TAO TE CHING - Yielding for Unity

22. Yielding for Unity

To yield is to preserve unity.
To bend is to become straight.
To empty oneself is to become full.
To wear oneself out is to be renewed.
To have little is to be content.
To have abundance is to be troubled.

Therefore the wise embrace the One
and become examples for the world.
They do not display themselves and are therefore illumined.
They do not justify themselves and are distinguished.
They do not make claims and are therefore given credit.
They do not seek glory and therefore are leaders.

Because they do not compete,
the world cannot compete with them.
Is not the ancient saying true,
"To yield is to preserve unity?"
for true wholeness comes from turning within.

TAO TE CHING - Within the Elusive Way

21. Within the Elusive Way

All-embracing power proceeds only through the Way.
What is called the Way is elusive and intangible.
Intangible and elusive, yet within it are thought-images.
Elusive and intangible, yet within it are objects.
Deep and obscure, yet within it is the life-force.
The life-force is very real, and within it is certainty.

From the ancient times till now
its manifestations have never ceased,
by which we may see the beginning of all things.
How do I know that the beginnings of all things are so?
Through this certainty.

TAO TE CHING - Drawing Sustenance

20. Drawing Sustenance

Abandon memorizing, and vexations end.
How much difference is there between yes and no?
How much difference is there between good and evil?
Is what people fear really to be feared?
How very remote the actual occurrence!

The people of the world make merry
as though at a holiday feast or a spring carnival.
I alone am inactive and desireless,
like a new-born baby who cannot yet smile,
unattached, as though homeless.

The people of the world possess more than enough.
I alone seem to have lost all.
I must be a fool, so indiscriminate and nebulous.

Most people seem knowledgeable and bright.
I alone am simple and dull.

Most people see differences and are sharp.
I alone make no distinctions,
seeming aimless, drifting as the sea,
like the wind blowing about, seemingly without destination.

People of the world all have a purpose.
I alone seem impractical and out of place.
I am different from others,
and value drawing sustenance from the Mother.

TAO TE CHING - What People Need

19. What People Need

Abandon religion and discard cleverness,
and people will benefit a hundredfold.
Abandon humanity and discard morality,
and people will rediscover love and duty.
Abandon skill and discard profit,
and there will be no thieves or robbers.
These three things relate to externals and are inadequate.

People need what they can depend on:
reveal simplicity; embrace the natural;
control selfishness; reduce desires.

TAO TE CHING - When the Way is Forgotten

18. When the Way is Forgotten

When the great Way is forgotten,
the doctrines of humanity and morality arise.
When knowledge and cleverness appear,
there emerges great hypocrisy.
When family relationships are not in harmony,
filial piety and parental love are advocated.
When a country falls into chaos and disorder,
there is praise of loyal patriots.

TAO TE CHING - Leaders

17. Leaders

The best leaders the people barely know.
The next best they love and praise.
The next they fear.
And the next they hate.

Those who lack trust will not be trusted.
Then they resort to promises.
But when they accomplish their task and complete their work,
the people say, "We did it ourselves."

TAO TE CHING - Know the Eternal

16. Know the Eternal

Empty yourself of everything.
Maintain a steady serenity.
All things take shape and become active,
but I see them return to their source,
like vegetation that grows and flourishes,
but returns to the root from which it springs.

Returning to the source is serenity;
it is to realize one's destiny.
To realize one's destiny is to know the eternal.
To know the eternal is to be enlightened.
Not to know the eternal
is to act blindly and court disaster.

Whoever knows the eternal is open to everything.
Whoever is open to everything is impartial.
To be impartial is to be universal.
To be universal is to be in accord with heaven.
To be in accord with heaven is to be in accord with the Way.
To be in accord with the Way is to be eternal
and to live free from harm even though the body dies.

TAO TE CHING - The Wise

15. The Wise

The wise have ancient mystic wisdom
and profound understanding, too deep to comprehend.
Because they can not be comprehended,
they can only be described by analogy:
cautious, like crossing a stream in winter;
alert, like one aware of danger on all sides;
courteous, like a visiting guest;
self-effacing, like ice beginning to melt;
genuine, like a piece of uncarved wood;
open and receptive, like a valley;
freely mixing, like muddy water.

Who can make sense of a muddy world?
Let it be still, and it becomes clear.
Who can remain calm,
and through activity come back to life?
Those who embrace this Way do not over-extend themselves.
Because they do not over-extend themselves,
they do not wear out and are not replaced.

TAO TE CHING - The Formless Way

14. The Formless Way

We look at it, and do not see it; it is invisible.
We listen to it, and do not hear it; it is inaudible.
We touch it, and do not feel it; it is intangible.
These three elude our inquiries, and hence merge into one.

Not by its rising, is it bright,
nor by its sinking, is it dark.
Infinite and eternal, it cannot be defined.
It returns to nothingness.
This is the form of the formless, being in non-being.
It is nebulous and elusive.

Meet it, and you do not see its beginning.
Follow it, and you do not see its end.
Stay with the ancient Way
in order to master what is present.
Knowing the primeval beginning is the essence of the Way.

TAO TE CHING - Selflessness

13. Selflessness

Good fortune and misfortune cause apprehension.
Regard great trouble as you regard your self.

What is meant by
"Good fortune and misfortune cause apprehension?"
Those with good fortune are apprehensive of their gain.
Those with misfortune are apprehensive of their loss.

What is meant by
"Regard great trouble as you regard your self?"
Great trouble comes from being selfish.
Being selfless, what trouble is there?

Therefore those who value the world as themselves
may be entrusted to govern the world.
Those who love the world as themselves
may be entrusted to care for the world.

TAO TE CHING - Satisfy the Inner Self

12. Satisfy the Inner Self

The five colors blind the eyes;
the five musical tones deafen the ears;
the five flavors dull the taste.
Racing and hunting madden the mind.
Precious goods keep their owners on guard.

Therefore the wise satisfy the inner self
rather than external senses.
They accept the one and reject the other.

TAO TE CHING - Use What Does Not Exist

11. Use What Does Not Exist

Thirty spokes are united around the hub of a wheel,
but the usefulness of the wheel
depends on the space where nothing exists.
Clay is molded into a vessel,
but the usefulness of the vessel
depends on the space where nothing exists.
Doors and windows are cut out of the walls of a house,
and the usefulness of the house
depends on the space where nothing exists.

Therefore take advantage of what exists,
and use what does not exist.

TAO TE CHING - Mystical Power

10. Mystical Power

Can you embrace the One with your soul,
and never depart from the Way?
Can you concentrate your vital force
to achieve the gentleness of a new-born baby?
Can you cleanse and purify your mystic vision
until it is clear?
Can you love the people and govern the state
without interfering?
Can you play the role of the female
in opening and closing the doors of heaven?
Can you understand all and penetrate all
without using the mind?

To give birth and to nourish,
to give birth without taking possession,
to act without obligation,
to lead without dominating---
this is mystical power.

TAO TE CHING - Moderation

9. Moderation

Stretch a bow to the very full,
and you will wish you had stopped in time.
Temper a sword-edge to its very sharpest,
and the edge will not last long.

When gold and jade fill your hall,
you will not be able to keep them safe.
To be proud with honor and wealth
is to cause one's own downfall.
Withdraw as soon as your work is done.
Such is heaven's way.

More about Tai-Chi

Tai-Chi is a tool to help you change the things that you need to change in your life. It is not a religion or a controlling philosophy, but the training it provides enables you to understand and help yourself. The ancient Chinese book The I Ching states that the balance of Yin and Yang energies physically, mentally and emotionally are essential to mankind’s well being, and also it states that as nature is always in motion then mankind should follow nature and exercise and strengthen itself continuously.

Good exercise leads to good health, high spirits and rational thinking, but many forms of exercise and sport have built in limitations, your own fitness, age, strength, speed, gender, can prevent your participation and the gaining of the benefits. Tai Chi is different, with a skilled instructor Tai Chi will adapt to you, even severe disabilities will often not preclude you from gaining benefit.

For hundreds of years westerners have been puzzled at seeing Chinese people from all walks of life enjoying this effortless looking, rhythmical ballet like exercise, which is normally performed at dawn and dusk in China and in any part of the world where there is an established Chinese community. The Chinese say that if you practice Tai Chi correctly and regularly you will gain the pliability of a child, the health of a lumberjack and the peace of mind of a sage.

So what is Tai Chi? It can be proved to trace back to at least the beginning of the 18th century with the Chen family in Henan province in Eastern China, though there are many other theories about its origins, including it being passed down by the gods in a dream to a Taoist immortal called Chang San Feng who was supposed to have lived for nearly 300 years from the early years of the 13th century. There has certainly been a fog laid over the true origins, but this art or something very similar has been slowly developing and refining for probably over a thousand years.

Tai Chi is a physical, mental and spiritual discipline, quite similar in some respects to Yoga and other eastern esoteric arts which cultivate the internal energy system. These systems are known as the internal arts, as opposed to the external arts which rely on muscle power and strength. In Tai Chi we use the mind and not muscle to move the internal energy or Chi. This creates tremendous power, which when used by a master is irresistible.

No matter how strong you are in muscle power you can always meet someone who is stronger, there is only one thing that can surmount the power of muscle and that is the combined power of mind and Chi. The relentless power of Chi used with correct soft and yielding Tai Chi techniques will overcome the hard and aggressive power of muscle. Tai Chi movements are carried out with a relaxed body and a relaxed but concentrated mind. There must be no muscle tension in order to allow the Chi to flow naturally.

