Yoga and Conflict

Day of Action, Night of Mourning Against Offshore Drilling Friday May 14, Nationwide

via http://itsgettinghotinhere.org/2010/05/08/national-day-of-action-night-of-mourning-against-offshore-drilling-friday-may-14/

Once again the fossil fuel industry has brought crisis to the Gulf Coast. Devastation of untold proportions spews non-stop from BP’s oil well as politicians try to save face with empty promises, and oil companies preserve their profits with PR campaigns. This catastrophic spill comes on the heels of Obama’s plan to expand offshore drilling. The price of burning fossil fuels is too high. From combustion to extraction the oil industry poisons our communities, destroys ecosystems, and destabilizes the climate. Now is the time to stop offshore drilling dead in its tracks and drive another nail into the fossil fuel industry’s coffin.

Take action Friday May 14 to demand:

-An immediate ban on all offshore drilling

-A rapid and just transition away from fossil fuels

-No bailouts for the oil industry. All recovery costs must be paid for by BP, Halliburton, Transocean and other implicated companies.

-The federal government must remove any caps on liability for oil companies.

-BP provides full compensation for impacted communities and small businesses.

-BP provides full funding for long-term ecosystem restoration for impacted areas.

-Oil companies operating in the Gulf fully fund restoration of coastal ecosystems damaged by canals, pipelines, and other industry activities.

Take action at:

-BP gas stations and offices

-Halliburton and Transocean offices

-Federal buildings

-Offices of members of Congress

-State government officials in states affected by Obama’s offshore drilling proposal.

-Critical Mass bike rides

-Vigils to mourn the unspeakable loss brought by this spill

-Get creative!

Off the grid of modern technology

more about “Off the grid of modern technology “, posted with vodpod

What do you think, is it possible, would you want to, is he doing it right?

What benefits would it have in the practice of Bioregional Animism?

How would you do it?

turn off all the noises you can

For more information about Fred Rogers and Family Communications, the company he founded, please visit our website at www.fci.org

“Here’s a gift you may not have expected. It’s a gift for you to give yourself. Sometime in your day today, try to turn off all the noises you can around you, and give yourself some ‘quiet time’. . . Have you noticed it’s the little quiet moments in the midst of life that seem to give the rest extra-special meaning?”

Our Congress has been betraying our trust and selling us out for generations

FREE Uncle Sam Poster

Via: http://www.kickthemallout.com/article.php/Story-Free_Uncle_Sam_Poster

http://www.kickthemallout.com/

 

Wednesday, May 14 2008 @ 11:26 AM MDT
Contributed by: BMcDonald
Views: 3,478

We made this 8 1/2 X 11 Uncle Sam Poster to help spread the word and instill the “true” patriotic duty of every American to rise up against a government that no longer represents it’s citizens and which threatens to destroy all our unalienable rights they swore an oath to defend and protect.   When the people in our government decide to “rule us” rather than to “serve us,” it becomes the duty of every citizen to vote the traitors out of office. 

“This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing government, they can excercise their constitutional right of amending it, or exercise their revolutionary right to overthrow it.“
                                                            - Abraham Lincoln

Please download the poster below by simply clicking on the photo, print them out in huge quantities, and plaster them everywhere!  It’s going to take every one of us to set aside our petty differences and unite the power of our votes to effect sweeping change in the upcoming election.  The big question you really need to seriously ask yourself is, “is your allegiance to a political party or to your country?”  Both political parties are destroying this country.

We have a small window left where we can save our nation.  If we all band together, set aside petty partisan differences and use the power of our votes in the upcoming election as a revolutionary weapon we can restore our Constitution Republic and rid our government of every petty tyrant in sight.  

Click on the Posters Below To Download a PDF Copy For Printing
We’ll be happy to customize these for you with your meetup group address
and your contact info on it if you’d like.  Just write to us and ask.

Low Ink Version
For Handouts
8 1/2 x 11

Low Ink Version
For Handouts
 2 -up on 8 1/2 x 11

Full Color Version
Best for printing on higher quality paper
for posting on bulletin boards
8 1/2 x 11

 

What the hell is going on with the economy?

Hundreds of Billions of Dollars

September 24, 2008 at 10:31 am · Filed under Read All About It, posted by b. traven

lifted from http://www.crimethinc.com/blog/2008/09/24/hundreds-of-billions-of-dollars/

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Report courtesy of the Center for Strategic Anarchy, in cooperation with the CrimethInc. Free Marketeers. The CSA will begin posting regularly again on their blog shortly.

What the hell is going on with the economy? As part of our commitment to serve all the investors, bankers, and realty agents who rely on this site, we’ve solicited a brief introductory analysis.

Capitalism without failure is like religion without sin—it just doesn’t work. Far from abnormal, the boom/bust cycle is as predictable as the furious scapegoating and wild-eyed cheerleading that accompany it. But every situation, even the most predictable, presents unique opportunities. We present this analysis in the interest of deriving strategic advantages from our enemies’ temporary imbalance.

So what exactly is going on with the economy right now? The only honest answer is that no one is exactly sure. The American financial system operates on a variety of levels of transparency, making it impossible to know with certainty who has what and how much it is worth. The system also relies upon a high level of interconnectedness between different institutions and industries, making it difficult to predict the implications of failure.

But we can identify a few things that may give us the beginnings of a coherent answer.

The basic outline of the situation is this: starting in the mid-1990’s, the American government began deregulating the banking industry, repealing laws that had governed the terms of credit and investment since the Great Depression, due in large part to the money-soaked lobbying of commercial banks. Simultaneously, it created institutional and consumer incentives for home buying, motivated in part by statistical evidence that home ownership was the single greatest determinate of a family’s financial success. At the same time, the dot-com boom was putting (fake) money into consumers’ and bankers’ pockets, and although that bubble burst in 2001, it was quickly replaced by a new bubble in real estate.

Thus began a massive surge in home buying. Part of this up-tick in buying was made possible by “sub-prime mortgages”: loans with adjustable interest rates given to people who probably can’t afford to buy a house in the first place. They function much like credit cards: if homebuyers miss a payment, which they are likely to do, the interest rate doubles or even triples, dramatically increasing the cost of their monthly payments. These were attractive loans for banks to make since they assumed that all but a few homeowners would continue making payments after the upward adjustment of their interest rates.

The scheme seems idiotic in hindsight. A huge rise in demand for homes led to rapidly rising real estate values. To keep the market booming, less qualified buyers were found and given sub-prime mortgages to buy houses at inflated prices. Because prices were rising and wages were stagnant, lots of people with sub-prime mortgages were unable to keep up with payments. Their interest rates rose, but instead of paying banks a premium, many of them had to stop paying entirely. Now, at least two million of the seven million sub-prime mortgages used to buy homes since 1998 are expected to default.

What exactly led to the failures of Lehman Brothers, AIG, Morgan Stanley, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac, the news of which has cable news anchors on the verge of tears? The precise answer is more complicated than space allows. To put it in very general terms, the trading of sub-prime loans became a market unto itself, a market that was almost completely unregulated and pushed to wildly unrealistic heights by mountains of debt. When the loans themselves started going bad, the obscure little financial products based on them—which had been virtually printing money for investment banks—turned to shit. All of a sudden banks had a lot less money, making it impossible for some of them to pay for everything else they do.

Now, the U.S government is planning to buy most of those bad loans for $700 billion. This will take them off the balance sheets of banks and put them on the balance sheet of the Federal government. Naturally, Wall Street is ecstatic, for the moment.

Where things go from here is difficult to predict, but we can safely assume that there will be a lot less money floating around for loans, at least for a while. This means businesses will have a harder time expanding and fewer people will be able to afford homes, cars, and higher educations. This will have broad negative implications for the economy and growth will almost definitely slow; whether that will be an apocalyptic recession or a brief lull is up for debate. And if the federal government ends up spending upward of $1 trillion bailing out failing businesses, we can expect less government spending for a good long while.

What does all of this mean for anarchists and our projects? It means that our context is about to change. As if the change in presidential administration weren’t enough of a game-changer, this will shift the terrain even more. Here’s some highly subjective advice for taking advantage of the new circumstances:

1) This is going to sound insane, but if you have been thinking about buying a house or land, try to do it in the next 18 months, especially if you won’t need a mortgage. Reasonable mortgages will be hard to come by, even if you have good credit, but real estate prices are going to continue to drop. Looking at a house priced in the low five figures or less in some dying Rust Belt city? Negotiate downward as much as possible—which you’ll likely have the leverage to do—and pull the trigger.

In places like Greece, anarchist neighborhoods—yes, neighborhoods—are the foundation from which much anarchist resistance, from community meals to bank robberies, is launched. This could be our generation’s chance to establish something similar.

2) Be the wrecking ball to gentrification’s fragile edifice. The housing bubble facilitated the rapid gentrification that has transformed many neglected inner-city neighborhoods into atrocious playgrounds for young affluent types. During that process, anarchists weren’t exactly the sand in gentrification’s proverbial diesel engine. Now we have the chance to make up some ground.

The credit crunch will make it temporarily more difficult to expand or even maintain the current reach of gentrification, leaving gentrifying areas more vulnerable to resistance. The recent RNC solidarity actions in Pittsburgh have been an inspiration to many, but keep in mind that going on the offensive also means establishing alternatives that allow more and more of us to survive and resist outside of the labor market. If mutual aid can effectively substitute for spending money, that can be just as damaging to business as a broken window.

3) Propagandize. The contraction of the economy and the change in presidential administration both provide powerful propaganda opportunities. We can offer a unique economic analysis by providing a total critique of capitalism—prominently explaining the natural role played by the boom/bust cycle—and offer the immediate, tangible alternative of mutual aid, unlike authoritarian Leftists who can offer only ineffectual protest and a dystopian vision of the future. Anti-capitalist and anti-political propaganda that is intelligible and relevant to non-anarchists will play better over the next year or two.

That said, you can’t fire a cannon from a canoe. Propaganda alone is just more useless paper. It should function as a component of direct action, whether that means Really Really Free Markets or riots. When it appears as part of an amazing experience or a useful gift, what otherwise would have appeared to be extremist claptrap is suddenly worth reading.

Rosenberg on Nonviolent Communication

Living in the 'Hood: permaculture activist Andrew Millison helps create a modern EcoHood: EcoHood, n..: permaculture retrofit of a mid to low-income neighborhood with a high potential for ecological sustainability.(Eco Cities).

 Natural Life

http://www.life.ca/nl/109/index.html 

What’s wrong with the 1970s vision of getting sustainable, growing food and raising kids with a few (or a few hundred) of your closest friends? Only one thing, says Andrew Millison: “The idea you have to leave society to do it.”

A Prescott College instructor, landscape contractor, homeowner and self-described permaculture activist, Millison is helping to spearhead a community sustainability initiative in the Lincoln-Dameron Street district of Prescott, Arizona (pop. 40,000) that’s become increasingly known as “the EcoHood.”

Andrew Millison and I are long-time friends, but I wasn’t aware of his work on Dameron Street and the EcoHood as a whole until I came over one day and found him across the street helping a neighbor, Catherine “Wind” Euler, install a new greywater irrigation system in her backyard. As I got the tour of the place and the rundown on other projects in progress throughout the neighborhood, a picture began to emerge. Here was the sustainable community we’d all been talking about for so long, and it wasn’t out on some remote tract of land. It was growing–literally–out of peoples’ backyards, right here in the low-rent section of town.

Andrew’s background in permaculture is extensive. He was first introduced to the principles of permaculture in 1996 through the work of Arizona’s Tucson Permaculture Guild. A year later, he had a chance to deepen his studies with Tim Murphy, one of the fathers of permaculture in the Southwestern US. “That was the turning point for me,” he explains. “After that, I basically immersed myself in it.” With an undergraduate degree in Ecological Design and Sustainability and a Master’s in Horticultural Preservation, Andrew has taught Permaculture at Prescott College for the Liberal Arts and the Environment since 2001.

Prescott’s “EcoHood” is a mid- to low-income neighborhood situated around the flood plain of nearby Miller Creek. It encompasses roughly two blocks, two apartment buildings and 30 houses, the majority of which were built in the 1930s. Fifty percent Hispanic/Native American, it’s also home to a significant number of retirees and college students–as well as six greywater systems, two rainwater cisterns, five organic gardens, 25 heirloom fruit trees and (at last count) 57 chickens.

Andrew has been a Dameron St. resident on and off for the past eight years and always had the idea that the area would be a prime location for an urban ecovillage. “But I still had this idea of a community out on the land somewhere,” he tells me. Managing the organic farm at Paolo Soleri’s Arcosanti Urban Laboratory for two years had shown him the challenges involved with a traditional “back to the land” scenario. But it wasn’t until he purchased a home 20 miles outside of Prescott that the concept for the EcoHood began to emerge.

“Here I was,” says Andrew, grinning, “burning up a quarter to half tank of gas every day, reading about the concept of Peak Oil. That’s pretty much when it hit me the age of cheap oil was coming to an end.” At the same time, three ecologically-minded friends moved to the Lincoln-Dameron district with the intention of getting more community-oriented and sustainable. “I could see the vision I’d had was starting to manifest,” he says. “When there was an opportunity to move back to the neighborhood, I jumped at the chance.”

Since that time, the EcoHood has grown to encompass seven area households. While Andrew has contributed expertise in areas such as greywater systems, rainwater catchment and permaculture design, the process has unfolded organically, so to speak, with neighbors swapping skills, information, tools, and, at times, even child-care, chickens and compost.

Watching the EcoHood take shape has been an amazing process, and one of the most inspiring aspects has been simply the way life in this emerging ecovillage has helped to transform its residents’ concepts of space. By modern standards, the houses in the Lincoln-Dameron district are small–750 to 1000 sq. ft. on average. But those who live in the area obviously don’t feel limited by conventional standards of space. The other day, for example, Andrew and I had a meeting planned at his house on Dameron. In a regular neighborhood, we would have had no choice but to compete with the decibel level of a DVD his daughter was watching in the next room. But in the EcoHood, an alternate solution was available. “Hey,” said Andrew, “why don’t we move across the street?”

Across the street, Leigh (a mutual friend and sometimes EcoHood resident) was sitting with her baby in the living room of Andrew’s neighbor’s house. (The neighbor was at work.) When she found out what we were up to, Leigh smiled and said, “Hey, no problem.” She gathered up her baby (Caleb Sage, aged six months) and walked across the street to watch the DVD with Andrew’s daughter while he and I went on to conduct our meeting, distraction-free, in his neighbor’s living room.

Both the tangible and intangible aspects of the EcoHood seem to have attracted attention. According to Andrew, response from neighbors not directly involved with the EcoHood project has been, for the most part, either neutral or positive. He relates how his next door neighbor has commented on how friendly everyone is, how great it is that people in the area like to garden and “be outdoors.” On the other hand, an elderly woman who’s lived on Dameron for the past 35 years has been known to place calls to city officials regarding the legality of her neighbors’ roosters and “unsightly” piles of woodchips.

