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Tips For Better Meditation

Dada Vedaprajinananda

Meditation students often come to me and ask what they can do to improve their meditation. Success in meditation is not the result of any one single factor but depends on sustained and systematic effort over a period of time. However, there are a few tips for meditation, that will help you to improve your performance, regardless of the meditation method that you follow.

1. Prepare your body for meditation

Your physical condition has a tremendous influence on your mind. This is true for your day to day activity, but even more so when it comes to meditation. You can prepare your body for meditation by eating the right food, and by coming to meditation with an empty stomach. Eating the right food, means food which strengthens the body but doesn’t have any adverse affect on the mind. If you consume products that make the mind dull or over-stimulated then it will be much harder to meditate. And whatever your diet is, when you sit down to meditate, it should be on an empty stomach. That is why one of the best times to meditate is in the morning, before you have had your breakfast. Another good time is in the evening, before the evening meal.

2. Prepare Your Mind for Meditation

Just as your body must be prepared, so must your mind. Before you start meditation you must convince yourself, that this period of meditation is your time for personal growth, and that it is important, as important as anything else in your life. When you close your eyes to meditate, you should not jump up to answer the phone, or get ready to leave your meditation due to some slight disturbance. If you convince yourself of the importance of meditation, then your example will also convince others around you and they won’t disturb you during meditation. So, remember your periods of meditation are one of the most important parts of your daily routine, and treat them as such.

3. Sing Before Meditation

The Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore once said, “God respects me when I work, but He loves me when I sing.” That explains the place of song and music in all the great spiritual traditions. Before you begin meditation you can sing spiritual songs, whose meaning elevates your mind. It doesn’t matter if you have “good” voice or a “bad” voice, sing from the heart, and your mind will go to a point that will be the ideal starting point for your meditation.

4. Sit in a Proper Position

Remember when you were in school and the teacher looked around and saw someone slumping in his or her seat, and she said “sit up straight!” She had a good point; when the back is straight the mind is alert. Sit in a position that will keep the back straight. Sit with cross legs in a simple position, or a half-lotus or a full lotus. In addition to making the mind more alert, these positions help you to rest the various motor organs, and provide a peaceful physical base for your meditation.

In the beginning these positions may seem difficult or uncomfortable, but if you can get used to them, they will help you to deepen your meditation.

5. Follow the Meditation Instructions Exactly

Remember carefully what your meditation instructor taught you and do your best to carry it out, exactly according to the instructions. Don’t experiment and make up your own method. The various systems of meditation are based on thousands of years of experience, so you don’t have to try to figure out what to do. Take advantage of the age-old knowledge of the past, and you will make rapid strides towards a bright future. If you have forgotten any part of your meditation method, go and see your instructor and get a review of your lesson.

6. Be Regular in Your Meditation Practice

This is one of the key factors to success. Meditation works, if you work. If you only do meditation once a month or on whim, when you feel like it, then it will be impossible to be successful and realize the benefits of meditation: mental clarity, inner peace, love for others and spiritual awareness. Make meditation a part of your daily routine. Just as surely as the sun comes up each day, do your meditation without fail. Fix a time for it in the morning and evening and do it on a regular basis If you get into the habit of doing your practice regularly, then you have taken one of the single most important steps towards success in meditation, and indeed, in your life.

7. Be Patient

“Rome wasn’t built in a day,” and similarly you cannot make miraculous changes in your personality or in your spiritual life in just one sitting of meditation. Don’t be discouraged if you feel that nothing is happening. Meditation is a subtle art, the changes come slowly but surely. Keep on practicing and your meditation is sure to deepen and you will indeed be successful.

Dada Vedaprajinananda has been practicing and teaching meditation for the past 33 years. He is a senior teacher with the Ananda Marga spiritual movement and also the webmaster of the Ananda Marga website (www.anandamarga.org). Dada is also a writer, singer and songwriter and his work can be found on his website, www.dadaveda.com. dada@dadaveda.com

MEDITATION  Techniques @ http://www.sedonameditation.com/meditation-techniques.html

RELAXATION  Techniques @ http://www.helpguide.org/mental/stress_relief_meditation_yoga_relaxation.htm

BREATHING Techniques @ http://healing.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi=1/XJ/Ya&zTi=1&sdn=healing&cdn=religion&tm=33&f=10&tt=14&bt=1&bts=1&zu=http%3A//abel.hive.no/oj/musikk/trompet/exercise/yoga.html

Vastu, Your Home and Happiness

Niranjan Babu , Boloji

Vastu, the ancient science of Indian architecture is very relevant to a home and its happiness. This great science relates to the Vedas, the wisdom books of India. Each sector of a quadrangle (Mandala) is identified with the primary elements of Nature. When these identifications are studied carefully, we can apply them to bring in happiness into the family. Disturbances in a family can broadly relate to peace of mind, behaviour, education, routine family conflicts/confrontations, health, profession and finances.

Peace of Mind

Dear parents, will you try to prevent or minimize the problems arising out of the infantile actions or inaction of other members of the family or would you first give yourselves enough strength to face the onslaught from family members ? ! I would prefer you get enough strength first and then think of trying to solve the problems of the family members. The right and legitimate Vastu place for you in the house is the South-west or if that is not available the South of the house. In this area, you need to spend at least eight hours a day.

In ancient times, our kings would sit on the throne that had a certain placement. When they sat there, the assembly, which consisted of ministers and people, would be able to discuss properly matters of importance and the kings were able to award fair judgements. We just need to adapt to this ancient practice in our day to day lives.

In the room selected for parents, the beds need to go the South-west corners of the room without touching either the Western wall or Southern wall. As I have pointed out earlier, you must sleep with your head to the South. South Polarity is induced in your feet as they are in constant touch with the earth. Consequently, North polarity is induced in the head. When the head is placed to the geographical or magnetic South, the blood circulation is stable and hence, will ensure you better health. As a result, it will help you to examine family issues justly. Once you are able to review matters appropriately, you will be able to take the right decisions.

This way, you will be able to understand the grievances of your family members and communication between you and your siblings are likely to improve. When it does, you have peace of mind !

Behaviour

Good behaviour of family members is one important aspect of family happiness. When each member of the family understands his/her responsibility towards the family, happiness stays intact, but when one rebels without worrying about one’s own responsibility, peace in the family begins to drift away. Such rebelling could be in the form of disturbing behaviour. It could be in the form of verbal aggression on other family members for no rhyme or reason, and can sometimes, be even in the form of physical violence.

If you have to choose the North-west and South-east rooms between your daughter and son, I prefer you give the North-west room to your daughter and the South-east room to your son.

Agneya (South-east) is ruled by Agni or fire which relates to assertiveness and aggressive attitude. Venus rules this sector astrologically and relates to contentment, wife (or husband) and fortune. Venus also is the Karaka for marriage. This sector, therefore, relates to peace of mind (or otherwise) of a couple and consequently, to family happiness. Timid children can make use of this room and hope to come out of their fear and get confident. People who are by nature aggressive (and warlike) can avoid a South-east room.

Vayuvya (North-west) is ruled by Vayu or air, which relates to movement or transit. Astrologically, this sector is ruled by the Moon and consequently, relates to the mind. The Moon also is the Karaka for mother. Taking this as the basis of our understanding, we can safely conclude this sector also relates to peace of mind of one’s mother and naturally, to peace of mind of the family. I would, therefore, say that this sector is not suitable to already disturbed minds. If we have to use the North-west rooms invariably, we need to strengthen the interiors so that the disturbance is minimized, if not removed. This sector may not be appropriate for youngsters in their formative years, especially boys. Newly wed couples can use this room.

Education

Education (or lack of it) is another important aspect if life which invariably adds (or lessens) to the happiness in a family. We see children doing extremely well and parents are delighted about it. We also see children not faring well inspite of their own hard study and the constant coaxing of the parents to study. How can we make them study better ?