TAO TE CHING - The Best Are Like Water

8. The Best Are Like Water

The best are like water.
Water benefits all things and does not compete with them.
It flows to the lowest level.
In this it comes near to the Way.

In their dwellings, they love the earth.
In their hearts, they love what is profound.
In their friendship, they love humanity.
In their words, they love sincerity.
In government, they love peace.
In business, they love ability.
In their actions, they love timeliness.
It is because they do not compete
that there is no resentment.

CHI KUNG (Qi gong)

Looking at the world's healing arts and techniques you see a basic split between the emphasis of the prevailing philosophies, Western curative and Eastern preventative. Both have their place and both are equally important.

Energetics falls into both categories but is primarily preventative. To take the holistic or body, mind and soul approach, you have three distinct personas that make up you as an entity.

You have a physical being, the one that you see in the mirror everyday, it is a biological organic machine that can break down and will wear out, being organic it is also subject to other biological machines hijacking it for their own purposes (fungi, bacteria and viruses).

You are also a reasoning and calculating being, this is the person doing the observing of you in the mirror. It is a biological organic computer that as with the modern electronic version can be subject to overload, information loss, or when the program gets corrupted, crashing.

Within these two physical personas is the energetic persona that makes it all work, and also provides the emotional aspects to your life. From the spark of life given to you at conception this energy is the means by which everything "works", your energetic being. In Chinese. It is referred to as Chi (Qi), in Japanese Ki and in India Prana. It can manifest itself in many different ways that western science is only just beginning to understand.

Each organ and bodily function has its own energy dedicated to its correct function, dictated by your genetic programming and controlled by your unconscious mind. This energy causes the growth, sustaining, and ultimately the decline of our physical and mental being. The purist form of this energy is given to us at conception and is referred to in some cultures as soul or spirit, it is the last energy to leave the machine when the lights finally go out. All the other energy we use and retain throughout our lives comes from the food we consume and the air that we breath, and the quality of this fuel is important for the quality of the resulting energy.

Energetics is the process of creating a "battery" within the body in which we can store spare or free energy, it also provides techniques for generating and directing that spare energy. In eastern philosophies there are many of these areas or centres in the body, in the sub-continent they are referred to as Chakras, in Chinese culture as Dan-tien. These areas are designated separately for physical, emotional or mental energies.

Energetics initially concentrate on the physical or growing and healing energy, which we train you to develop and concentrate at your physical centre (centre of gravity and mass) inside the belly between the kidneys, these reserves of energy help you fight off common ailments and help to forestall the onset of more serious complaints. You can then train to be able to move this energy with your mind for correcting structural weaknesses, repairing damage or to regenerate wear. This is done by training the conscious mind to direct or move that energy by using our will or intent.

TAO TE CHING - Enduring

7. Enduring

Heaven is eternal, and the earth is very old.
They can be eternal and long lasting,
because they do not exist for themselves,
and for this reason can long endure.

Therefore the wise put themselves last,
but find themselves foremost.
They are indifferent to themselves,
and yet they always remain.
Is it not because they do not live for themselves
that they find themselves fulfilled?

Unmasking Anger

Many people believe that anger is "unspiritual," a damaging misconception that often causes us to stuff it inside. Spiritual traditions such as yoga and Buddhism can teach us how to react skillfully to anger without repressing it.

The most harmful force known to humanity is not high-tech weaponry but raw anger. Anger is lightning in a bottle, and the bottle is us. If we fan anger's embers inside us, the heat can consume our love, rationality, and emotional and physical health. If we direct the heat at others, it scorches everything in its path, friendships, work relationships, marriages, and families. At its worst, anger even maims and kills.

We know that we're saner and healthier when anger isn't igniting our thoughts and actions. But anger can't be wished away; sometimes it flares up inside us as spontaneously as hiccups. Other times, we feel justifiably provoked, by a lover who betrays us, a work partner who lets us down, injustice in society. So the real question is: How can we deal constructively with this potentially destructive emotion?

For thousands of years, spiritual traditions such as yoga and Buddhism have offered detailed anti-anger prescriptions because anger undermines their main goal: attaining happiness and freedom. More recently, psychologists and medical researchers have studied anger to help prevent the damage it causes to both the perpetrator and the target. This accumulated knowledge makes clear that anger can indeed be tamed, because despite its destructive power, anger barely has a toehold in reality.

Anger comes in several forms, including outrage, frustration, jealousy, resentment, fury, and hatred. It also masquerades as judgment, criticism, and even boredom. Like all emotions, it is a complex, ever-shifting state involving thoughts, feelings, and bodily changes.

The physiological effects, which include a two-stage jolt from the class of neurotransmitters called catecholamines (e.g., adrenaline), do for anger what gasoline does for fire. The first surge lasts just minutes but energizes the body for immediate action, either fight or flight depending on how we see the situation. Our fight-or-flight response is usually biochemical overkill, a holdover from the days when the main threats to our daily equanimity were sabertooth tigers, not telemarketers calling at dinnertime. This may explain why we sometimes act all out of proportion to whatever provoked our anger. The second surge of catecholamines lasts longer, from hours to days. It puts us in an extended state of arousal and may account for why, when we're already having a bad day, we'll strike out at anything that moves, our kids, our spouse, the dog, for behavior that normally wouldn't bug us. It also underlies the seductive, sometimes enthralling power of anger, high on catecholamines, we feel strong, clear, and purposeful, dark though that purpose may be.

Beyond this, anger is tough to categorize because first, different people respond differently to it, and second, researchers don't agree where it fits on the emotional spectrum. All emotions have variations and some emotions include blends of others. For instance, jealousy combines anger, sadness, and fear. So, is anger a primary emotion from which other emotions spring or a secondary effect of more basic feelings? While the research community continues to argue about anger's qualities, however, many who counsel angry people believe that not just jealousy but all anger conceals more fundamental human responses.

Ven. Thubten Chodron, an American-born Buddhist nun and author of Working with Anger (Snow Lion, 2001), finds insights into anger from traditional Tibetan Buddhist sources. Besides unhappiness and fear, she lists habit, inappropriate attention, and attachment as key sources of anger. Sometimes we get angry because we.ve developed the habit of reacting angrily instead of with patience and compassion, she says. We become angry through inappropriate attention, by exaggerating negative aspects of people, situations, or other objects of our ill feelings. Our attachments lead to anger, she suggests, because .the more attached we are to something or someone, the angrier we get if we can't have it or it's taken away from us.

Yogis understand anger as an energy existing, like all emotions, halfway between a physical and mental experience. Like heat or other energies, anger wanes naturally, if we don't hold it back with psychological defenses, say, denying or repressing it: "Anger tends to arise in a very visceral wave. It arises, crests, and then passes away."

Anger may be superficial and transitory, but that takes nothing away from its real and present dangers. Angry people hurt themselves and others, sometimes grievously and indiscriminately.

Gandhi found no problem with feeling anger, only with how it was expressed. That is a crucial distinction that many spiritual practitioners miss. Many people believe anger is "unspiritual," a damaging misconception that leads them to stuff the emotion, trapping it inside themselves.

If we're stuck with our anger, what's the trick to mastering it? The ancient yogis didn't have access to the sophisticated knowledge of anger's biochemistry that researchers do today. But their mind-body-energy concepts are a fairly good analogue for the model that researchers apply to anger now; that partly explains why yoga is such an effective approach to dealing with it.

In yogic theory, asanas, pranayama, and meditation comprise a comprehensive toolkit for freeing up blockages at the mental, physical, or energetic level.

The technique, called "riding the wave," employs five sequential steps: Breathe, Relax, Feel, Watch, Allow. To begin the process, Breathe from the diaphragm, thereby switching your focus from your physical body to the world of energy. This switch can lead to dramatic insights and emotional release, as the prana carried in the breath penetrates blocked areas of the body and their associated blockages in the psyche.

Next, Relax your muscles as much as possible to help remove physical blocks to feeling the wave of energy. The wave's spontaneity and intensity can be frightening, spurring you to defend yourself by tensing up. Cueing yourself to relax enables the wave to continue doing its psychically liberating work.

Then, Feel, which here means focusing on the wave's sensations and investigating their qualities. What's their mood, color, texture, shape? Where do you feel them most intensely in your body? After answering these questions, Watch, that is, engage what yogis call the Witness. "If you can stand in the Witness, what Freud called the observing ego, and stay present with the wave of sensation, then it moves through you and you can make discerning choices about how to respond to it rather than reacting to it."

The final stage of the technique, Allow, simply involves trusting the intelligence and positive outcome of the wave and not resisting it. The brilliance of riding the wave, is that you stay with the raw feeling without acting on it "until you're really clear."

Classical Buddhism approaches anger in much the same way: "In Buddhism, we are constantly practicing the mindful observance of ourselves, including the arising, abiding, and subsiding of destructive emotions like anger. We don't stuff our anger down, but we don't buy its storyline either. Sometimes we can just watch it, and it will lose its power and dissipate. Other times we apply an antidote to it, a more realistic or beneficial way of looking at the situation'so that the anger evaporates."

TAO TE CHING - The Mystical Female

6. The Mystical Female

The spirit of the valley never dies.
It is called the mystical female.
The door of the mystical female
is the root of heaven and earth.
It seems to be continuously within us.
Use it, and it will never fail.