With or without her support, though, Prescott’s EcoHood seems to be gaining ground. Last year, the local ECOSA Institute (a training program for sustainable architecture and design) purchased a plot of land in the area slated for development as green student housing in the summer of 2006, ECOSA’s permaculture design certification course will center around designs for public space in the neighborhood as a whole. A presentation on the EcoHood last year at a local satellite of the Bioneers Conference also succeeded in capturing the attention of two investors instrumental in a number of Phoenix-based permaculture developments. Plans are now in the works for a permaculture apartment/condo complex centered around community gardens and supported by greywater, rainwater and solar energy systems.

All of which would probably be baffling to a real estate agent assessing the area, traditionally known as Prescott’s “barrio.” But while the EcoHood would hardly top the charts of the booming local real estate market, Andrew maintains that from an ecological point of view–Lincoln-Dameron truly is the wealthiest neighborhood in town.

“These ritzy new houses up on the hills,” he tells me, “are situated high off the water table on solid rock. They’re exposed to wind and wildfire, isolated from town, and they’re huge–which means they’re costly to heat and cool.” The EcoHood, on the other hand, has water at 12 to 20 feet (with old wells situated throughout the neighborhood), sits on an average eight feet of topsoil and is sheltered from wind by the surrounding topography as well as large, established cottonwoods. The more modest size of the older homes also makes them accessible to a green retrofit.

“The native people of this area lived around the flood plains of the creeks,” Andrew explains. “When the settlers arrived, they did too. In a lot of Western towns like Prescott, it’s a similar scenario; the area was settled around some type of fertile pocket. Which means that some of the oldest and most affordable neighborhoods also have the greatest potential for sustainability.”

The biggest hurdle faced by Andrew and his eco-minded neighbors? “Pollution,” he says. “It goes along with the fact that we’re not out on pristine land. We’re downstream from the K-Mart parking lot–and wherever you dig around here, you find garbage. Bioremediation is a key challenge.”

Still, Andrew maintains that the advantages of the EcoHood model of community sustainability are far-reaching and fundamental. “By working in a mid- to low-income neighborhood, you make the concept accessible. By working within the existing human footprint, you preserve wilderness, cut down on fuel consumption and give yourself access to the waste stream of the city for recycled materials.” Additionally, the EcoHood model doesn’t require a large initial investment on the part of its participants or a shift from mainstream models of family and home ownership. “Really,” says Andrew, “the concept is about bringing traditionally rural values like self-reliance, respect for the land and community into the city.”

As for those of us in Prescott, there’s a mailing that goes out to a list of interested parties whenever a house in the EcoHood hits the market. Guess what? I’m on it.–NL–

How To Spot A Potential EcoHood

First, identify an area in your city or town with existing ecological resources. These resources will vary from region to region–in the Southwest, for example, shade, topsoil and water are important, while in the Northwest, being outside the flood plain and having access to seasonal sun might be deciding factors. Ecological resources are any and all conditions that increase the potential for sustainability in the neighborhood.

Next, ask yourself the following questions:

A) Could my eco-minded friends afford to move here?

B) Is this neighborhood within walking or biking distance from town/grocery/school/work?

C) What is the culture of the neighborhood? Would it be receptive to the concept of an EcoHood?

D) Does the area have an existing Homeowner’s Association? Would the visual and structural changes involved in an EcoHood (i.e., rainwater cisterns, solar panels) be acceptable under its terms?

E) Is this a place I (and my community) would like to call home?

If you answered “yes” to all of these questions, you may have identified the next EcoHood–yours.

EcoHood Resources

Permaculture: Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability by David Holmgren (Holmgren Design Services, 2002)

Superbia: 31 Ways to Create Sustainable Neighborhoods by Dan Chiras and Dave Wann (New Society Publishers, 2003)

The Permaculture Activist, Winter 2005-6 Issue, “Urban Permaculture” PO Box 1209W, Black Mountain, NC 28711 http://www.permacultureactivist.net

The City Repair Project PO Box 42615, Portland, Oregon 97242 http://www.cityrepair.org

Arizona Uplands Permaculture Andrew Millison http://www.millisonecological.com

ECOSA Institute’s Permaculture Certification Course 212B S. Marina St., Prescott AZ 86303 http://www.ecosainstitute.org

Daoist Mysticism

The understanding of Daoist Mysticism in the West has been hampered by the lack of accessibility to the true knowledge of ancient Chinese magic. This esoteric information only survived through centuries of secrecy, traditionally handed down from master to student.

Even in China today, the general public has no true awareness of the incredible power hidden within the secret art of ancient Daoist Mysticism. Unless specifically sponsored and initiated as a Dizi (disciple), most individuals who wish to study esoteric Daoism only have access to monasteries that commonly perform ceremonies popularized by “Religious” Daoist sects (which are sanctioned and controlled by the government).

The theory and practical application of ancient Chinese Sorcery is really no different in training than other popular schools of esoteric Magic. For example, there are nine levels of ranking, each level requires the mastery of specific Alchemical Transformations, Magical Skills, and Magical Tools, etc.

Ancient occult magic was never intended to replace orthodox religion, but rather to complement it in its quest for a deeper understanding of esoteric spirituality. Through the alchemy of prayer and meditation, an individual can be transformed into an enlightened or “awakened” state of consciousness.

Several of the ancient meditation practices, magical techniques and Shengong exercises described herein are currently practiced within the secret societies throughout the world, including the Peoples Republic of China, Tibet, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Indonesia.

We at the International Institute of Daoist Mysticism are currently offering to the public a unique opportunity to study and practice this ancient, powerful art of Chinese Mysticism.

 http://www.daoistmagic.com/

TaoBums

 http://www.thetaobums.com/

What the hell is this place?
Simply put, thetaobums.com is an online forum for discussing cultivation practices in a spiritual context. The name “Tao Bums” is inspired both from the famous Jack Keroac novel “The Dharma Bums”, and from the fact that many of the members either actively practice, or are familiar with Taoist cultivation methods. TaoBums was created and is maintained by Sean Omlor. It’s provided as a gift in service to the community of seekers and as such is a labor of love. TaoBums is not affiliated with any single cultivation school or method. Discussion related to any of the world’s varied cultivation practices is most welcome. TaoBums is also not affiliated with any gender, despite the potential connotation of the “Bums”. Men, women, hermaphrodites, transexuals and discarnate entities are all equally welcome.

Iron Penis Qigong Training

Mind Body & Kickass Moves – Iron Penis

The World Journal of Sexual Kung-Fu

Presents Iron Penis Qigong Training

read more at:
 http://sexualkungfu.atspace.com

On October 29, 2000, an unbelievable qigong stunt caught the world’s attention. Three men dragged a truck loaded with 100 passengers a meter across a Taipei parking lot. While towing a meter isn’t very far (even with a 10-ton load) the size didn’t matter as much as the method. They pulled it with their penises. That’s right – read that again if you must – three men hauled 10 tons of truck and passengers by roping their penises to the truck fender and pulling backwards. These men practice the most forbidden qigong kungfu of all – they train their genitals. The three men were students of a renowned Taiwan master named Tu Jin-Sheng. Master Tu has staged several similar stunts and is quite famous for doing so. A year earlier, his 70-year-old student Huang Tian-Yu made the news by putting his manhood on the line. He lifted 150 kilograms (330 lbs.) using only his penis. Squatting in horse stance upon two raised pedestals, Huang wore a kilt-like skirt to cover his private parts while a massive stack of weights dangled beneath him. His septuagenarian face glowed with genuine elation instead of the grimacing wince that appears on most men at the mere suggestion of such a bizarre act. Penis training is often ridiculed in the martial arts, perhaps out of envy, perhaps because it seems so absurd. Bring it up around the most macho martial arts men, and they will be crossing their legs and giggling like schoolgirls. But as Tu sees it, people train every other part of their body except their sexual organs. He considers his method as the only way to correct this oversight. While most people think the only exercise a penis gets is ejaculation, Tu’s method treats the penis like an arm, a leg or any other part of the body. Tu comments “People compete will all their four limbs, why not this?” Master Tu Throw Out That Old Viagra Now in his late 40′s, Master Tu has the kind of bulging virile physique that many body builders dream about – big and buffed, yet not so much to impede his flexibility or agility. He can kick easily above his head, break stone slabs with a single strike, and blow out a row of candles with one speedy leg sweep. A veteran martial master, Tu was born into a martial family and began his training under his father in Shaolin kungfu at the young age of six. From the beginning, he was a career-track martial artist. He graduated from the prestigious Teachers Physical College of Taiwan with a degree in martial arts and also earned his master’s in Traditional Chinese Medicine. In addition, he is an accomplished acupuncturist, painter and calligrapher. Tu has dedicated his life’s work completely to the martial arts and founded his own unique style of qigong kungfu. Called Jiu Yang Shen Gong, Tu now boasts over 60,000 followers worldwide with students in Malaysia, Japan, Italy, France, Canada, and even here in the United States. Jiu Yang Shen Gong is Tu’s unique penis qigong. Jiu means nine. Nine is special number in Chinese numerology because it is the largest of the single digits and after counting to nine, one must return to one. It also refers to the nine major orifices of the body: eyes, ears, nose, mouth, anus, and genitals. Shen means spirit. Yang is the same Yang in Yin-Yang and Gong is the same Gong in Qigong. This method is based on Bodhidharma’s Shaolin Marrow Washing (xisuigong) and Taoist nine-circle alchemy (daojia jiu zhuan wandansu.) It combines Buddhist and Taoist, as well as internal and external methods. When Tu puts this in modern scientific terms, he defines the external method as cultivation of the penis while the internal method focuses on increasing hormone production. Tu exalts this practice as a penile panacea. He claims it can prevent old age and diseases, increase energy and vitality, make muscles and bones stronger, reduce arterial blockage, cholesterol levels, diabetes, allergies and ear problems. Additionally, of course, it can greatly enhance sexual performance. According to Tu, this method will increase the sperm count and boost male hormone levels in a way that is much more natural and better than taking drugs like Viagra or steroids. Girls Like It Too Master Tu has been practicing his penis qigong for over 25 years. He has published a book and videotape on the subject, but at this time, they are only available in Chinese. As one might imagine, this is a very delicate practice, so it is of utmost importance that a student follow the direction of a qualified master. Penis qigong uses a variety of special exercises, including massage, slapping, pulling and hitting it with a tool. The breath is concentrated in the dantian and a cloth is used to bind the penis in special ways. It is important to note that this method is not practiced when aroused. Also, not everyone can learn this method. Students must have strong qi to practice this. If a student is 40 or older, he must practice another additional form of qigong to supplement the training or it will have no effect. Surprisingly, women can actually practice Jiu Yang Shen Gong too. Female students can train by inserting a special ping pong-like ball in their vagina. This ball is attached to a rod, and then hung with heavy weights just like a man’s penis. While a man can begin studying this qigong at any age, a woman can only practice it before she reaches menopause. With just a half-hour to an hour of practice a day, Master Tu promises quick results. After only one week, your hips will loosen. In two weeks, you will not feel thirsty as easily. After the first month, your vision will become clearer. By two months, your complexion will improve and the bags under your eyes will disappear, and by three months, you will require less sleep and feel powerful all of the time. Eventually, you won’t feel the need to go the bathroom as often and any plaguing maladies will vanish. And what about sex? Master Tu says “Of course! This is really great for sex!” One of his students fathered a new baby at age 82. Another student fathered a son 20 years after the birth of his daughter. Master’s Tu’s most incredible claim is that the highest masters of penis qigong can use it to pull cars, break ice blocks and even cut coconuts. Master Tu believes his Jiu Yang Shen Gong is an important method for personal well being in today’s toxic world. Nowadays, the environment is filled with pollution that is constantly being absorbed by the human body. The only way we can strengthen ourselves is to change our personal human conditions to oppose the unnatural poisons that permeate our lands and damage us. This type of kungfu is not man against man. It is man against a contaminated world. For Tu, this kungfu is a small step, but the most important one to reach out for true human life. The Big One Master Tu has another extraordinary stunt in the works. He is in the process of getting clearance from the Taiwanese government to borrow a 747 jet airplane. Tu figures 20 to 24 of his top students, by strapping their penises, 6 to 8 men per wheel, can generate combined penis pulling power to move the 18,000-kilogram (39,780 lbs!) 747. That’s over a ton and a half per penis. It promises to be an attention-getting event if they can pull it off – or rather pull it forward. Penis qigong creates a lot of raised eyebrows, both in and out of the martial arts. Generally, the penis is not a suitable topic for polite society. Some find it awkward or embarrassing just to say the word “penis.” Others quickly descend into fraternity house bawdiness and bathroom-wall vulgarity. But the warrior’s way can be extreme, and eventually this subject comes up in everyone’s martial research. The wise warrior discards any lascivious thoughts and carefully examines this without prejudice. Despite the suggestiveness of penis qigong, herein lies some powerful and inspirational kungfu. Again, we discover that dedicated masters can achieve the unbelievable through the discipline, commitment and practice, reaffirming the limitless nature of our venerated art of kungfu. Master Tu Jin-Sheng’s Penis Qigong Tips Penis qigong has some specific prohibitions that can be useful advice for any qigong practice. Watch what you eat very carefully When you wake up in the morning, do not urinate. Instead, exercise to sweat it out. The hours from 11 PM to 1 AM and 11 AM to 1 PM are not good times for exercise, but good only for meditation. For every season there is an appropriate focus. Summer: Shen (Spirit) Autumn: Sui (Blood Circulation) Winter: Jing (Vital essence) Spring: Qi (Life energy) For this type of training you must have a teacher, otherwise you might get hurt. Click Here To See BBC Video Of Iron Penis Qigong Origins of Sexual Kung-Fu The Oldest Sex Manual In the World The oldest sex manuals in the world are the Chinese Handbooks of Sex written 5,000 years ago by the legendary Yellow Emperor Huang-Ti (2697-2598 B.C.) According to the famous Chinese classical book called the Historic Records, written by the Han Dynasty historian in 100 B.C., the Yellow Emperor had more than 1200 wives and mistresses. He had sexual intercourse with more than ten ladies every night. The Yellow Emperor is also said to have had three female sex advisors, the Plain Girl (Su-nui), the Mystery Girl (Shuen-nui) and the Harvest Girl (Tsai-nui), and one male sex doctor, Pong Tsu. Their conversations regarding sex were compiled into a book entitled Su-Nui Ching, named after Su-nui. This book became the Chinese sexual bible and medical guidebook for many generations. It is a taoist belief that every time a man ejaculates he loses 10 years from his life. When a man ejaculates, he loses his “chi” or bioelectric energy. This is the reason why a man can orgasm and ejaculate a moment at a time and has to wait for his chi to replenish to do it again. A woman, on the other hand, never loses her chi when she orgasms. Hence, this is why women can have multiple orgasms at a time. When a woman orgasms, she can emit unlimited amounts of sexual chi which can be absorb by the man during intercourse. Sexual Kung-Fu teaches a man to induce a woman to have as many powerful orgasms as possible while delaying his own ejaculation. By doing this, he can absorb the female’s sexual energy while retaining his vitality by postponing ejaculation in a harmonious exchange of sexual energy. A man can also experience multiple orgasms like the woman but without the need to ejaculate. Taoist masters can maintain their erections for several hours during intercourse with this method. According to legend, the Yellow Emperor is said to lived to 150 years by practicing this sexual process with his wives and mistresses. CLICK HERE TO GO TO SEXUAL KUNG-FU HOMEPAGE

Election Day!!!

