Now thats real nice

YOu missed your calling. You should have been Rodney Dangerfield.

Maybe its the suit. I can recommend a good welder.

I was raised as a Catholic and I tried to be a pretty devout one I must say as a child up to the age of 14 when I went on a search which led me to Buddhism. I was taught a Buddha is not a deity or a supreme being,it is an enlightened human being and all humans possess the capacity to become enlightened.
I have been a Buddhist for thirty something years. Buddhism originated in India where Siddhartha(Shakyamuni) (circa 3000B.C.) an Ashoka prince was destined to become king of a small country in India. His father shielded him from the ugly side of life but one day wandered from the palace and observed instances of birth, old age, sickness and death. He was so moved he left to become an ascetic and discover the true meaning of life. For a brief (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakyamuni)Fastforward to his last days, Shakyamuni preached his last sermon and told his disciples that all his other teachings could be discarded and were preparing his disciples for his final teaching the Lotus Sutra which encompassed all of his teachings.

Like many religions Buddhism has splintered into Hinayana, Mahayana, Zen, and over 80,000 different sects because just as there are many churches or religious sects based on different parts of the bible or certain scriptures, there are many sects dependent upon the sutra or teaching the followers chose to adopt. These teachings were, as mentioned, splintered and adopted vicariously until Nichiren Daishonin a Buddhist monk in Japan visited various temples from different sects and pieced the teachings together over his life span. He announced that all of the teachings were (as Shakymuni defined) were actually encompassed in the Lotus Sutra and its essence was captured by chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo. I adopted Buddhism because it was open, taught me to accept all religions and learn from them. I also liked it because it taught me that I should not feel guilty about my wrong causes but that I could make amends by doing greater good causes and lighten or alleviate my bad causes.

The main reason I like Buddhism is the tale of the Dragon Kings daughter who became an enlightened women. This was an era when women were not considered equal or were too unclean to become enlightened. Buddhism changed that thought process for me and has fitted very nicely in my life. Another good thing is there is no pressure to force our religious belief on others. If asked or see someone who is suffering, we share. For a wealth of information try www.sgi-usa.org

I think you are nice and I am a free spirit too and most of the matches the datings found for me didn't appeal to me at all. Trust me, it is not YOU!! Be who you are because those that cannot appreciate you for that... don't deserve you anyway!

Frankly I have done a few of the paid dating sites, not always looking for a mate, usually to communicate with the 'outside' world or just talk about my business. I'm a computer geek so I am online 24n7. I wish I had known about this site long ago. The caliber of people here far exceeds those on sites I paid for.

You get regular folks but there are serial daters, also men who copy and paste the same message to several women(you can tell) and there is now an organized crime ring of dating scammers (usually from Ghana or Nigeria) who join and frequent those sites, then there are those who want to get right down to business and take care of your needs and are very explicit about it.

The difference at JSH is the admins have set up rules of engagement with mutual respect and this site is monitored and folks here respect that and abide by the rules. Wow mutual respect, what a concept.

If you're really curious most paid sites have a trial period and will reimburse you. The last paid site I tried was eHarmony and when I read the forums 3 or 4 women were talking about meeting the exact same dating scammer as one of their matches. What a disappointment. You are not free to see or email anyone you wish to it is very controlled (guided) and they send you your matches who are the only ones you can correspond with. If they do not respond back you have no communication. I would not recommend any paid site over Justsayhi.

Oh very nice and flows so well into the next line, its compact yet says a whole lot in a little bit of space.

The sound of one hand clapping.....Ahhhh

It took me 2 1/2 years to find out I didn't have chemistry with my ex-husband. So what is chemistry really? I have guy friends I've adored for as long as 10 or 15 years..but I wouldn't go to bed with them. Any thoughts?

Thanks I will look at the glass as half full. You brightened my day

Thanks John coming from you that's really encouraging. We're our hardest critics and I'm sure you know that.

Hello John, thanks for the encouragement. I don't know if this is on track but its a short story I have had in my head for a long time and wanting to put on paper. You gave me the push I needed.

AND THERE I WAS...

It didn’t seem like an eternity but it must have been. I was aware only of my own presence; formless, without thought or feelings…just…essence and being. I was not standing or walking. I just seemed to be floating in some timeless, dark, spaceless void. Still, it was not frightening and I roamed and explored freely as if I were drawn by some rhythmical energy that flowed on a guided path designed for my essence only.

How long had I been here, from whence had I arrived? There was no sense of time and I was not really coming from or going anywhere. I just was. I continued on with this ‘being’ this motionless motion. I only knew I had arrived because I was not where I had been previously. There were no places yet I could sense that places existed, far and distant places where things were happening. There was no sound, no wind, and no weather just pure silence. If I had a form, I could not describe it perhaps I was just ether, like everything else around me and my consciousness had just melded with some universal existence.

