Individual Thought Patterns 7/27/2014

Okay this is from the tao te ching ebook pg34 #34

The great Tao flows everywhere.
All things are born from it,
yet it doesn't create them.
It pours itself into its work,
yet it makes no claim.
It nourishes infinite worlds,
yet it doesn't hold on to them.
Since it is merged with all things
and hidden in their hearts,
it can be called humble.
Since all things vanish into it
and it alone endures,
it can be called great.
It isn't aware of its greatness;
thus it is truly great.

Well from when we are born tao or maybe energy flows within us until we die. "All things are born from it, but it doesn't create them" Could be talking about how all life is created the same yet from my knowledge of Tao an individual can use this and try to walk in their own natural existence maybe. I really like the line "It pours itself into its work, yet it makes no claim" I think this means no matter what you may know or think you know, don't be boastful this in my opinion makes one humble, because it doesn't matter if your a black belt in something for example there is always someone who knows more and it doesn't just end there. The last line could be about how again there is always more knowledge to gain. Don't act like a hot shot and flaunt your so called greatness. People that don't flaunt are more level headed

Sorta reminds me of this song by KRS-One where he says that real bad boys move in silence? This quote can def go towards the rap culture. Flaunting around in those music videos with fake money hoes when you know these new cats don't have any of that shit. oh yea it was this song. Oh real hip hop how I miss you

Individual Thought Patterns 7/4/2014

Okay So this is from the Tao Te Ching ebook pg21 number 79

Failure is an opportunity.
If you blame someone else,
there is no end to the blame. Therefore the Master
fulfills her own obligations
and corrects her own mistakes.
She does what she needs to do
and demands nothing of others.

Hmmmm another individualistic quote. Basically you can view failure in many different ways. You could overanalyze what ya did and bitch about it or you can man the fuck and accept whatever that it is that you did and take responsibility for it. Hopefully it's all a learning experience. I'll use another quote from Chael Sonnen

"When doubt seeps in you got two roads you can take either road. You can go to the left or you can go to the right and believe me, they'll tell you failure is not an option. That is ridiculous. Failure is always an option. Failure is the most readily available option at all times, but it's a choice. You can choose to fail or you can choose to succeed. And if we can plant seeds and let him know, ‘Move your feet, keep your hands up, stay off the bottom.' That is the road to victory, or self-doubt and negative talk, and that is the road to failure. But failure is always there, and it's okay to recognize that. If I can leave you with anything today, in my long journey through this is, one, it's okay. Two, it's normal. And as athletes and especially as men, as male athletes we hate to admit weakness to ourselves, and when you're dealing with something and you got some kind of a hiccup, yeah, first thing is acknowledge it."

Individual Thought Patterns 7/2/14

The quote today is from the Book of the Five Rings ebook pg14. And the quote is as follows.

In strategy your spiritual bearing must not be any different from normal. Both in fighting and in everyday life you should be determined though calm. Meet the situation without tenseness yet not recklessly, your spirit settled yet unbiased. Even when your spirit is calm do not let your body relax, and when your body is
relaxed do not let your spirit slacken. Do not let your spirit be influenced by your body, or your body
influenced by your spirit. Be neither insufficiently spirited nor over spirited. An elevated spirit is weak and
a low spirit is weak. Do not let the enemy see your spirit.


Self explanatory really. I can relate to this because for me it says don't freak the fuck out. Even if you do don't show it on your face. Keep your energy level normal. Good one

Individual Thought Patterns 7/1/2014

Yes on this edition on Individual Thought Patterns I will be giving my intrepretation on the Tao Te Ching by Stephen Mitchell. The following is from ebook pg 2 #4

The Tao is like a well: used but never used up. It is like the eternal void: filled with infinite possibilities. It is hidden but always present. I don't know who gave birth to it.

Okay that was short enough. The google definition on what tao is the absolute principle underlying the universe, combining within itself the principles of yin and yang and signifying the way, or code of behavior, that is in harmony with the natural order. The interpretation of Tao in the Tao-te-Ching developed into the philosophical religion of Taoism. Okay so this in my opinion describes itself. Like a well you can take whatever you want from it within whatever feels natural to yourself. Maybe this is a silly example but maybe at this particular moment I want some strawberry ice cream. The universe is dictating to my brain stem at this moment to get it. It is in my natural state to move and get ice cream. Whether it is significant or not is up to the individual. But I am following my natural self. So in theory that would be an example of getting only a little bit from life's well. Me naturally decided to study acupuncture is me gaining a lot of information and this info is eternal. There will always be something to learn from it so I would in essence be using alot of information from the universe's infinite supply of water from the well.

There are so many different ways to live your life, infinite possiblities (self-explanatory) The possiblities of all you can do is always there whether it is just a passing thought in your brain or an action that you live, the universe is always there. As for the last line this might be a line that differs according to ones religious/spiritual beliefs. God coulda gave birth to the natural state of the universe. Or it coulda been the big bang theory etc. blah blah blah. As for what I think, who really cares, we are living in some kind of existance regardless of who gave "birth" to it

Individual Thought Patterns 6/30/2014

Yes here is the part of the blog where I analyze a certain thing and give my own personal opinion on it using my own life experiences, knowledge, yadda yadda yadda. The way I see the world I think is quite different then society's preconceived norms. I tend to gravitate towards thoughts and opinions that relate to me and discard anything that doesn't. I tend to categorize stories in to my own individual way of thinking either using experience, clarity for my brain, or just straight up intuition. This doesn't mean that my thoughts on a topic is set in stone. If it fits for me it fits for me, it doesn't necessary have to be politically "correct". This means I may re-edit some initial paragraphs if I gain more knowledge of a topic or just come up with different thoughts.

As of now I am giving my first on passages that pop out to me from books. I've got e-books downloaded exclusively and for free off the lovely thing that we call the internet. These books that I am currently starting to read or as follows: Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai, Tao Te Ching, & The Book of Five Rings. Of course I'll pull from more resources as I see fit, but this is a good place to start.

Today's entry will be pdf pg 4 on Hagakure and the quote is as follows:

A certain swordsman in his declining years said the following:
               In one's life. there are levels in the pursuit of study. In the lowest level, a person studies but nothing comes of it, and he feels that both he and others are unskillful. At this point he is worthless. In the middle level he is still useless but is aware of his own insufficiencies and can also see the insufficiencies of others. In a higher level he has pride concerning his own ability, rejoices in praise from others, and laments the lack of ability in his fellows. This man has
worth. In the highest level a man has the look of knowing nothing .
             These are the levels in general;. But there is one transcending level, and this is the most excellent of all. This person is aware of the endlessness of entering deeply into a certain Way arid never thinks of himself as having finished. He truly knows his own insufficiencies and never in his whole life thinks that he has succeeded. He has no thoughts of pride but with self-abasement knows the Way to the end. It is said that Master Yagyu once remarked, "I do not know the way to defeat others, but the way to defeat myself. ''
             Throughout your life advance daily, becoming more skillful than yesterday, more skillful than today. This is neverending.

Okay I was basically just skimming through this one and it caught my psyche for whatever reason lets analyze. So throughout one persons life there is an endless persuit of knowledge and one has to study learning many different life lessons and experiences throughout. As you go throughout life you might have excellent skills in a certain area and think you might know it all. But as the rest of the paragraphs describes there is never a state of being perfect at something. You must be humble because there is always someone out there that has more experience. Also, with the Master Yagyu quote perhaps that is a way of saying as an individual you know yourself more than you could ever know somebody else. So basically I think its a quote of having self-growth of yourself compared to all of the fallacies of another person. We can never walk in someone elses shoes. Have the strength to walk in your own