such a devastating sacrifice is ludicrous. Life is a struggle. Some things live, some things die. Cycles of birth and destruction happened before humans and will happen after humans. You cannot stop these cycles. At: http://www.culturech...trial_mind.html, you state that nature cannot exist with man. You think man is somehow separate from nature? We are part of the planet, just as everything else that lives and grows here. Everything we do is part of the inevitable progress of life. We are part of the whole, not an outside influence. You also claim "We are in the last 20 years." If you put a solid date on that, you can sell a lot of books, videos and various merchandise, because society never seems to tire of the "end is near" bit.

I agree, faith is not the same as belief. In fact, I defined faith for this post as: "accepting something as true without any solid evidence." We can believe in something with lots of solid evidence as well as without. Belief alone is not faith.

I like your points and try to live very similarly, with the exception of alcohol. I buy wine from a local vineyard here and also local beers from time to time. I don't drink to get drunk, but don't feel alcohol, in moderation, is the worst thing we consume and certainly not the first thing I would strike from my diet.

While I'm all for keeping our own environment habitable, I see us as all a part of the world, not separate from it. Matter is always in flux, changing forms. Stars form and stars explode. Some see one as creation and the other destruction. Really, it's neither. Life is one of those phases of matter. Most likely it's found generously throughout the universe. Everything you and I are, came from Earth. Life here is not some parasite that came to consume the planet. We are the planet. We are a unique state of matter that, at least from our perception, is self aware. I cannot say our actions are detrimental to this delicate phase in which we exist, but I do not subscribe that we are destroying anything. If we imagined being able to see life here on a very large and fast scale, we might look like the bubbling pot of boiling water. The bubbles expand and eventually pop and are reabsorbed. Nothing we do is really outside of nature, since if it can be done, it is within the natural laws of being. We may be a bubble that's about to pop, but I am of the mind that it's just natural. Step back even further and look at an even larger scale over a faster time: stars popping in and out of existence, galaxies crashing into each other, black holes sucking everything up and doing who knows what exactly, etc. We are the universe. Just on a smaller scale. All our activity may seen chaotic and out of control, but that's our perspective. If you ask a quantum physicist, they would tell you the chair you sit on is a chaotic and confusing world of high speed particles which are so unpredictable they talk about them in percentages of probability. On all scales of the universe, there is constant motion, constant changing of matter from one state to another. Yes, let's absolutely work together on ways to keep our environment clean. We're here, we're alive, and most of us want to stay as such for a while. However, the idea that industry and technology are alone responsible for our woes doesn't sit well with me. We just need to find balance. It's not like solutions aren't available. We don't actually need fossil fuels. We have the capability and more than enough resources to feed and power the world. We even have plenty of space for people to live. The core problem isn't technology, in fact, it's technology that would allow us the solutions to a growing population. The issue is us. We draw imaginary lines in a map and horde things from one another. We treat each other differently based on what land our mothers were on when we were born. We kill each other over these imaginary lines. We know how to be healthy, but we choose not to because we want to have power and power comes from controlling resources. If clean, cheap, widely available resources were used for fuels, then those people who depend on limited, lo-tech fuels to give them excessive personal wealth would no longer have the "power". Tech isn't killing us, it's greed that is holding tech back in the areas that would give everyone a better life. Humanity's enemy, if it has one, is and has been for a long time, itself. Even then, we're really just a phase of matter called life and the ultimate goal of life is singular: to spread. My thoughts turn to Pueraria lobata, commonly known as kudzu in my part of the world. This is an invasive vine plant that will literally blanket everything. It kills trees and shrubs in it's path. Over the years, the weight of it will even bring down the trees it kills. Unchecked, it could not only clear forests, but also human structures. This too is nature. This too is life. It consumes and expands, destructive to other life in its ecosystem. It's not our tools or our technology that needs to change. It's us. If we want to live longer, and ensure the current bubbles of life on Earth don't pop, it's not by abandoning our progress, but rather abandoning how we restrict our progress that will make all the difference.

The post was not about me specifically. Despite you repeatedly asking what things I have placed my faith in, I continue to make this not about me. For me, I don't feel the need to elaborate any further, because, for me, I feel I expressed what I intended. I have a question for you now. You stated that you don't believe in anything. Do you believe that?

