[FairfieldLife] What is the nature of attachment? (Re: All of Patanjali's 8 limbs )
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, curtisdeltablues curtisdeltabl...@... wrote: The interpretation that the experiences gained by meditating is the Self is not one I share now. When I was in the movement I did relate to this interpretation, and did believe I was experiencing what Maharishi was talking about. But once your perspective changes you relate to the experience that meditation brings differently. This is exactly the point I was trying to make in my silly Skillful Non-Means post. While TMers can claim that their subjective *experiences* of meditating and transcending were innocent (although they had been told to expect them), they cannot claim the same about their beliefs about what they mean. They were told what they mean explicitly. If later they did some reading from other books from similar traditions to rein- force those existing preconditioned beliefs, that does not change that they were preconditioned. The point of my silly cafe rap was that there is a certain freedom in addressing the experiences of meditation *as* simply experiences, without any high-falutin' explanation of what they mean. My experience with long-term TMers is that it is very difficult for them to do this. They assume, after all these years, that their *interpretations* of their experiences, and what they mean, is as innocent as the experiences themselves. But they're not. Meditation altered functioning is not self evidently what Maharishi claims. Who, after all would come up with the home of all the laws of nature on their own? And yet people say it as if it's self evident. By my way of thinking you would have to experience this shift in interpretation while still being able to access the experience to know why I would make such a statement. In any case concerning people who make such claims I haven't seen any evidence of superior anything. Nor have I. Although I have seen evidence (albeit subjective evidence) of siddhis, they didn't seem to do anything for the person who had mastered them's ability to act in an ethical manner. Or even to be happy long-term. He did, after all, off himself in the end. And he did some real damage to people along the way. snip I am claiming that my my relationship with my body and mind are in proper perspective. It isn't broken and doesn't need fixing. Hear, hear. It's fascinating when you realize that most of the people who are preaching to you trying to convince you to join their religion or to think like them are asking you to buy in to a *lesser* state of self esteem, isn't it? One in which you are broken until something outside yourself fixes you. And they wonder why people laugh at them. I am rejecting the whole model as making a big deal out of nothing. Yes you can change your internal functioning through meditation, but I don't see the value. It doesn't seem to improve people's minds or ethics in any way I can detect. I could see the point if those benefits really do seem to appear. But they were told to expect them, too, so that too could be preconditioning. Where I have seen benefits along these lines was when meditation was used *in conjunction with* other active exercises in which people learned how to act in an ethical manner (selfless giving, mindfulness) and strengthen their minds (visual- ization exercises, memorization/repetition, active debate in which one does not always have the luxury of defending the side of the issue one believes to be true). All of these *combinations* of tech- niques I have seen in Tibetan teachings, and to be honest I saw more development of *balanced* personalities there than in traditions that thought that meditation alone would do it for them. I'm not arguing that you shouldn't find value in it. If you do, that's great. But the assumption that everyone else is functioning in some sort of ignorance seems far fetched. Not to mention elitist. And the term enlightened to describe what it seems to be accomplishing for people seems doubly far fetched. Especially given the real-world actions of people they hold up as examples of enlightenment. I think of yoga as an internal hobby, not as realizing the purpose of life. Fun if you are into that sort of thing, but no more. And, after 40+ years pursuing all of this, I for one agree with you. And the thing is, people rarely get so attached to the rightness of their hobbies that they start wars with other people over them, or burn them at the stake for heresy. The same cannot be said for religion and the strength of conviction and the elitism that seems to go hand-in-hand with religion or religious ideas about what meditation and self discovery means. Give me a good self discover hobbyists any day over yer garden variety religious fanatic. The former are fun to have a beer with; the latter tend to want to convince you that you're going to hell with every sip, and that they know this because...uh... because they just know.
[FairfieldLife] Re: A Pretty Great Short Video
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, enlightened_dawn11 no_re...@... wrote: great find-- i recognized awhile ago while shooting video that it is very hard to duplicate all of the dolly effects used in professional cinematography. these guys came up with a cool solution. Just as a couple of hints, Dawn, For dollies, a borrowed supermarket shopping cart works fine. And if you're serious about wanting to create non-shaky video, you can grow your own Steadicam for under $20. All it takes is a harness to attach the thing to your body (an old kid's backpack will do, worn backwards), a ball joint that allows free movement to anything attached to it in all directions (which I found at an electronics/hardware junk store for $5), and then solder/weld two pieces of metal to opposite ends of the ball joint. On one end, you weld an old tripod adapter to hold the camera. On the other, you place enough weight to exactly equal the weight of the camera. Voila. Instant Steadicam. As you move around, the ball joint allows the balancing weight to keep the camera in a steady, upright position, without camera shake. Or, since you're a gal and possibly don't have access to tools and all that brilliant (and humble) Do It Yourself knowledge that guys are born with :-), you can just buy one of these things pre-made from a catalog. Steadicams rock, especially when you figure out how simple the mechanisms are that make it work (Duh...gravity and inertia), and wonder at how long it took for someone to figure it out and turn it into an Oscar-winning invention. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Marek Reavis reavismarek@ wrote: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySrsZuD4w0c (under 5 minutes)
[FairfieldLife] Ten Minute Film Schools (was Re: A Pretty Great Short Video)
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, TurquoiseB no_re...@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, enlightened_dawn11 no_reply@ wrote: great find-- i recognized awhile ago while shooting video that it is very hard to duplicate all of the dolly effects used in professional cinematography. these guys came up with a cool solution. Just as a couple of hints, Dawn, For dollies, a borrowed supermarket shopping cart works fine. And if you're serious about wanting to create non-shaky video, you can grow your own Steadicam for under $20. All it takes is a harness to attach the thing to your body (an old kid's backpack will do, worn backwards), a ball joint that allows free movement to anything attached to it in all directions (which I found at an electronics/hardware junk store for $5), and then solder/weld two pieces of metal to opposite ends of the ball joint. On one end, you weld an old tripod adapter to hold the camera. On the other, you place enough weight to exactly equal the weight of the camera. Voila. Instant Steadicam. As you move around, the ball joint allows the balancing weight to keep the camera in a steady, upright position, without camera shake. Or, since you're a gal and possibly don't have access to tools and all that brilliant (and humble) Do It Yourself knowledge that guys are born with :-), you can just buy one of these things pre-made from a catalog. Steadicams rock, especially when you figure out how simple the mechanisms are that make it work (Duh...gravity and inertia), and wonder at how long it took for someone to figure it out and turn it into an Oscar-winning invention. For Dawn, and anyone else who is lured by the now-cheap HD video cameras on the market into becoming their own filmmaker, you can go a long way towards learning *how* to be a filmmaker by simply renting the DVDs of Robert Rodriguez's films (El Mariachi, the Spy Kids franchise, Desperado, From Dusk Till Dawn, Sin City, etc.). Rodriguez is the enfant terrible of cutting- edge filmmaking these days. He makes his movies *at home*, in his house in Austin, shooting on HD video, editing himself on the computer, and even composing all the music himself, also on the computer. In other words, he's using the same technology you are, just more expensive versions of it. And he is such a nice guy that on his DVDs he includes what he calls Ten Minute Film School clips in which he explains to wannabe filmmakers such as he was how they can become rich and famous like him. It's really a nice thing to do, and the information on these clips is valuable. On the Ten Minute Film School clip that is on the El Mariachi DVD, for example, he explains many of the ways that he made that film (which won the Audience Award at Sundance and several other awards) on a budget of $7,000. Yes, you read that cor- rectly, $7,000. And he tells you how he did it. On similar Ten Minute Film School clips, he shares with you other low-cost but effective tips about filmmaking. Well worth the cost of the rentals, even if the films weren't...and they all are. On one of the bonus clips on Desperado 3 (Once Upon A Time In Mexico), he even shows you how to prepare the recipe for puerco pibil that Johnny Depp killed for in that movie. That can come in handy, too, because even aspiring filmmakers have to eat. :-) Most interesting to me was watching how he shoots. The low cost of digital media (as opposed to film stock) allows him to never say Cut on the set. He just lets the camera keep rolling, and then talks to the actors. Sometimes he is able to actually use footage shot as they're discussing the scene and blocking it out and they are just experi- menting with what he asks them to do. He often finds that it's more realistic than the real scenes when they are trying. Besides, he makes great films. Desperado is in my personal Top Ten. It was his first major film. Clearly he had learned a lot before he ever got behind the camera of a studio film. In these DVD clips he shares some of what he had learned with you.
[FairfieldLife] Here's some interesting documents for you Charlie Lutes fans...
Maricopa county's recorder's office lists all documents on the internet: http://156.42.40.50/UnOfficialDocs/pdf/19940291903.pdf http://156.42.40.50/UnOfficialDocs/pdf/19960659101.pdf http://156.42.40.50/UnOfficialDocs/pdf/20020451529.pdf
[FairfieldLife] Re: Grist for the Rumor Mill
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, shempmcgurk shempmcg...@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Alex Stanley j_alexander_stanley@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, pranamoocher bhrma@ wrote: Could be all that healthy vegetarian dietary regiment these people have used over the last 30 years, along with tons of white sugar. Sooner or later, the body catches up to dietary deficiencies. Our species didn't evolve on a diet of grains, beans, and the milk of other species. When were we NOT drinking the milk of other species (specifically, cows and goats)? Seems to me we HAVE evolved on a diet of the milk of other species... Dairy has only been a part of human diets since the advent of agriculture, about 10,000 years ago. In evolutionary terms, that's a very recent development. For the first 190,000 years of our species' existence, we did not consume the milk of other species. And, neither did the preceding hominid species for millions of years before that.
[FairfieldLife] 373 audio recordings of Maharishi.
This web page http://www.spiritualregeneration.org/audios/ contains 373 powerful audio recordings of Maharishi. Wouldn't it be nice to download those MP3 recordings so I can listen to them on my iPod? But how to download them without having to right-click on each of the 373 files separately and choosing Save Link As...? This free Firefox http://www.downthemall.net/ Extension allows you to download all 373 audio recordings of Maharishi simultaneously with one click of the mouse. The 373 audio recordings of Maharishi take up about 17 GB, or about 4 DVDs. To summarize: simply install http://www.downthemall.net/ the Firefox Extension, then go to the mother http://www.spiritualregeneration.org/audios/ of all web pages, click on 'Tools' in the Firefox menu, 'DownloadThemAll! Tools', then 'Start' to start downloading all 373 files.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Here's some interesting documents for you Charlie Lutes fans...
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, shempmcgurk shempmcg...@... wrote: Maricopa county's recorder's office lists all documents on the internet: http://156.42.40.50/UnOfficialDocs/pdf/19940291903.pdf The page cannot be found http://156.42.40.50/UnOfficialDocs/pdf/19960659101.pdf The page cannot be found http://156.42.40.50/UnOfficialDocs/pdf/20020451529.pdf The page cannot be found Looks like bees from Venus, who were a bit light in the loafers, hopped a ride to Earth on either a saucer or cigar shaped spaceship and had those files deleted.
Re: [FairfieldLife] What is the nature of attachment? (Re: All of Patanjali's 8 limbs )
On Feb 8, 2009, at 6:33 PM, curtisdeltablues wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj vajradh...@... wrote: snip I don't know that it should be looked at as superior. The ordinary state of affairs is that our consciousness identifies with our body, I'm not so sure about that. My identity is biased towards my mind and emotions. My body is getting older but my mind and capacity to feel is getting better. I think only very superficial people identify with their bodies. It's not that type of identity I'm talking about. It's not vanity or preoccupation with the body. Identification occurs with human development. Identification isn't an overt craving of the body, but a seamless identification that identifies your body as separate from all other bodies. unless we're knocked out or have a mental illness or something like that. Yogis make the decision to unravel and play with that identification. Chances are that's not going to appeal to a lot of people, who are quite happy with skin-encapsulated egos and maintaining ordinary references. I don't view people that way. Most people seem to be more similar than different to me. They share the same cares and desires for their loved one's lives. Exactly, they share the same references you do. They attach to others and they probably enjoy attachments games like romance as part of those attachments. But from the yogic point of view--not necessarily the Hindu POV, these are just objects. And by being caught up unconsciously in and seamlessly in maintaining identification with these reference point, we allow awareness--we train awareness--to unconsciously run in a non-mindful rut. The Vedantic and Samkhya slant on things has some appeal to me, but being trapped in identification with external objects only has a limited appeal to me, but it is really just the wording I don't like. I can see for example how there is a certain ring of truth to it--the only thing is western, (esp. American) consensus reality really brainwashes us that it's ok, it's a good thing. For example I can see and I know many people who are attached to objects and acquirements and I can also see and sense how they use acquisition of objects of temporary pleasure to maintain certain reference points that surround their awareness and attention like an ever-changing security blanket. But it's a moving security blanket that never gives any lasting security or satisfaction. The mind feels satisfied by thinking over the various reference items it likes and has acquired, the new boat, the new TV, the new CD, the new scenery we need to visit in some foreign locale. Then we run them through our mind till we get tired of the new items we acquired and start searching for new ones to possess and reference and roll over in our minds. Commercials and advertisements constantly barrage us with objects we should like and attach to and show us the cool and happy people who have them. They seem very happy. But these are really, ultimately lies. Most people I meet are most attached to their loved ones. There are superficial people who are things oriented but most people seem pretty clear on the value of relationships in their lives. Then you have plenty of people engrossed in skill acquisitions of various kinds. What I'm referring to is not primarily people who are drooling over their latest acquisitions or that new Beamer. Instead I'm referring to a seamless, ingrained and unconscious habit. Unless you've decided to mindfully look for such patterns, chances are you don't even realize they're there. So some people have decided that this pattern ultimately doesn't make you happy. They devised techniques to unravel the pattern. One way is common sensical: observe something already automatic (like your breath) and then you slowly learn to be more aware by seeing others things you're just doing habitually, automatically. Instead of being caught in this push-pull, you begin to see things simply as they are. This was really well said. I can relate to this. Meditation has this value for me as well. We can understand how that's helpful and the habitual keeping of reference points (identification with objects in that manner) isn't necessarily a desirable thing. I'm not sure I relate to it this way. I didn't notice that materialistic people in the movement got less so. The people with money seemed to run the same routines people in Northern Virginia do. But most of them still value family over objects unless they are complete tools! I don't actually think that TM necessarily increases knowledge, mindful awareness or wisdom of patterns of suffering and patterns of identification. At least that was my experience and all TMers I've spoken to in this regard. TM is largely involved with creating a non- conventional experience of transcendental apperception. But I don't buy that transcendental apperception of a
[FairfieldLife] 67% Americans Approve Obama's Handling of Stimulus Plan
67 percent of Americans approve of how President Obama has handled the government's efforts to pass an economic stimulus bill, according to a new Gallup poll. Forty-eight percent approve of how congressional Democrats have acted while only 31 percent approve the performance by congressional Republicans. Fifty-eight percent disapprove of the GOP's actions. http://www.gallup.com/poll/114202/Obama-Upper-Hand-Stimulus-Fight.aspx
[FairfieldLife] Re: 67% Americans Approve Obama's Handling of Stimulus Plan
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, do.rflex do.rf...@... wrote: 67 percent of Americans approve of how President Obama has handled the government's efforts to pass an economic stimulus bill, according to a new Gallup poll. Forty-eight percent approve of how congressional Democrats have acted while only 31 percent approve the performance by congressional Republicans. Fifty-eight percent disapprove of the GOP's actions. http://www.gallup.com/poll/114202/Obama-Upper-Hand-Stimulus-Fight.aspx Depends, of course, who's doing the polling and how you ask the question because others have found otherwise: http://tinyurl.com/ap32pj http://tinyurl.com/b4tz2k http://tinyurl.com/aj89sq
[FairfieldLife] What is the nature of attachment? (Re: All of Patanjali's 8 limbs )
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, curtisdeltablues curtisdeltabl...@... wrote: [snip] Curtis - this caught my eye: The states of detachment brought about through meditation took away an ability to feel emotions fully. I don't interpret that as a benefit. I am attempting to feel more not less. ( I know the movement line about how witnessing makes you enjoy more but that is not my experience. My recent experiment with meditation confirmed this for me.) You felt that then? That meditation was kind of numbing you or something? I think I re-started TM again about the time you began your experiment. To be honest my experience is the opposite, if anything. I have to say I am pleased with how it's going. Is your experiment still ongoing?
[FairfieldLife] Junk foods of the world
I suppose the most exotic place I've ever been (aside from certain parts of New Jersey) is India. And the most exotic street foods (or junk foods) I saw and tasted while there were Masala Dosa and Onion Bhajis. The Masala Dosa was incredible. A southern Indian dish, I was exposed to it while in northern India, in Kashmir while on a one- month TM course there in '81. It's a crepe-type pancake made from a flour of ground-up rice and chick peas, rolled up over a potato curry or something with a coconut chutney (optional) smothered on the outside, accompanied with (or poured over the top) an onion soup like broth (the name of which escapes me at the moment. Cost: 1 1/2 rupees (well, that was in '81 which at the time equalled about 15 cents American). We tried to have 2 or 3 a day. The Onion Bhajis used to be piled high in those stalls that are found one after the other in a marketplace. Love 'em. Fried food at its best. Onions in what I assume is a gram flour (chick pea flour) that is deep-fried. Mmm Campbell Soup Good! Locally here in Arizona they have Indian Fry Bread which, when done properly, is delicious. It appears to be bread dough deep-fried. That's it. Back in Canada they used to call it Beaver Ears or something like that. And in Quebec they have Poutine, which is French Fries with curd cheese and gravy poured over the top. So, what are YOUR favourite junk foods of the world?
[FairfieldLife] Vitus
Just finished seeing a 2006 Swiss German-language film called Vitus which is one of the best I've ever seen: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0478829/ It kinda reminded me of Slumdog Millionaire but I thought Vitus was better. ...don't want to tell you more about it 'cause I don't want to spoil anything for you but I really recommend it highly!
[FairfieldLife] Re: Grist for the Rumor Mill
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Alex Stanley j_alexander_stan...@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, shempmcgurk shempmcgurk@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Alex Stanley j_alexander_stanley@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, pranamoocher bhrma@ wrote: Could be all that healthy vegetarian dietary regiment these people have used over the last 30 years, along with tons of white sugar. Sooner or later, the body catches up to dietary deficiencies. Our species didn't evolve on a diet of grains, beans, and the milk of other species. When were we NOT drinking the milk of other species (specifically, cows and goats)? Seems to me we HAVE evolved on a diet of the milk of other species... Dairy has only been a part of human diets since the advent of agriculture, about 10,000 years ago. In evolutionary terms, that's a very recent development. For the first 190,000 years of our species' existence, we did not consume the milk of other species. And, neither did the preceding hominid species for millions of years before that. I'm not a biologist or geneticist but I think that 10,000 years is more than enough time for a species to select genetic traits. So I think you strengthen my point by reminding us that it's only been 10,000 years that dairy has been a part of the human diet. I'm thinking of that classic example that was used in Biology Class to illustrate how Darwinian selection works: there's that town in England (Newcastle?) which has coal mining as its major industry. Before coal-mining started there, there used to be a light-colored moth that was common in the area. The moth is found on the side of tree trunks. Once coal-mining started, the trees started to turn black because of the soot in the air. The light-coloured moths, upon the background of the now-blackened trees, began to stand out more to their natural predators who were now able to more easily catch and eat them. Soon, all of the moths adapted to the newly blackened trees by evolving from a light-colour to black skin. My point is: this didn't take thousands of years or even a hundred years but just a few decades. Now, that's probably a function of the fact that that particular moth's life span wasn't 70 years, like a human's, but very short. So the cycle required to survive and introduce new adapted genes into their gene pool was much quicker than it would be for humans. But you get my point: 10,000 years is over 140 cycles of human generations, assuming a human generation is 70 years (most would assume it is 20 years which would mean 500 cycles). And I think that's more than enough time for a given human population of a particular area to adapt to consuming another specie's milk, which means that the ability has become embedded in our genes.
