Hahahah
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
…
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAH
Quetzalcoatl,
Please relax!
Hi liar,
[QUOTE=Dharma Mittra;31441]Quetzalcoatl,
Please relax![/QUOTE]you mean right now? All the time? While being on this forum?
Would you relax while driving a car? Operating a heavy machine? Relax, when you’re approached by thugs? Or liars, hypocrites, people who want to bring you down?
Tension is nothing bad, it’s not only pointless to be relaxed 24/7, it is impossible, so please smarten up! 
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
BTW, what’s up with FlexPenguin/InnerAthlete now? Are they the same person or had the Flex-one gotten something wrong? Just curious. :lol:
[quote=Quetzalcoatl;31513]Would you relax while driving a car? Operating a heavy machine? Relax, when you’re approached by thugs? Or liars, hypocrites, people who want to bring you down?
Tension is nothing bad[/quote]
My goal is to relax during all those situations as tension is usually a sign of stress which, in prolonged and/or frequent doses, is indeed bad. In addition, I prefer to stay centered and grounded amongst such people rather than let them affect me.
If I wasn’t able to relax when driving or near any of the people you’ve described, I’d literally never relax. As such, I would be negatively affected physically, emotionally, and mentally.
Ding Ding, round 352
David, can you pass me the salt, need some for the popcorn?
A forum for yoga is interesting in that, although good connections can be made, it can also be terribly unyogic at times, whatever that means.
I have let this forum get to me at times, whether I’ve been directly involved in a conversation, or just observed a thread and disliked how a participant is being treated or addressed by somebody professing to be holier-than-thou. And that’s made me really wonder why I would want to find out more about yoga through a website.
People can feel powerful on the web, but in truth they don’t know you and will probably never meet you, and in that respect they have no power in your life. So let them speak like gurus, and if it’s useful, take it. If it’s not, leave it and listen to your own intuition about what’s right for you. Calling someone on something that you clearly see as hypocrisy or condescension often doesn’t work on the net, precisely because it’s the net.
I personally have found the yoga book club really useful. So I take that with me and I’m really grateful to have discovered the book “Heart of Yoga”. The rest is mostly just talk and I leave it, or treat it lightly if I can.
And when I really find it not just unhelpful, but actually unhealthy to be on this forum, I switch the computer off.
Do you not see the “holier than thou” attitude in “real” life? I sure do. I used to be that way in fact. If I’m being honest with myself, I still do it on occasion though I try to be aware of it so I don’t. Spiritual narcissism is something I see most yoga practitioners go through whether on or off the internet. While it’s not pretty, it’s probably part of the process, especially if we don’t have a guru to help us realize what we’re doing. As such, I feel like the best thing we can do is stay grounded and centered while being loving, compassionate, and accepting of people as they go through this process and maybe have a good laugh on occasion at the silliness of it all. Because if you’re not coming from a place of love and compassion, then you’re likely coming from a “holier than thou” place. Thus the conundrum.
Do you feel it works in “real” life?
Don’t know about IA, but I for one am totally flattered to be singled out by the troll. Thanks, oh windy serpent.
I’ve moderated, admined, and owned a LOT of forums in my time. I don’t get the feeling that Q is trolling which is why I haven’t banned him. Obviously I may be wrong, but either way, I know that he is grating people. I PERSONALLY think that’s a good thing and allows for a wonderful practice. However, as I mentioned in the first post, “I open this thread up to discussion of acceptance, grounding, the idea of a policy of acceptance at this site, and any other tangents that might come about.” If you’d like to share your opinion here or privately, I’m certainly open to it I prefer that the community shape policy here rather than me dictate it.
I ask everyone, how accepting of others should we be here?
I’m learning.
[quote=David;30890]I recently read a parable that I loved. For the life of me, I can’t remember where I read it as I’d prefer to copy and paste it. As such, I’m going to write my own version where the idea is still there, but the wording will be different. If anyone knows the original version, please post it. The parable:
[I]A Zen Master and his followers were at their retreat doing chores. Everyone got along with everyone else except for one man who was constantly getting on everyone’s nerves, frustrating them, and angering them. People tried to be patient but slowly this man got to them to the point that everyone blew up and went off on him.
The man began to leave the retreat. Seeing this, the Zen Master ran after the man, grabbed him, and brought him back to the retreat.
Later that evening one of the followers went to the Zen Master and said, “Master, why did you bring him back? He gets on everyone’s nerves and disrupts our harmony.”
To which the Zen Master responded, “Why do you think I pay him to be here?”[/I]
[/quote]
David, this is a shared teaching, and perhaps it is the same story you are thinking of too?
A contrast between what I see in our situation here on the forum, and of that of this story, is in the story, there is a Master teacher who is shaping and teaching and creating the “spiritual container” for which those students who have taken him as as their teacher are asking of him and have confidence in him to do for them.
It is in his [B]knowing [/B]that he keeps the “troublemaker” close by. But that is not the situation here: we do not have a Master teacher, or an achieved teacher, who is here on this forum with us and who is shaping a container for us, we have you David, as sole moderator and forum owner, and we have the community. We have this open thread and we have private messages. We all just simple practitioners, students, and sadhaka/i ourselves, on very even and in-the-world footing.
i ran out of editing time before i could add these thoughts. so this is round two
I don’t have confidence in just one person, any one person, to do this job as I perceive it from what you’ve shared here in this quote. It appears to me, as it is presented here, that it all comes down to you, David, judging who and what is Yogic and who and what is not. Forum moderation with regards to spammers and troll, sure, but what is Yogic?
