Tai Chi mantra

Courtesey of www.123rt.com

He had spoken on and off as we strolled around the lake on our daily morning walk. The sun had just risen and there was the faintest shimmer on the surface of the water inviting those who could see it to admire the natural elements with tender respect.

‘Your arms furthermore must be as strong as steel rods wrapped in cotton, with immense power concealed therein. But the root is in the feet. The force is launched through the legs. It is controlled by the waist and expressed by the fingers.’

We were discussing the finer points of Tai Chi.

‘When the hands, waist and legs move, the eyes should follow their movements. The mind is the commander… and the body is subservient to it. When the mind is tranquil, the movements will be gentle and graceful. It follows then that when the mind is a mess, the movements will be chaotic.’

This was the wisdom of understanding I yearned.

Needless to say, I remained silent for the rest of the day.

Geoffrey Wilson

Geoffrey began his career in Oriental medicine 30 years ago. Since then, he has devoted his professional life to the process of awakening people to soul’s purpose as when people are aligned with this, healing becomes a profound spiritual experience.

‘Art of Health’ was founded by Geoffrey in 2000. Prior to this, he long held the position of Principal of the Australian Institute of Applied Feng Shui. He also founded and was former President of the Oriental Health Practitioners Association of Australia Inc. He remains on the professional advisory board to this day.

Geoffrey’s teaching career extends to a number of leading natural health colleges in Australia including Nature Care College, College of Complimentary Medicine, Australian College of Natural Medicine, and the Australian Institute of Applied Feng Shui. He also held the positions of Head Lecturer and Head of Faculty for Oriental Health Science. Currently he is the Director of Art of Health Holistic Therapy Centre in Sydney.

An excerpt from ‘Ukiyo’ novel by Geoffrey Wilson

Copyright (c) www.123rf.com

The first and last goodbye

Kolita tells his father that everyone must follow his own destiny in order to fulfil soul’s purpose. It is a prelude to his immanent departure and a gesture of respect. Deep down, Kolita is ready to go. He understands he cannot live without passion and expect to be at peace with his soul. There are too many questions unanswered and too many problems left unsolved.

‘Because my consciousness is beginning-less I know that I have taken countless rebirths in samsara,’ he says to the man who once was his idol and a Brahmin well versed in the classics.

‘I have already had countless bodies… if they were all gathered together, they would fill the entire world, and all the blood and other bodily fluids that have flowed through them would form an ocean! So great has been my suffering in all these previous lives that I have shed enough tears of sorrow to form yet another ocean!

‘In every single life without exception… I have experienced the sufferings of sickness, ageing, death… being separated from those I love… and being unable to fulfill my wishes. If I do not attain permanent liberation from suffering now, I shall have to experience these sufferings again and again in countless future lives.

‘From the very depths of our hearts… can we not at least try to abandon our attachment to worldly pleasures and attain permanent liberation from contaminated rebirths?’

Question: What would you say to your son upon hearing that?

 

Geoffrey Wilson

Geoffrey began his career in Oriental medicine 30 years ago. Since then, he has devoted his professional life to the process of awakening people to soul’s purpose as when people are aligned with this, healing becomes a profound spiritual experience.

‘Art of Health’ was founded by Geoffrey in 2000. Prior to this, he long held the position of Principal of the Australian Institute of Applied Feng Shui. He also founded and was former President of the Oriental Health Practitioners Association of Australia Inc. He remains on the professional advisory board to this day.

Geoffrey’s teaching career extends to a number of leading natural health colleges in Australia including Nature Care College, College of Complimentary Medicine, Australian College of Natural Medicine, and the Australian Institute of Applied Feng Shui. He also held the positions of Head Lecturer and Head of Faculty for Oriental Health Science. Currently he is the Director of Art of Health Holistic Therapy Centre in Sydney.

Food glorious food

Geoffrey Wilson has recently developed the Oriental Nutritional Medicine Course. The basis of Oriental Nutritional Medicine is its philosophical and spiritual praxis, a unique blend of principles that have evolved since ancient times.

The Oriental Nutritional Medicine Course is designed to extrapolate the essential concepts of Oriental Medicine and apply them to diet and health. Food Therapy (or ‘Shí liáo’) is one of the eight limbs of classical Oriental medicine and is arguably the foundation of its healing praxis. In this course, students will draw from the classics (‘Su Wen’ and ‘Pi Wei Lun’) and learn how to select and prepare medicinal food dishes, using both common and exotic ingredients (including the use of herbs) to treat specific health conditions. Included is a study of the dynamics of dietary balance and the comprehensive analysis of medicinal foods with a view to operating an Oriental nutritional medicine practice.

The course is relevant for and will provide invaluable assistance to:

• PRACTICING NATURAL THERAPISTS (e.g. Naturopaths, Homeopaths, etc)
• ACUPUNCTURISTS and REMEDIAL THERAPISTS
• CHEFS and COOKS
• HEALTH CARERS and CARE GIVERS
• INDIVIDUALS interested in optimum health for personal or business interests

OVERVIEW
The Art of Health Certificate Course in Oriental Nutritional Medicine has been specially designed to facilitate distance learning at the student’s own pace without compromising on syllabus breadth or the quality of knowledge imparted. The course in Oriental Nutritional Medicine comprises 10 modules encompassing: the basis of nourishment, medicinal foods and classification systems, the diagnosis and treatment of many common Western diseases and their corresponding Oriental medicine syndromes (including internal, external, deficiency and excess patterns), Gynaecology, Paediatrics, and holistic business practice.

