Wikipedia say, “Eclecticism was first recorded to have been practiced by a group of ancient Greek and Roman philosophers who attached themselves to no real system, but selected from existing philosophical beliefs those doctrines that seemed most reasonable to them. Out of this collected material they constructed their new system of philosophy. The term comes from the Greek “ἐκλεκτικός” (eklektikos), literally “choosing the best” and that from “ἐκλεκτός” (eklektos), “picked out, select”.

There is a mythical bird in ancient Vedic / Yogic tradition that flys about and only “chooses the best” from the crap lying all around. Does anyone out there know this bird? Alas, I have long forgotten its name, but I have used it as a model since I first read about it (I am a notorious name forgetter!). I just tried to google it; it is a needle in the haystack.

Anyone know?

RE: ” When I know the burning is caused by holding on, it is easier to let go, even though I may have reasons for holding on. (e.g., Like, the pan is made of solid gold!)”

So, a small child, never encountering the stove before, yet very curious, grabs the pan and he/she … Does NOT let go? … Because she/ he does not “know the cause”? hmmmm.

Reasons for holding on; a desire, greed for gold? because some outside conditions were placed…? The outside Conditions, enforce an outside idea and ones thinking or acceptance of the idea leads one to override instinct (the letting go of burning object). One’s inherent system; ie:the nervous system, function perfectly well without our involvement (thinking, knowledge, belief in those, and thus overriding).

Like wise with hunger and thirst. Inherent in the body, Hormonal interactions signaling to the nervous system, then the brain, alert ‘you’ to the needs of the body. You don’t try at it. The distortions arise with the thinking about what that signal means, rather than just following it. Habituated thoughts, and false ideas about the topic (like I’ll ignore that cuz i don’t want to get fat, or ‘I’ can’t eat the hamburger my body calls for cuz I’m a vegetarian) seem to create further distortions within the system. Having not supplied the requested/ required nourishment, the signaling mechanisms begin to break down, leading to further distortions in beliefs about thoughts.

LXXV: ” The People are Hungry: (bodily spirits)
It is because Those in Authority(’I'-Ego desires) eat up too much in taxes that the People are hungry.

The People are difficult to Govern:
It is because Those in Authority are too fond of Action(’I’ pursue desire) The People are difficult to Govern (neglecting true needs)

I never actually had a Bucket List per se. However, I seem to have lived my whole life as if I were checking off a bucket list. I felt as though I was spending my retirement years at the front end of life when I was fit enough to fully use them; afterwards I’d just work until I dropped dead. At around age 45, ‘retirement’ ended; I’d done everything in life I wished. It was time to settle down and ‘work’.

Actual periods of employment, however, had always been restful experiences for me. The way to begin real ‘work’, I imagined, was to have children. Boy, oh boy, what an unbelievably joyful surprise that turned out to be—my second life began at 45 (I’m sure it would have been much the opposite had I started a family a decade or more earlier; I was still growing up myself!).

Now at 70, I’m feeling the beginnings of a third life coming on—fascinating in its own right, but far more sobering. But that’s another story… Well, see what I mean about writing?

That said, it is clear most are born with more fear, not less. Is that Nature being conservative? Fear is the source spring of need in all life; in humans, need + thought = desire. No wonder all religions take issue with desire, and the road to ruin to which it can lead. Therefore the sage desires not to desire.

I have regarded the Bhagavad Gita as a necessary base-line one needs to embrace to make hatha yoga (or any other ‘yoga’) truly Yoga, and not just a physical gymnastic-like exercise. I taught Hatha Yoga for a while but soon stopped for most of the students were uninterested in any base-line; a ‘cool’ exercise was what they sought. Of course, it isn’t really the Bhagavad Gita per se, but the ‘taoist’ message it conveys. This is why I ended up in Taoism; it is the best ‘ism’ I’ve run across that conveys The teaching that uses no words.

Hey, that sounds like the title of a book…