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Posts classified under: 2011

Sensory Learning And Autism, Brain Injury, Vision And Learning Ability

2011 Oct-Dec
Chiu-Nan Lai, Ph.D.

Through the questions posed by readers during these past few years, there are an increasing number of children whose development has been hindered. Some do not know how to speak by the age of three or four, or have impaired vision and hearing. Others have sensitive digestive systems, are hyperactive, or have learning difficulties. For their parents, it is a significant burden and suffering. Generally, the use of medicine to treat these ailments results in other side effects, and some children develop life-long dependency on these medicine.

Hence, I have always been keen to investigate how to help these children. Fortunately, I found the answer to my questions. I fortuitously got to know of a mother living in Boulder, Colorado, whose child was autistic. She found a way to treat her child, and then successfully guided other children in the past 20 years, with a 92% success rate. Her method has been adopted by other professionals. There are nine centres in the U.S., along with centres in Italy and Australia. This method starts with the basics of stimulating the child’s visual, hearing, and motor nervous systems, and linking the three major nervous systems together. Observable improvements can be seen in a short nine-month period. Within a year, these children under treatment improved significantly and could attend normal classes. The children’s writing and drawing abilities sometimes improved by a few grades. This pace of progress was almost miraculous. It was as if their initially severed nervous systems had been reconnected.

Mary Bolles is the mother of the four children. Her second child was different from other children since young. He could not speak by the age of three, and would not let his mother hold him. His movements were clumsy, and he was insensitive to cuts and fall. He tended to be anxious and could not relate to other children. At the same time, he could not build trust and develop relationships with others. His nervous system was not in harmony and could not differentiate the signals from his five sense organs. Hence, he was always in a state of fear. His brainstem tended to have delayed reactions, which caused him to be hyperactive and unable to focus.

The boy’s mother tried to help her child by learning different methods from various places, and used whatever methods that were helpful. In the early period, she separately stimulated the visual, hearing, and motor nervous systems, but later realized that miraculous effects could be obtained by simultaneously simulating all three nervous systems. Doing so bonded the three nervous systems together, and reconnected the linkage that had been originally broken.

She thought of this approach by coincidence. One day, when her son was three years old, the family was returning home from an outside excursion. The journey took an hour, and her son and daughter were sitting at the back. Her son was a bit agitated, and Mary brought him to the front seat and cradled him. That day, he allowed her to cradle him, and placed his left ear on her chest (note: the left ear stimulates the right brain, while the right ear stimulates the left brain; language is controlled by the left brain). At that time, her daughter was practising a complicated nursery rhyme during the entire journey home. During the one hour journey, he was experiencing the rhythmic movement of the car and listening with his left ear. When he woke up upon returning home, he was able to repeat the entire rhyme. Before that, he had not spoken one word, and he didn’t speak again for another three months. This incident inspired Mary’s subsequent lifelong work. Her son became completely normal, and earned an advance degree from Harvard University.

At the Sensory Learning Center International at Boulder, the counselling room has a bed that the child lies on. The bed can rotate at different angles (front/back, left/right). In this darkened room, there is a colour light that dims from bright to dark, and reverse. In generally, magenta light is first used, and changes to another colour two days later. Six colours are used over twelve days, with the last colour being violet, which stimulates the brain’s language centre. Children who cannot talk initially often start talking.

The audio sensory system can be stimulated by transmitting intermittent music through headphones. Every therapy course takes 30 minutes, twice a day. After that, the child continues with the colour therapy for 18 days, with the total course being 30 days. Many parents see immediate results (such as sleep improvement) after the first session. At the beginning of the therapy, Mary will measure the child’s visual and hearing abilities.

Over the past twenty years, Mary observed that the number of children with delayed sensory nervous systems has increased. There have also been many participants at the autism conferences. These are mostly affluent and highly educated parents.

Why are there so many children who have been afflicted?

Mary believes that children exhibit symptoms of nervous system disruption when they become separated from nature, and encounter food, environment and medical methods that are unnatural.
Electromagnetic field and microwaves particularly interfer with the right brain function, which is the human antenna. These functions include receiving the signals from the earth’s magnetic field and brain development. However, Mary discovered that when these children make contact with the earth and discharge static electricity, some of the children’s behavioural and learning problems subsequently disappeared.

In particularly, the effects are most stiking if one can connect with the earth during the night. This can be done by sleeping on fabric that have good electrical conductivity and are connected to the ground.(see www.earthinginstitute.net ).

To prevent autism, reduce exposure to electromagnetic and microwave radiation, and eat natural food. In particular, avoid genetically modified food. During pregnancy, avoid ultrasound tests. During delivery, also avoid medicine with oxytocin (that accelerates delivery) as this medicine intensify the contractions and can cause the baby’s head to knock against the bones, leading to brain damage. Mary’s experience also indicated that some children became autistic after vaccination or surgery.

There is an air force base that has a school designed for autistic children. It is unclear what kind of health interferences these children’s parents had been exposed to. Among all sensory organs, the visual sensory system and the cranial nerve have an intimate relation. The majority of light enters through our eyes. Light can nourish and stimulate the brain. When the cranial nerve suffers from some interference, the visual nerves can also encounter interference. The field of vision becomes narrow, and the amount of light that enters is reduced. Similarly, any problems with our eyes also affect our brains.

Dr. Jacob Liberman, an ophthalmologist, had learning difficulties from a young age. Although his vision was normal, he had difficulty focusing. When he attended college, the stress led him to become myopic. After he put on glasses, his vision deteriorated. After graduation, he entered an ophthalmology school. As the pressure from school work increased, his vision became worse. Once, he went to the school’s clinic to test his vision. The intern there said that his vision had become worse, and that his left and right eyes did not coordinate well. The intern recommended that Liberman practice rotating his eyes, but he didn’t do so. One day, he was so tired from reading that he fell asleep. When he woke up, he saw the eye exercise apparatus. After he exercised his eyes for 5 minutes, he read with ease for an hour. From then on, he performed the eye exercise every day, and his grades improved from C to A.

After graduation, Liberman discovered that many children with poor eyesight had similar learning difficulties. As for himself, he continued to practice eye rotation two years later. After nine months, he no longer needed glasses.

Liberman then designed an eye exercise tool which medical research confirmed can improve vision and learning. A group of little league baseball players went through this training, and its members’ batting performance improved from being last to being first in rank.

Dr. Liberman found that our health is closely related to light absorption. When the eyes are relaxed, more light enters. However, when frightened or traumatized, our field of vision will narrow, and the light absorbed will decrease. During the early days, he counselled children with learning difficulties. Later, he designed a vision improvement tool that uses blue and red light that moves at 10 different speeds, and with 3 different programs. This tool helps to improve vision and learning. To learn more about this, refer to www.exerciseyoureyes.com. Children with sensory hindrances can recover and have a fully healthy body (see www.sensorylearning.com).

Rethinking Cancer

Chiu-Nan Lai, Ph.D.

For many people, when they found out that they had cancer, they would face a big test as to whether to listen to the Western doctors’ suggestion of chemotherapy and/or surgical operation; or to opt for a non-toxic method of holistic therapy, whether to use a method to kill cancer or to repair the body and discharge toxins.