Art of Health Education specialises in sharing the secrets of the Oriental healing arts, the ancient paradigm that introduced the concept of holistic healing to the world. Recognising that many enthusiasts of Oriental nutrition and medicine may not always be able to attend a classroom session due to existing commitments or constraints, we have developed our programs to facilitate step-by-step study at home. The Certificate Course gives students the ability to study and revise lessons at their own speed and time. In addition, the Art of Health Certificate Course in Oriental Nutritional Medicine and its collaborative support system ensures that students of the course will always have somewhere to turn to when questions arise.

COURSE STRUCTURE
Our courses are distance education or correspondence courses that avoid the constraints of a class room session. After registering for these courses, you will be provided with the study materials either via a download or a physical delivery to you.

STUDYING
Students are expected to undertake the courses and study the materials at their own speed. However, they must complete the course within a reasonable time frame in order not to lose the effectiveness of their efforts.

SUPPORT
Students will be able to receive assistance and guidance in their education via an on-line community created especially for this purpose. From time to time, as the course schedule or course requirements warrant, students may be invited to attend an on-line tutorial class to reinforce their learning.

MODULE 1 OVERVIEW:
Medicinal Foods and Patterns
‘Shí liáo’ is in short, the preparation of medicinal food dishes, using carefully selected food ingredients as well as superior herbs, in order to derive the necessary nutrients to treat specific health conditions. It is also the result of accumulated experience (i.e. knowledge passed down from generation to generation) and based on the strict monitoring and refinement of recipes.

The ingredients used in recipes for the correct practice of ‘Shí liáo’, can generally be classified into the following categories: health promotion; sickness prevention; disease; support; recuperation; and rejuvenation.

In terms of detail however, the classification of medicinal foods is specifically based on the identification of a broad group of unique energetic properties, functions and actions. These qualities (such as temperature and taste) are considered comprehensively in order to produce a medicinal food profile that is relevant for treatment practice.

To make sense of medicinal food classification theory, it is also necessary to become acquainted with the functions of the five fundamental substances. Students will also investigate the main principles underpinning the framework of Oriental medicine in order to diagnose and treat health problems accurately and competently.

Highlights:
• The Medicinal Properties of Foods
• Basis of Chinese Medicine: Understanding the Basics
• The Zang Fu Organ Systems
• Identifying Patterns

MODULE 2 OVERVIEW:
The Basis of Nourishment
Food Therapy (or ‘Shí liáo’) is one of the eight limbs of classical Oriental medicine and its origin can be traced back to 2,000 BC. However, The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine (written around 300 BC) established the theoretical basis of Oriental food therapy including classification of foods according to the four major food groups, the five tastes, and, their natures. Of the four pillars of health (i.e. lifestyle, nutrition, exercise and mind), diet is generally regarded as the most important and urgent because food is understood to be the primary cause of sickness, as well as the pivotal source of longevity.

Throughout the course of Chinese history, for example, healthcare has never been viewed as the responsibility of the state. Rather, it is the moral and ethical responsibility of each and every ordinary citizen. People living in a community have subsequently used and shared their own resources to find cures for sickness, implementing traditional folk wisdom, the philosophical and medical principles of Yin and Yang, and an understanding of ‘Wushen’ (the five spirits).

In this module, students will explore the basis of nourishment including a comparative analysis of the gamut of applications to dietetics today, in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the holistic approach to food therapy. Students will also examine the essence of the teachings of Huang di (the Yellow Emperor) as presented in the classic ‘Su Wen’ (the Yellow Emperor’s classic of Internal Medicine) over two thousand years ago and Li Gao, the author of the classic ‘Pi Wei Lun’ (Treatise on the Stomach and Spleen) in the eleventh century, thereby establishing guidelines for best practice.

Highlights
• Advice from the Yellow Emperor and Li Gao
• The Dynamics of Balance in Food Therapy
• The Seven Levels of Eating
• Principles of Remedial Diet
• Doctrine of Signatures
• Food Classification Systems

MODULES 3-6 OVERVIEW:
The Spleen as the Palace of Thought,
The Liver as the Ethereal Soul,
The Kidney as Will-Power,
The Heart as Mind and
The Lung as Corporeal Soul

The Spleen nourishes the muscles and limbs and consequently plays a vital part in the production of Qi and Blood. The Yang component of the Spleen is responsible for activating the processes of transformation and transportation that ultimately convert the crude elements of nutrition (food and drink) into the refined essence that eventually becomes Qi and Blood, the two basic building blocks of the human body. The Spleen is also called the ‘palace of thought’ and is associated with the intellect.

The Liver sustains a ‘free-flowing’ network of Qi and Blood transmission throughout the body including the meridians, organs, and tissues. The Liver is also called the ‘blood chamber’ because it stores and releases blood. The Liver is said to store ‘the Hun’ and is associated with the movements of the Ethereal Soul.

The Kidneys store Jing (the reproductive essence), represent the source of pre-natal energies and are responsible for hereditary characteristics. Over the course of a lifetime, the Kidneys also govern the process of decay within the organs. Jing (stored in the Kidneys) produces marrow from which the brain is activated, the spinal cord is nourished and the bones are developed. The Kidney is also said to store ‘the Zhi’ and is associated with Willpower.

The Heart governs the Blood and the vessels and is considered the ‘supreme ruler’ of all the other organs. The Heart requires adequate Blood to store ‘Shen’ and therefore if Blood is deficient, the ‘Shen’ can have no residence. If the Blood is deficient, the ‘Shen’ becomes scattered, and if the ‘Shen’ is disturbed, the Mind becomes restless. The Heart stores ‘Shen’ (Mind) and this is responsible for consciousness, thinking, affections, memory and sleep.