[FairfieldLife] Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) Warns on Not Passing Stimulus
Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) says that he is supporting the economic stimulus package because the country cannot afford not to take action. Failure to act will leave the United States facing a far deeper crisis in three or six months, writes Specter. By then the cost of action will be much greater or it may be too late. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/08/AR2009020801710.html?hpid=opinionsbox1 http://snipurl.com/bkv96
[FairfieldLife] What is the nature of attachment? (Re: All of Patanjali's 8 limbs )
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj vajradh...@... wrote: On Feb 8, 2009, at 6:33 PM, curtisdeltablues wrote: snip I'm not so sure about that. My identity is biased towards my mind and emotions. My body is getting older but my mind and capacity to feel is getting better. I think only very superficial people identify with their bodies. It's not that type of identity I'm talking about. It's not vanity or preoccupation with the body. Identification occurs with human development. Identification isn't an overt craving of the body, but a seamless identification that identifies your body as separate from all other bodies. Curtis, this description of the nature of identification, as the term is used in enlightenment teaching, is an exceedingly rare instance of near-total agreement between Vaj and me. That alone should lead you to sit up and take notice! (I'm referring here just to the definition, not the meaning, which is a whole 'nother question.) snip I don't view people that way. Most people seem to be more similar than different to me. They share the same cares and desires for their loved one's lives. Exactly, they share the same references you do. They attach to others and they probably enjoy attachments games like romance as part of those attachments. But from the yogic point of view--not necessarily the Hindu POV, these are just objects. Crucial point. I think Curtis has been misled by the term objects. In this context it means something much more general than in the standard usage, i.e., things as opposed to people or one's own body and thoughts. Here's where Vaj and I don't agree: And by being caught up unconsciously in and seamlessly in maintaining identification with these reference point, we allow awareness--we train awareness--to unconsciously run in a non-mindful rut. I don't think it has much of anything to do with mindfulness per se. Or at least that may be one way to diminish identification, but it's not the only way. snip Most people I meet are most attached to their loved ones. Which, in this context, are objects. Nothing the least bit derogatory about that classification, BTW. There are superficial people who are things oriented but most people seem pretty clear on the value of relationships in their lives. Then you have plenty of people engrossed in skill acquisitions of various kinds. What I'm referring to is not primarily people who are drooling over their latest acquisitions or that new Beamer. Instead I'm referring to a seamless, ingrained and unconscious habit. Unless you've decided to mindfully look for such patterns, Or unless you have the experience of their absence, however that experience is achieved... chances are you don't even realize they're there. Exactly. It's the old fish-in-water analogy. The fish doesn't know it's in water until it has the experience of being *out* of the water. (I suspect the analogy is also germane in that no amount of mindful analysis by the fish will raise its awareness that it's in water without the out-of- water experience.) snip We can understand how that's helpful and the habitual keeping of reference points (identification with objects in that manner) isn't necessarily a desirable thing. I'm not sure I relate to it this way. I didn't notice that materialistic people in the movement got less so. The people with money seemed to run the same routines people in Northern Virginia do. But you can't necessarily tell by behavior. The subjective experience of these people may be that the routines are running themselves and that they aren't identifying with them, just watching what's happening (I do not act at all). But most of them still value family over objects unless they are complete tools! Again, doesn't matter in this context. Family are objects as well. I don't actually think that TM necessarily increases knowledge, mindful awareness or wisdom of patterns of suffering and patterns of identification. The question is whether that's even important, as long as one is having the experience of diminished identification.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Grist for the Rumor Mill
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, shempmcgurk shempmcg...@... wrote: snip I'm not a biologist or geneticist but I think that 10,000 years is more than enough time for a species to select genetic traits. So I think you strengthen my point by reminding us that it's only been 10,000 years that dairy has been a part of the human diet. In fact, in populations that continued to drink milk beyond weaning age, there *has* been genetic adaptation, at least with regard to lactose intolerance. But dairy has not been part of the human diet universally by any means since 10,000 years ago, so the gene that turns off the ability to digest lactose after weaning persists, in widely varying percentages among groups with common ancestry (Ashkenazi Jews and others of Northern European ancestry, for example, have a very low percentage of lactose intolerance, whereas African Americans have a very high percentage).
[FairfieldLife] Re: Junk foods of the world
I'm with you on Indian fry bread, one of the things I miss most about the American Southwest. Here in Spain I miss Mexican food. What you can find of it is anything but Mexican and anything but hot. (The Spanish just don't *do* hot or spicy...ordering your curry in an Indian restaurant here gets you mild.) In Spain I love churros. You'll have seen them in the Southwest as well. Donut dough squished through a machine that plops six-inch strings of them into hot oil. Then sprinkled with sugar. Great for dipping into your coffee or hot chocolate in the morning after partying all night, which seems to happen here in Spain with some regularity. In Morocco as a youth I really got into chocolate-covered ants. Really. They're just crunchy with not much actual taste that you can identify as an ant. In the winter in both France and Spain there are roasted chestnut vendors on the streets, and I like those. In the Pacific Northwest in the US, I really miss those roadside stands where you could get a crab burger. Hot fresh crab with a little mayo and Jack cheese melted over it on a hamburger bun. Mmm. To be honest, the American junk foods I miss the most are things like Tater Tots, which I used to fry up (as mentioned by Curtis recently) in duck fat. Mm. And macaroni and cheese. The latter I can make here, but Tater Tots are right out. Good tasty hot Mexican salsas are probably what I miss most. That and drinkable tequilas. Now you've made me hungry. I'm going to go out and get some churros... --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, shempmcgurk shempmcg...@... wrote: I suppose the most exotic place I've ever been (aside from certain parts of New Jersey) is India. And the most exotic street foods (or junk foods) I saw and tasted while there were Masala Dosa and Onion Bhajis. The Masala Dosa was incredible. A southern Indian dish, I was exposed to it while in northern India, in Kashmir while on a one- month TM course there in '81. It's a crepe-type pancake made from a flour of ground-up rice and chick peas, rolled up over a potato curry or something with a coconut chutney (optional) smothered on the outside, accompanied with (or poured over the top) an onion soup like broth (the name of which escapes me at the moment. Cost: 1 1/2 rupees (well, that was in '81 which at the time equalled about 15 cents American). We tried to have 2 or 3 a day. The Onion Bhajis used to be piled high in those stalls that are found one after the other in a marketplace. Love 'em. Fried food at its best. Onions in what I assume is a gram flour (chick pea flour) that is deep-fried. Mmm Campbell Soup Good! Locally here in Arizona they have Indian Fry Bread which, when done properly, is delicious. It appears to be bread dough deep-fried. That's it. Back in Canada they used to call it Beaver Ears or something like that. And in Quebec they have Poutine, which is French Fries with curd cheese and gravy poured over the top. So, what are YOUR favourite junk foods of the world?
[FairfieldLife] Hope? Or fear?
Obama is becoming George W. Bush. A failure to act, and act now, will turn crisis into a catastrophe and guarantee a longer recession. (Barack Obama on why the Stimulus Bill must be passed by Congress) ...replace the words a longer recession with a greater threat from terrorists... A failure to act, and act now, will turn crisis into a catastrophe and guarantee a greater threat from terrorists. Now, doesn't that sound EXACTLY like what Obama and his minions on the Left have been complaining about George Bush? Hasn't the Left been railing against Bush's politics of fear? Hasn't Obama claimed that the politics of fear of George Bush has been infused into the political dialogue of America over the past 8 years with his continual calls for support of the war in Iraq? Barack hasn't been in office for 3 weeks and he has morphed into the man whose record he ran against. Oh...and don't forget the other two areas that Barack has backslided on: 1) Obama's promise that no White House employee would have worked for a lobbyist for the past two years. He's already put a waiver in for at least two appointees of his who have; and 2) Torture. Now his appointee to head the CIA, Leon Panetta, has indicated that not ALL torture will be disallowed by the Obama administration.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Grist for the Rumor Mill
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend jst...@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, shempmcgurk shempmcgurk@ wrote: snip I'm not a biologist or geneticist but I think that 10,000 years is more than enough time for a species to select genetic traits. So I think you strengthen my point by reminding us that it's only been 10,000 years that dairy has been a part of the human diet. In fact, in populations that continued to drink milk beyond weaning age, there *has* been genetic adaptation, at least with regard to lactose intolerance. But dairy has not been part of the human diet universally by any means since 10,000 years ago, so the gene that turns off the ability to digest lactose after weaning persists, in widely varying percentages among groups with common ancestry (Ashkenazi Jews and others of Northern European ancestry, for example, have a very low percentage of lactose intolerance, whereas African Americans have a very high percentage). Addendum: Point being that diet has varied widely among different groups over 10,000 years depending on many different factors, so adaptation to different kinds of foods has varied widely as well. Talking strictly through my hat here--knowledgable folks please speak up!--I would guess that since lactose intolerance is a matter of a single gene, adaptation can take place fairly quickly; whereas adaptation to eating grains and beans rather than meat has to do with the physical structure of the digestive system as well as with enzyme production and other elements, so it may occur much more slowly.
[FairfieldLife] What is the nature of attachment? (Re: All of Patanjali's 8 limbs )
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Richard M compost...@... wrote: You felt that then? That meditation was kind of numbing you or something? I think I re-started TM again about the time you began your experiment. To be honest my experience is the opposite, if anything. I have to say I am pleased with how it's going. Is your experiment still ongoing? I'm definitely offering my experience of meditation as some kind of last word on what meditation does. I think its effects can be different for different people in different circumstances. That said, for me meditation very quickly becomes addictive. I needed to meditate twice a day to feel right. I would feel a need for rest in the afternoon, which is not typical when I don't meditate. It enhances a sense of dissociation that I don't need. I could perceive no cognitive benifits from it other than that the experience itself is very enjoyable. I think it alters my neuro transmitters which makes it very enjoyable and addictive for me. So without feeling that it was doing more for me outside meditation, I couldn't justify the time spent. But it is always there for me as a nice break when I need one. Since I don't believe it is cultivating something as a cumulative effect regular meditation doesn't make sense for me. I'm glad to have it in my mental toolbox as an option. When I stopped meditating in '89 after my intense 15 years with 4 years of rounding, it took me a long time to reconnect with my feelings with the intimacy I feel now. As soon as I felt the practice separating me from that intimacy I stopped meditating. I was only regular for 6 months last year. So it wasn't a numbing of emotions, it creates a detachment from them that I don't prefer as a style of functioning. It is the opposite state of feeling I need as an artist. I know people claim it enhances feeling, but that is not my experience. It shifts me into a different relationship with my feelings. If I had a lot of negitive feelings that might be an asset, but I don't so for me it isn't. Tell me about your experiences. Are you experiencing benifits in your activity? --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, curtisdeltablues curtisdeltablues@ wrote: [snip] Curtis - this caught my eye: The states of detachment brought about through meditation took away an ability to feel emotions fully. I don't interpret that as a benefit. I am attempting to feel more not less. ( I know the movement line about how witnessing makes you enjoy more but that is not my experience. My recent experiment with meditation confirmed this for me.) You felt that then? That meditation was kind of numbing you or something? I think I re-started TM again about the time you began your experiment. To be honest my experience is the opposite, if anything. I have to say I am pleased with how it's going. Is your experiment still ongoing?
[FairfieldLife] Re: Grist for the Rumor Mill
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend jst...@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, shempmcgurk shempmcgurk@ wrote: snip I'm not a biologist or geneticist but I think that 10,000 years is more than enough time for a species to select genetic traits. So I think you strengthen my point by reminding us that it's only been 10,000 years that dairy has been a part of the human diet. In fact, in populations that continued to drink milk beyond weaning age, there *has* been genetic adaptation, at least with regard to lactose intolerance. But dairy has not been part of the human diet universally by any means since 10,000 years ago, so the gene that turns off the ability to digest lactose after weaning persists, in widely varying percentages among groups with common ancestry (Ashkenazi Jews and others of Northern European ancestry, for example, have a very low percentage of lactose intolerance, whereas African Americans have a very high percentage). I wonder what it is amongst the Japanese who, I understand, had a non- existant dairy-based diet until recently (it was largely fish and rice based).
[FairfieldLife] Re: Here's some interesting documents for you Charlie Lutes fans...
Wow. For once, my lowly computer outdoes the big boys with all the tech knowledge and sophistication. No problem here viewing these doucments. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Alex Stanley j_alexander_stan...@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, shempmcgurk shempmcgurk@ wrote: Maricopa county's recorder's office lists all documents on the internet: http://156.42.40.50/UnOfficialDocs/pdf/19940291903.pdf The page cannot be found http://156.42.40.50/UnOfficialDocs/pdf/19960659101.pdf The page cannot be found http://156.42.40.50/UnOfficialDocs/pdf/20020451529.pdf The page cannot be found Looks like bees from Venus, who were a bit light in the loafers, hopped a ride to Earth on either a saucer or cigar shaped spaceship and had those files deleted.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Junk foods of the world
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, TurquoiseB no_re...@... wrote: I'm with you on Indian fry bread, one of the things I miss most about the American Southwest. Here in Spain I miss Mexican food. What you can find of it is anything but Mexican and anything but hot. (The Spanish just don't *do* hot or spicy...ordering your curry in an Indian restaurant here gets you mild.) In Spain I love churros. You'll have seen them in the Southwest as well. Donut dough squished through a machine that plops six-inch strings of them into hot oil. Then sprinkled with sugar. Great for dipping into your coffee or hot chocolate in the morning after partying all night, which seems to happen here in Spain with some regularity. In Morocco as a youth I really got into chocolate-covered ants. Really. They're just crunchy with not much actual taste that you can identify as an ant. In the winter in both France and Spain there are roasted chestnut vendors on the streets, and I like those. In the Pacific Northwest in the US, I really miss those roadside stands where you could get a crab burger. Hot fresh crab with a little mayo and Jack cheese melted over it on a hamburger bun. Mmm. To be honest, the American junk foods I miss the most are things like Tater Tots, which I used to fry up (as mentioned by Curtis recently) in duck fat. Mm. And macaroni and cheese. The latter I can make here, but Tater Tots are right out. Good tasty hot Mexican salsas are probably what I miss most. That and drinkable tequilas. Now you've made me hungry. I'm going to go out and get some churros... I've recently started to make my own felafels. I've always been very picky about felafels, finding that most restaurants (fast food or otherwise) simply didn't make them well and when I did find a restaurant that could make them, making a point of patronizing them because properly made felafels were so hard to find. So I always assumed it was REALLY hard to make a good felafel and never bothered to even try making them myself. But a few weeks ago I did. And, surprise!, they came out really well and was relatively simple to do. The key I found was to have the temperature of the oil (canola) just right: too low and the inside would be mushy, which I hate; too hot and it burns the outside. But it only took 2 or 3 tries to find the exact right temperature and so it's just a simple matter of putting the knob to the right setting. So I am intent upon making my own felafels from now on. I also tried to make my own tortillas. There's a new fast food Mexican Restaurant chain that started up recently (out of Utah, run by Mormons) called Costa Vida. They have a gimmick that sets them apart from your regular run-of-the-mill fast food Mexican Restaurant: they make their own tortillas right in front of you, immediately before they make you your order (be it enchilada, burrito, or taco...they all use tortillas): they take the dough, put it through a press, and grill it (no oil used) right there on the line on a specially-made round tortilla grill. And it really makes a difference. The best analogy I can use is Krispy Kreme where their gimmick is to make the glazed donuts right before your eyes. Well, the tortillas made fresh really do make whatever it is you've ordered taste 180 degress differently than a tortilla served up at another fast food place in which it may have been made 24 hours or more before. So this inspired me to make my own tortillas from scratch. And it hasn't turned out as well as what I get at Costa Vida but it's been a pleasant enough experience. I've tried it once and it was good. But what I made reminded me more of the Nan bread you get at tandoori restaurants which they make in clay ovens (at least in what it looks like). Next time I'll try whole wheat flour, though. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, shempmcgurk shempmcgurk@ wrote: I suppose the most exotic place I've ever been (aside from certain parts of New Jersey) is India. And the most exotic street foods (or junk foods) I saw and tasted while there were Masala Dosa and Onion Bhajis. The Masala Dosa was incredible. A southern Indian dish, I was exposed to it while in northern India, in Kashmir while on a one- month TM course there in '81. It's a crepe-type pancake made from a flour of ground-up rice and chick peas, rolled up over a potato curry or something with a coconut chutney (optional) smothered on the outside, accompanied with (or poured over the top) an onion soup like broth (the name of which escapes me at the moment. Cost: 1 1/2 rupees (well, that was in '81 which at the time equalled about 15 cents American). We tried to have 2 or 3 a day. The Onion Bhajis used to be piled high in those stalls that are found one after the other in a marketplace. Love 'em. Fried food at its best. Onions in what I assume is a
[FairfieldLife] Re: Junk foods of the world
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, shempmcgurk shempmcg...@... wrote: snip So, what are YOUR favourite junk foods of the world? Fried clams. One of my most enjoyable meals of all time was a fabulous fried clam platter in a little hole-in- the-wall joint on the waterfront in Gloucester, Mass., a few years ago. The clams (with bellies!) were right out of the ocean, incredibly sweet and flavorful, fried to perfect nongreasy crispness in fresh fat (not sure what they used). I've had good fried claims before on the Cape, where they also know how to prepare them, but these were the ultimate. If you like fried claims and are ever in Gloucester, the place is Captain Vito's, at 322 Main Street. It's very unprepossessing; my sister and I were driving through and needed lunch, but it was January and all the restaurants around were closed for the winter. Captain Vito's was the only place open, and we weren't expecting much.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Grist for the Rumor Mill
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, shempmcgurk shempmcg...@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend jstein@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, shempmcgurk shempmcgurk@ wrote: snip I'm not a biologist or geneticist but I think that 10,000 years is more than enough time for a species to select genetic traits. So I think you strengthen my point by reminding us that it's only been 10,000 years that dairy has been a part of the human diet. In fact, in populations that continued to drink milk beyond weaning age, there *has* been genetic adaptation, at least with regard to lactose intolerance. But dairy has not been part of the human diet universally by any means since 10,000 years ago, so the gene that turns off the ability to digest lactose after weaning persists, in widely varying percentages among groups with common ancestry (Ashkenazi Jews and others of Northern European ancestry, for example, have a very low percentage of lactose intolerance, whereas African Americans have a very high percentage). I wonder what it is amongst the Japanese who, I understand, had a non-existant dairy-based diet until recently (it was largely fish and rice based). Lactose intolerance among the Japanese has been decreasing in recent years.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Junk foods of the world
On Feb 9, 2009, at 10:13 AM, shempmcgurk wrote: I was exposed to it while in northern India, in Kashmir while on a one- month TM course there in '81. Did you get to meet Lakshman Joo? Impressions? I like gulab-jamins. Donut-balls in cardamom syrup. I'm also fond of raw elvers (baby eels) esp. when they're in season in Maine. Actually had some eel sushi on friday as an appetizer with seaweed salad. Another New England fav. is Fiddleheads, the fronds of baby ferns, made during mud season, sold all over on the roadside. http://www.umext.maine.edu/onlinepubs/htmpubs/4198.htm Ever had Scrapple? It has to be the most disgusting substance ever eaten. If you'd seen the recipe I have for it (from an organic farming cookbook) you'd know why. Next time you're getting ready to render a pig, lemme know. Speaking of pigs, pickled pigs feet is a popular Pennsylvania delicacy. Of course Penna. is also famous for their soft pretzels.
