Posts classified under: From Founder

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

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

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

Chiu-Nan Lai, Ph.D.

The first record of the appearance of crop circles came in the form of wood carvings, as early as the 17th century. The local people believed that this was the work of gremlins. In the 1980’s, many of these had circles as the main theme, and hence, they were generally labeled as crop circles. The degree of complexity in the design of these twenty-plus crop circles has far exceeded that of a circle. Many of these are patterns from ancient cultures, such as the yin-yang diagram.

Although these mysterious patterns also appear on sand, snow and ice, the ones that are most popularly known appear on farm land in Southern England. Among these, the largest concentration of crop circles appears in Stonehenge and Avebury in the Wiltshire County, where ancient stone circle monuments of more than 5000 years old can be found. In 2011 alone, there were 40 to 50 pieces of work. The appearance of these crop circles is not constrained by weather conditions or time of the day. Some appear within 15 minutes in broad daylight, while some appear at night and are discovered only in the daytime. The dimensions of these circles vary from 30 feet to 1500 feet. They are formed by the compression of the crops. The crop is not cut during the formation of the crop circles. If the crops are compressed in spring, they continue to grow. If the crops are matured and compressed in fall, they no longer grow.

People who enter these crop circles generally feel a strange energy. Balls of light sometimes appear on photos taken, even though these light balls are not visible to the naked eye. At night, some people see light descending onto the ground from above, and crop circles appear the following day. Pilots drive past the land to fetch passengers, and see crop circles 15 minutes later on their return journeys.

There are many different views on these crop circles, but in short, it is a difficult-to-explain mystery. Why do they appear frequently in Wiltshire County in southern England?  Glenn Broughton, who organizes annual tours to these crop circles in southern England, believes that there are special reasons. These crop circles all appear near ancient sacred sites, almost as if to remind people to know about these sites. At the same time, the farms in southern England are all located on hill slopes, and are easily visible from public access roads. Also, because these appear annually, they attract people’s attention, and tour groups are organized every year specially to view these crop circles. If this were a form of communication between those from the unseen world and humans, it has to appear in a location where it is visible to be effective. If it appears in uninhabited places, it would be meaningless. Glenn’s experience is that it is possible to connect with this unseen energy.

Once, a group of 19 people in England deliberately wanted to invite an “unseen” painter to produce a crop circle. Five of them had doubts and did not make sincere prayers. In the end, the crop circle that appeared had a “flower of life” pattern with 19 points, amongst which the connecting lines for five of these points were unclear. Hence, the overall pattern was also unclear. Glenn shared this story with participants at the 2011 American Society of Dowsers conference in the northeastern state of Vermont. At that time, the participants were willing to communicate with the “unseen” painter. A group of them sat and prayed in the space between two circles outside the conference venue. The next day, a similar crop circle appeared in a farmland in England. These crop circles are means of communicating with humans, and contain information. Readers can experience this by holding pictures of these crop circles to their chests, or by silencing the mind.

According to Glenn, every time a tour member enters these crop circles, they experience strong sensations. After returning home ten days later, they would write letters to their relatives and friends to share changes in their lives, as if they are starting all over again. Some marry, some divorce, and others change their jobs. Could it be that these crop circles appearing in the last 20 years were designed to help human personal enhancement and transformation?

Stephen Alexander (www.temporarytemples.co.uk), an English man who has been taking photos of crop circles for the past 20 years, observed that crop circles have an association with numbers and geometry. For instance, a circle equals 1; two intersecting circles equal 2; a triangle equals 3; and so on up to 13-sided polygonal shapes. These geometrical shapes appear in nature, and are inseparable from us. In ancient times, buildings, especially those used for worship purposes, are built according to these geometric proportions. They have a certain impact on our bodies and minds.

An octagon (see Figure 1) is common in Chinese culture, and has a peaceful energy. The number “8” also represents the beginning and end in the sound spectrum. Ancient Egyptians use half an octagonal shape to cleanse energy and man-made contamination. An octagonal shape folded ninety degrees into half produces two semi-octagonal shapes (Figure 2). These semi-octagonal shapes have transformational properties, and can be placed inside the room, or on top of the refrigerator, or on food and daily necessities. The hexagram has a special significance in ancient Western culture in that two alternating triangles form the Star of David.

CRYSTAL GRID

Crystal when placed in specific formation or array can be used to enhance the environment. It is best to use crystals that have been blessed. The crystals provided at Lapis Lazuli Light centres have been blessed by sacred objects. Their enhanced energy can be transmitted simply by contacting them with other crystals or mineral stones.

Based on reference materials and my own experiments, I found that the energy of the crystals can be greatly enhanced by following these steps. First, make this prayer:

May the perfect light from the universe enter my heart.
The light is in my heart.
I am light.

After repeating the prayer three times, move in a clockwise direction to activate the energy. The energy field will greatly increase. Placing these crystals in the room, or near computers or routers can have healing purposes.

The procedure is as follows:

Use the crystals or other mineral stones such as tourmaline to form a hexagon shape. You can use non-toxic glue or double-sided adhesive tape to fix them in a clockwise direction onto a thick piece of paper. Normally, a diameter of around six to eight inches (15 cm -20 cm) will be sufficient.  After that, make the following prayer three times: may light enter my heart; the light is in my heart; I am light. This light is the creation by the perfect wisdom and compassion of the universe.  After that, use a crystal that has its energy enhanced through blessings. Move the crystal from the centre of the hexagonal formation while visualizing that the light is connecting from the centre to the lower right corner (4 o’clock position). Then, follow the crystal clockwise in a circular motion to the next crystal, and then return to the centre. Use this visualization to link all the crystals together (see Figure 3). Crystals that have been activated have protective and energy enhancement properties.

During our tours this year, we had the chance to use some protective objects, including the crystal formation. Nowadays, hotels have wireless connections and the interference signals are very strong. Once I enter these premises, my body will have a reaction such as immediate skin itch, pain on the top of my head, or insomnia. Other than taking out some of my special protective objects I carry along, I will also use some crystals to create a few crystal formations. Once the crystals have been activated, my physical discomfort disappears. Someone told me that when she stayed in the hotel for a night, she got a pain on the top of her head, followed by cold symptoms. These days, some colds are not the ordinary ones we know, but are caused by wireless interference.

People desire fast internet connections and therefore, these wireless signals have also become stronger, leading to greater harm to humans. As a result, protective objects also have to be stronger. By forming another hexagon outside the original hexagon base, we form a “Flower of Life”. This name originates from ancient cultures which believe that this shape is related to the creation of life.
This “Flower of Life” pattern creates very peaceful energy and has protective functions. It can be placed on the body, in the room, or on photos, computers, or telephones. It can also balance any disharmony caused by chemical pollutants.

Flower of Life
Geometrical patterns that have colour added to them are even more useful. A green film placed on the crystal formation provides good nourishment for the body. You can place your photo or your family members’ photos on this green crystal formation. In addition, the colour blue has special protective properties. However, this energy cannot be leaked outside, and so, you can only place the photos in the centre or within the region that needs protection. Place the crystal or mineral stones in deep blue colour bottles and place them in a hexagonal formation, with a bottle in the middle. Then use the same method previously discussed to activate them.

In the past year, my friends and I have been trying these protective objects and obtained good effects. The manifestation of crop circles in the form of geometrical patterns is also designed to elevate the energy of the earth and its life forms.

Note.
The photos of crop circles are reprinted with the permission of Stephen Alexender, and come from his website www.temporarytemples.co.uk.

