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Conclusion from Research on Near-Death Experiences and After-Death Communication: The Consciousness Does Not Die

Chiu-Nan Lai, Ph.D.

Dr Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, a world renowned expert on death and dying, received 18 hononary doctorates during her life. She broke the taboo about discussing death in the medical field, and helped in drawing the attention of the medical field towards caring for the dying, and in conducting research in this area. Many doctors have continued the work she started, and there are many international societies that specialize in investigating issues concerning dying. One of these societies is the international Association of Near-Death Studies (IANDSORG). Dr. Kubler-Ross had an eventful life. She was born in Switzerland as the eldest of triplets. After World War II, she immediately went to Poland to assist medical personnel in helping survivors and people who were facing death. She witnessed many deaths and people who had near-death experiences, and as a result, resolved to seek formal medical education. She later married an American, and gave up her medical practice to move to New York, where her first job was in a mental hospital. She felt lonely in an unfamiliar environment, and hence was able to empathize with the loneliness felt by the mental patients. She related well with the patients, and treated them with sincerity. Patients who had not spoken for a long time started to talk. Two years later, nearly all the patients were discharged from the hospital. From this experience, she realized that warmth of true caring was the best medicine. Subsequently, she worked in a hospital in Chicago, continuing her work in counseling mental patients.

One day, four students from a seminary wanted to learn from dying patients, and requested Dr. Kubler-Ross to arrange a meeting. That was how she started her research on death and dying, and her research with these four students evolved into a formal seminar series. Later, up to fifty health professionals sat in to listen to their interviews with dying patients. These cumulative experiences led to her first bestseller “On Death and Dying”, which discusses the death and dying process. She personally sat with one thousand people facing their deaths, and collected 20,000 cases of near-death experience from all over the world. What she can affirm is that there is no death because consciousness does not die. She uses the image of a butterfly emerging from its cocoon as a metaphor for the dying process: the butterfly is the consciousness and the cocoon is the body. She is also certain that nobody dies alone, including astronauts who die in outer space or those who die in the deserts. The consciousness of those we love or who love us will be there to receive us at the moment of death. These could be dead relatives, or spiritual beings like Jesus, Saint Mary, Amitabha buddha, or guardian angels. Dr. Kubler-Ross made these conclusions from her interactions with many seriously ill or wounded people she had accompanied.

Once, she was with a seriously wounded child whose entire family was involved in a fatal car accident. The mother had already died, and the brother was in another hospital. Before he died, the child became very calm and peaceful. Dr. Kubler-Ross was very familiar with the dying process, and asked the child how he was feeling. He replied: “Everything is fine. Mom and Peter (the brother) are already here waiting.” He did not know that his mother had died, and even Dr. Kubler-Ross did not know that his brother had died 10 minutes ago. In many near-death experiences, many people see dead relatives. Young children might see a grandfather they did not know, and after they have been resuscitated to life, they would recognize the person from a photo. Children may also see siblings who have not been born yet.

One young girl said that she saw her younger brother. At that time, she was the youngest in the family, and her mother was unable to conceive any more. Surprisingly, a few years later, her mother did give birth to a younger brother.

Dr. Kubler-Ross discovered that the dying process comprises three stages. The first stage is when the consciousness leaves the body. At this time, no brainwaves can be detected, and ECG shows a flat line. The second stage then begins, where only the mind exists. Blind people can recover their sight, handicaps see that they are whole, the deaf can hear, and the mute can speak. Some patients who had multiple sclerosis told her after their near-death experiences:” I could dance again”. Dr. Kubler-Ross once focused on blind people (those who had been blind for over 10 years) as her research participants, and found that when they experienced their consciousness leaving their bodies, they could clearly see the clothes or necktie colours of people around them.

This second stage does not have time or space, and one can use one’s mind to go immediately to any place. A soldier may have died in Asia, but his consciousness could get to New York immediately by thinking about his mother. Some people had experiences where they first saw a loved one living far away suddenly appear in front of them, and then later received a phone call or telegraph that the loved one had passed away.

The third stage relates to a review of one’s life. This review transcends time and space. The life review may take only a few seconds or minutes on Earth, but the person re-experiences every word, action or thought he has made during his life, and also experiences its impact on others. During this review, one feels the interconnectedness between consciousness. Some people may discover that their priority in life has been wrong—for example, pursuing materialistic needs and being over-competitive. Instead, they may feel that the most important thing in life is to leave more love on earth.

Following Dr. Kubler-Ross work, others have conducted research relating to dying and life review, and obtained results collaborating her findings. One striking study was done by cardiologist, Dr. Pim Van Lommel. He interviewed 344 patients from 10 hospitals in Holland who had been saved after suffering heart attacks. Of these, 18% had near-death experiences. Amongst these patients who had near-death experiences, 50% knew they were dead or had positive emotional responses; 30% felt that they were passing through a tunnel and saw visions of heaven or their dead relatives; 25% had out-of-body experiences with their consciousnesses separated from their bodies, were able to communicate with “light”, or saw color lights; 8% experienced the boundary between life and death; and 13% experienced a review of their entire lives. Those who approached actual deaths had deeper and more vivid experiences. One of Dr. Lommel’s cases was a person who saw his dead grandmother and another unfamiliar male who was looking at him with loving eyes. Ten years later, just before his mother died, she told him that he was born out of wedlock. His father was a Jew, and died after he was deported out of Germany during World War II. When he saw his father’s photograph, he realized that the unfamiliar male who had been looking at him during his near-death experience was indeed his father.

After Dr. Lommel completed this research, he deeply believed that consciousness does not die. He put aside his medical work, and persevered in collecting evidence related to this research. The website of the international Association of Near-Death Studies (www.iands.org) contains his articles. Another source of evidence about the continuity of consciousness after death comes from after-death communication from the dead. Dr. Kubler-Ross shared this personal experience of which prompted Bill Guggenheim to pursue this line of research. Many years ago, Dr. Kubler-Ross met with difficulties in her research on dying and death, and had made up her mind not to organize any more of these seminars. That day, after a seminar, she accompanied a pastor collaborating in the research and walked towards the elevator. She was about to broach the issue of her impending resignation, when she saw a familiar lady standing nearby waiting to talk to her. She could not recall this lady’s name. and neither could the pastor. However, after the pastor entered the elevator, this lady walked over and said:” Dr. Kubler-Ross, the reason I returned is that I have something important to discuss with you. Can we go to your office to chat for a few minutes? “As Dr. Kubler-Ross walked toward her office, she asked herself if she was having a hallucination because she recalled that this lady was a patient who had died ten months ago. She deliberately tried to touch this lady to feel whether her skin was warm or cold. This lady was a little translucent although it was not possible to see through her body. After they entered the office, this lady, Mrs. schwartz, said:” I came back for two reasons. The first reason is to thank you and Pastor Gaines for your help. The second reason is to request that you do not stop this line of work. Now is not the time to stop. In the future, when there are others who can take over this work, you can stop. We will help you.” Dr. Kubler-Ross’ scientific mind prompted her to deliberately ask Mrs. Schwartz to write a note to Pastor Gaines. After Dr. Kubler-Ross had nodded her head in agreement to continue her work, Mrs. Schwartz disappeared. Bill Guggenheim was inspired by this story, and together with his wife, spent seven years to collect 3000 cases of communication from the dead. He intends to collect such cases from other cultures.

People who had near-death experiences generally go through major changes in their outlook towards life. Dr. Kenneth Ring summarizes these changes:

. Treasure everything in life, including ordinary experiences.

. Total acceptance of oneself, and eliminating prior lack of self-worth.

. Truly caring for others.

. Respecting all life and nature.

. No longer pursue a materialistic lifestyle, and knowing that is illusory.

. No longer interested in competitiveness, and emphasizing more on caring for others.

. Continually working on one’s spiritual development.

. Like learning.

. Have a clear mission in life.

. No longer afraid of death.

. Convinced that there is life after death.

. Convinced that there is a transcendental force in the universe—some call it “God” while others call it “Light”.

These people generally become more sensitive (e.g., toward electrical impulses), while others acquire supernatural powers. Others completely change their professions, and dedicate their lives towards activities that benefit society. They know that the purpose of life is to share a little more love with others, and that the energy of the consciousness continues to live and does not die. According to Dr. Kubler-Ross, when people are no longer afraid of death, the world will not have wars. Also, people will change how they live when they realize that their consciousness does not die and that, at death, they will have to face the reality of what they have done.

As a result of the cases above, we are also inspired to collect cases from the Chinese culture where there has been direct communication from loved ones or friends who had died, as well as near-death experiences. Readers are invited to send such cases to the Lapis Lazuli light offices in their home country. Please leave your contact information so that we can conduct further investigations. Your identity will be kept confidential.

 

References:

. www.iands.org

. On Life After Death, by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, Celestial Arts, 1991

. Lessons from the Light: What we can Learn from the Near-Death Experience, by Kenneth Ring, Moment Point Press,1998

. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Near-Death Experiences, by P.M. H. Atwater with David H. Morgan, Alpha Book,2000

. Hello from Heaven, by Bill Guggenheim.

www.after-death.com

 

 

 

 

Wake up—for your sake and the sake of the next generation

Chiu-Nan Lai, Ph.D.