Recently I saw an educational film directed by Dr Incao M.D., a doctor of Anthroposophical Medicine.  The film was produced by the Foundation for Advancement in Cancer Therapy (F.A.C.T.) organization which has been promoting holistic health for the last 40 years. In Rethinking Cancer, Dr Incao presented the introduction, which was followed by an interview with an oncologist who left her field to practice Functional Medicine.  In between were the narrations of five patients, who shared their personal experience of their healing process.  When a few of these patients were diagnosed with cancer, the disease was declared incurable. The fifth patient had a severe case of Lymes disease. Their courage and perseverance were fully demonstrated during the conversation.  These “terminally”-ill patients survived for more than 15 years, the longest being 37 years.  They were deeply grateful to Ruth Sachman, the founder of F.A.C.T.  Because of her, they were guided on the road of recovery and were given life again.  Ruth passed away in December 2008 at the age of 93.  For nearly forty years, she managed F.A.C.T (www.rethinkingcancer.org), helping cancer patients. Forty years ago, her 29 years old daughter was diagnosed with acute leukemia.  After undergoing chemotherapy, the body was unable to cope, so the treatment was stopped and she went home.  Ruth heard of a therapy that used vegetable juices and she began to provide that to her daughter.  The daughter started to regain her strength and her red blood cells were on the increase.  But not long after, her daughter began to feel unwell.  At that time, they were not aware of such “detoxification” reaction. This was due to the fact that when the body regained its strength, it would try to get rid of the poison in the body, especially with the medicine from chemotherapy.  Since her daughter was feeling unwell, she went back to the doctor.  On seeing the increase in the red blood cell count, the doctor continued chemotherapy.  Her daughter died shortly after.  From this experience, Ruth discovered that cancer patients have other choices.  She actively sought from all over the world, alternate methods of healing cancer, founded F.A.C.T, and worked tirelessly to help many patients regain their health.

She emphasized the importance of natural diet to repair and detoxify, supplementing with enzymes and green food supplements such as wheatgrass.  Forty years ago, she suffered from bad health and she was also a smoker.  After changing her diet, she lived for another forty years.

The advent of this DVD is to provide a very good answer to the increasing number of cancer patients.  The experiences of these terminal-cancer patients who have recovered and the interview of oncologists serve as a reference for those who are anxious.  Recently this non-profit organisation has also specially produced the DVD in traditional Chinese to be made available as a reference for Chinese.

Note:  The DVD Rethinking Cancer is available at Lapis Lazuli Light

Available online at http://www.lapislazuli.org/TradCh/magazine/201002/20100202.html

When Facing Natural And Man-Made Disasters, What Can We Do?

Chiu-Nan Lai, Ph.D.

In a recent teaching, the wise teacher Lama Zopa Rinpoche mentioned that because of mankind’s negativities and afflictions, and lack of merit and good heart, we are entering the degenerate age where living conditions are deteriorating and obstacles are increasing. At this time, it is most important for us to cultivate our spirituality, develop our loving kindness, and make preparations to leave this world at any moment.   At the moment of death, our best protection is our loving kindness and compassion, take refuge in the enlightened object of our spiritual practices(the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, Jesus, etc) and our own luminous pure nature.

Only when there is no fear will our consciousness be able to make smooth transition to the Western Pureland, or other Purelands and heavens.  We will then be able to continue our spiritual growth on the path of light.

We need to persevere in cleansing our minds of defilements, and fulfill our aspirations and ideals. The dharma provides many methods to purify our minds and deepen our compassion. These include performing the Confessions of 35 Buddhas, the Great Compassion Repentance,  Nyungnay Retreat, Medicine Buddha Practice, and observing the Eight Mahayana Precepts, etc. We need to ceaselessly pray for the happiness of all beings.

The article “Infinite Blessings on the Great Path of Light” reiterates the need to ceaselessly pray and wish for the well-being of all beings. In this way, when we encounter impermanence, we will be ready. During our prayers, we will be protected by the light of our spiritual nature. The following is an even simpler way to elevate our light, and raise the energy level of ourselves and  surroundings.

I invoke the light of perfection within

The light is within

I am light

Light is our own luminous nature realized by enlightened and holy beings. It is the light of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. There was a man who entered the bardo after his death, and saw a ray of light reaching his consciousness. He recognized that this was Bodhisattva Avalokiteshsvara. Out of curiosity, he asked Avalokisteshsvara why she/he came to guide him. Avalokiteshsvara replied that in a past life, this man was injured in the wilderness and prayed to Avalokiteshsvara for help. Because of this past karma, Avalokiteshsvara would take care of him life after life, through the power of the compassionate Bodhisattva’s vows.

After the earthquake in Japan this time, the compassionate Lama Zopa Rinpoche transmitted the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva long and short mantras and advised students to pray to Ksitigarbha (see appendix). Readers can also refer to the Lapis articles “The Medicine Buddha Practice to Prevent and Heal Ailments” and “The Most Excellent Mahayana Eight Precepts”. Last year, we obtained from Lama Zopa Rinpoche his handwritten “Water Liberation Mantra” given by Padmasambhava. Water that has been blessed by this mantra has purification properties. Through the dedication and effort of everybody, glasses engraved with this mantra have been sent to the water supplies and sea water of over forty countries. Interested individuals can also purchase these glasses from Lapis Lazuli Light centres. This is a holy being’s gift that has appeared in these dire times, enabling those with the good merits to obtain its blessings.

How do we protect ourselves from nuclear radiation? The above spiritual practices and light visualization are most helpful, and greatly surpass the protection offered in the material world. However, there are still some material things that can offer us protection.

For instance, all the information on healthy living and products provided by Lapis Lazuli Light  are useful. When our bodies’ digestive and excretory systems are functioning well, they can rapidly detox and heal any damage from radiation. Hence, it is best to consume uncontaminated natural vegetarian food and supplement it with appropriate amount of special protective food. The emphasis is on “appropriate”, not excessive consumption. Sometimes, in a state of panic, overconsumption of these protective food can create problems.

The following are foods with protective properties:

  1. All vegetables with chlorophyll, including wheat grass and barley grass.
  2. Kelp, algae, and seaweed.
  3. Buckwheat and fresh sunflower seeds.
  4. Apples.
  5. Rejuvelac.
  6. Naturally fermented cabbage and miso.

Many years ago, Dr. Ann Wigmore ate some irradiated food and damaged her digestive system. She recovered by drinking rejuvelac and wheat grass juice.

In addition, sea salt and baking soda bath can remove radiation. Add one pound of salt and one pound of baking soda to a bathtub of water, and soak for twenty minutes. Bentonite clay or other clay baths can also remove radiation. Some of the health supplements by Lapis such as Bliss De Light, enzymes, and sea minerals are also helpful.

In addition, toxin-discharging organs such as the large intestines, liver, gall bladder, kidney and lungs need to clear their old debris in order to handle new contaminants. The following are methods to do so:

1.To clear the large intestines, eat natural food and drink clean water. Take sufficient friendly bacteria and enzymes. Naturally fermented cabbage can aid digestion. Also, squatting down to pass motion is a natural position that does not block the intestines. The modern sit-down toilet is unnatural.  It prevents complete emptying of the bowels and easily leads to piles. If your house has a sit-down toilet, you can place two stools beside it and squat on the tools to pass motion. Alternatively, you can put a basin on the floor and squat to pass motion, and then pour the excreta into the toilet. If you can install a new toilet, then change to a squatting one. In the West, only the king or noblemen in the past sat down to pass motion, while the common people squatted to do so.   Later on, people who made flush toilets wanted to let the ordinary folks experience the lifestyle of the royal families, and changed the toilets to the sitting type. This has the unexpected effect of interfering with people’s bodily functions. A small change had a big impact indeed.

