Why bother if it's completely ineffective? As yet nothing has been brought forth to suggest there's even the slightest point in studying such mysticism. Since you have not tried this approach, and seem to be unable to, this is not a statement that you can support. Bring forward some evidence and then we'll talk about whether I can be convinced or not. Pulling a thunderstorm in seconds on a clear day when weather radar shows no risk of approaching storm and the pressure is even? Nope, I think I'd probably believe after that, Mr Thor. Leave particle physics out of it if you don't understand it. Just because it happens to include a symbol of what you call Eastern philosophy does not mean in any way that it supports your argument. Complementarity is nothing to do with philosophy, and everything to do with the way that taking measurements on a quantum level alters the quantum system so that other properties become unknown. Your attempt to use it would be similar to me trying to use E=mc^2 to support the worship of the song Can't Touch This. I fully condone the use of moderate amounts of alcohol on an occasional basis. I won't be - I'm immortal. There are people who believe in alien abduction for the same reasons. So your narrative, your individual experiences, are more valid than everyone else's? Seems to be a lot of ego there. If what you describe is possible, evidence is easy to come by. Someone with the magic weather controlling power could simply cause it to rain in a particular named city at a certain time, on a certain day. If they can repeat this feat reliably several times (to eliminate coincidence, particular in a city prone to rain showers) then that'd be evidence. Obviously they're happy to demonstrate it - as they did so to you, so why wouldn't they be happy to demonstrate it to others? But you said that you could explain the irrationality behind the behaviour of energies in particle physics (hence demonstrating your complete lack of understanding of the subject, but no matter, we don't need to go into that) and now you're saying you're not a particle physicist? You really should care about whether there's evidence or not. I've seen rainstorms pop out of nothing before, they're actually predictable with a reasonable degree of accuracy. As to cold reading some of the stuff a good one can do is downright scary - even if you know how they're doing it it's impressive. Maybe you should hang around stage magicians more often - you'd be just as taken in by the sound of it, but at least we'd be arguing about whether you can pull rabbits from a hat instead. Me - I dislike gullibility and even more I dislike the defense of it. Bad things happen because of people not questioning and doubting what they've been told/shown/brainwashed, and everyone should be taught to question and ask for evidence rather than blindly follow the cult.
Why not bother if can be effective? I've brought forth all the evidence I've got, and all the evidence I'll ever need. Do what you want. Right on. I've tried explaining what it was that changed MY mind. I wasn't always a tai chi guy! But you.... you do your own thing! That's what happened to me. Only the ladies may call me Thor, Mr. Bunnyrabbit. Hey hey, I've got a pretty good laymans grasp on it. I know enough to know that subatomic particles act in a paradoxical way, and that only probabilities can be predicted and not the actual location of a particle, and so on. I know enough to see the stark resemblance between eastern philosophy and science. Complementarity is the LATEST and most widely accepted philosophy regarding particle mechanics. And his coat of arms is cool. And it's Hammertime, baby. That's good. Just don't drive sloshed. Your soul (Hun) is immortal, your body must be returned to the earth. No there aren't. Prove it. The ego is the minds power to integrate experience. The ego is a servant, and should never be the mind's master. I suppose you're right about the experiment thing. I'd sure like to see him do it again, but he's gone now and I doubt I'll ever see him again. If I do, I shall be sure to ask him. Sometimes I wonder why I didn't chase after him.... I just let him walk away.... I am not a particle scientist.... I'm a duck. Obviously. I don't care about not caring.... or that I don't care. Paradoxical as it may seem, I'm tired of searching for what's right in front of my face. I already know. I don't need faith or anything.... I've seen and so I believe. It's not stage magic.... that's just insulting. You think I haven't looked into it? I've been over the scenario a thousand times in my mind since. For weeks I couldn't stop thinking about it. Everything from "was this guy going through my garbage and watching me in my home?" type stuff. Don't worry about it. I appreciate it, though...! Okay, I get it. Your point has been made. I don't care what you believe...! Do your thing and do it well. The Buddha said what you said. People should question their beliefs. You assume me to be gullible. That's fine. You don't like gullibility.... that's fine. Then maybe you don't like me? But... I like you... I still think we should chi sao. :hat:
Yet still you can't actually provide any evidence that it can be effective. Your weather magicians seem to be incredibly selfish, arrogant people with no desire to help anyone else. Again - all you've provided is some anecdotal stories. Nothing even remotely firm in terms of evidence. So your comment about how we all need to meditate for umpteen hours is unnecessary, all we need is one of your wizards to cause a miraculous thunderstorm. Sadly they don't seem to be willing to do this to convince anyone other than you. There's actually nothing paradoxical about the way that they act, and a lot more than probabilities can be worked with. The location of a particle can be found, but in doing so you change it's velocity in an unknown way. The velocity of a particle can be found, but if you do so then you don't know it's location. The supposed stark resemblance you see is due to having only a laymans understanding and not having looked into it enough to see the deeper meanings. Particle mechanics is not philosophy, unless it is practical philosophy. It is a well-tested and researched theory, not magic. There is no evidence whatsoever for the existence of an immortal soul of any kind. Just read up on any account by a supposed alien abductee, there are plenty out there. Good solid evidence that believers in the idea of alien abduction exist. Uh huh. Thinking over one experience in your mind is not 'looking into it'. Find an admitted cold-reader, see if they can garner the same information. That'd at least be a start into looking into it seriously. Nah, it's nothing personal at all and I'm enjoying the argument. I dislike your beliefs, and do see you as gullible, but equally you probably see me as stubborn and close-minded (you're wrong of course). Can we fence too? You might be surprised at the amount of insight involved, given that most of a fencing match involves standing still and watching for an opening.