Students who have difficulty in studies can study in South-east rooms sitting in the North-east corners of the rooms facing East.  Intelligent students can select a North-east room and study facing East sitting in the central East of the room.

Students are advised to sleep with their heads to the East. They can have their beds in the South-west corners of their rooms. Experiments in medical electricity have brought to light that if a current of electricity is passed from one part of the body to another, it subdues all inflammation in that part of the body where it enters. Now, in lying down with the head placed Eastward, the current of thermal electricity which is constantly passing over the surface of the earth from East to West, passes also through the body from the head to the feet and subdues inflammation. Therefore, there is a clear and healthy head, which, in turn, makes the student study and understand his lessons properly. It is precisely for this reason that sage Markandeya said that a man becomes learned by lying down with his head placed Eastward and is troubled with distressing thoughts by lying down with his head placed Westward.

Routine Conflicts

We also find that normal day to day conflicts among the family members also affect peace of mind of the parents and elders of the family. These disturbances can sometimes be traced to the South-west. Check if there is a water source (water sump or well) in the South-west of the house and if so, close it by filling it up with cement or earth. If you find that the South-west of the house is chopped off, this could also be the reason for the hostility among the family members leading to depression in the elders’ rational thinking.

Care should also be taken to see that no door is either on the South or West of the South-west of the building. A door on the South-west of a building (or room) is likely to create family disturbances.

Health

Health is another important aspect of family happiness. General health can be improved by sleeping with the head placed South. Disturbed minds can make use of central East rooms with their beds to the South-west corners of the room and not touching the walls. My remarks earlier on the importance of health can be studied with advantage in this context.

Profession

Contentment and happiness in your profession is another contributory factor to family happiness. Apart from looking into the placements of your room in your office and the arrangement of furniture in that room, it is necessary that you get used to facing East. The East sector ruled by the Sun is synonymous with health — physical and mental. You will be able to think properly and take fair decisions on anything related to your profession.

Finances

Financial stringency is another factor that contributes to family unhappiness. We find people complaining that the inflow of revenue does not match their hard and sincere effort. We can trace improper flow of money to several factors. The ancient works have invariably recommended a North of North-east water source. We find that temples, which are financially prosperous, have their Pushkarnis or water areas in the North of North-east. If you are planning to go for a well, underground water tank, a bore or even a swimming pool you can locate it in the North of North-east of your site.

It is also said that Lord Kubera rules the North. You can place your assets like jewellery, cash, bank cheque books, property papers and other important documents in a central North room of the house with the almirahs kept in the South-west corners of the room and opening towards the North. This way, the revenue of the family can stabilize.

Vastu Sastra is handed over to us to regulate our lives. These suggested Vastu recommendations can help to lessen problems faced in a family and improve things. We, of course, need to understand that we are always working within a framework set by our previous births. Within this, we can try to achieve the best that is due to us. Once we know that we are working within the limits set by the Creator, we will be able to reasonably achieve family happiness by making use of Vastu rules laid down by ancient masters of Sthapatya Veda. 

– Niranjan Babu Bangalore

Biology of Belief:The Missing Link Between Prarabdha and Free Will
http://www.indology.net/article68.html
Dr. Ramesam
 
ABSTRACT: Traditionally the Karmaphala (effect of actions) is classified as Sanchita (long-term storage), Prarabdha (current suffrage) and Agamika (future in-store). On one hand Bhagavad-Gita says that we are mere helpless puppets mounted on an ever-moving machine and our life is subject to an inevitable momentum. On the other hand our Upanishads and many other scriptures point to a way of escape (Nirvana) from the eternal churning Samsara. On one hand it is projected as if freewill has no basis and on the other, it is shown that relief from the worldly struggles are in our own hand. How does one reconcile this contradiction?
 
What is the missing link between the current suffrage (prarabdha) and free will?
 
Biology tells us that we are what our genes are. But current research on how environment can influence the gene expression has given rise to the new science of Epigenetics. Prenatal research findings demonstrate the influence the environment present in the mother’s womb has on the fetus and the way the child’s mental and physical healths get affected for life. The importance of caring, vibrant and stimulating environment in early childhood development has long been established.
 
The effect meditation and firm self-confidence have on our health to the extent of even affecting the genes is being documented through collaborative research by neuroscientists, psychiatrists and meditation practitioners.
 
Environmental factors including directed thinking appear to have an ability to modify the proteins that act as gates in activating or turning off the genes, thus controlling the gene expression.
 
It is established that thought is a form of energy. Directed thought and meditation are shown to have demonstrable influence in changing the neural circuits in the brain overriding genetic disposition.
 
Confident positive and intense thinking within a carefully orchestrated belief system (not blind dogma) appears to have the potential of bringing about a transformation in an individual superseding the genetic effects.
 
Genotype is perhaps comparable to Sanchita, and Phenotype to Prarabdha.
 
The Prarabdha is subject to constant modification depending on the environment. Individual’s thoughts, whether one is consciously aware or unaware, also effect the gene expression. By creating a facilitating and enabling environment (Satsangatya), it can be possible to alter the program in the genes to the extent that their self-perpetuating character is curbed. This can form the biological basis for ending samsara. One can have a healthy happy body and mental attitude and be not at the mercy of genetic dispensation.
 
1. INTRODUCTION:

Prof. John Smythies, Director of Neurochemistry and Alternative Medicine at The Center for Brain and Cognition, UCSD, commented that I seem to be sympathetic to his cousin’s (Dawkins, 1989) idea of a ‘selfish gene’ in my article “Religion Demystified.” According to Prof. Margulis (2002), the unit capable of replication is a cell. She wryly remarked about Dawkins that a gene does not have a ‘self’ to be selfish. A gene is only a record of information. Irrespective of whether the replicator is a gene or cell, my argument there was about the survival mechanisms a given “packet of information” evolves to perpetuate itself. Based on the concept of a Meme proposed by Dawkins in 1976, Blackmore (1999) elaborated on the tendency of even ideas and thoughts in perpetuating themselves. Buddhists call self-perpetuation through cycles of transmigration as samsara. Breaking this eternal chain is Nirvana. I hope, in this essay, to examine from current biological knowledgebase if it is possible to outwit the program of self-perpetuation indelibly written in the replicating units and be freed from samsara.

The first question that comes is whether we can act with our own volition to liberate ourselves from the cycle of birth and death? Several parts of Bhagavad-Gita answer in the negative. By the Maya of the Supreme, we revolve like puppets mounted on a machine (Sloka 61, Ch XVIII); we are only an apparent cause and whatever has to happen has already happened (Sloka 33, Ch XI); because of the reason that Prakriti produced everything, the world goes round and round (Sloka 9-10, Ch IX); Prakriti performs all actions and only an egoistic fool thinks that “I am the actor” (Sloka 27, Ch III). Thus our hands appear to be tied down for any willful action.

But Seers, sages and visioneers from ancient to modern times have stressed the significance our thinking and a strong belief in what we think have in molding our character. For example:
“Let one, therefore, keep the mind pure, for what a man thinks that he becomes: this is a mystery of Eternity.” – Ch: 6, Maitri Upanishad.

“If one thinks of oneself as free, one is free, and if one thinks of oneself as bound, one is bound. Here this saying ‘Thinking makes it so’ is true.” – Sloka 11, Chapter I, Ashtavakra Gita.
“The man who is attached to the Real becomes Real, through his one-pointed devotion. Just as the cockroach thinking intently on the Bhramara is transformed into a Bhramara.” –Sloka 358, Vivekachudamani.

“Really, it has been your thoughts that have made you feel alternately weak and strong. You have seen how your health has exactly followed your subconscious expectations. Thought is a force, even as electricity or gravitation. The human mind is a spark of the almighty consciousness of God. I could show you that whatever your powerful mind believes very intensely would instantly come to pass.” – Shri Lahari Mahasaya’s words as narrated by Shri Yukteswar, quoted in Yogananda (p: 118, 1946).

