Thanks so much.  Radiology will shoot me with dye on Friday as some sort of test that makes it clear that hip surgery is needed or not.  Pretty sure I will have to have it and so is the doc.   I kept throwing out the thought that I really really wanted the time to write more and time to be on-line more. Now I am scared that I am going to get my wish if there is someway one can sit  and not  ruin a fresh hip operation or lay down with the right stuff arranged properly.   I know there will be plenty of walking and re-hab, starting with dragging one leg until everything balances again.  And it will depend on the kind of help I get and what insurance allows and whether or not my children can step up to the plate.

I was part of the first generation who had parents sick and dying on one end and teen agers of young married on the other end with me in the middle as head care taker etc.   It was really hard.  And now my kids would be in the same place so I really do not want to impose on them too much but stilll want to see them willing and witht the right spirit.  I had a taste when I broke my neck of which ones will do what they can.   Nelson Mandala has a prayer that he tells his people to pray.

Pray for the young for they have so far to go and pray for the old for they have come so far.   And pray for the middle people for they do all the work.  That would be my kids with so many life projects and problems. with mostly their own children,ever that they make some of that happen just as I did and do.   So I am hoping for a way to  work it all out and I am trying to get in the right place and accept this.  I broke my neck in Sept and have just gotten over that and now this.   However, I have already seen the value in being slowed down.  My teacher.   I suppose I am one of those who has to be dragged ? kicking and screaming into some sort of forced on my back

place in order to be still.  It has been a great teacher everytime.

Thanks for asking.  I appreciated that very much.   I still plan to answer your two Posts eventually.   I was glad to see on another Post that  someone has referred you to "balder".   He is one of my very favorite people and is not around much any more because of a new teaching job (I think).   And whoever was writing to you was resonating with you or you with him.  I feel bad I have lost his name right now.  I wanted to jump right in and feel myself getting more interested all the time in writing more here.  And I read the music thread and was fascinated and impressed with all you can do.   Dam!  next time I am coming back as Shania Twain. and write my own music.  That must be the best way to relax and balance out.  I am from Ky  and only 65 miles from Nashville, so that is in my blood- the blue grass and the country music.

Johnny Cash played at Lost River Cave when I was in college.  Along with others.  I hope that is not the music you don't like.  Can't help myself.  But we had the "Hilltoppers" playing in the NCAA and other big tournaments thru the years so people didn't look down on us totally.  Country was not cool in those day except to those of us close by.  That would be Western Ky. University in Bowling Green.

I enjoy allmost all music-  a bit partial to some of the classics and love the gospel at least some of it.  I cannot believe that you do all you do.   There was a Dr. named pelle who is also a tango dancer and if he still is on line, he would be good for you and also timelody.  I don't have time to look up and see if they are still here. but you can punch in their names and check out some of their Posts and see if they are still around.  The subject you were looking at with me about Spirituality is fairly new to all of us because of the changes that blew us away in Ken's last book,
"Integral Spirituality". and was number in the UK.  And I will admit that I think so much of his work has left A. Cohen in the dust  and for myself even tho I have read a few good books for myself by others recently, KW is still the last word for me.  I have wandered away from all past searching spots and greatly appreciate the opportunities but  think I have found a home for my heart and soul and mind and body and won't be leaving until I go to sleep for good. So maybe this weekend I will take a look again at the questions and the other Posts and see what I can come up with in the way of answering.   "Accept that somedays you are the pigeon and somedays you are the statue"    My latest favorite quote.   Love Pattye

Pattye:

I am rooting for you.

By the way, do not feel you need to weed through any questions I have asked or points I have made and reply to them.

Regarding Balder, he is out there and I think it would be hard for anyone to confuse my gibberish with his quite focused communications.

Do you play any piano or music at all? Regardless, if you are laid up you might consider using the time to get a little electric keyboard and playing some music. If you are from Kentucky, you have rich American roots music in your blood!

Tell us you are doing well, OK?

Hi Schalk - I liked those Manny photos. But why I'm back on this thread is Tiger Woods and golf in the kingdom.

Last night I listened to Michael Murphy and Ken talk about stuff in a fun and funny way. Michael brought up some of the amazing states that golfers get into in order to consistently move forward from being, through club-head, to ball in the hole [my phraseology].

