Hello again!

Hello all.  So much has happened in the past several months, that if you don't know me, I can't begin to tell you...it's just way too much.  Suffice to say, my journey to Tao has been accelerated and enriched wholly and openly the entire way.  As roadblocks appeared, detours and reroutes had already been put in place.  God, Allah, Jehovah, Tao, has made sure that my family and I are taken care of every step of the way.  Experiencing life from a completely different perspective, not just looking at it differently, but actually making the necessary changes to enact change, is what I needed to learn.  The Tao saw to it that I did. 

Happy to say that I have been experimenting with some new tinctures and potions and hope to have some new results out to all of you soon.  My all natural insect repellent worked beyond my expectations in some pretty thick mosquito population.  Granted we did not pass through unharmed, but we did not itch and there were 80-90% less bites than would have been. 

I'm just going to give you all some tidbits of things happening and new things I've been thinking about as well as studying.  Here are a few of my thoughts for making things around me better.  Turn the water on and then reduce the flow by half.  Do this a few times while you wash your hands and time yourself while you do it.  Now turn the water on the way you are used to doing and begin to fill up a gallon jug.  Time how long you fill it up, matching it to the amount of time you used to wash your hands for.  How much did you fill up?  See how much water you could be saving with that one simple step?  Now imagine that you take the time to not only reduce the consumption in half just by adjusting the flow, but go one step further and shut the water off while you soap up.  Turn it back on when you are ready and imagine how much more water you just saved.  Better yet, fill a gallon jug while you are soaping up and SEE how much water you will be saving. 

As my wife and I have been journeying together during these difficult times, I was looking at our relationship and thinking to myself about all the little things that go on in a marriage that each spouse takes for granted.  As I pondered all the ways my wife takes care of me and my boys and the intricacies of each of our special relationships with her, it became increasingly clear to me that what she can do, I cannot or choose not to.  This thought made several circles in my head through many different scenarios and after I loathed some and completely disregarded others, I settled on one thing:  Her strengths are my weaknesses, and my strengths are her weaknesses.  From a Taoist perspective, this is a perfect example of Yin Yang.  Females are Yin, males are Yang.  Within Yin there is Yang, within Yang there is Yin.  The Yin Yang symbol is the exact portrayal of this very relationship and infintely more.  With this I made peace with my thoughts and placed them on my "reference shelf" for future perusing. 

Something else appeared recently while I watched my boys playing one day.  They were throwing things around and one of their toys flew out of sight.  From my vantage point I could see exactly where it had absconded itself to.  My youngest asked me where it was.  I told him to look around.  He knew the general direction of where it had flown and so began his search in the vicinity.  He was not successful and as he continued his hunt, his "nose" began to lead him towards where the toy had actually landed.  Just as he was about to round a corner and find his reward, big brother came along and began his own search in the area previously scoured by the little one.  The distraction was just enough that it didn't take him off task, but it did lengthen the time it would have taken. 

How many times in our daily lives do we allow someone else to "take" our time from us?  How often do we sacrifice our own rewards so that we can experience companionship?  On the flip side, how many times have you "taken" someone else's time?  Or allowed yourself to receive a gift of friendship when someone offers their time to you?  My grandmother passed around an email to her family and friends recently.  It told a story with the lesson, "Thank you for your time."

Thank you for your time.

The information contained herein is not intended to diagnose or treat any condition, nor to insult or demean anyone or any being. Please respect this boundary. Otherwise, anything goes.

The Salt of the Earth

I was perusing some old emails that I had not previously had a chance to look at.  One of the emails I came across was from my Mom about various food items and their healthful benefits.  I read through the email as it discussed carrots, grapes, figs, tomatoes and more.  The email asks the reader to view the picture of the items and notice how the shape of the vegetable or the pronunciation of the fruit's seeds can be indicative of the beneficiary. 

Take a slice of carrot; it looks like a human eye.  There are three distinct rings which correspond to the pupil, cornea and white of the eye.  Carrots contain many vitamins and minerals that are beneficial to the overall health of the eye as well as healthy vision.  Slice a tomato in half width-wise and you will see four chambers.  These four chambers resemble the four chambers of the human heart.  And guess what?  Yep...the tomato has properties that make it very beneficial to the human heart. 

Now don't go out and buy all the carrots and tomatoes you can find.  Everything must be taken in moderation.  It is not proper to eat carrots or tomatoes all day, every day.  Tomatoes and carrots do not grow year round and therefore should not be consumed year round.  Carrots are ready in the Spring.  Springtime belongs to the Wood element which is represented by the Liver and Gallbladder.  Wood is representative of movement and growth as well as organization, vision and memory.  Tomatoes are ready in the Summer.  Summertime belongs to the element of Fire which is represented by the Heart, Pericardium, Small Intestine and Triple Warmer.  (The Triple Warmer is an organic system that regulates the functions of the body as a whole.)  Fire is representative of joy, laughter and vitality.  That is why things that make us happy are said to 'warm the heart'.

One of the items listed in the email was celery.  Celery is shaped somewhat like human bones and its chemical make-up is similar to bones in that both are made up of 23% salt.  According to a study done by the Mayo Clinic, the average American gets only 6% of their total salt intake from salt that is added at the table. Only 5% comes from salt that is added during cooking, and natural sources in food makeup only another 11 percent. The remaining 77% comes from processed or prepared foods. Many packaged meats, as well as canned and frozen foods, contain a surprising amount of salt. Salt is used so heavily by manufacturers because it acts as a preservative, adds flavor to foods, helps to keep foods from drying out, and can even increase the sweetness in desserts. Soups are often especially high in salt because salt helps to disguise chemical or metallic aftertaste. 

So how many people out there conform to a low-salt diet?  What is your reasoning behind doing such?  Do you have a medical condition that requires you to monitor your salt intake?  Do you have a familial history predisposing you to medical conditions that could arise because of salt intake?  Or do you subscribe to the hype and propaganda purported by pharmaceutical companies that salt is no good for you?

Foods that naturally contain salt do so because it is necessary for us to consume it.  Salts are used by the body for many vital functions such as regulating the heartbeat and blood pressure.  (No, I did not type that incorrectly.  Realize that it is the pharmaceutical companies, who operate for a profit, who tell us that certain things are not good for us just so they can sell us a pill or create a situation which will require that we purchase their pill.)  As stated before, everything in moderation.  A well-balanced diet is well balanced because it takes in to consideration the necessary nutrition for the body AND how and when to consume that nutrition.  One basic way to look at this is...when you are excessively hot, would it be better to eat jalapenos or cucumbers?  If you are cold, would you prefer ice cream or hot tea?  Everyone's body is different depending on where you were born, where you live now and your level of health.  Don't subscribe to a generalized diet plan.  It will never work for you. 

The kidneys are of the element Water which includes the Bladder and is represented by Winter.  Salt processing within the body takes place in the kidneys.  The kidneys regulate the amount of salt that resides in the body and when there is too much, the kidneys will excrete the salt to the bladder to be expelled through urination.  Kidneys are also in charge of bone production.  When the kidneys have enough salt, bones are strong and well developed.  When the kidneys do not have enough salt, bones are weak and improperly developed.  Remember that bones are made up of 23% salt.  So what do the kidneys do when there is not enough salt coming in from external sources to support healthy function?  You guessed it.  The kidneys will pull salt out of the bones in order to supply the body with the necessary salt levels.

Imagine prolonged depletion of salt in the body.  Eventually, your bones will run out of salt.  What will fill the space that is left by the salt voids?  Nothing.  You have successfully removed 23% of your bone mass.  Enter...drug companies.  There are currently 98 medications sold by a very small handful of pharmaceutical companies available for the treatment of osteoporosis.  Osteo- is derived from Greek and means bone.  -Porosis is also derived from Greek and means passage.  How many bone passages do you have?  Still want to adhere to a low-salt diet? 

Learn your self.  You are a unique individual.  Do NOT let a business tell you what is good for your health.

The information contained herein is not intended to diagnose or treat any condition, nor to insult or demean anyone or any being. Please respect this boundary. Otherwise, anything goes.

The 90/10 Rule

An email came through to me not too long ago with the subject reading "FW:FW:FW:FW: The 90/10 Rule".  Normally I don't open emails that have that many forwards but it was from a reliable source and so I decided to check it out.  The email, once I got to it, describes a typical morning in a typical American household with a typical American family unit. 

A father sits down to the breakfast table with his business shirt on ready for work.  His oldest daughter, excited about the morning, accidentally spills her orange juice, soiling his shirt.  He becomes angered and yells at his daughter to watch what she's doing, causing her to run off and sob.  She misses her bus and when he comes downstairs again, he finds out that he will now have to take her to school.  Hurriedly they dash out the door and into the car.  A policeman pulls him over for speeding a half mile from school.  His daughter is late for school and he is late for work.

The email goes on to ask a few questions such as, "...did the daughter cause him to be late for work?  Did the policeman cause him to be late for work?  ...".  The premise is very simple.  If the man had reacted differently to the situation he became involved in, he would not have been late for work.  If the man had simply made lighter of the spilled juice, his daughter would not have missed her bus.  It would have only taken him a few minutes to change his shirt.  His decision about 10% of the morning effected 90% of the day.

How many times in our lives have we lashed out at someone and wished we had never opened our mouths?  How many times in our lives have we made a hasty decision and had to live with it for a very long time?  How many of those are you still dealing with?

In Yin-Yang theory, one learns that everything has an opposite to balance it.  This balance does not come in the form of a scale where both parts are equal.  This balance comes in the form of a sphere.  Within this sphere is one thing and its opposite.  Ideally, Yin and Yang have equal share of the sphere.  More of one than the other can exist, though.  If there is more Yin, there is less Yang and vice versa.  How does this apply to the 90/10 rule?

The more you do of the thing you would not normally do, the more you will normally do it.  We call this a habit.  Ever hear the saying, it gets easier every time?  What ultimately becomes easier is our willingness to give in to habit because we feel it is too hard to change.  Try this next time you feel you are caught in a rut or there is something you would like to do differently, make a conscious effort to do what you want to do.  Do it for two weeks.  No matter how many times you talk yourself into not doing it, keep trying.  No matter how silly it feels or how many people laugh at you, keep trying.  Once you can successfully do it for two weeks, you can make it a habit.  It does get easier every time.

Take advantage of the small moments in your life.  They all add up to bigger things.

The information contained herein is not intended to diagnose or treat any condition, nor to insult or demean anyone or any being. Please respect this boundary. Otherwise, anything goes.

How Come My Food Makes Me Sick?

I watched a movie the other day called "Food, Inc.".  Have you heard of it?  Check your local video store or internet rental.  I was at a major membership warehouse chain the other day, and they had it for sale.  Good movie.  It talks about how and why food is produced in America.  How many of you out there read the labels on your food items?  How many of you will start by the end of reading this?

Everyone has heard about corn syrup, especially high fructose corn syrup.  Well how about dextrose, maltose and maltodextrin?  These are also sweeteners that are derived from corn.  Then there are the starches.  Modified starch and unmodified starch, corn starch and tapioca, all from corn.  All of the aforementioned items are found in such a high percentage of our food, every time you open a soda you just broke open an ear of corn.  Every time you eat a snack cake, you are eating an ear of corn.  Every time you feed your pet, you are feeding them corn.  In fact, the food you give them contains many of the same ingredients that are also found in chemicals and poisons used by different industries.  How many of you have vehicles that run on ethanol?  All from corn.

So.  We eat beef that is fed corn.  We eat chickens that are fed corn.  We even eat fish that are fed corn.  Huh?!  Fish that are fed corn?  I didn't know that Mother Nature grew corn in the oceans and rivers also.  A cow's stomach is specifically made for processing grasses.  Because of the demands made by the beef industry's largest clients, aka the food industries, the beef growers feed their cattle corn.  Corn makes the meat grow quickly and abundantly and corn is cheap to buy.  Why is corn cheap?  Because our tax dollars subsidize the farmers who grow it so it can be sold cheaply to the food industries. 

Now the speed at which something grows directly effects the health of that thing and is relevant to the type of thing that is growing.  Plants grow quickly.  Plant a potato in the winter and by spring you'll have new potatoes and before summer you'll have bakers.  That is normal for a potato.  Cattle, and other animal types, naturally grow slowly.  It takes time to develop strong tissues and such fleshy masses.  A human takes 18-25 years to come to adult maturation and then continues on to peak years later.  A cow's average life span, if properly cared for and fed a nutrient-rich diet suitable to their needs, can live for 20-25 years.  Heifers will happily and healthfully produce milk for their calves and at the end of their life, they will happily and healthfully supply their caretaker with meat and other valuable resources.  A dairy cow's average life span is about 4 years.  Their bodies are considered too drained of valuable nutrient qualities to make it any higher up the food chain than hamburger or dog food.  The dairy cow is impregnated through artificial insemination once a year to ensure a constant flow of milk and when the calf is born, it is taken away from the mother within a day or so.  Female calves will soon be producing milk right next to their mother and males are sent off to live in a confined space so that they cannot move much.  Veal is much more tender when the meat hasn't been roughed up, didn't you know?  They are fed low nutrient diets to keep the flesh color as pale as possible.

When we take a look at all of the facts about where are food comes from that we buy in the markets and how that food is produced, packaged and sold, we begin to realize why we are a nation of bad health.  You don't have to go through the drive-through to eat poorly, just walk in to your neighborhood grocer and buy a meal prepackaged or a 6-pack of beer.  Heck, go up to the butcher and ask for a pound of hamburger.  Large chains don't usually grind their own burger so the butcher doesn't know what went in to the mix. 

What can you do to ensure your health while eating?  There are two things.  First, start reading labels and educating yourself as to exactly where your food comes from.  For optimum health, you should be eating locally produced vegetables, meat and meat products (cheese and dairy, etc.).  Know how your local farmers are managing their farms and what kind of feeds and products are used in the production of their output.  I am lucky that I live in a place that has grassy grazing lands up and down the coastline.  A large local dairy producer uses those lands to graze their cattle.  This company is very reputable in the treatment of everything they manage from the cattle to the employee. 

Second, and this will be easier if number one is done, eat seasonally.  Part of the reason why food is grown and distributed the way it is, is because of our demands.  Damn the first person who said I want fresh strawberries in January.  There was a time when people ate what was in season because that was what was available to them.  Otherwise, they knew how to preserve food that they grew, so they could enjoy it out of season.  Now all you have to do is go down to your local grocer and see what flew in from South America.

I hope for this to be the first of a long series of posts related to the health of our food and ways to eat better.  Please share any and all comments you have.  For more information on the facts used above, use your favorite search engine and look for "farm cattle life span" and "corn by products".  Thanks.

The information contained herein is not intended to diagnose or treat any condition, nor to insult or demean anyone or any being. Please respect this boundary. Otherwise, anything goes.

Tao of Relativity, Perception is not always Reality

"You cannot speak of ocean to a well-frog,—the creature of a narrower sphere. You cannot speak of ice to a summer insect,—the creature of a season. You cannot speak of Tao to a pedagogue: his scope is too restricted. But now that you have emerged from your narrow sphere and have seen the great ocean, you know your own insignificance, and I can speak to you of great principles. . ."  -  The Spirit of the Ocean to the Spirit of the River - Chuang Tzu - 369 - 286 BC.

We have classified ourselves as Homo Sapien Sapien which translates to wise wise man.  But what makes us so wise?  Is it our ability to create technology that allows our bodies to deteriorate because we no longer have to do physical labor?  Is it our ability to create food production techniques that can poison the masses through inferior quality and genetically modified organisms?  Is it our ability to funnel money to war machines so that we can force our wisdom onto other people regardless of their wisdom?  Or is it our ability to recognize these things?  Maybe it is all of the above.  Maybe it is none of the above.

If you live in a cage all of your life, what do you know outside the boundaries of your cage?  If you are fed lies all of your life, how can you digest the Truth?  As "wise beings", we must look beyond what we know and what we are taught.  There is a much greater wisdom that exists beyond ourselves.  We strive to become better in everything we do, but how much better do we become when what we accomplish does not benefit anyone but ourselves or a few select?  We have lost touch with reality.  The reality is that we are all here together, we are all from One and everything we do, effects everyone and everything in some way. 

Our vanity is our biggest enemy.  We personify everything that we view as good and demonize that which we deem to be bad.  We put up fronts based on what we think others view us as.  We discard that which we know to be good because of our fears for being outcast. 

Imagine a child born into a world of beauty.  The child has no want for anything because all that is needed is provided.  The child knows not of disease, poverty, famine or war.  The child knows no lies.  The child learns of the world simply by being in the world.  The world nourishes the child's body and spirit.  The child is one with the One. 

Every child is born into a world of beauty.  Greedy men who wish to oppress the masses, though, try to make it so that we cannot see the Truth.  Because of this, the child hungers for nourishment and shelter.  The child suffers from disease, poverty, famine and war.  The child is fed lies daily and that becomes the child's perception of reality.  What the child learns of the world is what the child is allowed to learn of the world.  The Greedy and all their minions bombard the child and inhibit the growth of the body and spirit.  Yet, the child still strives to be one with the One.

When one person dies, the whole world does not mourn.  When one person suffers, the whole world does not worry.  When one person eats, the whole world is not nourished.  When one person thinks, the whole world is not enlightened.  How significant are we then as one person? 

We cannot be alone if we are to be as one.  If we think of our individual worlds as the only ones that exist, then we can never have one world.  When we broaden our view of reality and come from behind the veil of lies woven for us, we will begin to see as one. 

Stare past your fences and trees and look to the Heavens.  See where your place is.  Stare at the horizon into the distant water.  See where your place is.  Gaze upon family and friends.  See where your place is.  Open your mind to all that Is.  See where you could be.

The information contained herein is not intended to diagnose or treat any condition, nor to insult or demean anyone or any being. Please respect this boundary. Otherwise, anything goes.

Road Salve-y

There is an interesting plant called plantain (not to be confused with the "banana") that grows just about everywhere you can walk and a lot of places you can't walk.  Now this plant, be it ever so humble, was once called the "White Man's Foot" by Native Americans who recognized that the plant closely followed the advance of civilization.  If you were to take a walk in any area around your home where plants are growing, you may just find one or two of these creeping about. 

So at this point, some of you may be saying to yourselves, "Okay...a weed.  You're talking about a weed?".  Yes.  Yes I am.  My teacher and I were taking a stroll around her gardens one warm, spring day.  She was introducing me to the different plants and herbs that she grows intentionally and ones that grow naturally in and around her property.  We walked to a particular corner where she had some flowers growing and there, next to the flowers, were these weeds.  She had planted them there.  I asked her what was special about them and she began to speak.  When my teacher speaks, I listen.  She instructed me to take a leaf from the plant.  To do so, I was to grab the leaf near the base of the plant and pull firmly and sharply.  It was pointed out that leaving the plant in tact and not taking all that it had to offer at once, would mean good medicine for the future as well.  She walked me over to her outside basin and told me to rinse the leaf off.  Once I had done that, it was into the mouth for a good masticating.  As I chewed on this weed, she asked me what I felt.  I told her that it felt cool in my mouth.  The taste was certainly bitter but the green drool it produced was very cool. 

The rosemary plants on the other side of the fence were giving their nectar to some mud bees that happened along.  My teacher swished one with her hand inadvertently and it took notice of her.  She, on the other hand, did not notice the yellow jacket and it proceeded to land on her hand and take a little nibble.  The look on her face when that thing bit her was of utter shock and pain.  Mind you, I had already put some of this plantain salve on my arm where a patch of eczema exists to feel the cooling sensation on my body, but I had some left in my mouth.  The next look on her face when she peered up at me said only one thing, put some on my hand.  So I grabbed the rest of this pulpy salve from my mouth and placed it directly on the area where the mud bee had bitten her.  It was the perfect learning and teaching opportunity.  She taught me some of the many uses of this common plant and I learned how to appreciate a weed. 

I was on the road this weekend with some varied driving conditions and started taking a look at all the other people that were in the same situation I was.  We all had a destination and the ambition to get there.  Not all of our destinations were the same, not all of our ambitions were the same.  We were all on the same road for the moment though.  I had the opportunity to teach an inexperienced driver who was showing off for her juvenile friends.  After several miles of watching this teen driver bebop back and forth between lanes without regard for distance or response time of other drivers, it was my turn to dance with her.  I pulled close to the car in front of me knowing full well that she would try and shimmy between us in order to pass the person she was tailing.  I kept watch in her mirrors for the signs that she would be coming over at any second.

Sure enough, just as the car in front of me cleared her she came sweeping right in at which point I slowed down, laid my hand on the horn and gave her the look to let her know she almost hurt someone.  Her reaction was one I was not expecting so I moved up through the lanes.  My intentions were quite clear to her when I merged into her lane with a narrow margin of comfort.  She had an inquisitive look on her face that echoed a bit of regret and fear.  I gave her a look through my side view that assured her I was not there to harm her or her friends.  She was driving close enough, still, that she could see me and she got the message I was purveying.  A few hundred yards up the road came the opportunity for her to learn about following too close when the traffic suddenly stopped.  No one hit anyone, thank God.  From that moment on, she kept her distance and didn't cut anyone else off...at least for the next 35 miles or so.

Two separate instances with separate details.  Each one has its lessons.  Be aware of your surroundings.  Have an open mind about every thing.  Encountering a weed can be a great learning opportunity.  Drive safely.

The information contained herein is not intended to diagnose or treat any condition, nor to insult or demean anyone or any being. Please respect this boundary. Otherwise, anything goes.

Self-full Giving

"Faithful words are not pleasant. Pleasant, or specious, words are not faithful.

The virtuous do not bandy arguments. Those who bandy arguments are not virtuous. The wise do not seek learning. Those who do so are not wise.

The Sage does not lay up hidden stores, The more he employs it on behalf of others the more he has for himself. The more he imparts to others, the more his own stores increase.

The TAO of Heaven confers benefit, and injures not. The TAO of the Sage acts, and does not strive." - Tao Te Ching - verse 81 - LAO TZU

The last four sentences of this verse beginning with "...The Sage does not..." can be translated as the wise one is he (or she) who does not let greed rule him.  He knows when enough is enough.  He receives what is necessary and gives the rest to others.  This is a fundamental rule to life and happiness.  Imagine if all the people of the world only took what was necessary for their life and allowed the rest to be shared amongst the remaining population.  Moreover, they were happy to do so.  What a concept!  Visualize whirled peas...the wise one knows that if this is the practice, then the reality will be just that, world peace and plenty of whirled peas. 

No more starvation or famine.  I have oft wondered why these things have existed.  What gives one person or a group of people the right to decide who gets to eat and who doesn't?  Why do corporations and governments legalize the dumping of poisons and hazardous materials into our ground and water supply, so they can yield more food, just to throw out what spoils instead of sending it to someone in need?  Has anyone done a study on how much edible food is literally thrown away in one day?  In industrialized nations, the numbers, I'm sure, are staggering.  Third world countries, minus their governments?  Probably a completely different picture.  They do not have that luxury. 

How many of the self-proclaimed righteous live in splendor while their neighbor scrapes the barrel?  I do not deny any person their rewards for hard work and diligence.  If the work is honest and fair, it is deserving that rewards should be given.  The rub exists when a person lives in extravagance and has little regard for the less fortunate.  We are all capable of being the philanthropist.  We are all capable of giving more of ourselves and only taking for ourselves what is necessary.  It is what we choose to do daily that makes us a philanthropist.  It is not a monetarily-valued contribution but a human-valued one that makes a difference. 

I know that my gifts and talents can bring great joy to others when shared.  I know there are those out there that benefit greatly from my ability to share.  If I was to keep to myself, everything that I give to others, I would have nothing.  A candle, once lit, cannot help but give its light to the world.  There are a million candles that have lit my path.  My hope is that my candle can light a million paths.

Remember that the Heavens exist to benefit, not harm.  The Gifts of Heaven shall abound when the Way of Heaven is lived. 

The information contained herein is not intended to diagnose or treat any condition, nor to insult or demean anyone or any being. Please respect this boundary. Otherwise, anything goes.

For Some, Spring is Near

I took a nice, gentle, leisurely stroll with the family yesterday in one of the many regional parks that surround my home.  The weather was decent enough to not have to wear a coat and, as long as you kept off man-made trails, there was no need for mudboots.  As we wandered merrily along, it was not hard to notice all of the life that was springing up.  Everywhere you looked, tiny plants were stretching their arms towards the Heavens as if to hug the sky.  Pretty white flowers, some purples, and even pinks were blossoming all around.  Mushrooms and other fungi, were present, but not as they were just a few weeks ago.  All of this, was a clear sign that Spring is upon us...at least some of us. 

Traditional Chinese Medicine recognizes the multitude of Yin Yang relationships that occur at every moment of the day, every day of the year, every year of every century and every century of every millenia.  From this we can develop a description of what is occurring at any given time and how it relates to the surrounding period.  Spring is the start of the Yang seasons and is represented by the tail of the white fish in the Yin Yang symbol.  Evidence of Yin is still abundant but the tip in scales towards Yang shows clearly also.  Spring is a time for upward and outward expansion.  It is the time when Earth clings to precious moisture because Water from the Heavens is slowly ceasing.  The water that has already returned to the earth is now promoting the growth of plant roots and as the water sinks deeper into the ground, the roots dive after it.  What goes down, must come up...so we see life "spring" up. 

In Five Element Theory, the season of Spring is referred to as Wood and is associated with the color green.  Makes sense.  We came out of winter, Water, which is now promoting Wood, Spring.  There is new growth of vibrant greens everywhere.  The organs corresponding to Wood are the Liver and Gallbladder.  The Liver is a Yin organ because it is solid and its functions are essential to life.  The Gallbladder is a Yang organ because it is hollow and provides an action for life.  When we think of the Wood element, we should also think of thinking.  Wood promotes thought and is attributed to memory and organization as well.  Memory and organization require vision.  Without vision we cannot see where we are going nor where we have been.  The eyes are the sensory organ which will show the stress of the Liver.  Anger and resentment are the emotions associated with Wood. 

As trees and plants grow, their branches and stems move outward.  The operative words in that sentence are "grow",  "move" and "outward".  Trees have trunks which support limbs with joints or elbows.  Tissues of plant life tend to grow in long strands called fibers and these fibers, together, make the connective tissue that allows the plant to hold a shape, climb or grow, and move outward from the body of the plant.  In the human body, we call these tissues tendons and ligaments.  Muscles do not move our bodies, tendons and ligaments do, like strings on a marionette. 

Take for instance Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.  Medical science recognizes this as inflammation in the tissues (tendons) passing through the bones of the wrist and hand or Carpal Tunnels.  When the tissues are inflamed, they swell and do not allow for movement without triggering pain.  Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and, to a lesser extent, Repetitive Motion Syndrome, are usually associated with persons who work on a computer.  The tendons in the hand are overworked by hours spent typing on a keyboard every day for a long period of time.  Other diagnoses that present with persons with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome are usually migraine headaches and diminished eyesight.  They may also experience more instances of acid reflux and if you took their coffee away, they'll get angry and hurt you.

The Gallbladder channel begins at the corner of the eye (what stares at the monitor all day), descends to the jaw joint, zig zags over the ear and circles back to the forehead (where migraines usually start).  It continues back across both parietal lobes or sides of the head (where migraines party hard) and moves down the back of the neck on either side of the cervical spine.  Those two soft spots where the back of the skull meets the neck are great for helping to release tension from the head.  The channel picks up again on the sides of the trunk of the body at about the same level or higher as the nipple.  It travels down the sides, with a deviation by the Liver/Gallbladder area and then pretty much follows the pant seam all the way down to the ankle.  The channel goes to just under the outside ankle in the hollow that exists there and then moves across the foot towards the second-to-last toe, or ring toe, where it exits the body.  Most of the major tendons and ligaments of the body that are necessary for upright posture and locomotion are situated right along this line.

The Liver channel begins at the big toe and travels up the foot across the top between the bones of the first and second toes.  Once it reaches the crease of the foot and leg, it moves up the inside of the leg directly opposite the Gallbladder channel, where it then crosses the channel and stops at the level of the Liver. 

Spring is a great time to promote the health of the Liver and Gallbladder by eating from the new greens.  The increase in daylight means the Sun is giving more precious energy to plants.  Be sure to get plenty of sleep, though, and avoid excess alcohol consumption or greasy, fried foods.  All of these have a negative effect on the Liver and Gallbladder and will inhibit your Spring growth.  So awaken from your long winter's nap, stretch your arms toward the sky, uproot yourself and get moving like a spring chicken.

The information contained herein is not intended to diagnose or treat any condition, nor to insult or demean anyone or any being. Please respect this boundary. Otherwise, anything goes.

Spreading the Word

"The man who knows how to establish virtue never fears its being uprooted. The man who knows how to maintain virtue never fears its escaping him. The sons and grandsons of such never rest in offering sacrifices to them.

The virtue of him who cultivates TAO in his own person is genuine.

The virtue of him who cultivates it in his own home is superabundant.

The virtue of him who cultivates it in his village is enduring.

The virtue of him who cultivates it in his State is exuberant.

The virtue of him who cultivates it in the Empire is universal.

Wherefore I judge the persons of others by my own person; the families of others by my own family; the villages of others by my own village; the States of others by my own State; the Empire by the Empire I rule to-day.

How do I know the acquiescence of the world?—By this method." - Tao Te Ching - verse 54 - LAO TZU

When we think of pious individuals, we tend to think of great leaders such as the Dalai Lama, Mahatma Ghandi, Moses, Jesus Christ, Buddha and Krishna, to name a few.  But what about others around us with a little less notoriety?  The local priest or rabbi perhaps?  The elders in the church?  What about our friends and neighbors with whom we have contact everyday?  Do they not qualify as pious because of their affiliation with us?  Are they not worthy of our respect because they do not meet our high aspirations that we ourselves have not attained?  Do they not qualify as pious individuals?  Do we qualify as pious individuals?

Every man and woman that has ever lived and will ever live, was and is capable of being a pious person.  That is because we are all children of One.  We are all nourished by virtue, shaped by matter and perfected by our environment.  It is the quality of these components that will ultimately determine how pious we are.  If we are not aware of the Greater Power that Is, how do we then know how to be great?  If we are not fed with virtue, how do we become virtuous?  If our environment is not perfect, how are we to be perfected by our environment? 

Seeking to be one with that which Is, has been the ultimate goal of the righteous and pious.  This has been their purpose in life and so they have achieved piety.  They have recognized, first and foremost, that they are one with the One because of the Creation.  They have taken the Virtue of the One to nourish themselves.  They have learned from the One to shape themselves by what matters.  And because they see the One in everything that is, the One is their environment and has thus perfected them.  They turned from the evils of men and burned the straw dogs behind them.  They rejected what is not of the One and discarded all falsehoods.  They saw the beauty in all that is and described it to everyone they could find. 

Jesus Christ, Buddha, Krishna, Moses and Ghandi all came in to this world the same as each and every one of us did.  So let us strive to live as they did.  Not to idolize them, though.  To emulate how they have shown us to be.  Let us allow virtue to nourish us and let us cling to the One like an infant to its mother.  This is the first step in cultivating the Tao.

The information contained herein is not intended to diagnose or treat any condition, nor to insult or demean anyone or any being. Please respect this boundary. Otherwise, anything goes.

One, yet many...

"TAO remains ever nameless. However insignificant may be the simplicity the Empire does not presume to claim their services.  If Princes and Monarchs could but preserve this simplicity, every creature in the world would submit itself to them; Heaven and Earth would be in mutual accord, and shower down sweet dew; the people would need no laws, but live in harmony of themselves.  It was in the beginning that a name was fabricated.  This name once existing, Heaven, also, may be known; and such knowledge ensures the indestructibility.  The presence of TAO in the world may be compared to streams, and mountain-gorges, in their union with rivers and seas."  - Tao Te Ching - verse 32 - LAO TZU

Tao means "the Way".  Christians say God.  Jews say Yahweh.  Muslims have many names for Allah; the Creator, the Merciful, the Almighty, etc.  Hinduism teaches of Dharma, or eternal law, and Karma, the scales of justice.  Buddhism also follows Dharma and adds in Buddha as the model and Sangha, or community.  Indigenous peoples follow religions of sorts as well.  They follow natural law and understand balance.  Therefore, they live their lives according to the sun, moon, tides, seasons, etc.

All religions of the world operate within the boundary of laws whether they be divinely inspired or naturally occurring.  With these laws comes warnings, too, of what will happen if the laws are disobeyed or ignored.  Disease, famine, plague, Hellfire, drought, pestilence, lesser incarnation, miserable existence and suffering are just a few of the punishments described by world religions.  When we break the law we are punished.  I do not speak of man's laws.  I speak of the Eternal Law, the Truth, Tao, God, Allah.  We, in our self-proclaimed wisdom, have become blinded and ignorant to what Is.  We battle each other with great wars because of our greed.  We kill each other in the name of our God.  We poison the ground in which our food grows.  We poison our bodies and then blame someone else for our condition.  We close our doors to our neighbors because we are too afraid to help.  We allow a few to tell the rest what to think and how to act because of our inability to stand up and do for ourselves.  We sit idol, expecting others to do for us.  And after we have layed our loved ones to rest, prayed for health and wealth, and locked our treasures away, we curse God for having forsaken us. 

Allah has given all to us with His Creation.  Jehovah set forth the Law and asked that we obey it.  Natural Law shows us every day how to live and be with each other.  Why can we not live in harmony with each other as do the wind and the trees?  Why can we not help each other as does the rain to a parched earth?  Why have we given up on ourselves and allowed our fire to be diminished?  Why do we constantly turn from the Tao and then turn around and blame It?

What will it take to open the hearts and minds of all, to see that we are one?

The information contained herein is not intended to diagnose or treat any condition, nor to insult or demean anyone or any being. Please respect this boundary. Otherwise, anything goes.

New Idea, Old Idea

"Thirty spokes, uniting in a nave, were employed before the invention of carriages. Clay made into utensils was employed before the time of palaces and dwellings. A door and a window, hewn, did duty for a residence before the erection of houses. Wherefore, the possession of these things may be regarded as beneficial, while their absence may be said to have been useful." - Tao Te Ching - verse 11 LAO TZU

Let me ask a few questions.  Who was the first person to make a bowl?  Or a spoon?  Or a window?  Or a door?  Why did the first person decide to make a bowl?  Or spoon?  Or window?  Or door?  The answer is very easy to understand but difficult to remember in our daily lives.  The first anything was created simply for the purpose it served.  The first bowl allowed someone to hold something that was necessary to their life.  The first spoon allowed someone to nourish themselves with what the bowl held.  The first window allowed someone to peer out and gaze upon the world...from within.  The first door allowed someone to close out the world and ponder its existence...within.

So, in answering the questions and then taking our study further, we begin to recognize the purpose for the existence of things.  As imperfect creatures, we lead ourselves to the worship of material items so much that we begin to lose sight of their purpose.  How many items exist in our homes that we use every single day of our lives and if we didn't have those items we would be miserable and die?  And I mean literally die?  Some out there would literally die if they didn't have their specialized medical equipment, that's not what I mean.  There is not one thing that I can think of, that exists in my home, that I use every day, that if I didn't have it I would be miserable and die.  Except for one thing...well, two things...air and water.  Beyond that, everything else in my home is strictly for making my life easier. 

My hands can become a bowl, but that bowl leaks and is limited by how much it can carry.  So I make, or buy, a bowl that allows me to hold more nourishment.  Does it really make a difference what that bowl looks like?  Or course not.  The color of the walls of the bowl have no effect on its ability to hold things.  It becomes apparent then that it is not the material of the bowl that has a purpose, but the ability of the bowl to hold things that is the purpose.  It does not matter that a spoon is made of silver, it matters that the spoon can move things.  (Those straw dogs are starting to creep around again.)  Why do we punish ourselves, then, when we cannot buy the latest and greatest cellular device?  Or the Gucci handbag?  Or a fully-equipped Lexus?  Does it really matter what our possessions look like?  Can we not be satisfied with the usefulness of our possessions instead? 

The information contained herein is not intended to diagnose or treat any condition, nor to insult or demean anyone or any being. Please respect this boundary. Otherwise, anything goes.

Speak Your Truth - A Good Practice

A recent family dispute brought about some fairly dramatic and necessary changes in the interpersonal relationships between multiple family members.  I was thinking about the series of events that lead up to this climax and came up with this thought:  As we continuously sweep the 'little things' under the rug, eventually we trip over the mountain below. 

Everyone deals with conflict in different ways.  Some people react with violence, definitely an extreme.  Some people react with ignorance, a different kind of extreme.  Let's not look at the negative connotations that the word ignorance has and let's strictly look at how the word is constructed for a moment.  'Ignore' is at the base and means "to deny the existence of what is".  So ignorance is the denial of the existence of Truth.  One can be fully aware of what the Truth is but through actions and words deny its very existence.  Uninformed is oft mistaken for ignorant.  The necessity for the self-preservation mechanism behind this method of managing stress is very real.  As we discussed before in Yin and Yang, there can be manifestation becoming what is necessary...a dual reality, if you will.  Because of conditions that exist, individuals create necessary adaptations to deal with those conditions or, in most cases, NOT deal with those conditions.  A choice is made to avoid or ignore the condition thus creating a new habit or relationship in order to facilitate the ignorance of the condition.  As we have all found out at some point or another in our lives, ignoring something does not make it go away.  What happens, though, is that we build a false front (hey there's that straw dog thing again) and create not only an alternate reality for ourselves but also for the other person or people in the relationship. 

Speaking your Truth is very easy.  The more you practice it, the easier it becomes.  Identifying the Truth to be spoken can be a challenge.  Experience is our guide to this identification.  We know what is right and wrong.  Whether we choose to do what is right versus what is wrong is another story and can depend greatly on the existing conditions.  It is our courage that determines which we will choose.  Do we cast aside the feelings of others in our pursuit of Truth?  Do we choose to live in the alternate reality because we are too afraid to do so?  Thinking about the feelings of others, do we realize that only with the Truth are we able to fully consider them?  How many people live through lies and deceit leaving a trail of broken hearts and torn lives behind?

Let us speak our Truth throughout our lives so that we can be who we are.  It is far easier to remember the Truth.  Truth is what is.  It is not clouded by our own agendas.  When we fail to recognize the Truth, we fail to recognize who we are.  Truth will never fail us, but will we fail Truth?

The information contained herein is not intended to diagnose or treat any condition, nor to insult or demean anyone or any being. Please respect this boundary. Otherwise, anything goes.

Introduction To Five Element Theory

The Five Elements, according to Traditional Chinese Medicine, are Fire, Earth, Metal, Water and Wood.  Fire promotes Earth; Earth promotes Metal; Metal promotes Water; Water promotes Wood.  We see these interactions in the natural world.  After a fire, many nutrients are returned to the earth thus making it very fertile again and ready to support abundant life once more and so we say that Fire promotes Earth.  Metal is formed within the Earth, thusly we say that Earth promotes Metal.  As water courses through the veins of the earth, it picks up minerals along the way which become part of the water.  These minerals are metals.  Most of the minerals picked up are required by living things in order to promote good growth.  Because of this we say that Metal promotes Water.  Water, being a fundamental requirement for life, supports all that grows and lives.  Plant life takes the water and grows into a food source for animals.  Water, then, promotes Wood.  When plant material has reached its pinnacle of existence, conditions make for excessive fuel which, when sparked, becomes an inferno.  Wood, in turn, promotes Fire and so the cycle continues.  We call this the cycle of generation.

The elements have more than one job though.  The cycle of generation is referred to as the "parenting" cycle because of the nurturing that is present while the cycle of control is referred to as the "grandparenting" cycle because of the disciplinary relationship.  In this relationship, Fire controls Metal; Metal controls Wood; Wood controls Earth; Earth controls Water; Water controls Fire.  Metal is not easily molded and shaped unless it has been heated by fire.  Once forged into tools, metal is used to cut wood and shape wood.  Roots of plants serve not only the plant that they are connected to but they also help to hold onto soil.  In this regard, roots act as erosion control and thus control the earth.  River banks are comprised of earth and prevent the water from going wherever it wants to.  The earthen banks guide the flowing waters and so Earth controls Water.  Fires that rage out of hand are controlled by water.  Water extinguishes fire by cooling it and by depleting it of oxygen. 

Each element is represented by many different characteristics and each element contains Yin and Yang.  Emotions, flavors, smells, organs, body parts and foods are some of the many associations that can be made to the Elements.  In future posts, I will describe each individual element and discuss its relationship to the other elements.  I will discuss how Fire allows us joy while Earth brings worry.  I will show you how Metal keeps us alive while Water gives us life.  Wood will not be left out because without it, you would not be able to see this post.

The information contained herein is not intended to diagnose or treat any condition, nor to insult or demean anyone or any being. Please respect this boundary. Otherwise, anything goes.

Yin & Yang

The concepts of Yin & Yang (pron. yawng) are simple yet complex.  On one hand it is easy to define them as essence and force, respectively.  But, on the other hand, describing and understanding them becomes so complex and mind-expanding, that volumes of literature have been written about each.