Recently, one of my friends told me that her son started behaving strangely after he returned home from his studies in the U.K. He would lock himself in the house, not speak a word, and throw tantrums. Another friend’s daughter had also returned from her studies in the U.K. She seemed to be confused mentally in the way she dealt with things, and suffered from insomnia. At the same time, I also heard of a few cases of people with sudden blindness or defective immune systems. Two or three years ago, I counseled a young person who suddenly couldn’t see or walk. His doctor could not identify the cause of his aliment nor help him. Over the past ten years, for work-related reasons, this person had been using the mobile phone more for eight hours a day and eating fried meat products. His sister managed to contact me, and I proposed that he stop using his mobile phone and computer. I also suggested that he go on a diet of organic vegetables, fruits, and grains, take Bliss De Light, drink magnetized water, and do some exercises that harmonize his qi (From Dr. Lai’s Health Tips). After five weeks, he recovered 60% of his vision, and was able to walk. He continued to recover, and was able to resume work. His doctors were surprised. This young person was very lucky because the microwave radiation had not permanently damaged his vision’s nerves. These examples have become more common recently. Five years ago, in two consecutive issues of the Lapis Lazuli Light magazine (May 2001 and November 2001), I repeatedly warned of the harm caused by exposure to electromagnetic and wireless radiation. I referred to materials from Russia, Europe and the U.S.—these showed that exposures to such radiation damage our body’s nervous system, and also compromises our mental and emotional functions. Some symptoms include: bad temper, sense of unhappiness, fear, worry, being withdrawn and suicidal, and hearing imaginary voices. Research on humans and animals has shown that at the early stages of interference by wireless radiation, the nerves thickens. Later, it loses its capacity to function, and the resulting ailments include impairments to the immune system, immobility of the arms or legs, cancer, etc. I have observed that during the SARS crisis a few years back, SARS was most serious in areas where the use of mobile phones was most popular and had the longest history.

The use of wireless communication has now extended to wireless internet access, and many cities have completely converted to wireless internet access systems. Thus, regardless of whether or not we are using the computer, we are now bombarded by strong wireless radiation. I have heard of instances where a child started itching whenever his father was using the internet. He would itch for an hour if his father was on the internet for an hour. His parents are now trying to move out of this wireless-connected district. Another eight-month old girl started having red and itchy rashes (that bled when scratched) two months after she was born. She lived in a city with strong electromagnetic and wireless radiation. The two people that I discussed at the start of this article were graduate students in the U.K,, where the defined safety threshold level for wireless radiation is 10 times higher than that in the U.S., and 1000 times higher than that in Russia.

Because I am sensitive to electromagnetic and wireless radiation, I do not need research to inform me of the harm inflicted by this radiation. When computers were first marketed, I couldn’t use them as I would get a headache each time I used them. I was able to use computers only with LCD monitors, along with protection from energizers. Even then, I could only use the computer for a short period. Once, I arranged to meet a friend at an eatery that had wireless internet access. As I reached the entrance of the eatery, I felt unwell and was unable to enter. We changed our plans immediately, ordered takeaway food, and ate at a nearby park. I know of a person who is also sensitive to electromagnetic and wireless radiation. Once, she returned to office after a vacation, and got a headache as she entered the office. She asked her office staff if there had been any changes in the office while she was away, and found out that a wireless internet access system had just been installed. Fortunately, she was the manager in charge, and she immediately ordered that the system be returned. She would rather lose some money and re-install the previous system. Many working people do not have this option. Hence, people in charge have the responsibility to safeguard the health of their employees. When we cause others to be harmed, we also fall ill ourselves. There was also another lady who could not get pregnant after many years of marriage. Later, she suspected that this could be due to her work station being surrounded by computers. She successfully requested for a change in work station and less frequent use of the computer. She got pregnant soon after.

Many people convince themselves to accept the present undesirable circumstances for the sake of their business, work, studies, convenience and many other reasons. Why don’t we make a small change of reducing our actions that harm ourselves and others? Do we really want to ignore these risks and potential harm, and make a precarious dash towards the edge of the cliff? It will be too late to regret when, one day, our eyes cannot see, we lose our mind and our immune system becomes impaired.

Nineteen years ago, when I was doing cancer research in Texas, I felt that I was boarding a train that was heading towards the edge of the cliff. I tried to warn those aboard this train, but to no avail. I could only jump off the train, and head in the opposite direction. At that time, my future was uncertain as there was no well-trodden path to follow. Nevertheless, I have gradually found a path, accompanied by others who have also jumped the train. With each step on this path, I feel happier and more convinced that my initial decision had been correct.
One of my former colleagues in Texas found much success in his research after I left. His research support was increasing, and at one stage, his annual research funds reached US$ 200 million. In recent years, the economic slowdown in the U.S. led to a drastic slash in government funds allocated to research. Private funds also experienced a reduction in income. Within a short period of time, his research funds plummeted from U$200 million to zero. The train had fallen off the cliff.
You need courage to walk your own path. My own experience is that when you walk a road that you are meant to walk, you will receive help and you will not starve. When you see that the train or bus that you are boarding is heading towards the edge of the cliff, you must have the courage to jump off. It doesn’t matter how comfortable or luxurious the enjoyments are inside —they are short-termed. One day, the train or bus will fall off the cliff.
Nowadays, there are increasingly more people who fall off the cliff. Hence, we need more people for emergency rescue missions. These people need to possess a wide range of knowledge, skills and lots of love. They also need to continually uplift themselves in order to undertake this mission.
During these years, while I am continually researching and learning, I am also training people to do emergency rescue work. However, I feel that the demand for such help has greatly increased, and only if there is such rescue stations in every place would the demand be met. Hence, there is a need to systematically train more of these people. This has motivated me to aspire to set up a Lapis Lazuli Light Training Centre. Beginning next August, there will be classroom facilities in Taipei that provide these training activities (details in the May 2007 issue of Lapis Lazuli Light magazine). In the future, I hope that there will be a school that enables interested people to have a good environment to further develop themselves. I also hope to have a practical training facility, whether for natural farming or green building methods. In the future, our daily needs must be met in a fashion that is kind to ourselves and to the environment. Only in this way will we be able to live healthily on this planet.
All of us need to adopt a way to keep our bodies and minds healthy. Our diet should comprise of clean naturally grown products, and when needed, high quality supplements such as Bliss De Light and Radiance C. We should reduce our use of electricity, and electrical products such as computers, mobile phones, and internet. Every day, maintain the smooth flow of our energy, harmonize our qi, and follow the exercise routines in the book “Energy Healing”.
For your own sake and the sake of the next generation, it is time to wake up—we are at the edge of the cliff! I also sincerely hope that you will join the emergency rescue mission of this time.

Extracted from Lapis Lazuli Light Magazine 2006 Aug Issue
Translated by Lapis Lazuli Light Singapore

The Consciousness Does Not Die

Chiu-Nan Lai, Ph.D.

Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, a world renowned expert on death and dying, received 18 hononary doctorates during her life. She broke the taboo about discussing death in the medical field, and helped in drawing the attention of the medical field towards caring for the dying, and in conducting research in this area. Many doctors have continued the work she started, and there are many international societies that specialize in investigating issues concerning dying. One of these societies is the International Association of Near-Death Studies (IANDS ORG). Dr. Kubler-Ross had an eventful life. She was born in Switzerland as the eldest of triplets. After World War II, she immediately went to Poland to assist medical personnel in helping survivors and people who were facing death. She witnessed many deaths and people who had near-death experiences, and as a result, resolved to seek formal medical education. She later married an American, and gave up her medical practice to move to New York, where her first job was in a mental hospital. She felt lonely in an unfamiliar environment, and hence was able to empathize with the loneliness felt by the mental patients. She related well with the patients, and treated them with sincerity. Patients who had not spoken for a long time started to talk. Two years later, nearly all the patients were discharged from the hospital. From this experience, she realized that warmth of true caring was the best medicine. Subsequently, she worked in a hospital in Chicago, continuing her work in counseling mental patients.

One day, four students from a seminary wanted to learn from dying patients, and requested Dr. Kubler-Ross to arrange a meeting. That was how she started her research on death and dying, and her research with these four students evolved into a formal seminar series. Later, up to fifty health professionals sat in to listen to their interviews with dying patients. These cumulative experiences led to her first bestseller “On Death and Dying”, which discusses the death and dying process. She personally sat with one thousand people facing their deaths, and collected 20,000 cases of near-death experiences from all over the world. What she can affirm is that there is no death because consciousness does not die. She uses the image of a butterfly emerging from its cocoon as a metaphor for the dying process: the butterfly is the consciousness and the cocoon is the body. She is also certain that nobody dies alone, including astronauts who die in outer space or those who die in the deserts. The consciousness of those we love or who love us will be there to receive us at the moment of death. These could be dead relatives, or spiritual beings like Jesus, Saint Mary, Amitabha Buddha, or guardian angels. Dr. Kubler-Ross made these conclusions from her interactions with many seriously ill or wounded people she had accompanied.

