Taoism and Avoiding Grains

[Stosh]

44 minutes ago, silent thunder said:

Incidents of bowel disorders seem to be more prevalent in techno-dependent, more sterile environments than in the third world.  We don't have exposure to many bacteria growing up and thus have a reduced spectrum of flora in the gut overall.  Though this is likely my own projection. 

I think you are not alone in that conjecture , regular medicine is just so diametrically opposed to treating people as whole biological systems I doubt there is much enthusiasm for such an empirically effected treatment. The whole idea has been to simplify to a blank slate by killing things so hypothesis can be proven or disproven.  Having all that independent uncontrolled complicated morass of relationships is just anathema to the system we have.

There's so many odd chemicals and antibiotics floating around in our food and water , and we have so many food resources that I picture it is indeed difficult for our guts to come into the balance they are supposed to have. 

I saw a show where a lady took a whole pile of capsules , which I figure can be made to break down in the colon specifically. She tolerated it like a champ,  swallowed em all without barfing at the idea  and after years of crazy symptoms , finally she got some relief. 

[silent thunder]

I'm reminded of a documentary titled In Search of Balance. 

 

It is a detailed study of how we grow food, how our soil is utilized and what impact the health of the biome of our soil, determines the nutrient and mineral content in the food we eat.  It also addresses that good food is the first phase of health and a source of potent medicine in preventative and treatment phases.

 

We can only absorb nutrients present in our food.  Our food, derives these nutrients and minerals from the soil.  The soil depends on the biome of the microbial network.

 

Consider Roundup... a poison that is designed to kill "everything but what we want to grow" and then the corn/soy/etc is genetically modified to be immune to the roundup poison, so it can grow.  However, it cannot derive the same nutritional content once the complext network of microbial life in the biome of the soil is no longer present.  One ends up with food that will fill the belly but not supply vitality, nutrition, nor defenses against sickness.

 

That documentary on the practices of farming soil is still available on Netflix to stream if anyone is interested.  I highly recommend it.

 

The good news in the documentary, is that soil long depleted by short sighted practices can bounce back very quickly, with a small amount of care in short order.  Another great aspect is that with this emerging practice, all of the elements involved in restoring the soil are completly non toxic.  At one point one of the farmers takes the camera into his shed where he's got his various soups of microbes for treating the soil in various stages and he takes a sip from them, knowing they are probiotic and filled with beneficial life, instead of harsh, life crushing toxins.

 

 

Edited June 14, 2018 by silent thunder
removed a repeated sentence and some typos

[Rara]

@Gerard Do you suggest drinking hot drinks only? If so, how would you go about this?

 

I used to drink a flask of tea throughout the day but found the caffeine/dehydration a problem and found myself drinking cold water in the evening to replenish. I don't think I have the right idea...

[Gerard]

Cold water is a very bad idea. Temperate water in summer is not a bad idea.

 

The ancient Chinese, as intelligent and deep as they are, developed the wonderful culture of Cha Dao, the Way of Tea.

 

If you drink quality tea you'll be absorbing Qi of the trees and the Earth itself most of the time, so caffeine is not an issue. I drink tea 2-3 times per day: puerh, white and oolongs. In winter I drink more roasted oolongs like yancha (Wuyi Rock) as they are more yang. 

 

Tea Hong, a vendor specialised in oolongs and based in HK, provides the yin and yang nature of the teas they sell online. Very good idea.

 

Alternatively, warm up filtered water, keep it in your flask and drink it throughout the day.

 

Hope this helps

Edited June 15, 2018 by Gerard

[Gerard]

I recall you being in the year of the Rabbit. I came across this site:

 

Novak Djokovic’s credits his success to a diet of mostly warm foods

 

Djokovic is a Fire Rabbit (1987). 

 

I also know an acupuncturist, who has taken his nutrition advice to the next level. He has developed a software designed to accomodate the patients' optimal dietary requirements according to the Ba Zi. Anyone interested can contact him here:

 

https://renoacupuncture.com/

 

He is based in Reno, USA.

