Acupressure Techniques for Common Ailments

Acupressure Techniques for Common Ailments

Chinese massage promotes blood and qi flows, smooths meridians and regulates organs, and thus benefits the overall physical condition. For musculoskeletal problems, it is best to obtain the services of a massage professional, as improper massage manipulation can easily lead to further damage. For general health maintenance, there are some acupressure techniques that you can do yourself. The techniques are simple and fairly easy to learn. Generally, you just need to select an appropriate massage plan that suits your health need, perform it in the morning and evening and make it last 20-30 minutes each time.

Chinese massage methods can be a simple and easy way to treat many ailments. In this section, we introduce some useful acupressure techniques for self-healing.Acupressure for easing mental stress and relaxation


1. Sit still with eyes looking forward and teeth clenched, use the palm to pat evenly over the crown of the head, 20 times,
2. Press the thumbs on the inner sides of the eyebrows (Bl2) and knead 30 times.
3. Wipe the forehead with the middle knuckles of the index fingers, 30 times.
4. Press and knead the corners of the forehead inside the hairline (St8), 30 times.
5. Press and knead along the back of the head within the hairline with the thumbs, 30 times.
6. Knead the lateral side of the wrist (Ht7) on both hands, 30 times.
7. Knead 3-finger-breadths above the inner malleolus of each ankle (Sp6), 30 times.
8. Finish by rubbing the center of the soles of the feet (Kl1), 30 times.


The massage is helpful for insomnia, mental fatigue, absent-mindedness, drowsiness and listlessness. When kneading or pressing on particular points, there should be enough force to bring about numbness or soreness, while rubbing or wiping should create a feeling of warmth.


Acupressure for easing mental stress and relaxation

Bud Karas

Massage to Promote the Eye Region

Massage to Promote the Eye Region 

1. Knead the eyebrows: press the thumbs on the inner sides of the eyebrows (Bl2) and knead 20 times; the pressure should be increased gradually to obtain a feeling of soreness.
2. Pinch the nasal bridge: use the thumb and index finger to pinch the nasal bridge closest to the inner canthi of the eyes (Bl1), firmly press and pinch about 20-30 times.
3. Press under the eyes: use the index finger to press just below the pupils (St2), and knead about 20 times.
4. Scrape the orbits: put the thumbs on the temple areas, use the middle knuckles of the index fingers to press the inner canthi of the eyes, then scrape apart along the upper and lower orbits, about 20-30 times.
5. Compress the eyeballs: first rub the hands together to get them warm, then put them over the closed eyes with the palms for 30 seconds; then slightly rub the eyeballs 10 times or more.
6. Thumb-knead the temples: firmly knead the center of temples (Ex-HN5) with the thumbs about 30 times.


This massage is useful for the prevention and treatment of myopia, blurred vision, glaucoma and other eye problems.


Massage to promote the eye region

Vitamin Soup

Vitamin Soup

Eating certain foods for health and healing is an important part of caring for yourself. In this season, when so many fall victim to illness, it is important to have these healing soup recipes on hand. Eating in season follows the rhythm and cycle of nature; all of which is given for our vitality.


Autumn root vegetables are not only packed with vitamins and minerals needed for cold and flu prevention/treatment; but they are in season and very inexpensive this time of year.

1)Carrots – Carrots are loaded with beta carotene. They are very low in saturated fat and cholesterol. Carrots are an excellent source of vitamin B6, thiamine, niacin, folate, manganese, vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin K, potassium, and a very good source of dietary fiber.
2)Potatoes - Potatoes are a good source of fiber and naturally low in cholesterol. They are high in vitamins and minerals. In fact, potatoes contain approximately 70% of the daily recommended value of vitamin C and are a good source of iron.
3)Parsnips - Parsnips are very low in saturated fat and cholesterol. They are a good source of potassium, vitamin C, folate, manganese, and dietary fiber.
4)Rutabagas/Turnips - The turnip is a non-starchy vegetable and adds a significant amount of vitamin C to the diet.
5)Pumpkin – Pumpkin is a good source of vitamin E, vitamin B6, niacin, thiamin, folate, magnesium, iron, phosphorus, and it is very good source of dietary fiber. It is also an excellent source of vitamin A, vitamin C, potassium, riboflavin, copper and manganese.

Herbs such as summer savory, thyme, and parsley have purifying properties and are high in calcium and vitamins C and A.

Note: It is always a good idea to have homemade chicken stock on hand, and the meat reserved in the refrigerator, ready for immediate use throughout the week.

The following traditional recipes use seasonal foods well known for their ability to restore health.

Vitamin Soup

-1 cup dried beans (I like small navy beans)
-2 cups diced carrots
-2 cups diced potatoes
-2 cups diced parsnips
-1 cup diced rutabaga (turnip)
-2 onions, chopped
-2 tsp. dried savory
-1/2 tsp. dried thyme
-1/2 cup fresh or frozen parsley, chopped
-2 cups cooked diced pastured chicken (optional)
-1 cup grated zucchini or pumpkin

Directions: Soak dried beans in water for at least 8 hours or overnight. Fill crock pot 1/3 full with homemade chicken bone broth or Vegetable Bouillon (see recipe below). Add remainder of the ingredients, except for the herbs. Let simmer on high until beans and vegetables are tender (6-8 hours). Add the herbs for the last 30 minutes of cooking.

Note: You may not have homemade bone broth on hand or you may hold to a more vegetarian/vegan diet. Either way, add a boost of nutrition to the above recipe by using this Vegetable Bouillon instead.

Vegetable Bouillon

-5 cloves of garlic
-4 onions
-4 stalks celery
-6 carrots
-A handful of spinach or kale leaves
-4 tomatoes
-2 tablespoons parsley
-1 teaspoon thyme
-2 teaspoons savory

Directions: Fill a large stock pot with pure water. Add all ingredients and simmer until vegetables are tender. Strain using a piece of cheesecloth (our hens love the leftover vegetable pulp). Store in glass jars in refrigerator for use in the short-term (2-3 days) or freeze for a longer storage solution.

A Recipe for Homemade Herbal Cold Care Capsules

A Recipe for Homemade Herbal Cold Care Capsules

I feel like my medicine chest isn’t complete without these homemade herbal cold care capsules.

Making my own allows me the freedom and joy of controlling the quality of ingredients. In fact, most of the herbs I use in this recipe come from my small backyard medicinal herb garden and are dried here in my own home. There’s nothing like knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt their potency!

How to Make Herbal Cold Care Capsules

This is one of my most effective and favorite remedies for combating minor cold and flu symptoms. After much research and trial on myself, family, and friends…I am sharing this recipe with you.

Supplies Needed

-The Capsule Machine (optional)
-”00″ gelatin or vegetable capsules

Ingredients

-1 part Echinacea angustfolia root powder
-1 part Rose hips powder
-1/2 part Thyme leaf and flower powder
-1/4 part Cayenne pepper powder

Method



1. In a non-reactive bowl, mix all of the herbal powders together until well combined.
2. With the use of The Capsule Machine, fill as many capsules as you think your family will use within a 6-12 month period. Note: Don’t have a Capsule Machine? It’s okay…simply scoop the powder into each piece of the capsule and pack it tight prior to recapping the ends.
3. Store the capsules in a small glass mason jar and place the lid on tight. Keep in a cool, dark, dry place. These capsules should stay fresh for 6-12 months.

Click here to read more about making your own homemade herbal capsules…

To Use: A couple of weeks ago I was beginning to develop a scratchy throat (The way my body warns me of a coming illness). After drinking a homemade immunity-building tea, I took 2 of my Herbal Cold Care capsules and went to bed early. Upon rising in the morning I took 2 more capsules and that was the end of that!

at the onset of illness take 1-2 capsules every 2-3 hours (do not take more than 9 capsules a day). This regime may be continued for 2 days — after that you should reduce the dosage to 2-3 capsules two to three times a day (taking no more than 6 caps a day).





-Based on what you have growing in your garden or in a local field, you may use a variety of medicinal herbs in combination to create your own Herbal Cold Care capsules.

