Yratorm, LightMage

No, I wouldn't say it was 'wrong' - it's just a personal choice, and a person has a right to their personal choice. It may offend some people, but I'd say the people it offends can choose whether to be offended or not to be offended. A person's intelligence, talent, ability, etc. are what I look at when I talk to a person. Their sexual orientation is largely irrelevant (at least to me). So long as people don't try to thrust their personal choices on you, I don't see anything wrong in their making those personal choices. For example, a person might choose one religion over another - well, more power to them!! I think that without this right to personal choices we would be VERY unfair to people whose choices are unlike ours. As a small additional note, homosexuality is a documented phenomenon among animals as well as humans, so it can indeed be considered a 'natural' trait.

To return to what the original poster said about his anger problem, I certainly don't think that psychiatry is the only way to deal with an anger problem, and saying someone has MPS isn't going to help any. For people with anger issues, a lot of exercise, or joining a martial arts club that has a strong philosophical basis, or joining a meditation club are viable alternatives.Basically I think that drugs are the last resort. I have nothing against counseling IF it's helping the person concerned to have someone to talk their problems through and who'll offer constructive advice. I'm sure that this approach is useful for some people. But it's not necessary that someone who has anger issues necessarily is depressed or has multiple personality disorder!!Basically I feel that one should try healthier means of dealing with the problem before trying drugs that attempt to interfere with and control the processes of the mind.

Hmm, I personally think that the old teaching of 'walking the middle way' is generally the best way to deal with things.Basically what it means is this: Life is balance - so (for example) one should balance self-interests with a concern for the planet. At the moment I think humans are putting self interest before the good of the planet.What bothers me personally is that we aren't just destroying the planet, but also stealing the heritage of future generations.We need to come closer to the middle way - to balance the needs of human society - our needs and our comforts with the welfare of the environment, with the needs of other species with which we share this world, with the needs of future generations to which we'll leave the planet.Yup, the oil companies are too rich and influential - but then I look at most large companies as 'unthinking' entities, ensuring their own survival before any other consideration, and putting profits before most other considerations. Almost like they were a form of life themselves

I'd have to agree. I'd say that death is the 'eternal secret' - which actually makes it quite fascinating, don't you think? One lives one's life according to one's beliefs, and then.. well, that's an eternal question. I'd love to know the answer - but considering I'd have to die... hehe. Well, perhaps someday..!! It's just possible though that as science progresses we might actually find ways to 'peer' into the afterlife, but so far science hasn't supported the existence of an afterlife (at least so far as I know).

Hmm, it depends a good deal on one's relationship with one's partner, actually. If your partner has a thing against cheating, and you care about her/him enough, then I think I (just personally) wouldn't cheat out of consideration for her/him.However, I DO think that this is a case-by-case thing. After reading the above posts I'd have to agree that a relationship could be strengthened by a more free sexual attitude. As a matter of fact I have a female friend whose relationship actually broke up because she had a far greater sexual drive than her partner, and he wouldn't let her 'look elsewhere'As for celebrities:Yes, I think celebrities are hyped. Besides, it's possible to enhance basic good looks into the range of the 'unbelievable' with the help of camera angles, light source angles, and makeup.Anyway, I think my girl looks as good as just about any celebrity I can think of. And she shares my interests, and we get along very well, so no, I don't think either of us would cheat on the other even if a celebrity prepositioned one of us.

I agree completely. It's a pity that people can't live in peace. Basically, I feel that most of us have some mechanism or the other to deal with hostility, mechanisms that we've developed based on what works for us. And I think it's all right to respond to aggression in kind sometimes. There's no general rule, I think - each situation has a different 'optimal' response. Generally what I do is look at the threat value of the person - a person yelling in your face is different from someone threatening you with his fist, for example; and then I respond accordingly. Now, speaking of meditation, generally I find that meditation helps one to step back and look at a situation 'in perspective'. For those unused to meditating, I'd say try some simple, easy meditations before going on to more complex kinds. Meditation is a lot like exercise, you can't build up your ability to focus in a day - it takes time, patience and practice.