Once, she was with a seriously wounded child whose entire family was involved in a fatal car accident. The mother had already died, and the brother was in another hospital. Before he died, the child became very calm and peaceful. Dr. Kubler-Ross was very familiar with the dying process, and asked the child how he was feeling. He replied: “Everything is fine. Mom and Peter (the brother) are already here waiting.” He did not know that his mother had died, and even Dr. Kubler-Ross did not know that his brother had died 10 minutes ago. In many near-death experiences, many people see dead relatives. Young children might see a grandfather they did not know, and after they have been resuscitated to life, they would recognize the person from a photo. Children may also see siblings who have not been born yet.

One young girl said that she saw her younger brother. At that time, she was the youngest in the family, and her mother was unable to conceive any more. Surprisingly, a few years later, her mother did give birth to a younger brother.

Dr. Kubler-Ross discovered that the dying process comprises three stages. The first stage is when the consciousness leaves the body. At this time, no brain waves can be detected, and ECG shows a flat line. The second stage then begins, where only the mind exists. Blind people can recover their sight, handicaps see that they are whole, the deaf can hear, and the mute can speak. Some patients who had multiple sclerosis told her after their near-death experiences: “I could dance again”. Dr. Kubler-Ross once focused on blind people (those who had been blind for over 10 years) as her research participants, and found that when they experienced their consciousness leaving their bodies, they could clearly see the clothes or necktie colours of people around them.

This second stage does not have time or space, and one can use one’s mind to go immediately to any place. A soldier may have died in Asia, but his consciousness could get to New York immediately by thinking about his mother. Some people had experiences where they first saw a loved one living far away suddenly appear in front of them, and then later received a phone call or telegraph that the loved one had passed away.

The third stage relates to a review of one’s life. This review transcends time and space. The life review may take only a few seconds or minutes on Earth, but the person re-experiences every word, action or thought he has made during his life, and also experiences its impact on others. During this review, one feels the interconnectedness between consciousness. Some people may discover that their priority in life has been wrong—for example, pursuing materialistic needs and being over-competitive. Instead, they may feel that the most important thing in life is to leave more love on earth.

Following Dr. Kubler-Ross’ work, others have conducted research relating to dying and life review, and obtained results collaborating her findings. One striking study was done by cardiologist, Dr. Pim Van Lommel. He interviewed 344 patients from 10 hospitals in Holland who had been saved after suffering heart attacks. Of these, 18% had near-death experiences. Amongst these patients who had near-death experiences, 50% knew they were dead or had positive emotional responses; 30% felt that they were passing through a tunnel and saw visions of heaven or their dead relatives; 25% had out-of-body experiences with their consciousnesses separated from their bodies, were able to communicate with “light”, or saw color lights; 8% experienced the boundary between life and death; and 13% experienced a review of their entire lives. Those who approached actual deaths had deeper and more vivid experiences. One of Dr. Lommel’s cases was a person who saw his dead grandmother and another unfamiliar male who was looking at him with loving eyes. Ten years later, just before his mother died, she told him that he was born out of wedlock. His father was a Jew, and died after he was deported out of Germany during World War II. When he saw his father’s photograph, he realized that the unfamiliar male who had been looking at him during his near-death experience was indeed his father.

After Dr. Lommel completed this research, he deeply believed that the consciousness does not die. He put aside his medical work, and persevered in collecting evidence related to this research. The website of the International Association of Near-Death Studies (www.iands.org) contains his articles. Another source of evidence about the continuity of consciousness after death comes from after-death communication from the dead. Dr. Kubler-Ross shared this personal experience of which prompted Bill Guggenheim to pursue this line of research. Many years ago, Dr. Kubler-Ross met with difficulties in her research on dying and death, and had made up her mind not to organize any more of these seminars. That day, after a seminar, she accompanied a pastor collaborating in the research and walked towards the elevator. She was about to broach the issue of her impending resignation, when she saw a familiar lady standing nearby waiting to talk to her. She could not recall this lady’s name, and neither could the pastor. However, after the pastor entered the elevator, this lady walked over and said: “Dr. Kubler-Ross, the reason I returned is that I have something important to discuss with you. Can we go to your office to chat for a few minutes?” As Dr. Kubler-Ross walked toward her office, she asked herself if she was having a hallucination because she recalled that this lady was a patient who had died ten months ago. She deliberately tried to touch this lady to feel whether her skin was warm or cold. This lady was a little translucent although it was not possible to see through her body. After they entered the office, this lady, Mrs. Schwartz, said: “I came back for two reasons. The first reason is to thank you and Pastor Gaines for your help. The second reason is to request that you do not stop this line of work. Now is not the time to stop. In the future, when there are others who can take over this work, you can stop. We will help you.” Dr. Kubler-Ross’ scientific mind prompted her to deliberately ask Mrs. Schwartz to write a note to Pastor Gaines. After Dr. Kubler-Ross had nodded her head in agreement to continue her work, Mrs. Schwartz disappeared. Bill Guggenheim was inspired by this story, and together with his wife, spent seven years to collect 3000 cases of communication from the dead. He intends to collect such cases from other cultures.

People who had near-death experiences generally go through major changes in their outlook towards life. Dr. Kenneth Ring summarizes these changes:

  • Treasure everything in life, including ordinary experiences.
  • Total acceptance of oneself, and eliminating prior lack of self-worth.
  • Truly caring for others.
  • Respecting all life and nature.
  • No longer pursue a materialistic lifestyle, and knowing that is illusory.
  • No longer interested in competitiveness, and emphasizing more on caring for others.
  • Continually working on one’s spiritual development.
  • Like learning.
  • Have a clear mission in life.
  • No longer afraid of death.
  • Convinced that there is life after death.
  • Convinced that there is a transcendental force in the universe—some call it “God” while others call it “Light”.

These people generally become more sensitive (e.g., toward electrical impulses), while others acquire supernatural powers. Others completely change their professions, and dedicate their lives towards activities that benefit society. They know that the purpose of life is to share a little more love with others, and that the energy of the consciousness continues to live and does not die. According to Dr. Kubler-Ross, when people are no longer afraid of death, the world will not have wars. Also, people will change how they live when they realize that their consciousness does not die and that, at death, they will have to face the reality of what they have done.

As a result of the cases above, we are also inspired to collect cases from the Chinese culture where there has been direct communication from loved ones or friends who had died, as well as near-death experiences. Readers are invited to send such cases to the Lapis Lazuli Light offices in their home country. Please leave your contact information so that we can conduct further investigations. Your identity will be kept confidential.

References:

  • www.iands.org
  • On Life After Death, by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, Celestial Arts, 1991
  • Lessons from the Light: What we can Learn from the Near-Death Experience, by Kenneth Ring, Moment Point Press, 1998
  • The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Near-Death Experiences, by P.M. H. Atwater with David H. Morgan, Alpha Book, 2000

Caring for your liver; Protecting your environment

Chiu-Nan Lai, Ph.D.

I remember that when I was in Primary 4, a traditional Chinese medicine doctor would often visit our house. Each time, he would read my pulse and almost invariably, he would say that my liver was not healthy. Although I was young, I generally did not feel well but could not articulate what was wrong with me. That year, we had just moved from the U.S. to Taiwan, and lived in a  company housing that had both a front yard and a back yard. Every week or other week, the company would send someone to spray anti-mosquito pesticide (DDT), and the entire place would be shrouded in a cloud of pesticide spray. At that time, we did not know that this was toxic, and did not specially avoid the spray. Many years later, I came to realize why my liver was not healthy.

Forty years later, both medical and scientific researchers established the harm caused to our body and especially the liver through exposure to pesticides, herbicides, air fresheners, preservatives, antibiotics, bleaching agents, dry cleaning agents, paint, etc. Hence, liver ailments, hepatitis, liver cancer, and liver-related illnesses are increasingly common. The liver is the filter for our blood and lymph fluids, and all that we eat and breathe goes through the liver. It reflects and resonates with our external environment. If a location has poor water quality, all its residents will have impaired liver functions.

Although the medical field is aware of the harm caused to the human body by chemical toxins, many public places, condominiums, parks, car parks, golf courses, and farms continue to spray various kinds of toxic chemicals. These chemicals have the most severe impact on children, fetuses, and workers doing the spraying.

We know a person who used to be in the pesticide business more than ten years ago. He was in contact with these deadly chemicals everyday. After two years, his liver was damaged, and he contacted hepatitis and liver cirrhosis. Doctors advised him that a liver transplant was his only hope. While waiting for a suitable donor, he changed his profession to that of a carpenter. He also became more careful with his diet. He ate only low fat, high fibre food, restricted his intake of alcoholic drinks and western medicine, and started taking milk thistle seeds as a daily supplement. (Milk thistle is a wild plant that has thorns, and looks a little like the dandelion when it flowers. At the end of the white hair are its seeds and looks like juemingzi.) Lately, his doctor informed him that he no longer has the Hepatitis C, and need not have a liver transplant.