-As an alternative, you may consider using powdered herbs such as:
Elderberries
Marshmallow root
Goldenseal root
Lemon balm
Sage

Keeping the Skin Young

Keeping the Skin Young


Ancient beauty

Internally, the spleen provides the source of blood and qi (vital energy), and the lung is responsible for disseminating the blood and qi to the skin. These two organs ensure the skin is constantly nourished; however, other organs also attribute to the smoothness of the circulation. Along with the aging process, a sluggish metabolic rate and an excess of waste products will inevitably lead to malnourished skin causing dullness, wrinkles, age spots, dryness and hair loss as well as brittle and deformed nails. TCM claims that the texture and elasticity of skin can be improved by:
Replenishing blood and activating its circulation,
Nourishing yin for lubrication.

This is achieved by the following practices:

1. Herbal remedies keeping the skin young

Herbs are mainly used to regulate lung, kidney and spleen functioning, promote blood production and nourish yin and qi (vital energy). Common ingredients include ginseng, Solomon's seal rhizome (huang jing), wolfberry fruit, Gynostemma pentaphyllum (jiao gu lan), ginkgo leaf, dates, raspberry fruit, angelica root, fleece flower root, fragrant Solomon's seal rhizome (yu zhu), black sesame , Ganoderma lucidum (ling zhi), Siberian ginseng (ci wu jia) and pollen. They help to maintain a softness, luster and spotless skin. Some ingredients are combined to assist in the elimination of accumulated metabolic wastes, such as giant typhonium rhizome (bai fu zi), peach kernel, dahurian angelica root (bai zhi), Ledebouriella root (fang feng) and Biond Magnolia flower(xin yi), so as to solve specific beauty problems. Traditionally, for long-term consumption, people would consult a physician for a customized prescription. A considerable amount of ingredients (at least two-month's dosage) are prepared as a concentrated decoction, then further concentrated in strained liquid, and finally cooked with the addition of honey to make into a syrup or gel-like extract. They are known as "enriching soft extracts", which are easy to take and sweet to the taste.

Siberian ginseng (ci wu jia) 
Gynostemma pentaphyllum
(jiao gu lan)
Ginkgo leaf

Some simple ancient remedies help to promote complexion and brightness of the skin :
Dried tangerine peel (30g), water melon kernel (50g) and peach blossom (40), grind into powder mixture. Take 3 times a day, each time 2g.
Water melon kernel (40g), peach blossom (30g) and willow root cortex (15g), grind into powder mixture. Take 3 times a day after meal, each time 3g.
Chinese arborvitae kernel (150g), water melon kernel (150g), abutilon seed (150g), poria (150g), fried and ground into a powder. Take with a small amount of wine, 8g each time, 3 times a day after meals. The remedy is also suitable for individuals with acne and constipation.
Collect peach blossom from the blossom tree directly, sun dried and grind into powder. Add in the food as seasoning, 3 times a day, each time 3g.
Dried ginger (480g), red dates (240g), liquorice root (90g), fennel seed (120g), salt (60g) and clove (120g), grind into a powder. In the morning, take 10 -15g of this powder and serve as hot tea.
Milk (240ml), ginger juice (120ml), red pepper powder (0.3g), poria (20g) and ginseng (15g). Grind the last two ingredients. Heat the milk and ginger juice first, bring to a boil and then add in the other ingredients, simmer on low heat until the liquid dry and becomes thick. This amount is enough for 10 days.
Hawthorn fruit (20g) and rhemannia root (12g); prepare as a tea and add brown sugar to taste.

2. Food supplements to keep the skin young 

Food therapy provides additional natural elements to help the body to repair and regenerate itself; in other words, it supplies what our body needs as we age and thus assist the body to function as if we were younger. Common foods recorded in ancient books for "beauty", "anti-aging" and "rejuvenation" purpose are sesame, honey, mushrooms, milk products, pumpkin seeds, lotus root, water melon, cherry, wheat and radish. Foods that modern TCM recommends for skin health are white fungus, lily buds, wolfberry fruits, red dates, bird's nest, sea cucumber, fish sound, oyster, conch, soft-shelled turtle, eels, pig skin, animal bone marrow and pond loach. These ingredients can nourish yin and promote blood production.

White fungus 
Lily buds & lotus seeds
Mung beans

Sample of recipes that can enhance skin condition:
Dried persimmon fruit one or two per day is said can keep skin glowing.
Fresh cucumber (500g) and garlic (25g). Wash and crush the ingredients, season with soybean sauce, sesame oil and red pepper to taste. This is also suitable for obese individuals.
Wolfberry fruits invigorate the liver and kidney, and replenish blood and qi. It can be served as a tea; use 120g (fresh) or 30g (dried) daily.
Strawberry milk 200ml per day, for 10 to 20 days. Each time, ground 5 pieces of strawberry, and mix with 200ml of boiling milk.
Soybean milk (200ml), walnut (30g) and black sesame (20g). Grind the two ingredients together, and boil with soybean milk for 5 minutes. Add rock sugar to taste, serve warm in the morning.
Prepare a juicy mixture by celery (100g), tomato (200g), pear (150g) and lemon juice (15ml). Drink it once a day, good for itchiness, facial brown spots and acne.
Bird's nest (6g) and rice (60g). Prepare the bird's nest by soaking fully in warm water and discarding impurities; put the two ingredients in a pot with 1000ml of boiling water, simmer for 2 hours. The congee is then served warm; add rock sugar to taste.
Red dates (10 pieces) and rice (100g), make into congee, add brown sugar to taste and serve warm in the morning.
Coix seeds (30g), lily buds (10g) and rice (60g), make into congee, serve warm in the morning.
Carrot (200g) and rice (100), slice the carrot, and then cook with rice and water, make into congee and serve warm.

3. TCM External beauty remedies 

TCM external remedies aim at promoting blood circulation and lubricating the local body regions. They can be in forms like creams, jellys, lotions, and masks as well as powder. Common ingredients include pearl, notoginseng, motherwort herb, aloe, common bletilla tuber (bai ji), dahurian angelica root (bai zhi), almond and ginseng.


Pearl powder
Notoginseng
Common bletilla tuber
(bai ji)

Ancient beauty remedies:
Prepare almonds (100g) by soaking in warm water, removing the brown coat and ground into a cream; then mix with one egg white. Put on the face and leave overnight. Next morning, clean the face with liquid that has been used for washing rice. This is effective for removing the dull color, brown spots, acne and fine wrinkles on the face.
Collect the fine inner coating of chestnuts, grind and mix with honey. Apply on the face regularly can help smooth out wrinkles.
Prepare a mask with pearl powder and egg white. Every night after cleaning the face, cover for 30 minutes, then wipe off with honeysuckle flower water.
Herbal bath: prepare mung beans, lily buds and borneol (10g each); talc, monkshood, Dahurian angelica root, sandalwood and resin (30g each). Grind all the ingredients and pour directly into warm water (around 38 °C); soak for 30 minutes.

4. Massage, acupuncture and moxibustion for skin health 

Acupoints are the sites through which the qi (vital energy) of organs and meridians can flow to the body surface. Stimulation of these points can regulate the function of organs and meridians, and enhance the circulation in the skin. Two simple massage techniques are recommended for promoting good skin health:
On waking in the morning, use the hands to rub the ears and pull them slightly; then massage the scalp and comb the hair with the fingers; finally, rub hands together to heat up and then sweep from the forehead down to the chin for 14 times.
Every morning before putting on facial cream or cosmetics, meditate for 1 minute; blow out the cheeks and gargle for 1 minute; rub the hands together to warm them up and then sweep them over the face once.


For skin beauty therapies, the most important acupoints are along the Gallbladder Meridian, Kidney Meridian, Liver Meridian, Stomach Meridian, Triple Burner Meridian,Large Intestine Meridian and Small Intestine Meridian. Physicians will select the points according to individual needs. For example, acupuncture for removing facial wrinkles will choose the following acupoints:

Major points: si zhu kong, cuan zhu, tai yang, ying xiang, jia che, yi feng.
Assist points: zhong wan, he gu, qu chi, zu san li, wei shu, guan yuan, lou gu.

Each time, stimulate 2-4 acupoints for 8-16 minutes in one side, 10 times as one cycle.

