posted January 02, 2015 12:09 PM            

Tr NN 7 Cap conjunct pr sun 8 Cap
edit-- made a mistake

Tr nodal axis tightly square his progressed nodal axis: pr NN 6 Libra.

Tr Neptune 4 Sag conjunct natal sun-ASC

Tr sun-Mercury applying to conjunction with pr Chiron @ 29 Cancer
*quincunx*
Pr Atropos 29 Sag
Pr Mercury 1 Cap

Quincunx is often seen in death charts.

ETA:

Doesn't Mars rule the head? And this was sudden and strange. So it totally fits that:

Tr Mars 18 Aries
Tr Uranus 19 Libra

posted January 02, 2015 12:44 PM            

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The Wisdom of Bruce Lee

25 of his most famous quotes:

*Man, the living creature, the creating individual, is always more important than any established style or system.

*What you habitually think largely determines what you will ultimately become.

*Take no thought of who is right or wrong or who is better than.

*Be not for or against.

*Reality is apparent when one ceases to compare. — There is “what is” only when there is no comparison at all, and to live with what is, is to be peaceful.

*A good teacher protects his pupils from his own influence.

*To know oneself is to study oneself in action with another person.

*Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself, do not go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate it.

*If you always put limit on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them.

*Do not deny the classical approach, simply as a reaction, or you will have created another pattern and trapped yourself there.

*Real living is living for others.

*I’m not in this world to live up to your expectations and you’re not in this world to live up to mine.

*Many people dedicate their lives to actualizing a concept of what they should be like, rather than actualizing themselves. This difference between self-actualization and self-image actualization is very important. Most people live only for their image.

*It’s not the daily increase but daily decrease. Hack away at the unessential.

*The stillness in stillness is not the real stillness; only when there is stillness in movement does the universal rhythm manifest.

*As love grows older, our hearts mature and our love becomes as coals, deep-burning and unquenchable.

*A good martial artist does not become tense, but ready. Not thinking, yet not dreaming. Ready for whatever may come. When the opponent expands, I contract; and when he contracts, I expand. And when there is an opportunity, “I” do not hit, “it” hits all by itself.

*If nothing within you stays rigid, outward things will disclose themselves. Moving, be like water. Still, be like a mirror. Respond like an echo.

*Things live by moving and gain strength as they go.

*Notice that the stiffest tree is most easily cracked, while the bamboo or willow survives by bending with the wind.

*A wise man can learn more from a foolish question than a fool can learn from a wise answer.

*If you don’t want to slip up tomorrow, speak the truth today.

*A quick temper will make a fool of you soon enough.

*The knowledge and skills you have achieved are meant to be forgotten so you can float comfortably in emptiness, without obstruction.

*If you want to learn to swim jump into the water. On dry land no frame of mind is ever going to help you.

*If there is a God, he is within. You don’t ask God to give you things, you depend on God for your inner theme.

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posted January 02, 2015 12:48 PM            

quote:

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*It’s not the daily increase but daily decrease. Hack away at the unessential.

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posted January 02, 2015 01:31 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by 7thGuardian:
Thus, in a way - one could say that - his Ego was probbaly one of the main cause of his demise.

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Or maybe, he just wasn't so hung up on preserving his bodily health as many Westerners are. I know quite a few Chinese kung fu people, among them some who grew up with that lifestyle as a centuries-old family tradition, and in their self-professed "warrior" mindset, living long and preserving one's health is not necessarily a very important life goal. Rather, they try to be good fighters for as long as they can, but tend to disregard injuries and illnesses, and when the body's finally worn out, this is just a natural course of events. The body is thus often seen as a means to an end and not much more. The Buddhists actually have a saying for "exaggerated" interest in the body; they call it "decorating a corpse". One can find this sentiment echoed in many writings from the traditional cultures that gave rise to kung fu and karate，which were invented for actual fighting. (Of course, there is also a tradition of more health-conscious styles but these practitioners very rarely participate in full contact fights.)

posted January 02, 2015 06:38 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by aquaguy91:
UT's up 7-0!

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Biggest joke of a game I've ever seen.

posted January 02, 2015 06:52 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by aquaguy91:
Wow!!
UT is dominating! I did not see this coming.