Many years ago, a Singaporean reader had liver cirrhosis. I advised him to change to a healthful vegetarian diet. Three months later, his liver cirrhosis was cured. The liver is an instrumental and important organ in our body, and has a very strong self-regenerating capability. Even if 70% of the liver is cut, it will grow back. If a suitable environment and conditions exist, the liver can heal itself.

The liver is closely connected to the digestive and eliminative systems. When the liver is unhealthy, fat digestion and waste excretion will be adversely affected. Similarly, chronic constipation can poison the liver because the waste matter in the intestines is absorbed by the blood stream, which increases the load on the liver. The habit of gobbling down one’s food also adds pressure on the liver because food that is not fully digested becomes toxins in the body. Chewing food slowly and well helps digestion and benefits the liver. The work of the liver peaks between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. Hence, taking late dinners can interfere with the liver’s functions. Overworking and sleeping late also harms the liver. Taking light and earlier dinners and sleeping before 10 p.m. benefit the liver. Fat digestion directly affects the liver—avoid food prepared at high temperature such as oily, fried, and deep fried food. Also, use organic cold-pressed oil , but take sparingly.

Symptoms of an unhealthy liver are irritability, bad temper, high blood pressure, sleeping poorly, a tendency to wake up at 3 a.m., gastric problems, blurry vision, weak knees, muscles that are easily injured, migraine headaches, weak kidney, and cancer.

Currently, electromagnetic fields, radio waves, microwaves, and radiation in the environment are especially harmful to the liver. Because the liver is like the body’s weather station that monitors the environment, it is not surprising that most people do not have healthy livers. The liver is also like the weather station of our emotions. In particular, anger, jealousy, frustration, and blockage to one’s self expression or creativity are harmful to the liver. Our emotions and those of our mother and ancestors are also stored in our chakras, particularly in the liver-nourishing navel chakra (solar plexus) area, which is above our navel in front and above our waist behind.

The Chinese culture is an ancient culture, that is particularly concerned about social etiquette, and raise the next generation with strict restrictions. From young, children are taught to regard the family as the center. Self-expression is not encouraged, and one is to listen but not answer back. Marriages are determined primarily based on the socio-economic equality of the bride’s and groom’s families, and not on the love the couple has for each other. Poor families would even sell their daughters as child-brides or adopted daughters. Of course, there are instances of families selling their sons, but this is less common. For several thousands of years, Chinese have shut down and suppressed their emotional expressions. As a Chinese saying goes, “Slapping our face till it is swollen just to pretend a fat person”. The Chinese are polite and do not express what is in their hearts. For several thousand years, Chinese women have a lower social status than men. Even in this day and age, the majority of children sold are girls, even though everyone (boy or girl) comes from a mother’s womb. Our ancestors’ emotional histories are being transmitted from generation to generation by women. Among our grandmothers are child brides, adopted children, young daughters-in-law, maids, first wives, and second wives. The emotions that are being handed down are deep and tangled feelings of resentment, hatred, anger, sorrow, lack of security, jealousy, suspicion, fear, low self-esteem, etc.  It is not surprising, therefore, that liver problems are prevalent among Chinese.

A happy and harmonious society comes from treating all children, and especially girls, with respect, love, and affirmation. Only when women are happy and well taken care of will there be a happy society and country.

Some suggestions on taking care of the liver are:

1. In our daily lives, avoid food that is produced by liver-damaging chemical toxins, pesticides, and chemical fertilizers, in particular, animal-based food. Also, where possible, avoid electromagnetic fields and microwaves. Eat naturally grown vegetables and fruits, grains, and seeds. Avoid deep-fried or high heat fried dishes, and use sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds, hemp seeds, and walnuts as food sources of oil. It is also fine to use small amount of cold olive oil, or other pressed oil such as sesame seed oil.

2. Take early dinners wherever possible. It is best if there is a gap of six to eight hours between digestion time and 1 a.m., which implies that we should take dinner before 6 p.m. The dinner portion should be small. People with liver problems can take dinner between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m., or even abstain from dinner.

3. Detoxify the liver at regular intervals. Full moons and spring time are the best times to do so. The following food and herbs are helpful for detoxifying the liver: aloe vera juice, dandelion (its root is especially good for hepatitis), Chinese goldthread, tumeric, milk thistle, yarrow, Oregon grape root, gentian, wolf berries, chrysanthemum, juemingzhi, bitter gourd, deep green vegetables like kale, lemon, lemon skin, grapefruit skin boiled in water (20 minutes), lime (commonly available are green limes whose skin turns yellow when ripe). Lemon skin is especially effective in treating liver problems. Milk thistle seed, good for detoxifying liver, can be boiled and taken with water, or ground to powder and sprinkled on food. One spoonful of milk thistle seed powder per day is useful as a precaution against chemical toxins.

Below is a way of preparing lemon juice for detoxifying the liver: mix juice from one lemon, one teaspoon of olive oil, one teaspoon of honey, and ¼ to ½ teaspoons cayenne pepper power; drink on an empty stomach.

To detoxify our gallbladder, add lemon juice to three teaspoons of live oil and ¼ to ½ spoonful cayenne pepper powder. Every full moon is an optimal time to detoxify the liver. Likewise, the spring season is a good time to do so, as well as discharge our gall bladder stones (for method, see my books “Holistic Health for the Body, Mind, and Spirit” and “Returning Joy to Our Body”).

Here is an approach used by native South-American Indians for treating hepatitis and detoxifying the liver:
Add juice from two to three limes to two cups of water and a tablespoon of honey. Drink and replenish over three days continuously. Boil lettuce (Romaine or other loose leaf lettuce which do not have a head) in water, and drink 2 tablespoons every hour. It is not necessary to take dinner. On the 4th day, eat beetroot and lightly-steamed vegetables. Continue to drink lime water and gradually increase food intake. Drink the lime water for a week.

4. The liver is the warmest organ in our body. However, environmental pollution can make it cool down and prevent it from functioning properly. Many years ago, a study found that 90% of Americans had livers that were not functioning normally. Now, the figure may be as high as 99.9%.

Using chamomile tea to apply over the liver area is a method to warm the liver, as recommended by Dr. Rudolph Steiner. Among food, wasabi directly warms the liver. No wonder the Japanese people add wasabi sauce when they eat fried tempura.

5. Clearing suppressed emotions and releasing our emotions freely are important to take care of the liver. The following is a method that uses salt water to clear our navel chakra (solar plexus area). Fill half a cup with salt, and add water to the brim. Use the left hand to hold the bottom of the cup, and the right hand on top of the cup. Hold the cup above the navel, and relax the entire body, letting the salt absorb suppressed emotions from the body. It is best to stick a triangular piece of paper with the words “Om Mani Padme Hum”, “Thank you”, or “Love” on the bottle or cup (please refer to my article on the August 2005 issue of this magazine). At the beginning, do so for 10 to 20 minutes. When you have done so for the front of the navel chakra, repeat the same process for the back (i.e., back of waist) with both hands holding the cup of salt water. It is fine to alternate the hands (left or right) holding the top or bottom of the cup. Once the cleansing process is completed, the front and back of our chakra area will have a warm feeling. It is best to do so for a few minutes every day to clear remaining and new negative emotions.

When we have afflictions, anger, fear, resentment, or a critical attitude towards others, stop and ask these questions: “Who was not loved? Not respected? Not affirmed? Who was frightened?” Is it ourselves when we were young? Our parents? Our ancestors? The one who was the young daughter-in-law? The one who was the adopted daughter? The one who was the maid? Then, send love, respect, affirmation, and whatever is needed. Repeat this, and over time, the instinctive and blind habitual reactions of the past will not take place. This will not only protect your liver, but that of people around you.

Dr. Mick Hall, a doctor of natural therapies who counsels cancer patients, found that suppressed emotions can pass on for many generations. One of his patients was a very anxious person. Dr. Hall asked her where her anxiety came from. She answered that it came from her mother. He then asked her where her mother’s trait came from. She replied that it came from her maternal grandmother, who was an extremely anxious person. Dr. Hall further asked this patient where her grandmother’s anxiety arose from. At that time, this lady had a sudden insight—at the age of 10, her grandmother witnessed her family members being killed in Germany. Another lady patient suddenly felt a fear of bears while she was undergoing detoxification. She was a person who lived among nature, and was normally not afraid of anything. While she was experiencing this extreme fear, a genetic memory came to mind—she recalled that her maternal grandmother was once chased by a bear, and ran into the river where she stood in great fear for half a day.

6. Recently, I discovered by chance that  the following procedure can protect the liver: on the liver area, paste a triangular white piece of paper or cloth that has the words “Om Mani Padme Hum” written in blue. Our liver is being assaulted by microwaves, electromagnetic waves, and polluted air 24 hours a day. Hence, our liver also needs 24-hour protection. This paper or cloth does not need to directly contact the skin, and can be stuck or placed on our clothes. An even better method is to use blue ink to write between 7 to 14 sets of the mantra “Om Mani Padme Hum” on a white cloth, and then wrap this cloth around our waist. This is my latest experiment that you can try. The strongest force in the universe is love. The best antidote to hatred, fear and other negative emotions is also love. Om Mani Padme Hum is the vibration of the most perfect love in the universe. When I paste these words on my liver area, I immediately have a warm feeling.