Actually there's a section being created on spirituality, and it would definitely be useful there. I myself have quite a few details as to the spiritual aspects of veganism in many cultures, and so has Opaque, (and so do you, I'm sure ) so it should be an interesting thread, indeed.

Yes watermonkey it's truly sad that this situation should exist. The lion of india was mostly eradicated by british officers who wanted to take the pelts home. The only reason the lion survived at all in india was because during the reign of the british, the maharaja (king) of gir lied to the british officers who came to hunt in his domain, telling them there were no more lions left in his territory. A noble man - he single handedly saved a noble species from complete extinction. I hope that security will be tightened around the sanctuary, but in asia corruption is VERY rampant, and it leaves holes in even the most seemingly secure security net. A sad state of things.

This was simply the way for humans to deal with each other.. in peace. You coldly reject it - Do you then prefer to make war on humans (even verbally) to satisfy your dreams of peace with other species? In that case, you should hardly complain when those humans whose habits you look down upon (because their habits are different) in turn attack you. No, I am not going to attack you here. But you have complained about the attacks of 'meat-eaters' - I merely hint to you why you get that bad a reaction. As for your quote May I point out that even Albert Schweitzer was only a man, and a quotation by any human is not necessarily a perfect pointer of the way one must walk, of the path to wisdom? And if you must have a quotation, how about this quotation then, so much simpler and more direct than Schweitzer's: It can apply as much as any quotation by Schweitzer, I think. Or do you not see where it applies? I say this not to attack you, but merely as a hint of other wisdoms.

ROFL, hehehe, right, I can't see Zeus looking any too kindly on those who've followed Jesus instead, when Zeus knows very well he's the original. No, no, just kidding. But gods stretch back through time, and change often. As I wrote somewhere, if you step back, well back, and look on things in timespans of tens of thousands of years, the religious beliefs of any one time and place fade into insignificance. However, if death is the end of everything, then why do we bother to live at all? A potent question, but off-topic here. Perhaps on another thread, hehe.

There's an interesting philosophy that states that what happens to a being after death is largely the result of his/her own beliefs :PAnyway, I find that fascinating. Can it be that we, by our very belief CREATE a future beyond death in which we ACTUALLY exist??In that case, the surviving factor would seem to be the will and the intellect, and the will more than the intellect, as it is what seems to cause 'life' to go on beyond the physical death. Oh, I don't support this belief, but it seemed an interesting addition to this discussion.Now to other schools of thought. There are those who think it all ends with the grave, and that makes perfect sense. There are those who believe in re-incarnation - there is little 'proof' of this, but I've in the course of my travels met people who truly seem to be 'old souls' beings who have lived so many 'lives' that they are possessed of vast knowledge and wisdom that they have not had the time to learn in this life.Speaking from personal experience alone, as a child I often dreamed of a certain place in england regularly (I was in the east) - as an adult, I visited england and visited the old family home (a section of my family was from england) and it was all EXACTLY as I saw it in my dreams as a child, except that as a child I had never seen even a picture of england, nor even heard the ancestral home described even vaguely - yet, in the dream I saw it in perfect detail. Fascinating, isn't it? A coincidence, an astral projection, or a 'memory' from another life, another time and place?

So let's see - what's been said here, basically, is that there was no improvement in sight because I lacked understanding. That if only I had 'the understanding' I would be able to see the rings of saturn with the naked eye??? You forget, I read the book, and it's partly BECAUSE of outlandish claims like that that I think it's fake. As for your statement on lacking understanding - it's fascinating. This to a person who was understanding books on astronomy at the age of six; who maxes most I.Q. tests, and has mastered the intense meditations and complex physical techniques of seven martial arts. I'm willing to look at the Bates method again, but if at a younger age I recognized it to be fake... what I think is that the Bates method WAS A WAY TO MAKE MONEY - for Bates and his original publisher. It's that simple. Still, since you put all that effort into that post, I'm willing to take another look - definitely. However, if I still find it fake, I'll be spreading the word with all my might, alright - that's it's fake!!