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Damn, you did guys did. Good day for you!

Do you follow any other sports?

posted January 02, 2015 07:37 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by Faith:
Maybe?

Also, people with very clean bodies become hypersensitive to toxins. Raw foodists in peak condition (or what seems like peak condition) cannot handle air pollution and other chemical assaults the way a person with a dirtier body can. It poses a greater shock to their system.

Perhaps the drug they gave Lee would be normally assimilated by regular people but caused a severe "allergic" reaction for him.

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posted January 02, 2015 07:38 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by Vajra:
Or maybe, he just wasn't so hung up on preserving his bodily health as many Westerners are. I know quite a few Chinese kung fu people, among them some who grew up with that lifestyle as a centuries-old family tradition, and in their self-professed "warrior" mindset, living long and preserving one's health is not necessarily a very important life goal. Rather, they try to be good fighters for as long as they can, but tend to disregard injuries and illnesses, and when the body's finally worn out, this is just a natural course of events. The body is thus often seen as a means to an end and not much more. The Buddhists actually have a saying for "exaggerated" interest in the body; they call it "decorating a corpse". One can find this sentiment echoed in many writings from the traditional cultures that gave rise to kung fu and karate，which were invented for actual fighting. (Of course, there is also a tradition of more health-conscious styles but these practitioners very rarely participate in full contact fights.)

Lee has suffered quite a few serious injuries to his back and head, and it is quite conceivable that these structural damages would have taken their toll, as they do on many other boxers and martial artists. I have no idea what he thought of his personal bodily health issues, but to equate being a kung fu person with the idea that those people automatically have a personal goal of staying free from illness and injury until old age seems unconvincing to me. I also suspect that since most people who grew up in that tradition believe in reincarnation, the idea of dying in a fight, or from their injuries, doesn't seem so scary to them as to someone who thinks this is his one and only life.

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Based on his biography - Bruce Lee wasn't raised with that mindset - he wasn't part of that type of family:

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Bruce was the fourth child born to Lee Hoi Chuen and his wife Grace Ho. He had two older sisters, Phoebe and Agnes, an older brother, Peter, and a younger brother, Robert. Lee Hoi Chuen was, by profession, a comedian in the Chinese opera and an actor in Cantonese films. At the time Bruce was born, Mr. and Mrs. Lee were on tour with the opera company in the United States. Thus, it was fortuitous for Bruce’s future that his birth took place in America, as he would return 18 years later to claim his birthright of American citizenship.

At the age of three months, Lee Hoi Chuen, his wife Grace and baby Bruce returned to Hong Kong where Bruce would be raised until the age of 18. Probably because of the long ocean voyage and the change in climates, Bruce was not a strong child in his very early years, a condition that would change when he took up the study of gung fu at the age of 13. (Bruce always spelled his Chinese martial art as GUNG FU, which is the Cantonese pronunciation of the more commonly spelled Kung Fu, a Mandarin pronunciation.) Bruce’s most prominent memory of his early years was the occupation of Hong Kong by the Japanese during the World War II years (1941-1945). The residence of the Lee family was a flat at 218 Nathan Road in Kowloon directly across the street from the military encampment of the Japanese. Bruce’s mother often told the story of young Bruce, less than 5 years old, leaning precariously off the balcony of their home raising his fist to the Japanese Zeros circling above. Another nickname the family often applied to Bruce was “Mo Si Ting” which means “never sits still” and aptly described his personality.

The Japanese occupation was Bruce’s first prescient memory, but Hong Kong had been a British Crown Colony since the late 1800’s. The English returned to power at the end of the war. It is not hard to see why young Bruce would have rebellious feelings toward foreign usurpation of his homeland. In his teenage years Bruce was exposed to the common practice of unfriendly taunting by English school boys who appeared to feel superior to the Chinese. It is not surprising that Bruce and his friends retaliated by returning the taunts and sometimes getting into fights with the English boys. This atmosphere laid the background for Bruce to begin his study of martial arts. At the age of 13, Bruce was introduced to Master Yip Man, a teacher of the Wing Chun style of gung fu. For five years Bruce studied diligently and became very proficient. He greatly revered Yip Man as a master teacher and wise man and frequently visited with him in later years. When he first took up gung fu, he used his new skills to pummel his adversaries, but it did not take long for Bruce to learn that the real value of martial arts training is that the skills of physical combat instill confidence to the point that one does not feel the constant need to defend one’s honor through fighting.

