so i'm off to thailand in june, and planning on renting an apartment in chiang mai for a few months.... i've spent lots of time in thailand in the past but never been to chiang mai. rentals are very reasonable up there.....$600-$800 a month would get a really nice 2bdrm place... so probably less than $100 a week each. food is also very cheap and very yummy!! anyone interested??
yes people can definitely change if they choose to . . i've changed many things about myself throughout my life. and its fine to ask a person to change . .
but expecting them to isnt okay and its usually a slippery slope to disappointment.
theres a huge difference between asking and expecting.
if god exists it matters little what people believe . . if god exists everything is perfect just the way it is and everything is happening in perfect time sequence . . if god exists that will eventually be apparent to all . . so what you believe is up to you . . the important thing is that you continue to stay open-minded and contemplate these questions becasue they are important questions.
as aristotle said, "contemplation is the highest form of activity"
rather than use the word god which carries so many negative connotations i prefer to believe in 'the source' . . the source of all things . . the organising principle behind all creation . . this belief is now supported by science . . all of us, everthing that exists is made up of the same thing . . so everything is made in the image of the source . .
and once you begin to study all of the sacred texts, the bible, the quaran, the tao te ching, etc etc they're all basically saying the same thing . . yes they've been used as a way of controlling people but that shouldnt detract from the underlying message which is one of love.
havent read the whole thread so not too sure if theres been a womans perspective on the subject.
once upon a time i would have wondered too babyvixon . . i would have said it was selfishness etc.
that was until i met a man that had three kids himself . . "not a problem" i thought . . "i can do this". i'm a great mama . . . and it was great for while . . when we had our own places . . we were together for 3 years and the trouble didnt start until i moved in with them all. it lasted for less than a year after that.
i tired . . i really tried . . i really loved that guy and i still miss him at times. but being a step parent is one of the toughest things i've ever done. and yes i'd think very carefully before entering into another relationship where there were young children involved. these days i have a lot more respect for people who make it work . . and i also respect those who dont want to do it . . its a huge responsibility and it takes more than a dash of sainthood . .
yep . . i feel the same way . . i would never say those words back just after they've been said to me . . . i like to sit with how it feels to just hear the words.
whenever they're said straight back to me i always feel a little unheard.
well pete you must be getting the idea by now that the name has something to do with the lack of responses
this is especially so as you have a 'sneaky' look about you . . which wouldnt be so obvious if it wasnt for the name. find a name that enhances something postive about you.
and the other thing for me is the whole 'soul mate' concept . . start talking about soul mates and i want to vomit . .
i spent over a year feeling exactly as you describe . . i thougt it would never end . . . it hurt all the time . . it was first thing i thought about when i woke and the last thing i thought about at nite . .
i tried everything to move on . . but i felt so stuck
and then my 21 year old son was hit by a drunk driver, suffered terrible injuries and almost died . .
suddenly the heartache disappeared completely . .
a year later my son is doing really well and i know what is really inportant in life.
but my heart goes out to you samora . . heartache is painful . . but beleive me . . some things can hurt even more.
all i can say is pray . . . doesnt really matter who to . . just pray for it to end . . big hugs to you . .
lunch but no dinner . . only a cup of tea . . . which is why breakfast is so damn good . . second time around (which i'll do early next year) you only get breakfast and nothing after that. and the silent thing was surprisingly easy (and i'm a talker!!) it was more difficult to begin talking again after the ten days. somehow it just didnt seem necessary. i found the silence intensified my other senses and i became exquisitely sensitive to everything aorund me. the early starts were almost surreal but weirdy enjoyable (but i wouldnt want to do it in the winter . . brrrr!!!) what i did find hard was not exercising and even harder was not being able to write . . . so much was happening for me on the inside and i wanted to remember it. and after the first day or two i began having the most increrdibly vivid dreams . . .
and for a month or two after the retreat i had some amazing experiences . . i felt so very alive . . but thats a whole different story.
if youre serious about this check out vipassana meditation . . theres centers all over the world where you can go do a 10 day silent retreat. no talking,reading, writing or exercise for the whole time. its probably one of the most purest forms of mediation. you're up at 4.30am and meditating for around ten hours a day . . its hard . . really hard . .you think it'll get easier the longer you're there but it didnt for me . . i put it up there with giving birth!! but like giving birth its worth the effort. when i was in the thick of it i thought the idea of doing a second retreat was sheer crazyness . .but the moment i finished i decided i would return.
the retreats are by donation and you dont pay until the end of the ten days . . you give whatever you want to give. you get your own comfortable room and the food is healthy and delicious . . some days it was only the thought of breakfast the next day that kept me hanging in there . . "i'll just stay till after breakfast and then i'll leave" . . LOL!!!
YES i agree . . . i wish it wasnt so . . . i would much rather be as far away from the states as possible . . but i fear the time is coming. one world government is a scary thought.
RE: Amazing India
so peachmelba...did you get to india??...i'm thinking about going this year...