I think that we should let each one go their way.However, I do maintain that a vegetarian has a RIGHT to be one, without society having a bias towards them, as seems to be the case sometimes. Similarly, I see nothing wrong in someone eating meat if it keeps them healthy (it keeps me healthy). Let each one work out what way works best for them, and follow that way. Simple, isn't it? And the result of allowing each person their personal freedom is peace.

Practically speaking all I can say is this - eat what keeps you healthy. If a vegan diet keeps you healthy, thats great. If a meat diet is what you thrive on, by all means go for it. Simply put, what works for one may not work for another. As for spirituality in relation to diet - not everyone believes that it has much significance there. However, in the east we certainly have the concept of eating flesh being 'bad' karma, but then I think that such a topic doesn't, belong in a diet/health section at all but in a section on spirituality, meditations, etc. Lastly, I don't think that any way of life needs to be preached to anyone else - I don't think religions need to be preached, and I don't think a way of life, or a particular culture or even a diet needs to be preached. Live and let live. Do what's best for you, and let others do what's best for them. There's no need to convert anyone to your point of view, no need to argue, and no need to flame anyone just for being different. Peace, and good health, achieved in the way that works for YOU. What more could anyone possibly need??

Watermonkey, you wrote a great post on domestic cats - I read it, and I liked it, but most of it, including the breeds you mentioned, doesn't apply to me, as they aren't available where I am, nor will be available in the forseeable future. I'm talking about pets here, and I'm happy talking about pets here, so please do the same and stop going on again and again about my posts, which really infringes on my personal freedoms. You are DEFINITELY interfering with my personal freedoms here, especially with my freedom of speech, and I say right out that I don't like that at all. Please desist. You know well enough from past experience that I'm more than willing to go to a new topic when I think it applies. However, here I am discussing pets, canine and feline, as they apply to my particular region. My region is NOT america, so please don't talk like it is. Most of your advice about 'close to wild' breeds are impossible to acquire where I live. In fact, a leopard cub is MUCH, MUCH easier to acquire where i live than any breed you mention. I think that just because I come from a distant land doesn't mean I should be told to 'just be silent' rather than put in my input. That is not very nice at all. I maintain that what I've written is reasonably interesting, and therefore it is better and more informative than if I'd just written 'yeah, I like cats too'.

Basically I hate flaming, and I don't particularly like rude people on the net either. Especially those who adopt a superior attitude of 'I am right and you are wrong'. The thing with the net is that there's a degree of anonymity, so people sometimes say things on the net that they wouldn't dream of saying in 'real' life.I think that everyone has a right to a say on any topic, work of art, etc. but there's no need to be rude in any way. Politeness costs us nothing. And I think that yes, it's far, FAR better to help someone get better than to just step on them.

I agree, Roconza, you can't just let it pass. And yes, I think it's sad that so many lovable little creatures are passed over for some 'special' purebred. An example is a little cat who stays just outside my house - I just can't take him in because I already have four cats, but he's so affectionate that he's always near my door, and SO happy to see me. He follows me around the neighborhood, and just seems so lovable that I feel so sorry that I can't keep him. I've tried convincing some friends that it would be nice to adopt him, he's so affectionate, but they don't want to.

I would say, the best thing would be to talk to the owners, saying you'd like to see the animals, and could they oblige? Don't be confrontational, be friendly. Tell them you really like animals, and would like to give a little time to these strays. Strike up a conversation, maybe they'll tell you how they came to set up the shelter, about the problems they have, etc.Don't go in looking for trouble, go in trying to be friends. And go in to really be nice to some of the animals there, if they'll let you.If they are harsh/unfriendly/won't let you see the animals, then I'd say go talk to another shelter, find out what options those animals have, whether anything can be done to help them. I don't think you should just report them, if your report results in the poor creatures being 'put down' it would be a terrible thing, so talk to other shelters etc. That's IF things really are as bad as they seemed at first sight. It may be that these people really care about animals and are doing the best they can on a very limited budget, so give them the benefit of the doubt.Have you heard the saying 'He who treads softly goes far' - tread lightly, don't step on anyone's toes, be friendly, and try to find the way to do what's best for those little creatures.