 

I really like this approach. I wish everyone else could use something like this because many TCM practitioners don't have a clue about correct diet, unfortunately.

[Gerard]

How much our Earth element dislikes cold and HUMIDITY is seen to be believed. Textbook Chinese Medicine. Let me provide a real life example:

 

I had a glass of tap water (filtered) and added some lemon juice to it. It's winter here in the Southern Hemisphere. Year of the Mountain Dog is the added bonus. Not hard to imagine that this is a Year where Earth loves its mother (Fire) and completely dislikes the element it controls (Water).

 

Two hours later I went grocery shopping and my Liver started to complain in the form of flatulence. It is slightly stagnant due to the dampness caused by one glass of cool water. Just imagine what would have happened if I had a glass of cold juice stored in the fridge. Probably flatulence + serious abdominal cramps followed by Liver Yang rising a few more hours later, usually when the GB meridian becomes active (11pm).

 

In winter ---> hot soups, broths and warm water and quality tea is what the Spleen loves the most. Eating slowly is what the Stomach likes best to avoid upsetting the Digestive Fire and causing Liver Qi stagnation. Messing up with the Earth is basically messing up with all the 5 Elements due to its role of acting like a pivot (balance) for all the organs, it keeps them in place.

 

A weakened Spleen also causes an excessive pressure on the Kidney network as they need to work harder to produce more yin and yang and as a result the ageing process is accelerated.

 

 

[CloudHands]

On 14/06/2018 at 4:27 AM, Rara said:

 

I love your profile name btw...not sure if I ever said this?

 

 

I don't think so but thanks !

 

https://dontwastethecrumbs.com/2013/06/what-is-sourdough-benefits-of-sourdough-bread/

[Rara]

On 15/06/2018 at 4:56 AM, Gerard said:

Cold water is a very bad idea. Temperate water in summer is not a bad idea.

 

The ancient Chinese, as intelligent and deep as they are, developed the wonderful culture of Cha Dao, the Way of Tea.

 

If you drink quality tea you'll be absorbing Qi of the trees and the Earth itself most of the time, so caffeine is not an issue. I drink tea 2-3 times per day: puerh, white and oolongs. In winter I drink more roasted oolongs like yancha (Wuyi Rock) as they are more yang. 

 

Tea Hong, a vendor specialised in oolongs and based in HK, provides the yin and yang nature of the teas they sell online. Very good idea.

 

Alternatively, warm up filtered water, keep it in your flask and drink it throughout the day.

 

Hope this helps

 

Yeah, yesterday I had around 2-3 cups for green and although I have refrigerated filter water, I tend to leave it in a glass and sip it gradually, so it gets to room temperature. I'm not too sure I fancy drinking just warmed water without the tea though.

[Rara]

On 15/06/2018 at 8:27 AM, Gerard said:

I recall you being in the year of the Rabbit. I came across this site:

 

Novak Djokovic’s credits his success to a diet of mostly warm foods

 

Djokovic is a Fire Rabbit (1987). 

 

I also know an acupuncturist, who has taken his nutrition advice to the next level. He has developed a software designed to accomodate the patients' optimal dietary requirements according to the Ba Zi. Anyone interested can contact him here:

 

https://renoacupuncture.com/

 

He is based in Reno, USA.

 

I really like this approach. I wish everyone else could use something like this because many TCM practitioners don't have a clue about correct diet, unfortunately.

 

Yes I am...did I tell you that? This is my question, warming foods may be good for my digestion...but I have anxiety as well. I have a history with anger/insomnia etc, so I always thought cooling foods were best for me...

[Gerard]

On 16/06/2018 at 11:28 PM, Rara said:

...so I always thought cooling foods were best for me...

 

Unless it is summer and you are using cooling vegetables and certain fruits, yes...otherwise no unless you want to dampen your Earth and the serious energetic mayhem you'll bring upon yourself.

 

Remember this Chinese/Common Sense Medicine rule:

 

"Dampness easy to get, hard to get rid of."

