Active and passionate rest on the water. A little romance on a warm sunny day on the Volga. The city of Konakovo. Russia.

Cyclic, rhythmic rowing on a boat is ideal for strengthening the myocardium. Paddle manipulation trains, in particular, the left ventricle, which is in charge of transporting arterial blood.

The systolic volume of the heart in rowers reaches significant values. Active contraction of the myocardium during the stroke helps to work the "second heart" - all muscle groups that are involved in the return blood circulation and accelerate the outflow of "used" venous blood. At the same time, our "fiery motor" operates in particularly comfortable conditions. He, too, is "swimming" - bathing in oxygen-enriched arterial blood.

Rowing develops the respiratory system, and working lungs strengthen the diaphragm. The pull of the paddle helps the intercostal muscles to expand and increase the volume of the chest, increasing the lung capacity to seven liters!

Those who are engaged in rowing have good muscle tone, a toned figure - an attractive appearance, and fat reserves ... and the appearance is not served. Apparently, they burn out much faster than they allow themselves to be discovered.

The need to keep an effort on the oar, sometimes up to thirty kilograms, including up to 95% of all muscles in the work. But this figure depends on what kind of rowing sport you are doing: family tourism with children and fishing or rowing at the limit of possibilities.

With age, the human musculoskeletal system acquires a lot of irreversible changes. They touch all bones and joints, but are especially noticeable at the level of the spine - our "axis of symmetry". No amount of gymnastics will ever help the skeleton to escape from them. Accumulating, these changes limit the range of motion, radiculitis, osteochondrosis, discosis and other, as one friend of mine says, bodily monsters appear.

Nevertheless, no one forbids an attempt to "swim away" from them. During rowing, the connective tissue elements are stretched and tense. This prevents the deposition of salts in the ligaments and tendons, in the joints of the arms and legs, in all parts of the spine. Rotational movements of the body, right and left, back and forth, "grind" the deposits of "minerals" accumulated in the intervertebral discs.

Anabolic and metabolic processes in the body, activated during rowing, promote the absorption of nutrients and the utilization of toxins. By flicking the paddle, the work of the nervous, endocrine, digestive and excretory systems of the body improves.

It is shown to be engaged in rowing at any age - from pioneers to pensioners - and, I must say, at the same time, grandfather with an oar evokes respect and sympathy no less than a young man with a barbell.

The beautiful entrance to St Pancras station

Another shot from last year's trip to New Mexico. My new vision is wonderful and I had so hoped to get back into my photography. Only life had other plans.

Recently I was diagnosed with early stage cancer but because of its metastatic nature I am having to go through a year of chemotherapy, surgery, radiation, antibodies, endocrine therapy.

While the treatment course is rough, the prognosis is pretty good. I'm strong and have a positive attitude. It's too early to say if I will have any artistic energy in 2020, but I will certainly have time to view your beautiful works!

Wetenschappelijk: Melolontha melolontha

Scienitific name: Melolontha melolontha

Also known as the June bug or May bug, the common cockchafer is found throughout temperate Europe and the continental United States.

Common cockchafers typically live in areas with soft, shaded soil. The cockchafer is frequently found on agricultural land.

Adult cockchafers typically range from 25 to 30mm. Adult Melolontha melolontha have a dark head with a shiny black pronotum covered by short, closely set hairs. They also have a dull black abdomen and a long, flat pygidium. Eyes are multifaceted, with 5,475 facets per eye, providing very acute vision. Males have longer antennae than females, with a large, fan-like club protruding from each terminus. New wing cases are typically mottled with a white powder. Immature (larval) common cockchafers reach lengths of about 40 to 46mm, and have a dull white body colored black at the abdomenal extremity. Cockchafer grubs curve into an arc and have a large head with strong, grabbing mandibles. In overall appearance grubs are fleshy, elongated, and slightly hairy.

Range length

25 to 30 mm

Early larval development takes approximately 4 to 6 weeks. Larvae slow development over the winter, and in mid-April they suddenly spring back to activity and eat until October. They then hibernate until the third year, when they resume feeding in July and become fully mature in August. However, the fully mature adults do not become active until the following spring, giving the cockchafer a lengthy life cycle.

The reproductive cycle of the cockchafer is lengthy and triggered by a combination of hormones and environment. Environmental factors, such as the time of day and season trigger endocrines in females. Females in turn send out powerful pheromones, which males detect with their large antennae. Mating occurs typically in late May and early June. Females deposit eggs in a path opposite to that of the pre-mating flight.

After copulation, eggs are deposited about 20 at a time in soft soil.

With these photos, We wanted to say our word in fighting against plastic pollution. Let's keep our beautiful mother earth safe by minimizing plastic usage. 🌏 “Plastic pollution on land poses a threat to the plants and animals – including humans, it has the potential to poison animals, which can then adversely affect human food supplies. Some marine species, such as sea turtles, have been found to contain large proportions of plastics in their stomach. When this occurs, the animal typically starves, because the plastic blocks the animal's digestive tract.

Seabirds are also greatly affected. Seabirds often mistake trash floating on the ocean's surface as prey. Their food sources often have already ingested plastic debris, thus transferring the plastic from prey to predator. Ingested trash can obstruct and physically damage a bird's digestive system, reducing its digestive ability and can lead to malnutrition, starvation, and death.

Some compounds that are used in plastics, such as phthalates, bisphenol A (BRA), polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE), are under the close statute and might be very hurtful. Even though these compounds are unsafe, they have been used in the manufacturing of food packaging, medical devices, flooring materials, bottles, perfumes, cosmetics, and much more. The large dosage of these compounds is hazardous to humans, destroying the endocrine system. Exposure to chemicals such as BPA has been correlated with disruptions in fertility, reproduction, sexual maturation, and other health effects. “

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I'm afraid I haven't been on Flickr in a couple months. My cancer drugs had an adverse and permanent side effect on my endocrine system and I haven't touched a camera in more than a month. I was never aware of what happens to you when your thyroid doesn't work and when your body doesn't produce cortisol. However, the hormone replacement drugs are beginning to work and I saw this glorious sight at the end of my yard. We have this wonderful view of a pond and the Talkeetna Mountains which have had their coating of snow for weeks now. I finally felt well enough to go outside and snap a couple shots. A good thing as when I woke up this morning it's all white with our first coating of snow.

Taken 4 November 2023 near Wasilla, Alaska.

The first rays of morning sun stream into the clouds and reach into the depths to stir the velvet tones of lingering twilight from the vantage of Hopi Point, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona.

I awoke before my alarm as often happens when I retire still thinking about the sunrise adventure on the morrow. A 45-minute drive awaited, and I wanted to arrive well before official sunrise. I had never visited the Grand Canyon prior to this trip, and when I enquired with my grad school advisor where might prove enrapturing at the first light of day, he immediately recommended Hopi Point. He and his wife have both spent more time exploring the Canyon than the average person, so it seemed only right to follow through.

The trusty EuroVan, now old enough to purchase an adult beverage in the United States (plus a couple years), delivered me to the Hopi Point overlook when it was still quite dark. A number of tourists were there already, bunching up in a corner of the protective railing and gazing east where anticipation lay on the horizon, intertwined with a promising layer of clouds. I stepped over a low, protective wall and made my way toward the edge, where the brain stem and the self-protective endocrine system began to fire warning shots across the bow. I set up my tripod within about 20 inches of a rather abrupt transition in topography, and I began to pay careful attention to not moving my feet as I watched and waited with the camera.

