to release some of this past weeks negativity on the boards and behind the scenes... I bring you a joke... yes something to laugh at. Smile. Have a giggle. It won't kill you, promise...

Ancient Chinese Torture  

A young man was lost wandering in a forest, when he came upon a small house. He knocked on the door and was greeted by an ancient Chinese man with a long, grey beard. "I'm lost," said the man. "Can you put me up for the night?"
"Certainly," the Chinese man said, "but on one condition. If you so much as lay a finger on my daughter, I will inflict upon you the three worst Chinese tortures known to man."

"Ok," said the man, thinking that the daughter must be pretty old as well, and entered the house.

Before dinner, the daughter came down the stairs. She was young,beautiful, and had a fantastic figure. She was obviously attracted to the young man since she couldn't keep her eyes off him during the meal. Remembering the old man's warning, he ignored her and went up to bed alone. But during he night, he could bear it no longer, and sneaked into her room for a night of passion. He was careful to keep everything quiet so the old man wouldn't hear. Near dawn he crept back to his room, exhausted, but happy.

He woke to feel a pressure on his chest. Opening his eyes he saw a large rock on his chest with a note on it that read, "Chinese Torture 1: Large rock on chest." "Well, that's pretty crappy," he thought. "If that's the best the old man can do then I don't have much to worry about." He picked the boulder up, walked over to the window and threw the boulder out. As he did so he noticed another note on it that read: "Chinese Torture 2: Rock tied to left testicle." In a panic he glanced down and saw the rope that was already getting close to the end. Figuring that a few broken bones was better than castration, he jumped out of the window after the boulder. As he plummeted downward he saw a large sign on the ground that read, "Chinese Torture 3: Right testicle tied to bedpost."


Okay did you all have a good laugh?

Did you release some tension?

Are you Smiling?

Are you still reading?



Good, then I leave these words of wisdom for you to ponder as you continue your journey of life...


Arnold Keyserling


There are many meanings to the term "UNDERSTANDING." I understand a language. I understand the motivations of a murderer. I understand your intentions. I understand mathematical equations. However, I can also understand TRUTH, which is the verbal mirror of material and transcendental reality.
The English term "under-standing" means to be underneath a reality. Perhaps this explains the British love for under-statement. The French understanding of truth is "verite" which comes from "verifier," logical cartesian truth. The German word for truth, "wahrheit," stems from perceiving, "wahrnehmen." The Greek word "aletheia," is synonomous with immortality, and means that which will not be forgotten. The ordinary mortal after death has to cross the river of forgetting. Only the hero could carry his knowledge to heaven.

The presocratic philosopher's term for understanding was "episteme" - subjective truth, in contrast to opinion - doxa. "Episteme" was the "knowledge behind the knowledge." Today in academic philosophy "epistemology" is the theory of cognition. But originally in Greek the term "episteme" included all knowledge received through "understanding" in a pre-conscious sphere, which can be recalled at will. Socrates, who knew that he knew nothing, was the wisest of the Greeks. This saying of the Oracle of Delphi became the basis of the European Wisdom traditions. Knowing nothing does not mean to be aware of what one does not know. It means to penetrate to a state of total openness, creativity.

The Nothingness behind the original meaning of "episteme" is the same idea as the Buddhistic elimination prajna. It is the "Thundering Silence" of Bodhidarma. Whoever is stuck between theory and fact has not attained his immortal being. Thus the scientific method cannot lead to truth. It leads to certainty and strategies to master human survival. There is no contradiction between scientific knowledge and Wisdom. Science clarifies the relation between the human subject and reality, whereas Wisdom attains the subject and liberates the being to continuous bliss.

The German word for understanding, "verstehen," means placing all knowledge in a wheel around the center, corresponding to heaven in relation to the polar star. Understanding of truth shows the way to make sense, whereas understanding of problems amplifies personal and collective scientific knowledge. Likewise in Arabic "understanding" is symbolized by the pillar uniting the Earth and the polar star.