Orbis non sufficit
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Falun Dafa
Or Falun Gong as it is sometimes called. I dunno if any of you know what this is, so I'll tell you. Falun Dafa is a chinese meditational practice (or Self-Cultivation practice if you want to use their phrasing). It was only was only introduced to the public in 1992 but it's been taught in private for a very long time, it's one of those ancient chinese arts, or is at very least derived from such. Anyway millions of people around the world learn it, however in china (where the good part of 100 million people practice it) it's practice is outlawed by the communist government, mostly because so many people practice it and they see that as somewhat of a threat. People are tortured and killed for practicing it there, sucks to be them.
Anyway the point of this post is that we actually have people here in Frankston who practice it, they gather on sunday mornings at 9 am in the frankston gardens (the George Pentland or whatever they are called) by the duck pond. It's free to learn, that's one of their principles, so I think I'll go along this sunday and check it out. It's been highly acclaimed as being good for improving mental and physical wellness. It's actually quite simple as far as exercises go I believe, there seem to be five main ones which look pretty straight forward.
Anyway, if you want to read more about it then there is the website, which I shall add below, and also on that website there is a book that can be downloaded for free, Zhuan Falun, it's pretty much their main instruction manual/philosophical basis, and also another one which is recommended for beginners, Falun Gong.
Website: www.falundafa.org
Zhuan Falun is a pretty hardcore book it seems, some of the topics it discusses are:
* the origins of qigong and the long-forgotten meaning of "cultivation" (I believe falun dafa is a form of qigong)
* the roots of illness, and their fundamental removal
* karma: its origin, effects, and transformation into virtue
* Falun Gong's relation to qigong, Buddhism, Taoism, and other cultivation methods
* the meaning and function of supernormal abilities
* the question of eating meat and the issue of attachments
* genuine, integrated cultivation of mind and body
* what is Enlightenment, and what is Consummation?
Also I had another dream last night, don't remember much because it's nearly 8pm now but I do remember that there was a shop that had many swords in it, among other things. Some looked like strange wushu broad swords, but I picked up a short, almost knife-like sword. The blade was fairly flat and straight and had edges on both sides, and curiously the tip was rounded. Strange as it looked it was extremely sharp and I accidentally cut myself between my thumb and forefinger with the faintest of brushes from the blade.
Or Falun Gong as it is sometimes called. I dunno if any of you know what this is, so I'll tell you. Falun Dafa is a chinese meditational practice (or Self-Cultivation practice if you want to use their phrasing). It was only was only introduced to the public in 1992 but it's been taught in private for a very long time, it's one of those ancient chinese arts, or is at very least derived from such. Anyway millions of people around the world learn it, however in china (where the good part of 100 million people practice it) it's practice is outlawed by the communist government, mostly because so many people practice it and they see that as somewhat of a threat. People are tortured and killed for practicing it there, sucks to be them.
Anyway the point of this post is that we actually have people here in Frankston who practice it, they gather on sunday mornings at 9 am in the frankston gardens (the George Pentland or whatever they are called) by the duck pond. It's free to learn, that's one of their principles, so I think I'll go along this sunday and check it out. It's been highly acclaimed as being good for improving mental and physical wellness. It's actually quite simple as far as exercises go I believe, there seem to be five main ones which look pretty straight forward.
Anyway, if you want to read more about it then there is the website, which I shall add below, and also on that website there is a book that can be downloaded for free, Zhuan Falun, it's pretty much their main instruction manual/philosophical basis, and also another one which is recommended for beginners, Falun Gong.
Website: www.falundafa.org
Zhuan Falun is a pretty hardcore book it seems, some of the topics it discusses are:
* the origins of qigong and the long-forgotten meaning of "cultivation" (I believe falun dafa is a form of qigong)
* the roots of illness, and their fundamental removal
* karma: its origin, effects, and transformation into virtue
* Falun Gong's relation to qigong, Buddhism, Taoism, and other cultivation methods
* the meaning and function of supernormal abilities
* the question of eating meat and the issue of attachments
* genuine, integrated cultivation of mind and body
* what is Enlightenment, and what is Consummation?