 

Original Chinese article is published in the Feb 2012 issue of Lapis magazine and is accessible online at:
http://www.lapislazuli.org/TradCh/magazine/201202/20120201.html

Chiu-Nan Lai, Ph.D.

Many years ago, I introduced walking barefooted on the grass.  If you can walk barefooted for 20 minutes, the static electricity in the body gets discharged. Insomniacs will be able to fall asleep again. Many people who tried it found this to be effective and the quality of their sleep improved. In fact, improvement of sleep is just one of the many benefits.

In the book, Earthing: The Most Important Health Discovery Ever?, Ober, Sinatra and Zuchker conducted an in-depth analysis and documented the influence of Earth’s surface on human health. Contact with the earth does not only discharge static electricity from the body, earth is also the source of negatively-charged free electrons and the mother source of healing energy. Earthing (or grounding) balances the body’s metabolism and protects organs and all bodily functions. Precision electronic appliances, such as the computer, need to be grounded to protect it from being damaged easily, the human body works the same way too.

Modern lifestyle has increasingly separated humans from contacting the flow of Earth’s electrons. We are wearing rubber-soled shoes, sat in cars with rubber tyres, live in high-rises, and are disconnected from the Earth’s surface. This disconnection from Earth’s surface only emerged in recent time. Just like electrical appliances are damaged easily, our bodies have surfaced many problems. When we reconnect with earth, health problems (such as inflammation, pain, stroke, hypertension, respiratory problems and insomnia) would dramatically improve. In fact, we only need 20-30 minutes of earthing for the body to absorb sufficient negatively-charged free electrons and energy to begin its healing process.

Because it is a modern problem, most medical experts have not associated health with earthing and explored their relationship. lowa University conducted a study over 12 years and they found that the rate of stroke incurrence among residents living in high-rise housing was 40% higher than among those living on landed houses.  Another study found that there were more city-dwellers suffering from terminal-stage cancers than those who live in the suburbs and countryside. The differences may be due to economic factors and age segregation, but it is difficult to explain the differences between the groups for lung cancer. It is possible that city-dwellers who live in high-rises take in more pollution from positively-charged electrons, and lack negatively-charged free electrons.

When a person stands barefooted on the ground, his body merges with earth’s electrons (ie. body’s electrical potential becomes equalized with the Earth’s electrical potential). External electromagnetic waves cannot interfere with the body’s internal bioelectrical environment, and the body is naturally connected with the Earth’s biological clock. When long-distance travellers connect with the earth immediately upon arriving at a new place for 20-30 minutes, they will discover a reduction in jetlag.
When man is disconnected from the Earth’s surface over a long period of time, his bodily functions lose its normal structure, become confused, and are no longer able to distinguish between “I” and the external. One such example is when the immune system becomes dysfunctional and attacks the body’s own cells, tissues and organs.

Earthing is so fundamental to the functioning of a human body that everyone should try to do it as much as possible, and observe the reactions. Standing barefooted on the earth, and sitting on the ground or on stones are some of the simplest ways to do earthing. Do it for more than 30 minutes, preferably. You can wear cloth shoes, straw sandals, or leather shoes (with leather soles).

Taking a stroll at the beach and swimming in the sea are also ways of earthing. People who are sick could try these and observe if there are any improvements in their health.

When I was living in Hawaii in my younger days, I liked to hike barefooted, with only an orange or two for a whole day, and never feeling hungry or thirsty.  In retrospect, I was taking nourishment from the earth. During those times, I also enjoyed sleeping outdoor on the lawn at night.

There are long-distance runners who run barefooted and do not appear to suffer foot injuries. There was an athlete who wore shoes in a race, and his feet blistered.  He took off his shoes and continued running. When he reached the finishing line, the blisters were gone. Many athletes have earthing experience – their muscle functions strengthened and recovery from sports injuries are also accelerated. Many of the participants in the world famous Tour de France practise earthing and it is the secret to their success.

Who would have thought that a simple method like earthing allows modern man to reclaim health once again?

Improvised methods:
People with mobility difficulties could have their bed or sitting place connected to ground. Pull a wire over your window to connect with a grounding metal post outdoor, or connect to the ground pin of an electrical outlet. (Do not switch on electricity.) Find conductive fabric (containing metal) or wire mesh, and then connect with wires and plugs into a grounded outlet. It is recommended to get an electrician to determine whether electrical outlets in your building are properly grounded.

There should not be any electricity within seven feet of your body. Switch off all power supplies in the bedroom and the adjoining rooms.

It is better to earth with separate wires connecting to the ground directly and not going through the electrical circuit in the house, because sometimes the wires may not be properly connected. Do not use water pipes for grounding, as water pipes are connected to other house units and may carry electricity. That said, the best way to do grounding is still to get your feet onto the earth.

 

References and for further information:

1. Earthinginstitute.net
2. Earthing: The Most Important Health Discovery Ever?, by Clinton Ober, Stephen T. Sinatra. MD and Martin Zuchker. Published in 2010, by Basic Health Publications, Inc.

 

(Trsl.) Florence Tan. Original Chinese article is published in the Aug 2011 issue of Lapis magazine and is accessible online at:
http://www.lapislazuli.org/TradCh/magazine/201108/20110802.html

Chiu-Nan Lai, Ph.D.

A lady living in California who recently heard about the concept of earthing or grounding immediately referred to the original English source of information and  bought earthing bedsheet and grounding cord. Surprisingly, within a night, she solved her problems of irregular heartbeat and insomnia that had been plaguing her for many years. She had consulted numerous doctors and had taken different medicine, but to no avail. Yet, such a “natural” method unexpectedly proved to be effective.

For all these years I have introduced many different approaches to health.  Many people experienced good effects after trying them. We would like to hear from everyone’s experience and insight as this is a simple and effective way to increase our collective learning experience. For instance, a visually impaired Malaysian lady followed the method that a person who suddenly went blind used to regain his eyesight. (described in the Lapis Lazuli Light Magazine, September 2009 issue of Lapis Lazuli Light Magazine, “Recovering One’s Health from Electromagnetic Radiation Harm”)  She regained her vision within three weeks. If there had been no sharing by that person of how he successfully recovered, she would not have persevered wholeheartedly in applying the methods suggested.

At this point, I would like to invite those who have benefited from applying a particular method to share their stories with others. These stories can be short and need only describe the experience.

For instance, take the concept of earthing. Many years ago, I had introduced this idea and also tried it but did not continue. It was not until I read the many cases described in the book “Earthing” that I understood the importance of earthing at a deeper level. I took out the grounding cord and conductive fabric that I acquired some time back. I placed them on my bed, and also turned off the electrical main. Our copper water pipe is not connected to those of our neighbours, and hence, I connected one end of the electrical wire to the fabric, and the other end to the copper pipe. This approach is unsuitable if the water pipe is connected to the neighbours’ water pipe. The reason is that the water pipe can be a conduit for electromagnetic and wireless signals from our neighbour to our own bed.

Using the dowsing method, I found out that when we are connected to the earth, our energy level is substantially higher. This is another benefit apart from discharging static electricity. At the same time, upon checking the colour spectrum, it turns out that while normally the copper wire possesses yellow ray, after being earthed it contains all the colours in the spectrum. This comes about because the earth absorbs light from the sun and then reflects it back.  Everyone needs light nourishment. This type of qi is visible to some people with special abilities. Towards the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century, chemist Baron Karl Von Reichenbach investigated the qi phenomenon by using people with special abilities who could see the light and colours emitted by magnets and crystals. One of the experiments involved connecting a copper wire from outside the window to a completely darkened room. When the copper wire was placed in the sunlight, these people inside the dark room could see light entering through the copper wire. This light was different from the sunlight. Hence, what is transmitted through the earth is likely similar to this qi.