The world can be so beautiful that it can almost feel impossible.

Photo prise durant le prestigieux Prix Prescrire, jeudi 5 octobre 2017.

Anne et Géraldine entourent Marine Martin, lauréate pour "Dépakine Le Scandale, je ne pouvais pas me taire (ed Laffont).

Source: Association Réseau DES France victimes du Distilbène Facebook.

Le Distilbène DES, en savoir plus

Conséquences du DES en 2017 :

. Connaissances scientifiques et synthèse.

. Conséquences du DES pour les mères, filles et fils exposés.

. Conséquences du DES pour les petits-enfants exposés.

Epigénétique et générations futures :

. Effets transgénérationnels des perturbateurs endocriniens: les leçons du DES.

. Effets transgénérationnels du Distilbène, cette hormone sensée prévenir les fausses couches.

Bibliographie :

. Documents à télécharger : synthèse DES 2017 (PDF 4 pages) et version complète DES 2017 (PDF 24 pages).

. Notre liste de vidéos DES en français sur YouTube.

. Tous nos posts tagués Distilbène.

RED relates to the BASE chakra situated at the base of the spine

The organs to which this chakra relates are the kidneys and bladder .(The kidneys are formed within the pelvis and here they link with the base chakra energy, although prior to birth they rise to the position in the loins with which we are more familiar). The vertebral column, hips and legs are also areas related to this chakra. The endocrine gland to which this colour relates is the adrenal gland.

On the psycho-spiritual level, this chakra relates to self awareness. That is to say our awareness of ourselves as human beings and our place on earth. It is the area of survival and relates to our basic human instincts of fight or flight. Red gives us courage and strength. The colour relates to stability and security.

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This was June 12th, 2005 on the campus of Stanford University. We were there!

Sources: @HealthandEnv HEAL News

Health costs in the EU, how much is related to EDCs? Full Report.

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WOW another testimonial, you leave me speachless, thank you www.flickr.com/photos/zkeeper/ this picture is dedicated to you for your touching and beautiful words!

Check out the stream, very cool!!!!!!!

Thank you, Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!

Chakra (derived from the Sanskrit cakraṃ चक्रं, Phonetic pronunciation "chukr", Pali: chakka, Tibetan: khorlo, Malay: cakera) is a Sanskrit word that translates as wheel or disc. Chakra is a concept referring to wheel-like vortices which, according to traditional Indian medicine, are believed to exist in the surface of the etheric double of man.[1] The Chakras are said to be "force centers" or whorls of energy permeating, from a point on the physical body, the layers of the subtle bodies in an ever-increasing fan-shaped formation (the fans make the shape of a love heart). Rotating vortices of subtle matter, they are considered the focal points for the reception and transmission of energies.[2] Seven major chakras or energy centers (also understood as wheels of light) are generally believed to exist, located within the subtle body. Adherents of Hindu and New Age tradition believe the chakras interact with the body's ductless endocrine glands and lymphatic system by feeding in good bio-energies and disposing of unwanted bio-energies.[3]

There is a wide range of literature on the history and philosophy of chakras and, beside the traditional Indian spiritual practices and religions, the concept of chakras have become popular in Western culture with new-age religion and medical practitioners[citation needed]. Much of the original information on Chakras comes from the "Upanishads", which are difficult to date because they are believed to have been passed down orally for approximately a thousand years before being written down for the first time between 1200-900 BCE.

From: wikipedia

Sources:

Is your food exposing you to this pesticide?

an interview with pesticide expert and toxicologist Janette Sherman M.D., July 2012, by Martha Rosenberg

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Causes of gradual vision loss

1.Painless loss

Refractive error - this is characterised by an improvement of the visual acuity with the use of a pinhole (if you don't have a specific occluder with pinholes, a biro point-sized hole in a stiff piece of cardboard will do). Refer to the optician.

Cataracts - the patient often complains of glare in dark conditions (and so difficulty in driving at night) and may complain that colours appear more dull than they used to. There may be an abnormal red reflex and, in advanced cases, the cataract may be visible to the naked eye (this is increasingly rare these days). Other aspects of the examination should be normal unless there is concurrent pathology. Refer routinely.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) - suspect AMD if the patient is aged >50 years and is presenting with either of the following symptoms, usually affecting one eye at a time:

Distortion of vision, where straight lines appear crooked or wavy.

Painless loss or blurring of central or near-central vision. The person may describe a black or grey patch affecting their central field of vision (scotoma).

Various other visual symptoms can occur, or AMD may be an incidental finding by an optometrist. Visual acuity on a Snellen chart may be normal or reduced. When viewing an Amsler chart (or graph paper), patients may see breaks, waviness, or missing portions of the lines. Refer urgently if AMD is suspected.

Chronic (primary) open-angle glaucoma - is most commonly picked up through screening. If it is so advanced that the patient is the first to notice it, very little can be done. It is characterised by a progressive peripheral visual field loss and 'cupping' of the optic discs (the central area of the optic disc enlarges and the peripheral rim thins out). The degree of urgency depends on how advanced the damage is.

Diabetic retinopathy - the problem may be due to the diabetic microvascular problems (ie exudates and haemorrhages), to associated pathology (eg, diabetic cataract) or unrelated pathology (eg, glaucoma). Refer promptly (within a week), as prompt treatment may prevent deterioration.

Compression of optic nerve or optic pathway - rare, but should be considered if there is a history of headaches and if you find any neurological or endocrinological abnormalities (eg, acromegaly) on examination. Look for a relative afferent pupillary defect (not usually present in the above conditions), a pale or swollen optic disc (the margins are not clear) and visual field defects.

Drugs, toxins or nutritional deficiency - eg:

Amiodarone - various effects on the eye

Antituberculous drugs - ethambutol and isoniazid (optic neuritis).

Hydroxychloroquine (maculopathy).

Systemic steroids (cataracts and glaucoma)

Phosphodiesterase inhibitors (eg, sildenafil).

Others drugs - tetracyclines (benign intracranial hypertension), isotretinoin, tamoxifen (various possible effects on vision).

Alcohol, smoking and nutritional deficiency - eg:

Tobacco-alcohol amblyopia.

Methanol poisoning.

Vitamin A deficiency (classically causes night blindness).

Hereditary retinal dystrophies are rare and, depending on the exact problem, present anywhere from early childhood to middle age. Some are rapidly progressing; others are very slow. Typical features particularly include poor night vision and intolerance to light. Poor appreciation of movement in the peripheral visual field may also be a feature. Ask about similar problems in family members (who may not have been diagnosed). Children should be referred more promptly than adults for whom a routine referral is fine. These patients will need genetic counselling as well as support where the prognosis is poor.

Cerebrovascular disease (stroke and TIA) - although these are likely to present acutely. TIA causing visual loss is termed amaurosis fugax.

Papilloedema - eg, from intracranial hypertension.

-----------------------

2. Painful loss

This is much rarer and tends to suggest a more sinister pathology such as:

A progressive neoplastic (eg, choroidal melanoma) or inflammatory process (eg, chorioretinitis).

A systemic problem (eg, sarcoidosis or collagen vascular disease).

Lesions on the optic nerve (eg, optic neuritis, granuloma or neuroma).