Hmm, I've been getting a lot of comments telling me to 'toe the line' on this thread. Please note that I'm not trying to 'trivialize' this topic. This sort of talk verges on the the insulting. Just remember, what may be dangerous to you need not be dangerous to me. Please note that. The world is not one-dimensional, and neither are human beings. We each have our talents, and learning to communicate with animals is one of mine. Did you know that wild birds come when I call?? They do. And speaking of cats, did you know that most wild cats have a complex language of facial gestures that they actually use to communicate, and that a human can use this language to communicate with them? Simply put, in 'civilized' societies people learn different skills from those who live in closer contact with the wild. It ADDS to this discussion, not subtracts from it, that you're getting the benefit of a very different point of view. I'd also just like to point out that this is an international forum, and just because certain rules apply in America, they don't hold true everywhere. For example, wild dogs roaming the countryside do not pose a problem where we are, as natural predators keep their population down. If packs of dogs revert to 'wolf like' behavior to survive in 'backward' nations (as you put it) such as mine, that is freedom, not suffering. They eat quite as well that way than when fed by the oft-degrading hand of man. And I'm talking about a mountain region where sources of food for these hunting packs exists. I hardly call this maltreatment. So this isn't maltreating a dog, it's giving it the ultimate freedom, the freedom to live and die free. NOTE that I'm only talking about how wild dogs exist in my particular geographical region, not elsewhere. And if 30,000 dogs are 'put down' in american 'shelters' every year, don't look at me, I'm hardly responsible for the practices of 'civilized' societies. See, my point is this - just because it is impossible/dangerous for you to befriend a leopard, doesn't mean the same rule applies to me. Perhaps I have some levels of experience here that you don't, as I've spent quite a few years in their home jungles. A leopard is still, technically a 'cat'. Just because you want to talk about house cats is no reason to 'shout me down'. By all means talk about house cats - I'm not stopping you at all. But to imply that I'm purposely trivializing the discussion is totally unnecessary and worse, untrue. I would have thought that it would be nice for you to get input from 'another kind of world' rather than to just keep this thread in the 'western' hemisphere. As I said, it ADDS to the discussion, instead of subtracting from it.

Hmm, if you have a current steady girlfriend, the simplest thing to do might be to talk to your girlfriend about the problem and ask for her help, and one day the two of you just walk up to this girl, and you introduce your girl AS your girlfriend, tell the girl how happy you and your girlfriend are together, and make it very obvious the two of you have a great relationship. Be friendly, be kind, but be firm. Just might work.

Hmm, I'd say just be yourself - forget 'trying to impress' her and be yourself, talk to her. See, each of us has a very different image of our 'ideal mate' in our minds. So forget trying to fit yourself to ANY image - be yourself, be relaxed, talk about your interests, talk about her interests - either you'll get along GREAT, or you'll get along 'reasonably well' or you won't get along at all.If you get along just great, believe me, the girl will be AS INTERESTED in knowing you as you are in knowing her, and there's definitely a possible relationship in the offing. If you get on only reasonably well, it's possible she'll want to just be friends with you - so just be friends. Hey, you can't win em all. And if you don't get along at all, well, that's it buddy, accept it, the world is large, and there are thousands of girls in it who WILL like you and want to be in a relationship with you.Don't take any rejection personally - just as you might like some girl better than another because she fits YOUR picture of an 'ideal mate', so every girl is also looking for the same thing, the kind of person she thinks will make her happy. And these pictures differ. When each person sees their ideal mate in the person they're talking to, a relationship happens.For the rest, I'd say, yes, look to your personal hygiene; also, be kind, be considerate, make simple romantic gestures like getting her some flowers - and share her interests, especially if they happen to coincide with yours. Be to her what you'd want her to be to you. And lastly, don't badger her. Don't think you have to make all the moves. By all means show your interest, but leave her some personal space to make moves of her own as well :(All this is the result of my own unwisdom Take it seriously, or with a pinch of salt, hehehehehe. I'm no expert, really. I'm a simple man.