The Lung as a distributor of Qi and Jin-ye (body fluids) around the body is strongly connected to the Kidneys in a number of ways. The Lung descends Qi to the Kidney where it is grabbed and received. The Lung is then responsible for also sending Jin-ye to the Kidney where these fluids are vaporised and sent back to the Lungs for distribution. The Lung is said to store ‘the Po’ (Corporeal Soul) and this is responsible for physiological activities, sensations, sight, hearing, smell, and taste.

In these modules students will learn to diagnose and treat common Western diseases using Oriental nutritional medicine principles and techniques including Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Diarrhoea, Anaemia, Conjunctivitis, Migraine, Hyperthyroidism, Hepatitis, Hyperthyroidism, Chronic tonsillitis, Nocturia, Palpitations, Insomnia, Chronic respiratory disease and Influenza.

These Western diseases will be differentially diagnosed in relation to corresponding Oriental medicine syndromes including Spleen Qi Not Producing Blood, Damp Heat in Liver and Gallbladder, Kidney Yin Deficiency, Heart Fire Blazes, and Lung Qi Deficiency.

In this module, students will then apply specific food cures that are relevant to each syndrome, and design recipes and menus that are appropriate including a medicinal wine and congee with selected herbs.

Highlights
• Differential Diagnosis
• Recipe and Menu Design
• Medicinal Wines and Herb selection
• Congee and Herb selection

MODULES 7-8 OVERVIEW:
Resolving Phlegm and Draining Damp
Shifting Stagnation

Dampness and Phlegm are similar in nature and significantly, both can originate from the spleen’s inability to transform and transport fluids. There are significant differences between them however. Dampness mostly affects the lower part of the body, including the spleen, stomach, gallbladder, bladder and intestines – with the exception of the spleen, yang organs.

Phlegm mostly affects the middle and upper parts of the body, including the lungs, heart, kidney, and stomach – with the exception of the stomach. Dampness generally affects the internal organs, skin and joints. Phlegm on the other hand, can be retained in the channels and under the skin causing swelling and lumps.

Qi can easily fail in its effort to produce movement and subsequently stagnate. This applies mostly to the movement of Liver Qi, and to a lesser extent, the Intestines and Lungs. Qi is also the motive force for Blood. And so it is said, ‘When Qi moves, Blood follows’, and ‘If Qi stagnates, Blood congeals’. Consequently, if Qi is deficient or stagnant, it cannot push the Blood (which will also stagnate).

In this module students will learn to diagnose and treat common Western diseases using Oriental nutritional medicine principles and techniques including food poisoning, Asthma, Bronchitis, Bruxism, Gallstones, and Breast lumps.

These Western diseases will be differentially diagnosed in relation to corresponding Oriental medicine syndromes including Retention of Phlegm-Damp Congestion in Lungs, Heart Blood Congealed, and Cold Mucus Obstructs Spirit.

In this module, students will then apply specific food cures that are relevant to each syndrome, and design recipes and menus that are appropriate including a medicinal wine and congee with selected herbs.

Highlights
• Differential Diagnosis
• Recipe and Menu Design
• Medicinal Wines and Herb selection
• Congee and Herb selection

MODULE 9 OVERVIEW:
Gynaecology and Paediatrics

Diet is particularly relevant to gynaecology and paediatrics. This is because gynaecological and paediatric health depend so much on maintaining the integrity and strength of Spleen function. In the context of women’s health, the reproductive faculties are also influenced significantly by the functions performed by the Liver and Kidney. Learning how to manufacture sufficient supplies of Yin Essences and Blood, Yang, Qi, and the clearing of obstructions therefore, determines the relative quality of gynaecological patterns, rhythms and cycles.

The role performed by the Spleen in governing the digestive faculties of infants and children cannot be underestimated. Nor can the role performed by the Kidney in establishing the quality of constitutional strength. Until children reach the age of ten, their digestive systems are relatively immature and subject to malfunction.

As the manager of post-natal Qi, the Spleen regulates this process and deficiencies or weaknesses in the processing mechanism are exposed easily and readily. It should be noted also that the immune system is linked to both Spleen and Lung function. In the event that the roles performed by either become dysfunctional, adaptation to the environment is jeopardised.

In this module, students will have the opportunity to correlate Western disease states related to gynaecology and paediatrics with the identification of specific patterns of disharmony classified according to the praxis of Oriental medicine. It is crucial for students to adhere strictly to the principles of comparative analysis when applying a differential diagnosis to the identification of specific Western disease states in relation to Oriental medicine syndromes. In terms of food therapy, the differential diagnosis based on a pattern of disharmony determines appropriate dietary corrections and modifications.

In this module students will learn to diagnose and treat common Western diseases using Oriental nutritional medicine principles and techniques including Endometriosis, Amenorrhoea, Polycystic Ovarian disease (PCOS), bed wetting, febrile convulsions, and ENT disorders.

These Western diseases will be differentially diagnosed in relation to corresponding Oriental medicine syndromes including Jing deficiency, Yin deficiency and food stagnation.

In this module, students will then apply specific food cures that are relevant to each syndrome, and design recipes and menus that are appropriate including a medicinal wine and congee with selected herbs.

Highlights
• Differential Diagnosis
• Recipe and Menu Design
• Medicinal Wines and Herb selection
• Congee and Herb selection

MODULE 10 OVERVIEW:
Holistic Business Practice – Oriental Nutritional Medicine Practitioner

In this module, students will be required to investigate their relationship to setting up a business based on the skills they have cultivated over the duration of the course. It is therefore necessary to increase awareness of the marketplace in terms of Oriental nutritional medicine. This will equip students with marketing and business skills to allow them to build their client base and share their gifts with society.