Also I had another dream last night, don't remember much because it's nearly 8pm now but I do remember that there was a shop that had many swords in it, among other things. Some looked like strange wushu broad swords, but I picked up a short, almost knife-like sword. The blade was fairly flat and straight and had edges on both sides, and curiously the tip was rounded. Strange as it looked it was extremely sharp and I accidentally cut myself between my thumb and forefinger with the faintest of brushes from the blade.
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
More Tales
Ok, had some more strange dreams last night. Not entirely sure if they were related in some way. I can only really remember two particular scenes at this stage:
1. I was at some kind of dock, or construction site or something like that. There was a big crane with a long chain dangling from it, one end was attached to a huge hanging crate thing, the chain then looped up over a pulley at the top of the crane then down to the ground, around a few things, through a solid looking hollow object, possibly a concrete pipe or some such, and then somehow around the legs of some unidentified female. There were a lot of people around, I think what happened next was some kind of horrible accident. Somehow the crate dislodge and fell, pulling the female through the hollow (which wasn't particularly large) and squishing her into a weird flat shape. No blood or anything mysteriously but she was clearly dead. There was quite a ruckus after that and I think some kind of detective story followed, or this was halfway through such a story.
2. I was running past a forest or something, through a smallish town or village. There were lots of fences around, just the regular wooden sort. Not entirely sure what was going on, but there was some kind of air raid going on. Actually, it didn't seem to be much of a raid, there was only one plane that I saw. In any case, I knew it was going to bomb the place so I started jumping the fences, trying to get as many things between me and where the bombs would fall to shield me from the explosions. This turned out to be futile, because a little way in the distance there was a bright flash, then I felt a powerful wind blow in and saw a mushroom cloud rising into the sky over one of the fences. The wind grew more and more intense and then a great light came over me and my dream ended.
Ok, had some more strange dreams last night. Not entirely sure if they were related in some way. I can only really remember two particular scenes at this stage:
1. I was at some kind of dock, or construction site or something like that. There was a big crane with a long chain dangling from it, one end was attached to a huge hanging crate thing, the chain then looped up over a pulley at the top of the crane then down to the ground, around a few things, through a solid looking hollow object, possibly a concrete pipe or some such, and then somehow around the legs of some unidentified female. There were a lot of people around, I think what happened next was some kind of horrible accident. Somehow the crate dislodge and fell, pulling the female through the hollow (which wasn't particularly large) and squishing her into a weird flat shape. No blood or anything mysteriously but she was clearly dead. There was quite a ruckus after that and I think some kind of detective story followed, or this was halfway through such a story.
2. I was running past a forest or something, through a smallish town or village. There were lots of fences around, just the regular wooden sort. Not entirely sure what was going on, but there was some kind of air raid going on. Actually, it didn't seem to be much of a raid, there was only one plane that I saw. In any case, I knew it was going to bomb the place so I started jumping the fences, trying to get as many things between me and where the bombs would fall to shield me from the explosions. This turned out to be futile, because a little way in the distance there was a bright flash, then I felt a powerful wind blow in and saw a mushroom cloud rising into the sky over one of the fences. The wind grew more and more intense and then a great light came over me and my dream ended.
Saturday, January 21, 2006
Camping
Oh yes, also just got back yesterday from camping down in Sorento. That was pretty cool, we had a good time relaxing down at the beach and around our campsite and wandering the streets etc. Must do it again sometime.
Also:
"Traditionally on New Years Eve, Iraqis fire weapons into the air in celebration, the result is thousands of bullets ripping skyward then falling from the darkness across Baghdad suburbs sometimes with fatal consequences. This activity forced soldiers on watch to stay undercover, wear helmets and body armour."
-Defence Media Release, Jan 01, 2006
Soldiers keep watch over Baghdad on New Years Eve
Crazy Iraqis.
Oh yes, also just got back yesterday from camping down in Sorento. That was pretty cool, we had a good time relaxing down at the beach and around our campsite and wandering the streets etc. Must do it again sometime.
Also:
"Traditionally on New Years Eve, Iraqis fire weapons into the air in celebration, the result is thousands of bullets ripping skyward then falling from the darkness across Baghdad suburbs sometimes with fatal consequences. This activity forced soldiers on watch to stay undercover, wear helmets and body armour."
-Defence Media Release, Jan 01, 2006
Soldiers keep watch over Baghdad on New Years Eve
Crazy Iraqis.
