PART 2 - The Tao of Da Vinci Code-Can Eastern Philosophy Contribute to the Da Vinci Code Controversy

[Recently published in Qi Journal - Winter/2006] Part 2 of 2

What good is such practice? Some might ask in our busy yang energy go-get-em world. Creativity and inspiration come from the unseen, the yin, the receptive, the intuitive. Albert Einstein once said, "Imagination is more important that knowledge." Einstein didn't devalue the masculine or yang consciousness, for he also defined success as "10% inspiration and 90% perspiration." However, he did exalt the yin, feminine, intuitive consciousness as the MOST important. For without that all important "spark" of awareness or inspiration which can only come from quiet contemplative thought, the 90% perspiration would be as purposeful as a "busy" hamster running around its endless wheel that leads nowhere. Just as many of the world's actions today are resulting in environmental and political messes that could easily be avoided, if preceded by deep "contemplation" before action occurs. Too often our endless business (busy-ness) is not purposeful at all as far as solving our global problems, but to the unaware observer the decision makers look "very important" and "very busy."

Mind/body sciences like yoga, and tai chi, and qigong (energy exercise), are designed to allow the flow of life energy to permeate the mind and body, and to create a "receptive/open state of mind in the practitioner," a passive alpha state of awareness. Qi, life energy in Traditional Chinese Medical science, is a subtle unseen power that emerges from the very fabric of the subatomic field that makes up all matter, and permeates all things including human beings. Acupuncture, and Chinese herbal medicine, as well as physical exercises like Tai Chi & Qigong are designed to open the flow of life energy through the mind and body. Yoga and ayurvedic practices are designed to do this as well.

In this field of life energy all things are connected, and therefore insights from this pure consciousness can be powerfully complex solutions that seem simple and elegant and obvious, once they come to mind. Yet offer more comprehensive communally beneficial solutions to challenges facing the practitioner cultivating this "field" awareness in themselves through these ancient practices. Tai chi may help cultivate such intuitive, receptive states of mind if taught to that end. Tai chi, incorporated with gentle deep breathing, and physical loosening, and mental images of constantly "letting go" of everything enables this unseen force of the universe to flow through us, emanating from every cell and atom of our being, and expanding effortlessly from each airy fold of the tissues of our mind. We can allow every atom of our being to glow with and be permeated by this energy of life as we move through the flowing motions of Tai chi "without purpose," "without analysis," "without grades, or self judgments." But rather, only for the sheer pleasure of being, while experiencing the thousands of wonderful sensations tingling and percolating through the body. Tai chi becomes an effortless "self massage" that flows through the yielding heart, mind, and body. This state is not "directed" by the mind, but allows the mind to let go and be massaged by the pleasant sensations flowing through it, holding on to nothing, not analyzing or even naming the sensations caressing, washing the mind as they flow through receptive awareness.

Today's current knee jerk reactions which get us individually into such trouble on crowded freeways, or in global trouble as a nation in an increasingly crowded world, have been cultivated over centuries of under-developing our feminine or yin consciousness. Our television pundits automatically react and narrow dialogue without even being conscious of it. In a three month period leading up to the Iraq war, Fair Media did a study of major news networks coverage of the impending conflict. They found a disturbing reality, that over 90% of the talking head guests on their news shows were already assuming there was a war to be fought, and discussing war strategy. Only less than 5% of the talking heads were opposed to, or even skeptical, about the idea of going to war. This hard charging into action, rather than "contemplating", is an example of the result of centuries of male energy being accepted and extolled, and yin or feminine energy being dismissed and considered "indecisive" and "weak minded."

