tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59065722011-07-30T12:01:37.336-07:00Breathe Deeplynow i'm in taipei. i'm teaching english, practicing yoga and meditation, and i just bought a belt sander for the living room. rock on.andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.comBlogger781100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-25928715416567249092010-05-11T11:47:00.000-07:002010-05-11T11:48:12.359-07:00Made a website for those interested in Hatha Yoga:http://www.bigbookofyoga.comEnjoy...andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-9721049844467524282009-05-05T23:27:00.000-07:002009-05-05T23:33:24.712-07:00Everyone who is attracted to the notion of spiritual practice should read A Path With Heart, by Jack Kornfield. It's just great, chapter after chapter. *****Know that joy is rarer, more difficult, and more beautiful than sadness. Once you make this all-important discovery, you must embrace joy as a moral obligation.- Andrew GideMy fiftieth year had come and gone,I sat, a solitary man,In a andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-18647192090801730282008-05-02T22:33:00.000-07:002008-05-02T23:23:37.890-07:00 Thinking Of Attending Agama Yoga Teacher Training (TTC)? In the past few weeks, I've had several emails from people, asking me about my experience with Agama's TTC, and whether it's worth taking. So as to save cutting and pasting replies, I'll put up my basic points here:1) Agama Yoga is the best yoga school I've found to date, hands down, in terms of the depth of knowledge and practice it andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-37431381069316783192007-10-18T01:38:00.000-07:002007-10-18T01:48:37.155-07:00Time DependentOne man dreams he lives one hundred yearsOf happiness, but then he wakes.Another dreams an instant's joyBut then he, likewise, wakes.- "Bodhicaryavatara", Shantidevaandrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-55182521946650887652007-10-14T00:16:00.000-07:002007-10-15T23:32:45.906-07:00Divine Immediacy as Determined by the Believer (or: Joining the Quantum Speculation Bandwagon)I have long been a critic of those involved in some spiritual or esoteric tradition, who try to establish a degree of validation for their practices by connecting them (with specious claims to accuracy at best) to modern scientific research -- especially to quantum physics. (Right off I'd like to note andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-82863018989808549952007-06-30T03:14:00.001-07:002007-06-30T06:05:31.575-07:00Reason and Faith: A Typical Tantric RelationshipI'm really happy that Derek (AYR from the previous post) has elected to respond to my last post. For one, I'm happy that he's interested in investing energy in this discussion, but I also appreciate his frankness and focus -- keeping this from becoming a "hyper-philosophized" debate. I'll admit that I sometimes tend towards the pedantic.I'm in andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-14615658046235060632007-06-14T19:44:00.000-07:002007-06-17T02:55:39.102-07:00Agama Yoga: An Imperfect Machine, A Powerful Practice...A Path To Enlightenment?Note: All links to the blog called "Commonsenseananda" (CSA) aren't working now. The site appears to have moved, or been taken down entirely. I'll include a few of Google's cached copies of a few of the most relevant pages; if you want to see more, you'll have to google "commonsenseananda", click on the cache of theandrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1165338256161216762006-12-05T08:07:00.000-08:002006-12-05T09:04:16.866-08:00Pi and Kundalini: Rounding Up?The astrologer in Laxman Jhule asked me yesterday if I knew why Kundalini is supposed to be coiled 3.5 times around the spine (and we get 3.5 drops of ojas, and whatever other similarities exist regarding muladhara chakra and 3.5). I said I didn't, and he let on that he did, but wasn't going to tell me. "Go ask your yoga teacher." During practice today, the andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1160026023138246002006-10-04T18:04:00.000-07:002006-10-04T22:27:03.210-07:00Angels With AKsI've had an image in my mind lately, of a host of angels sitting up above Earth, each armed with a machine gun, and all of them just spraying fire randomly down at us. Maybe they're direct hits, maybe they just graze a calf or a shoulder or something -- how many versions of bad luck, misfortune, and calamity are there out there? More and more I look at healthy people in middle or andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1157416602391647292006-09-04T16:41:00.000-07:002006-09-04T17:36:42.436-07:00Obsessive Bridges, Trataka, and Matters of the Heart (Chakra)This first note is regarding one of the quirkiest developments in my meditative/subtle-energetics practice to date. First, a bit of background:I've been in the US for a little over 4 months now, by far the longest I've been back in years. Although I've been travelling a lot to see old friends, along with having spent a good 5 weeks atandrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1153453741313807752006-07-20T19:40:00.000-07:002006-07-20T20:49:01.350-07:00Polarity and Alignment of Nostril Breath and