Laozi and Confucius (老子與孔子)

Twenty-five hundred years ago, Confucius once went to Luoyang to consult with Laozi. Their conversation illustrates the difference between the two legends.

《道德經》 Tao Te Ching: Chapter 1

The Tao that can be told

is not the eternal Tao.

The name that can be named

is not the eternal name.

The Tao is both named and nameless.

As nameless it is the origin of all things;

as named it is the Mother of 10,000 things.

Ever desireless, one can see the mystery;

ever desiring, one sees only the manifestations.

And the mystery itself is the doorway

to all understanding.

第一章

道可道，非常道，名可名，非常名。無名，天地之始，有名，萬物之母。故常無欲以觀其妙，常有欲以觀其徼，此兩者同出而異名，同謂之玄，玄之又玄，眾妙之門。

Click for analysis.

《道德經》 The Tao Te Ching Project

Unlike Descartes and many modern philosophers, Laozi (老子) didn't attempt to use deductive reasoning to find the truth and prove it to the world.  He already knew about the ultimate truth.  Not only did he know, he experienced and lived it!  Therefore, people who met him kept bugging him to teach them "the way"; Tao Te Ching is the result of those requests.

I'll interpret the Tao Te Ching verse by verse (81 chapters/sections/verses (章) in total) with the help of the book that I'm studying, Change Your Thoughts - Change Your Life: Living the Wisdom of the Tao, which already did what I'm about to do.  I'll take what I like from the book's interpretation and combine it with my personal take.  The most amazing thing about the Tao Te Ching is its open-endedness; even the same person can have different interpretations of the text in different times, let alone different individuals.  There's no one "right" way to interpret it.  As you read it, you'll only learn the things that are relevant to you.  Tao Te Ching is like a lamp that shown you the way that's always within you.

First Ever Meditation Afterthought

Meditation is basically a practice where you sit still for a period of time while keeping your mind still.  After over a year of wanting to practice meditation, I finally did it earlier today.  I did attempted meditating several times before.  The first time was using the Chakra Balancing box set that I bought with CDs and a study book guiding you through meditations for different chakra.  Half way through the introduction, the author told me I cannot have any financial worries.  Apparently I was broke as hell so I couldn't continue.  When I looked for some direction for meditating, I found more kinds of meditations than I could count.  That's when I lost interest and thought "why does it have to be so damn complicated?'.  I also went to learningmeditation.com and tried several audio guided meditations but I never went very deep.  Today I just decided to meditate on my own, so I just sat on my bed and close my eyes and started focusing on my mind without any music or guide.  What I saw and felt during the 35mins after the jump.

I Challenge Common Sense Killer!

I haven't been updating this blog actively for the past few months because of some conflicts I have with myself. I've finally admitted that I have those conflicts late last night (I'm slow, I know) and action is what follows. I'm giving myself several challenges to do in order to break free of my old habits. The first and major one is:

No random web surfing for 7 days straight

One of the addictions that I have is continually browsing the web for no particular reason (be it on youtube, forums or the comments section of news articles).  And before I knew it I've spent 2 or 3 hours sitting there practically doing nothing.

So unless I have some specific need of going on to a website (checking what's on sale is NOT a need), I'll not open my web browser, at least not for the next 7 days.  Some other minor challenges also started today.

I'll also have a new series of posts about definitions of some slippery terms.  What is reality?  What is a fact, a truth?  What is a person?  What is a mind?

I've read a lot of books and know a lot of things about the world and what not.  But until I've experienced them, they are nothing but knowledge that does nothing for me.  I need to convert knowledge into wisdom.  In other words,  I could read about how to drive a car all I want, but it's when I actually drive one that I would know how it's really like. 

I won't stop seeking knowledge, but my focus is more on myself right now.  This blog is now a personal journal.

UFO's No Longer Unidentified In The Near Future?