The pool of "receptive" sensation that Tai chi or other ancient transcendental technologies can bathe us in again and again, day after day, enables the subtle possibilities and gentle power of the yin and feminine to permeate our being and consciousness, and through that, affect our actions in the world. It can change the way we function, so that rather than charging into personal, or social, or national decisions, we instinctively "contemplate" and "intuit" all the possible outcomes of that action "BEFORE" taking that action. This could keep us out of costly wars, and reduce futile quests to find where on earth to dump thousands of tons of highly toxic nuclear waste that will be poisonous for tens of thousands of years. It may open us up to more subtle "yielding" approaches to international relations, that can get us the desired results through the subtle dance of negotiation which entails "listening" before "acting," which is a very yin or feminine quality. It may draw us more to "passive" energy solutions like "solar" or "wind" that could easily solve all our energy needs, and we would never need to fight anyone anywhere over the sun or the wind, which is available to all equally.

Transcendental mind/body technologies like Tai chi, Yoga, transcendental meditation, chi Kung, etc. can today be made available to billions of people worldwide at a time when the world desperately needs to learn to find a balance in the deepest part of our being, a balance that extols the subtle and quiet power of the feminine or yin aspect of who we are individually and as communities and nations. Tai chi and Yoga, for example, are now taught in virtually every nation in the world, and can perhaps now contribute to solving humanity's hunger for balance between the "male" and "female," between the "yin" and the "yang."

Generations may look back and see that Tai chi & Yoga teachers of today played a pivotal role in human history. Or perhaps the changes they are making in the world are so subtle and gentle, that they will never be recognized but nevertheless . . . will ease the world into its next wave of evolution enabling it to survive the weight of six billion plus inhabitants, without creating chaos through rash actions.

Bill Douglas is the founder of World Tai chi & Qigong Day, and author of the best selling tai chi book, "The Complete Idiot's Guide to T'ai chi & Qigong" (Penguin Putnam), and presenter in the world acclaimed dvd instructional "Anthology of T'ai chi & Qigong: The Prescription for the Future."

Contact Bill, or learn more about World Tai chi Day at http://www.worldtaichiday.org

Easy Yoga Positions

How To Remove A Stuck Game From Xbox 360

halo 3 is stuck inside your Xbox 360 and you want to get it out. There is a way to manually remove it. First you will want to unplug the power for a few minutes to let your xbox reset. Re-attach the power cord and see if you can now eject your dvd.

If that did not work turn the power off and unplug it. Remove the faceplate on you xbox console. You will need a thick paper clip or something similar. Straighten one end of it out. With the faceplate removed you will see 2 small holes right underneath the dvd player and one hole to the right.

Since microsoft decided to use 3 different dvd drives the procedure will vary. If you have a Samsung or Toshiba drive use the small hole on the right. Should be right underneath the X on the dvd drive faceplate. Push your straightened paper clip in the hole until you feel it hit the gear. The gear needs to be spun from left to right. Poke around until you find it then push in gently until you feel it move. You will see the tray start to move out.

For Hitatchi dvd drives go for the first hole on the left. Beng dvd drives will use the middle hole. This requires the most pressure to get the gear to turn. You will see the tray start to move take your time and do not push too hard in case you are missing the correct spot. Once the tray starts to eject you can pull on it slightly to help it open. You should now be able to remove your game.

So why did your game get stuck in the first place? There are a number of reasons for this. If you are having loading problems you may have a broken gear. There are a number of other plastic parts inside the dvd drive that can break. You are probably better off replacing the entire drive. Replacements are a lot cheaper the replacing your entire console.

Once you have your console opened up removing and replacing the drive is fairly easy. If the above procedure did not get your disk removed you can remove the dvd cover and get your disk out.

Repairing your game console is really not that hard is you take your time and follow a few guidelines. You should also get a hold of a good repair guide or manual.

Pilates Yoga Harborne

Xbox 360 VS. PlaySation 3

First of microsoft had the edge when the 360 was lunched way before Sonys ps3. Now when Sonys has launched ps3 its a much more powerful console than the 360.

If you should compare these two very powerful gaming stations you have to see the whole experience not just the technical specifications. First we have to compare some technical specifications. The ps3 have a blu-ray and a support for full HD resolution which will result in very detailed games. Its a big difference of the storage on a blu-ray disc and a dvd disc. A blu-ray can carry up to 50gb and a regular dvd just 9 (Dual-layer). This will say a lot when it comes to the details that can be placed in the games. The hdd in the premium versions of the two consoles are a big difference 20gb on the 360 and 60gb on the ps3 this will do much I think. Another plus to the ps3 is that it support SD, memory Stick and Compact flash.