 

Translated by Singapore Lapis Lazuli Light. 
Article originally published in Chinese in Lapis Lazuli Light magazine (Feb 2006); available at http://www.lapislazuli.org/TradCh/magazine/200602/200602.html

Infinite Life, Infinite Joy

Chiu-Nan Lai, Ph.D.

Last June, my third sister asked my father, who had been quiet for some time during his recuperation from illness, what he was thinking. He replied that he was contemplating how to leave safely. At the beginning of August, he gradually grew weaker and began to eat less and less. My sisters and mother, who had been taking care of him, could not bear to see my father grow increasingly thin, and kept asking him to eat and drink more. Later, he clenched his teeth and refused to eat or drink. I sensed what was coming because I remembered what John Robbins shared about the dying process of Scott Nearing, a renowned author and pioneer of living the simple life. Scott was then 100 years old, and was in good health without any illness or pain. One day, he started to drink only vegetable and fruit juices, and one month later, only water. A few weeks later, he wouldn’t even drink water. His wife Helen, who was then about 90 years old, understood his intention, and told him: “If you want to go, I won’t stop you. After all, I will be following after you”. Scott nodded, took another breath, and then passed away. Three days ago, he was already conversing with friends and relatives in the spiritual world.

During the morning and afternoon of August 24, my family members heard my father spoke loudly “Quickly! Quickly!” a few times. My fourth sister had just returned home from out of town the night before she came home to assist a spiritual teacher to perform prayers for my father. My father had also asked her to return home. At about 10 p.m. that night, my father’s breathing grew faster. As my fourth sister was helping him with his oxygen mask, she continuously whispered in his ears to take refuge in the triple gems, to think that his spiritual teacher is just besides him, and to generate bodhicitta to help suffering sentient beings. She also reminded him to rejoice that he had met with precious teachings that will enable him to attain liberation, that he had met spiritual teachers who had attained liberation, and that he had given his six daughters precious human lives and led them into Dharma. She told him that he can now enter into retreat and let go of everything.  My sister could feel that his heart quietened down, and his breathing changed. Forty minutes later, she removed his oxygen mask, he exhaled once, and didn’t inhale again after that. At that time, my fourth sister performed the Medicine Buddha prayer and other practices from the prayer book. Mother held back her tears, and chanted the name of Amitabha Buddha. My second sister was originally very sad, but because she saw Avalokiteshrava receiving my father just before he stopped breathing, she focused on chanting the Buddha’s name for my father. A few years ago, my father had told my fourth sister that he hoped that when he was dying, she would be at his side to assist.

When the visiting spiritual teacher, heard that my father had stopped breathing, he immediately came to perform prayers all night for my father. He also instructed my younger sisters to clear all the stuff on the dresses of father’s bedroom, and put offerings of fresh flowers, water, and fruits. The next morning, he continued to perform the prayers. Before he left, he said that father was still in meditative concentration, and asked them not to disturb him. My third sister and fifth sister, who had rush back home, also recited the King of Prayers and the Vajrasattva Mantra for him. They felt that my father was still around, and could feel his love.

On August 24, I was in Santa Barbara and was preparing to leave for Denver two days later, and then to Crestone for the five-day workshop. Around 9 p.m. that night (Denver time, 10 p.m.), I sent my usual prayers to father. What I saw instead was a bright light, and tears of gratitude kept flowing. At the same time, I couldn’t help smiling. Forty minutes later, my phone rang and was informed that dad had passed away. I returned to my seat, and continued to send my prayers to my father. I eart involuntarily laughed out loud a few times, and understood that all was well with my father and that I need not worry. On August 26, I followed my original plan to return to my parent’s home. At the airport, I heard my father’s voice: “I am just waiting for you to return”. Before my father’s injury, he would always personally pick up his daughters from the airport. Back home, the atmosphere was peaceful and joyous. I took leave from my father, and then went on to Crestone. Two sisters drove me to Crestone, while another two stayed at home to accompany mother. My sixth sister was attending classes in California, and couldn’t home. That night, my father finished his meditation, and his consciousness left his body. Mother smelled a fragrant odor from the adjacent room. Similarly, my fourth sister smelled a fragrant odor in father’s bedroom, and she had initially thought that other people had sprayed some air freshener.

On August 29, we followed the instructions of a spiritual teacher in terms of the time and direction with which to move the body out of the house. A few friends who had come for the funeral also smelled the fragrance. Even two weeks later, when the son of my father’s old friends visited to ask about him, all three smelled the fragrance (incense smell) simultaneously. Another son of my father’s friend dreamt of my father when he lay down to sleep at about 11 p.m. on the night of August 24.  He had previously dreamt of only a few people in his life—when his grandfather passed away, and his classmate. When he woke up, the first thought that came to his mind was that his bedroom should be arranged according to Fengshui principles. After he did that, his sleep improved. This young man had only seen my father a few times, and did not believe in Fengshui before this. His mother said that he seems to be a completely changed person. In his work, he felt that someone is helping him, and he believed that it was my father.

After my father passed away, my sisters and I had different ways to communicate with him. Mother did not dream of him, nor did she receive other news. Hence, she was feeling unsettled. On September 3, my fifth sister was clearing my father’s wardrobe, and suddenly found my father’s old diary in the drawer. Prior to this, some of my other sisters had emptied this drawer, but never saw the diary. Even mother had never seen this diary. This diary documented his life experiences in the one year between 1947 when he was a teaching assistant at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou to the year after when he moved to Southern Taiwan to work in Tainan Sugar Experimental Institute. Mother married dad in Tainan in the middle of 1949 after overcoming much difficulties. During that period when they were apart, they communicated only by mail.

After the diary appeared, my fourth sister disclosed that she had prayed to my father to communicate with mother. This diary enabled mother to read father’s thoughts and feelings.

From the diary, we learned that since his youth, father had strong aspirations to constantly improve himself. He continually motivated himself to do his best in learning and in his work. After his graduate studies in the U.S., he returned to Taiwan at the age of 33. He began to contemplate on the meaning of life. Through a friend, he came to know of Venerable Yinshun, and this completely changed his perspective of life. That year, my father formally took refuge in the Triple Gems, and became a vegetarian. As a result, my sisters and I grew up listening to him on how we have to be considerate when we deal with others, and how we have to treasure and protect lives. When I later went into cancer research, he reminded me to be mindful of my intentions and not to conduct research out of fame and fortune. Because of his influence, my academic life has taken a very different path from those of my peers. All said, my sisters and I have been greatly influenced by my father in our job choices and the way we interact with people and situations.

Originally, my father’s health was very good and did not need to consult doctors or take medicine. Three years ago, at the age of 79 years, he fell from his bicycle and broke his hipbone and suffered henceforth. One of his spiritual teachers gave him a discourse at our home for five hours, and instructed him to recite the Diamond Sutra daily, along with other homework. He said that to attain liberation, we need to endure hardship; such was the case with other enlightened beings. We learned a lot from my father. It was because of his illness that we encountered the book “Energy Medicine,” and meeting Dr. Mitchell May. As a result, there were Chinese translations of “Energy Medicine” and distribution of products by Dr. Mitchell May’s company. In the past three years, Dr. Mitchell May has been a very popular instructor at our workshops.

My father graduated with a Ph.D in agriculture from the University of Michigan. When he encountered information on organic farming, he was inspired to promote organic farming. He had written a few articles on this topic and the Lapis Lazuli Light magazine had published one of his articles that he had written many years ago. He had special insights in the area of energy measurement—the energy pendulum, house energizer, and crystal water-energizer were the result of his careful investigation and research. They helped many people protect against the harmful electromagnetic waves and microwaves around them. I am one of these beneficiaries.

Someone once wrote that before we were born, we had different perspectives on the choices we would make for our life experiences. We would not choose an easy lifestyle as the most important criterion; rather, aspire for a life that allows us to develop quickly and to exhaust our past karma speedily. Given father’s perseverance, he must have selected an “express class”. His life and death bear testimony that his efforts have value. People who want to have a good death experience need to prepare for their entire life. Thoughts that arise every moment are creating life’s experiences, including that at death. After my father passed away, mother said this: “If we endeavour to do our best in benefiting others while we are alive, the rest is not important”.

Afternote:
In this society, most people born and die in the hospitals. To have a peaceful birth and death requires special arrangements and preparations. Lapis Lazuli Light magazine has periodically shared the experiences of home birth. Now is the time to introduce dying at home. Ideally, a person dies in a familiar and warm environment. If the family members cannot take care of the terminally ill person, they can hire someone to do so. In the U.S., there are hospice care services designed to do this. The hospice sends their staff for home visits. Alternatively, the terminally ill can go to the hospice homes, although these homes may not be able to meet the request not to move the body. Ancient traditions in both Eastern and Western cultures suggest that the body be kept for three days. According to Dr. Steiner, after a person stops breathing, it takes three days for the etheric body to separate from the physical body and return to the cosmos. People who had spiritual practice can continue to practice meditation for a few days after they stop breathing. Hence, the general suggestion is that the body should not be moved for a minimum of 8 hours after the person stops breathing, may sometimes be insufficient.