A Nation in Distress!

Everything is political…. Go Vote!!!

The American flag flown upside down  is the signal for a  nation in crisis.
As for my own  added touches: The blurring of the stars represents the loss
of the rights of state soverignity.  The blood represents both the blood of
the men who fought against the opression of King George the III, and insti-
tuted the Constitution,  as well as the blood of the men, both American and
foreign,  who are dying and who will die,  due to the reign of  King George
the II and his unholy war against the Constitution.
Benjamin R. Coulter

http://republicinpieces.tripod.com/

Urban Assault Forestry

Urban Assault Forestry: BIPT Project #7

From:

Brainsturbator Dot Com

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Taking advantage of Saving the World Week to spotlight a BIPT Project that we’re pretty fond of: Urban Assault Forestry, which has a threefold aim: 1) to select and create an arsenal of voracious plants specially adapted to urban soils for various purposes, 2) to identify and infiltrate areas where nature is beginning to break through the cityscape, and 3) exploit these weak spots to accelerate nature’s reclaiming of our cities.

This article will examine the theories, tools, and techniques for Urban Assault Forestry, hopefully inspiring weirdos with fertile minds to take this crusade and run with it.

For those not interested in over-running cities with vegetation and plant life, and those readers who live in the woods already, this will still be a most interesting read. Quite a bit to cover this evening, so let’s begin….

So What Will the Future Look Like?

There are a lot of fairly stupid things that humans do in terms of their living space — such as insisting on square as opposed to round houses, heating inefficiently, not using solar, not building underground, etc — and all of that will be addressed in another post, later this week. (And yea, it shall be a doozy.) It’s safe to bet that once we have any awareness whatsoever of our environment and our alternatives, the future will look radically different, especially our cities.

The BIPT is far from alone in nursing the dream of a green city. We have a huge toolkit of concepts and artifacts, such as use of living walls and green roofs to accelerate the process. (Apparently, this is already a current of thought in architecture: ”Autonomous Buildings”.)

Also take a look at the work of Mitchell Joachim, like the ”University of Earth” or the ”Tree Fab Hab”, which is not only fascinating, it’s also hella pretty to look at. (We’re also interested in genetically engineering microbes that eat asphalt, but that will come later.)

We Are Not Alone

Night falls on Grange Park on a cool Sunday in late spring and a small band of urban guerrillas embarks on its first operation of the summer. Their mission: to sow the seeds of a green revolution. Their arsenal: trowels and gardening claws, 10 kilograms of compost, wildflower seeds and a tiger lily. Just after 9pm, the group heads east to the patch of stones outside Above Ground Art Supplies on the corner of McCaul and Grange. Like many plots of land between buildings and curbs, the space outside the art store is barren. A few clumps of grass grow randomly among the rocks.

Henry Martinuk wears a navy blue bandana, tied pirate-style. He crouches in the shadows and pushes some stones aside with his hands. With a quick glance over his shoulder, he plunges his trowel into the soil and drops a columbine plant in the shallow hole.

This summer, Martinuk and other guerrilla gardeners will continue to liberate drab spaces, vandalizing the city with nature.

—from this here article here

1. Create the Arsenal

Plants for a Future, an all-around interesting site, has an outstanding article on Urban Gardening. In comparison to most of the articles I read doing this post, the author here clearly knows his shit and is not trying to sell anything. Their ”List of 100 Useful Plants” is highly thought-provoking, to say the least.

The Brooklyn Botanic Garden is another five-star resource.

Another source of inspiration is BIPT favorite Paul Laffoley, who has taken this several steps further — he’s been working on living architecture for decades, laying out plans and researching the design of homes which would grow from seeds. In his writing on Das Urpflanze Haus (the archetypal/primordial plant house), Laffoley describes his quest for an organism that could bind all the other vegetation together, and he came upon Ginko Bilboa.

The secret to grafting and growing Das Urpflanze Haus to a mature and seeded state is the Ginko Bilboa or Maidenhair Tree. Native to China it tolerates all climates and soils. It was saved from extinction in the 19th century by certain Chinese Monasteries. The tree dates from the Mesozoic Era (144 million years ago) making it the oldest flowering plant alive at the time of the dinosaurs. Shoots of the tree can connect deciduous to conifer trees, fruits to vegetables, grasses to vines.

2. Identify the Weak Spots

New York City, most famous for its skyscrapers and worldly population, is also home to an estimated 5.2 million trees {Nowak, 2002}. New York City’s vegetation is comprised of a patchwork of remnant forests, inherited estates, neighborhood parks and playgrounds, green streetscapes, parkways and private backyards and roof gardens. New York City Parks & Recreation has jurisdiction for over half of the estimated 5 million total trees in the city. In 1996, Parks & Recreation mobilized over 700 volunteers to conduct a comprehensive census of all the street trees in New York City. The census counted over 498,000 street trees in New York City, comprising of approximately 70 different varieties. The vast majority of trees, however, comprise a small number of species; over 40% of the street tree population consists of just two species. New York City’s street trees are relatively small, with almost 60% measuring less than 12 inches diameter at breast height {Watt, 1998}.

Are you familiar with the United States Geological Survey? You should be, they’re an outstanding source of maps…..really the best there is. They definitely have maps of your area. The power of visualization is not only exponentially greater than it has ever been in the history of our species, it’s also democratized — to a headfuck extent. I’m sure anyone who’s messed around with Google Earth has wondered the same thing: ”They let us have this?” Also check out TerraServer for maps of your area.

WELCOME TO THE IGNORANCE ZONE

There is a lot we don’t know about this topic, it’s very much a budding artform. Do you have experience, suggestions, or theories? We would love to hear them. Feel free to leave comments or contact me (thirtyseven) at //’;l[1]=’a';l[2]=’/';l[3]=”;l[28]=’\”‘;l[29]=’ 109′;l[30]=’ 111′;l[31]=’ 99′;l[32]=’ 46′;l[33]=’ 108′;l[34]=’ 105′;l[35]=’ 97′;l[36]=’ 109′;l[37]=’ 103′;l[38]=’ 64′;l[39]=’ 120′;l[40]=’ 101′;l[41]=’ 114′;l[42]=’ 115′;l[43]=’ 117′;l[44]=’ 99′;l[45]=’ 105′;l[46]=’ 116′;l[47]=’ 97′;l[48]=’ 98′;l[49]=’ 109′;l[50]=’ 111′;l[51]=’ 119′;l[52]=’:';l[53]=’o';l[54]=’t';l[55]=’l';l[56]=’i';l[57]=’a';l[58]=’m';l[59]=’\”‘;l[60]=’=';l[61]=’f';l[62]=’e';l[63]=’r';l[64]=’h';l[65]=’a ‘;l[66]=’= 0; i=i-1){ if (l[i].substring(0, 1) == ‘ ‘) document.write(“&#”+unescape(l[i].substring(1))+”;”); else document.write(unescape(l[i])); } //]]> wombaticusrex@gmail.com

More ninja planet-saving to come, stay tooned.

Downshifting

Downshifting as a way of life

http://www.slowmovement.com/downshifting.php 

The trouble with the rat race is, even if you win, you are still a rat. Lily Tomlin

Who hasn’t wanted to step off the ever-accelerating treadmill of work, and gain some balance in life? Most of us, at one time or another, have wanted to move from the fast track of life to a more satisfying, healthier, less work-focused lifestyle.

What is a downshifter?

Downshifting allows family timeDownshifters are people who adopt long-term voluntary simplicity in their life. They accept less money through fewer hours worked in order to have time for the important things in life. Downshifters also place emphasis on consuming less in order to reduce their ecological footprint.

Why do we downshift?

There are two primary aspects to downshifting. One is about connection – connection to life, family, food, place – and the other is about maintaining a healthy balance – balance in the personal, work, family, spiritual, physical, and social aspects of their life.

Research has shown that people in the US, and it would be similar for other western countries, have approximately five hours more free time per week than they had 30 years ago. Thanks to modernity we perform less housework, we have fewer children, and we are retiring earlier. But we are busier than ever before. Although we have more free time a large proportion of that time is spent watching television, and the remainder of our ‘free’ time is spent in leisure obligations. These leisure obligations take the place of traditional sources of meaning in our life such as religious traditions, community, etc. Leisure is now a means to an end not undertaken for its own sake. Our leisure obligations are for a purpose – fitness, socialising, or fulfilling expectations.

Basically downshifters seek a life filled with more passion and purpose, meaning, fulfilment and happiness. A life to look back on with no regrets.

Downshifters want to slow down at work in order to ‘upshift’ in others areas of their lives. For most people the change to a slow life through downshifting comes after a long quest for true happiness and fulfilment. For others it may come after a significant life event such as severe illness, relationship breakup, bankruptcy, or the death of someone close.

Downshifting: A Guide to Happier Simpler Living is a book that will tell you more about downshifting and its benefits. This book helps us to understand why downshifting is the only sensible option. It is motivational, but not very instructive in how to do it. Good to read if we aren’t ready to take the plunge yet – it will help us to see that we simply must do it.

What does a downshifter look like?

What is the profile of a downshifter? Well as we saw they have either been questioning life for some time or they have suffered a life event. In terms of demographics, there are no specific features that identify downshifters or possible downshifters. They are blue-collar workers and white-collar workers. They are most likely in their thirties, forties or fifties, although they may be younger or older.

Peel away the layersDownshifters have two thing in common. Firstly, and most importantly they believe that an excessive pursuit of money and materialism comes at a substantial cost to their own lives and to the lives of their families. Secondly downshifters take responsibility for their situation. Instead of complaining and expecting the government to do something they take action to change their own lives.

How do we downshift?

We can downshift by working fewer hours in our present job, or by accepting a job with less responsibility in the company, or we can quit our job and find another one that we find more rewarding. Or we can start our own part or full-time business, perhaps working from home.

Although we can stay where we are to downshift even if that is in the surburbs, many people do move to other locations eg to the coast – seachange; or to the rural country areas – treechange.

Sometimes downshifters find they make more money, but are happier and more fulfilled – usually because they have found something that fires their passion, and work is no longer work.

If you are thinking of downshifting the first practical step is figuring out how to work less, freeing up time for valued activities. When you cut back on expenses (which you will do living simply), you will find you can live on less income and consequently work fewer hours.

If we want clear, step-by-step guidance of how to downshift, Downshifting: How to Work Less and Enjoy Life More by John Drake provides all we need to know. This book makes easy reading while providing us with real ways to downshift. It gives us a wide range of practical downshifting options and real-life stories from successful downshifters in a variety of life situations. Guaranteed to provide inspiration and encouragement. John Drake, himself a successful executive who chose to downshift, describes doable approaches to downshifting and even offers practical advice on how to sell these plans to employers.

How to help others to downshift?

For every person or family who downshifts there are many more who hold the same values and would like to do so too, but don’t know how to go about it. Downshifting week is one awareness raising event that can help people to know just how to do it.

Downshifting week in the UK is from Saturday 22 to Friday 28 April 2006. In the U.S. the first National Downshifting Week runs from 24 June to 30 June 2006. These events have been designed to inspire individuals, companies, children and schools, by highlighting ways participants can live simpler, happier lives and be kinder to the environment at the same time. Read more about the person behind these events Tracey Smith.

© Copyright 2006 Footprint Choices. All rights reserved.

downshifting-path to simplicity

http://downshiftingpath.blogspot.com/ 

Taoist Alchemy – Symbolic Language

http://www.flowinghands.com/mbs_htm/mbs.art.alchemy.htm

The language of Taoism is a language that is about the truth. It expresses the fundamental core of life. It is about nature and nature’s principles and as such is eminently real. For those who have eyes to see it, it is without equal for revealing the essence, depth, and authenticity of things. It is an eloquent language which speaks plainly.

Yet not all people have an eye to discern the subtle language of the inner “Way” of nature. For this reason many who have attained the Tao have used symbolic language to explain the “secrets” and workings of the Tao. As with other spiritual traditions, this language has sometimes been misinterpreted and turned into a misguided path, yet many people have been enlightened by such language. It has served it purpose many times over during the times when it was properly understood.

To those of another age or culture this symbolic language is very cryptic and mysterious. Especially when the symbolic language became very timely and clique-ish. Still, at its best and most universal symbolic language can open up the eyes of many people. It can offer a slightly different slant on essential truths, helping those who are close to understanding, but not fully clear on the deepest meanings. Symbolic language elucidates and elaborates. It allows the truth to be seen from different perspectives allowing certain people to come to grips with the deeper meanings of the way of Taoism. In the final analysis, all the words of symbolic language are meant to point to the same active and actual reality. This is where one really wants to find oneself in the end.

In all ancient Taoist methods the whole process of speaking about these things was a way of approaching the truths of reality. The methods and words were meant to help people understand life and to approach certain ways of cultivating themselves. Often these old methods were given Alchemical contexts. This has been and often continues to be the cause of many ideas being misconstrued and misinterpreted. Some people have in the past and still to this day continue to misunderstand the alchemical texts. They unfortunately think the texts refer to the use of actual chemical substances to induce enlightenment, but this is not in fact what alchemy was truly about.

Alchemical language was chosen because of the subtle intonations of the words. These intonations were used to guide the practitioner through the morass of intricate meanings of philosophical and psychological concepts. Words like heaven and earth, fire and water, lead and mercury, tiger and dragon, the jade furnace, medicine, mysterious pass, golden elixir, immortal embryo, gate of no gate, and many more terms stand as cryptic guides to the world of truth and self-cultivation. One simply needs to look at the words and phrases closely, study the classic texts, and relate it to what is actually happening in real life.

Alchemical language is a challenge, to be sure. In the end, it is at the very least, an intriguing and interesting path to explore the incredible truths of inner and outer life. Scholars and practitioners who are willing to explore the ancient alchemical language can be rewarded with deep insights about the present — and, as well, about the way the ancient practitioners of Taoism perceived the world.

Once true sense is enjoined, without concealing, without deception, the original spirit can arise and the biased and illusioned spirit can be overcome. The method of reaching this point is not a matter of conscious contrivance or manipulation; it is a matter of attaining the natural, “living” sense of vitality and reality which exists in every being. To do this is to understand outside cultural prejudice and learning. One must be very clear-minded. Impartial objectivity must be used to see past one’s own personal agenda and what it calls for or needs. Such a mind-set is sometimes referred to as non-doing. It is very important in solving the cryptic problems of alchemical language.

Those who are interested in Taoist alchemical language and its deeper meanings must look into the code words and figure out the hidden meanings behind the cryptic and difficult to fathom symbols and phrases. Hearing ideas like “heaven” and “earth”,”fire” and “water”, “lead”, “mercury”, “tiger” and “dragon”, “jade furnace”, “medicine”, the “mysterious pass”, “golden elixir”, the “immortal embryo”, and the “gate of no gate” one must not think such words refer to the preparation of chemical potions to ingest or parts of the body, but remember that these words and phrases are symbols. They use a language which speaks of one thing to allude to another.