There are several key tasks that must be performed in order to accomplish the goal of meeting the marketplace. Students will be taken through this step-by-step process and have plenty of opportunity to refine it.

There are also several key tasks that must be performed in order to accurately identify personal goals, construct a SWOT analysis and extrapolate personal options. Once these tasks have been completed, students will be in a position to design strategies and plans related to the selling and marketing of their products and services in the context of setting up an individual practice including the production of a brochure and business card that reflect the unique qualities of the student and practice.

Highlights
• Unique selling proposition
• The value of customers
• Customer loyalty
• Generating advertising
• Joint ventures
• Products
• Internet maximisation
• Growing your business

Geoffrey Wilson

Geoffrey began his career in Oriental medicine 30 years ago. Since then, he has devoted his professional life to the process of awakening people to soul’s purpose as when people are aligned with this, healing becomes a profound spiritual experience.

‘Art of Health’ was founded by Geoffrey in 2000. Prior to this, he long held the position of Principal of the Australian Institute of Applied Feng Shui. He also founded and was former President of the Oriental Health Practitioners Association of Australia Inc. He remains on the professional advisory board to this day.

Geoffrey’s teaching career extends to a number of leading natural health colleges in Australia including Nature Care College, College of Complimentary Medicine, Australian College of Natural Medicine, and the Australian Institute of Applied Feng Shui. He also held the positions of Head Lecturer and Head of Faculty for Oriental Health Science. Currently he is the Director of Art of Health Holistic Therapy Centre in Sydney.

Body, breath, mind

This excerpt is taken from my Oriental Psychology Course – available face to face or distance.

Taoist meditation exerts a profound influence on the ‘Three Treasures’: Essence (the body), Energy (the breath), and Spirit (the Mind). Essence is associated with not only the reproductive and generative power responsible for development (the Kidneys), but also drive and determination. Energy is equivalent to the Post-Natal Qi derived from food, drink and the air that we breathe (the Spleen and the Lungs). Spirit is the Mind and though it resides in the Heart, each organ is nonetheless affiliated with its own mental-spiritual aspect. In other words, Spirit is a complex of inter-connected and interdependent relationships.

There are several simple steps to follow when embarking on the journey of discovery that is learning the art of meditation. They are easy to implement and sustain, especially with practice and dedication.

1) Adopt a comfortable posture, balance your weight evenly, straighten the spine, and pay attention to physical sensations such as heat, cold, tingling, trembling, or whatever else arises.

2) When your body is comfortable and balanced, shift attention to the second level, which is breath and energy. You may focus on the breath itself as it flows in and out of the lungs through the nostrils, or on energy streaming in and out of a particular point in harmony with the breath.

3) Focus attention on thoughts and feelings forming and dissolving in the mind, your awareness expanding and contracting with each breath, insights and inspirations arising spontaneously, visions and images appearing and disappearing.

Eventually you may come upon (and perhaps randomly discover) intuitive flashes of insight regarding the ultimate nature of the mind: that in essence it is open and empty as space; that it is clear and luminous as a cloudless sky at sunrise; that in terms of its true nature, it is infinite and fundamentally unencumbered (this is called the original mind).

There are also some more specific instructions regarding posture:

Floor Position
Sit cross-legged on the floor in ‘half-lotus’ position (the foot of one leg placed to rest on the calf of the other), with the buttocks slightly elevated on a cushion or pillow. The advantages of this method are that this position is quite stable and encourages energy to flow upwards towards the brain.

Chair Position
Sit erect on a low stool or chair, feet parallel and a shoulder width apart, knees bent at a 90 degree angle, and spine erect. The advantages of sitting on a stool are that the legs do not cramp, the soles of the feet are in direct contact with the energy of the earth, and internal energy tends to flow more freely throughout the lower as well as the upper torso.

Cautions and Warnings
Most practitioners who follow Taoist Meditation techniques use both methods, depending on conditions (such as availability of chairs). When sitting cross-legged, Western practitioners, whose legs tend to cramp more easily than Asians, are advised to sit on thick and firm cushions, perhaps with a phone book or two underneath, in order to elevate the pelvis and consequently take pressure off both the legs and the knees. This also helps to keep the spine straight, without putting any strain on the lower back.

Placement of the hands is also quite important. The most natural and comfortable position for many is to rest the palms lightly on the thighs, just above the knees, with palms facing up. However, some experienced practitioners find it more effective to use one of the traditional ‘mudras’, or hand gestures (for example, thumb and index finger touching with other fingers outstretched). Experiment with different combinations of both posture and mudra until you find a style that is most suitable.

The Medicines of Fire and Water
Taoist meditation masters teach and demonstrate three basic ways to control Fire (the mind of emotion) with Water (the mind of intent), so that the student’s goals in meditation may be cultivated, refined and ultimately realized.

Stop and Observe
The first method is called ‘stop and observe’. This involves paying close attention to how thoughts both arise and fade in the mind, learning to let them pass like a freight train in the night, and certainly without clinging to any particular one. This develops awareness of the basic emptiness of all thought, as well as non-attachment to the rise and fall of emotional impulses. Gradually one learns simply to ignore the intrusion of abrasive and discursive thoughts, at which point they cease to either come and go if only for the sheer lack of attention.

Observe and Imagine
The second technique is called ‘observe and imagine’, which of course refers to the technique of visualization. Put simply, the student employs intent to visualize an image – such as a dignified and glorified spiritual giant like Buddha, Jesus, Krishna, a sacred symbol, the moon, a star, or whatever – in order to shift mental focus away from thoughts and emotions and stabilize the mind in one-pointed awareness.