EnergyI also noticed during the retreat, and have been aware of since, a connection between my nose and my leg. It's pretty well-known that during the course of a day, you will experience alternating nostril dominance. Meaning, you will breathe primarily out of one nostril, all the time. It's not to say that you don't have any air coming in from theandrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1152815034856193532006-07-13T10:55:00.000-07:002006-07-13T11:23:54.870-07:00Some Things I've LearnedJust recently finished another 10-day Vipassana retreat. It was my third one sitting (I've served in the kitchens on one as well) and I came out with some things worth remembering, or at least recording.Firstly, and most extravagantly, I regained my ability to see with my eyes closed, to a certain degree. I found I couldn't see objects or contours in the room as clearly andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1144110087317722412006-04-03T17:14:00.000-07:002006-04-03T17:21:27.330-07:00Bon VoyageDr. Glenn J. Morris -- Doc, to me and most who knew him -- left this existence early on the morning of April 1st. God only knows what sort of pressing engagement he had elsewhere that made him leave the rest of us so soon, but I'm sure whatever it was, he's happily headed on his way. Seeing as my time with him was more or less the reason I created this journal, if you've benefited at andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1135669058080988972005-12-26T23:30:00.000-08:002005-12-26T23:40:23.586-08:00Sun Zi On Energy"Energy may be likened to the bending of a crossbow; decision, to the releasing of a trigger"Line 15Chapter 5"孫子兵法 (sūn zĭ bīng fǎ)" [Sun Zi On Military Strategy, aka The Art of War]andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1135301136419812982005-12-22T17:03:00.000-08:002005-12-22T22:56:57.013-08:00Dream RecallHas anyone noticed that there seems to be some sort of memory function which only operates within the realm of dreams? Meaning, while you're dreaming, you recognize some place or situation which you've only previously encountered in another dream, and you get that same "familiar feeling" when trying to remember where you've seen it as you do with waking-life fuzzy recollections. andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1134398428738590032005-12-12T04:57:00.000-08:002005-12-12T08:19:54.780-08:00It's Gonna Be A Bright (briiight) Bright Sunshiney NightTook a nap today and had an interesting dream sequence. I went to visit my sister at college, who had tons of work to do and didn't have much time to hang out. At one point, it was nighttime and i went outside and all of these stars started to appear in the sky, and then all these colors showed up and these geometric patterns and andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1131467398958284992005-11-08T07:31:00.000-08:002005-11-08T08:29:58.993-08:00prettythis is a really beautiful paragraph."The dawn came quickly now, a wash, a glow, a lightness, and then an explosion of fire as the sun arose out of the Gulf. Kino looked down to cover his eyes from the glare. He could hear the pat of the corn-cakes in the house and the rich smell of them on the cooking plate. The ants were busy on the ground, big black ones with shiny bodies, and little andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1125133938842787112005-08-27T02:01:00.000-07:002005-08-27T02:12:20.743-07:00I had a dream I was cutting up a bunch of steaks of cooked human flesh into a bowl, for a kind of steak salad. I was just about to eat it when this little human (it was a kid but that eerie sort of kid you see in freaky movies who acts just like an adult) ran up to me with this bucket of blackberry colored juice and said "you musn't eat that! drink this instead. it will ensure you aren't andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1119373432930391462005-06-21T09:57:00.000-07:002005-06-21T10:03:52.936-07:00Serengeti SerendipityNormally I don't post news items on here, but this is incredible.(yes, i know. it's just for alliteration.)andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1118166450720460322005-06-07T09:50:00.000-07:002005-06-07T10:47:30.773-07:00Automatic ShutdownSomehow, I shorted out the cross-trainer I was running on tonight. I keep my eyes closed when I run (or shift(?) -- I don't know what you call locomotion on that thing), and at one point all of a sudden I felt the pedals lock up. So I opened my eyes and the screen said "PAUSED"...so I hit the start button and it started moving again, but froze up again within the space of a andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1117179038363548032005-05-27T00:23:00.000-07:002005-05-27T04:44:40.056-07:00Snake BiteI had a dream last night where I was in this dark, cramped attic. I think Hale was there with me. There were poisonous snakes roaming around the attic space, and I was trying to avoid them while doing something else (can't remember what). At one point, I fell down just next to one of them and rolled out of its way, but another one slithered up and fanged me. Right on my left forearmandrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1117040788916141782005-05-24T09:29:00.000-07:002005-05-25T10:06:28.940-07:00MeltdownI