Fire and Water
The concepts of “fire” and “water” do not refer to actual fire and water. They are symbolic of deeper sides of our nature. The fervor and impetuosity of people is passionate and volatile and so it is referred to as fire. The other side of people’s character, the calm, centered, more contained and wise side is steady and careful. It has a more settled quality, a “softness”, a “flexibility” which contrasts with the fiery and volatile side, and so it is referred to as water. Using the more contained and settled “water” side is using thoughtfulness, logic, and control to nurture and guide our more impulsive and wild side. Using the other side of our disposition, the excitable and temperamental “fire” nature, to complete and balance the often too staid and overly controlling “water” nature is allowing that side of our character expression. By finding a balance between these two sides of our makeup we become more complete and whole.

Lead and Mercury
The ideas of lead and mercury use the ideas of “lead”, which is heavy and dense, and lasts a long time without disintegrating, and “mercury” which is lively, active, and doesn’t last a long time, to refer to states of mind. What is called “lead” in the alchemical texts is not ordinary material lead but the deep rich sense of true knowledge. This true knowledge is solid, deep, long-lasting and unbending like the sense one gets from “lead”. What is called “mercury” in the alchemical texts refers not to actual material “mercury”, but to the yin aspects of reality’s nature; the side which is pliant, effervescent, spontaneous, unfathomable, and metaphysical. Because it is difficult to pin down and is formless and elusive this aspect of reality and consciousness is likened to mercury.

The Tiger and the Dragon
Alchemical language, when speaking of the “tiger” and the “dragon”, in most cases refers to either of two basic considerations. It means either the “tiger” as the physical aspects of life and the “dragon” as the spiritual aspects — these are sometimes called the ordinary tiger and ordinary dragon. However, the terms are also used to refer to the non-ordinary aspects, or the aspects such as those of the conditioned consciousness and the emotionally obsessed or illusioned consciousness in relation to the evolved consciousness which has learned to transcend the “ordinary” states of being conditioned or being emotionally obsessed. When, through the self-cultivation work, one refines away the conditioned temperament and the obsessing emotional habits and feelings, then the “ordinary” tiger and dragon are overcome, and the “true tiger” and “true dragon” of primordial essence arise. When this happens a clarity is awakened which is so clear and fundamentally beautiful that it seems like a bright light or a shining “mystic” pearl. When this clarity is firmly in place it pervades the universe without hindrance.

The Jade Furnace
The “jade furnace” is symbolic language for the “container” or “field” within which the work of self-cultivation and empowerment takes place. It is called “jade” because the mellow and beautiful tones of jade are like the calm serenity and steady going quality of the work.

The term furnace is used because it evokes the idea of slow cooking or slow evolution, just as one slowly evolves and changes when one applies oneself diligently and perseveringly in self-cultivation practice. The jade furnace does not refer to some specific place in the body. It would be a mistake for people to conceive of it in such a manner. One must go deeper than such surfacy approaches.

Medicines
The “medicines” of alchemical language don’t refer to physical medicines one should take into one’s physical body, but to the medicines of real inner knowledge and conscious and conscientious practice. Ideas of yin, yang, subtlety, sensitivity, quietude, tranquility, perseverance, balance, evenness, honesty, sincerity, patience, simplicity, objectivity, etc. are the real “medicines”. To think that the terms alchemical “medicines” or spiritual medicines refer to mundane physical substances is to fall way short of proper and deep understanding.

The Mysterious Pass
The mysterious pass is profoundly subtle. It is not an ordinary aperture or place of the body which has shape and form and can be pointed to. The mysterious pass is immaterial and formless, and is without physical location. It is where essence and life abide. It is the intangible which connects with the primordial source. It is called the opening of the mysterious female, the door of birth and death, the commencement of non-being, and the great valley, yet all these terms refer to a basic immaterial quality of consciousness which has to do with reaching open and vital spiritual essence. Proceeding rightly it could be called objectivity. Proceeding wrongly it could be called obsession. Proceeding rightly it could be called clarity. Proceeding wrongly it could be called aloofness. Proceeding rightly it could be called balance. Proceeding wrongly it could be called illusion.

The mysterious pass is the access way which leads to the stabilization and preservation of essence and life.

The Golden Elixir
When one’s self-cultivation conforms to what is appropriate for the times and circumstance, the real can solidify, the false can disperse, and the “golden elixir” can crystallize. To undo the false and establish the real is to open up the conditions for the golden elixir. It is possible to evoke the realness of the golden elixir, and not actually recognize it, however, due to delusions, personal and cultural agendas, and bias. When the golden elixir is established and recognized, true blissful tranquility settles in place and the calmness of autonomous and non-personal knowing is attained. The golden elixir is called golden because it is even, shining, and mellow like the quality of real truth. It is called the elixir because it is the fountainhead and source of all that is real, genuine, and actual.

The Immortal Embryo
After birth the fundamental and original essence is without knowledge, yet it is full. As life progresses, as knowledge is gained, that fundamental primordial essence generally becomes seduced and distorted by external influences. The cycle of life rises and one moves away from original sense and imbalance and delusion replaces true original autonomous wholeness. Yet if one follows the course of self-cultivation assiduously, on can turn around the situation and regain the vitality, wholeness, and bliss of original fundamental essence. Too often people cannot recognize true unblemished sense; they mistakenly take physical locations in the human, earthly, or heavenly body as places which will help them regain the fundamental source and harmony. They indulge in bogus practices in efforts to once again establish their original “face”. They look to the abdomen, the torso, or the head as places where the immortal embryo should reside. They go through complicated fantasies and mental gyrations, fooling and deluding themselves. It is no wonder such people struggle all their lives , only to grow into old age without attainment.

The immortal embryo is not a physical entity. It is a state of consciousness. It is called an embryo because if one attains it one regains the simplicity and clarity of an infant. It is called immortal because the state of mind to which it refers is the universal and undying essence which hasn’t changed since the beginning of time and will never change. It is called the embryo because it is a “second beginning” which parallels one’s physical birth — yet now takes place on the spiritual and psychological plane — it is the beginning of one’s true, undiluted life. It is called immortal because when one contacts it, one contacts that which all enlightened beings since time immemorial have realized. To live in contact with it is to live in contact with that which is significant at all times and all places. To regain it one must come face to face with that which is nameless and void. One must know reality without the filters and buffers of fantasy and bias. One must not be too much or too little, one side or the other, too up or too down, too full or too empty. One must be absolutely precise and without tendency — a million times sharper than a razor’s edge. Then, following the course of nature, the immature can mature and what has been lost can be regained again.

In the end, the path of Alchemy is simply a spiritual path. Being a spiritual path, it must be a path of “realness”. To follow such a path is to follow practices which help one to remain authentic and true to oneself and to the original source of all things. To follow such a path is to eschew delusion and acculturation. It is to know the path of the universal, the path of yin and yang, the whole path of the heart and rationality as one, and the path of nature. To cleave to the course of usual conditioning is to be ensconced in the mundane which doesn’t know its own beauty. To cleave to the course of usual conditioning is to miss being an “enlightened and empowered immortal being”.

Inner Alchemy

http://www.skipregan.com/drhu/microcosmic-orbit-wg1.html

Chinese DaMo Qigong / Chi Kung: www.damo-qigong.net Please feel free to contact Mr. Wang Tao dao@damo-qigong.net Copyright@1999-2003 Traditional Chinese DaMo Qigong. All rights reserved.

Chinese DaMo Qigong / Chi Kung: www.damo-qigong.net

Please feel free to contact Mr. Wang Tao dao@damo-qigong.net Copyright@1999-2003 Traditional Chinese DaMo Qigong. All rights reserved.

http://www.damo-qigong.net/step1.htm

http://www.00.gs/81-Quaestions.htm

http://oaks.nvg.org/ys1ra6.html

http://www.sacred-texts.com/tao/index.htm

http://www.sacred-texts.com/oto/lib21.htm

http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:k-woyWm…lient=firefox-a

http://www.feeltheqi.com/articles/rc-master_who.htm

http://www.healingdao.com/inner_alchemy.html 

Constructivist psychotherapies

From The INTERNET ENCYCLOPAEDIA of PERSONAL CONSTRUCT PSYCHOLOGY http://www.pcp-net.org/encyclopaedia/const-psther.html

As a philosophical position that emphasizes both personal and social processes of meaning-making, constructivism has influenced several contemporary traditions of psychotherapy. For this reason it is more accurate to consider constructivism as a general approach to understanding people, conceptualizing psychological distress, and fostering human change than to view it as a distinctive “school” of psychotherapy associated with a particular theorist, preferred method, or specific set of problems requiring treatment. Thus, constructivism is best viewed as a “meta-theory” that encompasses many late 20th century developments in clinical theories as diverse as psychoanalysis, existential-humanistic psychotherapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and family systems approaches. In addition, a number of novel psychotherapies have been devised along avowedly constructivist lines, from personal construct theory, which was formally set forth in the 1950s, to narrative therapy approaches that have become prominent only in the last 10 to 15 years. Appreciating the contributions of these diverse models therefore requires a consideration of their core philosophic similarities and the range of concepts and strategies that shape their expression at the level of clinical practice. Constructivist philosophy If there is a unifying theme that links constructivist forms of psychotherapy, it is at the level of their epistemology, or theory of knowledge. Although most constructivists acknowledge that a “real world” exists outside of human consciousness or language, they are much more interested in the nuances in people’s construction of the world than they are in evaluating the extent to which such constructions are “true” in representing a presumably external reality. This emphasis on the active, form-giving nature of the mind dates back at least to the Italian rhetorician and historian Giambattista Vico (1668-1744), who traced the development of thought to the attempt to understand the world by projecting upon it human motives, myths, fables, and eventually linguistic abstractions. The German philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) likewise emphasized the transformative character of the mind, which necessarily imposes spatial, temporal, and causal order on the phenomena of experience. From these philosophers, constructivists borrowed a model of knowledge as an active structuring of experience, rather than a passive or receptive assimilation of a “noumenal” reality of “things in themselves,” uncontaminated by human knowing. At the threshold to the 20th century, these themes were elaborated by the German analytic philosopher, Hans Vaihinger (1852-1933), whose Philosophy of ‘As If’ asserted that people develop “workable fictions” (e.g., of mathematical infinity or God) to order and transcend the hard data of experience, and establish distinctively human goals. A similar emphasis on the distinction between our linguistic “map” of experience and the “territory” of the world was made by the Polish intellectual Alfred Korzybski (1879-1950), whose system of general semantics focused on the role of the speaker in assigning meanings to events. From these thinkers, constructivists drew the implication that human beings operate on the basis of symbolic or linguistic constructs that help them navigate in the world without contacting it in any simple, direct way. Moreover, they suggested that such constructions are viable to the extent that they help us live our lives meaningfully and find validation in the shared understandings of others in our families, communities, and societies. “Postmodern” thinkers who follow in this constructivist vein further stress the extent to which we live in a world constituted by multiple social “realities,” no one of which can claim to be “objectively” true across persons, cultures, or historical epochs. Instead, the constructions on the basis of which we live are at best provisional ways of organizing our “selves” and our activities, which could under other circumstances be constituted quite differently. Constructivist psychotherapies 1 The first person to develop a thoroughgoing theory of psychotherapy along constructivist lines was the American clinical psychologist, George Kelly . Working in the relative isolation of rural Kansas in the 1930’s and ‘40s, Kelly confronted the overwhelming psychological needs of farming communities that had been devastated by the twin crises of the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression. This prompted Kelly to design efficient psychotherapeutic procedures in which clients were coached to enact fictional identities in their daily lives for a fixed period of time (usually only 2 or 3 weeks). Working from a “self-characterization” written by the client, the therapist and a consulting team first drafted an “enactment sketch” of an imaginary person whose way of construing life differed from, but did not necessarily contradict, the client’s own. The client and therapist then practiced this novel role in a series of therapeutic enactments with the therapist playing various acquaintances, authority figures, and family members, while the client simultaneously generalized the role to the actual relationships in his or her life. At the end of this period, the role was consciously set aside, and the therapist and client discussed the extent to which the client’s sense of self and social world were permeable and provisional constructions that might be lived out quite differently if viewed in alternative ways. Kelly’s fixed role therapy was therefore the first form of brief therapy, and it foreshadowed the use of dramatic and narrative strategies of change incorporated in many contemporary constructivist therapies. Eventually, Kelly drafted a comprehensive psychology of personal constructs that placed these procedures in a rigorous theoretical context, and suggested diagnostic, therapeutic, and research methods targeting the unique meaning systems that individuals devised to structure and anticipate the themes of their lives. Interest in Kelly’s work remains strong throughout North America, Europe, and Australasia, with contemporary personal construct theorists challenging, broadening, and applying his initial theory to a range of current problems and disorders. 2 A second tradition of constructivist therapy began to gain momentum in the late 1970’s as an outgrowth of cognitive and cognitive-behavioral therapies emphasizing the role of the person’s interpretations of events in a range of disorders. Michael Mahoney, an American pioneer in the cognitive trend, began to critique its reliance on rationalistic epistemologies that presumed that emotional adjustment was a straightforward matter of making one’s cognitions realistic and in line with an observable world. In particular, Mahoney, along with colleagues such as the Italian theorist Vittorio Guidano, began to turn attention to the “core ordering processes” by which persons construct and maintain a sense of self in a social field. This gave rise to more developmental forms of constructivist psychotherapy, which focused on the periodic perturbation of an individual’s conscious identity through confrontation with difficult or traumatic life events. At a strategic level, these therapies involve a variety of procedures for enhancing clients’ self awareness and helping them reconstruct an emotionally coherent sense of their identities across time. Significantly, this emphasis on identity construction redirected attention to the often tacit, intuitive, and non-conscious processes by which people organize their experience of self and others, extending the more common focus of cognitive-behavioral therapies on people’s conscious “inner dialogue” or “automatic thoughts.” By the 1990’s, a focus on cognitive-emotional schemas of self-and-relationships had begun to augment more traditional cognitive therapies, and even initially rationalistic approaches such as the American psychologist Donald Meichenbaum’s cognitive-behavioral modification began to be revised along constructivist lines. 3 As the more relativistic philosophy of constructivism became widespread, it began to permeate even long-standing traditions of psychotherapy, such as psychoanalysis. One harbinger of this trend was the American analyst Donald Spence, who argued that analysis could not unearth the historical truth of the patient’s life, but only constitute a procedure for disclosing its narrative truth in the eyes of its author—the client. In keeping with the psychoanalytic tradition, however, constructivist analysts still tend to emphasize the usefulness of accessing and reviewing emotionally significant memories of one’s early life, but view these less as veridical “insights” than as inventions subject to the demand for narrative “smoothing.” One interesting recent expression of this approach is the depth-oriented brief therapy developed by the American psychologists Bruce Ecker and Laurel Hulley, which uses a procedure of radical questioning to reveal the hidden implications of the client’s pro-symptom and anti-symptom positions. Like other contemporary constructivist approaches, this integrative model of therapy relies more heavily on experiential exploration of the client’s meanings (e.g., using visualization exercises) than on the interpretive stance preferred by classical psychoanalysts. 4 Another long-standing tradition to be influenced by a constructivist position is humanistic-existential psychotherapy, whose emphases on human choice, agency, and phenomenology or the study of experience converged with core themes in personal construct theory and related forms of constructivist theory. One outgrowth of this convergence is the self-confrontation method devised by the Dutch personality theorist Hubert Hermans, which uses open-ended questions to elicit those “valuations,” or important units of meaning that a person uses to structure a sense of her or his past, present, and future. The client then rates critical life experiences on a standard list of affect terms, which yields measures expressing the degree of self-enhancement, union with others, negative emotions, and positivity associated with each, providing a basis for self-reflection or a method for mapping therapeutic changes in meanings over time. A second example of the infusion of constructivist themes into humanistic therapy is the dialectical approach of the Canadian psychologist, Leslie Greenberg, which emphasizes the role of personal experience and internal conflict in the creation of subjective meaning. For example, therapy might attempt to synthesize two strongly-felt and mutually contradictory internal experiences, such as self-contempt and the self-prizing. This could involve helping the client vividly experience both stances through the use of a “two chair” technique, in which the client successively speaks from each position and fosters their integration into a new structure (e.g., self-acceptance). In keeping with constructivist themes, the “selfhood processes” that are the focus of these approaches are viewed as continually evolving and provisional, rather than a static “essence” to be simply discovered or actualized. 5 Finally, family systems therapies have been revolutionized by a social constructionist perspective , adopting a non-authoritarian view of therapy as conversation whose goal is to alter what the American psychotherapists Harlene Anderson and Harry Goolishian termed the “problem determined system.” In such approaches, the therapist functions less as an expert dispensing answers, than as a conversation manager who promotes the sort of exchanges among family members that “dissolve” old problems by “languaging” about them in a new way. Other family therapists have adopted the constructivist metaphor of lives as stories, and have devised novel means of helping clients free themselves from the “dominant narratives” that originate in particular families and cultures, and that keep them from feeling like the authors of their own lives. For therapists such as Michael White in Australia and David Epston in New Zealand, externalizing the problem by reconstruing it as something separate from the client’s “self” provides a useful first step toward recognizing its destructive impact on clients and the relationships in which they are engaged. Therapy can then turn toward recognizing and validating those exceptional moments when a person begins to resist the dominant narrative, and rewrite his or her life story along more hopeful lines. A common theme in these systemically informed variants of constructivism is their emphasis on the resourcefulness of individuals, families, and communities in resolving problems in living. Accordingly, clinical work is cast as a search for solutions, rather than a diagnosis of dysfunction. Critical Perspectives Despite the creative contributions of constructivism to contemporary clinical practice, challenges to this perspective have been raised by realists who question what they view at its “anything goes” relativism. From the vantage point of these critics, the constructivist emphasis on multiple realities risks undermining conventional understandings of “truth” as well as “objective” procedures of research into therapy process and outcome. However, constructivists have responded that a respect for the ways in which various people and cultures construe life differently accords well with the diversity and multiculturalism of contemporary life, and actually provides a psychological basis for a 21st century ethics. Likewise, constructivists have noted that, their criticism of naïve realism notwithstanding, psychologists working within this tradition have carried out literally thousands of empirical studies, on topics as diverse as the structure of personal meaning systems and the intricacies of change in the process of psychotherapy. Significantly, these efforts have often required the development of new tools for revealing individual and conversational meaning-making, such as the role construct repertory grids devised by personal construct theorists, and the narrative process coding schemes validated by constructivist psychotherapy researchers. Thus, it seems unlikely that constructivism will erode the disciplined study of psychological phenomena in an uncritical attempt to embrace all knowledge claims as equally valid. Tensions also arise within the constructivist camp, particularly between theorists who champion the individual’s role in meaning-making, and those who emphasize the extent to which meanings reside in systems of culture and language that precede any given individual. Indeed, the debates engendered by the latter social constructionist position are likely to continue, as they tend to undermine the straightforward depiction of the self-as-agent endorsed by constructivists with more humanistic leanings. This same emphasis on the social and discursive construction of reality, however, has sensitized constructivism to issues of familial, ethnic, and cultural meanings, thereby enhancing its relevance and inclusiveness. Ultimately, the challenges faced by constructivist theories and therapies can be viewed as the predictable “growing pains” encountered by any significant new perspective that promises to help shape the future, as well as the present, of psychotherapy.

