What's to say? You're mostly on the money. I will share this practice which saved my life when my wife died and subsequently others as I learned the skill. www.springforestqigong.com
prepping comes, indeed, in many forms. for daily shopping I'd recommend going to an open-air market, preferably staying away from "the supermarket", combined with paying cash. thus one builds up a (personal) community of contacts, consisting of vendors, getting acquainted w/their business, and other transient customers, enough for both small-talk and other information. it might seem to take more time, but time is ours.
Yes! Shopping in the farmers markets and the like is a great way to meet like-minded folks while getting quality food at the same time. My step daughter has become part of a wonderful community in New Hampshire doing exactly that.
It'll be quite some time before I can assemble everything into a coherent narrative!
But for now, you might be interested in my mother's memoir, "Fifth Chinese Daughter," by Jade Snow Wong. It covers here childhood and coming of age, education, and decision to be a ceramicist and writer.
I just finished reading your article (love your humor btw) and then read one on solar (bio) engineering as a global security issue. Seems the elites are coming up with increasingly new ways to f with the universe, and all we can do is register for a zoom presentation about it. Madness.
What is is, what was was, and que sera sera. Be here now. Be there then. Be where when.
“The great tragedy of consciousness is the unreality of the self — those ripples on the surface of the soul, insentient to its oceanic fathomlessness. We encounter each other as surfaces, yet yearn to meet as souls.” from Maria Popova’s The Marginalian email newsletter today, February 22, 2026.
I always think back to the movie The Truman Show...how devastating to discover that not only is your world a complete illusion manufactured by a global company, but even worse, all your "family" and "friends" were actors getting paid to play those roles.
Hi Su, Great writing with your wit, wisdom & willingness to share. Grateful having Qigong & Taiji to nourish body, mind & spirit. Ways to connect more deeply with nature & community. Good medicine!
Self-knowledge and self-control were expressly identified in antiquity as the core pursuits of mankind. Likely enough, this exact insight occasioned the onset of actual consciousness.
Little enough has changed over the millennia, essentially.
Well, try thinking of it as an “arrangement” of mental notes, a spiritual “melody,” if you will — or a series of melodies. The self need not be conceived as some kind of “organ.” It may be a process.
Of course, I cannot know or plumb the depths of any doubt not mine, but just a suggestion.
The Buddhist tradition explores this extensively, as you know. I'm currently reading Jung's Aion. I don't know how or if he reconciled the idea of Buddhist "no-self" with his idea of Self.
And this is exactly the point....that the whole globalist agenda is designed to remove all individuals' desire for self-knowledge and self-control. They are saying "WE know you better than you can know yourself, and by the way we control you too, so just get used to it."
I agree. The most basic freedom is freedom of thought — followed closely by freedom of speech and all other forms of expression.
Vibrant culture expresses humanity. Music and all the arts matter more than most realize. We owe a debt to artists through the ages and in our present moment.
What's to say? You're mostly on the money. I will share this practice which saved my life when my wife died and subsequently others as I learned the skill. www.springforestqigong.com
Oh yes, Spring Forest is a powerful practice. So glad you have found something to anchor you and simultaneously let you fly :) Thanks John.
prepping comes, indeed, in many forms. for daily shopping I'd recommend going to an open-air market, preferably staying away from "the supermarket", combined with paying cash. thus one builds up a (personal) community of contacts, consisting of vendors, getting acquainted w/their business, and other transient customers, enough for both small-talk and other information. it might seem to take more time, but time is ours.
Yes! Shopping in the farmers markets and the like is a great way to meet like-minded folks while getting quality food at the same time. My step daughter has become part of a wonderful community in New Hampshire doing exactly that.
that's great! let's hope it'll catch on further, expanding those informal networks.
I’m working to record my family history—it will be a great asset to the kids in my life.
Ming Dao, I would also like to read your family history; I've enjoyed your stories about your family from FB. Perhaps you'll publish it?
It'll be quite some time before I can assemble everything into a coherent narrative!
But for now, you might be interested in my mother's memoir, "Fifth Chinese Daughter," by Jade Snow Wong. It covers here childhood and coming of age, education, and decision to be a ceramicist and writer.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fifth_Chinese_Daughter
Just bought it and look forward to reading it, thank you Ming-Dao.
I just finished reading your article (love your humor btw) and then read one on solar (bio) engineering as a global security issue. Seems the elites are coming up with increasingly new ways to f with the universe, and all we can do is register for a zoom presentation about it. Madness.
Yes, another tactic to replace actual activism: complain on social media and Zoom instead.
What is is, what was was, and que sera sera. Be here now. Be there then. Be where when.
“The great tragedy of consciousness is the unreality of the self — those ripples on the surface of the soul, insentient to its oceanic fathomlessness. We encounter each other as surfaces, yet yearn to meet as souls.” from Maria Popova’s The Marginalian email newsletter today, February 22, 2026.
I always think back to the movie The Truman Show...how devastating to discover that not only is your world a complete illusion manufactured by a global company, but even worse, all your "family" and "friends" were actors getting paid to play those roles.
Yeah, I keep auditioning for one of those roles, but my moment in the limelight is yet to arrive.
“own our nervous system “, perfectly said. there is a lot of competition for it, but it’s mine and it’s best, for all, if i keep it.
There you go!
Hi Su, Great writing with your wit, wisdom & willingness to share. Grateful having Qigong & Taiji to nourish body, mind & spirit. Ways to connect more deeply with nature & community. Good medicine!
Thank you!
Self-knowledge and self-control were expressly identified in antiquity as the core pursuits of mankind. Likely enough, this exact insight occasioned the onset of actual consciousness.
Little enough has changed over the millennia, essentially.
The difficulty arises when one looks for the "self." What is it, where is it, does it exist?
Sure. But a clue may reside in the exact question you ask.
For me, the self is non-existent. It can't be found, it has no location.
Well, try thinking of it as an “arrangement” of mental notes, a spiritual “melody,” if you will — or a series of melodies. The self need not be conceived as some kind of “organ.” It may be a process.
Of course, I cannot know or plumb the depths of any doubt not mine, but just a suggestion.
I see no reason to think about it at all.
The Buddhist tradition explores this extensively, as you know. I'm currently reading Jung's Aion. I don't know how or if he reconciled the idea of Buddhist "no-self" with his idea of Self.
And this is exactly the point....that the whole globalist agenda is designed to remove all individuals' desire for self-knowledge and self-control. They are saying "WE know you better than you can know yourself, and by the way we control you too, so just get used to it."
I agree. The most basic freedom is freedom of thought — followed closely by freedom of speech and all other forms of expression.
Vibrant culture expresses humanity. Music and all the arts matter more than most realize. We owe a debt to artists through the ages and in our present moment.
Dying arts bespeak a dying society.