tao1776

T he erosion of a man’s soul happens slowly. Perhaps it is the result of accumulated failure, perhaps it is his destiny. In hindsight one can piece together the string of incidences that led him to the brink of despair. If only, if only. I’ve read that regrets are an appalling waste of energy that one cannot build on. It’s only for wallowing in. Can one see the changes, the transformation that has taken place, the dark luminosity that shines closer to the surface and not feel regret? The sucking sound of a vortex within which you are afraid to look. A dark abyss. It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one. I will not. Goodbye

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness, -- That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, -- That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of those ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it,… But when a long train of abuses and usurpations… evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, their duty, to throw off such Government. I never thought I would call the 60s and 70s “the good old days”. I would cry tears of joy today to see just one campus overrun by a modern equivalent of the Students for a Democratic Society. I would cheer to see a general strike paralyze a city. It would be living proof that American character had not been submerged, drugged, weakened, and rendered anemic ...

Chronic pain. It's no fun but a great teacher. I am glad that teachers stay with us for a time and encourage us and help us grow. Then, hopefully we continue to the next level and meet our next teacher, as the school of hard knocks can be eternal. Don't want to be stuck in the same grade forever. After years of pills, physical therapy and a t.e.n.s unit, I entered the realm of Feldenkrais therapy. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feldenkrais_method I highly recommend it although I have forgotton most of what I learned. It was this teacher that led me to Taoist meditation and energy exercises. This opened my awareness about alternative therapies and I began to study herbs and homeopathy and decided to give accupunture a try. The meditation and accupuncture brought me over the crest of the hill. I began to work again and although I continue to be partially disabled and in a minimal amount of pain, I live a rather normal life. There are many levels of exercise that include an awarene...

If you have been playing with this simple exercise, and I hope that you have, begin as you have with 1) posture 2) relaxed spine 3) breathe 4) smile. Now I want you to begin moving the energy found in the smile, slowly downward - feel it move slowly down your throat into your heart and lungs, moving through and behind your belly button. Move it downard into the genital area and let it rest at the pernium (the space between your genitals & anus) allow the energy to rise up the back along the center line of the body, let it rise over the scalp and down the forehead and end at the upper palate of the mouth. (Remember? Your tongue should be lightly pressed behind your upper front teeth) Allow the momentum to let this energy continue down as water drains off a slope and let it collect in the "dan tian" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dantian a space just behind the navel and about three fingers below. Allow the energy to circulate, roll and eventually come to rest there. Prac...

Posture, proper sitting; is our foundation. Every time you sit, to practice even the simplest of instruction, begin with getting your posture right. Practice, practice, practice. But don't get uptight. Every minute is built upon the last. We begin today with the building block of the Inner Smile Meditation, our Mona Lisa smile. Without going into great detail, your assignment for today, if you choose to accept it, is to smile. Find your posture. Relaxed but straightened spine. Let you hands fall upon or beyond your knees, palms down. One deep breath, in and out through the nose, let your breath find its natural, unforced ryhtym. Tip of the tongue lightly placed behind your top teeth. Bring to mind a thought or person that creates an unforced smile upon your face. Study the transformation that the smile brings to your face, your eyes. Notice all of the subtle changes that are physically created by the form of a smile upon your face. The changes will become more obvious the more you ...

I thought that perhaps it was time to offer something constructive in an effort to help balance the overwhelming negative energy that is confronting and frustrating us at each turn. I would like to introduce some teachings on two forms of Taoist meditation. Microcosmic Orbit & The Inner Smile. As seen in the illustration, 15 points upon the body are marked and named. Each having various characteristics. It should be noted that this system of energy points is akin to Charkras and these locations are known throughout Vedic, Buddhist and Taoist teachings. Our focus here is mainly Taoist although I may offer some Buddhist or Vedic perspectives. These meditations are usually performed while in a seated position. It is possible to use a Buddhist semi lotus or full lotus positions if that is familiar to you. Others should use a comfortable chair while sitting several inches away from the back of the chair. There is also a standing practice that is most effective once a sitting practiced h...

He shouted to anyone that appeared to show interest, that we were suffering from the effects of global warming. The term had closed in on the collective vocabulary with such speed that it soon lost any impact upon the hearer. Frustrated by the deaf ears that heard so clearly conversations regarding sex or money while so easily a loss of interest in the weakening world. When the dam broke its bounds, one could stand in position, in a valiant show of effort to part the water and suffer immediate drowning. To what avail? For the memories of those that survived? Would it not prove equally valiant to scale the banks and live another day? When the conditions favor it, water will bubble over the stream bed, through rocks, forming little pools. A slew of bubbles will appear for a moment and when the conditions favor it, the very same bubbles will disappear.

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