Natural Vision Improvement

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s)
about Natural Vision Education
http://www.visioneducators.org/FAQ.htm

Natural Vision Improvement is a holistic (sometimes spelled ‘wholistic’) approach to vision care.
http://visioneducators.com/

EyeBody
http://eyebody.com/

Buena Vista
http://www.geocities.com/Buena-vista/ind-ingl.htm
http://www.geocities.com/Buena-vista/working.htm

Vision Freedom
http://www.visionfreedom.com/

Eye exercises

http://www.visionimprovementsite.com/exercise.html
Presented here are a series of eye exercises that promote relaxation of the eye, or strengthens and conditions them. There are some who claim that vision is “90% mental and 10% physical”, but doing these exercises can provide relief for tired eyes.

The most notable example of eye exercises on a wide scale is that of China. Every morning, the schoolchildren and factory workers massage their eyes for a short while. And they do have a low incidence of myopia. But so many other factors come into play as well. Just consider the following questions: Can we compare China with industrialised countries? How about the undergraduate population? Does nutrition and lifestyle play a role? So eye exercises are no miracle cure, but may produce some results.

Call them what you will, exercises or games, come on! Stop staring at your computer screen and start doing them right now!

Note: The exercises stated below have no copyrights (expired long ago). They are common knowledge and should be treated as such. Free feel to tell all your friends and family about them! What may be a little bit more contentious are the names given to them by various authors of eyesight improvement books.

General tips when doing eye exercises

• Please take off your glasses or contact lenses, you will then feel more comfortable and relaxed.
• When doing the exercises, intensely concentrate on your eyes. Feel them working and coming to life again!
• Do them on a regular basis, e.g. ideally 3 times a day. The results will be better.

clock rotation | eye rolls | near / far focusing | blinking | palming

Clock rotation

Research has shown that the extraocular muscles play a role in the accommodation of the eye. The theory goes as follows: strengthen the muscles = clearer vision. You can try it for yourself, the results are usually quite noticeable even only after a minute.
Pretend that y ou are looking at the center a giant clockface straight ahead. Keeping your head still all the while, look up as far as possible towards the 12th O’clock position, hold for 2 seconds, then return to the original position. You must really feel the stretch in your eyeballs!
1st step (look at the vertical red arrow):

Look straight ahead – go to 12th O’clock – hold for 2 seconds – back to center

Next, do it for the 1 O’clock position, then 2 O’clock and so on. Always return to the center before moving on to the next hour. When you have finished one clockwise cycle (as indicated by the green arrow), do an anticlockwise cycle next.

This exercise will stretch your extraocular muscles, and will make them stronger and more flexible.

clock rotation | eye rolls | near / far focusing | blinking | palming

Eye rolls

This vision exercise is similar to the “clock rotation” exercise. Start from the 12 O’clock position, and slowly roll to the 1 O’clock place (without returning to the centre), then 2 o’clock and so on, until one whole cycle is completed.

Remember to stretch as far out as possible all the time. Go slow, and do it properly. No prizes for the fastest roll in the West.
Again, this exercise puts your extraocular muscles through a good workout.

clock rotation | eye rolls | near / far focusing | blinking | palming

Near / far focusing

If you have read books on vision improvement before, you will know that they have been called many fanciful names before. But I will stick to one that conveys the essence of this exercise.Near point stress has been quoted as a cause of myopia. It refers to the fact that people do too much near work, e.g. reading and computer. Near work causes the eyeballs to strain as they try to focus. As a result, the eyeballs adapts by changing its shape, becoming fatter and more circular.

This exercise will teach the eyeballs to return to its original shape, by simply by focusing near and far. Hold up a finger or a pencil in front of you, about 6 inches away. Choose a sailent object, e.g. a chimney, tree, flag etc. at least 20 feet (6 metres) away. These will be your near and far points respectively. Alternate between the near and far objects, looking at each for about 2 seconds at a time. Repeat until you feel your eyes really working, then persevere some more.

Simple?

clock rotation | eye rolls | near / far focusing | blinking | palming

The next 2 are not really exercises, more like relaxation techniques. Use them whenever you feel tired, have dry eyes, suffer from blurred vision.

Blinking

This one is a real help if you have dry eyes. Solution: produce more tears to moisten the eyes.

You can stimulate the tear ducts by squeezing your eyes shut really tightly. Then blink normally a few times, and squeeze again. Repeat a few times, and your eyes will feel more relaxed and comfortable.

clock rotation | eye rolls | near / far focusing | blinking | palming

Palming

This is when you cover your eyes with your palms. A few things to take note:

• Do not rest on the eyeballs directly. Only put pressure around the eye socket.
• Please make sure that your hands are clean. Introducing germs and bacteria to your eyes does not help matters much.

Gently cover your eyes so that you can see no light. In the darkness, you may see brief flashes of light. This is normal, and simply indicates the spontaneous firing of the neurones in your eyes. But if the light flashes are too intense, they may indicate that you are too tense. Loosen up a bit! Nobody’s watching you.

This is a wonderful relaxation technique for the eyes. I usually feel much better after each palming session. The duration is up to you. It can be as short as 10 seconds up to a few hours but try to make it about 30 minutes: That’s when the benefits can really be seen. There was an anecdotal report in Bates’ book about a man who spontaneously recovered perfect eyesight after doing it for an entire day! It’s up to you to believe this story, but it does give hope, doesn’t it?

clock rotation | eye rolls | near / far focusing | blinking | palming

Conclusion

That’s all for the eye exercises. You can get much more information from eyesight improvement books , available from The Vision Improvement Bookstore . But the ones above should get you started on the journey to perfect eyesight.

Carry this eye chart so many inches away from you. 45 Read it once or twice a day to improve your sight and prevent presbyopia. 40 Presbyopia is poor sight, supposed to be due to advancing age. In reality, like all 35 other kinds of poor sight, it is largely due to a combination of impaired health, disturbed eye 30 muscles and bad habits of straining to re. In nearly all cases of falling sight, or defective sight. It Is possible to restore sight by exercise and training the normal use of eyes and mind to see. 25 When reading. hold this card or other printed matter 13 Inches from the eye. If the letters are not distinct do not strain to see them, but quietly wait and relax the eye muscles; let go, until they become clear. 20 Or close the eyes for a minute or two and imagine you see the letters’ without strain. Then look directly at the letters, changing rapidly from letter to letter without strain. The letter you are looking directly at is blacker than the letters next to it. 15 With Perfect Sight you can see the letters on the other side of this card at twice the distance indicated by the figures above each line, and at any distance between that distance and three inches from the eye. For instance, the letters on the 30-inch line may be clearly distinguished at any distance from 3 inches to 60 inches. If not- Move the card back and forth till you find the distance at which the 30-inch letters appear blackest. Then look at the O on that line. Now close the eyes and thoroughly relax them. Now imagine a perfectly black O and then look again at the O on the 30-inch line. As soon as the O seems blacker after one such trial, move the card an inch closer next time before opening the eyes. Do not strain. If it strains you to see the 30-inch line use one of the upper lines. Look at the four dots in t-he corners on the other side of the card. As you move your eyes slowly from dot to dot, from side to aide, or up and down, or diagonally, the card and letters’ will appear to move the opposite direction if you have good control and free motion of your eye muscles. When you close your eyes you can remember the dot perfectly black and distinct if you have seen it perfectly. If you cannot do this, try to remember a black dot, or to imagine one, and keep looking at the black dot with your eyes open and with your eyes closed you can see it clearly and distinctly. By so doing you will acquire the ability to relax your mind and eyes at will and to see perfectly under favorable conditions. This exercise also stops pain. Learn to look with eyes and mind relaxed. Never Blare. Never strain to see. Straining to read or see unfamiliar letters, words or objects near the eye causes hyperopia (farsightedness) and presbyopia (old-sight). Staring to see unfamiliar distant objects causes myopia (near-sightedness). Vision is nine-tenths mental and one-tenth physical. For this reason a familiar object is seen more easily than a unfamiliar object. Knowing this, when looking at an unfamiliar object, do not strain to see, but realize that it is the unfamiliarity of the object that makes it hard to see. Perfect sight will be yours whenever you look directly at what you wish to see, without strain. When your sight is perfect you look directly at each part of the object in rapid succession shifting your attention rapidly and continuously from point to point. When you have once seen an object perfectly you can remember it perfectly and imagine it perfectly at will. Thus a perfectly black 0 or dot can be instantly remembered or imagined and held before the eyes continuously while they remain relaxed. With Perfect Sight, black objects appear perfectly black, whether the light is dim or bright, and whether they are near or far, and the white background appears white. Nine people out of every ten can be made to see as well as a normal ten-year-old child. Faithful performance of the eye exercises prescribed for you, together with other exercise to improve your physical condition, will give you perfect sight in due time. Remember that all people cannot cure themselves. They have to have some help from a physician who understands the body from a standpoint of structure and function. It may be that you have some trouble in the intestinal tract or with your spine, or it is possible that you are eating something that is poisoning your system. Remember what is food for one person may be poison for another, therefore, you should study. Learn something about diet and physical exercise. Worrying only makes your condition worse. Find some constructive work to occupy your mind. There is nothing better than reading a good book and studying it. Learn all about how to be healthy, happy and successful. All Doctors are human. When you see that your doctor is doing all he can to help you you should follow his instructions and make the work easy for him and assure & quicker cure for yourself. He cannot help you unless you are willing to help yourself. The doctor is just as anxious to cure you as you are to be cured. He knows that the quicken you are cured the more boosting you will do and the better his practice will be. All doctors like to be praised). In fact everyone does, therefore, have a good word to say for everything and everyone or else keep still. The whole world loves a booster while knockers are never welcome anywhere. No matter what your lot in life is there are many others worse off. Keep your troubles to yourself. They are only boresome to other people and no one wants to hear them. Just get busy and do something and you will be happier, healthier and wealthier. If you cannot read the above fine print do not strain your eyes because the more you strain the harder it will be to read. When you learn how to read the above fine print it will greatly improve your vision because you will have to learn to relax the eyes and mind before you can read it. When the eyes are thoroughly relaxed the blood circulates freely. The venous blood carries away the waste matter and the fresh arterial blood carries the necessary building substance for strengthening the eyes. Slow blinking is a real help to many patients while with other individuals, fart banking may give them a higher degree of relaxation and result in clearer vision without eye strain. Keep in mind at all times that the harder you try to see, the less you see. With this in mind you will soon grasp the idea of learning how to relax. Through hurry, worry, and fear, the body which is more than 70% fluid is held in a state of tension which results in destruction to cell life and a disintegradation of normal, healthy tissue. Nervous people are nervous because they do not know how to relax. They do not even know how to sleep profoundly which results in a waste of nerve energy, neurasthenia, insanity, constipation, indigestion, anemia, and many other diseases too numerous to mention. There is not a single disease that cannot be treated more effectively by natural methods of aiding the body than by the use of drugs which always do more harm than good. The temporary relief derived by the use of drugs is never worth the price it costs. Teaching people how to live and how to think is the only sure way to health, happiness, and success. Any one of the common diseases may result in a loss of tone to the eyes and a hindrance to normal function. None of our diseases can ever be cured by any line of treatment that does not teach the correct use of the five essentials of life. No treatment is complete or can ever be effective unless it includes the care of the mental, spiritual and physical body. Variant on Hi Squares – (Myofia) This exercise is a variant of the HI SQARES exercise, however, I have modified it slightly so that it became more effective for me while working with myopia. This exercise helps train the eyes to use the crossing and focusing muscles together for distance. Instructions: First learn how to comfortably do the HI SQUARES exercise so that you can create the third square both while crossing your eyes and using your far vision. You must also be able to hold the visual image while moving the paper closer and further from you. If you can, you are ready to expand the exercise by increasing the distance. Tape this exercise on the wall next to the eye chart. Now perform the exercises while stepping back from the chart and hold the image. You should do both crossed and far-focus. You can pick up the far-focus by touching your nose on the page between the HI SQUARES and step back. Learn to blink while still holding the image so that you can let your eyes break when needed. It is possible to step back twenty feet while still holding the image. As you train your eyes to work together moving farther and farther from the wall, you may begin to see that after doing this exercise the eye chart is much clearer. (If I have been doing close work and find my sight blurry, I can immediately improve my far focus by doing this exercise.) http://www.universal-tao.com/article/improvement.html Boss’ s Eye Techniques & Tips http://www.universal-tao.com/article/eye.html 1) Trace clear objects in the distance. 2) Eat soaked Sunflower Seeds. 3) Eat all fresh Greens. 4) Eat fresh Blueberries. 5) Drink Eyebright Tea. 6) Drink Dandelion Tea. 7) Eat fresh Sprouts. 8) Wear an Eye Patch daily for 2 minutes. 9) Do Relaxing Meditations daily. 10) Do Eye Sunning and Palming daily. 11) Do Nasal Massage with Eucalyptus Oil daily.