More Tales of Interest
Ok, had another strange dream last night. I'm sure there was a lot more to it than that which I shall now relate, but these were the most vivid parts and thus the only parts I still remember.
I was travelling with a group of people on a bus or some such mode of transportation, though I cannot recall the destination. I believe it was on the way back from this destination that I became seperated from the group and caught a different bus. The seperation was no accident; I had somewhere in mind that I wished to visit.
I was going to see some kind of meditational, mysterious sort of guru person, though I'm not sure why. As it turns out he rather resembled Jackie Chan. We talked for a while about whatever it was that I had gone to see him about, and then he did some kind of hypnosis magicky voodoo on me. He then said a word in chinese, "hong" or something to that effect, and as I looked across the room towards various tables and chairs and cushions and strange artefacts that you might find in a guru's house I saw the shadow from a table suddenly warp and shift and raise upwards off the ground, forming a scary looking shadowy wraithy creature. This scared the crap out of me, though I'm not sure if it actually came to attack me. If it was going to, then the guru uttered another word, "Shayen" (or something to that effect), and the shadowy creature sank back into the ground, again merely the shadow of a chair.
I'm not sure if the creature was real or merely the product of some hypnosis trick he'd pulled on me, though I think the hypnosis theory is quite likely. In case I asked him to repeat the words so I could make the creature appear and disappear myself. He told me, and I tested them out.
Again the creature rose from the shadow of the some object around the room, this time most certainly approaching me in a threatening manner. As it got closer I panicked and the word to make it disappear slipped from my mind. Fortunately I remembered just before it reached me and again the creature slipped back into the ground.
I think the whole point of the exercise was to learn to control one's fear, the guru merely helped me by providing this creature to focus on. I think some other things occured after this involving the creature, but I can't really remember them so I shall stop here. I think I might have even tried to fight it at some stage.
Ok, had another strange dream last night. I'm sure there was a lot more to it than that which I shall now relate, but these were the most vivid parts and thus the only parts I still remember.
I was travelling with a group of people on a bus or some such mode of transportation, though I cannot recall the destination. I believe it was on the way back from this destination that I became seperated from the group and caught a different bus. The seperation was no accident; I had somewhere in mind that I wished to visit.
I was going to see some kind of meditational, mysterious sort of guru person, though I'm not sure why. As it turns out he rather resembled Jackie Chan. We talked for a while about whatever it was that I had gone to see him about, and then he did some kind of hypnosis magicky voodoo on me. He then said a word in chinese, "hong" or something to that effect, and as I looked across the room towards various tables and chairs and cushions and strange artefacts that you might find in a guru's house I saw the shadow from a table suddenly warp and shift and raise upwards off the ground, forming a scary looking shadowy wraithy creature. This scared the crap out of me, though I'm not sure if it actually came to attack me. If it was going to, then the guru uttered another word, "Shayen" (or something to that effect), and the shadowy creature sank back into the ground, again merely the shadow of a chair.
I'm not sure if the creature was real or merely the product of some hypnosis trick he'd pulled on me, though I think the hypnosis theory is quite likely. In case I asked him to repeat the words so I could make the creature appear and disappear myself. He told me, and I tested them out.
Again the creature rose from the shadow of the some object around the room, this time most certainly approaching me in a threatening manner. As it got closer I panicked and the word to make it disappear slipped from my mind. Fortunately I remembered just before it reached me and again the creature slipped back into the ground.
I think the whole point of the exercise was to learn to control one's fear, the guru merely helped me by providing this creature to focus on. I think some other things occured after this involving the creature, but I can't really remember them so I shall stop here. I think I might have even tried to fight it at some stage.
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Yogic Wisdom
"There is only one thing for which God has sent me into the world, and that is to develop every kind of virtue or strength, and there is nothing in all the world that I cannot use for this purpose"
-Epictetus
"There is only one thing for which God has sent me into the world, and that is to develop every kind of virtue or strength, and there is nothing in all the world that I cannot use for this purpose"
-Epictetus
Sunday, January 08, 2006
Devil Worshippers
I had a strange dream last night. The crux of it was that my karate dojo was being attacked by devil worshippers. I think they just looked like regular people, though I have some vague recollection that there was something strange about them. I remember feeling that they were more dangerous than regular people anyway.