 

This article will show you how to deal with one of the most common energetic imbalances:

 

Yang is in the Air

 

 

Edited June 18, 2018 by Gerard

[Rara]

4 hours ago, Gerard said:

 

Unless it is summer and you are using cooling vegetables and certain fruits, yes...otherwise no unless you want to dampen your Earth and the serious energetic mayhem you'll bring upon yourself.

 

Remember this Chinese/Common Sense Medicine rule:

 

"Dampness easy to get, hard to get rid of."

 

This article will show you how to deal with one of the most common energetic imbalances:

 

Yang is in the Air

 

 

 

Thanks, I'll follow this advice. I have been feeling a lot more anxious lately, aggressive at times. I have managed to control it (thanks to persisting with cultivation) but it would be nice to feel better either way!

[Gerard]

Here is a drink that will be of great benefit, if plain water is not an option.

 

Servings: 2

Preparation time: 35 min 

 

INGREDIENTS:

-2.5 cups of boiling water (spring or filtered)

-1 lemon cut into slices

-2.5 cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced

-1 teaspoon ground turmeric

-2 teaspoons honey (optional). I skip this.

DIRECTIONS:

-Bring the water to a boil.

-Turn the heat off and add the lemon, ginger and turmeric.

-Let it steep for 30 minutes.

-Strain and drink at room temperature or reheat (but don't bring to a boil) or keep it in thermos and drink throughout the day.

 

Enjoy!

[Gerard]

Here is a drink that will be of great benefit, if plain water is not an option.

 

Servings: 2

Preparation time: 35 min 

 

INGREDIENTS:

 

-*2.5 cups of boiling water (spring or filtered). 

-1 lemon cut into slices

-2.5 cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced

-1 teaspoon ground turmeric

-2 teaspoons honey (optional). I skip this.

 

DIRECTIONS:

 

-Bring the water to a boil.

-Turn the heat off and add the lemon, ginger and turmeric.

-Let it steep for 30 minutes.

-Strain and drink at room temperature or reheat (but don't bring to a boil) or keep it in thermos and drink throughout the day.

 

*Add more water if you plan to store it, then adjust the rest of the ingredients accordingly. 

 

Enjoy!

Edited June 24, 2018 by Gerard

[Phoenix3]

36 minutes ago, Gerard said:

Here is a drink that will be of great benefit, if plain water is not an option.

 

Servings: 2

Preparation time: 35 min 

 

INGREDIENTS:

 

-*2.5 cups of boiling water (spring or filtered). 

-1 lemon cut into slices

-2.5 cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced

-1 teaspoon ground turmeric

-2 teaspoons honey (optional). I skip this.

 

DIRECTIONS:

 

-Bring the water to a boil.

-Turn the heat off and add the lemon, ginger and turmeric.

-Let it steep for 30 minutes.

-Strain and drink at room temperature or reheat (but don't bring to a boil) or keep it in thermos and drink throughout the day.

 

*Add more water if you plan to store it, then adjust the rest of the ingredients accordingly. 

 

Enjoy!

 

Doesn’t turmeric have to be mixed with black pepper and milk or ghee in order to have a health effect though? Thanks for the recipe anyway

[Wu Ming Jen]

Grain stands for any type of food products that can be consumed. The Chinese character-pictograph depicts what is ‘edible for humans’. In Taoism abstention from grain is also called ‘rejection of grains’, ‘breaking away from grains, ‘severing from grains, ‘ceasing grains’, ‘cutting grains’ and so on.

 

Even though one does not eat the five grains, one however ingests Chi and energy or power. It is a Taoist belief that abstention from grains is able to kill the ‘three corpses’, the human body’s internal three types of malignant evils, and is able to extinguish the ‘nine worms’, nine types of internal parasitic worms. The phenomena of the ancient Taoist form of ‘abstention from grains’ happens naturally during the cultivation processes of ‘The Ten Months of Nourishing the Embryo, The Three Years of Suckling the Infant and the Nine Years of Facing the Wall’. It is a path a cultivator inevitably has to go through. Nowadays fasting is used in order to regulate the body and mind, and eliminate the body’s waste products.