Hang on...is Lou actually saying that he thinks people that have mastered chi can effect the weather? If so there are a few places in the world that could really do with that kind of thing.
I can effect the weather....ask the spider that was in my sink last night. No wait, you can't can you, I drowned that crawly basterd.
This was kind of my point - I thought these incredibly wise chi masters were meant to be nice, generous people, yet for some reason they use their thunderstorm summoning ability only to show off and not to help out places in drought.
I kind of got that impression but my mind refused to accept what Lou had actually said until now. It was sort of a forum double take.
Dudes, we all affect the weather, butterfly effect and all that! Randomly came across this opinion, thought it wasn'n too bad: The book mentioned above may be interesting too, personally I dont have the time or patience for it, but if anyone does check it out, do report back.
"Qi is Qi" is a cop-out If you are talking about something like zen then such fuzzy definitions are appropriate because of the mental conditioning aspect. But with Qi/chi/ki/whatever, there is a specific reference point that the person making the reference means In certain style practices they will "harness their qi" - therefore out of necessity and definition there is SOMETHING to harness. When they "feel qi" there HAS to be something to feel Because 100 people cannot agree on a definition is not an indication that it is an abstract concept - it is more an indication that it is a nebulous concept that has been used to obfuscate for years and is probably as much to do with an archaic oral tradition as any genuine phenomena. Once again I pose a simple test - show me something you can do with this Qi that cannot easily be replicated by someone who has not practiced it for years This is why the "in tune with your body" explanation is so satisfactory - it explains all, leaves no gaps and at the end of the day is still quite abstract in application and requires a lot of "kung fu" to acheive Weather control my ass!
I would.. but all those Highlanders and their damn quickening disrupt my macrogasmic flow and makes me suffer with premature chi projection!
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYOE_b4aYD0"]HIGHLANDER-WHO WANTS TO LIVE FOREVER - YouTube[/ame] Christopher Lambert didnt sort the weather with his Chi - and weve stuck with it bucketing down ever since.
The castle at the intro Eilean Donnan, is arguably the home of my ancestors. There is a huge rock there inscribed with 'the Murchison Rock' as testament to a Murchison who allegedly hurled at some enemy - Murchison is my Mother's name. However I have not inherited Chi powers to change our crappy weather or fly no-touch opponents accross the void!
Nice! I would see if I could claim some rights to it.. or at least charge tourists for visits You need to train your micro/macro-gasmic orbits more, thats where its all at!
The Murchison Rock of Eilan Donan Castle http://www.fife.50megs.com/eilean-donan-castle-scotland.html Certainly the restoration work is imaginative, yet tasteful and accomplished, now having weathered gracefully to disguise nearly all trace of re-building. Poor Farquhar Macrae missed the ceremonies opening the restored castle in 1932: he died six months before. Eilean Donan is now no longer an island; it has been joined to the nearby shore by an attractive stone-arched causeway. In the central courtyard the masonry walls yield elegantly to the contours of the parent rock, and look out for the hefty boulder once lifted single-handed by John Murchison of Auchtertyre, a local strongman later killed while fighting under the Jacobite banner at the battle of Sherrifmuir in 1715. - but no Chi.....
That's true... was kinda show-offish, wasn't it? He could be helping end the drought in the Sudan, huh? I tell you what. I didn't say a word to this fella. Not a WORD. I just stared. I didn't even say "hello", really. Come to think of it, he did all of the talking. I don't know how to fence. You'd have to teach me.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpydrOob6wU"]How to control the weather by psychokinesis, clouds and wind - YouTube[/ame]
See, this sounds to me more and more like opportunistic showmanship on his part. Incidentally over the course of our conversation I've been analysing you, and I've developed a description of your personality. I'll PM it to you and you can let me know how accurate it is. I'm not bad at cold reading myself you see, and forum dialogs provide enough information for a basic description.