saw someone lose it yesterday. Full-out nuclear meltdown. I don't know if I've ever seen something like it in person. I was doing my warmup on the cross-trainer, 20 minutes, where I usually just close my eyes and run my orbit, try to block out the played-out hip-hop or grody house music blasting on the speakers. Actually, if I run on this one machine near one of the group workout andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1116476499509623332005-05-18T20:10:00.000-07:002005-05-18T21:25:21.663-07:00I've had scads and scads to write lately. So I keep putting up these little sticky notes in my blog drafts, and then I never have the energy to write everything all down. I don't think I'll be able to tackle it all now, but a little bit, at least.Beautiful WaterThe first thing I do at the gym is waddle on the cross-trainer for about 20 minutes, just to sweat a bit. Then I do situps. You know andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1115022917848339052005-05-01T20:14:00.000-07:002005-06-07T10:51:21.256-07:00Monkey BusinessJust woke up from a strange dream. Still sleepy but I want to write it down before I get forgetful. Not prophetic or anything, just an interesting vision and extremely detailed.I'm a reporter. But also, it seems, a scientist. Maybe I'm just a scientist who does a lot of investigative journalism on the subject. That sounds more like it. Anyway, I work with viruses, and I've andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1114858317354879162005-04-30T18:54:00.000-07:002005-04-30T04:58:27.400-07:00okie dokie. lots of things on the docket. i'll write them down in no particular order.Sleep DipI took three short naps this week. When I nap I usually slip almost immediately into a dream state. I usually nap for a long time, 1-2 hours, but for each of these naps I had between 25 and 45 minutes to rest. Anyhow. So every time, no more than a few minutes had gone by (7-12) when I'd start andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1114870528905686302005-04-30T07:13:00.000-07:002005-04-30T07:15:28.906-07:00Beautiful Because It Rings True "I think the reason the journey feels empty at times is because we are inside a plan that is so vast we can’t see the horizon. Don’t lose hope, be patient and when you don’t understand and you are a bit confused, tell yourself the plan is vast. That helps."-- Stuart Wildeandrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1114312917562264472005-04-23T20:02:00.000-07:002005-04-23T20:26:14.450-07:00Time = EvilI'm reading Aldous Huxley's "After Many A Summer Dies The Swan". Chapters 8 and 9 are delightful, completely modular in their independence from the rest of the story, and well worth an extra 15 minutes' dawdling in Barnes and Noble the next time you're there. An excerpt: "I never could get much satisfaction out of meaningless discourse," Mr. Propter continued. "I like the words andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1114228885634089522005-04-22T20:52:00.000-07:002005-04-22T21:01:25.636-07:00StashNote to self: Next time you're in Montgomery, go to the T-intersection of Richmond and Charleston, face down Richmond, look to the lawn on your left. If there is a transformer or electricity box (one of those pale green ones) on or near the corner, go over to it and see if any of the paneling is loose. Paw around the base, if needs be. You hid a small plastic bag there in a dream last andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1112701085337201562005-04-05T19:40:00.000-07:002005-04-05T04:58:29.920-07:00EscaflowneThere was a moment last week, Wednesday I think, while I was teaching English to a group of 10 engineers. I paused briefly in my lecture, and promptly fell out of time.Escaflowne (es'-ka-FLOW'-nay) is an anime film (based on a TV series) about a girl who, tired of her life in this world, suddenly finds herself zooped into another world where she's a goddess. In the beginning of the andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1109863964210306962005-03-03T22:35:00.000-08:002005-03-03T07:32:44.230-08:00Assorted OddaliaI heard the word "realia" for the first time a couple weeks ago and I think it's great. I've been trying to graft the suffix onto other words, with varying degrees of success. (Note: I believe that's the second time I've used the phrase capsule "with varying degrees of..." today in my posts. I do like it, but I apologize for the recyclage.)I haven't really posted much about my andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1109843240042438192005-03-03T17:40:00.000-08:002005-03-04T01:41:48.153-08:00Murphy's TriumphLet me begin by making it clear that this post is in no way whining, self-pitying, or irritable. It's simply a recounting of a series of unfortunate events, perhaps detailed ad boredom, but necessary in the sense that I consider the amount of things which have gone wrong this morning nothing less than epic, and I'd like to share.I left my house in Taipei this morning around 5:30 andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1106971576521260712005-01-28T17:46:00.000-08:002005-01-28T20:21:06.686-08:00Catchup
Okie dokie. This will be disjointed.
