WP_Query Object
(
[query] => Array
(
[category__in] => Array
(
[0] => 19
)
[post__not_in] => Array
(
[0] => 6211
)
[posts_per_page] => 50
[ignore_sticky_posts] => 1
[orderby] => desc
[_shuffle_and_pick] => 3
)
[query_vars] => Array
(
[category__in] => Array
(
[0] => 19
)
[post__not_in] => Array
(
[0] => 6211
)
[posts_per_page] => 50
[ignore_sticky_posts] => 1
[orderby] => desc
[_shuffle_and_pick] => 3
[error] =>
[m] =>
[p] => 0
[post_parent] =>
[subpost] =>
[subpost_id] =>
[attachment] =>
[attachment_id] => 0
[name] =>
[pagename] =>
[page_id] => 0
[second] =>
[minute] =>
[hour] =>
[day] => 0
[monthnum] => 0
[year] => 0
[w] => 0
[category_name] => peter-borten
[tag] =>
[cat] => 19
[tag_id] =>
[author] =>
[author_name] =>
[feed] =>
[tb] =>
[paged] => 0
[meta_key] =>
[meta_value] =>
[preview] =>
[s] =>
[sentence] =>
[title] =>
[fields] =>
[menu_order] =>
[embed] =>
[category__not_in] => Array
(
)
[category__and] => Array
(
)
[post__in] => Array
(
)
[post_name__in] => Array
(
)
[tag__in] => Array
(
)
[tag__not_in] => Array
(
)
[tag__and] => Array
(
)
[tag_slug__in] => Array
(
)
[tag_slug__and] => Array
(
)
[post_parent__in] => Array
(
)
[post_parent__not_in] => Array
(
)
[author__in] => Array
(
)
[author__not_in] => Array
(
)
[search_columns] => Array
(
)
[suppress_filters] =>
[cache_results] => 1
[update_post_term_cache] => 1
[update_menu_item_cache] =>
[lazy_load_term_meta] => 1
[update_post_meta_cache] => 1
[post_type] =>
[nopaging] =>
[comments_per_page] => 50
[no_found_rows] =>
[order] => DESC
)
[tax_query] => WP_Tax_Query Object
(
[queries] => Array
(
[0] => Array
(
[taxonomy] => category
[terms] => Array
(
[0] => 19
)
[field] => term_id
[operator] => IN
[include_children] =>
)
)
[relation] => AND
[table_aliases:protected] => Array
(
[0] => wp_term_relationships
)
[queried_terms] => Array
(
[category] => Array
(
[terms] => Array
(
[0] => 19
)
[field] => term_id
)
)
[primary_table] => wp_posts
[primary_id_column] => ID
)
[meta_query] => WP_Meta_Query Object
(
[queries] => Array
(
)
[relation] =>
[meta_table] =>
[meta_id_column] =>
[primary_table] =>
[primary_id_column] =>
[table_aliases:protected] => Array
(
)
[clauses:protected] => Array
(
)
[has_or_relation:protected] =>
)
[date_query] =>
[request] =>
SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS wp_posts.ID
FROM wp_posts LEFT JOIN wp_term_relationships ON (wp_posts.ID = wp_term_relationships.object_id)
WHERE 1=1 AND wp_posts.ID NOT IN (6211) AND (
wp_term_relationships.term_taxonomy_id IN (19)
) AND ((wp_posts.post_type = 'post' AND (wp_posts.post_status = 'publish' OR wp_posts.post_status = 'acf-disabled')))
AND ID NOT IN
(SELECT `post_id` FROM wp_postmeta
WHERE `meta_key` = '_pilotpress_level'
AND `meta_value` IN ('','employee')
AND `post_id` NOT IN
(SELECT `post_id` FROM wp_postmeta
WHERE `meta_key` = '_pilotpress_level'
AND `meta_value` IN ('' )))
GROUP BY wp_posts.ID
ORDER BY wp_posts.post_date DESC
LIMIT 0, 50
[posts] => Array
(
[0] => WP_Post Object
(
[ID] => 9015
[post_author] => 5
[post_date] => 2023-04-14 19:08:46
[post_date_gmt] => 2023-04-14 19:08:46
[post_content] =>
Spring is here! In this seasonal phase we are naturally filled with many of the qualities that are currently on display in the natural world. In Five Element philosophy it’s the season ruled by Wood, which is exemplified by all plant life, and specifically the ways of plants in the spring. In order to break out of the dormancy of winter and still withstand the occasional freeze, spring shoots are tenacious, determined, and robust. They also have to be flexible. These virtues are available to humans if we pay attention and tap into them.
