zentao
male, 41 |
taoist master
Toronto / Canada
member since 28.07.2005
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Peak oil is here:
http://lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/
http://www.oilcrisis.com/
And it looks like we are rapidly moving towards widespread resource wars based on all the latest news...The major issues are food problems (biofuels add to this), climate change and general collapse of the biosphere as we presently enjoy it. What we see around us is representative of what is going on inside - we have lost our path...
Everyone should learn three levels of skills. The first is something for 21st century - some type of career to pay the rent and eat. The second is at least one skill from the 1800's - blacksmith for example. And the third is basic survival such as gardening, hunting and other "old" ways.
Nurture a community of similar people and get out of the rat race...
Good books:
"When Technology Fails"
"The Long Emergency"
"Reinventing Collapse: the Soviet Example and American Prospects"
Vegetarian, biking, camping, climbing, sking, and fly fishing among other outdoor pursuits. Live music, from jazz to punk, is something I really enjoy. Derrick Jensen's books are worth reading.
"Premise Three: Our way of living—industrial civilization—is based on, requires, and would collapse very quickly without persistent and widespread violence."
But if you do have a modicum of freedom and the ability to change course, consider the following two points. First, you are the strangest inhabitant of the animal kingdom - an animal that can evolve without undergoing genetic mutation. You can evolve culturally. And since cultural mutations are never random, your evolution can be fast. Second, you need not inform any other living thing of your new status as a cultural mutant. To all outward appearances, you can remain indistinguishable from the rest of the herd. But the space and time in which you move will no longer be the space and time created and allotted by society, but those that you have carved out for yourself by reducing your needs, expanding your abilities and shedding the habits, both mental and physical, by which others are enslaved.
Religion is an indication that we're not nearly as intelligent as we think we are. And Taoism is neither a religion nor a philosophy but, rather, is a practice. By doing the practice one has personal growth experiences that may lead you to new understanding.
How does one become a Taoist master? Well, there are distinct stages of progression just like learning to walk or swim. Meditation has a permanent effect on cognition, and the mechanisms and progression should be directly experienced by any teacher - would you learn swimming from someone who read about in a book or took a weekend course on it?
I'm running an EEG (brainwave) study with students. The results are really interesting when combined with the reports on meditation experiences... |
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