Holistic Holidays

‘Pranic’

Pranic Therapy Part V

“The Unified Field of Einstein is the Brahman of the Vedists and the Tao

of the Chinese”, says Dr Fritjof Capra in his famous book ” The Tao of

Physics”. The Vedists called this Unitary Power by the name Prana. This

Cosmic Energy can be used to heal and healing via this Cosmic Prana

came to be known as Pranic Therapy.This article is a continuation of the

earlier article Pranic Therapy Part IV.

Attunement to Biorhythms

Along with regulation of food,sleep,exercise and relaxation, the spiritual

aspirant should learn to attune his psychosomatic machine to his own

biorhythms

“Biological clocks ” were discovered in animals in the late 1950s & Bio-

rhytms were understood as a result. When the Moon rose ( which caused

the flow of tide ), mussels & crabs which live on seashores were found to

open their shells or become active even when they were moved to a distant

place. “Circadian rhythms” in the human body were discovered later.

There are daily biorhythms, lunar rhythms and solar rhythms.

Circadian Rhythms

It was found that level of sugar in the blood , body temperature, BP,

production of hormones & enzymes changed according to a cyclic,

regular & recurrent pattern. While some have have 24 or 25 hour

cycles others have 36 or 48 hour cycles. Even emotional sensitivity

& intellectual creativity increase & decrease according to biorhythms,

apart from physiological activities

Lunar Rhythms

In the case of lunar people the 11th day of the lunar month ( Ekadasi)

or the day of the full moon ( Pournami ) or the day of the New Moon

( Amavasi) may act as the pivotal point of change in their biorhythms.

Some people have 28 day cycles irrespective of the movement of the

Moon.

Solar Rhythms

The Appollonians ( as the solar people are called ) are more sensitive

to changes of solar seasons than the lunarian changes. With the onset

of winter, spring, summer & autumn they may find profound changes

taking place in their physiological processes & mental activity.

The existence of these biorhythms were confirmed by research even

though superficial minds may not be able to detect these biorhythms.

A spiritual aspirant should recognise his biorhythms & adjust his

prayer, meditation & acitivities in accordance with these rhythms.

Minor stomach upsets, pain in joints, disturbed sleep, change of

mood etc are associated with biorhythms & the seeker shoud not

be upset by these minor changes..

Why holistic health practices fail or succeed partially

Main reason for the failure of holisitc health practices is that Prana

or Life Energy does not flow freely within the individual or between

the individual & the universal life, owing to the presence of obstructions

within.These obstructions are caused by Samskaras, psychic memories

or residual traces of our past actions and experiences. Samskaras

are of two kinds, those which only produce memories ( smriti ) of

past experiences and those which produce impulses or drives

to repeat these experiences ( vasanas) . These two are interlinked

to form complex patterns of love, hate, fear etc. It is these complexes

that obstruct the free flow of Life-Energy in us.

Removing Mental Blocks

Many of these complexes are formed in childhood and adolescence.

When unpleasant or traumatic experiences take place, the tendency

of a child or teenager is to repress them. Repression is a form of

pushing the psychic memories into the unconscious regions of the

mind. The growing youth may not be able to recollect those psychic

memories again, but the repressed samskaras lodged in the hidden

recesses of the unconscious go on creating psychological and

psychosomatic problems for him.

All psychosomatic disorders cannot be cured by holistic health tech-

niques unless these repressed complexities are ferreted out and

confronted. The past samskaras should be deactivated. For this

the seeker has to dive deep into his unconscious & encounter the

past experiences and deactivate them.

Most people find it difficult to do it without the active help of a

competent guide. Those who depend on the Ocean of Consciousness

( the Absolute or God ) may , however, find that these inner blocks

are removed by Divine Grace. This is the rationale behind faith healing

& miraculous cures.

Extension of Consciousness

Life,a gift from the Divine, is a great healing power. Nothing ever

begins to be; Substance merely undergoes a parallel transformation

into conditions which pre-existed in other conditions. Life, similarly,

does not begin to be. As Energy, as per the Law of Conservation of

Energy or Matter cannot be created or destroyed, so too is Life Eternal.

At the physical level, the eternal healing power of life manifests itself as

a) Self-renewal

b) The immune system.

