Of Health, Psychology, Sociology, and Liberty. . . distilling wisdom from knowledge.

[poster: this is the content of my home page, which doesn't exist. my POV is that the "sacred knowledge" lends itself directly to the freedom movement. but this was not written to most Paulers (although some could use the wake up call in their pursuit), it was written for you; to refine and reinforce your ideas of where freedom actually comes from - for you to embody and share these ideas with those "in the dark." this was written to the "average" guy and gal who know that something is wrong, but aren't sure how to pin it down. en joy.]

On this [article] is an introduction of these practices and bodies of knowledge that have their roots thousands of years in our past. The nature of these skills deal with awareness of ourselves, of others, and our surroundings.

The external conflicts in the world and in our lives arise because of peoples' internal conflicts. But you can not change what other people choose or have already chosen to experience. You may decide to come to a better understanding of the inner-challenges that face us all, but many people will still insist that the problems all arise somewhere else, certainly not within themselves. However, many people have yet to realize that they will not find the solutions to their problems - or their missing energy - outside of themselves.

As much as we don't want to admit it, most of us are far too dependent on other people, or the comforts of the modern system for our emotional, mental, physical, and even spiritual needs. It nags or wears heavily on some of us, "When will we feel safe? "When will we feel satisfied?" "When will we feel truly secure?"

We can spend all of the energy we do have sometimes, searching for or trying to create things that we never needed or always had. We are taught by most of our friends and family and teachers that, in the end, there is no better way and that we all stumble through life in a basic trial-and-error mode. We are also taught extremely limited ways to define "Success," and so if our goal is not to make more money or impress people, then the undertaking isn't even worth it. If money or prestige is not achieved, then most of us (and many around us) will conclude, "It was mostly a failure."

Even when fortune or prestige is achieved in the greater society, the next result is usually boredom or greed. Neither of these are "Success." They are not virtuous, and they do not lead to any further positive development. When we think of individuals with big bank accounts and portfolios sometimes we think that the money works its way around the economies and benefits many people, and in this way greed is a benefit. I assure you that knowledge is the greatest currency and as far as knowing how our banks and government and economy really work in society, many millionaires and supposed financial wizards are destitute poor.

If the general public knew how these systems work - where our money comes from, and where it goes - there would be absolute hell to pay by our banks and our governments. Fortunately for the truly wealthy and informed, most people are happy to wrap their attention up in all manner of silliness and mainstream-ism, while most of their hard work every day, most of their family's work, goes to benefit groups of people who do very little work at all. The higher up the "ladder of success," most people get, the more relieved they are that they don't "struggle like the masses," and the more fearful they become of losing that position. The most "rational" or "successful" people's true colors show when their position in society is threatened. If you have wondered why there is so much dysfunction in society, or why the rich get richer while the poor keep getting poorer, this is getting ready to scratch the surface. The biggest piece of advice I can give you here though, is that there is no revolution that you need to join, no candidate you need to back, no prayer that you need to say, and no book that you have to read that will set the world straight.

The skills elaborated upon on this site have been studied and kept alive, to help People live with health, with good vision (good eyesight), and with wisdom - to provide for healthy individuals, families, and communities. Many of the views expressed and suggested here are not commonly held. Many of the exercises are not commonly practiced. Nonetheless, the purpose of these thoughts and exercises is for you to have more full access to the physical, mental, and emotional resources available to us as humans.

This knowledge is under-appreciated and usually misunderstood by the general public in the greater society today, and the result is a subconscious or conscious knowledge in all of us that something is indeed missing in our lives and our communities. One who studies the paradigms espoused here concludes that it is entirely a matter that WE are missing from OUR OWN lives. We like to see ourselves as intelligent, independent thinkers, but we are not. In fact, the system that most of us live in wants us to think that we are independent and rational thinkers - but not actually be them.

I suggest that if you want to learn better ways to adapt and grow in life, that it will serve you to find your true independent thoughts. Do not settle for or rely on someone else's idea of what reality is, or what you should do with your time and energy; you will continuously be disappointed. And no one else may know what it is that you need to do. This is what turns many people off from true health, healing, and wisdom - you must bring something to the table from within yourself. This is just not very fashionable, or cool. Charlatans, gurus, martial arts instructors, professors - many are more than happy to sell us fancy packages with nothing inside, the cosmic joke being that the student is the one who brings value to the ancient knowledge for him- and herself. Masters do not, in fact, hold The Key. Though opportunists and manipulators don't have a problem charging you to learn that lesson (and they'd rather you not learn it).

We are told in our busy lives that while "we" have a lot to learn as humans, that "we" do know a lot about "how life works," about genetics and evolution and history and geology and everything. But, we are told, you can't know very much by yourself - since you are only one person and besides so busy with work, I guess - so there are "experts" who decide which experts you need to know about and trust. Most people want to be, or think that they are intelligent, rational, open-minded thinkers. In reality, there is almost zero independent or rational thinking going on in our modern world. For one, there actually is very little new under the sun - and in fact millions of people share your concerns, your challenges, your ideas, and even many similar experiences. This is a good thing, it reminds us we are connected in a significant way. To an extent, independent thought is over-rated. But in daily life, our desire (need?) to think of ourselves as intelligent and informed is used against us.

It can be sad that so many people today are caught in these ego traps and are easily manipulated - but this is where we find ourselves. Sly viciousness is praised and sincere virtue is scoffed at in our so-called civilization. The modern world is actually one of the least civilized periods of history - we haven't been progressing as a society at all. This is not the height of human society as we are taught by the "education" system. We do see that people would rather be sold a fancy package with nothing inside than build their own powerful, internal, personal tools using what they already have. A lot of effort has been made to hide the sacred knowledge, or dilute and distort it in order to co-opt it or marginalize it.