Facial points for beauty therapies

Moxibustion is also a good method for skin beauty; points that are commonly selected include shen que, guan yuan, qi hai, zhong wan, ming men, da zhui, shen zhu, gao huang, shen shu, wei shu, zu san li, san yin jiao, qu chi, xia lian. Each time choose 1-2 of the points, heat 3-5 moxa cones, or moxa sticks for 3-5 minutes. Apply on a daily basis.

Bud Karas

Experiencing Body, Life Force, and Mind as Vibrations

Experiencing Body, Life Force, and Mind as Vibrations 

This knowledge is necessary to understand that the body and life force and mind which form the encasement of the soul are in reality nothing more than differently vibrating thoughts of God. By the practice of Kriya, the yogi scientifically detaches his mind from gross sensory perceptions and realizes that consciousness and life force (prana or cosmic light) are the basis of all matter. The Kriya Yogi adopts a scientific method to divert his mind and reason from the perception of physical flesh; he perceives the body as light and consciousness by rising above the gross perception of breath.

All inner experiences like that of subconscious sleep can only take place when the consciousness of breath disappears. The Kriya Yogi has no need or desire to withhold breath forcibly in the lungs; he becomes mentally so calm that he feels himself to be aloof from breath. By the practice of Kriya Yoga he can consciously and at will attain the breathless state and sustain life in his body solely by the cool and warm currents flowing through the spine and trickling down from the spiritual eye.

If a wet battery, which is sustained by electricity and dependent on replenishment of its water supply (in an old type battery it was necessary to regularly add water to wet batteries to replace that which was lost in evaporation) could somehow be converted into a dry battery, it could do away with dependence on water and be sustained by its own reservoir of energy recharged solely by electricity. Kriya Yoga similarly helps the body-battery (which depends on cosmic life force flowing through the medulla, and on oxygen, sunshine, liquids, and solids) to become converted so that it can sustain itself solely on the life force flowing into the body from the cosmic source and stored in the regenerative reservoir of life energy in the brain and spinal centers.

The use of Kriya Yoga conclusively proves the truth in the Bible— that man's body-battery can live by the Word or vibratory current coming from God. The life in the body is directly sustained by the cosmic prana flowing through the medulla. Through the operation of maya or delusion, however, man believes that he cannot live without food and other outward aids. He becomes erroneously dependent on the gross sources of energy reinforcement through oxygen, sunshine, solids, and liquids. Man has formed a bad mortal habit in feeling that he cannot exist without a supply of energy from these material substances. That is why, if oxygen, sunshine, solids, and liquids are denied to the body, man's frightened consciousness permits the life force to depart.


Bud

So man's life is not dependent on bread alone

So man's life is not dependent on bread alone

, (solids, liquids or gaseous material food substances), but on every word (unit of vibratory energy) of God (cosmic energy).

Being mentally identified with food and body, man forgets that if the inner life-energy fails him, no amount of dieting or oxygenating the body can enable him to live. If the stomach of a dead man is stuffed with good food and his lungs are inflated with oxygen, he does not revive. Outwardly, food helps to keep life in the body, but life-force is maintained from within, and when the Cosmic Current fails to supply from within, no outward aid is of any avail.

Those who never fast—do not know that man can live by the word of God, or energy flowing from God. Jesus fasted forty days in order to convince himself that his soul had risen above the bodily conditions. That's why he uttered—when he was tempted by the material hunger-consciousness "Man shall not live by bread alone," etc.

Hence the earlier stages of a weeks' fasting are marked by hunger, but as the days of fasting multiply, less hunger and more freedom from food are distinctly felt. Why? Because the soul is unconsciously made to depend on the inner source of supply by a forced denial of the external source of supply of food. But this method of fasting is only one of the physical methods of rising above the consciousness of matter. No spiritual aspirant should indiscriminately indulge in long fasts without expert advice. Partial fasting, by omitting one or two meals a day, or by a day's fasting every week, done with the sole purpose of forgetting food, and followed by deep meditation, is helpful in spiritual realization.

The Christian Scientist generally employs strong imagination, developed by study of "Science and Health," in order to heal his physical diseases and convince himself of the non-existence of matter. But there is a more powerful element in man, says the Hindu teacher—the Will—by development of which, man can convert his body into a dry battery, charging his body with life-current from within by the Cosmic Source, and living without food, chemicals, or medicine. This requires long practice, and is difficult, but the easiest way is to learn to treat the body like a wet battery and live more by the Vital Force charged by the Will from within, and less by material food.

The Will is the great inner generator of energy into the body. When one is unwilling to do his daily work —one feels a lack of energy in the system. Whereas when one works incessantly but willingly, he feels full of energy within the body. Imagine if a man lying down quietly on a sofa, does not will to move his limbs or muscles or does not will to imagine or think or feel, and goes on remaining in that passive state, can he live? No.

Hence the body movements and physical processes are initiated by Will, consciously or unconsciously. Therefore, when one learns the higher metaphysical method, living by Conscious Energy and Will, he can then know that mind-power is self-contained and may live without being conditioned by the requirements of the body.

Then comes the method of learning the art of concentration by which one can transfer the attention —at will— from the body —to the soul in order to destroy the gross identification of the soul with the body—for this identification is the sole cause of the soul's ascribing to itself all the frailties and diseases of the body.

In order to fix a broken bone, the doctor, a child of God, with the help of God's material laws, has developed an almost perfect method of bone fixture. Then why ask a suffering layman to wait for a mental method of bone fixture, which only the highly developed ones, acquainted with the law of materialization and dematerialization of atomic vibration and body tissue, can perform. Until belief in mind-power is converted into exact knowledge, the layman is in danger of disillusionment. Merely ignoring a disease by belief in health would not prevent the progress of a disease, for the operation of God's physical laws are just as true as His mental laws. That's why many have died of disease —though they believed in mental healing. In order to be absolutely sure of mental healing, one must regularly develop his powers. Jesus was always sure of His healing because He had studied and knew what He was doing.

The inspired Hindu teachers are thoroughly in accord with the basic principles of Christian Science. But they express themselves differently. Instead of saying, as the Christian Scientist does, that matter does not exist, they say —matter is materialized mind-force, and scientifically prove this statement by their power of materialization and dematerialization of matter.

Science has demonstrated that all matter is composed of vibration. The ninety-two elements of matter, which enter into the composition of all the universe, from stars to human beings, are nothing but different forms of electronic vibration. For example, in ice —we find coldness, weight, form; it is visible. Melt the ice; it becomes water. Pass electricity thru it; it becomes invisible H2O, which, analyzed further, is a form of electronic vibration. Hence, one may scientifically say that ice does not exist, even though it is perceptible to our senses of sight, taste, feeling and so forth. In reality its essence is invisible electrons or forms of energy. In other words, that which can be dissolved into invisibility cannot be said to have valid existence. In this sense, matter can be said not to exist, but only in this sense, because matter does have relative existence, i.e., matter exists in relation to our mind and as an expression of the invisible electronic forces which do exist, because they are unchangeable and immortal. Just as the child could not be born without the parents, so matter is dependent on mind for its existence. It is born out of Divine Mind, and is perceptible to mortal mind; in itself and of itself, it has no reality and no existence. Hinduism supplies the missing link between Matter and Mind as being energy, just as the missing link between invisible H2O gas and ice —is water. Water and ice are both manifestations of invisible H2O, with only formal existence ...transitory appearance. Similarly, conscious mortal mind and matter are the formal manifestations of Divine Consciousness, with formal existence; but essentially, only Divine Mind exists.

In a very interesting booklet by Swami Abhedananda on "Christian Science and Vedanta," the following observations are made: "Christian Science, by denying the existence of matter and mortal mind, denies the existence of the phenomenal world and reduces it to nothingness. This difficulty does not arise in Vedanta philosophy, because it does not deny the existence of matter, mind, and everything that is on the phenomenal plane. Altho it tells us that the world is unreal, that matter is unreal, mind unreal; still it recognizes their existence, but adds that that existence cannot be separated from the absolute existence. If Brahman, or the absolute existence, be all in all, then everything that exists on the phenomenal plane is in reality Brahman, or the absolute Truth. The reality of the chair, the table, the earth, the sun, moon, and stars, is the absolute existence, is divinity itself. The reality in you, in me, and in all living creatures is the same as the absolute reality of the universe; only, on account of names and forms, the One Reality appears to be many. As, for instance, the one substance clay, appears thru diverse names and forms in numberless varieties, such as pots, jars, bricks, etc., so the One Absolute Reality, when clothed with varying names and forms, appears to be sun, moon, stars, animals, vegetables, etc. . . .