2.For liver detoxification the key is eliminating the stones accumulated in the liver and gall bladder. This method involves using malic acid from apple juice, pure malic acid or apple cider vinegar to soften the stones, and then using oil and lemon juice to stimulate the secretion of bile to flush out the stones. I have introduced this method previously. Recently, there is a Chinese-translation of a book by Andreas Moritz titled “The Amazing Liver and Gallbladder Flush” that discusses an amazing way to discharge liver and gall stones. Refer to the book for a thorough explanation and detailed procedure on how to do so.

3.The kidney also accumulates stones. A gradual and steady way to discharge the stones is to drink lemon juice mixed with warm water every morning. Alternatively, one can use the herbal approach mentioned in Moritz’s book.

4.Detoxification of the lungs involves exercising in an environment with clean fresh air, and deep breathing. It is very important to avoid unnecessary exposure to radiation or electromagnetic radiation. Radiation is particularly harmful to the lungs.  For our survival, reduce the use of mobile phones and wireless internet connections.

Colour influences our body and mind (see “Let There Be Light: Practical Manual for Spectro-Chrome Therapy Book”). Purple nourishes our qi, deep blue and blue colours have protective functions, while green is healing. We can drink water that has been exposed to light through colour filters. Alternatively, place the colour filters next to the windows to receive the necessary light. In our day to day lives, we should get ready to face challenging times so that we do not panic when we encounter disasters. At that time, it is still useful to remember the Chinese idiom “Grasp the Buddha’s feet in times of need”.

Remember: Do not stop praying for the welfare and happiness of others.

Attached below are Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s long and short mantras of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, and associated prayers.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s discourse on helping victims of the 2011 tsunami:

Rinpoche wishes that the following message be relayed to all Buddhist Centres and students who may be affected by the tsunami.

Rinpoche advises recitation of Ksitigarbha mantra and prayer, and also chanting of the Buddha’s name mantra, while at the same time earnestly taking refuge and making strong prayers. Rinpoche indicates that this is beneficial to all who are affected by the tsunami, even if you are not affected personally.

Respect for Sakyamuni Buddha: prayer and mantra

Ksitigarbha Practice

Ksitigarbha Long Mantra, Selected Practice and Instruction

Return To Bliss Of Body And Mind Q & A

2011 Jul-Sep

Chiu-Nan Lai, Ph.D.

Forward To The Simplified Chinese Version Of The Book

Forty years ago, when the incidence of cancer was rising in the U.S., people generally had a sense of fear and resignation towards cancer. Because of this, I was inspired to search for ways to prevent and cure cancer. Anthroposophy founder, Dr. Rudolf Steiner, believed that the problem facing us is our mission. The search for an answer to cancer gradually led me to a holistic approach to health. During this process, I acquired knowledge of which I had not previously encountered: natural diet, qigong, emotional healing, psycho-neuro-immunology, healing, prenatal psychology, and generational healing. I truely believe in the following: “If you ask, you will receive an answer”. If you don’t ask and only accept the current reality, accept what is said by your parents, teachers, doctors, and the authorities, etc., you have lost the opportunity to learn and grow. If you maintain an open mind and let go of preconceptions, you will naturally discover a path you have not traversed before.

Since young, I have been fond of asking questions … all sorts of questions: Why are people born? When the branch moves in the wind, did the wind move the branch, or did the branch move first resulting in the wind? I would think of many questions, and asked my father whenever I did not have the answer. When he did not have the answers he would usually say: “You will know when you grow up.” After I grew up, I continue to have many questions of my own, along with many others from the readers. These questions no longer revolve around cancer, but include a myriad of topics. Furthermore, these readers come from different countries, areas and cultural backgrounds. These questions are the motivating force that drives me to continue to investigate and learn. I also learn a lot from these questions. Questions that are similar also enable me to observe certain patterns. I see how changes in our modern living environment, the agricultural industry and our diet can lead to illnesses. These observations provide a direction for my research.

The answers I offer are merely suggestions that provide a general direction but do not constitute definitive solutions. Everyone would have to make adaptations based on their personal backgrounds and histories.  I am still continuing to learn, and there are many things that I don’t know.

I encourage every reader to develop the spirit of scientific research. When you face problems, know how to find the answer. Training your own observational power is a good starting point. If we don’t feel well physically, we can observe the changes within us during the day and also on a daily basis. Under what circumstances does it worsen or improve? If our digestive system is not feeling well, start noticing our bodily reaction to things we eat. How is the food produced? Is this processed food and are additives included? What is the ambience of the surroundings where we take our food, and how is our mood then? What is the mood of the person preparing and cooking the food? In addition, there are other factors unrelated to food such as discomfort to the digestive system from eating microwaved food. If we meticulously observe, we will find the cause.

How are the things that we use and live are produced, and what principles are they based on? How do these influence ourselves and nature? Many years ago, when I was on my Asian tour, I would often hear people coughing in the airport and on the plane. However, I rarely heard people cough in the U.S. airports and planes. Over ten years ago when the use of cell phones became popular in the U.S., I started hearing this type of phlegm cough more and more often. Recently, I heard that when people traveled to high-radiation densely populated cities, they often develop severe persistent coughs and have to eventually resort to antibiotic treatment.

From these observations and my many years of reading research reports on microwave radiation, I understand that these phenomena are caused by qi damage arising from wireless radiation. The latter damages our nervous and immune systems. The basic prevention and cure is to avoid harm from electromagnetic and microwave radiation, and heal the damaged Chi body.

In my book “Return to the Bliss of The Body”, I discussed some methods to protect ourselves against electromagnetic and microwave radiation. In addition, color visualization is also helpful. Dr. Mitchell May, who is a miraculous medical survivor, shared some of the light and color visualizations he had used during his recuperation. He indicated that visualizing our body filled with light is a good way to nourish our body. During his own healing from an automobile accident that broke his legs into 40 parts, he visualized that he had eighteen arms that stretched out to absorb sunlight from the sun. After that, he would massage his legs with the eighteen arms. He also visualized himself lying on the beach, letting the turquoise seawater wash away his pain, infection and fear.

Another teacher, Jim Goure, also taught the use of light to heal. He indicated that when scientists brought people to a room beneath the earth that were devoid of light, they could see light from the eyes and different hues around the body. This light originated from the solar plexus area. He suggested visualizing a sun in the area above the navel, and let the light shine from there to the entire body from head to toe.
Different color lights have their own unique functions. Green is for general healing, while gold has the ability to increase our immune system. One doctor recently shared a color visualization for people to protect themselves from electromagnetic radiation harm: visualize the body filled with blue (with a little violet) light. Do this for one or two minutes.

Nowadays, we have many sources of information, some of which conflict with each other. Without a foundation in many areas of knowledge, it will be difficult to ascertain the accuracy of such information. In such instances, we can quieten our minds and ask ourselves. Release the question and quietly wait for an answer within. The best time to do this is when we first wake up in the morning. The answer that comes from within is not from thinking, but from a sense of knowing.

To receive the answer from within ourselves, we have to put aside our views, and maintain a child-like innocence and freshness.

When we face difficult situations it is because what we know from before cannot solve the current problem. Hence, the answer is definitely not something we have heard or known before.

I have been able to receive new knowledge and information over the past forty years because I have always maintained an open mind. When I hear new things or information, I do not jump to conclusions immediately. I use a scientific attitude to observe and experiment. If there are useful insights, I will share with people around me and readers. Problems and difficulties are opportunities for us to break out of our limitations and to develop further. It is because of problems that our wisdom grows. I encourage everyone to continue to ask questions, and to listen for the answers within.

Infinite Blessings on the Great Path of Light

Chiu-Nan Lai, Ph.D.