How to Declutter Your Mind and Your Life

1. Stay in bed ten seconds longer in the morning. Use the time to make a decision about how you want the day to go. One easy way is to affirm aloud: "I intend to feel good today!" Giving yourself a firm, positive suggestion daily helps to train your mind to focus on what you want.

2. Choose what you will read, watch or listen to carefully. Stick to those sections of the paper that amuse or uplift you. Make sure the people you are watching on TV are smiling. Select music or announcers who make you smile. Never tune in to more than one media at a time.

3. Forget about time. One of the worst mind-clutterers is trying to cram-jam a dozen things we think we have to do in a short span. Stop wearing a watch-you won't miss it, as there are clocks and watches everywhere you go. You won't be late, and you will be much more relaxed.

4. Tell yourself, "I have a thousand things to do, but right now, I'm going to do THIS." Then dive in. Put your full attention and focus on what you are doing, and you will do it faster and more easily than you ever dreamed you could. You will also enjoy what you are doing more. Make a habit of this, and you will be more productive and discover that some things really do take care of themselves.

5. Find a hobby or skill you really enjoy using, and engage in it every day. When you are in your mental comfort zone, a lot of the mental noise we carry around dissipates naturally.

6. Try prayer or meditation. Begin by affirming that this is your time with God, and all your earthly obligations will have to wait until you and your creator are done communicating. If you don't have formal training in some form of meditation, try simply staring at a candle and saying the word "Ahhh!" over and over. Every religion on earth uses this sound in their version of God's name: Jehovah; Adonai; Muhammed; Buddha; Krishna, etc.

7. Accept interruptions as a fact of life. But keep them short. Decide, "I will be kind and efficient, and get this done quickly" and you will.

8. Use frustrations well. Remember the line, "Thank you, God, for showing me what I absolutely, positively do NOT want!" Use the clarity to choose what would feel good instead.

9. Laugh. Nothing clears out mental junk like a good laugh. Get a friend, a movie or a memory that makes you crack up until you shake off the icky stuff.

10. Be a genius. In every given day, you will have moments of absolute clarity where something seems beautiful or feels right to you. Notice these, and make note of them in a journal if you can.

Exercise For Forgiveness and Letting Go

by William York

Many times our less positive past experiences can seem to be overwhelming and create a less than balanced experience in the present. This healing meditation is designed to allow you direct access to the energetic component of all of your past experiences and allow you to not only gain the benefit of forgiveness, but give you the opportunity to let go of the past. I highly recommend that you work on only one experience at a time. If you are working on numerous experiences with a particular individual I suggest you work on only one experience at a time. Please read this entire meditation through several times before beginning. If at any point you feel very uncomfortable during the meditation you should not continue.

It is important that before starting that you find a quiet, comfortable place to sit where you will not be disturbed for at least 45 minutes. I find it helpful to take a good hot shower (not a bath!) before starting. Wear loose-fitting, comfortable clothing. It is best to wait at least three to four hours after eating before beginning. I find that this meditation is really best done in the early evening. After finishing you will need a good rest. You may wish to skip dinner altogether and to have someone else (if possible) have some soup ready for you when you are done. It is important that after finishing that you allow yourself at least 2 to 4 hours of rest. You will have transmuted a great deal of energy and your physical body will be tired. Also, while you will have made substantial progress in healing, the rest will allow you to not revisit the issue for several hours. When you awake you will notice a substantial clearing of energy in regards to your issue.

If you follow these steps you will have released most if not all the energy in regards to your issue. You will always be able to go back to the experience but you will have the strength to see it in a new light. However, once the issue is resolved I highly recommend that you just let it go. See it for the learning experience that it is and move on in gratitude.

This process is not about judging or blaming others. This is a very powerful meditation and the energies at work here are very real. Judging or blaming others during this meditation will only prolong your healing and make it that much more difficult to release these energies in the future.

1. While sitting in your meditation place pick an issue. It is probably best to pick a simple one until you are familiar with the process. For most people the first time the issue usually picks itself.

2. If you have a standard practice to begin your meditation that puts you in a relaxed an open place you can use this to begin.

3. Now begin to focus on your breathing. Follow the in and out breath without attempting to control the breath. Do this for 8 to 10 repetitions.

4. Next we will do a series of affirmations in conjunction with the breath work. It is important to focus on the energy connected with these affirmations as you are breathing. The first part of each affirmation is the same and you will repeat the words on the in breath. The second part of each one is different and you will repeat it on the out breath. All three are done in order and the order is repeated each time. You repeat the affirmations in order 1, 2, and 3 and then start at 1 again. Do the affirmations for about 15 minutes.

* (in breath) I Am
* (out breath) Whole and Complete
* (in breath) I Am
* (out breath) As God created Me
* (in breath) I Am
* (out breath) Completely Safe

5. Now you will want to focus on the experience that you chose at the beginning. It is important to remember that this time during this experience you are in complete control. Now begin to replay the experience in your mind. Focus in a very clear and objective way on the conversation(s) you had and as best you can remember what each of you said.

6. When you finish replay only your portion of the conversation. If you see (and you will) places where you treated the other person unfairly, were rude, or just went on a relentless attack you will want to sincerely offer an apology and ask for forgiveness. Prepare the content of your apology and imagine placing it inside a beautifully wrapped package. Take this package and place it front of the person (in your mind). Bow three times and each time say I am sorry. Then leave. (Again in your mind) You are not concerned with what happens to the package or what they do with. Your focus should be on making a sincere, no strings attached apology.

7. Take a few minutes to breathe and repeat the affirmations for 1 to 2 minutes. You just want to recompose for the next step and not lose momentum.

8. Now replay their portion of the conversation. This time be absolutely quiet. Try to forget your original reaction. It sometimes helps to see yourself as an uninterested third party taking notes. Listen very carefully. Now replay it again and focus on the point the other was trying to convey. Think about how you would convey the same point. When they are finished thank them for sharing in the most sincere way you can. Now ask them if there is anything else they would like to say. Very often you will receive a great deal of insight into your relationship(s) at this point. So, Listen carefully!

9. Next you need to imagine their entire conversation as a whole piece. Allow the conversation to take whatever energetic form that seems appropriate. Remember you are not being attacked here but merely listening to what was expressed without any judgment.

10. While looking at this energetic package begin to watch your breathing and repeat the affirmations. When you are ready you need to allow this package to fully enter your heart center. Continue to breath and repeat the affirmations. Very soon you will experience a deep sense of peace. When you do look into the eyes of the person and say:

11. I have fully received your wondrous gift. Thank you for taking the time to share your wisdom with me.

12. I am most grateful for your gift, but it is no longer something I need.

13. Now look deeply into your heart center, repeat the affirmations, and allow the energy you received to turn into pure love and light. Now repeat these words:

14. I have transmuted your gift into pure love and I joyfully return it to you in the fullness of love and joy

15. Now imagine that this new gift of love is flowing from your heart center to theirs. When the transfer is complete say:

16. I am honored to have shared this learning opportunity with you. May all beings be blessed by the love we have shared today.

17. Thank them again and return to your heart center. Focus on your breathing and begin the affirmations again. Do this for about 3 minutes or less. Slowly bring yourself out of your meditation. Stand up, and when you are ready bow one time and thank the universe for this healing opportunity.

Special Note From William York: I have been working with Reiki since 1984 and for the last 25 years have been actively supporting others on their individual paths. Through silent meditation and Reiki my work is directed towards giving each individual the tools she or he needs to remember and experience the fullness of their own divine being. Peace lives inside each of us. Are you ready to unlock the door?

TAO TE CHING - Emptiness and the Center

5. Emptiness and the Center

Nature is not humane.
It treats all things like sacrificial objects.
The wise are not humane.
They regard people like sacrificial objects.

How the universe is like a bellows!
While empty, it is never exhausted.
The more it is worked, the more it produces.
Much talk brings exhaustion.
It is better to keep to the center.

TAO TE CHING - The Infinite Way

4. The Infinite Way

The Way is infinite; its use is never exhausted.
It is bottomless, like the fountainhead of all things.
It smoothes its roughness; it unties its tangles.
It softens its light; it calms its turmoil.
Deep and still, ever present.
I do not know its source.
It seems to have existed before the Lord.

Astral Mind and Matter

Knowledgeable astral projectors are aware that their astral bodies may change from episode to episode. At times the second body may be quite "thin." At other times it is "heavier."

This is because the astral body is a composite, made up in varying proportions of a physical (or semiphysical) body and a "spirit" body. During its projection the second body draws "astral material" from the first body through the silver cord that connects the two. The more astral material drawn, the more (relatively) physical the astral body. When astral material (brought to the second body by the latter’s simply "willing" it there) is abundant, the traveler is kept closer to the material world and away from all but the lowest reaches of the astral world.

It is in the "heavy" state that the astral body is able to perform mind-over-matter feats. A hand in a "thin" body goes through the door; in a "heavy"one it can open the door. It can knock on walls. It can move, even throw objects about. It can even be seen, but the observer is more likely to conclude that he has seen the ghost of a dead person than the ghost of a living one! The double often has a "smokelike" appearance reminiscent of that associated with more standard apparitions.

On occasion, though, the visible double is so little-removed from the physical that persons who see it mistake it for a normal flesh-and-blood human being. The witnesses may even speak to the double and be spoken to in return, and the conversation may seem utterly ordinary.

Well documented accounts of this kind of event, sometimes called "bilocation," are to be found in the biographies of saints and other holy persons who performed healings and other benevolent deeds in their second bodies—even though the recipients of this charitable attention had not the slightest idea (at the time, anyway) that their benefactors were in something other than their first bodies.