"The names and forms have of course no Absolute Reality, but they have Conditional Reality; or, in other words, they exist in relation to our minds. The world is real, according to Vedanta, but at the same time it is not as it seems to be; it is not that which appears to us at the present moment. This is what is meant by 'illusion' in Vedanta. For example, here is a chair; the substance of this chair is the Absolute Reality, because the Absolute Reality is All-Pervading and One. It is in you, in me, in the table, and in everything, and that which gives reality to the chair ...is one with the Absolute Reality. But the chair appears as chair only so long as it is clothed with the name and form of chair. If we can mentally separate the name and form from the substance of the chair, that which will be left —will be common wood; take away the name and form of wood —atoms and molecules will remain; take away the name and form of atoms and molecules —there will be nothing but Eternal Energy, and that is inseparable from the Absolute Substance. In this way, if we can mentally separate the names and forms from the substance, all phenomenal objects can be reduced to one substance which is the Absolute Reality of the universe. . . .

"In this age of agnosticism and materialism, Christian Science has done an admirable work, in making people realize that this phenomenal world of ours is like a dreamland, and that all objects of sense are nothing more than objects seen in a dream. This is no small gain for Western minds; because the more we realize that this world is like a dream —the nearer we approach to Absolute Truth. In this respect, what Christian Science is at present trying to do in this country, has been done by Vedanta in India for centuries. Furthermore, Christian Science has rendered a great service to humanity by demonstrating the power of the mind over the body, the power of Spirit over matter. Altho this fact was in no way new to the spiritual teachers, sages and best thinkers of every country, still in no other country and at no other time had there ever been so well organized a movement as that started recently by Mrs. Eddy under the name of Christian Science. Like Vedanta, it has brought health to many diseased bodies and rest to may diseased minds.

"The power of healing is the property of every individual soul. There have been many remarkable healers in every country—among the Hindus, the Buddhists, the Mohammedans, and those of other religious creeds. It is a great mistake to think that the power of healing comes from any outside source or from belief in this or that. It is developed by living a right life in accordance with the moral and spiritual laws of nature. . . . If we read the religious history of the world carefully, we find that long before the birth of Christ, the same healing Power of the Mind or Spirit was practiced by the followers of Buddha —with marvelous success. Wherever Buddhist missionaries traveled  they healed the sick without using drugs. The yogis in India also use no drugs in curing disease, but rely entirely upon the spiritual power which they acquire thru right living and the practice of Yoga. . . . The power of healing is universal and cannot be confined within the boundaries of any one creed, sect, religion or book."

Resuming our discussion of mind and matter: We find that the blind or non-intelligent electronic forces of creation, in order to be Creative Teleological Agents, contain within themselves the vibrations of the Universal Conscious Life-Force, which in its turn —came from the vibrations of God's Divine Cosmic Consciousness. God said, "Let there be light," i.e., the Creator vibrated in His consciousness and It produced light or energy, and flowing conscious light of life-current and electrons, which further vibrated more grossly and became the diverse subtle forces of Nature, which in their turn became the gross ninety-two elements of matter that constitute the material universe.

To the human consciousness —matter is both real and perceptible. But man has discovered thru theoretical investigation, thru logic and thru certain experiments (such as being able to convert a visible piece of ice into an invisible force) that there is a permanent and unalterable creative force behind all the transitory and illusive forms of material creation. This truth may be grasped just as we grasp the fact that the ocean exists ....though its waves have no permanent existence, being just the passing formal manifestations of one great substance. The waves cannot exist without the ocean, but the ocean can exist without the waves. So matter cannot exist without Divine Mind-Power, but Divine Mind-Power can exist without matter. These concepts can be intellectually grasped, but they cannot be realized until one has learned the conscious method of converting matter into conscious energy and conscious energy into Cosmic Consciousness, as Jesus could and as many Hindu Saints have been able to do. To such Enlightened Ones, mater does not exist because They can see the whole unchangeable ocean of Spirit beneath the slight rippling waves of creation.

The Universe has been spoken of in Vedanta and Yoga philosophies as God's dream. Matter and mind, with the universe, planets, and the human powers of feeling, will and consciousness, the states of life and death, disease and health, the gross surface waves and the subtle under-currents of material creation, are realities according to the Law of Relativity governing this dream of God's. All the dualities perceived thru the Law of Relativity are real to the dreamer, to the ordinary man in the world who plays his little part in the great dream of God. To escape from these dualities, one must awaken from this dream into eternal God-wakefulness. We cannot change God's dream just by imagination or denying matter, or by accepting life but rejecting death, or by seeking health and fleeing sickness. One state is as much a part of its opposite state as the two sides of the same cloth. The dualities are part and parcel of each other. The man who sees his body different from mind, who cannot dematerialize his body into Electronic Energy, who cannot see the inconsistency of rejecting medicine but accepting food, or denying sickness but affirming health, is a man still under the delusion of the dream-world. Just as the ordinary man has dreams which seem real for a time, but lose their reality when the man emerges into the ordinary waking state, so it is possible for every one to awaken some day from the seeming reality of the present world-dream, and live in the eternal Cosmic Consciousness of God.

The super-man, He who has consciously awakened in God by transferring and expanding His consciousness into the world of unchangeable reality, He alone can realize this creation as a dream of God; He alone can say matter has no existence. Thru a long series of self-disciplinary steps, thru the different paths of Yoga, or thru any method of spiritual perfection, thru service, love, wisdom and self-effacement, the Aspirant climbs beyond the clutch of dualities and the impermanence of all created things, into the incomprehensible grandeur of His true Being.

Bud Karas

St. Michael, the Archangel Saint of the Day TODAY !!

St. Michael, the Archangel Saint of the Day Saturday, September 29, 2012 St. Michael, the Archangel - Feast day - September 29th The name Michael signifies "Who is like to God?" and was the warcry of the good angels in the battle fought in heaven against satan and his followers. He is the leader of the armies of God, the Archangel that represents the Power of God. His name means "Who is like unto God ?" When the bad angels rebelled, He was the one who spoke saying those words. By his humility He defeated Lucifer in this first battle, who was cast down from Heaven. He is one of the seven spirits that stand before God, prophesied in the Apocalypse to defeat Satan in the final battle between good and evil. His feast is honoured on the 29 of September. Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel. Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in the hour of battle, be our safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the devil, May God restrain him we humbly pray and do Thou O Prince of the Heavenly Court, by the Power of God cast into hell, satan and all the other evil spirits who roam through the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen St. Michael Blog Bud Karas

Realizing the Holy Ghost (AUM) as Sound, Light and Love

Realizing the Holy Ghost (AUM) as Sound, Light and Love

…a very intricate, lengthy subject because all things come from the Holy Vibration, the Holy Ghost.

…In St. John we read, "In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, the Word was God.. You think the Bible existed in the beginning before creation came? You see the chance for misconception? But the Word of God is not just the printed word in the Bible, it is the Holy Vibration from which all things have come. That Holy Vibration, the Holy Ghost, the Great Comforter of which Jesus spoke, that's what the Holy Ghost is. And the Bible, in the Bible when it speaks of the Word, it means the Holy Vibration from which all things have come…

And so the Word of God means the Holy Vibration, and many, many, many people have not the remotest idea of what that means. That's why Self-Realization means so much to me, and I know to most of you, because it gives us something tangible to work on to know these eternal truths, and to know God, not as an idea, but as an actual reality, something vital, vibrating with His Power which we can contact, feel, and merge in. Such is the Holy Ghost. That's the true meaning of the Holy Ghost. And it is not a symbol, it is a fact. God is.