http://www.visionsofjoy.org/solutions.htm
This page aims to give an explanation of specific vision challenges, their possible causes (also see nutrition), and their possible natural solutions. The solutions presented below have been gathered from a combination of my own experience, from students’ experiences, from various colleagues in the field of Natural Vision Education or from other health professionals who I personally know. We are all unique beings, and what works for one may not always have the same effect on someone else, so please keep this in mind and also please read the disclaimer.
If the information you find here benefits you, please consider supporting Visions Of Joy.

Three Minds Into One

http://www.universal-tao.com/article/three_minds.html

The Three Minds correspond to the Three Tan Tiens or major energy centers within the body. They can store, transform and supply energy to and from eachother, the spinal cord, sexual organs and other major organs. The Upper Tan Tien is located within the Upper Brain, the Middle Tan Tien is located in the heart and the Lower Tan Tien in the abdomen.

If the Upper Brain generates too much energy, it can subsequently transfer and store it in the organs; heart, lungs, liver, spleen, stomach, pancreas and kidneys). Excess sexual energy can also be stored in the organs and the Three Tan Tiens. The Taoists, understanding these principles, learn to generate, refine and store continually increasing amounts of energy within the body. As these energies multiply, it becomes necessary to practice growing the virtuous energy which provides for true alchemy, exchange with heaven, earth and universal energies and all those whom we share our lives with.

By storing Chi within the body and not emptying oneself outward, there is no subsequent drainage of energy. Sitting and emptying the mind is good, but very little energy is actually generated. The Taoist turns the self inwards to the universe within, the microcosmic reflection of the macrocosm without.

With the simple practice of smiling to all the organs, we can integrate our bodies, minds and spirits. They are no longer separate. The goal of the Three Minds is to combine the faculties of observation, consciousness and awareness and connect them with the forces from the six directions – above, below, left, right, front and back, drawing and fusing a sublimation of all of these external energies into the body. Eventually, with practice one can draw upon many different energies and use them as needed, thereby giving form to the formless energy that is abundant in Nature.

By combining Three Minds into One, one is able to use minimum effort to achieve maximum effect.

Three Tan Tiens
In the Tao practice, we store energy in the Three Tan Tiens. The Three Tan Tiens correspond to the Three Minds, Upper, Middle and Lower.

The Upper Tan Tien is in the Upper Brain (the crystal room, third ventrical). When it is full of energy, the capacity of the brain increases. It is the Upper Mind and is associated with observation. We store our spiritual intelligence, the mind here. All the Tan Tiens have both yin and yang within them. In nature, the yin and yang are present in all things.

Day (yang) turns into the sunset, which turns to night (yin). It is very important to feel the qualities of yin within yang and yang with yin (sunrise/sunset). One quality does not exist without the other. They are inseparable qualities of the same force.

The Heart Center between the two nipples, is the Middle Tan Tien. It is the Middle Mind and is associated with consciousness. The heart is associated with fire and is the site of original spirit (Shen).

The abdominal region surrounding the navel is like an empty universe, or ocean. It is the Lower Tan Tien. It contains the Lower Mind and is associated with feeling and awareness. Within this universe or ocean, there is a fire, like a volcano under the ocean; ‘fire under water’.

The Three Tan Tiens refer to the three reservoirs and sources of energy within the body. The meridians are rivers of energy fed by these reservoirs. The goal of opening the Three Tan Tiens is to continually fill and replenish the energy that is consumed and exchanged by the Three Minds and the rest of the body.

When you are not using the Upper Brain sink it down into the Lower one.

Tan Tien Consciousness: Second Brain

We have used terms like Upper Mind or Observation Mind, Feeling and Awareness Mind or Middle Mind. In addition to its importance as the control center for the mechanics of the physical structure of the body, the Lower Tan Tien also houses a treasure of even more far-reaching significance; it is the site of our Second Brain.

Most of us who have had Taoist training in Chi Kung, Tai Chi, various Chi meditations or healing practices have often heard the reminder, ‘Be aware of your Tan Tien.’

Being aware of your Tan Tien can be seen as being a way to train consciousness and awareness, like educating the brain in the abdominal area.

Personal Revelation
Following tests with clinical psychologist Dr. Rhonda Jessum, in Los Angeles in 1994, it was discovered that when I did the Inner Smile meditation, some of my brain waves decreased dramatically, whilst others simultaneously increased to a very high level. The results showed that I could be driving a car, but that my brain should have been resting and sleeping.

Brain Testing in Vienna

First and Second Brains are linked

Following this I was invited to start carrying out some tests at the Institute for Applied Biocybernetics and Feedback Research in Vienna, which is one of the biggest institutes for training top athletes in Europe. They developed an instrument that can measure the brain’s potential energy, which represents all the energy in the body.

As I meditated and smiled to my abdomen they discovered that the Upper Brain was not very active but that I was still able to communicate with the doctors, answering any of their questions. My brain was in a very light resting state. But, how could I answer their questions? They said, “Hey, look! Master Chia is talking to us in his sleep. How can he talk to us in his sleep?”

After that, I said, “Oh, I understand now.” Throughout the whole practice of the Tao is the injunction, ‘train the Second Brain in order to use the Second Brain.’

I then surged the energy up to the First Brain in my head and they started to see that the energy actually rushed up there. When we are thinking, worrying, or feeling anger, shame or guilt – the energy level in the brain actually decreases and the brain doesn’t get charged up.

An article that appeared in the The New York Times 1 reported the discovery that the brain in the gut, the enteric nervous system, can do a lot of functions. It says that the gut brain can send and receive impulses; it can record experience and respond to emotions. So, it is like a brain. In this article, they reported that the large and small intestines have the same neurons as brain cells. The Lower Brain consumes less energy and can do a lot of daily work, like send and receive impulse records and experience and respond to emotions. When you lower down the Upper Mind, it will also lower the blood pressure and anxiety. After that article, a new book, The Second Brain, was published.2

On the second page of the Times’ article, it says that even the large intestine is loaded with neurons. The question was posed, ‘Can it learn?’

But I say, “Hey, this goes back to 4,700 years of the Tao practice, which says: Train all the organs; train them how to do different things.” You can rest the head brain when you’re not using it – and use the brain in the gut. Why is this so important?

The reason is because the head brain is a ‘monkey brain’ riddled with doubt, shame, guilt and a suspicious mind. It is always thinking, worrying, figuring things out, making head trips – it just keeps on, all the time.

Scientists have discovered that when people worry too much, thinking, planning, etc., This brain actually uses up a lot of energy. They approximate that the Upper Brain in the head can use up to 80% of the body’s energy, which means that there is only 20% remaining for the functioning of all of the other organs and bodily processes.

According to the Times’ article, science has discovered that the brain in the head and the brain in the gut can do some similar jobs. For example, the brain in the gut is the emotional and the feeling brain. In the west you use the expression “‘I have a gut feeling about something.” Why do people mention a gut feeling? Obviously people have some feeling in their gut. It’s very interesting that the whole Tao practice focuses upon feeling, awareness and consciousness – using the gut to feel, to be aware and to be conscious.

Cross-section of the neurons in the Large Intestine

You can rest, relax the brain in the head by using the ‘brain in the gut.’ This is the first step. Learn to forgive and let go. When we keep on remembering past negative emotions, we stop seeing the truth. To let go of the past is to empty the mind and use the abdominal mind, the awareness and consciousness mind. In the way of the Tao, the gut brain can do a lot of simple functions that are similar to the functions of the brain in the head.

This is a feeling and awareness type of functioning similar to many of our ‘right brain’ functions.

However, we need to use the brain in the head in order to perform complex functions such as reasoning, making plans and making complex calculations. For rational functions, we need to use the brain in the head for the ‘left brain’ functions. Such functions can be simplified and enhanced when we learn to combine the ‘Three Minds Into One’, and use them together as a unit.

For our daily life of consciousness, awareness and feeling, we can use either the brain in the gut or the brain in the head. When we use the Upper Brain less, it will become charged with more energy and its power will be increased. More power will be available to the body. That is why we say in Taoism, that we have to train the brain in the gut, so that we can use it when the brain in the head is resting. When the head brain is resting, it can be recharged: brain repair and maintenance occurs. It will also be able to grow new brain cells. With more energy we have more power for creativity. If we like, we can use this energy to develop our higher spiritual nature.

Whenever you smile down, the brain waves go lower and lower very quickly and the transformed energy from the Tan Tien and organs charges up the brain in the head. Just by flexing the facial muscles with a genuine smile, we can affect the Upper and Lower Brains, nervous system and the rest of the body.
We can actually make ourselves relaxed and happy by taking advantage of this built-in human mechanism. It’s natural. Just do it! Learning to smile down to the abdominal area and maintain the awareness of the relaxed, smiling sensation in the Tan Tien is the first step in training the Second Brain. Pure awareness and consciousness can change attitudes and emotions carried in the DNA.

Practice
Number 1: “Empty your mind down to the Lower Tan Tien, and fill the Tan Tien with Chi.” An axiom in the Tao is, where the mind goes the Chi follows.

Number 2: “When your mind is empty, it will be filled.” This means that when the organs have extra energy, the extra organ energy will rise up and fill the brain with Chi.

Medical science has also discovered the consciousness in the heart. They found that the heart can record a whole event, and it has its own brain, the Third Brain. Dr. Paul Pearsall has written a new book, called The Heart’s Code 3.They have found that people who have a heart transplant can actually experience the emotions of the donor.

One of the published cases is that of a girl who was brutally killed. The police didn’t know who had killed her. Her heart was subsequently transplanted into another girl. The recipient of this transplant started to get nightmares and described somebody killing her. She described the killer’s physical appearance. Finally, the mother took the girl to a psychiatrist, who then contacted the police. The girl gave the police an exact description of the ‘man from her nightmares’ and a police artist drew a reconstruction of the killer. With this new information the police were able to go and arrest the man.
Afterwards, when confronted with clear details of the crime, the man confessed that he was indeed guilty of this crime. So, from that experience, medical science came to realize that the heart can record all of an event and remember it.

Practice – Three Minds Into One
Smile down to the inner universe. Activate the heart’s consciousness and empty the mind and heart down to the Lower Tan Tien, the Abdominal Brain. Gather the ‘Yi’ (mind-eye-heart power), combining Three Minds into One. Fill the Tan Tien with this Chi. Start to spiral the energy. You are then ready to connect to the higher forces of Universal and Heavenly Chi. The Three Minds are the Upper, Middle and Lower, or Three Tan Tiens.

1. Smile to the Inner Universe
Place your palms together in salutation, in front of your heart. Feel the Laogong points in your hands connect, creating an energy loop running from your heart through your arms and hands and back again.

Activate the heart’s compassion

Laogong Point (pericardium 8)

2. Activate the Heart’s Compassion Energy Smile to the heart and feel it softening. Feel love, joy, compassion and happiness. Smile down and empty the mind to the Lower Tan Tien, the Abdominal Brain. Fill the Tan Tien with Chi and start to spiral the energy. When the abdomen is warm, it is full of Chi. The Chi can then charge up to the Upper Brain. 3. Combine the Three Minds into One 1. Lower the Upper Mind (observation mind) down to the Lower Tan Tien. 2. Lower the Middle Mind (consciousness mind) down to Lower Tan Tien. 3. Combine Three Minds Into One Mind at the Lower Tan Tien (the Yi). 4. Manifest your intent out at the mideyebrow. Remember – what you send out, you will in some way, receive back. It may not always be what you expected but it will always be for your greater good. In the Tao we also learn to cease expectations and that there are no promises or guarantees.

