Rocky Lionmouth

Sounds like a reasonable law (safety is for the children) but great Lord Guan is the fine insane! And here i complain about my 50 dollar parking tickets. Not only does it leave a dent financially, i'd be on the verge of developing a phobia for yellow buses.

Crapallofit, i had written a nice post here and stupid tablet deleted it! I dont think any terrorist organization would expose any intended infiltrators to travel with refugees. If they have dangerous operators in europe they've been here for a good while now, staying out of the spotlight and preparing in secret. Why send people en masse together with a group that is going to be heavily scrutinized as soon as the dust settles just a bit? Also, with all the media coverage of refugees they'd run the risk of being recognized. Perhaps defectors are fleeing with refugees? Europes main concern when it comes to terrorist attacks is far right extremists, statistically its those groups that are responsable for the largest amount of attacks here. Still the main focus of discussion falls back to muslims first and foremost and after them anarchists and far left extremist groups. I think any claim ISIS makes of refugees being their trained infiltrators is to be considered an attempt to spread fear and thereby increasing tension and friction between european governments, european civilians and refugees, so they can swoop in and recruit disillusioned youngsters to their ranks when the damage is done. Increasing and triggering repression until critical mass is reached within a community is a common idea of strategy in hopes of overthrowing the established order or radicalizing a group to the point of them lashing out or striking back. Like Basher said the probability of so many men fleeing is because of the risk of recruitment, perhaps even forced. Another explanation could be that the dangers of the trip might be easier for a man to face, and that once his asylum application is under way he might have a chance to have his family join him through a safer route. I dont think ISIS is very popular with the civilians, i think most people are confused and scared of all the fighting. With so many allegations of false flag operations targeting civilians and the casualties from the regimes indiscriminate bombings of densely populated areas it's gotta be hell to know who's who and wether they're out to kill you or not. Also many afghans are fleeing iraq since their situation turned to shit also. Kurds are as always in the crosshairs also, even more since Turkeys election did not go as their president had hoped. There are a lot of people out there fleeing for different reasons and from different places. Also, european asylum processes arent an unchaperomed walk in an amusement park either. My point is: you dont leave home travelling through potentially deadly routes unless home is in the major league of crap situations.

It is possible for a person of high or middle class to be a refugee. It's possible to not look like a shell of a human being and still have fled from terrible conditions. The fact that they have money might be the only thing that makes them refugees instead of civilian casualties because they had the means to leave. People coming to where i am look like they could be my neighbour. If we spoke the same language we'd find out we have very similar lifestyles and experiences. Those that speak english talk to me about everyday stuff.

Grouse huh? Never ate it, only drank it, not that convinced Guinea pig is edible and worth it? Tried pheasant once, in calvados sauce. I was 10, out of place, forced to hang out with posh people i'd never met and they told me it'd taste just like chicken Needless to say the poor creature was wasted on me. Everyone else who had it said it was excellent though. Been vegetarian for 15 years now but i still remember game very fondly. Roe deer, rabbit, hare and boar. Italian rabbit stew with white wine, (maybe) scallions and i cant remember what else, my grandma knew a hunter and tons of recipes that sadly died with her.

Brian already covered the obvious point But i hear you. So, what can you do about mountains? You might want to smash your head against them for being in your way. What else? The cost of living is virtually unavoidable. Why do dogs attack you? What can you do about police looking for bribes, do they have untouchable leverage? What are your options? If it's through work you might talk to a colleague or your boss, might not be the first time and there might be a plan in motion for it? Sounds like your daily life gets pretty intense from time to time, i'm pretty sheltered so my views might be rubbish to you. Dogs are tricky but not impossible, would you be okay with hurting them severely or risking a bite to show them who is boss? Carry a dog repellant, like a strong smelling chemical you can throw in front of them, ammonia was successfully employed by rioters who wanted to confuse and disorient police dogs, not sure how much it hurt the dogs tho (liability for fines or retribution etc)... Police just plain suck when it comes dealing with them and thankfully i've never had to deal with a corrupt one so im all out of ideas there, except maybe get the hell out of dodge if you can?