This knowledge is necessary to understand many of the healing stories associated with earthing. Below are some cases mentioned in the book “Earthing”. Many people who are healthy do not take care of their bodies. They are completely unaware of the harm inflicted when they use electronic equipment. They have a rude awakening when they completely lose their health.

A clear example is the case of Step, the son of Dr. Sinatra, one of the authors of the book “Earthing”. In the book, Step explained in detail how he got injured and his recovery process. He decided to share his experience because there are many healthy young people who are unknowingly being injured. When Step was about 20 years old, he was a stockbroker on Wall Street. He shared a large office with a hundred people, and was surrounded by a hundred computers, phones, and electrical appliances. In 1997, he started to use the mobile phone, and used it frequently. He stayed in an apartment on the 43rd floor of a building in Manhattan. He made quite a lot of money, but was unknowingly being harmed by electromagnetic and wireless radiation. During the four years he worked on Wall Street, he was constantly in a “wired” state and slept very little. Gradually, he felt something was wrong with his health, which became more serious over time. His eyes, ears, and nose all had problems, and he coughed incessantly with lots of phlegm in his lungs. However, he continued with his work because the income was good. Once, he felt a sharp pain in his chest. His father, a doctor, believed that this was a symptom of a heart problem. At that time, Step was only 25 years old. He quit his job and went to Colorado to start his own investment business. His small office had a computer with wireless internet access and mobile phones. He worked and slept in his office, and was inundated by electromagnetic radiation day and night. He continued to lose weight, and he could not eat many kinds of food due to his weak digestive system. He had muscle pain, was easily injured, and had insomnia. He saw many doctors, nutritionists, and acupuncturists, but no one could identify the cause of his ailment. He went for medical tests, but these only revealed a problem with his endocrine system but nothing specific. Step was very susceptible to infection by parasites and to heavy metal poisoning.

In 2007, Step went to a clinic to treat his parasite infection. He took a three-week course of anti-parasite medication along with detoxification diet comprising of raw food. He lost 35 pounds, and many of his bodily functions shut down. He could no longer eat or drink, and had to be on intravaneous feeding to sustain his life. Doctors gave him a 1% chance of survival because his body was devouring itself, with little functions left. When visitors used their mobile phones, he would have the urge to vomit. If someone showed him photos on a computer, he could only withstand it for a minute. He was extremely sensitive to electronic devices. One night, he choked when he drank water and almost stopped breathing. At that moment, he realized that he created his fears, dreams and everything. He prayed to God for his life, and aspired to dedicate his life to benefitting others.

Step did make the divine connection, and he started to recover. It was only in 2008 that he was able to leave the hospital. At that time, his father introduced him to the notion of connecting to the earth’s energy. When the weather turned warmer, he would either sit, stand or walk barefooted on the ground. He started to regain his stamina. Step also ensured that there were no electrical devices around him. Once someone installed a wireless phone and internet access in his room, immediately he became infected by Salmonella bacteria. Also, after being admitted to the hospital, he carried along with him an electromagnetic field detector, and removed many electrical devices from his room. His sleep started to improve. After his discharge from hospital, he avoided using the computer and the mobile phone for nine months, using them only in emergency situations. He used fixed lines for his telephone and internet access. He also slept on grounded fabric. His spirit improved, and his weight came back to 150 pounds. Step decided to share his personal experience in the hope that others do not have to go through unnecessary suffering before they awaken.

The illustration above shows that some common ailments such as bacterial infection, food allergy, and flatulence are related to harm from contact with electricity, and that these ailments can be improved through earthing.

The book also shared the experience of a chiropractor who routinely recommended many of his patients the grounding technique. Many of his patients reported improved sleep with clear dreams and relief from pain. He also noticed some of his female patients in their forties got pregnant again. His own wife could not conceive for eight years before her current marriage to him, and also for the six years after marrying him. However, she became pregnant within a month of being earthed, and gave birth to a healthy baby boy. Although she was already 35 years old, her child could speak simple sentences when he was 18 months old, and knew about 100 words. He was also taller than average, even though his parents were of normal built. This doctor also observed that his female patients’ menstrual cycles and hormonal changes became normal.

Earthing has a significant positive impact on our autonomic nervous system, heart, blood circulation, and ATP (our cells’ energy source). The earth is the source of high-energy electrons, and ATP (our body’s energy source) requires a continuous supply of high-energy electrons. Modern living entails various kinds of pollution. In particular, electromagnetic and wireless pollution over stimulate the sympathetic nervous system. When our body is under chronic stress, this gives rise to high blood pressure and irregular heartbeat, and sudden deaths. Earthing for 45 minutes leads to improvement in regulating our heartbeats, reflecting the stabilization of the nervous system. Our autonomic nervous system governs the operation of our heart, lungs, stomach, endocrine glands, urinary system as well as other systems. Earthing reduces our stress levels, and aids in the stabilization of our automatic nervous system. Hence, earthing is critical to our overall health.

Human beings evloved as part of nature. The functions of our body and mind cannot be separated from nature. Once we become separated from nature, our survival becomes an issue. Earthing is an important discovery. I hope that everyone will give it a try, and observe the changes in his/her body and mind.

Note: Currently, there are some buildings in Taiwan that have electrical sockets that have a ground connection for safety reasons. You can ask your electrician to test whether the ground wire is properly grounded, and also add a 100KW resistor on the ground cord between the plug and the earthing material. Readers from other countries can adapt this procedure based on their countries’ circumstances.

 

Translated from Chinese:
http://www.lapislazuli.org/TradCh/magazine/201111/20111101.html

Chiu-Nan Lai, Ph.D., Compiled by Rachel Tsang

Cell tissues in the body need pH 6.5 to 7.5 to operate normally. The average pH should be a slightly alkaline 7.4. An environment which is too acidic or too alkaline can cause death of cells. Whatever we eat, breathe, drink and the invisible electromagnetic waves, radio waves and radiation can directly affect the body’s pH balance.

Concentrated high-protein food such as beef, seafood, eggs, coffee and chocolate are the most acidic. Second to these are hard dairy products (cheese), beer, wine, rice, noodles, and bread. The least acidic forming foods are whole-grain bread, nuts, soft dairy products (butter, cream). Milk, goat’s milk, whey (residue from cheese making) are pH neutral.

Among the grains, millet, amaranth, quinoa and sprouted grains are slightly alkaline. Sprouted nuts and seeds are also slightly alkaline. Fresh vegetables, fruits, sea vegetables, some beans (such as lentils, white beans, kidney beans, French beans) are also alkaline forming foods.

The most alkaline forming foods are cucumber, radishes, melons, ginger, spinach, soy lecithin, figs (dried), mushrooms, beets, celery, carrots, tomatoes, dandelion, olives, oranges and bananas. The least alkaline forming foods are the potato varieties, lentils, onions and garlic.

To maintain an acid-alkaline balance in the body, 80% of the intake of food should be alkaline-based and 20% acid-based. This means the intake of food each day should consist of six parts of fruits and vegetables, one part of concentrated protein and one part of grain or carbohydrates.