For many years it has been known that the body can filter and re-use

its fluids & repair damages to tissues, especially skin and bone, by

growing new cells. Modern Science has shown that self-renewal is

constantly taking place in every part of the body. Almost all the cells in

the body are constantly being replaced by new ones. Somebody said

” I am not the same person I was one year ago”! The entire body gets

renewed in this way every year & this shows that it is never too late

to regain your health. By changing one’s basic attitudes and way of

living, the damage to the body caused by years of misuse & neglect

can be overcome.

One the great marvels of the universe is the human immune system.

Those who are aware of the biochemical processes going on in

the body will agree with Walt Whitman ” To me every hour of the

day & night is an unspeakably perfect miracle”. Dr Walter Cannon

said ” The Wisdom of the body is the most precise of all selective

refinements” !

The Components ( Four Units ) of our Immune System

The fourfold immune system consists of the following units;

1 The granulocyte-macrophage unit

2. The lymphocyte unit

3. The antibody unit

4. The complement unit

.

The first two are varieties of white blood corpuscles, wherein the last

two are chemicals, proteins. All the four units of our immune system

launch a concerted attack on the invaders as soon as a few bacteria

break into any tissue in the body. ( The antibody unit has been

defined as an army of one million) Western medical science is

wondering who masterminds this attack or who plans these strategies.

Common sense, logic, intuition & experience suggest that somewhere

behind all this there must be a master control. Why do sometimes cells

become malignant and attack neighbouring cells ? Why it goes awry,

sometimes,when our defence units attack innocent cells mistaking them

for enemy microbes ? Western medical science is researching

hard to find answers to these difficult questions.

( To be continued )

Article by G Kumar, Astrologer, writer & programmer of www.eastrovedica.com. Recently he was awarded a Certificate by the Planetary Gemologists Association Global ( www.p-g-a.org ) as a Planetary Gem Advisor. He has 25 years psychic research experience in the esoteric arts. To subscribe to his free informative Ezine, the Z Files mailto:info@eastrovedica.com?subject=SubscribeZF. His Astro blog is up at http://www.zodiacastrology.blogspot.com & his Philosophy blog is http://transcendentalphilosophy.blogspot.com Mobile 091 9388556053

Pranic Therapy Part III

The Universal Stream of Consciousness known as Qi ( pronounced Chee)

in Chinese & Ki in Japanese is known as the Cosmic Prana in Sanskrit.

Healing using this Life-force Energy is called Pranic Therapy. This article

is a continuation of the earlier article Pranic Therapy Part II.

There are 2 types of seekers in the Path Celestial, those who aspire for

liberation and ordinary mundane seekers.

Liberation is defined as a yearning for Eternal Life and the first group

has an intense yearning for the Life Divine. Conferred with changeless

faith and indomitable will, they keep up relentless struggle and get

glimpses of Transcendental Consciousness. They have the Goal of

Self-Actualisation fixed in their minds & mental problems & physical

ailments do not deter them.

But My mahatmas, those of noble souls,

Who tread the Path Celestial, worship Me

Unendingly they keep their yearning for Me ! ( The Song Celestial )

All the great mystics of all civilizations belonged to this group.

He still adheres to the high and difficult road

That sole leads to Eternity’s peaks!

But this group, unfortunately is a minority.

The majority of spiritual seekers belong to the second group. These

people have true aspiration but it is either not intense enough or is

not supported by a strong will to undergo prolonged inner struggles

or to bear the resultant physical or mental reactions. Many of them

do not have any hope of realising the Self in this life, & so they are

unwilling to sacrifice health or peace of mind for such an elusive

and distant goal. The outer instruments for mortal man are not

fit to endure the severe rigours of this spiritual journey or face its

subtle & and formidable dangers. Self Actualisation can only come

from immense Grace Divine.

Ordinary mundane people find it difficult to make spiritual progress

their sole concern in life although they may have committed themselves

to it in a general way. For them, an integral scheme of life in which the

considerations of health & secular values receive as much attention

as spiritual orientation is what is needed. This present article is meant

for such seekers.

The Self as the basis of all Love

Why do we collect wealth ? For whose sake is wealth loved ? It is for

the sake of the Self. Why do we love our wife & children ? For whose

sake is the wife & children loved? It is for the sake of the Self.