There is, however, one very definite risk in this kind of astral-physical border straddling. It is possible in these circumstances to sustain an injury—a cut, a bruise or something even more serious—that will register on the physical body at the conclusion of the astral experience.

The Seven Pillars of Ancient Wisdom

by D. Douglas Baker

There are seven postulates of Ancient Wisdom that are basic to progress in the study of the occult in any sort of depth. Further, these postulates must be lived if the life of the student is to take the Path of Spiritual unfoldment with any real prospect of success.

(i) Hylozism, the proposition that all things, organic or inorganic, are filled with life from the tiniest atom to the greatest galaxy.

(ii) Each and all of these live within the body of a greater being.

(iii) Each is made in the image of "God", i.e. in the image of the one "in whom it lives and moves and has its being."

(iv) There is a continuim which links all living things together so that the smallest cell does not pulsate without its effects being felt in the furthest reaches of the solar system.

(v) Our solar system has a sepentary nature: it is constructed out of energies which resonate to seven qualities.

(vi) The solidity and tangibleness of the material world about us is an illusion. It is part of maya.(1) All is energy manifesting as Fire and Form. Energy and matter are interchangeable.

(vii) There is no death, only change of state. Birth and rebirth are endless until karma is satisified and then reincarnation ceases.

These postulates have been listed in such a way that comprehension of the first leads to better understanding of those which follow. Equally so, through progressive identification with them in daily living there comes corresponding heightened spiritual awareness and revelation.

(1) Maya: Illusion; the cosmic power which renders phenomenal existence and the perceptions thereof possible. In Hindu philosophy that alone which is changeless and eternal is called reality; all that which is subject to change through decay and differentiation and which has therefore a begiinning and an end is regarded as maya -- illusion.

...from The Jewel in the Lotus, Volume One of the Seven Pillars of Ancient Wisdom, by D. Douglas Baker. First Edition, Douglas Baker, High Road, Essendon, Herts., England (no date):

TAO TE CHING - Simplicity

3. Simplicity

Do not exalt the worthy,
so that people will not compete.
Do not value rare treasure,
so that people will not steal.
Do not display objects of desire,
so that people's hearts will not be disturbed.

Therefore the wise lead by keeping
their hearts pure, their bellies full,
their ambitions weak, and their bones strong,
so that the people may be purified
of their thoughts and desires;
and the cunning ones will not interfere.
By acting without interfering, all may live in peace.

TAO TE CHING - Relativity and Not Interfering

2. Relativity and Not Interfering

When the people of the world all know beauty as beauty,
there arises the recognition of ugliness.
When they all know the good as good,
there arises the recognition of bad.

Therefore being and non-being produce each other;
difficult and easy complete each other;
long and short contrast each other;
high and low distinguish each other;
sound and voice harmonize with each other;
beginning and end follow each other.

Therefore the wise manage affairs without interfering
and teach beyond the words.

All things rise, and they do not turn away from them.
They give them life, but do not take possession of them.
They act, but do not rely on their own ability.
They accomplish, but claim no credit.
Because they claim no credit,
their accomplishment remains with them.

Four Nobel Truths

1. The Noble Truth of Suffering: There is Suffering - Rebirth, old age, disease, death, sorrow, lamention, pain, grief and despair, association with objects we dislike, separation from objects we love, not to obtain what one desires cause suffering. There are also many happy hours and pleasure in man's life-time, but according to the law of nature, they are impermanent and these last only for a short time and vanish into nothing. Only sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and despair are left by them behind.

2. The Noble Truth of The Arising of Suffering: Suffering has an origin - The Threefold Craving leads every being from birth to birth and is accompanied by joy and lust, seeking its gratification here and there, namely: Sensual Craving, Craving for Existence and Craving for Wealth and Power. There are also a sixfold craving, namely the eye craves for forms, the ear craves for sounds, the nose craves for odours, the tongue craves for taste, the body craves for objects, and the mind craves for noun, dreams or illusions. These Cravings and ignorance of the law of nature are the condition of origin of individual suffering.

3. The Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering: Suffering Can Cease - The condition of cessation of suffering is the complete fading away and extinction of this three fold craving, forsaking it and giving it up, the liberation and detachment from it. The condition of mind of a person who has been giving up his threefold cravings or this sixfold craving together with ignorance can realize Nirvana (or the Extinction of the Cravings).

4. The Noble Truth of The Path leading to the Cessation of Suffering: There is a Path our of Suffering - It is the 'Noble Eightfold Path' (or the 'Middle Path' because it avoids the two extremes of sensual pleasure and self-mortification), that leads to the Cessation of Suffering.

TAO TE CHING - The Mystical Way

1. The Mystical Way

The Way that can be described is not the absolute Way;
the name that can be given is not the absolute name.
Nameless it is the source of heaven and earth;
named it is the mother of all things.

Whoever is desireless, sees the essence of life.
Whoever desires, sees its manifestations.
These two are the same,
but what is produced has names.
They both may be called the cosmic mystery:
from the cosmic to the mystical
is the door to the essence of all life.

How To Clear Out Clutter

There are those who refuse to discard old things thinking, "they may be useful in the future." Their houses will be, generally speaking, messy; the tables and showcases will be full and stuffed with things. There will be small boxes, books, bottles, broken things and what not. Such people are scared to throw away things: "What if they are needed in future?" is the question that forever daunts them. Such houses will have less of energy flowing in it simply because much of the space available is occupied by "unnecessary" things.

How do you feel when you dispose of your household garbage, or when you give away old stuff? Do you get a feeling of lightness, as if you have been relieved of some huge weight? That's because you have created "space" for energy to come in.

The more we hold onto "useless possessions" the less satisfied we often become. Don't let your STUFF define you. Follow the how-to steps to simplify your life.

Difficulty: Hard

Time Required: 2 hours to 3 years

Here's How:

1. Define the area you are going to clear. (drawer, file cabinet, closet, attic, sentimental box, etc. )

2. Set out 6 boxes.

3. Label each of the boxes as: a) Trash b) Recycle c) Goodwill d) Sentimental e) Undecided f) Elsewhere.

4. Items to be thrown out are to be placed in the "Trash Box."

5. Items to be taken to the recycle center are to be placed in the " Recycle Box."

6. Items to be given away are to be placed in the "Goodwill Box."

7. Items that you wish to keep for sentimental reasons are to be placed in the "Sentimental Box" to be sorted through during another session. This step eliminates time wasted sentimentalizing over objects.

8. Items that you feel no longer serve you but are reluctant to release because you feel you may need them later are to be placed in the "Undecided Box."

9. Misplaced items that belong in other areas of your home/office are placed in the "Elsewhere Box." to be returned later. Returning them in the midst of your clutter clearing session will only distract you.

10. Every item from your "defined area" will have been either returned to the area in an organized fashion as a "keeper" or placed in one of the 6 boxes.

11. Trash, Recycle and Goodwill Boxes are to be removed to their designated locations within 2 days. This is an important step to follow!

12. "Sentimental Box" is set aside to be chosen as a "Defined Area" at a later date.

13. Divide "Undecided Box" into 3 boxes labeled with reasonable toss-out dates. (ie. 3mos, 6 mos, 1yr.). Allow yourself to retrieve items as needed. When the toss-out dates come up get rid of the remaining articles.

14. Distribute the items in the "Elsewhere Box" to their appropriate locations.

15. Mark a new date in your calendar for your next "De-clutter session"

Tips:

1. Define yourself a smaller area to start with to get the hang of this project.
2. Keep a supply of bottled water nearby for you to drink to help clear your system and quench your thirst as this is difficult (although worthwhile) assignment.
3. Set up a schedule for clearing clutter. Once a month is perfect!
4. Whenever we make efforts to sort through our things and get rid of items that no longer serve a purpose in our lives, we open up space that allows the universe to gift us with "new" and "more satisfying" things.
5. Regarding the "Undecided Boxes: No "toss-out" date should be longer than 3 years.

Breathing, Hyperventilation, Anxiety, and Hypertension

As you learn how to observe your breathing impartially, you may
notice that even at rest your breathing is faster than the
"average" textbook rate of 12 to 14 times a minute (a rate which
is already faster than it needs to be). In fact, many people,
without knowing it, habitually "hyperventilate," that is, they
take quick, shallow breaths from the top of our chest.

In short, we end up "overbreathing." Overbreathing, like overeating, can
cause many problems. For one thing, it sharply reduces the level
of carbon dioxide in your blood. This reduced level of carbon
dioxide causes the arteries, including the carotid artery going
to the brain, to constrict, thus reducing the flow of blood
throughout the body. When this occurs, no matter how much
oxygen you may breathe into your lungs, your brain and body
will experience a shortage of oxygen. The lack of oxygen
switches on the sympathetic nervous system, your "fight or
flight reflex," which makes you tense, anxious, and irritable.

Such breathing also reduces your ability to think clearly, and
tends to put you at the mercy of obsessive thoughts and images.
Some researchers believe that hyperventilation can actually
magnify our psychological problems and conflicts, and that
chronic hyperventilation is intimately bound up with our
anxieties, apprehensions, and fears. Research has also shown
that unnecessarilly fast breathing can actually raise a person's
blood pressure, and that slowing down your breathing can actually
reduce your blood pressure.

One approach to slowing down your breathing is to learn how to
breathe more fully and naturally, using your diaphragm, belly,
rib cage, and lower back in the breathing process.