Miracle is what we pray for when we come to a dead end. “Miracle” is the view of a multi-dimensional universe from a three dimensional perspective, and the small self’s view of the great self. When we reach an impasse, we have an opportunity to break out of the limits of our own reality. Venerable Xu-Yun, a great master of recent times, encountered many miracles in his lifetime. To repay the kindness of his mother, he made a pilgrimage prostrating from Mount Putuo to Mount Wutai. During these three years of pilgrimage, he almost froze to death twice, and coincidentally, the same beggar came to his rescue in both instances. The beggar claimed that he was called Wenji from Mount Wutai, and that he was known to the locals there. When Venerable Xu-Yun reached Mount Wutai, it turned out that nobody there knew this beggar. An old monk said that this beggar was a manifestation of Bodhisattva Manjushri, who appeared to save him. Similarly, the Peace Pilgrim also met many miracles in her life. She was penniless but to pray for human beings to learn the way of peace, she walked continuously from the west coast to the east coast of the United States, and from the south to the north. All she had with her was a thin layer of clothes and a pair of shoes. Nonetheless, there would be someone to take care of her food and accommodation. Sometimes, she had to sleep in the open, but she would ceaselessly go on with her prayers and blessings.

Miracles are experienced not only by a special few. Ordinary people who have been able to break through the limits of their consciousness and expand their horizons can also create miracles. Miracles are common when we live in the presence of the Great Self.  A business man lent a large sum of money to two friends who persistently did not repay the loan. For two years, he could not find them even though he hired a private investigator. When he was at his wits’ end, he decided to use light to bless them. Every morning and night, he would spend seven minutes to think about them and use light to dissolve all negative emotions and habitual tendencies. He then visualized that they were filled with and protected by light, and that only positive energy can permeate their circle of light. He also visualized that they were filled with gratitude for everything. Within five days, these friends appeared in his office to repay their loan. This businessman originally firmly held onto a three-dimensional materialistic view of the world. Once he was willing to let go of his restrictive views, miracles appeared.

An AIDS patient in Singapore followed his teacher’s instructions and spent a few minutes every day praying to take on the sufferings of all AIDS patients. Every time he prayed, he was moved to tears. Within a week, a hospital checkup indicated that he had fully recovered.  When we shift our attention from ourselves to praying for the well-being of others and the whole earth, our own health would invariably improve.

A patient sincerely prayed for the well-being of another seriously ill friend. When he did that, both of them recovered from their illnesses. The doctor was very surprised. In contrast, another lady had, for many years, prayed for her own recovery and had sent light to herself, but without much improvement. However, when she sent her blessings and light to the whole word, she fully recovered from her illness.

I have a good friend who, many years ago, followed her teacher and a group of fellow students to  pray and send blessings to different parts of the world that encountered disaster or hardship. They primarily used light to send blessings, and took turns to do so 24 hours a day. She went to many countries in Africa and South America. Once, she continuously sent light and love for eight hours to the area she was in and the entire earth. She felt that she herself had turned into light and energy. In fact, when she was in Ethiopia , she saw light coming from the earth.

In Jamaica, my friend’s teacher spoke to thousands of members in the audience: “If you wish for the political situation in your country to improve, you have to deeply love your country”. Two years later, the political situation in Jamaica changed for the better.

I asked this friend to share in detail the method of sending light blessings. She explained as follows. Fill ourselves with light, and then let light emanate from our solar plexus to the surroundings and the entire earth. Continue to send this light to the universe before letting the light return to ourselves. Repeatedly remind ourselves that we are light, and then send light to every life form. Light is love. See that every life form is loved by God.

Jesus Christ said: “You are the light of the world”, while Shakyamuni Buddha pointed out that every life has a clear luminous nature or Buddha nature. Every life possesses light. Our thoughts and emotions can influence the color of our light. Similarly, light can influence our thoughts and emotions, and light visualization can influence our body. Dr. Mitchell May is a living example of this. He used light visualization to repair his legs that had been broken in forty fragments.  Another American lady fortuitously found out that breathing light can have rejuvenation effects. In her forties, she was beginning to look aged with wrinkles on her face, and also put on weight. One night around midnight, she saw a very pretty pinkish-purplish circle of light outside her window, but didn’t know its significance. Two weeks later, she understood that she needed to breath in that light. After praying continuously, a method dawned upon her. Every morning, she first spent ten minutes breathing in that pink light. After that, during her out-breath, she visualized the light radiating to the part of her face where there were wrinkles, and imagined that there were no longer wrinkles on that part of her skin. She focused on a small part of her face each time, three rounds each time.  Her friends started to notice the improvement in her features, and asked her what kind of special nutrients she was taking. After nine months, her body and face had reverted back to what she looked like when she was younger. When she was in her fifties, she looked no more than thirty years old. Her modeling school students requested that she teach them this method. Those who practiced the method had the same effect. Whenever she completed her light breathing exercise, she would always express her gratitude to the heavens and all, and reflect that her purpose in asking for rejuvenation is to help others.

A co-author of this lady also tried this method with very good results. She elaborated that she visualized golden light being emitted from her solar plexus to her scalp, where new hair would grow. Within two weeks, new hair actually grew on her scalp. Whenever one is uncertain about the color to use for other parts of the body, it is safe to use the golden color. Sometimes while visualizing golden light, the color that our body needs will appear before us. For instance, light green is good for the eyes. Once we experienced the miracles with light visualization on our body, we will then have the confidence to extend healing to the entire earth.

Because of human beings, the earth has reached a point of no return. The weather has turned abnormal, and the Gulf of Mexico oil slick has cut the flow of warm ocean currents. Last year, England and Europe experienced an abnormally cold winter because the ocean currents could not reach these countries. Human-created pollution has led to the extinction of too many animal species, and “environmental” refugees are on the increase. In some places, residents are feeling that they have no place to escape to. When the water, air and soil are all polluted, where can we escape to?
Now is the time that every Lapis Lazuli reader can truly create a miracle together for the earth. In the past few years, we have published some books and articles such as “You have the Power to Change the Future”, “Drip Meditation”, “The Holographic Universe”. In my public lectures, I have on many occasions led the audience in light visualization for blessing the earth. Everyday, we need to ceaselessly bless the earth.  At least when we first start, we can spend a few minutes sending blessings in the form of light to every life on earth. We are the earth, the earth is us; we are one entity. Healing the earth is healing ourselves.

Research has increasingly shown that our thoughts can change matter and life. Emeritus Professor William Tiller from Stanford University studied how the human consciousness can influence the acid-base balance (pH) of water through a simple electronic device. Furthermore, after repeated attempts, the water pH fixed at a new level. In another U.S. experiment, researchers transmitted the photo of two leaves to England 6000 miles away. Over in England there was an audience of about 400 people who concentrated on one particular leaf to make its light emission stronger. As expected, the light emission of that selected leaf in the U.S. became noticeably brighter. The scientific interpretation of these phenomena is that a large portion of the universe contains vacuum, within which are photons, phi particles and energy from other dimensions.  Consciousness can influence the vast energy within this vacuum. In Buddhism, it is said that emptiness contains the potential to create. This is very similar to the idea of the vacuum in physics, which maintains that it is possible via the vacuum state to alter matter a distance away, or change the past or future. The rotations (clockwise or anticlockwise) of the pendulum also arise from the vacuum state. Although the effects of some of the anti-electromagnetic radiation methods cannot be assessed via traditional three-dimensional devices, their effects in shifting the vacuum state and life forces can be detected through changes in the molecular structure of water.