I had no memories, I knew of, nor felt that I missed anyone from before or longed for anyone or anything. It was, however, a sense of goodness within me, a sense of aspiration that must have been towards something? I continued on with this ‘being’.
I did not know hunger, sleepiness or tiredness. I had no needs or desires. I suppose I could have continued this way indefinitely so I just continued to be.

Then…almost as if it had always been there, there was a faint rhythmical, monotone, a collection of sounds like many voices chanting in one universal sound. I paused and strained to grasp it. It was faint but I continued straining harder and harder to float to the source of this sound. I could not find it. I continued on in my motionless, formless traveling never ceasing to aspire to draw nearer to this sound if I could only find it. It was still too faint to discern but it awoke something in me that became a passion, an obsession to find this sound.

Tirelessly, I continued to be, but now my awareness had a mystery goal. What was it, there was something there, and I could sense it. I was supposed to be there. Why hadn’t I ‘heard’ or sensed it before? I must have been in this non-existence for a very long time but truly… I had no way to tell… no sense of time or space. For all I know my being could be as long as a million yojana or an instant, a flicker in an eternal thread. Yet I felt no sadness, nor anxiety, no happiness nor contentment. I just was.

Suddenly, there were booming, rhythmical voices and I was enveloped in a sound large and melodious. Even though I was still some distance away I could tell there was a large assembly of beings (in human form). In one instant, I was alone and in the next I was at this assembly observing from slightly afar. The beings wore shining white robes, the color was not white like cloth, it was blue white,like fluorescent light. The central figure was a huge golden man with shiny,curly black hair. He was a being much much larger than all the others gathered in the assembly. The others were all seated but… they were seated in mid air!! It was as if a huge jeweled tower had arisen out of nowhere at this moment, in this place, for this time alone. There was no room, no halls and there were thousands of beings gathered here in this ceremony in the air for what must have been an auspicious occasion. The central figure carried a large, thick golden rod and began to speak in a booming, glorious voice but there were no words. The assembly and I were silenced in awe of the teachings and the knowledge that came forth. It was as if all the answers, all the truths to be told for time immemorial were being heard in this moment, at this marvelous assembly and “Thus I heard”.

Just as suddenly as I had arrived, I felt a tugging or pulling at my self. I was not yet ready to leave but I could sense that I had made it to a very special ceremony that I was supposed to attend and now it was time to go. As I turned away in the direction of this tugging I felt myself being pulled into a long dark tube. I had no control I could not stop this force that had taken hold of me and was taking me away from the void. Even if I wanted to struggle it was of no avail, wherever this force was taking me I was going.

I was leaving this comfortable place of silence, non-existence, non-expression, non-feeling but for what? Where was I headed? What lay in store for me as I traveled down this long, dark tube? There was a whooshing sound as I traveled and I felt tight constrained. I sensed myself trying to breathe, inhale but I could not. I began to feel myself inside of a body and again felt tight constrained. It was painful; I writhed and struggled to free myself from these walls. It was dark and hot and it must have been fear that enveloped me now. Fear of the unknown gripped me and I was horrified…until...I arrived at the end of the tube and the fear began to subside. The constriction was released but now I felt cold. There were strange lights all around me and in my face I squinted. Foreign subtle clinking noises and many touches and hands were on me. I writhed hard and let out a feral yell that frightened even me. The very next sound I heard was a human voice and the words, “It’s a girl”.

Yes we do, absolutely, without a doubt!

Very nice poem...it is really sweet.

Uhhh I just have to ask if that Subject was a Freudian slip since your screenname is 'markman"(marksman?)

Yep Miami...present

How about that??...kissing, foreplay and all that good stuff just make the experience more meaningful....fun.

Has anyone encountered those serial daters on other sites who introduce themselves this way: "your profile appeals to me and lets cut to the chest and to put it very blently, i am open to share myself intimately with your needs, wants and sexual desires."

Spell check anyone?

I may be a month late but its still a good question. I get the same thing on dating sites, only I think it varies. I have a girlfriend close to 60 (looks 40) who met and married a man 35 and they have been happy for at least 10 years now. Course that may be the exception....otherwise I agree its just the novelty.

Good morning all, Happy Sunday, I hope everyone has a marvelous day.

I'm with shoesmonkey its definitely a beach day in Miami!! I'm off !

QUOTE:

4. When is the best time of the day to write? Do you take breaks or do you write many hours nonstop?

Hi John, Nice to see you again. I like this question. I have been known to bolt straight up at 1am, 2am or 3am to write something that came to me in my sleep, so as to capture that first thought in its purest form. Of course we revise and revise and revise but I think my writing biorhthyms are working best in my subconscious mind. Sometimes it can be after a writer's block I could not get past when wide awake. Anyone else experience anything like this?
I also tend to write nonstop, at times I cannot stop myself, completely lose track of time and will realize the sun has come up and its time to leave for work.
Kind Regards,Francine

I should add I was referencing this Quote.