News about UFO's and aliens are popping up left and right.  If you keep an eye on this subject, you would know that the UFO press conference just took place a few days ago.  During the conference, six former U.S. Air Force officers and one former enlisted man are talking about UFO’s that were seen around nuclear missile sites.  Even if you only pay attention to mainstream news, you would've noticed Stephen Hawking talking about the potential danger of alien contact a couple of months ago.  Some mainstream news networks did reported about the conference (CNN, Foxnews, ABC and Telegraph UK.  Although I'm a little sick of Foxnews, its article seems fair enough so here goes:

[ISS#2] Should We Thank The Sun Or The Moon?

Another inspiring article that circulates around the internet; originally in Chinese.

[ISS#1] Today Is A Gift

An inspiring article that circulates around the internet.

The Map Is A Lie!

View Larger Map

1. Look at the world map taken from Google maps above.  Looks familiar, right?
2. Look at that huge land to North America's upper right.  That's Greenland.
3. Look at Africa; it seems like Africa is about the size of Greenland.

Now consider this fact:

Africa is 14 times larger than Greenland.

Size of Africa: 30,221,532 sq km
Size of Greenland: 2,166,086 sq km
30,221,532 / 2,166,086 = 13.95
(Data from CIA and Wikipedia)

Now look at the Google map again.  What the hell is going on?  Answer after the jump.

Scientists Discover That The Human Body Emits Light

We actually glow in light, green and red.  Article after the jump

[R#4] So How Many Books Are Written By Doctors About Reincarnation? A LOT.

Here's a list of books that are:

1. about reincarnation
2. written by physicians
3. highly rated on Amazon.com

I've only used 30 minutes or so to form the list so this is just a small portion of what's out there.  It's a really tiny portion if we include those written by professors, scientists, mediums, journalists, etc.  I'm not suggesting that those written by other professions aren't worth checking out but for this post I want to list books that examine reincarnation from the perspective of physicians.  Most if not all of these authors/physicians didn't believe in the notion of reincarnation since they were raised in Western culture.

Some might say that these physicians are just doing it to gain publicity. But let's have a reality check, "supernatural" phenomenons are still considered to be a taboo to discuss in our scientific community. And don't get me started on how people look at me when I talk about these things. Although it's not as bad as 20 years ago, these physicians were risking their careers to reveal these cases.  Go ahead and read any one of them, you won't regret it whether you believe it or not.  I've read 5 books from this list after the jump.  Go go go.

Researchers Achieve Quantum Teleportation Over 10 Miles Of Empty Space (News Article)

Remember the phenomenon of quantum entanglement I mentioned in the previous post about quantum mechanics?  No?  It's rather simple actually.  Two objects, not connected in any way perceivable, become entangled with each other.  Whatever happens to one would affect the other instantaneously (meaning faster than the speed of light).  The distance between the objects does not matter.  The concept itself is simple enough, the difficult thing is accepting the fact that it's real.  Einstein refused to accept this, calling it "spooky action".  This is what people called supernatural, it's reality and it makes this headline.

Not to confuse anyone, the transportation itself can only travel at the speed of light or slower.
 

[R#3] Book Review - Many Lives, Many Masters

Many Lives, Many Masters is the first book I've encountered of this kind.  I remember it was sometime in 2007 when I accidentally saw the Chinese version of the book and bought it in curiosity.  At that time, I thought reincarnation is nothing but a baseless belief.  You could imagine how shocking I was when I saw the description of the book claiming firmly that reincarnation is real.  Questions started popping up in my mind: "If it's proven, why isn't it on the news?"  "If it's real, why hasn't anybody tell me about it yet?"  "Could our commonsense be wrong all this time?"

This book was published in 1988 when I was only 2.  I only read about a few dozens pages of the book at that time to fulfill my curiosity.  My conclusion was that "reincarnation could be real" but I didn't go in depth since I don't like reading translations plus I didn't realize what it could mean to my way of living.  It wasn't until early last year that I started truth seeking and finished reading the English version of this book.