[FairfieldLife] What is the nature of attachment? (Re: All of Patanjali's 8 limbs )
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend jst...@... wrote: snip It's not that type of identity I'm talking about. It's not vanity or preoccupation with the body. Identification occurs with human development. Identification isn't an overt craving of the body, but a seamless identification that identifies your body as separate from all other bodies. Curtis, this description of the nature of identification, as the term is used in enlightenment teaching, is an exceedingly rare instance of near-total agreement between Vaj and me. That alone should lead you to sit up and take notice! (I'm referring here just to the definition, not the meaning, which is a whole 'nother question.) It sounds like a positive aspect of our natural development and not anything that needs fixing to me. snip I don't view people that way. Most people seem to be more similar than different to me. They share the same cares and desires for their loved one's lives. Exactly, they share the same references you do. They attach to others and they probably enjoy attachments games like romance as part of those attachments. But from the yogic point of view--not necessarily the Hindu POV, these are just objects. Crucial point. I think Curtis has been misled by the term objects. In this context it means something much more general than in the standard usage, i.e., things as opposed to people or one's own body and thoughts. Referring to romance as an attachment game sounds like a product of dissociation to me. In fact this whole world view sounds like a result of cultivating dissociation. Here's where Vaj and I don't agree: And by being caught up unconsciously in and seamlessly in maintaining identification with these reference point, we allow awareness--we train awareness--to unconsciously run in a non-mindful rut. I don't think it has much of anything to do with mindfulness per se. Or at least that may be one way to diminish identification, but it's not the only way. I am down with the concept of mindfulness but I don't view it as having anything to do with attachment. Being able to completely immerse yourself in an experience without any part of you witnessing the experience is a fantastic option for experience like sex. In NLP the idea is that dissociated states of awareness are useful in specific contexts but it is a mistake to think it is useful in all experiences. I prefer the model that allows me to utilize different states of mind for different experiences. This is where I disagree with the yoga traditions and I am aware that you would not use the term dissociation to describe what meditation cultivates. Here we probably disagree. snip snip Or unless you have the experience of their absence, however that experience is achieved... chances are you don't even realize they're there. Exactly. It's the old fish-in-water analogy. The fish doesn't know it's in water until it has the experience of being *out* of the water. (I suspect the analogy is also germane in that no amount of mindful analysis by the fish will raise its awareness that it's in water without the out-of- water experience.) You have to buy into the interpretation of the higher states model for this to be meaningful. snip We can understand how that's helpful and the habitual keeping of reference points (identification with objects in that manner) isn't necessarily a desirable thing. I'm not sure I relate to it this way. I didn't notice that materialistic people in the movement got less so. The people with money seemed to run the same routines people in Northern Virginia do. But you can't necessarily tell by behavior. The subjective experience of these people may be that the routines are running themselves and that they aren't identifying with them, just watching what's happening (I do not act at all). Agreed. You can't always tell if someone is witnessing. Sometimes you can. Dissociation does have some behavior consequences. (Again I know you don't equate these states.) In my case witnessing does effect my behavior. I become more self contained and that is not always a good thing for me. A little of this goes a long way for me. But most of them still value family over objects unless they are complete tools! Again, doesn't matter in this context. Family are objects as well. I don't actually think that TM necessarily increases knowledge, mindful awareness or wisdom of patterns of suffering and patterns of identification. The question is whether that's even important, as long as one is having the experience of diminished identification. I am still not seeing identification as a problem in human awareness. It is a concept that you have to buy into with a whole set of other beliefs for it to make sense including some huge assumptive ontological jumps about the nature of reality.
[FairfieldLife] The New Deal worked, worked well, and worked quickly
U.S. Gross Domestic Product 1929-1941 See chart: http://snipurl.com/bkyiq From the moment FDR began to enact the programs of the New Deal, the economy began its recovery. After four years of steady declines, Roosevelt's programs brought on an immediate improvement in the national fortune. Within three years, the national GDP exceeded the level in 1929. By the time the bombs fell at Pearl Harbor, the GDP had been up every year but one since 1933, and that one downward tick in 1937 marks the exact point at which budget hawks forced cuts in the New Deal programs. That's the story the numbers tell. The New Deal worked, worked well, and worked quickly. These days, we define recessions as two consecutive quarters of declining gross domestic product. By that measure, when did the Great Depression end? One quarter after Roosevelt took office, that's when. Yes, it took years to repair the damage of the anything goes marketeers, but the recovery started the moment the New Deal started. But even clamping their hands over their eyes and refusing to look at the numbers isn't the strangest part of the Republican Myth of FDR Failure. The oddest idea is that putting the nation on a war footing was the cure that finally ended the depression when the New Deal couldn't get the job done. It's something that gets repeated every time this tall tale is told, because even Republicans realize that the Great Depression did end. They just have to think of some way to give credit to something other than Democrats. So Republicans have developed the idea the government putting people to work, spending on public works, and taking a bigger hand in the markets couldn't possibly help. Instead, things were cured when the government put even more people to work, spent many times more, and took absolute control of prices and wages. Sure, let's go with that. But if they really believe that wars are stimulating, you have to ask: why aren't we stimulated? We have two wars going on. We've invested lots of capital -- including the kind that lives, breathes, and has family -- but that doesn't seem to be shooting the GDP skyward. Maybe Republicans think we need to take on a bigger target. Would a war with Iran get the stimulus working? Or is this stimulus more China-sized? [...] Full article: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/2/9/01244/95631/561/695061
[FairfieldLife] Re: Junk foods of the world
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, curtisdeltablues curtisdeltabl...@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, shempmcgurk shempmcgurk@ wrote: I suppose the most exotic place I've ever been (aside from certain parts of New Jersey) is India. And the most exotic street foods (or junk foods) I saw and tasted while there were Masala Dosa and Onion Bhajis. The Masala Dosa was incredible. A southern Indian dish, I was exposed to it while in northern India, in Kashmir while on a one- month TM course there in '81. It's a crepe-type pancake made from a flour of ground-up rice and chick peas, rolled up over a potato curry or something with a coconut chutney (optional) smothered on the outside, accompanied with (or poured over the top) an onion soup like broth (the name of which escapes me at the moment. Cost: 1 1/2 rupees (well, that was in '81 which at the time equalled about 15 cents American). We tried to have 2 or 3 a day. I am certified South Indian food nut. I have spent years perfecting Idly (steamed cakes) masala dosas and Sambar, the soup you mentioned. Here are some details. The batter for Idly and dosa is a specific kind of rice (not basmati) and split Urid dhal. It has specific properties than make it work. Sambar is made of Tur dhal a larger split pea. The secret of great Sambar is roasting your whole coriander before grinding it and toasting dried coconut. It needs tamarind for the sour taste and hing instead of garlic. The batter for idly and dosa has to be fermented for a few days to get sour. You have to soak and grind the 2/3 rice(coarsely) and 1/3 urid dhal (finely) separately and then combine them to ferment. I have a great Indian store that sells the freshly made batter so I rarely make it from scratch these days. If you use a powdered instant mix use yogurt instead of the water from the recipe on the box to approximate the sour of freshly made batter. On last obsessive detail. You fry uncooked split urid dhal till they brown, with your mustard seeds to add to your coconut chutney. Thanks for the great detailed description of how it's done, Curtis! ...which invokes a fantasy I've entertained from time to time. It comes up whenever the rat race gets me down. I fantasize having a push cart offering something exotic -- like Masala Dosa -- which I've perfected cooking and which I offer in some urban area like New York or Washington, D.C. And I make it so good that I can replicate for the customers off the street that come by my push cart the same eureka! experience I had whenever I first came across the dish. Masala Dosa is a perfect example; a discovery that I felt no one else from my culture had yet experienced. Souvlaki is a good example. It's very common everywhere now but until the '70s it wasn't anywhere except, perhaps, some parts of New York. Someone discovered it (although it was common place in Greece) and then it took off. Same with pizza. How many places had a pizza parlour prior to the '30s or '40s? The Onion Bhajis used to be piled high in those stalls that are found one after the other in a marketplace. Love 'em. Fried food at its best. Onions in what I assume is a gram flour (chick pea flour) that is deep-fried. Mmm Campbell Soup Good! Locally here in Arizona they have Indian Fry Bread which, when done properly, is delicious. It appears to be bread dough deep- fried. That's it. Back in Canada they used to call it Beaver Ears or something like that. And in Quebec they have Poutine, which is French Fries with curd cheese and gravy poured over the top. So, what are YOUR favourite junk foods of the world?
[FairfieldLife] Re: Here's some interesting documents for you Charlie Lutes fans...
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Alex Stanley j_alexander_stan...@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, shempmcgurk shempmcgurk@ wrote: Maricopa county's recorder's office lists all documents on the internet: http://156.42.40.50/UnOfficialDocs/pdf/19940291903.pdf The page cannot be found http://156.42.40.50/UnOfficialDocs/pdf/19960659101.pdf The page cannot be found http://156.42.40.50/UnOfficialDocs/pdf/20020451529.pdf The page cannot be found Looks like bees from Venus, who were a bit light in the loafers, hopped a ride to Earth on either a saucer or cigar shaped spaceship and had those files deleted. Alex: put in the last and first names and you'll get them as a list (which You'll have to go through): http://recorder.maricopa.gov/recdocdata/
[FairfieldLife] Re: Junk foods of the world
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend jst...@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, shempmcgurk shempmcgurk@ wrote: snip So, what are YOUR favourite junk foods of the world? Fried clams. One of my most enjoyable meals of all time was a fabulous fried clam platter in a little hole-in- the-wall joint on the waterfront in Gloucester, Mass., a few years ago. The clams (with bellies!) were right out of the ocean, incredibly sweet and flavorful, fried to perfect nongreasy crispness in fresh fat (not sure what they used). I've had good fried claims before on the Cape, where they also know how to prepare them, but these were the ultimate. If you like fried claims and are ever in Gloucester, the place is Captain Vito's, at 322 Main Street. It's very unprepossessing; my sister and I were driving through and needed lunch, but it was January and all the restaurants around were closed for the winter. Captain Vito's was the only place open, and we weren't expecting much. Best fish and chips I ever had was in Newfoundland at two places: Chess's and King Cod. Second best fish and chips? Here in the desert! Yup! Who woulda thunk it? Sadly, the place closed down last month. Judy: your clams are making my mouth water...but please elaborate on what you mean by clams (with bellies). You see, I understand the concept of toro which means the fatty belly of the tuna (and toro sells for as much as $100 a pound, it's so delectible) but I can't grasp the concept of a clam having a belly. So please explain. Also: perfect, nongreasy crispness. Note that greasy CAN be a plus. No one likes, say, a greasy outer layer on your tempura but you can't GET crispness without grease. And sometimes grease adds to a dish. Perhaps it's me but a greasy pizza is, simply, fantastic. And I love a submarine sandwich, left in its wrapper for an hour or two that leaks grease when I finally take it out and eat it (gotta watch the mayo, though, because you don't want that white bacteria- catcher fermenting too long in the heat).
[FairfieldLife] Re: Grist for the Rumor Mill
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend jst...@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend jstein@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, shempmcgurk shempmcgurk@ wrote: snip I'm not a biologist or geneticist but I think that 10,000 years is more than enough time for a species to select genetic traits. So I think you strengthen my point by reminding us that it's only been 10,000 years that dairy has been a part of the human diet. In fact, in populations that continued to drink milk beyond weaning age, there *has* been genetic adaptation, at least with regard to lactose intolerance. But dairy has not been part of the human diet universally by any means since 10,000 years ago, so the gene that turns off the ability to digest lactose after weaning persists, in widely varying percentages among groups with common ancestry (Ashkenazi Jews and others of Northern European ancestry, for example, have a very low percentage of lactose intolerance, whereas African Americans have a very high percentage). Addendum: Point being that diet has varied widely among different groups over 10,000 years depending on many different factors, so adaptation to different kinds of foods has varied widely as well. Talking strictly through my hat here--knowledgable folks please speak up!--I would guess that since lactose intolerance is a matter of a single gene, adaptation can take place fairly quickly; whereas adaptation to eating grains and beans rather than meat has to do with the physical structure of the digestive system as well as with enzyme production and other elements, so it may occur much more slowly. To bring this back down a notch, the issue here for me is that in the tmo it is assumed that a diet high in wheat, dairy and sugar is ideal for everyone because ayur-ved and/or MMY says so, and unfortunately many people in the tmo who are gluten and lactose intolerant have a tough time and IMO, no one should eat much refined sugar or flour. The issue I think is the tmo's usual thinking that one size fits all or is universal truth because it's vedic. A big awakening for a lot of sidhas when they realize that much of what mmy promotes is really just indian thinking not universal truth.
RE: [FairfieldLife] Re: Here's some interesting documents for you Charlie Lutes fans...
From: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com [mailto:fairfieldl...@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of shempmcgurk Sent: Monday, February 09, 2009 11:19 AM To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: Here's some interesting documents for you Charlie Lutes fans... put in the last and first names and you'll get them as a list (which You'll have to go through): http://recorder.maricopa.gov/recdocdata/ If you consider these important, Shemp, you could download the pdf's then upload them to the FFL files section.
[FairfieldLife] Americans are waking up ..... finally
Finally they are in the streets and protesting where it will do some good: at the mansions of the wealthy who caused the economic mess. http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Grab-Your-Torch-n-Pitchforks.html If we are all going to go down then take the wealthy with us.
[FairfieldLife] What is the nature of attachment? (Re: All of Patanjali's 8 limbs )
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, curtisdeltablues curtisdeltabl...@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Richard M compost1uk@ wrote: You felt that then? That meditation was kind of numbing you or something? I think I re-started TM again about the time you began your experiment. To be honest my experience is the opposite, if anything. I have to say I am pleased with how it's going. Is your experiment still ongoing? I'm definitely offering my experience of meditation as some kind of last word on what meditation does. I think its effects can be different for different people in different circumstances. That said, for me meditation very quickly becomes addictive. I needed to meditate twice a day to feel right. I would feel a need for rest in the afternoon, which is not typical when I don't meditate. It enhances a sense of dissociation that I don't need. I could perceive no cognitive benifits from it other than that the experience itself is very enjoyable. I think it alters my neuro transmitters which makes it very enjoyable and addictive for me. So without feeling that it was doing more for me outside meditation, I couldn't justify the time spent. But it is always there for me as a nice break when I need one. Since I don't believe it is cultivating something as a cumulative effect regular meditation doesn't make sense for me. I'm glad to have it in my mental toolbox as an option. When I stopped meditating in '89 after my intense 15 years with 4 years of rounding, it took me a long time to reconnect with my feelings with the intimacy I feel now. As soon as I felt the practice separating me from that intimacy I stopped meditating. I was only regular for 6 months last year. So it wasn't a numbing of emotions, it creates a detachment from them that I don't prefer as a style of functioning. It is the opposite state of feeling I need as an artist. I know people claim it enhances feeling, but that is not my experience. It shifts me into a different relationship with my feelings. If I had a lot of negitive feelings that might be an asset, but I don't so for me it isn't. Tell me about your experiences. Are you experiencing benifits in your activity? Well, yes - at least I think so! I relate very well to a lot of what you say. The actual practice is great. But when you open your eyes, is anything different, has anything changed? I certainly do not feel any negative change (I have not noticed the detachment from emotions that you describe). The practice feels as if it should be good for my health (and it seems to be qualitatively different to the kind of health benefit you would undoubtedly achieve in any case by just relaxing for 20 minutes). Beyond that - the danger is to assign anything good that happens to benefit of meditation. And yet I dunno, I do sense something! I feel good; I think I sleep better; Apparently I am less grumpy; And I have this odd feeling that events are unfolding more for me than against me. I'm sorry, but there it is. There's no need to shout, I hear your groans. Where I don't see eye-to-eye with you is exemplified in this sentence of yours: I think it alters my neuro transmitters which makes it very enjoyable and addictive for me. So without feeling that it was doing more for me outside meditation, I couldn't justify the time spent Try substituting listening to great music for the word meditation in the above, and I hope you will see what I mean. I suspect that your attitude is driven by a preconception of what is inside and what is outside, and that the former is not real in some way. The quietness, the silence that I sense through TM is something that I think is profound. It has a pregnancy about it that seems to point to even more (if I could just get there!). I like that and it pulls me in. It's no different (for me) than the sense of the poetic/profound you might get from, I don't know, a beautiful sunset, a walk by the ocean, or anything else that floats your boat. But more so. Materialists and scientistic types will just shrug all that off as just feelings, and just some fog in your brain. Their loss I would say. They need to get over their religion.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Junk foods of the world
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, shempmcgurk shempmcg...@... I fantasize having a push cart offering something exotic -- like Masala Dosa -- which I've perfected cooking and which I offer in some urban area like New York or Washington, D.C. And I make it so good that I can replicate for the customers off the street that come by my push cart the same eureka! experience I had whenever I first came across the dish That is s funny! I also have an alternative life fantasy like that! Did you see the great indie film Push Cart? There are people out there living this odd dream. In NYC where street food is very serious they have a yearly Vendy award and and Indian cart won last year: http://tinyurl.com/4m7pml Here in DC there is a couple at the Balston Metro stop serving high level pizzas out of a cart. I read about it but haven't eaten it yet. Hot dog and sausage stands can be really creative. I saw an Asian version with all sorts of toppings like wasabi and kim chi. I fantasize that around here an Asian toppings pizza joint could do well. Kim chi is great on almost anything IMO. We have a lot of Hispanic food trucks here. I love beef tongue soft tacos that they serve and homemade tamales. They have a lot of Hispanic workers who are single guys living together who keep them busy. In Adams Morgan, a night club rich zone, a guy is making a killing with a great Falafal stand modeled after the ones in Amsterdam with lots of toppings. Not having any meat makes it easy to keep the kitchen clean and it is high profit. All the drunks who are sick of the usual pizza after drinking storm the place after the club's closing time. I talked with the owner who is franchising the idea. He reiterated the location,location, location mantra as the reason he is rocking. The food biz is so labor intensive that my pipe dream will remain that. But every time I see some interesting food cart I get the same thrill of That could be me and here is what I would do with it! I am so food obsessed this topic rocks my world! Thanks for feeding my attachment! wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, curtisdeltablues curtisdeltablues@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, shempmcgurk shempmcgurk@ wrote: I suppose the most exotic place I've ever been (aside from certain parts of New Jersey) is India. And the most exotic street foods (or junk foods) I saw and tasted while there were Masala Dosa and Onion Bhajis. The Masala Dosa was incredible. A southern Indian dish, I was exposed to it while in northern India, in Kashmir while on a one- month TM course there in '81. It's a crepe-type pancake made from a flour of ground-up rice and chick peas, rolled up over a potato curry or something with a coconut chutney (optional) smothered on the outside, accompanied with (or poured over the top) an onion soup like broth (the name of which escapes me at the moment. Cost: 1 1/2 rupees (well, that was in '81 which at the time equalled about 15 cents American). We tried to have 2 or 3 a day. I am certified South Indian food nut. I have spent years perfecting Idly (steamed cakes) masala dosas and Sambar, the soup you mentioned. Here are some details. The batter for Idly and dosa is a specific kind of rice (not basmati) and split Urid dhal. It has specific properties than make it work. Sambar is made of Tur dhal a larger split pea. The secret of great Sambar is roasting your whole coriander before grinding it and toasting dried coconut. It needs tamarind for the sour taste and hing instead of garlic. The batter for idly and dosa has to be fermented for a few days to get sour. You have to soak and grind the 2/3 rice(coarsely) and 1/3 urid dhal (finely) separately and then combine them to ferment. I have a great Indian store that sells the freshly made batter so I rarely make it from scratch these days. If you use a powdered instant mix use yogurt instead of the water from the recipe on the box to approximate the sour of freshly made batter. On last obsessive detail. You fry uncooked split urid dhal till they brown, with your mustard seeds to add to your coconut chutney. Thanks for the great detailed description of how it's done, Curtis! ...which invokes a fantasy I've entertained from time to time. It comes up whenever the rat race gets me down. I fantasize having a push cart offering something exotic -- like Masala Dosa -- which I've perfected cooking and which I offer in some urban area like New York or Washington, D.C. And I make it so good that I can replicate for the customers off the street that come by my push cart the same eureka! experience I had whenever I first came across the dish. Masala Dosa is a perfect example; a discovery that I felt no one else from my culture had yet experienced. Souvlaki is a good example. It's
[FairfieldLife] Re: Junk foods of the world
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj vajradh...@... wrote: On Feb 9, 2009, at 10:13 AM, shempmcgurk wrote: I was exposed to it while in northern India, in Kashmir while on a one- month TM course there in '81. Did you get to meet Lakshman Joo? Impressions? I like gulab-jamins. Donut-balls in cardamom syrup. Love 'em. I'm also fond of raw elvers (baby eels) esp. when they're in season in Maine. Actually had some eel sushi on friday as an appetizer with seaweed salad. Not my favourite but, yes, eel sushi can be deletible despite the prejudicial image such a name conjurs up. Love seawee salad...but a little goes a long way because the seaweed can be so crunchy that it takes a long time to chew. Another New England fav. is Fiddleheads, the fronds of baby ferns, made during mud season, sold all over on the roadside. http://www.umext.maine.edu/onlinepubs/htmpubs/4198.htm Same with New Brunswick (the province in Canada, not the town in Jersey). In Quebec at a certain time of year, the produce section of supermarkets will carry them along with other greens. Love 'em. Ever had Scrapple? It has to be the most disgusting substance ever eaten. If you'd seen the recipe I have for it (from an organic farming cookbook) you'd know why. Next time you're getting ready to render a pig, lemme know. Never had scrapple but if it's rendered from pig, you know it's going to be delicious. Emeril says that pig fat pretty much defines American cuisine. Bam! Speaking of pigs, pickled pigs feet is a popular Pennsylvania delicacy. Of course Penna. is also famous for their soft pretzels.