“There can be miracles, when you believe
Though hope is frail, it’s hard to kill
Who knows what miracles, you can achieve,
When you believe, somehow you will
You will when you believe.”
- Sung by Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey, lyrics by Stephen Schwartz (I)  in the Movie, “Prince of Egypt” , 1998.

If everything is pre-ordained and pre-programmed in genes or whatever, it will lead one to a fatalistic state of mind. On the other hand, if one could alter people through a purposeful control of environment, society could not have reached the diversity that it enjoys today.

Admittedly, both nature and nurture do play a role in making an individual what he/she is. Much has been written on this. Yet, there does seem to be something more.

2. EPIGENETICS:

Biology tells us that we are what our genes are. Our skin color, color of the eye and hair are decided based on the amount of protein melanin produced by the cells as per the genetic instructions. The stress we can take is dependent on the base levels of cortisol and our anger depends on the base levels of adrenalin that our cells are programmed for. The genes code all the 100,000 odd proteins that make up not only the structure of our body but also define the way our brain functions (hence our mental attitudes and personality). Everyday a gene is identified for a specific disease or character in our body.

But if genes predecide everything, there will be nothing like a personal responsibility for the actions of the individual. Any action done by him/her would not be at his/her volitional discretion but could be totally attributed to the genes within him/her. This approach will offset the basis of all our legal jurisprudence. Society would have to pay the price for the actions of criminals and bear silently the afflictions caused by genetic disorders.

Nathanielsz (2001) says, there is a “gene myopia in our society: a belief that it is the genes alone that determined our health and well-being throughout our life.” The coded genetic information accumulated through the millennia of years of evolution is undoubtedly stored in the DNA. What appears to be more significant is the mechanism of gene expression rather than the presence or absence of a specific gene. Whether a particular gene expresses itself or not or how a protein can form through multiple pathways of instructions of several genes is being now understood. The view that mutations and recombinations in DNA determine the phenotypic traits is getting modified with the emerging science of Epigenetics. Epigenetics is the study of heritable changes in gene function that occur without a change in the DNA sequence. It provides a handle to understand the mechanisms in phenotype transmission and development through gene activation and inactivation without necessarily changing the genes.

Studies of protein synthesis reveal that epigenetic “dials” can create 2000 or more variations of protein from the same gene blue print. Epigenetics is serendipetitiously throwing light on the rationale of the ancient teachings which say that consciously directed thinking can bring about a change in our personality.

3. ENVIRONMENT AFFECTS HERITABLE CHARACTERS:

If only genes determine the mental and physical condition of a person, one would expect identical twins to have exactly the same characteristics throughout their lives. But this is not so. Fraga et al (2005) examined the global and locus-specific differences in DNA of a large cohort of monozygotic twins (those sharing a common genotype). Though the twins were “epigenetically indistinguishable during the early years of life, older twins exhibited remarkable differences in genomic distribution affecting their gene-expression portrait.” The authors also established that “these epigenetic markers were more distinct in the twins who were older, had different lifestyles, and had spent less of their lives together, underlining the significant role of environmental factors in translating a common genotype into a different phenotype.”

Prenatal research shows that it is not merely the post-birth environment that influences an individual. The environment within the mother’s womb too has very significant effect on the health and personality of an individual.

After an elaborate study of the varying environment to which fetus are exposed, Nathanielsz (2001) even goes to the extent of saying that “there are no such people as identical twins,” – that is people identical in all respects because they share an identical genome. He boldly states, “Biomedical research over the past decades has conclusively determined that the physical, hormonal and even emotional interaction between a mother and the child in the womb has a concrete effect on that child’s physical and mental health for decades to come. This discovery is the single most important story to come from biomedical research since the determination of the structure of the gene.”

According to Nathanielsz, there are critical periods during prenatal development when the environment in the womb is more important than the genes on the health we enjoy throughout our life. “Chronic maternal stress during pregnancy – both emotional and physical – can interfere with how the fetus utilizes nutrients and can affect how well or poorly a child functions psychologically throughout life.

” The mother’s cortisol levels during pregnancy have a significant influence on the child’s personality. “Several groups of researchers in a variety of laboratories throughout the world have shown that a fetus’s exposure to excessively high stress hormones will permanently alter the activity of critical components of the stress machinery later in life.” Developing embryo and fetus can be very sensitive to the toxic effects of even small amounts of unwanted, disruptive chemicals, which may virtually be harmless for adults.

An example of the mindset that is generally prevalent is the misconception that the formation of fingerprints is completely under genetic control. Nathanielsz clarifies that, “The specific pattern of fingerprint ridges that form is determined in large part by the extent of swelling in the finger pads at the precise time when fingerprints are forming, around the 10th week of development. When the prenatal environment is challenging, the fetus makes priority of getting blood to the brain, which also happens to push more blood into the developing finger pads, causing them to swell. So when the fetus is short of oxygen for any prolonged period around the time the fingerprints are forming, and blood flow to the brain and head becomes a priority, there will be more whorls formed than flat arches.” He observes that the embryo is in constant communication with the mother and vice versa through hormones and thus the mental state of the mother influences the later life of the baby irrespective of the genes.

He writes, “although our genes are indeed fixed at the moment of conception, the more complex the trait involved, the more the environment in the womb affects what our bodies do with those genes. Information from the environment around the fetus, in other words, helps determine which genes are switched on, which are switched off, and when these alterations in gene activity occur.”

Nathanielsz makes the important comment that “by taking information from the womb and the world beyond and building that information into the expanding and developing circuitry of his brain and body, your baby is learning and developing.….What we know is that a highly stressful pregnancy will influence the environment in which the fetus develops, and will mold stress circuits in his brain and body. These altered stress circuits may program your child’s brain so that he is less able to keep a lid on roiling emotions and more likely to let anger and frustration boil over when difficulties arise.”

Alterations in endocrinal system, brain development etc are well documented through several studies for the adults who had undergone traumatic experiences during childhood. On the basis of extensive genetic research, psychiatrists at the Washington University have determined that four aspects of temperament are 50 –60 % heritable. These characteristics manifest themselves early in life and involve preoccupational biases in perceptual memory and habit formation. The other 40-50 % of personality is determined by character variables like self-directedness, cooperativeness and self-transcendence. These dimensions of character are shaped by family influences, and mature in adulthood, influencing personal and social effectiveness.

Nobel Laureate, Dr. Kandel says, “One of the most interesting findings was that genes are actually being turned on — they are not the invariant controllers of behavior, but, rather, they are being turned on and off by environmental stimuli, such as our interactions with other people.”

Gabbard (2000) surveyed the literature discussing the mutual influence of genes and environment from a psychiatric angle. He found that the brain responds to environmental influence through the alteration of gene expression. He holds, following Kandel, that learning process may produce alterations of gene expression. Preliminary evidence from other species (like crayfish, rhesus monkeys) indicates that even social cues available in the environment influences the way in which a specific neurotransmitter affects an organism. In crayfish, investigators identified a neuron whose response to the neurotransmitter serotonin differs dramatically depending on the animal’s social status! If the social status of the animal changes, the effect of serotonin also changes.

It is obvious from the above that our genetically inherited characters are influenced by the environmental conditions we are exposed to whether it is in our mother’s womb and later on in the world. Though the basic body structure, color of the skin etc are defined by the genes at the time of conception, what we are in our health and personality depend on the environment including our biosocial relationships in the world and how we perceive our own position relative to the world around.

4. OVERRIDING GENETIC PROGRAMMING:

Way back in 1988, the work of Dr. J. Cairns at Harvard revealed that organisms could change their genes to accommodate environmental alterations. However, much of the research effort for decades has gone towards genes as carriers of personality traits. Lipton, B.H., (2005) says, “chromosomes proteins are turning out to play as crucial a role in heredity as DNA.” In the chromosome, the DNA forms the core, and the proteins cover the DNA like a sleeve. The activity of the gene is “controlled” by the presence or absence of the ensleeving proteins, which are in turn controlled by environmental signals.