1. “Complex and Hidden Brain in the Gut Makes Stomachaches and Butterflies,” The New York Times, section C1, Tuesday, January 23, 1996
2. Gershon, Michael. The Second Brain (New York: Harper Collins Publishers Inc., 1998).
3. Pearsall, Paul, Ph.D. The Heart’s Code (New York: Broadway Books, 1998)

Adapted from ” Cosmic Healing I “
by Matt Gluck

IHM’s mission is to facilitate a fundamental cultural shift by putting the heart back into people’s personal and professional business. Love is more than mere sentiment – it nourishes the body, as well as the soul. For most of us, the heart is merely the symbol of love, but the Institute of HeartMath (IHM) has gathered impressive scientific data verifying this 10-ounce muscle actually does function as a physiological locus of love in the center of our being. Better yet, we have the ability to induce the human heart into states of love. If this “think tank” – perhaps “feel tank” would be more appropriate – amidst the towering redwoods in the Santa Cruz Mountains of California were merely dispensing more New Age wishful thinking, it’s doubtful Fortune 500 companies, Motorola, Royal Dutch Shell, the Canadian Imperial Bank, school districts, and even the U.S. Armed Forces would have sent more than 25,000 employees to IHM’s three-day workshops. So impressive is IHM’s research into the heart’s “brain” that the American Journal of Cardiology, Stress Medicine, and Journal of Advancement in Medicine have published articles on its findings. If IHM’s work could be patented into a pill, it likely would be heralded as the biggest medical miracle since penicillin. In exploring the physiological mechanisms by which the heart communicates with the brain, IHM found that the coherence of the Heart Rate Variability (HRV) – measurement of the heart’s beat-to-beat changes – is a clear indicator of inner emotional states and stress. Even more intriguing was the discovery that by utilizing simple, user-friendly techniques to feel positive emotions – rather than thinking about them – you can instantly increase HRV coherence, thus effecting measurable physiological and psychological shifts, which allows you to make less reactive, more authentic, loving decisions. IHM’s mission is to facilitate a fundamental cultural shift by putting the heart back into people’s personal and professional business, and affect solutions to some of the problems facing individuals and society today. “The planet is really moving through a paradigm shift,” said Rollin McCraty, the head researcher at the Institute of HeartMath. “A shift from the head to the heart. The heart is the base frequency that we’re hard-wired to live in.”
Historical Research into the Heart’s Brain
It was once popularly believed human beings had but a modicum of control over their minds and emotions, thought to be dictated entirely by the brain’s responses to external stimuli. Researchers showed changes in emotions were accompanied by foreseeable alterations in heart rate, blood pressure, respiration and digestion – physiological responses moving in concert with the brain’s response to given stimuli.
In the 1960s and 1970s, John and Beatrice Lacey observed this model only partially matched actual physiological behavior. The heart, seeming to have its own peculiar logic which frequently diverged from the command of the autonomic nervous system, sent meaningful messages to the brain which could alter a person’s behavior.
In 1974, the French researchers Gahery and Vigier, stimulated the vagus nerve (which carries signals from the heart to the brain) in cats and found that the brain’s electrical response was reduced to half its normal rate. In other words, the heart and nervous system were not simply following the brain’s directions.
In 1983, the heart was reclassified as an endocrine gland when a new hormone called atrial natriuretic factor (ANF), which affects blood vessels, kidneys, adrenal glands and regulatory regions in the brain, was found being produced by the heart. Dr. J. Andrew Armour discovered the heart also contains a cell type known as intrinsic cardiac adrenergic (ICA), which synthesizes and releases neurotransmitters once thought to be produced only by neurons in the brain and nerve ganglia. Dr. Armour introduced the concept of a functional “heart brain” in 1991, and his book Neurocardiology, co-written with Dr. Jeffrey Ardell, affords a comprehensive overview of the heart’s intrinsic nervous system. Considered an independent entity, the heart’s brain is composed of an elaborate network of neurons, support cells and neurotransmitters which enables it to process information, learn, remember and produce feelings of the heart and then transmit information from one cell to another, including emotional information. “We observed the heart was acting as though it had a mind of its own and was profoundly affecting perception, intelligence and awareness,” explained McCraty, whose background is in electrical instrumentation design and high-tech problem-solving. “Our studies dovetail with other researchers doing related work that more than simply being a blood pump, the heart is a highly complex, self organized sensory organ with its own functional, intrinsic brain.”
Some of the more fascinating evidence supporting the notion of a heart brain are the numerous documented stories (in the book, Change of Heart by Claire Sylvia) of heart transplant patients who have taken on the habits, expressions, tastes and memories of the dead donor. One woman knew the name, address and family of the dead donor – information that had been withheld from her. In a most dramatic case, a teenage girl received the heart of a woman who had been murdered. Shortly thereafter, in dreams and in quiet moments, the woman was able to reconstruct details from the crime scene so as to enable the police to gather enough evidence to convict the killer. “These stories take this phenomena out of the realm of coincidence,”said McCraty. “The same type of memory-encoding neurons found in the brain are also found in the heart. After an operation, it takes some time for nerves to reconnect, so that can’t explain all the heart-transplant phenomena, because sometimes personality transfers happen immediately. I think that it’s on electromagnetic and energetic levels where the real activity is going on.” Indeed, other researchers in the country have come to similar conclusions. Psychoneuroimmunologist Paul Pearsall Ph.D, author of The Heart’s Code, believes the heart resonates an intelligence field to every cell in our body. Gary Schwartz, Ph.D. and Linda Russek, Ph.D., of the University of Arizona’s Human Energy Systems laboratory in Tucson, are of the opinion that the heart “pumps” patterns of energy and information throughout the body.
What’s Love Got to Do With It?
To the ancient Greeks, the contrasting aspects of the soul – intellect and emotion -were engaged in perpetual struggle for control of the human psyche. Plato viewed emotions as wild horses needing to be restrained by the intellect, while Christian theology demoted emotions as sins and temptations to be resisted by reason and willpower. This false dichotomy of head vs. heart cannot be resolved by the mind gaining dominance over emotions, but by increasing the balance between the two systems.
Neuroscience confirms emotion and cognition are separate but interacting systems, each with its own unique type of intelligence. In his recent, best selling book Emotional Intelligence, Daniel Goleman builds a case, for the largely overlooked domain of “EQ” (Emotional Quotient) – based on such qualities as self awareness, motivation, altruism and compassion, and argues that the commonly accepted view of human intelligence is far too narrow. According to Goleman, it’s a person’s EQ as much or more than their IQ that enables them to succeed in life. When the heart sends coherent (smooth HRV waves) information to the brain, positive feelings are facilitated, perhaps explaining why many people “feel” or “sense” love and positive emotions in the area of the heart. Doc Lew Childre, HeartMath’s president and CEO, believed the key to practical application of this new knowledge would be to develop simple tools allowing people to gain more conscious control in creating increased coherence. Through intentional heart focus, these IHM techniques – Freeze-Frame, Heart Lockin, and Cut-Thru – help people bring their bodies and spirit back into balance.
Simple Tools – Freeze-Frame, the most basic IHM technique employed in moments of agitation, stress or danger, involves shifting your focus to your heart, re-experiencing a feeling of appreciation or love for just 10 or 15 seconds, then asking your heart what would be a more efficient response to the stressful situation at hand. Heart Lock-in is similar to Freeze-Frame, though done for a longer period of time – perhaps once a day for five to 15 minutes – often while listening to music specifically designed by IHM. Cut-Thru aims at addressing recurring negative emotional reactions and patterns – negative “thought loops” – to a particular recurring theme or issue in your life. Just as physical movements such as walking, driving, etc., become automatic through repetition, so do mental and emotional responses and attitudes.
Here’s an example of how I applied Freeze-Frame – taking a moment to shift attention to the heart and feel appreciation, love or caring – in my own life: A friend dropped me off at the airport at 6:15 a.m. for my 7 a.m. flight. When I reached check-in they wouldn’t let me on the flight because I’d left my picture I.D. back in San Francisco. I was furious at myself, and realized I’d have to make a round-trip back to San Francisco and hope to catch a later flight. At the curb, about to hail a cab, I suddenly remembered Freeze-Frame. After a half minute of appreciating the gorgeous day and crystal blue sky, my inner voice suggested I return inside and make sure they noted I wasn’t a no-show. This second woman at check-in then asked if I had any other I.D. I gave her a few credit cards, library card and health insurance card and I caught the next flight only 45 minutes later. “The heart has a mind that some might call the spirit, the higher self, intuition, or the still, small voice within,” said McCraty. “How many times have you said to yourself, ‘If only I had listened to my heart.’ By not listening, we often pay a price in time and energy in cleaning up the mess afterwards.”
It was pouring rain the summer day I visited HeartMath’s camp-like facilities, nestled among the redwoods, broad lawns and a willow tree-shaded pond. After touring the sleeping lodges, dining room and meeting hall, I was led to the research building full of computers and mysterious electronic devices. I placed my forefinger into a fingertip pulse sensor linked to a computer booted with a new software program developed by IHM. An incoherent HRV (jagged) appeared on the screen as I re-experienced an unpleasant situation – a recent argument with my mother. After a few minutes, a coherent (smooth) wave appeared on the screen as I settled into feelings of deep appreciation for the incredible beauty of an atoll in the South Pacific I visited last year. When I later experienced a moment of performance anxiety, the HRV line went jagged again. Another instant feedback option on the software is a black and white picture of a nature scene which slowly comes to life as the subject sustains a coherent HRV; the picture colorizes, leaves sprout on trees, flowers bloom, water runs in the stream and a bunny hops by. A third option is keeping a hot air balloon aloft over beautiful landscapes with a sustained coherent HRV
This is a positive, life-affirming computer “game” that most parents would be thrilled to have their kids play. After becoming proficient, they might be able to instantly recreate a loving heart space in the schoolyard or on the street, thus altering the outcome of a stressful or threatening confrontation. Indeed, I was pleased to hear students and teachers in more than 200 schools in the United States are already using HeartMath techniques. But more than just creating pretty pictures or allowing you to make more authentic, less reactive choices, by practicing Freeze-Frame or Cut-Thru, HeartMath has established that we engender a physiology of love or anger in our bodies which has short- and long-term effects. When the HRV is in coherence and in entrainment with the brain, it causes dramatic and favorable changes in a number of key indicators of physical and mental well-being, such as the levels of secretory immunoglobulin A (SIgA) levels, DHEA – the “anti-aging hormone,” and the stress hormone cortisol, as well as being beneficial to those with AIDS symptoms, obesity and high blood pressure.

http://www.universal-tao.com/article/heart.html

René Jules Dubos

René Jules Dubos (February 20, 1901–1982), was a French-born American microbiologist, experimental pathologist, environmentalist, humanist, and Pulitzer Prize-winning author who exemplified qualities of the modern Renaissance person. He is credited as an author of a maxim “Think globally, act locally“. He devoted most of his professional life to the empirical study of microbial diseases and to the analysis of the environmental and social factors that affect the welfare of humans. His pioneering research in isolating antibacterial substances from certain soil microorganisms led to the discovery of major antibiotics. He performed groundbreaking research and wrote extensively on a number of subjects, including: tuberculosis, pneumonia, and the mechanisms of acquired immunity, natural susceptibility, and resistance to infection.

In later years, Dubos explored the interplay of environmental forces and the physical, mental and spiritual development of mankind. The main tenets of his humanistic philosophy were: global problems are conditioned by local circumstances and choices, social evolution enables us to rethink human actions and change direction to promote an ecologically balanced environment, the future is optimistic since human life and nature are resilient and we have become increasingly aware of the dangers inherent in natural forces and human activities, and we can benefit from our successes and apply the lessons learned to solving other contemporary environmental problems.

Rene Jules Dubos was born on February 20, 1901 in the French village of Saint-Brice-sous-Forêt in the farming countryside in the north of the Île-de-France (north of Paris). After graduating from the Institut national agronomique in Paris, he emigrated to the United States and earned his doctoral degree at Rutgers University in 1927. His dissertation focused on the manner in which different soil organisms living in different environments decompose cellulose. His observations regarding similar microbes’ biological activity living in different environments would later be extended to the debate on global ecological issues. Dubos joined the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research where he spent his entire scientific career with the exception of a two-year period (1942-44) when he was professor of tropical medicine at Harvard University Medical School.

Dubos’ writings demonstrate how his interest in the environment evolved from a bacterial context to a humanistic and social perspective. His scientific contributions and environmental philosophy are embodied in such works as Bacterial and Mycotic Infections in Man (1948), Biochemical Determinants of Microbial Diseases (1954), Mirage of Health; Utopias, Progress, and Biological Change (1959), Pasteur and Modern Science (1960), Man, Medicine, Environment (1968), So Human an Animal (1968; Pulitizer Prize, 1969), Only One Earth (1972), Wooing of Earth (1980), and Celebrations of Life (1981).

Rene Dubos is an author of a popular maxim “Think Globally, Act Locally” that refers to the argument that global environmental problems can turn into action only by considering ecological, economic, and cultural differences of our local surroundings. This phrase was originated by Dubos as an advisor to the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in 1972. In 1979, Dubos suggested that ecological consciousness should begin at home. He believed that there needed to be a creation of a World Order in which “natural and social units maintain or recapture their identity, yet interplay with each other through a rich system of communications”. In the 1980′s, Dubos held to his thoughts on acting locally, and felt that issues involving the environment must be dealt with in their “unique physical, climatic, and cultural contexts.”

He served as chairman of the trustees of the Rene Dubos Center for Human Environment, a non-profit education and research organization, which was dedicated in his honor in 1980. The mission of the Center which was co-founded by William and Ruth Eblen is to “assist the general public and decision-makers in formulating policies for the resolution of environmental problems and the creation of environmental values.” Dubos remained actively involved in the programs of the Centre and activities until his death in 1982.

In 1998, the Rene Dubos Center for Human Environments donated a large portion of its environmental library and archives to Pace University. The collection consists of works by Dubos as well as those of other leading environmental scholars, some of which have been annotated by Dubos himself. According to Robert Chapman, Professor of Philosophy and Coordinator of Pace’s Environmental Studies Program, “Pace now has many of Dubos’ own research books from the Rockefeller University and this means that we can not only look at his writing, but we can also do an analysis of where his ideas come from and what influenced him.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rene_Dubos

Robert Anton Wilson Needs Our Help

From http://www.rushkoff.com/2006/10/robert-anton-wilson-needs-our-help.php

I hope people I’ve inspired with my work would band together to help me out in my later years if I needed it. Which is at least part of the reason why I’m sending what I can to support cosmic thinking patriarch Robert Anton Wilson, whose infirmity and depleted finances have put him in the precarious position of not being able to meet next month’s rent.

In case the name doesn’t immediately ring a bell, Bob is the guy who wrote Cosmic Trigger – still the best narrative on how to enter and navigate the psycho-spiritual realm, and co-wrote the Illuminatus Trilogy, an epic work that pushes beyond conspiracy theory into conspiracy practice. Robert Anton Wilson will one day be remembered alongside such literary philosophers as Aldous Huxley and James Joyce.

But right now, Bob is a human being in a rather painful fleshsuit, who needs our help. I refuse for the history books to say he died alone and destitute, for I want future generations to know we appreciated Robert Anton Wilson while he was alive.

Let me add, on a personal note, that Bob is the only one of my heroes who I was not disappointed to actually meet in person. He was of tremendous support to me along my road, and I’m honored to have the opportunity to be of some support on his.

Any donations can be made to Bob directly to the Paypal account olgaceline@gmail.com.
You can also send a check payable to Robert Anton Wilson to
Dennis Berry c/o Futique Trust
P.O. Box 3561
Santa Cruz, CA 95063.

They Thought They Were Free

 

 

{Editor’s Note: It’s remarkable how closely America’s current decent into a police state parallels that of Germany in the 1930s. The Illuminati is following the German Nazification model here in America down to the smallest detail. It’s important to note that the fascists manipulating Germany from a democracy into a dictatorship in the 1930′s did so by constantly bombarding their population with a fast moving stream of “crisis’” news items and staged ‘crisis’ events to keep the German populace bewildered and in a state of anxiety so they would not have a chance to think about and react to the unfolding political realities and collectively act to resist the fascist agenda. The same psychological manipulations are taking place in America today and producing the same results.