Anyway, aside from myself and my sensei and a few other students, there was also Iwan Shihan, the 7th Dan master who takes our gradings. Don't know why he was there. My sensei knew these devil worshippers were coming so he made us do some exercises, hard and fast, as preperation. Halfway through doing them, he tapped me on the shoulder to let me know it was time for action. We then left the other students and went outside.
Coming up the road through the entrance past the old KFC were a handful of these devil worshipper people. When they got closer we went in and started the fight. It was strange, I couldn't fight as hard or fast as I wanted to, but we still somehow manged to take down most of them. At some point my sensei went back into the dojo, I believe with the purpose of taking down the ones who had made it past me, with the help of Iwan Shihan. It kind of sucked, I didn't get to see them fight at all, which would surely have been awesome.
Anyway, lumbering down the street came three really big devil worshippers, not giant, but, well they were like the huge guys you see in anime, much bigger than people ought to be but still meant to human. Anyway I decided that fists weren't going to cut it against these guys and I went inside the dojo to grab my cudgel (which I happened to go out and buy yesterday, it's pretty cool). I then took it back outside and took on the giants, still not fighting the way I wanted but managing to beat them anyway. Can't really remember specifics of the fights.
Ok, that's about the end of it. Tune in next time for more "TALES OF INTEREST".
I had a strange dream last night. The crux of it was that my karate dojo was being attacked by devil worshippers. I think they just looked like regular people, though I have some vague recollection that there was something strange about them. I remember feeling that they were more dangerous than regular people anyway.
Anyway, aside from myself and my sensei and a few other students, there was also Iwan Shihan, the 7th Dan master who takes our gradings. Don't know why he was there. My sensei knew these devil worshippers were coming so he made us do some exercises, hard and fast, as preperation. Halfway through doing them, he tapped me on the shoulder to let me know it was time for action. We then left the other students and went outside.
Coming up the road through the entrance past the old KFC were a handful of these devil worshipper people. When they got closer we went in and started the fight. It was strange, I couldn't fight as hard or fast as I wanted to, but we still somehow manged to take down most of them. At some point my sensei went back into the dojo, I believe with the purpose of taking down the ones who had made it past me, with the help of Iwan Shihan. It kind of sucked, I didn't get to see them fight at all, which would surely have been awesome.
Anyway, lumbering down the street came three really big devil worshippers, not giant, but, well they were like the huge guys you see in anime, much bigger than people ought to be but still meant to human. Anyway I decided that fists weren't going to cut it against these guys and I went inside the dojo to grab my cudgel (which I happened to go out and buy yesterday, it's pretty cool). I then took it back outside and took on the giants, still not fighting the way I wanted but managing to beat them anyway. Can't really remember specifics of the fights.
Ok, that's about the end of it. Tune in next time for more "TALES OF INTEREST".
Monday, January 02, 2006
Comin' round the mountain
Righto, last night in Canberra. It's been decent, but I'll be glad to come home. Wushu starts up again on thursday, which is very exciting because I'm learning to use a cudgel (big 6-foot stick) now. Also because karate is finished now so it's my only martial art still on. I don't usually get to keep doing my martial arts during the holidays, so hopefully this means I'll be able to keep my flexibility up so that I don't take half of the year regaining it. Also I have another Army Reserve thing to go to in about a week, this one's a more serious interview and stuff so I'll have to make sure I'm prepared. I'm not entirely sure what I'm going to do activities-wise this year. I wanted to go back to the orchestra coz progress on my viola has been very slow without it. But the thing is, if I do get into this officer course with the reserves then I'm going to be parading on wednesday nights, which means I can't go to karate on that day, which means that I'll have to go on a monday instead, however this means I can't go to wushu on a monday which means that I'll have to go on the thursday if I want to keep doing it, however the orchestra practices on a thursday, which means that would be out again. And I don't really want to go to the orchestra for a semester just to give it up again (since I wouldn't start with the reserves till mid-year). So I probably won't go back after all. I'd also like to keep doing wushu twice a week, but karate takes priority so unless wushu starts up another session on another suitable day (talk was going around last year about it) I guess one will have to do. It's annoying, I have all these hours to spare but everybody likes to do their thing at the same time. Still, If I go to wushu on mondays then I'll be able to take up the kendo once a week again (the class is right before wushu, its too intenese for me to do twice a week along with everything else anyway) and with wushu on a thursday I can try and go to the aikido that's before that more than I managed last year. But if I do get into the reserves, then I suppose that I'll go to karate on a monday. I think I might be parading too early for me to catch the kendo on a wednesday though. Damn. It's be good to do something on a wednesday before parade, I think it's 7 till 10 or some such, and I'll probably finish class at 5. Not really enough time in there for anything. Oh well.