A year ago, I had an intuition to place the six-syllable mantra on a picture of a cell phone tower. Originally, whenever I climbed a nearby mountain, my neck would hurt because as the elevation got higher, my exposure to radiation from the cell phone tower increased. However, after I put the compassion mantra on the photo, my neck no longer hurt when I climbed the same mountain. My pendulum readings also changed from counterclockwise to clockwise. I recommend readers to try this method to alter the disharmonious energy in the city where one lives.

Ibrahim Karim from Egypt is an architect and founder of biogeometry. He has warned about the harm caused by man-made microwave and electromagnetic radiation. Two small towns in Switzerland were greatly affected by the radiation from cell phone towers. The telecommunication company SwissCom invited Karim to use biogeometric principles to design some remedial methods. After he had done so, the birds and wildlife returned to the towns, and the residents there their lives return to normal. This effect on animals was striking as animals are not susceptible to mental suggestions. Once again, this is proof that energy that cannot be detected can alter detectable energy forms.

The following are exercises that use our mental thoughts and light to protect ourselves, our living environment and the earth (our larger body). These are only suggestions and serve as a starting point. Everyone can make adaptions based on the guidance they receive from their inner light.

1.Sky-blue light – letting go, forgiveness, and unconditional love

Visualize blue light, representing the universe’s perfect unconditional love, entering through your head into the chest, abdomen and all the way to your toes. Your head, bone marrow, blood, lymphatic fluid, nervous system, organs, hormonal secretions and skin are filled with blue light. Accept the nourishment of the blue light, letting it heal all deficiencies, regret, guilt, hatred, and worries. Let the sky-blue light purify the etheric body, astral body, and mental body. From the solar plexus area, send the sky-blue light to the physical and mental memories needed most. Then spread the light to our workplace and home. Let the light shine on our home, workplace, city and all beings living in this environment.  Let them receive love, dissolving disharmonious energy. Send the light to the province, state, and country we live in, and extend it to the continent and entire earth, from the mountains to the bottom of the sea, and further to the core of the earth. The earth becomes the sky-blue sun, and every life receives love. From the earth, send the light to the entire universe, blessing every life with love and good fortune. Then, return the sky-blue light to ourselves, bring back the entire universe’s love. Quietly experience the light, thanking every living being, every life experience, everything.

2.Golden light – elevating, transforming and wisdom

Visualize that golden light, representing the universe’s perfect wisdom and energy, entering through your head, letting your entire body filled with golden light. Then from the solar plexus, send light into the etheric body, astral body and mental body, enabling fulfillment of all that needs to be elevated and transformed. The golden light allows our speech, emotions, and thoughts to be guided by wisdom. Send the golden light to the people around us and the environment, and visualize everyone shimmering in the golden light. Then send the golden light to the earth and the entire universe. The golden light brings the universe’s perfect wisdom to earth, our city, our home, and to ourselves. We are one with the golden light, and we quietly bask in the golden light.

Now, I wish to use Bodhisattva Shantideva’s prayers to bless the earth. Shantideva was a great compassionate enlightened monk from Nalanda Monastery, who lived in India during the 8th century. His fellow monks thought that he only knew how to eat, sleep and defecate.  His classmates had lost patience with him, and wanted him to leave. They figured that if they asked Shantideva to teach the dharma, he would be so embarrassed that he would leave. Shantideva asked them if they wanted to hear familiar sutras or something new. His classmates replied that they wanted the latter. To make fun of him, they made a very high throne for him to deliver his discourse. When the time came for the discourse, they found that he was already seating on that high throne. His discourse was later known as “A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life”. When Shantideva came to the end of his discourse, he rose higher and higher, and his voice became more distant. It has been said that he was the manifestation of Bodhisattva Manjushri.

The following are excerpts from his dedication of merits:

May all beings everywhere, plagued by sufferings of body and mind,
Obtain an ocean of happiness and joy, by virtues of my merits.
May no creature suffer, commit evil or ever fall ill.
May no one be afraid or belittled,
And may their minds be free from worries and stress.
May the blind see form, the deaf hear sound.
May those whose bodies are worn with toil be restored on finding repose.
May the naked find clothing, the hungry find food,
And the thirsty find water and delicious drinks.
May the poor find wealth, those weak with sorrow find joy;
May the forlorn find hope, constant happiness and prosperity.
May there be timely rains, and bountiful harvests.
May all medicines be effective, may all wholesome prayers bear fruit.
May all who are sick and ill quickly be freed from their ailments,
Whatever diseases there are in the world, may they never occur again.
May the frightened cease to be afraid,
May those who are bound be freed.
May the powerless find power.
And may people think of benefitting each other.

How To Keep Our Eyes Healthy

Chiu-Nan Lai, Ph.D.

Question: Why are teachers prone to illnesses such as retinal detachment, high blood pressure and dry eyes?  How can we prevent and treat them?

Answer: Teachers usually face groups of students. These groups are usually big given the number of students at schools.  Almost every student carries a cellular phone, so when everyone sits together, the harm from the cellular phones are enormous.  I suggest that teachers remind students to switch off their cellular phones whenever they enter the classrooms. Do not even allow for vibration as the radiation from the vibration is even stronger.

Through dowsing, you can test who has not turned off their cellular phone because the pendulum will definitely turn anti-clockwise.  Students can also be asked to deposit their cellular phones in a common area when they enter the classroom, and collect them when they leave.  Emphasize to the students the importance of this practice.  All who work with groups of people will need to do this for their protection, and this may also set a new trend for students to focus on study when they come to school, where they do not need to bring their hand phones along.

The cellular-phone culture has altered the interactions between people.  Recently while I was in China having a meal gathering with a big table full of people, we could have taken the chance to chat and get to know each other, but there were cellular phones ringing here and there, and everyone ended up talking on their phones.  Although we were sitting together around the same table, we were actually not together. Take a glance into the restaurants where families hardly get together to have meals. Each individual family member is busy talking on their own phones.  I feel that the entire culture, togetherness and the interpersonal care and warmth have greatly diminished.

Everyone cares only for themselves. Parents due to their worries insist that their children carry cellular phones for easy contact. This is why children have hand phones, but the actual time spent between parents and children are sadly little.  These parents think that as long as they can easily reach their children, they then need not worry for their whereabouts. Parents may not actually have the intention to spend time with their children.

I think this culture has to be revalued – what is important, what is not, what is precious – the gathering among people, the interactions with one another, whether you are fully present to interact with them.  It is really a matter of quality — the quality of time.  This is a matter of spending high quality time.  I think this is about one’s value system in life.

Now, about improving the eyes. In our US workshops, we invited a teacher, Meir Schneider, who was once completely blind but had later regained his eyesight.  Meir had cataract since young and basically could not see.  When he was about 16 or 17 years old, a 19 year old teenager taught him some natural eye exercises, and he regained his eyesight.

Retinal detachment may be due to many reasons, one of which is looking at the computer screen for too long or watching TV, where the peripheral vision is not used at all. Generally, modern people’s peripheral vision has deteriorated, as we normally look towards the front.  Hence there are methods on stimulating the peripheral vision. For example, when watching our hands move in the 4 directions around our heads, we are stimulating the peripheral vision.  For some short-sighted people, this exercise can be practiced for as far as their peripheral vision goes. In the past, people used to have very far distanced peripheral vision, but nowadays, this is no longer true.  That is why some people designed a ball that is intended to test their peripheral vision as they move their heads. Taking a walk on a very dark night can also train the peripheral vision.