 

The low-level ‘abstention from food’ in society is for healing and totally different from the Taoist internal alchemy methods of ‘severing form grains’.The length of time that one fasts depends on one’s strength and what one is capable of. One may fast, for example, for three days, five days, seven days and so on. One should undergo a process of adaptation; from easy to hard, proceeding step by step and gradually elevating. According to different physical conditions, one determines whether to choose complete abstention or half-abstention as the fasting method.
Some people are allowed to eat some fruits, nuts and honey.

 

 

[Phoenix3]

On 15/06/2018 at 8:27 AM, Gerard said:

I recall you being in the year of the Rabbit. I came across this site:

 

Novak Djokovic’s credits his success to a diet of mostly warm foods

 

Djokovic is a Fire Rabbit (1987). 

 

I also know an acupuncturist, who has taken his nutrition advice to the next level. He has developed a software designed to accomodate the patients' optimal dietary requirements according to the Ba Zi. Anyone interested can contact him here:

 

https://renoacupuncture.com/

 

He is based in Reno, USA.

 

I really like this approach. I wish everyone else could use something like this because many TCM practitioners don't have a clue about correct diet, unfortunately.

 

Do you have any evidence of the zodiac or astrological effects causing such a significant variation in a population? To me, every cycle around the sun, whether it is in the year of the pig or year of the horse, is more or less the same, and whatever tiny variation there is, wouldn’t be enough to change someone’s personality. Like at school, we would have all been born to the same zodiac, but there was a great variation in different personalities, intellect, talent, appearance, etc.

[Gerard]

On 24/06/2018 at 11:07 AM, Phoenix3 said:

 

Doesn’t turmeric have to be mixed with black pepper and milk or ghee in order to have a health effect though?

 

No, it's fine like that.

 

Turmeric aka yu jin in CM.

[Rara]

On 24/06/2018 at 1:28 AM, Gerard said:

Here is a drink that will be of great benefit, if plain water is not an option.

 

Servings: 2

Preparation time: 35 min 

 

INGREDIENTS:

-2.5 cups of boiling water (spring or filtered)

-1 lemon cut into slices

-2.5 cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced

-1 teaspoon ground turmeric

-2 teaspoons honey (optional). I skip this.

DIRECTIONS:

-Bring the water to a boil.

-Turn the heat off and add the lemon, ginger and turmeric.

-Let it steep for 30 minutes.

-Strain and drink at room temperature or reheat (but don't bring to a boil) or keep it in thermos and drink throughout the day.

 

Enjoy!

 

Doesn't boiling water kill the lemon's properties?

[Rara]

On 24/06/2018 at 2:19 AM, Wu Ming Jen said:

Grain stands for any type of food products that can be consumed. The Chinese character-pictograph depicts what is ‘edible for humans’. In Taoism abstention from grain is also called ‘rejection of grains’, ‘breaking away from grains, ‘severing from grains, ‘ceasing grains’, ‘cutting grains’ and so on.

 

Even though one does not eat the five grains, one however ingests Chi and energy or power. It is a Taoist belief that abstention from grains is able to kill the ‘three corpses’, the human body’s internal three types of malignant evils, and is able to extinguish the ‘nine worms’, nine types of internal parasitic worms. The phenomena of the ancient Taoist form of ‘abstention from grains’ happens naturally during the cultivation processes of ‘The Ten Months of Nourishing the Embryo, The Three Years of Suckling the Infant and the Nine Years of Facing the Wall’. It is a path a cultivator inevitably has to go through. Nowadays fasting is used in order to regulate the body and mind, and eliminate the body’s waste products.

 

The low-level ‘abstention from food’ in society is for healing and totally different from the Taoist internal alchemy methods of ‘severing form grains’.The length of time that one fasts depends on one’s strength and what one is capable of. One may fast, for example, for three days, five days, seven days and so on. One should undergo a process of adaptation; from easy to hard, proceeding step by step and gradually elevating. According to different physical conditions, one determines whether to choose complete abstention or half-abstention as the fasting method.
Some people are allowed to eat some fruits, nuts and honey.

 

 

 

Wow. More parallel to other religions then? Like ramadan...?