I understand from the other invitations that you’ve share in this thread, and from working with you as admin here, that you do NOT want this to be the situation, instead your repeated wish is to have this forum be community driven and shaped, so I would recommend having a group of a few members called in to discuss situations that need attention and careful consideration. I share your opinion that this has become a situation for consideration --hens this thread and all the discussion. I have offered this community a lot my service and time over the years, and cannot do so now in this capacity, but I would have confidence in [B]any[/B] of the contributing members here, outside of the “involved” to decide on any action, if action is found appropriate.
As it is now, I do not see a greater state of[I] sattva[/I], or equanimity, or deeper understanding being supported or nurtured here on this forum by allowing such aggressive and directly personal attacks. Points are for making, to promote positive change, but I find they loose any chnace of this when they are sharpened into razors. It is a challenge for any person to hear what another is saying when your ears are clogged by how much they despise and disregard themselves and you.
[quote=Nichole;31565]I don’t have confidence in just one person, any one person, to do this job as I perceive it from what you’ve shared here in this quote. It appears to me, as it is presented here, that it all comes down to you, David, judging who and what is Yogic and who and what is not. Forum moderation with regards to spammers and troll, sure, but what is Yogic?
[/quote]
i ran out of editing time before i could clarify. so this is round three. goodness!
because you are very important to me, i want to be as clear as i possibly can that this is[B] not [/B]about you david as an individual, but that i don’t have confidence in a system in which ANY ONE person here is saying that a member can stay to continue as they will when another has raised their own points and concerns to the contrary.
[QUOTE=Nichole;31562]David, this is a shared teaching, and perhaps it is the same story you are thinking of too?
A contrast between what I see in our situation here on the forum, and of that of this story, is in the story, there is a Master teacher who is shaping and teaching and creating the “spiritual container” for which those students who have taken him as as their teacher are asking of him and have confidence in him to do for them.
It is in his [B]knowing [/B]that he keeps the “troublemaker” close by. But that is not the situation here: we do not have a Master teacher, or an achieved teacher, who is here on this forum with us and who is shaping a container for us, we have you David, as sole moderator and forum owner, and we have the community. We have this open thread and we have private messages. We all just simple practitioners, students, and sadhaka/i ourselves, on very even and in-the-world footing.[/QUOTE]
Nichole, the master teacher you speak of that has the knowing, if he is truly wise chances are he would hold himself as, as you say ““We all just simple practitioners, students, and sadhaka/i ourselves, on very even and in-the-world footing”” Maybe david does realize, or other here as well, more then you think. I could judge your, what seems to me to be frustration with certain things on this forum, but you have your right to your opinion. Sometimes I do forget that my opinion is not the only one that matters
For me i find some of brother Q’s remarks to be quite amusing, now if he was going in every thread, all the time, and disturbing them all then I would prefer david to take more action on it but since that is not the case my vote would be to leave it as is. But how much does my vote matter and how much does it matter how much my vote matters.
Again, it is interesting that a lot of this came about after your posting of “I like nonsense” topic. Coincidence, irony, divine teaching, perfect timing, I dont know.
indeed! 
.
ooohhhh look, my last post was 777, a perfect number, but now it will be 778
I do not consider it my job to discern who is yogic as I agree with you that I am just a simple practitioner, one man on his own path with much yet to realize. It is only my job to weed out the spammers and trolls. And, as you said, since we do not have a knowing teacher here, how can we discern anything beyond that? For all we know, it is Q that is the knowing teacher who is shaping this container with his “razors” because that’s exactly what needs done. All I can do is try my best, trust in my knowing teacher who I have consulted on all of this, and do what feels right. To me, accepting anyone who is a sincere practitioner of yoga, despite their way of conducting themselves on this forum, fits that bill. I understand that aggression, competitiveness, ego, etc are simply signs of wounds that needs healed and avidya. My personal preference is that we create a space for people to heal those wounds, and benefit ourselves as our own wounds are revealed during that process.
At present, I’m interested in, as a community, deciding if we should accept everyone or not and having a single policy thereafter if we say yes so that there doesn’t need to be debate, just knowing. If we decide not to accept everyone, then we can decide how to proceed with trouble makers at that point.
Granted, this is all probably much easier for me because I sincerely like Q, I think he’s pretty awesome. Maybe because I used to (and still am in many aspects) be an extremely aggressive, pained and competitive person who knows how much accepting yoga teachers made a world of difference in my life. It’s no doubt easier for me to look past the aggression, competitiveness, and pain and see the awesome person. I’m not bothered by it because I understand it. Anyway, I personally see boatloads of sattva. This and the nonsense thread were full of it. At least they were, for me. I for one, am extremely grateful for all of this.
I just had a nice long LOL at this entire thread, as well as the nonsense thread which I linked to out of curiosity. Happens to every forum sooner or later. Glad it has sparked some meaningful conversation regarding acceptance, something I certainly struggle with.
Soak in the sattva my friend, soak it in