Based on his work on the cloned endothelial cells that line the blood vessels, Dr. Lipton says that cells monitor their world closely and change their behavior based on the information they pick up from the environment. For example, cells cultured in the lab would gravitate toward nutrients but would retreat from noxious agents. The cell wall acts like a brain for the cell. The fundamental structure of the cell membrane is that of a semi-permeable barrier. There are two classes of integral membrane proteins – receptors and effectors within the cell wall. Receptor proteins, which are functionally equivalent to our sensory receptors, recognize signals and elements within the cells’ environment. Cell receptors recognize both chemical (food, hormones, toxins) and physical (electromagnetic) signals. Effector proteins are responsible for the cells structural and behavioral characteristics.

This gives us a clue that careful control of the environment to which our body cells are exposed to, we may target a specific behavioral outcome: e.g. a pleasant incense smell may have a calming effect on the mind – like at the time of meditation. (In fact Newberg and others (2001) report that that certain odors can result in very specific emotional responses: lavender evokes feelings of relaxation and calm while acitic acid has been shown to trigger feelings of anger and disgust).

Meisler (2005) explains that turning on and off the genes is a major activity of all living cells. Francois Jacob and Jacque Monod found 50 years ago that sugars in the food supply turn on the genes required for their own digestion. In addition, when bacteria are transferred from a medium containing the sugar lactose to a medium without lactose, the bacteria turn off their lactose-metabolizing genes. Almost 10 percent of the genes in the human genome produce proteins that regulate the expression of other genes. One of the mechanisms of switching on a gene is through short chains of DNA sequences, known as enhancers, which recognize specific proteins and chemicals and get turned on in the presence of that molecule.

5. THOUGHT IS ENERGY:

Thought originates in the brain as a result of neuronal firing. The constant hum of neural firing generates a measurable electromagnetic field. Conscious processing in the brain generates a field of 35-40 Hz usually called gamma activity. The lower ranges are alpha, beta, theta and delta. Efforts are already on to harness the “thought energy” for mechanical purposes.

Experiments at Armstrong Laboratory’s Alternative Control Technology lab unleashed the energy of brain waves to command a flight simulator. Wheel chairs that can move and turn by simple thoughts of “Go right”, “Go left” are designed for handicapped persons. These examples clearly demonstrate that ‘thinking’ is a form of energy. Based on this Lipton (2005) answers the question: “How is it possible for the mind to override genetic programming?”

He says, “Thoughts, the mind’s energy, directly influence how the physical brain controls the body’s physiology. Thought “energy” can activate or inhibit the production of proteins that affect the cell’s function via the mechanics of constructive and destructive influence.”

6. INFLUENCE OF BELIEF ON BODY CHEMISTRY AND GENES:

All beliefs are basically a thought. It may be our name or an experience, belief is something we have accepted and stored in memory. If the acceptance is unverified and blind, it is a dogma. A set of beliefs becomes a belief system. That such a system has remarkable influence on our bodily and mental health is being established through several studies from diverse fields.
The best-documented effect of belief is the Placebo Effect. It was over 50 years ago that Dr. H.K. Beecher reported the Placebo Effect, by which over a third of the patients get better by a mere illusion of treatment. This beneficial effect, according to Dr. Benson (1993) depends on (i) the belief of the person, (ii) the belief of the healer, and (iii) the positive and trusting relationship between the two. Dr. Benson says “belief – including the expectations for healing fostered by such belief – had the power to release significant quantities of the powerful dopamine neurotransmitter, which has been linked to feelings of well-being and happiness.” Zubieta (2005) did an experiment on volunteers with a belief in a pain killer (actually a placebo) administered by them. They compared the brain scans of pain-only phase with the pain-plus-placebo phase using positron emission tomography.

They found that when the placebo was being administered, the brains released significantly more endorphins, the brain’s natural painkillers. The placebo effect could possibly be linked to the belief the volunteers had in what was administered to them.

Negative beliefs (Nocebos) too work in a similar way but with negative effects. It is observed that when the body is fed with images of disability and despair, it accepts these limits as truthful and responds with impairment. “Drs. C. Butler and A. Steptoe studied in 1986 the effect of competing powers of suggestion on asthmatics at the University of London. They found that bronchial constriction was caused by belief and prevented by belief unrelated to any drug taken.” If the nocebo is stored unconsciously, the effect could be much more than the consciously wished for action. Dr. Lipton opines that once programmed into the subconscious mind, the nocebos control our biology for the rest of our lives…unless we can figure out a way to reprogram them. It is so because the subconscious mind can process 20 million environmental stimuli per sec vs. 40 by the conscious mind.

It is interesting to note that, “neurological research reveals that before we consciously color the world around us with our thinking and acquired beliefs, brain mechanisms mark our perceptions, forming opinions and assigning emotional values. Before we have even a chance to mull over the presence of a new sight or sound, regions of our brain react by assigning an initial but influential value to it.

These automatic attitudes make us incapable of utter objectivity or neutrality.” According to Dr. Lipton, basic behavioral patterns, beliefs and attitudes we observe in our parents become “hard-wired” as synaptic pathways in our subconscious minds. “Subconscious mind takes over the moment our conscious mind is not paying attention. The conscious mind can think forward and backward in time while the subconscious is always operating in the present.”

This emphasizes the need on our part to be ever vigilant and be in a state of constant awareness.

Dr. J. S. Levin reviewed in 1994 hundreds of epidemiologic studies to conclude that belief in a power lowers death rates and increases health. Dr. Benson observed that, “Practicing medicine and conducting medical research, I’ve learned that invoking beliefs is not only emotionally and spiritually soothing but vitally important to physical health.” Dr. Benson concludes that our brains often cannot distinguish external from internal “reality.”

 When you dream that you are being chased, your heart rate increases just as it would if you were really being chased. For your brain this is reality. Our brains are wired for beliefs and expectancies. When activated, the body can respond as it would if the belief were a reality.

7. RELAXATION:

We hardly need any evidence to say that out thoughts profoundly affect our body chemistry – whether it is anger or anxiety, pleasure or depression. What is important, however, is that conscious severing the prior thought also produces characteristic biological and molecular changes in the human body.

“Relaxation exercises bring about a remarkable calming of body and brain as established from fMRI studies at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Calming response may cause the body to release increasing amounts of nitric oxide throughout the body. This nitric oxide in turn counters the negative effects of the stress hormone norepinephrine.” Dr. Benson (2003) feels that the whole nitric oxide mechanism may somehow be connected with what we think of as the “mind.”

Dr. Benson writes that, “The potentially destructive stress response typically occurs automatically when an outside stressor – such as pressure as work, fear, or anxiety – causes the body and brain to go on full alert. Animals and humans share this stress-response. The relaxation response (by “letting go”) is peculiarly human in that it tends to arise from a specific act of volition or a conscious relaxation strategy.” Placebo effect when combined with relaxation response magnifies the beneficial impact on health.

8. INTENTIONAL LEARNING AND PLASTICITY OF THE BRAIN:

Current brain research is establishing that brain has tremendous plasticity. This is in contrast to the earlier view of the neuroscientists that the neural circuits, when once formed in childhood, do not change. “Even though we are born with a set of instructions and neurosignatures, our brains perpetually recruit new nerve cells and nerve-cell activation patterns to handle its daily inputs.”

With a treatment protocol that mimics Buddhist meditation technique of “Mindful Attention,” Schwartz (2003) could show through brain scans the changes that came about in the activity of parts of brain (particularly the caudate nucleus) when his four step therapy was followed by the patients of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. He established the plasticity of brain to learn new things (change the neuronal connections) under the intentional activity of the mind. Dr. Schwartz says in Chapter X:

“It seems that neuroscience has tiptoed up to a conclusion that would be right at home in the canon of some of the eastern philosophies: introspection, willed attention, subjective state – pick your favorite description of an internal mental state – can redraw the contours of the mind, and in so doing can rewire the circuits of the brain, for it is attention that makes neuroplasticity possible. The role of attention throws into stark relief the power of mind over brain, for it is a mental state (attention) that has the ability to direct neuroplasticity.”

