arnquist

Hehe..could just imagine asking a customer..

 

"Hi, how are you today? What do you feel is the correct path towards the true way that has no high or low? No inside or outside? No more or less?"

 

My guess is I would lose that sale

lol, yeah, I wouldn't recommend that either. The thing is, this wasn't a formal business encounter, this was at an event where the whole point of it was to get to know each other. I guess I did get to know them... I just didn't like them much, lol.

i know what you mean. its so hard to find people who are able to have meaningful and deep conversations....its so frustrating, but have patience. i'm sure you will find likeminded friends soon.

I sure hope so.

Ha ha Arnquist! Get used to it! biggrin.gif

Good advice I suppose.

I hate small talk. It's okay every now and then, to get a conversation going or to just have some fun. But being surrounded by nonstop small talk all day, or having a conversation with someone who refuses to move away from the comfort zone of small talk to something more worthwhile drives me nuts. Even though I'm not Mormon anymore I still go to church and church activities sometimes. I went to a YSA (young single adult) event this weekend that consisted of workshops, breakfast lunch and dinner, and a dance. The workshops were fine, lots of older people sharing their life's wisdom, even though it was very Mormon, they were sincere and I felt I learned something, or at least got to know the person giving the presentation better. But during the downtime talking to my peers was absolutely frustrating.

I found some people who shared my interest in Japan and Anime so we had some good stuff to talk about for a while. I tried to lead it into a conversation about other cultures, or languages, or talking about stereotypes in the genre of anime, or historical influences or the future of the industry or the differences between dialects and how they get dubbed into different dialects from Japanese to English, or the advantages of animation over live action for expressing certain things, or how anime has created an international subculture... they listened to me, but never really had much of a response. All they talked about was how cute something was or how funny something was, or how they couldn't wait to buy the next manga or DVD, or how much fun it was to go to conventions dressed up as certain characters... the anime related small talk was okay, but the non-anime related small talk bored me to tears. I like this, I like that, isn't this funny? isn't that weird? Making absolutely obvious statements, repeating jokes and stories that had nothing to do with anything, just to keep the conversation going.

I even tried talking about politics, I figured it would be a topic of interest with Mitt Romney running for president... Some of them didn't even know that. I was floored. How could a Mormon not know that we have a Mormon running for president? Wouldn't news like that spread like wildfire through congregations all over the world? Just goes to show how popular it is to ignore the bigger picture. How popular it is to only talk about pleasant things or things that are entertaining, things that agree with your world view. The whole experience made me sick.

Very interesting. I like how they tell what the blockages are caused by too. I have these 2 blocked myself, right now...

 

What are they basing their info on though and have they told how to unblock these chakras? Cuz that's what I need!

Um, well I'm no expert, and this information is just from a TV show, but I'll give it a shot, lol. If you follow the link to wikipedia you can read a summary of the episode, though that might not make a whole lot of sense if you haven't seen the show. Aang (the character who is going through this process of opening his chakras) opens the third chakra by recognizing the shame he felt when he started learning to use the power of fire and as a result hurt someone he loved.

"Aang has a vision of when he first attempted Firebending, and severely burned Katara’s hands. He repeats aloud the promise he made afterwards: that he will never Firebend again. Pathik (the guru) dismisses this, saying that in order to obtain Balance, Aang must accept all aspects of his life. As the Avatar, Aang must Firebend. Aang breathes in and out once, releasing the chakra."

To open the fourth chakra Aang remembers the air monks who he grew up with and who are all gone now. Instead of being consumed by grief that everyone he once knew is now gone, he remembers them fondly and uses their memory to form new relationships.

"Laying his grief before him, Aang meditates, and sees all of the Air Monks he knew, with Gyatso at the front, all of whom died because he abandoned them. They fade away into dust. Love, according to Pathik, is a form of energy, and flows around everything, and that the monks' love for Aang is still all around them, and manifests itself inside of new love- the love Aang feels for Katara. Aang releases the chakra, teary-eyed, and asks for more juice before they continue."

Hope that helps.

So, I'm a huge fan of this show, mostly because it's an awesome story with awesome characters, but all the eastern philosophy and mythology makes it even better. There have been episodes (episodes 19 and 20, The Winter Solstice) that show the push and pull of yin and yang, water becomes stronger at night from the power of the moon, fire becomes stronger during the day from the power of the sun. There have also been episodes that show the oneness of everything (episode 24, the Swamp). But this episode, The Guru, episode 39, reminded me of some things I've read on these forums.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Guru_(Ava...Last_Airbender)

First chakra: Earth Chakra. Location: the base of the spine. It deals with Survival, and is blocked by Fear.

Second chakra: Water Chakra Location: ???. It deals with Pleasure, and is blocked by Guilt.

Third chakra: Fire Chakra. Location: in the stomach. It deals with Willpower, while it is blocked by Shame.

Fourth chakra: Air Chakra. Location: the heart. It deals with Love, and is blocked by Grief.

Fifth chakra: Sound Chakra. Location: in the throat. It deals with Truth, and is blocked by the Lies people tell themselves.