De-escalate conflicts at all times is a good strategy also, but it requires one to be able to de-escalate and properly handle one's own emotional surges. Getting angry is all right and even helpful, getting mean or trying to trigger reactions will usually explode in ones face. There is no shame in walking away also. Any words thrown after you aren't yours and everybody hopefully live another day. Most dudes claim its a quality to never back from a confrontation, but it usually means they're ready to escalate some minor shit into something thats going to need medical attention. Confronting someone might be "i think you're wrong and i wish you wouldnt act like this, i'm leaving now because this is pointless."

Thank you for elaborating on that my friend! The distinction between civilisation - culture is very important in my eyes too, and i hear and appreciate the thought of civilisation as an abomination. Culture fits my thinking around this perfectly i think, for now at least, whirlwind mind and all, provided culture continues to be an extension of the idea of living human activity thriving and evolving and suiting the needs of its errr, cultivators(?).

All forms of civilization or just the larger ones supported by hierarchical power structures where the few who make the rules are top of the foodchain and those at the bottom are petri-dishes and cattle? Edit: i ask because i still have a (naive?) hope that smaller groupings based on mutual assistance, respect and solidarity with similar groupings might work. How about soda addiction huh? Great thread this!

X'D banjo butty explanation is just too funny, thank you for that!

Any enemy i ever had used to be a friend before some major event of really twisting whatever knife they chose to plant in my back so i've told them how they hurt me and why this meant they had to get out of my life and never speak to me again. Worked like a charm every time. TBH i cant recall it happening more than two times after my 20th birthday, i guess i dont really do enemies. I know nazis and the like consider me an enemy and might litterally stab me given opportunity but i haven't had a run in with those in a decade or so. Any violence in the last decade i've discouraged verbally and i refuse to accept the terms that men always can resort to fisticuffs i tempers arent controlled. Most potential enmity of the slugger sort is usually sourced out of drunken foolishness and i'm a sucker for the discreet tai chi dodge-and-shove followed by a "oh man, are you ok, you fell pretty bad there, need a hand up?" Last time someone tried to sucker puch me the poor guy (i had banned him from the bar where i and his ex worked, he was harassing her regularly) was so drunk he telegraphed it so early i just had to tense my stomach, his wrist was so poorly held he basically deflected the strike himself and actually left in shame. Yeah, i'm sheltered as f""".

It is not an adjectivisation of butt?! Gotta google. Edit: saw the light. Chop bread and carry stuff between them.

Yes and thank you. I know i went a little bit Zen there (it's like cursing in church i know but koans always made ma laugh, i cant defend myself against that type of charm) but the Zen part of buddhism and Taoism seem to share a kinship inside me (little brother and older brother respectively), although i am of the opinion that the two are different. How is hard for me to explain because i lack depth in terminology and rigour so pinches of salt numbering the amount you prefer. The gong fu quote relates directly to the zen-ish snippet above it, i was referring to my zentalk as a rough summary, but its the beginning of practice through following and following through. The gong fu i think about is the being at one with circumstances you mention, the aquired skill is the effortlessness and balanced action whereby wu wei begins. Life and Tao skills. Practice is not natural, but neither are many parts of my life, so perhaps practice should be seen as the return? Understanding is unlearning. In martial arts this would mean being able to know heart, body and power and what amounts of what is enough for a situation, like cooking or steering your boat. Like being able to sleep well enough to truly rest and being so natural in conserving ones energy that only few hours of rest are necessary. Where clarity of mind is like lightning without clouds. Scientific outcome yes, in a way, but moreso perhaps in the methodological approach than the result, i was trying to keep that part open but i acknowledge what you're pointing at fully. I think it's about understanding and heart and the three treasures of Lao Zi and using all of the various energies wisely. Concerning the end analysis i have a similar view to yours, i just didn't want to make my wall of text any higher and also i'm nowhere near any end of anything so what do i know? I realize every second of writing this how hard i try because words fail me, i cant say this right enough even so i just say it and we'll see