The Ten Secrets of Authentic Breathing

1. If possible in your daily life, inhale and exhale only through your
nose, even when you are doing aerobic exercise.

2. Sense the movement of your breath frequently in the midst of your
everyday activities. Remember not to hold your breath.

3. Be sure your belly stays relaxed. Let it expand as you inhale and
retract as you exhale. Touch it and massage it frequently. Your belly
is the foundation of your breath.

4. Breath is life and movement. Let your breath engage and fill every
part of your body, especially your belly, back, spine, and chest.

5. To transform your breathing, start with your exhalation, with
"letting go."

6. A long, slow exhalation helps harmonize your diaphragm and turns
on your "relaxation response."

7. Sense the natural pause after exhalation; let yourself rest there
for a moment.

8. Let your inhalation arise by itself, when it's ready.

9. Sense the various breathing spaces of your body several times a
day. Smile into these spaces and observe how your awareness helps them
open and close effortlessly.

10. Remember, you are a breathing being, alive right now and here.
Let yourself feel the mystery and the miracle of your breath and
your life as often as you can.

Expanding Our Narrow Sense of Ourselves

"The process of breathing is a living metaphor for understanding
how to expand our narrow sense of ourselves and be present to the
ealing energies that are both in and around us. Every time we
inhale we take in some 10 to the 22nd atoms [the number 10
followed by 22 zeros], including approximately one million of
he same atoms of air inhaled by Lao Tzu, Buddha, Christ, and
everyone else who has ever lived on this earth. Every time we
exhale, we return these atoms to the atmosphere to be renewed
for both present and future generations. Every time we inhale, we
absorb oxygen expelled into the atmosphere as a waste product by
the earth's plant life. Every time we exhale, we expel carbon
ioxide as a waste product into the atmosphere where it can
eventually be absorbed by this same plant life. In nature,
conservation, transformation, and exchange of substances in
nature's complex metabolism. It connects our so-called inner world
with the vast scale of the outer world-of the earth and its
atmosphere, as well as of all organic life-through the perceptible
alternation of yin and yang, of negative and positive, of emptying
and filling. The process of breathing, if we can begin to understand
it in relation to the whole of life, shows us the way to let go of
the old and open to the new. It shows us the way to experience who
and what we actually are. It shows us the way to wholeness and
well-being."

From "The Tao of Natural Breathing," page 27, Copyright 1997 by
Dennis Lewis

The Tan-Tien Cleansing Breath

The Tan-Tien, is a Power center located approximately two and one half inches below the naval. It is the center of the physical body, your physical strength, and your awareness. This center is used in the martial arts to draw power from. The practice of cultivating the body's energy, chi (pronounced "chee," also written as qi), for greater vitality and better health has been around for the past 5,000 years, Chi Kung (also known as qigong) practitioners have used breath and body control to increase their energy.

The tan tien cleansing breath is a powerful, natural breathing exercise for both health preservation and self-healing, as well as for increasing your inner, vital energy. Based on natural, diaphragmatic breathing, it involves inhaling through the nose and directing the breath energy down into the lower tan tien, the area just beneath the navel, and exhaling waste products up and out through the nose or mouth while simultaneously condensing the breath energy into the cells of the lower abdomen. The tan tien cleansing breath requires a long, slow exhalation. By intentionally prolonging the exhalation, you not only promote the removal of toxins from your body, but you also help turn on your parasympathetic nervous system, thus furthering inner deep relaxation and healing.
Practice

The key to using tan tien breathing to help heal yourself is to inhale gently all the way down into the tan tien area, an inch or two below your navel. As you inhale, put your attention on the lower tan tien and sense your breath energy filling your lower abdomen. Feel how your abdomen naturally expands. If you like, you can put your hands on your belly to help attract your breath there. As you exhale, sense any tensions and toxins going out with the breath as your abdomen naturally contracts.

Learn to be attentive to the vital warmth or vibration of the breath energy remaining in your abdomen as you exhale. Guard it with your awareness. Feel it being absorbed deep into your cells as you exhale waste products upward and out through your nose or mouth. Do not use any force or effort in doing this practice. Use only your awareness and intention.

Tan tien breathing is an important aspect of natural, authentic breathing, so be patient and gentle as you undertake this exercise. The key is to work with your full attention, without any feeling of willfulness, and to sense the energy in your abdomen as you breathe naturally and effortlessly. If you can work in this way for several minutes each day for a few weeks, the tan tien cleansing breath will quickly become a regular and natural part of your life.

Tan Tien Chi Kung is the branch of Universal Tao dedicated to cultivating and condensing energy in the body. Tan Tien Chi Kung is a beautiful, sophisticated practice that increases vitality, strengthens your organs, and helps heal the body. Every day for the next two weeks, try the following basic warm-up movements to discover how this practice can give you an energy boost.

Sacral Space
This basic Tan Tien Chi Kung warm-up will begin to increase your capacity for chi by engaging your kua, the area that includes the sacrum, groin, hip joints, and hip flexors. Opening this space unblocks the nerves as well as the flow of chi, blood, and lymph fluid up and down the legs.

1. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart and parallel, both big toes turned slightly inward. Firmly ground the feet by pressing through nine key points: the bottom side of each toe, the ball of the foot on the big toe and pinky sides, the arch, and the center of the heel.
2. Gently rub the sacral area, the bony triangle at the base of your spine, with both hands to stimulate the sacrum. Then, holding your hands on the sacrum, move it back and forth.
3. With your hands at your sides, lightly twist and spiral the ankles and knees in an outward-turning direction. Exhale, pressing the heels firmly into the ground, with the big toes slightly inward. Press the legs firmly into the earth. Continue to rotate the leg bones to the outside. This creates tension in the tendons and it makes the feet and legs feel like one piece that attaches to the hipbones. This helps open the hips and slightly separates them from the sacrum. When you open the sacrum in this way, it feels like you are pulling the hips to the sides. At the same time, you are pushing the sacrum to the back, tucking the coccyx (the base of the spine), and opening the pelvis.

Animal Nature
Tan Tien Chi Kung's warm-up is typically followed by 11 animal postures. The powerful animal postures build on the skills practiced in the warm-up, significantly enhance chi pressure, and strengthen the perineum. Crane, for instance, develops the chi pressure in both sides of the lower Tan Tien. After each animal exercise, there is a movement to energize your body and to collect the chi generated in the lower Tan Tien.

In the Taoist tradition, the lower body and its organs and functions are associated with the earth, and the upper body and its organs and functions are associated with heaven. Yet the spiritual body cannot be born and grow without being nourished by an unceasing supply of fresh chi, generated in the lower body by the practice of Tan Tien Chi Kung.

Through grounding, centering exercises like these, you will become more skilled at reconnecting with your complete mind-body-spirit self, the world you live in, and the universe that contains you. And in that practice, you become a better blend of heaven and earth.

16 Points of Tai Chi

1. Head Hold the head up by use of the mind and not by force. It is helpful to imagine the head suspended from above by a thread. Eventually this will become natural. This has three main effects :

(i) In conjunction with the plumb erect lower vertebrae, the spirit of vitality is allowed to rise to the top of the head, when it is actively concentrated. This lightens and activates the body so that it can follow the commands of the mind more easily.

(ii) The chin is now slightly ticked inwards using only intent, not the muscles of the neck. This aligns the first and second cervical vertebrae with the crown point and allows for the proper transfer of energy to flow and follow the energy force vector.

(iii) Reduces the possibility of injury to the neck due to the whiplash effect brought about by some techniques applied against one, and by some accidents.

2. Mouth The mouth is firmly closed; teeth slightly touching. The feeling is "a little open, a little bit closed". The tongue touches the roof of the mouth behind the front teeth. This facilitates the production of the correct amount of saliva, which should be swallowed, and completes the circuit of chi between the front and back channels.

3. Breath Breathe normally and softly through the nose

4. Shoulders Relax the shoulders downwards so that :

(i) Abdominal and not thoracic breathing can predominate. If the shoulders go up the chi will rise from the abdomen to the chest since it cannot sink. This means your center will float and your balance is compromised in defense and attack.

(ii) Your energy can be released naturally and correctly. Shoulder joints, elbow joints and wrist joints are places where energy can stagnate, so they must be relaxed if energy is to pass freely through them.

5. Elbows Keep your elbows lower than the wrists so that :

(i) The chi can sink. If they are raised then the shoulders are raised and not relaxed with the effects mentioned in 4 above

(ii) You do not expose your center

This lowering comes from the mind - the physical striving for correct form does not work. Thus bend your elbow but feel as if you want to straighten them. This bending activates your whole body and stores up energy for use.

6. Chest Relax the chest inwards so that it becomes slightly and naturally hollow. This allows abdominal breathing, which happens when the diaphragm is contracted and sunk downwards and the thorax is elongated so that the lungs are filled with air. Holding golden apple in the armpits (space the size of small apples or tennis balls) facilitates this relaxation throughout the posture of Tai Chi. The same feeling is achieved by bowing of the arms in seated meditation.

Just as the chest is loosened so is every joint which is thus allowed to maintain a slight curve. This allows the chi to sink and a root to develop, with a resultant increase in tensile strength and eventually developed intrinsic energy. Thus the energy is stored up in the joints as you might draw a bow. Releasing this energy is just a matter of letting go of the arrow by using the mind.

Relaxation is assisted by a straight but not stiff posture working from a good root and perfect central equilibrium.

7. Shoulders Round the shoulders naturally. This is also done from the mind, without force and follows from relaxing the chest inwards. Thus the curve between neck and thoraxes lessened and that curve between lumbar and coccyx is also lessened. Thus the head, spine, coccyx are aligned assisting in the circulation of energy, the rise of the spirit of vitality and maintaining the most important posture in Tai Chi, central equilibrium.

8. Buttocks Care must be taken so that the buttocks are not protruded or contracted, but held naturally so that the coccyx is in alignment with the rest of the spine. Relax the sacrum and allow it to sink down and forward. Imagine there is a weight hanging by a cord from your coccyx.

9. Waist The waist must be relaxed if it is to direct movement. It is necessary to have a root in the foot so that one can pass the energy up the legs and into the fingers by means of the waist. A loose waist links upper and lower body naturally so they move in co-ordination. This co-ordination is vital if one is to use the body as one unit, relying on internal energy rather than external muscular force to execute the commands of the mind.

10. Legs The knees are pushed out and sideways whether going forwards or backwards so that they do not go past the toes, whether advancing (attacking) or retreating (yielding). This means that the whole sole of each foot is on the ground except when stepping, spinning or kicking. This means the space between the legs is rounded out. The insides of the thighs are naturally stretched in balance. This makes for a better central equilibrium and a better understanding of full and empty (each of which contains the other). This means you can move the body at will and since central equilibrium is secure all eight sides are impregnable with no projection outwards or inwards. Alignment of the hip, knee and ankle must be maintained at all times.

11. Weight The weight is always carried mainly on one leg. Thus the weight is never shared equally by both legs. This makes for economy of movement since one can immediately move the body without prior movement and can also prevent the trapping of one's center by another's energy.

12. The 10 Co-ordinates
(i) The head must co-ordinate with the coccyx

(ii) The neck must co-ordinate with the waist

(iii) The shoulders must co-ordinate with the inside of the thigh, where it joins the body

(iv) The elbows must co-ordinate with the knees

(v) The shin of one leg must co-ordinate with the shin of the other leg

(vi) The toes of one foot must co-ordinate with the toes of the other foot

(vii) The spirit must co-ordinate with the mind

(viii) The mind must co-ordinate with the energy (chi)

(ix) The energy must co-ordinate with the strength

(x0 The inner aspects (spirit, energy) must co-ordinate with the outer aspect (the external form)

13. Breath Breathe into the tan-tien. Allow this to happen naturally by letting the breath sink, and not by using force. The mind will come to rest naturally in the tan-tien and the breathing will regulate itself naturally. The flesh and muscles of the body can be imagined as a coat hung from a perpendicularly hung coat hanger (the skeleton) with a stream of breath being inhaled and exhaled down and up the center. The lungs do their work of expansion and contraction naturally, no force or tension from the mind being used.

14. Tension Unwanted tension in any part of the body or mind, stems from the body. This is released by watching it with the mind in an open and unforced way. If one has faith and perseveres the tension will go naturally of its own accord

15. Practice Practice with a quiet mind and a calm spirit. Thus while you practice tai chi like a long river moving or a beautiful girl dancing, inside you are dynamic, ready to release an active and nimble when required.

16. Mind (Intent) Use the mind rather than force. When you use the mind, the force will naturally follow it. Use of force alone will make your movements too slow.

Miscellaneous & Random

Look at the night sky, all the stars you see are a small part of The Milky Way galaxy. Our sun is about 30 thousand light-years from the center. If you see a creamy strip across the sky on a moonless night, you are seeing the outer edge of the galaxy.

Points of Entry

Finding the right concentration technique for your meditation practice means opening as many doors as possible.

We use techniques in meditation for a very simple reason: Most of us, at least when we begin meditation, need support for the mind. A technique provides a place for the mind to rest while it settles back down into its essential nature. That's all it is really, a kind of cushion. No technique is an end in itself, and no matter which one people use, it will eventually dissolve when their meditation deepens.

Most of us already know which modes of meditation feel most natural. Some people naturally have a visual bent and respond well to practices that work with inner "sights." Others are more kinesthetic, attuned to sensations of energy. There are auditory people, whose inner world opens in response to sound, and people whose practice is kindled by an insight or a feeling.

I like to think of meditation methods as portals, entry points into the spaciousness that underlies the mind. The inner spaciousness is always there, with its clarity, love, and innate goodness. It is like the sky that suddenly appears over our heads when we step out of the door. The Self, like the sky, is ever present yet hidden by the ceiling and walls of our minds. In approaching the Self, it helps to have a doorway we can comfortably walk through, rather than having to break through the wall of thoughts separating us from our inner space.

Once you become aware of how you respond to different perceptual modes, you can often adjust a practice so it works better for you. One person might experience great love when repeating a mantra with a devotional feeling, while another's meditation only takes off once they let go of all props and meditates on pure Awareness. Each person needs to find his or her own way.

Perhaps the most important thing to remember about any practice is to keep looking for its subtle essence. Every technique has its own unique feeling, which creates an energy space inside. Following the rhythm of the breath might make a person especially aware of the currents of energy flowing through the body. That energy sensation, or feeling-sense, is the subtle effect of the method and its real essence.

Ultimately no meditation practice is going to work unless you like doing it. This piece of wisdom comes from no less an authority than Patanjali's Yoga Sutra, a text so fundamental that every yogic tradition in India makes it the basis for meditation practice. After listing a string of practices for focusing the mind, Patanjali ended his chapter on concentration by saying, "Concentrate wherever the mind finds satisfaction." How do meditators know the mind is finding satisfaction in a technique? First, they should enjoy it and be able to relax within it. It should give them a feeling of peace. Once they've become familiar with it, the practice should feel natural. If they have to work too hard at it, that may be a sign it is the wrong practice.

Zen Story - Spider

A Tibetan story tells of a meditation student who, while meditating in his room, believed he saw a spider descending in front of him. Each day the menacing creature returned, growing larger and larger each time. So frightened was the student, that he went to his teacher to report his dilemma. He said he planned to place a knife in his lap during meditation, so when the spider appeared he would kill it. The teacher advised him against this plan. Instead, he suggested, bring a piece of chalk to meditation, and when the spider appeared, mark an "X" on its belly. Then report back.

The student returned to his meditation. When the spider again appeared, he resisted the urge to attack it, and instead did just what the master suggested. When he later reported back to the master, the teacher told him to lift up his shirt and look at his own belly. There was the "X".

Can Astral Projection Be Dangerous?

I have looked at astral projection from a number of different points of view. I have seen what happens when the astral body separates momentarily from the physical body; I have traveled around the world, into other realms with it.

Sylvan Muldoon, whose considerable experience with astral projection surely qualifies him as an expert on this subject, says the dangers are very slight. Some people fear that while their astral bodies are off somewhere else, an evil entity of some sort; an earthbound spirit or a demon; will take possession of their bodies, and when the astral body returns, it will find that its "home" has been occupied in its absence.

Muldoon says this fear is demonstrably unfounded. Every night many thousands of persons leave their bodies (often while they are sleeping and frequently while they remain unaware of what is happening to them) and there is absolutely no reason to believe these people are taken over and are endangered in any way. Whereas astral projection is a very common occurrence, possession is an extremely rare phenomenon, and in any case it practically never has anything to do with the victim’s out-of-body experiences (if in fact he has had any to begin with).

It is true that in a small minority of instances people have reported negative experiences in the astral realm. A few have encountered sinister forms and some even claim to have engaged in psychic combat with them. "No sooner had this unseen force lifted me a few feet than it suddenly hurled me back into myself and I came to," Robert A. Reese wrote of his experience in Fate magazine. "It seemed that something hideous was trying to overpower me."

Perhaps the key word here is trying. All it succeeded in doing, in fact, was in giving Reese a bad scare. Apparently he had strayed too close to the lowest, grossest regions of the astral and encountered one of the unpleasant,but basically powerless, beings that dwell in that place. In the end he was none the worse for wear.

Fear of Projection

We generally agree that dreams are a positive experience. They teach us, entertain us, free us momentarily from the confines of the world. Once in a while, of course, we may have a nightmare. It will shake us and upset us for a short time, but we quickly recognize it as a harmless experience, if an uncomfortable one.

Astral projection, it need hardly be said at this point, is not a "dream," but for the purposes of us who have yet to shed the physical body, it can serve some of the same functions for us. Like the dream, it teaches, entertains and frees us. Bad astral projection experiences are considerably rarer than nightmares, but they are just about as harmless.

Many unpleasant astral experiences really have nothing to do with the experience itself but with the projectors’ attitude toward it. Most people don’t know that out-of-body travel is even possible, and when suddenly it happens to them, they can be devastated. They may think that they have lost their minds, or they may be afraid that they have died. Gripped with these kinds of elemental fears, they are in no position to take an objective view, which would tell them that separation from the body is an enormously pleasurable sensation.

Exaggerated fears aside, one concern seems worth heeding. We really don’t know if people with heart problems could die from the shock of astral projection, but a cautious view suggests that such persons are better off keeping their astral and physical bodies in the same place.

Oliver Fox, an astral traveler himself, has warned that outsiders coming upon the unconscious physical body of someone who is having an OBE might conclude that the person is dead and have him buried prematurely! Can Fox be serious? It seems as likely that a merely sleeping person could end up prematurely buried; after all, the vital functions of sleepers and astral travelers don’t stop just because the bodies happen to be motionless.

In a more reasonable moment, though, Fox concedes, "Very likely these experiments are no more dangerous than motoring." In point of fact, they are safer, astral bodies don’t get maimed and crushed in collisions with physical objects. One more benefit: astral traveling is cheaper than driving!