Dr. Gabbard says that cognitive behavioral therapy (which tries to teach people how to change harmful thoughts and beliefs) appears to cause biological changes in people with panic and many other disorders. More recently, in 2005, Dr. R. DeRubeis of the University of Pennsylvania and his colleagues have conducted the largest clinical trial ever designed to compare talk therapy with chemical antidepressants. The result is that talking works as well as pills do and with reduced relapse rates.

9. MEDITATION:

Meditation practitioners claim that meditation is a mental training and a process of familiarization with one’s own mental life leading to long-lasting changes in cognition and emotion.

Dr. Benson’s team conducted several studies on the effect of Meditation on Buddhist monks and also Sikhs. They documented that the Buddhist monks during meditation could indeed dry icy, wet sheets on their naked bodies in temperatures of 40 degrees Fahrenheit.

From MRI studies at Harvard Medical School on Sikhs, they could see that the brain combined areas of quietude with cerebral activity during meditation. Those areas of the brain associated with attention, space-time concepts and executive control functions became active. They observed significantly increased blood flow in the limbic system and brain stem that control autonomic nervous system. But this increased activity actually resulted in lowering respiratory rate and heartbeat.

Newberg and others (2001) showed that during peak moments of meditation neurons in the posterior superior parietal lobe exhibit unusual activity. This area of the brain has the primary job to orient the individual in physical space.

Lutz and others (2004) found “that long-term Buddhist practitioners self-induce sustained electroencephalographic high-amplitude gamma-band oscillations and phase-synchrony during meditation.” The data obtained by them suggest that mental training through meditation involves temporal integrative mechanisms and may induce short-term and long-term neural changes.

All the above examples of studies show the influence a meditative mind has on our brain. One could rise the question how the invisible mind could affect a physical brain.

The dichotomy of mental and material has a historical reason at least in the west. That goes to the times of Descartes. Ever since he introduced the concept of Mind-body duality, the exact link between mind and body or the causal relation between the mental and physical remained an unsolved problem. Prof. Searle (2004) argues convincingly that this dilemma has arisen because of the terminology we are caught in. Mental and physical have been defined so as to be mutually exclusive.

‘Mental’ is defined as qualitative, subjective, first-personal and therefore, immaterial and indestructible. ‘Physical’ is defined as quantitative, objective, third-personal and therefore, material and destructible.

He feels that once we revise the traditional categorization, “there is no problem in recognizing that the mental qua mental is physical qua physical.” According to him, it is a continuous spectrum from mental to physical as can be seen from functional properties.

10. FREE WILL:

Granted that genes are controlled by environment and genetic expression can be altered by thought through meditational techniques, a question still remains about the freedom we have in making a choice. In other words do we have free will? This is another of highly controversial issues. Literature abounds with a range of positions taken by scholars – from extreme determinism to total freedom and all hues in between.

Prof. Searle (2004) very ably and in an inimitable style expresses the problem of free will. In his words, “There is a special problem about free will because we have two absolutely irreconcilable convictions, each of which seems to be completely correct and, indeed, inescapable. The first is that every event that occurs in the world has antecedently sufficient causes. The sufficient causes of an event are those that, in a particular context, are sufficient to determine that that event will occur. Our second conviction, that we do in fact have free will, is based on certain experiences of making up our mind to do something and then doing it.

It is part of our conscious experiences that we experience that causes of our decisions and actions, in the form of those reasons for those decisions and actions. … We do not know how free will exists in the brain, if it exists at all. We do not know why or how evolution has given us the unshakable conviction of free will. We do not, in short, know how it could possibly work. But we also know that the conviction of our own freedom is inescapable. We cannot act except under the presupposition of freedom.”

Dennet (2003) holds that Free will is “not only not eternal, it evolved, and it is still evolving.” According to him, it is a creation of human activity and beliefs like any other human creations.
Free will may be compared to the air we breathe. It is everywhere. It appears to be within the environment. To give a very crude example: When we exercise franchise, we feel we exercised our free will. When the results come out with landslide victories, psephologists talk of “waves” in favor of the winning candidate. That means our free will was apparently influenced by the environmental “wave” effect, though we are smug with our feeling of free will. In a philosophical way, this can be extended to say that the genes may also affect the environment and in turn get affected by it.

Whatever way it functions, we have a choice of freely willing a desired outcome through an orchestrated belief system of mutually reinforcing group of people and thus create an environment that can alter our gene expression. We may call such dedicated group of people as satsanga and associating oneself with that group as satsangatya. Through such an action, it seems biologically quite possible that one may curb the tendency of self-perpetuation programmed within the genes.

11. CONCLUSIONS:

The sum total accumulated experience genetically coded and stored within the DNA is comparable to the Sanchita karma – the long-term effects of the survival efforts of a species. This is manifest 100 per cent in the genotype at the time of conception by the union of sperm and ovum. When once the embryo forms and the fetus is on a path of development through cell division, the genetic information gets constantly modified under the influence of the environment existing in the womb of the mother.

Even after the baby is born and grows to be an adult, the expression of genetic characters is constantly subjected to the environmental influence. The phenotypic characters resulting from the environmental influence on the genotype can be compared to Prarabdha. Therefore, it is the environment that decides the prarabdha.

The word environment as used here is wide and all-embracive. It refers not merely to the physical aspects but includes the mental state of the mother when the child is in its mother’s womb and the mental state of the individual and the persons with whom the individual interacts. Prenatal research findings and current developments in psychiatry and neuroscience attest to this fact.

Recent advances in the studies on brain have established its tremendous plasticity and learning as a mechanism through which the synaptic connections are altered. It has become evident that thought is a form of energy and concerted thoughts, like meditation, can reset neuronal connections in the brain. A group of mutually reinforcing individuals with an orchestrated thought process through a belief system can be called satsanga. Association with such a group (satsangatya) provides a facilitating environment to obtain a directed change overriding genetic program in an individual. Setting “no more self-perpetuation” as a goal, it is possible that one can neutralize the genetic program of self-perpetuation written in the genes in this life itself. Simple actions taken for the day-to-day sustenance of the body do not produce any lasting effects that will be written into the long-term memory of the genes. There is no karmaphala that accumulates from such actions.

12. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

I make no claim of originality in this write up. Many of the ideas quoted mostly in their own words are from experts in their respective fields of research. I am indebted to all the authors whose references I cited when possible and to those whom I could not cite. What I tried to do is to string the gems of ideas that I could glean into a garland and present it here. If there is any mis-representation, the fault is mine. I hope and trust you will be able to see the beauty of this garland and possibly improve it.

What Are the Health Benefits of Yoga?

Ann Pizer – about.com

You’ve probably heard that yoga is good for you. Maybe you have even tried yoga and discovered that it makes you feel better. But what are the specific health benefits can you expect to enjoy from doing yoga regularly?

Physical Benefits

Flexibility: Stretching your tight body in new ways will help it to become more flexible, bringing greater range of motion to muscles and joints. Over time, you can expect to gain flexibility in your hamstrings, back, shoulders, and hips.

Strength: Many yoga poses require you to support the weight of your own body in new ways, including balancing on one leg (such as in Tree Pose) or supporting yourself with your arms (such as in Downward Facing Dog). Some exercises require you to move slowly in and out of poses, which also increases strength.

Muscle tone: As a by-product of getting stronger, you can expect to see increased muscle tone. Yoga helps shape long, lean muscles.

Pain Prevention: Increased flexibility and strength can help prevent the causes of some types of back pain. Many people who suffer from back pain spend a lot of time sitting at a computer or driving a car. That can cause tightness and spinal compression, which you can begin to address with yoga. Yoga also improves your alignment, both in and out of class, which helps prevent many other types of pain.

Better Breathing: Most of us breathe very shallowly into the lungs and don’t give much thought to how we breathe. Yoga breathing exercises, called Pranayama, focus the attention on the breath and teach us how to better use our lungs, which benefits the entire body. Certain types of breath can also help clear the nasal passages and even calm the central nervous system, which has both physical and mental benefits.

