For the record (and i have already covered this earlier... ) I am not 'anti-drugs' and I do not think people who use them are 'scum' (paranoia again people ) I am just answering the original question of this thread. (I also think smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol to excess are pretty stupid btw and do not help your Taiji practice one bit, but the people who do these things are not 'scum' or less than me ) Re: Benefits of cannabis - not the subject of this discussion strictly. The question is whether it will help your TJQ practice and the answer is basically 'NO' lol If the question was whether it would enhance your listening pleasure of Hawkwind albums or help you find meaning in paisley wallpaper then the answer is 'YES' (and their albums too lol) Re: Cheng Man Ching dying of alcohol poisoning - I read it in one of Barefoot Doctor's books if I remember correctly. Not sure which one. My comment was not about him, just about alcohol lol Here's another angle - qi is the most powerful stimulant/relaxant you will ever experience ime/o, why water it down with lesser 'external' agents? :Angel:
Two answers: 1. Qi doesn't exist! 2. We are too impatient. We want instant gratification, waiting for the time when we are able to actually feel the qi takes too long. Of course for folk like myself, I enjoy the taste of the beverage and only drink in moderation. I've gone off completely the approach to drinking where you have to get drunk, although it does still happen, but to a lesser extent that before. I suppose it comes down to why do you take the substance? Do you drink alcoholic drinks for the sake of becoming drunk/more relaxed/stimulated, or do you just like the taste? Alcohol is a much more social drug, and people tend to partake as part of a social gathering, without a specific aim in mind. The same cannot be said for narcotics.
for someone that seems to be pro marijuana... your pretty uptight. relax... bro... no need to get hectic.... chill.... or maybe you should... inhale. are your numbers showing 10,20 and 30% in some states as the number of kids regularly abusing presciption medications? Did anything that you came across show a national average for prescription drug abuse by teens? What was your figure for the national average for marijuana usage? and personally I'd imagine the 10% number for an average marijuana user population to be generously low. now remember... toke a bowl before you respond and bite my head off.
I'm curious what are the particulars that you'd like to see better regulated. Would you propose that the FDA (wonderful org. that they are... LOL ) regulate it? It always struck me that if the government got their hooks into the marijuana trade pretty soon you'd be having GM crop marijuana that was chock full of pesticides, additives and preservatives. What do you think?
Here are some stats from the Bureau of Justice (http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/dcf/duc.htm#drug-related) And here is some self-reporting by inmates: And here are just some general crime statistics: And generally: Use among Juveniles:
I find that strange, and inconclusive. Weed has not made me or any other user violent. And I know quite a few. In fact it's the complete opposite. Alcohol however, I've seen many a fight result from. IMO alcohol is 10x as bad as marijuana, but as slip says, it's 'acceptable' (at least in most countries). But anyway. The statistics you posted could mainly be intepreted as concluding "criminals tend to smoke weed". Which means neither "weed smokers tend to be criminals" or "weed makes people commit crime". I think a lot of criminals take a lot of drugs, this isn't really an argument against them though. Also, 'drug', where it's used, could mean anything, and hazarding a guess, is mainly a reference to harder drugs where there is more money at stake, and more dodgier people involved.
Whit? och, jings! Ye'll no' be tryin' tae sully ma guid name noo wid ye? Steamin' or no' I kin still chib ye, ya bam! 15 year old cask conditioned malt was never made for going out on a bender. A joke: 4 people on a tube station. Large woman, a gorgeous woman, an englishman, and a scotsman. The train is in a tunnel and the lights go out. There's a loud smack! When the lights go back on the Englishman is sitting holding is face, clearly stunned and in a bit of pain. The gorgeous girl thinks: ohh, I bet he tried to touch me up and got her instead and she slapped him! The larger woman thinks: ohh, I bet he tried to touch up that girl, and she slapped him! The scotsman thinks: I hope the lights go oot again!!!! P.S. I'm no' anti-english.
And the moral of that story.... not everything that wears a skirt hits like a girl And for tonights weather forecast... it's a braw bricht moonlicht nicth the nicht - ye ken?
