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*new*
Brian cooper- HOW REAL IS yoga?
FASTING
COLLOIDAL SILVER
Bent out of shape-
Forget six pack abs,
Relaxation 101,
Ana Forrest,
YJ Interview with David Swenson
Gilgoff''s Grace
Why Yoga Works When diets don’t .
Is Yoga Enough to Keep you fit?
Eastern Wisdom verses Western science
Out of India
Yoga Works!
Tracing the Disappearence of the Goddess
Teacher section The toughest job you’ll ever learn to love
How to Teach a Multi levelled class
Ethics, Adjustments
How to Choose a Yoga teacher training course
The Trouble with Touch
The Philosophy of Touch
The Psoas is:
The Gift of Assisting
Menstrual Essentials
Who Are You?
Force vs. Feeling
Oh My Goddess.
compassionate dying www.yogajournal.com/wisdom/1007_1.cfm Being vs Doing www.yogajournal.com/wisdom/723_1.cfm Does yoga conflict with my religion? www.yogajournal.com/views/284_1.cfm Get hip about hip flexors www.yogajournal.com/practice/588_1.cfm Free your pelvis www.yogajournal.com/practice/877_1.cfm
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| A Short History of Modern Yoga- Brian Cooper |
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The word “Religion” comes from the latin root ligare, meaning to bind, tie, bring together. So the basis of religion is to unify or make whole or re-connect to something. What that something is depends on the particular religion. Using this definition of religion strongly suggests that Yoga-meaning to bind, to yoke, to unify, is also a religion. Like all religion it has a spiritual longing for wholeness and for understanding the role of the human in the cosmos. Yoga does not have sin but ignorance, which can be removed when the self is re-united with the higher Self. Generally it sees god in all things and all things in god. This is known as pantheism. Yoga describes spiritual or divine attainment in evolutionary terms and as something arising out of human effort and will. Or does it? To him who sees me in everything and everything in me, I am never lost, and he is not lost in me. The devotee who worships me abiding in all beings, holding that all is one, lives in me, however he may be living. (VI, 30-31 BG) This verse from the Bhagavad Gita is highly theistic, and one could almost substitute Christ for Krishna, as of course the yogis have done in denoting Christ as an avatar. Christianity believes in sin and in a single separate god-and is therefore theistic. Failure to conform to the standards of a morally perfect god is sin. Salvation from sin can only be received, never earned. Christianity was influenced heavily by the writings of Paul (who never actually met Jesus). Its central tenet is of personal redemption or salvation through Christ. Its emphasis is on Faith, or belief, rather than on any activity such as yoga. Salvation is seen as a gift from God through his Grace. Idolatry is forbidden in Christianity, which would support its rejection of the apparent pantheon of gods in traditional yoga. Here is a description of a meditation technique: Then seat yourself in a quiet cell, apart in a corner, close the door, raise your mind above any vain or transitory object. Then, pressing your beard against your chest, direct the eye of the body and with it all your mind upon the centre of your belly-that is, upon your navel-compress the inspiration of air passing through the nose so that you do not breathe easily, and mentally examine the interior of your entrails in search of the place of the heart, where all the powers of the soul delight to linger. This is not a yoga text but taken from Nicephorus the Solitary, 13th century Christian mystic and shows prayer combined with breathing techniques. It is highly likely that the techniques of yoga had spread from India through Persia and to Greece and beyond and had been adopted by religious orders which saw these methods as a valid means to achieving communion with god. Let’s fast forward to the 21st century. Rev Tim Jones, the vicar of St. James’s Church told The Telegraph: “Any alternative philosophies or beliefs are offering a sham- and at St James’s Church we want people to have the real thing. “The Philosophy of yoga cannot be separated from the practice of it, and any teacher of yoga (even for toddlers) must subscribe to the philosophy. As Christians we believe that this philosophy is false and not something we wish to encourage,” he said. He added “Yoga is encouraging people to think there is a way to wholeness of body and mind through human techniques – whereas the only true way to wholeness is by faith in God through Jesus Christ.” Yoga is dangerous. Yoga is deceitful. The "correct" pursuit of yoga is designed to call upon demonic power and influence; it invites inside us the very separation from God and ultimate destruction it claims to forestall. Yoga is not good for anyone; clearly it is not acceptable for Christians (The Berean Call Pub., 2006, p. 159) In 1989, Pope Benedict, then Cardinal Ratzinger, issued a scathing report against yoga and warned Catholics of "dangers and errors " from "non-Christian forms of meditation." He stated, "The Hindu concept of absorbing of the human self into the divine self is never possible, not even in the highest states of grace’ The above debate was sparked off by the appearance of Christian Yoga, which uses the techniques of yoga, especially asana and pranayama, but avoids the philosophy or theistic elements. Christian yoga has a huge and growing following in the States, and alarm bells are ringing in many conservative and orthodox circles as they fear that yoga –and Hinduism in particular-is infiltrating and debasing their religion. The other side of the debate for Christians sounds like this: (from a Christian practicing yoga) But all of this is only a preparation for a "spiritual" aim, which begins to make itself felt in a very short time: "By becoming contemplative in a matter of weeks, my prayer had been given a particular and novel cast." Becoming extraordinarily calm, the author notices "the ease I felt in entering into prayer, in concentrating on a subject." One becomes "more receptive to impulses and promptings from heaven." "The practice of Yoga makes for increased suppleness and receptivity, and thus for openness to those personal exchanges between God and the soul that mark the way of the mystical life." Even for the "apprentice yogi" prayer becomes "sweet" and "embraces the whole of man." One is relaxed and "ready to tremble at the touch of the Holy Ghost, to receive and welcome what God in his Goodness thinks fit to let us experience." "We shall be making our being ready to be taken, to be seized — and this is surely one of the forms, in fact the highest of Christian contemplation." "Every day the exercises, and indeed the whole ascetic discipline of my Yoga, make it easier for the grace of Christ to flow in me. I feel my hunger for God growing, and my thirst for righteousness, and my desire to be a Christian in the full strength of the word." But what about the opinions on the Hindu side? What do practicing Hindus say about Christians practicing yoga? Professor Tiwari writing in ‘Hinduism Today, ’states, ‘In the past few months I have received several calls from journalists around the country seeking my views on the question of whether the newly minted "Christian Yoga "is really yoga. ‘My response is, "The simple, immutable fact is that yoga originated from the Vedic or Hindu culture. Its techniques were not adopted by Hinduism, but originated from it." These facts need to be unequivocally stated in light of some of the things being written to the contrary by yoga teachers. The effort to separate yoga from Hinduism must be challenged because it runs counter to the fundamental principles upon which yoga itself is premised. Efforts to separate yoga from its spiritual center reveal ignorance of the goal of yoga. I believe such efforts point to a concerted, long-term plan to deny yoga its origin. This effort to extricate yoga from its Hindu mold and cast it under another name is far from innocent. It is reminiscent of the pattern evident throughout the long history and dynamics of colonizing powers. Firstly, the physical geography of a people was colonized, then their mental arena. Now we are witnessing the next phase, the encroachment on the spiritual territory of Hinduism which began in the last few decades.’ These quotes highlight the current controversy around Christian yoga: Some traditional Hindus would say that this was the infiltration of Christianity into yoga. To do this, the roots of yoga have been denied, its spiritual foundation destroyed, and its cultural fabric not acknowledged. This may be true but the trend is not new and can be traced back to the mid 19th century, not in Europe or the USA, but in India itself. It has become known as replacement theology. I would like to discuss some of the ways in which western religion influenced yoga, firstly in India, and later in the USA and Europe. Reformation, spiritualist and enlightenment thought were all exported more or less wholesale from the west into Bengal around the mid 19th century (based on hermetic traditions). The more classical elements of Hinduism were revised, and eventually appeared in Vivekananda’s form of Neo-Vedanta. Classical Hinduism is considered as pre 18th century. India at this time had been colonized by the British, who wielded economic and political power. An important part of the colonization process was bringing Christianity to India. Christian missionaries were abundant and well supported. Bengal was an important centre for political movement. An elite of traditional Bengali literati was gradually transformed into a modernized Hindu intelligentsia by interaction and cooperation with Europeans. Many intellectuals were critical of Hindu orthodoxy and of the Brahman priesthood and also sympathetic towards important aspects of the Christian message. This was further shaped by their interest in spiritualist and Unitarian Christian religion which was popular in Europe and the States. The Unitarian Christian religion wanted to substitute rational faith for the prevailing world religions with their rituals and irrational myths. They also wanted social reform and the extension of civil rights. Equally important they viewed their religion as one of theistic progress in which mankind could take an active part by joining social reform and rational religion. It is useful to look briefly at some of the key players in yoga’s transformation because they created bridges between east and west and were responsible for the first highly influential yogis who came to the west to teach. Rammohan Roy created a streamlined, rationalized, monotheistic theology inspired by Unitarian Christianity. This neo-vedanta was humanistic in its concern to improve the lot of the Indian population, and also power the way for progressive secularization of society. Roy distanced himself from central Hindu beliefs such as reincarnation and karma, and also questioned the authority of the Vedas. This was much more in line with western esoteric religiosity. The theosophical society was particularly influential among Bengalis. Roy also created the first neo-hindu ashram based on neo-vedantic adaptions of the puritan ethic. This ashram has set the example for almost all present day ashrams in India. Roy also wrote ‘Precepts of Jesus’ and stressed Christ’s ethical teachings which he absorbed into his version of Vedanta. He was also influenced by Emerson’s philosophy in the States. Emerson declared that the restoration of the world meant its subjection to an enhanced ego-self, an ego-self that used the power of higher spiritual energies to advance worldly projects and delights. These ideas are strongly connected to the Hermetic Tradition of medieval Europe. Debendranath Tagore also rejected the authority of the Vedas, reincarnation and karma. He was strongly influenced by the concept of heaven and earth and talked of the Grace of God. He believed in the cultivation of puritan virtues and self-improvement through puritan practices. The science of religion he created opened itself up to a process of secularization, later completed by Vivekandanda. It should be emphasized that the above two men did not outrightly embrace Christianity but attempted to absorb it into their existing Hindu system by moving away from the superstitions and idolatory of Classical Hinduism towards a more rational and scientific theism. The esoteric side to western thought was strongly influenced by Harmonial religion. This believed that divinity flowed through all things. The various religious sects found ways for this to happen, and one was Transcendentalism-the idea that each individual possesses a faculty to become receptive to a higher power. This in turn led to New Thought –for example-positive thinking, so that individuals could take responsibility for their situation. Modern yoga fits into this schema very easily. Keshubchandra Sen promoted what is arguably the most important single concept to shape modern yoga. Inspired by the Transcendentalists, he taught experiential revelation. This meant that the transfer of religious authority moved from outer sources –metaphysical, socially accepted and institutionalized – to inner sources, individually induced and validated. It is on the strength of this shift that modern yoga will be conceptualized as the experiential core of a universalistic scientific religion.
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Finally we come to the most influential individual to emerge from this important group. Swami Vivekananda (V) belonged to the above group and also joined the Freemasons around 1884. He essentially adopted the Indian holy man Ramakrishna as his guru, which lent authority to his message. His talk at the world parliament of religions in Chicago in 1893 made him an overnight celebrity and brought his brand of yoga into the mainstream of American society. As he wrote ‘as our country is poor in social virtues, so this country (USA) is lacking in spirituality. I give them spirituality and they give me money.’ This was further aided by an emerging myth that India was spiritual while the west was material.
V was astute and quickly saw how he could present his ideas in ways which appealed to the west by integrating current thinking and trends. To see how this happened, we need to look more closely at what V was teaching.
V naturalizes and secularizes – so that yoga becomes a science based on natural laws and on a spiritual technology for attaining Samadhi. Under these circumstances the Yoga Sutras on which he based much of his talk, become a DIY manual of practice. V used the model of prana to perform the same function as animal magnetism popular at the time. He follows Samkhya in adopting purusha and prakriti, but instead of discussing the Gunas, he emphasizes prana and akasha, which then allows him to exploit prana conveniently and interchangeably with magnetism, thus appealing to western occult and metaphysical interests. Blockages in prana link yoga to physical practices and to health. Prana has become materialized-a material physical substance, responding to physical laws (ie pranayama, mind control). Prana can now be linked to asana. He has transformed a yogic body, which has no objective existence, into a physical body, but the yogic body and physical body belong to different levels. He backs this up by appealing to modern science, although, like the followers of the then New Thought –later to become New Age-he has no scientific understanding or knowledge. However, it was good enough for the general public, who readily accepted his ideas, and have done so ever since. He expounds the advaita vedantic view of absolute non-dualism and also the concept of ‘I am Brahman’ He mixes and confuses Purusa of the Sutras with the wholeness of Advaita Vedanta, but uses the authority of both to validate his message. This contradicts starkly with what his Guru really said and to which his Guru never gave sanction. Ramakrishna only accepted non-dualism under very strict conditions. Firstly he considered that non-dualism only applied to the previous yuga, not the current Kali Yuga. Secondly, he stated that to say ‘I am Brahman’ is relevant only in and for the moment when one is merged in nirvikalpa Samadhi-only in this state is it valid to view the world as illusion and to feel he is Brahman. To say I am Brahman when one has normal body-consciousness is false and misleading. He goes on to say ‘for those who lead a householder’s life and who identify themselves with the body, this attitude of I am Brahman is not good. Householders should look to God as their master and on themselves as his servants.’ So we are back to a theistic and devotional approach to yoga as the only valid approach. Sankara agrees when he insists that without divine revelation –shruti-no amount of meditation will reveal the true non-dual nature of experience.
It is worth looking at the overall spiritual landscape at the time of V’s teachings. The theosophical society, led by Blavatsky created an Asia which never actually existed but which gained a tremendous following among Americans and Anglophiles, who bent it into a new version distinctly Victorian and moralistic. The yoga which was accepted was a meditative yoga and rejected any form of Hatha yoga which was considered as pagan and obscene. Blavatsky described it as a lower yoga, injurious to health. The mythical Asia was further reinforced by Arnold’s poem on the Buddha who is described as a paragon of protestant ethics, successfully applying the Victorian self-help approach to the spiritual realm. This domesticated Buddha came to represent the archetypal yogi of modern Yoga.
Another leading light of the Theosophical society, William Judge, produced his own reading of the Sutras, which emphasized moral qualities as contained in the Yamas. For Judge, theosophical and Christian brotherhood had become Hindu righteousness.
The term Raja yoga had been popularized by Blavatsky and become mainstream after V’s publication of the book by the same name. What V. did was to present the dualistic Patanjali in ways which were monistic. In other words, the soul was not isolated from matter, but was the divine source of bliss within an individual consciousness. He also included references to Kundalini, setting the scene for the acceptance of more physical practices and ultimately hatha yoga. There was an increasing demand for practices –people wanted techniques and goals and methods to achieve more or less immediate results. This practical thirst was addressed by accounts of yogic masters setting an example that could be open to anyone. This was V’s triumph, for he saw this need and produced a more or less practical, scientific program, free from any trappings of traditional religiosity, and appealing to the current materialistic and ego-centred ideology of the times.
Is Raja yoga the same as the sutras accredited to Patanjali? The Raja yoga of Vivekananda is not that of Patanjali’s Sutras. In other words Classical yoga is not Raja yoga. Note that in the classical Bhagavad Gita, there are three yogas: bhakti, jnana and karma. Raja yoga is not mentioned and only became the fourth yoga as a practice after Vivekananda.
The above leaves us with two specific aspects of modern yoga theory:
Practice of yoga should go hand in hand with voluntary good works
Self-improvement is the heart of yoga practice
These have no counterparts in classical yoga.
Other major influential figures in Modern Yoga
William Walker Atkinson: A Chicago businessman who wrote titles such as Thought Force in Business, Secret of Success, The Secret of Mental Magic to name a few. He also wrote, under the name of Yogi Ramacharaka, titles such as Hatha Yoga, The Yoga Philosophy of Well-Being etc. This illustrates the close ties between the current theosophical ideas of mind and willpower and modern yoga. Around 1900, there was a general movement towards fitness and physical training as a part of moral education. Will power was identified with muscle power and Atkinson actively promoted a physical brand of yoga which was seen as using will power and self effort to achieve enhanced ego-goals.
Pierre Bernard formed his tantric order and expanded the purely physical approach towards a psycho-physiological one, which was later developed and put on a sounder foundation by his nephew Theos Bernard.
The role of Tantra in modern yoga
Tantrism and its offshoot, Hatha Yoga had both been overshadowed by the previously described movements. Both Blavatsky and Vivekandanda dismissed the practices as lowly and unnecessary. However, the practices offered the public exactly what they had been looking for: a practical means to enlightenment, a touch of the secret and exotic, and the promise of becoming as a god, which tantric texts promised. The methods used were, on first appearances, scientific and rational. However, Tantra and Hatha never emerged as valid ways to enlightenment, but instead as mere preparation for the higher yoga of Raja yoga. And as we have seen this Raja yoga was a confused mixture of different philosophical schools.
The Hatha yoga now taught is a sanitized version of the original. It is safe, non-religious and supported by the philosophy of self-improvement and will power. It offers a means to evolution and personal growth without rituals and complicated gods. And it offers a highly materialistic view of the body-mind connection as validated by present day science. In other words, its business as usual, and the practice of yoga can continue without disruption to one’s daily life. But is this the whole story? Here is what an Indian Yogi has to say:
While the roots of yoga are most certainly linked with Hinduism, and its most important teachings known as the Vedas, or books of knowledge; the average yoga student has little exposure or awareness of the ancient roots to yoga. While many students are looking to escape religion, or certainly not looking for a new religion; for many, at best, they are open to new age spirituality. While this new type of spirituality borrows heavily from many of the great eastern traditions such as Hinduism, it is rare that they offer a comprehensive system of study. Often deities are relegated to a backseat within the new age philosophical model. The result has been a lessening of the understanding of deities and the important role they play within spiritual growth. The ultimate result being that this is becoming a world devoid of conscious understanding regarding deities. What are the place, role and relevance for these Vedic deities? Their timeless wisdom, spanning eternity, as recorded in the Vedas. Or are they to become forgotten myths from some distant ancient people. Will their relevance with yoga become an abandoned teaching, or are they waiting for each student to discover their secret meanings?
To explore this, one must learn to look at eastern teachings through eastern eyes. The literalist tradition, common in the west and relevant in the east, does not afford much opportunity to unlock the vast secrets held within the eastern traditions and the more familiar system of yoga. Western scholars tell us that yoga is one of 6 distinct traditions from the Indian subcontinent. But in reality these traditions were intended to blend, to cross the lines of demarcation so frequently used in scholarly circles. The main 6 traditions are in reality a part of much greater whole, which afforded different approaches to the same truth. The separation of these systems has lead to a decline in understanding and application of these powerful systems. This has resulted in deities being given a “backseat” role in many yoga centers. Often the western student wishes to merely confine deities to the realm of religion, whereas the eastern student and mystic realizes that the deities “blur” the lines to reality, and manifest in a variety of forms, and applications.
In Tantrism, asanas and mudras evoke certain states of consciousness by re-discovering the message hidden within them. These experiences are trans-physiological and represent yogic states which are not accessible without preliminary spiritual initiation. What is happening in modern yoga is the continuing physicalization of what were previously subjective trans-personal states. Examples of this are nadis, chakras and kundalini. These have now become materialized and are claimed to be accessible to anyone by correct practice. The entire tantric sadhana with its rich symbolism, images, visualizations, iconography, and mysticism has been reduced to a near mechanical practice mixed with a smattering of New Age philosophy.
This has opened the doors for a rampant consumerism where chakras are fine-tuned, nadis opened, and auras cleansed with readily purchasable self help guides or equipment. The result has been the opposite of what was intended –it has made people more attached to the physical instead of taking them beyond the physical.
And this brings us full circle back to Christian Yoga. This surely is the extreme end of the spectrum, a yoga offering only exercise, stripped of all religious overtones. And it resembles, disturbingly, the trend in Britain, where yoga is now considered a sport, and the so-called governing body for yoga (the british wheel) is endorsed by the English Sports Council.
© Brian Cooper 2009
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| Thai Massage by Brian Cooper |
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NUAD BORAN -TRADITIONAL THAI MASSAGE By Brian Cooper PhD Introduction Traditional Thai Massage is a beautifully structured whole-body massage, which uses a combination of stretching and pressure to achieve a unique and comprehensive holistic massage. Thai Massage is a healing form widely used all over Thailand - in institutions, hospitals, and within families - it is a living tradition whose origins extend over 2000 years to the time of the Buddha. The Thai word for massage, nuad, means much more than the soft tissue massage known in the West, and could be more accurately placed under the heading of a manipulative therapy. The massage works on both superficial and deeper fascial layers, muscles and ligaments, nerves, and on joints and bones, as well as all internal organs. Thai massage also includes peripheral stimulation therapy as found in Chinese acupuncture, Shiatsu and hand and foot reflexology, all of which deal with balancing the flow of energy (prana, ki, chi) within the body. Origins Yoga and Ayurveda (the traditional medical system of India) are generally considered to have been practiced in the ancient Indus Valley, the first documentation being recorded about three thousand years ago. One volume of the Vedas known as the Suchi Veda deals entirely with acupuncture. Both Ayurveda and acupuncture were taught at the then famous Indian Buddhist university of Takshashila. The theoretical basis for acupuncture belongs to the ancient science of subtle anatomy known as Svarodaya. It describes the concept of Prana ( life energy, also Chi, Ki) which is distributed throughout the body by channels known as Nadis. Lying along the nadis are ‘vital points‘ called Marmas, which are seats of Prana and areas of high concentrations of energy. They are in many cases identical to the acupuncture points of traditional Chinese medicine. The use of Marmas formed an important part of tradional Indian medicine and is referred to as ‘Marma Chikitsa‘ (Marma therapy). The practise of Marma Chikitsa declined (through the efforts of the British who banned its use) and is only now receiving more attention. It did survive as part of the ancient martial art of South India called Kalaripayattu. (It too was banned but is undergoing a renaissance). There are about 107 marmas considered lethal if a blow is received on one. This knowledge, along with the use of Marmas to treat injury and disease, was also taught at the Buddhist universities and monasteries as a means of self defense. This body of knowledge was taken by Buddhist monks on their journeys throughout the Orient, establishing martial arts at what is now the Shaolin monastery in China, and practising massage within the Theravaden Buddhist monasteries of Thailand, Cambodia and Burma. The origin of Thai massage as it is now practised is attributed to the legendary figure of Jivaka Kumar Baccha, known in Thailand as Shivago Komarpaj. Jivaka lived approximately 2000 years ago and was the royal physician to King Bimbisara of Magadha, now part of Bihar. The king appointed him to personally supervise the health of the Buddha and his followers, and he is mentioned in the Pali canon, the scriptures of Theravada Buddhism.To what extent Chinese concepts of traditional medicine influenced Thai massage remains debatable. The knowledge was transmitted orally for centuries, being first recorded in Pali, using Khmer script, in the 17th century. These texts were treated with the same respect as the Buddhist scriptures. In 1767, the old capital of Thailand, Ayuttaya, was overrun by the Burmese, who destroyed most of the texts. The surviving fragments were collected, and under the order of King Rama III engraved in stone. They can now be seen in the temple of Wat Pho in Bangkok. Comparison of Indian, Chinese and Thai concepts of energy lines Most yoga systems consider that there are 72,000 nadis, although some texts state as many as 350,000. They are not ordinary nerves or veins but subtle channels which also manifest in the physical body. Since the physical centres have a close relationship with the subtle centres, the vibrations produced in the physical centres will have effects in the subtle centres. All nadis originate from the Kanda, situated just above the Muladhara chakra (although some texts put it 12 inches above the anus). As long as these channels perform their normal functions the body is free from disease. Fifteen nadis are considered important, three of which play a highly significant role in Hatha and Kundalini Yoga. In the Chinese system, there are twelve primary meridians and eight 'extaordinary ' meridians, two of which play an important role in the esoteric science of Taoist Yoga, and in Qigong, In the Thai system there are ten primary nadis known as Sen, which like the Indian system, originate near the navel. There is an approximate correspondence between these three traditions: for example, the Sen line called Sen Sumana, which starts at the tip of the tongue and ends in the solar plexus, is almost identical to the Sushumna nadi in Yoga, and forms part of the conception vessel (Ren Mai) of the Chinese system. The Sen Ittha, which runs from the left nostril over the head and down the left side of the spinal column to the back of the thigh corresponds to the Ida nadi of yoga and the bladder meridian of Chinese acupuncture. The Sen Pingkhala is identical to the Ittha but runs down the right side of the spine corresponding to the Pingala nadi. Techniques of Traditional Thai Massage Balancing the energy flowing in the Sen channels is accomplished by a combination of pressure and stretch. Pressure is applied to specific points (often identical to the acupuncture points of Chinese medicine) and along Sen lines using the thumbs, hands, feet and elbows. Many of these points are automatically stimulated in many asanas (sirsasana, mayurasana, bound lotus, to name a few). The manipulative aspect of Thai massage is particularly interesting, because the positions closely resemble the asanas of Hatha Yoga, and have the same benefits. The receiver is moved into a position by the giver, the movement often being repeated several times with an increasing degree of intensity. This passive experiencing of the stretches allows the receiver to relax deeper into the position, releasing tension and creating space both physically - for example within the joints - and mentally ('letting go'). The positions in Thai massage follow a definite order which forms a natural and logical sequence. Each position is a preparation for the next, leading the receiver to increasing degrees of stretching and opening. This sequencing follows the principles of Vinyasa - the intelligent ordering of asanas - in the same way as found in Astanga Vinyasa yoga or in any well-structured yoga programme. Another advantage of sequences is that they aid learning the many separate moves involved. A full Thai massage consists of over one hundred and thirty separate positions. Learning sequences of moves rather than separate moves is an aid to memory. The sequences are also ordered to minimize the changes of position required of the giver, leading to a more efficient and flowing massage. A massage received from an experienced masseur will feel like one flowing, dance-like sequence. Receiving Usually the massage begins with the receiver lying on the back. The Sen lines of the feet and legs are worked using both palm and thumb pressure, and gentle stretches. This serves to relax and prepare the receiver for the more intense stretches which follow for the legs and hips.The work on the hips also stimulates the internal organs and serves as a preparation for the abdominal massage. This is followed by massage on the chest, arms and hands, finishing with the head and face. The receiver then lies on one side and work on the energy lines and some of the stretches are repeated in this position. If time is limited these can be omitted. However, the side position can be used as an alternative to lying on the back, for example for pregnant women, or people suffering from asthma, or for any other reason that makes lying on the back uncomfortable. This position is good for working the energy lines on the back, and to start some of the back stretches. This is also a good position for twists. After repeating on the other side, the receiver lies on the front, and the lines on the back of the legs are worked, followed by a variety of stretches to open and relax the pelvis and lower back in preparation for the back stretches. Once these are completed the masseur brings the receiver to a sitting position using moves which also act as counterstretches to the backbends. In the sitting position the back and in particular the shoulders and neck are worked, using a variety of stretches like the one illustrated in the picture. The massage is concluded by the receiver lying in Savasana, or Corpse pose, for at least ten minutes to allow the full assimilation and rebalancing of the internal energies. Giving A great advantage of Thai Massage is that giving is as good as receiving. Thai massage is part of a spiritual discipline, and reflects the tenets of Buddhist teaching. The massage is given with a sense of loving kindness (Metta), compassion, joy and equanimity. Before giving a massage, the masseur invokes the help and guidance of the founder Jivaka by offering a prayer. The prayer is a way for the giver to centre him/herself so that the massage is given with awareness and mindfulness. Thai Massage is really a form of meditation in movement, which results in increased sensitivity between the giver and receiver. The giver synchronises his/her breath with the each movement, establishing a gentle, controlled, and rhythmical pattern which induces an almost trance like state in the receiver, and a meditative state in the giver. The giver moves from the centre of the body, just below the navel, using his/her body weight without effort. Moving in this way, working through a sequence of yoga-like stretches combined with the breath, has remarkable similarities to practising Astanga Vinyasa yoga. At the end of the massage the giver feels energised and relaxed. Thai massage is given lying on a firm mattress or futon, the receiver and giver wearing light, free-fitting clothes. Oil is not suitable for Thai massage because if prevents effective application of pressure. Benefits Experiencing yoga postures passively allows time to `taste` the posture and internalize the mind/body connection. The receiver is able to learn that many asanas are more about relaxing muscles than employing them. This often comes
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| A personal journey |
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A Personal Journey….
I was born Jewish into a family who observed the high holy days and moved in Jewish circles, and I grew up appreciating the supportive community which surrounded my parents,- whilst not terribly religious, most of their friends were Jewish and when my father died suddenly, there were so many ready to help and take care of the arrangements.
However my own social network was very different- I only have a couple of Jewish friends- and once I left home and went to university, religious observances were not exactly a priority (I was busy engaging in more typical student pursuits largely involving alcohol!). So as years went on I became more and more a non-committal agnostic, vaguely believing there was a God ( and like most of us, praying only in times of despair) but with no ties to any organised religion as such, and I felt very uneasy around those who had strong, fixed beliefs and observances of their own
And then came 9/11 and in the after-shock of such an atrocity I started to feel truly frightened- for the future, for my children- and I even started to consider that if God could allow such things to happen, maybe these Muslim terrorists were right, and that sitting on high above God was disgusted at our Western culture of greedy materialism, excesses and debauchery. After all, what went on in Sodom and Gomorrah was probably nothing compared to the average evening’s viewing.
So now I was left with either no God, or a God who hated me and the culture I belonged to.
As time moved on the fear subsided, but no comforting beliefs returned and the violence continued- and continues today. I was watching everything on TV I could about the bombings and the surrounding issues – fired up again by the bombings here, until I felt so detached from the images the media was bombarding us with, the daily death toll in Iraq, yet another suicide bomb.. I just decided just to stop watching.
But after a chance reading of a short article in a magazine I had begun to practice yoga by then- taking up Bikram yoga in 2003 – in an attempt to preserve my sanity as mum to v young children and loving it.
Although this form of yoga didn’t really go into the esoteric side of things, I did find it a great distraction from everyday stresses- a very active “meditation” and as my kids got older and attended different toddler groups etc out of many, many people I met, I was drawn to certain mums who became firm friends and later discovered these ladies were also practicing various types of yoga, and had also tried meditation and exploring Buddhism.
With their encouragement I became more interested and learned vipassana mediation techniques at the Buddhist temple ( so conveniently local- and which one of these ladies told me about) and read several books about Buddhism/ by Buddhist monks.
I liked the ideas I found there but also found some difficult to grasp. A vipassana meditation book/CD collection I bought at the yoga show (on a friends’ recommendation) explored many of these ideas without being specifically Buddhist and clarified some better. I cried when I read the chapter on emotions,- emotions I had spent years feeling ashamed of and using to identify myself as a horrible person were beautifully explained as impersonal arisings, coming about due to an external set of circumstances- all beyond my control. All I needed to do was note the emotion, “anger” “sadness” “impatience”, and keep noting it till it passed, with no self labelling/identification (“I’m angry” or “ I am an angry person”). And by developing the heavenly abodes of “loving-kindness”, “Compassion”, “sympathetic joy” and “equanimity” and practicing “metta” in time I could replace these negative emotions with positive ones.
The Buddhist 8 fold path included “ right speech” – not just to/about others but also to ourselves – and this rang a distinct bell in my head. – Several years ago I had already explored the power of “self –talk”- how I could affect my mood and outlook by what I told myself constantly in my head,- applying the heavenly abodes to myself I how I spoke to myself had a powerful, positive impact.
I also read a little more about yoga- discovering there was rather more to it than performing asanas and learning what the 8 limbs were. But as time went on the initial “tapas” or discipline I had for Buddhism and further learning lost impetus and I got out of the habit of meditating.
Then last year, following surgery, I had to stop yoga for a couple of months and when I was ready to return it seemed a good time to try a change. Had read about Astanga yoga before and it appealed to me as , like bikram, there is a set pattern of asanas, and it is a strong “workout” with some cardiovascular benefits as well as strength, flexibility and meditational (no time in my life for gym/aerobics etc as well as yoga). So I did a google and lo and behold, found a local teacher (James) with very strong recommendations on the net.
E-mailed him and lo and behold again, he was starting a beginners course that week! Talk about “meant to be”.
I have been attending classes ever since!
But James’s classes were not just about physical “hatha” yoga. From the beginning he would talk about the 8 limbs and other aspects and his website was a great source of information and further reading. I hadn’t realised that yoga preceeded and originated Buddhism and Hinduism, that Buddha himself was a “yogi”. After classes a group of us would discuss more esoteric issues and I could ask questions, and gain different opinions.
My interest rekindled I have read more books the past few months- some recommendations of james, some of the good friends who had sparked my initial flirtation with Buddhism, and watched films with our yoga class, and what I have found is that from many different sources, the same ideas keep coming up. Ideas which just make sense and which are very much backed up by quantum physics!!
– Now this especially appealed to me as I am in essence a scientist and am, in fact quite resistant to many esoteric principles,- effects of the moon? Astrology? Visions, spirits?- not in my world!
I am not very good at remembering the detail in all I read, or in explaining these ideas to others, but I accept on an intellectual level, that I am not my face, body or personality or even mind.
My true self is pure consciousness and that pure consciousness is in everything and everyone - it is effectively “God”- and outside of space and time. Thus I and all of us, am divine!
Rather than a wrathful, vengeful and vain deity judging us and punishing us and demanding worship, how much more sensible (and comforting) is it to imagine a unified, eternal stream of consciousness to which we all return.
And if I can accept this I accept unity, that we are all one, - after all how many of the world problems are caused by our sense of separation from others,- by our identification of ourselves through colour/race/religion/profession/family status- anything which sets us “with” one group and thus “not with” another?
If we are all one it is easier to have compassion and empathy.
And not just people- everything is part of this unity- the same atoms/protons/electrons make up everything and are constantly transitioning between everything, (and from quantum physics, even constantly winking in and out of existence depending on if they are observed). Everything has a vibration, and everything will therefore have an effect on everything else.
So then it’s not such a big leap to imagine the pull of the moon having an effect! And to be concerned about our effects on the environment, on our universe.
And “reality”- our physical reality is created by ourselves! “I am not in the universe, the universe is inside me”
What we “see”is coloured by so many concepts/assumptions based on memories/previous experience that we don’t, we can’t see what is really there just as it is.
Plus what we see is a neural response to photons – just as what we hear is a neural response to changes in air pressure, interpreted by our brain into sound, (Thus if a tree falls and there is noone to hear it, it would not make a “sound”).
And not only that- we create our own reality by our effect on everything in it too – right down to the “observer effect” on those winking subatomic particles.
I’m probably not explaining things terribly well- and in trying, I realise I need to re-read and read more… and more…
And more importantly I realise I need to experience rather than just intellectualise,- and to do this I understand the need for practice – yoga, meditation,, to access pure being without any overlain ideas/concepts/interpretations/labels and find peace and the ultimate freedom.
But I no longer view religion with suspicion and fear. I see Jesus and Mohammed like Buddha- as enlightened beings, and the religions which have grown up around them over the millennia have unavoidably distorted and re-interpreted their original teachings as they were passed from generation to generation, once they were no longer present to actually say what they actually meant.
I may not be part of an organised religion but I have beliefs and am spiritual and I can do this anywhere, at any time/all the time, with no need to find a church or follow set arbitrary conditions in order be “worthy” of a deity’s love or personal salvation.
However, I am still, like most of us, as flawed as ever. I shout at my kids, behave badly at times, get jealous, envious, frustrated, impatient and sad. I still have strong desires, and aversions, and I don’t do enough for the planet. I struggle to be present, my mind busy prattling away most of the time, and I don’t make enough time for meditation and yoga. So I have yet to experience Samadhi and true peace; but when I remember, I try to be mindful, present in what is occurring right now. And when I do this- and especially when I am mindful of my breath, I do get moments of peace and it is a lovely feeling. Being outside in nature helps lots in this too.
And when I look back I do recognise a incredible set of circumstances which have created a definite path leading me to here – - meeting certain people at certain times, happening upon that short article on bikram yoga, living so near a buddhist temple, not to mention an Astanga class,checking out a web site, and coming full circle remembering the self help book that I depended on 8 years ago where so many of these principles were written. Back then I would recoil whenever the word “God” appeared in print –seeing a deity which I couldn’t identify with and didn’t have faith in. Now I see “God” as consciousness- as us.
Let the journey continue!
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Fasting
Fasting & Detox You should consult your Doctor if you are taking any medication.
Fasting is the single greatest natural healing therapy. It is nature's ancient, universal "remedy" for many problems. Animals instinctively fast when ill. When I first discovered fasting, 15 years ago, I felt as if it had saved my life and transformed my illnesses into health. My stagnant energies began flowing, and I became more creative and vitally alive. I still find fasting both a useful personal tool and an important therapy for many medical and life problems.
Of course, most of the problems for which I recommend fasting as treatment are ones that result from overnutrition rather than malnutrition. Dietary abuse problems, more common in the Western world than in Third World countries, generate many of the chronic degenerative diseases that I have written so much about; these include atherosclerosis, hypertension and heart disease, allergies, diabetes, and cancer. I believe that fasting is therapeutic and, more importantly, preventive for many of these conditions and more.
As I use the term here, fasting is the avoidance of solid food and the intake of liquids only (true fasting would be the total avoidance of anything by mouth). The most stringent form of fasting is taking only water; more liberally, fasting includes the use of fresh juices made from fruits and vegetables as well as herbal teas. All of these limited diets generate varying degrees of detoxification-that is, elimination of toxins from the body. Individual experiences with fasting depend on the condition of the body (also mind and attitude). Detoxification might be intense and temporarily increase sickness or might be immediately helpful and uplifting.
Juice fasting is commonly used (rather than water alone) as a mild and effective cleansing plan; this is suggested by myself and other doctors and authors and by many of the European fasting clinics. Fresh juices are easily assimilated and require minimum digestion, while they supply many nutrients and stimulate our body to clear its wastes. Juice fasting is also safer than water fasting, because it supports the body nutritionally while cleansing and probably even produces a better detoxification and quicker recovery.
Fasting (cleansing, detoxification) is one part of the triology of nutrition; balancing and building (toning) are the others. I believe that fasting is the "missing link" in the Western diet. Most people overeat, eat too often, and eat a high-protein, high-fat, rich-food, building and congesting diet more consistently than they need. If we regularly eat a more balanced and well-combined diet, such as my Ideal Diet, we will have less need for fasting and toning plans, although both would still be required at certain intervals throughout the year.
In a sense, detoxification is an important corrective and rejuvenative process in our cycle of nutrition. It is a time when we allow our cells and organs to breathe out, become current, and restore themselves. We do not necessarily need to fast to experience some cleansing, however. Minor shifts in the diet such as including more fluids, more raw foods, and fewer congesting foods will allow for better detoxification; for a carnivore, for example, a vegetarian or macrobiotic diet will be cleansing and purifying. The general process of detoxification is discussed thoroughly in the General Detoxification program; here we focus on fluid fasting-its history, therapeutic use, benefits, contraindications, and, of course, how to do it, along with other aspects of lifestyle that support fasting.
Fasting is a time-proven remedy. Its use goes back many thousands of years, really to the beginning of life forms. As a healing process and spiritual-religious process, it has continued to be more intelligently applied, we hope, in the last several thousand years.
Voluntary abstinence from food has been a tradition in most religions and is clearly a spiritual purification rite. Many religions, including Christianity, Judaism, and the Eastern religions, have encouraged fasting for a variety of reasons, such as penitence, preparation for ceremony, purification, mourning, sacrifice and union with God, and the enhancement of knowledge and powers. From Moses, Elijah, and Daniel to Christ, the Bible is filled with fasters, who employed it to assist their purification and communion with God. Fasts as long as 40 days were employed to cleanse people of sins and the "devil."
The Essenes, authors of the Dead Sea Scrolls, also advocated fasting to purify themselves and commune with God. This was one of their primary healing methods. The Essene Gospel of Peace, transcribed by Edmond Bordeaux Szekely from the third-century Aramaic manuscript, suggests that Satan, his evil spirits, and his plagues will be cast out of our being by fasting and prayer. The Essenes believed that disease came from Satan (they claimed that it took three days without food to starve Satan) and from sins upon our body-the temple, which must be purified for God to reside there. To bring God into our life more completely, we would fast on water and "go to the waters (stream, lake) and find a hollow reed, insert it in our rear ends and flush the evils from our bowels."
For many philosophers, scientists, and physicians, fasting was an essential part of life, health, and the healing process needed to recreate health where there was sickness. Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Galen, Paracelsus, and Hippocrates all used and believed in fasting therapy. Most spiritual teachers also recommend fasting as a useful tool. In a booklet from the 1947 lecture entitled Healing by God's Unlimited Power, Paramahansa Yogananda suggested that fasting is a way to increase our natural resistance to disease, stating that "Fasting is a natural method of healing. When animals or savages are sick, they fast." He continued, "Most diseases can be cured by judicious fasting. Unless one has a weak heart, regular short fasts have been recommended by the yogis as an excellent health measure." Yogananda referred to an Armenian doctor, Grant Sarkisyan, who had treated many patients successfully with fasting therapy for such disorders as asthma, skin diseases, digestive problems, and early stages of atherosclerosis and hypertension.
Throughout the centuries, many doctors have treated a variety of patients and maladies with fasting, acknowledging that ignorance (of how to live in accordance with nature) may be our greatest disease. Knowledge, not necessarily from books, but our inherent and experienced knowing of how to live according to the natural laws and spiritual truth, leads to the sacred wisdom of life and subsequent good health. Knowing when and how long to fast is part of this knowledge. Through fasting, we can turn our energies inward, where we can use them for healing, clarity, and change.
Physicians with a spiritual orientation tend to be more inclined than others to employ fasting, both personally and medically. Many of my life transitions were acknowledged, stimulated, and supported through fasting; and when I felt blocked or needed creative juice in my writing, fasting would be very useful. In Spiritual Nutrition and the Rainbow Diet, Gabriel Cousens, M.D., a California physician and spiritual teacher, includes an excellent chapter on fasting in which he describes his concepts of fasting and his own 40-day fast. According to Dr. Cousens, . . . fasting in a larger context, means to abstain from that which is toxic to mind, body, and soul. A way to understand this is that fasting is the elimination of physical, emotional, and mental toxins from our organism, rather than simply cutting down on or stopping food intake. Fasting for spiritual purposes usually involves some degree of removal of oneself from worldly responsibilities. It can mean complete silence and social isolation during the fast which can be a great revival to those of us who have been putting our energy outward.
From a medical point of view, I believe that fasting is not utilized often enough. We go on vacations from work to relax, recharge, and to gain new perspectives on our life; why not take occasional breaks from food? Or, for that matter, we might consider fasts from phones, cars, computers, talking, or from whatever activity/consumption we feel is excessive. Most people cannot break out of the conditioned pattern of eating three meals daily. Eating is a habit, an addiction. Most of us do not need nearly the amounts (and types) of food we consume. I have discussed allergy-addiction in many sections of this book; in a sense, eating itself is an allergy-addiction. When we stop and let our stomach remain empty, our body goes into an elimination cycle, and most people, especially when toxicity exists, will experience some "withdrawal" symptoms, such as headaches, irritability, or fatigue (only pure hunger is a clear sign of need for food). When they eat again, their withdrawal symptoms subside, and they feel better. This situation is worse when it involves allergic people eating allergenic foods.
I believe that fasting is one of the best overall healing methods because it can be applied to so many conditions and people. Those who are acid, sympathetic, or yang types, who tend to develop congestive symptoms and diseases rather than those of deficiency, do better on fasting than do other types. Some acid conditions, including colds, flus, bronchitis, mucus congestion, and constipation, can lead to headaches, other intestinal problems, skin conditions, and many other ailments. Those who follow a basic, wholesome, and balanced diet such as outlined in this book have less need to fast or detoxify, although on occasion it is a good idea for anyone, provided that they are not undernourished. Most of us living in Western, industrialized nations are mixed types, with both overnutrition and undernutrition. We may take in excessive
potentially toxic nutrients, such as fats and chemicals, and inadequate amounts of many essential vitamins and minerals. Juice fasting supplies some of these needed nutrients and allows the elimination of toxins. Excess mucus and clogging of the eliminative systems constitute the basic process of congestive diseases; deficiency problems result from poor nourishment or ineffective digestion/assimilation.
In the General Detoxification program, a number of symptoms and diseases of toxicity that can be alleviated by detoxification are discussed. Juice fasting is mentioned as part of the treatment plans in many other sections as well. It can be used to detoxify from drugs or whenever we want to embark on a new plan or life transition, provided that there are no contraindications to fasting (discussed later in this section). Fasting is very versatile and generally fairly safe; however, when it is used in the treatment of medical conditions, proper supervision should be employed, including monitoring of physical changes and biochemistry values. Many doctors, clinics, acupuncturists, nutritionists, and chiropractors feel comfortable overseeing people during fasting.
Conditions For Which Fasting May Be Beneficial
The use of fasting to treat fevers is controversial. Eastern medicine thinks of fasting as increasing body fire, so that it might worsen fever. In actuality, when we consume liquids, we generate less heat, so this really helps to cool the body. With fever, we need more liquids than usual; with high temperatures and sweating, we need even more.
Some cases of fatigue will respond well to fasting, particularly when the fatigue results from congested organs and energy. With fatigue that results from chronic infection, nutritional deficiency, or serious disease, more nourishment is pro |
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The use of fasting to treat fevers is controversial. Eastern medicine thinks of fasting as increasing body fire, so that it might worsen fever. In actuality, when we consume liquids, we generate less heat, so this really helps to cool the body. With fever, we need more liquids than usual; with high temperatures and sweating, we need even more.
Some cases of fatigue will respond well to fasting, particularly when the fatigue results from congested organs and energy. With fatigue that results from chronic infection, nutritional deficiency, or serious disease, more nourishment is probably needed, rather than fasting.
Back pains that are due to muscular tightness and stress rather than from bone disease or osteoporosis are usually alleviated with a lighter diet or juice fasting. Many tight muscles and sore areas along the back may result from referred pain from colon or other organ congestion. In my experience, poor bowel function and constipation are fairly commonly associated with back pains.
Many patients with mental illness, from anxiety to schizophrenia, may be helped by fasting. The purpose of fasting in this case, however, is not to cure these problems but to help understand the relationship of foods, chemicals, or drugs to the mental difficulties. Allergies and hypersensitive environmental reactions are not at all uncommon in people with mental illness. Care must be exercised with the use of fasting in mental patients as the toxicity or lack of nourishment may worsen their problems. If, however, the patient is strong and congested, fasting may be indicated.
Obesity can be remedied by fasting. Obesity is the problem for which fasting is currently most often used (mainly protein drinks) in the traditional medical system, although it is not the best use of this healing technique. Fasting is not even a good treatment for those who are overweight; it is too temporary and may generate feasting reactions in people coming off the fast. Better would be a change of diet and a longer-term weight-release plan; something that will allow new dietary habits and food choices to replace the old ones. A short fast, perhaps of five to ten days, can be useful as a motivator and catalyst for making these necessary dietary changes and new commitments and to help release a pound or two daily.
Some very obese patients have been monitored by doctors while on water fasts done in hospitals for months at a time to shed weights of a hundred pounds or more. With other patients, the jaws have been wired shut so that they can take in only fluids drunk through straws. Newer fasting programs substitute a variety of protein-rich powders for meals. These are usually medically supervised programs for people who are at least 30-50 pounds overweight and make use of a prepackaged, low-calorie powder, such as Optifast or Medifast. This high-protein, low-calorie diet allows patients to burn more fat. These programs are not nearly as healthful as vital juice fasts, but they are nutritionally supportive over a longer time period and can be used on a outpatient basis fairly safely if people are monitored regularly. They provide all the needed vitamins, minerals, and amino acids to sustain life and help many obese people to lower their weight, blood fats, blood pressures, and blood sugars. However, as with any weight-loss program, if it does not motivate the participants to change their diets and habits, they then may stay in the "yo-yo" syndrome (weight going up and down and up), which may actually be more harmful than just remaining overweight.
A balanced, low-calorie diet with lots of exercise is still the best way to reduce and maintain a good weight and figure. Many obese people are also deficient in nutrients because they eat a highly refined, fatty, sweet diet. Often, these obese people are fatigued, and they need to be nourished first before they will do well on any fast.
Fasting to treat cancer is also a controversial topic. Many alternative clinics outside the United States use fasting in the treatment of cancers. Since cancer can be a devitalizing, debilitating disease, this may not be wise. Possibly with early cancer, and definitely as a cancer preventive to reduce toxicity, juice fasting may be helpful. Anyone with cancer needs adequate nourishment, and adding fresh juices to an already wholesome diet can help induce a mild detoxification and enhance vitality.
Although the process of fasting may generate various results, depending on the individual condition of the faster, there are clearly a number of common metabolic changes and experiences. First, fasting is a catalyst for change and an essential part of transformational medicine. It promotes relaxation and energization of the body, mind and emotions, and supports a greater spiritual awareness. Many fasters feel a letting go of past actions and experiences and develop a positive attitude toward the present. Having energy to get things done and clean up old areas, both personal and environmental, without the usual procrastination is also a common experience. Fasting clearly improves motivation and creative energy; it also enhances health and vitality and lets many of the body systems rest.
In other words, fasting is a multidimensional experience. Physiologically, refraining from eating minimizes the work done by the digestive organs, including the stomach, intestines, pancreas, gallbladder, and liver. Most important here is that our liver, our body's large production and metabolic factory, can spend more time during fasting cleaning up and creating its many new substances for our use. Breakdown of stored or circulating chemicals is the basic process of detoxification. The blood and lymph also have the opportunity to be cleaned of toxins as all the eliminative functions are enhanced with fasting. Each cell has the opportunity to catch up on its work; with fewer new demands, it can repair itself and dump its waste for the garbage pickup. Most fasters also experience a new vibrancy of their skin and clarity of mind and body.
Initially, the reduction of calories allows the liver to convert glycogen stores to glucose and energy. Body fat can be used for energy (ATP) but it cannot generate or reform glucose; although many cells can metabolize fatty acids for energy, the brain and central nervous system need direct glucose. Proteins can be broken down into amino acids; of these, alanine and serine can be used to produce glucose. With fasting, some protein breakdown occurs, less if calories are provided by juices. When there is no stored glycogen left, our body will convert protein to amino acids and to energy. Fatty acids can also be a fair source of energy, usually after being converted to ketones. With total fasting, ketosis occurs as an adaptation by the body to prevent protein loss by burning fats. Still, protein and fats can be used to provide energy for brain cell function. With juice fasting, there is less ketosis, and the simple carbohydrates in the juices are easily used for energy and cellular function. The high-protein diets and fasts do burn fat and generate ketosis and weight loss, but they also add more toxin buildup in the body from the foods or powders used. Also, they do not rest and cleanse the digestive tract and other organs as well.
Fasting increases the process of elimination and the release of toxins from the colon, kidneys and bladder, lungs and sinuses, and skin. This process can generate discharge such as mucus from the gastrointestinal tract, respiratory tract, sinuses, or in the urine. This is helpful to clear out the problems that have arisen from overeating and a sedentary lifestyle. Much of aging and disease, I believe, results from "biochemical suffocation," where our cells do not get enough oxygen and nutrients or cannot adequately eliminate their wastes. Fasting helps us decrease this suffocation by allowing the cells to eliminate and clear the old products.
Some Benefits of Fasting
This physiological rest and concentration on cleanup can also generate a number of toxicity symptoms. Hunger is usually present for two or three days and then departs, leaving many people with a surprising feeling of deep abdominal peace; yet, others may feel really hungry. It is good to ask ourselves, "What are we hungry for?" Fasting is an excellent time to work on our psychological connections to consumption.
As far as fasting symptoms, headache is not at all uncommon during the first day or two. Fatigue or irritability may arise at times, as may dizziness or lightheadedness. Our sensitivity is usually increased. Common sounds like television, music, refrigerators may irritate us more now. The sense of smell is also exaggerated, both positively and negatively; I have had whole meals of smells while fasting. The tongues of most people will develop a thick white or yellow fur coating, which can be scraped or brushed off. Bad breath and displeasing tastes in the mouth or foul-smelling urine or stools may occur. Skin odor or skin eruptions such as small spots or painful boils, may also appear, depending on the state of toxicity. Digestive upset, mucusy stools, flatulence, or even nausea and vomiting may occur during fasting. Some people experience insomnia or bad dreams as their body releases poisons during the night. The mind may put up resistance, with doubt or lack of faith or a fear that the fasting is not right. (This can be influenced even more by listening to other people's fears.) Most of these symptoms, however, will occur early if they do appear and are usually transient. The general energy level is usually good during fastings, although there can be ups and downs. Every two or three days, as the body goes into a deeper level of dumping wastes, the energy may go down, and resistance and fears as well as symptoms may arise. Between these times, we usually feel cleaner, better, and more alive.
The natural therapy term for periods of cleansing and symptoms is "crisis," or "healing crisis." During these times, old symptoms or patterns from the past may arise, usually transiently, or new symptoms of detoxification may appear. This "crisis" is not predictable and is thus often accompanied with some question by the fasters as well as their practitioners-is this some new problem arising or is it part of the healing process? Usually only time will tell, yet if it is associated with the fasting and one or more of the common symptoms, it is likely a positive part of detoxification. We should use the maxim of healing, Hering's Law of Cure, to guide us-it states that healing happens from the inside out, the top down, from more important organs to less important ones, and from the most recent to the oldest symptoms. Most healing crises pass within a day or two, although some cleansers experience several days of "cold" symptoms or sinus congestion. If any symptom lasts longer than two or three days, it should be considered as a side effect or a new problem possibly unrelated to cleansing. If there is a problem that worsens or is severe and causes concern, such as fainting, heart arrhythmias, or bleeding, the fast should be stopped and a doctor consulted.
A doctor or knowledgeable practitioner should supervise anyone for whom fasting is questionable-that is, anyone in poor health or without fasting experience. If the fast is extended for more than three to five days, regular monitoring, including physical examination and blood work should be done, probably about weekly. Fasting may reduce blood protein levels and will definitely lower blood fats. Uric acid levels may rise secondary to protein breakdown, while levels of some minerals, such as potassium, sodium, calcium, or magnesium, may drop. Iron levels are usually lower, and the red blood count may also drop during this time.
Nutritionally, fasting helps us appreciate the more subtle aspects of diet, since less food and simple flavors become more satisfying. My early fasts definitely reawakened my taste buds and allowed me to appreciate and desire more natural foods. Mentally, fasting improves clarity and attentiveness; emotionally, it may make us more sensitive and aware of feelings. I have seen on several occasions individuals making decisions based on new clarities brought out during fasts. Fasting clearly supports the transformational evolutionary process. For example, when we really "get" that our spouse is not going to change his or her habits of eating, watching TV, or being too busy to really relate to us-that the priority of the relationship is very low and the love is clearly not there-it may be time to make a change. With fasting, we can feel empowered to do things we only thought about before. Fasting can precipitate emotional cleansing as well. Attitude and general motivation are usually uplifted with cleansing. Spiritually, juice fasting offers a lesson in self-restraint and control of passions, which help us in many avenues of life.
Fasting is a simple process of self-cleansing. We do not need any special medicines to do it; our body knows how. Provided that we are basically well-nourished, systematic undereating and fasting are likely the most important contributors to health and longevity. Fasting is even more important to balance the autointoxication that results from common dietary and drug indiscretions.
I look at fasting as "taking a week off work" to handle the other aspects of life for which there is often little time. With fasting we can take time to nurture ourselves and rest. Fasting is also like turning off and cleaning a complex and valuable machine so that it will function better and longer. Resting the gastrointestinal tract, letting the cells and tissues repair themselves, and allowing the lymph, blood, and organs to clear out old, defective, or diseased cells and unneeded chemicals all lead to less degeneration and sickness. As healthy cell growth is stimulated, so is our level of vitality, immune function and disease resistance, and our potential for greater longevity.
Ortis 10 day detox program Pure Plan has benefits for the Colon, Liver, Kidneys, Stomache and Skin
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This physiological rest and concentration on cleanup can also generate a number of toxicity symptoms. Hunger is usually present for two or three days and then departs, leaving many people with a surprising feeling of deep abdominal peace; yet, others may feel really hungry. It is good to ask ourselves, "What are we hungry for?" Fasting is an excellent time to work on our psychological connections to consumption.
As far as fasting symptoms, headache is not at all uncommon during the first day or two. Fatigue or irritability may arise at times, as may dizziness or lightheadedness. Our sensitivity is usually increased. Common sounds like television, music, refrigerators may irritate us more now. The sense of smell is also exaggerated, both positively and negatively; I have had whole meals of smells while fasting. The tongues of most people will develop a thick white or yellow fur coating, which can be scraped or brushed off. Bad breath and displeasing tastes in the mouth or foul-smelling urine or stools may occur. Skin odor or skin eruptions such as small spots or painful boils, may also appear, depending on the state of toxicity. Digestive upset, mucusy stools, flatulence, or even nausea and vomiting may occur during fasting. Some people experience insomnia or bad dreams as their body releases poisons during the night. The mind may put up resistance, with doubt or lack of faith or a fear that the fasting is not right. (This can be influenced even more by listening to other people's fears.) Most of these symptoms, however, will occur early if they do appear and are usually transient. The general energy level is usually good during fastings, although there can be ups and downs. Every two or three days, as the body goes into a deeper level of dumping wastes, the energy may go down, and resistance and fears as well as symptoms may arise. Between these times, we usually feel cleaner, better, and more alive.
The natural therapy term for periods of cleansing and symptoms is "crisis," or "healing crisis." During these times, old symptoms or patterns from the past may arise, usually transiently, or new symptoms of detoxification may appear. This "crisis" is not predictable and is thus often accompanied with some question by the fasters as well as their practitioners-is this some new problem arising or is it part of the healing process? Usually only time will tell, yet if it is associated with the fasting and one or more of the common symptoms, it is likely a positive part of detoxification. We should use the maxim of healing, Hering's Law of Cure, to guide us-it states that healing happens from the inside out, the top down, from more important organs to less important ones, and from the most recent to the oldest symptoms. Most healing crises pass within a day or two, although some cleansers experience several days of "cold" symptoms or sinus congestion. If any symptom lasts longer than two or three days, it should be considered as a side effect or a new problem possibly unrelated to cleansing. If there is a problem that worsens or is severe and causes concern, such as fainting, heart arrhythmias, or bleeding, the fast should be stopped and a doctor consulted.
A doctor or knowledgeable practitioner should supervise anyone for whom fasting is questionable-that is, anyone in poor health or without fasting experience. If the fast is extended for more than three to five days, regular monitoring, including physical examination and blood work should be done, probably about weekly. Fasting may reduce blood protein levels and will definitely lower blood fats. Uric acid levels may rise secondary to protein breakdown, while levels of some minerals, such as potassium, sodium, calcium, or magnesium, may drop. Iron levels are usually lower, and the red blood count may also drop during this time.
Nutritionally, fasting helps us appreciate the more subtle aspects of diet, since less food and simple flavors become more satisfying. My early fasts definitely reawakened my taste buds and allowed me to appreciate and desire more natural foods. Mentally, fasting improves clarity and attentiveness; emotionally, it may make us more sensitive and aware of feelings. I have seen on several occasions individuals making decisions based on new clarities brought out during fasts. Fasting clearly supports the transformational evolutionary process. For example, when we really "get" that our spouse is not going to change his or her habits of eating, watching TV, or being too busy to really relate to us-that the priority of the relationship is very low and the love is clearly not there-it may be time to make a change. With fasting, we can feel empowered to do things we only thought about before. Fasting can precipitate emotional cleansing as well. Attitude and general motivation are usually uplifted with cleansing. Spiritually, juice fasting offers a lesson in self-restraint and control of passions, which help us in many avenues of life.
Fasting is a simple process of self-cleansing. We do not need any special medicines to do it; our body knows how. Provided that we are basically well-nourished, systematic undereating and fasting are likely the most important contributors to health and longevity. Fasting is even more important to balance the autointoxication that results from common dietary and drug indiscretions.
I look at fasting as "taking a week off work" to handle the other aspects of life for which there is often little time. With fasting we can take time to nurture ourselves and rest. Fasting is also like turning off and cleaning a complex and valuable machine so that it will function better and longer. Resting the gastrointestinal tract, letting the cells and tissues repair themselves, and allowing the lymph, blood, and organs to clear out old, defective, or diseased cells and unneeded chemicals all lead to less degeneration and sickness. As healthy cell growth is stimulated, so is our level of vitality, immune function and disease resistance, and our potential for greater longevity.
Ortis 10 day detox program Pure Plan has benefits for the Colon, Liver, Kidneys, Stomache and Skin
J.R. did a 67-day fast on juices at age 20 when he joined a fasting and health-food-oriented community in 1975. He describes feeling great and very light. In fact, he lost a lot of weight. His only problems were skin sores that would not heal. These were of course, seen as a detox process. Medically, they could be attributed to protein/nutrient deficiency as well. This long fast on juice nutrients was a major transitional period for J.R. to change his diet to raw foods and strict vegetarianism. It also helped change his beliefs and motivation for life. S.R. was very overweight and in a family relationship that was not supporting her growth. She clearly grasped for spiritual unfoldment. She was very strong, had loads of energy and various congestive symptoms-a prime candidate for fasting. After she began her fast, she decided to go 30 days on Master Cleanser with my support. She did wonderfully, lost 24 pounds, and wasn't through yet. For the next 30 days, she did my seven-food diet (apples, lemons, alfalfa sprouts, brown rice, carrots, almonds, and broccoli), picking seven primary foods to make up her diet, thus continuing her willpower and diet focus. After that, S.R. did another 30-day fast on Master Cleanser and other juices. She did well. During these months she moved from bookkeeping and typing into the healing arts. She left her husband and moved to the Midwest to take a job assisting a well-known physician in her healing research.
*There are many choices that will make up a relatively balanced diet.
B.D. and C.D.-This father (B.D., age 46) and son (C.D., age 15) attended a recent fasting group. B.D. was 50 pounds overweight (231, 5'9") and had high blood pressure. On exam B.D.'s cholesterol was 214. He had in the past followed a low- fat, Pritikin-like diet and felt better. He was really ready for a change and wanted to fast. He wanted me to see his son to evaluate whether he also could join the fasting group. C.D. was an overweight (181, 5'9") teenager on a typical teenage diet but inspired toward health.
B.D. did incredibly well on the Master Cleanser for 10 days, feeling fine and energetic and dropping his weight to 213. His new diet plan became more vegetarian, wholesome, and low fat, and included one- to two-day fasts weekly, plus a week-long fast every few months. A follow-up four months later found him well and busy in a new job. His weight had gotten to a low of 195 and he stabilized at about 202 with his diet. The positive value he received was that he realized that he could be in control of his diet. He was in much better shape and his self-esteem was much higher; of course he could see his feet and the earth again as his pant size dropped from 42" to 36".
C.D. dropped his weight from 182 to 171 with the fast and was an inspiration to the fasting group. His body and face changed dramatically. New activities and exercise were added to his regimen, and he now is a more serious bicyclist. C.D.'s diet also changed dramatically to enjoying salads and fruits, some grains, and fish and poultry. He got away from the sweets, sodas, salt snacks, and fried foods he was eating before. Now at 165, he feels great!
If fasting is overused, it may create depletion and weakness, lower resistance, and allow diseases to begin. Certain people are not good candidates for fasting or cleansing. Others may enjoy fasting so much that they overindulge in it and take it beyond the limits of normal elimination, resulting in protein and other nutritional deficits, reduced immunity, and loss of energy. While fasting allows the organs, tissues, and cells to rest, clean house, and handle excesses, the body needs the nourishment provided by food to function after it has used its stores.
Many people of the world are involuntary fasters, while those of the Western nations are more likely to be feasters. In Third World countries, many starvation deaths result from the disease of protein deficiency, termed kwashiorkor, and protein-calorie malnutrition, known as marasmus. What happens to these people is what happens with chronic fasting-loss of muscle mass, weight, and energy, and finally swelling and death.
Malnourished people should definitely not fast, nor should some overweight people who are undernourished. Others who should not fast include people with fatigue resulting from nutrient deficiency, those with chronic degenerative disease of the muscles or bones, or those who are underweight. Diseases associated with clogged or toxic organs respond better to fasting. Sluggish men or women who retain water or whose weight is concentrated in their hips and legs often do poorly with fasting. Those with low daytime energy and more vitality at night (more yin or alkaline types) may not enjoy fasting, either.
I do not suggest fasting for pregnant or lactating women. People who have weak hearts, such as those with congestive heart failure, or who have weakened immunity usually are not good candidates for fasting. Before or after surgery is not a good time to fast, as the body then needs its nourishment to handle the stress and healing demands of surgery. Although some of the nutritional therapies for cancer include fasting, I do not recommend fasting for cancer patients, especially those with advanced problems. Ulcer disease is not something for which I usually suggest fasting, either, although fasting may be beneficial for other conditions present in a patient whose ulcer is under control. Many clinics and fasting practitioners do believe in fasting for ulcers, however. In the first test case of the Master Cleanser (lemon juice, maple syrup, cayenne pepper, and water), Stanley Burroughs claims to have cured a patient with an intractable ulcer. Mr. Burroughs used the two main ingredients that all doctors suggested that this patient avoid, citrus and spice, which he figured were the only things left that might heal the ulcer. The fasting process itself probably is helpful for ulcers, since it reduces stomach acid and aids in tissue healing. And cayenne pepper, even though it is hot, has a healing effect on mucous membranes, and in herbal medicine, it is commonly recommended for ulcers. So, even though peptic ulcers are on the contraindication list, some ulcer people may do very well with fasting, especially with cabbage/vegetable juices.
Contraindication For Fasting
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As with any therapy that has some physiological effect and benefit, fasting also may have some hazards. The potential for the development of these problems is maximized with lengthy, noncaloric or water fasts and minimized with juice fasting of reasonable length, such as one to two weeks. Clearly, excessive weight loss and nutritional deficiencies may occur, again more marked with water fasts (juices provide calories and nutrients, although they do not provide complete nutrition). Weakness may occur, or muscle cramps may result from mineral deficits. Sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus losses occur initially but diminish after a week. Blood pressure drops, and this can lead to episodes of dizziness, especially when changing position from lying to sitting or sitting to standing. Uric acid levels may rise, which may result in acute gout attacks or a uric acid kidney stone, although this is rare. This problem is minimized with adequate fluid intake.
Some research reports have described hormone level changes with fasting. Initially, the level of thyroid hormone falls, but it rises again in association with protein-sparing ketosis. Female hormone levels fall, possibly as a result of protein malnutrition, and this can lead to loss of menstrual flow; that is, secondary amenorrhea. This cessation of the periods in women is also seen in longtime vegetarians, especially those who engage in extensive exercise programs.
Cardiac problems, such as abnormal rhythms (arrhythmias), can occur more easily with prolonged fasting and/or with subclinical preexisting problems. Extra beats, both ventricular and atrial, have been seen, and there have been deaths from serious ventricular arrhythmias, such as ventricular tachycardia, most often occurring during long water fasts. Similar problems have occurred recently in people using the nutrient-deficient protein powders that have been freely sold; many unhealthy weight reducers have been put at risk by using these powders over extended periods on unmonitored fasts. This risk is minimized with juice fasting (up to two weeks) or when basic minerals, mainly potassium, calcium, and magnesium, are supplemented during water fasts. Having our progress followed medically through physical exams, blood tests, and even electrocardiograms is a way to protect ourselves from the potential hazards of fasting.
Another side effect of fasting involves its transformative aspects and how they relate to personal life changes. Often we maintain certain relationships and attitudes toward other people or our careers by resisting inner guidance, feelings, and desires to do something new. Divorce, job changes, and moves are all more likely after fasts, because fasting often stimulates self-realization and change, enhances our potential, and leads us to focus on where we are going, rather than where we have been. During fasting transitions, many people question all aspects of their lives and make new plans for the future. They also have new sensitivity to and awareness of their job, mate, home, and so on. I warn fasters before they begin that these experiences may arise and their lives may change, especially when I sense that they are not really committed to or believe in what they are doing. Even though these insights and changes may be traumatic, my belief is that they are ultimately positive, as they support the evolutionary purpose of the human being. In this way, fasting helps us follow our true nature.
In the thousands of people I have observed during fasting and detox programs, the complications have been negligible, provided that proper procedures have been followed and attention paid to the ongoing body changes. Usually, people feel fine, even euphoric after a few days, although there may be ups and downs or various symptoms; yet, overall, in my experience, changes are positive.
The general plan for fasting works progressively, from a moderate approach for new fasters and unhealthy subjects to a stricter program for the more experienced. It is important to take the proper time with this potentially powerful process and not jump into a water fast from an average American carnivorous diet. Although many people do fine even if they make such extreme changes, it clearly maximizes the risks of fasting.
A sensible daily plan is one where fasting is mixed with eating. Each day can include a 12-14 hour period of fasting in the evening and during sleep before awakening and getting ready for the day. (Breakfast was given that name to denote the time where we break the fast of the night.) Many people eat very lightly or not at all in the early morning to extend their daily fast. This is more important if dinner or snacking tends to be extended into the later evening, though this is not ideal. On the other hand, if we eat a decent, not excessive, meal in the early evening and awaken hungry, a good breakfast can be consumed after water intake and some exercise.
In preparation for our first day of fasting, we may want to take a few days to eliminate some foods or habits from our diet. When many self-indulgent habits exist, longer preparations may be indicated. Eliminating alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, and sugar if possible is very helpful, although some people choose to wait until their actual fast days to clear these. Red meats and other animal foods, including milk products and eggs, could be avoided for a day or two before fasting. Intake of most nutritional supplements can also be curtailed the day before fasting; these are usually not recommended during a fast. Many people do well by preparing for their fasts with three or four days of consuming only fruit and vegetable foods. These nourish and slowly detoxify the body so that the actual fasting will be less intense.
The first one-day fast (actually 36 hours, including the nights-from 8 p.m. one night until 8 a.m. the following day) gives us a chance to see what a short fast can be like, to see that it is not so very difficult and does not cause any major distress. Most people will feel a little hungry at times and may experience a few mild symptoms (such as a headache or irritability) by the end of the day, usually around late afternoon or dinnertime, but this depends on the individual and the state of toxicity. In actuality, the first two days are the hardest for most people. Feeling great usually begins around day three, so longer juice fasts are really needed for the grand experience.
One of the problems with fasting is that it can be the most difficult for those who need it the most, such as the regular three-square-meals-plus-snacks consumers who eat whatever and whenever they want. Often such people must start with more subtle diet changes and prepare even more slowly for fasting. A transition plan that can be used before even going on the one-day fast is the one-meal-a-day plan. The one daily meal is usually eaten around 3 p.m. Water, juices, and teas and even some fresh fruit or vegetable snacks can be eaten at other times. The one wholesome meal is not excessive or rich. It can be a protein-vegetable meal, such as fish and salad or steamed vegetables, or a starch-vegetable meal, such as brown rice and mixed steamed greens, carrots, celery, and zucchini. People on this plan start to detox slowly, lose some weight, and after a few days feel pretty sound. The chance of any strong symptoms developing, as might occur with fasting, is minimal with this type of transition, and the actual fast, when begun, will be handled more easily, also.
The goal, then, is to move into a one-day fast and then a few two- and three-day fasts with one or two days between them when light foods and more raw fruits and vegetables are consumed, and also provide fluids, juices, soups, and a generally alkaline cleansing diet. This way, we can build up to a five- to ten-day fast. When the transition is made this slowly, even a water fast can be less intense and more profound for those wishing a powerful personal and spiritual experience. With a water fast, however, I strongly suggest medical monitoring and retreating from usual daily life.
A juice fast, which I usually recommend, can be longer and is much easier for most people. The fresh juices of raw fruits and vegetables are what most fasting clinics and practitioners recommend. They provide calories and nutrients on which to function and build new cells, and also provide the inherent enzymes contained in these vital foods. (Food enzyme theories, discussed throughout this century, have recently been described in books such as Enzyme Nutrition by Dr. Edward Howell.) Raw foods are considered the healing force in our diet because they contain active enzymes, which are broken down when foods are cooked. Many health enthusiasts consider a raw-food diet the most healing and most nutritious diet.
For the inexperienced faster, it is best to go slowly through the various steps and to avoid being excessive or impatient so that we learn about ourselves in the process. To do this, we need to make a plan and put it into effect, observing or "listening" to our body and even keeping notes in a journal. Get to really know yourself. Then, once we have fasted successfully, we could continue to do one-day fasts weekly or a three-day fast every month if we need them. This helps to reconnect us with a better diet and to remotivate us toward our goal of optimum health.
In a more adventurous mode, many people, even some who have never fasted, begin with a seven- to ten-day or even longer fast on fresh juices. I recommend this for most people who have any of the indications and none of the contraindications discussed in this program (also see General Detoxification). People planning these longer fasts, especially inexperienced fasters who have been eating a random diet, should spend a period about equal in length to the planned fast preparing for it. During this preparatory period we can follow some of the previous suggestions, such as eliminating sugar and refined foods, fatty foods, chemicals, and drugs from the diet and reducing consumption of meats and other acid-forming foods, and then moving into several days of consuming primarily fruits and vegetables and more fluids. This will lead into an easier and more energizing fast.
For any cleansing period, it is essential to plan times to meditate, exercise, get fresh air and sunshine, clear our intestines, get massages, take baths, clean our house, brush our skin, and more. Maybe you thought you were going to sit back and relax and have juice delivered to your room? With less shopping, food preparation, and eating time, we have more hours in the day to take care of ourselves in other ways. These supportive aspects of cleansing are discussed further below.
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The two key times for natural cleansing are the times of transition into spring and autumn. (This is discussed in other sections of this book, such as in Chapter 9 on Diets and the General Detoxification program earlier in this chapter, and emphasized in my first book, Staying Healthy With the Seasons.) In Chinese medicine, the transition time between the seasons is considered to be about ten days before and after the equinox or solstice. For spring, this period is about March 10 through April 1; for autumn, it is from about September 11 through October 2. In cooler climates, where spring weather begins later and autumn earlier, the fasting can be scheduled appropriately, as it is easier to
in warmer weather. With fasting, the body tends to cool down. In the General Detoxification program, there is also a complete yearly cycle for cleansing with a variety of ideas and options. For spring, I usually suggest lemon and/or greens as the focus of the cleansing. Diluted lemon water, lemon and honey, or, my favorite, the Master Cleanser, could be used.
Spring Master CLeanser
Mix and drink 8-12 glasses a day. Eat or drink nothing else except water, laxative herb tea, and peppermint or chamomile tea.
Fresh fruit or vegetable juices diluted with an equal amount of water will also provide a good cleansing. Some vegetable choices are carrots, celery, beets, and lots of greens. Soup broths can also be used. Juices with blue-green algae, such as spirulina or chlorella, mixed in can provide more energy, as these are high-protein plants and easily assimilable.
Autumn is the second most important cleansing time, when we prepare for a new health program, focus on our career or school year, and let go of the fun and games of summer. At this time, a fast of at least three to five days can be done, using water or a variety of juices, including the Master Cleanser, apples and/or grapes (usually mixed with a little lemon and water to reduce sweetness), vegetable juices, and warm broths.
How do we know how long to fast? We may use a certain time plan, such as discussed above. Ideally, though, we should follow our own individual cycles and our body's needs. As we gain some fasting experience, we should become attuned to when we need to strengthen or lighten our diet and when we need to cleanse. Usually, if we are under stress or have been overindulging or develop some congestive symptoms, we want to lighten our diet to balance this. If more changes are needed, a more cleansing, raw-food diet or a fast can be begun.
A special light, purifying soup is offered by Bethany ArgIsle.
Autumn Rejuvenation Ration
Boil water. Add ginger root. Simmer 10 minutes. Stir in miso paste to taste. Turn off fire. Then add green onion, some cilantro, cayenne, olive oil, lemon juice. Remove from burner and cover to steep for 10 minutes. May vary ingredient portions to satisfy flavors. Enjoy.
When to stop fasting and make a transition back into eating also takes some inner attunement. Things to watch for include energy level, weight, detox symptoms, tongue coating, and degree of hunger. If our energy is up and then falls for more than a day or if our weight gets too low, these may be signs that we should come off the fast. If symptoms are intense or if any suddenly appear, it is possible that we need food. Generally, the tongue is a good indicator of our state of toxicity or cleansing and clarity. With fasting, the tongue usually becomes coated with a white, yellow, or gray film. This represents the body's cleansing, and it will usually clear when the detox cycle is complete. Tongue observation is not a foolproof indicator, however. Some people's tongues may coat very little, while others will remain coated. In this case, if we were to wait until it totally cleared, we may overextend our cleanse. If in doubt, it is better to make the transition back to foods and then cleanse again later. Hunger is another sign of readiness to move back into eating. Often during cleansing times, hunger is minimal. Occasionally, people are very hungry throughout a fast, but most lose interest in food from day three to day seven or ten and then experience real, deep-seated hunger again. This is a sign to eat (carefully!).
It is important to make a gradual transition into a regular diet, rather than just going out to dinner after a week-long fast. Breaking a fast must be planned and done slowly and carefully to prevent creating symptoms and sickness. It is suggested that we take several days, or half of our total cleansing time, to move back into our diet, which is hopefully a newly planned, more healthful diet. Our digestion has been at rest, so we need to go slowly and chew our foods very well. If we have fasted on water alone, we need to prepare our digestive tract with diluted juices, perhaps beginning with a few teaspoons of fresh orange juice in a glass of water and progressing to stronger mixtures throughout the day. Diluted grape or orange juice will stimulate the digestion. Arnold Ehret, a European fasting expert and proponent of the "mucusless" diet, suggests that fruits and fruit juices should not be used right after a meat eater's first fast because they may coagulate intestinal mucus and cause problems. More likely, a meat eater's colon bacteria are different than a vegetarian's; with fruit sugars, the active gram-positive anaerobic bacteria in the meat eater will produce more toxins. Initially, a transition from meats to more vegetable foods will then allow a smoother fast, mainly with vegetable juices and broths. They could also take extra acidophilus to begin to shift their colon ecology.
With juice fasting, it is easier to make the transition back into foods. A raw or cooked low-starch vegetable, such as spinach or other greens, can be used. A little sauerkraut, a fermented cabbage, helps to stimulate the digestive function. A laxative-type meal, such as grapes, cherries, or soaked or stewed prunes, can also be used to initiate eating, as it is important to keep the bowels moving. Some experts say that the bowels should move within an hour or two after the first meal. If not, take an enema. Some people may do a saltwater flush (drinking a quart of water with 2 teaspoons of sea salt dissolved in it) before their first day of food.
However you make the transition, go slowly, chew well, and do not overeat or mix too many foods at a meal. Simple vegetable meals, salads, or soups can be used to start. Fruit should be eaten alone. Soaked prunes or figs are helpful. Well-cooked brown rice or millet is handled well by most people by the second day. From there, progress slowly through grains and vegetables. Some nuts, seeds, or legumes can be added, and then richer protein foods if these are desired. Coming back into foods is a crucial time for learning individual responses or reactions to them. You may even wish to keep notes, following such areas as energy level, intestinal function, sleep patterns, and food desires. If you respond poorly to a food, avoid it for a while, perhaps a week, and then eat it alone to see how it feels.
Some juices work better for certain people or conditions. In general, diluted fresh juices of raw organic fruits and vegetables are best. Canned and frozen juices should be avoided. Some bottled juice may be used, but fresh squeezed is best, as long as it is used soon after squeezing.
Water and other liquids are what primarily cleanse our system, increasing waste elimination-rather like squeezing out a dirty sponge in clean water. Lemon tends to loosen and bring out mucus and is useful for liver cleansing. Diluted lemon juice, with or without a little honey, or the Master Cleanser can loosen mucus fast, so if this is used, we need to cleanse the bowels regularly to prevent getting sick. Most vegetable juices are a little milder than lemon juice.
Each juice has a certain nutritional composition and probably certain physiological actions, although these have not been studied extensively. We can think of fresh juices as natural vitamin pills with a very high assimilation percentage, and we do not need to do the work of digesting them.
In general, some juices are more caloric than others and might be used less if more weight loss is desired. The juices of apples, grapes, oranges, and carrots are good cleansing juices but might be minimized for weight loss. More grapefruit, lemon, cucumber, and greens, such as lettuce, spinach, or parsley, may be more helpful in this situation. Also, a variety of juices can be used in a fast with different ones squeezed daily.
Fruit Juices
Lemon-liver, gallbladder, allergies, asthma, cardiovascular disease (CVD), colds
Citrus-CVD, obesity, hemorrhoids, varicose veins Apple-liver, intestines Pear-gallbladder Grape-colon, anemia Papaya-stomach, indigestion, hemorrhoids, colitis Pineapple-allergies, arthritis, inflammation, edema, hemorrhoids Watermelon-kidneys, edema Black cherry-colon, menstrual problems, gout Vegetable Juices
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Greens-CVD, skin, eczema, digestive problems, obesity, breath
Spinach-anemia, eczema Parsley-kidneys, edema, arthritis Beet greens-gallbladder, liver, osteoporosis Watercress-anemia, colds Wheat grass-anemia, liver, intestines, breath Cabbage-colitis, ulcers Comfrey-intestines, hypertension, osteoporosis Carrots-eyes, arthritis, osteoporosis Beets-blood, liver, menstrual problems, arthritis Celery-kidneys, diabetes, osteoporosis Cucumber-edema, diabetes Jerusalem artichokes-diabetes Garlic-allergies, colds, hypertension, CVD, high fats, diabetes Radish-liver, high fats, obesity Potatoes-intestines, ulcer These juices may be helpful for particular organs or illnesses, based on my experience as well as information contained in Paavo Airola's How to Get Well. To prepare juices, we obviously want to start with the freshest and most chemical-free fruits and vegetables possible. They should be cleaned or soaked and stored properly. If there is a question of toxicity, sprays, or parasites, a chlorine bleach bath can be used (see Chapter 11). If not organic, they should be peeled, especially if they are waxed. With root vegetables such as carrots or beets, the above-ground ends should be trimmed. Some people like to drop their vegetables into a pot of boiling water for a minute or so for cleansing as well.
The best juicers are the compressors, such as the Norwalk brand, but these are very expensive. The rotary-blade juicers, such as the Champion, are good at squeezing the juice with minimum molecular irritation. The centrifuge juicers are also fine, but they waste juice left in the pulp. Blenders are not really juicers; what they make is more like liquid salads. These are high in fiber. I once did a energizing week-long fast with two blender drinks a day, fruits in the morning and vegetables in the late afternoon, with teas and water in between.
· Fresh air-plenty is needed to support cleansing and oxygenation of the cells and tissues.
· Sunshine-also needed to revitalize our body; avoid excessive exposure.
· Water-bathing is very important to cleanse the skin at least twice daily. Steams and saunas are also good for giving warmth as well as supporting detoxification.
· Skin brushing-with a dry, soft brush prior to bathing; this will help clear toxins from the skin. This is a good year-round practice as well.
· Exercise-very important to support the cleansing process. It helps to relax the body, clear wastes, and prevent toxicity symptoms. Walking, bicycling, swimming, or other usual exercises can usually be done during a fast, although more dangerous or contact sports might be avoided.
· No drugs-none should be used during fasts except mandatory prescription drugs. Particularly, avoidance of alcohol, nicotine, and caffeine is wise.
· Vitamin supplements-these are not used during fasting; thus, no program of nutrients will follow at the end of this section. Some supplemental fiber, such as psyllium husks, can be part of a colon detox program. Special chlorophyll foods, such as green barley, chlorella, and spirulina, may also be vitality enhancers and purifiers during cleanses. Occasionally, some mineral support, especially potassium, calcium, and magnesium, or vitamin C will be suggested, usually in powdered or liquid forms (pills are not suggested) to help in preventing cramps, if there is a lot of physical activity, sweating, and fluid and mineral losses, or for an extended fast. Some people even use amino acid powders and other vitamin powders with some benefit during cleanses. In general, most of these supplemental nutrients are best used with foods.
· Colon cleansing-an essential part of healthy fasting. Some form of bowel stimulation is recommended. Colonic irrigations with water are the most thorough. These can be done at the beginning, midpoint, and end of the fast. It is suggested that enemas be used at least every other day if these are the primary colon cleansing. Fasting clinics often suggest that enemas be used daily, even up to several times a day. With these, usually water alone is used to flush the colon of toxins. It may be helpful for an enema or laxative preparation to be used the day before the fast begins to lessen initial toxicity. Herbal laxatives are commonly taken orally during fasting, and many formulas are available, as capsules or for making teas. Lepical is a usefull supplement which includes FOS in its formulation. These include cascara sagrada, senna leaves, licorice root, buckthorn, rhubarb root, aloe vera, and the LB formula of Dr. Christopher. Laci LeBeau tea is also very effective. The saltwater flush, or internal bath, recommended by Stanley Burroughs to be used with the Master Cleanser, is useful for those who can tolerate it. A solution of 2 teaspoons of sea salt is dissolved in a quart of warm purified water (not distilled) and is drunk first thing in the morning on alternate days throughout the fast to flush the entire intestinal tract, an advantage of this cleansing formula. It does not, however, work well for everyone. For example, it is not recommended for salt-sensitive or water-retaining people, or for hypertensives. Whatever colon cleansing method is used, keep in mind that regular cleansing of the intestines and colon is a key component to healthy and stress-free fasting.
· Work and be creative-and make plans for your life. Staying busy is helpful in breaking our ties to food. We also need time for ourselves. Most fasters experience greater work energy and more creativity and, naturally, find lots to do.
· Cleanup-a motto during fasting. As we clean our body, we want to clean our room, desk, office, closet, and home-just like "spring cleaning." It clearly brings us into harmony with the cleansing process of nutrition. If we want to get ready for the new, we need to make space by clearing out the old.
· Joining others in fasting can generate strong bonds and provide an added spiritual lift. It opens up new supportive relationships and new levels of existing ones. It will also provide support if we feel down or want to quit. Most people feel better as their fast progresses-more vital, lighter, less blocked, more flexible, clearer, and more spiritually attuned. For many, it is nice to have someone with whom to share this. Call our clinic or another that offers this service.
· Avoid the negative influence of others who may not understand or support us. There are many fears and misconceptions about fasting, and they may affect us. We need to listen to our own inner guidance and not to others' limitations, but we also need to maintain awareness and insight into any problems should they arise. Being in contact with fasters will provide us with the positive support we need.
· The economy of fasting allows us to save time, money, and future health care costs. While we may be worried about not having enough, we may already have too much. Many of us are inspired to share more of ourselves when we are freed from food.
· Meditation and relaxation are also an important aspect of fasting to help attune us to deeper levels of ourselves and clear the stresses that we have carried with us.
· Spiritual practice and prayer will affirm our positive attitude toward ourselves and life in general. This supports our meditation and relaxation and provides us with the inner fuel to carry on our life with purpose and passion.
Fasting can easily become a way of life and an effective dietary practice. Over a period of time (different for each of us), through newly gained clarity, we can go from symptom cleansing to prevention fasting. Ideally, we should fast at specific times to treat symptoms and/or to enhance our vitality and spiritual practice. (See the cleansing schedule in the General Detoxification program.) Otherwise, we should support ourselves regularly with a balanced, wholesome diet. This diet may change somewhat through the year as we experience different needs, and occasional fasting or feasting may be valuable. We also must maintain good digestion and eliminati
Fasting is needed more frequently by those who have abused themselves with foods or other agents so readily available these days. We all need to return to the cycle of a daily fast of 12-14 hours overnight until our morning "break-fast," and then find our own natural pattern of food consumption. This usually means one main meal and two lighter ones. For low-weight, high-metabolism people, two larger or three moderately sized meals are probably needed. If we eat a heavier evening meal, we need only a light breakfast, and vice versa. Through awareness and experience, we can find our individual nutritional needs and listen to that inner nutritionist, our body.
Choosing healthful foods, chewing well, and maintaining good colon function minimize our need for fasting. However, if we do get out of balance, we can employ the oldest treatment known to us, the instinctive therapy for many illnesses, nature's doctor and knifeless surgeon, the great therapist and tool for preventing disease-fasting!
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To many people, there seems to be an inherent conflict between being in the present and accomplishing everything that needs to get done. But do you have to choose between your housework and meditation?
By Stephan Bodian
If you practice hatha yoga, you're no doubt familiar with this scenario: You've had an invigorating and inspiring practice session in which your mind was totally focused on your body and your breath. By the time you're done, you have a deep sense of peace and relaxation that seems to pervade every cell. You feel centered, balanced, in touch with yourself. You vow not to let this feeling slip away as the day progresses.
But halfway through the work day, you're overwhelmed by the press of urgent e-mails and encroaching deadlines, and you've completely lost the connection and composure you had. Even more disturbing, you have no idea how to get it back. It's as if a door has closed on a deeper dimension, a place of balance and flow, and you can't figure out how to open it again. By the end of the day, you're frazzled and stressed out, and you can't wait to get home to your yoga mat.
Of course, you don't have to be a hatha yogi to be acquainted with this terrain. Perhaps you find your connection to being through tai chi or running, walking in nature or playing with your children. Whatever the activity, you enter a zone where you feel poised, open, relaxed, and attentive. In the midst of the doing, there's a sense of enjoyment, fulfillment, and alignment with a deeper current of aliveness. But as soon as you position yourself behind the wheel of your car or sit down in front of your computer, you tense your shoulders, hold your breath, increase your speed, and lose touch with yourself. What happened, you wonder. How did I lose my balance? Where did I go wrong?
The Crucible of Everyday Life
As a zen teacher and psychotherapist, I've worked with hundreds of meditators, hatha yogis, and spiritual seekers who agonize over this issue. They've read the latest books, heard the teachings, attended the retreats, practiced the techniques diligently, and vowed to implement them. Yet they continue to be seduced back into their old habits and routines: overbooking their schedules, speeding up to match the pace of their technological devices, completely forgetting to stop, breathe, and be present. Instead of bringing what they've learned on their meditation cushion or yoga mat to the crucible of everyday life, they lose their balance and go unconscious again and again. There's no question that we live in uniquely challenging times. We're working longer hours, taking fewer vacations, and feeling more hurried and stressed than ever before. At the same time, our lives are changing more rapidly, and we can no longer rely on keeping the same job or partner for a lifetime—or even for the next few years. As a result, we're constantly confronted with major life choices that seem to threaten our physical survival and require that we spend more time than ever in our minds, assessing and deciding. "Our lives are extraordinarily complex," says psychologist Joan Borysenko, Ph.D., author of Inner Peace for Busy People (Hay House, 2001), "and we're being bombarded with choices, both significant and trivial, that demand a great deal of effort and energy to make."
Not only do our lives move faster, but they also lack the flow of simpler times, when the measured rhythms of nature and physical labor modeled an intrinsic balance between being and doing. These days we're pulled staccato from one urgent input to another, from cell phone to e-mail, PalmPilot to pager, forced to mold our analog bodies to the digital age. "The sheer volume of information impinges on us and keeps us in a state of physiological arousal," says Borysenko.
Given the unprecedented demands of postmodern life, perhaps we just expect too much of ourselves. Without the supportive structure of sacred communities like monasteries and ashrams, in a secular world that seems to be spinning insanely out of balance, is it really possible to stay consistently connected to just being while pursuing material success, a healthy body, a fulfilling relationship? "What's new to our times is not that we're having difficulty maintaining balance, but that so many people who don't live in monasteries have awakened to the spiritual dimension and don't quite know how to find a place for it in their lives," observes Buddhist psychiatrist Mark Epstein, author of Going on Being (Broadway Books, 2001).
Certainly regular retreats and workshops can help. As we deepen and expand our awareness, we find it easier to notice when we're lost in striving so we can more readily reconnect with the present moment. But intensive practice is not necessarily a panacea. In fact, I've watched many clients, friends, and colleagues struggle with the transition from retreat to everyday life. "After my first vipassana retreat in 1980, I saw a legitimate way to slow down and relax," says Anna Douglas, a founding teacher at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, California. "I was given permission to move at the rhythm of life. Then I entered a phase of trying to make my life like this all the time. I got rid of my belongings, became a retreat junkie, and dreaded going back into the world." As her practice matured, however, Douglas saw that she needed to integrate retreat life and daily life. "Meditation teaches us the value of being, but we need to bring this being quality into the doing world."
The Ultimate Forgetting
The deeper question is, What prevents us? In a memorable exchange with my teacher, Jean Klein, a master of Advaita and Kashmiri yoga, I asked him whether it was possible to stay connected to being in the present even in the most difficult life situations. He invited me to see that I was trapped in a world of spiritual concepts and to notice the moments in daily life when the sense of a separate me was absent. I stopped to absorb what he had said. "Yes," I responded finally, "I know what you're talking about. But somehow I keep forgetting." "Ah, forgetting," he said, with a knowing smile. "The ultimate forgetting." Despite our best intentions, there seem to be powerful inner forces at work that induce this "ultimate forgetting" and sabotage our genuine attempts to create balance and peace in the midst of activity. From my experience with clients, friends, and my own spiritual unfolding, here is a list of the most influential:
Our self-worth is linked to our accomplishments. As children, we're asked by well-meaning relatives, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" As adults the first words out of our mouths when we meet for the first time are "What do you do?" The message is clear: We're valued for what we contribute, not for who we really are. Since we all want to be loved and appreciated, there's an enormous incentive to work harder and faster but hardly any encouragement to slow down, do less, and enjoy life more. This further fragments our already disjointed lives and drains away the spontaneity. "Even overscheduling wonderful things can take the joy out of life," says Douglas.
We're driven by a relentless inner critic. Most, if not all, of us have internalized a deeply ingrained set of beliefs about duty, perfectionism, and responsibility that have been passed down through the generations. "There's a suspicion in our culture about being," says Douglas. "Our puritan ethic teaches us to be productive and responsible. Our mission in life is to acquire, to accomplish, to succeed." We're taught that we're inadequate as we are and need to improve—and spiritual teachings can merely compound this low self-worth by relentlessly encouraging us to compare ourselves (unfavorably, of course) to some lofty spiritual ideal: What, you can't stop your thoughts at will, or remain in Headstand for five minutes, or feel compassionate in all situations? Because it apparently has the best of intentions, the spiritual critic is especially insidious; while driving us to be exemplary meditators or yogis, it can cut us off from the inherent perfection of being, which is always available.
We're afraid of losing control. If we really slowed down to a more balanced pace and took time to enjoy life, what might happen? Would anything get done? Would we survive? Frightened of loosening our grip and free-falling into an imagined abyss,we struggle to impose our agenda on life while contracting away from the natural, ever-changing, and unpredictable flow of being. Like Arjuna on the battlefield when Lord Krishna reveals his splendor in the Bhagavad Gita, the mind is innately terrified of being because it represents mysterious, unexplored terrain. In fact, the mind's job is to resist the unknown and create a false ground of security, constructed of beliefs and identities designed to protect us from the groundlessness of impermanence and change. As the great spiritual traditions teach, however, our essential nature is far vaster than the mind can encompass.
We make a strong demarcation between sacred time and secular time. Sure, it's OK to be present on my meditation cushion or yoga mat, we tell ourselves, but the rest of the time I have too much to do. So we compartmentalize our lives into sacred and secular, being and doing, and reserve our sadhana for certain prescribed periods each day. The secret is to view every moment as fertile ground for practice, as yet another opportunity to wake up to the beauty and sacredness of life.
We lack the commitment or motivation to stay present. Despite our repeated vows to remain balanced in all situations, our loyalties are divided between our spiritual aspirations and the fleeting satisfaction of excitement, accomplishment, and acquisition. "Why do we get knocked off our center? Perhaps we don't have a wholehearted commitment to a path or a teacher," suggests John Friend, founder of Anusara Yoga. "When I've had dry periods, I've found that I've lost touch with my commitment to my teacher or my love for my path. When I rededicate myself with passion, I feel rejuvenated and more motivated to stay connected." An oft-repeated Tibetan Buddhist slogan echoes Friend's remarks: "Everything rides on the tip of your motivation." But motivation is not some quality that can be cultivated—it comes from deep inside, from suffering or desperation, from what the Tibetans call bodhichitta (the heartfelt wish for the happiness of all beings), from trust in our teachers, and from a profound desire to wake up and be free. Unless we keep asking ourselves, "What are my priorities right now?" we tend to lapse back into old unconscious patterns.
We don't recognize being in the midst of doing. Many people mistake being for a familiar feeling or experience they've had in meditation or yoga practice, such as peace, relaxation, or a pleasant current of energy. Then they try to "reconnect with being" by recapturing the buzz. But feelings have an annoying habit of coming and going and resisting our attempts to control or reproduce them. Being is much more immediate than that—it's the pause between thoughts, the space in which everything comes and goes, the stillness underlying all activity, the awareness that's looking out through our eyes right now. Immediate though it may be, it nevertheless eludes our efforts to "make it happen" or grasp it conceptually—and it's so subtle and empty of content that the mind may overlook it. If we open to our experience just the way it is, however, we can attune to being. Paradoxically, this simple attunement often, though not always, gives rise to the very experiences we were trying to reproduce in the first place.
We're addicted—to speed, achievement, consumption, the adrenaline rush of stress, and, most insidiously of all, to our minds. At the heart of our resistance to being—indeed, at the heart of our speed and our stress—is the incessantly chattering "monkey mind," which is obsessed with past and future, loss and gain, pleasure and pain. The mind is terrified of the present moment, which is where being inevitably occurs. In fact, it's the mind that gives doing a bad rap, because the attachment and struggle it generates makes many forms of doing so unpleasant. This compulsive mind constructs a separate sense of self, often called the ego, that's trapped in a world of psychological time, surrounded by other separate selves that threaten its survival. It then invents the spiritual search and other self-improvement schemes as an attempt to escape the trap it has created for itself. The only way to kick this addiction to the mind and its creations, advises Eckhart Tolle in The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment (New World Library, 1999), is to awaken to our identity with something much vaster—being itself, our essential nature.
Portals to Being
From the highest spiritual perspective, we can never lose our connection with being. In fact, the separation between being and doing is just another fabrication of the mind. No matter how still we try to become, doing is always happening: The heart is beating, the lungs are breathing, the internal organs are functioning, the eyes are blinking. In the words of the Bhagavad Gita, "Not even for a moment can anyone remain without performing actions. Everyone is unwittingly made to act by the primary qualities born of nature." In the end, any attempt to be, whatever that might mean, is just another form of doing.
So the question is not, Are we doing or being? But rather, How do we relate to our actions? Do we identify ourselves as the doer, the separate individual who struggles to achieve and survive, or do we remain unattached to the fruits of our actions, as the Gita and other sacred texts recommend, and identify as the observer or witness of life as it unfolds?
"You can learn to be and do at the same time," notes Rodney Yee, coauthor of Yoga: The Poetry of the Body (St. Martin's Press, 2002) and director of the Piedmont Yoga Studio in Oakland, California. "If you're flowing down a river, you're just being, yet you're moving downstream. The present moment is like that. If you concentrate your attention in the moment, you're totally present, yet it's not stagnant or fixed. The stillness is the state of mind that observes the movement."
However, until we experience this stillness—which is actually not an experience or mind-state, but the deeper stillness of being that underlies and pervades all experience—we can't realize the union of doing and being that the great spiritual texts describe. Where do we discover this stillness? In the timeless moment, the eternal Now, free of the conceptual overlays of past and future. As the scriptures remind us, time is merely a creation of the mind, and only the Now exists. When we awaken to our identity with this timeless dimension, the problem with finding a balance between doing and being drops away as the separate self-sense dissolves, and all that's left is simply life living itself.
This may sound like a lofty, unattainable state. However, both meditation and hatha yoga, if practiced without effort or struggle, can be living portals to the Now. "Asana practice is the continual refinement of staying present with the mind so time stops," says Yee. "When you're just being, you lose the aspect of time, but you don't lose movement. When the mind stays steady on the moment, there is no time."
In Zen, the corresponding approach to meditation is called "just sitting." There's no attempt to achieve some particular state of mind, not even satori, but merely a steady presence in the Now. Of course, this practice needn't be confined to the cushion: In everyday life it takes the form of "just walking," "just eating," "just driving." In other words, total absorption in every activity without separation.
Ultimately, the attempt to find balance becomes irrelevant when we recognize that reality is by its nature a seamless, indivisible union of the two—the dance of Shiva and Shakti, the meeting point of consciousness and its manifestations, the absolute and the relative, the timeless and the time-bound. "For me, being and doing are complementary and come out of the same spirit, the same universal presence," says Friend. "At the ultimate level consciousness is spacious, vast, luminous, completely free. Out of this ground of being everything arises: material reality, thought, emotion, activity."
Even though we may appear to lose our equilibrium again and again, our search comes to an end when we awaken to a deeper dimension. This is the supreme view taught by the great masters and sages of every spiritual tradition. "The reason everything looks beautiful is it is out of balance, but its background is always in perfect harmony," observes Zen master Shunryu Suzuki in his classic book of talks, Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind (Weatherhill, 1997). "This is how everything exists in the realm of Buddha nature, losing its balance against a background of perfect balance."
Stephan Bodian is a personal coach, Dharma teacher in the Zen tradition, and the author of several books, including Meditation For Dummies (Hungry Minds, Inc., 1999).
July/August 2002
This article can be found online at http://www.yogajournal.com/wisdom/723_1.cfm
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| COLLOIDAL SILVER |
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Silver deficiency is responsible for the improper functioning of the immune system concludes Dr. Robert O. Becker, M.D. who has conducted extensive research into the curative properties of sliver for many years at the Upstate Medical Center, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY. Dr. Becker's experiments conclude that silver works on the full spectrum of pathogens without any side effects or damage to the body.
He also states that silver does more than kill disease-causing organisms. Silver causes major growth stimulation of injured tissues. Burn patients and even elderly patients notice more rapid healing. He discovered that cancer cells can change back to normal cells. All strains of pathogens resistant to other antibiotics are killed by silver. The March 1978 issue of Science Digest, in an article, "Our Mightiest Germ Fighter," reported: "Thanks to eye-opening research, silver is emerging as a wonder of modern medicine.
An antibiotic kills perhaps a half-dozen different disease organisms, but silver kills some 650. Resistant strains fail to develop. Moreover, silver is virtually non-toxic." The article ended with a quote by Dr. Harry Margraf, a biochemist and pioneering silver researcher who worked with the late Carl Moyer, M.D., chairman of Washington University's Department of Surgery in the 1970s: "Silver is the best all-around germ fighter we have."
HOW IT WORKS
The presence of Colloidal Silver near a virus, fungus, bacterium or any other single celled pathogen disables its oxygen metabolism enzyme, its chemical lung, so to say. Within a few minutes, the pathogen suffocates and dies and is cleared out of the body by the immune, lymphatic and elimination systems. Unlike pharmaceutical antibiotics which destroy beneficial enzymes, Colloidal Silver leaves these tissue-cell enzymes intact as they are radically different from the enzymes of primitive single-celled life. Thus Colloidal Silver is absolutely safe for humans, reptiles, plants and all multi-celled living matter.
Colloidal Silver is the result of an electro-magnetic process that pulls microscopic particles from a larger piece of silver into a liquid such as water. These microscopic particles can more easily penetrate and travel throughout the body. Colloidal Silver works as a catalyst, disabling the enzyme that all one celled bacteria fungi and viruses use for their oxygen metabolism. In short, the bad guys suffocate.
Unlike with antibiotics, resistant strains have never been known to develop. In fact, antibiotics are only effective against perhaps a dozen forms of bacteria and fungi, but never viruses. Because no known disease causing organism can live in the presence of even minute traces of the chemical element of metallic silver, colloidal silver is effective against more than 650 different disease causing pathogens.
Since there is not enough room to list all the diseases against which Colloidal Silver has been used successfully, here is a tiny sample; acne allergies appendicitis, arthritis, blood parasites, bubonic plague, burns - colloidal silver is one of the few treatments that can keep severe burn patients alive, cancer, cholera, conjunctivitis, diabetes, gonorrhea hay fever, herpes, leprosy, leukemia lupus, Lyme disease malaria, meningitis parasitic infections both viral and fungal, pneumonia, rheumatism, ringworm, scarlet fever septic conditions of the eyes, ears, mouth and throat, shingles, skin cancer, staph infections, strep infectious, syphilis, toxemia, trench foot, all forms of viruses, warts and stomach ulcer. In addition it also has veterinary uses such as canine parvo virus.
You'll also find Colloidal Silver very handy in the garden and bathroom since it can be used against bacterial, fungal and viral attacks on plants and humans. Spray diluted colloidal Silver on plant leaves, and add to soil water. Colloidal Silver gets quickly to the body cells. Keep a spray bottle of it in the bathroom for feet, hands & face.
INGESTING COLLOIDAL SILVER
Taken orally, the silver solution is absorbed from the mouth into the bloodstream then transported quickly to the body cells. Swishing the solution under the tongue briefly before swallowing ensures fast absorption, In three to four days the silver will have accumulated in the tissues sufficiently for benefits to begin. Since Colloidal Silver is eliminated by the kidneys, lymph system and bowel after three weeks, a regular daily intake is recommended as a protection against dangerous pathogens. In cases of minor burns, an accumulation of Colloidal Silver can hasten healing, reducing scar tissue and infection The lives of millions of people susceptible to chronic low-grade inflections can be enhanced by this powerful preventative health measure
FOR CHRONIC OR SERIOUS CONDITIONS
Take double or triple. the recommended amount for 10 to 45 days, then drop to the maintenance dose. If your body is extremely ill or toxic do not be in a hurry to clear up everything at once. If pathogens are killed off too quickly, the body's five eliminatory channels, i.e., the liver, kidneys, skin, lungs and bowel, may be temporarily overloaded, causing flu-like conditions, headache, extreme fatigue, dizziness, nausea or aching muscles. Ease off on the Colloidal Silver to the maintenance amount and increase your distilled water intake, Regular bowel movements are a must in order to relieve the discomforts of detoxification. Resolve to reduce sugar and saturated fats from the diet, and exercise more. Given the opportunity, the body's natural ability to heal will amaze you.
TOPICAL USES
Colloidal Silver is painless on burns, cuts, abrasions, in open wounds, in the nostrils for a stuffy nose, arid even in a persons eyes because unlike antiseptics, it does not destroy tissue cells. It is perfect with cosmetics, creams and lotions. Spray on then add your favorite beauty product. TOLERANCE TO DISEASE ORGANISMS
It is impossible for single celled germs to mutate into silver resistant forms, as happens with conventional antibiotics. Therefore no tolerance to Colloidal Silver ever develops. Also, Colloidal Silver cannot interact or interfere with other medicine being taken. Inside the body, silver forms no toxic compounds nor reacts with anything other than a germ's oxygen metabolization. Colloidal Silver is truly a safe, natural remedy for many of mankind's ills. It would appear highly unlikely that even germ warfare agents could survive an encounter with Colloidal Silver.
Since viruses like Ebola and Hunta, or even the dreaded "flesh-eating bacteria" are in the end merely hapless viruses and bacteria. To top it off Colloidal Silver is non-toxic, making it safe for both children and adults, as well as pets. In short, anything bigger than a one-cell animal seems to like it.
Nor should one have to worry about the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) being put in charge of this home remedy. Colloidal Silver is grand fathered as a pre 1938 healing modality. This makes it exempt from FDA jurisdiction.
SO WHAT DOESN'T COLLOIDAL SILVER DO?
It doesn't interact with any other medications. It doesn't upset the stomach and in fact is a digestive aid. It does not sting the eyes. Medical journal reports and documented studies spanning the past 100 years indicate no known side effects from oral or IV administration of colloidal silver in animal or human testing. Colloidal silver has been used with good results under the most demanding health care circumstances. Without overstating the case, it may be time to recognize colloidal silver as not only the safest medicine on Earth but also the most powerful.
WHAT IS IT? Questions and Answers About Colloidal Silver
Colloidal Silver is a pure all-natural substance consisting of sub-microscopic clusters of silver held in a suspension of pure ionized water by a tiny electric charge placed on each particle. WHAT DOES IT DO?
Colloidal Silver is a powerful, natural antibiotic. It is the most usable form of the most effective disease, germ, virus and fungal killer known. It has been found to be both a remedy and a prevention for colds, flu, all infections and all fermentation due to any bacteria fungus or virus - especially staph and strep which are often found in disease conditions. It has been reported to rapidly subdue inflammation and promote faster healing. The body needs Colloidal Silver to fight disease causing organisms and to aid healing. Taken daily, Colloidal Silver provides a second immune system resulting in more energy, vitality, vigor, relaxation, faster healing and reduced bodily toxins.
Artificial antibiotics kill, on average 6 different disease organisms but Colloidal Silver is known to kill over 650 diseases without any harmful side effects or toxicity.
SILVER IN OUR BODIES?
We get silver and all minerals in our bodies through the food we eat. This comes directly from organic soil. This soil is rich in living organisms. These microbes break down the soil so plants are provided minerals in a form assimilable to the plant. Hence, we get silver naturally from the minerals present in organically grown plants. If we eat plants that have been grown on chemical fertilizers as most plants are grown today without sufficient living organisms in the soil to provide nutrition to the crops we do not get the quantity of vitamins and minerals which. are available in organically grown foods.
Thus deficiencies develop. As we age our ability to assimilate silver decreases. We develop a silver deficiency and an impaired immune system that can lead to cancer and other degenerative diseases. Dr Robert Becker noticed a correlation between low silver levels and sickness.
People who had low levels of silver were frequently sick, had innumerable colds, flu, fevers and other maladies. He believes a silver deficiency is the reason for improper functioning of the immune system. He found that silver worked on a wide range of bacteria without any side effects or damage to the cells of the body and can stimulate significant growth of injured tissues.
WHY SILVER?
Silver has benefitted mankind's health for thousands of years. In ancient Greece and Rome people used silver containers to keep liquids fresh. American settlers traveling across the West put a silver dollar in milk to delay its spoiling. Around the turn of the century doctors prescribed silver nitrate for stomach ulcers and it has been common practice to put a few drops of a silver solution in the eyes of a newborn baby to kill bacteria that might cause blindness. A silver compound - silver sulfadiazine is used in 70 per cent of the burn centers in the U.S. It helps stop the herpes virus.
Note: it is not the silver in dental fillings that is harmful but the mercury which is a deadly poison.
WHAT IS THE HISTORY OF COLLOIDAL SILVER? Colloidal Silver was widely used 60 to 70 years ago when, among other reasons, the cost became prohibitive about $100 per ounce in 1930 dollars. The quicker, more specific and fast acting man made antibiotics became prevalent in the 1940's. High quality Colloidal Silver can now be produced at low cost. WHAT ARE THE KEY CHARACTERISTICS?
Colloidal Silver is non-toxic, non-addictive and has no side effects. The body develops no tolerance and one cannot overdose. Colloidal Silver cannot cause harm to the liver, kidneys or any other organ in the body. It is safe for pregnant and nursing women and even aids the developing fetus in growth and health as well as easing the mother's delivery and recovery. Colloidal Silver is odorless, tasteless, non-stinging, harmless to eyes, contains no free radicals, is harmless to human enzymes and has no reaction with other medications. It improves digestion, aids in the regeneration of damaged cells and tissues, helps prevent colds, flu and organism caused diseases .
HAS IT BEEN CLINICALLY TESTED?
YES! Colloidal Silver has been successfully tested at the UCLA Medical Labs where it killed every virus on which it was tested. WHAT DOES THE FDA SAY?
According to the United States Government Food and Drug Administration Colloidal Silver may continue to be marketed and used as it was originally intended. Colloidal Silver exceeds FDA recognized standards for safety. In a September 13, 1991 letter written by Harold Davies, U.S. Food and Drug Administration Consumer Safety Officer stated that FDA has no jurisdiction regarding a pure, mineral element. WHAT ABOUT COLLOIDAL SILVER FOR AIDS?
Since in active AIDS, the suppressed immune system of the body is open to all kinds of disease. Colloidal Silver is the perfect nontoxic medicine to use for its wide spectrum antibiotic effect. A researcher at Brigham Young University sent Colloidal Silver to two different labs including UCLA Medical Center, and reported "It not only killed the HIV virus but every virus that was tested in the labs. According to FDA rules, Colloidal Silver cannot be used for treating the HIV virus, but it could be used as an antibiotic for all acquired diseases of active AIDS. WHAT OTHER USES ARE THERE FOR COLLOIDAL SILVER?
Tests prove, due to the high absorption of silver in the small intestine, the friendly bacteria in the large intestine are not affected. All bacterial, viral and fungal organisms are killed within 6 minutes of contact. Higher silver content in the body causes faster and more frequent contact with these organisms. No disease causing organism can live in the presence of simple silver. The following is a partial list of the more than 650 diseases that Colloidal Silver has been successfully used against: Acne, Arthritis, Athlete's Foot, Toxemia, Blood Poisoning, Burns, Cancer, Conjunctivitis, Dermatitis, Diabetes, Dysentery, Eczema, Fibrositis, Gastritis, Gonorrhea, Impetigo, Keratitis, Leprosy, Lupus, Pymphagitis, Malaria, Meningitis, Pleurisy, Prostatitis, Psoriasis, Ophthalmia, Ringworm, Rhinitis Rosacea, Scarlet Fever, Seborrhea, Septicemia, Shingles, Skin Cancer, Staph Infection, Herpes Virus, Ulcers, Strep, Tonsillitis, Trenchfoot, Tuberculosis, Viral Warts, Whooping Cough, Yeast Infections.
COLLOIDAL SILVER VERSUS PHARMACEUTICAL ANTIBIOTICS
Interest in Colloidal Silver has increased recently because illness causing organisms do not to build up a resistance to Colloidal Silver the way they do to pharmaceutical antibiotics Antibiotics are becoming less effective as resistance to them grows.
The Los Angeles Times states "In the last decade, a broad resistance to antibiotics has begun to emerge. Because bacteria can transfer genes among themselves, experts only expect the resistance to grow, The potential nightmare is an Andromeda strain, which is immune to all antibiotics and could wreak havocArsenal of Antibiotics Failing as Resistant Bacteria Develop October 23, 1994.
In the early 1900's an antibacterial solution called Colloidal Silver became the medication of choice of medical practitioners. It proved to be enormously effective against infectious organisms and extremely safe to use without the negative side effects associated with drugs.
Colloidal Silver became increasingly expensive during the precious metals crisis during the depression. Then pharmaceutical companies developed antibiotics as we know them today. Silver took a back seat. However, as usual, when we deviate from nature unforeseen problems develop.
Forty years after the advent of antibiotics many types of disease causing organisms have developed an immunity to their action. Over the years the medical establishment has reported on the new strains of "Super Bugs" that cannot be destroyed by antibiotics.
Newsweek Magazine reported in March 28, 1994 that in 1992 13,000 hospital patients died of infections that resisted every drug doctors administered. Also a well known fact is the detrimental effect of antibiotics on the naturally occurring flora in the colon. Colloidal Silver does not disturb this very necessary environment.
Fortunately, the timely re-emergence of Colloidal Silver due to new technology and much reduced costs in production, may prove to be one of the best developments in modern science. The public now has a remedy to protect themselves.
In 1834, the German obstetrician F. Crede administered a 1% silver nitrate to the eyes of newborn infants virtually eliminating the incidence of disease causing blindness in newborn babies. However, it was not until the late 1800's that Western scientists were able to prove what had been known in Eastern medicine for thousands of years - that silver is a proven germ fighter!
Once the discovery was made that the body's chief fluids were colloidal in nature, the endless possibilities which could occur from the use of colloids in medicine were recognized. As a result, a silver solution known as Colloidal Silver became widely used in medicine as one of the mainstays of antimicrobial treatment. "What we actually have done is rediscover that silver kills bacteria" states Dr. Robert Becker M. D. "It is nontoxic in micro-concentrations of 3-5 parts per million."
And now it's silver that is finding wholly new uses as a wonder in modern medicine. Perhaps it soon will be recognized as OUR MIGHTIEST GERM FIGHTER." Science Digest, March 1978. Silver is considered to be one of the most universal antibiotic substances known.
Jim Powell reported in the Science Digest article quoted above, that an antibiotic kills perhaps 7 different disease organisms, but silver kills some 650. Resistant strains fail to develop. Moreover, silver is nontoxic! The comeback of silver in medicine began in the 1970's.
The late Dr. Carl Moyer, chairman of Washington University's Department of Surgery received a grant to develop a better treatment for burn victims. Dr. Harry Margraf of St. Louis, as the chief biochemist, worked with Dr. Moyer and other surgeons to find an antiseptic strong enough yet safe enough to use over larger areas of the body. Dr. Margraf reviewed 22 antiseptic compounds and found drawbacks in all of them.
He noted that many of these antibiotics were ineffective against a number of harmful bacteria, including the biggest killer in burn cases a greenish blue bacterium called Pseudomonas acruginose. In extensive trials silver proved to be the most effective treatment and is currently used in all major bum centers in the United States.
The safest proven germ fighter! SILVER IS USED IN ALL MAJOR BURN CENTERS IN THE UNITED STATES. UCLA MEDICAL LABS FOUND IT EFFECTIVE ON EVERY VIRUS THEY TESTED IT ON.
WHAT IS COLLOIDAL SILVER?
Colloidal Silver is a tasteless, odorless, nontoxic, pure, natural substance consisting of submicroscopic clusters of silver particles, suspended by a tiny electric charge placed on each particle within a suitable liquid. The molecules size is .00001 microns or 1.26 angstroms in diameter which is very small. The particles do not settle but remain suspended since the electric charge exerts more force than gravity on each particle. Colloidal is the form of choice for silver delivery since the body must convert a crystalline solution to a colloid before it can be assimilated. Taken daily, it is a powerful adjunct to our immune system.
It kills harmful disease causing organisms and aids healing. Silver and all minerals are obtained from the food we eat. This comes directly from organic soil containing living organisms. These organisms assist in making the minerals available to the vegetation.
If we eat fruits and vegetables grown on chemical fertilizers we do not get the necessary quantity of vitamins, minerals and trace elements which occur in organically grown foods. This is because these chemicals are detrimental to vital soil micro-organisms. Plants don't drink water. They EAT micro-organisms in the soil that have absorbed moisture and digested minerals.
HOW DOES COLLOIDAL SILVER WORK?
According to medical journals from around the world, it disables the particular enzyme that all one celled bacteria, fungi and viruses use for their oxygen metabolism. Colloidal Silver co-mingles with the blood and enters the cells to seek out and destroy harmful organisms. It suffocates them in six minutes or less after initial contact. This phenomenon was recently demonstrated in tests at UCLA Medical Lab. Trace amounts protect and strengthen the immune system. USES OF COLLOIDAL SILVER
For several decades the clinical use of Silver have been proven in the treatment of burns as well as eye, ear, nose, throat, vaginal, rectal and urinary tract infections. Silver has been prescribed in medicine as an aid to the brain, reproductive disorders in women and the circulatory system. It has been used as a remedy for mental imbalances, sleepwalking and anorexia nervosa. Additional uses include the treatment of AIDS, allergies, anthrax, arthritis, blood poisoning, boils, wounds of the cornea, chronic fatigue, cerebral spinal meningitis, candida, cholera, colitis, cystitis, diabetes, diptheria, dysentery, enlarged prostate, gonorrhea, herpes, hepatitis, infantile diseases, lesions, leukemia, lupus, lyme disease, parasites, dental plaque remover, rheumatism, ringworm shingles, skin cancer, staph and strep infections, stomach flu, thyroid conditions, tonsillitis, toxemia, stomach ulcers and whooping cough to name a few.
It is even used as a natural under arm deodorant and handy for virtually every medical circumstance for humans, plants and animals around the home and farm.
TOPICAL APPLICATION OF COLLOIDAL SILVER
Liquid silver as well as new gel formulations, may be applied directly to the skin. A few drops on a Q-tip or band-aid may be used to disinfect any wound or sore. Liquid silver is administered orally and can also be injected. It can be used vaginally, anally, atomized or inhaled into the nose or lungs and dropped into the eyes. To start, take one teaspoon per day, for seven days, then reduce to half a teaspoon per day. Children should use proportionally smaller doses. For cold and flu symptoms up to a tablespoon three times daily is recommended. Overdosing should not be of concern even if more than the recommended dose is administered.
After a few days of use, one might experience a detoxification effect in the form of feeling sluggish or mild aches. Consumption of water will cause these symptoms to disappear.
It is safe for pregnant and nursing women and is known to aid the developing fetus in growth. It will not generate free radicals or interfere with enzyme activity. It has no reaction with other medications. Colloidal Silver can spoil. The container and dropper must be amber glass or an opaque plastic to preserve the silver in liquid suspension for any length of time.
A 65-year-old diabetic cut himself on the leg. He washed and bandaged it but, as often happens with diabetes, the pain persisted. The cut grew into a sore. Soon it became bigger than the bandage and he had to apply a dressing. Still, it grew bigger and ugly. In desperation he went to a clinic. His sore was diagnosed as a stasis ulcer.
For a year, one treatment after another was tried. Nothing including penicillin and sulfonamide, could heal the ulcer. If his condition had continued unchecked is leg probably would have been amputated. But finally he was referred to a burn clinic that treated skin ulcers with a silver compound. This promptly stopped the growth of all bacteria. In less than two months, the ulcer was completely healed. Science Digest-March 1978
WHAT DO HEALTH PROFESSIONALS SAY ABOUT COLLOIDAL SILVER?
According to Dr. Evan of Illinois, Kansas "We have had instant success with Colloidal Silver and immune compromised patients. A few examples are: Pink eye (topical) totally resolved in less than six hours; recurrent sinus infections (oral ingestion) resolved in eight days; acute cuticle infections resolved twenty four hours. Another major area in which we have improved our clinical results is in the area of bowel detoxification and dysbiosis. The colloidal silver has provided excellent removal of abnormal intestinal bacteria also it has proved to be a great adjunct to our Candida albicans, Epstein Barr Virus and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome protocols.
"What we have actually done is rediscover the fact that silver kills bacteria which has been known for centuries. When antibiotics were discovered, clinical uses for silver as an antibiotic were discarded." concludes Dr. Robert O. Becker, M.D. Extensive research into the curative properties of sliver has been conducted for many years at the Upstate Medical Center, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY under the direction of Dr. Becker.
The experiments conclude that silver works on a wide range of bacteria without any known side effects or damage to the cells of the body. Silver does something more than kill disease-causing organisms. It was also causes major growth stimulation of injured tissues. Dr. Becker concludes that the presence of the silver ion may help to regenerate tissue, eliminate old or cancerous cells and any other diseased or abnormal condition.
Dr. Henry Crooks in Use of Colloids in Health-Disease found that silver in the colloidal state is highly germicidal, quite harmless to humans and absolutely nontoxic. From his bacteriological experiments with silver he concluded "I know of no microbe that is not killed in laboratory experiments in six minutes."
Dr. Bjorn Nordenstrorn of the Larolinska Institute, Sweden has successfully used silver as a component in his cancer treatments for many years.
Dr. Leonard Keene Hirschberg, M. D. at John Hopkins states, "Speaking generally, the colloidal metals are especially remarkable for their beneficial action in infective states."
Dr, Richard L. Davies, executive director of the Silver Institute, which monitors silver technology in 37 countries, reports: "In four years we've described 87 important new medical uses for silver. We're just beginning to see to what extent silver can relieve suffering."
MORE INFORMATION
A colloid consists of minute particles that float within a liquid despite the pull of gravity. To stay in suspension for any length of time these particles must be smaller than 1 micron or 1/1000 of an inch. When fresh produce is processed through a juicer, a colloid results in the form of a glass of juice. Drinking fresh juices makes it possible to consume far more nutrients than by eating. Because juice is considered a pre-digested food the body can process large amounts with minimal effort and correspondingly net better health results.
As a juice colloid sits, the large particles begin to fall out of suspension and settle at the bottom of the container. To evenly distribute the contents it is common to shake up a bottle of juice before drinking.
In the case of colloidal silver, silver particles are pulled off of a pure silver electrode that is immersed in water by applying a low voltage electric current, giving each particle an electric charge. This charge, though long lasting, is not permanent and both daylight and time will cause a colloid to lose its charge.
This loss is referred to as "falling out" or "plating out". Colloidal Silver passes through the stomach lining and into the blood stream where it circulates for about a week before elimination. While colloidal silver is light sensitive, it is not nearly as light sensitive as camera film. If taken to the beach under mid-day California summer sun colloidal silver can be expected to oxidize in about ten minutes.
Indoors, under ambient and artificial light, colloidal silver will oxidize in about three days. This only means that once made, colloidal silver should be stored in tinted or opaque containers, preferably amber glass. Many colloidal silver manufacturers claim that if the silver particles are "too large" the resulting brew will prove injurious to the public health. The truth can be found in many science text books.
When applying current to silver in solution metallic silver will always break off at the same size 1.26 angstroms or .00001 microns. This particle is so small that the next stop on the road to smallness is the atom itself.
Colloids are by nature the smallest particles matter can be divided into while still retaining individual characteristics. Reducing a piece of metallic silver into a cloud of microscopic particles greatly extends its total surface area enhancing bio-availability thus deepening its penetration into the cell.
Because the silver particles are charged, they strive to combine with other elements in the solution. Trace elements exist even in distilled water and when the charged silver panicles combine with a specific trace element, the solution will turn one of a number of colors like gray, yellow, green or brown whatever element the silver chooses is largely irrelevant.
Once in the body silver releases its bond in search of stronger attachments in an effort to stabilize its charge. Therefore, once the silver colloid has entered the body, the original silver particles measuring 1.26 angstroms (about the size of fifteen atoms) quickly pass through the stomach lining and into the blood stream where they circulate for about a week before elimination.
YELLOW COLLOIDAL SILVER
The real reason yellow colored colloidal silver is favored by most manufacturers is not because it is more effective than other types, but because it has a longer shelf life before falling out of solution. This stability in solution doesn't automatically translate into a smaller combi
This stability in solution doesn't automatically translate into a smaller combined particle size between the silver ion and the trace element which it has attached itself to. It may simply be that the trace element which the silver has combined with is more water soluble.
The most effective colloidal silver is not a question of color, but of freshness and highest concentration density. A disadvantage of the yellow colloidal silver is its bitter taste, unlike the silver colored colloid. Also, the yellow solution is more difficult to make. When using a 127-volt generator, it is helpful to reduce the water volume to mitigate the much longer activation time that the yellow solution requires.
There is no medical evidence that the yellow colloid is more effective than the silver colored colloid. People can always create and compare the effects of the yellow and silver solutions for themselves. To make the yellow solution, use a tall narrow glass with six to eight ounces of distilled water. Use no saline solution.
The water will not gain conductivity as it does when saline is added, so the process will take about forty-five minutes. It will produce a concentration of around ten parts per million. Be sure to keep an eye on the color of your solution or it will eventually turn a murky brown and then black. If this happens, just throw it out and start over.
MAKING HIGH CONCENTRATIONS OF COLLOIDAL SILVER
As more silver ions travel through the water, the current flow increases which alters the physical parameters necessary for colloidal silver production. The result is a process time limit of about fifteen minutes when using distilled water with saline solution. To create high concentrations of silver, you can heat the water. For every 10 degrees that the water is heated above room temperature, the parts per trillion (ppm) will be doubled. Therefore if 5 ppm results after seven minutes of activation with sixteen ounces of water at 72 degrees, then 82 degrees would yield 10 ppm, and 92 degrees would deliver 20 ppm, etc.
For heating purposes, do not use a tea pot because of the pot's calcification. Use something cleaner like a stainless steel cooking pot before pouring water into a glass, or 1 qt "Vison ware" glass pan
The body's ability to process the tiny atoms of colloidal silver makes silver build-up in the body impossible. The Environmental Protection Agency's Poison Control Center reports a No Toxicity listing for colloidal silver. In fact, it appears that harmlessness is one of the best attributes of colloid physiology, regardless of content.
For example, when examining a bottle of colloidal minerals from the local health food store one can notice arsenic, nickel and lead among the sixty-five trace minerals listed in the contents. In other words, if the particles are small enough, you can even drink arsenic.
Since the body is known to have a vital need for silver to maintain both the immune system and the production of new healthy cells, and due to the harmonious nature of colloids entering the body, it stands within reason that colloidal silver may be harmless. Just to prove the point make a sixteen-ounce solution of well over 250 ppm and drink it. It's plenty safe.
This makes sense according to Capitol Drugs pharmacist Ron Barnes, PhD. "Many strains of pathogenic microbes, viruses, fungi, bacteria or any other single celled pathogen resistant to other antibiotics are killed on contact by colloidal silver, and are unable to mutate.
However, it does not harm tissue-cell enzymes and friendly bacteria. Cut two flowers in the back yard and leave one on a shelf without water for twenty-four hours. When picked up the next day it will be completely limp. Make a fresh cut at the bottom of the stem, then place it in a glass of high concentrate colloidal silver.
Each day it will get better. On the third day, the stem will become firm again as if it had just been cut. Not a single petal will be lost. The second flower that was cut should have been placed immediately in ordinary water. Many of its petals will have already fallen. Though the flower was in water from the start, it is already dying. You will add Colloidal Silver to flower water from then on.
NEW RESEARCH
Understanding Quality: In recent years Colloidal Silver manufacturers have advanced the state of the art and set new standards for quality. However, there are inferior products on the market that can be of little or no value. Below are some tips to help you find a quality product. Color: Can be used as an indicator of quality. Large useless particles, and impurities, product various tints. Colored products will fall out of suspension. Particle Size: To be effective, the silver particles must be small enough to penetrate the targeted organisms. Always buy Colloidal Silver with a maximum particle size of 1 ANGSTROM or less. TPV: (Therapeutic Particles per Volume) is the proper way to measure strength. A silver dollar in a cup of water has a "concentration" of 92,690 PPM (Parts Per Million). But it has zero therapeutical particles in solution. Look for products with 2 billion particles or more per ounce.
Regional Pharmacy Services and Silver Water, Inc.
MEMO: Regarding lab testing of various strains of bacterias, yeast and molds The following results were observed and recorded after exposing various strains of bacteria, yeast and mold to Regional Pharmacy Service's specially formulated Colloidal Silver with a concentration of Three Parts per Million. 1. There was a dramatic 99.999% reduction of both the bacteria strains and the yeast within 24 hours.
2. This 99.999% reduction of both the bacteria strains and the yeast continued for the first week and stayed reduced for a full month (28+ days). 3. There was a 90.0% reduction of the molds tested within 24 hours.
4. This 90.0% reduction of the molds continued for the first week and stayed reduced for a full month. Interpretation of Lab Testing Results - The Regional Pharmacy Service (RPS) and Silver Water Inc.'s Colloidal Silver with a concentration of Three Parts per Million exhibits a consistent ability to radically destroy over 99% of all pathogenic bacteria and yeast and over 90% of molds exposed to the specifically formulated RPS colloidal silver. |
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COLLOIDAL SILVER VERSUS PHARMACEUTICAL ANTIBIOTICS
Interest in Colloidal Silver has increased recently because illness causing organisms do not to build up a resistance to Colloidal Silver the way they do to pharmaceutical antibiotics Antibiotics are becoming less effective as resistance to them grows.
The Los Angeles Times states "In the last decade, a broad resistance to antibiotics has begun to emerge. Because bacteria can transfer genes among themselves, experts only expect the resistance to grow, The potential nightmare is an Andromeda strain, which is immune to all antibiotics and could wreak havocArsenal of Antibiotics Failing as Resistant Bacteria Develop October 23, 1994.
In the early 1900's an antibacterial solution called Colloidal Silver became the medication of choice of medical practitioners. It proved to be enormously effective against infectious organisms and extremely safe to use without the negative side effects associated with drugs.
Colloidal Silver became increasingly expensive during the precious metals crisis during the depression. Then pharmaceutical companies developed antibiotics as we know them today. Silver took a back seat. However, as usual, when we deviate from nature unforeseen problems develop.
Forty years after the advent of antibiotics many types of disease causing organisms have developed an immunity to their action. Over the years the medical establishment has reported on the new strains of "Super Bugs" that cannot be destroyed by antibiotics.
Newsweek Magazine reported in March 28, 1994 that in 1992 13,000 hospital patients died of infections that resisted every drug doctors administered. Also a well known fact is the detrimental effect of antibiotics on the naturally occurring flora in the colon. Colloidal Silver does not disturb this very necessary environment.
Fortunately, the timely re-emergence of Colloidal Silver due to new technology and much reduced costs in production, may prove to be one of the best developments in modern science. The public now has a remedy to protect themselves.