How do we practice looking far away by ourselves?  Go outdoors and view the sceneries. Look at nature far away then near. Continue the exercise by alternating between the two distances – far and near.  We, people of this modern age, have all over used close distance viewing of the fluorescent screen, whether through computer or the television.  We have over extended and harmed our optic nerves.  So get outdoors and look far away whenever possible.  By alternating between looking far and close, allows the optic nerves to relax. Letting the sun shine on closed eyes also helps in improving our eyesight, as sunlight has a nourishing effect.
Also relax. At work or upon returning home, rub the palms warm, and cover the eyes with them. Allow the optic nerves to completely relax.  Note if the color black can be seen. Seeing the color black indicates that the optic nerves have completely relaxed. If only other colors are seen, it means that the optic nerves have not relaxed fully. Therefore, if you have problem with the optic nerves, regardless of whether it is short-sightedness or aging, try to do this exercise for 20 minutes daily or whenever you have time. The teacher that I mentioned earlier did this continuously for three months, before his optic nerves finally relax enough for him to see the color black, and the window for the first time. Hence for people whose optic nerves are not in good form, the relaxation will take a while to happen. Upon full relaxation, the vision will recover. Thus, allow the optic nerves to relax whenever you are free.
Modern people over use the eyes, whether from viewing the computer or television. I believe many teachers face the computers frequently. This is very hurtful for the eyes. Appropriate relaxation is a must.  Body relaxation, especially on the eyes. Have some outdoor sun. In addition, a half hour can be spent daily on using “vision training glasses” and let the peripheral vision nerves around the eyes exercise. You can also place the Ancient Light Crystals on your eyelids to charge the energy field of your eyes. In addition, it is better to use LCD computer screen than the computer screens and CPUs of the olden days which are very harmful.
Besides using LCD flat screens, we should also consider protecting ourselves against electromagnetic waves. We have many articles on protection against electromagnetic waves, various methods discussed can be found in Dr Lai’s Health Tips and in articles from the Lapis Lazuli Light Magazines. You may also try mantras which some people feel is inconceivable. However, mantras do have a protective effect. One may use different methods.  Peat moss also possesses the protective effect against the electromagnetic waves.
Those with high blood pressure are also generally affected by the electromagnetic waves in the environment. Modern people would also often feel stressed out. Regarding the relaxation method mentioned above, one may think of light to stay in a relaxed state at any time. When our body needs healing, we may visualize golden light filling up our eyes.  All parts requiring healing are all light.  If we may use energy to heal ourselves many times daily, just thinking that our whole body is light, possibly without even thinking about nourishment then when you are teaching, thinking that your entire body is light, you are healing all the time, thus, allowing yourself to be unharmed.

The same applies to the dry eye disease. Radiation or electromagnetic waves from cellular phones are especially harmful to the smaller parts of our body like our eyes and ears.

Although we may not directly feel the harm in our eyes, our genes have already absorbed the radiation. Genes generally absorb 400 times more of the radiation than any other organizational parts of our body. Hence our eyes and ears are the most vulnerable to harm.

In Kaohsiung of Taiwan, a young man suddenly lost his vision and ability to walk one day.  He was sent to the hospital. The doctor could not do anything as the cause was unclear. His father called his sister in the United States, and complained tearfully.  His sister then found me. My first question was if her brother uses a cell phone. She then related that this young man talks on the cell phone, for eight hours daily due to his job, for the past ten years. Moreover, this child loves to eat meat, barbequed and deep-fried, and does not eat vegetables.

Under such circumstances, I did not know if his optic nerves are toasted and whether they could recover. I have no idea. We just had to do our best. Certainly, he has to stop using any cellular phone, to not touch any computers or cellular phones again. After which I taught him to use energy work. At that time, I encourage him to drink good quality water, eat organic fruits and vegetables, and take nutritional supplements with high energetic vibrations, to change his diet completely. A few months later when I met his sister, she wept and thanked me. She said that five weeks after the changes, her brother’s vision recovered by 60% and was able to walk. Thereafter, he fully recovered.  This is a true story.

There are more than 40 of such cases in Kaohsiung. Doctors were unable to diagnose what happened. Nowadays, many people have over-used these products. Hence, bringing upon the rise of many different strange illnesses. Dry eye disease is the result of the eyes being harmed by radiation. Radiation causes dehydration to the body, including the eyes. This problem can be solved by drinking more water; water of good quality.

Then there is liver which governs water in the body. If liver is hurt, the transportation of blood throughout the body will also be affected. For the above mentioned, protecting our environment is protecting our liver. I have written before on taking good care of your liver, treasuring your liver, and loving your environment, because liver and the environment is closely related. This is a big issue that concerns all and is no longer an individual matter!

http://www.lapislazuli.org/TradCh/magazine/200805/20080505.html

Sound, Color And Energy Exercises- Nourishment For Body, Mind And Spirit

Chiu-Nan Lai, Ph.D.

In recent years I have observed and also heard from others that they are seeing a deterioration in the physical, emotional and mental health of their loved ones. They are not as robust, positive, happy and optimistic as before. The following symtpons have become more common: physically – premature aging, prone to injury and accidents; cognitively – forgetful, scattered-minded, delusional and suicidal; emotionally – depressed, irritable, rigid, disinterest in life, feeling lost, a lack of ability to think independently and creatively; indecisive and hesitation in one’s action. It is not incidental, but a consequence of a damaged environment, as well as lifestyle, dietary choices and actions that are not in harmongy with nature.  Furthermore, the exponential advancement in wireless tele-communications. What was considered abnormal in the past is becoming more and more normal.

Ancient Chinese medicine had a clear understanding of the intimate relationship between  the emotional, mental and physical well-being and the elements of nature -earth, water, fire, wind. Emotional states -joy, anger, sadness, fear, worry and mental processes are connected to internal organs and 5 Elements (五行). When all is in harmony, mental and emotional states will be in balance.  One is optimistic and proactive.  A damaged eco-system injures our etheric body, disrupts the balance of our vital organs – injury to the heart causes over excitement; other corresponding emotional states related to imbalance are: lung – sadness; liver – anger; spleen – critical & unforgiving, or mental agitation; kidney – fear.

The close relationship between the consciousness and vital organs is expounded in a classic of Chinese medicine (黃帝內經中素問篇) in the following way: heart – consciousness ; liver – spirit ; spleen – volition ; lung – will power ; kidney – determination. The five vital organs are not restricted to physical organs (heart, liver, spleen, lung, kidney) but also the functioning of the meridians and their related organs. For example, eyes belong to liver meridian, ears – kidney, nose – lung, brain – heart, tongue – spleen.

Meridian

Sense organ

Element

Heart

Brain

Fire

Liver

Eyes

Wood

Spleen

Tongue

Earth

Lung

Nose

Metal

Kidney

Ears

Water

Relationship between 5 vital organs and elements are: Liver (Wood), Spleen (Earth), Heart (Fire), Kidney (Water), Lung (Metal); and 5 elements follow a mutually-productive or –destructive relationship. For example, wood enhances fire, fire enhances earth, earth à metal, metal à water, water à wood.  The opposing relationship applies as follows, water opposes fire, metal opposes wood, etc; the 5 elements rely on the laws of generation and destruction to maintain its balance. When the 5 elements and vital organs lose their balance, the resulting effects on the consciousness are:

Excessive fire – likes to complain; deficiency in fire – madness

Excessive earth – stubborn, obsessive with the past; deficiency in earth – poor memory

Excessive metal – delusional, obsessive with future; deficiency in metal – lacking in will power, indecisive and fearfulExcessive wood – pride and strong self-defensiveness; deficiency in wood – low self-esteem

I found the answers to common maladies faced by modern people in ancient Chinese medicine. How do we heal? How do we harmonize body and mind? This is the next important question. Apart from physical body, human being possess etheric body and other subtler bodies that are well understood by ancient cultures, Anthroposophy and Chi Gong. Radio waves and electromagnetic fields are especially harmful to these subtle bodies and indirectly harming our physical body. Our physical body communicates to other subtle bodies through chakras (energy centers). I observed that many people have closed chakras, so naturally they are not able to communicate with the subtle bodies, nor receive energetic nourishment and higher guidance from the spiritual realms. These subtle bodies are channels linking us to spiritual realms that we connect for guidance and communication. Damage to the subtle bodies cut us off from the spiritual realms, and we lose direction in our life and all our efforts may bring harm to the world.