If you are a regular reader of this web site, you already know that “the news” we get from mainstream media outlets is scripted, edited, and tailored to function as propaganda under the auspices of the Tavistock Institute in London who are in turn directed by the Committee of 300. You already know that the major ‘crisis’ news items are themselves staged events: 911, the first World Trade Center bombing in 1993, the Oklahoma City bombing, the Bali bombing, the embassy bombings in Africa, the Madrid train bombing, the ‘anthrax letters’ (October 2001, as an excuse for stampeding through the unconstitutional Traitor’s Act {Orwellian title: “The Patriot Act”}, and similar ‘crisis’ news events were carried out by operatives and agents of the CIA, Mossad, military special forces, civilian ‘black ops’ contractors, etc.

I hope you also realize by now that most radio talk shows are intended to function as either propaganda outlets to promote the Illuminati’s ‘illusion masquerading as reality’ agenda or to produce alarm and anxiety in their listeners in order to serve the ‘fear production/inability to think’ manipulation mentioned above. All of those fascinating interviews we hear on the radio about the impending oil shortage from the likes of Michael Ruppert (CIA family) or the calamitous predictions we get from Father Andrew Wingate (military background) or the Nostradamus predictions, or the Ed Dames crap or the coming ‘plagues’ of Bird Flu, West Nile, etc., or the fearsome ‘coronal mass ejections’ from the sun or the ‘inevitable’ asteroid collisions with Earth and similar ‘science news’ we get from Tavistock directed propagandist Michio Kaku, etc., are ALL intended to produce fear and anxiety, although those voices of doom and gloom would vigorously deny that was their intention. I still listen to many such radio interviews, of course, but they no longer cause me anxiety or alarm. Rather, they provide me with intelligence information about the person promoting the propaganda, or the direction of the disinformation/misinformation, or the intended plans of the treasonous manipulators and it gives me an opportunity to plan ahead or to think about a solution or countermeasure to thwart the staged disasters being ‘predicted’, etc.

You should also keep in mind that there are hundreds of web sites which are under covert control and intentionally promote fear or anxiety (while pretending to ‘enlighten’) while many other web sites act as unwitting pawns for the dark side and parrot the doom and gloom hysteria of the above ilk. Note well that the author of the article below mentions that the German people of the 1930s were kept ‘busy’ and ‘fascinated’ with continuous changes, with ‘crisis’ news and with tales of national enemies. Don’t allow yourself to be manipulated this way into passivity and inaction. Take a stand and get involved with the task of defeating the satanic minions who are attempting to destroy America and its people. Anyone can simply apply their will, their mind, their intentions, and their prayers ( a prayer is a petition for help and assistance) to defeating the destructive agenda. Read the fascinating e-mails I’ve posted recently from ordinary people who find that they can effect remarkable changes using only their minds and their intentions! The possibilities offered by Philip Ledoux’s recent dowsing session concerning sylphs and chemtrails presents even greater encouragement for ‘mind action’. Read what Don Croft and associates are accomplishing at http://www.ethericwarriors.com if you want to see how really effective this mind ‘work’ can be.

Today (Sunday, April 25, 2005), I enjoyed yet another gorgeous day in southern California of dark blue skies filled with real, bright white puffy clouds without a chemtrail line to be seen anywhere. It was the fourth or fifth consecutive day we’ve had of beautify skies, free of chemtrails. Prior to that, we had chemtrails being laid down recently, but we also had Sylphs flooding in immediately to destroy those chemtrails and prevent the chemtrail overcast and haze out that we were so accustomed to prior to Don & Carol Croft’s wonderful observations about orgone generators and their effects on the atmosphere, on bodies of water, on microwave ‘cell phone’ towers, on nuclear power plants, on building structures which house dark activities, on negative aliens, on demonic influences, and on people’s emotional outlook and sense of optimism. Think about how you can assist in the upsetting the apple cart of the New World Order and defeating the game plan of our domestic traitors. Become determined. Become dedicated. Become involved. Become alive! ..Ken]

By Milton Mayer
http://educate-yourself.org/cn/thoughttheywerefree20apr05.shtml
April 20, 2005

from: http://www.thirdreich.net/Thought_They_Were_Free.html
But Then It Was Too Late

“What no one seemed to notice,” said a colleague of mine, a philologist, “was the ever widening gap, after1933,between the government and the people. Just think how very wide this gap was to begin with, here in Germany. And it became always wider. You know it doesn’t make people close to their government to be told that this is a people’s government, a true democracy, or to be enrolled in civilian defense, or even to vote. All this has little, really nothing to do with knowing one is governing.

What happened here was the gradual habituation of the people, little by little, to being governed by surprise; to receiving decisions deliberated in secret; to believing that the situation was so complicated that the government had to act on information which the people could not understand, or so dangerous that, even if he people could understand it, it could not be released because of national security. And their sense of identification with Hitler, their trust in him, made it easier to widen this gap and reassured those who would otherwise have worried about it.

“This separation of government from people, this widening of the gap, took place so gradually and so insensibly, each step disguised (perhaps not even intentionally) as a temporary emergency measure or associated with true patriotic allegiance or with real social purposes. And all the crises and reforms (real reforms, too) so occupied the people that they did not see the slow motion underneath, of the whole process of government growing remoter and remoter.

“You will understand me when I say that my Middle High German was my life. It was all I cared about. I was a scholar, a specialist. Then, suddenly, I was plunged into all the new activity, as the universe was drawn into the new situation; meetings, conferences, interviews, ceremonies, and, above all, papers to be filled out, reports, bibliographies, lists, questionnaires. And on top of that were the demands in the community, the things in which one had to, was “expected to” participate that had not been there or had not been important before. It was all rigmarole, of course, but it consumed all one’s energies, coming on top of the work one really wanted to do. You can see how easy it was, then, not to think about fundamental things. One had no time.”

“Those,” I said, “are the words of my friend the baker. “One had no time to think. There was so much going on.” “Your friend the baker was right,” said my colleague. “The dictatorship, and the whole process of its coming into being, was above all diverting. It provided an excuse not to think for people who did not want to think anyway. I do not speak of your “little men”, your baker and so on; I speak of my colleagues and myself, learned men, mind you. Most of us did not want to think about fundamental things and never had. There was no need to. Nazism gave us some dreadful, fundamental things to think about – we were decent people – and kept us so busy with continuous changes and “crises” and so fascinated, yes, fascinated, by the machinations of the “national enemies”, without and within, that we had no time to think about these dreadful things that were growing, little by little, all around us. Unconsciously, I suppose, we were grateful. Who wants to think?

“To live in this process is absolutely not to be able to notice it – please try to believe me – unless one has a much greater degree of political awareness, acuity, than most of us had ever had occasion to develop. Each step was so small, so inconsequential, so well explained or, on occasion, “regretted,” that, unless one were detached from the whole process from the beginning, unless one understood what the whole thing was in principle, what all these “little measures” that no “patriotic German” could resent must some day lead to, one no more saw it developing from day to day than a farmer in his field sees the corn growing. One day it is over his head.

“How is this to be avoided, among ordinary men, even highly educated ordinary men? Frankly, I do not know. I do not see, even now. Many, many times since it all happened I have pondered that pair of great maxims, Principiis obsta and Finem respice – “Resist the beginnings” and “consider the end.” But one must foresee the end in order to resist, or even see, the beginnings. One must foresee the end clearly and certainly and how is this to be done, by ordinary men or even by extraordinary men? Things might have changed here before they went as far as they did; they didn’t, but they might have. And everyone counts on that might.

“Your “little men,” your Nazi friends, were not against National Socialism in principle. Men like me, who were, are the greater offenders, not because we knew better (that would be too much to say) but because we sensed better. Pastor Niemoller spoke for the thousands and thousands of men like me when he spoke (too modestly of himself) and said that, when the Nazis attacked the Communists, he was a little uneasy, but, after all, he was not a Communist, and so he did nothing: and then they attacked the Socialists, and he was a little uneasier, but, still, he was not a Socialist, and he did nothing; and then the schools, the press, the Jews, and so on, and he was always uneasier, but still he did nothing. And then they attacked the Church, and he was a Churchman, and he did something – but then it was too late.”

“Yes,” I said.

“You see,” my colleague went on, “one doesn’t see exactly where or how to move. Believe me, this is true. Each act, each occasion, is worse than the last, but only a little worse. You wait for the next and the next. You wait for the one great shocking occasion, thinking that others, when such a shock comes, will join with you in resisting somehow. You don’t want to act, or even to talk, alone; you don’t want to “go out of your way to make trouble.” Why not? – Well, you are not in the habit of doing it. And it is not just fear, fear of standing alone, that restrains you; it is also genuine uncertainty.

“Uncertainty is a very important factor, and, instead of decreasing as time goes on, it grows. Outside, in the streets, in the general community, “everyone is happy. One hears no protest, and certainly sees none. You know, in France or Italy there will be slogans against the government painted on walls and fences; in Germany, outside the great cities, perhaps, there is not even this. In the university community, in your own community, you speak privately to you colleagues, some of whom certainly feel as you do; but what do they say? They say, “It’s not so bad” or “You’re seeing things” or “You’re an alarmist.”

“And you are an alarmist. You are saying that this must lead to this, and you can’t prove it. These are the beginnings, yes; but how do you know for sure when you don’t know the end, and how do you know, or even surmise, the end? On the one hand, your enemies, the law, the regime, the Party, intimidate you. On the other, your colleagues pooh-pooh you as pessimistic or even neurotic. You are left with your close friends, who are, naturally, people who have always thought as you have.

“But your friends are fewer now. Some have drifted off somewhere or submerged themselves in their work. You no longer see as many as you did at meetings or gatherings. Informal groups become smaller; attendance drops off in little organizations, and the organizations themselves wither. Now, in small gatherings of your oldest friends, you feel that you are talking to yourselves, that you are isolated from the reality of things. This weakens your confidence still further and serves as a further deterrent to � to what? It is clearer all the time that, if you are going to do anything, you must make an occasion to do it, and then you are obviously a troublemaker. So you wait, and you wait.

“But the one great shocking occasion, when tens or hundreds or thousands will join with you, never comes. That’s the difficulty. If the last and worst act of the whole regime had come immediately after the first and the smallest, thousands, yes, millions would have been sufficiently shocked � if, let us say, the gassing of the Jews in “43″ had come immediately after the “German Firm” stickers on the windows of non-Jewish shops in “33″. But of course this isn’t the way it happens. In between come all the hundreds of little steps, some of them imperceptible, each of them preparing you not to be shocked by the next. Step C is not so much worse than Step B, and, if you did not make a stand at Step B, why should you at Step C? And so on to Step D.

“And one day, too late, your principles, if you were ever sensible of them, all rush in upon you. The burden of self deception has grown too heavy, and some minor incident, in my case my little boy, hardly more than a baby, saying “Jew swine,” collapses it all at once, and you see that everything, everything, has changed and changed completely under your nose. The world you live in � your nation, your people � is not the world you were in at all. The forms are all there, all untouched, all reassuring, the houses, the shops, the jobs, the mealtimes, the visits, the concerts, the cinema, the holidays. But the spirit, which you never noticed because you made the lifelong mistake of identifying it with the forms, is changed. Now you live in a world of hate and fear, and the people who hate and fear do not even know it themselves; when everyone is transformed, no one is transformed. Now you live in a system which rules without responsibility even to God. The system itself could not have intended this in the beginning, but in order to sustain itself it was compelled to go all the way.

“You have gone almost all the way yourself. Life is a continuing process, a flow, not a succession of acts and events at all. It has flowed to a new level, carrying you with it, without any effort on your part. On this new level you live, you have been living more comfortably every day, with new morals, new principles. You have accepted things you would not have accepted five years ago, a year ago, things that your father, even in Germany, could not have imagined.

“Suddenly it all comes down, all at once. You see what you are, what you have done, or, more accurately, what you haven’t done ( for that was all that was required of most of us: that we do nothing). You remember those early meetings of your department in the university when, if one had stood, others would have stood, perhaps, but no one stood. A small matter, a matter of hiring this man or that, and you hired this one rather than that. You remember everything now, and your heart breaks. Too late. You are compromised beyond repair.

“What then? You must then shoot yourself. A few did. Or “adjust” your principles. Many tried, and some, I suppose, succeeded; not I, however. Or learn to live the rest of your life with your shame. This last is the nearest there is, under the circumstances, to heroism: shame. Many Germans became this poor kind of hero, many more, I think, than the world knows or cares to know.”

I said nothing. I thought of nothing to say.

“I can tell you,” my colleague went on, “of a man in Leipzig, a judge. He was not a Nazi, except nominally, but he certainly wasn’t an anti-Nazi. He was just � a judge. In “42″ or “43″, early “43″, I think it was, a Jew was tried before him in a case involving, but only incidentally, relations with an “Aryan” woman. This was “race injury”, something the Party was especially anxious to punish. In the case a bar, however, the judge had the power to convict the man of a “nonracial” offense and send him to an ordinary prison for a very long term, thus saving him from Party “processing” which would have meant concentration camp or, more probably, deportation and death. But the man was innocent of the “nonracial” charge, in the judge’s opinion, and so, as an honorable judge, he acquitted him. Of course, the Party seized the Jew as soon as he left the courtroom.
“
“And the judge?”

“Yes, the judge. He could not get the case off his conscience � a case, mind you, in which he had acquitted an innocent man. He thought that he should have convicted him and saved him from the Party, but how could he have convicted an innocent man? The thing preyed on him more and more, and he had to talk about it, first to his family, then to his friends, and then to acquaintances. (That’s how I heard about it.) After the “44″ Putsch they arrested him. After that, I don’t know.”

I said nothing.

“Once the war began,” my colleague continued, “resistance, protest, criticism, complaint, all carried with them a multiplied likelihood of the greatest punishment. Mere lack of enthusiasm, or failure to show it in public, was “defeatism.” You assumed that there were lists of those who would be “dealt with” later, after the victory. Goebbels was very clever here, too. He continually promised a “victory orgy” to “take care of” those who thought that their “treasonable attitude” had escaped notice. And he meant it; that was not just propaganda. And that was enough to put an end to all uncertainty.

“Once the war began, the government could do anything “necessary” to win it; so it was with the “final solution” of the Jewish problem, which the Nazis always talked about but never dared undertake, not even the Nazis, until war and its “necessities” gave them the knowledge that they could get away with it. The people abroad who thought that war against Hitler would help the Jews were wrong. And the people in Germany who, once the war had begun, still thought of complaining, protesting, resisting, were betting on Germany’s losing the war. It was a long bet. Not many made it.”

Donut freak out

Donut freak out!

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On August 31, 2006, former CEO Mark Pincus announced that he was “taking back tribe.” He did this through a public listing on the site.

Tribe.net has repeatedly stated that they have no intention of reverting to the previous look or interface of the site. However on September 21 2006 Tribe posted an announcement on their website that the revised interface was suspended in favor of an easier and more customizable user interface. One of the splash pages showed the website’s logo dripping blood, and declared that the employee designers were taking over the site now that the stuffy CEO was no longer with the company.

Tribe.net is still down and has no answers as to when the service will be back up. The “Donut freak out” is still in place and the site still says it is at breakfast. Calls to the parent company of tribe.net say that dont know if the site will return. “We are a news organization and things other then news arent important to us”