Sixth chakra: Light Chakra. Location: ???. It is responsible for Insight, and is blocked by Illusions.

Seventh chakra: Thought Chakra. Location: at the crown of the head. It deals with Cosmic Energy, and is blocked by Earthly Attachment.

Just thought I'd share and see what people think.

Hm... I'm a Philosophical Taoist so um... I have some authors I like... Derek Lin (The Tao of Daily Life, www.taoism.net) and Benjamin Hoff (Tao of Pooh, Te of Piglet). Some blogs I like are Daoist Recluse, Beancurd Turtle and The Useless Tree. The webcomic Sinfest by Tatsuya Ishida has some good Taoist/Buddhist themes in it. I also have some favorite Athiests, Deists and liberal thinkers, comedians and philosophers most of whom I've found on youtube. Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, Bill Maher, Pat Condell, "LiberalViewer," John L. Armstrong. I like what Greg Koukl and C. S. Lewis have to say against relativism, though I don't agree with the idea that a moral law requires a moral law giver. The book Siddhartha, by Herman Hesse has been my favorite book since I read it in high school years ago, oops, he's not alive...

Sorry, that was a lot more than five, and not really in list form, and not all Taoists, but that's kinda the point, I just look for my spirituality wherever I can find it. Most of my real spiritual leaders are the Mormons I grew up with, not famous authors or artists, just good people.

I can only see the right brain answer. I keep staring at her, but I can't see it. I can never see those magic eye things either

Yeah. We wish. But I'm not buying any of this... what I am buying is personal responsibility to not get hypnotized... by reptilians, or by the media, or by religious leaders, or by science, technology, "progress," you name it... but I digress from the original question. Sorry.

No problem, that's a good answer!

not that you care what i think,

 

but the trappings of unquestioning faith is still well-worth considering.

Part of me wishes I could return to unquestioning faith, but I just can't turn off my questioning skeptical mind.

My bad, my sarcasm/joke detector has always been weak

I'd like to meet this dude, sounds like a cool guy.

I have never doubted Max..just stumbled on to this little Myth by silly Native Amercians..

 

*freaks out*

Belief is very powerful, and very dangerous. Never doubting what you believe and calling others beliefs silly? Listen to yourself. Isn't this fanaticism? What I find interesting in this thread is that the Coyote is just one of many trickster myths found all over the world. All myths are based on reality, trickster myths are probably based on devious people, found all over the world. Nothing against Max, but as wise as he may be, he's still a human being, and human beings can make mistakes and deceive, intentionally or unintentionally.

I'm with the skeptics here. But I have a question.

"What is their physiology - primarily physical, spiritual, both?

 

Same as ours, but much older (hundreds of millions of years older, just like our ordinary reptiles are much older than primates) and consequently much farther evolved in their ability to use and transform energy."

This seems to imply that reptiles are more evolved than mammals, or that being cold blooded is better than being warm blooded. Is that so? Why?

don't know what they teach here but have a feeling that, um, hardly anything

Sad but true, if I relied on school to teach me everything I would be a total zombie! I've been watching tons of documentaries lately and getting a much fuller picture of the world.

Sicko

Fahrenheit 9/11

Bowling For Columbine

Michael Moore Hates America

The Enemies of Reason

Root of All Evil?

Bible vs Book of Mormon

Lifting the Veil of Polygamy

Why We Fight

War Made Easy

Loose Change

Zeitgeist

Guns Germs and Steel

The Great Global Warming Swindle

Doomsday Called Off

Walmart, High Cost of Low Prices

Penn and Teller: Bullshit is good stuff too. There are a couple I'm looking forward to as well, Prince of Peace/God of War and Religulous. Gotta take everything with a grain of salt though, biased agendas and honest mistakes can always creep in.

Conspiracies!!! I like conspiracy theories, whether they're true or not, it's nice to see people brave enough to question the official story. That Forbidden Archeology book looks like it's drawn a lot of skeptics saying it's biased because of the author's Hindu beliefs and use of outdated information, but who knows, it could be closer to the truth.

Dunno exactly how to interpret all that...but it's an interesting counterpoint.

Yay for sex! That's my interpretation. But yeah, which is the cart and which is the horse is indeed an interesting question. I'd like to think that list is right and that all those positive benefits are coming from the sex, but maybe that's just wishful thinking. I guess it makes sense that "turning off" your sex drive would make you more aware and skillful in other aspects. Kind of like how a blind man makes more use of and therefore becomes stronger in his remaining senses.

Thanks for your response Lin, I really need to learn more about Taoist traditions. No one else has anything to say? I like how my other threads turned into interesting debates, I think this one still has the potential. Surely more people here have opinions on what we should and shouldn't consume.

Just wanted to say this thread is awesome, thanks Hagar.

As for emotional readiness, I don't know many modern people who are ready to be real parents in any age group. That's because nearly all were brought up by parents just like themselves, i.e. parents who were unconsciously trying to get from their children what they didn't get from their parents. Energetic/emotional vampire parents. Or the toxic-dumping parents. Or the "I'm-too-busy-to-be-bothered-by-your-problems (so don't you dare have any)" parents. Or the "now that you're here, you'll have to work real hard to prove to me that you deserve to exist" parents. Or... I could go on and on, the list is infinitely long and exceedingly bleak.