Intracranial pathology or masses (may present with headache, or with endocrine symptoms if a pituitary tumour).

Intracranial hypertension (may have headache).

All these patients should be referred. Referral is more urgent than with painless conditions and patients should really be seen within a few days.

If there is a problem, don't wait seek medical help.

---------------

Candid street shot Bergen, Norway.

About 5 months ago I received a diagnosis that finally explained my symptoms. In a way it was a relief to hear the doctor's words, but more so it was a heavy realization that none of this would go away.

I was diagnosed with Hoshimoto's disease, a genetic autoimmune disease that attacks the thyroid. The thyroid gland, which is part the endocrine system, produces hormones that coordinate many of the body's activities.

Its unfortunate to accept that extreme exhaustion, anxiety, depression, immune attacks, nausea, and sickness are what both my present and future look like. My symptoms will maintain or get worse. Some days feel normal and easy but most take more effort than they used to.

Despite this, I do not want to look at my life through the lens of limitation. I may be cold and sleepy all the time, I may not be able to "handle" as much as other people, but I will still live this life that God gave me no matter my circumstance.

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Jeremiah 29:11

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Frank Lautenberg tweeted:

Bisphenol-A poses health risks, but #TSCA doesn't protect us from #ChemicalsofConcern in food cans. We need #SafeChemicalsAct.

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The pinecone, like the pineal gland, is extremely affected by Light, and takes action according to what it senses. Cones will open themselves up to the sun’s rays, and close up during cloudy or stormy days. It has to do with continuation of the seed-line. Sunny days offer more arid conditions and the tiny seedlings nestled in the scales of the pinecone can become airborne more easily. Damp or rainy days are crumby conditions for seed spreading, so the pinecone just closes up shop during these weather conditions.That action is symbolic in itself (like: Opening up spiritual awareness in order to sow seeds of limitless potential and continuation of Soul Growth) …. but to keep with our comparison, we can now draw corollaries between pineal gland and pinecone in terms of gauging Light, seeking Light, and becoming activated in the Light.We could say, pinecones are the external reflection of the “mystic seed” (the pineal gland). From this perspective, all these pinecones we see this time of year bring on a whole new meaning.

www.symbolic-meanings.com/2009/12/18/the-pinecone-the-pin...

The pine cone symbolism is not lost on ancient cultures; in India, Hindu tradition teaches followers to awaken the Third Eye by activating their "seven chakras".It is an ancient exercise, still practiced today, called Kundalini Yoga; it is claimed to directly affect human consciousness, develop intuition, increase self-knowledge, and unleash one's creative potential.Interestingly, the esoteric symbol of kundalini yoga is the caduceus- a symbol that features two antithetical serpents.What is the symbolic meaning of these pine cones, and how do the antithetical animals factor into their overall meaning?What is the deeper secret these apparently inscrutable images hide?The answer to this is that pine cones, throughout history, have symbolized the "pineal gland", or "Third Eye", and by association the esoteric act of awakening it.This gland is said to lie at the geometric center of the brain, and considered by some as the biological Third Eye; the French philosopher Descartes famously referred to the pineal gland as the Seat of the Soul.The pineal gland is given the following definition in Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary:"A small usu. conical appendage of the brain of all craniate vertebrates that in a few reptiles has the essential structure of an eye, that functions in some birds as part of a time-measuring system, and that is variously postulated to be a vestigial third eye, an endocrine organ, or the seat of the soul…"Common pine cone is also associated with eye symbolism. Kundalini is the spiritual energy or life force present in every human being, located at the base of the spine.To awaken the Third Eye, the kundalini energy must be summoned to the forehead, where it expands and thus awakens the Third Eye. The energy is said to travel along the ida (left) and pingala (right), up the central pole or sushumna.

This is the process esoterically depicted by the caduceus symbol of two antithetical snakes spiraling up a central staff.

"…the caduceus, the rod of power…In India it is a stick of bamboo with seven knots… which represents the spinal column with its seven centers or chakras…It also indicated the spinal cord…while the serpents were symbolical of the two channels called in Eastern terminology Ida and Pinagala; and the fire enclosed within it was the serpent-fire which in Sanskrit is called kundalini."C.W. Leadbeater, Freemasonry and its Ancient Mystic RitesThus, antithetical animal art associated with the pine cone,twin elephants in Indonesia, twin peacocks in Rome, twin serpents in Egypt...is really an allusion to the ida and pingala channels (the antithetical twin serpents on the caduceus).The central sushumna is, in turn, symbolized by the third, centered drawing (often a pine cone) which on the caduceus is the main rod running north south. Many ancient cultures incorporated images of the pine cone into their spiritual art and architecture, and they all also created antithetical animal art.Pagan gods of Babylon, Egypt, Mexico and Greece were associated with the pine cone, and the staffs of these gods were often adorned with the pine cone.The human pineal gland is shaped like and named after a pine cone, and it is an essential component in how we perceive light.Many believe this gland is the body’s Third Eye, responsible for spiritual enlightenment and sometimes referred to as the “seat of the soul.”The pine cone symbol, then, alludes to the Third Eye: it abounds in ancient art and architecture, a symbolic representation of our now-dormant window to the world.The Third Eye was commonly described by ancient mystics who experienced the divine light.".. in every man there is an Eye of the soul which… is far more precious than ten thousand bodily eyes, for by it alone is truth seen… The Eye of the soul… is alone naturally adapted to be resuscitated and excited by the mathematical disciplines."Plato, RepublicA superficial "tapping" of the Third Eye is not difficult. Close your eyes and, without moving them, "look" at an object you know is close to you. You are seeing with your Third Eye. To elevate spirituality and awaken dormant powers, the Eye must be turned inward.Western occult tradition agrees with ancient Eastern texts affirming that turning the Eye inward endows us with:higher consciousness;a deeper understanding of life and death ,a newfound ability to control the future, a sense of peacefulness and bliss extrasensory, clairvoyant, intuitive and psychic abilities expanded perception, enhanced capacity for self-healingstress reduction, calmness and clarity; newfound sensitivity. Mystery writer Stephen King's 'The Shining' touched on this concept.In King's novel, "shining" meant tapping one's higher psychic powers. Unfortunately, today ideas like the Third Eye and related mystical and/or esoteric concepts are frowned upon, pejoratively labeled "the occult."The question, however, is why the West has been so ill-informed of this Third Eye and its unlocking even as the Eastern traditions have incorporated them into their practices. The answer to that is the rise of Christianity in the west; the practice and idea of an "inner god" or "Third Eye" to awaken runs afoul of traditional Christian teachings.These wisdoms, forced underground, became the origins for secret societies that passed on these esoteric wisdomIn her fascinating 1924 book, Mystic Americanism, the obscure American author Grace Morey explained:"The All-Seeing Eye… also emblematic of the pineal gland or third eye of the human being… has been found amid the ruins of every civilization upon the globe, thereby attesting the fact of a universal religion over all the earth at some remote period.The term "all-seeing eye" in and of itself is indeed correct; but it's not the all-seeing-eye of the Hebrew 'God'; it is the all-seeing eye of you, the pineal gland that we all have.Many highly trained and educated Masons who lived during the 20th century, including several noted authors and scholars, were convinced that the all-seeing Eye was not the Eye of the Bible's God, and that the modern system of Freemasonry we've inherited, based on the Hebrew Bible, is in fact corrupted.It is interesting to note that the famous American Author Mark Twain, writing in 1899, referred to the All Seeing Eye not as the Eye of some distant heavenly deity or "old man upstairs," but as a tangible gift that any person can use:"The common eye sees only the outside of things, and judges by that, but the 'all seeing eye' pierces through, and reads the heart and the soul, finding there capacities which the outside didn't indicate or promise, and which the other kind couldn't detect."Interestingly, there is evidence that Hitler was aware of and understood pine cone symbolism.One of the front panels on his desk displays clear pine cone symbolism:Adolf Hitler believed in the Third Eye. This fact is affirmed by Hermann Rauschning, the former National Socialist Senate President of Danzig.In Hitler Speaks (London, 1939), Rauschning wrote:"To have 'magic insight' was apparently Hitler's idea of the goal of human progress… There was the eye of the Cyclops, or median eye, the organ of magic perception of the Infinite, now reduced to a rudimentary pineal gland.Speculations of this sort fascinated Hitler, and he would sometimes be entirely wrapped up in them."Hermann RauschningIt seems that, almost 100 years ago, Hitler knew things about the Third Eye that most Americans are only now starting to rediscover.The Third Eye can be seen above the French Declaration of Human Rights in a 1789 painting, and is on the back of the one dollar bill; it floats above an Egyptian pyramid. While knowledge of the Third Eye and the practice of awakening the Third Eye continued strong in the East, it began to die in the West at the start of Christianity.Consequently, Secret Societies like the Alchemists were established to protect Third Eye knowledge, initiate new members into its wisdom, and keep the practice alive. This explains why the image of a single Eye is common to Western Secret Societies, whose constituents possessed exceptionally philosophical, active, creative, and spiritual minds.A single Eye is one of the supreme and sacred emblems in Alchemy..The Third Eye seems strange, even downright alien to us in the West, even today, despite our living in the "information age" of globalization. The fact that the Third Eye is so unknown, so strange and so alien to our way of thinking is something of an enigma..The reason is because there seems to have always been, and there continues to be, a conscious effort to conceal it by a powerful elite who don't want the masses to discover its secrets.

