Your screen name

[path_of_one]

TE- I was always curious if you were a rider. There is actually a book called the Tao of Equus as well.

Alex- Glad you're over your obsession, my friend. Fascinating though. Why 17? Did you ever figure it out? I never obsess over particular numbers, but sometimes I get on kicks where I obsess over processes- as in, figuring out the patterns and processes behind really complicated stuff. Most of the time, I never know if I'm right. I work feverishly on some idea for a while and then just snap out of it or get bored with it. My brain is really into patterns and symbols. I have a lot of odd dreams that play into this, but I got used to it since it's just how I dream. I've been like this, well, forever (at least as far back as I can remember- maybe 4 years old) so I just deal with my brain's tendencies.

Ever see the movie Pi (the symbol)? That was one freaky movie that, in a scary way, I understood. I mean, not the ending, but his fascination with pi. I actually know two mathematicians that are pretty eccentric because of their obsession with shapes or numbers. But they are also brilliant and fascinating people...

[Phyllis Sidhe_Uaine]

Originally Posted by Pathless

If I were you, my screen name would be Help on the Way/Slipknot/Franklin's Tower. Or rather, if I were me. Choosing a screen name the way you did.

Yup.

Without love in the dream, it'll never come true...

In a similar situation, mine would be If_I_Had_the_World_to_Give. I know, too obscure of a song for any board members.

Phyllis Sidhe_Uaine

[China Cat Sunflower]

Originally Posted by Phyllis Sidhe_Uaine

In a similar situation, mine would be If_I_Had_the_World_to_Give. I know, too obscure of a song for any board members.

Phyllis Sidhe_Uaine

That's on Shakedown Street, isn't it?

Chris

[Dream]

I like to read comic books, and there's somebody named 'Dream' in one of them. I think its also the nickname Joseph's brothers gave him. Its supposed to be such an impressive name that it scares you. Be afraid.

[Alex P]

Sorry not getting the fear vibe here.... Getting the curiously satisfying vibe.

[Ciel]

C L .......... my initials of given name on Earth.

And Ciel.........

For years i painted the sky until we knew and understood each other.

- c -

[Dream]

Thanks, Alex.

[Phyllis Sidhe_Uaine]

Originally Posted by China Cat Sunflower

That's on Shakedown Street, isn't it?

Chris

Yes, it is. It's one of those songs a local radio station refers to as a "deep cut" (a song that is rather obscure or is overshadowed by other songs on the particular album.)

"Everybody" has heard of Shakedown Street, but when I request If I Had the World to Give, I get dirty looks and find myself scooting over to the "Mope Corner" in .

Phyllis Sidhe_Uaine

[China Cat Sunflower]

"If I had the world to give
I'd give it to you
for as long as you live
would you let it fall,
or hold it all in the palm of your hand?"

Or something like that. I can hear Jerry's plunk-a-plunk-a-plunk guitar riff in my head.

Chris

[bananabrain]

i've around in various guises online since i think about 1996. originally i was a pirate, captain bananabrain, d'ye see, wi'a curse, damme for a handspike else, by the powers, then moved onto satirical rabbinics, running an online yeshiva (religious school) be'ezrat haShem, then eventually ended up in online interfaith dialogue as just plain old bananabrain when i realised i probably wasn't joking about religion quite as much as i thought. hey ho. either way the word itself originally popped up in the britcom "blackadder goes forth", ep 5 "general hospital", as an insult. i liked the sound of it. curiously enough, the only person who has ever asked me what it "meant" was a retired german investment banker who dabbled in sufism, now sadly gone to the great country club in the sky - he wasn't about to take any flippant explanations, so i said something about bananas representing curved tangents to the reality of cerebration and he seemed happy enough with that, don't ask me why, germans, eh. i find it most convenient to be bananabrain online so i can say things that i probably wouldn't say officially offline.

b'shalom

bananabrain

[Tao_Equus]

Originally Posted by path_of_one

TE- I was always curious if you were a rider.

Not much, well not horses anyway... I always feel like its imposing such an indignity on such a noble creature to jump on its back like some cheeky monkey.

There is actually a book called the Tao of Equus as well.

How cool is that! Need to go now and look it up.

tao

Edit: Had a look and not the equestrian manual i sort of expected. Will need to order it. Thank you

[wil]

Originally Posted by Tao_Equus

I always feel like its imposing such an indignity on such a noble creature to jump on its back like some cheeky monkey.

Now one could feel like the cheeky monkey in one of those nose to butt horse rides. Or rolling around in circles in a small fenced field.

But take a string of horses out for a week through the mountains or the desert camping and hunting and it becomes a different story. Get into a ride where you let the horse have its head and it bolts down through trails as you move in tandem with every stride and its an exhilerating adventure. Or go bar hoppin and let'em take you back to the barn while you fall asleep riding backwards, now that is right back to the cheeky monkey...

[path_of_one]

Originally Posted by Tao_Equus

Not much, well not horses anyway... I always feel like its imposing such an indignity on such a noble creature to jump on its back like some cheeky monkey.

I think of my horses as my dancing partners. Mine actually like to have me ride, judging by their eager attitude when I get to the stable. But then, it's a conversation between us. I listen for what they want to do and we do some of that, and they listen for what I want to do and we do some of that too. I treat them as friends. There is some kind of powerful unity when we are moving as one creature, and the hoofbeats resonate with my breathing and heartbeats... Something very special about horses.

Had a look and not the equestrian manual i sort of expected. Will need to order it. Thank you

Yes, it's an interesting read. Horses are incredibly sensitive and intuitive creatures, and reflect one's mental and emotional state back to oneself. Working with horses is great therapy. Incidentally, while I've never contacted the Horse Ancestors (you have to read the book ), I have communicated with my horses the way she describes, and you can receive images and senses from them. Interpretation can be kind of tricky- like speaking a foreign language.

[mee]

because its mee lol

[Tao_Equus]

Wil and Path,

I fully appreciate what you convey and have spent a lot of time around horses. My grandparents used to breed horses and dogs, my ex wife has horses and where I grew up horses were a part of my daily life. As a child I even had a sunday job at a dressage and show jumping arena. But for me this is a personal thing. All the time I was learning to ride I never felt comfortable climbing on a horses back. I felt like a burden, not a dance partner. I agree profoundly that horses have, in my opinion, a unique way about them. A depth and stillness that is both noble and disconcertingly able to touch deep into me. I feel horses to be one of the most intelligent creatures I have come across. I love to be around them, just not to burden them with my graceless and cumbersome weight. Having spent time around them I do see that they enjoy being ridden too, just not by me :P And no, I have never had a bad experience with or on a horse to account for my feelings and have known a couple of individuals as good friends. Its just me...one of my foibles.

Tao