 

Parenting is supposed to be about giving, not getting. This has been screwed up in civilized societies for a bunch of thousand years, and I believe that's what's wrong at the core of everything that ever went wrong. This, far as I've been able to discern, is the root of not some but all evil in our world.

This really rings true to me being a former Mormon. I am so grateful for my parents, I think they did a really good job. Which is why I'm excited about starting my own family when the time comes. People who investigate the Mormon church and are willing to look past the mythology will see well balanced, loving, respectful people. Well, that's usually what you'll see. Mormons aren't perfect, they're just trying to be. And I don't think that's a bad attitude to have, as long as you realize perfection is impossible and don't get stressed out over it. Anyway, families are the most important thing in the world. Bad families leads to bad societies leads to bad world.

This is exactly what I'm talking about. "I'm offended" therefore I'm right and you're wrong. I'm sure someone's statistics are off, but that's not even the point. Yes, I do have no idea what it's like like to be a woman. Yes, you've been through a lot more than I have. But have you taken the time to think about how intimidating and unfair feminism can be for some guys? I just hate being judged, stereotyped, mistrusted and misinterpreted for my gender, something entirely beyond my control. I think any human being can relate to that.

I haven't done the research, so you can totally ignore me if you like. Western medicine seems to be fairly effective for most things, but then again I've been taught to trust western medicine, so maybe I'm just biased. It seems like Chinese medicine does a better job of harnessing the body's natural healing powers while western medicine is all about killing the disease. Seems like they both could learn a thing or two from each other.

Well, this certainly took a turn I didn't expect. I don't mind though, this is actually really interesting. I'm pretty ignorant on this topic so I'd like to learn more. I say keep the discussion on the boards and just try to keep things polite as much as possible.

I'm sorry, didn't mean to offend or be flippant about the matter. I'll admit, my complaint is really tiny and pathetic compared to the struggles of those who really are oppressed, abused and discriminated against. Having to hear the occasional "all men are pigs" and such thrown around is no big deal compared to that. But whiny and pathetic as I may be, I think I'm still allowed to voice my opinion and seek a little sympathy.

As far as what this post is doing here? I dunno, I figure anything is fair game since the Tao is everything.

I might as well be straight forward about this, I'm a bit of a Japanophile. I love the language, history, flashy technology, super convenient public transportation, videogames, anime, karaoke, martial arts, Japanese food, sense of community and loyalty, love for all things cute, etc. Yes, I know Japan has a dark side too, conformity to authority over individuality can lead to unfairness, there's a general distrust of foreigners, pornography is everywhere, politeness is often just for show, and the language can be frustratingly ambiguous. Nevertheless I am drawn to Japan, so much so that I'm considering living there permanently, or at least for several years, and I'm also drawn to the idea of marrying a Japanese girl. So I've been looking around at dating and matching sites and found this little gem. I laughed so hard when I read this. This site is all about capitalizing on the "submissive Asian woman" stereotype.

http://www.nomarriage.com/x/japanesewife.html

Nothing against American women, but I've always had trouble connecting with them and I think this radical feminism described here has something to do with it. Although, I'm sure a lot of it is just in my own head too. Still, the only serious relationship I've been able to have in my life so far was with a German girl. I've always been frustrated by situations where women or minorities automatically get the moral high ground because they feel they've been "oppressed" or "discriminated against" when really they just want special treatment. Anyways, *steps off angst-filled white boy soap box* just curious, does anyone have any advice, experience or amusing anecdotes about cross-cultural relationships?

I love Karen's responses. The link to the quiz seems broken, I'd probably score as an Agnostic though. I'd like to answer Pietro's questions.

Does believe define your spirituality? No, my sense of right and wrong, and my sense of curiosity do.

Is chastity important? Not in the Christian sense of the word, any kind of sex is fine if it is consensual and/or an act of love.

Is a healthy diet a prerequisite to a sound spiritual practice? No, but it's good to have a healthy diet.

Is alchemy done or is it a natural phenomena that happens out of stilling the mind? I'm not sure what you mean by alchemy, and not sure if I believe in it.

What's the natural age limit (75/80/90/120/immortal). Who knows?

Would you kill for self defense? Depends on the situation, but yes, I would.

Does karma exist? Maybe. I hope it does.

Are good deeds important for a spiritual path? Good deeds are the natural result of following a spiritual path.

Is doing good deeds to get merit possible? I suppose so.

Is there such thing as good and bad? yes.

What's the aim of meditation? To gain a more objective point of view to make better, wiser decisions.

What's the aim of spirituality? To ponder the mysteries of the universe?

Is acting out of your true nature and being good essentially the same thing? Yeah, they're close.

If you act out of your true nature are you always good? More often than not.

What's worse, rape or sexual fantasy? Rape is bad. What's wrong with sexual fantasies?

Would you rather kill or suicide? Depends, that would be a complicated situation with a lot of factors to consider.

Is there only one salvation, or more different levels of the same one? Who knows?