Everything in the universe – husband,wife,children, everything – is loved

for the sake of oneself. The Self, when known, everything is known.

What do we mean by oneself here ? Vedanta speaks of two selves

in man – a lower self and a higher Self. The lower self, regarded as

the false self, is the sum total of one’s instincts, drives & impulses.

The higher Self refers to the pure Atman which is regarded as the true

nature of man. Vedanta states that the lower self, if left uncontrolled,

will act as one’s own enemy, and, if purified & controlled, will act as

one’s own friend. When the lower self is purified by yogic techniques

& attuned to the higher Self, self-hate disappears & love for the higher

Self dawns.

He sees indeed who sees in all alike,

The living lordly Self, Self supreme

Imperishable amidst the perishing ( The Song Celestial )

When this divine love blossoms in one’s bosom,one’s attitude towards

his body changes. He now begins to love his body as an instrument for the

manifestation of the Divine Self. Vedic Scriptures speak of the body

as ” the temple of the His great transparent mirror, Self”. As a matter of

fact, Vedic temples are modelled after the pattern of the human organism.

Symbolism behind Vedic temples

Man has three bodies – physical, astral & causal. The outer wall of the

Vedic temple represents the physical body of man. The inner wall

represents the astral body and the innermost wall represents the

Causal body. Deep within these three bodies is the Self, the Atman

who is represented by the Deity ! The word temple is derived from

the Latin word tempulum, a place where Law and Justice can be

administered. The principle behind the temple, is Know Thyself !

Am I a god, then? Yes

In these pure features I behold

Creative Nature to soul unfold ( Goethe )

The body is given prime importance in Vedic ritualistic worship

known as Puja. Apart from ritualistic worship, service is divine &

regarded as a form of worship known as Yajna. Vedic Scriptures

enjoin five types of service known as Pancha-Mahayajna; service

to the gods, service to sages, service to manes, service to human

beings, service to animals. The ancient Law-giver Manu has given

the injunction to divinize the body through these five practices.

(” Through the repeated practice of these five great yajnas, the

human body gets divinized”.)

“The human body is the greatest instrument for Self-Actualisation “,

said the famous Sanskrit poet Kalidasa. Maintaining the divine status

of the body is not easy.It should be kept as clean, healthy & we should

not allow any kind of physical or mental indulgence to defile its sanctity

& harmony. (“Chastity is the flowering in man ” said Thoreau and

continence has been prescribed for spiritual progress). That is to say,

change in attitude towards the body brings with it a new responsibility

for one’s own health. Surprising indeed is the fact that many people

think that restoring health and curing diseases are solely the

responsibility of the medical profession. In the holistic health system,

responsibility for falling ill & getting well both rest primarily with

the patient. The doctor only assists in curing himself. As Albert

Schweitzer said ” All healing is Self-healing “.

Holistic medicine postulates that the responsibility for healthcare rests

in the patient’s hands because that is where the knowledge and control

of the variables lie ( diet,stress,exercise,genetics,emotion & medication).

1. Knowledge of the Psychosomatic Machine

If the patient is aware of the disease and its aetiology, about his body’s

immune power and if he can bear physical pain temporarily, with a stoic

calmness, he can avoid a lot of unnecessary medication.

In the Holistic Model, the cause of any disease is understood in terms of

the whole person and not in terms of a particular organ or tissue. As Sir

William Osler put it, it is more import to know the patient who has the

disease than the disease of the patient. Plato remarked that ” the treatment

of the parts should not be attempted without treatment of the entirety”

The one person who knows about the patient more than anybody else

is the patient himself.

Compliments should go to Western Science which has discovered

a lot of knowledge by research & which is the result of the painstaking

labour of thousands of dedicated scientists for more than 200 years.

This accumulated treasure is humanity’s precious heritage and only

charlatans will ignore or undervalue it. It is imperative that

every educated person should have a basic knowledge of human

anatomy & physiology, and also of Western psychology. However this

research is analytical and incomplete.

A Holistic Model was developed by the Sages of India 2500 years ago.

The Five Levels of Being – The Yogic Model

These are the five concentric sheaths enveloping the Self, the Divine

Spark in man !

