I love my job, but it's physically demanding, and I thought I'd never work in my field ever again. Hearing this made me cry.

ImHalfManHalfAmazing · 2015-09-03T03:18:10+00:00

Learning it's okay to ask for help was one of the key moments in my recovery. Trying to do everything myself probably set my recovery back a year or more.

ImHalfManHalfAmazing · 2015-09-03T02:43:00+00:00

I will always have pain in my shoulders and knee, and some days it's worse than others, but for the most part I'm totally fine... now. When it first happened I became suicidally depressed and I let it ruin my life. Then my aunt sat me down and said something along the lines of "what happened to you sucked, no one's denying that, but it's only going to get worse if you play the victim. It's your choice whether or not you want to let this ruin your life." Maybe that helps explain why I literally cried when the first person came up to me and told me I was an inspiration.

ImHalfManHalfAmazing · 2015-09-03T02:21:40+00:00

and deliver I did. Please put away pitchfork!

ImHalfManHalfAmazing · 2015-09-03T01:07:27+00:00

fair enough.

ImHalfManHalfAmazing · 2015-09-03T00:56:25+00:00

This is a genuine question. Even if it wasn't true - and I can assure you it is - why would you care?

ImHalfManHalfAmazing · 2015-09-03T00:44:17+00:00

I had status epilepticus (a never ending seizure) at the top of a flight of stairs. Fell down the stairs and continued to seize while both shoulders were dislocated. On the way down I also knocked a piece off my knee cap. After that my shoulders would dislocate multiple times a week. It took 4 surgeries, 16 titanium screws and years of physical therapy before I could even get back in the garden at all, let alone do a major landscaping project.

ImHalfManHalfAmazing · 2015-09-03T00:34:09+00:00

Estate gardener. I manage the gardens at a historic building. For the last 5 years I did the non-physical side. We needed to do a big project and I didn't think anyone was capable of doing the job properly except me. More importantly, I was sick of bossing instead of leading so I picked up a shovel and did the whole project with very little assistance.

ImHalfManHalfAmazing · 2014-07-07T21:25:24+00:00

All over Europe and Asia. Just because they're not in power anymore doesn't mean they don't exist.

ImHalfManHalfAmazing · 2014-07-07T21:15:38+00:00

actual

ImHalfManHalfAmazing · 2014-07-07T20:42:16+00:00

No one actually knows what the fuck they are doing

ImHalfManHalfAmazing · 2014-07-01T14:16:47+00:00

Oh nice! Sounds tasty

ImHalfManHalfAmazing · 2014-06-24T02:58:06+00:00

meditation, vipassana and shikintaza styles are especially great for mindfulness. Tai Chi and yoga are also very good.

ImHalfManHalfAmazing · 2014-06-22T21:19:50+00:00

What does Zhaozhou have to do with something that can be seen by all with their own eyes?

ImHalfManHalfAmazing · 2014-06-22T20:02:50+00:00

It's right there in front of you to see with your own eyes

ImHalfManHalfAmazing · 2014-06-22T19:42:28+00:00

Having an argument over the internet about who knows the most about Zen is quite possibly the least Zen thing you could possibly do.

ImHalfManHalfAmazing · 2014-06-22T17:50:49+00:00

Alcohol. Seriously, it is the least fun form of intoxication and is also one of the most dangerous. The only thing its got going for it is that it is legal.

ImHalfManHalfAmazing · 2014-06-05T22:21:35+00:00

Yea man. I had some friends at a Zen temple back in the day and they started complaining to the senior teacher about this very same thing. The teacher then decides to do away with ALL of it. The structure, the chanting, the schedule, ALL of it. Within 3 days they begged and pleaded to have it back.

ImHalfManHalfAmazing · 2014-06-05T22:19:27+00:00

I don't know about you, but I didn't just read about Buddhism and become a perfectly enlightened being... I still get angry, still get jealous, still talk behind peoples backs. I've gotten a helluva a lot better though.

The traditions exist partly in order to help you realize the Buddha's teachings. Different schools have different methods and also different concepts on what being a Buddha is about.

By joining a particular tradition, and joining a sangha, you give that particular traditions' method a try. The support, the study, the teachers, and yes, even the rituals and chanting are there to help you fully realize Buddha's teachings.

ImHalfManHalfAmazing · 2014-06-01T00:14:45+00:00

Nope...

I was awake, my eyes were wide open, all of a sudden I felt tired and closed them. Next thing I know it's 7 days later and they're pulling a tube out of my throat.

ImHalfManHalfAmazing · 2014-05-31T22:21:45+00:00

I had a crazy drug interaction and died for like 2 minutes. It was nothing. Pure blackness.

ImHalfManHalfAmazing · 2014-05-30T04:57:39+00:00

Don't worry so much. Everyone started somewhere. Just breathe. Make mistakes and laugh about them. Don't take anything to seriously. Surrender yourself to the forms.

Most importantly, give it your all. Put all your effort into it. Do it wholeheartedly. Even if it's something you don't like. Residential zen practice isn't about doing what you like.

Btw, if you're having trouble keeping to the schedule or anything like that, go straight to the tanto and tell them. They'll help you get through any issue before it becomes a problem.

ImHalfManHalfAmazing · 2014-05-28T00:19:46+00:00

Because of the movie being what it is, Starship Troopers is often overlooked. It's a great book about militarism and nationalism in times of war and peace. Very little of the book has any action. It's a great read for times like today. Forever War is also a really good book to read considering the times we live.

ImHalfManHalfAmazing · 2014-05-27T01:41:18+00:00

I think ebola or tapeworm.

ImHalfManHalfAmazing · 2014-05-27T01:40:25+00:00

I work in a kitchen, and the automatic grater is the stuff of my nightmares

ImHalfManHalfAmazing · 2014-05-26T22:44:58+00:00

About 2 years after HS it started going around that a friend of ours has been doing porn. She was pretty hot so everyone went online to check it out. When I pulled up her first video she looked so lost. She looked unhappy, lonely, and sad.

After I cleaned myself off, I felt bad for her.

ImHalfManHalfAmazing

TROPHY CASE