The top movers and shakers in the world today are absolutely aware that if you knew the nature of your inner power, they would lose their customer for so many things. And if you figure it out, you might be an example to others that this is possible, which they worry about intensely. Their loyalty is to themselves, of couse; but where is yours? Most people I've come into contact with will defend this modern system with fervor, this system which really does not benefit them, but steals from them. The theives have made sure that we beleive that we would have nothing if we didn't have this "Modern System." Of course they have. They have made sure that as many of us as possible are willing to give maximum output for minimum compensation - under some impression that we are being enterprising, or cosmopolitan, or expedient, or patriotic. They make sure that we beleive whatever we need to think in order to not realize most of our hard work and compensation is actually stolen from us, and even used against us and our own families. Keep going to work, but begin to do it with open eyes - stop working for a life-style. Take some time to learn about the truth, and consequences.

If you doubt the importance of this ego-game that is played against our entire population at all strata, then consider this about being an "independent, rational thinker": It takes large amounts of time, energy, motivation, or all three to find and analyze independent research that is outside of mainstream funding and publicity streams. Plus, while we want to be rational, we can't possibly think rationally without having a lot of relevant information which is "missing" from many "Sciences," such as clear evidence that contradicts and even destroys dominant theories. You are left to trust "experts" who are paid to write most of the books. Enormous amounts of consumer-based research is performed, with billions of dollars in funding, but an astoundingly small amount of truly useful information ever reaches university professors, much less their students, or the public. Scientists can be the most clearly thought-out and honest people, but an enormous amount of research and discovery is completely ignored, and careers destroyed, by the "opinion makers" because it contradicts the commonly accepted theories. We are mostly given gross entertainment and other distractions such as spectator sports, an overly sexual culture, good guy vs. bad guy, and fake "reality" TV to distract us from the real reality within and around us. This is the reality that the opinion makers desperately want to keep from our perception and curiosity. See, you will get answers if you start asking questions, and they know this. It is much easier in the long run to distract you and give half-truths rather than lie straight-up - but they have no problem lying, either. There really isn't even a debate, the consequences for these groups who influence and exploit society are disaterous if people start figuring this stuff out.

This is Real World Science. In the real world, when you follow the money around you realize that while most people are well meaning, Science that we think of in popular terms is an organized Religion based on articles of faith - and which suppresses competition. There is a long and sad record that our egos want us to ignore, which tells us that true independent thinkers are ostracized and ridiculed - and when independent researchers or inspiring teachers who challenge the status quo catch on with the general public, their work and teachings are co-opted, ridiculed, or sabotaged using an array of methods that the elites of the world are very familiar with.

What I'm saying is that even though most Science and Religion leave far too many questions unanswered or answered completely inadequately, those who venture down "not main-stream" paths for answers are looked at a bit suspiciously by most. And for those who actually come across answers with value, cynicism is their reward, not questions from all of the other "independent thinkers" who should crave information and stories of adventure and learning.

Ta'i chi, naturopathy, ancient medicine, holistic: what do these things mean? Look for these things in today's society and we find many different answers. Research these topics and we find contradictions, irrational information, and various promises of effectiveness. On the other hand, for the high value that our society places on modern medicine and technology, research finds the same confusions and various claims of effectiveness seem to apply.

A clear answer is needed by many, because the popular paradigm is to try the newest thing - the leading edge that will cure all ills, energize you, help you lose weight, or gain weight - until its weaknesses become evident; at which point almost everyone will either blame themselves and give up or become hypnotized by the next newest great invention or technique, lured by promises.

The normal and healthy thing is to want to be healthy, to want to have a functional and flexible body that resists illness, and to want to improve the quality of your life. That drive is the sign of healthy consciousness. In our society, though, dominant patterns are not aligned with true health. If the dominant patterns were, then the dominant state would be health, and even peace. Instead, our society has accepted some form of illness and stress as the natural state. Unfortunately for many, stress and sickness are actually considered driving forces for personal and economic development. The folks pulling the strings rake in unimaginable profits playing on our insecurities. We need to address our own selves here though - our own insecurities and drives - not the oligarchs or their profits, and not our uninformed and misdirected neighbors. You have no power over others unless they have given it to you. If they have given it to you, don't accept it lightly. Treat it with respect and kindly return it. This is some of the "shadow work" that people can involve themselves in on the path to cultivating their true power and influence in the world.

Those who resist the dominant paradigm are considered to be fighting an un-winnable battle, and unfortunately, since our markets are saturated with dysfunctional ideas about how to achieve health, most people inevitably do fail in the endeavor. The dominant patterns of our society today prevent us from seeing how dysfunctional our views of health and fitness - and how to obtain them - are, and even lead us to feel guilt and regret when we don't live up to the promises that were made to us; Some of us blame ourselves when we end up in a less healthy state than when we started. Millions of us enlist in and pay for dysfunctional programs and methods - followed by failure, regret, and all the resulting stress. After many years, most people give up, which ends up the most stressful outcome of all.

Why do people invent these new methods and paradigms, why do they sell them to us to do something they cannot do, and why are we so willing to pay for it? A way to find a good path is of utmost importance, particularly how to choose a healthful one for yourself.

The way of ancient medicine is to come to a new understanding of power and health, based in a solid philosophical foundation. You will find here a way to rely on your own power and intelligence, and tested paradigm and the support structure required for this learning.

en joy