In case you don’t have our book, Rituals for Transformation, here’s an excerpt from Lesson 77: My Flexibility Allows Me to Respond with Grace to What Life Brings.
Like every tree, you are rooted in the earth. You’re grounded in the material world. And like every tree, you grow upward, striving toward something transcendent and unseen. You grow from potential to expression. And like any healthy tree, you are served by the quality of flexibility.
Flexibility is the opposite of rigidity, the opposite of a fixed, static, immovable viewpoint. It entails meeting life organically, based on how it really is, rather than on your stories or beliefs. It asks you to let go of the need to be right. Rather than throwing the pieces on the floor when you encounter an obstacle, flexibility keeps you in the game. Like a supple vine, you find a healthy way to grow around it.
When you encounter the unexpected, which is most definitely to be expected, with flexibility you meet it openly; you dance with it; you learn something new. Flexibility is unattached to the specifics of how the will of your Highest Self is expressed through you. Knowing you will be an emissary of Love, flexibility says, “Use me. I don’t need to be in control. I don’t need to dictate the terms.”
Today, challenge yourself to be more flexible of both body and mind.
And if you like the idea of going on a 108-day journey of self-growth, healing, and spiritual awakening, check out Rituals for Transformation. Since its first printing six years ago, we have been continually humbled and delighted by the many stories of beautiful transformations we’ve received from readers.
With love,
Peter
[post_title] => From Potential to Expression: The Power of Flexibility in Life
[post_excerpt] =>
[post_status] => publish
[comment_status] => open
[ping_status] => open
[post_password] =>
[post_name] => from-potential-to-expression-the-power-of-flexibility-in-life
[to_ping] =>
[pinged] =>
[post_modified] => 2023-04-14 19:08:46
[post_modified_gmt] => 2023-04-14 19:08:46
[post_content_filtered] =>
[post_parent] => 0
[guid] => https://thedragontree.com/?p=9015
[menu_order] => 0
[post_type] => post
[post_mime_type] =>
[comment_count] => 0
[filter] => raw
[webinar_id] => 0
)
[1] => WP_Post Object
(
[ID] => 6602
[post_author] => 3
[post_date] => 2017-02-14 18:32:38
[post_date_gmt] => 2017-02-14 18:32:38
[post_content] => For the past couple weeks, I’ve been writing about the “Chinese Clock” – a principle from Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) whereby each of twelve internal organs has a two-hour period in the day when it’s considered to be strongest. By following this clock, we can coordinate certain activities with appropriate organs and experience better health and a sense of alignment. Also, an issue that consistently occurs at the same time of day may give a clue about the organ involved. Last week, we left off with the end of Kidney Time at 7:00 PM, and today we’ll pick it up from there.
7:00 to 9:00 PM – Pericardium Time
The pericardium is a double-layered sac that encloses and protects the heart. Perhaps it’s a bit odd that this is one of the twelve primary organs and the brain isn’t, but it speaks to the primacy of the heart in Daoist thought and TCM. The heart is so important – it must be spared damage at any cost – that it has its own “Heart Protector.”
If the heart is the Empress living in her palace, the pericardium is the drawbridge that allows or blocks access to her. It governs intimacy. When we let someone “into” our heart, or shut them out, we’re exercising our pericardium. And when someone with access hurts us, the pericardium often takes the brunt of the blow. Such blows can damage this mechanism. A big enough trauma may lead us to adopt a policy of “No one gets in. Ever. No matter what” – sometimes excluding even ourselves. Alternatively, the pericardium may get stuck in the open position if we decide, “What’s the use? Everyone gets in. Walk all over me.”
Pericardium Time is optimal for intimacy – sexual and otherwise – with both others and yourself. If you’re in a healthy love relationship, this is a good time for a mutual lowering of drawbridges to experience a meeting of the portals of your consciousness. This is also a good time to contemplate and repair the Protector of your heart, to recognize that scars needn’t impair its function. Thank it for its service and remind it that it can still respond intelligently on a case-by-case basis to requests for intimacy.