...Then it says in Genesis, "The Spirit of God moved.. Therefore, God's Consciousness moves as Cosmic Energy. Therefore, you have those two things: Consciousness plus its Power. And what did that Power of God's Consciousness create, the Holy Ghost. "Holy" means God Consciousness, Ghost, unseen. The Holy Vibration is the unseen movement of God's Consciousness. That'll give you a better idea of what the Holy Ghost is. If you can contact that, you have the Presence of God with you. That's what people do not understand. It's something real and tangible. The Holy Ghost, from this moment on, make it that. Do not let it be a theological conception. Make it an actual reality within you, and you can do it, because each one is made in the Image of God and that Holy Vibration, that Holy Ghost has made each one of us, and that Holy Vibration sustains us. Why? Because in that Holy Vibration is God's Great Intelligence, and above all His Love. Don't you see how important it is to realize the Holy Ghost as a fact, not just as a symbol? Not in the theological way, but in an actual way, realizing God's Presence within you.

And so, that's what God is: Consciousness plus His movement. The Spirit of God moved and that produced the Holy Vibration. And then God said, "Let there be light," and so the Holy Vibration is Light, Sound, Light, and Feeling of God. That's all it is. But it is, it's the reality within us. Remember that. All vibration has sound. So the first aspect of the Holy Vibration is sound, which we will talk just a minute about. Sound. The Holy Vibration is sound…

Now, this vibration is vibrating throughout all things because it has made all things. That the continuous hum of God's Great Cosmic Energy is an actual thing, a reality. But it cannot be perceived with outward ears, it can be perceived through your Soul's power, the intuition within you, and, therefore, it becomes a reality to those who hear the Cosmic Sound. Now you say, just hearing a vibration as my hand [Doctor claps his hands once], that doesn't give you anything. But in the Cosmic Sound is God's Intelligence. Realize that. His Love is in that Cosmic Sound. Then it becomes something different than a flat vibration. But that hum throughout the universe, or maybe because of His creation, that becomes an actual reality, solacing, sustaining power within you when you merge in it, after hearing it first, then merge in it.

So you see, the sound of the Holy Vibration is something different than just the sound of an ordinary vibration. Why? Because God's Power is in it, God's Love is in it, God's Intelligence is in it. Think of the Intelligence of God, which has made universe upon universe upon universe, there's no end to it, it seems. That Intelligence, is, will be your guide, if you'll allow it to be that, if you can merge in His Holy Presence. And so, that's what the Holy Vibration is, as the first aspect of sound. Realize that.

Now this is spoken of in the Bible, especially in Revelation, the 1st Chapter, the 10th Verse, and it says, "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day and heard a great voice as of a trumpet. We'll just stop there because we're talking about the sound of the Holy Vibration. It is spoken of in the Bible in many ways, as a trumpet sound, the voice of many waters, the great sound, the Amen . and we come to that later. This refers to the actual Holy Ghost, vibrating within each and every one of us. And all true devotees, who will honestly search to find God, and follow one who knew God, as our beloved guru, follow his techniques, will perceive this Cosmic Sound. Perceiving it, hearing it with the intuition of the soul, they will feel the Presence of God with them, even just the sound aspect of the Holy Ghost. So much for that first aspect: the sound of many waters; the great trumpet sound; spoken of in many ways, and spoken of universally in all religions.

Now the Light manifestation. The Light manifestation of the Cosmic Vibration is another aspect of vibration, because God said when His Consciousness vibrated and moved, He said, "Let there be light. Light is the underlying noumena of all creation, and if you have read science of late, you know that matter resolves into energy, and finally into light…And the electron microscope shows that matter, even the metals, are vibrating light, and so that underlying vibration of light is an aspect of the Holy Vibration, because in the beginning was the Word and the Word was God, all things have come from that. And, therefore, Light is the underlying matrix, another aspect, of the Holy Vibration.

Now the third, and, perhaps, the greatest aspect of the Great Word, the Holy Ghost, the Comforter, is the Feeling aspect in it, the Love of God. God is Love. Realize that. Because what good would anything be unless you could feel it? …It wouldn't give us what it does give when you merge in it and feel His Great Love and His Feeling, that is, His regard for you. No wonder Jesus said, "When I'm gone I will send you the Comforter. Why the Comforter? The Holy Ghost is the Comforter, because it has God's Feeling in it, His Love for you…behind the vibration of this worldly existence is God's Love, and when all attain it in time. But why wait? Why not attain it now?

And so this Feeling aspect of God, the Great Love of His Presence, His Intelligence, to me, is the greatest part of the Holy Ghost, or the greatest aspect, because even though you have heard the Cosmic Sound, even though you see the Light, until God's Love comes, it is not the fullness of the Holy Ghost. Understand that. As Master said in some of his Metaphysical Meditations, "The body melts into the Cosmic Sound, body and universe melt into the Cosmic Sound, Cosmic Sound becomes the All-Pervading Light, and the Light loses its grossness in the Sea of Bliss.

So you can see that the aspect of the Holy Ghost which we must have is God's Love, and that takes care of everything. There's nothing can stand before God's Love. And so the humble devotee, who is making, who is pressing on, to feel his oneness with God, is utilizing the Greatest Force in the Universe, and by that effort he does the greatest good for this universe and for all people, because he is uniting himself with God, and God can flow through him. God's Love is the motivating force in this universe. And a humble devotee, not uttering a word, sitting silent in meditation, feeling, pressing on for the Presence of God, liberates tremendous power in the world. That's why the saints are the greatest benefactors for humanity, because God's Love flows through them. Realize that. Don't try to do so much yourself. I made that mistake. Don't try to do so much yourself. Let God do it. But you have to allow Him to do it by fully surrendering to Him, then His Love can flow through you.

And so you see, this Holy Ghost now becomes not just a vibration with its Sound, with its Light, but the Intelligence of God is in it, His Love is in it, that makes it something very, very desirable for each and every one of His children. The Holy Ghost is not symbol, it's a fact. It is a symbol of God's Consciousness, of course, but it's a fact that it can be realized, and that God is, the Comforter is with us…

Let us realize this one thing. And, if from this morning on we can make up our minds to feel the Presence of God, no matter how feebly it is, and stick to it, God will not deny us. Such is the Power of the Holy Ghost within each and every one of us...

Dreaming and Waking

Dreaming and Waking

It is not reasonable to think that a dreamer actually goes out in order to experience the objects seen in the dream, because of the discrepancy of the time involved in such a journey. Nor does he, when awakened, find himself in the places seen in the dream.

The dreamer, after awaking, realizes the illusoriness of the conversations he had with friends etc. in the dream state. Further, he does not possess in the waking state anything he acquired while dreaming.

The dream body is unsubstantial because the other i.e. the physical body, different from it, is perceived. Like the dream body, all things cognized by the mind are unsubstantial.

Since the experience of objects in dreams is similar to the experience of objects in the waking state, waking experience is regarded as the cause of dream experience. It is only by him who admits waking experience to be the cause of dream experience that waking experience can be regarded as real.

All entities are said to be unborn, since birth cannot be established as a fact. It is utterly impossible for the unreal to be born of the real. 

...And how utterly impossible it is for the real to be the cause of the unreal! 

Unreality of Duality

Unreality of Duality

As dreams, illusions, and castles in the air are viewed, so is the tangible universe viewed by the wise, well-versed in Vedanta.

There is neither dissolution nor creation, none in bondage and none practising disciplines. There is none seeking Liberation and none liberated. This is the absolute truth.

Atman is imagined as the unreal objects [that are perceived to exist] and as Non-duality as well. The objects, too, are imagined in the non-dual Atman. Therefore Non-duality is Bliss.

The diversity in the universe does not exist as an entity identical with Atman, nor does it exist by itself. Neither is it separate from Brahman nor is it non-separate. This is the statement of the wise. 

Just Love

You want love.

I want love too.

Underneath everything we do is the desire to be loved.

And to love.

Ideally, it permeates all of your words and actions, this sprinkling of love.

Whether you are asking your lover to pick her clothes up off the floor (although in a passion-strewn frenzy, such things can be forgiven. Ah, the power of great sex.);

Or your child has ignored your request to go to bed;

Or the barrista makes your ceremonial, non-milk matcha with milk again (ahem);

How many ways can you stay in love?