1. Physical Sheath ( Annamaya Kosha )

2. Vital Sheath ( Pranamaya Kosha )

3. Mental Sheath ( Manomaya Kosha )

4. Intellectual Sheath ( Vijnanamaya Kosha )

5. Bliss Sheath ( Anandamaya Kosha )

Disease is the imbalance in any of the three lower sheaths of existence -

physical, vital & mental.

The microcosm & the macrocosm are are in unbroken communion

with each other & are structured on the same pattern. At the

level of the physical sheath, food, water & oxygen enter the microcosm

and Co2, waste products etc return to the macrocosm. This is true of

other sheaths also. The individual cannot exist independent of the

cosmos. The interdependence of the Microcosm & the Macrocosm

is known in Classical Philosophy as the Bio-Cosmic tieup. If the

exchange between the physical sheath and the physical world

around it is defective, the body will become ill, and death

will result if it is stopped altogether.

The Tantric Model

A different but parallel model of human personality was developed by the

Tantras. Whereas the Upanishads speak of Five Sheaths or Koshas,

the Tantras speak of six chakras. These Chakras are ( in ascending order)

1. Root Chakra ( Muladhara )

2. Anal Chakra ( Manipura )

3. Solar Plexus Chakra ( Swadhistana )

4. Heart Chakra ( Anahata )

5. Throat Chakra ( Vishuddhi )

6. Eyebrow Chakra ( Ajna )

Life is regarded as the unfolding of the Self at six different levels of

consciousness known as Chakras in the magnificent Tantric Model.

In mundane people the unfolding takes place only at the first three

chakras which represent procreation, metabolism & speech; the

higher three chakras remain latent. The awakening of the higher

chakras results in the unfolding and fulfillment of Life Divine. When

the Kundalini, the Serpentine Power inherent in humans, rises from

the Root Chakra ( Muladhara ) to the Crown Chakra ( Sahasrara ),

man achieves Cosmic Consciousness.

The Spirit shall take up the human play

The earthly life become the Life Divine!

More quality information about Tantra & Yantras can be had from http://www.astrologiavedica.com/html/yantra.htm

Article by G Kumar, Astrologer, writer & programmer of www.eastrovedica.com. Recently he was awarded a Certificate by the Planetary Gemologists Association Global ( www.p-g-a.org ) as a Planetary Gem Advisor. He has 25 years psychic research experience in the esoteric arts. To subscribe to his free informative Ezine, the Z Files mailto:info@eastrovedica.com?subject=SubscribeZF. His Astro blog is up at http://www.zodiacastrology.blogspot.com & his Philosophy blog is http://transcendentalphilosophy.blogspot.com Mobile 091 9388556053

Pranic Therapy Part II

All the four forces in the Universe – weak nuclear force, strong nuclear

force, electricity & magnetism -are but different manifestations of

that Unitary Power which the Vedists call Prana. Using this Vital Energy

to heal is called Pranic Therapy. This article is a continuation of the

earlier article Pranic Therapy Part I.

Application of Chaos Theory in the field of Medicine

Another breathtaking development in medicine is the application of Chaos

Theory. Chaos theory,advanced by Mendelbrot, is a mathematical theory

applied to non-linear and random events. It sees order in chaos. Most of

ordinary phenomena in the world such as changes of weather, the

behaviour of cancer cells, occurrence of heart attack, movement of

electrons etc, do not seem to follow any regular & recurrent pattern &

are unpredictable on the basis of linear mathematics . Though it

contradicts Laplace, its positive aspect is that is sees Cosmos ( order )

in Chaos.

Chaos theory of maths tries to find a more meaningful correlation &

behavioural pattern in such systems. One of the most fundamental

properties of an organism is Homeostasis, the maintenance of a

fixed internal milieu, especially with regard to body temperature, BP,

pH etc.The earlier school of thought regarded homeostasis as health,

( Walter Cannon called it “the wisdom of the body” ) & any deviation

from it was disease. But Chaos theory revolutionised this thinking &

pointed out that health is the flexibility of an organism to respond to

any changing environment.Our lungs, heart, liver etc are all designed

to deal with frequent changes & health is the flexibility or capacity

to maintain this state of chaos at the maximal level of efficiency.

Holistic health does not reject the Western system of medicine in toto.