Other than the influence of diet, fresh air (oxygen) in the forest is alkaline forming. Take a deep breath, exhale carbon dioxide, inhale oxygen to alkaline the blood. Air pollution has the opposite effect, making the blood acidic. Radio waves and electromagnetic waves produce an acidic reaction in the body. Emotions, tension and pressure also make the blood acidic.

The easiest way to test the body pH is to use the pH test strips to test the urine. Usually the normal pH reading in early morning is pH6.5 and pH7.5 in the night. If it is higher than 7.5 or less than 6.5, it means it is that either too alkaline or too acidic and needs to be balanced. The early morning pH is generally the lowest, slowly increases during the day and begins to decrease in the evening.

Generally, most people have an acidic body, which is the cause of almost all degenerative diseases and ageing. This includes obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, kidney stones, incontinence, rheumatism, osteoporosis, cancer, diabetes and a variety of infectious diseases. Minerals are alkaline, and the main minerals required for different parts of the body are listed in the following table for reference.

The Main Minerals of a pH Balance Body

MINERAL	PARTS/FUNCTION	BEST FOOD SOURCE
Sodium	Gastrointestinal	Celery, seaweed, spinach, carrots, whey.
Calcium	Bones	Orange, lemon, dark green vegetables, cabbage, seaweed.
Magnesium	Nervous system	Polenta, apricots, stone fruits, vegetables.
Manganese	Brain	California walnuts, raw egg yolk, red algae, seeds of stone fruits.
Potassium	Muscles and Urinary System	Fruit, melons, grains.
Silicon	Skin, hair, nails	Oats, barley, lettuce, seeds of stone fruits, rice bran, kelp.
Iodine	Catalyst for metabolism	Seaweed, red seaweed, agar, asparagus, beans, blueberries

There are many human factors to cause the body to be acidic. That is why in the diet, it is necessary to add alkaline forming foods, especially for breakfast. This is because the body is more acidic in the early morning. Here are some recommendations for breakfast and other meals.

 

Rice and Porridge Varieties

Grains such as buckwheat, quinoa, millet, rice, amaranth, oats increase in nutritional value after sprouting. Sprouting also makes it easier to digest. Soak buckwheat for 15 to 30 minutes, drain and cover with a transparent lid. In 1–2 days, sprouting can be seen. Quinoa only needs to be soaked for 4–6 hours. Other grains need to be soaked overnight and then drain the water. Cover with lid and leave to germinate for 2 days.

Porridge — 1 part grain to 5 parts water

Rice — 1 part grains to 2 parts water

(Eg: 1 cup of dried buckwheat becomes 2 cups after sprouting. Add 5 parts water to cook into porridge)

For salty flavour: Add a little sea vegetable, or do not add anything and eat it as a side dish.

As a sweet: Add figs and raisins (soaked overnight) to pot 1 – 2 minutes before the dish is cooked. Appropriate amount of orange peel and ginger can also be added. Soak flaxseed overnight, 1 part flaxseed to 3 parts water and add both the flaxseed and water to the pot 3 minutes before removing from heat. The proportion of the porridge is 4 parts grain to 1 part flaxseed.

 

Cooked Porridge, Gruel, Rice

Thermos (or stew pot) Porridge

Grains, sprouted (2-3 days): buckwheat, wheat, barley, oats, quinoa, amaranth seeds.

Soak ½ – 1 cup of sprouted grains for each person the night before in a wide-mouth thermos flask or thermos pot. Add equal amount of boiling water and close tightly. Boil again the next morning and it is ready for eating.

If the insulation of the thermos flask is ineffective, then the water will be cool the next day. It would be better to change to a better insulated pot. According to personal preference, add a little sea vegetable, ginger, fennel, cilantro (coriander), raisins, dried figs, wolfberry, red dates, etc at the same time when adding water.

 

Rice Cooker Porridge, Congee, Rice

Millet and brown rice takes a longer time to cook. So if the rice cooker has a timer, add sprouted rice or other grains into the electric rice cooker the night before.

In cooking porridge, it depends on personal preference. When using dry grains, use about 5 parts of water (when using sprouted grains, use 2–3 parts water). When cooking rice, add 2 parts water for dry grains. For sprouted grains, use equal amount of water.

Rice can only be combined with grains of the same consistency: millet, amaranth seeds, quinoa and buckwheat (but not wheat).

If you have forgotten to prepare the night before, use the stove to cook over low heat. Millet and brown rice needs 20 minutes, whereas quinoa and buckwheat needs only 10 minutes.

A friend of mine has three school children. She would soak the buckwheat overnight and only need to quick boil it the next day and it is ready. Depending on personal preference, add different miso (some are made from red beans, some from chickpeas and some from barley – each has its individual taste). Miso contains enzymes, once it is mixed in, the buckwheat begins to break down, making it easy to digest and be absorbed by the body.

If the climate and physical constitution are suitable, you can make raw porridge. Only a blender is needed and no other equipment. Just blend the ingredients and it is ready to be eaten. Here are some methods for making raw porridge such as blended banana and flaxseed.

 

Traditional Porridge Cooking Method

To cook porridge the traditional way: Boil water over high heat. Add sprouted grains, beans and other ingredients. This makes it easier to soften and the taste is better. When water is boiling, lower the heat. Let it simmer and remove scum. Or put porridge into an electric pot and continue to cook till it is ready.

Put a little cooking oil into the water and the porridge will not overflow from the pot.

Traditionally, baking soda is added to soften the porridge faster. But baking soda can destroy the vitamin B group, so it is better not to add it. Pre-soaked sprouts can accelerate the process of cooking.

Traditionally, porridge has the unique characteristics of different regions, seasons and herbs (that tone the body). Northern Chinese eat herbal porridge in spring, mung bean porridge in summer, lotus root porridge and chrysanthemum porridge in autumn and eight-treasure porridge, raw ginger porridge and spring onion (white part) and others in winter. In summer, there are also some “cooling” porridge like lotus leaves porridge, winter melon porridge, water chestnut porridge, pear porridge, hawthorn porridge. Porridge suitable for those with weak stomach are millet porridge, raw ginger porridge. Walnut porridge complements the ‘yang’ deficiency. Fennel porridge balances ‘cold’ stomach, and for spleen and stomach deficiency, wild yam porridge, lotus seed porridge and ginseng porridge.

 

The “Lai’s Family Breakfast”

Millet Porridge

Millet, quinoa, oatmeal, black dates, red dates, wolfberry, barley, semen euryales (Qiànshí), almonds and raisins. Millet is the main component, so add a small amount of the other ingredients. Add black sesame powder, moss, kelp, pumpkin seed oil, flaxseed oil, miso and so on into the cooked porridge according to personal preference.

 

5-Flavours Porridge – 1 person portion (Not cooked)

Soak overnight 2 tablespoons of oats, a few cashews, almond and raisins with filtered water. In the morning, add 1 lemon juice, a little cayenne pepper and a little bit of brine (saturated salt water made from Himalayan Crystal Salt or other mineral rock salt).

 

Quick Breakfast

Amaranth and Flaxseed Gruel – 1 person portion (Not cooked)

2 tablespoons of sprouted amaranth

1 tablespoon flaxseed

2 dried figs (soak overnight in 3 tablespoons of water and do not drain water)

1 cup of water

1. Add amaranth in boiling water. Simmer for two minutes.
2. Pour into blender and blend with flax seed and fig. Optionally, you can add 2 tablespoons of sprouted buckwheat and ginger.