www.bibliotecapleyades.net/ciencia/ciencia_brain65.htm

While it doens’t look like an “eye” in the traditional sense, the common pine cone is also associated with eye symbolism. The human pineal gland is shaped like and named after a pine cone, and it is an essential component in how we perceive light. Many believe this gland is the body’s Third Eye, responsible for spiritual enlightenment and sometimes referred to as the “seat of the soul.” Many religious and cultural artifacts depict heroes holding staves topped by pine cones or wearing crowns made to resemble pine cones.

Why this fascination with eyes throughout history? Connection. Eyes are critical in the connections between human beings and for many of religious faith, with gods or goddesses. This is why historical eye depictions almost always show eyes uncovered, unencumbered by lenses or other accessories. It’s also part of the reason many people seek out eye correction alternatives such as laser vision correction. It’s now possible to break the dependence on glasses or contacts; cutting-edge excimer lasers and procedures such as Custom Wavefront Lasik can correct a host of visual issues and let you see the world an entirely new way, with no pain and a minimal amount of recovery.The symbolism of eyes tells the tale: As a species, we’re fascinated by these tiny windows to the soul. Expert laser correction can help give the best view possible, inside and out.

www.lasikmd.com/blog/symbolism-eyes-short-history/

Are Endocrine Disruptors disrupting YOU?

Three simple Steps to Take Action Now!

Help EDC Free Europe let your governments know that we want an EDC Free Future. Show them you are concerned about where EDCs might be lurking by uploading or liking a photo, and they’ll take it to the decision makers.

Here are a three simple steps to taking action now!

1. Download the arrow with the slogan ‘Is this disrupting me?’

2. Tell us what’s disrupting you by holding up the slogan pointed at a product or object that you are concerned about and take a photo!

3. Upload your photo and it will appear in EDC-Free Europe Flickr gallery in the coming days.

more about Endocrine Dispruptors - Phthalates

(1) Don’t Just Look for Lumps

The most common way that conventional doctors look for breast cancer in women is to identify lumps in the breast. They most often do this with mammogram x-rays. This offer physicians a basic roadmap for navigating the terrain of breast tissue, allowing them to pinpoint any lumps, masses, or other questionable abnormalities that might point to a malignancy.

But mammograms can be a potential cause of cancer due to the ionizing radiation they send into breast tissue. They also aren’t accurate 100 percent of the time, despite what you may have been told. Lumps and masses in breast tissue can be either benign (harmless) or malignant (harmful), and mammograms don’t differentiate between the two. This often leads to false diagnoses and unnecessary treatments with chemotherapy and radiation.

A better option, if you choose to undergo routine cancer screenings, is thermography. This unique screening method allows doctors to not only look for unusual lumps or growths, but also identify whether or not angiogenesis is taking place within the breast tissue. This is a much stronger and more accurate indicator that breast cancer may be present.

Angiogenesis is a fancy way of saying new blood vessel growth, which may indicate that a woman’s body is trying to build a new supply system for blood to be delivered to developing breast tumors. Doctors who specialize in examining thermography images will be able to identify whether or not angiogenesis is taking place, and suggest a proper course of action.

(2) Hormones and Cellular Health

A lot of health experts like to talk about breast cancer as something that results from “bad genetics,” being passed down from mothers to their daughters. This implies that breast cancer can’t be avoided and occurs as an unfortunate “luck of the draw” type scenario. And depending on the type of breast cancer they’re talking about, there may be some merit to this popular theory.

But most types of breast cancer are a result of environment, diet, and lifestyle, all of which dictate how a woman’s endocrine system produces and balances hormones. In other words, hormone imbalance plays a much greater role in determining breast cancer risk than many people think. Thermography can help qualified physicians determine whether or not a woman has an elevated breast cancer risk due to this often overlooked early indicator.

(3) Learn Your Body’s Natural Rhythms

Every woman’s body has a unique ebb and flow, and getting in tune with your own personal rhythm is invaluable for staying healthy. Paying close attention to any unusual changes that might be occurring, especially within breast tissue, is critical to avoid breast cancer.

If you feel any unusual aches or pains in your breast, including occasional throbbing, pain, or even fluctuating discomfort, talk to your doctor. Many women assume that only an isolated lump with localized pain suggests the presence of breast cancer. The truth is that breast cancer can manifest as “scattered, seed-like” tumors that, in some cases, spread like small tentacles throughout breast tissue.

Experts from MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston warn that breast cancer often shows up without the classic lump, showing symptoms such as swelling and irritation, dimpling, nipple discharge beyond normal lactation, nipple inversion, and/or a thickening and reddening of skin around the nipple.1

“There are breast cancers that present as half a lump or there may be no lump at all,” says Dr. Naoto Ueno, chief of Translational Breast Cancer Research at the Center, as quoted by CBS News. “It could just be a strange-looking skin appearance or skin being red or dimpled.”

Just be sure to look for patterns of change or any new and unusual symptoms that occur outside the norm. Occasional pain may not be indicative of breast cancer, but persistent itching, for instance, could point to fluid buildup, poor lymph function, or your body trying to create new blood vessels for breast tumors.

(4) Can Back Pain Indicate Breast Tumor Development?