In high school, Bruce, now no longer a weak child, was beginning to hone his body through hard training. One of his accomplishments was winning an interschool Boxing Championship against an English student in which the Marquis of Queensbury rules were followed and no kicking was allowed. Given the graceful movements, which would later be spectacularly displayed in his films, it is no surprise that Bruce was also a terrific dancer, and in 1958 he won the Hong Kong Cha Cha Championship. He studied dancing as assiduously as he did gung fu, keeping a notebook in which he had noted 108 different cha cha steps. It is easy to see that Bruce possessed the traits of self-discipline and hard work which would later hold him in good stead, even though at this stage he was not among the best academic students in the class.

In addition to his studies, gung fu and dancing, Bruce had another side interest during his school years. He was a child actor under the tutelage of his father who must have known from an early age that Bruce had a streak of showmanship. Bruce’s very first role was as a babe in arms as he was carried onto the stage. By the time he was 18, he had appeared in 20 films. In those days movie making was not particularly glamorous or remunerative in Hong Kong, but Bruce loved acting. His mother often told stories of how Bruce was impossible to wake up to go to school, but just a tap on the shoulder at midnight would rouse him from his bed to go to the film studio. Movies were most often made at night in Hong Kong in order to minimize the sounds of the city. (See Filmography)

At the age of 18, Bruce was looking for new vistas in his life, as were his parents who were discouraged that Bruce had not made more progress academically. It was common practice for high school graduates to go overseas to attend colleges, but that required excellent grades. Bruce’s brother and sister had come to the United States on student visas for their higher education. Although Bruce had not formally graduated from high school, and was more interested in gung fu, dancing and acting, his family decided that it was time for him to return to the land of his birth and find his future there. In April of 1959, with $100 in his pocket, Bruce boarded a steamship in the American Presidents Line and began his voyage to San Francisco. His passage was in the lower decks of the ship, but it didn’t take long for Bruce to be invited up to the first class accommodations to teach the passengers the cha cha. Landing in San Francisco, Bruce was armed with the knowledge that his dancing abilities might provide him a living, so his first job was as a dance instructor. One of his first students was Bob Lee, brother of James Y. Lee, who would become Bruce’s great friend, colleague in the martial arts, and eventually partner and Assistant Instructor of the Oakland Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute.

Bruce did not stay long in San Francisco, but traveled to Seattle where a family friend, Ruby Chow, had a restaurant and had promised Bruce a job and living quarters above the restaurant. By now Bruce had left his acting and dancing passions behind and was intent on furthering his education. He enrolled at Edison Technical School where he fulfilled the requirements for the equivalent of high school graduation and then enrolled at the University of Washington. Typical of his personality traits, he attacked learning colloquial English as he had his martial arts training. Not content to speak like a foreigner, he applied himself to learning idiosyncrasies of speech. His library contained numerous books, underlined and dog-eared on common English idiomatic phrases. Although he never quite lost the hint of an English accent when speaking, his ability to turn a phrase or “be cool” was amazing for one who did not speak a word of the language until the age of 12. Bruce’s written English skills exceeded his spoken language abilities at first because he had been well tutored in the King’s proper English prose in Hong Kong. When his wife-to-be met him at the University of Washington, he easily edited her English papers for correct grammar and syntax.

At the university, Bruce majored in philosophy. His passion for gung fu inspired a desire to delve into the philosophical underpinnings of the arts. Many of his written essays during those years would relate philosophical principles to certain martial arts techniques. For instance, he wrote often about the principles of yin and yang and how they could translate into hard and soft physical movements. In this way he was completing his education as a true martial artist in the time-honored Chinese sense of one whose knowledge encompasses the physical, mental and spiritual aspects of the arts.

