How do I feel about the difference between human beings and plants.
5. How do I personally feel about the difference between human beings and the inanimate objects?
6. What is the essence of life itself?
I will also use some poetic works that I think provide points for reflection. Perhaps this first one expresses the huge field of Energy Medicine, so broad that many find it difficult to chew!
MORE THAN YOU CAN CHEW
by L. Susan Cabrera
You’ve taken on more than you can chew.
Oh, this is great!
You’ve learned to take risks with something new.
Never too late!
You’ve taken on more than you can chew.
Oh, this is hard!
Dilemmas and chaos do ensue.
Gut feels like lard!
You’ve taken on more than you can chew.
Oh, this is bad!
You’re totally stressed—too much to do.
You’re always mad!
You’ve taken on more than you can chew.
Oh, this is great!
You’ve learned to let go of what can wait.
Never too late!
(Reproduced with permission from the author, L. Susan Cabrera, www.LSusanCabrera.com.)
And in the following pages, I offer for mental introspection a variety of potentials. Remember that the potential is unlimited! Enjoy the trip!
2
Historical Use of Energy Medicine
Except for the many uses of electrically operated devices today, the foundations of Energy Medicine are as old as history. Of course, there are many, including Edgar Cayce, who believe that prehistoric civilizations developed advanced energetic approaches. Acupuncture from China and Ayurvedic medicine from India are among the most widely known. But every culture has used various energetic approaches to healing, including herbs and some form of “spiritual” healing. And of course, the cures attributed to Jesus were largely what we would today call spiritual healing.
Let’s take a look at several of the energetic approaches developed in other cultures that have been used since ancient times.
Prana and Pranic Healing
Some sources suggest that India’s beginnings go back some 10,000 years, so perhaps the oldest form of organized indigenous healing originated there. Whenever that civilization began, it’s clear that they may have been the earliest culture to understand the importance of energy in medicine.
Prana
In Vedic philosophy, prana is the vital life-sustaining force and quite comparable to the Chinese notion of energy, called chi (known in other Asian cultures with differing spellings). In Western philosophy, prana is referred to as the life force. The Sanskrit word, prana, means “vital life” and the force is considered one of the five “organs” of vitality or sensation. Prana also means breath. In the Vedic system, the other organs of vitality are:
• Vac (speech)
• Cakus (sight)
• Shotra (hearing)
• Manas (thought, which includes nose, mouth, eyes, ears, and mind, apparently physical eyes rather than “sight,” which is Cakus)
Prana is the foundation for all of the traditional aspects of Indian medicine, known as Ayurveda (discussed below), as well as of yoga itself. It is believed to flow through a network of fine subtle channels in the body called nadis (considered the flow of consciousness). To some extent the nadi concept is similar to the meridians of acupuncture. The most subtle form is breath, but it is also found in blood and in a concentrated form in the semen of men and vaginal fluid of women. Expounded upon in the Upanishads, prana is part of all life, but is not itself the atman or individual soul. In Ayurveda, the sun and sunshine are considered a source of prana.
The Vedic “Nadi” System
Yoga teaches that there are three main channels by which prana flows through the body: the ida, pingala, and sushumna. Ida follows the left side of the body terminating at the left nostril; pingala follows the right side of the body terminating at the right nostril; and the sushumna flows up the center. As described in Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia:
“Nadis are thought to carry a life force energy known as prana in Sanskrit, or qi in Chinese-based systems. In particular prana (active) is supposed to circulate inside Pingala, while apana (passive) is supposed to circulate inside Ida. Inside Sushumna is supposed to circulate kundalini when awakened. The Ida and Pingala nadis are often seen as referring to the two hemispheres of the brain. Pingala is the extroverted (active), solar nadi, and corresponds to the right hand side of the body and the left hand side of the brain. Ida is the introverted, lunar nadi, and corresponds to the left hand side of the body and the right hand side of the brain (crossing occurs in the optical chiasma). These nadis are also said to have an extrasensory function, playing a part in empathic and instinctive responses. The two nadis are believed to be stimulated through different practices, including Pranayama, which involves alternate breathing through left and right nostrils, which would alternately stimulate respectively the left and right sides of the brain. The word nadi comes from the Sanskrit root nad meaning “channel,” “stream,” or “flow.” The rhythmical breathing and special breathing techniques are supposed to influence the flow of these nadis or energetic currents. According to this kind of interpretation (which is the Yoga interpretation) the breathing techniques will purify and develop these two energetic currents and will lead to special breathing exercises whose goal is to awaken kundalini.
Ida, Pingala, and Sushumna
“Amongst these ducts or nadis, three are of the utmost importance: the Medullar Sushumna, which interpenetrates the cerebrospinal axis from the perineum to the juncture of the lamboid and sagittal suture of the cranium, and it is associated with both nostrils being open and free to the passage of air. The ‘lunar Serpentine Ida’ of the left side, of a pale color, negative polarity. It is associated with feminine attributes, the Yin element of Chinese philosophy, and an open left nostril; the solar Serpentine Pingala of the right side, red color, positive polarity. It is associated with masculine attributes, the Yang element of Chinese philosophy,