Your interests will have to remain unsatisfied. You may not have read the entire post. Allow me to quote myself: "The lesson here is to value your faith. Treat it as a treasure. It’s very personal and very powerful." My post was not an invitation to relate the elements of my personal faith to a stranger demanding details. If you wish to discuss the post, and not me personally, I will certainly enjoy such discourse.

Anytime trust is given, you place faith in someone without having absolute certainty of the desired results of that trust. Otherwise there would be no need for the world "betrayal". Whenever you set a goal to accomplish something that you know has a possibility of not being reached, but you pursue it believing that you will in fact succeed, this confidence is also faith. Faith, on some level, is something that not only drives us and inspires us, but it's also an essential trait of a free society.

More than relying on just one translation, I find being able to compare many different Daodejing translations side by side helps give insight into the wisdom contained within the texts. Spend some time at http://wayist.org/ttc%20compared/indexchp.htm Personally, I own about a dozen different translations, some without. For tai'chi, my first experience was a beginner dvd by David Dorian Ross. Check out some of his stuff. Also, a really good online community is at http://www.taichiconnect.com/ It's also founded by David, but also has many members of all levels of skill. Lots of resources there.

We have three cats that live with us. Two were rescued from a shelter, and one was given to us as a kitten by a friend who could not care for a litter of cats. They are all domesticated cats. Their natural environment is with people. Growing up, I had a dog, a domesticated dog. Their natural environment is with people. Dogs have had a symbiotic relationship with humans for tens of thousands of years. In facts, dogs have worked so close with people for so long, they actually are more in "tune" with people than any other animal. Rather than going into the details here, if you are interested, watch Dogs Decoded. Living with a domesticated pet, having a loving relationship with an animal is often very healthy for all involved. The important thing to me, is where you find that pet. I am personally against pet stores because more often than not, these are animals treated like products. I wish I could find healthy happy homes for them, but in doing so I would just create an increased demand and the cycle escalates. Good places to get pets are from small family owned breeders. The ones that probably check you out more than you check them out. Who won't sell to just anyone with a credit card because they love their animals. Of course shelters are also a great place to get pets. One of our shelter cats is blind in one eye due to early neglect. We've had him for 14 years now. It's hard to imagine not having him around. You don't need a special breed with papers spouting the purity of its lineage. It doesn't need to have the perfect form or the perfect background. Go to a local shelter and visit with the animals there. If you connect with one, take it home with you, love it and accept it as part of your family. Exotic, non-domesticated pets, in my opinion, should be avoided. That python would be better off not living in a glass aquarium. That parrot would be better off flying free. A rule of thumb is, if it has to live in a cage, you don't need it as a pet. There are always some exceptions. I doubt fish really notice a difference. I've seen some pretty happy looking hamsters with elaborate habitats connected by fun tunnels and all sorts of exercise wheels and other things they certainly seem to enjoy. Watching them I sorta wish I could play in their homes. Finally, don't bring a pet into the wrong kind of home or a habitat too small for it. If you don't have a big, safe yard, don't get a big dog. Having a dog chained to a post or in a small pen for most of its life is very bad. If you have small children in the home, it may not be suitable for a cat. A little common sense goes a long way when preparing to share your life with an animal. Many animals, especially domestic cats and dogs, need affection and will certainly return it. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that.

I've been here about 12 years and the people here are generally nice. Asheville is definitely unique and I think they like to consider themselves socially progressive, although they aren't as progressive as they like to see themselves. For example: NC does not have a law clearly stating women are prohibited from being topless in public. Asheville does not have a city ordinance prohibiting it either and each year a woman's rights group meets in Asheville to protest gender biased laws and they have a one day event downtown where they call on women to come out topless to bring attention to their fight to strike down laws that apply only to women across the country. This year, the Asheville Citizen Times portrayed the event negatively in advance and chose to only print negative editorial letters to the paper, calling it shameful. The city sold the event organizer expensive permits to allow for up to 3,000 people to assemble for the event, then the week before, publicly asked people not to show up. The paper printed this and local TV news also reported that the city council was asking people to not participate. The event ended up only having a few hundred spectators, and less than a dozen women came out in support. Drastically less than the previous year. The city council didn't want to pass a restrictive ordinance, probably for fear it could be used against them politically, and let's face it, it's obviously unconstitutional to make it illegal for women to be topless if men were not also required to keep their chest covered in public. If the ordinance was challenged, men would have to wear shirts in public view, which would include joggers, people at the pool, or just males lounging about on their porch on a hot day. So instead of actually taking a direct stand one way or another, they sold permits for an event, then publicly urged people not to attend. That's not progressive, that's just standard issue politics as usual. So, the local government in Asheville is no better than any other city, and you're just as likely to see an SUV as a hybrid on the road. There are plenty of pretentious "green" people here and "progressives" who will stand up and criticize conservatives and Republicans in general but stand idle when personal freedoms are being pruned. Asheville, from my viewpoint, is just another corporate tourist city. Biltmore Estate, one of the largest local attractions has fired people because of their sexual preference. Since there is no federal EEOC enforcement of sexual orientation discrimination [1], and NC state does not have a law protecting against sexual orientation discrimination, this is not only legal, but common. Aside from the general disregard for civil liberties, the lead pollution index and particulate matter pollution index being slightly above national average [2], every crime index being above the national average, with burglary being over twice the national average [3], it's not a bad place to live. I do live outside the city though, on a mountainside about 20 min away so my air is clean, my neighbors are friendly, the weather is agreeable and I'm happy here. Sorry for the extended response, by the way. lol