You may also visualize a particular energy centre in your body, or listen to the real or imagined sound of a bell, gong, or cymbal ringing in your ears. The point of focus is not important: what counts is shifting the focus of your attention away from idle thoughts, conflicting emotions, fantasies, and other distracting antics of the ‘monkey mind’ (fire) and concentrating attention instead on a stable point of focus established by the mind of intent, or ‘wisdom mind’ (water).

Intent
The third technique in cultivating the ability to control the mind is called ‘using the mind of intent to guide energy’. When the emotional mind is calm and the breath is regulated, focus attention on the internal energy. Learn how to guide it through the meridian network in order to energize the vital organs, raise energy from the sacrum to the head in order to nourish the spirit and brain, as well as exchange stale energy for fresh energy derived from the external sources that are heaven (the yang sky) and earth (the yin ground).

Begin by focusing attention on the Lower Elixir Field (the area below the abdomen), and then moving energy from there down to the perineum, up through the coccyx, and up along the spinal centres into the head, at which point the attention shifts to the Upper Elixir Field (between the brows).

Though this may sound vague and perhaps veer on the strangely esoteric side of things (at least to the uninitiated), a few months of practice, especially in conjunction with Qi Gong exercise and balanced dietary habits, usually is sufficient to expose the subtle worlds of energy and awareness that are hidden within our physical bodies and minds. All one has to do is sit still and shut up long enough, for the mind to fall into line.

For further information on the new Oriental Psychology Certificate Course click here http://www.artofhealth.com.au/courses/.

Geoffrey Wilson

Geoffrey began his career in Oriental medicine 30 years ago. Since then, he has devoted his professional life to the process of awakening people to soul’s purpose as when people are aligned with this, healing becomes a profound spiritual experience.

‘Art of Health’ was founded by Geoffrey in 2000. Prior to this, he long held the position of Principal of the Australian Institute of Applied Feng Shui. He also founded and was former President of the Oriental Health Practitioners Association of Australia Inc. He remains on the professional advisory board to this day.

Geoffrey’s teaching career extends to a number of leading natural health colleges in Australia including Nature Care College, College of Complimentary Medicine, Australian College of Natural Medicine, and the Australian Institute of Applied Feng Shui. He also held the positions of Head Lecturer and Head of Faculty for Oriental Health Science. Currently he is the Director of Art of Health Holistic Therapy Centre in Sydney.

True observation

Copyright (c) www.123rf.com

She looked at the phone, almost as if willing it to ring. But it didn’t. She wanted it to, but it didn’t! At this point, agitation welled up within her, and the thinking of one thought led to another.

In the space of several minutes, what had been the simple observation of a mobile phone turned into hundreds of ideas about the phone. Whereas before her observation of a phone that was not ringing was a ‘fact’, her ideas about the phone were now a ‘non-fact’!

She tried to suppress and control her emotions. Yet this did nothing to assuage the conflict. Her feelings of hate, jealousy, anxiety, fear and insecurity remained. Upon reflection, it is indeed remarkable to consider just how strong the emotions are, and that their expression accurately represents the inglorious passion of suffering. Is one aware of this phenomenon on a level that can be understood? And, are the attachments that one may have to both people and things, based on these emotions?

The fact is not the idea. It is possible to create an idea about the phone, but the phone is a fact. The phone can be touched and picked up. One can look at it and see the shape of it, the colour of it. Is the attachment to it a concept, an idea, or is it a fact?

When one observes the fact, not the idea, not the conclusion or judgment about the fact, but the fact itself, is the fact different from the one who is observing?

When one observes the fact through an idea, one is not looking at the fact. How does one look at the fact? Is attachment a part of oneself or separate from oneself? The phone is separate from oneself. Yet the attachment to the phone and the emotions arising from having ideas about the phone are part of oneself.

Attachment is ‘me’. If there is no attachment, there is no ‘me’. Awareness of one’s emotions is therefore, part of one’s nature. If one is looking at oneself, there is only attachment, the fact, the feeling, the possessiveness in attachment. This is ‘me’. It is a fact!

What is one to do with this fact then? Previously when there was division between ‘me’ and attachment, one tried to do something about attachment. If attachment is ‘me’, one cannot do anything! All one can do is observe it. One cannot act upon it because it is already ‘me’.

There is only observation. If in the observation one begins to choose, and in choosing makes a judgment, saying “One must not be attached”, one is actually saying that attachment is not ‘me’. True observation means therefore that there is no choice.

The pure observation of a fact without reaching a conclusion or forming an opinion about the fact naturally dissolves it. The energy is totally centred in observation and there is complete dissipation of attachment.

Working through the exercise then, she observes the phone. What does she see? She sees a phone. It is turned off. It has buttons and a screen. Now she has an idea about the phone. What is that idea? She also has strong emotions attached to the idea about the phone. What are those emotions?

The phone is a fact. The observation is clear and pure. Her idea about the phone is a ‘non-fact’. It is not real. Her idea about the phone is that it should ring. Why? She wants the phone to ring because she wants to know that somebody has made her a priority. Somebody having made her a priority gives her a sense of self-worth. She has therefore looked for self-worth outside of herself, from another.

She has strong emotions about her idea of the phone. She has become agitated because of her idea of the phone and this has led her to projecting these emotions into the future. Now she has wild imaginings based on the idea she had of the phone.

The wild imaginings based on the idea she had of the phone and sustained by agitation are the speculations gathered together by her when reaching the conclusion that she is not recognised as a priority in someone’s life.

The phone is something apart from her. But attachment, the emotion, is part of herself. Therefore, awareness of her emotions, her attachments, is part of her structure.

If she looks at herself there is no division; there is no duality as the ‘me’ and attachment. There is only attachment, not the word but the fact, the feeling, the emotion, the possessiveness in attachment. That is a fact. That is ‘me’.