 

Ginger Banana Flaxseed Gruel – 1 portion (Not cooked)

1 banana

2 slices of ginger

1 tablespoon of flaxseed and 2 figs (soak in 3 tablespoons of water overnight)

¼ cup of hot water

Blend hot water and flaxseed, figs and ginger together. Pour over the diced banana.

 

Coconut Milk Rice Pudding (Gruel)

1 cup of rice (fragrant rice or mixed with other type of rice), sprout for 2-3 days

1. Add a cup of water and blend.
2. Add two cups of coconut milk (squeezed from 1 coconut).
3. 3 tablespoons of brown sugar or other natural sugar or stevia.
4. Put into rice cooker and put half a cup of water in the outer pot.

(Note: Rice cookers with inner and outer pots are used in Taiwan. For readers in Singapore, you may want to adapt this step by steaming the mixture directly.)

 

Variety of Dishes (to go with porridge, congee or cakes)

Sauerkraut

Basic ingredients:

1 red or green cabbage, cut into strips

1 teaspoon of natural sea salt or rock salt

1 teaspoon of pepper

1. Mix all the ingredients, allow juice to come out.
2. Pack tightly in a glass jar; let the juice cover the vegetables.
3. Cover with lid and leave at room temperature for about 3 days (if the weather is hot, maybe 1–2 days).

It can keep for about 3 months if refrigerated.

Other ingredients: coriander, ginger, pepper, chili, cucumber, turnip, radish. Add according to your preference.

 

Pickled Lime

8 thin-skinned yellow limes (yellow when ripe)

½ cup natural sun-dried sea salt or rock salt

1. Wash limes. When completely dried, add salt.
2. Put in a glass bottle and leave bottle under the sun (or on the windowsill where there is sunlight) to sit in sun for 30 days.
3. Stir twice a day to let the lime and salt mix thoroughly. Lime skin will shrink and turn brown.
4. It is ready for consumption in 30 days.

Refrigeration is not needed. Ensure that clean chopsticks are used when removing from the bottle. In this way, the lime can be stored for a long time. Each lime can be cut into 4 portions, each portion for 1 person. This dish came from India and is a breakfast condiment. If eaten with other meals, it can help digestion.

 

Lemon Pickled Ginger

200g fresh ginger (80 oz. or 1 large piece)

½ teaspoon of natural sea salt

Pinch of black pepper

3–4 lemons

1. Wash ginger, remove skin.
2. Cut into thin slices and add lemon juice, salt and pepper.
3. Leave at room temperature for 30 minutes before bottling and refrigeration. It can be kept for a week.

The best time to eat ginger is during breakfast. It warms the stomach and promotes digestion.

 

Salted Cucumber and Others

Cut off both ends of cucumber and then cut into long strips. Sprinkle a little brine (saturated salt water).

Other ingredients: Cut green flowering vegetable stalks, green papaya, turnip and cauliflower into thin slices. Leave at room temperature. Ready to be eaten after a day. Store in the refrigerator. Umeboshi vinegar can be added as seasoning.

 

Miso Cucumber (or Vegetables)

The above ingredients can be marinated in miso sauce for more than a day before it can be consumed. The longer it is marinated, the saltier it will be.

To be continued

The original Chinese article is published in the Feb 2009 issue of Lapis magazine and is accessible online at:
http://www.lapislazuli.org/TradCh/magazine/201202/20120201.html

Chiu-Nan Lai, Ph.D.

In recent years, the number of bees has been significantly reduced. Beekeepers often find the hives become empty just within a day. This has caused concerns in the agricultural community. Many of the foods we usually eat rely on bee pollination. If the bees disappear, we would not live well. At the same time I have also heard that more and more people get cancer and that the disease progresses very quickly. Are these two things related?

I recently saw a documentary “Resonance: Beings of Frequency”.

The documentary gave a very detailed description of how all wireless communication frequencies harm lives on earth, including bees and people. Earth’s frequency is 7.83 Hz and the lives on earth are inseparable with this frequency. The human brainwave’s frequency is 7.83 Hz when in a relaxed situation. This is also the frequency to maintain health and healing. In the laboratory, the formation of genes from RNA also depends on this frequency. 7.83 Hz is the frequency for the formation of life and without it, genes cannot be formed.

Lives on earth have taken a very long time to adapt to the environment. But within just over a decade, the frequency of electromagnetic waves in our environment is already several millions of times greater than before. This rapid change is unprecedented. Currently in the world, there are five million transmitting towers. Before these towers were installed, no research was conducted on their long-term impact on lives on earth.

In the past 10 years or so, it was obvious that electromagnetic waves have a very bad effect on humans and nature. The disappearance of the bees is just a very small part that we see. When researchers placed the base station of a DECT (Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications) phone inside a beehive, not a single bee came back. Bees rely on the earth’s magnetic field to distinguish directions and the radio waves have interfered with their navigation system. As a result they were unable to return home after gathering nectar. The DECT phone base is similar to a cellular tower, transmitting signals non-stop for 24 hours. Not only was the navigation system of the bees disturbed, even birds became disoriented. When the tower was first constructed, it was discovered that flocks of birds flew towards the ground at high speed and ended up killing themselves. Their ability to distinguish the direction of up and down was impaired. As a result, the population of many species of birds have greatly declined.

What is the impact of these man-made frequencies on human beings? Up to now, there are already ten million researches in this area. At www.bioinitiative.org, the 2012 study concluded that some of the most common reactions to these frequencies are headache, internal bleeding, dizziness, insomnia, decreased immune function in the long run, cancer and so on. One of the reasons is that the frequencies interfere with the human pineal gland secretion of melatonin. In normal circumstances, when it gets dark, the secretion of melatonin will increase, and sleep is the time when the body repairs itself as the cells proliferate to compensate for the loss of five hundred million cells during the day. This process produces lots of free radicals, and melatonin is the most effective anti-oxidant in getting rid of free radicals. Once the pineal gland is unable to distinguish light and man-made frequency, the secretion of melatonin at night will be similar to that in the daytime and does not increase. This causes insomnia and the free radicals in the body would destroy genes and cells.

The rapid increase of cancer in recent years is not accidental. The average melatonin level of a breast cancer patient is only 10% of a normal person. The formation of cancer is not in one or two days, but takes place over many years. Researchers found that the incidence of cancer was significantly higher for people who use mobile phones for more than five years compared with non-users. The incidence rate of cancer is even higher for those who use more than a decade.

The difference is not as obvious between non-users and those who have used mobile phones for four years.

Because most people do not know the dangers of radio waves, they do not associate the physical and mental discomforts with the use of wireless products in their daily life. This is why they are unwilling to give up these conveniences of life. In the past, only few people smoked and most people did not smoke, so we are able to distinguish that smokers have a higher than average incidence rate of lung and bladder cancers. But as electromagnetic radio waves are found throughout the world, a control group cannot be found. Even for those who do not use mobile phones and wireless internet access, they cannot escape the signal of their neighbours, in the streets and even in the car. It is impossible to escape the surrounding cell phone signals, let alone the signals from a cell-phone tower.

Albert Einstein once said:
“If the bee disappears from the surface of the earth, man would have not more than four years to live.”

The bees used their lives to tell us that if we do not reverse, we will be like them, disappearing suddenly. This is a matter of life and death and it is our choice.
http://www.benefits-of-honey.com/albert-einstein.html

Reference Documentary:
Resonance-Beings of Frequency, http://hbelc.org/about/objectives.html

The original Chinese article is published in the May 2013 issue of Lapis magazine and is accessible online at:
http://www.lapislazuli.org/TradCh/magazine/201305/20130505.html

Chiu-Nan Lai, Ph.D.