[FairfieldLife] What is the nature of attachment? (Re: All of Patanjali's 8 limbs )
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Richard M compost...@... Me: I think it alters my neuro transmitters which makes it very enjoyable and addictive for me. So without feeling that it was doing more for me outside meditation, I couldn't justify the time spent Richard: Try substituting listening to great music for the word meditation in the above, and I hope you will see what I mean. I suspect that your attitude is driven by a preconception of what is inside and what is outside, and that the former is not real in some way. The quietness, the silence that I sense through TM is something that I think is profound. It has a pregnancy about it that seems to point to even more (if I could just get there!). I like that and it pulls me in. It's no different (for me) than the sense of the poetic/profound you might get from, I don't know, a beautiful sunset, a walk by the ocean, or anything else that floats your boat. But more so. I can relate to this last part. I agree. I think that my experiences in nature are more similar than different. Materialists and scientistic types will just shrug all that off as just feelings, and just some fog in your brain. Their loss I would say. They need to get over their religion. Again I agree. I wasn't bringing in the neuro transmitter theory to diminish it. Where I differ with yoga theory is their assumption that this silence has ontological implications. That is the jump I don't make. For me I am experiencing a pleasurable silence, not the home of all the laws of nature or my higher self. But your appreciation for the experience for its own sake is something I can relate to. Meditation is a very charming experience. wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, curtisdeltablues curtisdeltablues@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Richard M compost1uk@ wrote: You felt that then? That meditation was kind of numbing you or something? I think I re-started TM again about the time you began your experiment. To be honest my experience is the opposite, if anything. I have to say I am pleased with how it's going. Is your experiment still ongoing? I'm definitely offering my experience of meditation as some kind of last word on what meditation does. I think its effects can be different for different people in different circumstances. That said, for me meditation very quickly becomes addictive. I needed to meditate twice a day to feel right. I would feel a need for rest in the afternoon, which is not typical when I don't meditate. It enhances a sense of dissociation that I don't need. I could perceive no cognitive benifits from it other than that the experience itself is very enjoyable. I think it alters my neuro transmitters which makes it very enjoyable and addictive for me. So without feeling that it was doing more for me outside meditation, I couldn't justify the time spent. But it is always there for me as a nice break when I need one. Since I don't believe it is cultivating something as a cumulative effect regular meditation doesn't make sense for me. I'm glad to have it in my mental toolbox as an option. When I stopped meditating in '89 after my intense 15 years with 4 years of rounding, it took me a long time to reconnect with my feelings with the intimacy I feel now. As soon as I felt the practice separating me from that intimacy I stopped meditating. I was only regular for 6 months last year. So it wasn't a numbing of emotions, it creates a detachment from them that I don't prefer as a style of functioning. It is the opposite state of feeling I need as an artist. I know people claim it enhances feeling, but that is not my experience. It shifts me into a different relationship with my feelings. If I had a lot of negitive feelings that might be an asset, but I don't so for me it isn't. Tell me about your experiences. Are you experiencing benifits in your activity? Well, yes - at least I think so! I relate very well to a lot of what you say. The actual practice is great. But when you open your eyes, is anything different, has anything changed? I certainly do not feel any negative change (I have not noticed the detachment from emotions that you describe). The practice feels as if it should be good for my health (and it seems to be qualitatively different to the kind of health benefit you would undoubtedly achieve in any case by just relaxing for 20 minutes). Beyond that - the danger is to assign anything good that happens to benefit of meditation. And yet I dunno, I do sense something! I feel good; I think I sleep better; Apparently I am less grumpy; And I have this odd feeling that events are unfolding more for me than against me. I'm sorry, but there it is. There's no need to shout, I hear your groans. Where I don't see eye-to-eye with you is exemplified in this sentence of yours:
[FairfieldLife] Re: Here's some interesting documents for you Charlie Lutes fans...
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, lurkernomore20002000 steve.sun...@... wrote: Wow. For once, my lowly computer outdoes the big boys with all the tech knowledge and sophistication. No problem here viewing these doucments. It was an issue with the web server, not my PC. The links are now working for me. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Alex Stanley j_alexander_stanley@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, shempmcgurk shempmcgurk@ wrote: Maricopa county's recorder's office lists all documents on the internet: http://156.42.40.50/UnOfficialDocs/pdf/19940291903.pdf The page cannot be found http://156.42.40.50/UnOfficialDocs/pdf/19960659101.pdf The page cannot be found http://156.42.40.50/UnOfficialDocs/pdf/20020451529.pdf The page cannot be found Looks like bees from Venus, who were a bit light in the loafers, hopped a ride to Earth on either a saucer or cigar shaped spaceship and had those files deleted.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Junk foods of the world
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, shempmcgurk shempmcg...@... wrote: snip Judy: your clams are making my mouth water...but please elaborate on what you mean by clams (with bellies). You see, I understand the concept of toro which means the fatty belly of the tuna (and toro sells for as much as $100 a pound, it's so delectible) but I can't grasp the concept of a clam having a belly. So please explain. Basically, it's the clam's gut. I'm not sure I want to know any more than that. It's the part of the clam that has the most oceany, briny taste and the softest texture; the meaty parts don't have as much flavor and are more chewy. Many restaurants serve only clam strips, which are just the meaty parts. That's for two reasons: one, squeamish diners prefer not to think they're eating internal organs, especially of the digestive tract; two, it's cheaper to use big clams and just cut up the meaty part into strips than to use small clams whole. Clams have to be carefully cleaned in any case. I think (but am reluctant to find out for certain) that proper cleaning removes the more objectionable contents of the gut (at any rate, what's removed is said not to taste very good). I prefer to assume that the belly contains only what the clam has eaten recently and not the waste products of its digestion. Clam bellies are often fried and served by themselves, incidentally. I like the combination of bellies and meaty parts, though. Here's a quasi-lyrical ode to clam bellies from the blog of the New York Times restaurant critic, Frank Bruni (it also mentions tuna belly): http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/05/going-for-the-gut/ http://tinyurl.com/b5h4pm Also check the comments if you're interested in more detail on what's served where. Also: perfect, nongreasy crispness. Note that greasy CAN be a plus. No one likes, say, a greasy outer layer on your tempura butyou can't GET crispness without grease. Right, but as you say, you don't want the grease to soak into the batter. Ask Curtis, but I believe it's a matter of the proper frying temperature; it can't be too low or the grease invades the batter and what's inside instead of just cooking it from the outside. Greasy fried clams are yucky, by me. And sometimes grease adds to a dish. Perhaps it's me but a greasy pizza is, simply, fantastic. Heart trouble runs in my father's side of my family, so I have a highly ambivalent relationship with saturated fat. Pizza should be made with olive oil, though, no? That's good for you. It's the cheese that's the problem (not to mention the sausage). And I love a submarine sandwich, left in its wrapper for an hour or two that leaks grease when I finally take it out and eat it (gotta watch the mayo, though, because you don't want that white bacteria-catcher fermenting too long in the heat). These days commercial mayo contains so many preservatives it probably will last quite awhile. Better safe than sorry, though.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Junk foods of the world
On Feb 9, 2009, at 1:06 PM, shempmcgurk wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj vajradh...@... wrote: On Feb 9, 2009, at 10:13 AM, shempmcgurk wrote: I was exposed to it while in northern India, in Kashmir while on a one- month TM course there in '81. Did you get to meet Lakshman Joo? Impressions? I like gulab-jamins. Donut-balls in cardamom syrup. Love 'em. I too appreciate your desire to replicate various favorite delicacies, as I am a forensic chef: I find meals I love and then work painstakingly to reproduce them to share that same Zen moment with friends and family. My area of expertise is Indian food, Thai food and Chinese, although I do make some French and Italian dishes. Soups are my winter fad, with chicken corn soup (very easy to make) being the new item this last weekend.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Grist for the Rumor Mill
On Feb 8, 2009, at 11:56 PM, shempmcgurk wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Alex Stanley j_alexander_stan...@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, pranamoocher bhrma@ wrote: Could be all that healthy vegetarian dietary regiment these people have used over the last 30 years, along with tons of white sugar. Sooner or later, the body catches up to dietary deficiencies. Our species didn't evolve on a diet of grains, beans, and the milk of other species. When were we NOT drinking the milk of other species (specifically, cows and goats)? Seems to me we HAVE evolved on a diet of the milk of other species... Seems a little unlikely that before domestication of animals (10-20,000 years ago) that humans drank the milk of other species to any degree. Sal
[FairfieldLife] Re: Grist for the Rumor Mill
pretty humorous image of someone chasing down a cape buffalo for example and then insisting it stand still for milking... --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Sal Sunshine salsunsh...@... wrote: On Feb 8, 2009, at 11:56 PM, shempmcgurk wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Alex Stanley j_alexander_stanley@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, pranamoocher bhrma@ wrote: Could be all that healthy vegetarian dietary regiment these people have used over the last 30 years, along with tons of white sugar. Sooner or later, the body catches up to dietary deficiencies. Our species didn't evolve on a diet of grains, beans, and the milk of other species. When were we NOT drinking the milk of other species (specifically, cows and goats)? Seems to me we HAVE evolved on a diet of the milk of other species... Seems a little unlikely that before domestication of animals (10-20,000 years ago) that humans drank the milk of other species to any degree. Sal
Re: [FairfieldLife] What is the nature of attachment? (Re: All of Patanjali's 8 limbs )
Let me jump into this attachment discussion. I'd like to argue that you don't know what attachment is until you experience pure consciousness while the mind functions. Any attempt to become unattached through the mind is pure mood-making/manipulation which is worthless. Most people disengage/unattach from aspects of their relative existence out of neurotic fear, not out of a desire for realization. They want to free themselves from the discomfort of the mind's attachment so they disengage. But this is a mistake. Even in enlightenment the mind is still fully engaged when dealing with relative existence. What is unattached in enlightenment is pure conscious which has ALWAYS been unattached. But prior to realization pure consciousness identifies with something other than itself (primarily the mind, secondarily the body) and an ego is created. So pure awareness experiences itself as limited. This is a delusion. This is why advaitins will say you already are enlightened. That might be true, but its not necessarily very helpful for popping you out of a delusion. It'd be like a character in a dream telling you that all of this is not real. It might get you out of the dream or you might just look at him and say, what? --- On Mon, 2/9/09, curtisdeltablues curtisdeltabl...@yahoo.com wrote: From: curtisdeltablues curtisdeltabl...@yahoo.com Subject: [FairfieldLife] What is the nature of attachment?(Re: All of Patanjali's 8 limbs ) To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Date: Monday, February 9, 2009, 11:42 AM --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend jst...@... wrote: snip It's not that type of identity I'm talking about. It's not vanity or preoccupation with the body. Identification occurs with human development. Identification isn't an overt craving of the body, but a seamless identification that identifies your body as separate from all other bodies. Curtis, this description of the nature of identification, as the term is used in enlightenment teaching, is an exceedingly rare instance of near-total agreement between Vaj and me. That alone should lead you to sit up and take notice! (I'm referring here just to the definition, not the meaning, which is a whole 'nother question.) It sounds like a positive aspect of our natural development and not anything that needs fixing to me. snip I don't view people that way. Most people seem to be more similar than different to me. They share the same cares and desires for their loved one's lives. Exactly, they share the same references you do. They attach to others and they probably enjoy attachments games like romance as part of those attachments. But from the yogic point of view--not necessarily the Hindu POV, these are just objects. Crucial point. I think Curtis has been misled by the term objects. In this context it means something much more general than in the standard usage, i.e., things as opposed to people or one's own body and thoughts. Referring to romance as an attachment game sounds like a product of dissociation to me. In fact this whole world view sounds like a result of cultivating dissociation. Here's where Vaj and I don't agree: And by being caught up unconsciously in and seamlessly in maintaining identification with these reference point, we allow awareness--we train awareness--to unconsciously run in a non-mindful rut. I don't think it has much of anything to do with mindfulness per se. Or at least that may be one way to diminish identification, but it's not the only way. I am down with the concept of mindfulness but I don't view it as having anything to do with attachment. Being able to completely immerse yourself in an experience without any part of you witnessing the experience is a fantastic option for experience like sex. In NLP the idea is that dissociated states of awareness are useful in specific contexts but it is a mistake to think it is useful in all experiences. I prefer the model that allows me to utilize different states of mind for different experiences. This is where I disagree with the yoga traditions and I am aware that you would not use the term dissociation to describe what meditation cultivates. Here we probably disagree. snip snip Or unless you have the experience of their absence, however that experience is achieved... chances are you don't even realize they're there. Exactly. It's the old fish-in-water analogy. The fish doesn't know it's in water until it has the experience of being *out* of the water. (I suspect the analogy is also germane in that no amount of mindful analysis by the fish will raise its awareness that it's in water without the out-of- water experience.) You have to buy into the interpretation of the higher states model for this to be
[FairfieldLife] Re: Grist for the Rumor Mill
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend jst...@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, shempmcgurk shempmcgurk@ wrote: snip I'm not a biologist or geneticist but I think that 10,000 years is more than enough time for a species to select genetic traits. So I think you strengthen my point by reminding us that it's only been 10,000 years that dairy has been a part of the human diet. In fact, in populations that continued to drink milk beyond weaning age, there *has* been genetic adaptation, at least with regard to lactose intolerance. But dairy has not been part of the human diet universally by any means since 10,000 years ago, so the gene that turns off the ability to digest lactose after weaning persists, in widely varying percentages among groups with common ancestry (Ashkenazi Jews and others of Northern European ancestry, for example, have a very low percentage of lactose intolerance, whereas African Americans have a very high percentage). I have no acute negative reactions to dairy, and my genetic background is from dairy consuming regions. But, just because I can digest lactose doesn't mean milk is an ideal food. Milk is mucous forming, and I feel much better without dairy in my diet. I'm also not convinced that humans are fully adapted to eating casein and gluten, which are two of the most problematic agrarian proteins. Again and again, I've read how eliminating gluten and/or casein from the diet has tremendously improved health. I think that although they are generally tolerated, casein and gluten are constant sources of low-level irritation/distress to the physiology that, in the long term, either cause or exacerbate chronic health conditions.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Here's some interesting documents for you Charlie Lutes fans...