9:00 to 11:00 PM – San Jiao Time
San Jiao means “triple warmer” and it’s the last of our four fire organs. It consists of three virtual compartments that contain and “warm” our organs. It functions as something of a communication network and thermostat – allowing the internal organs to talk to each other and keeping the internal environment comfortable. The closest physiological equivalent is our endocrine (hormonal) system, which also sets our body temperature and distributes chemical messengers.
Metaphorically, the San Jiao presides over our social behavior. It’s the social thermostat that enables us to “feel out” a situation and present ourselves in a way that’s appropriate and effective. Whereas the pericardium is a yin organ that relates to deeper, more intimate forms of communication, the San Jiao is its yang partner, governing communication on a more external level.
If your endocrine system is taxed, this would be a good time to go to sleep so all your resources can be directed toward restoring these functions. Otherwise, this time period is ideal for light social interaction, playing games, or watching something funny or heartwarming.
Next week, I’ll wrap up this series with the final three organs – gallbladder, liver, and lungs. Meanwhile, I invite you to spend the week being mindful in your moments of connection – both social and intimate. How does your presence affect the interaction? What’s possible through this union?
Be well,
Dr. Peter Borten
P.S. If you missed them you can click here to read Part One, and click here to read Part Two.
[post_title] => Tick Tock, Part Three – How to Follow the Clock of Life
[post_excerpt] =>
[post_status] => publish
[comment_status] => open
[ping_status] => open
[post_password] =>
[post_name] => tick-tock-part-three-follow-clock-life
[to_ping] =>
[pinged] => http://www.thedragontree.com/2017/01/31/tick-tock-learning-clock-life/
http://www.thedragontree.com/2017/02/07/tick-tock-part-two-follow-clock-life/
[post_modified] => 2017-02-15 05:26:42
[post_modified_gmt] => 2017-02-15 05:26:42
[post_content_filtered] =>
[post_parent] => 0
[guid] => http://www.thedragontree.com/?p=6602
[menu_order] => 0
[post_type] => post
[post_mime_type] =>
[comment_count] => 5
[filter] => raw
[webinar_id] => 0
)
[2] => WP_Post Object
(
[ID] => 6786
[post_author] => 3
[post_date] => 2017-10-17 17:31:39
[post_date_gmt] => 2017-10-17 17:31:39
[post_content] =>
In 1984, followers of the spiritual guru Osho (Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, 1931-1990) sprinkled salmonella bacteria into the salad bars of ten restaurants in Oregon, sickening 751 people. A few years earlier, Osho had left his commune in India due to pressure from authorities and purchased a defunct ranch in the Pacific Northwest. Thousands of his students moved in, but the land wasn’t zoned for that volume of habitation. They ran into more trouble with the law because of it, and had to find ways to conceal how many people were actually residing there.
Hiding the expansion of the community was difficult as their numbers grew because they wore highly visible red robes – plus they built an airstrip, restaurants, and fire department on the property. It probably didn’t help that they occasionally drove into town in a Jeep with a machine gun mounted on it. They clashed with locals, government officials, and environmental groups, but eventually hit upon a solution: this would all be legal if they could establish the ranch as a city.
There was considerable resistance from the community, however, and this is what led to the salmonella plan. Through what has been called the largest domestic act of bioterrorism in the U.S., they hoped to incapacitate enough voters to secure wins for their own candidates in the upcoming county election. But despite the sickened population, local voter turnout was high enough to keep Osho’s supporters (AKA “Rajneeshees”) from succeeding.
During this time, the guru was observing a long period of seclusion and had ceased contact with all but a small number of close attendants. However, his devotees bought him a collection of 93 Rolls Royces, and each day he would slowly drive one of these luxury cars down a long dirt road where they waited to catch a glimpse of him.
About a year later, Osho himself reported the salmonella attacks to the authorities. The attacks, it turns out, were just the most visible expression of a chaotic fanaticism that had developed in a portion of his followers. Osho claimed they acted without his knowledge or blessing; they said he sanctioned it.
It’s difficult to discern the truth from all the stories, partly because his form of teaching came with an apparent delight in shocking people. He enjoyed cursing, had an irreverent sense of humor, championed free love, and proposed such offensive measures as euthanizing disabled children. He was both scorned and revered. Many intelligent people regard him as one of the greatest contemporary spiritual teachers, and probably millions would credit him with making a positive impact on their lives.