We find this duality throughout every aspect of Yin and Yang.  Within everything that is, there is an element of Yin and an element of Yang.  And within each of those, the other resides.  This is why the Taoist (pron. Dowist) symbol contains the white fish, Yang, with a black eye, Yin, and a black fish, Yin, with a white eye, Yang.  The fish swim together, constantly transforming into each other, consuming each other and yet remaining balanced with each other so that each exists. 

Balance is the existential goal of Yin and Yang.  The balance between what is necessary for what is manifesting, and what is manifesting because of what is necessary.  In order for us to live, we need certain basics.  Water and air are at the top of that list.  Water, containing hydrogen and oxygen, and air, also containing hydrogen and oxygen, are the two most fundamental requirements for life.  One from above and one from below.  Water contains elements of air and air contains elements of water.  Yin and Yang.  Food, of course, is another life basic.  All living beings need food.  Without food, there is no living.  One becomes unable to feed the force of life.  Without the force of life, one is unable to gather food.  The quality of that fuel defines the quality of our body.  In other words, you are what you eat.  In our constant pursuit of health and happiness, we have lost sight of what is necessary and what is manifesting.

I know that I do not need a $4 cup of coffee for many reasons.  Coffee is a diuretic and, therefore, depletes my body of the fluids it needs.  Coffee also brings excessive heat to the digestive organs of the body (even if drunk cold) causing even more fluid depletion through evaporation by the body to cool down.  Coffee withdrawals (yes, like drug withdrawals) include migraine headaches, irritability, restlessness, fatigue and more.  These facts alone are enough to stay away, but then you go and put a high price tag on it and...well, the facts speak clearly.  With this knowledge, I am still shocked to see how many different ways we poison our bodies because the poisons have become socially acceptable and readily available.  Propagandous marketing has blinded humans to reality.  Do you drink coffee for breakfast?  Is that all you take for breakfast?  Is that really the best part of waking up?  How about all those prescription drug commercials out there?  Take a pill for heartburn, but expect you may experience nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or, in some cases, severe liver damage.  And then there are those that because of existing health conditions cannot take the pill at all less they risk certain death.  WHAT?!  A tablespoon of red wine or apple cider vinegar not only takes care of the immediate effects of heartburn but it is also beneficial to the rest of the body as it promotes blood circulation...and it won't kill you.

During the course of this blog, I will explore the balance of Yin and Yang:  The external balance we see in nature; the internal balance we see within ourselves; the balance of our outer with our inner; and the balance of the manifestation of the necessary.  I will draw from my personal experiences, my own pursuit of knowledge, shared knowledge of family and friends and the teachings of  'a master in her own time', my doctor and teacher.

The information contained herein is not intended to diagnose or treat any condition, nor to insult or demean anyone or any being. Please respect this boundary. Otherwise, anything goes.

Straw Dogs?

STRAW DOGS -- "Heaven and Earth are not humane./ They regard all things as straw dogs." Lao-tzu (c. 604 - c. 531 B.C., "Tao Te Ching"

A straw dog is something that has been put up as a false front, a sacrificial item or a scapegoat.  Everyone hides behind something; an excuse, clothing, makeup, jewelry, an outward appearance.  How many false fronts do you put up?  Sacrifice requires that we give of ourselves, not just our possessions.  It is too easy for a person to write a check, drop a $20 bill or even hand someone our garbage and expect a tax credit for it.  When was the last time you made a difference by sharing yourself?  Scapegoats abound.  We see them everyday in every aspect of what is presented to us.  From psychology to the law, we are given every chance to blame someone else so we don't have to take responsibility for our thoughts or actions.  We must be prepared to accept all manifestations of our decisions.  Good decisions beget good outcomes.

My oldest son began school in a Waldorf-based educational facility a few years back.  We were blessed with a great Kindergarten teacher who possesses many, many years of experience.  She couples her experience with such love and compassion for every student that you can't help but become enriched by her presence.  It was her first year at our school and, unfortunately, her last, as family matters came up and she returned home.  Although she is not physically with us, we still hold many of her lessons dear to us. 

One of those lessons is how to take responsibility for one's actions.  It is done through a simple phrase.  Whenever you do something that is damaging to another person, being or thing, come from your heart and express out loud, "I will do better next time."  Sorry is a word that has been thrown around so much, it means nothing.  It has become a straw dog.  But to utter the phrase "I will do better next time" makes a promise...a promise that the next time you are presented with a situation in which you have the ability to choose, you will make a decision that benefits all involved.  Saying sorry has become a reflex.  It takes a conscious effort to make a promise.

The information contained herein is not intended to diagnose or treat any condition, nor to insult or demean anyone or any being. Please respect this boundary. Otherwise, anything goes.

Synchronicity - that's a word huh?

A newly reacquired friend introduced me to the word, SYNCHRONICITY.  From the root words syn- and chrono-, we understand this word to mean same time.  Wikipedia defines as follows:  Synchronicity is the experience of two or more events that are causally unrelated occurring together in a meaningful manner. To count as synchronicity, the events should be unlikely to occur together by chance.  A synchronicity occurs when one event is shared by two or more beings.  This event can be a non-chalant passing of time that neither benefits nor impedes either party involved beyond the companionship provided.  Or, it can be an event that is so life altering, it is impossible to think how one ever survived prior and, yet, at the same time, fill one with an eternal hope for what may be to come.

How many times in our lives do we stop and say;  How weird that you called, I was just thinking about you?  Or;  Thank God you're here.  Please help me.

Many of us roam through life feeling as if we are confined and constrained by forces beyond our control.  Most of us believe in a Supreme Being but we forget to ask Him for help when we need it most.  God, Yahweh, Allah, Jehovah, Tao, Higher Power - whatever you call Him - is always ready to help us.  We need only ask.  And sometimes, you don't even have to do that.  We call those moments, synchronicities.

Let's open our eyes to what has already been given to us and allow our hearts to begin feeling again...unconstrained and unconfined.  Start with something small, like "thanks".  See what blossoms.

The information contained herein is not intended to diagnose or treat any condition, nor to insult or demean anyone or any being.  Please respect this boundary.  Otherwise, anything goes.