First off, it's my, um, 5th? day in Taipei. I found out this morning that I am now employed by Berlitz. They're an international language school; I'll be teaching English with them, at first part-time, after I've received training in "The Berlitz Method". This is good news. Bad news is that because of training and upcoming holidays and the way andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1106550798737130312005-01-23T23:11:00.000-08:002005-01-23T23:13:18.736-08:00Jetlagged, Yet Again
Yup. I'm in Hong Kong. Tonight I'm flying to Taipei. Hong Kong is pretty but busy. Everything is too expensive. I'll update this in about a week, when I've got something worth telling.
Self-reminder: write about the demonaic mannequin in Phitsanulok, and about travel motivations.
Peace, ya'll.
andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1102419847330711662004-12-07T02:54:00.000-08:002004-12-07T03:44:07.330-08:00Meatier
Random things today:
Seen on a poster on the outer wall of the National Theater: "December 9th is International Anti-Corruption Day!" Do you all have that marked on your calendars? No bribing border patrols this Thursday!
Seen on a wall nearby: "12nd Annual Modern Arts Festival This Weekend" Okay, that's an honest mistake, I'd be confused if 2nd and 12th were different. Would have andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1101878029853594542004-11-30T20:51:00.000-08:002004-11-30T21:19:36.306-08:00Itchy Again
So the time has come again, where I've been all itchy and restless through my days, noticing more and more how I'm not getting as far as I want, as fast as I'd like to. Hence, I'm now in Bangkok. Yesterday I packed up all my stuff and hopped on an overnight bus to the capital (for $4.25, i might add -- steal!). Despite being subjected to the bitterly painful dialogue of 2Fast2Furiousandrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1095874963583198942004-09-22T22:46:00.000-07:002004-09-22T10:42:43.583-07:00Compromise...Conformity...Assimilation...
This is what I consider to be my first "blog" post. Where I just talk about where I am, what I'm doing, no real point. Gurf. A favor to a friend.
School Blah
So I'm in my 5th week of classes (out of 10 weeks total) at The Thai Massage School of Chiang Mai (TMC). Class consists mostly of getting and giving 1-2.5 hour massages every day, with an andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1094380903462341432004-09-05T17:30:00.000-07:002005-05-27T00:23:07.286-07:00 Lucid Dreaming yah yah, thailand's great, learning massage, jungle, mountains, cheap noodles. now then.this summer in Miami, i had my first full-blown experience with what i'd call lucid dreaming. traditionally this is described as a dream state in which you are aware of yourself as a dreamer, and you have some control over the events occuring as a result. that in itself has happened to me (andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1092777644289901882004-08-17T14:16:00.000-07:002004-08-17T14:20:44.290-07:00i'm sick and i'm sleepy and i'm getting on a plane to chiang mai, thailand (via seoul, south korea) in less than 7 hours. the summer i spent in miami taught me many things. apparently missing from the list, however, is the presence of mind not to get amazingly drunk and do dumb things in cheap motels on the jersey shore. but it's autumn coming up, about time for me to get all monk-like again andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1084897745216101182004-05-18T09:00:00.000-07:002004-05-18T09:29:05.216-07:00MIA
'lo all. so i'm in Miami now. practicing yoga and silat with Santi and Tao. plans are to be here until early August, when I have to get up to Cornell for Hale's wedding. (after that is a weekend at the Jersey shore with Ted and Semmel, and then I'm off to Chiang Mai-oh-My for some rubbing lessons.)