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Rick Archer r...@... wrote: From: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com [mailto:fairfieldl...@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of shempmcgurk Sent: Monday, February 09, 2009 11:19 AM To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: Here's some interesting documents for you Charlie Lutes fans... put in the last and first names and you'll get them as a list (which You'll have to go through): http://recorder.maricopa.gov/recdocdata/ If you consider these important, Shemp, you could download the pdf's then upload them to the FFL files section. Nah...I'm just fascinated by the fact that documents that pre- internet one would have to trudge down to the recorder's office and look up are now available in the comfort of one's computer room at the touch of a button.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Americans are waking up ..... finally
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitu noozg...@... wrote: Finally they are in the streets and protesting where it will do some good: at the mansions of the wealthy who caused the economic mess. http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Grab-Your-Torch-n-Pitchforks.html If we are all going to go down then take the wealthy with us. The Democratic Congress going back to Jimmy Carter caused this mess. And that includes their wealthy Democratic benefactors, especially the ones that ran Fanny and Freddy. It was regulation that caused this mess...and we can only hope that the free market will be used properly in order to solve this mess.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Junk foods of the world
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj vajradh...@... wrote: I like gulab-jamins. Donut-balls in cardamom syrup. I *LOVE* gulab jamuns! That's why my Indian name is Gulabjamunanda. My other favorite junk food is Kettle Chips potato chips. However, highly disciplined paleo dieter that I am, I only indulge in them about once a year, if that.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Junk foods of the world
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend jst...@... wrote: That was interesting. It makes sense that a place that would serve the whole more expensive tiny clams would be much better then a place that buys the cheaper bigger ones. I'm pretty sure there is nothing to remove from a clam, you just shuck them and eat the whole thing. One of the most transcendent foods for me is raw oysters from Northern cold waters. I was reminded by your description of the oceany, briny clam bellies. It is like tasting the ocean complete with some filtered ocean water, especially if you shuck them yourself. Only certain cheeses have that same ability to transport me into such a subtle flavor complexity. It is food poetry that captures the whole ocean in one bite. I know it grosses many people out, but for me it is as close to a spiritual connection with the ocean as I can get. A great read on the history of oysters and NYC is Kurlansky's The Big Oyster, History on the Half Shell. http://www.amazon.com/Big-Oyster-History-Half-Shell/dp/0345476387 --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, shempmcgurk shempmcgurk@ wrote: snip Judy: your clams are making my mouth water...but please elaborate on what you mean by clams (with bellies). You see, I understand the concept of toro which means the fatty belly of the tuna (and toro sells for as much as $100 a pound, it's so delectible) but I can't grasp the concept of a clam having a belly. So please explain. Basically, it's the clam's gut. I'm not sure I want to know any more than that. It's the part of the clam that has the most oceany, briny taste and the softest texture; the meaty parts don't have as much flavor and are more chewy. Many restaurants serve only clam strips, which are just the meaty parts. That's for two reasons: one, squeamish diners prefer not to think they're eating internal organs, especially of the digestive tract; two, it's cheaper to use big clams and just cut up the meaty part into strips than to use small clams whole. Clams have to be carefully cleaned in any case. I think (but am reluctant to find out for certain) that proper cleaning removes the more objectionable contents of the gut (at any rate, what's removed is said not to taste very good). I prefer to assume that the belly contains only what the clam has eaten recently and not the waste products of its digestion. Clam bellies are often fried and served by themselves, incidentally. I like the combination of bellies and meaty parts, though. Here's a quasi-lyrical ode to clam bellies from the blog of the New York Times restaurant critic, Frank Bruni (it also mentions tuna belly): http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/05/going-for-the-gut/ http://tinyurl.com/b5h4pm Also check the comments if you're interested in more detail on what's served where. Also: perfect, nongreasy crispness. Note that greasy CAN be a plus. No one likes, say, a greasy outer layer on your tempura butyou can't GET crispness without grease. Right, but as you say, you don't want the grease to soak into the batter. Ask Curtis, but I believe it's a matter of the proper frying temperature; it can't be too low or the grease invades the batter and what's inside instead of just cooking it from the outside. Greasy fried clams are yucky, by me. And sometimes grease adds to a dish. Perhaps it's me but a greasy pizza is, simply, fantastic. Heart trouble runs in my father's side of my family, so I have a highly ambivalent relationship with saturated fat. Pizza should be made with olive oil, though, no? That's good for you. It's the cheese that's the problem (not to mention the sausage). And I love a submarine sandwich, left in its wrapper for an hour or two that leaks grease when I finally take it out and eat it (gotta watch the mayo, though, because you don't want that white bacteria-catcher fermenting too long in the heat). These days commercial mayo contains so many preservatives it probably will last quite awhile. Better safe than sorry, though.
[FairfieldLife] What is the nature of attachment? (Re: All of Patanjali's 8 limbs )
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, curtisdeltablues curtisdeltabl...@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend jstein@ wrote: snip Me: I am trying to figure out why they made such a big deal out of something that seems obvious to me. Judy Maybe it's because what seems obvious to you isn't at all what it's about. OK, straighten me out on how people can be identified with the objects of perceptions if they don't have the type of awareness provided by TM. Every hang out with a woman from a country who does not educate women? Education makes a huge difference in mental development. Sure, but lack of education doesn't equate to severe mental deficiency in the sense you were using the phrase. I think if you have to suggest that most people long ago would be considered severely mentally deficient today to explain the notion of identification, it's a sign you're on the wrong track. I think you need to bag that particular approach! Again I'm all ears for your POV on this area of why people are so identified with the objects of perception that they need lots of TM (decades) to become...what exactly? From another post: My identity is biased towards my mind and emotions. My body is getting older but my mind and capacity to feel is getting better. I think only very superficial people identify with their bodies. Again, you're understanding it too literally, or too concretely. And again you are saying I don't get it while providing no information on what getting it might mean. I've had the experiences lots of TM brings and I don't see it that way now. How do you see it? If what you experience is my body as opposed to this body, that's identification with the body; doesn't mean some kind of intense focus on or preoccupation with the body, but simply that one's body is something that belongs to one. Interestingly, professional opera singers tend to refer to their voice as the voice rather than my voice, as if it has to be regarded as something apart from themselves, like a musical instrument--but instrumentalists don't refer to the trumpet or the violin when they're talking about their own instruments. I suspect that's because to a singer, their voice is so *extremely* personal and intimate to themselves that they have to use that odd construction to avoid overly identifying with it; they must feel they have more control over it that way. Come to think of it, don't athletes tend to do this as well with reference to parts of their bodies that are crucial to their performance? The arm is a little sore today... I think the movement phrase the body indicates dissociation. It is my body. The voice thing in opera you nailed down I think. It is because they do think of it as a separate instrument. What they sing with is not their voice that they use for speech. I haven't heard athletes talk about their bodies that way but it wouldn't surprise me for high level athletes since they function in a lot of pain with their injuries and training and dissociate to survive. I felt that way when I was in Jiu-jitsu and was always injured for practices. I am inviting someone to explain what this concept (identifying with the object of perception) means to them. It may be that once you step out of the mindset there is no bridge of understanding. I am just playing with the idea that there might be more than: If you are with us you understand, if you are not, you don't. My thought, based upon what Curtis has said, is that he has already cultivated enough of a sense of detachment so as to not be overly wound up with negative emotions or bad behaviors. Who needs more? I think living in accordance with your values cultivates a certain sense of detachment--you are not all wound up by living in conflict. I could not care for cancer patients without some detachment.You cultivate it by doing the best you can, in accordance with your values. It is about maturity, and often increases by simply growing older and more experienced. You cultivate it by putting troubles away in a little box to open later if you feel the need. I might shed a tear but never in the presence of a patient. So I agree some detachment is required, while maintaining empathy. If you have no empathy to start with there isn't a need to cultivate detachment. I am far less detached regarding family. I think that is fine. If my son was ill, I would not care for him as I am not detached enough. I do not want to be detached from my family and friends. I want to shed the tear when they suffer as their suffering is my suffering. As far as functioning at your highest and best level, or being in the zone, I have a few thoughts. I am a runner. I can be in the zone when running. It occurs when I am well trained, well rested, with the repetitive motion of running.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Junk foods of the world
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj vajradh...@... wrote: On Feb 9, 2009, at 1:06 PM, shempmcgurk wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj vajradhatu@ wrote: On Feb 9, 2009, at 10:13 AM, shempmcgurk wrote: I was exposed to it while in northern India, in Kashmir while on a one- month TM course there in '81. Did you get to meet Lakshman Joo? Impressions? I like gulab-jamins. Donut-balls in cardamom syrup. Love 'em. I too appreciate your desire to replicate various favorite delicacies, as I am a forensic chef: I find meals I love and then work painstakingly to reproduce them to share that same Zen moment with friends and family. My area of expertise is Indian food, Thai food and Chinese, although I do make some French and Italian dishes. Soups are my winter fad, with chicken corn soup (very easy to make) being the new item this last weekend. ...love that term forensic chef! Never heard it before. But I understand what it means. And I wish I could put your skills to work here in the Phoenix area. I'm not a big red meat eater but about 2 or 3 times a year when I have the urge, I indulge. My desire is to be vegetarian, which I am for the most part, but I also believe that if I have the overbearing urge for meat that it's healthier to indulge rather than to deny. Anyway, a few times a year I'll go and have a slow-roasted beef short ribs dish at a restaurant in Scottsdale. $31.00 a plate...and worth every cent. I've pretty much got down how to cook the ribs but its the brandy/cherry reduction sauce that's got me baffled...and that's at least half the wonderfulness of the dish. I can't tell you have many times and how much money I've spent experimenting trying to recreate the sauce. I should hire you out to come here and replicate the recipe!
[FairfieldLife] Re: Junk foods of the world
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Alex Stanley j_alexander_stan...@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj vajradhatu@ wrote: I like gulab-jamins. Donut-balls in cardamom syrup. I *LOVE* gulab jamuns! That's why my Indian name is Gulabjamunanda. That's very funny. I think I'm going to plagiarize that! My other favorite junk food is Kettle Chips potato chips. However, highly disciplined paleo dieter that I am, I only indulge in them about once a year, if that.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Junk foods of the world
On Feb 9, 2009, at 9:13 AM, shempmcgurk wrote: So, what are YOUR favourite junk foods of the world? Spinach pies, you can buy them on any street corner in Athens. Sal
[FairfieldLife] Re: Junk foods of the world
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, curtisdeltablues curtisdeltabl...@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend jstein@ wrote: That was interesting. It makes sense that a place that would serve the whole more expensive tiny clams would be much better then a place that buys the cheaper bigger ones. I'm pretty sure there is nothing to remove from a clam, you just shuck them and eat the whole thing. One of the most transcendent foods for me is raw oysters from Northern cold waters. I was reminded by your description of the oceany, briny clam bellies. It is like tasting the ocean complete with some filtered ocean water, especially if you shuck them yourself. Only certain cheeses have that same ability to transport me into such a subtle flavor complexity. It is food poetry that captures the whole ocean in one bite. I know it grosses many people out, but for me it is as close to a spiritual connection with the ocean as I can get. A great read on the history of oysters and NYC is Kurlansky's The Big Oyster, History on the Half Shell. http://www.amazon.com/Big-Oyster-History-Half-Shell/dp/0345476387 Curtis: Like sushi, I believe that eating oysters as you describe above is a very primordial thing: it brings us back to our oceanic roots! Back in Canada my Dad and I used to buy a case of Malpeque oysters (P.E.I. and New Brunswick) every season and, for a week, pig out on 'em. We'd basically stand over the sink in the kitchen and get into a routine of shucking, lemon, and red sauce and eat 'em standing up. 3 or 4 dozen each at a time. But, as you indicate, the brine is the essential part. And to a lesser degree, the lemon and the seafood sauce. A friend of mine -- who had never had oysters before but had heard me rave about them -- called me from his cell phone in Manhatten a few months ago announcing to me that he was on a street that had an oyster bar. And I encouraged him to go in and invest $15.00 for a dozen (or whatever they now cost). And he did. But I forgot to tell him HOW to eat 'em, assuming that everyone knew. And it ruined the experience for him because he told me he couldn't stand them (and this is a fellow sushi eater, so it wasn't the raw or squeamish factor that turned him off). Upon questioning him, I soon discovered what the problem was: he had no idea how to eat them (i.e., he didn't know there WAS a particular way to eat them) and what he did was stick his fork into the oyster while it was sitting in the shell, shaking it gently to remove the brine, and then sticking it into his mouth. Of course, that would ruin the experience for anyone: no brine, no lemon, no seafood sauce. I tried to tell him that he would have to go with me the next time so I could tell him how to eat an oyster properly but I think he's unconvinced and I think that's it for him for this lifetime as regards ever eating oysters again! --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, shempmcgurk shempmcgurk@ wrote: snip Judy: your clams are making my mouth water...but please elaborate on what you mean by clams (with bellies). You see, I understand the concept of toro which means the fatty belly of the tuna (and toro sells for as much as $100 a pound, it's so delectible) but I can't grasp the concept of a clam having a belly. So please explain. Basically, it's the clam's gut. I'm not sure I want to know any more than that. It's the part of the clam that has the most oceany, briny taste and the softest texture; the meaty parts don't have as much flavor and are more chewy. Many restaurants serve only clam strips, which are just the meaty parts. That's for two reasons: one, squeamish diners prefer not to think they're eating internal organs, especially of the digestive tract; two, it's cheaper to use big clams and just cut up the meaty part into strips than to use small clams whole. Clams have to be carefully cleaned in any case. I think (but am reluctant to find out for certain) that proper cleaning removes the more objectionable contents of the gut (at any rate, what's removed is said not to taste very good). I prefer to assume that the belly contains only what the clam has eaten recently and not the waste products of its digestion. Clam bellies are often fried and served by themselves, incidentally. I like the combination of bellies and meaty parts, though. Here's a quasi-lyrical ode to clam bellies from the blog of the New York Times restaurant critic, Frank Bruni (it also mentions tuna belly): http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/05/going-for-the- gut/ http://tinyurl.com/b5h4pm Also check the comments if you're interested in more detail on what's served where. Also: perfect, nongreasy crispness. Note that greasy CAN be a plus. No one likes, say, a greasy outer layer on your tempura butyou can't GET
[FairfieldLife] Re: Junk foods of the world
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, curtisdeltablues curtisdeltabl...@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, shempmcgurk shempmcgurk@ I fantasize having a push cart offering something exotic -- like Masala Dosa -- which I've perfected cooking and which I offer in some urban area like New York or Washington, D.C. And I make it so good that I can replicate for the customers off the street that come by my push cart the same eureka! experience I had whenever I first came across the dish That is s funny! I also have an alternative life fantasy like that! Did you see the great indie film Push Cart? Yes, although I found it a bit depressing. Also, for a Pakistani immigrant, the guy's accent was too perfectly American which made me wonder at what age the character could have emigrated to America and still have been famous back in Pakistan for his Pakistani music. Other than those two points, fascinating film. There are people out there living this odd dream. In NYC where street food is very serious they have a yearly Vendy award and and Indian cart won last year: http://tinyurl.com/4m7pml Too cool! A Biryani cart! I've come out not only with my own junk food cart idea but the actual junk food I'd sell is my own invention, too. It's really simple...but delicious: it's a swedish crepe most in a rectangular shape with a smear each of nutella and mascarpone on it, rolled up and then cut into slices...and it's marketed as: CHOCOLATE SUSHI! Everyone who's tried it loves it and the name entices everyone who hears it...of course, the only thing common with sushi is the shape. Here in DC there is a couple at the Balston Metro stop serving high level pizzas out of a cart. I read about it but haven't eaten it yet. Hot dog and sausage stands can be really creative. I saw an Asian version with all sorts of toppings like wasabi and kim chi. I fantasize that around here an Asian toppings pizza joint could do well. Interesting fusion. The big fusion thing here in the Phoenix area is Mexican/Chinese combo: http://www.chinobandido.com/ Kim chi is great on almost anything IMO. Too hot for me...and for some reason I associate Kim Chi with Haggis, I don't know why. We have a lot of Hispanic food trucks here. I love beef tongue soft tacos that they serve and homemade tamales. They have a lot of Hispanic workers who are single guys living together who keep them busy. In Adams Morgan, a night club rich zone, a guy is making a killing with a great Falafal stand modeled after the ones in Amsterdam with lots of toppings. Not having any meat makes it easy to keep the kitchen clean and it is high profit. All the drunks who are sick of the usual pizza after drinking storm the place after the club's closing time. I talked with the owner who is franchising the idea. He reiterated the location,location, location mantra as the reason he is rocking. The food biz is so labor intensive that my pipe dream will remain that. But if it's just you, the push cart, and one item (like, say, Falafels) I don't think it could be that bad labor-wise. But every time I see some interesting food cart I get the same thrill of That could be me and here is what I would do with it! I am so food obsessed this topic rocks my world! Thanks for feeding my attachment! ...and don't forget: it's a CASH BUSINESS! F*CK the IRS. wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, curtisdeltablues curtisdeltablues@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, shempmcgurk shempmcgurk@ wrote: I suppose the most exotic place I've ever been (aside from certain parts of New Jersey) is India. And the most exotic street foods (or junk foods) I saw and tasted while there were Masala Dosa and Onion Bhajis. The Masala Dosa was incredible. A southern Indian dish, I was exposed to it while in northern India, in Kashmir while on a one- month TM course there in '81. It's a crepe-type pancake made from a flour of ground-up rice and chick peas, rolled up over a potato curry or something with a coconut chutney (optional) smothered on the outside, accompanied with (or poured over the top) an onion soup like broth (the name of which escapes me at the moment. Cost: 1 1/2 rupees (well, that was in '81 which at the time equalled about 15 cents American). We tried to have 2 or 3 a day. I am certified South Indian food nut. I have spent years perfecting Idly (steamed cakes) masala dosas and Sambar, the soup you mentioned. Here are some details. The batter for Idly and dosa is a specific kind of rice (not basmati) and split Urid dhal. It has specific properties than make it work. Sambar is made of Tur dhal a larger split pea. The secret of great Sambar is roasting your whole
[FairfieldLife] random sphere
http://www.ncane.com/4rh
[FairfieldLife] Re: Junk foods of the world
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Sal Sunshine salsunsh...@... wrote: On Feb 9, 2009, at 9:13 AM, shempmcgurk wrote: So, what are YOUR favourite junk foods of the world? Spinach pies, you can buy them on any street corner in Athens. Sal Spanikopita. Love 'em. My father was Greek and he used to make them. My job was to clean up after him...well worth it to get the pies. There's also a Lebanese version of them that I like very much. And the Lebanese also do a version of the Greek Tiropita which is Spanikopita but with cheese.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Grist for the Rumor Mill
On Feb 9, 2009, at 11:31 AM, boo_lives wrote: To bring this back down a notch, the issue here for me is that in the tmo it is assumed that a diet high in wheat, dairy and sugar is ideal for everyone because ayur-ved and/or MMY says so, and unfortunately many people in the tmo who are gluten and lactose intolerant have a tough time and IMO, no one should eat much refined sugar or flour. The issue I think is the tmo's usual thinking that one size fits all or is universal truth because it's vedic. How vedic could white sugar be? A big awakening for a lot of sidhas when they realize that much of what mmy promotes is really just indian thinking not universal truth. It's probably not even that...it's probably more like MMY thinking. Is sugar a big part of the Indian diet outside of desserts? Sal
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Americans are waking up ..... finally
shempmcgurk wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitu noozg...@... wrote: Finally they are in the streets and protesting where it will do some good: at the mansions of the wealthy who caused the economic mess. http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Grab-Your-Torch-n-Pitchforks.html If we are all going to go down then take the wealthy with us. The Democratic Congress going back to Jimmy Carter caused this mess. And that includes their wealthy Democratic benefactors, especially the ones that ran Fanny and Freddy. It was regulation that caused this mess...and we can only hope that the free market will be used properly in order to solve this mess. Nonsense. Capitalism sucks. It only works when you have small populations. Under capitalism materialistic, immoral and criminal minds wind up hoarding the capital and trying to turn everyone else into slaves. Do you want to be a slave, Shemp? The government had a surplus at the end of the Clinton administration. Apparently Dubya thought that was his capital to spend and spend he did as well as borrow, borrow, borrow. This morning Thom Hartmann mentioned that a company, I think in China, set up a tour of California homes that are in foreclosure. They expected that maybe 40 or so people might be interested. Instead they got about 14,000 applicants and they had to shut down because they didn't have the staff to process that many. How's your Mandarin, Shemp?