When most people encounter such a button-pushing issue or figure, they feel compelled to take a side. We like things to be black and white. If we can frame something in terms of good and evil or right and wrong, it makes our lives easier. It feels good to have strong, unwavering convictions. But the truth doesn’t usually conform to such convenient categories. Almost everything falls somewhere along the gigantic spectrum between the extremes. And accepting this requires the work of deeper contemplation and possibly the discomfort of admitting that our position isn’t completely correct.
A recent study showed that people who know the least about a subject are the most likely to take a strongly polarized position on it – perhaps even a zealous, foaming-at-the-mouth position. The corollary to this finding is that the more we really understand a person or issue, the more neutral our position becomes, and the more accepting we tend to be of different viewpoints.
In the case of Osho, my opinion is that he was charismatic, brilliant, enlightened, and also manipulative, self-serving, offensive, and extremely eccentric. I also think, as is so often the case with powerful people, he attracted followers who believed they were living in accordance with his teachings and acting on his behalf without really understanding what he stood for. They were intoxicated by his mojo and used that feeling of power to justify their own convoluted drives. My intention isn’t really to pick on Osho and his disciples as much as it to point out the dynamics that occur on the inside and outside of such a phenomenon, which I’ll summarize here:
Tapping into power tends to amplify not just the presentable aspects of ourselves, but our shadow side, too. It partly explains why so many high-level teachers, artists, and executives end up sleeping with their students and employees, or succumbing to some other vice. Perhaps it’s why a guru might enjoy having 93 Rolls Royces. And it’s also why many traditions, such as yoga, emphasize purifying or balancing one’s mind, actions, and senses before attempting the practices that are likely to unleash a bunch of energy. (Did your yoga teacher introduce you to the yamas and niyamas that traditionally come before undertaking asanas or "poses"?)
Potent ideas tend to be degraded as they are transmitted through human minds. It’s like the children’s game operator. Moreover, we like latching onto such ideas – whether we find them enticing or horrible, or both – and running with them, even though the trajectory they carry us on may not be altogether healthy for us. And again, we favor positionality, even though (or maybe because) it implies conflict. That is, taking a fixed, polarized position necessarily engages us against the opposite position. In order to maintain such positionality, we’re best served by keeping ourselves ignorant.
In light of all these analyses of human behavior, I offer you this homework assignment for the week: Innocence. Be innocent, open, and humble. Feel the compulsion to take positions, and instead, be innocent, go deeper, and learn more.
Be well,
Dr. Peter Borten
P.S. For those who haven't encountered any of Osho's teachings, I’ll leave you with an excerpt from Undone Tao, a series of talks he gave on one of my favorite books, the Daoist classic, Dao De Jing:
"Enlightenment is not a search, it is a realization. It is not a goal, it is the very nature of life itself.
As life is, it is enlightened. It needs nothing to be added to it to improve it. Life is perfect. It is not moving from imperfection to perfection. It is moving from perfection to perfection.
You are here to attain something – that is functioning as a barrier. Drop that barrier. Just be here. Forget about any purpose. Life cannot have any purpose; life is the purpose. How can it have any other purpose? Otherwise you will be in an infinite regress: then that purpose will have another purpose, then that purpose will have another purpose… Life has no purpose and that’s why it’s so beautiful.
Hindus have called it leela, a play. It is not even a game. Now in the West, the word “game” has become very important. Hundreds of books have been published within two, three years with the word “game” in the title: The Master Game, The Ultimate Game, Games People Play, and so on. But there is a difference between game and play. Hindus have called life “play,” not “game,” because even a game has something as a purpose: a result to be attained, victory to be achieved, the opponent has to be conquered. When play becomes a game, then it becomes serious.
Grownups play games, children only play. Just the very activity is enough unto itself. It has an intrinsic end; there is no goal added to it. Life is a leela. It is a play. And the moment you are ready to play, you are enlightened.
…
Then you start a totally different way of life. You start being playful. You start being alive moment to moment with nowhere to go. Whatsoever life gives, you accept it with deep gratitude. Grace happens to you."