The Way Airport Parking Lot Attendants Ought To Be
New Orleans International Airport (andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1082917838124360472004-04-25T11:26:00.000-07:002004-04-25T11:35:11.670-07:00Llamasery
I forgot to mention -- heading into Dallas on rt45, I saw a small flock of llamas standing by the side of the road. I don't know how they got there. They seemed a bit unsure of this themselves, actually. I've never seen llamas outside a zoo before. One of them was eating some flowers. That's about all the llama info I got at 85 mph. Even so, it seems worth sharing.andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1082909345998983252004-04-25T07:56:00.000-07:002004-04-25T09:22:36.263-07:00Pigs Under The Blanket
So I just returned from a trip up to Dallas, TX for my biennial visit to see Cassidy and family. (As an aside I'd just liike to say to the People In Charge that I think it's very awkward to allow the word "biannual" to be capable of both dividing /and/ multiplying a year's span by two.) Yesterday morning we dined at OHOP (Original instead of International) and I was andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1082589804426540342004-04-21T16:23:00.000-07:002004-04-21T16:29:34.576-07:00Head Bangers' Ball
so i went to the first night of the revival tonight. observations:
i came about 30 minutes early, as there was a "prayer session" scheduled an hour before things actually got started and i wanted to check that out as well. the building this whole thing was held in is an unassuming one story structure, no lofty cathedrals or anything. looks like a house really. not even a andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1082422085773341992004-04-19T17:29:00.000-07:002004-04-19T17:52:09.233-07:00Southern Philosophy
It's this sort of thing that provides the comforting stereotype reinforcement of the oddities of Southern living.
Driving back from Houston today, passed a Bud Light billboard. Icy blue water cascading over a bottle. Slogan: "Texas Cold"
Now, presumably this is inspiring state pride, like "Yeah, Texas does Cold the best!" As most Texans seem to think of their state as a andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1082336879887502862004-04-18T12:55:00.001-07:002004-04-21T16:28:45.153-07:00
Some Of That Ol' Time Religion
Wow. That was /intense/. So here I am, making my afternoon breakfast of frosted shredded wheat and sliced mango, when there's a knock at the door. I figure it's just Ronald, the homeless man who lives in the garage, looking for money. Instead, it's a man with blue eyes and a blue shirt, blue jeans. "Hi! There's a Revival we're starting up in town, I was andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1081907102361643912004-04-13T17:58:00.000-07:002004-04-13T19:05:30.043-07:00Random, Serendipitous, Horseshoes
I've been going on walks lately. The other day, I passed some kids in an inflatable bouncy castle thingy, and some men playing horseshoes. The horseshoe men yelled something unintelligible, and I told the one throwing I wanted to see him throw a ringer. And he did.
continued...
Today I went on a long walk. Now, Lake Charles being in the deep South, there areandrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1081284254679894502004-04-06T13:20:00.000-07:002004-04-06T13:51:34.530-07:00Back In The Hizzle
After a hiatus involving pursuit by wild dogs in Eastern Europe, a new profession as a house painter, and an opinionated fat alcoholic named Bruce, I'm back in Lake Charles, LA. Enjoying the return to my practice. I'm guessing that since I haven't posted in 3 1/2 months, no one reads this anymore. So I'll just consider it a creative outlet.
"Not Exactly A Cultural Mecca"andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1071686106859761022003-12-17T10:26:00.000-08:002003-12-17T10:36:01.736-08:00i leave here on a bus in 9 hours. 34 hours later, i arrive in Philadelphia and get to play with Dr. Snert and Co. before coming home. am planning on meditating like a fiend while in transit. motor vehicles are so good for getting the juice flowing!
That's...Yep, That's About Enough
Standing today I was about 30 minutes in, not particularly painful or stressful, when all of a sudden my Voice andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1071456519827228842003-12-14T18:43:00.000-08:002003-12-14T18:53:08.876-08:00Pop A Squat
just did 15 wall squats in a row, 1 breath in between each one. i stopped because my nose was chaffing, but i think i could probably have done 20-25. i think 100 is doable, with short breaks between maybe 6 or 7 sets. i don't have any remarkable discoveries to report, other than the fact that once i thought these were physically impossible and now they're fairly simple for me to andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1071427951761709012003-12-14T10:36:00.000-08:002003-12-14T10:52:44.636-08:00Dude, What The Hell Is That On Your Head?