When a person knows that he is going to die soon, it is best for him to see and hear things that will uplift his spirits. These can depend on the person’s religious beliefs or likes. Avoid situations that cause afflictions to arise.

In the few weeks before my father passed away, my sisters would place a Buddha relic pagoda on top of my father’s head and remind him to contemplate on Sakyamuni Buddha as well as his spiritual masters. My sisters would also show him photos of his spiritual teachers, and let him hear the Six-syllable Mantra (“Om Man Padme Hum”) chanted by his teacher. The dying person’s consciousness is especially alert and sensitive. Hence, people who visit him should maintain a peaceful and calm disposition, avoid emotional upheavals, and send the greatest blessings and love to the dying person’s consciousness.

Dr. Steiner said that from the perspective of the spiritual world, death is a new beginning. One should celebrate being successfully released from the physical body. He said that in reality, both the living and dead exist in the universe, except that there are differences in their consciousness. In fact, both sides are frequently communicating, only that many people are not aware. Our intuitions generally come from our consciousness that has no physical form. The moments just before falling asleep and just after waking up are the time when it is easiest to communicate with the spiritual world. The time before falling asleep is optimal for enquiries about our departed relatives, but we need to visualize that these questions are asked by our departed relatives. The first thoughts we have upon waking up are the answers to these questions. Likewise, dreams made before dawn are generally their answers or guidance. Since my father’s demise, some of my sisters frequently dreamed of him, and received guidance from him. My father’s communication to me generally appears in the form of the first thoughts that appear to me when I wake up.

The time and direction of moving the body are very important. Tibetan Geshes are learned about these matters. A highly realized teacher told me that if the time and direction is wrong, the living could be adversely affected in terms of their wealth or health. There is a case where after a person died, his family members had four to five people who also sequentially passed away. To a person with spiritual practice, cremation or sky burials are best in terms of letting the physical body return to what originally belonged to the earth. There is no clinging.

Loved ones of the dead person need time to get over grieving. In psychotherapy, it is said that under attention, these loved ones need to shed 200 hours of tears. Because the body and heart are one, and care of the body can help manage one’s emotions. When husbands and wives live together, they share a common etheric body. Hence, the surviving spouse needs to reestablish a new etheric body. However, this process can involve many discomfort to the body. For instance, there may be discomfort in the heart area. Massage,  gentle tapping and other emotional cleansing teachniques can be used. The book “Energy Medicine” mentions a method that involves pressing the forehead while recollecting some painful moments (such as when the loved one stopped breathing). During this process, one should simultaneously observe the body’s reactions, while rotating the eyeballs three times in a clockwise direction and multiple times in an anticlockwise direction until the body is relaxed. Engage in more exercises that raise one’s energy levels. This can shorten the experience of emotional pain. Being in a high-energy place can also accelerate the recovery period. This time, the retreat was held in Crestone, and we stayed there for a few days after my father passed away. I personally experienced the healing effect of this high-energy place.

I am grateful to my father for teaching us this class, and for showing an alternative way of “dying”. Lama Yeshe once said that a spiritually practitioner’s death is like going on a picnic. In the past, I found it hard to imagine this. Now, I know that this is possible.

References: The ultimate healing

Translated by Singapore Lapis Lazuli Light.
Article originally published in Chinese in Lapis Lazuli Light magazine (Nov 2005); available at http://www.lapislazuli.org/TradCh/magazine/200511/20051101.html

The Unexpected

Chiu-Nan Lai, Ph.D.

In May this year, organic farmer Bob Cannard traveled down south from Northern California to join me in giving two public lectures at the University of California Los Angeles and Santa Barbara campuses. The theme is on water and soil renewal. This is the first time Bob and I gave talks at the same program. I was moved, and said: “It is rare for a medical professional and an organic farmer to be teaching together on the same stage. If medical professionals can interact with and communicate more with the farmers, there won’t be so many cases of cancer and other ailments”. Bob’s words always leave a deep impression on me every time I listen to him. This time he again mentioned that if the farmers continue to use an adversary farming approach towards nature and we feed our children with these farm products, our children will turn out to be people filled with adversity. Even if these farmers use an “organic” method to kill insects and worms, it is still an adversary approach. The products that they grow will not be food that is harmonious to our bodies.

If we can place our attention towards improving the soil quality, provide what the plants need, and reserve some space for mother earth, allow wild plants and green manure to have the space to grow, the soil will get richer and, in turn, we will have more to enjoy. This becomes a positive cycle. When our descendents eat food from this soil, within three to four generations, they will be able to repair the damage done over the years. People who feed on such food will then fully exhibit the special attributes of a human being. When asked about the “detestable” weeds and insects. He will give the following answer: Grass such as the Bermuda Grass that is difficult to get rid of grows on soil that lacks calcium. Once the soil’s calcium level is replenished, this type of grass will not grow anymore. Similarly, insects eat leaves that are old, and they therefore help the old leaves return to earth to become compost. Without these insects, agriculture and nature can not exist. Insects and plants are co-dependent. It is just that modern fertilizers create plants that have many ailments, and this leads to an increase in the insect population. The number of insects will immediately decrease once the soil is nourished by adding microorganisms, compost tea and rock powder (for details, see www.soilfoodweb.com)

These days there are conflicts between people and between nations. The unexpected reason is that this is the result of long-term consumption of food that is grown with an adversity attitude. Therefore, to have peace in the society and world at large, it is necessary to start with agriculture. We need to actively promote “Peaceful farming”. Issues that cannot be resolved by the military and diplomats can be resolved by agriculture. In my experience, unexpected insights and understanding are the most useful. These are not taught within the school, and not necessarily widely accepted by the society at large. Bob Cannard did not complete his university studies because he felt that the university professors’ views on farming were counter to the laws of nature. If humans were so intelligent, then the soil that has been farmed by humans should be even more fertile. In reality, such soil actually becomes less fertile. In contrast, the natural farming method that Bob learned from interacting with nature enables him to transform poisoned land to fertile farmland. When other farmer owners find their grapevines and almond trees dying, they would ask Bob for help, and he would offer a solution.

Professor Higa, Okinawan agricultural expert, also discovered the benefits of friendly bacteria (EM in short) under unexpected circumstances. In the last 16 years, EM techniques have been promoted in 150 countries, and are successfully used not only in agricultural, animal husbandry and construction industries, but in water purification and forest restoration as well. EM also has unexpectedly good results in the area of healthcare.

Many cancer patients have experienced miraculous recovery after drinking EMX (EM after filtering off live bacteria) or EM1 (EM with live bacteria). The EM distributor in Singapore shared some of the cases he counseled. One of them is a patient with colon cancer, who drank EM1 a few times per day, each time 100 cc. Three days later, when he passed motion, he discharged lots of black stuff (which are waste matter accumulated over time). When he went for his medical examination, his colon cancer was gone. According to EM research, only 1 to 3 spoonfuls of EMX or EM1 are necessary for health maintenance purposes, but for medical patients, the dosage could increase by as much as 10 times.

EM1 has good cleansing effects. Diluted EM1 can be used for bathing, washing face, brushing teeth, rinsing mouth, washing toilets, washing kitchen, and removing grease. It does not pollute the water supply, but purifies it instead.

One Hong Kong friend happily shared her recent insights from using EM1:

“My brother went through chemotherapy and developed a big open sore on his lower jaw. Western medicine didn’t help, and there was pus inside. She suddenly had an inspiration, and asked him to use cotton wool soaked with undiluted EM1 to apply on the wound. On day later, the sore dried up.

A friend had a mouth ulcer for several months. She sprayed diluted EM1 into the mouth, but it didn’t help. Recently, the ulcer turned black. I recommended the above method to her. Within a day, the ulcer had broken and discharged a black liquid.

EM1 is really incredible!

In addition, I have applied this method to my bruises, and they quickly clear after that!”

During my Asia trip this February, I accidentally discovered that words can change the energy in water, food, and electromagnetic waves. Inspired by Masuo Emoto’s “Messages from Water”, I wrote words like “Thank you”, “Love” “Om Mani Padme Hum”, and “Om Ah Hum Benza Gura Padma Siddhi Hum” on pieces of paper, and placed them below cups containing tap water. I found that the energy increased from negative 10 (counterclockwise direction) to positive 20, 10, 60 to 120. I then placed written pieces of paper and pasted them on the window. The negative energy in the room also turned positive. When I pasted the paper on the mobile phone of someone next to me, the person said that he no longer felt an ear ache when he used the mobile phone. When pasted on the water pipe, water that flowed out had higher energy levels; when pasted on the electrical meter, the energy of the room was different. I later found that the words “Om Mani Padme Hum”, when written in blue within a triangular piece of white paper (see Figure 1), gives higher energy. When put together with the words “Om Muni Muni Maha Munaye Soha” that are written in gold on a rectangular blue paper, the combined energy gets even higher.

After the public talks at the University of California, some students wanted to learn energy testing. We met in front of the health food cooperative store near the university, and gave a live demonstration of how to raise the energy level of the cooperative store. Initially, the store had only 3 positive rotations. After we pasted the heart mantra (Om Mani Padme Hum) on the window, the positive rotations increased to 60. It had blocked out the negative vibrations from the wireless antenna in front of the co-op!

