Taomeow

If I could make public some private letters re the David Verdesi debacle that were shared with me at one point, you would have to reconsider about the "cahoots." "What he got" and "where is he now" are separate questions. What he got I saw and experienced, but you won't be convinced. As for where he is now -- he was teaching seminars in China and in several other countries in Eastern Europe and Asia up until the end of 2019 -- the last one shortly before covid lockdowns began in China. He hasn't returned to teaching large groups or traveling abroad, but you have to keep in mind that lockdowns were renewed on a number of occasions in some cities in China way after they ended elsewhere, and China's overall human interactions with the West (as well as domestically) have changed pretty drastically. He's been only teaching small groups locally (in Dalian) -- perhaps as the result of a combo of circumstances and personal choices. That information is about six months old. As for Nathan -- what he got is a translation that was easier to read than the ones appearing before. There's a new (and probably better) translation just out, by Livia Kohn -- an emeritus professor of Religion and East Asian Studies at Boston University specializing in studies of taoism, one of the top Western authorities on things taoist, author of numerous significant works and translations, and a practitioner herself. I think if she wasn't phased by gossip of the kind you seem to have believed, she wasn't just being a gullible sucker when she took "what WLP got" seriously. A gullible sucker is not her style at all. (Nor is it mine, if I say so myself.)

"My friend in tao, the times have changed..." https://www.facebook.com/721843241/videos/427836879838735

Wild blackberries! "Cranberries" are also wild. "Pretenders," more so.

Yes. https://hermetic.com/crowley/magick-without-tears/mwt_01

Thanks, I think I'll try to read up (always prefer to go to the original source before the "derivational tree," to use another term I recall from my linguistics course, has grown too many branches and leaves while the root has been forgotten.) This echoes something Aleister Crowley put thusly: "I therefore take "magical weapons," pen, ink, and paper; I write "incantations" — these sentences — in the "magical language," i.e., that which is understood by the people I wish to instruct; I call forth "spirits," such as printers, publishers, booksellers and so forth and constrain them to convey my message to those people. The composition and distribution of this book is thus an act of Magick by which I cause Changes to take place in conformity with my Will."

Maybe return to the Q&A format Maddie originally proposed? Personally I have no desire to argue about the subject at all or question anyone's current understanding, I have my own and it wasn't formed at an online forum and won't be changed by an online forum. So I'd rather ask about things I don't know. E.g.: In my two native tongues the word "gender" only referred to grammatical categories (yes, we have "male," "female" and "neuter" gender nouns, adjectives, pronouns, and verb forms). For people there existed only one term -- "sex." The current usage of gender in the sense of self-identification came into these languages very recently as a phonetical copy of the English word -- a new vocabulary borrowing for a new notion. I seem to recall it was the case with English too until -- I don't know when. Q: when did the difference between "sex" and "gender" in humans enter the discourse in the current understanding, and who proposed this usage, and what was it based on?

If you feel it's too risky, for your peace of mind just don't eat it. I hope there's no kefir enforcement in your family! For a good probiotic food you can look beyond dairy -- for instance, fermented vegetables (not canned and without preservatives) are great. If, e.g., you mastered the skill of making homemade sauerkraut, you would be your family's hero. Tricky for a beginner, you may screw up a couple of times till you get it right, but once you know what you're doing, it's fairly easy and very healthy, not to mention tasty.

I think you can give it a try -- many people who have bad reactions to nonfermented dairy have no problem with fermented of good quality, and homemade kefir would be my first choice for such an experiment. There's people in my family who don't tolerate whole milk at all but drink kefir with no detrimental effects. Of course these things are individual, and not necessarily your case, but the proof of the pudding is in the eating, no way around it.

That's a more merciful theory than mine, and probably correct in some cases... and mine, in others. 🤣

Then why do so many adult women squeak in this shrill high-pitched little girl's voice -- at least here in CA it seems to be the norm more than an exception?.. I have my theory... but I'll keep it to myself. I do find lower pitched voices more attractive -- by far. Just this past weekend I went hiking with two other people and on the trail a hiking family passed us going in the opposite direction, and the man was telling something to his kids in this very very low rumbling bass. After they went out of the hearing range, I instantly commented to my companions, "mmm... dark chocolate voice!" (I wasn't attracted to social advantages or the man himself, who was short and balding and not mine, just to the sound itself.)

Just because there is a problem doesn't mean there is a solution. -- Arthur Janov

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He's not the type you see every day in today's CA either, but definitely people of nontraditional orientations are more visible here these days than even ten or so years ago.

Here in CA it's different. Here you are in danger of potentially being hurt if you think differently rather than look differently. But trans people (and LGBTQ+ too) get every opportunity to express themselves safely, far as I can tell. For an example: there's a store I visit quite regularly, and one of the sales people is -- well, I never asked him about his self-identification (for lack of any knowledge of the personal pronoun he might prefer, I'll use "him/his" until/unless I'm otherwise informed) but let me describe his appearance. A young male with mustache, which he dyes bright pink, alongside his eyebrows, to match his fuchsia colored hair. He wears skirts or dresses, his legs are very hairy but he doesn't shave them. Dress style -- not of a man but I wouldn't say it's the outfits of a woman either, more like kindergarten-aged little girl: extremely bright and cheerful, with pleats and ruffles, embroidered ladybugs and butterflies, stuff like that. Bright nail polish on very long fingernails (but no maintenance skills so it's usually peeling.) He's always an eyeful of colors. Very friendly, with no exaggerated mannerisms (which is my personal preferred style in men, women and trans people alike.) We usually have a little chat -- just small talk, he's curious and likes to comment on my purchases and share about his own favorites, I find him more pleasant to deal with than a couple of "regular" ladies at the same counter on different days. I've never seen anyone being rude or hostile to this guy -- and he interacts with dozens of people every day.

Yes, it's a different world. A hearsay world where we are thoroughly indoctrinated to take someone else's word for absolutely everything -- including our history and how bad our ancestors had it for a million years, how stupid and fragile they were. How on earth did they manage to survive and thrive everywhere on earth until the Flexner Report introduced a superior world a hundred years ago?.. Mystery of mysteries... I love the fact that hearsay doesn't stand in court. But then, our ancestors didn't know how to lie... I read extensive accounts of the conquest of Siberia, e.g., and the way it was easy for people from "our" world to fool the natives -- they believed everything, they had no cultural skill of lying and so didn't expect it from others. Many of them went practically extinct -- as did many peoples everywhere else when bestowed the blessings of our different world -- to a great extent due to this fatal cultural flaw. But we are doing all right I'm sure.