Ok, If you've been able to follow all that then I congratulate you, it's quite a brainful.
Anyway, I'm looking forward to getting home, I miss people and hanging out and such. Also I have a cudgel to buy. Possible a broad sword too, though perhaps I'll wait till I start training with one before I go and buy it. They're so cool though.
Righto, last night in Canberra. It's been decent, but I'll be glad to come home. Wushu starts up again on thursday, which is very exciting because I'm learning to use a cudgel (big 6-foot stick) now. Also because karate is finished now so it's my only martial art still on. I don't usually get to keep doing my martial arts during the holidays, so hopefully this means I'll be able to keep my flexibility up so that I don't take half of the year regaining it. Also I have another Army Reserve thing to go to in about a week, this one's a more serious interview and stuff so I'll have to make sure I'm prepared. I'm not entirely sure what I'm going to do activities-wise this year. I wanted to go back to the orchestra coz progress on my viola has been very slow without it. But the thing is, if I do get into this officer course with the reserves then I'm going to be parading on wednesday nights, which means I can't go to karate on that day, which means that I'll have to go on a monday instead, however this means I can't go to wushu on a monday which means that I'll have to go on the thursday if I want to keep doing it, however the orchestra practices on a thursday, which means that would be out again. And I don't really want to go to the orchestra for a semester just to give it up again (since I wouldn't start with the reserves till mid-year). So I probably won't go back after all. I'd also like to keep doing wushu twice a week, but karate takes priority so unless wushu starts up another session on another suitable day (talk was going around last year about it) I guess one will have to do. It's annoying, I have all these hours to spare but everybody likes to do their thing at the same time. Still, If I go to wushu on mondays then I'll be able to take up the kendo once a week again (the class is right before wushu, its too intenese for me to do twice a week along with everything else anyway) and with wushu on a thursday I can try and go to the aikido that's before that more than I managed last year. But if I do get into the reserves, then I suppose that I'll go to karate on a monday. I think I might be parading too early for me to catch the kendo on a wednesday though. Damn. It's be good to do something on a wednesday before parade, I think it's 7 till 10 or some such, and I'll probably finish class at 5. Not really enough time in there for anything. Oh well.
Ok, If you've been able to follow all that then I congratulate you, it's quite a brainful.
Anyway, I'm looking forward to getting home, I miss people and hanging out and such. Also I have a cudgel to buy. Possible a broad sword too, though perhaps I'll wait till I start training with one before I go and buy it. They're so cool though.
Sunday, January 01, 2006
Obligatory New Years Post
Ok so technically my last post was the first post of the new year, but I didn't really think about it at all then so I'll do a real one now.
After reading on Steve's blog that he'd been reading some of his old posts I was motivated to do the same. It's really quite interesting going back and reading that stuff. These blogs are really great things for memories, going through those old posts brought back a lot of stuff and for that I am very thankful. There's a whole section of my life in these blog posts, right from the end of year 12, and I'd have to say that it's been a pretty good section. It kind of feels like its over now, I guess because we're all getting older and going about our own thing a lot more these days, also because of other stuff that's changed around me I guess. It's always a little scary thinking about what the future may hold. I can only hope that the next section of my life will be at least as good as the one that has just passed. The last few days have certainly been some of the least fun in my life, indeed it's been a while since I've felt content with the way everything is going, but I try to hold onto the hope that everything works out for the best in the end, in one way or another.
Bah I dunno. Maybe I've just been in this crazy canberra place too long. Still, whatever the future may hold I'm glad that I can look back on my last year of highschool and be glad of the way everything went, that I can remember those as "the good ol days" as I'm sure we will refer to them when we're old. We had some fun back at that place, as much of a hole as it was. I wonder sometimes how different my life would be if certain things had been different, like if I had never gone out with Kiah, or if the bunch of us hadn't stuck together so much. These are the things that I am extremely grateful for, and have changed my life significantly I feel. Or if not changed my life, have changed me as a person.
