I intend to live forever, or die trying. -- Groucho Marx Not For Seniors Only!

[La Osita]

Well, no surprise I guess in a world focused on superficial 'instant gratification'. Doesn't get the brain cells fired up either.

In anything I've ever truly studied with focus and intent, I've discovered that the more I learn, the less I know. And that gets the brain cells cranking. Wonderful isn't it!

[Isla Verde]

Originally Posted by itnavell

Well, no surprise I guess in a world focused on superficial 'instant gratification'. Doesn't get the brain cells fired up either.

In anything I've ever truly studied with focus and intent, I've discovered that the more I learn, the less I know. And that gets the brain cells cranking. Wonderful isn't it!

For some reason this version of Kabbalah has become trendy among the Hollywood jet-set. From what I've read about Kabbalah, without having ever studied it for myself, it's a serious form of mysticism based on meditating on the meaning and form of certain Hebrew letters. Like all real mysticism, it's a way to communicate directly with God, quite a spooky concept if you think about it. Traditionally, its study was reserved for serious scholars (no doubt all men) over the age of 40 It was thought to be too dangerous for amateurs and those under 40 to experiment with.

[FHBOY]

Originally Posted by Isla Verde

For some reason this version of Kabbalah has become trendy among the Hollywood jet-set. From what I've read about Kabbalah, without having ever studied it for myself, it's a serious form of mysticism based on meditating on the meaning and form of certain Hebrew letters. Like all real mysticism, it's a way to communicate directly with God, quite a spooky concept if you think about it. Traditionally, its study was reserved for serious scholars (no doubt all men) over the age of 40 It was thought to be too dangerous for amateurs and those under 40 to experiment with.

During my younger days worked hard for a year to try and get into Kabbalah, it was the crowd I was hanging out with did-like a study group. It stymied me at every turn. I found some things I understood, some things that actually did enlighten me, but the rest was just too esoteric, so I walked away from it. That is why when it is advocated by such scholars as Madonna, I wonder if she studied the same texts as I tried to.

I word on "senior study". When you are a senior, one of the joys is that you can fulfill a lot of life's "want to's" instead of "have to's" and thereby choose what you want to use the non decaying parts of you brain for. Erma Bombeck has a new book and I heard her interviewed on, where else, NPR. She says there are things she just will not bother to learn, twitter, Facebook, how to program a DVR, etc etc. One of my things is not going back to study Kabbalah, it just doesn't matter. Continuing to study and use your mind is very, very important it needs exercise, but it is a joy to be able to choose what you want to study.

[ronb172]

Brother TG, it's just her/his opinion. Lighten up...

[edgeee]

disclaimer: This is all only my opinions and i own no property, so sue me at your own risk.

i love forums. i naturally like to study people and life in general.
forums allow the free exchange of ideas without the risk of bloodshed, tho it can get ugly.
here's something that is almost a fact.
expressing ones opinions in a forum is the fastest and best way to find someone willing to disagree with you.
and i think i know why. my friend Professor Crapfree says it goes like this.

the thoughts and actions of any human are primarily determined by two things:
1. what one believes in and believes to be true.
2. what one cares about and HOW MUCH they care.

this leads us to make choices that others disagree with. they have different beliefs and concerns.
this leads to our own concern, on some level, that we may be wrong, and that won't do.
in order to affirm our own opinions, based on our beliefs and concerns, we have a need to convince them they are actually the ones who are wrong.
nobody wants to be the one who is wrong. (one of the biggest deterents to learning new things.)

the best example i know is organized religion.
as far as i know, they all claim to be the only 'right' religion, so how many of them are correct?
to the best of my knowledge, they all teach that it is a duty to convert other lost souls.
i am spiritual, and that's all i will say about religion.

it's hard to prove such a thing, but the theory seems to hold water pretty well.
feel free to disagree, i could be wrong. but i'm that rare individual who wants to know if i am.
and i really don't care who corrects me, i just want the benefit of shedding one more illusion.

so conflict can be a good thing if you truly want it to be.
provided of course you have the proper understanding of what constitutes good v. evil, right v. wrong and true v. false.

i belive getting all this out makes me feel better, so i may live longer
and i do care about that.

the last song released by Hank Williams before he died in the backseat of a cadillac on the way to a performance was,
I'll never Get Out of This World Alive. he was 29 years old.

[pappabee]

Originally Posted by edgeee

disclaimer: This is all only my opinions and i own no property, so sue me at your own risk.

i love forums. i naturally like to study people and life in general.
forums allow the free exchange of ideas without the risk of bloodshed, tho it can get ugly.
here's something that is almost a fact.
expressing ones opinions in a forum is the fastest and best way to find someone willing to disagree with you.
and i think i know why. my friend Professor Crapfree says it goes like this.

the thoughts and actions of any human are primarily determined by two things:
1. what one believes in and believes to be true.
2. what one cares about and HOW MUCH they care.

this leads us to make choices that others disagree with. they have different beliefs and concerns.
this leads to our own concern, on some level, that we may be wrong, and that won't do.
in order to affirm our own opinions, based on our beliefs and concerns, we have a need to convince them they are actually the ones who are wrong.
nobody wants to be the one who is wrong. (one of the biggest deterents to learning new things.)

the best example i know is organized religion.
as far as i know, they all claim to be the only 'right' religion, so how many of them are correct?
to the best of my knowledge, they all teach that it is a duty to convert other lost souls.
i am spiritual, and that's all i will say about religion.

it's hard to prove such a thing, but the theory seems to hold water pretty well.
feel free to disagree, i could be wrong. but i'm that rare individual who wants to know if i am.
and i really don't care who corrects me, i just want the benefit of shedding one more illusion.

so conflict can be a good thing if you truly want it to be.
provided of course you have the proper understanding of what constitutes good v. evil, right v. wrong and true v. false.

i belive getting all this out makes me feel better, so i may live longer
and i do care about that.

the last song released by Hank Williams before he died in the backseat of a cadillac on the way to a performance was,
I'll never Get Out of This World Alive. he was 29 years old.