so apparently even though Kundalini proper hasn't reared its serpentine head, there are some strange things going on with me. this morning, two different people (Doc and Trish) both mentioned that i have a spiky, tiered purple aura that stacks up and extends about 3 feet above my head. i'm getting a bit better at seeing these things, but i can only see andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1070926176527376502003-12-08T15:24:00.000-08:002003-12-08T15:29:48.310-08:00All Clear
incidentally, i've cleared all the checkpoints i set for myself at the beginning. i've added a provisional "Checkpoint Echo", which ends when i leave on the 17th. no kundalini rising yet. but to be honest, i'm starting to take a more relaxed approach to it, as if i keep up my practice it'll come eventually, and i'm actually watching someone else who's currently going through the andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1070925662379416602003-12-08T14:54:00.000-08:002003-12-08T15:23:32.626-08:00got my bus ticket home. should be in Monty around the 19th. Éva comes home the 21st!
Karma Chameleon
Will from Nashville drove down on Thursday and I promptly blinded him in his left eye in a swordplay accident. he recovered enough to drive home today, although he still looks like a pirate who has a good reason to wear an eye patch. karma struck back and not only made Nathan poke me in the andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1070255535767130162003-11-30T20:36:00.000-08:002003-12-08T15:22:37.706-08:00i've never been in any place where the common greeting in nearly every employee-customer interaction replaces the standard generic "sir" "ma'am" "miss" with "honey" "love" "shugah" and "baby". although it wasn't quite so shocking at, say, Dollar General or in the mall, but having an employee of the U.S. Postal Service say "witch-a ya'll's is next. oh, dat you love? come ovah heah shugah, andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1069994999658829312003-11-27T20:49:00.000-08:002003-11-27T20:53:13.366-08:00make that 4 wall squats.andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1069958231877109592003-11-27T08:55:00.002-08:002003-11-30T21:24:42.476-08:00the bulletin board outside the local elementary school has had this message up for the past week or so:
"CONTINUED CHEERFULNESS IS A SIGN OF WISDOM"
i'd send my kids there. or my neighbor's kids, at least.
Chill Pill
it seems that my long tradition of beginning these posts by bitching about how much it hurts when i stand may be over. i know, i know, i'm sad too. but beginning about 4 days andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1069004678983955732003-11-16T09:09:00.000-08:002003-11-16T09:46:24.573-08:00oy. too many frosted wheat squares. but they're sooooo yummy.
Hot Potato
it's twice now that i've been accused of burning people when i hit them. i'm still skeptical but it's cool enough to make note of, i suppose.
the first time dave thomas and i were sword fighting (bamboo shinai), and i lashed out and hit him on the thumb with my sword. granted, this stings a bit but he complained for andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1068662488095780102003-11-12T10:09:00.000-08:002003-11-12T10:44:49.813-08:00prayer is a good thing.
i haven't posted since that first time the numb/pain combo hit me while standing. that's right, i said "first". monday it happened again, although i was a bit better prepared for it. "I am armed with Yesterday" was my mantra that morning. Tuesday takes the cake though. hands down most painful experience i can ever remember going through. intense, searing pain in andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1068414232933906632003-11-09T13:20:00.000-08:002003-11-09T13:43:56.930-08:00i'm feeling just lovely. strong and clear. something of a change from this morning...
Tag Team
so traditionally, in the 3 successful attempts i've made at building up to and maintaining 60 minute standing periods, there's a progression of complications. first my right shoulder usually starts hurting. that goes away. then a couple weeks later, my left shoulder/arm starts going numb. this andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1068347217414791002003-11-08T18:59:00.000-08:002003-11-08T19:07:01.726-08:00Ti-iii-iii-immme Is On My Side...
time gets funny. "flies when you're having fun" and vice-versa. standing definitely illustrates this for me. when i begin training to work up to an hour, i start at 15 minutes. two days later at 19 minutes i can't possibly see how the human body could withstand 45, no less 60 minutes. when i stood for 2 hours once last year, the next day an hour seemed like andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1068328001625570672003-11-08T13:14:00.000-08:002003-11-08T13:46:45.346-08:00yah so it's been awhile. nothing particularly amazing to report, but here are some updates and new perspectives:
Rattle Rattle
there is /definitely/ something moving around at the base of my spine. it doesn't seem to want to go anywhere yet, but i've felt it on a number of occassions and it's growing stronger. i'm having a similar experience with my crown chakra; there's such a strong andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1067374183198227092003-10-28T12:25:00.000-08:002003-10-28T12:49:44.180-08:00an interesting day so far...