Mental Benefits

Mental Calmness: Yoga asana practice is intensely physical. Concentrating so intently on what your body is doing has the effect of bringing a calmness to the mind. Yoga also introduces you to meditation techniques, such as watching how you breathe and disengagement from your thoughts, which help calm the mind.

Stress Reduction: Physical activity is good for relieving stress, and this is particularly true of yoga. Because of the concentration required, your daily troubles, both large and small, seem to melt away during the time you are doing yoga. This provides a much-needed break from your stressors, as well as helping put things into perspective. The emphasis yoga places on being in the moment can also help relieve stress, as you learn not to dwell on past events or anticipate the future. You will leave a yoga class feeling less stressed than when you started. Read more about yoga for stress management here.

Body Awareness: Doing yoga will give you an increased awareness of your own body. You are often called upon to make small, subtle movements to improve your alignment. Over time, this will increase your level of comfort in your own body. This can lead to improved posture and greater self-confidence.

………………………………………………………………….

PRANAYAMA: Breathing Exercise of Yoga

Yoga breathing exercises, also known as Pranayama, are an important part of a developing yoga practice. Pranayama is one of the Eight Limbs of Yoga, as defined by the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. In addition to deepening your yoga practice, learning ways to calm or invigorate the body through breathing will greatly benefit your life off the mat.

Breathing is an involuntary act; it is an essential part of life. Although we cannot control whether or not we breathe, we can control the way that we breathe. A belief that different methods of breath affect the body’s health and life force is the core of Pranayama practice.

Calming Pranayama Exercises

GOD IS NOT KIND TO THOSE,
WHO ARE NOT KIND TO OTHERS
 
You can’t change the past,
but you can ruin the present
By worrying over the future !  
 
Love…and you shall be loved.

God always gives His best to those  who leave the choice with Him.

All people smile in the same language.

Everyone needs to be loved…
especially when they do not deserve it.

The real measure of a man’s wealth
is what he has invested in eternity.

Laughter is God’s sunshine.

Everyone has beauty  but not everyone sees it.

It’s important for parents to live  the same things they teach.

Thank God for what you have,  TRUST GOD for what you need.

If you fill your heart with the regrets of yesterday and the
worries of tomorrow, you have no today to be thankful for.

Man looks at outward appearance  but the God looks within.

The choice you make today  will usually affect tomorrow.

Take time to laugh, for it is  the music of the soul.

Patience is the ability to idle your motor  when you feel like stripping your gears.

Love is strengthened by working  through conflicts together.

Harsh words break no bones  but they do break hearts.

To get out of a difficulty,  one usually must go through it.

We take for granted the things  that we should be giving thanks for.

Love is the only thing that can be  divided without being diminished.

Happiness is enhanced by others  but does not depend upon others.

Do what you can, for who you can,  with what you have, and where you are.

                                   *******************************
The Winner is always a part of the answer;
The Loser is always a part of the problem
 
The winner always has a plan  The loser always has an excuse
 
The Winner says “Let me do it for you”  The loser says “That’s not my Job”
 
The winner sees an answer in every problem  The loser sees a problem in every answer
 
The winner sees a Green near every sand trap  The loser sees a sand trap near every green
 
The winner says “It may be difficult but its possible.”
The loser says “It may be possible but its difficult”.

Prevent mold and dust

Tom Kraeutler, AOL

Has it ever occurred to you that the very home you regard as a sanctuary could also be harboring stealthy toxic threats? As long as mold and dust exist in the world, it really should, as these irritants can wreak havoc with your family’s health and ultimately do damage to the structure of a home.

Air quality expert Jeff May has performed scores of indoor investigations over the years and solved many a mold mystery along the way. His crusade against misinformation and health threats to homeowners has led to four informative books including My House Is Killing Me, My Office is Killing Me, Mold Survival Guide, and, due out this June, Jeff May’s Healthy Home Tips.   

“We often hear that mold is everywhere, and that gives people the impression that it’s okay to have mold and you can’t prevent it, and nothing could be further from the truth,” says May. “There may be areas so humid that it’s more difficult to control growth, but in most of the country, mold is not growing everywhere. There are definitely spores in the air, but that’s not the same thing as mold growth─a very, very important distinction to make. The same can be said about dust mites. Mold growth and dust mites can be controlled…it’s pretty straightforward.” 

Don’t let mold take hold 

Indoors and out, mold spores’ ideal landing pad is one with moisture, air and organic matter to serve as food. This combination of conditions can be found everywhere from furnishings stored in damp conditions to cardboard boxes that come in contact with subterranean concrete floors or wood shelves. However, according to May, one of the biggest and most often overlooked havens for mold is the air conditioner, whether a humble portable or mighty central air setup. 

“The irony is that you’re told to put in air conditioning for asthma and allergy problems, and in one way it’s helpful, but in another way it can be detrimental,” says May. “An air conditioning coil and everything around it is damp while the machine is running, so unless the surfaces are absolutely 100 percent clean, mold is going to grow. It’s almost inevitable that if somebody has an air conditioning system or a portable air conditioner and they don’t use adequate filtration, they’re going to get mold. So the single most important thing for all air conditioning is to use a decent filter.” 

That means a pleated filter with a MERV (Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value) rating of at least 8, or 11 if your family is prone to allergies. May also notes that in the case of a window AC unit, the filter it’s shipped with usually has a MERV rating far lower than 8, so an immediate filter upgrade is in order. 

Basements are the other major household mold zones, and call for careful humidity control. Keep the humidity level below 50 percent, and to further combat mold attraction, keep finished below-grade spaces heated to at least 60 degrees around the clock. Also make sure that the grading and drainage patterns outside your home aren’t ushering in potential moisture and mold problems, and that ventilation is vigorous and properly directed outside. 

Bust the dust 

Serving as an irritant on its own and an enthusiastic host for mold spores, dust is also a toxic force to be reckoned with. Where pet dander and dust bunnies go, dust mites have already followed, and they especially love to dwell in carpeting, furnishings, bedding, radiators, air conditioners and─as many of us easily forget─behind and under refrigerators. 

“Dust is the devil ─ you’ve got to get rid of all the dust!” warns May. For those tight, tricky, dust-attracting spaces around refrigerators and elsewhere, May recommends adding a specially designed 36-inch crevice tool to your vacuum attachment arsenal. And speaking of your vacuum, you’ll get closest to a dust-free existence if it employs a HEPA (high efficiency particulate air) filter and debris collection via a disposable bag.  

“People with allergies or asthma should not use a vacuum that doesn’t have a bag, because when you dump that accumulated dust out, you just create clouds of it all over again. It’s basically negating the whole job,” notes May. 

Conscientious, consistent cleaning is basic to banning dust, but also take a turn around your home to track down and block other entrances for this irritant. Air leaks around and through doors and windows, unsealed ducts, and dirty air filters are all likely sources. Finally, ensure that any indoor DIY projects do more good than harm by sealing off work areas, rolling carpet protection film out over fiber-based surfaces, and cleaning up thoroughly after every work session. 

More Toxic Troublemakers 

Besides mold and dust, there are other toxic troblemakers that can cause problems in your home. Here’s a short list and what to do about them: 

Lead Paint – If your house was built before 1978, there is a 75% chance that it contains lead paint. Undisturbed lead paint is harmless, but dust or paint chips created during paint prep or other remodeling projects post health hazards, especially to young children. For more information on lead-paint safety, log on to National Safety Council’s web site at www.nsc.org. 

Water Woes – If your tap water smells like rotten eggs and tastes a little funny, is it unhealthy? Probably not. You can’t really tell about water quality from its look, smell or even taste. It’s the “silent” contaminants, the ones that don’t trigger your senses, that you need to worry about: lead from pipes in old houses; arsenic that naturally occurs in the earth; or microorganisms, pesticides and fertilizers that wash away from farms and lawns into storm drains and wind up in our drinking water supplies. All of these have been linked to serious illnesses. 

