Beautiful YunNan, the Shangri-La in Heart 云南，心中的香格里拉

South China.

A first step in getting out of a trapped life, to a real life, is to become free of toxic people. Nobody is perfect; but most people know, to some extent, their faults, feel empathy and try to be better. But some people cannot see their faults, lack empathy and are always 'right' - the most important thing to know is that they cannot be 'fixed', understood, or healed by you (only a highly skilled psychotherapist stands a chance, and that's partly because there is no life relationship). If you cannot (yet) get away, at least become aware that it is not your problem. One can sense some similarities in dynamics with geo-politics. A variety of voices on this topic - in no particular order (may need multiple viewings because it can take time to understand more than superficially) ...

HuàShān is located near the city of HuaYin in ShaanXi province, about 120 kilometres (75 miles) east of Xi'An. It is one of the Five Great Mountains of China, and has a long history of religious significance. The highest peak is 2,155 metres (7,070 feet).

AnHui, 安徽, lies in East China, just to the west of JiangSu province and ShangHai, and noted for its cuisine and materials related to calligraphy (paper and inkstone). Tourist destinations include HuangShan mountain, HongCun and XiDi ancient villages, Chao Lake, TaiJi Cave, ZhenFeng Pagoda and ZuiWeng Pavilion.

With Walk East ...

With CCTV's Travelogue ...

To be free, is to be off the time-lapse trajectory of the past into the future. This means to stop rationalizing and die to the past - only then one can truly live in the present moment. The past is still the past, but one is no longer its hostage. What stands in the way of a true life is - you - that is, the past, that one thinks of as 'me' (a mush of programming and fantasies - the noise that precludes clarity). The truth is simple; but it is not easy. One must be aware of one's thoughts and see them not as you but as relics; to see these thoughts as what they really are and not be ruled by them. The first, and crucial, step is to see how one has been hijacked by the past. To be free, is to be free of the past. Truth is not about believing, or 'knowing', a bunch of concepts; truth is being real. At BB, we can recommend Alan Watts, Jiddu Krishnamurti and Gabor Mate as sincere and wise voices to explore this more; though there are many others, these are straight talkers (some of their talks are featured here). The thing is - the guide is not the truth, it is only a guide; never trust in or believe a guide as though it is the truth - either you simply believe this or that, or you are true. Don't be an addict - to a belief. Don't be an addict to your past and ego. 10,000 years and 100,000 books of philosophy distilled into a few sentences. Once out of the prison of the past, everything else becomes clear. Kyle Cease talks with Tom Bilyeu ... Bonus film - with Jiddu Krishnamurti ... Bonus film 2 - with Alan Watts ...

With Walk East ...

ShaanXi province. With the 'Food Ranger' Trevor James ...