Upper back pain that feels as though it’s coming from deep within the bones may be an early sign of breast cancer – but don’t assume that every occasional bout of soreness or back pain means you’re becoming the next statistic! Chronic back pain that doesn’t relent with stretching, chiropractic or other means may be a sign that breast cancer tumors are forming.

Sometimes when tumors are developing in a woman’s breast, they put pressure on the ribs and spine causing new found and persistent pain. You need to be aware of any changes that occur in your spinal column, upper back, and even neck. Talk to your doctor if you feel as though the pain you’re experiencing is unusually pronounced and marked by pressure from a possible internal growth.

(5) Nutrient Deficiency and Cancer

If you’re not getting enough of the right nutrients in your diet, including things like vitamin D and iodine, your risk of developing breast cancer is already elevated. Nutrient deficiency is endemic in the West. Many people don’t realize that what they’re not eating is increasingly their likelihood of developing chronic health conditions such as breast cancer.

Nearly 75 percent of the adult “healthy” population is deficient in iodine, which has been shown to help ward off cancer cells in the breast and elsewhere throughout the body. Vitamin D is another risk factor in breast cancer. A 2012 study published in the Indian Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism revealed that low vitamin D levels are a hallmark in women with breast cancer. Other studies show similar findings.

A good rule of thumb in today’s nutrient-depleted world is to supplement with these and other cancer-fighting nutrients such as selenium and zinc. You may also wish to consult with a trained naturopath or integrative doctor. They can help you identify any specific nutrient deficiencies you might have and help you optimize your unique biological “terrain” for best breast cancer prevention.

source: www.thetruthaboutcancer.com

things left unsaid

We are uniting for diabetes with all the stake holders. Let's spread the awareness about diabetes and its complications

Times Square traffic jam in New York City

This image is available for use under the Creative Commons Attribution License.

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Endocrine disruptors are chemicals or man-made toxins which, when absorbed, have been shown to mimic the action of hormones. They can turn on, turn off, or change normal signals. They can alter normal hormone levels, trigger excessive action, or completely block a natural response. Any other bodily function controlled by hormones can also be affected.

Sources: MaxAwareness.com - Watch the video: Endocrine Disruptors: Sexy Stuff

All our posts about BPA - Endocrine Disruptors - Pesticides - Phthalates

INTEGUMENTARY SYSTEM

MUSCULAR SYSTEM

SKELETAL SYSTEM

CIRCULATORY SYSTEM

NERVOUS SYSTEM

LYMPHATIC SYSTEM

RESPIRATORY SYSTEM

ENDOCRINE SYSTEM

DIGESTIVE SYSTEM

URINARY SYSTEM

REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM

Now these very tiny insects may have all these systems above .. I wonder how some people try to convince me that all this came by chance!

Praised be the Creator.

Disrupted Development:

A 2013 Report by the Breast Cancer Fund

* Protecting Us from BPA = Protecting the Next Generation

* A Brief History of BPA

* Prenatal Exposure to BPA: Exploring the Science

* DES: A Cautionary Tale

* Health Effects of Prenatal BPA Exposure

* Table 1. Prenatal BPA Exposure and Biological Effects in Animals

* Table 2. Prenatal BPA Exposure and Health Associations in Humans

* Solutions: Getting BPA out of Food Packaging

* Alternatives to BPA

* APPENDIX 1 – Maternal BPA Levels in Humans

* APPENDIX 2 – Prenatal BPA Levels in Humans

* APPENDIX 3 – Research Methods: Making Sense of Animal and Human Studies

Sources: Breast Cancer Fund’s report ” Disrupted Development: The Dangers of Prenatal BPA Exposure “,

a comprehensive review of the scientific literature on prenatal BPA exposure, September 2013.

Find all our posts about BPA - Endocrine Disruptors - Pesticides - Phthalates

Read more about DES and the DES-exposed - Prescriptions Drugs and Pregnancy

Check out the teeth on these Cambodian girls. See my previous photo for more examples.

I've seen such perfect teeth in all third world countries I've visited. Lack of refined carbohydrates (bread and sugar in particular) and constant exposure to sunlight during pregnancy and into adulthood (very high levels of vitamin D in the bloodstream), reduce dental decay to almost non-existent levels plus create strong, dense, well-formed jawlines and teeth.

Sunscreen is unheard of, and dentists don't exist here. Flouridation does not exist. Until the recent arrival of NGOs and charities, toothbrushes and toothpaste did not exist either.

Toothbrushes have caused an epidemic of hepatitis among the villagers, because a toothbrush is inevitably shared among family members. This was pointed out to me by none other than Dr Beat Richner, the famous Swiss pediatrician who founded several pediatric hospitals in Cambodia.

Teeth go bad as soon as someone moves into a larger city, and adapts to Western food (sugars, soda, juices, bread and so on).

At this particular school, I found that the supporting charity had brought in toothbrushes and flouride toothpaste, and was feeding the children (as young as 6) cheap, nutrient-free MSG-laden pot noodles (I kid you not) and giving them full-sugar soy-soda. (and to add insult to injury, soy is a known estrogenic endocrine disrupter).

Koh Ker primary school, Preah Vihear province, Cambodia

Nikon D850

An assessment of the state of the science of endocrine disruptors prepared by a group of experts for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and WHO

This document provides the global status of scientific knowledge on exposure to and effects of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs).

The work is based on the fact that endocrine systems are very similar across vertebrate species and that endocrine effects manifest themselves independently of species. The effects are endocrine system related and not necessarily species dependent. Effects shown in wildlife or experimental animals may also occur in humans if they are exposed to EDCs at a vulnerable time and at concentrations leading to alterations of endocrine regulation. Of special concern are effects on early development of both humans and wildlife, as these effects are often irreversible and may not become evident until later in life. The third and final chapter of this document discusses exposure of humans and wildlife to EDCs and potential EDCs.

Summary for Decision-Makers - full report unep.org 2013

UNEP website and twitter - WHO website and twitter

Our Posts BPA - Endocrine Disruptors - Pesticides - Phthalates

Endocrine disruptors are chemicals or man-made toxins which, when absorbed, have been shown to mimic the action of hormones. They can turn on, turn off, or change normal signals. They can alter normal hormone levels, trigger excessive action, or completely block a natural response. Any other bodily function controlled by hormones can also be affected.

Image Sources: KSJ Tracker, a service for science journalists

Dallas Morning News: Are feds flubbing a program to take endocrine disruptors seriously?

Watch the video: Endocrine Disruptors: Sexy Stuff

All our posts about BPA - Endocrine Disruptors - Pesticides - Phthalates

There is a superhighway between the brain and GI system that holds great sway over humans

"There is a muscle that encircles the gut like a lasso when we are sitting… creating a kink in the tube," Giulia Enders explains in Gut: The Inside Story of Our Body's Most Underrated Organ. She calls the mechanism "an extra insurance policy, in addition to our old friends, the sphincters" (you have two sphincters – keep reading) and cites studies showing that squatters, with their unkinked guts, are less susceptible to haemorrhoids and constipation.Enders, a 25-year-old student at the Institute for Microbiology in Frankfurt, inside an underground public lavatory in central London. "Is there a toilet in this toilet?" she asks when she arrives. There is not, a barista tells her. The Victorian urinals, abandoned in the 1960s, have been converted into cafe with booths and stools, and no room for anything else.After a dash to a pub loo above ground, Enders talks with infectious energy about the wonder of the gut. She has been delighted to discover how many people share her fascination with a subject that can suffer for being taboo. "Even today in the taxi, I told the driver what I was doing and within about two minutes he was telling me about his constipation," she says in perfect English, which she owes to a year of study in the US. "And it's not just him. It's ladies with chic hair at big gala dinners, too. Everyone wants to talk about it."Enders first got noticed after a self-assured turn at a science slam in Berlin three years ago. Her 10-minute lecture went viral on YouTube, and now, weeks after completing her final exams as a doctoral student, she is a publishing sensation. Her book, called Darm Mit Charme ("Charming Bowels") in Germany, has sold more than 1.3 million copies since it came out last year. Rights have been sold to dozens of countries.