I dunno, maybe I'm just saying I love you guys, let's try not to lose contact too much as our lives go seperate ways ok?
Ok so technically my last post was the first post of the new year, but I didn't really think about it at all then so I'll do a real one now.
After reading on Steve's blog that he'd been reading some of his old posts I was motivated to do the same. It's really quite interesting going back and reading that stuff. These blogs are really great things for memories, going through those old posts brought back a lot of stuff and for that I am very thankful. There's a whole section of my life in these blog posts, right from the end of year 12, and I'd have to say that it's been a pretty good section. It kind of feels like its over now, I guess because we're all getting older and going about our own thing a lot more these days, also because of other stuff that's changed around me I guess. It's always a little scary thinking about what the future may hold. I can only hope that the next section of my life will be at least as good as the one that has just passed. The last few days have certainly been some of the least fun in my life, indeed it's been a while since I've felt content with the way everything is going, but I try to hold onto the hope that everything works out for the best in the end, in one way or another.
Bah I dunno. Maybe I've just been in this crazy canberra place too long. Still, whatever the future may hold I'm glad that I can look back on my last year of highschool and be glad of the way everything went, that I can remember those as "the good ol days" as I'm sure we will refer to them when we're old. We had some fun back at that place, as much of a hole as it was. I wonder sometimes how different my life would be if certain things had been different, like if I had never gone out with Kiah, or if the bunch of us hadn't stuck together so much. These are the things that I am extremely grateful for, and have changed my life significantly I feel. Or if not changed my life, have changed me as a person.
I dunno, maybe I'm just saying I love you guys, let's try not to lose contact too much as our lives go seperate ways ok?
My style of drinking situation
A few drinks in a pub when it isn't busy or blasting out my eardrums with loud music, sitting in comfy chairs with mates is a plus (loud music bad, can't even talk to people sitting in nearby chairs with this, have to get up and talk in their ear. Destroy's any group conversation.)
A few drinks over a good game of poker.
A few drinks with mates in the lounge room or someplace like that.
A few drinks at a party, preferably at someones house with at decent number of people, not too many but it's good to not know at least half I think (less than this is ok too, but is becoming the previous option (a few drinks with mates)), yet have some common denominator between you all. It's way more friendly. I find the atmosphere of a packed loud pub during busy hours to be extremely impersonal and I find that I have almost zero interest in talking to anybody there.
A few drinks at the good ol' uni bar, though it's slightly weird these days. Unfortunately I don't get to do this as I have to drive to uni.
In fact transport can be an issue for a lot of these, it really sucks. Especially since they're all about chilling out, taking a long time to get to these places and having difficulty getting back can distrub the "chilling out" mood.
Ok, that's enough from me. Also I need some good drinks, I've had enough of goon. A good scotch would be good, but I'm too poor. Stupid money. Hopefully that will change in the not too distant future.
A few drinks in a pub when it isn't busy or blasting out my eardrums with loud music, sitting in comfy chairs with mates is a plus (loud music bad, can't even talk to people sitting in nearby chairs with this, have to get up and talk in their ear. Destroy's any group conversation.)
A few drinks over a good game of poker.
A few drinks with mates in the lounge room or someplace like that.
A few drinks at a party, preferably at someones house with at decent number of people, not too many but it's good to not know at least half I think (less than this is ok too, but is becoming the previous option (a few drinks with mates)), yet have some common denominator between you all. It's way more friendly. I find the atmosphere of a packed loud pub during busy hours to be extremely impersonal and I find that I have almost zero interest in talking to anybody there.
A few drinks at the good ol' uni bar, though it's slightly weird these days. Unfortunately I don't get to do this as I have to drive to uni.
In fact transport can be an issue for a lot of these, it really sucks. Especially since they're all about chilling out, taking a long time to get to these places and having difficulty getting back can distrub the "chilling out" mood.
Ok, that's enough from me. Also I need some good drinks, I've had enough of goon. A good scotch would be good, but I'm too poor. Stupid money. Hopefully that will change in the not too distant future.