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Grist for the Rumor Mill
On Mon, Feb 9, 2009 at 2:01 PM, ruthsimplicity no_re...@yahoogroups.com wrote: Fluffy stuff bad. One of the things I miss most from the East Coast (US) is rye bread. I loved going into the bakeries as a kid, had a choice of a dozen different kinds of ryes and whole breads. Picked on out, asked for it to be sliced. About the only thing that was white an fluffy as this magical bread served Easter time called babka. Babka looks a lot like challa only it's even more filled with egg yokes. Citron, white and dark raisins, an egg glaze on top and perhaps some sugar water that baked to become a bit of an icing, running here and there. Texas gets its bread tradition from the Czechs, the people who in West, Texas make 30 different varieties of kolaches, all baked into fluffy, gooey white bread. It's pretty disheartening to go to a manly Texas barbeque place and have the bread be the Texas tradition of Wonder bread. Why Wonder bread? Well, it was the poor people who ate the rye breads. The richer people got to eat things made out of white flour. So to show our wealth, we make everything out of white flour. There's a similar thing running through Tex-Mex. The traditional Mexican bread is of course corn tortillas. Flour tortillas, made with lard and white flour, are considerably more expensive. So of course Mexicans showed their wealth by eating flour tortillas. So now we have this massive weight problem amongst Mexicans who have settled in Texas which will probably soon be reported as metabolic syndrome and diabetes. When it comes to eating healthy, better to be poorer than richer.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Grist for the Rumor Mill
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, shempmcgurk shempmcg...@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, pranamoocher bhrma@ wrote: Could be all that healthy vegetarian dietary regiment these people have used over the last 30 years, along with tons of white sugar. Sooner or later, the body catches up to dietary deficiencies. My doctor told me: to avoid diabetes, stay away from white, fluffy stuff. (e.g. white bread, cakes, white rice, etc.) Exercise. Eat a low fat diet. Eat your fruit and veggies. Whole grains are good. Fluffy stuff bad.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Grist for the Rumor Mill
On Mon, Feb 9, 2009 at 2:09 PM, Sal Sunshine salsunsh...@lisco.com wrote: On Feb 9, 2009, at 11:31 AM, boo_lives wrote: To bring this back down a notch, the issue here for me is that in the tmo it is assumed that a diet high in wheat, dairy and sugar is ideal for everyone because ayur-ved and/or MMY says so, and unfortunately many people in the tmo who are gluten and lactose intolerant have a tough time and IMO, no one should eat much refined sugar or flour. The issue I think is the tmo's usual thinking that one size fits all or is universal truth because it's vedic. There's also this Indian belief that ghee one of the most valuable things on earth. Ghee is of course good for you. Except there are loads of ex-pat Indians from the West Indies to the US who have bad heart problems because of the ghee. Now get this. We asked many times about the ghee and sugar in Amrit. We were told that rock sugar has a special quality, making it OK for diabetics and ghee had a different quality than butter, making it OK for people with cholesterol/heart problems. IRRC there is now a low sugar, low fat Amrit available, finally.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Grist for the Rumor Mill
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, I am the eternal l.shad...@... wrote: There's also this Indian belief that ghee one of the most valuable things on earth. Ghee is of course good for you. Except there are loads of ex-pat Indians from the West Indies to the US who have bad heart problems because of the ghee. Now get this. We asked many times about the ghee and sugar in Amrit. We were told that rock sugar has a special quality, making it OK for diabetics and ghee had a different quality than butter, making it OK for people with cholesterol/heart problems. IRRC there is now a low sugar, low fat Amrit available, finally. Of course, ghee is 100% saturated fat and arguably worse than butter. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8910075 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2887943 . . .study investigated the hypothesis that ghee, a clarified butter product prized in Indian cooking, contains cholesterol oxides and could therefore be an important source of dietary exposure to cholesterol oxides and an explanation for the high atherosclerosis risk. Substantial amounts of cholesterol oxides were found in ghee (12.3% of sterols), but not in fresh butter, by thin-layer and high-performance-liquid chromatography. Dietary exposure to cholesterol oxides from ghee may offer a logical explanation for the high frequency of atherosclerotic complications in these Indian populations.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Americans are waking up ..... finally
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitu noozg...@... wrote: shempmcgurk wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitu noozguru@ wrote: Finally they are in the streets and protesting where it will do some good: at the mansions of the wealthy who caused the economic mess. http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Grab-Your-Torch-n- Pitchforks.html If we are all going to go down then take the wealthy with us. The Democratic Congress going back to Jimmy Carter caused this mess. And that includes their wealthy Democratic benefactors, especially the ones that ran Fanny and Freddy. It was regulation that caused this mess...and we can only hope that the free market will be used properly in order to solve this mess. Nonsense. Capitalism sucks. To paraphrase Winston Churchill: Capitalism is the worst system imaginable...except for every other system. It only works when you have small populations. It works with any size population but works best with bigger populations. That's why capitalism and free markets have done such wonderful things with globalization: you open markets up to a producer of goods who otherwise wouldn't have access to so many customers. He now gets the benefit of economies of scale. Under capitalism materialistic, immoral and criminal minds wind up hoarding the capital and trying to turn everyone else into slaves. Actually, the empirical evidence is that the opposite happens. Do you want to be a slave, Shemp? The government had a surplus at the end of the Clinton administration. Get your language right. The U.S. government has NEVER had a surplus since 1776. What Clinton had was a BUDGET surplus -- and kudos to him -- but he still had a national debt of many trillions of dollars. Apparently Dubya thought that was his capital to spend and spend he did as well as borrow, borrow, borrow. You're right there. This morning Thom Hartmann mentioned that a company, I think in China, set up a tour of California homes that are in foreclosure. They expected that maybe 40 or so people might be interested. Instead they got about 14,000 applicants and they had to shut down because they didn't have the staff to process that many. How's your Mandarin, Shemp? Unlike you, Bhairitu, I am totally unthreatened by the thought of industrious, hard-working, Chinese nationals coming to America and buying up foreclosed homes. That, to me, is the essense of globalization. Indeed, it is that type of international exchange of people and capital that will do the utmost to ensure peace (it's hard to go to war with someone you're doing business with!). Your policies have proven to promote war and isolation amongst nations. Your philosophy is one of fear, Bhairitu; capitalism and globalisation is one of welcoming, openness, non-fear of the other. And exchange of capital, labor, goods and services, and people...all things you are opposed to.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Junk foods of the world
shempmcgurk wrote: I suppose the most exotic place I've ever been (aside from certain parts of New Jersey) is India. And the most exotic street foods (or junk foods) I saw and tasted while there were Masala Dosa and Onion Bhajis. The Masala Dosa was incredible. A southern Indian dish, I was exposed to it while in northern India, in Kashmir while on a one- month TM course there in '81. It's a crepe-type pancake made from a flour of ground-up rice and chick peas, rolled up over a potato curry or something with a coconut chutney (optional) smothered on the outside, accompanied with (or poured over the top) an onion soup like broth (the name of which escapes me at the moment. Cost: 1 1/2 rupees (well, that was in '81 which at the time equalled about 15 cents American). We tried to have 2 or 3 a day. The Onion Bhajis used to be piled high in those stalls that are found one after the other in a marketplace. Love 'em. Fried food at its best. Onions in what I assume is a gram flour (chick pea flour) that is deep-fried. Mmm Campbell Soup Good! Locally here in Arizona they have Indian Fry Bread which, when done properly, is delicious. It appears to be bread dough deep-fried. That's it. Back in Canada they used to call it Beaver Ears or something like that. And in Quebec they have Poutine, which is French Fries with curd cheese and gravy poured over the top. So, what are YOUR favourite junk foods of the world? I wouldn't necessarily call masala dosas junk food. They are a fairly balanced. The best I had was at the Holiday Inn at Jahu Beach in Bombay. It's a breakfast item and when traveling southern India I would sometimes have masala dosha breakfasts complete with idlis and the sambar soup. Since I am pitta predominant much of the Indian food was too spicy but that breakfast which usually comes with a coconut chutney was balancing. Locally, I used to go to the Swagat Restaurant in Concord which is run by some folks from southern India have the masala dosha breakfast usually on Sundays for brunch. They do them well but all their cooking is good anyway. There was a little hole-in-the-wall place across the street from the Swagat in the theater complex that did Tandoori Chicken sandwiches which were wonderful. Apparently a big hit over in the San Pablo area but never caught on so they lasted a little more than a year. My guru has an apartment next to a little shopping center where the main Indian bakery/confection supplier for the area is located. They have display counter (they also have a restaurant) where you can get all sorts of fresh deserts and chat (Indian snacks). As for actual junk food I have always like Chili and Cheese Fritos until lately as they for some reason instead of the original simple ingredients mucked them up adding MSG. Trader Joes has their organic Frito like chips which suspiciously have a similar package to the Lay's variety. In fact I told one of the clerks that I would bet Frito makes them for Trader Joe's for if you know about food vendors big companies like Lays will do products for other companies in between their runs. There is a big Budweiser bottling plant north of me and a friend who was interested in launching a brand of bottled herbal teas took a tour because they bottle those for companies when they aren't bottling beer.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Grist for the Rumor Mill
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, I am the eternal l.shad...@... wrote: On Mon, Feb 9, 2009 at 2:01 PM, ruthsimplicity no_re...@yahoogroups.com wrote: Fluffy stuff bad. One of the things I miss most from the East Coast (US) is rye bread. I loved going into the bakeries as a kid, had a choice of a dozen different kinds of ryes and whole breads. Picked on out, asked for it to be sliced. About the only thing that was white an fluffy as this magical bread served Easter time called babka. Babka looks a lot like challa only it's even more filled with egg yokes. Citron, white and dark raisins, an egg glaze on top and perhaps some sugar water that baked to become a bit of an icing, running here and there. Texas gets its bread tradition from the Czechs, the people who in West, Texas make 30 different varieties of kolaches, all baked into fluffy, gooey white bread. It's pretty disheartening to go to a manly Texas barbeque place and have the bread be the Texas tradition of Wonder bread. Why Wonder bread? Well, it was the poor people who ate the rye breads. The richer people got to eat things made out of white flour. So to show our wealth, we make everything out of white flour. There's a similar thing running through Tex-Mex. The traditional Mexican bread is of course corn tortillas. Flour tortillas, made with lard and white flour, are considerably more expensive. So of course Mexicans showed their wealth by eating flour tortillas. So now we have this massive weight problem amongst Mexicans who have settled in Texas which will probably soon be reported as metabolic syndrome and diabetes. When it comes to eating healthy, better to be poorer than richer. I saw this phenomenon when I went to a 3-day seminar in Harlingen, Texas a few years ago. Everyone wasn't fat...they were OBESE. On two separate occasions -- without any prompting from me -- when I mentioned to people that I had been to Harlingen, Texas, they immediately mentioned the fatties there! Harlingen is on the border with Mexico.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Junk foods of the world
On Mon, Feb 9, 2009 at 2:09 PM, shempmcgurk shempmcg...@netscape.net wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Sal Sunshine salsunsh...@... Spinach pies, you can buy them on any street corner in Athens. Sal I've had spinish pies about almost anywhere you could imagine. They are best at what used to be Bonnie's Fried Chicken in Fairfield (2nd Street Cafe). Bonnie knows how to cook or who to buy from. Best falafel? Tel Aviv, hands down.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Americans are waking up ..... finally
Bhairitu wrote: Finally they are in the streets and protesting where it will do some good: at the mansions of the wealthy who caused the economic mess. http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Grab-Your-Torch-n-Pitchforks.html If we are all going to go down then take the wealthy with us. Dude, You are so close to espousing anarchy in so many posts. Take care -- they still have those interment camps waiting, right? I think the operative concept is disgorgement. To me, anyone who made a ton of bucks on the FannyFreds should be made to give back the money, and I don't care if it ruins family fortunes or whatever. I think that any stockbroker should know -- just from passing his Series 7 Federal test -- that the structure of those investments was obviously unsound. I think they all just sold, sold, sold, and took the commissions knowing that by the time the ruse was figured out by the masses, they'd have already gotten their yachts outta the deal. I say sell their damned boats and bill them for whatever shortfall they still owe America after these pleasure barges are sold at auction. And if that means putting Bush on the street and taking all his worldly goods and shaming him with national condemnation, so be it. The fucker killed a million folks outright, and allowed the starving of the third world to kill millions of others. Bankruptcy is too good for him, but it's a start. Your lynch mobbish emotions are understandable, but, hey, financial and social ruin -- if complete -- would be so unbearable for Bush that he'd kill himself for us. And, besides, I just don't get that you'd noose-up anyone -- you have a soft heart -- sorry, dude, you're not a badass. I hear you crying yourself to sleep about the plight of the masses. Let's get all the fat cats puking their profits out, and then see if that's not enough for our sense of justice. Edg
[FairfieldLife] Re: Junk foods of the world
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitu noozg...@... wrote: [snip] My guru has an apartment next to a little shopping center where the [snip] Tell you what, Bhairitu. I challenge you to go to your guru and ask him who is right on the question of capitalism and globalization: me or you. I'll bet you a dollar to a donut that you guru will bust your boundaries by telling you that he agrees with me. Care to take that challenge?
[FairfieldLife] Re: Junk foods of the world
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, shempmcgurk shempmcg...@... Like sushi, I believe that eating oysters as you describe above is a very primordial thing: it brings us back to our oceanic roots! Yes it is the rawness that is the magic! High grade sushi has it too. It makes me feel as if I am suddenly tasting in 3-D. I am so jealous of your Malpeque oysters in abundance story! Malpeque is one of my favorite types. The clean cold water is the key I believe. Our local Chesapeake Bay oysters are not good raw. Here is another tale of raw food. Devoted vegetarians and real Hindus please read no further... I was watching Anthony Bourdain's travel eating show a few weeks ago and he came to DC. He ended up at an Ethiopian place I had never heard of to eat raw grass fed beef in their traditional style. I just ate there for the first time last week. We're talking beef sushi! I love Ethiopian Injeera bread. They served my friend and me thumb sized pieces of meat with yellow fat (indicates their grass diet) as well as a tartar of ground raw meat mixed with their version of ghee and fresh paneer like cheese. You grabbed a piece with a section of injeera and dipped it into the typical Ethiopian spice mix. It was a revelation. Corn fed beef sucks! This was tender and had a wonderful flavor. Of course being the obsessive that I am I had spent the previous night researching all the parasites you can get from raw meat, but the guy convinced me that he has two sources he trusts to test the meat so the risk is minimized. Here is the place; http://tinyurl.com/aoodb2 He took me into the kitchen and the walk-in just like he did on the show for Tony, and it was like a scene out of Rocky! A temple of hanging meat. He sells a ton of it since Ethiopians love this traditional food. Raw rocks! I had been drifting towards a cooking style of searing the outside of a think prime aged Ribeye from Whole Foods and leaving the middle raw. Now I know what I had been dreaming of. Great food rap! A case of oyster! Man, that's living. Back in Canada my Dad and I used to buy a case of Malpeque oysters (P.E.I. and New Brunswick) every season and, for a week, pig out on 'em. We'd basically stand over the sink in the kitchen and get into a routine of shucking, lemon, and red sauce and eat 'em standing up. 3 or 4 dozen each at a time. But, as you indicate, the brine is the essential part. And to a lesser degree, the lemon and the seafood sauce. A friend of mine -- who had never had oysters before but had heard me rave about them -- called me from his cell phone in Manhatten a few months ago announcing to me that he was on a street that had an oyster bar. And I encouraged him to go in and invest $15.00 for a dozen (or whatever they now cost). And he did. But I forgot to tell him HOW to eat 'em, assuming that everyone knew. And it ruined the experience for him because he told me he couldn't stand them (and this is a fellow sushi eater, so it wasn't the raw or squeamish factor that turned him off). Upon questioning him, I soon discovered what the problem was: he had no idea how to eat them (i.e., he didn't know there WAS a particular way to eat them) and what he did was stick his fork into the oyster while it was sitting in the shell, shaking it gently to remove the brine, and then sticking it into his mouth. Of course, that would ruin the experience for anyone: no brine, no lemon, no seafood sauce. I tried to tell him that he would have to go with me the next time so I could tell him how to eat an oyster properly but I think he's unconvinced and I think that's it for him for this lifetime as regards ever eating oysters again! wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, curtisdeltablues curtisdeltablues@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend jstein@ wrote: That was interesting. It makes sense that a place that would serve the whole more expensive tiny clams would be much better then a place that buys the cheaper bigger ones. I'm pretty sure there is nothing to remove from a clam, you just shuck them and eat the whole thing. One of the most transcendent foods for me is raw oysters from Northern cold waters. I was reminded by your description of the oceany, briny clam bellies. It is like tasting the ocean complete with some filtered ocean water, especially if you shuck them yourself. Only certain cheeses have that same ability to transport me into such a subtle flavor complexity. It is food poetry that captures the whole ocean in one bite. I know it grosses many people out, but for me it is as close to a spiritual connection with the ocean as I can get. A great read on the history of oysters and NYC is Kurlansky's The Big Oyster, History on the Half Shell. http://www.amazon.com/Big-Oyster-History-Half-Shell/dp/0345476387 Curtis: Like sushi, I believe
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Grist for the Rumor Mill
On Mon, Feb 9, 2009 at 2:35 PM, shempmcgurk shempmcg...@netscape.net wrote: Harlingen is on the border with Mexico. Yes. One of the way far down south borders. It, like McAllen, are favored by snow birds. I have friends who grew up in the area and tell of how the school cafeterias allowed senior citizens to come in for lunch. A very refreshing thing about going across the border there is that you are not assaulted by border town. No taxi drivers wanting to take you to see the donkey. I'm not even sure if the border towns that far south have boys towns or not. If they do, they're probably only Mexican and not built out for tourists. For those who aren't familiar with Mexican boys towns, they have nothing to do with Father Flannagan.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Grist for the Rumor Mill
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, ruthsimplicity no_re...@... Of course, ghee is 100% saturated fat and arguably worse than butter. I love ghee and always make some for my kitchen, although I use the virtuous olive and canola oils more. Some things fried in ghee are really divine. Northern Indians eat a lot of ghee but in the South they use a lot of coconut oil and mustard oils. I am heavily influenced by this book: Fat: An Appreciation of a Misunderstood Ingredient, With Recipes http://www.amazon.com/Fat-Appreciation-Misunderstood-Ingredient-Recipes/dp/1580089356 http://tinyurl.com/4zo5hr She includes some interesting new medical views on what she considers to be our unjustified fear of animal fats. wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, I am the eternal L.Shaddai@ wrote: There's also this Indian belief that ghee one of the most valuable things on earth. Ghee is of course good for you. Except there are loads of ex-pat Indians from the West Indies to the US who have bad heart problems because of the ghee. Now get this. We asked many times about the ghee and sugar in Amrit. We were told that rock sugar has a special quality, making it OK for diabetics and ghee had a different quality than butter, making it OK for people with cholesterol/heart problems. IRRC there is now a low sugar, low fat Amrit available, finally. Of course, ghee is 100% saturated fat and arguably worse than butter. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8910075 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2887943 . . .study investigated the hypothesis that ghee, a clarified butter product prized in Indian cooking, contains cholesterol oxides and could therefore be an important source of dietary exposure to cholesterol oxides and an explanation for the high atherosclerosis risk. Substantial amounts of cholesterol oxides were found in ghee (12.3% of sterols), but not in fresh butter, by thin-layer and high-performance-liquid chromatography. Dietary exposure to cholesterol oxides from ghee may offer a logical explanation for the high frequency of atherosclerotic complications in these Indian populations.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Junk foods of the world
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, shempmcgurk shempmcg...@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj vajradhatu@ wrote: On Feb 9, 2009, at 1:06 PM, shempmcgurk wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj vajradhatu@ wrote: On Feb 9, 2009, at 10:13 AM, shempmcgurk wrote: I was exposed to it while in northern India, in Kashmir while on a one- month TM course there in '81. Did you get to meet Lakshman Joo? Impressions? I like gulab-jamins. Donut-balls in cardamom syrup. Love 'em. I too appreciate your desire to replicate various favorite delicacies, as I am a forensic chef: I find meals I love and then work painstakingly to reproduce them to share that same Zen moment with friends and family. My area of expertise is Indian food, Thai food and Chinese, although I do make some French and Italian dishes. Soups are my winter fad, with chicken corn soup (very easy to make) being the new item this last weekend. ...love that term forensic chef! Never heard it before. But I understand what it means. And I wish I could put your skills to work here in the Phoenix area. I'm not a big red meat eater but about 2 or 3 times a year when I have the urge, I indulge. My desire is to be vegetarian, which I am for the most part, but I also believe that if I have the overbearing urge for meat that it's healthier to indulge rather than to deny. Anyway, a few times a year I'll go and have a slow-roasted beef short ribs dish at a restaurant in Scottsdale. $31.00 a plate...and worth every cent. I've pretty much got down how to cook the ribs but its the brandy/cherry reduction sauce that's got me baffled...and that's at least half the wonderfulness of the dish. I can't tell you have many times and how much money I've spent experimenting trying to recreate the sauce. I should hire you out to come here and replicate the recipe! I can relate to this Shemp. Most of the time I have no desire at all for red meat, preferring large salads that I throw anything that looks good into. Lately I've been on a soup binge making various concoctions with no rhyme of reason other than that they taste good to me and my wife. However, several times during the course of a year, I'll have the real urge to have anything from a Kobe beef cheeseburger (Lucky Devils in LA is the best place for that!) to your short ribs to a nice rib eye steak. When I feel the urge, I want to satisfy it with something worthy! The urge for a good Belgium Trappist ale like Chimay or Westmalle seems to be there throughout the year.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Junk foods of the world
shempmcgurk wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitu noozg...@... wrote: [snip] My guru has an apartment next to a little shopping center where the [snip] Tell you what, Bhairitu. I challenge you to go to your guru and ask him who is right on the question of capitalism and globalization: me or you. I'll bet you a dollar to a donut that you guru will bust your boundaries by telling you that he agrees with me. Care to take that challenge? Discussed it with him many times. He doesn't agree with you at all. He's seen too many greedy people in the world and too many oppressed people. In fact he has some billionaires and millionaires as clients. They sometimes get in trouble and ask for a fix but he makes sure they still have to deal with their karma.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Junk foods of the world
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, shempmcgurk shempmcg...@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj vajradhatu@ wrote: On Feb 9, 2009, at 1:06 PM, shempmcgurk wrote: I've pretty much got down how to cook the ribs but its the brandy/cherry reduction sauce that's got me baffled...and that's at least half the wonderfulness of the dish. I can't tell you have many times and how much money I've spent experimenting trying to recreate the sauce. I'll bet it is veal bone stock. When you make stocks the old school way they are magical and add a depth of flavor that cannot be approximated without them. If don't want to make it yourself Williams Sonoma has a high end version. I haven't tried it since I love making stocks. I freeze small containers and it takes any soup to the next level. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj vajradhatu@ wrote: On Feb 9, 2009, at 10:13 AM, shempmcgurk wrote: I was exposed to it while in northern India, in Kashmir while on a one- month TM course there in '81. Did you get to meet Lakshman Joo? Impressions? I like gulab-jamins. Donut-balls in cardamom syrup. Love 'em. I too appreciate your desire to replicate various favorite delicacies, as I am a forensic chef: I find meals I love and then work painstakingly to reproduce them to share that same Zen moment with friends and family. My area of expertise is Indian food, Thai food and Chinese, although I do make some French and Italian dishes. Soups are my winter fad, with chicken corn soup (very easy to make) being the new item this last weekend. ...love that term forensic chef! Never heard it before. But I understand what it means. And I wish I could put your skills to work here in the Phoenix area. I'm not a big red meat eater but about 2 or 3 times a year when I have the urge, I indulge. My desire is to be vegetarian, which I am for the most part, but I also believe that if I have the overbearing urge for meat that it's healthier to indulge rather than to deny. Anyway, a few times a year I'll go and have a slow-roasted beef short ribs dish at a restaurant in Scottsdale. $31.00 a plate...and worth every cent. I've pretty much got down how to cook the ribs but its the brandy/cherry reduction sauce that's got me baffled...and that's at least half the wonderfulness of the dish. I can't tell you have many times and how much money I've spent experimenting trying to recreate the sauce. I should hire you out to come here and replicate the recipe!