A newborn baby’s body is totally soft, almost like flowing water. The baby naturally cries and laughs without repression. A frightened baby naturally shivers to get rid of the physiological toxins caused by fear. As a child grows up, his natural tendencies are blocked by adults who are more rigid in body and mind. The growing child encounters the adult’s scolding, threats, angry looks, and various admonitions to not cry, not laugh, or not talk loudly. As a result, the child’s body begins to harden, his breath stifles, and his liveliness and joy are replaced by anxiety, nervousness, anger or numbness. If, in addition, the child undergoes surgery, meets with an accident, loses close family members, or encounters a fearful experience beyond what he can bear, this energy becomes trapped in his brain stem. This will interfere with his autonomic nervous system, and adversely affect his breathing, heartbeat, blood pressure, and digestive juice secretion. This interference with many of the bodily functions can lead to future ailments.

Our bodies store memories of all our physical and mental experiences, including traumas and emotional wounds that we have completely forgotten. Vipassana or insight meditation helps clear up stuck energy within the body through feeling the body’s sensations. In insight meditation, our bodily sensations are experienced “now” and “at this moment”, whether they relate to pain, cold, heat, or comfort. As long as we objectively experience and observe these sensations, we achieve release of these energies. Deeply buried stress energies take longer states of a quiet mind to be released. Hence, insight meditation retreats generally take at least ten days to achieve any noticeable effect.

In the west, Austrian psychiatrist Wilhelm Reich has performed in-depth research into physical and mental energies of humans. He linked a person’s character with the armouring (or level of rigidity) that he/she dons on as a self-defense reaction. This “character armour” leads to unique physical and mental qualities in a person. One of his students, Dr. Alexander Lowen, studied with him from 1940 to 1952. Inspired by Reich’s teachings, he later developed the field called bioenergetics. He shared how one of his counseling experiences led him to firmly believe that the body contains all memories of the past. He was lying in bed with his feet flat on the bed, and knees bent. Then Dr. Reich asked him to use his mouth to breathe and to relax his jaw. After a while, Dr. Reich told him that he was not breathing as his chest was not moving. Dr. Lowen then tried to breathe more deeply. After a while, he turned his head backwards, opened his eyes wide, and unexpectedly let out a scream, even though he did not feel any special emotional reaction. Dr. Lowen continued to receive his therapy sessions, during which he always screamed. It was nine months later that he recalled the reason for his frightened screams. He saw his mother’s angry look when he was nine months old. He was lying in a baby stroller outside the house while his mother was busy inside. He cried for his mother, who came out looking angry. Little did he expect this angry look would leave this traumatic imprint. In subsequent therapy sessions, Dr. Lowen no longer screamed. He was fortunate that while he was growing up, that was the only time his mother looked at him angrily as she normally looked at him with love. Imagine how much negative imprint a child would accumulate if he had been constantly scolded or had parents look at him with disgust. Dr. Lowen mentioned that our eyes easily store stress and fear. He believed that myopia occurs when our fear energy freezes. This is because during fearful moments, our eyeballs protrude out and our eyes are wide open. In fact, one of the methods used by Dr. Bates in his vision improvement programme is to release the pressure in our eyes. Meir Schneider is a formerly blind person who recovered his eyesight using the Bates method. Every day, he would cover his eyes with both his palms and let them relax for a few hours. The muscles surrounding his eyes would tremble during this process. Two months later, his eyes completely relaxed and his vision started coming back. Breathing deeply normally and relaxing the neck and shoulders can also improve our eyesight. When we read or use the computer, it is best to close and rest our eyes for a minute every half an hour. At the same time, breathe in deeply and then look upwards. Sometimes, our neck will shake to release the pressure when we look upwards.

I have personal experience in releasing repressed emotional energy through the body. Six years ago, a few months after my father passed away, I went for an aryurvedic oil massage. When the masseur touched my legs, my tears could not stop flowing. During the massage and throughout the steam bath at the end of the treatment, I did not stop crying. The sadness was released through the body. Hence, I generally recommend massage for people who lost loved ones.

Yoga, taichi, and qigong can also release stored energy. However, deeper layers of fear can be more effectively released by shaking the body. Animals tremble as a common response to fear. Humans are no different, only that our brains can suppress this natural reaction. In recent years, there have been an increasing number of victims of natural disasters and warfare. Tens of thousands of people, including soldiers returning from battlefields, or refugees who escaped from death, have post traumatic stress disorders. Whether the cause of the trauma originates from bomb explosions, earthquakes or tsunami, these people have difficulty living normal lives. They are stuck in their traumatic responses, whether in the form of numbness, resistance, or dissociation. They generally suffer from some of the following symptoms: sleep disorders, nightmares, quick to anger, inability to concentrate, depression, being easily frightened, coldness and difficulty to get along with others, loneliness, suspicious of others, and so on. These symptoms also appear among employees of companies that go through tumultuous times. Currently, Dr. David Berceli (PhD) has the most experience in treating post traumatic stress disorders. Dr. Berceli spent many years doing charity work in war-torn places such Africa and the Middle East. He saw many people who need to clear their traumas but they could not receive individual counseling. Hence, based on bioenergetics and his personal experience, he devised a simple set of actions that can trigger shaking and eliminate this trauma energy. He has taught this method (see note) to over 1.5 million people. Last year alone, he visited 23 countries. The body’s natural response to heal itself occurs regardless of nationality, race, or age, or whether one is a refugee or soldier. After shaking from performing these exercises, those who suffer from insomnia can sleep. The shaking directly accesses the brain stem where the trauma energy is stored. Thus, as long as shaking occurs, the energy can be released.

Dr. Berceli realized this point through his observations in the disaster areas. Once, he was in a bomb shelter in Africa where every adult was holding a child on the lap. Every time a bomb exploded nearby, the children would tremble but not the adults. Later, Dr. Berceli asked the adults why they had no reaction, and they replied that they had to suppress their trembling so that the children would not become more frightened.

Dr. Berceli observed that a self-defense reaction is to revert to the fetus posture, with the body leaning forward. The muscles in the front body are linked to the sympathetic nervous system, while those at the back are controlled by the parasympathetic control nervous system. When we lean forward towards the computer screen or to read a book, it is best to shake the body a bit to stimulate the parasympathetic or relaxation response.

Shaking the body is common among many cultures, including China. Waidangong has a history of 2000 years, and is based on extending the fingers to stimulate the movements. Only 2 out of the 12 steps do not involve shaking movement. This qigong exercise can heal those who have illnesses, as well as rejuvenate and raise the energy levels of those who don’t. The preparatory step lays the foundation for shaking. Stand straight with two feet parallel to each other, at a distance equal to one’s shoulder width. Look straight ahead into the distance. Keep both arms straight with the index finger raised backwards towards the arm. Breathe naturally. At the beginning, there may only be some tingling or heat sensation. It is fine to intentionally induce the upward and downward movement of the arms. Later on, once the qi is flowing smoothly, the body will move spontaneously. It is just as effective to induce movement ourselves and let the arms stimulate movement in the rest of the body. Once there is an initial movement, let the entire body react naturally. The shaking will be greater when a large blockage is being cleared. After that, the shaking will be more gentle. Each session can last 15 to 30 minutes. When we start practicing, the initial sessions need only last between 5 to 10 minutes. The positive effects will be more obvious if we can continuously persist in this practice for three months. Dr. Berceli also recommends doing this exercise three times a week, each session lasting 20 minutes. The stress stored deep inside can be released only after about three months.