Mr Pedantic Strikes Back I believe what you meant to say was: "scientific method has failed to prove the existence of qi so far" Science can only prove the existence of something not the non-existence of something. So your original statement is about science not about qi (which I intuit - Exists lol ) Seriously tho, the BMA (a science-based medical authority) says acupuncture uses 'bio-electric energy' whereas acupuncturists call that 'qi'. Also Wilhelm Reich developed the 'Orgone Accumulator' to measure levels of 'orgone energy' - Orgone energy corresponds almost exactly with Chinese descriptions of qi. (The Hawkwind song 'Orgone Accumulator' is all about this - for listening instructions see above.... lol ) What I think puts people off the idea of qi here in MAP are all the silly fraudsters claiming they can do magic with 'qi' and putting out crap videos of themselves doing so. I totally agree that these are rubbish, but they are claims of 'jing' (power) and not strictly 'qi' (life energy) anyway! Qi is life, simple as that. That which is alive has qi, that which is not, does not. Qi is a blanket term for all sorts of aspects of living things rather than a specific 'thing' itself which also confuses our scientific, reductionist minds here in the Western Paradise lol Viewed one way, Qi is a meeting point between science and spirituality... Many of the 'feelings of qi' people experience are actually physical symptoms of qi blockages, real qi may not be not felt at all by the practitioner but may be sensed when it meets another persons resistances. Check out BK Frantzis' 'Opening the Internal Energy Gates' for more info on this. It is a complex subject and viewed through Taoist philosophy has more to do with 'non-existence' than 'existence' anyway.... So to conclude - you are absolutely right LOL Peace :Angel:
about qi; just take a breath, and you will feel it, if not...continue practicing, breathing, and some day you will, if not, you will die, and than you will feel the end of existance of qi....will not feel...or will??? i'm not sure... or as i answer if a girl asks me if i can explain qi to here; What are you doing tonight, love? :love: to the weed question; the topic is not about weather weed should or should be not legal/illegal, but weather it is good fot TJ... i also did weed now i don't any more... it feels better this way... it feels more real... my explanation...natural way of human(i hate this line ) is not connected with weed, so therefore, it is an illusion...whatever i sensed, and was nice and soft and relaxed...did not help me one bit...it would help if i would smoke weed all the time...but since i don't it's no use to me...that is just like saing that doing TJ in space, zero g, would give you some great insight because you wold be weightles and soft and relaxed...it would if you were to live in zero g....but you do not... come back to eart, oh space man :Alien: peace(seriously)
Agreed, I don't see how any conclusions can be drawn from the stats. You could do a survey about which criminals eat chocolate and try and ban that!
If it aids you, good. If it doesn't, good. If you choose not to good. If you do, well However, it shouldn't be forced onto others and it shouldn't be forced away from them. Why regulate it with growing permits and carrying limits (less then an ounce lets say? That way kids can't get it, like they can now (thats why they get prescribtion drugs. they are accessible and can get them, not because they are illegal for them. it is hard for them to get regulated booze then it is for them to steal vicadin or buy blackmarket x, weed, crack ect. Another reason. So we have less dealers whom deal with drugs that are not weed. There alaways is the chance yours could be tainted or fake. If we use growing permits, our friends can supply the crop and tax revenue can be generated. I am for legallizing, permitting but not completely commercializing/advertising. It isn't for kids because it hurts their growth development and can distract them from their studies with munchies. Also do not forget, qigong and taichi can be very religious for people (meditation is a main foundation for buddhism, taoism and other asian religions). They also have used marijuana for traditional medicines. If someone uses it by choice, then it should be protected by the 1st ammendment if so (such as peyote/mescaline is for the native american church). Many sifus and religious people however do shun it. They see it beneficial as a medicine (seperate issue), but not as a recreational tool for aiding meditation. They insist its benefits do not outweigh its effects (weither it be chi or basic health). On top of this, there always is a balance of scales... Many have stopped drinking for it, is that a good or bad thing? Drinker: Hey kid, go get me a beer. "hits kid", go cut the lawn! or... Smoker: Hey kid, get me some munchies. Get me some beer. "pretends to hit kid and falls asleep". lol
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ A drug being legal and/or socially acceptable is irrelevant in this instance imo :yeleyes: Alcohol and nicotine are both addictive, dependency building, mind/mood-affecting and health damaging. Although their 'usage effects' may appear different to other drugs they are in no way less harmful with continuous long-term use (while we're at it let's add sugar and caffeine into the equation too... lol ). They are in some ways worse due to their low-key hit and long-term health risk than other more 'sensational' drugs... BTW My actual statement was ' they will not help' (your TJQ practice) because they don't! TJQ is both martial art and health exercise/activity. I believe stimulants and relaxants both detract from both aspects of the art, but I am also no puritan and I'm not telling anyone 'how to live' - I'm just addressing the question and passing comment.... Opening your energy channels/gates and then feeding toxic chemicals into your body would seem to be somewhat an 'own goal' imo but hey-ho you make your own choices... my old teacher virtually chain-smoked her way through every class and still smokes heavily. I don't. :Angel:
