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Hi there. My hair is getting extremely long due in part to a vow I made to one of my Tibetan Buddhist teachers last year in Kham, Eastern Tibet. Anyway, my hair is wicked long. I want to figure out how to tie it into a ball, or bun, or something. Right now I keep it in a knot most of the time, but I'm sure you most excellent guys must know how to tie it into a ball. If so, please let me know.
best wishes,
jw
Hi jw,
There are bunches here that can help you with the bun thing, not me though. I am however, very curious about this vow, can you tell us more about it?
Paul
Although I can't speak for JW, I have made such an vow myself several years back. In my case it was just me and God though, noone to witness it. Here's a little run down as to why I did. First off I'm a Christian, well Christ follower really. Sadly, there is a huge difference. Anyway, through my studies of scripture I found that some really cool guys had some long hair. Samuel had long hair because of an oath from his mother, Samson had long hair because of the Lords command concerning him to his parents. A few others probably did have long hair, but scripture doesn't specificly say so. My conclusion; God really digs long hair, there is some important signifigance to long hair on men. So much so that he required it of his (in your face) guys. Both Samuel and Samson were really guys that would get in your face and tell you off or in the case of Samson, kill (all of) you. Although I didn't know what signifigance God put on hair, whatever it was I wanted to be a part of it. I felt in my spirit that if I was going to make the vow, that I should go all out and submit all of my hair to the vow and never cut/trim or anything resembling anything like that again. At the time I was sporting a trimmed mullet, which I absolutely loved.
That being said the last time my hair was cut was April 1998. (that was actually after the vow was made of which I kicked myself in the butt pretty hard over. the cut was job related) Outside of that cut I can't recall just when my last trim was, not even a S&D for split ends. Probably in the neighborhood of 1995, maybe as late as early 1996. Do I have split ends? probably a few but suprising they are hard to find. Back in 2006 my ex-wife did a good inspection of my hair, and was astonished that she couldn't find one single split end. That was eight years after my last cut and at the time I didn't do anything that was very good for my hair, what I did do was actually pretty damaging. I did have damaged ends and still do today to a lesser degree. (because quite frankly I've changed my hair care practices) But extreemely seldom do I find a split end, and when I find one it's usually already shed. I can't personally take any credit for that as I can't logically explain it, but that is what is.
Because of the vow, I don't take threats to my hair (from goofballs) lightly. Because of the vow my hair is linked to my faith and I would address and real threats probably as effective as Samson would, meaning I'd be the last man standing.
Daniel
Hey Daniel,
Very close to my own views brother. I guess I also made a vow of sorts, I can't say it was any kind of official thing and I could never pin down the exact date but, I ain't gonna' cut my hair!
I'm betting that a lot of guys here have made such a vow. It seems to be the thing that separates the "phase longhairs" from the "born longhairs".
While I am not a Christian I do believe in god. I try to respect others' views on religion because there is nothing so personal as one's own belief system. I consider myself spiritual although not religious.
I'm very happy to see an increase in longhaired Christians because I firmly believe there is also a movement in the church that hates longhair and does everything it can to stamp it out. We need this counter movement.
Like yourself, I think that 'God digs longhair' and btw I love that phrase!
For my own personal ammo, where is that about Samuel?
What you said about not taking threats lightly is very refreshing to hear. While I respect the "non-violent" I can't say that it's ever worked for me. Different backgrounds I suppose.
Paul
It's Only Hair MySpace
1 Samuel 1:11 (King James Version)
And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.
This is a reference back to the nazarite vow which is found in Numbers 6:5
All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head: until the days be fulfilled, in the which he separateth himself unto the LORD, he shall be holy, and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow.
Although there is more to it than just the hair, this does indicate that hair is a sign of holiness. Say that in a holiness church and it would go over like a pregnant elephant. LOL
Non-violent isn't exactly a Christian quality, defenately not a godly quality. Actually if one actually reads the Gospels, the only place where Jesus is not violent when dealing with His accusers was during the trials that led Him up to the cross. Prior to that he got right into the faces of the pharisees (religious rulers, hmm we still have those today), drove out money changes (booths for selling 'religous neccessities') from out of, get this, the Temple (church) with a wip. Hmm, sounds to me like he was passionately violent for the good of the people. I just got done reading the book "Wild at Heart" by John Eldredge, although it is a Christian book, it's more about men and why we have that warrior spirit within us, that it is the image of the warrior God whose image we bare. Really good read.
Daniel
Hello Daniel,
I thought i posted this last night.. but i guess not.
I researched long hair in Biblical works a while ago.
From what I remember, Old Testament said that long hair was a sign of devoutness and was a rite that Nazirites took. The New Testament had a reference to short hair being bad because at the time it was a roman style.
Your right about the nazarite vow. Although I haven't done any in depth research as to the Corinthian reference, I was once told that it was because the male prostitutes at the time had long hair. As I said I haven't verified this, but what does that have to do with today anyway?
Paul,
In the Tibetan Buddhist tradition there are two kinds of practitioners, those who keep monastic vows, and those who don't. Of the ones who don't there are various levels, but there's a strong tradition of serious non-monastic practitioners with their own set of vows. Keeping long hair is usually one of them. My teacher, who is super amazing and has wicked long hair, told me it would be good to keep my hair long so I am.
best,
jw
There are a number of ways to make a bun. The way I do it, is often called a "cinna bun" bucause it looks rather lake that pastry.
To do this, I usually tie the hair into a ponytail at about the middle of the back of my head. This isn't necessary, but helps. Then, twist the hair to make it into a sort of rope. Your hair will naturally want to form a rounded bun shape so let it. Keep on twisting and wrapping until you run out of hair. Usually tieing a hair tie around the base of the bun will hold it, or hold it in place with hair sticks or pins. I use a hair tie and pins most days.
With practice, this bun will hold throughout most daily activities.
From what I understand, Sikh men tie their hair up in the same way, but place the bun at the brow by bending over and doing the same thing upside down. I believe they hold in place with a special comb and then wrap their turban around it.
I did a quick YouTube search (don't know if you can access that where you are) and have linked a video that does a good job of demonstrating the technique.
Basic bun tieing
I should have also mentioned that you can first braid your hair and then wrap/pin that into a bun. I've attached a picture of my hair in a bun from about a year ago.
Thank you! I dig it and can do it.
I don't know exactly how long wicked is, but the easiest way I have found is to pull my hair through a ponytail holder, as if I am making a ponytail, and on the second pass, only pull it half way and create a loop. I do this all the time, and it's up and out of the way. But if wicked long means like waist length, then go to the archive and search under "bun" or "buns." Ken, also known as Urban Cowboy, has posted several threads about tying long hair into a bun, and the best I can remember, he has many photos illustrating this in his posts.
MB