In the three years that Bruce studied at the university, he supported himself by teaching gung fu, having by this time given up working in the restaurant, stuffing newspapers or various other odd jobs. He and a few of his new friends would meet in parking lots, garages or any open space and play around with gung fu techniques. In the late ‘50’s and early ‘60’s, “gung fu” was an unknown term; in fact, the only physical art that might be listed in the yellow pages was Judo. Even the name “karate” was not a familiar term. The small group of friends was intrigued by this art called gung fu. One of the first students in this group was Jesse Glover who continues to teach some of Bruce’s early techniques to this day. It was during this period that Bruce and Taky Kimura became friends. Not only would Taky become Bruce’s gung fu student and the first Assistant Instructor he ever had, but the friendship forged between the two men was a source of love and strength for both of them. Taky Kimura has continued to be Bruce’s staunch supporter, devoting endless hours to preserving his art and philosophy throughout the 30 years since Bruce’s passing.

The small circle of friends that Bruce had made encouraged him to open a real school of gung fu and charge a nominal sum for teaching in order to support himself while attending school. Renting a small basement room with a half door entry from 8th Street in Seattle’s Chinatown, Bruce decided to call his school the Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute. In 1963, having established a dedicated group of students and having given numerous demonstrations at the university, Bruce thought he might attract more students by opening a larger school at 4750 University Way where he also lived in a small room in the back of the kwoon.

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... and so on: http://www.bruceleefoundation.com/index.cfm/pid/10585

He was introduced to Kung Fu (Wing Chun style - which is mainly a defensive style) with the purpose of learning self-defense techniques. But, apparently - he found a passion in martial arts and took it a step further (latter he also learned Tae Kwan Do and Boxing). Some boys like to fight - and obviously, they like to win fights, but it wasn't just about fighting with him (based on the available info - most of his real fights took place in his teen years). By the looks of it - "he did became obsessed with his body and the extents of its potential" - which he tried to master/control. He also tried to prove himself from this point of view - in more ways than one. After all - his next big passion after Kung Fu was Dancing. His philosophies seem more Buddhist in nature - but his lifestyle was far from that. Buddhists too - are interested in self-discipline - but not to that extent - not even close. They take a more natural course of life in terms of training and same can be said about their eating habits. While Bruce Lee was all about the extremes when it comes his physique (or more like beyond the extremes) - even his eating habits implied strict diets specific to bodybuilders. It's not that Buddhists don't push the limits of their bodies - but they take their time to get there - while Bruce Lee seemed to be in a hurry.

Most of his injuries - were the result of his insane training. Let's not forget - Bruce Lee was involved with a lot of things. It's just that people felt in love with martial arts - and when they think of Bruce Lee - they think of his movies and his fighting scenes - but that has less to do with the way people fight in real life - and more to do with the artistic side of fighting (they call them - martial "arts" for a reason). Which brings me to the next irony - "he seemed to be one of the most formidable fighters of his time - he even inspired the developing of a new style of martial arts - yet, most of his fighting - was just for show. While most of his real fights took place in his teen years." And, there doesn't seem to be any record of him being severely injured - in any fights, other - than injuries resulted from his own training (that's where he hurt his back severely). As it's the case with boxers and other martial arts fighters - who take part in dozens, even hundreds of fighting competitions. So, there's no room for comparison with real fighters who were subjected to real fights for most part of their life. A more fitting comparison would be: Chuck Norris or Jean Claude Van Damme - whom are well-known for same thing: martial arts actors. On top of that he was also a father, a husband, a trainer, a writer and philosopher. Manny of his battles were quite common with the rest of the world - he fought with life and with himself - but since he was also a family man - a western type of family man (he grew quite fond of the western style - but obviously, he didn't like the racism - it's what drew him back to China in the end). Thus, I do believe he wanted all (so to speak).

Also, I think I know that warrior mentality you speak of... I probbaly understand it even better than you do - as a man :) - but those... live and train for the challenge - for battle. Those type of warriors raise one thing - their demons. They're not into family stuff. Unless we're talking about Samurais - whom valued the family name more than anything - including their own life or the life of any other member from the family (if one was to stain the family name with their actions). In that movie about his life Bruce Lee overcomes his demon - but in reality (based on the confessions from his entourage of his everyday life) - he lost control of his demons - up till the end.

posted January 02, 2015 07:59 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by BellaFenice:
Damn, you did guys did. Good day for you!

Do you follow any other sports?