[FairfieldLife] Re: Grist for the Rumor Mill
i have heard, and experienced myself, that when our bodies don't get enough protein, they crave sugar instead. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Sal Sunshine salsunsh...@... wrote: On Feb 9, 2009, at 11:31 AM, boo_lives wrote: To bring this back down a notch, the issue here for me is that in the tmo it is assumed that a diet high in wheat, dairy and sugar is ideal for everyone because ayur-ved and/or MMY says so, and unfortunately many people in the tmo who are gluten and lactose intolerant have a tough time and IMO, no one should eat much refined sugar or flour. The issue I think is the tmo's usual thinking that one size fits all or is universal truth because it's vedic. How vedic could white sugar be? A big awakening for a lot of sidhas when they realize that much of what mmy promotes is really just indian thinking not universal truth. It's probably not even that...it's probably more like MMY thinking. Is sugar a big part of the Indian diet outside of desserts? Sal
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Americans are waking up ..... finally
Duveyoung wrote: Bhairitu wrote: Finally they are in the streets and protesting where it will do some good: at the mansions of the wealthy who caused the economic mess. http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Grab-Your-Torch-n-Pitchforks.html If we are all going to go down then take the wealthy with us. Dude, You are so close to espousing anarchy in so many posts. Take care -- they still have those interment camps waiting, right? I think the operative concept is disgorgement. To me, anyone who made a ton of bucks on the FannyFreds should be made to give back the money, and I don't care if it ruins family fortunes or whatever. I think that any stockbroker should know -- just from passing his Series 7 Federal test -- that the structure of those investments was obviously unsound. I think they all just sold, sold, sold, and took the commissions knowing that by the time the ruse was figured out by the masses, they'd have already gotten their yachts outta the deal. I say sell their damned boats and bill them for whatever shortfall they still owe America after these pleasure barges are sold at auction. And if that means putting Bush on the street and taking all his worldly goods and shaming him with national condemnation, so be it. The fucker killed a million folks outright, and allowed the starving of the third world to kill millions of others. Bankruptcy is too good for him, but it's a start. Your lynch mobbish emotions are understandable, but, hey, financial and social ruin -- if complete -- would be so unbearable for Bush that he'd kill himself for us. And, besides, I just don't get that you'd noose-up anyone -- you have a soft heart -- sorry, dude, you're not a badass. I hear you crying yourself to sleep about the plight of the masses. Let's get all the fat cats puking their profits out, and then see if that's not enough for our sense of justice. Edg I thought we lived in a country where there is free speech? I live in a universe where there is free speech and and consider myself a citizen of it. Screw the petty boundaries. And of course a government should be more afraid of it's citizens than the citizens afraid of their government. Americans are too soft and apathetic. A few riots in the streets like they're having in Greece, Iceland, France, Spain and Portugal would say who's boss. People are so afraid of losing their jobs if they are activists. But what happens if they already have lost their jobs and no new ones in sight? They have nothing to lose. And who is going to throw you in jail if the funding runs out to pay the jailers? That is happening too. And no less than my Senator Diane Feinstein (who I don't always agree with) said back during the bailout debates in Congress that we ought to send the CEO's of these companies out on their yachts and set them on fire. She's not in Gitmo yet. Yup, I'm often for erasing the blackboard and starting over. But it's a tug-a-war and sometimes you have to take extreme positions to pull things a little more to a reasonable state. And I don't ever say I'm going to do these things but couch them as critiques, predictions and comments. You can't jail anyone for that. I listen to radio commentators all day saying much the same things and they have magnitudes more visibility than little ol' me on a little ol' Yahoo Group a few people read. Want to make a statement then try Newsvine which has magnitudes more readers. As an aside I was watching Road Warrior last night on HD-DVD (only $5 at Fry's). Some folks are saying we are headed for a Road Warrior society but I think it is a bad comparison. That film is essentially a 95 minute demolition derby obviously targeted for that kind of audience. The first Mad Max film actually said something. We never got aging punksters because they grew up and had families just as many who were hippies in the 60's did the same. And hilariously a slacker rebellion would be rather less audacious than what so many apocalyptic films portray (again so many of them are targeted for the NASCAR crowd). I've been thinking about writing a story set in a world where the Chinese are taking over houses here and folks are living on poor farms. More likely it would look like a run down third world country. But that might also mean folks might actually be more human and social than they are now.
[FairfieldLife] What is the nature of attachment? (Re: All of Patanjali's 8 limbs )
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, curtisdeltablues curtisdeltabl...@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend jstein@ wrote: snip It's not that type of identity I'm talking about. It's not vanity or preoccupation with the body. Identification occurs with human development. Identification isn't an overt craving of the body, but a seamless identification that identifies your body as separate from all other bodies. Curtis, this description of the nature of identification, as the term is used in enlightenment teaching, is an exceedingly rare instance of near-total agreement between Vaj and me. That alone should lead you to sit up and take notice! (I'm referring here just to the definition, not the meaning, which is a whole 'nother question.) It sounds like a positive aspect of our natural development and not anything that needs fixing to me. It doesn't need fixing. You're buying into Barry's bilious propaganda. In any case, all I want to do is get you to understand what spiritual teachers mean by identification. I think I've made a start if I've gotten you to switch from thinking it's severe mental deficiency to a positive aspect of our natural development! If the idea of not being identified doesn't grab you, fine with me, but at least you'll know what it is you don't want to be without. Check out Peter's post; he makes some great additional points to clear up the confusion. megasnip Is this idea of attachments useful to you personally? The *idea* isn't. The *experience* of being without attachment, as I said, is for me blissful and tremendously liberating and empowering.
[FairfieldLife] Catholic Church resumes offering indulgences
For Catholics, Heaven Moves a Step Closer (from today's NY Times) The announcement in church bulletins and on Web sites has been greeted with enthusiasm by some and wariness by others. But mainly, it has gone over the heads of a vast generation of Roman Catholics who have no idea what it means: Bishop Announces Plenary Indulgences. In recent months, dioceses around the world have been offering Catholics a spiritual benefit that fell out of favor decades ago the indulgence, a sort of amnesty from punishment in the afterlife and reminding them of the church's clout in mitigating the wages of sin. The fact that many Catholics under 50 have never sought one, and never heard of indulgences except in high school European history (where Martin Luther denounces the selling of them in 1517 and ignites the Protestant Reformation) simply makes their reintroduction more urgent among church leaders bent on restoring fading traditions of penance in what they see as a self-satisfied world. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/10/nyregion/10indulgence.html?_r=1hp This took me by surprise. Sin, karma, the concept of ritual amoral (ethically neutral) acts as antidote for immoral acts. Intercession by the priestly class on behalf of the laity. If we were playing Jeopardy, the question might be what is a yagya? The parallels are intriguing to say the least. Sometimes we see less flattering aspects of ourselves more easily through analogy.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: A Pretty Great Short Video
TurquoiseB wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, enlightened_dawn11 no_re...@... wrote: great find-- i recognized awhile ago while shooting video that it is very hard to duplicate all of the dolly effects used in professional cinematography. these guys came up with a cool solution. Just as a couple of hints, Dawn, For dollies, a borrowed supermarket shopping cart works fine. And if you're serious about wanting to create non-shaky video, you can grow your own Steadicam for under $20. All it takes is a harness to attach the thing to your body (an old kid's backpack will do, worn backwards), a ball joint that allows free movement to anything attached to it in all directions (which I found at an electronics/hardware junk store for $5), and then solder/weld two pieces of metal to opposite ends of the ball joint. On one end, you weld an old tripod adapter to hold the camera. On the other, you place enough weight to exactly equal the weight of the camera. Voila. Instant Steadicam. As you move around, the ball joint allows the balancing weight to keep the camera in a steady, upright position, without camera shake. Or, since you're a gal and possibly don't have access to tools and all that brilliant (and humble) Do It Yourself knowledge that guys are born with :-), you can just buy one of these things pre-made from a catalog. Steadicams rock, especially when you figure out how simple the mechanisms are that make it work (Duh...gravity and inertia), and wonder at how long it took for someone to figure it out and turn it into an Oscar-winning invention. In many cases just taking a small tripod folded up which many people have an holding the legs will work as a steadicam. I made the $14 one but using my small tripod that way worked better. I thought I was nuts but then a professional cinematographer put some Canon HV20 24fps footage up on his website and when asked about the steadicam he had used a small tripod as I do. Shopping carts, kid's wagons, skateboards, wheelchairs (often used by the low budget filmmakers) are all solutions for dolly replacements. That's why I like to rent the z-movies at Hollywood Videos because some are gems and the commentaries and making-ofs expose those tricks. And speaking of low-budget films that Irish film about the two young songwriters which got an Oscar was all shot with $3500 Panasonic HDV cameras. And you wouldn't have known it. In fact the folks that filmed Cloverfield originally used one of those cameras just to create some concept footage but thought the result was good enough that they used it where the much larger Sony F900 and Thomson Viper wouldn't work.
[FairfieldLife] What is the nature of attachment? (Re: All of Patanjali's 8 limbs )
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend jst...@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, curtisdeltablues curtisdeltablues@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend jstein@ wrote: snip It's not that type of identity I'm talking about. It's not vanity or preoccupation with the body. Identification occurs with human development. Identification isn't an overt craving of the body, but a seamless identification that identifies your body as separate from all other bodies. Curtis, this description of the nature of identification, as the term is used in enlightenment teaching, is an exceedingly rare instance of near-total agreement between Vaj and me. That alone should lead you to sit up and take notice! (I'm referring here just to the definition, not the meaning, which is a whole 'nother question.) It sounds like a positive aspect of our natural development and not anything that needs fixing to me. It doesn't need fixing. You're buying into Barry's bilious propaganda. In any case, all I want to do is get you to understand what spiritual teachers mean by identification. I think I've made a start if I've gotten you to switch from thinking it's severe mental deficiency to a positive aspect of our natural development! If the idea of not being identified doesn't grab you, fine with me, but at least you'll know what it is you don't want to be without. Check out Peter's post; he makes some great additional points to clear up the confusion. megasnip Is this idea of attachments useful to you personally? The *idea* isn't. The *experience* of being without attachment, as I said, is for me blissful and tremendously liberating and empowering. That's right Curtis! Don't be buying into Barry's bilious propaganda! Let all-seeing, all-knowing Judy straighten you out boy! By her own account, she's liberated and blissfully without attachment. (Funny though, her Barry fixation sure sounds like attachment.)
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Grist for the Rumor Mill
On Feb 9, 2009, at 2:30 PM, ruthsimplicity wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, I am the eternal l.shad...@... wrote: There's also this Indian belief that ghee one of the most valuable things on earth. Ghee is of course good for you. Except there are loads of ex-pat Indians from the West Indies to the US who have bad heart problems because of the ghee. Now get this. We asked many times about the ghee and sugar in Amrit. We were told that rock sugar has a special quality, making it OK for diabetics and ghee had a different quality than butter, making it OK for people with cholesterol/heart problems. IRRC there is now a low sugar, low fat Amrit available, finally. Of course, ghee is 100% saturated fat and arguably worse than butter. That's what I was thinking...it doesn't even taste good and looks awful. Sal
[FairfieldLife] Re: Junk foods of the world
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, curtisdeltablues curtisdeltabl...@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend jstein@ wrote: That was interesting. It makes sense that a place that would serve the whole more expensive tiny clams would be much better then a place that buys the cheaper bigger ones. Well, they get them right from the latest catch. The place is owned by local fishermen, so no middleman. The place has a counter as well where they sell fresh fish. This is a *tiny* place, maybe four small tables. Most of their fried-clam business is takeout. I'm pretty sure there is nothing to remove from a clam, you just shuck them and eat the whole thing. Couldn't tell you. I suspect when you fry them, you need to at least wash out the sand. The first raw shellfish I ever had was clams, about 35 years ago in Baltimore, at a stand-up bar in that big open market; don't know if it's still in existence. As you say, the guys behind the counter just opened the clams and threw them on the plate and handed it to you. The place didn't look any too clean, either. So I was a bit dubious at first--but oh, God, they were good! Those would have been right out of the water as well. One of the most transcendent foods for me is raw oysters from Northern cold waters. Love them too; prefer them to raw clams, but it's close. And my mother used to make an oyster fry that was incredible. Unfortunately, there are no local places near me that specialize in fresh seafood, which is weird considering I'm right on the Jersey shore. But Long Branch isn't really a fishing town per se; those are more southerly, I think. There are always guys fishing on the beach, though. Next summer I'm going to try to get friendly with some of 'em, see if they'll sell me some of what they catch. I was reminded by your description of the oceany, briny clam bellies. It is like tasting the ocean complete with some filtered ocean water sigh Yes. Just intoxicating.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Americans are waking up ..... finally
On Feb 9, 2009, at 3:32 PM, Bhairitu wrote: As an aside I was watching Road Warrior last night on HD-DVD (only $5 at Fry's). Some folks are saying we are headed for a Road Warrior society Are you sure they didn't mean a Road Runner society? but I think it is a bad comparison. That film is essentially a 95 minute demolition derby obviously targeted for that kind of audience. Sal
Re: [FairfieldLife] What is the nature of attachment? (Re: All of Patanjali's 8 limbs )
On Feb 9, 2009, at 3:59 PM, geezerfreak wrote: It doesn't need fixing. You're buying into Barry's bilious propaganda. In any case, all I want to do is get you to understand what spiritual teachers mean by identification. I think I've made a start if I've gotten you to switch from thinking it's severe mental deficiency to a positive aspect of our natural development! If the idea of not being identified doesn't grab you, fine with me, but at least you'll know what it is you don't want to be without. Check out Peter's post; he makes some great additional points to clear up the confusion. megasnip Is this idea of attachments useful to you personally? The *idea* isn't. The *experience* of being without attachment, as I said, is for me blissful and tremendously liberating and empowering. That's right Curtis! Don't be buying into Barry's bilious propaganda! Let all-seeing, all-knowing Judy straighten you out boy! By her own account, she's liberated and blissfully without attachment. (Funny though, her Barry fixation sure sounds like attachment.) I also love that anybody that doesn't agree with her is confused, just doesn't understand and is buying into propaganda, and bilious propaganda at that. How insidious is that? :) Sal
[FairfieldLife] What is the nature of attachment? (Re: All of Patanjali's 8 limbs )
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, geezerfreak geezerfr...@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend jstein@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, curtisdeltablues curtisdeltablues@ wrote: snip It sounds like a positive aspect of our natural development and not anything that needs fixing to me. It doesn't need fixing. You're buying into Barry's bilious propaganda. snip That's right Curtis! Don't be buying into Barry's bilious propaganda! Geeze is rightly scornful. You *should* buy into it, even though it's wrong. Let all-seeing, all-knowing Judy straighten you out boy! By her own account, she's liberated and blissfully without attachment. Uh, no. As I made clear in another post, I've had *experiences* of it only. Try to stay caught up, Geeze, and you won't get so confused.