[post_title] => Between the Extremes
[post_excerpt] =>
[post_status] => publish
[comment_status] => open
[ping_status] => open
[post_password] =>
[post_name] => 6786
[to_ping] =>
[pinged] =>
[post_modified] => 2017-10-18 04:30:15
[post_modified_gmt] => 2017-10-18 04:30:15
[post_content_filtered] =>
[post_parent] => 0
[guid] => http://www.thedragontree.com/?p=6786
[menu_order] => 0
[post_type] => post
[post_mime_type] =>
[comment_count] => 34
[filter] => raw
[webinar_id] => 0
)
)
[post_count] => 3
[current_post] => -1
[before_loop] => 1
[in_the_loop] =>
[post] => WP_Post Object
(
[ID] => 9015
[post_author] => 5
[post_date] => 2023-04-14 19:08:46
[post_date_gmt] => 2023-04-14 19:08:46
[post_content] =>
Spring is here! In this seasonal phase we are naturally filled with many of the qualities that are currently on display in the natural world. In Five Element philosophy it’s the season ruled by Wood, which is exemplified by all plant life, and specifically the ways of plants in the spring. In order to break out of the dormancy of winter and still withstand the occasional freeze, spring shoots are tenacious, determined, and robust. They also have to be flexible. These virtues are available to humans if we pay attention and tap into them.
In case you don’t have our book, Rituals for Transformation, here’s an excerpt from Lesson 77: My Flexibility Allows Me to Respond with Grace to What Life Brings.
Like every tree, you are rooted in the earth. You’re grounded in the material world. And like every tree, you grow upward, striving toward something transcendent and unseen. You grow from potential to expression. And like any healthy tree, you are served by the quality of flexibility.
Flexibility is the opposite of rigidity, the opposite of a fixed, static, immovable viewpoint. It entails meeting life organically, based on how it really is, rather than on your stories or beliefs. It asks you to let go of the need to be right. Rather than throwing the pieces on the floor when you encounter an obstacle, flexibility keeps you in the game. Like a supple vine, you find a healthy way to grow around it.
When you encounter the unexpected, which is most definitely to be expected, with flexibility you meet it openly; you dance with it; you learn something new. Flexibility is unattached to the specifics of how the will of your Highest Self is expressed through you. Knowing you will be an emissary of Love, flexibility says, “Use me. I don’t need to be in control. I don’t need to dictate the terms.”
Today, challenge yourself to be more flexible of both body and mind.
And if you like the idea of going on a 108-day journey of self-growth, healing, and spiritual awakening, check out Rituals for Transformation. Since its first printing six years ago, we have been continually humbled and delighted by the many stories of beautiful transformations we’ve received from readers.
With love,
Peter
[post_title] => From Potential to Expression: The Power of Flexibility in Life
[post_excerpt] =>
[post_status] => publish
[comment_status] => open
[ping_status] => open
[post_password] =>
[post_name] => from-potential-to-expression-the-power-of-flexibility-in-life
[to_ping] =>
[pinged] =>
[post_modified] => 2023-04-14 19:08:46
[post_modified_gmt] => 2023-04-14 19:08:46
[post_content_filtered] =>
[post_parent] => 0
[guid] => https://thedragontree.com/?p=9015
[menu_order] => 0
[post_type] => post
[post_mime_type] =>
[comment_count] => 0
[filter] => raw
[webinar_id] => 0
)
[comment_count] => 0
[current_comment] => -1
[found_posts] => 185
[max_num_pages] => 4
[max_num_comment_pages] => 0
[is_single] =>
[is_preview] =>
[is_page] =>
[is_archive] => 1
[is_date] =>
[is_year] =>
[is_month] =>
[is_day] =>
[is_time] =>
[is_author] =>
[is_category] => 1
[is_tag] =>
[is_tax] =>
[is_search] =>
[is_feed] =>
[is_comment_feed] =>
[is_trackback] =>
[is_home] =>
[is_privacy_policy] =>
[is_404] =>
[is_embed] =>
[is_paged] =>
[is_admin] =>
[is_attachment] =>
[is_singular] =>
[is_robots] =>
[is_favicon] =>
[is_posts_page] =>
[is_post_type_archive] =>
[query_vars_hash:WP_Query:private] => 4cd57d5d1c2421b8887db32fac088763
[query_vars_changed:WP_Query:private] =>
[thumbnails_cached] =>
[allow_query_attachment_by_filename:protected] =>
[stopwords:WP_Query:private] =>
[compat_fields:WP_Query:private] => Array
(
[0] => query_vars_hash
[1] => query_vars_changed
)
[compat_methods:WP_Query:private] => Array
(
[0] => init_query_flags
[1] => parse_tax_query
)
)