Love is an overarching feeling. It can film the room and the universe with its enormity.

It is also a conscious choice, moment-to-moment, to be loving.

In the end, your withholding love from others when they “f**k up” and “don’t do things the right way” diminishes you.

The more you radiate love, you constantly lift your vibration. You attract more love. It becomes so that an unloving word now sounds cacophonous coming out of your mouth.

Sometimes, a couple (or parent and child) have gone so long being defended against each other, that the idea of being loving is unimaginable. They’ve forgotten. It’s been that long.

You can change it in an instant.

If you decide to.

Every moment holds within it a new blueprint for the future. You can choose.

Then you have to remain committed to the choice. And committed to love.

I don’t watch (or have a) television. But I do once in a while check out shows online that I hear some interesting tidbit about.

About a month ago, I discovered The Newsroom on HBO.

What a beautiful show.

The acting, the dialogue, the ideas.

In the first episode, a broadcast team decides to run a news show and essentially change the direction of what all news channels have become: corporate-owned, very-curated versions of “news.”

When discussing this job-threatening, reputation-threatening move, one of the guys says, “We did it because... we just decided to.”

You just decide to.

You just decide to be more loving.

And it is done.

A bad habit or an addiction is a choice we make so quickly we're not even aware we're making it.

So you decide to change it. And then you remind yourself in every moment to keep making the better, stronger, more heart-honoring choice.

To love.

Bud

How Kriya Yoga Works

KRIYA YOGA 

The Yoga of Jesus

Understanding the Hidden Teachings of the Gospels

The techniques are not difficult, but they have to be done under the right conditions with the carbon eliminated from the blood. It's very important, because you cannot get out of body attachment as long as the breath is keeping you, your Soul, attached to the body. God created us, and he breathed into us the breath of life, and we came, be became a living Soul. That breath of life has to be free from this bodily vehicle.

Master has also this to say. "This is India's unique and deathless contribution to the world's treasury of knowledge. The Life Force which is ordinarily absorbed in maintaining the heart pump, must be freed for higher activities by a method of calming and stilling the ceaseless demands of the breath."

The breath cannot help but flow as long as there's carbon in your blood. We cannot help work. You've got to breathe to get rid of it. So the yogis, being so wise, they said, let us eliminate by the practice of yoga the presence of so much carbon in the blood that we can free our Soul from attachment, and know more about the Presence of God within us. That's saying it in a few common words. KRIYA is an ancient science. Lahiri Mahasaya received it from his guru, Babaji, who rediscovered and clarified the technique after it had been lost in the Dark Ages.

"The KRIYA YOGA which I am giving to the world through you in this nineteenth century," Babaji told Lahiri Mahasaya, "is a revival of the same science which Krishna gave, millenniums ago, to Arjuna, and which was later known to Patanjali, and to Christ, St. John, St. Paul, and other disciples."

KRIYA YOGA is referred to by Krishna, India's greatest prophet, in a stanza of the BHAGAVAD GITA: "Offering inhaling breath into the outgoing breath, and offering the outgoing breath into the inhaling breath, the yogi neutralizes both these breaths; he thus releases the life force from the heart and brings it under his control.The interpretation is: "The yogi arrests decay in the body by an addition of life force, and arrests the mutations of growth in the body by APAN (eliminating current). Thus neutralizing decay and growth, by quieting the heart, the yogi learns life control."

Krishna also relates  that it was he, in a former incarnation, who communicated the indestructible yoga to an ancient illuminato, Vivasvat, who gave it to Manu, the great legislator  He, in turn, instructed Ikshwaku, the father of India's solar warrior dynasty. Passing thus from one to another, the royal yoga was guarded by the rishis until the coming of the materialistic ages.  Then, due to priestly secrecy and man's indifference, the sacred knowledge gradually became inaccessible.

KRIYA YOGA is mentioned twice by the ancient sage Patanjali, foremost exponent of yoga, who wrote: "KRIYA YOGA consists of body discipline, mental control, and meditating on AUM.Patanjali speaks of God as the actual Cosmic Sound of AUM heard in meditation.  AUM is the Creative Word,  the sound of the Vibratory Motor. Even the yoga-beginner soon inwardly hears the wondrous sound of AUM. Receiving this blissful spiritual encouragement, the devotee becomes assured that he is in actual touch with divine realms.

Patanjali refers a second time to the life-control or KRIYA technique thus: "Liberation can be accomplished by that PRANAYAMA which is attained by disjoining the course of inspiration and expiration."

St. Paul knew KRIYA YOGA, or a technique very similar to it, by which he could switch life currents to and from the senses. He was therefore able to say: "Verily, I protest by our rejoicing which I have in Christ, I DIE DAILY."  By daily withdrawing his bodily life force, he united it by yoga union with the rejoicing (eternal bliss) of the Christ consciousness. In that felicitous state, he was consciously aware of being dead to the delusive sensory world of MAYA.

In the initial states of God-contact (SABIKALPA SAMADHI) the devotee's consciousness merges with the Cosmic Spirit; his life force is withdrawn from the body, which appears "dead," or motionless and rigid. The yogi is fully aware of his bodily condition of suspended animation. As he progresses to higher spiritual states (NIRBIKALPA SAMADHI), however, he communes with God without bodily fixation, and in his ordinary waking consciousness, even in the midst of exacting worldly duties.

"KRIYA YOGA is an instrument through which human evolution can be quickened," Sri Yukteswar explained to his students. "The ancient yogis discovered that the secret of cosmic consciousness is intimately linked with breath mastery. This is India's unique and deathless contribution to the world's treasury of knowledge. The life force, which is ordinarily absorbed in maintaining the heart-pump, must be freed for higher activities by a method of calming and stilling the ceaseless demands of the breath."

The KRIYA YOGI mentally directs his life energy to revolve, upward and downward, around the six spinal centers (medullary, cervical, dorsal, lumbar, sacral, and coccygeal plexuses) which correspond to the twelve astral signs of the zodiac, the symbolic Cosmic Man. One-half minute of revolution of energy around the sensitive spinal cord of man effects subtle progress in his evolution; that half-minute of KRIYA equals one year of natural spiritual unfoldment.

The astral system of a human being, with six (twelve by polarity) inner constellations revolving around the sun of the omniscient spiritual eye, is interrelated with the physical sun and the twelve zodiacal signs. All men are thus affected by an inner and an outer universe. The ancient rishis discovered that man's earthly and heavenly environment, in twelve-year cycles, push him forward on his natural path. The scriptures aver that man requires a million years of normal, disease-less evolution to perfect his human brain sufficiently to express cosmic consciousness.
And finally,

"The law of Kriya Yoga is eternal. It is like mathematics. Like the simple rules of addition and subtraction. The law of Kriya Yoga can never be destroyed."

Derecho de estudio de las Escrituras conduce a la emancipación

 Emancipación

Un verdadero devoto no sufre de indigestión mental al igual que aquel que se atiborra de la tradición bíblica, sin entender su significado y sin asimilarlo en su vida. Estudio teórico es útil cuando se inspira a un devoto a la práctica las enseñanzas sagradas. Pensamientos del juicio son guías fieles y protectores cuando se convierten en compañeros inseparables de uno.

La redención no viene de lo que uno sabe intelectualmente, sino de lo que se hace como resultado de ese conocimiento. Debe haber una conexión racional entre su aprendizaje y de uno mismo, de modo que una verdad se convierte en una parte tan integral de la persona que no puede ser desalojado por las tentaciones contrarias o dudas. Este es un aprendizaje intuitivo o realización.

Todas las creencias deben ser cuidadosamente analizado. Exceso en estudio debe ser evitado. Indiscriminada de estudio, sobre todo de los libros religiosos escritos por los principiantes o aficionados inexpertos espirituales, resultados sobre todo en los hashes no digeribles de la imaginación, las emociones y el mejor de una realización diluida.

Aforismo de Patanjali Yoga, la Biblia cristiana, hindú y la Biblia, y algunos otros libros escritos por hombres de realización debe ser estudiado, un poco a la vez, y meditado por horas o por días juntos. El mejor momento para leer las escrituras es después de la práctica de la meditación, cuando la intuición está despierta. (Ver la lista de libros más abajo.)