Guard Down
Standing this morning was /painful/. i haven't hurt that much standing since last year, one of my first times ever trying it out. this wasn't quite as bad -- i think i had a pinched nerve then -- but this morning sucked nonetheless. now, i did take class last night and i was uke (training dummy) for Doc most of the night, but i wasn't working my left andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1067118091595636342003-10-25T14:22:00.000-07:002003-10-25T14:41:31.896-07:00"Democracy is the fig leaf of elitism."
reading Florence King's Reflections In A Jaundiced Eye right now. i can't remember the last time i laughed out loud so much while reading. she is /merciless/. some of the essays are a bit dated -- ©1989 -- but "Nice Guyism" and "Democrazy" are must-reads.
I Thought I Said Russian, Dammit
Spriechen zie Deustch? (sp) that's about all the German i know.andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1067047974927805202003-10-24T18:42:00.000-07:002003-10-24T19:16:45.353-07:00Doc just stalemated me. I hate stalemate. king'n'apawn v. king. tally: 5-2-1 me
Warning: the next section is a graphic description of an icky gross experience. consider yoursef forewarned. you may skip it if you are a wuss.
End of an Era
most of you are familiar with the thing on my back. you know, that weird looking bump on my spine between the shoulder blades which is at the same timeandrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1066876486546175102003-10-22T19:16:00.000-07:002003-10-22T19:45:40.133-07:00To Sleep, Perchance To Speak Hungarian
Forgot to mention this before. this goes in "sweet-as" category.
lots of strange dreams last night. in one, there was a woman, sitting down on something. chair? bench? i can't remember her face. i can only remember one word she said, i wrote it down in my journal as "maléte", pronounced mah-LATE. i woke up with the distinct impression that she meant andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1066858541526473632003-10-22T14:06:00.000-07:002003-11-16T09:49:51.400-08:00another great day to be a Bobcat Ninja. practice is going well. i have marked 4 checkpoints along the way, within a 60 day period. as i've never done anything voluntarily for 5-10 hrs/day for more than a couple weeks at most, i figure two months is a good time frame to start with. anyway, the checkpoints run as follows:
Alpha :: October 20 (2 weeks in) PASSED
Bravo :: October 26 (20 days)andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1066663600697024592003-10-20T07:53:00.000-07:002003-10-20T08:26:40.533-07:00one advantage to practicing down here is that the weather is nice enough (just) so that i can go out in the early morning to practice and i'm not freezing my ass off. i like standing outside much better than all the indoor work i did last year in china. anyway, today i rooted so well into the earth that when i was finished i had almost a half-inch-thick layer of grass and dirt that had impactedandrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1066522201555786092003-10-18T16:35:00.000-07:002003-10-22T19:44:14.433-07:00i've been on this big high for the past few days. everything is great.
TrimSpa!!
the voices in my head are getting to be picky eaters. i'm finding that foods that are yummy and technically part of my diet (i'm off land meat and dairy if you haven't heard me bitch about it yet) don't always fly with tummy-mine. very sugary stuff and very artificial things seem to be off the list too. last andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1066339623003913082003-10-16T14:05:00.000-07:002003-10-18T17:23:30.370-07:00Bum-BUMP ... Bum-BUMP ...
my pulse is down to 58 beats per minute. this is a good 1.5 hours after my last meditation ended.
checkpoint Alpha: Lance Armstrong
checkpoint Bravo: Pierce Brosnan's escape from the med facility in the beginning of Die Another Day
Doc Recap
for a few of you out there, you're already well aware of who(/what?) Doc is. if you're not in the know, however, and you'dandrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1066245549014014392003-10-15T09:58:00.000-07:002003-10-18T17:16:09.673-07:00i feel great. it's easy to forget one of the most rewarding benefits of a meditative practice -- that it's almost impossible to be anything but happy and content all the time. meditation, in all its various forms, is a great equalizer and bestower of perspective. no problem looms too large, nor seems insurmountable, so long as one's gaze rests periodically but steadily inward. inward is andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1066142000714517232003-10-14T07:21:00.000-07:002003-10-14T07:33:32.760-07:00Who's In Charge of This Safari?