What is she to do with ‘me’? If there is ‘me’ and attachment, she could try to suppress it. But if it is ‘me’, what can she do? She can’t do anything. She can only observe. Before, she acted upon it. Now she can’t because it is HER. All she can do is observe.

Observation becomes all important, not what she does about it.

Geoffrey began his career in Oriental medicine 30 years ago. Since then, he has devoted his professional life to the process of awakening people to soul’s purpose as when people are aligned with this, healing becomes a profound spiritual experience.

 

Geoffrey Wilson

‘Art of Health’ was founded by Geoffrey in 2000. Prior to this, he long held the position of Principal of the Australian Institute of Applied Feng Shui. He also founded and was former President of the Oriental Health Practitioners Association of Australia Inc. He remains on the professional advisory board to this day.

Geoffrey’s teaching career extends to a number of leading natural health colleges in Australia including Nature Care College, College of Complimentary Medicine, Australian College of Natural Medicine, and the Australian Institute of Applied Feng Shui. He also held the positions of Head Lecturer and Head of Faculty for Oriental Health Science. Currently he is the Director of Art of Health Holistic Therapy Centre in Sydney.

On ‘Wu Wei’

Photo courtesy of Micaelab311

Those familiar with the lingo often associate Taoism with the ‘Way’. This alludes to an approach rather than a method and suggests something of flow. Unfortunately, the very moment a foreign concept is introduced many of us are inclined to rigidly define it, hold on to it, adhere to it like glue, and cling to it.

Before too long, we’ve outlived the moment and thereafter we enter the arena of dogma. However, in the same way meditation can help us to see with greater clarity, contemplation of ‘Wu Wei’ in everything we do can mean the difference between doing it easy and doing it tough!

‘Wu Wei’ means non-interference. It is a concept that is central to the practice of Taoism in daily life and implies among other things, letting things run their natural course. Going with the flow therefore has nothing to do with manipulating outcomes. Nor does it have anything to do with going to sleep while waiting for something to fall out of the sky.

‘Wu Wei’ is an approach to living that is alive and sensitive. When you are aware, awake, and responsive to the challenges of the moment, you do things very differently. You are not rushed. You are not cramped for space – if only in your own head! You are not seduced by anyone or anything. Responsible for everything that happens to you because you are awake, you stop complaining about people and the weather.

Non-interference means not getting in the way and not using force to achieve a desired result. Force is your insistence on doing it your way. But force is aggression. And force is also resistance. All of these things contradict and flow counter to the natural course of events. When we use force, we swim against the tide.

So, the question is where are you in all of this?

Geoffrey Wilson

Geoffrey began his career in Oriental medicine 30 years ago. Since then, he has devoted his professional life to the process of awakening people to soul’s purpose as when people are aligned with this, healing becomes a profound spiritual experience.

‘Art of Health’ was founded by Geoffrey in 2000. Prior to this, he long held the position of Principal of the Australian Institute of Applied Feng Shui. He also founded and was former President of the Oriental Health Practitioners Association of Australia Inc. He remains on the professional advisory board to this day.

Geoffrey’s teaching career extends to a number of leading natural health colleges in Australia including Nature Care College, College of Complimentary Medicine, Australian College of Natural Medicine, and the Australian Institute of Applied Feng Shui. He also held the positions of Head Lecturer and Head of Faculty for Oriental Health Science. Currently he is the Director of Art of Health Holistic Therapy Centre in Sydney.

Letting Go

Photo courtesy of Lisa Molloy

Letting go is a term we often hear with the frequency of a catchphrase used to convey a sense of something important. It is officially part of our language now and is not restricted to the mumbo jumbo of professionals who might refer to it as if it were a body part.

Letting go is actually a process. It is not a thing. Nor is it an achievement. You don’t become something else when you let go but rather you engage in a process of shedding your proverbial skin. Of course, the skin is on the outside of your body and letting go also pertains to the inside.

We tend to cling to our experiences, both the pleasurable and painful ones, and as such, we also develop memories which are stored in the muscles, in the bones, in the ligaments, in the joints, in the tendons, in the organs, as well as in the mind. Unfortunately, it is the memories, pleasurable or painful, which are then used to deal with the challenges we face in the present – and memories are never equipped to deal with the reality of now!

The past cannot really be used to deal efficiently with the present because ‘now’ is different to ‘then’. They may look the same, but they are different. In fact, the current challenge, the problem that we face right now, comes with a unique set of circumstances. We have never faced this set of circumstances before. We may think we have, but we haven’t. A closer inspection will reveal the truth of this.

Unless we can approach the problem with a clean sheet, as it were, free from the memories of what we did last time to solve the problem, the solution will be in adequate. So all we can do is surrender to the fact that an empty mind, free from the burden of expectation, free from the accumulation of memory, free from the pressure imposed by the past, is relaxed and as such, is free from the constraints of any kind.

According to the principles of Oriental medicine, the Colon channel shares a dynamic relationship with the Lung channel. The Colon takes care of the rubbish while the Lung takes care of nourishment. Our task then is to unravel the mystery surrounding this relationship and expose the pearls of wisdom that lie therein.

Letting go is a process. It means that you will have to make some adjustments to the way you think and behave. Not just on Sundays, but from moment-to-moment. Not just when it suits, but as a lifestyle. Not just because you are in pain, but because living is from moment-to-moment.

The adjustments you will need to make are a blend of physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual modifications that regulate lifestyle and the way you think about the world, the people in the world, and the things that are happening in the world.

