corpathina

i feel like even though he's talking about giving up the egoic self, i don't think he suggests consciously doing it. i think you have to make yourself aware that letting go is the end goal, but then promptly forget that and reach it through entirely different means. i think you have to use a different motive to give up that self.. but maybe somewhere in the back of your mind you never forget that the loss of that egoic self is your end goal.

then again, sometimes i think i just hear what i want to hear. maybe that's not what he's saying at all..?

i could say hello and be done with this, but i think i will tell my little story instead.

i became interested in taoism in early 2005. i eventually came across this forum and joined. most of the discussions were completely over my head, so i rarely posted. when i did, it was off-topic.

time has passed, my studies progressed, and i have found myself back here with you bums. for this, i am happy.

i am at a very pivotal and difficult time in my life. i was meditating a lot previously, but after losing my best friend last week, i have been meditating more intensely and pursuing guidance through the tao.

so anyway, i have a feeling that i must take advantage of this time and cultivate my growth. i am doing my best to let go and allow the tao to take me where i need to go.

i am but a babe in my understanding, so i welcome all and any guidance you guys might have to offer.

with love,

emma

thanks for this post!

i wish that i knew more about taoism in relation to music, but i'm afraid all that i know is what i feel. music has always touched the deepest parts of me. i often feel as if music allows me to release and become the medium through which a higher form of expression flows. music can both cleanse and cultivate. often, it is inexplicable. sometimes i'm not sure that i could go on without it. thank goodness it is always within us.

for a minute i thought you were talking about chatting about ratatat, the band. woops.

i tried to listen to the audio samples and it couldn't connect, but it looks really cool.

i'll keep trying back and hope it works. i'd love to hear.

-em

wasn't it so awesome when yoda killed those gaurds that were about to kill him because he could sense the disturbance in the force? ahhh.. he's so badass.

-em

there's something that gets me every time about the scene in pulp fiction where she does a line of heroin, thinking it's cocaine. i just want to jump in the television and stop her.

and there's also that scene from the pianist where he plays for the german officer and hasn't played in so long. oh gosh.. it's so gorgeous.

-em