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Of What Is The Taoist Model Symptomatic?

I was relaxing in the hot bath this morning and recalling CenterTao member Dave’s reply to Butterflies have wings; we have minds came to mind. A hot bath never fails to loosen up thought, I find. Anyway, Dave said, “Our models in our minds are staler than we know.” He also quoted George Box, one […]

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Dec 6, 2008 by Carl Abbott
Filed Under: Observations Tagged With: mysterious sameness, symptoms point of view, tao

Is ‘Free Will’ the Only Option?

I think back over all the years I let my life-options distract me from what I knew I ought to do. As Buddha’s Fourth Noble Truth says, “There is salvation for him whose self disappears before truth, whose will is bent on what he ought to do, whose sole desire is the performance of his […]

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Dec 2, 2008 by Carl Abbott
Filed Under: Autobiographical Tagged With: freewill

Butterflies have wings; we have minds

Butterflies have wings and fly; we have a mind and our thoughts soar. So far so good. The trouble crops up from trusting that our thoughts get us somewhere real. Any resulting belief easily leads to difficulty. When you believe the dream is real, nightmares are more likely. Granted the mind can drive us crazy, […]

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Nov 26, 2008 by Carl Abbott
Filed Under: Observations

Mind in Body in Mind in Body…xin

Science gradually debunks long held myths. It relentlessly peels away the cosmetic ideals with which we adorn ourselves. Warm-up your contemplative mind with this excerpt from a recent Science News report, Body In Mind. (Also Google: Grounded cognition) It takes another step towards taking the ‘sapiens’ out of Homo sapiens (Latin: sapiens = wise man). […]

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Nov 25, 2008 by Carl Abbott
Filed Under: Observations

Such Synergy

I just came across this little diagram I drew up a few years back. It’s not a bad way to ponder some elemental issues using a minimum of words. It points to the synergy that exists between these elements. At the center is Meaning / need. I’d probably add fear to that core. Need & […]

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Nov 24, 2008 by Carl Abbott
Filed Under: Observations

Where There’s Passion (fire), There’s Blindness (smoke)

It is easy to notice other people’s obsession, which we ourselves don’t share. The moment we have a stake in any situation, passion blinds us. Take ‘puppy love’ for instance. Puppy love exemplifies the attraction emotion of need and love. This positive passion is the emotional energy that drives us reflexively to embrace that which […]

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Nov 21, 2008 by Carl Abbott
Filed Under: Observations

Seeing the world ‘out there’

I began studying astrology while living in Japan. I soon realized that up until then I’d been seeing everything ‘out there’ relative to myself — subjectivity to the hilt. Astrology opened a window onto the world for me — things were unique in there own right. Not only that, astrology offered what appeared to be […]

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Nov 16, 2008 by Carl Abbott
Filed Under: Autobiographical

Schrödinger’s cat

Being surrounded by death is life when your dreams are different, being surrounded by life is death when your dreams are eternal. Any preference? Just be between life and death… This CenterTao member’s reply brought Schrödinger’s cat to mind! Google [Schrödinger’s Cat – minutephysics]. What do you think?  

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Nov 13, 2008 by Carl Abbott
Filed Under: Observations

Tai Chi Video

Anyone having trouble with Tai Chi? I have just uploaded a video that shows the form in both mirrored and frontal image which may help. My wife has managed to learn the basic movements by just watching the video. When used along with Cheng’s book I reckon it should be even more effective. Go ahead, […]

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Nov 1, 2008 by Carl Abbott
Filed Under: Autobiographical Tagged With: tai chi

Life Is Struggle, Happiness Is Contentment

Struggle and contentment are codependent — two sides of the same coin. We must struggle to live, yet we must relax to enjoy living life. As chapter 33 says, He who knows contentment is rich. How does one deal with those two tasks without feeling stressed? Indeed, trying to balance these opposites suggests how we […]

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Oct 25, 2008 by Carl Abbott
Filed Under: Observations

What’s With All The Hair?

Ok, I know. I’ve let myself go a little lately. In the past, I’ve taken to cut off my hair – usually all of it – when it finally felt uncomfortable. That usually happens on a hot day working hard outside, but now summer is over. I’ve worked outside on hot days this year, and […]

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Oct 16, 2008 by Carl Abbott
Filed Under: Autobiographical

Tao Views of the Dow

The inflation-adjusted chart (above) covering the last 100 years of the Dow Jones shows the ebb and flow of the stock market. It is easy to see how the highs and the lows follow each other in a natural ebb and flow. As chapter 2 says, The high and the low incline towards each other […]

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Oct 12, 2008 by Carl Abbott
Filed Under: Observations

Biology’s Blinders: WYSIWYG

I am constantly in awe by how easily our biology hoodwinks us into believing that human perception depicts reality. We evolved to sense the world ‘out there’ in a way that served survival. There is no reason to assume this coincides with sensing how ‘the world out there’ truly is any more than a bat’s […]

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Oct 11, 2008 by Carl Abbott
Filed Under: Observations Tagged With: bio-hoodwink

Those Who Speak Do Not Know. So, Why Speak?

I now know enough to know that I don’t know. Chapter 71 speaks well to this state of mind, To know yet to think that one does not know is best; Not to know yet to think that one knows will lead to difficulty. Chapter 56 is even blunter, One who knows does not speak; […]

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Oct 7, 2008 by Carl Abbott
Filed Under: Observations

Welcome to CenterTao.org 2.0!

Well, here it is! Feel free to comment. We’re still under construction here as of September 2008. Your thoughts are most welcome.

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Sep 27, 2008 by Luke Abbott
Filed Under: Observations

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