Techniques for Astral Projection

by: Donald Michael Kraig

There are two techniques which are frequently called Astral Projection. The first one is frequently mistaken for Astral Projection but is nothing of the kind. It is actually Mental Projection. In Mental Projection you send your mind and senses away from your body by force of will. You still will retain your consciousness and some sense awareness in your physical body. Another name for this is bi-locationality.

In true Astral Projection the consciousness almost totally leaves the physical and joins the Astral Double. The physical body appears to be sleeping or in a coma… If you would like to try some… methods for projecting your Astral Body and traveling on the Astral Plane, here are some good ones. Remember, however, to always perform the LBRP [Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram. Other banishing rituals may also be used.]… before doing any projection. This cannot be overemphasized.

Method One:

Start off by placing some markers around your room or home. These markers could include such things as a rose, a bowl of cold water, a shoe, etc. Now lie down on your bed. Next, get up and make a circle, going from one marker to the next and back to your bed. Involve yourself with each of the markers. Smell the rose. Feel the cool wetness of the water. Feel the texture of the rubber of the sole of the shoe. When you return to the bed, lie down in your original position.

The next step is to visualize above you a cloud of purest white. It may remain as a cloud or you can form it into the shape of your own body (idealized if desired). You may notice a connection between your physical body and your double in the form of an umbilical-like cord at your nave, solar plexus, the third eye area, or at the top of your head. People experience this cord in different places.

Now, will the cloud or double to circle around the markers following the same path that you had taken earlier. If you noticed the cord, you can see that it will stretch indefinitely. Have the double or cloud smell the rose, feel that water and feel the shoe, just as you did earlier. Eventually this imaginary tour will change to bi-locationality and finally to Astral Projection. Once you have attained these states, there is no need to limit yourself as to where you can go. Feel free to visit a friend’s home. Remember that you are learning a new skill, so don’t try to go too far until you are very comfortable with the experience.

Even if you are only using imagination, always re-absorb the double or cloud back into your physical body when you have completed your journey. Also, always end with a banishing ritual.

Method Two:

This is similar to method one. Either lie down or sit in a chair. Begin by visualizing a cloud in front of you (or over you if you are lying down). If you wish, you may form it into a double of yourself.

Now, firmly desire to transfer your consciousness to the double. If you feel a sudden change in your body, described by some as a lightening or vibrating feeling, will yourself to open your eyes. Do not try to physically open your eyes by using your muscles. Just will yourself to see. Do not be surprised when you see your physical body in front of you.

Spend no more than three minutes concentrating on trying to cause your consciousness to leave your body and join your Astral self. If it works, fine. If it doesn’t work in about three minutes, that is fine too. Relax, take some deep breaths, and try again tomorrow.

The key to succeeding with this system (and with all of the methods, really) is the urgent desire to leave your physical body. When you succeed, be sure to re-absorb the double into your physical body at the end of the projection. Of course, do banishings before and after.

Method Three:

Lie naked on a bed. Have a friend or relative put a folded heavy bedspread on your feet. Now, have your aide slowly drag the folded spread up your body until it reaches the top of your head. Then the person helping you should quickly lift the spread up and away from you and quietly leave the room.

Now duplicate the process in your mind’s eye. Only instead of a bedspread, feel your Astral body rising up. First your feet rise, then your ankles, calves, knees and so forth to the top of your head. At the point where the bedspread was lifted from your physical body, imagine your consciousness going with the Astral body. When finished, re-absorb the double into your body.

Method Four:

Hear the musical note D natural above middle C in your mind. A little practice with a piano, pitch pipe, or a friend with a musical instrument will make this pitch familiar to you. Now, double the frequency of the pitch in your mind so that you hear a pitch an octave higher than the first note. If you are not a musician, a friend with musical knowledge can help you with this.

Again, hear the tone, only an additional octave higher, then hear it an octave above that. Continue this process until you are far above a piano’s range.

You will notice that you are feeling lighter as the note goes up in pitch. You may sense a vibration in your head. Let the sound rise higher and higher as you feel the sound rise toward the ceiling of your room. When you sense that the sound is as high as it can go, both as a pitch and within the confines of the room, will your eyes to open. Again, don’t be surprised if you see your physical body below. When finished, allow the double to be re-absorbed into the physical body. This method is particularly good for musicians…

Some students have expressed concerns about "being lost in the Astral" and not being able to come back to their physical bodies. If you follow the instructions given…it simply cannot happen. You have a direct link to your body via the cord mentioned earlier. This is true even if you, like some people, are not aware of the existence of the cord. The only time "getting lost" can occur is if you stray too far from your physical body. The relative expression "too far" is not a question of yards or miles. For lack of a better comparison…it refers to hundreds of light years. Simply stay near your body while you are learning and you will have no such problems whatsoever.

In fact, the biggest problem for most people isn’t not getting back, but getting out in the first place and then staying out. You must truly desire to leave your body and approach the entire idea of the Astral by knowing that it is beautiful, stimulating, safe, exciting and fun!

There is one problem, rarely mention due to its lack of seriousness. It can occur to beginners and long-time veterans of Astral Projection and Travel. It is what is known as "Astral Whiplash." Sometimes, when you are out-of-body, something can jar your physical body enough to suddenly draw your Astral body back into your physical self. This can be from a knock on the door, a phone ringing, a car backfiring or a friend nudging you and asking you, "Hey, are you asleep?"

The result of this whiplash back into your physical body is that you may feel groggy, sore all over, tired, and you may get a headache. When you project, astral "substance" (it has gone under many names) comes out of your physical body and unites with your Astral body by way of the aforementioned cord. Coming back too quickly can result in your leaving some of this "substance" still out on the Astral Plane. It is this loss which causes the minor physical problems mentioned above. This is one reason why you should always allow the double to be absorbed by the physical body after you finish your projection…

If you ever have a problem with Astral Whiplash, and you were not really close to your body when the whiplash occurred, there is a simply remedy for any of the symptoms associated with it. Re-project yourself to the same place to which you went when you were interrupted. Then return to your physical body in your normal fashion. You will automatically collect whatever substance was lost. If you do not have a chance to re-project, the feelings resulting from Astral Whiplash will fade in a few hours or after you have a good sleep.

Perhaps the best solution to Astral Whiplash caused by an interruption from an outsider would be prevention. Before attempting any projection, take the phone off the hook and tell anybody else in your home that you are not to be disturbed for the next hour.

The Astral Traveler

Astral Projection: An experience in which the conscious part of the self splits form the body for a period of time. The typical out-of-body experience is of short duration and comes unexpectedly. But it can be induced consciously and deliberately.

Astral Travel: The experience of moving around through the environments encountered during astral projection. This may include moving at the speed of thought to any location in the physical world, universe, or on the various more ethereal planes of the astral worlds.

Astral Plane: An intermediate and invisible level of reality between the physical plane and the higher, more divine realms. It is the common boundary between the individual and noumenal reality. A nonphysical level of existence that is the basis of the physical plane.


When I go out of my body, which I have done it often, I feel good. I enjoy it.
No words can describe the exhilaration and freedom that I experienced. At no time in my life had my mind been so clear.

It is safe to say that astral projection is usually as pleasant an experience as one can imagine. It has the capacity to change lives because those persons who experience it know the full dimensions of being, which are far deeper and far more profound than they could possibly have known before.

To the astral traveler even the physical world may look unimaginably different. The astral eye is sharper than the physical eye. Through it light is brighter, color is deeper, auras and energies around living things are visible, and objects break down into their molecular and atomic components. The soul of the world is revealed and the inadequacies of ordinary physical perception become
all too manifest.

Much of the fun of astral travel stems simply from the fact that you are free from the constraints of biology, gravity and distance. You can go anywhere, up into outer space or down into the depths of the ocean, and you won t have to worry about freezing, drowning or coming to any of the sort of harm your physical body would suffer in those environments.

Taoist Texts

These include:

Tao-te-Ching ("The Way of Power," or "The Book of the Way") is believed to have been written by Lao-Tse. It describes the nature of life, the way to peace and how a ruler should lead his life.

Chuang-tzu (named after its author) contains additional teachings.

Taoist web sites:
Taoist course, books and objects:

Lao Tzu and Taoism Revealed: A 40-day course delivered by email. You may learn more about the life and philosophy of Lao Tzu, including the study of Tao Te Ching, and concepts like tao, wu-wei, wu, and more.
https://www.regsoft.net/purchase.php3?productid=72717&rc=9E271

Tao Resource" is a web site that imports authentic Taoist products to help people improve their "personal or sacred space, to build a small Taoist shrine or even to construct a large Taoist temple." This site is well worth perusing. It has sections showing altar tables, bells & chimes, jewelry, statuary, personal altars, etc. See http://www.taoresource.com/

Sacred Mountain Press publishes Taoist works. Their "... goal is to make interesting, beautiful, and reliable Taoist information as accessible to the general public as that of any other major religious or spiritual tradition." See: http://www.smpress.com

MoreLight.net publishes a number of books from the Taoist canon, including The Primordial Breath, Volumes 1 & 2, and Oneirocritica (The Interpretation of Dreams). See: http://morelight.net/originalbooks/

Tai Chi

There is a long history of involvement by Taoists in various exercise and movement techniques. Tai chi in particular works on all parts of the body. It "stimulates the central nervous system, lowers blood pressure, relieves stress and gently tones muscles without strain. It also enhances digestion, elimination of wastes and the circulation of blood. Moreover, tai chi's rhythmic movements massage the internal organs and improve their functionality. Traditional Chinese medicine teaches that illness is caused by blockages or lack of balance in the body's "chi" (intrinsic energy). Tai Chi is believed to balance this energy flow.