Physical adjustments are usually such things as exercises designed to enable you to release tension and relax on a deeper level. Tai Chi is renowned for this. So too is Qi Gong. Both share a common set of principles and structure that facilitate release, relaxation, and then lead to softness. The good news is that you don’t need to use your mind. Your mind has to empty before you can relax.

Emotional adjustments are usually such things as forming new habits (more appropriately called responses) that require you to avoid indulging in reactions to situations. For example, rather than buy into someone’s predicament, you listen but don’t jump straight in and try to be the hero (like rescuing someone from their fate).

Avoiding the indulgence is one thing. Not taking things personally is another. It requires much practice to conquer this one and you will need to be very disciplined. This is where hanging out with the right people helps. In the same way a business mentor supervises the new kid on the block, you might benefit from a mentor who can help to keep you on track.

Mental adjustments are probably the trickiest. This requires a brand new way of thinking about life, love, the Universe and so on. The first thing to do is learn to distinguish between facts and fantasy. A fact is the actual – what is actually happening. Fantasy is a non-fact. Fantasy is what you would like something to be. Therefore fantasy is the ideal. Fact and fantasy are polar opposites. One begins when the other ends.

The second thing to do when making mental adjustments, is stick to the facts. Do not waiver. This means you avoid getting caught up in the habit of thinking about wishes, wants, hopes, and dreams. If you stay clear of fantasy, reality is like a balm to a weary soul. With practice, you begin to rest in the arms of reality quite comfortably – not numb, but aware, awake and alive!

Spiritual adjustments are none other than deferring to spirit always. In other words, give the credit to spirit. Drop the ego. Find out if you can discover the truth about humility. If you can, you will uncover a secret that few will have a real opportunity to explore. Letting go is part of the equation.

Geoffrey Wilson

Geoffrey began his career in Oriental medicine 30 years ago. Since then, he has devoted his professional life to the process of awakening people to soul’s purpose as when people are aligned with this, healing becomes a profound spiritual experience.

‘Art of Health’ was founded by Geoffrey in 2000. Prior to this, he long held the position of Principal of the Australian Institute of Applied Feng Shui. He also founded and was former President of the Oriental Health Practitioners Association of Australia Inc. He remains on the professional advisory board to this day.

Geoffrey’s teaching career extends to a number of leading natural health colleges in Australia including Nature Care College, College of Complimentary Medicine, Australian College of Natural Medicine, and the Australian Institute of Applied Feng Shui. He also held the positions of Head Lecturer and Head of Faculty for Oriental Health Science. Currently he is the Director of Art of Health Holistic Therapy Centre in Sydney.

Cleaning Up the Mess

Photo courtesy of Cuba Gallery

From a spiritual perspective, when the interval between cause and effect narrows, things are generally easier to manage right across the board. When it widens, trouble is immanent. The interval between cause and effect can be measured by the amount of mess left behind. In other words, when you make a decision about anything in life, you will experience certain consequences as a result of making that decision.

It could have something to do with your next career move, or the step you make towards consolidating your relationship. It might be the decision you make to leave town in search of a new challenging life experience! Regardless, some of the consequences of making decisions are perhaps not always what you may have expected. And indeed, here and there, you are inevitably left with nothing but a huge mess to clean up.

If for whatever reason your decisions are based on emotion, there will be a mess to clean up! Nothing could be more certain.  When angry, your Liver energy will be uprooted and  in a volatile state, you will make decisions that are unstable. When sentimental, your Heart energy will become scattered and in a frenzy, you will make decisions that are chaotic. When worried, your Spleen energy will become decimated and in depletion, you will make decisions that reflect your neediness. When sad, your Lung energy will become stale and you will make decisions based on what it feels like to drown in an ocean of despair. When fearful, your Kidney energy will be exhausted and you will make decisions based on desperation.

None of these responses is appropriate. They will all lead to the disintegration of your personal energy fields and disempowerment.

If you signed up for the job because it would pay you better than the gig you really had a passion for, you will not be able escape the gnawing feeling that you sold your soul. This feeling will eat away at you until you lose your marbles or you dump your dissatisfaction on the wrong person at the wrong time and wind up paying a high price for your frustration. At the end of the day, the infamous Doctor Faustus thought he could make a deal with Lucifer and paid the ultimate price. You don’t want to end up like him. The moral of the story at any rate is that when you do something without love it will always backfire and you will have to pay the price for it.

Similarly, if you constantly pick up the broken pieces of your daughter’s life  and try to fix things for her, she will be the one to miss out in the long run and her growing ineptitude will be the mess you have to clean up. Why? Because you taught her to be like that. If you want to help a youngster you have no choice but to show them what it means to stand on their own two feet, to be loving and compassionate, and to be confident in finding solutions for their own problems – with support and guidance when necessary. A failure to do this will reflect poorly on you. So, do you intend to bring up a child for life? Or did you intend to raise a real human being? If you were brought up to be needy, it is likely you will project this onto your own kids. If you were raised to develop independence, compassion and initiative, you will probably enjoy watching the same qualities flourish in those that follow after you.

We all have our messes. It helps if you know what they are specifically. Be honest and impartial when investigating them. Start with finding out where you stand in relation to your career. What about your personal relationship? Then move onto your family. Are your financial affairs in order? If not why not? It doesn’t mean that you have to be held to a budget’s ransom but you do need to know what comes in and what goes out and if you are serving your purpose. If you’re not healthy, when will you get your act together? Are your friends the kind of people that are suitable associates for your ongoing development? Do you make time for stillness? If not, how are you going to slow down long enough to assess what your requirements are?