Today I heard a news piece about Tiger Woods' first and current tournament since knee surgery. Apparently he fell behind and was back from the lead. In an extraordinary series of 6 holes, with his awesome skill and poise and some luck, he moved to one ahead. Apparently he had a birdie and a couple of eagles in that span. I'm not a golfer but from the words and tones of the commentators I could tell how amazing this was - they found it almost incomprehensible.

Here's a link to a news article about him in the tourney and a snippet of the text. I embolden one part that I like, and I especially like the comment about awareness of the grass changing in the afternoon sun.


http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/25100215/site/21683474/

The 50,000 fans at Torrey Pines, who thought they had seen it all during a most remarkable week, now get a little bit more.

It will be the first playoff at the U.S. Open — the only major that goes 18 holes of overtime — since Retief Goosen defeated Mark Brooks at Southern Hills in 2024.

And it was made possible by Woods, among the greatest clutch putters of all time, making a putt that simply couldn’t miss.

“A little wobbly down there,” he said of the poa greens, a grass that gets bumpier in the afternoon sun. “I played probably 2½ holes outside right. Just take it back and make a pure stroke, because once it starts slowing down there ... you don’t know what’s going to happen. All I could control is my stroke.”

The birdie concluded a week in which Woods played the first two rounds with Phil Mickelson, shot 30 on his back nine Friday to get into contention, took the 54-hole lead Saturday with two eagle putts totaling 100 feet, and wobbled on a surgically repaired knee that often turned a megawatt smile into a painful grimace.

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Ambo Suno

Hi again Ambo and all

Been away a while, fun to catch up with some of these threads...

I was watching the golf from over here, small hours of the morning.  Its true, that was one amazing putt, an act on another level because of the focus it took.  It did seem to have the effect of briefly raising consciousness, in Woods himself and in all the spectators, in the gallery and worldwide.  In me too, and I'm not even particularly a golf fan. Its the kind of achievement which feeds into the hero myth, but I think Schalk put it just right earlier in the thread:

Look at Tiger Woods. Here is a young man who has been trained from age 3 on how to apply his emotional energy into an almost superhuman focus. Look at all the times when he has been near the end of the final round matching strokes with another golfer and when the emotional pitch was at its highest, he has entered a zone of focus and made unbelievable shots where almost any other really good golfer would have been warped by their emotional energy and made a bad or average shot. And yet, from an interpersonal line, Tiger would see bright red.

Which came over loud and clear a few holes earlier, when he hooked a shot and threw his club and stamped around like a kid having a tantrum.   Not a criticism of Tiger at all.  If he was more developed in more ways, would he care enough about winning to trouble himself to entertain us?   Heroes aren't necessarily saints....

Warmest wishes to all

David

 

 

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'This is all the time you'll ever have'.
~ Dr Hannibal Lecter

David:

Funny you bring that up - I was thinking about this again as Tiger and Rocco Mediate teed off on the first playoff hole after tying at the end of regulation in the playoff. The emotional pitch could not be any higher at that moment.

Tiger and Rocco were playing different games. Rocco was trying to perform a skill that he had learned relatively late in life, while Tiger was doing something that he cannot remember ever having not done in his life.

And sure enough, Tiger crushes his drive down the middle, and puts his second shot on the green, while Rocco is falling apart, getting destroyed by his own emotional energy.

So what does it mean? Tiger has kinesthetic development that feeds off of his emotional energy. Rocco was possibly overwhelmed by the implications of change on his self line (winner of US Open, new identity, confusion).

Golf has a finely developed level of moral demands, many rules and courtesies and civil customs that must be obeyed.

The game itself has become an international community - unlike many sports like baseball and football that are played within borders for the most part.

I am wondering I guess if there isn't some altitude along a number of lines that is emerging in the game of golf overall. Or to put it another way, the game may be the most ready venue for application of Integral principles. Though it can be mastered externally with development along only a couple of lines.

David, so good to 'see' you and I think your and Schalks points are on - these sports and spirituality linkages are not simply 'yes' or 'no'. Warm regards, ambo

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Ambo Suno

David and all, here's a video of my daughter's 1 1/2 year old nephew. He's a pretty playful and coordinated little fellow - he'll never have that kind of intense training of tiger, partly because academics, religion, and other aspects of life will be his milieu. As a guess, he probably will enjoy plenty of sports and play along the way.
http://imageadventures.com/video/highlight_reel.html

EDIT - that didn't come out quite right. What I mean is that I think that the proportion of emphasis will br quite different, let alone the question of basic gifts for professional level athletics. You know - scratch all that I've said except for the video itself. ambo

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Ambo Suno

Hey, lovely vid Ambo!    You're right, that cute little kid has natural balance and coordination, its a pleasure to watch him with that ball.  Let's hope he keeps it as the years go by and doesn't lose touch with that freedom and spontaneity....