The power of the mind is even more unexpected. When everyone generated appreciative thoughts towards the peaches and oranges, energy levels significantly increased—the positive rotations of organic fruits increased by three times, while the peaches that were grown with chemical fertilizers changed from negative 20 to positive 5. With training, the power of the mind can create medical miracles. Harold McCoy is a seventy-three year old retired army personnel. In the past 26 years, every night between 9 p.m. to 10.30 p.m., he would use his mind power to heal people remotely. Because he helped a doctor to get rid of his brain tumour, he was invited to participate in a research project involving healing with the mind. Together with a few others, Harold healed 7000 cases (there is supporting evidence on this), including cats and other animals. When he is performing healing with the mind, he is in Delta brain waves. Most people have Delta brain waves only when they are asleep. Among his cases are those where an injured knee cap grew new cartilage, an injured spine was healed, a terminal lung cancer patient was discharged after a week, and even one where a youth who was brain dead through drug overdose woke up the next day. The tools he uses are those that appear in his mind, or are visualized by him. For example, when Harold “looked” at the brain of the brain-dead youth, he found that the brain cells had died from lack of oxygen. At that time, an oxygen skull cap appeared in Harold’s mind, and he placed the cap on the youth’s head, letting oxygen permeate the brain cells and bring life to the rain.

Before Harold did this, he used a “brain cleaning solution” to remove fear, anger and unhappiness from the youth’s memory. He discovered that all drug addicts and alcoholics contain negative energy associated with anger and fear in their brains. Once this negative energy is eliminated, these people are able to kick their habits. In the case of the youth, Harold directed the resplendent perfect energy from the universe into a white nectar, and sent the light into the brain, infusing it with love, joy, and memories of a happy childhood. The next day, when the youth’s doctor, pastor and friends walked into the room to take off the life support and let him die, the youth suddenly opened his eyes. From then on, he never took drugs. He even personally came to thank Harold a few years later. We are living in a universe that is unimaginable, let us open our eyes and heart, and be always ready to learn the unexpected.

To learn more about McCoy’s research institute, see www.ozarkresesarch.org.
For research on EM, see www.emtechnologynetwork.org

To make this liquid fertilizer, add some compost, honey and seaweed to cold leftover soup. Leave in the open air for 24 hours, and then spray the leaves or directly water the plant.
Translated by Singapore Lapis Lazuli Light.
Article originally published in Chinese in Lapis Lazuli Light magazine (Aug 2005); available at
http://www.lapislazuli.org/TradCh/magazine/200508/200508.html

Computer Education And Its Interference On Children’s Growth

Chiu-Nan Lai, Ph.D.

“In June 2004, Dr. Lai delivered four talks in the North, Central and South Taiwan.  During her stay in Taiwan, she had discussions with people from the academic field.  They talked about the roles of computer education on children, Dr. Lai indicated that modern people are receiving increasing amount of information, yet they do not have a clear understanding of the impact of electromagnetic waves on the electromagnetic field of a human body.   The emphasis Dr. Lai placed was not on how to prevent the radiation from computer; instead, she provided an analysis on the adverse effect of computer on children’s growth based on Rudolf Steiner’s concept of education which is now quite widely recognised.  Dr. Lai’s views are very different from those of the modern trend; however, if we think carefully about how we grew up before computer was widely used, her reasoning seems to be quite plausible, and hence it is worthwhile for parents and the education policy makers to give consideration to her analysis.”

Rudolf Steiner’s Education Concept As A Reference

Generally, under the Rudolf Steiner’s education system, children under 14 years of age do not have contact with the computers and nor watch TV. This is because the first two years after birth is usually the period when a baby’s brain grow at the fastest rate, while brain cells are mostly formed for a seven-year old. During this period, exposure to TV and computer will interfere with the natural development of brain cells. Thus, the design of Rudolf Steiner’s education pays attention to observing the different stimulations needed during the different stages of growth. After the growing years, watching television is still minimal even for educational purpose.

Rudolf Steiner’s education specifically emphasizes holistic education of body, mind and spirit. To train the best scientists, the children are not fed with technical knowledge in their early stages of growth. Instead, the children must first be taught how to think and observe, and then through observations, gain understanding and hence solve problems. For instance, to teach children about plants, it is not done by bringing in the plants to show the children, but rather children are brought to the environment to observe the plants in their natural habitat. And for an example, understanding a particular flower has a specific colour is because the soil contains more of certain types of mineral. This allows the children to understand that plants cannot be separated from their living environment. When children are taught to observe, they will have the ability to solve problems as well as the ability to think.

So the Rudolf Steiner education style is different from the general education system. The Rudolf Steiner education does not use text-books, the children write their own textbooks. The teaching tries to relate what is taught to OUR daily life and the nature. When the children learn geography, they are taught to start by drawing their homes first, and then draw the entire living environment, this way the children will understand that a map is connected with real life. The teaching of mathematics involves exercising different parts of the body, so the children really enjoy school.

The Rudolf Steiner School in North California of U.S.A. has collaborated with some of the local schools in the area in conducting an experiment: it was documented that students from the schools in some of the poor areas skip school frequently. So these schools changed their style of education. Instead of feeding the children with too much knowledge in one shot, they start the day by singing, dancing and doing other physical exercises and enjoying the rhythm, children are also given breathing space. Given these new programmes, the children stopped skipping classes because they are really having fun at school. Starting from very young days, children are guided by the Rudolf Steiner School to learn about food, starting from planting to harvesting to finally cooking the harvest in soup or learning about how bread is made, and so on. The teaching is very practical and relates closely to daily living.

How is the performance of the children trained under this kind of education method compared to students from other schools? Germany has the largest number of Rudolf Steiner schools. Students in Germany must pass a national university entrance test to enroll into a university, and students trained under the Rudolf Steiner system have the highest acceptance rate. After they graduate, they tend to care more for the society and the environment and they are also more warm-hearted. In choosing career, most of them choose to work in a service-oriented industry. So, academically these children are competitive with students from other schools.

Physical Body, Etheric Body And Astral Body
Do Not Be Overly Enthusiastic Towards Children’s Growth And End Up Harming Them

In fact, there is a basis to this system of education. In the growth of human’s physical body, mind and spirit, there are seven years to each stage; the four stages of growth are the physical body, etheric body (气体), astral body (星芒体) and ego body (意识体). The education must be geared towards the needs and stages of growth of a child. The teaching must be designed accordingly, and absolutely not be given forcefully such that the child’s future ability is overdrawn. The physical body is born first, whereas the etheric body is born when a child is seven years old. So children below the age of seven have weak etheric body and overusing of brain is not suitable. If their etheric body is overdrawn at this stage, it is equal to overdrawing their energy for physical formation, which will harm their energy when they grow old. This is why child prodigies often die young!

There was a gifted child from Taiwan who went to study music in the U.S. Later, his fingers stiffen and could no longer play piano. Ultimately, he even lost his ability to walk. That was because his etheric body was overdrawn too early, causing his limbs to harden. That was why Rudolf Steiner had stated long ago, “Never draw on a child’s energy prematurely, because that will affect his future.”

Spectrograph (光谱儀) may be used to detect how strong or weak one’s etheric body is. Muscle testing has been done to a child sitting in front of a computer, the spectrograph has shown that his energy is lowered. In other words, computer learning hinders the growth of etheric body, and thus is not suitable for children in primary school. Seven to fourteen years old is the key stage for character formation. Children should be taught to learn to respect their teachers. With Waldof’s training, children will have respect in all aspects of life. And when they grow older, they will generate a mind of gratitude and repayment.

The astral body is born when one is 14 years old. Astral body is the body of our feelings and emotions; it can be nourished by colours. A lot of our emotional memories are stored in the astral body. It is also at this stage that children experience changes in emotions, which is the so called adolescence. The same person, interacting with non-living object versus interacting with a loving teacher, the outcome is different. Nowadays, many children are cold and detached, that is because they frequently interact with machines in their growing years. So in future, most people will tend to be indifferent. They are full of information but yet are unable to care for those around them. Being equipped with lots of information does not mean that the person is wise or has the ability to understand things!

The Negative Impact Of EMF
Human Beings’ Electromagnetic Fields Are Affected

Dr. Robert Becker, a pioneer in the field of bio-electromagnetic, originally conducted research on lower animals – the reproductive ability of salamander. From this experiment, he confirmed that electromagnetic waves have influence on plants, animals and all living things. He also noticed the impact of electromagnetic waves on human and conducted further studies on electromagnetic fields of human bodies. In his book titled “Body Electric,” he mentioned that human body is in itself the largest bio-electromagnetic field; for instance, from electrocardiogram of the heart and brain waves, we can see that the functioning of our body (such as the growth of bones) is controlled by bioelectricity.

