Dr Alf brings us an excellent article published in the Guardian newspaper, which on first reading made absolute sense.
Of course, it was not written by Polly Toynbee nor a Guardian reporter but by the head of the
The Chinese character depicting Tao, the central concept in Taoism. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The article was brief and did not mention the heart strengthening exercise from the Chinese book of self-healing, which is based on Taoist principles and involves standing erect and holding one’s hands at heart level in front of you with your fingertips about 1/2 inch apart.
The Chi or natural energy goes through your heart along one arm across the other arm, back through your heart and so on thus giving it greater strength.
It also didn’t mention the need for an enabling personal philosophy, which can come from NLP, Alpha Brainwave Entrainment, meditation, prayer and guided relaxation.
Zen Buddhists can achieve something like 164 mental states through their practices of meditation and contemplation and probably monks and mystics do the same through chanting certain sounds.
The rest of us who live in the world of cut and thrust are not monks or Zen Buddhists in permanent retreat but we can eat sensibly, cook properly, plan better, manage our time and try to follow the “golden rule”.
We can learn to be comfortable in our own skin, manage our money and stop pretending to be someone we are not(a great cause of stress and anxiety) and if we are stressed learn breathing exercises and (subject to medical advice from a qualified physician), take St John’s Wort as 6 million people in Germany already do.
Our environment is key to our well-being too, so we should seek out places that have a green, progressive and developmental feel and that have fresh negatively charged ions and avoid(when possible) areas which are full of positively charged ions,pollution and noise of a discordant nature.
We can suffer from noise pollution so we should listen to music which is uplifting and beautiful to listen to not the sounds produced by certain rock stars who are openly declaring themselves to be adherents of Alastair Crowley’s Thelemic Magic, the OTO and of what they like to call the “left hand path”.
When we are under pressure and have complex material to learn or present and worry about our memories then by reading late at night whilst in a somnambulist state having transferred the material to 3 by 5 cards all handwritten, we will take in what we have to say into our subconscious mind and be almost word-perfect.
Colors can be stress inducing or calming so by wearing light blue shirts and ties and having pictures at home depicting the sea, sunlit beaches or verdant countryside you can create your own oasis of calm even though you may be in the heat of an industrial city more akin to Dante’s Inferno complete with “Old Nick” himself.
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