As you can see, cleaning up messes is a process. It is a working, moving meditation. It never ends. But it does need to begin sometime. If you are serious about reducing the interval between cause and effect, the time has come for you to answer the big questions. They are not difficult to answer but they do need to be approached. Otherwise, you will get stuck and never seem to get off the roundabout!

Geoffrey Wilson

Geoffrey Wilson

Geoffrey began his career in Oriental medicine 30 years ago. Since then, he has devoted his professional life to the process of awakening people to soul’s purpose as when people are aligned with this, healing becomes a profound spiritual experience.

‘Art of Health’ was founded by Geoffrey in 2000. Prior to this, he long held the position of Principal of the Australian Institute of Applied Feng Shui. He also founded and was former President of the Oriental Health Practitioners Association of Australia Inc. He remains on the professional advisory board to this day.

Geoffrey’s teaching career extends to a number of leading natural health colleges in Australia including Nature Care College, College of Complimentary Medicine, Australian College of Natural Medicine, and the Australian Institute of Applied Feng Shui. He also held the positions of Head Lecturer and Head of Faculty for Oriental Health Science. Currently he is the Director of Art of Health Holistic Therapy Centre in Sydney.

The Problem with Anxiety

Photo courtesey of www.workitmom.com

The itching was driving her crazy. Nothing seemed to be capable of providing relief. She’s tried everything. The skin at the web margin on her right hand between the 4th and 5th fingers was as irritated as her disposition. If she had been able to find the right words to describe how she felt, she would have said that her hand was burning as if on fire and that emotionally, she was on tenterhooks – fragile, combustible, close to the edge.

Yes, she was anxious! Horribly so. Her 3 year old son ruled the roost and when the pressures of daily living began to mount, she often found it difficult to cope. Rather than take the hard line she caved in to her son’s incessant demands. He smelled a rat as kids have the knack of doing, and played her for the fool. She didn’t let him down. It was easier to comply with a sigh than to subject herself to the ceaseless whingeing – and the temper tantrums. The boy’s father with whom she no longer had relations, was even more generous in his supply of sentimental comfort to the boy and eventually the youngster began to realize that he could do as he pleased when he pleased.

But like all things, if you can find a leak in one place you will be able to find leaks elsewhere. If the home is unstable, work will suffer too. Fatigue and depression had reduced the mother’s effectiveness in the home to survival rather than transformation and this became the new benchmark of successful living – an attitude that spilled over into every other aspect of her life from shopping to recreation and rejuvenation. If your focus is on survival you will only be interested in getting by. If your focus is on transformation, you will be moved to do things differently.

And there is a difference between working for a living and living to work (in an inspirational sense) as the disgruntled know only too well. When you work for a living, you become a slave to the work. When you live to work, you set up a vastly different dynamic. Living to work is the same thing as finding your passion, connecting with your purpose, embracing the moment, creating and designing. This approach is inspirational and if executed in a balanced manner, great benefit can be derived.

Later, after stumbling upon something she’d not expected to find, our young woman discovered the truth about anxiety. She began to realize that anxiety is a life-style. It is learned behavior. It is a way of dealing with pressure. And it doesn’t work. It doesn’t work because anxious people can’t relax. And if you can’t relax, decisions are made based on speculation rather than understanding. The urge to speculate is the rush to achieve a desired outcome. It is the fear of not having enough. It stifles creativity. It stamps out the possibility of trust. You can see it in someone’s handwriting, in the movements of the body. You can hear it in the timbre of the voice. But most of all, you can feel the energy of anxiety when it hovers nearby.

The cure for anxiety is to stop. Only when you stop can you see what is directly in front of you. And when you stop, you can feel how tense you are. Let the tension go and release opens the door to transformation. Walk through this door and there is no longer a push for anything to happen outside of what happens. This is what the ancient Chinese meant when the principle of non- interference was first discussed.

Geoffrey Wilson

Geoffrey Wilson

Geoffrey began his career in Oriental medicine 30 years ago. Since then, he has devoted his professional life to the process of awakening people to soul’s purpose as when people are aligned with this, healing becomes a profound spiritual experience.

‘Art of Health’ was founded by Geoffrey in 2000. Prior to this, he long held the position of Principal of the Australian Institute of Applied Feng Shui. He also founded and was former President of the Oriental Health Practitioners Association of Australia Inc. He remains on the professional advisory board to this day.

Geoffrey’s teaching career extends to a number of leading natural health colleges in Australia including Nature Care College, College of Complimentary Medicine, Australian College of Natural Medicine, and the Australian Institute of Applied Feng Shui. He also held the positions of Head Lecturer and Head of Faculty for Oriental Health Science. Currently he is the Director of Art of Health Holistic Therapy Centre in Sydney.

The Heart of Understanding

If I am holding a cup of water and I ask you, “is the cup empty?” you will say “No, it is full of water.” But if I pour out the water and I ask you again, you may say, “yes, it is empty.” but, empty of what?….My cup is empty of water, but it is not empty of air. To be empty is to be empty of something…..

When Avalokita [Kuan-Yin, or Kannon, the bodhisattva who embodies Compassion] says [in the Heart Sutra] that the five skandas are equally empty, to help him be precise, we must ask “Mr. Avolikta, empty of what?” The five Skandas, which may be translated into english as the five heaps, or five aggregates, are the five elements of that comprise the human being…..In fact, these are really five rivers flowing together in us: the river of form, which means our body, the river of mental formations, the river of feelings, the river of perceptions and the river of consciousness. They are always flowing within us… Arvalokit looked deeply into the five skhandas… and discovered none of them can be by itself alone….Form is empty of a separate self, but it is full of everything else in the cosmos. The same is true with feelings, perceptions, mental formations, and consciousness.

Thich Nat Hanh ~ The Heart of Understanding