Experts agree that the U.S. has one of the safest drinking waters supplies in the world, but that is no guarantee. For the best assurance of safety, you should periodically test your water through an independent, certified lab. Labs offer a variety of testing packages (lead, minerals, volatile organic chemicals, radon, bacteria, pesticides) at a range of prices ($30-$250). There are also home test kits for various contaminants. To find a lab, check your local yellow pages, get suggestions from your health department, call EPA’s Drinking Water Hotline (1-800-426-4791), or visit www.epa.gov/safewater/. 

Asbestos – In one form or another, asbestos has been used in home construction for almost 100 years. If your home is more than 30 years old or so, you could be at risk. The two most common forms are cement asbestos, used in siding, and asbestos insulation, used to insulate heating pipes. 

The risk of asbestos exposure is based on how friable it is (how easily it gets deteriorated). If the asbestos can be easily released to the air, then there is a substantial risk of exposure. This would be the case, for example, with heating pipe insulation made of asbestos. On the other hand, the risk of exposure from cement asbestos (such as siding), in which the asbestos is contained with in a cemet binder, is very low. If you suspet you have asbestos in your home, it is best to get it tested by an independent lab to confirm it’s asbestos content. If presence of asbestos is confirmed and the material is friable, then removal by a trained professional is recommended. Under no circumstances should you try and remove asbestos yourself. Doing so could easily contaminate the entire home. 

+ Radon Gas – Radon is a colorless, odorless gas that occurs naturally when uranium in the soil breaks down. If inhaled, radon can cause damage to your lung tissues and can lead to lung cancer. It typically moves up through the ground to the air above and into your home through cracks and other holes in the foundation. The radon then becomes trapped inside your home, where it could build up to dangerous levels. Radon has been found in every state, in brand new homes and old homes, as well as homes with and without a basement. There are ways to test for radon in your home and, if necessary, reduce radon levels. The best source for radon information and remediation is www.epa.gov/radon.

http://realestate.aol.com/article/improve/_a/your-toxic-home-prevent-mold-and-dust/20080313161109990001?ncid=AOLCOMMre00DYNLprim0001

Dispelling The Fear of Death

by Stephen Knapp

It is natural to feel fear of the unknown. In regard to death, this fear may be of what might happen during the process of dying, such as the pain of a terminal illness, nausea, vomiting, or even fearing abandonment by those around you.

The fear of death may also be perpetuated by the sadness of the family around the dying person, or the hopelessness of the doctor, or the nurses who feel they may have failed to keep the person alive. However, it is through death that the dying person can be released from the great burden of the diseased body.

Death is not an enemy, it is a natural fact of life, a stage of our existence, and a transition or doorway between planes of reality. Death has its own harmony with nature just as a tree loses its leaves every fall. We don’t feel that it is unjust or that the tree failed to stay fully alive when it goes dormant through the winter. It is natural. Neither should doctors and nurses feel they have failed if after every endeavor a patient dies. Actually, it may be better to let a person take the opportunity to die peacefully rather than trying to force him or her to remain alive in a suffering body. In other words, it can be better to make peace with death than try to conquer it.

The process of dying can be rough, but it is temporary. The best thing to do is to focus our consciousness as much as we can in a way that will help us reach the highest realm possible after death. Of course, it always may be a little sad to leave our home and loved ones, but if we are going to a bigger and more beautiful home, then what is there to be sorry about? It is joyful to be going to a better place. This sort of joy will also help divert our attention from any pain we may be feeling.

The primary fear of death is, of course, not knowing what we will be or where we will go in the afterlife. If you are afraid of where you might go after death, be surrendered and know that fate, or God, will put you where you will best learn whatever you need to learn. The universe is based on compassion.

It is not a punishment that we are here, but it is because of our desires for the experience of material existence and bodily sense pleasure. Each life is meant for us to learn more about ourselves, and about who we are. Death is not simply a matter of getting old or sick and then dying.

Natural death happens when you have finished doing what you were meant to do in this life. You may have wanted to do more or not, but when you have done what you were meant to do, you will move on. Nature will arrange it that you will leave this realm. Each life is like a classroom wherein you learn a certain amount, and go through a certain number of lessons or tests. Then you graduate to the next class. We can learn willingly or unwillingly. We can cooperate or be uncooperative. We can repeatedly keep going through it until we learn all of the necessary lessons to go on to the next level. That is our choice.

And if you have failed any of the tests, don’t worry. You’ll have the chance to try it again. Therefore, let go of any fear and let God put you where you will make the most progress.

Trust that God will take care of you. He will allow you to accomplish what you need to learn and attain. It may not be what you have in mind or expect, but it will be for your ultimate good, which means that it is always better and more than you expect, and maybe more than you can presently understand.

Be open to discover what it is. Furthermore, as we get closer to leaving our bodies, many realizations will come. They can help guide you and give you a glimpse of your real spiritual purpose that you have accomplished in this life and will have in your next life. As you think about it, pray and ask for guidance. Let go of your expectations and let God show you the way.

Actually, to fear death reveals one’s misunderstanding of life. It is a fear of knowing one’s real self, which is beyond the bodily identification. It is that with which some people hesitate to acquaint themselves.

Thus, if a person has known nothing else but one’s bodily identity, losing the body can put one into fear. Yet, how can one ever think he was the body when it is plain to see that he came into this temporary world through birth and must leave it through death?

All of our possessions, relationships, even our talents and skills are all temporary. So how can our body be anything more? Being afraid of death is like being afraid to give up an old and worn-out garment.

In this regard, the mind is the root cause of fear and suffering. However, this fear and anguish can be a gift because it shows where the mind gets caught in the desired model of thinking how things should be. It projects its own level of reality out on the world and its perception of things.

When things are not the way we want them to be, or think they should be, the mind has difficulty accepting it and we suffer. We then often get angry, anxious, confused, or fall into fear. To enjoy freedom from suffering, we have to grow beyond our attachments, ego, and desires.

Thus, the awareness of our approaching death plays an important role in helping us transcend our temporary worldly attachments, and to increase our development and qualities that are offered through our existence in different bodies or different planes of consciousness.

So an important point is that we do not have to be afraid of death, for we are all immortal. When we look around us, this is plain to see. Every winter the trees, plants and grass go dormant and practically die, yet they return to life and display their blooms in the spring.

Even if a tree dies and becomes soil, we can see that out of it new life rises from the remnants of its decay. Even if the water of a pond disappears, it forms the steam from which clouds are created, which rain down the potential for new life. We witness many forms of transition of the same energy. It is an endless cycle in which we all participate. In the same way, our physical body is shed at death, but our life persists on another level. Thus, through death we also find renewal.

As it is stated in the ancient Bhagavad-gita, “Never was there a time when I (the Supreme Being) did not exist, nor you. . . nor in the future shall any of us cease to be.” (Bg.2.12)

Furthermore, “The soul can never be cut into pieces by any weapon, nor can he be burned by fire, nor moistened by the wind. This individual soul is unbreakable and insoluble, and can be neither burned nor dried. He is everlasting, all-pervading, unchangeable, immovable and eternally the same. It is said the soul is invisible, inconceivable, immutable, and unchangeable. Knowing this, you should not grieve for the body.” (Bg.2.23-25) Thus, we can understand the soul accepts forms for its experience in the material worlds, but can never be killed nor does it die, but it goes on after such bodies are no longer useful.

While we live in this material world, death helps alleviate and release us from our accumulated attachments, positions, and superficial desires. Death shows us what is not important, and makes us give up those things which can no longer help, or which keeps us from understanding who we really are. Even though we are here to experience the innumerable aspects of material existence, if we are too caught up in it, we will never understand our spiritual identity.

Thus, death is an assistant which forces us to come to grips with what is temporary, and to give it up. It is another step in the learning process, to come closer to what we really are.

