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~ Ideas & Relevant News about Peace and Sacred Aspects of Life ~

Acupuncture, Chinese Herbal Medicine & Oriental Medical Arts
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'Late Summer'

Known as the season of EARTH, a time of abundance & nurturing all that is alive. Balanced Earth energy provides a solid foundation upon which further endeavors can be based. ~~ At transitional times of season, it is optimal to receive acupuncture & dietary/herbal counseling as an adaptive measure; Allowing our QI the subtle guidance needed to adapt & redirect for the coming change of season.

  The Age of Anxiety ~ 'Racing and hunting craze the mind-No strife, then no blame.' -I Ching

Worry & anxiety are examples of excessive thinking, which greatly injure the harmony of the spleen-which houses the intellect, in TCM terms. Over thinking secondarily disrupts the spleen's nutrient absorbing, blood generating functions. Worry accelerates aging because it weakens the blood that carries nutrients required for cellular regeneration.  Individually formulated Chinese herb preparations, acupuncture, diet & breath are so vital to harmonious internal flow of QI & blood and an equanimous mind.

  The Frequency of Acupuncture Treatments Matters

 For the regulatory and recuperative effects of acupuncture treatments to be considered, a person should be receiving treatment at least weekly -- if not more often. It is not impossible for a single treatment every so often to trigger a complete healing, however, it is unusual.

Treatments, when frequently administered, can ease a person toward balance whereby they simply keep moving that way.

yin & yang, QI & thought

Consider that when you are happy your vibration is magnetically super-charged and you are at a pinnacle of well-being. Positive thoughts have a flow and a frequency that ripple and align with your deeper biorhythms. QI, what oriental medicine determines vibration that has the momentum to promote healing, is responsive to energetic rhythm. One thought, even a very simple thought, or mindless chatter draws conclusions in our energetic patterning. Like energy becoming matter according to physics, thought taking form is an aspect of yin becoming yang, a cycle that is  continuously occuring with the energy present in the universe. What you conduct via your flow of energy is up to you. Who is more in charge of  the thoughts you think and the feelings you have than you?

What we think we are, we become, and we share with everyone.

Beyond personal thought form, internal rhythms have deeper originatation. Oriental theory, as within many other native traditions, long have recognized that our mother, earth, carries her children wrapped in the precious woven tapestry of life. Life is sacred and every living thing is cared for by the same tides, the same moon, sun, seasons and all weakened by the same drought, blight and factors of decay. We embody nuances of nature, our beings themselves composites of the elements around us. We long for earthly nourishment and for home(yin), and for connection with spiritual nourishment(yang). We are inseparable from mother nature's pervasive beckoning. By our thoughts alone are we isolated from life's harmonious resonance and gifts. Still the mind, speak sweetly to the mind, make peace with others by focusing kindly on thought.

Creating flow in life with positive perspective on truth of matters contours life purposefully and powerfully.

    MAGIC OF MISO
 
I once had a babysitter come into my home who, of course, saw what I stored in my cabinets and kept in my refrigerator. She eventually told me that she had never seen half of the foods and condiments that my family uses. Clearly, Asian cuisine is comprised of some unusual ingredients compared to ones known by the American pallet. However, since the advent of sushi bars that serve miso soup with a meal, we are now widely familiar with one very powerful Asian staple food — Miso.
 

WHAT IT IS 

 Miso originated in Japan. With relatively little grazing land for farming animals, Japanese people were originally compelled to develop a protein source that could be produced utilizing very little open space. A good quality miso is composed of cooked grain cultured with a spore, usually Koji, and then blended with soybeans and sometimes sea salt. Using regionally specialized ingredients and unhurried aging techniques, as in wine making, it is then stored in cedar kegs for an average of 18 months. Shoyu, tamari, natto and amazake were later developed using these same fermenting methods. Without fermentation soybeans contain indigestible protein. Fermentation creates amino acids that are easy to assimilate; thus producing a protein-rich, super food.

MISO VARIETIES & THEIR USES
Miso is a product that is created in delicious varieties with subtle variations, each having a unique effect on health. The darker, longer aged varieties provide warmth and nutrition and are particularly good during winter months. Lighter miso is more salty in taste and since they are lighter they are more enjoyable in warmer weather. Lighter varieties are aged just several months on average and so lack stronger medicinal aspects.

Pearl Barley Miso – effectively dissolves fluid excess and mucous in the body, treating cysts and tumors, and any lower abdominal disorders due to excessive heat in the body.

Red Miso - my overall favorite, is light but flavorful and slightly sweet.

Barley “Mu Gi” Miso - a salty, deep, richly flavored miso, versatile in stews and sauces.

Hatcho “Emperor’s” Miso – aged an average of 3 years, this non-grain, soybean miso takes longer to ferment due to its absence of grain matter. Hardy, deep, robust and less salty due to its pressing process that squeezes out salt content. Hatcho is an excellent medicinal miso due to its high concentration of isoflavones. Prized in Japan.

Brown Rice “Gen Mai” Miso - a balanced, light flavor excellent simmered in bean and vegetable dishes and equally in soups and sauces. A nice miso for those who are just acquiring a taste for miso.

Sweet White Miso - a light, delicate and smooth textured miso that is often used to create dips and sauces. White miso is mild, suitable for lighter soups in warmer weather.