Her way into the gut is a lightness that some reviewers have found too childish or lacking in scientific rigour to be taken seriously. But there is something compelling and refreshing about her curiosity and popular approach. "When I read the research, I think, why don't people know about this – why am I reading about it in some paper or specialist magazine? It's ridiculous because everyone has to deal with it on a daily basis." After she explains the inspiration for her fixation (the suicide of an acquaintance who had had severe halitosis, and her own teenage skin condition, which turned out to have been caused by a wheat intolerance) Enders starts at the end of the digestive tract with what she calls the "masterly performance" that is defecation. "There is so much about the anus that we don't know," she says, reaching for a gluten-free chocolate chip cookie. "The first surprise is the sophistication of our sphincters… you know about the outer one because you can control it, but the inner one nobody knows about."

This inner opening is beyond our conscious control, releasing waste material into a sort of anal vestibule where, in Enders words, "a small taster" hits sensor cells that tell the body what it's dealing with and how to respond using the outer sphincter. This opening, and our mouths, are the recognisable and controllable ends of a system that, stretched out, would be almost as long as a bus. But it's the bits in between, and their link with the rest of our bodies, including our brains and emotions, that really interest Enders.

"Medical diagrams show the small intestine as a sausage thing chaotically going through our belly," she says. "But it is an extraordinary work of architecture that moves so harmonically when you see it during surgery. It's clean and smooth, like soft fabric, and moves like this." She performs a wavy, pulsating motion with her hands. Enders believes that if we could think differently about the gut, we might more readily understand its role beyond basic digestion – and be kinder to it. The great extent to which the gut can influence health and mood is a growing field in medicine. We speak of it all the time, whether we describe "gut feelings", "butterflies in our stomachs", or "pooing our pants" in fear, but popular understanding of this gut-brain axis remains low.

A primal connection exists between our brain and our gut. We often talk about a “gut feeling” when we meet someone for the first time. We’re told to “trust our gut instinct” when making a difficult decision or that it’s “gut check time” when faced with a situation that tests our nerve and determination. This mind-gut connection is not just metaphorical. Our brain and gut are connected by an extensive network of neurons and a highway of chemicals and hormones that constantly provide feedback about how hungry we are, whether or not we’re experiencing stress, or if we’ve ingested a disease-causing microbe. This information superhighway is called the brain-gut axis and it provides constant updates on the state of affairs at your two ends. That sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach after looking at your postholiday credit card bill is a vivid example of the brain-gut connection at work. You’re stressed and your gut knows it—immediately.

The enteric nervous system is often referred to as our body’s second brain. There are hundreds of million of neurons connecting the brain to the enteric nervous system, the part of the nervous system that is tasked with controlling the gastrointestinal system. This vast web of connections monitors the entire digestive tract from the esophagus to the anus. The enteric nervous system is so extensive that it can operate as an independent entity without input from our central nervous system, although they are in regular communication. While our “second” brain cannot compose a symphony or paint a masterpiece the way the brain in our skull can, it does perform an important role in managing the workings of our inner tube. The network of neurons in the gut is as plentiful and complex as the network of neurons in our spinal cord, which may seem overly complex just to keep track of digestion. Why is our gut the only organ in our body that needs its own “brain”? Is it just to manage the process of digestion? Or could it be that one job of our second brain is to listen in on the trillions of microbes residing in the gut?

Operations of the enteric nervous system are overseen by the brain and central nervous system. The central nervous system is in communication with the gut via the sympathetic and parasympathetic branches of the autonomic nervous system, the involuntary arm of the nervous system that controls heart rate, breathing, and digestion. The autonomic nervous system is tasked with the job of regulating the speed at which food transits through the gut, the secretion of acid in our stomach, and the production of mucus on the intestinal lining. The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, or HPA axis, is another mechanism by which the brain can communicate with the gut to help control digestion through the action of hormones.

This circuitry of neurons, hormones, and chemical neurotransmitters not only sends messages to the brain about the status of our gut, it allows for the brain to directly impact the gut environment. The rate at which food is being moved and how much mucus is lining the gut—both of which can be controlled by the central nervous system—have a direct impact on the environmental conditions the microbiota experiences.

Like any ecosystem inhabited by competing species, the environment within the gut dictates which inhabitants thrive. Just as creatures adapted to a moist rain forest would struggle in the desert, microbes relying on the mucus layer will struggle in a gut where mucus is exceedingly sparse and thin. Bulk up the mucus, and the mucus-adapted microbes can stage a comeback. The nervous system, through its ability to affect gut transit time and mucus secretion, can help dictate which microbes inhabit the gut. In this case, even if the decisions are not conscious, it’s mind over microbes.

What about the microbial side? When the microbiota adjusts to a change in diet or to a stress-induced decrease in gut transit time, is the brain made aware of this modification? Does the brain-gut axis run in one direction only, with all signals going from brain to gut, or are some signals going the other way? Is that voice in your head that is asking for a snack coming from your mind or is it emanating from the insatiable masses in your bowels? Recent evidence indicates that not only is our brain “aware” of our gut microbes, but these bacteria can influence our perception of the world and alter our behavior. It is becoming clear that the influence of our microbiota reaches far beyond the gut to affect an aspect of our biology few would have predicted—our mind.

For example, the gut microbiota influences the body’s level of the potent neurotransmitter serotonin, which regulates feelings of happiness. Some of the most prescribed drugs in the U.S. for treating anxiety and depression, like Prozac, Zoloft, and Paxil, work by modulating levels of serotonin. And serotonin is likely just one of a numerous biochemical messengers dictating our mood and behavior that the microbiota impacts.

Most of us can relate to the experience of having butterflies in our stomach, or to a visceral gut-wrenching feeling, and how often are we told not to ignore our “gut-instinct” or “gut-feeling” when making a decision.

Even from our simple slang, it’s clear just how symbolically connected the gut is to our emotions. Now, there’s tangible proof to support these popular metaphors.

We all have a microbiome, and they are as unique as our neural pathways

Research has shown that the body is actually composed of more bacteria than cells. We are more bug than human! Collectively, these trillions of bacteria are called the microbiome. Most of those bacteria reside in our gut, sometimes referred to as the gut microbiota, and they play multiple roles in our overall health.

The gut is no longer seen as an entity with the sole purpose of helping with all aspects of digestion. It’s also being considered as a key player in regulating inflammation and immunity.

A healthy gut consists of different iterations of bacteria for different people, and this diversity maintains wellness. A shift away from “normal” gut microbiota diversity is called dysbiosis, and dysbiosis may contribute to disease. In light of this, the microbiome has become the focus of much research attention as a new way of understanding autoimmune, gastrointestinal, and even brain disorders.