Unfortunately, if one is overly attached to his or her body, position, belongings and relations, death can seem like a severe punishment. Yet, it can be a gift or even a blessing.

When we realize that we are all spiritual and immortal beings, we will understand that even if the body perishes, we live on. Then our fear will leave us and we can move toward death in peace. We will see that there is no death, only an onward progression in which we become more and more perfect beings, continually engaged in preparation for a higher purpose.

So in this way, death is only the end of one classroom so we can go on to the next. The only thing that slows us down in this progress is our hesitation to trust and depend on the Supreme Being.

For the materialist who is afraid of losing everything, death is like the grip that crushes, a form of the Supreme who forces our surrender. But for the spiritually advanced person, death is like the loving grasp of God who has come to take you home. Our love of God alleviates any fear of death, because death is the vehicle by which you become more united with the Supreme Friend again. With such spiritual understanding, one can find meaning in dying.

The following is a good prayer to help alleviate any fear of death and to willingly place ourselves in the hands of God. “The Supreme Personality is certainly not known to everyone, but He is very powerful and influential. Therefore, although the serpent of eternal time, which is fearful in force, endlessly chases everyone, ready to swallow him, if one who fears this serpent of time seeks shelter of the Lord, the Lord gives him protection, for even death runs away in fear of the Lord. I therefore surrender unto Him, the great and powerful supreme authority who is the actual shelter of everyone.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 8.2.33)
 
In the end, there comes a time when we need to let ourselves, or the person dear to us, leave the body, just as when a person needs to rest. It can be wrong to resist the process of death, whether it be yours or that of another. So we should not begrudge another of his death. We should not be unwilling to let him or her go.

It is his opportunity to become free of his present restraints and limitations. It is his chance to enter a better realm to continue with his progress. He is not leaving us, he is simply going on before us.

Death is not an enemy, it can be like the friend who cuts the chain that holds the anchor which prevents one from sailing to greater horizons. This is the way we become closer to attaining freedom from this earthly plane, and from the dictates of the senses, the service of the body, and the impressions in the mind.

As it is explained, “The spirit soul, the living entity, has no death, for he is eternal and inexhaustible. Being free from material contamination, he can go anywhere in the material or spiritual worlds. He is fully aware and completely different from the material body, but because of being misled by misuse of his slight independence, he is obliged to accept subtle and gross bodies created by the material energy and thus be subjected to so-called material happiness and distress. Therefore, no one should lament for the passing of the spirit soul from the body.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.2.22)

http://www.stephen-knapp.com/dispelling_the_fear_of_death.htm

Pearls of Wisdom

We are so addicted to looking outside that we have lost access to our “inner being”.

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It is only those who understand how fragile life is – who know how precious it is!

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We all are part of “ONE”. When we hurt others, we hurt ourselves.

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Karma is natural law of cause and effect. Every action is pregnant with its consequences.

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Because law of karma is infallible, whenever we harm others, we are harming ourselves.

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You don’t have to be saddled for life with the mental attitudes you adopted in childhood. All of us are free to change our minds, and our experiences will change too.

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We need to notice what’s right with our lives, instead of what’s wrong. Feelings of gratitude release positive endorphins throughout the body. Positive emotions strengthen the immune system.

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While there are plenty of things in life to be justifiably annoyed, angry or hurt at-that does not mean that we should completely ignore all that is beautiful, good and touching.

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The Healing Powers of Herbs – Ranjit Roy Chaudhury
Book Reviews by Manju Gupta

Stress and strain of modern-day life take a toll of our mind and body. Lack of time and patience force us to resort to quick methods of relief, making us forget that the effective cure is not found in this manner. Modern medicine has found a cure for many diseases and illnesses but makes us suffer from side effects, which cannot be ignored or sidelined.

This book is a compilation of articles published in The Asian Age by the author, Prof. Ranjit Roy Chaudhury, a leading pharmacologist in the country. Currently he is Emeritus Scientist at the National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi.

What makes this book under review different from others on alternative systems of medicines is that the healing effects and properties of each medicinal plant have been explained in detail. Many of the medicinal herbs and plants mentioned are taken from ancient traditional books on medicine and whose values in today’s globalised world are very relevant, considering the USA’s recent efforts to patent haldi (turmeric) as an anti-inflammatory drug found on its soil. The same is the case with karela (bitter gourd) and Basmati rice, which the USA wants to patent for itself.

In short, the book mentions some very important cures for diseases commonly seen in India. Malaria has become a major health problem here because the malarial parasite has over time become resistant to chloroquin, the well-known drug for curing malaria.

While China has discovered the use of the plant Artemesia annua (sweet wormwood) to treat the clinical condition in malaria, India too needs to conduct research on the use of Indian drug guggal, in addition to other herbs, points out the author.

In India, Ayurvedic and Unani medicines had discovered the treatment for dissolving stones or renal calculi in the kidney or ureter, blocking the passage of urine. Crataevea nurvula helped in treatment of 50 per cent of the patients. Another plant called Bergenia ligulata, commonly known as pashabheda has been found to be effective in dissolving stones in the kidney or ureter. Dolichus biflorous, commonly known as kulattha, is administered to colic patients who have stones formed due to deposits of calcium phosphates or oxalates.

Chronic viral hepatitis can be cured with Bupleuri radix.

The vinea plant called sada bahar in north India is suitable for curing leukaemia.

In Thailand, it was discovered that the fruit of ebony tree on pounding gives a juice which, when mixed with coconut milk, is effective against hookworm infection. India too needs to conduct research on the Indian species of ebony to see whether it possesses any anti-hookworm action.

Here the author points out how in August 1994, Surat in Gujarat state witnessed deaths due to plague. The Government of India and supporting organisations went into such frenzied activity rarely seen ever before that the menace was controlled in no time. Unani physicians administered a drug prepared with zahar mohora, jadwar and camphor.

Houses were fumigated by burning together ajwain (caraway seeds), neem, camphor and sandalwood. Another preparation made from the roots of Withania somnifera or ashwagandha, ambia, pushkar mool and black pepper was used as a fumigant to contain the plague in Surat.

The Indian kitchen is a repository for several useful spices, which have medicinal properties to treat common and simple ailments. Two common spices, which can be used to treat indigestion, are jeera (cumin seeds) and heeng (asafoetida).

Heeng is obtained from the plant Asafoetida binn. It is the milky juice or exudate collected from the thick fleshy plant. It is also used to treat excessive gas in the intestines.

Dhania seeds (coriander seeds) are used for treating sore throat and common cold. A decoction prepared from the coriander seeds is drunk three times a day. Coriander leaves contain large amount of vitamin A, which is good for the eyes.

Another plant is of saunf (fennel), which is ideal for treating flatulence or worms in children. The volatile oil of fennel seeds mixed with sodium bicarbonate and the syrup is used for children. An ideal treatment for sore throat is to boil saunf in water till reduced to one-fourth its volume and mixed with sugar or honey before being sipped slowly.

Ajwain (caraway seeds) is a recognised carminative medicine for indigestion and flatulence in children. Sarson (mustard seeds) are beneficial when applied locally during muscle injury, sprain or joint injury. Mustard poultice prepared with mustard seeds increases blood circulation and decreases pain and inflammation.

Tulsi (basil) leaves are used in treating coughs and colds. Tulsi leaves mixed with neem leaves and black pepper prevent fever and malarial infection when consumed after boiling. A few tulsi leaves boiled in water every morning and taken daily have an anti-stress effect.

Ginger helps in curing nausea and other disturbances of the gastrointestinal tract.

According to the author, this book is like a fountain of knowledge on medicinal plants and is a useful guide in curing simple diseases. Research is being carried out at the Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow under the auspices of the Indian Council of Medical Research particularly with Picrorhazia kurroa for curing liver disorders; with Commifera wightii (guggal) for lowering lipid and cholesterol levels in blood; Pterocarpus marsupium (vijayasar) for treating diabetes and the day is not far when Indian herbs may become a necessity in one’s medicine cabinet.