Si usted lee una hora, a continuación, escribir por dos horas, y reflexionar durante tres horas. Esta es la proporción que se debe observar para cultivar el poder de la razón.

Antes de estudiar las Escrituras, la calma y mantenerse en equilibrio, a continuación, tomar dos o tres líneas y meditar en ellos durante varios minutos. Cuando el significado se convierte en uno con uno mismo, cierra el libro y seguir con su negocio. Una hora de meditación regular vale más de un mes de estudio teórico de las Escrituras. En la meditación, el conocimiento directo que se recibe.

Jesucristo fue crucificado una vez, pero sus enseñanzas sufrir la crucifixión de todos los días a las manos de los hombres de visión limitada. Las enseñanzas de Jesucristo no puede ser entendida sólo mediante la lectura de la Biblia, incluso mil veces, o durante toda la vida. Las verdades de la Biblia puede ser conocido sólo por vivir y probar en la vida cotidiana los principios enseñados en el libro.

El conocimiento teórico no puede darle realización de Dios. Así que no pierdas tu tiempo en la teoría demasiado. Los que lo hacen se pierde en la selva de la razón y nunca ir más allá de meras teorías. En el proceso de razonamiento y el razonamiento no perciben la verdad, porque la verdad está más allá de la razón. La mayoría intelectualista es lo que quedará vinculado por sus propias conclusiones.

Busca el conocimiento de un verdadero gurú. Decidir sobre el método mejor y más rápida de la meditación enseñada por los grandes santos y gurús que realizó a Dios de la India, y luego meditar más y más cada día, orando a Dios con un corazón ardiente, "Conócete a ti mismo Reveal!"

Bud Karas

Right study of the scriptures leads to emancipation

 Emancipation

A true devotee does not suffer with mental indigestion as does one who gorges himself on scriptural lore without understanding its meaning and without assimilating it into his life. Theoretical study is helpful when it inspires a devotee to practice the holy teachings. Wisdom thoughts are faithful guides and protectors when they become one's constant companions.

Redemption does not come from what one knows intellectually, but from what one becomes as a result of that knowledge. There must be a rational connection between one's learning and oneself, so that a truth becomes such an integral part of the being that it cannot be dislodged by contrary temptations or doubts. This is intuitional learning, or realization.

All beliefs should be thoroughly scrutinized. Overindulgence in study should be avoided. Indiscriminate study, especially of religious books written by spiritual novices or untried enthusiasts, results mostly in indigestible hashes of imagination, emotion, and at best a diluted realization.

Patanjali's Yoga Aphorism, the Christian Bible, and Hindu Bible , and a few other books written by men of realization should be studied, a little at a time, and meditated upon for hours or for days together. The best time to read scriptures is after practicing meditation, when the intuitive feeling is awake. (See the book list below.)

If you read one hour, then write for two hours, and reflect for three hours. This is the proportion that should be observed to cultivate the power of reason.

Before studying the scriptures, calm and steady yourself, then take two or three lines and meditate on them for several minutes. When the meaning becomes one with yourself, close the book and go about your business. One hour of regular meditation is worth more than one month of theoretical study of the scriptures. In meditation, direct knowledge is received.

Jesus Christ was crucified once, but his teachings suffer crucifixion every day at the hands of men of limited vision. Jesus Christ's teachings cannot be understood just by reading the Bible, even a thousand times, or all through life. The truths in the Bible can be known only by living and trying out in everyday life the principles taught in the book.

Theoretical knowledge cannot give you realization about God. So don’t waste your time on too much theory. Those who do so becomes lost in the jungle of reason and never get beyond mere theories. In the process of reasoning and reasoning they never perceive truth, for truth is beyond reason. Most intellectualist's thus become bound by their own conclusions.

Seek knowledge from a true guru. Decide upon the best and quickest method of meditation as taught by the great saints and God-realized gurus of India, and then meditate deeper and deeper every day, praying to God with a burning heart, "Reveal Thyself!"

Bud Karas

Rāja Yoga

Rāja Yoga 

Aims at controlling all thought-waves or mental modifications. While a Hatha Yogi starts his sādhanā, or spiritual practice, with āsanas (postures) andprāṇāyāma, a rāja yogi starts his sādhanā with the mind as well as a certain minimum of āsana and prāṇāyāma usually included as a preparation for the meditation and concentration. In Samādhi Pada I,27 it is stated that the word of Īśvara is OM, the Praṇava. Through the sounding of the Word and through reflection upon its meaning, the Way is found.

In the Jangama dhyana technique of Rāja yoga, the yogi concentrates the mind and sight between the eyebrows. According to Patanjali, this is one method of achieving the initial concentration (dharana: Yoga Sutras, III: 1) necessary for the mind to go introverted in meditation (dhyana: Yoga Sutras, III: 2). In deeper practice of the Jangama dhyana technique, the mind concentrated between the eyebrows begins to automatically lose all location and focus on the watching itself. Eventually, the meditator experiences only the consciousness of existence and achieves Self Realization. In his classic Raja Yoga, Swami Vivekananda describes the process in the following way:
When the mind has been trained to remain fixed on a certain internal or external location, there comes to it the power of flowing in an unbroken current, as it were, towards that point. This state is called dhyana. When one has so intensified the power of dhyana as to be able to reject the external part of perception and remain meditating only on the internal part, the meaning, that state is called Samādhi.

Acupressure Points of the Hand

CAUTION: DO NOT use LI-4 if you are pregnant

Never press on an open wound, swollen or inflamed skin, a bruise, surgery scar, varicose vein, or broken bone.
Avoid acupressure or consult your physician if you have a contagious disease, an infectious skin disease, or a serious heart, kidney, or lung disorder.
Avoid acupressure in the area of a known tumor.
Acupressure should not be applied directly over the lymph nodes.
Certain acupressure points must be avoided during pregnancy.

I ALSO HAVE INTRODUCED HERBS INTO MY DAILY LIFE AND THE RESULTS ARE AMAZING HERE IS LINK

A spinal nerve with its anterior and posterior roots.

• A spinal nerve with its anterior and posterior roots.
• 
  
• 
  
• Nerve compression hypothesis: suggests that when the vertebrae are out of alignment, the nerve roots and/or spinal cord can become pinched or irritated. While the most commonly referenced hypothesis, and easiest for a patient to understand, it may be the least likely to occur.
• Proprioceptive insult hypothesis: focuses on articular alterations causing hyperactivity of the sensory nerve fibers.
• Somatosympathetic reflex hypothesis: all the visceral organ functions can be reflexly affected by cutaneous or muscular stimulation.
• Somatosomatic reflex hypothesis: afferent impulses from one part of the body can result in reflex activity in other parts of the body.
• Viscerosomatic reflex hypothesis: visceral afferent fibers cause reflex somatic problems.
• Somatopsychic hypothesis: the effects of a subluxation on the ascending paths of the reticular activating system.
• Neurodystrophic hypothesis: focuses on lowered tissue resistance that results from abnormal innervation.
• Dentate ligament-cord distortion hypothesis: upper cervical misalignments can cause the dentate ligaments to put a stress on the spinal cord.
• Psychogenic hypothesis: emotions, such as stress, causing contraction in skeletal muscles.

The vertebral subluxation has been described as a syndrome with signs and symptoms which include: altered alignment; aberrant motion; palpable soft tissue changes; localized/referred pain; muscle contraction or imbalance; altered physiological function; reversible with adjustment/manipulation; focal tenderness.

Those Hands need tlc also

Those Healing Hands need TLC also

The wrists and hands are body parts we use repeatedly throughout the day, but sadly, we generally take them for granted.
Sure, some people take the time to get their hands manicured and pampered a bit, but the actual joints and muscles of the hand get little attention, if any.

However, things change when someone begins to have pain – and having pain in the wrist or hands is quite common. In a recent study, physical therapists reported that the wrist and hand, as well as the upper back area, had the second highest injury prevalence (23 percent of their patients). This was second only to the low back as the most frequent area injured.1

As chiropractors, we use our wrists and hands with every patient in every aspect of patient care. In daily practice, especially if you treat extremities regularly, wrist and hand pain is quite common. It can range from simple soreness to full-blown radiating pain. In an effort to understand how patients develop pain or biomechanical issues from these areas, let's take a moment to review the clinical anatomy.

