Introduce Yourself

[Former_Member]

Hello!

Welcome new members. It's nice to see so many people interested.

I have some fun ideas for the group--but first I think it would be nice to introduce ourselves (if you would like to).

Tell us a little about yourself, what interests you about Taoism/Zen/Confucianism/Buddhism--or anything you would like to share at all. :-)

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My name is Ren Adams. I'm a lifelong student of Taoism, Chinese culture, Japanese culture, and Eastern philosophy and religious. I am deeply interested in both religious and philosophical Taoism (and their middle meeting grounds) and I practice zuowang and qi gong meditation each day.

I teach a course in Taoism through the University of New Mexico and I hosted a Taoist interest club meeting for a while, before my schedule became too filled.

I am a professional artist and teacher, and I also do some freelance writing and illustration work.

I am about to begin am extended program of study under the American DragonGate lineage of Quanzhen Taoism--which focuses on "sitting in oblivion" meditation.

I love art, crafts, poetry, music, video games, writing, reading, Chinese culture, history, tea, cooking, old game shows, dancing, collecting books, pirates, philosophy, costumes, cop/detective shows, animals--and everything in between.

[Former_Member]

Sorry for the type-os! Darned thing won't let me edit. :-)

[laurali]

I wish I lived close enough to take your classes, Ren.

[laurali]

My name is Laura. I have two etsy shops. This is my primary one with paintings, prints & art jewelry (hand-sculpted using prints of my paintings). My other shop, zenbreeze, is for my polyclay work. I have dharma wheel pendants in there so I suppose I could join with that one here as well.

I have always done art. I've been interested in various spiritual paths since I was a young adult.

I've also had chronic health problems since then as well. The reason I bring that up is it's what led me more into Asian philosophies. Previously, I had read a bit of it, mostly through Alan Watts.

When conventional medicine failed utterly, in desperation, I tried acupuncture. Also, when my inner ear went out completely in 2001, one of the treatments was to try tai chi, which is the only form of exercise that helps balance.

The Zen series of paintings developed as I got more into Asian thought. I attended a weekly zen meditation service for a couple years and that provided more structured learning and inspiration.

The nature themes in zen, particularly, inspired me. One of my latest paintings, The Moon in a Teacup, is from zen.

[Former_Member]

Thanks for sharing! I've always admired your paintings and can feel your connection to, and exploration of, Eastern philosophies ringing through it.

How is the Tai Chi helping with your health?

Have you tried any qi gong or zuowang meditation?

[CharestStudios]

Hi my name is Dave and my shop is mostly mobiles. I also love collage and wire work.I have been interested in Taoism and practicing qigong and meditation for the past decade.Thanks, Ren for the invite.

[Former_Member]

Hi Dave! Nice to meet you! I greatly enjoy zuowang meditation and tan tien qi gong. What kinds of qi gong have you studied? I've always been curious about the 5 elements and 5 animals forms.

[Former_Member]

Hello. My name is Jocelyn. I'm a Buddhist Quaker. There's not much else about me.

[Former_Member]

Other than I hit post before I'm done typing. lol

Mostly, I crochet, but I have plenty of other "projects." My art is rather random.

Thanks for the invite, Ren.

[laurali]

Hi Ren,

To answer your question from last week, tai chi is helpful. My inner ear went out completely around 10 years ago. Tai chi is the only movement form that's thought to be beneficial to regulating the inner ear.

Mostly, nowadays, I walk (which is also good for it). I live in California so you can pretty much walk outside year round, except the odd few days here & there. It rained last night but it's sunny today.

For my overall health problems, acupuncture has been the most beneficial. Took quite a few practitioners before I found one who understood my condition.

[meredithdillman]

Hi, I'm Meredith. I got interested in Japanese and Chinese art styles through reading manga, and studied in Japan for a semester in college.

[desertfiresupplies]

hi all, nice idea for a group!
I've been a student of Taoism for over 20 years, if pinned down to a religion/philosophy of life category, that's what I am...Have practised kung fu, tai chi and chi gung over the years (very out of practise recently, would like to change that).
I have 2 shops on etsy, this and a glass jewelry shop

[Former_Member]

Nice to meet you, desertfire!

[Former_Member]

Hi, I am Indira. My work is an eclectic mixture of Indian, Chinese, Japanese and other Southeast and Southasian influences. I am not a practioner of Taoism but I do teach Asian philosophies.

[Former_Member]

Hi Indira,

I remember you from 1000 Markets! :-)

Your work is a beautiful harmonizing of related philosophies. Welcome!

