Sunday, March 29, 2009

Sip on this..............

Sipping for good sex… oh yes... and for health too...

Sipping… This is a Chinese “gong” (work)involes two things; breath and movement. You will notice this breath is concentrated on the inhalation. This inhalation is accomplished via a sipping action, like sucking a thick milk shake through a thin straw.

Begin with a couple of full inhalations followed by a complete exhalation. After the second complete exhalation begin sipping, short inhalations without exhaling till you’ve filled your lungs (keeping in mind to fill your belly first) this many take twenty or so sips. Once you feel full (please do not force anything) do another complete exhalation then return to another round.

Now as if that were not enough to remember, there is a second part to the practice in which we cause contraction the muscles in the pelvic floor or behind the cervix where the uterus projects into the vagina - for women. For men, the contraction happens in the area between the anus and the testes (in Chinese terms between the yin and the yang holes.) This contraction is synchronized with each sip --- Sip and contract, sip and contract.

You may feel a slight contraction just by sipping; the Chinese say the mouth and anus are two holes of the same pipe, so when you contract one, the other tend to contract on its own. Try it; sensitivity and awareness are powerful assets to bring into this practice, so do it when you have the time and space to offer it the attention it requires. This breath along with the contractions (some call these “Kegals”) offer the practitioner more sexual control and will alleviate some nasty sexual disorders.

For men these are known to, and I have experienced it myself, help with prostate problems such as BPH (benign prostate hyperplasia) which may cause weak urination, hesitancy, sexual dysfunction, and may develop into prostate cancer. In my case after just a couple of weeks of doing these all those symptoms left and I now pee like a teenager… YEAH!

These also offer men more sexual stamina and for women the ability to hold on to their man while he’s inside... a good thing for all concerned.

So enjoy this qigong… I promise it will offer much benefit to you all.

smile...gi


Click for more breath techniques

Friday, March 20, 2009

Multitasking Madness

Crisis in our body

Looking out the passenger window while driving to clinic I view this twenty something woman who from all appearances was not looking at the road at all. I followed her for a while thinking “she’s got to look soon,” but she doesn’t, perhaps ¼ mile or so she drove face locked onto her lap where it appeared she had sitting her cell phone, texting, texting, so caught up in it she had apparently forgotten she was driving a three thousand pound vehicle down the road…

This is not unusual, I must admit I use my phone while driving, but I usually at least keep one eye on the road… but what does this have to do with health, with healing, other than its hard to be healthy if you dead from a fatal car crash?

This is just one example of today’s multitasking mentality. Today the idea of doing one thing at a time seems almost primitive, and why not, aren’t we rewarded for such behavior, isn’t the boss impressed with this skill of ours, did you not even include it on your resume’ “an accomplished multitasker?”

I write about health, of mind and body and as such I feel a responsibility to say things, to offer ideas that are often unpopular for they suggest a very different view, say that things must change, things we have not only come to do habitually, but also bring us pleasure, and although superficial put money in our pockets and we’ve now come to believe we cannot survive without. With all this vested of course it is difficult to change, but please consider it.

Consider these actions, this mindset is one of chaos and sets up the fight or flight scenario in our bodies… raising pulse, blood pressure, and releasing hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. All these responses a have a purpose and function, but ones that are meant for moments of our lives, not for hours on end, day in and day out.

Living this way confuses our body for it perceives what’s going on as dangerous. It is like living every day in a war zone. This even while driving in our safe luxurious cars, sitting in our comfortable offices and even in our homes. All safe places converted into war zones by our view, our mindset, our over activity, our desire to do, do, do for when we stop, take a breath, and get quiet, we see what arises as frightening, uncomfortable and most of all unfamiliar. This is your life, live it awake!

Still few will not look closer, few will ever think of giving up this so called life for another out of fear they might lose something, something essential, something lasting, something of value. We think “I’m not really happy now, what will happen if I lose this or that, then what?

One of my professors, a Chinese gentleman mentioned in class the way things were while he was in school in china. During the lecture the students we not permitted to write, have computers, no cell phones, no texting, no nothing. They were required to sit hands behind their backs, facing forward, listening… Period!

What was that all about? It’s about being mindful, single mindedly doing one thing at a time. Not more, just one. He said they learned well this way, and I bet they did. Sometimes I wonder how we get anything done well; everything has to be accompanied by something else in order to make it palatable for our delicate selves… We are such wimps!

Ok, hope you were doing one thing while reading this, if not shut of the TV, the music, or whatever else is happening, and then return to this, read it in silence. enjoy...

Let me finish with a quote from my favorite book on doing one thing well.

Here the author talks about the simple task of dish washing.

“While washing dishes one should only be washing dishes, which means that while washing dishes one should be completely aware of the fact the one is washing dishes. At first glance, that might seem a little silly; why put so much stress on such a simple thing? But that’s precisely the point. The fact that I am standing there and washing these bowls is a wondrous reality. I am being completely myself, following my breath, conscience of my presence, and conscience of my thoughts and actions. There is no way I can be tosses around mindlessly like a bottle slapped here and there on the waves.”