Image 1: The bones of the hand.Wrist / Hand Anatomy

The wrist is said to be the most complex joint in the body. It is formed by eight carpal bones grouped in two rows with somewhat restricted motion between them. From radial to ulnar, the proximal row consists of the scaphoid, lunate, triquetrum and pisiform bones. In the same direction, the distal row consists of the trapezium, trapezoid, capitate and hamate bones. There is also involvement of the proximal portions of the five metacarpal bones of the hand. (Image 1)

All carpal bones participate in wrist function except for the pisiform, which is a sesamoid bone through which the flexor carpi ulnaris tendon passes. The scaphoid serves as a bridge between the two rows; therefore, it is often susceptible to fracture or injury. The distal row of carpal bones is strongly attached to the proximal regions of the second and third metacarpals, forming a fixed unit. All other structures (mobile units) move in relation to this stable unit. The flexor retinaculum, which attaches to the pisiform and hook of hamate on the ulnar side, and to the scaphoid and trapezium on the radial side, forms the roof of the carpal tunnel. (Image 2)

Image 2: The hand showing muscles and tendons.Common Conditions

As we know, biomechanical movement and stability of the wrists and hands are critical to normal functioning. If everything is working right, the patient is none the wiser. In practice, we see a variety of wrist ailments. Many of these ailments can be traced back to specific traumas or incidents. However, it is quite common to hear the patient relate more of an insidious onset. Common conditions patients may present with include the following:

Thumb sprain: Breaking a fall with the palm of the hand or taking a spill on the slopes with a hand strapped to a ski pole could leave your patient with a painful thumb injury. The ulnar collateral ligament may be sprained. This ligament acts like a hinge and helps the thumb to function properly.

Wrist sprain: When falling forward, especially when running or rollerblading, the natural response is to put the hands out in front to catch oneself. Unfortunately, this natural response causes a person to land on their palms, bending the wrist backward and possibly stretching or tearing the ligaments connecting the bones in the wrist.

Hand fractures: Fractures of the metacarpals (the bones in the hand just before the knuckles) and the phalanges (the bones between the joints of the fingers) are also common sports injuries. Metacarpal fractures account for 30-40 percent of all hand fractures.2 The most common fracture of the metacarpals is a boxer's fracture; it usually occurs when a person strikes an object with a closed fist. With a boxer's fracture, the fifth metacarpal joint is depressed and the surrounding tissue is tender and swollen.

Wrist fracture: Wrist fractures are common both in sports and motor-vehicle accidents. The break usually occurs during a fall on the outstretched wrist. The angle at which the wrist hits the ground may determine the type of injury. The more the wrist is in extension, the more likely the scaphoid bone will break. With less wrist extension, it is more likely that the radius will break.

Distal radius fractures (Colles' fractures) are very common, and the break usually happens when a fall causes someone to land on his/her outstretched hands with the wrists in slight extension.

Scaphoid fractures occur in the carpal bones, but they are not always immediately obvious. Many people with a fractured scaphoid think they have a sprained wrist instead of a broken bone, because there is no obvious deformity and very little swelling.

DeQuervain's syndrome: This is a prevalent injury in racquet sports and in athletes who use a lot of wrist motion, especially repetitive rotating and gripping. Overuse of the hand may eventually cause irritation of the tendons along the thumb side of the wrist. This irritation causes the lining around the tendon to swell, making it difficult for the tendons to move properly.

Carpal tunnel syndrome: The carpal tunnel is a narrow, tunnel-like structure in the wrist. The floor and sides of this tunnel are formed by wrist (carpal) bones. The top of the tunnel is covered by the transverse carpal ligament.

The median nerve travels from the forearm into the hand through this tunnel in the wrist. It controls feeling in the palm side of the thumb, index finger, and long fingers. The nerve also controls the muscles around the base of the thumb. The flexor tendons that bend the fingers and thumb also travel through the carpal tunnel.

When the tissues surrounding the flexor tendons in the wrist swell and put pressure on the median nerve, they create symptoms like numbness, tingling, and pain in the lateral 3.5 digits. Symptoms of CTS include pain, numbness, and tingling in the hands. Based on a recent study, one in five symptomatic subjects would be expected to have CTS based on clinical examination and electrophysiologic testing.3

Ulnar tunnel syndrome: This syndrome causes numbness and tingling in the little finger and along the outside of the ring finger. There is entrapment or irritation of the ulnar nerve as it passes through the tunnel on the medial side of the wrist. The pisiform or hook of hamate bones can impinge the nerve, creating motor and sensory deficits.

Image 3: Lateral wrist adjustment.Evaluation / Treatment Strategies

As we have seen in other parts of the body, there is a unifying theme to many of the disorders of the wrist. Aside from the obvious signs of pain, swelling or inflammation, there exists biomechanical dysfunction of the bones. As chiropractors, we know that by adjusting the bones of the wrist and hand, we restore joint motion and improvements can occur.

Adjustments of the carpal bones are not terribly difficult. Usually, we take information from the patient's history (i.e., mechanism of injury) along with orthopedic testing and motion / static palpation. Much can be felt with your palpation, as the bones are small enough that they can be "sheared" nicely. Motion / static palpation of the wrist and hand can be done in three phases:
With one hand, grasp the distal radius / ulna and with the other hand, grasp the proximal row of carpal bones.
With one hand, grasp the proximal row of carpal bones and with the other hand, grasp the distal row of carpal bones.
With one hand, grasp the distal row of carpal bones and with the other hand, grasp the proximal metacarpals.

Image 4: Posterior wrist adjustment.Due to general use of the wrist and everyday wear and tear, I often find three major patterns of wrist bone misalignment. These bones can be adjusted by contacting your thumbs and stabilizing with your other fingers. (See images depicting each adjustment.)

The scaphoid, trapezium tend to move in a lateral (radial) direction. Adjusting these bones utilizes a distraction maneuver with a lateral-to-medial prestress. With the prestress, a long-axis thrust or pull will move the bones back, often with an accompanying audible. (Image 3)

The triquetral moves medial ("ulnarward"). Adjusting this bone utilizes a distraction maneuver with a medial-to-lateral prestress. With the prestress, a long-axis thrust or pull will move the bones back with an audible. (Image 4)

Image 5: Anterior wrist adjustment.The lunate, trapezoid, capitate and hamate drop inferior. Adjusting these bones involves prestressing from inferior to superior, in essence creating more room for the carpal tunnel below. (Image 5)

Compression of the metacarpal / phalangeal joints is common due to ADLs or arthritis. Gentle distraction of all parts of the phalanges will gap the joints and provide relief and increased motion. (Image 6)

Remember, manual adjusting is never the only option. Spring-loaded instruments, a drop table or a portable speeder board also work in getting movement to the bones. Also, the patterns described above are never set in stone. Use your palpation skills and find out how the bones have moved out of position; then put them back.

Protect Your Wrists / Hands

Image 6: Phalanges adjustment.I want to end by reminding you about how strenuous and stressful our job is to the joints of our hands and wrists. Take heed of some ergonomic considerations to keep your hands and wrists in good shape for years to come. Avoid adjusting maneuvers that put your wrist in extreme extension. We are usually talking about side-posture adjustments, but it can be any of your manual adjustments. Watch your table height and have that patient roll toward you or into whatever position will help your body. Keep that wrist as straight as possible so you don't jam your carpal bones.

Chronically tight muscles in your forearms and hands can create stress on the bones and joints. Get regular muscle work or put your physiotherapy modalities / machines on your body to keep your soft tissues pliable and relaxed.

Get adjusted yourself! You have to find someone who knows how to adjust extremities so that they can work on your hands / wrists also. Our patients have shown us that when we wait and hope a problem will go away, it almost always gets worse. If you have hand / wrist / elbow pain, tightness or tendonitis, get it looked at before you have too much pain and you can't adjust your patients.

The wrists and hands do command our attention because they do so much work for us and our patients. With a little practice, it is amazing how effective we can be at helping with pain in these regions.

Bud Karas