In the case of infectious diseases, nutritional & hormonal deficiencies

and bodily defects which need surgical intervention, it follows the Western

system. Psychosomatic diseases such as hypertension, peptic ulcer,

allergic asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, irritable bowel syndrome etc

can be treated by Holistic Medicine, it averrs. Holistic health provides

a way of life which prevents the reccurrence of some of these ailments.

It is more prophylactic, preventive, curative & restorative.

Integral Life

Integral Life is an ancient Vedic ideal. The ancient Rishies ( Seers )

believed in the fulness of Life – 100 % materialism & 100% spirituality.

They actualised the Unity of Life first – long before they realized the

Unity of Consciousness. The unitary principle of life is known as Prana,

the Vital Energy. Cosmic Prana is a major topic of discussion in the

Upanishads. This Universal Vital Energy flows through invisible

channels in the human body known as Nadis. The Brhadaranyaka

Upanishad describes Prana as Truth and Brahman as the Truth

of Truths. It was during this period ( around 500 B C ) that India

developed the Science of Life known as Ayurveda.

An integral view of life far more comprehensive than that of any school

of Vedanta was developed by Tantras which arose between the 6th &

9th centuries AD. The Ultimate Reality is conceived of as Chit-Shakti,

Consciousness-Force. Matter, Mind & Self are all regarded as mani-

festations of this Universal Power which is personified as the Divine

Mother. All activities are carried on by the Consciousness -Force

( The Universe is the play and display of Consciousness-Force) &

all we have to do is to open ourselves to Her Power through self-surrender

and aspiration. This master science was revived by modern Masters

like Aurobindo and Ramakrishna.

More quality information about Tantra & Yantras can be had from http://www.astrologiavedica.com/html/yantra.htm

The programme for activating the body’s own self-renewal processes

is called holistic health programme. It may take months or years

for the body to learn new patterns of response and renew itself.

And this programme succeeds only when certain conditions are fulfilled.

A site where you can get quality information about Holistic Medicine

is www.holistic-alt.com

Awakening to a New Holistic Health Awareness

Only after undergoing an inner conversion do people start on a holistic

health programme. This conversion may come naturally in the fulness of time

or by coming into contact with a holistic health adept or Yoga teacher. But

more commonly, the inner transformation takes place only when people have

reached the limits of suffering or when the shadow of some terminal illness

looms large on the horizon. Fear, they say, is the beginning of wisdom.

Pain is the first born of the Inconscience

And thy body’s dumb original base !

Whatever way the change occurs, it takes the form of two inner processes;

a new attitude towards one’s body and a feeling of responsibility for one’s

own health.

Man’s greatest enemy – Thanatos ( Death-instinct )

The notion that what a person loves most is his own body has been

proved erroneous by Freud. Freud, who declared that pleasure

seeking ( hedonism ) was the basic instinct in man, modified his view

later. He came to the conclusion that along with Life-instinct ( known

as Eros ) man had apparently a powerful Death-instinct ( known as

Thanatos ) which manifested itself as Self-hate & aggressive

behaviour. He showed that not all accidents were really accidents.

The accident-proneness of the victims produced by the unconscious

death wish they had cherished was the cause behind some accidents.

Research has indicated enough evidence for vicious & insidious

forms of self-hate in man. We can understand how self-hate operates

on the level of the Unconscious if we observe the way many people

abuse their own stomachs, lungs & other vital organs, and the way

some people bring ruin upon themselves by yielding to drug addiction

& alcoholism. This self-hate acts as an inhibiting factor for most

individuals. Success can be achieved, said Dr Maxwell Maltz,

if this inhibitive factor is removed from the mind. Most people

are unaware of it & drift through life unaware of the self- harm they

do. Some of them wake up from this unconscious drifting and

begin to have a new attitude – an attitude of love, friendliness

and peace towards themselves & their brethren.It actually indicates

the dawn of true love for one’s higher Self known as the Atman.

Thanatos was known in Vedanta as Thamas ( the destructive

element in man ). Thamas is destructive and self-destructive.

By yogic sadhana alone can this Thamas or Thanatos be

destroyed.