Tennessee usually has a good college basketball team too. They were really, really good when Bruce Pearl was coaching.

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posted January 02, 2015 07:59 PM            

Thanks for the link to Lee's diet, I just meant that his body was clean from burning everything off, and drew a parallel to raw foodists who likewise have clean bodies.

His diet looks good

But

quote:

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Supplements were part of his diet, as being essential for the muscle building side. Most commonly he would consume two protein drinks a day. Along with the protein powder, other ingredients he would mix into the drinks included eggs, non-instant powdered milk, wheat germ, peanut butter, bananas, brewers yeast, inositol and granular lechitin. He also took regular vitamin and mineral supplements.

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posted January 02, 2015 07:59 PM            

BTW, "insane training" and "pushing one's physical limits" is quite exactly what one needs a warrior mindset for - if by contrast living a long and healthy life is the goal, moderation in everything would be key (which is intuitively known to any person of Chinese heritage I suppose, as I've never met anyone who did not know the basics of a healthy diet, breathing, and balancing/preserving the vital forces). Therefore, judging from the way Lee worked and trained, regardless of how many actual full contact matches he fought after a certain age, this is in itself evidence of an unusually single-minded pursuit with the goal of surpassing physical boundaries. He cannot have been ignorant of the fact that this would take a toll on his health. My kung fu friends, among them quite a few black belts (or in some cases of Chinese people, masters, because some traditional schools don't hand out belts), tell me that velocity of movement is key, alongside energy generation from getting the component parts of the body to work frictionlessly in unison (badly worded, hope you get what I mean. Sorry for my sometimes awkward English). And whatever his other fighting qualities, Lee certainly was fast.

posted January 02, 2015 08:48 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by aquaguy91:
[QUOTE]The womens team is always good and the mens team is usually mediocre but they have had some good years here and there. Basketball is my favorite sport.

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Yeah, the UT-UConn rivalry has always been fun to watch.

posted January 02, 2015 09:13 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by BellaFenice:
Yeah, the UT-UConn rivalry has always been fun to watch.

Okay- so NBA, you have any favorite teams?

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posted January 02, 2015 10:29 PM            

In one of LG's books (Love Signs?) she talks about a Virgo astrologer friend of hers who tried to impress his Virgo date by mapping out the evening in advance. He predicted a car crash outside the building they were in, and foresaw her getting hiccups.

You think that's true?

If it's true, I think I'd like to be able to do the same thing.

posted January 02, 2015 11:05 PM            

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Originally posted by Faith:
Has anyone here ever attempted anything with predictive astrology?

In one of LG's books (Love Signs?) she talks about a Virgo astrologer friend of hers who tried to impress his Virgo date by mapping out the evening in advance. He predicted a car crash outside the building they were in, and foresaw her getting hiccups.

You think that's true?

If it's true, I think I'd like to be able to do the same thing.

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Define predictive.

posted January 02, 2015 11:14 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by aquaguy91:
[QUOTE]Originally posted by BellaFenice:
[b] Yeah, the UT-UConn rivalry has always been fun to watch.

Okay- so NBA, you have any favorite teams?

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Heh, I remember you saying that you were a Mark Cuban fan. So that makes sense.

posted January 02, 2015 11:28 PM            

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Originally posted by BellaFenice:
Heh, I remember you saying that you were a Mark Cuban fan. So that makes sense.

What about the Memphis Grizzlies, they are in state?

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posted January 02, 2015 11:32 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by BellaFenice:
Define predictive.

Might be willing to share with you over email depending on what you mean here.

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Predictive in any sense. Tell me anywhere you like.

I have one little story. Apparently, last year my friend was getting into a new relationship with an older man. Her pr moon was in Capricorn and I thought that might function into her attraction with him.

I don't remember saying this, but I told her she might lose interest once her moon progressed into Aquarius.

That actually happened exactly as I said it might, only she had lost my email and forgotten what I had said. When she dug up my email a few months after the fact, she was shocked that I had timed it almost exactly, ie "You may lose interest in August."

Which kinda creeps me out.

As I was saying to you over email, Bella, I get close to the water's edge with astrology and then balk. I don't want it to be TRUE true. Just optionally, only-for-fun true.

If that makes sense.