The benefit of a healthy gut is illustrated most effectively during early development. Research has indicated just how sensitive a fetus is to any changes in a mother’s microbiotic makeup, so much so that it can alter the way a baby’s brain develops. If a baby is born via cesarean section, it misses an opportunity to ingest the mother’s bacteria as it travels down the vaginal canal. Studies show that those born via c-section have to work to regain the same diversity in their microbiome as those born vaginally. Throughout our lives, our microbiome continues to be a vulnerable entity, and as we are exposed to stress, toxins, chemicals, certain diets, and even exercise, our microbiome fluctuates for better or worse.

The gut as second brain

Our gut microbiota play a vital role in our physical and psychological health via its own neural network: the enteric nervous system (ENS), a complex system of about 100 million nerves found in the lining of the gut.

The ENS is sometimes called the “second brain,” and it actually arises from the same tissues as our central nervous system (CNS) during fetal development. Therefore, it has many structural and chemical parallels to the brain.

Our ENS doesn’t wax philosophical or make executive decisions like the gray shiny mound in our skulls. Yet, in a miraculously orchestrated symphony of hormones, neurotransmitters, and electrical impulses through a pathway of nerves, both “brains” communicate back and forth. These pathways include and involve endocrine, immune, and neural pathways.

At this point in time, even though the research is inchoate and complex, it is clear that the brain and gut are so intimately connected that it sometimes seems like one system, not two.

Our emotions play a big role in functional gastrointestinal disorders

Given how closely the gut and brain interact, it has become clear that emotional and psychosocial factors can trigger symptoms in the gut. This is especially true in cases when the gut is acting up and there’s no obvious physical cause.

The functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs) are a group of more than 20 chronic and hard to treat medical conditions of the gastrointestinal tract that constitute a large proportion of the presenting problems seen in clinical gastroenterology.

While FGID’s were once thought to be partly “in one’s head,” a more precise conceptualization of these difficulties posits that psychosocial factors influence the actual physiology of the gut, as well as the modulation of symptoms. In other words, psychological factors can literally impact upon physical factors, like the movement and contractions of the GI tract, causing, inflammation, pain, and other bowel symptoms.

Mental health impacts gut wellness

In light of this new understanding, it might be impossible to heal FGID’s without considering the impact of stress and emotion. Studies have shown that patients who tried psychologically based approaches had greater improvement in their symptoms compared with patients who received conventional medical treatment.

Along those lines, a new pilot study from Harvard University affiliates Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center found that meditation could have a significant impact for those with irritable bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease. Forty-eight patients with either IBS or IBD took a 9-week session that included meditation training, and the results showed reduced pain, improved symptoms, stress reduction, and the change in expression of genes that contribute to inflammation.

Poor gut health can lead to neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders

Vice-versa, poor gut health has been implicated in neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders. Disturbances in gut health have been linked to multiple sclerosis, autistic spectrum disorders, and Parkinson’s disease. This is potentially related to pro-inflammatory states elicited by gut dysbiosis-microbial imbalance on or inside the body. Additional connections between age-related gut changes and Alzheimer’s disease have also been made.

Further, there is now research that is dubbing depression as an inflammatory disorder mediated by poor gut health. In fact, multiple animal studies have shown that manipulating the gut microbiota in some way can produce behaviors related to anxiety and depression. (Maes, Kubera, Leunis, Berk, J. Affective Disorders, 2012 and Berk, Williams, Jacka, BMC Med, 2013).

Our brain’s health, which will be discussed in more depth in a later blog post, is dependent on many lifestyle choices that mediate gut health; including most notably diet (i.e., reduction of excess sugar and refined carbohydrates) and pre and probiotic intake.

The brain-gut connection has treatment implications

We are now faced with the possibility of both prevention and treatment of neurological/neuropsychiatric difficulties via proper gut health. On the flip side, stress-reduction and other psychological treatments can help prevent and treat gastrointestinal disorders. This discovery can potentially lead to reduced morbidity, impairment, and chronic dependency on health care resources.

The most empowering aspect to the gut-brain connection is the understanding that many of our daily lifestyle choices play a role in mediating our overall wellness. This whole-body approach to healthcare and wellness continues to show its value in our longevity, well-being, and quality of life: that both physical and mental health go hand-in-hand.

www.mindful.org/meet-your-second-brain-the-gut/

Amethyst is the purple variety of quartz . Its rich colour is unparalleled, and even more expensive gemstones cannot match its beauty.

Leonardo Da Vinci wrote that amethyst was able to dissipate evil thoughts and increase the intelligence. It was also believed to encourage celibacy and rings made of amethyst are often worn by bishops. Similarly, Tibetan Buddhists believe the crystal to be sacred to the Buddha and use amathyst in rosaries. Amethyst is believed to be a spiritual crystal that can quicken spiritual growth and inspires healing powers, divine love and intuition. As a healing crystal amethyst is considered to be an uplifting crystal and will strengthen both the endocrine and immune systems. It is also believed to aid the pituitary gland and is a powerful blood cleaner and energiser.

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Gilgit is the largest city in the Northern Areas of Pakistan but still it is quite small. It is over 8 hours from Besham in Swat on the Karakoram Highway. The journey to Gilgit is long and aftera while boring. It is an adventure but I personally tired off the narrow Indus valley with mountains walled closely. After Dassu in Kohistan and all the way to Gilgit itself the journey is through treeless river valley.

Gilgit city is set in mountains whose grey towering peaks guard the city. The bottom of the valley in and around the city its suprisingly green because of the abundant trees.

There are many cheap hotels in Gilgit and its one of the few places in Pakistan where you will see foreign tourists in quite a number. They are from neighbouring China as well as Europe too. Most tourists have come to trek in the many mountainous regions or travel onwards to China.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilgit

Gilgit (Urdu: گلگت, Hindi: गिलगित) is the capital city of the Northern Areas, Pakistan. Gilgit City forms a tehsil of Gilgit, within Gilgit District. Its ancient name was Sargin, later to be known as Gilit, and it is still called Gilit or Sargin-Gilit by local people. In the Burushaski language, it is named Geelt. Ghallata is considered its name in ancient Sanskrit literature. Gilgit City is one of the two major hubs in the Northern Areas for mountaineering expeditions to the Karakoram and other the peaks in the Himalayas, the other hub being Skardu.

Gilgit has an area of 38,000 square kilometres (14,700 sq mi). The region is significantly mountainous, lying on the foothills of the Karakoram mountains, and has an average altitude of 1,500 metres (4,900 ft). It is drained by the Indus River, which rises in the neighbouring regions of Ladakh and Baltistan.

Gilgit was an important city on the Silk Road, along which Buddhism was spread from South Asia to the rest of Asia.

The Dards and Chinas appear in many of the old Pauranic lists of peoples who lived in the region, with the former also mentioned in Ptolemy's accounts of the region. Two famous travellers, Faxian and Xuanzang, traversed Gilgit according to their accounts.

“The former rulers had the title of Ra, and there is reason to suppose that they were at one time Hindus, but for the last five centuries and a half they have been Mohammedans. The names of the Hindu Ras have been lost, with the exception of the last of their number, Shri Buddutt. Tradition relates that he was killed by a Mohammedan adventurer, who married his daughter and founded a new dynasty, since called Trakhàn, from a celebrated Ra named Trakhan, who reigned about the commencement of the fourteenth century. The previous rulers—of whom Shri Buddutt was the last—were called Shahreis.