1. In addition, the following release methods can be applied (based on my own experience):1. Our breath is linked directly to our brain stems. Deep breathing can release accumulated energy arising from trauma. It is possible to start by lying down, with feet flat and knees bent. Breathe into the abdomen until the entire front and back of the chest is sufficiently filled. After that, breathe out. Breathe into the hardened parts of the body. It is fine to breathe out through the mouth. Every in and out breath should be natural and relaxed. If you feel a need to emit a sound, do so. You can also breathe in and out through the mouth. Relax the jaw. At the beginning, do the exercise for 5 to 6 minutes. If the body is fully relaxed, deep breathing can also stimulate body shaking.

2.Stand straight with two feet parallel to each other, at a distance equal to two footsteps. Allow both arms to hang naturally along the side. Do a half squat. The extent of the squat depends on whether the muscles are relaxed. Let the tailbone stretch backwards. Stretch and relax 9 times in total. At this time, the legs may start to shake. If there is no movement, repeat this stretching and relaxing of the tailbone another 9 times. The tailbone is a switch that controls the energy in the body. This energy is stimulated through stretching and relaxing the tailbone. Let the shaking occur from the lower body to the back, neck, and head. Do so for a few minutes or longer.

3.When standing or sitting down, stretch all 10 fingers towards the back of the hand, and then relax. Do this for 9 times. The arms may begin to vibrate, extending to the body.

4.When standing or sitting, stretch the toes and back of the feet forward, then relax. Do this for 9 times. The entire leg may shake. Do this exercise one leg at a time. Different postures can release different blockages. Opening or closing our eyes can stimulate different energies. During this shaking process, maintain awareness of ourselves. Relax and do not do so too deliberately or forcefully. When we feel a surge of emotion and want to laugh or cry, let that happen. If you feel like making a sound, do so. Stronger traumas may need multiple sessions to clear. Stop the session when you feel that this is too much to bear. Our body remembers this during the next shaking session.

5.When our blocked energies are released, we will feel physical and mental ease and joy. Our love will also grow. This is a natural phenomenon. Dr. Berceli observed that trauma and emotional wounds can induce aggressive behavior in people, leading to a vicious cycle. Only by clearing this trauma will there be peace and harmony in the family, society, and nation. The founder of Waidangong, Mr. Zhang Zhitong, taught this exercise with the aspiration that it will bring peace to the world. It is only through shaking off the body’s trauma and stiffness that people will have harmonious and friendly co-existence. This may be the medicine that our generation urgently needs.

• Note: The instructional booklet on ‘how to release stress and trauma’ will be published by Lapis Lazuli Light. Please contact us for more information.

The original Chinese article is published in the May 2012 issue of Lapis magazine and is accessible online at:
http://www.lapislazuli.org/TradCh/magazine/201205/20120501.html

 

Chiu-Nan Lai, Ph.D.

Once a simple conversational starter, “cooking oil” has become a complex topic in modern times. There is too much information, too many choices and new research findings that conflict with old findings. What cooking oil should we take to be healthy? Many people are confused and in the last decade, the response has been “it doesn’t matter” – eat what we like. The consequence is that obesity, diabetes, heart disease and cancer have been on the rise in America. In particular, obesity has become very common.

Researchers are like the proverbial “blind men touching the elephant”. This year, they touch the elephant’s ear and next year, they touch the tail. Hence, their understanding is always adjusting. However, many people have full confidence in the latest research findings. If they follow these findings, they sometimes seem like leaves being swept by the autumn wind—flowing here and there.

Take oil as an illustration. Early medical research findings found that consuming too much saturated fat mainly from beef, pork or chicken, etc. will increase the incidence of heart disease. Therefore, the American Heart Association began to encourage people to eat more vegetable oil since it is non-saturated. However, this led to other problems. What is sold in the market is largely Omega-6 oil from corn, soybean, grape seed, peanut, cottonseed, safflower, sunflower and so on. Omega-6 oil is relatively more stable than Omega-3 oil and new varieties of oil generally have lower Omega-3 content to preserve its shelf life. However, increased consumption of Omega-6 oil actually leads to an increased incidence of heart disease.

Besides Omega-6 and Omega-3, unsaturated oil also includes Omega-7 and Omega-9. It seems that odd-number Omega oil has a protective effect on the heart. The main source of Omega-7 is from Hawaiian nuts, while that for Omega-9 is the olive.

One reason why Omega-3 became well known is that some Danish researchers went to Greenland (part of Denmark) to investigate the fatty acids in the blood of the Eskimos. These Eskimos consume lots of fat, but experience almost no heart diseases. Their sources of fat come from the meat of whales, halibut and seals. This source of fat is different from that derived from fish, pigs or cattle bred in captivity. Because of this research finding relating to the Eskimos, the consumption of fish and fish oil became popular. This is like touching the ear of the elephant. This early research was conducted in the 1970s. When the Eskimos adopted a western diet and started taking vegetable oil, their incidence of heart disease began to rise. By 1988, this heart disease proportion was close to that of the mainland Danes and by 2003, it was identical. The incidence of modern diseases also increased among the Eskimos, even though they continued to eat their seals and fish, etc. This health trend of Eskimos is similar to people of Okinawa in Japan. For the past 50 years, their incidence of chronic diseases has been rising, even though they also eat fish. The reason is that their consumption of vegetable oil had a threefold increase compared to the past.

An unbalanced diet is the source of diseases. Food that is processed will be easily oxidized with the balance of its nutrients destroyed. When we eat processed oil, we can easily lose the balance between Omega-6 and Omega-3. Currently, Americans’ consumption of Omega-6 is 25 times that of Omega-3. The healthy ratio is under 4.

For example, consuming a tablespoon of safflower oil will exceed more than 50% of the daily appropriate intake. Furthermore, safflower oil does not contain Omega-3. Similarly, a tablespoon of grape seed oil also exceeds appropriate daily intake. Processed unsaturated oil is easily oxidized. This is the second reason why we should not consume processed oil. Omega-3 is particularly unstable, thus the food industry does not use Omega-3 oil.

On this earth, the greatest supply of oil is that of Omega-3 and Alpha Linolenic Acid (ALA) is an essential Omega-3 fatty acid. All green leaves and green algae are rich in Omega-3 as long as not too much Omega-6 is present.

Within an animal’s body, a part of ALA is converted to the Omega-3 docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), which is present at the highest levels in the brain and eyes. A mother’s breast milk also has high DHA content and it contains the nutrients for the infant to most rapidly grow. In the absence of breast milk, DHA can be supplemented by using DHA extracted from green algae. Some infant products in the market contain DHA supplements.

Green leaves are sources of ALA (Omega-3), while seeds are the sources of linoleic acid or Omega-6. We need both types of oil, but this has to be balanced. The problem lies in excessive Omega-6, which can inhibit the conversion of ALA into DHA and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). EPA has anti-inflammatory functions. In recent years, the view is that inflammation is the source of all diseases, including heart diseases.

Over a hundred years ago, Dr. Rudolf Steiner emphasized that green leaves provide the best source of fatty acids. Twenty years ago, there was no research to support this view, but it has now been found that green leaves contain higher than expected higher fatty acids, all of which contain Omega-3. For instance, the purslane contains four times Omega-3 fatty acids than farm-grown spinach. Wild vegetables contain more Omega-3 than those grown in farms.

