Faith

A few quotes that struck me today......

"If one believes in only what modern nihilists can see, one cannot believe that there is anything beyond ordinary existence. With this view, there cannot be any religion with a spiritual foundation. If one only wants to believe what ordinary nihilists believe, one cannot be spiritual, because being spiritual means believing in what is sacred and beyond the ordinary."

"Defined simply, nihilism is disbelief in anything beyond what is perceived by ordinary, shortsighted senses, and spirituality is belief in what is beyond these senses, which is the basis that sustains all religions.......If one were to believe only in material reality, there would be no immaterial object of faith as a basis for belief, and therefore no spiritual path to follow or result of enlightenment to attain."

"If there is no belief in spiritual appearances, then one cannot create positive phenomena, because no matter what religion is followed, positive phenomena originally come from believing in spirituality......All the divine messages of the Koran, the Vedas, the Bible, and the Buddhist scriptures, as well as celestial appearances of heavens, gods, and purelands, cannot be canceled just because they are not perceived with obscured senses."

Excerpted from: A Cascading Waterfall of Nectar, by Thinley Norbu

Resonantie

Age and Fertility

While there is no question that age is related to reproductive capability, I often see infertility patients who feel pressured into the western assisted reproductive technologies ("ART") in the fear that the proverbial "clock is ticking."

One of the beauties of Chinese medicine is that it is able through its diagnostics (particularly, pulse diagnosis) to distinguish between chronological age and biological age. Often, infertility patients may present with a biological age greater than their chronological age. Kidney and adrenal insufficiencies, poor circulation and nourishment to the reproductive organs and a whole host of other issues can account for this.

An important point to bear in mind is that by strengthening the Kidneys and reproductive organs, and by addressing the imbalances related to this inconsistency between the biological and chronological age, acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine can go a long way to reversing this phenomenon. We seek to have a younger biological age, or in the very least, for it to be consistent. Understanding this, through treatments, we can rewind the "clock" and the urgency of ART can be lessened, if not eliminated.

Herbs Don't Treat Symptoms

One of the biggest misconceptions and misuses of herbal medicines is trying to match up an herb to treat a symptom. Many people have heard that gingko treats poor memory or that ginseng gives energy. And so this one-to-one correlation creeps into the westerners mind about trying to find the right herbs for each of their symptoms. In fact, this is one of the downfalls of western pharmaceuticals. We take one medicine for our heartburn and that causes another symptom so we take another med for that, but that causes additional symptoms so we take even more medications.

But one has to look beyond the symptomatic relief if one wants any understanding of the mechanisms behind how the herbs work. No herb will work for everyone with a given symptom. The reason is that people's symptoms while they may appear similar (poor memory, low energy) can be caused by a multitude of imbalances. For example, poor memory can be caused by poor cerebral circulation or by phlegm misting the orifices or by blood deficiency or by qi deficiency, etc., etc. And low energy can be caused qi and/or blood deficiency, qi depression/stagnation, etc., etc.

So, if one has poor memory from blood deficiency and they take gingko which enhances blood circulation in the head, they will receive no benefit. That doesn't mean that gingko doesn't effectively treat poor memory. It just means that it was used improperly in the wrong individual because it does not treat symptoms. It has a particular dynamic or function that it performs once ingested. Without understanding that dynamic or function, there can be no success using this herb other than sheer hit or miss.

Same goes for ginseng and every other herb that is touted in the media for treating particular symptoms. Ginger for nausea. But what if the nausea is caused by Stomach heat? Ginger is very hot and will probably cause vomiting.

So, understanding the mechanism behind an herb's actions and a proper diagnoses of the exact causes of an imbalance are what is required to use herbal medicines successfully.

Powerlessness

Ever have something happen to you that you couldn't control, or have a loved one sick with no means to stop their suffering? This feeling of powerlessness while so often seen as a source of tremendous suffering to us, can be turned around (so I am told :-)) to provoke a deep sense of freedom. Once we accept that we have no control over our lives, we can start to quiet our expectations and simply bask in the in appreciation for what we have and how lucky we are. Even in the midst of our suffering, we can see things from a different perspective. And we can be there for others more fully to help them gain a different perspective as well.

Rinpoche's Tibetan Monastery and Medical Clinic

Rinpoche is reconstructing a monastery and medical clinic in Tibet. As it is a large project, anyone wishing to contribute is welcomed. You can access the site here with descriptions of the plans as well as other information. In the future, we also plan on having a school and clinic for Rinpoche here in NJ!

(The pictures of the ceremonial objects from the Medicine Buddha empowerment on this page took place at my home.)

Our Girl Has Arrived!

Tatum Devani Rosen ("Cheerful Shining Celestial Goddess Full of Spirit") was born at 5:05 am and is perfect. Ann as usual did amazing.