[FairfieldLife] What is the nature of attachment? (Re: All of Patanjali's 8 limbs )
-RightJudy is talking about a structural property. If we examine the content of attachment rather than as a structure, it seems that Enlightened people are as attached as everybody else. (examine their sex lives). Thus, binding attachments seem to be ubiquitous. A larger bundle of relationships would be internet-like Connectedness (one of the main tenents of Buddhism). In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, geezerfreak geezerfr...@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend jstein@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, curtisdeltablues curtisdeltablues@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend jstein@ wrote: snip It's not that type of identity I'm talking about. It's not vanity or preoccupation with the body. Identification occurs with human development. Identification isn't an overt craving of the body, but a seamless identification that identifies your body as separate from all other bodies. Curtis, this description of the nature of identification, as the term is used in enlightenment teaching, is an exceedingly rare instance of near-total agreement between Vaj and me. That alone should lead you to sit up and take notice! (I'm referring here just to the definition, not the meaning, which is a whole 'nother question.) It sounds like a positive aspect of our natural development and not anything that needs fixing to me. It doesn't need fixing. You're buying into Barry's bilious propaganda. In any case, all I want to do is get you to understand what spiritual teachers mean by identification. I think I've made a start if I've gotten you to switch from thinking it's severe mental deficiency to a positive aspect of our natural development! If the idea of not being identified doesn't grab you, fine with me, but at least you'll know what it is you don't want to be without. Check out Peter's post; he makes some great additional points to clear up the confusion. megasnip Is this idea of attachments useful to you personally? The *idea* isn't. The *experience* of being without attachment, as I said, is for me blissful and tremendously liberating and empowering. That's right Curtis! Don't be buying into Barry's bilious propaganda! Let all-seeing, all-knowing Judy straighten you out boy! By her own account, she's liberated and blissfully without attachment. (Funny though, her Barry fixation sure sounds like attachment.)
[FairfieldLife] What is the nature of attachment? (Re: All of Patanjali's 8 limbs )
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, geezerfreak geezerfr...@... wrote: That's right Curtis! Don't be buying into Barry's bilious propaganda! Since I actually started this angle of re-examination of yoga terms I believe it must have been Barry who was buying into MY bilious propaganda! I want credit for my contributions to the cause of deluding the ignorant and diverting them from yoga induced freedom! --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend jstein@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, curtisdeltablues curtisdeltablues@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend jstein@ wrote: snip It's not that type of identity I'm talking about. It's not vanity or preoccupation with the body. Identification occurs with human development. Identification isn't an overt craving of the body, but a seamless identification that identifies your body as separate from all other bodies. Curtis, this description of the nature of identification, as the term is used in enlightenment teaching, is an exceedingly rare instance of near-total agreement between Vaj and me. That alone should lead you to sit up and take notice! (I'm referring here just to the definition, not the meaning, which is a whole 'nother question.) It sounds like a positive aspect of our natural development and not anything that needs fixing to me. It doesn't need fixing. You're buying into Barry's bilious propaganda. In any case, all I want to do is get you to understand what spiritual teachers mean by identification. I think I've made a start if I've gotten you to switch from thinking it's severe mental deficiency to a positive aspect of our natural development! If the idea of not being identified doesn't grab you, fine with me, but at least you'll know what it is you don't want to be without. Check out Peter's post; he makes some great additional points to clear up the confusion. megasnip Is this idea of attachments useful to you personally? The *idea* isn't. The *experience* of being without attachment, as I said, is for me blissful and tremendously liberating and empowering. That's right Curtis! Don't be buying into Barry's bilious propaganda! Let all-seeing, all-knowing Judy straighten you out boy! By her own account, she's liberated and blissfully without attachment. (Funny though, her Barry fixation sure sounds like attachment.)
[FairfieldLife] What is the nature of attachment? (Re: All of Patanjali's 8 limbs )
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend jst...@... wrote: snip It sounds like a positive aspect of our natural development and not anything that needs fixing to me. It doesn't need fixing. You're buying into Barry's bilious propaganda. What I wrote has nothing to do with what Barry has written. I was the one who started this angle on the yoga system and its value. If you believe that you are somehow attached to the objects of perception and this is not the best relationship to have with them then it is a problem that gets fixed by yoga practice. You are expressing a hierarchy of human awareness with one state as higher than another. The term for being attached to the objects of perception is life in ignorance. So it is not the result of anything bilious to say it needs fixing. In any case, all I want to do is get you to understand what spiritual teachers mean by identification. I think I've made a start if I've gotten you to switch from thinking it's severe mental deficiency to a positive aspect of our natural development! I don't think you are understanding my point and are using the phrase severe mental deficiency out of my original context. I understand what spiritual teachers claim about identification. I am looking at it differently now. I am not trying to step into that POV, I am stepping out of it. To you it seems as though I don't understand it because I am changing the concept to fit my own experience now. I don't think you are aware of the many beliefs necessary to interpret your experience the way you are. If the idea of not being identified doesn't grab you, fine with me, but at least you'll know what it is you don't want to be without. Check out Peter's post; he makes some great additional points to clear up the confusion. It cracks me up that you assume I wasn't at least into this POV as much as you are at one point in my life. Your default is that somehow I never understood what Maharishi meant by these terms. What I am doing now is to look at these terms freshly and try to see how I relate to them now, not to express how a spiritual teacher phrases it or thinks of them. I want to see if they have a value for me in my own terms. megasnip Is this idea of attachments useful to you personally? The *idea* isn't. The *experience* of being without attachment, as I said, is for me blissful and tremendously liberating and empowering. Super. I'm having a great day too. We are interpreting our experience through different filters.
[FairfieldLife] What is the nature of attachment? (Re: All of Patanjali's 8 limbs )
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Sal Sunshine salsunsh...@... wrote: On Feb 9, 2009, at 3:59 PM, geezerfreak wrote: It doesn't need fixing. You're buying into Barry's bilious propaganda. In any case, all I want to do is get you to understand what spiritual teachers mean by identification. I think I've made a start if I've gotten you to switch from thinking it's severe mental deficiency to a positive aspect of our natural development! If the idea of not being identified doesn't grab you, fine with me, but at least you'll know what it is you don't want to be without. Check out Peter's post; he makes some great additional points to clear up the confusion. megasnip Is this idea of attachments useful to you personally? The *idea* isn't. The *experience* of being without attachment, as I said, is for me blissful and tremendously liberating and empowering. That's right Curtis! Don't be buying into Barry's bilious propaganda! Let all-seeing, all-knowing Judy straighten you out boy! By her own account, she's liberated and blissfully without attachment. (Funny though, her Barry fixation sure sounds like attachment.) I also love that anybody that doesn't agree with her is confused, just doesn't understand and is buying into propaganda, and bilious propaganda at that. How insidious is that? :) If you and Geeze would pay attention, *you* wouldn't be so confused. When you haven't grasped the context, your lame attempts at bashing just make you look foolish. It amazes me how people can embarrass themselves over and over again and remain blissfully unaware of it.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Catholic Church resumes offering indulgences
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, metoostill metoost...@... wrote: snip Intercession by the priestly class on behalf of the laity. If we were playing Jeopardy, the question might be what is a yagya? The parallels are intriguing to say the least. Sometimes we see less flattering aspects of ourselves more easily through analogy. The introduction of the TM Sidhi program with claims of Fly like Superman , were bad enough; the introduction of Maharishi Yagya made the TMO intolerable to persons of any intellectual capacity.
[FairfieldLife] What is the nature of attachment? (Re: All of Patanjali's 8 limbs )
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, curtisdeltablues curtisdeltabl...@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, geezerfreak geezerfreak@ wrote: That's right Curtis! Don't be buying into Barry's bilious propaganda! Since I actually started this angle of re-examination of yoga terms I believe it must have been Barry who was buying into MY bilious propaganda! That's true, I take it all back. You used the terms broken and fix, and Barry then did a whole riff on them: I am claiming that my my relationship with my body and mind are in proper perspective. It isn't broken and doesn't need fixing. Hear, hear. It's fascinating when you realize that most of the people who are preaching to you trying to convince you to join their religion or to think like them are asking you to buy in to a *lesser* state of self esteem, isn't it? One in which you are broken until something outside yourself fixes you. And they wonder why people laugh at them. BT. So many mistakes in this paragraph. First, most seekers decide on their own that there's something more to life than what they're experiencing, and then go looking for it. Second, other than perhaps fundamentalist Christians, nobody gets told they're broken and need to be fixed. It's that there's something *more* available. Third, it isn't what's outside oneself that gives one that something more; it's already there inside oneself. Fourth, only really low-class, meanspirited, pinched people laugh at those who want to share with them an experience they've found beneficial. And only the lowest of these maliciously misrepresent it in an attempt to get others to laugh.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Junk foods of the world
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, curtisdeltablues curtisdeltabl...@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, shempmcgurk shempmcgurk@ Like sushi, I believe that eating oysters as you describe above is a very primordial thing: it brings us back to our oceanic roots! Yes it is the rawness that is the magic! High grade sushi has it too. It makes me feel as if I am suddenly tasting in 3-D. I am so jealous of your Malpeque oysters in abundance story! Malpeque is one of my favorite types. The clean cold water is the key I believe. Our local Chesapeake Bay oysters are not good raw. Here is another tale of raw food. Devoted vegetarians and real Hindus please read no further... I was watching Anthony Bourdain's travel eating show a few weeks ago and he came to DC. He ended up at an Ethiopian place I had never heard of to eat raw grass fed beef in their traditional style. I just ate there for the first time last week. We're talking beef sushi! I love Ethiopian Injeera bread. They served my friend and me thumb sized pieces of meat with yellow fat (indicates their grass diet) as well as a tartar of ground raw meat mixed with their version of ghee and fresh paneer like cheese. You grabbed a piece with a section of injeera and dipped it into the typical Ethiopian spice mix. It was a revelation. Corn fed beef sucks! This was tender and had a wonderful flavor. Of course being the obsessive that I am I had spent the previous night researching all the parasites you can get from raw meat, but the guy convinced me that he has two sources he trusts to test the meat so the risk is minimized. Here is the place; http://tinyurl.com/aoodb2 He took me into the kitchen and the walk-in just like he did on the show for Tony, and it was like a scene out of Rocky! A temple of hanging meat. He sells a ton of it since Ethiopians love this traditional food. Raw rocks! I had been drifting towards a cooking style of searing the outside of a think prime aged Ribeye from Whole Foods and leaving the middle raw. Now I know what I had been dreaming of. Great food rap! A case of oyster! Man, that's living. Back in Canada my Dad and I used to buy a case of Malpeque oysters (P.E.I. and New Brunswick) every season and, for a week, pig out on 'em. We'd basically stand over the sink in the kitchen and get into a routine of shucking, lemon, and red sauce and eat 'em standing up. 3 or 4 dozen each at a time. But, as you indicate, the brine is the essential part. And to a lesser degree, the lemon and the seafood sauce. A friend of mine -- who had never had oysters before but had heard me rave about them -- called me from his cell phone in Manhatten a few months ago announcing to me that he was on a street that had an oyster bar. And I encouraged him to go in and invest $15.00 for a dozen (or whatever they now cost). And he did. But I forgot to tell him HOW to eat 'em, assuming that everyone knew. And it ruined the experience for him because he told me he couldn't stand them (and this is a fellow sushi eater, so it wasn't the raw or squeamish factor that turned him off). Upon questioning him, I soon discovered what the problem was: he had no idea how to eat them (i.e., he didn't know there WAS a particular way to eat them) and what he did was stick his fork into the oyster while it was sitting in the shell, shaking it gently to remove the brine, and then sticking it into his mouth. Of course, that would ruin the experience for anyone: no brine, no lemon, no seafood sauce. I tried to tell him that he would have to go with me the next time so I could tell him how to eat an oyster properly but I think he's unconvinced and I think that's it for him for this lifetime as regards ever eating oysters again! A sushi bar in Montreal once served Wagyu beef (i.e., Kobi beef) raw, but in the manner that you describe. What they did was take a filet of the beef (when I use the word filet I am not specifically referring to filet mignon but filet as in no bone) and seared on it very high heat on each of the six sides for 10 or 15 seconds and then sliced it very, very thinly. It was then served sashimi style. From there, I dipped it in the soy sauce. Best beef I've ever had. Your choice of rib eye is good. I think it's the only cut worth having. wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, curtisdeltablues curtisdeltablues@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend jstein@ wrote: That was interesting. It makes sense that a place that would serve the whole more expensive tiny clams would be much better then a place that buys the cheaper bigger ones. I'm pretty sure there is nothing to remove from a clam, you just shuck them and eat the whole thing. One of the most transcendent
[FairfieldLife] Re: Grist for the Rumor Mill
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, I am the eternal l.shad...@... wrote: On Mon, Feb 9, 2009 at 2:35 PM, shempmcgurk shempmcg...@... wrote: Harlingen is on the border with Mexico. Yes. One of the way far down south borders. It, like McAllen, are favored by snow birds. I have friends who grew up in the area and tell of how the school cafeterias allowed senior citizens to come in for lunch. A very refreshing thing about going across the border there is that you are not assaulted by border town. No taxi drivers wanting to take you to see the donkey. I'm not even sure if the border towns that far south have boys towns or not. If they do, they're probably only Mexican and not built out for tourists. For those who aren't familiar with Mexican boys towns, they have nothing to do with Father Flannagan. ...uh, but everything to do with other Catholic priests...one's with, shall we say, proclivities other than helping out wayward boys? Is that what you're driving at?
[FairfieldLife] Re: Catholic Church resumes offering indulgences
The TM Sidhi program, with claims of Fly like Superman , eventrually became a crushing blow to the reputation of the TMO when no one demonstrated actual levitation. Immediately upon the introduction of Maharishi Yagya program, the TMO lost its remaining credibility. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, metoostill metoost...@... wrote: big snip Intercession by the priestly class on behalf of the laity. If we were playing Jeopardy, the question might be what is a yagya? The parallels are intriguing to say the least...
[FairfieldLife] Re: Junk foods of the world
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitu noozg...@... wrote: shempmcgurk wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitu noozguru@ wrote: [snip] My guru has an apartment next to a little shopping center where the [snip] Tell you what, Bhairitu. I challenge you to go to your guru and ask him who is right on the question of capitalism and globalization: me or you. I'll bet you a dollar to a donut that you guru will bust your boundaries by telling you that he agrees with me. Care to take that challenge? Discussed it with him many times. He doesn't agree with you at all. He's seen too many greedy people in the world and too many oppressed people. In fact he has some billionaires and millionaires as clients. They sometimes get in trouble and ask for a fix but he makes sure they still have to deal with their karma. ...then my advice to you is to switch gurus. Here's one for you: http://www.revike.org/
[FairfieldLife] Partying in Iceland
*What's up in Iceland? LATimes article here: http://tinyurl.com/cayb8a Party on dudes! *
[FairfieldLife] What is the nature of attachment? (Re: All of Patanjali's 8 limbs )
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, curtisdeltablues curtisdeltabl...@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend jstein@ wrote: snip It sounds like a positive aspect of our natural development and not anything that needs fixing to me. It doesn't need fixing. You're buying into Barry's bilious propaganda. What I wrote has nothing to do with what Barry has written. I was the one who started this angle on the yoga system and its value. Yes, and the idea of broken and needs to be fixed. I forgot you had introduced that notion. If you believe that you are somehow attached to the objects of perception and this is not the best relationship to have with them then it is a problem that gets fixed by yoga practice. Not being able to play the piano gets fixed by piano lessons and practice. But you have to want to play the piano. It's not something broken that needs to be fixed. You are expressing a hierarchy of human awareness with one state as higher than another. I'm saying that for me, it's a better state. Don't put words in my mouth, please. The term for being attached to the objects of perception is life in ignorance. So it is not the result of anything bilious to say it needs fixing. Ignorance is a technical term. The issue is whether it needs fixing. In any case, all I want to do is get you to understand what spiritual teachers mean by identification. I think I've made a start if I've gotten you to switch from thinking it's severe mental deficiency to a positive aspect of our natural development! I don't think you are understanding my point and are using the phrase severe mental deficiency out of my original context. Oh, please. There's no context in which severe mental deficiency is the same as a positive aspect of our natural development. I understand what spiritual teachers claim about identification. Sorry, Curtis, but if you think identification with the body means an excessive preoccupation with one's physical state, and think family members and loved ones aren't objects in this context, then you *don't understand what spiritual teachers mean by it*. That you've changed your perspective as to its desirability and importance is irrelevant to how the term is used. snip It cracks me up that you assume I wasn't at least into this POV as much as you are at one point in my life. Your default is that somehow I never understood what Maharishi meant by these terms. No, what I'm saying is that the way you're characterizing identification *now* is not what spiritual teachers mean by it. What I am doing now is to look at these terms freshly and try to see how I relate to them now, not to express how a spiritual teacher phrases it or thinks of them. I want to see if they have a value for me in my own terms. Your original comment was: I think this yogic identification theory is totally bogus. It is a made-up problem. You've gone on to say *why* you think the theory is bogus, but you've been arguing a straw man because you haven't been using the term in the sense that yogic identification theory uses it. You aren't arguing against that theory, you're arguing against an entirely different theory that has very little in common with the yogic one. You've done a great job knocking down the straw man, but you haven't accomplished much of anything with regard to showing yogic identification theory to be bogus. I'm through here.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Grist for the Rumor Mill
On Mon, Feb 9, 2009 at 4:43 PM, shempmcgurk shempmcg...@netscape.net wrote: For those who aren't familiar with Mexican boys towns, they have nothing to do with Father Flannagan. ...uh, but everything to do with other Catholic priests...one's with, shall we say, proclivities other than helping out wayward boys? Is that what you're driving at? Actually, it's the flthy gringos who make boys towns red light horse shoes in the dust. The traditional Mexican boys towns are more of a macho get away (like Mexican males need to get away, since they're so absent from the house and child rearing already). It is required to have Christmas lights up all the time and to have a combination bar and lounge area and of course a sort of motel in the back of each building with a bar. But the fact is, this is where Mexican men go to blow money, mostly on drink and large tips to the bartender. Yes, strange is available but why go there? It's expected that every Mexican male with a wife or girlfriend will have at least two affairs he's cheating with. A man wouldn't be a man otherwise. AFAIK the behaviors exhibited by the clergy (Catholic and Baptist) in the US are not practiced by clergy south of the border. But then there are very definitely things that are /not/ spoken about in Macholand.