Plants store their fatty acids in their seeds. In general, when the seed germinates, Omega-6 is converted to Omega-3. There are some exceptions where Omega-3 is relatively high in the seeds. For instance, 50% of the fatty acid in the flaxseed is Omega-3. Other good sources of Omega-3 are hemp seeds, walnut and many legumes such as green peas and large red beans.

Why has the consumption of Omega-6 increased significantly? The average American’s body contains several pounds of Omega-6 oil. It takes about 3 years to balance the amount of Omega-6 and Omega-3 in the body. In the 1970s, the government actively subsidized industrial-style farming, along with the mass production of soybeans and corn. This cheap supply of cereals and oil significantly changed the source of food.

Livestock farms use corn and soybean as animal feed, and the animals that are reared this way do not contain much Omega-3. Similarly, fish fed with corn do not contain much Omega-3. Soybean and corn are commonly used as ingredients in processed food. Corn chip is a common fried snack and corn syrup is commonly used in snacks. This cheap source of oil is sold all over the world, vastly changing the eating habits of people.

Even people living in places that traditionally eat coconut milk have also converted to taking corn oil that is high in Omega-6. This cheap vegetable oil has affected the people’s health in many countries. Earlier, it was mentioned that the deterioration of the Okinawa peoples’ health is associated with the consumption of vegetable oil. Another previously inexplicable puzzle relates to the deterioration of the health of Israelis, and this is associated with their consumption of linoleic acid (Omega-6) oil. Their incidence of heart diseases and mortality has been rising. Their consumption of vegetable oil is highest in the world (30 grams or more per day). They have lower animal fat, cholesterol and calories than Americans but their incidence of heart disease, diabetes, obesity and many types of cancers is similar to that of Americans. This was previously a puzzle because there was no distinction between the types of unsaturated oil people consumed. The Israelis are the best examples of how eating Omega-6 fatty acids do not prevent but instead cause many chronic diseases.

Author Susan Allport used herself as a guinea pig in an experiment. For 30 days, she increased her intake of Omega-6 but did not change her other diet. She replaced salad dressing oil with that made using corn oil. She also replaced olive oil that she had used as salad oil with a mix of soybean oil, safflower oil, and sunflower oil. She continued to eat fish twice a week, but changed her dairy intake from that derived from cows fed with grass to those fed with general animal feed. During this time, her blood’s fatty acid content had a significant change: the Omega-6 content increased while the Omega-3 content reduced, such that the ratio rose from 2.9 to 6.1.

With this decrease in Omega-3 levels, her weight did not change but her abdominal fat increased by half a pound. Her metabolic rate also slowed down from 1367 calories to 1291 calories. What was most surprising to experts was that her arm vasoconstriction reduced by 22%, and the elasticity of her blood vessels also fell. She was very brave because she was fully aware of the effects of Omega-6 on her body. In Allport’s book titled “The Queen of Fats”, she talked about how Omega-3 has disappeared from the American diet.

Many people are affected by one-sided reporting of research results and believe that eating fish is the best source of DHA and EPA. In fact, if they do not take Omega-6 and the ratio of Omega-6 to Omega-3 is not more than 2.3, the body will effectively convert ALA into DHA and EPA.

Several studies have proven this. The first study involves 14,422 participants. The results showed that there was no significant difference in the DHA and ALA in the blood among those who ate fish, those who did not eat fish but ate other animal products and vegans. Although there was a big difference in the absorption of Omega-3, the DHA of the vegans was higher than that of the fish-eaters.

Ralph Holman has conducted research on fatty acids for many years. He collected blood of people around the world to analyze their fatty acid content. His American control group consists of 100 healthy people from Minnesota. He was surprised to find that the Omega-3 within the blood of his American sample was lowest, below that from India, Sweden, Australia, Africa and Nigeria. The Omega-3 in the blood of infants from the United States was less than 4%, and that of infants from Nigeria was higher than 13%.

One of Holman’s post- doctoral students was a Nigerian. He sent Holman the blood sample of 38 of his fellow Nigerians living in a small town called Enugu in inner Nigeria. They did not have much fish to take. Surprisingly, Holman found that the Omega-3 in their blood was higher than any other test sample, and double that of the Minnesota group. These Nigerians took a lot of green vegetables, did not take Omega-6 oil, and ate a little palm oil. In this case, the saturated fatty acids did not counteract the Omega-3 fatty acids.

Holman discovered thirty years ago that to derive benefits from Omega-3, the intake of Omega 6 must be reduced. In 1985, he started using Omega-3 to treat people with depression, attention-deficit and post-natal depression. It was also from this time onwards that there was a growing divide in opinion on the effects of fatty acid among researchers, government agencies and medical associations.

In the New York Times Number 1 bestseller book titled “Fork Over Knives”, it was emphasized in the recipes section that if we eat whole plant foods, there is no need to be concerned about supplementing our Omega-3 intake. We just need to be careful not to use oil that has high Omega-6 content or use any processed oil in our food while taking a small amount of seeds, coconut, avocado and olives.

Many years ago, I encouraged the use of water to cook vegetables. After 30 to 40 years, there is more research to support this view. Use water to cook vegetables and eat an appropriate amount of flaxseed, hemp seeds, walnuts, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, coconut and other nuts.

The proportion of Omega-3 and Omega-6 in flaxseed is 3.9. Thus, it is easy to achieve a balance in the Omega-3 to Omega-6 ratio by adding a small amount of flaxseed. Most people can take 2-4 tablespoons a day of flaxseed. Freshly grounded flaxseed powder can be added to porridge, energy soup, or other dishes (e.g., grain-based dishes). Adding a big bunch of greens to energy soup is a good way to supplement Omega-3. If it is available, it is best to add purslane. It is good to chew slowly because Omega-3 fats are very susceptible to oxidation. Hence, it is best to purchase whole flaxseed and grind it only when you are about to consume it. Any excess can be kept in a fridge, to be consumed within seven days. Whole flaxseed can be kept for a year.

The following is one way to supplement our Omega-3 intake:

Sunflower seeds flaxseed sauce

1. Soak 1 cup sunflower seeds in water for 6 to 8 hours. Drain the water and allow the seeds to germinate.
2. Grind 3 tablespoons of flaxseed to powder form. Add 6 tablespoons of water and a few drops of saturated brine.
3. Use a food blender to grind the above and add some spices such as coriander, basil or curry powder. This mix can be eaten as a jam for biscuits or taken with salad. Alternatively, it can be compressed (to ¼ inch thick) and baked as cookies under low heat. The ratio of Omega-6 to Omega-3 is 1.6. With the use of sunflower seeds, the ratio is 3:2.

When making any pastry or grain-based product, you can add 1 to 2 tablespoons of flaxseed powder to 2 cups of grains. You can also add flaxseed powder when cooking porridge.

We will soon publish a recipe book titled “Grandma’s Kitchen—Lapis Lazuli Light Recipe Book II” that contains many ways of eating fermented grains that can complement the use of flaxseed.

References:

• • www.forksoverknives.com
  • www.Omega-6-news.org
  • Allport, Susan, The Queen of Fats, Why Omega-3s were removed from the Western Diet

 

The original Chinese article is published in the Nov 2013 issue of Lapis Lazuli Light magazine and is accessible online at: http://www.lapislazuli.org/tw/index.php?p=20131101.html