<3

Exactly this is a dangerous pitfall. Some people (this includes my 16 to 19 year old self after reading The Tao of Poo and just after finding DDJ completely impenetrable) play with daoist philosophy just about enough to justify being irresponsible and childish.Daoist practices as i've met them point to promoting "if you're to do something do it well in the most unforced, wasteless and efficient manner available to you, for the benefit of more than you". If you dont see anything to do, dont do anything but conserve energy, for you and others. This perhaps is a rough summary of what i've gleaned through martial arts, whose goal is to achieve gong fu, meaning excellent and appliable skill acquired through diligent and persistant work. The body is trained, the mind is trained and both grow strong and wise together in my experience, leading to a refinement of character, deepening of understanding and analysis and a sense of being part of everything. If you can see problems that means you're at least a part of the solution richer. The rest boils down observation, research and not jumping to conclusions. But, when wu wei for living is ideally refined far enough, then you are free as the wind because you've broken your fetters. The wind plays in trees, caresses water, whistles around the corners of houses and turns for mountains. The wind brings the support of all earthly life - water - to where it can according to the disposition of the landscape. So never, even in freedom, a person is disconnected from the Tao.

Ok i gotta go get me a Cleary now, everybody swears by it seems You mean as an oracle? I've been wanting to get into that too, i finally understood from on here how to do it technically at least, not sure i'm in the right frame of mind to consult an oracle yet. I think it could be employed to construct models of analysis of immediate surroundings (both socially and physically) also, or at least starting from the bagwa. Really gotta ask Mr Feng Shui about this, might not get much of an answer, he's pretty oldschool about his biz.

I think i killed this, sorry @topaz, returning for a quick CPR-attempt: So how does one do, i mean with the wu wei? Get into flows, align yourself to achieve a purpose or goal without having a hidden agenda, keep to essentials that are useful and within the needs of you and yours and the people in general. But how? We mentioned observation, awareness of surrondings and timing. Is there a system? I know a old time Feng Shui Master who says he has mental systems and strategies to apply to various situations and build his plans from, like a set of templates or possible progressions, based on the I King (I Ching). So for him the Classic of Transformations is a base for most of his actions and ideas, i'm just getting into studying it on my own... Do you guys have some hands-on examples to share?

The landing is what matters. I was quoting from the intro of a movie i really like, pardon my french. I think it's called Hate in english, early Vincent Cassell among others, good stuff!

Jusqu'ici, tout va bien... jusqu'ici, tout va bien... jusqu'ici, tout va bi-

Feeling the acceleration's pretty sweet too!

We are talking about swimming TOWARDS the waterfall right?

Of course! And also, if everybody jumps off a cliff or cut their tounges off with rusty scissors - we follow suit. Wu wei is essentially peer pressure and uncriticized obedience, in a nutshell. Dont you trust the gospels expounded by old yuppies and careerists? Who is this guy? Call the police, we have a dissident! Where is my pitchfork?! Sorry, had to because it felt like it might be funny, the opportunity was there... No harm meant.

Was going to write it earlier, but then i thought it was redundant for some reason... i find myself often arguing the point that spontaneous action is not equal to just f"ckin about randomly with the first thing that comes along, spontaneous action is unhindered by skill and the two fit together like magic. Spontaneous action also an aquired skill in itself (obviously, or else wu wei wouldnt even be a subject right?) but as you guys said earlier, complex actions are being carried out with care for the simple fascination of doing them and that is ideally enough. Any external or applied motivators are soon going to be starting to look like a rule, evolve into an expectation of reciprocation and after comes the blaming and so on... One could even argue spontaneous action with an observing and humble attitude is the foundation of learning. So even with the stuff one doesnt love to do. I hate laundry and doing dishes, but it gets done and i try to be as methodical and relaxed as possible like when i do the stuff i love to do. Having attention "disorder" (i suspect theres at least a small thread to be written about the irony of humans classifying more or less orderly monkeys jumping about from branch to branch and pointing out those that behave not like most of the other monkeys, who we all know are pinnacles of duty and concentration, as disorderly) hinders me in a thousand ways but it gets done, eventually. But i guess the attachment goes many aways, some things we like, somethings we dont and even when theres no good reason for disliking cleaning ones utensils it still affects me on an instinctive level and dishes can stand around for a while here... But i guess theres a wu wei to be found in all that stuff to, it feels even more insipid to say it but something along the ways of "a job well done" so i wont and leave this after-school-special speech end in uncomfortable silence

Ok i read a little about just now and i am no physicist nor mathematician, but the principle described isnt far off from a manifestation of wu wei in my book, i clearly dont understand the science but roughly: light adapts to the quickest possible road then it conserves its energy and carries on its business. Am i getting it right?

Had to go back to se where you wrote it, totally missed it at first, will check monsieur Fermats principle!