There are two ways of our body can receive messages from the universe, one way is through knowing it is day time or night time. The other way is through perceiving the magnetic waves of the earth; pineal gland has the function of receiving the earth’s magnetic fields. Because the earth’s magnetic fields varies between day and night, the functioning of human brain also differs in day and at night, the secretion of hormones, etc. are all related to magnetic fields. When the electromagnetic waves in the environment is stronger than that of the earth, our pineal gland will not be able to receive the message from the universe for the proper body functioning. Modern people get interferences both ways, that is why many people get day and night upside down and live a disordered lifestyle.

When his book was first published, many readers responded to Dr. Becker by sharing their experiences. Initially, Dr. Becker thought that the readers were overly nervous because some of them told him that, “I had to move very faraway to a country that does not have electricity.” Later, it turns out that there are increasing number of people who are very sensitive to electricity. A friend of mine, whenever he stood in front of a refrigerator, his whole body would shiver; some people even had to hide away to a remote place in North California in order to survive. This indicates that they had been overly exposed to electromagnetic waves such that the protective system of the entire body has broken down. Even though such cases are not so serious that diseases are present, but they are crippled. And because all the body secretions have been interfered, ultimately this will lead to cancer.

Cancer, Pain, Unusual Diseases
EMF As A Silent Killer

Recently I received calls from three parents in Toronto. Their children are suffering from leukemia; this is because they have always faced computers whenever they are at school. Some children may not feel it, but some children are by nature more sensitive. In such situations, computers are doubtlessly the killer. One child came down with leukemia when he was only over one year old. I asked the parents if they had used cellular phones or any similar types of products, they said, “Because we have been very busy with our business, so our child spends days and nights watching TV.”

So we have to consider the electromagnetic waves that we have been sending out, perhaps most people are fine, but some people are very sensitive. Those children who are more sensitive, they either end up being sensitive to EMFs or get cancer or depressed or hyperactive. Our adrenal gland system functions to anti-stress. Any kind of electricity or electromagnetic field would cause the adrenal gland to automatically react as responding to stress. So over a long period of time, the adrenal gland become suppressed or will breakdown, leading to a lower functioning ability or emotional swings.

In their growing stage, children may be extremely sensitive to external interferences because some of their organs have not fully developed. There is a school in Santa Barbara, USA, in which the students’ cancer rates have been documented to be relatively high. Finally, it was found out that the school is located next to a high voltage power station, and the children have been harmed. Then what condition is considered safe? Generally, research shows that there is a significant negative interference when EMF exceeds one milligauss. In fact, more subtle interferences can be felt even under one milligauss; people who have had injuries tend to be more sensitive to it.

Once I gave a talk in San Francisco, my seat was close to the power pole outside, the EMF was ten milligauss. I did not know about it then. Later I felt severe pain all over my body, the pain lasted for 4 to 5 hours, and the pain on the left side of my body remained for about 3 weeks. This experience has led me to understand why modern people keep experiencing aches and pain on different parts of their bodies. After an injury, even though electromagnetic waves may not be detected in some parts of the house, but when passing by areas that have electricity, the injured part would feel painful, as if it has become a detector. That is why some of those children who have weaker energy field, even if they are in a place with less than one milligauss of electromagnetic waves, they still feel very sensitive.

An Environment With Strong EMF Is Not Beneficial For Writing And Thinking And It Depletes Creativity

Furthermore, being in an environment with higher EMF, people tend to have less intuition and creativity. A child growing up in an environment with relatively high electromagnetic waves definitely has minimal creativity. I have an unforgettable experience. I once stayed in a house that had about one milligauss of electricity. Next to that house was a high current line, which actually had only about 1/1000 or 2/1000 Gauss, but I really suffered. I felt extremely tired and could not even write any article. I had no choice but tried to write articles in a park, but the quality of those articles was not good. Usually, when we talk about the culture of a place, we do not just refer to the money or other products, but it also includes the arts, poetry and other things of creativity.

From another perspective, the Rudolf Steiner method is quite useful. This education system is very strict in selecting their teachers. The teachers’ state of mind and other aspects must be considered. When the teachers spend time with the children, even without verbal communication, the teachers are virtually leading the children and enhancing their advancement. Therefore education cannot be replaced by machines. Just like a mother breastfeeding a baby, she is not only supplying the nutrient from her physical body, the milk also consists of the mother’s characters and love, and these are indeed very real things.

In the U.S., there is a farmer called Bob, he said that to be a good farmer, the most important thing is to spend 1/10 of his time everyday in sending good intentions to the plants. Even the growth of plants responds to good intentions, let alone the children?! You can also try placing two pots of plants, one next to a computer and the other one next to a loving person, and see which plant grows better. Plants also have etheric body. For example, some plants appear to have grown very well, but after you have eaten them, not only that you do not get good health but they actually bring you sickness. Why is this so? Because the soil lacks energy and so do the plants. So when we eat these plants, we will also lack energy. I heard that there is a forest district in which people recover from illnesses after they move into the area. This is actually true if the nature and plants have not been harmed, then when you go there, you can be naturally healed.

Brain Wave Tests Reveal The Truth
The ß Waves Of Criticism And Antagonism

These cases can actually be displayed through specific electrocardiogram or brain waves. Children below 14 years old mostly have alpha waves, while most adults have beta waves. Alpha waves, which is a wave that is very calm and appreciates others, have a frequency of 8 -10Hz. These waves are similar to the waves released by the earth. For those who have trauma and want to self-heal, they will need to keep their brain waves at the alpha waves. Kids who play a lot with computer mostly have beta waves, which have a frequency of 55-60Hz. These waves are closer to the waves of criticism and antagonism which are not good for self-healing. Why do modern people having sleep problems? And some children using computer in the day time also do not sleep well at night. This is because the level of brain waves was raised due to stimulation, so it is harder to enter the sleeping state. According to Steiner, when we are asleep, the astral body and ego body are separated from our physical body and etheric body. This way our etheric body does not get interfered, and during this time the astral body can travel to the universe for recharge; this is why people generally feel happy after they wake up from sleep, because they have just been recharged.

Develop A Harmless Computer
A Perspective For Reducing Pollution

Most of the electromagnetic waves of the computers nowadays are microwaves, which are very harmful to people. The reason that microwaves are adopted is due to the low cost. Consider designing magnetic waves that are closer to those of human body, for example, infrared or other magnetic waves.

Given the fact that the contemporary radio waves are very harmful to people, if Taiwan can develop wireless computers that are harmless to people, that will be truly beneficial to the environment, the nation and economic development.

Synergy, a company in Moab, Utah in the U.S., is a socially responsible company. When the company was building its factory, it minimized any damages to the land. They first moved away nature plants for park restoration projects and landscaped with drought-enduring plants. For cleaning agent, they choose products that use non-pollutanting substances; for lighting facilities they use motion-sensing light; the ingredients used for their products are all high in energy, and they used wind power to generate electricity. They gave thorough considerations to all aspects. Although their costs are a little higher, but because many people are looking for socially responsible companies, their growth rates have been higher than other businesses in the same industry. From the long-run standpoint, the other businesses in the same industry may not be able to survive, because when people get sick, they will definitely look for things that are good for their health and will stop using ordinary products. All these are only economical in the short run. For economics purpose, a sustainable economy should be adopted, and only harmless products can be a long-lasting business.

Note:
Dr. Rudolf Steiner (1861 – 1925) was born in Austria. He thought that education must incorporate the natural qualities of human life. In accordance with the child’s different stages of body, emotional and spiritual growth, the teacher assists in the maturing of the physical, emotional and spiritual levels. The child’s creativity is stimulated through such education in arts, architecture, agriculture, medical, science & arts, sociology and economics, etc.

Since 1919, Dr. Steiner assisted entrepreneur, Emil Molt, in establishing the first “Waldorf School” in Stuttgart, Germany. Henceforth, his education concept has become a pioneering trend. Today in more than 50 countries, there are over 640 Waldorf schools (a coherent system from primary school to high school), 1087 kindergartens and childcare centres, and 60 teachers training and research institutions.

This education system gives different emphasis that depends on the physical and mental state of maturity of children and teenagers.

Physical maturity: from 0 to 7 years old, a child needs physical and will-power development. Under a warm, safe, natural and nice environment, along with a disciplined lifestyle, a child gets to grow healthy and develop the basic ability to explore the world.

Emotional maturity: for children between 7 to 14 years old, the education system emphasises spiritual, emotional and a imaginative space. This stage requires an authoritative and qualified person for the child to trust, rely on and respect on a long term basis. Through an artistic education, the child’s inner desire for learning is triggered, so that the child is full of confidence, interests and the feeling of security toward life. Under such a psychological basis, and through the process of learning to help each other and hands-on practice, the child learns to develop compassion, tolerance, cooperation and feelings and love towards the society.

Spiritual maturity: For teenagers from 14 to 21 years old, the education places emphasis on inspiring teenager’s spirituality and thinking. Teenage years are a rebellious stage; the teenagers have a dynamic life force and are full of emotions. This is the period for the development of individual judgment and consciousness for independent thinking. The teacher plays the role of a friend and through a healthy teacher-student interactions, the teenager is inspired to develop further interests and explorations on the world and the civilization of mankind.

Extracted from Lapis Lazuli Light Magazine 2004 Nov Issue
Translated by Lapis Lazuli Light Singapore