Unlike the previous book review, I'll summarize the first third of the book and you'll be the judge on whatever you want.  So go ahead and

[R#2] Another Boy Remembers Past Life (Video)

What would you do if your child starts talking about being another person in great details?

I actually like this documentary better than the previous one; it has less interpretation, more observation.  Videos after the jump.

[R#1] Boy Remembers Past Life (Video)

Simply put, this documentary presents a strong case.  You have two ways to react after watching it.

1. Believe that reincarnation is real or at least there's something more out there
2. Reject the entire account: "His parents are lying (or delusive)!"

The latter was what the professor at the end of the documentary chose in an attempt to explain this phenomenon on the basis of... commonsense.

'Starving Yogi' Astounds Indian Scientists

After being monitored 24/7 for 10 straight days without ANY food and water in 2003 (it's mentioned in part 4 of the documentary about the "Buddha boy"), Prahlad Jani is being tested by scientists once again; this time for 15 days.  Read the article about it after the jump.

How Quantum Mechanics Contradicts Our Commonsense Beliefs

In earlier posts, I talked about the significance of quantum mechanics to our technology advancements and reviewed the book- Quantum Enigma.  However, I missed the most important point; I didn't explain how exactly quantum mechanics is contrary to our common senses.  I'll try my best to keep the explanation short and simple, so even I could understand it.  If you don't like to read (at least watch the cartoon), skip to the last part where I list what the quantum mechanics is strongly suggesting.

Human Sensing Surroundings Like A Bat. (Video)

Philosopher, Thomas Nagel, is famous for asking "What is it like to be a bat?"  The answer is "we don't have a freaking clue".  But we're one step closer to feel like a bat with our ability of echolocation.  This is not news, it's been formally known and studied as early as the 1950s.  Just don't ask me why is it not widely known in 2010. Video after the jump.

Ram Bahadur Bomjon's Message #2

Here comes the second message of Ram Bahadur Bomjon.  Click here if you have no idea what this is about.

Random Rant

Are we free?

Did I Really Hear This During The Oscar? (Video)

Best actress, Sandra Bullock's acceptance speech towards the end:

Not enough time, so I would like to thank what this film is about for me which are the moms that take care of the babies and the children no matter where they come from. Those moms and parents never get thanked. I, in particular, failed to thank one. So… if I can take this moment to thank Helga B. for not letting me ride in cars with boys until I was 18 because she was right. I would’ve done what she said I was gonna do. For making me practice every day when I got home. Piano, ballet, whatever it is I wanted to be. She said to be an artist, you had to practice every day, and for reminding her daughters that there’s no race, no religion, no class system, no color, nothing, no sexual orientation that makes us better than anyone else. We are all deserving of love. So, to that trailblazer, who allowed me to have that... and this.

Video after the jump; the quote starts at 3:12.

Ram Bahadur Bomjon's Message #1

After watching the documentary about this boy, Ram Bahadur Bomjon, who could mediate for several months without food and water, you might wonder what exactly is he trying to do?  Well, he had something to say after these long mediation sessions.  Not only will I post them all in the following week, I will analyze his messages and see if they are scam or legit in the end.  You can skip the message and see what I have to say about it, but first you need to click the "Explore" button below:

Boy Meditated For Months Without Food And Water. o_O (Video)

If you want your mind to be blown away, this documentary is your best bet.  This boy, Ram Bahadur Bomjon, in India was claimed to be able to survive without any food and water for months, a team from the discovery channel went and investigate.  Let me give you a heads-up, no they didn't take the boy away and analyzed him.  BUT in the later parts of the documentary, another man claimed that he could survive without any food and water.  So they locked him up and monitored him 24/7 for 10 straight days without ANY food and water.  Without spoiling everything in the documentary, let's just say that he didn't die.

Watch these vids and have your mind blown away.

Dear NDE Skeptics,

This post is for those who doubt the possibility of our consciousness being able to leave our body. (Check the previous post about Near-Death Experience)  It's also for those who do believe it since more convincing reasons won't hurt.