Yet till evil is slain in its own home

And light invades the world’s inconscient base

And perished is the Adversary force

He ( the Saviour ) must still labour on, his work halfdone! ( Aurobindo )

More information about Transcendental Philosophy & Yoga can be had from http://www.astrologiavedica.com/html/yogamain.htm

Article by G Kumar, Astrologer, writer & programmer of www.eastrovedica.com. Recently he was awarded a Certificate by the Planetary Gemologists Association Global ( www.p-g-a.org ) as a Planetary Gem Advisor. He has 25 years psychic research experience in the esoteric arts. To subscribe to his free informative Ezine, the Z Files mailto:info@eastrovedica.com?subject=SubscribeZF. His Astro blog is up at http://www.zodiacastrology.blogspot.com & his Philosophy blog is http://transcendentalphilosophy.blogspot.com Mobile 091 9388556053

Pranic Therapy by G Kumar (c) 2001

Pranic Therapy Part I – An Introduction

Pranic Therapy is an alternative system of Medicine using therapy with the

Universal Stream of Consciousness, the Cosmic Prana.

Pranic Therapy can be effectuated by proper knowledge of the psycho-

physical organism, physical and mental discipline and opening all our

channels to the Cosmic Prana. This is normally effected in seven steps

The Seven Stages of Pranic Therapy

1. Knowledge of the Psychosomatic Machine

2. Regulation of Sleep, food & Exercise

3. Relaxation

4. Attunement to Biorythms ( Circadian Rhythms, Solar & Lunar Rhythms )

5. Removing mental blocks ( Difficult due to Repression )

6. Overcoming Prajnaparadha ( Fault of Awareness due to misuse of our

cognitive & conative functions)

7. Opening the system to the Cosmic Prana ( Opening all channels to the

Divine Shakti )

Introduction

With the advent of rapid industrialization, urbanization and the

breakdown of family life after the Second World War, social

life in the West became tense & stressful. The spread of

materialistic ideas and ideals and the erosion of faith in Morality

& the Law Divine & the social disturbance caused by the Vietnam

War brought a sense of futility & meaninglessness in the Western

psyche.The limitations of the Western system of chemotherapy

& adverse side-effects of antibiotics, sedatives and certain other

drugs and the disillusionment with the promises of science &

technology made millions turn to Oriental philosophies, divine

practices & systems of therapy.

The response from the Orient was benevolent. Favoured by the

social revolution that swept through several countries in the West

in the 1960s, these countries, especially the US, came to be

flooded with Gurus and Yogis. Yoga, TM, Reiki – all attained

world-wide popularity.

Three Modern Movements

As a byproduct three modern movements came into being.

They are Neo-humanisn, interreligious dialogue and Holistic

Health. The term ‘Neo-humanism’ refers to a basic change

in modern man’s attitude towards himself and his fellowmen

which is characterised by

a) the recognition of the essential goodness of man

b) focus on existential problems

c) striving for higher transcendental experience.

The contribution of Ramakrishna Movement to inter-faith dialogue

was immense. Other movements like Maharshi International

University & Self Realisation Fellowship contributed to this change

in the human mindset.

Holistic Health

Holistic Health refers to a modern movement which regards health as

a dynamic state of the total human being. Although the symptoms of

a disease may be found in certain tissues or organs, health is not a

mere removal of such symptoms by the treatment of the affected

tissues or organs, but a state of multidimensional experience,

according to this perspective. The mind, body & environment are

in a state of dynamic interaction & the maintenance of this interaction

in an optimum state of efficiency is what health means. In other

words ” To be healthy is to have the ability to live with full

use of our faculties and be vigorous, alert & happy to be alive,

even in old age, despite an occasional bout of illness.” This

” operational health” has been defined as wellness. It is a sense

of all-round well-being as contrasted with illness. .

The greatest aspect of holistic health is its recognition of the

role played by mind in health. ” Mind is omnipotent ” said

Freud & he had shown that the Unconscious played a key role

in causing certain diseases which came to be described as

psychosomatic diseases. He looked upon the Unconscious

chiefly as the repository of negative emotions. His early disciple

Carl Jung expanded the concept of the Unconscious to make

it include good emotions and even spiritual urges. Adler,

another disciple of Freud showed that the ego could alter

unconscious behaviour.