Doc has informed me that i now have a guiding spirit. it's a man, and he hangs out just above the right side of my head. this is all the information i have on him right now. i myself can neither confirm nor deny this report, as when i look in the mirror i see the wall behind me where said guide is supposed to be. but i like the idea, so i'll take it on faith andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1066079556599892702003-10-13T13:36:00.000-07:002003-10-13T14:12:36.606-07:00woke up from a dream last night where Doc and I went to a Kundalini yoga studio. when we were leaving, one of the teachers, a man, came out and talked to us for a bit. when he turned to leave he pointed at the upper arch of his foot and said to Doc, "remember, the indoor foot equals throat chakra." i wrote this down in the dark in my journal, and upon waking this morning it took me a second toandrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1065995400610878492003-10-12T14:46:00.000-07:002003-10-16T14:05:24.740-07:00reading Gopi Krishna's account of going through Kundalini without a clue as to what was happening to him. makes my being scared of my own reflection seem kind of silly in comparison.
i'm a fairly healthy person, my blood pressure usually circulates around 120/70, vital signs good, etc etc. but my pulse has always been very high. standard resting heart rate is 60-80 beats per minute. mine andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1065989201546152062003-10-12T12:47:00.000-07:002003-10-12T13:06:41.610-07:00two things:
the first is a bit technical. but interesting.
Hungry Third Eye
at the apex of the microcosmic orbit is an acupuncture point called bai hui (by hway), right at the crown of the head. there's a little soft spot there that's tender if you press on it. it's the focal point of your 7th, or crown chakra. the next major point of the orbit on the backside is yu zhen (yoo jen), means andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1065969061903431302003-10-12T07:14:00.000-07:002003-10-12T07:34:20.966-07:00*note to self* [mark: IMPORANT]
after long spells of meditation and/or energy work, do NOT stare into a mirror, especially at night or with poor lighting, for any lengthy period of time unless you're feeling particularly brave.
*end note to self*
but that's probably good advice for the rest of you, too. so here's something i'm not sure what, if anything, i should do about: i'm finding thatandrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1065847486364668272003-10-10T21:43:00.001-07:002003-10-12T07:34:57.903-07:00by the way i'd just like to point out that blogger has /no/ idea what time it is. i wrote this /and/ the last post close to midnight friday.andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1065846885900192262003-10-10T18:36:00.000-07:002003-10-10T21:38:26.216-07:00wowzers. just finished a quality evening session. meditating to music is interesting. so far i like doing it with portishead and deep trance the best.
basically i've been breaking up my meditations into two am/pm sessions, not including standing. i do about 50 minutes of testicle breathing* (9repsx6sets) and scrotal compressions (5x3), as per mantak chia's Cultivating Male Sexual Energy. andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1065723547177494402003-10-09T11:05:00.000-07:002003-10-09T11:19:07.043-07:00it's hard to find a balance, when talking to friends/loved ones about my practice. it's such a crazy far out world compared to most of my 24 years (which haven't exactly been mundane) that i often forget myself in my enthusiasm for what i'm doing and totally alienate whomever i'm talking to. how do you respond to something like
"hi _________, yesterday i turned my balls into shining golden andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1065560830362940932003-10-07T14:02:00.000-07:002003-10-07T14:07:10.433-07:00just finished 100 orbits of the microcosmic track. the last 10 i ran backwards, which cooled me off nicely. somewhere in the 80s i ran the macrocosmic orbit a few times...the micro feels tighter and easier to pinpoint, but macro definitely kicks in with the arms and legs, which is nice.
john, a new deshi just in from thailand, stopped by to chat today. he wants me to be his physical trainerandrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906572.post-1065473933191869922003-10-06T13:53:00.000-07:002003-10-06T14:02:20.200-07:00this is meant to be a way of keeping those in my life who care up to date. also, i keep forgetting to write stuff down for my bestselling novel.
i'm in lake charles, louisiana. going on 2 weeks. spent the last 3 days in Houston with Price-fam. good times.
the reason i'm here is because Glenn Morris lives here and he's offered to train me in his ways.
so far i've studied:
meditation
andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642913951009285571noreply@blogger.com0