The Yin Yang symbol

This is a well known Taoist symbol. "It represents the balance of opposites in the universe. When they are equally present, all is calm. When one is outweighed by the other, there is confusion and disarray." One source explains that it was derived from astronomical observations which recorded the shadow of the sun throughout a full year. The two swirling shapes inside the symbol give the impression of change, the only constant factor in the universe. One tradition states that Yin (or Ying; the dark side) represents the breath that formed the earth. Yang (the light side) symbolizes the breath that formed the heavens. "The most traditional view is that 'yin' represents aspects of the feminine: being soft, cool, calm, introspective, and healing, and "yang" the masculine: being hard, hot, energetic, moving, and sometimes aggressive. Another view has the 'yin' representing night and 'yang' day. However, since nothing in nature is purely black or purely white, the symbol includes a small black spot in the white swirl, and a corresponding white spot in the black swirl.

Ultimately, the 'yin' and 'yang' can symbolize any two opposing forces in nature. Taosts believe that humans intervene in nature and upset the balance of Yin and Yang.

Taoist Beliefs and Practices

Taoism has provided an alternative to the Confucian tradition in China. The two traditions have coexisted in the country, region and generally within the same individual.

Tao is the first-cause of the universe. It is a force that flows through all life.
"The Tao surrounds everyone and therefore everyone must listen to find enlightenment."

Each believer's goal is to become one with the Tao.
The priesthood views the many gods as manifestations of the one Dao, "which could not be represented as an image or a particular thing." The concept of a personified deity is foreign to them, as is the concept of the creation of the universe. Thus, they do not pray as Christians do; there is no God to hear the prayers or to act upon them. They seek answers to life's problems through inner meditation and outer observation.

In contrast with the beliefs and practices of the priesthood, most of the laity have "believed that spirits pervaded nature. The gods in heaven acted like and were treated like the officials in the world of men; worshipping the gods was a kind of rehearsal of attitudes toward secular authorities. On the other hand, the demons and ghosts of hell acted like and were treated like the bullies, outlaws, and threatening strangers in the real world; they were bribed by the people and were ritually arrested by the martial forces of the spirit officials."

Time is cyclical, not linear as in Western thinking.
Taoists generally have an interest in promoting health and vitality.

Five main organs and orifices of the body correspond to the five parts of the sky: water, fire, wood, metal and earth.

Each person must nurture the Ch'i (air, breath) that has been given to them.
Development of virtue is one's chief task. The Three Jewels to be sought are compassion, moderation and humility.

Taoists follow the art of "wu wei," which is to let nature take its course. For example, one should allow a river to flow towards the sea unimpeded; do not erect a dam which would interfere with its natural flow.

One should plan in advance and consider carefully each action before making it.
A Taoists is kind to other individuals, largely because such an action tends to be reciprocated.

Taoists believe that "people are compassionate by nature...left to their own devices [they] will show this compassion without expecting a reward."

History of Taoism

Tao (pronounced "Dow") can be roughly translated into English as path, or the way. It is basically indefinable. It has to be experienced. It "refers to a power which envelops, surrounds and flows through all things, living and non-living. The Tao regulates natural processes and nourishes balance in the Universe. It embodies the harmony of opposites (i.e. there would be no love without hate, no light without dark, no male without female.)"

The founder of Taoism is believed by many to be Lao-Tse (604-531 BCE), a contemporary of Confucius. (Alternate spellings: Lao Tze, Lao Tsu, Lao Tzu, Laozi, Laotze, etc.). He was searching for a way that would avoid the constant feudal warfare and other conflicts that disrupted society during his lifetime. The result was his book: Tao-te-Ching (a.k.a. Daodejing). Others believe that he is a mythical character.

Taoism started as a combination of psychology and philosophy but evolved into a religious faith in 440 CE when it was adopted as a state religion. At that time Lao-Tse became popularly venerated as a deity. Taoism, along with Buddhism and Confucianism, became one of the three great religions of China. With the end of the Ch'ing Dynasty in 1911, state support for Taoism ended. Much of the Taoist heritage was destroyed during the next period of warlordism. After the Communist victory in 1949, religious freedom was severely restricted. "The new government put monks to manual labor, confiscated temples, and plundered treasures. Several million monks were reduced to fewer than 50,000" by 1960. During the cultural revolution in China from 1966 to 1976, much of the remaining Taoist heritage was destroyed. Some religious tolerance has been restored under Deng Xiao-ping from 1982 to the present time.

Taoism currently has about 20 million followers, and is primarily centered in Taiwan. About 30,000 Taoists live in North America; 1,720 in Canada (1991 census). Taoism has had a significant impact on North American culture in areas of "acupuncture, herbalism, holistic medicine, meditation and martial arts"

Empathy Can Go a Long Way

Webster's Dictionary defines empathy as the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts and experience of another of either the past or present without having the feelings, thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an objective explicit manner.

Empathy is a way of connecting with someone else mind to mind, heart to heart and soul to soul. Although quite subjective, empathy allows you to "know" some aspect of the other's experience and understand to some degree the effects of the other's experience to the point that it can potentially cause you to extend a helping hand.

When you empathize with someone you place yourself in a mental, emotional and spiritual mode that is ideal for problem solving. Your mind begins to search for possible solutions and imagines ideal outcomes. Your emotions feel the other person's pain, anguish or concerns and builds a desire to help them overcome those challenges as if it were you going through the pain, anguish and concerns. Your spirit calls out to the Universe for help and guidance and may even become a sort of channel so that Universal energy can flow through you to them.

"Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around."
-- Leo Buscaglia

When you empathize with someone in need or going through a challenging time, there are many things you can do to extend a helping hand such as

* You can be a sounding board so that they can express their fears, pain and concerns. This alone can make someone feel better. When you allow someone to speak out freely and safely they often discover solutions to their problem(s).

* You can say words of encouragement or share affirmations with them that will help them shift their attitude and perspective from a negative to a positive, such as Emile Coue's "Every day in every way I will get better and better."

* You can pray with them and remind them of the power of prayer.

* You can teach them how to relax deeply by guiding them into a "Deep Relaxation."

* You can help them to create a mental picture of an ideal outcome so that they can meditate on that mental picture during their daily meditations or when they feel stressed out.

* You can encourage them to seek professional help and support them along the way.

However you express empathy for someone else, one thing still holds true, what goes around comes around. You may be surprised at the rewards you receive by simply extending your hand and helping someone in need.

"Remember there's no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end."

Candle Therapy

Using candles as therapy has been around for thousands of years, and has been practiced by nearly every religion. Candle therapy can be used to unite the powers of mind, body, and spirit. From ancient times to the present, Candles have lit our way through every transition! From celebrations and ceremonies to proclamations and processions! The candle's flame has always been a metaphor for the soul! It possesses a tranquil and almost hypnotic atmosphere to those who allow its power to take them to a very special place.

A candle acts as a "self object". A self object is an object that is a reflection of our self, a reflection upon which we can act. The candle reflects the spiritual and ethical changes we would like to bring about in ourselves. It burns as a reminder and symbol of our desires. Sometimes we have to hand our dreams over to a force more powerful than we are. There are many ways to utilize the power of Candle Therapy. Complementary systems of Color Therapy, Aromatherapy, Music Therapy, Energy Medicine and Sound Therapy can and do overlap within the healing process to create a positive and powerful approach to finding the balanced system. These complementary systems with Candle Therapy, are all configured and intertwined within the practice of it's theory and application.

Botanical Healer Candles

Abundance -Clove, Citronella, Lemon Balm, Cinnamon, Nutmeg
Ascended Masters & Guides - Dragon's Blood, Olive Oil, Saffron, Peppermint, Musk
Astral Journey - Rosemary, Frankincense, Myrrh, Citronella, Cypress
Compassion - Orange Blossom, Vanilla, Chamomile
Confidence - Pine, Patchouli, Salt, Cypress
Confidence - Pine, Patchouli, Salt, Cypress
Courage - Grapefruit, Pine, Rosemary
Creativity - Iris, Rose, Cinnamon
Dreams - Lavender, Rosemary, Ylang Ylang
Friendship - Musk, Carnation, Wisteria
Good Health - Clove, Nutmeg, Lemon Balm, Poppy Seed, Cedar, Honeysuckle, Juniper
Harmony - Orange Blossom, Rose, Sassafras, Juniper, Myrrh, Dragon's Blood
Healing - Cedar, Ocean, Lemon Balm, Heather
Housewarming - Cinnamon, Apple, Orange
Joy - Plumeria, Jasmine, Sandalwood
Laughter - Citrus
Love - Olive Oil, Patchouli, Rose, Clove, Lavender, Dragon's Blood
Manifest A Miracle - Magnolia, Honeysuckle, Rose
Money - Clove, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Myrrh, Citronella
Motivation - Sunflower, Myrrh, Frankincense
Peace - Vanilla, Clove, Myrrh, Ginger Root, Caraway
Positive Energy - Frankincense, Dragon's Blood, Sandalwood, Saffron
Power - Clove, Musk, Patchouli
Problem Solving - Rosemary, Honey, Honeysuckle
Protection - Frankincense, Sandalwood, Rosemary, Clove