~The Miracle of Mindfulness - Thich Nhat Hanh~

Living mindfully, doing one thing at a time very consciously is the only way to truly “live” life. Otherwise in the mist of all that multitasking you will lose the essence of the moment, therefore losing that moment forever, losing your life a moment at a time in a wash of simultaneous mindless acts. Never having really experienced anything you’ve done.

Besides all that good stuff it will also keep you safe, raise your productivity, and sharpen your thinking. You will be clearer about what’s going on and more precise in carrying out your daily activities. It may not look as fancy as juggling five things at once, but I promise the results will be soo much better.

Smiles… gi

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Sunday, March 15, 2009

OLD... WISE... YES?

Don’t be old in vain

The other day I was listening to a lecture on Buddhism in which the gentleman made this comment… “don’t be old in vain.”

I have written about not wasting time, this precious life we have, but have never looked at it exactly in this way… So what does this mean?

In many older cultures, even in my own, Italian, the idea of an old person was not nearly as distorted as it is today. Today old means ugly, played out, weak, ineffective, lacking intuition and new ideas.

Of course we see this manifest in a very physical way in all the body modification we see before us; the Botox, face lifts, lifting everything, hating our own flesh and blood for it doing the natural thing, aging…

Some scriptures speak of grey hair as being a crown for the mature person, but we cover it up, many many are trying to stay perpetually young. It is sad the attention given to mindless, superficial, and impermanent things while we ignore our true essence, who we are, the things that can not only benefit us, but others, this is neglected…

Wisdom is a thing learned through life experience; through victories and failures, through bliss and tears. These experiences when lived consciously build character, make one a trustworthy, a reliable and informed counselor, father, friend, employee, and human being…

I’ve written about evolving and this fits right in, for when we are old we should also have grown wise, but wisdom does not come with grey hair or the passing of years. Instead it comes from living those years awake and conscience of the nature of things and ourselves as they really are. When we have lived such a life our wisdom is apparent, our peace comforting, and our counsel will be wise.

So what does it mean to grow old in vain? To me it means to have spent a life, this precious one, and after all those days and years have passed, to have learned nothing of value.

This is living a life in vain, growing old in vain. Don’t do it! The years that have passed should not only be evidenced by the wrinkles on your face or the grey hair on your head, but in the quality of the understanding you have gleaned from the time you’ve lived.

Spend it well my friends… gi

Monday, March 9, 2009

not your mom's soup

I love energy soup!

As for what it is I’ll offer you the page on my site…
Here you go - energy soup

The soup, today they call these smoothies, but don’t be confused a true energy soup is soo much more, very power, very alive, very life sustaining and healing too.

Today’s soups was made up of the follow ingredients

• Reguvelac - click for info and recipe
• Three kinds of sprouts – pea, sunflower, buckwheat – all grown in soil, more alive and nutritious then air grown sprouts.
• Kale – any dark green leaf veggie can be used, we want chlorophyll.
• Cabbage - contains chemicals that help heal both gastric and duodenal ulcers. Just plain soothing to the system
• Seaweed – today fresh dulse – it nourishes the tissue, is filled with trace minerals and iodine for a healthy thyroid. Also being a “red/brown” sea vegetable it contains fucoidan an ingredient known for its cancer killing ability.
• Maca – a Peruvian root known to balance the hormones of both men and women.
• Goji berries - they help to control and reverse obesity, anti-cancer, and may prevent age-related macular degeneration, restores hair color, activates the immune system, treats sexual dysfunction and infertility.
• Coconut – fresh out the shell, highly nutritious, rich in fiber, vitamins, and minerals.
• American Ginseng – a mild yet tonifying form of the ancient root known for its longevity and general strengthening abilities.
• Pumpkinseed oil – full of Omega 6 fatty acids and reported to prevent prostate problems in men.
• Fish oil – plenty of Omega 3 fatty acids, these are said to be anti-cancer and pro-heart.
• Raw honey – it tastes great, anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-fungal and full of enzymes

Enjoy…gi

Subtle Things Site

Friday, March 6, 2009

then we shit it out

This was written this morning in response to a friend suffering loss…

My friend… I know it hurts to lose a love… I have, it happens…

The realization that this is “how things are” is the key to living life with a smile… yes smiling at the so-called good and bad. Seeing these as just a reflection of mind, the way we view things, brings context/clarity to every situation.

We can see such only as an end, or we can instead see the things manifest in our lives as “how things are” everything changes always... round and round things go. To not accept such as reality is a source of suffering.

This is of course more difficult when a second person is brought in to the picture for they too are on a cyclic journey and the chance that two on such a trip will end up in the same place is small.