The connecting link between the body and mind was not clear. The

work of the Canadian endocrinologist Hans Selye brought the much

needed connecting link. In his classic work ” The Stress of Life “

Selye showed that mental stress was the root cause of several types

of common illness such as hypertension, hyperacidity etc. The

’stressor’ (the original source of stress ) excites the hypothalamus in

the brain. This vital organ which controls the autonomic nervous system

activates the pituitary to secrete the stress hormone ( known as ACTH )

which stimulates the secretion of several hormones and steroids

(including the well known, adrenaline or epinephrine). More sugar is

released into the blood & BP is increased as a result of these changes.

According to Selye, stress is unavoidable in life. ( The emotional

centre in the brain, when upset, stimulates the oxintic cells to secrete

more hydrochloric acid in the stomach which leads to hyperacidity.)

When it goes beyond a certain tolerance level ( which varies from

person to person ) the system breaks down resulting in illness.

To the scientific picture of body-mind interrelationship given above,

certain new concepts were added. One was the idea that if negative

emotions could cause illness, positive emotions can cause “wellness”.

The attention of medical experts & the imagination of the public was

captured by this innovative idea when Normal Cousins, editor of

Saturday Review, published a convincing account of his recovery

from a debilitating & incurable disease of the connective tissue.

The patient’s understanding of the disease & his active participation

in the recovery process was highlighted by his case.

The most difficult and controversial aspect of holistic health is another

idea that by creating proper awareness within himself man could

exercise a certain degree of voluntary control over the healing

processes taking place in his body. After the aftermath of Pavlov’s

demonstration of conditioned reflexes, another Russian scientist

K M Bykov and his colleagues showed in 1924 that several

involuntary processes such as regulation of body heat, heart rhythm,

production of urine, BP etc which were mediated by the autonomic

nervous system could be brought under voluntary control. The above

finding was corroborated later during experiments conducted on

animals under ‘operant’ (voluntary)conditioning. Hundreds of people

found that they could bring under control their heart rhythm, brain

waves etc with the help of the biofeedback technique. Indian Yogis

in the West also demonstrated that they could alter metabolic rate,

heartbeat, body temperature etc simply by their will power, without

the use of any biofeedback instruments.

More information about Transcendental Philosophy & Yoga can be

had from http://www.astrologiavedica.com/html/yogamain.htm

Holistic health practioners invaded the scene at this juncture.

They showed that not only certain organs but the working of the whole

system such as the digestive system, the respiratory system, circulatory

system etc ( known as the Systems concept ) could be regulated simply

by changing one’s life-style & affinities. It was claimed that even

diseases such as cancer could be cured or held in check be creating

strong faith & the right type of consciousness.Despite the exaggeration

and the propaganda which accompanied these claims, the basic idea

that man can consciously regulate involuntary and unseen physiolo-

gical processes came to be accepted as a fact by the medical

community.

Various meditation techniques like Transcendental Meditation, Zen,

Yoga were becoming popular in the West in those days. Apart from

the spiritual benefits, (In Transcendental Meditation, the existence of

a fourth major state of Consciousness called Transcendental

Consciousness was proved by Dr Keith Wallace in his Phd Thesis )

practical Yoga teachers showed that Meditation also produced other

beneficial effects such as reduction of tension, lowering of BP,

relaxation of muscles, increase of concentration & work efficiency

& even increase of immunological resistance to diseases. As a

result, some form of Meditation has become an essential part of

most holistic health programmes.( Dr Harold Bloomfied says that

TM can be used as an adjunct to psychiatric practice.)

The success of Acupuncture, herbology etc which came to be

recognised as ‘ Alternative Medicine ” , lent much support to

the holistic health position. Two great discoveries strengthened

this position. One was the discovery of ‘biological clocks’ in

nature and the existence of biorhythms in the human body. The

other discovery was that the brain produced certain neuro-

modulators called endorphins which have the property of

reducing pain. The production of these natural painkillers is

influenced by our thoughts and endorphins are produced when

our EEG brain waves are in an alpha state ( 8.5 cycles per sec).