I would suggest that you study Jewish teaching before you make some wide and far afield statements such as "they all teach that it is a duty to convert other lost souls."

Judaism does not consider ANY soul to be lost, that is a Christian belief. Also Jewish people do not 'go out and try to find people to convert'. As a matter of fact as part of the conversion process the Rabbi must ask the 'convert' three times if they are sure of what they are doing.

After having said that I'd like to give you a thought on religion. To paraphrase Karl Marx, Religion is a group of laws set up by society in which they hope to govern themselves. The Old Testament of the Bible is an allegory. (a story written to try to understand what happened). CNN was not present at the first born nor was Walter Cronkite at the parting of the red sea.

That should give you something to think about. Happy dreams!!!

[edgeee]

thank you papabee, let me explain. i was raised in the river bottoms of the Little Wabash river,
and the first exposure i had to any sort of religion was talk of tent revivals. never went, but they were there.
around age ten when i learned i could get out of some work on the farm by going to summer bible school i did.
i couldn't even tell you what religion it was, but i still know the words to 'this little light of mine'.
(my home town was and still has a population of 500, tho that may be inflated, - they can't afford a new sign - and i lived 5 miles from town.)
at age 16 i graduated high school and still did not even know what 'jewish' meant. actually i still wonder at times.

this is why i used 'as far as i know', because i know how little i know.
it's a good way to solicit the opinions of others for consideration.
would it be wrong also that they do not consider their faith the only correct one? i think that one flies.

and 'duty' was probably a poor choice of words, but the word mission sure pops up a lot.

however, i have no desire to debate religion. my point is that Professor Crapfree is on to something.
not to be nasty, but aren't you avoiding the thrust of what i wrote about.

a thread devoted to living a long and 'good' life became more involved with opinions on how people should live.
i merely attempted to show why it is always thus. religion is not germane, other than a good example of why this occurs.

i have enough conflict in my life already without seeking more, but i stated my OPINION simply to express what i believe.
conflict is a major cause of stress, and stress is not condusive to good health, ergo bad if you want to live long and happy.
my understanding of this has greatly reduced the stress in my life, so i thought it might be helpful to others.

i would very much like to know YOUR opinion of my explanation for why people act the way they do, as stated above.

[terrybahena]

Religion is for people who don't want to go to hell.
Spirituality is for people who've already been there.
I like this. I define myself as spiritual; there is much to be learned from organized anything, then customize to one's liking & comfort.

[edgeee]

like i said before, this is about how to live forever or die trying.
religion is only relevant in certain narrow ways, such as a possible 'afterlife' and that's a stretch,
tho religious faith can be a great comfort if it is. for some it is not.

i have avoided numerous arguments and fights over the years by adopting a simple rule.
i will not discuss certain things with people i don't know well.
there are three things on that list:
Politics, Religion and Sex.

politicians have an answer for everything, but it's always the same answer.
religious people don't have any answers, they exist for the eternal question.
and i don't like to brag.

isn't anyone going to tell me my professor friend is wrong?

[Quetza]

I'm finding this thread very interesting to read and (with all due respect to the senior netizens ) quite amusing too. I still have a long way to go before receiving my INAPAM card but I'll be taking notes from everyone's posts here for future reference

@FHBOY That's one of the things that I don't really understand. Sure, I'd love to have more time to study things that interest me, but I've never been in a position of having to learn something that I dislike strongly enough to not want to be learning it... maybe with more time and experience I'll find my share of "do-not-want" subjects... This thread is making me feel like a baby. xD


@terrybahena: I agree with you. Most organized religions have taken rituals or knowledge from other religions and spiritual practices (which are not the same thing) over the centuries and adapted them for their own means, so I think we have the right to learn from them and then use whatever spiritual tools we need.

That said, I dislike these light versions of complex and often antique spiritual practices that have been popping up lately. If someone wants to teach any of them or use the techniques in their own classes or practices, imo they should have respect for the sources of their knowledge and not sell them as cheap imitations of the real thing (as a Reiki and Meditation teacher and someone who has been around people practicing Kabbalah and all sorts of spiritual paths for some time now, I feel quite strongly about this ) I feel like these teachers are ripping their students off.


Aaand, , since there's been a lot of comments on health issues, would any of the DF expats be interested in going for a walk or gather in some park or forest? (Like, ummm... Bosque de Tlalpan, Bosque de Aragón, etc.) In Bosque de Tlalpan, i.e. we could have a "field trip" to the top and then undo all the effort eating in the quesadillas place!

p.s. Sorry if my post is messy, I have no dictionaries at hand right now to spell check my orthography