[Former_Member]

besides my silversmithing...
A bit about me:
http://www.hakomitransformation.com/sunyata_hakomi_therapist.html

[ViragoCreations]

I'm Audrey and I sell mostly supplies, with a sizable number of hand altered Buddha and Kwan Yin pendants. I also sell on ArtFire.

[Former_Member]

Audrey, I have one of your Kwan Yin pendants and have been admiring / stalking a number of your other pieces. Hope to get some soon.

[Former_Member]

Hi I'm Brian. My interest in Eastern philosophy stems back many years now. I have been meditating for more than 20 years. I work full time as an artist selling some of my work through this shop. I have a second shop, BeadinAroundTheBlock where I sell beads, pendants and jewelry supplies a lot of items are Eastern influences.

I also host a weekly chanting meditation group where we chant Sanskrit and Tibetan chants.

I do energy work, directly and remotely, I have began to become familiar with energy work about 20 years ago and attend a weekly group focused on this subject for 3 years.

I look forward to seeing everyone's work.

[Former_Member]

It's nice to meet all of you!

[Former_Member]

Greetings Taoist Teahouse, How delightful to find you. I'm new to Etsy and it keeps showing little surprises.
TBDS Nuggets is The Barber's Daughters gems that for one reason or another are not on our main site. We create jewelry that is rooted in the healing arts. I engrave poetry prose and prayer into silver to ground us to our deeper self.
Fully willing to walk the walk, I make sure that we are always deepening our practice of mindfulness. In January I returned from a retreat with Thich Nhat Hanh in Plum Village in France. Dreamy! I've blogged about it. http://thebarbersdaughters.blogspot.com/2011/01/blog-post.html
Enjoy this day- Gisele

[Former_Member]

Hello everyone, I'm happy to meet you!

My sister and I co-own our shop. She is a planetary scientist and designs and makes almost all of the jewelry, and I design and make the prayer beads and other devotional items.

I came to eastern thought, particularly Zen, after living and working in Japan and getting an M.A. in East Asian Studies. The Tao is by far my favorite sacred text. It blows my mind.

Amy

[Former_Member]

Namaste all! I will keep this short,dealing with stress, family emergency, etc right now. I know...what a way to start off in this team. I will come back in a couple of weeks when I am grounded...but I've wanted to say hi for awhile.

[Former_Member]

Greetings all! Ren, Thank you so much for the invite! This is just the sort of team I was hoping to find.
My name is Caly and I currently live in TN with my Partner of almost 7 years. I have loved the arts since I was a child, mostly as a way to express my emotions. I started with Poetry as a teenager and have a few published poems in e-zines online. Next came Photography to help me capture the amazing beauty I see in Nature.
I found Taoism about 2 years ago, after going down many Pagan paths, but Taoism just struck the right chord for me. Mostly I am a philosophical Taoist, because I dont believe in 'practicing' a religion, I just live it. I love Lao Tzu and read Taoist books most everyday. Walking in Nature is my meditation. I am also studying the Chinese culture and have recently taken up Chinese Brush painting as my next step in Art. My strokes may be rough so far, but I love that its about the emotions and the feelings that go into the painting, as much as the end result. Sorry for the novel, but I look forward to sharing Taoist ideas with everyone here.
Peace,
Caly

[Former_Member]

Hi Caly,

I saw that you had added me to your circle--and immediately noticed your name, "wuweiart," so I had to pop in and check you out! I then noticed your profile mentioned Taoism and I did a happy dance. :-)

Your intro is fascinating. I think you're going to enjoy the group. We can sometimes be a little quiet over here, but feel free to talk, share ideas about what you're reading or what you're painting--or anything, any time.

I've studied Chinese brush painting for the last 8 years, going on 9. I also work in other mediums, including printmaking, but brush painting grabs me the way it grabs you. It's about capturing energy, expressing feelings--and all of the subject matter has many layers of meaning.

It was actually taught to Taoist and Buddhist monks for centuries as a way of cultivating Tao or enlightenment, and it makes perfect sense.

I highly recommend these books for their marriage of philosophy, Taoism, and painting history / technique, if you don't already have them:

Chinese Brushwork in Calligraphy and Painting:
http://www.amazon.com/Chinese-Brushwork-Calligraphy-Painting-Aesthetics/dp/0486264815/ref=sr_1_1?ie=...

This is a wonderful text, even for those not interested in learning the painting styles of China. It's fascinating and traces everything from the earliest written calligraphy through developments in style and even painting techniques. I love it.

The Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Painting
http://www.amazon.com/Mustard-Seed-Garden-Manual-Painting/dp/0691018197/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&q...

A classical, huge Chinese text on the philosophy and technique of painting.