In 1834, the German obstetrician F. Crede administered a 1% silver nitrate to the eyes of newborn infants virtually eliminating the incidence of disease causing blindness in newborn babies. However, it was not until the late 1800's that Western scientists were able to prove what had been known in Eastern medicine for thousands of years - that silver is a proven germ fighter!
Once the discovery was made that the body's chief fluids were colloidal in nature, the endless possibilities which could occur from the use of colloids in medicine were recognized. As a result, a silver solution known as Colloidal Silver became widely used in medicine as one of the mainstays of antimicrobial treatment. "What we actually have done is rediscover that silver kills bacteria" states Dr. Robert Becker M. D. "It is nontoxic in micro-concentrations of 3-5 parts per million."
And now it's silver that is finding wholly new uses as a wonder in modern medicine. Perhaps it soon will be recognized as OUR MIGHTIEST GERM FIGHTER." Science Digest, March 1978. Silver is considered to be one of the most universal antibiotic substances known.
Jim Powell reported in the Science Digest article quoted above, that an antibiotic kills perhaps 7 different disease organisms, but silver kills some 650. Resistant strains fail to develop. Moreover, silver is nontoxic! The comeback of silver in medicine began in the 1970's.
The late Dr. Carl Moyer, chairman of Washington University's Department of Surgery received a grant to develop a better treatment for burn victims. Dr. Harry Margraf of St. Louis, as the chief biochemist, worked with Dr. Moyer and other surgeons to find an antiseptic strong enough yet safe enough to use over larger areas of the body. Dr. Margraf reviewed 22 antiseptic compounds and found drawbacks in all of them.
He noted that many of these antibiotics were ineffective against a number of harmful bacteria, including the biggest killer in burn cases a greenish blue bacterium called Pseudomonas acruginose. In extensive trials silver proved to be the most effective treatment and is currently used in all major bum centers in the United States.
The safest proven germ fighter! SILVER IS USED IN ALL MAJOR BURN CENTERS IN THE UNITED STATES. UCLA MEDICAL LABS FOUND IT EFFECTIVE ON EVERY VIRUS THEY TESTED IT ON.
WHAT IS COLLOIDAL SILVER?
Colloidal Silver is a tasteless, odorless, nontoxic, pure, natural substance consisting of submicroscopic clusters of silver particles, suspended by a tiny electric charge placed on each particle within a suitable liquid. The molecules size is .00001 microns or 1.26 angstroms in diameter which is very small. The particles do not settle but remain suspended since the electric charge exerts more force than gravity on each particle. Colloidal is the form of choice for silver delivery since the body must convert a crystalline solution to a colloid before it can be assimilated. Taken daily, it is a powerful adjunct to our immune system.
It kills harmful disease causing organisms and aids healing. Silver and all minerals are obtained from the food we eat. This comes directly from organic soil containing living organisms. These organisms assist in making the minerals available to the vegetation.
If we eat fruits and vegetables grown on chemical fertilizers we do not get the necessary quantity of vitamins, minerals and trace elements which occur in organically grown foods. This is because these chemicals are detrimental to vital soil micro-organisms. Plants don't drink water. They EAT micro-organisms in the soil that have absorbed moisture and digested minerals.
HOW DOES COLLOIDAL SILVER WORK?
According to medical journals from around the world, it disables the particular enzyme that all one celled bacteria, fungi and viruses use for their oxygen metabolism. Colloidal Silver co-mingles with the blood and enters the cells to seek out and destroy harmful organisms. It suffocates them in six minutes or less after initial contact. This phenomenon was recently demonstrated in tests at UCLA Medical Lab. Trace amounts protect and strengthen the immune system. USES OF COLLOIDAL SILVER
For several decades the clinical use of Silver have been proven in the treatment of burns as well as eye, ear, nose, throat, vaginal, rectal and urinary tract infections. Silver has been prescribed in medicine as an aid to the brain, reproductive disorders in women and the circulatory system. It has been used as a remedy for mental imbalances, sleepwalking and anorexia nervosa. Additional uses include the treatment of AIDS, allergies, anthrax, arthritis, blood poisoning, boils, wounds of the cornea, chronic fatigue, cerebral spinal meningitis, candida, cholera, colitis, cystitis, diabetes, diptheria, dysentery, enlarged prostate, gonorrhea, herpes, hepatitis, infantile diseases, lesions, leukemia, lupus, lyme disease, parasites, dental plaque remover, rheumatism, ringworm shingles, skin cancer, staph and strep infections, stomach flu, thyroid conditions, tonsillitis, toxemia, stomach ulcers and whooping cough to name a few.
It is even used as a natural under arm deodorant and handy for virtually every medical circumstance for humans, plants and animals around the home and farm.
TOPICAL APPLICATION OF COLLOIDAL SILVER
Liquid silver as well as new gel formulations, may be applied directly to the skin. A few drops on a Q-tip or band-aid may be used to disinfect any wound or sore. Liquid silver is administered orally and can also be injected. It can be used vaginally, anally, atomized or inhaled into the nose or lungs and dropped into the eyes. To start, take one teaspoon per day, for seven days, then reduce to half a teaspoon per day. Children should use proportionally smaller doses. For cold and flu symptoms up to a tablespoon three times daily is recommended. Overdosing should not be of concern even if more than the recommended dose is administered.
After a few days of use, one might experience a detoxification effect in the form of feeling sluggish or mild aches. Consumption of water will cause these symptoms to disappear.
It is safe for pregnant and nursing women and is known to aid the developing fetus in growth. It will not generate free radicals or interfere with enzyme activity. It has no reaction with other medications. Colloidal Silver can spoil. The container and dropper must be amber glass or an opaque plastic to preserve the silver in liquid suspension for any length of time.
A 65-year-old diabetic cut himself on the leg. He washed and bandaged it but, as often happens with diabetes, the pain persisted. The cut grew into a sore. Soon it became bigger than the bandage and he had to apply a dressing. Still, it grew bigger and ugly. In desperation he went to a clinic. His sore was diagnosed as a stasis ulcer.
For a year, one treatment after another was tried. Nothing including penicillin and sulfonamide, could heal the ulcer. If his condition had continued unchecked is leg probably would have been amputated. But finally he was referred to a burn clinic that treated skin ulcers with a silver compound. This promptly stopped the growth of all bacteria. In less than two months, the ulcer was completely healed. Science Digest-March 1978
WHAT DO HEALTH PROFESSIONALS SAY ABOUT COLLOIDAL SILVER?
According to Dr. Evan of Illinois, Kansas "We have had instant success with Colloidal Silver and immune compromised patients. A few examples are: Pink eye (topical) totally resolved in less than six hours; recurrent sinus infections (oral ingestion) resolved in eight days; acute cuticle infections resolved twenty four hours. Another major area in which we have improved our clinical results is in the area of bowel detoxification and dysbiosis. The colloidal silver has provided excellent removal of abnormal intestinal bacteria also it has proved to be a great adjunct to our Candida albicans, Epstein Barr Virus and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome protocols.
"What we have actually done is rediscover the fact that silver kills bacteria which has been known for centuries. When antibiotics were discovered, clinical uses for silver as an antibiotic were discarded." concludes Dr. Robert O. Becker, M.D. Extensive research into the curative properties of sliver has been conducted for many years at the Upstate Medical Center, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY under the direction of Dr. Becker.
The experiments conclude that silver works on a wide range of bacteria without any known side effects or damage to the cells of the body. Silver does something more than kill disease-causing organisms. It was also causes major growth stimulation of injured tissues. Dr. Becker concludes that the presence of the silver ion may help to regenerate tissue, eliminate old or cancerous cells and any other diseased or abnormal condition.
Dr. Henry Crooks in Use of Colloids in Health-Disease found that silver in the colloidal state is highly germicidal, quite harmless to humans and absolutely nontoxic. From his bacteriological experiments with silver he concluded "I know of no microbe that is not killed in laboratory experiments in six minutes."
Dr. Bjorn Nordenstrorn of the Larolinska Institute, Sweden has successfully used silver as a component in his cancer treatments for many years.
Dr. Leonard Keene Hirschberg, M. D. at John Hopkins states, "Speaking generally, the colloidal metals are especially remarkable for their beneficial action in infective states."
Dr, Richard L. Davies, executive director of the Silver Institute, which monitors silver technology in 37 countries, reports: "In four years we've described 87 important new medical uses for silver. We're just beginning to see to what extent silver can relieve suffering."
MORE INFORMATION
A colloid consists of minute particles that float within a liquid despite the pull of gravity. To stay in suspension for any length of time these particles must be smaller than 1 micron or 1/1000 of an inch. When fresh produce is processed through a juicer, a colloid results in the form of a glass of juice. Drinking fresh juices makes it possible to consume far more nutrients than by eating. Because juice is considered a pre-digested food the body can process large amounts with minimal effort and correspondingly net better health results.
As a juice colloid sits, the large particles begin to fall out of suspension and settle at the bottom of the container. To evenly distribute the contents it is common to shake up a bottle of juice before drinking.
In the case of colloidal silver, silver particles are pulled off of a pure silver electrode that is immersed in water by applying a low voltage electric current, giving each particle an electric charge. This charge, though long lasting, is not permanent and both daylight and time will cause a colloid to lose its charge.
This loss is referred to as "falling out" or "plating out". Colloidal Silver passes through the stomach lining and into the blood stream where it circulates for about a week before elimination. While colloidal silver is light sensitive, it is not nearly as light sensitive as camera film. If taken to the beach under mid-day California summer sun colloidal silver can be expected to oxidize in about ten minutes.
Indoors, under ambient and artificial light, colloidal silver will oxidize in about three days. This only means that once made, colloidal silver should be stored in tinted or opaque containers, preferably amber glass. Many colloidal silver manufacturers claim that if the silver particles are "too large" the resulting brew will prove injurious to the public health. The truth can be found in many science text books.
When applying current to silver in solution metallic silver will always break off at the same size 1.26 angstroms or .00001 microns. This particle is so small that the next stop on the road to smallness is the atom itself.
Colloids are by nature the smallest particles matter can be divided into while still retaining individual characteristics. Reducing a piece of metallic silver into a cloud of microscopic particles greatly extends its total surface area enhancing bio-availability thus deepening its penetration into the cell.
Because the silver particles are charged, they strive to combine with other elements in the solution. Trace elements exist even in distilled water and when the charged silver panicles combine with a specific trace element, the solution will turn one of a number of colors like gray, yellow, green or brown whatever element the silver chooses is largely irrelevant.
Once in the body silver releases its bond in search of stronger attachments in an effort to stabilize its charge. Therefore, once the silver colloid has entered the body, the original silver particles measuring 1.26 angstroms (about the size of fifteen atoms) quickly pass through the stomach lining and into the blood stream where they circulate for about a week before elimination.
YELLOW COLLOIDAL SILVER
The real reason yellow colored colloidal silver is favored by most manufacturers is not because it is more effective than other types, but because it has a longer shelf life before falling out of solution. This stability in solution doesn't automatically translate into a smaller combi
This stability in solution doesn't automatically translate into a smaller combined particle size between the silver ion and the trace element which it has attached itself to. It may simply be that the trace element which the silver has combined with is more water soluble.
The most effective colloidal silver is not a question of color, but of freshness and highest concentration density. A disadvantage of the yellow colloidal silver is its bitter taste, unlike the silver colored colloid. Also, the yellow solution is more difficult to make. When using a 127-volt generator, it is helpful to reduce the water volume to mitigate the much longer activation time that the yellow solution requires.
There is no medical evidence that the yellow colloid is more effective than the silver colored colloid. People can always create and compare the effects of the yellow and silver solutions for themselves. To make the yellow solution, use a tall narrow glass with six to eight ounces of distilled water. Use no saline solution.
The water will not gain conductivity as it does when saline is added, so the process will take about forty-five minutes. It will produce a concentration of around ten parts per million. Be sure to keep an eye on the color of your solution or it will eventually turn a murky brown and then black. If this happens, just throw it out and start over.
MAKING HIGH CONCENTRATIONS OF COLLOIDAL SILVER
As more silver ions travel through the water, the current flow increases which alters the physical parameters necessary for colloidal silver production. The result is a process time limit of about fifteen minutes when using distilled water with saline solution. To create high concentrations of silver, you can heat the water. For every 10 degrees that the water is heated above room temperature, the parts per trillion (ppm) will be doubled. Therefore if 5 ppm results after seven minutes of activation with sixteen ounces of water at 72 degrees, then 82 degrees would yield 10 ppm, and 92 degrees would deliver 20 ppm, etc.
For heating purposes, do not use a tea pot because of the pot's calcification. Use something cleaner like a stainless steel cooking pot before pouring water into a glass, or 1 qt "Vison ware" glass pan
The body's ability to process the tiny atoms of colloidal silver makes silver build-up in the body impossible. The Environmental Protection Agency's Poison Control Center reports a No Toxicity listing for colloidal silver. In fact, it appears that harmlessness is one of the best attributes of colloid physiology, regardless of content.
For example, when examining a bottle of colloidal minerals from the local health food store one can notice arsenic, nickel and lead among the sixty-five trace minerals listed in the contents. In other words, if the particles are small enough, you can even drink arsenic.
Since the body is known to have a vital need for silver to maintain both the immune system and the production of new healthy cells, and due to the harmonious nature of colloids entering the body, it stands within reason that colloidal silver may be harmless. Just to prove the point make a sixteen-ounce solution of well over 250 ppm and drink it. It's plenty safe.
This makes sense according to Capitol Drugs pharmacist Ron Barnes, PhD. "Many strains of pathogenic microbes, viruses, fungi, bacteria or any other single celled pathogen resistant to other antibiotics are killed on contact by colloidal silver, and are unable to mutate.
However, it does not harm tissue-cell enzymes and friendly bacteria. Cut two flowers in the back yard and leave one on a shelf without water for twenty-four hours. When picked up the next day it will be completely limp. Make a fresh cut at the bottom of the stem, then place it in a glass of high concentrate colloidal silver.
Each day it will get better. On the third day, the stem will become firm again as if it had just been cut. Not a single petal will be lost. The second flower that was cut should have been placed immediately in ordinary water. Many of its petals will have already fallen. Though the flower was in water from the start, it is already dying. You will add Colloidal Silver to flower water from then on.
NEW RESEARCH
Understanding Quality: In recent years Colloidal Silver manufacturers have advanced the state of the art and set new standards for quality. However, there are inferior products on the market that can be of little or no value. Below are some tips to help you find a quality product. Color: Can be used as an indicator of quality. Large useless particles, and impurities, product various tints. Colored products will fall out of suspension. Particle Size: To be effective, the silver particles must be small enough to penetrate the targeted organisms. Always buy Colloidal Silver with a maximum particle size of 1 ANGSTROM or less. TPV: (Therapeutic Particles per Volume) is the proper way to measure strength. A silver dollar in a cup of water has a "concentration" of 92,690 PPM (Parts Per Million). But it has zero therapeutical particles in solution. Look for products with 2 billion particles or more per ounce.
Regional Pharmacy Services and Silver Water, Inc.
MEMO: Regarding lab testing of various strains of bacterias, yeast and molds The following results were observed and recorded after exposing various strains of bacteria, yeast and mold to Regional Pharmacy Service's specially formulated Colloidal Silver with a concentration of Three Parts per Million. 1. There was a dramatic 99.999% reduction of both the bacteria strains and the yeast within 24 hours.
2. This 99.999% reduction of both the bacteria strains and the yeast continued for the first week and stayed reduced for a full month (28+ days). 3. There was a 90.0% reduction of the molds tested within 24 hours. |
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The most effective colloidal silver is not a question of color, but of freshness and highest concentration density. A disadvantage of the yellow colloidal silver is its bitter taste, unlike the silver colored colloid. Also, the yellow solution is more difficult to make. When using a 127-volt generator, it is helpful to reduce the water volume to mitigate the much longer activation time that the yellow solution requires. There is no medical evidence that the yellow colloid is more effective than the silver colored colloid. People can always create and compare the effects of the yellow and silver solutions for themselves. To make the yellow solution, use a tall narrow glass with six to eight ounces of distilled water. Use no saline solution. The water will not gain conductivity as it does when saline is added, so the process will take about forty-five minutes. It will produce a concentration of around ten parts per million. Be sure to keep an eye on the color of your solution or it will eventually turn a murky brown and then black. If this happens, just throw it out and start over. MAKING HIGH CONCENTRATIONS OF COLLOIDAL SILVER To create high concentrations of silver, you can heat the water. For every 10 degrees that the water is heated above room temperature, the parts per trillion (ppm) will be doubled. Therefore if 5 ppm results after seven minutes of activation with sixteen ounces of water at 72 degrees, then 82 degrees would yield 10 ppm, and 92 degrees would deliver 20 ppm, etc. For heating purposes, do not use a tea pot because of the pot's calcification. Use something cleaner like a stainless steel cooking pot before pouring water into a glass, or 1 qt "Vison ware" glass pan The body's ability to process the tiny atoms of colloidal silver makes silver build-up in the body impossible. The Environmental Protection Agency's For example, when examining a bottle of colloidal minerals from the local health food store one can notice arsenic, nickel and lead among the sixty-five trace minerals listed in the contents. In other words, if the particles are small enough, you can even drink arsenic. Since the body is known to have a vital need for silver to maintain both the immune system and the production of new healthy cells, and due to the harmonious nature of colloids entering the body, it stands within reason that colloidal silver may be harmless. Just to prove the point make a sixteen-ounce solution of well over 250 ppm and drink it. It's plenty safe. This makes sense according to Capitol Drugs pharmacist Ron Barnes, PhD. "Many strains of pathogenic microbes, viruses, fungi, bacteria or any other single celled pathogen resistant to other antibiotics are killed on contact by colloidal silver, and are unable to mutate. However, it does not harm tissue-cell enzymes and friendly bacteria. Cut two flowers in the back yard and leave one on a shelf without water for twenty-four hours. When picked up the next day it will be completely limp. Make a fresh cut at the bottom of the stem, then place it in a glass of high concentrate colloidal silver. Each day it will get better. On the third day, the stem will become firm again as if it had just been cut. Not a single petal will be lost. The second flower that was cut should have been placed immediately in ordinary water. Many of its petals will have already fallen. Though the flower was in water from the start, it is already dying. You will add Colloidal Silver to flower water from then on. NEW RESEARCH Color: Can be used as an indicator of quality. Large useless particles, and impurities, product various tints. Colored products will fall out of suspension. Particle Size: To be effective, the silver particles must be small enough to penetrate the targeted organisms. Always buy Colloidal Silver with a maximum particle size of 1 ANGSTROM or less. TPV: (Therapeutic Particles per Volume) is the proper way to measure strength. A silver dollar in a cup of water has a "concentration" of 92,690 PPM (Parts Per Million). But it has zero therapeutical particles in solution. Look for products with 2 billion particles or more per ounce. Regional Pharmacy Services and Silver Water, Inc. 1. There was a dramatic 99.999% reduction of both the bacteria strains and the yeast within 24 hours. 3. There was a 90.0% reduction of the molds tested within 24 hours.
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