Tekka Miso – cooked in a cast iron pot for 16 hours gives this miso a high content of iron and minerals. It can be used as a condiment for rice or by dissolving it in hot water to make soup. Tekka is traditionally made with sesame oil, burdock root, lotus root, carrots, ginger and barley miso. It is considered highly alkalizing and excellent in the rectification of anemic conditions with weakness and fatigue. Tekka is also food to treat blood sugar imbalances and diabetes.

Nato Miso Chutney – a miso condiment for rice that strengthens digestion. It is comprised of barley miso, kombu seaweed, ginger and barley malt.
 

One to two cups of miso soup per day can promote the following benefits

NEUTRALIZING ACIDIC BLOOD PH
Miso is a light, great tasting alkalizing food that neutralizes acidic blood ph. Among other challenges, acidic ph leads to greater inflammatory reactions from environmental catalysts like spider bites and poison ivy, and internally related disorders like inflammatory arthritis, multiple sclerosis and many ARC disorders. Overall, miso is rich in minerals and calcium and therefore promotes bone strength and tissue regeneration. Miso can enrich hair and skin vitality.

DIGESTIVE FLORA
Miso is better than yogurt to restore healthy intestinal flora while engendering none of the digestive dampness that yogurt is prone to. Miso offers large amounts of digestible, slowly absorbed glucose making it an excellent source of protein and energy, suitable for everyone. Like all fermented products miso contains live enzymes that benefit digestion and the assimilation of all nutrients. Stomach weakness including mal-absorption, bloating and poor intestinal functioning may be corrected by ingesting miso on a daily basis. Cultivating a clear digestive system with alkaline ph food sources can reduce and eliminate Candida and various fungal disorders.

CHOLESTEROL
Similar to the renowned benefits of drinking green tea, eating miso regularly is proven to dissolve accumulated fat in the bloodstream as well as reduce LDL (bad) cholesterol levels. The alkalinity of all high quality miso products counteracts acidic ph from consumption of sugar, alcohol and smoking. It is recommended for hardened arteries and high blood pressure.

COMBINATIONS
There are numerous ingredients that can be combined to complement and accent miso’s health promoting effects.
The following combination is useful in the treatment of the common cold: Add wakame or various other seaweeds, daikon radish shavings and scallion to miso. This combination is beneficial to build the body’s Wei QI, or its immunological barrier to external pathogenic factors.

QUALITY CONTROL
One simply can not expect the same health benefits and taste from miso that has been incubated at high temperatures in plastic, fiberglass or stainless steel tanks to that of hand-crafted food created by makers with great skill and intuition - Quality matters.  

CHINESE HERBS AND HORMONES

     WU WEI = ACTION THROUGH INACTION 

An understanding of Taoist (or Daoist) principles is benefiting to us as modern beings whose ‘causality’ approach to life (A+B=C) is very often an anathema to the timeless TAO (or way) of the universe. How many countless scenarios play out before us that we feel compelled to change? Do we engage in interactions through which we intend to prevent, prepare or secure an outcome? Whether we are at the seat of the momentum or a participant on a macro-cosmic level, force-of-will moves to create specified responses to our desires. Whatever must be asserted & managed is necessarily skewed to a particular perspective and liable to subsequent folly. Taoism values balance, receptivity & emptiness. Many problems arise from too much re-acting, striving & controlling.

‘TAO is eternally inactive, and yet it leaves nothing undone.’ A Taoist’s pivot is active in cultivating a sense of awareness of the ways of the universe and one's part herein. Cultivating a state of being that flows & responds with minimal action for our efforts reflects WU WEI. This is not an expression of laziness or a lack of interest, but rather effortless efficiency. Guided by elemental rhythms of the natural world as well as supernatural and alchemical influence, a classical Taoist finds an earthly pivot in WU WEI. Letting all things play out, not engaged by will and ego, but keenly observant of an authentic progression of every moment is WU WEI. We are neither caring nor uncaring and yet WU WEI does not imply overlooking those who are afflicted. WU WEI may be considered an experience of one's life path that is clear of wrote emotional reactions favoring a pivot where one acts rather than reacts and one allows rather than resists changes.

Action by non-ACTION thereby allows an evolution to take place instead of revolution and conditions that might further extremes.   The Taoist path of WU WEI is neither difficult, nor easy. By observing and simply 'being' we come to sense the natural & the super natural and align with the way (or TAO). Mirroring the universe we become whole. Our experiences & interests in the outside world become synergistic and complete. “Cherish the people and order the kingdom, and you can do without meddlesome action." "If kings & nobles could but hold fast to this principle, all things would work.”   

Principles & philosophy are most valuable when they are absorbed slowly & applied loosely to everyday life.

“THE TAO THAT CAN BE NAMED IS NOT THE ETERNAL TAO”

 The Shadow of Doubt:                                                                                                                                                                                                            Concepts that have given acupuncture its consistency and meaningful core are being obscured in pursuit of modern explanations for the effectiveness of TCM. Abandoning timeless truth in an endeavor to westernize Chinese medicine both limits our sensitivities, as well as the parameters of knowing. The, 'If we can not measure, we can not know' mentality threatens this artful, ancient medicine, potentially rendering it extinct.