For the games, I will say that its seems like you will have a much better experience on the ps3 when you are playing with full HD resolution and almost feel like you are in the game. For example the new Gran Turismo HD how would it feel to cruise around in a new Ferrari? Its like you now have your own! xbox 360 has great games to like halo 2 but you wont have the same experience since the game details cant be the same. right now there are more games to the 360 but it will be much more to the ps3 soon. To the experience of these two game stations the PlayStation 3 will be the winner in 2007.

And And Cl Yoga

Xbox vs. PS2 Game Consoles

There has been a great deal of discussion regarding the two most popular gaming consoles currently on the market: Playstation 2 (PS2) and xbox. PS2 is a Sony product, while xbox is owned by the software giant Microsoft. Many different people have worked with these gaming systems inside and out, attempting to determine which system provides the best performance for your hard-earned gaming dollar. Here we take a look at each gaming system and compare the specs and performance of each. We will attempt to answer that age-old question: which is the better gaming system, Xbox or PS2?

You can take a look at a table comparing hardware specs here.

There are many specs in addition to the ones listed above, but these should give you some idea of just how close these two game consoles really are. If you are looking for pure processing power and graphics capabilities, the xbox appears to have a slight advantage. In addition, its computer-like features, such as a built-in hard drive are nice to have. With the ps2 you must purchase a memory card if you run out of storage room. When comparing raw power and extra features, the xbox wins - but you have to keep in mind that the ps2 was released first, and there are additional things to consider besides system specs.

What about Multi-player Capabilities?

Both the xbox and ps2 have multi-player capability. You can hook up a series of both consoles so that you and your friends can play games together at the same time. The xbox may be connected using a home LAN system, much like your home computers (here's another example of how the xbox is more like a specialized gaming computer). The ps2 may be connected using a link cable, not a LAN. This system may be cost prohibitive for some gamers, since you have to own multiple consoles, seperate TVs for each, and several copies of the same game (yep, that's expensive).

Of course, you can always ditch the local network and play through the internet. Bboth ps2 and Xbox allow you to play online against a random assortment of opponents. xbox uses xbox live, a fairly well supported online gaming network. PS2's network is not as popular as xbox Llive, but it works fairly well all the same. If you are really into multi-player, it seems that xbox is probably the best console for you.

Xbox Games vs. ps2 Games

When deciding which of these two game consoles is best for you, you should certainly take into consideration what types of games each offers, and which games you are most interested in playing. ps2, having been around a little while longer, tends to have the larger game library, but xbox is not terribly far behind. In addition, xbox tends to produce games geared more towards adults than children. The graphics seen on the new Xbox games are also clearly a step ahead of ps2 graphics. There is, however, nearly a ps2 game for everyone, and there are lot of ps2 games geared towards teenagers. If you are looking for games for kids, the Nintendo Gamecube may actually be a better choice than either of these two - and it's cheaper.

Other Considerations

Some other things you may want to consider when comparing ps2 and Xbox is the controller provided by each. These may not seem like a big factor at first glance, but people usually prefer one type of controller over the other. The Xbox controllers tend to be slightly larger than ps2, mainly because Xbox is designed with older gamers in mind. You can always buy a converter in order to get one game console controller to work with another.

As far as price goes, ps2 has typically been cheaper than Xbox. As of the time of this writing (Dec. 2004), ps2 retails for about $150 and Xbox $100. Game prices are very similar for both game systems, with most new games costing about $30 - $50.

The bottom line is, ps2 is a little older than the Xbox, and is geared for a younger gaming crowd. If you are buying this console for a teenager, the ps2 may actually be your best bet - they have more games, the console is cheaper, and the games are more appropriate for that age group. The Xbox is a little more expensive, has fewer games, but it out-performs ps2 and has more adult-oriented games.

Yoga And Pilates Cles In Pregnancy In London