This discussion triggers a scepticism I have, often expressed over the years in these forums, about consciousness evolution.   I don't deny that we develop, but it seems to me that we have a certain potential which we may either partly or fully realise in our lifetimes.  And that's an opportunity but also a limit.  So, for example, if I'd taken up golf as a kid maybe I'd have got good at it by now - as good as I was ever going to be.  I'd have reached the altitude I was inherently capable of.  I doubt extremely, though, that it would have been the height reached by Tiger Woods.  I could have practiced and learnt every day of my life and I still wouldn't have been within a million miles.  No doubt that's true of Rocco - actually, that was a fantastic achievement, wasn't it - he should be so proud to have come second after a play-off to Woods, and I hope he is.  In the same way, if I devote my life entirely to spiritual practice, will I become Ramana Maharshi?   You wouldn't want to bet on it, would you?   Can I become more intelligent?   You see what I mean - sure, its a great thing to live life to the fullest that is within us, and no doubt we all have far more potential than we ever believe possible.  But its all within individual, pre-determined limits.  Not evolution but fulfilment. 

Just a thought.

~ David

      

 

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'This is all the time you'll ever have'.
~ Dr Hannibal Lecter

Yes, David. I too am skeptical about much of our imaginings about being highly spiritual or even intelligent. I do think I see what you mean. Sometimes, I get carried away, but quite often I feel grateful for the few relative and variable gifts that are part of me and my largely accidental surroundings. I often think/feel that there are some X Y and Z factors of which usually we have little awareness, a cosmic whale's tail that with a flick could show us how little we understand. Stay cool - it's bleedin hot here.

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Ambo Suno

hey Ambo,

I liked the pictures of your daughter's nephew. So cute! You make me wanna live in the U.S. lol For real, he is a basketball talent.. :-)

Yeah over here it's damn hot too - when it's not raining that is. ^^ Imagine that today, we (the german soccer team) won the Euro Cup 2024 quarter finals versus the Portugese team. It was a hot match that ended 3:2 (2:1) for 'us'. You can't imagine the party in the streets! I'm still overwhelmed (and a little drunk) but I just had to tell you that.

best wishes,
C.

Yes, soccer is such a passionate sport in Europe and much of the world. It can get a bit crazy when nationalism is the primary identifier. I had a girlfriend in Munchen who was married to a famous German soccer star, whose name I won't mention, and she said that he was treated like a hero as he zipped about the city in his powerful Porche.

Over here, even the city - when the Boston Celtics just won the NBA title there wasa lot of celebrating that got out of hand.

The good thing about getting drunk is - that you can sober up. May your hangover be mild.

Yeah, fun, having your team win.

May we stay cool, bruder. ambo

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Ambo Suno

Witz:

Congratulations on the German squad's superb performance against Portugal! They are looking like a real formidable team!

Am looking forward to Italy-Spain tmw. Will be watching the contrasts in style - Spain coming out very aggressively and Italy thwarting them and thwarting them and then slipping in a winner in the last minute. We'll see...

Thank you Schalk, me too I think our team is in a good shape this year. Finally Podolski and Schweinsteiger show the combinations they promised and Klose manages to score with a header now and then. BTW we're in the finals now.
Yeah Italy-Spain. It was a extremely boring match, they kicked the ball around the field for 120 minutes and then we had the penalties. I must say the Italians played worse over that time, they just blocked every spanish offensive action and tried to win quick contra-attacks, but actually this Tactic is really boring to watch. Incredible that the Italians became World champions with this same defensive Tactic. Thank God that they lost the match, it was about time... Now Spain will face the Russian team who seems to be in good shape, too - they are surpisingly good actually. Yes, sports and the other developmental lines... a wonderful topic.

I called the Italian tactics ... they always play this way. Try to get the opponent to tire himself out and then ... at the last minute ...boom!

I think that maybe Italy was prepared to lose. DiNatale and DiRossi on penalties? Neither of those guys are the best Italy has. I think Italy is looking to lay low so as to come into FIFA 2024 as the underdog.

I don't know - Germany may be the best squad on the planet right now. And maybe the classiest group of guys too. Good for the sport.

out of the monasteries and into the golf course