So see this not as an end, but truly (I know it sounds quaint) the beginning of another round, a new and wonderful chapter, one you can now approach (if you learn from this) with a newly educated mind, a different frame of reference, now with a better chance to live life full of joy, to see and find someone to share it with, someone with a similar view and mind…

So don’t mourn so much,(a little)instead sit and view this stream of consciences as it passes, view it and let it pass, and as u do it will become less personal, but more, just things “as they are”

To say because one thing has come to an end, that all things of such have also ended is closing the door on life and is truly insincere… for u and I both know there will come a time when someone will touch you, look into your eyes, speak your name and all will be well again. For how long? Who knows, who cares?

Do we not eat the next delicious thing because the favor of the last only lingered for moment? No no… We enjoy its taste, kiss it well, take it deep into our body, let is nourish us… and then shit it out… round and round my friend…

Smiles…gi

http://www.subtlethings.com

Thursday, March 5, 2009

got it, lost it

The pain of consumerism... again...

This was written in reply to my message evolve. I believe it worth posting. enjoy.

Dear lady... Wonderful to see the spirit of my words also touch people across the ocean... I’ve been relationship with a sweet lady in DK, and although she is cultivated, mindful, etc, even she cannot help but fall into this trap from time to time. The pressure of having children living here and now makes it hard for they are living in a world that is soo consumed with stuff. stuff, stuff...

Who would have thought just a few year ago that children, 8 and 10 year olds would have cell phones in their pockets, and even worse on their ears, attacking their developing brains. This is not only harmful to their minds, but to their body's and a drain on middle class folk's pocket, also offering a terrible message to the children, placing them at such a young age on the roller coaster of consumerism.

I’ve heard just in this year the cry of upgrade, upgrade as even these young ones find themselves yearning to have the latest gadgets, feeling somehow “less than” because their things are not up to par with their other more affluent friends… A few years ago it was jeans and sneakers, now $400 toys. When will this end?

I'm not saying we cannot have some things to make our live more comfortable. I would not like to live as they did 100 years back, some progress is welcome, but comfort and joy are too different things. I do not believe we find any real joy from stuff, only temporary delusion, thinking “ahhhh all is well,” just to see it all slip away as the shit rots before our eyes and again we suffer, back on the wheel of “got it, lost it.”

No no... please please... let's stop the insanity!!!

Smiles... gi

http://subtlethings.com

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

see me, feel me, touch me, heal me

universal healing energy

Last evening a good friend and light worker performed Reiki on me. I had injured my eye in an overzealous attempt to bring blood to my face (good for healthy skin)…

The atmosphere in the room was filled with Reiki, even the water offered me was Reiki charged. During the treatment I could feel her moving about my body, sometimes hands on, sometimes hovering, either way I could feel the energy. She blew and plucked at me, each with its own function, all with the intention to heal.

OK the news. This morning I awoke without floaters for the first time in a week. Later this morning a few very translucent ones returned, but I must say a dramatic change has occurred. I am confident my complete healing is on the horizon.

Thank you Dee… thank you Reiki…

Big smiles…gi

http://www.subtlethings.com

Monday, March 2, 2009

Dissatisfaction

At peace with things as they are

This little note was offered in response to a sweet lady who commented on my blog "Evolve." I share it for I believe it offers still another look at how many live their lives and the "suffering" they try to escape in vain. In vain for the path they’ve chosen is one that offers only temporary relief, if any…

My friend... I’m glad u find value in what I wrote. I only offer what I see and what I see here in my world is all too often a society filled with beings who are lost in their consumerism, trapped in an endless cycle of buying and losing, of perpetual dissatisfaction, never finding a place, a sable place, where enough is enough, where they can find joy in things aging, even their own precious bodies.

I’m in healthcare and in the office I work beings come daily to have the faces and bodies reworked, trying to defeat father time, chasing down wrinkles, sucking out fat and injecting it elsewhere.

This dissatisfaction with things “as they are” is a cancer, one which takes much more that it gives, one that makes us unable to sit quietly and observe our lives passing with joy, peace and the knowledge that “all is well” just as things are…

Smiles my friend… gi

http://www.subtlethings.com

Sunday, March 1, 2009

today my heart

Today my heart was broken…

Impermanence… Nothing lasts, everything changes… always. I know this, many do, and yet still we fall in love, in love with who? The one before our noses at one particular place and time. This is how it is, how else can it be? For this moment is our life; there is no other time, no other place, then a breath, and with it the next moment arises.

Attachment… We fall in love, it feels soo good, she smiles at you and the world is good, her touch makes your skin quivery, her kiss melts in your mouth, and to make love… oh ah…………………

So why not become attached, why would you not, how could you not? Attachment is not attachment without cleaving, holding on, not wanting to let go, this is what causes suffering. I’m happy I was attached, to fall in love with this woman was a fine blessing, but I will not cleave, hold on to what has passed, I will not…

Today my heart was broken, tomorrow it will heal, and soon I will fall in love again…

Smiles…gi

UPDATE... In love again!!! but no one new, but with my sweet lady, my heart again whole... Things go round and round... Continuing to view things as they are "in the moment."

http://www.subtlethings.com/