Opening our chakras is a first step to repair and healing. I have introduced Dr. Valerie Hunt’s method of chakra balancing exercise in 1999 Nov issue of Lapis magazine; it was also published in “Dr. Lai’s Health Tips”. It is best for people in modern age to do it daily.  You can do it once while lying in bed before sleep, and do more whenever you need it during the day. If the chakras remain closed for a long period of time, the corresponding body parts will experience blockage and ailment. Knees that have closed chakras will experience pain, weakness in legs. With navel chakra closed, one experiences poor digestive and excretory function. Anyone who has received anesthesia will have closed navel chakra. Other than doing the chakra balancing exercise, one needs to ask another person to assist. This assistant does the chakra balancing exercise together, then place the right hand over the naval area and pull away the toxic remnants of anesthesia in the etheric body.
We can also use sounds and colors to heal the subtle bodies. Ancient Indian culture believed that human beings come from the heaven of light and sound. Ancient Chinese medicine also believed in the healing effects of sounds and colors on our body systems. 5 vital organs correspond with 5 heavenly sound notes: “Heaven has five sounds and human has five organs”.  Each sound and organ has a corresponding color. The very first Chinese medicine was music, with herbs added on at a later stage. (This explains why the Chinese character for ‘medicine’ is a combination of the words ‘music’ and ‘herb’). The musical notes in olden times were determined by varying length of bamboos grown in a particular location, and expressed by 5 notes (宫商角徵羽). Here’s a table showing the relations of modern notes, colors, vital organs and elements:

Meridian

Element

Sound

Color

Heart

Fire

#C

Red

Liver

Wood

#A

Blue-Green

Spleen

Earth

#F

Yellow

Lung

Metal

#G

White

Kidney

Water

#D

Blue-Black

Harmonious colors and sounds have nourishing effects, and disharmonious ones have negative effect. Observe and hear what colors and sounds are there in the environment, and what colors and sounds your body needs. The earth is in the note of F. You may use F tuning fork to touch a wall to cleanse a room. First, hit it on a soft surface (like one’s thigh) and touch the wall with the handle side.  From root chakra to rest of body below it, our body needs F note for balancing. We can place tuning fork at coccyx or dantian (below navel).

The human voice is the best instrument and most effective for healing. A French musician-acupuncturist together with a scientist researched on the effects of sound on cells in laboratory. Red blood cells show the biggest reaction to human voice, especially note A440. The red blood cell radiates at every A note, and it radiates in response to  musical instruments that sound the A note. Cancer cells are intolerant of musical scale; generally they will explode at the 6th and 7th note on the scale, while normal cells do not. Singing is good sound nourishment; try it from a lower note to high note, and then high to low. If you observe mindfully and notice which note allows you to lose yourself.  Repeat that note and you will hear a lower reverberation. That reverberation is the note fundalmental and unique to each one of us. Sounding this note helps us to recover and uplift rapidly. Some illnesses are a result of a certain sound deficiency; if we are able to discover that missing note, sounding it will certainly be a good medicine.

Observing the relationship of the 5 notes and vital organs, and the principle of generation and destruction in 5 elements, we can have a good idea of how to supplemjent the note.  For weak spleen and stomach, enhance the fire (heart) #C and earth (spleen) #F. We can use simple musical instrument or tuning fork to sound the notes. Other than musical notes, vowels are also good nourishment for internal organs. We can combine vowel sounds (e, o, AH, -A, EI, OO) with the musical notes.

We are able to receive colour nourishment from colour gels, nature and our imagination. Vegetation grown in the wild and from organic farming is also a source of colour supplement. The following guided imagery exercise is adapted from Dr. Mitchell May and Harold McCoy’s methods. It helps to repair our etheric body, especially after chemotherapy treatments:

Imagine yourself lying on a beach. Clear turquoise water washes over you, cleansing away all your pain and ailments, fear, all negative emotions and mental pollutions. Turquoise color has the effect of purification and transformation; we can use it to cleanse ourselves and the environment. To cleanse the environment, imagine a turquoise colored wind blowing away all impurities. Then imagine the sea water turning red, radiating red light. Immerse yourself in the red sea water, absorbing all the redness that you need. Then have the sea water turning sky blue colour. Likewise, immerse yourself in the water of sky blue. Next, turn it to yellow, green, orange, magenta and indigo, etc. Finally, immerse yourself in water radiating all 7 colours of light. Imagine the oceans and all waters on the planet are made up of these 7 colors, mending and purifying the earth.
Combining color and sound therapy with guided imagery and energy (chi) exercises help to open and repair our subtle bodies. There are many energy exercises in Chinese culture;  waidangong is a popular one. Spiritual growth and joy relies on a healthy body and subtle energetic bodies. When these bodies are injured by electro-magnetic waves and radio waves, our consciousness degenerates to a depressed state; not only that we cannot receive spiritual wisdom. We may even reject it.  Many of the younger generation feel lost, are addicted to the virtual world, and often do not have the warmth and joy of being human.  They feel disconnected from nature, and are isolated, antisocial and cruel in human society. These younger generations are in dire need of healing their subtle bodies, with therapeutic use of colors, sounds and energy exercises, thus restoring their healthy humanity,  mind and emotions. I hope more parents and grandparents are aware of these, and begin the preventive work of protecting our younger generation.

http://www.lapislazuli.org/TradCh/magazine/201011/20101101.html

Return To The Bliss Of The Spirit

Chiu-Nan Lai, Ph.D.

Someone asked: How to return to the bliss of the spirit? This is not a question with easy answer. More than 2000 years ago in India, Prince Siddhartha gave up his royal comforts and privileges, sought out many teachers and undertook years of rigorous practices to find the answer to the question. He finally awakened to the answer and became Shakyamuni Buddha.

He taught 84,000 methods to suit the infinite numbers of beings. In ancient India, 84,000 is a way of expressing many. All these methods can be categorized into 3 levels of practices – Hinayana, Mahayana-Sutrayana and Mahayana-Vajrayana. These are paths that all beings must undertake to return to the bliss of the spirit. Some are at the stage of Hinayana, some at Mahayana; just like progressing from kindergarten to postdoctoral level. No matter which class we are in, it is important to know that there are many levels in the program. If we are at grade 1 and hear about the postdoctoral class, do not remark that postdoctoral class is not for me or criticize it. Instead, have the aspiration to enter the postdoctoral class one day. This way, we do not cut off our path to spiritual bliss.

What is spiritual bliss? It is attaining great freedom, great compassion and an all-encompassing wisdom. It is liberation from the bondage of life and death/rebirth, awakening from the life of movie-like illusions. It is a return to our original state of perfection and purity.