The meanings evoked by the word faith are many. In this post, I define faith as accepting something as true without any solid evidence. Intellectually, this may first seem a pointless position for anyone to take. Isn’t it a risk to believe in something that may by all rights be false? I want to be clear that I am referring to believing in an unproven possibility as faith. Believing contrary to something that’s certain or even all but certain is delusional. Having faith that I will fly if I jump from a building is delusional. Yet faith has a lot in common with trust and confidence. In a relationship, we say someone is faithful if they do not cheat on their partner. It means their partner trusts them and that trust is honored. If someone says, “I have faith in you”, it’s implying they believe you can accomplish whatever it is they are referring to at the time. They think you are capable and will be successful. They don’t actually know the outcome with certainty, but they have confidence in you. Without faith, without accepting something will happen even though you cannot say with certainty it will happen, you cannot have trust. The fact that something has happened a certain way in the past is not solid evidence that it will happen again the same way. A simple example is crossing the street. I may cross the same street every day and every day there is never a car driving through my path. Yet each day, before I cross the street, I look for any incoming traffic. I don’t put trust in the crossing being clear, because being wrong could seriously injure or even kill me. Faith in others is trusting them. It’s an important and valuable mental state required for many types of relationships, from business to love. Trust is a big deal. Trust is an essential element of freedom. As trust diminishes, so does freedom. When you don’t trust others, you live in a perpetual defensive state. When your government doesn’t trust you, you live in a police state. We need faith, we need trust if we want to live together in a society. While faith is essential for society and can give you the personal confidence to overcome adversity, it can also be a very powerful weapon against you. It’s sometimes a weapon others will use to manipulate you for many reasons, but primarily for profit and control. Throughout history, religions have used faith to direct the masses based on their various social and political agendas. This isn’t something found only in history books, it’s still going strong all over the world. Aside from religions, every day people fall prey to individuals who sell products and services that take advantage of faith: spiritual healers, people offering crystals that will affect your life in some positive way, people who channel angelic beings to write books and record DVDs for you to buy, people who will assert they have special psychic and paranormal abilities and for a price, will use these abilities for your benefit. The law of statistics ensures some people will be happy and will make whatever rationalizations they need to maintain their faith/trust/confidence. Unfortunately many more just find themselves a bit poorer for the experience. If you ever need a reality check, ask one of these people if they’ll guarantee the product or service in writing with a full refund option if the required results are not realized. Most of the time, those who use faith to take advantage of you will also blame your lack of faith for their failures. The lesson here is to value your faith. Treat it as a treasure. It’s very personal and very powerful. Give it freely as much as you want, but don’t wield it blindly. Temper faith with intelligence or you will be left with delusion.

Hello everyone. I joined this community several years ago but apparently never posted anything. So instead of perpetually lurking, I'll step out from the shadows and *wave*. I'm a fellow Taoist, tweeter and blogger here to learn, share and muck about aimlessly. I'm currently reading Tao The Watercourse Way (thank you public library) by Alan Watts. I've also found hours and hours of his lectures on Grooveshark, so I've been trying to overdose on his insights. Beyond that, I'm just a middle aged man living in the rural mountains of North Carolina trying to find sense (and sometimes nonsense) in life and the world around me.