Article by G Kumar, Astrologer, writer & programmer of www.eastrovedica.com. Recently he was awarded a Certificate by the Planetary Gemologists Association Global ( www.p-g-a.org ) as a Planetary Gem Advisor. He has 25 years psychic research experience in the esoteric arts. To subscribe to his free informative Ezine, the Z Files mailto:info@eastrovedica.com?subject=SubscribeZF. His Astro blog is up at http://www.zodiacastrology.blogspot.com & his Philosophy blog is http://transcendentalphilosophy.blogspot.com Mobile 091 9388556053

You have certainly seen them while scoping out the New Age section of your local bookstore. Prana. Aura. Chakra. Tantra. What do all of these words mean? What’s the story here? Obviously there must be something to it, with all of these books dedicated to the topic.

Are All Energy Healings the Same?

Prana is a Hindu method of energy healing, and dates back to antiquity. Chakra is a term often seen in regard to Pranic healing, as is the word aura. The aura is a a sort of non-physical companion to the physical body, having seven layers, or chakras. These layers relate to the emotional, spiritual, mental and physical well being of a person as measured in energy. The color and depth of these auras give the healer a clue to the health of the person they are studying. There are six basic color variations in these auras, and are considered to be tied to six personality types. All six colors will be present in all persons, but one or two colors will be prominent in any given individual. These colors are:

Green – ambitious achiever

Blue – spiritual peacemaker

White – unconventional chameleon

Red – activist

Orange – creative communicator

Violet – psychic

Tantra is most commonly associated with the combination of spiritual and sexual techniques, it is also a type of energy healing. From the word tan (to spread, expand), tantra is related to the idea of connectedness. This connectedness is a common theme in writings on tantra. This spiritual/sexual connection is used as a way of energy healing. Tantric practitioners hold that during orgasm, the union of man and woman takes on a spiritual aspect which can cast negative energies and impurities from the bodies of the practitioners. These negative energies if left untouched can cause illnesses.

Reiki has a different origin than that of Prana and Tantra (whose roots of course lie in the Hindu religion). Reiki hails from Japan, and is much newer than the other two forms of energy healing. Reiki means “universal energy”, e.g. and energy emanating form some higher intelligence. Reiki practitioners use this source energy to heal illnesses of the emotions, the mind and the body.

All three systems of energy healing discussed here are similar in their aims, but differ in the source of the energy drawn upon for healing. Prana uses life energy, Tantra sexual energy and Reiki universal energy.

All three also share another similarity: the belief in the interconnectedness of people with their surroundings and with other living (and even non-living) things in the environment, as well as the effect of energy on the well being of individuals.

Why Do People Turn to Energy Healing?

Pranic, Tantric, and Reiki are all considered to be alternative forms of healing. More and more are drawn to energy healing, despite the continual advances made my conventional western medicine. Why is this? Here are some possibilities:

- Energy healing worked where modern medicine failed.

Modern medicine has at times just out and out failed to heal some illnesses. There are reasons for this, some explainable by science, some not. Many will take a chance on alternative treatments as a last resort when conventional medicine has failed. Sometimes, these techniques effect a cure where other methods could not. Whether or not the research bears it out statistically, alternative and traditional healing has saved the lives of some patients.

- People perceive modern medicine to be isolating.

Western medicine is not by nature holistic. Focusing strictly on the disease and it’s cause, rather than the overall health of the patient which provided the disease a place to settle, the patient can be left feeling like they are merely a petri dish where physicians do battle with their disease. While conventional medicine is starting to move in the direction of holistic treatments, the shift is happening gradually. With energy healing, health, spirituality and energy are seen as all part of one thing; this means the patient feels like they are being cared for as a person rather as a symptom.

- Energy healing is non-obtrusive and natural thus it is safer.

Surgery can be traumatic and dangerous for patients, especially if surgical interventions must occur repeatedly. this makes energy healing attractive to many patients. Non-invasive and natural, it is certainly a safe option for treatment, and one rapidly growing in popularity.

- Energy healing is a good way of relieving stress.

An added benefit of energy healing for the stressed individual is its emphasis on meditation. After stress can cause and exacerbate some health conditions. Also, energy healing is an attractive field for students to get into as it doesn’t require practitioners to have tons of sophisticated and expensive equipment.

Traditional medicine and alternative healing methods will continue to fight it out in the arena of public opinion for many years to come. Both have their benefits and their place. What matters in the end however, is the restoration and maintenance of health.