The first step in the return to the bliss of the spirit requires a true understanding of oneself and the phenomenal world. Dr. Rudolf Steiner, founder of Spiritual Science, remarked that cancer comes from a mistaken thought. It may not be a personal mistake but a distorted perception we collectively have as humans. We regard our dream-like, movie-like physical world as inherently real, not recognizing that it is a projection of our mind.

By ‘mind’, we are not referring to our brain activities, but the very subtle consciousness that resides in our heart chakra. Our delusions, happiness, wisdom and compassion, all come from this subtle consciousness. Heaven, hell, rebirth and awakening also come from this. And spiritual cultivation is about working on this subtle consciousness that has existed primordially. It existed since beginning-less time, before our conception and even after our death. It is neither born nor will it die. The “movie” it projects has birth and death.  This unseen subtle consciousness affects our physical form.  This is the reason why spiritual practices of purification and accumulation of merit such as Thousand-armed Compassion Buddha retreat (Nyung Nay) are able to heal physical illnesses, transform emotions and life circumstances. The light of compassion and wisdom purifies the subtle consciousness that has been tainted by greed, aversion and ignorance.  The projected reality will consequently transform.

Last year, my mother’s subtle consciousness left her aged body. After my sisters and I completed the funeral arrangements, we proceeded to do several rounds of the Thousand-armed Compassion Buddha purification practice. I had a deep experience of how this practice is able to relieve the sorrow and grief of the departed person and surviving loved ones. On the day of the actual practice of the first round (a day of total fasting), the grief of losing one’s mother was released from deep within. We also experienced our mother receiving the blessing of Compassion Buddha and a rapid positive transformation of her consciousness. Following the completion of the third round of this practice, we felt our mother came to thank us.

In August of last year (2009), 50 friends of Lapis Lazuli Light gathered in Crestone to practice 2 rounds of this Thousand-armed Compassion Buddha retreat (Nyung Nay). Most of the participants were first timers with no prior understanding of the practice. They also had not received the empowerment of the practice. Hence they were not able to do the practice in its full form. Despite that, within a short time of 5 days, they experienced the extraordinary benefits of the practice. It was tough during the 1st round, especially the day of total fast when one experience detoxification of negative emotions and the karma of the 3 lower realms. Responses ranged from drowsiness, nausea, thirst and hunger. The 2nd round was better.  People were still able to chant and prostrate on the total fasting day. When I saw the radiance and joy of the participants at the end of retreat, I was more convinced how precious and extraordinary this practice is.

It takes only 2 days for a single round of practice. So it is very suited to our modern busy lifestyle. I have also heard that 2 days of the practice is equivalent o 3 months of retreat. The other surprise was that everyone looked much younger at the end of retreat.

Last October(2009) in Kuala Lumpur, we had 200 participants doing the retreat together. We also heard positive feedback about how it benefitted them. Examples like departed family members coming to thank the participants and the release of years of phobia. In order to do the complete practice, participants need to receive the empowerment of the practice from a qualified teacher. Hoping that more people meet the proper requirements, I requested my precious teacher, Lama Zopa Rinpoche to give the empowerment and teaching. Following that, 260 participants took part in the retreat. Though it was uncomfortable for some during the detoxification process, people felt great relief afterwards.

More than fifteen years ago I led this retreat frequently.  There were several miraculous accounts. There was a Catholic woman suffering from cancer who recovered completely. I suggested her to visualize Mother Mary instead of Compassion Buddha because they both represent source of Compassion. This patient has also been practicing waidangong and changed to a natural vegetarian diet. She personally felt that the retreat was the key turning point to her full recovery. Another cancer patient also related that the retreat quickened his recovery. One dentist injured his right arm during his service in the army throwing a hand-grenade. He could not stretch his arm. During the retreat, his right arm was able to stretch out when he was doing the prostrations.

This practice started 1000 years ago with Compassion Buddha manifesting in the form of having thousand arms and thousand eyes. He transmitted the practice to a Nepalese princess, also known as Bhikshuni Lakshminkara, who was suffering from leprosy. Due to the practice, she finally recovered and even gained spiritual realizations. Since then, many have used this practice to eliminate physical obstacles like sicknesses and gained spiritual realizations.

This practice belongs to the Kriya (“Action”) class of Tantra in Vajrayana (大乘行瑜珈部). It is a 2-day fasting retreat observing the Eight Mahayana Precepts – partaking a single meal (lunch) on first day, and total fast on second day (no food and drink, and complete silence). It is a rich and comprehensive practice that covers the Seven Accumulation of Merits (based on the Ten Vows of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva). This is a quick and effective method to purify a lot of negativities and at the same time accumulate a vast amount of merit. If we can do this at least once in our lifetime, we will not be reborn in the 3 less fortunate realms. If we can do this for at least 8 times, we are bound to be reborn in Western (Amitabha) Pureland. This is the vow of Compassion Buddha. It takes only one prayer and Compassion Buddha will guide and protect us for an infinite lifetime.

In modern era, we face the prevalence of diseases and their onset at much younger age. This is an opportune time to awaken to the truth of life, break away from the causes of physical illnesses and suffering, and return to spiritual joy.

Spiritual joy and growth come from compassion and love. We need to not harm others and all other living beings in our thoughts and actions.

Take being on a vegetarian diet for example. Some people choose this out of health reasons, others out of love and compassion; the implications are beyond our imagination. From the school of Spiritual Science, plants have physical and etheric bodies, animals have physical, etheric and astral bodies, and humans have all the 3 bodies plus ego-consciousness.

When we consume pork, beef, chicken or fish etc, we are also consuming the elements in these animals’ astral bodies, including their fear, anxiety and hatred. Our astral body needs to digest these negativities during sleeping hours, making it unable to depart from physical and etheric bodies to return to spiritual world for recharge. When an astral body is damaged and torn, the person will feel exhaustion and fall sick easily. A damaged astral body is less sensitive to guidance of wisdom from the spiritual world and intuition. As a result, one’s worldly actions are often destructive. If we consume meat over a long period of time, our astral bodies will become similar to those of what eat – pigs, cows, etc. Can you imagine what kind of life forms animalistic astral bodies will create?
I have friends who after going on a full vegetarian diet  remarked that although they ate very little meat before, they felt completely different not eating any meat. Rudolf Steiner emphasized that plant-based diet is a significant key in spiritual growth.

Our astral bodies need to return to the spiritual world to recharge. We need the guidance of wisdom and inspiration from spiritual world, so preparing ourselves before going to sleep will better facilitate us in the process.  At the time of death we will experience a life review.  Each night is a similar regressive experience.
Reflecting on the day’s experience we need to remember important experiences as well as trivial ones. With incidents that evoked strong emotional reactions in us, we can review the encounter from a different perspective, asking ourselves why we had such strong reactions. If we had lost control of ourselves emotionally in that incident, remind ourselves to be more aware of the process in future. Sometimes we only realize the significance of certain experiences during the recall.
It is my wish that everyone be free of delusions and difficulties quickly, open our hearts in love and compassion, and realize the true freedom of our nature.

Note:
3 lower realms: the hungry ghost realm, suffering resulting from greed and attachment; the hell realm, suffering resulting from aversion & hatred; the animal realm,  suffering resulitng from ignorance & confusion.

Translated from the original article in Chinese. Accessible at: http://www.lapislazuli.org/TradCh/magazine/201008/20100801.html

More information about Nyung Nay practice (Thousand-armed Compassion Buddha retreat), visit (do keyword search)

  1. http://www.lamayeshe.com
  2. http://landofmedicinebuddha.org