Gilgit was ruled for centuries by the local Trakhàn Dynasty, which ended about 1810 with the death of Raja Abas, the last Trakhàn Raja.[2]

The rulers of Hunza and Nager also claim origin with the Trakhàn dynasty. They claim descent from a heroic Kayani Prince of Persia, Azur Jamshid (also known as Shamsher), who secretly married the daughter of the king Shri Badat. She conspired with him to overthrow her cannibal father.[3] Sri Badat's faith is theorised as Hindu by some[3][4] and Buddhist by others.[5][6] However, considering the region's Buddhist heritage, with the most recent influence being Islam, the most likely preceding influence of the region is Buddhism. Though the titular Sri and the name Badat denotes a Hindu origin of the this ruler.

Prince Azur Jamshid succeeded in overthrowing King Badat who was known as Adam Khor (lit. man-eater)[7][8], often demanding a child a day from his subjects, his demise is still celebrated to this very day by locals in traditional annual celebrations[9]. In the beginning of the new year, where a Juniper procession walks along the river, in memory of chasing the cannibal king Sri Badat away[10].

Azur Jamshid abdicated after 16 years of rule in favour of his wife Nur Bakht Khatùn until their son and heir Garg, grew of age and assumed the title of Raja and ruled, for 55 years. The dynasty flourished under the name of the Kayani dynasty until 1421 when Raja Torra Khan assumed rulership. He ruled as a memorable king until 1475. He distinguished his family line from his step brother Shah Rais Khan (who fled to the king of Badakshan and with who's help he gained Chitral from Raja Torra Khan), as the now known dynastic name of Trakhàn. The descendants of Shah Rais Khan being respectfully known as the Ra'issiya Dynasty.[11]

The period of greatest prosperity was probably under the Shin Ras, whose rule seems to have been peaceable and settled. The whole population, from the Ra to the poorest subject lived by agriculture. According to tradition, Shri Buddutt's rule extended over Chitral, Yassin, Tangir, Darel, Chilas, Gor, Astor, Hunza, Nagar and Haramosh all of which were held by tributary princes of the same family. [12]

”

The area had been a flourishing tract but prosperity was destroyed by warfare over the next fifty years, and by the great flood of 1841 in which the river Indus was blocked by a landslip below the Hatu Pir and the valley was turned into a lake[13]. After the death of Abas, Sulaiman Shah, raja of Yasin, conquered Gilgit. Then, Azad Khan, raja of Punial, killed Sulaiman Shah, taking Gilgit; then Tair Shah, raja of Buroshall (Nagar), took Gilgit and killed Azad Khan. Tair Shah's son Shah Sakandar inherited, only to be killed by Gaur Rahman, raja of Yasin of the Khushwakhte Dynasty, when he took Gilgit. Then in 1842, Shah Sakandar's brother, Karim Khan, expelled Gaur Rahman with the support of a Sikh army from Kashmir. The Sikh general, Nathu Shah, left garrison troops and Karim Khan ruled until Gilgit was ceded to Gulab Singh of Jammu and Kashmir in 1846 by the Treaty of Amritsar,[2] and Dogra troops replaced the Sikh in Gilgit.

Nathu Shah and Karim Khan both transferred their allegiance to Gulab Singh, continuing local administration. When Hunza attacked in 1848, both of them were killed. Gilgit fell to the Hunza and their Yasin and Punial allies, but was soon reconquered by Gulab Singh's Dogra troops. With the support of Gaur Rahman, Gilgit's inhabitants drove their new rulers out in an uprising in 1852. Gaur Rahman then ruled Gilgit until his death in 1860, just before new Dogra forces from Ranbir Singh, son of Gulab Singh, captured the fort and town.[2] The rule of Jammu was restored. Gilgit came under British rule in 1889, when it was unified with neighbouring Nagar and Hunza in the Gilgit Agency.

In 1877, in order to guard against the advance of Russia, the British Government, acting as the suzerain power of Kashmir, established the Gilgit Agency. The Agency was re-established under control of the British Resident in Jammu and Kashmir. It comprised the Gilgit Wazarat; the State of Hunza and Nagar; the Punial Jagir; the Governorships of Yasin, Kuh-Ghizr and Ishkoman, and Chilas.

In 1935, the British demanded Jammu and Kashmir to lease them Gilgit town plus most of the Gilgit Agency and the hill-states Hunza, Nagar, Yasin and Ishkoman for 60 years. Maharaja Hari Singh had no choice but to acquiesce. The leased region was then treated as part of British India, administered by a Political Agent at Gilgit responsible to Delhi, first through the Resident in Jammu and Kashmir and later a British Agent in Peshawar.

Jammu and Kashmir State no longer kept troops in Gilgit and a mercenary force, the Gilgit Scouts, was recruited with British officers and paid for by Delhi. In April 1947, Delhi decided to formally retrocede the leased areas to Hari Singh’s Jammu and Kashmir State as of August 15, 1947. The transfer was to formally take place on August 1.

The Indo-Pakistani War of 1947 affected Gilgit as well. The Pakistani forces advanced against the Indian army quickly. In Gilgit, the Gilgit Scouts joined with them, thereby granting control of northwestern Kashmir to Pakistani forces. Gilgit Scouts progressed with Pakistani troops from north through High Himalayas and contributed in attacking of Skardu in summer 1948, pushing further towards Ladakh area.

After Pakistani good progress of early 1948, Indian troops gathered momentum in late 1948. Finally, the newly-formed India asked UN intervention, and a ceasefire was agreed in December 31, 1948. This conflict left Pakistan with roughly two-fifths of Kashmir, leaving three-fifths to India. This agreement left Gilgit to Pakistan territory.

Weather conditions for Gilgit are dominated by its geographical location, a valley in a mountainous area, southwest of Karakoram range. The prevalent season of Gilgit is winter, occupying the valley eight to nine months a year.

Gilgit lacks significant rainfall, averaging in 120 to 240 millimetres (4.7 to 9.4 in) annually, as monsoon breaks against the southern range of Himalayas. Irrigation for land cultivation is obtained from the rivers, abundant with melting snow water from higher altitudes.

The summer season is brief and hot. The piercing sunrays may raise the temperature up to 40 °C (104 °F), yet it is always cool in the shade.

As a result of this extremity in the weather, landslides and avalanches are frequent in the area.[14]

The Gilgit Manuscript[15] was nominated[16] in 2006 to be included on the UNESCO Memory of the World register, but without success.

The Gilgit manuscripts are among the oldest manuscripts in the world, and the oldest manuscript collection surviving in Pakistan, having major significance in the areas of Buddhist studies and the evolution of Asian and Sanskrit literature. The manuscripts are believed to have been written in the 5th to 6th Century CE, though some more manuscripts were discovered in the succeeding centuries, which were also classified as Gilgit manuscripts.

This corpus of manuscripts was discovered in 1931 in Gilgit, containing four sutras from the Buddhist canon, including the famous Lotus Sutra. The manuscripts were written on birch bark in old Sanskrit language in the Sharada script. The Gilgit manuscripts cover a wide range of themes such as iconometry, folk tales, philosophy, medicine and several related areas of life and general knowledge.

Gilgit city is one of the two major hubs for all mountaineering expeditions in the Northern Areas of Pakistan. Almost all tourists headed for treks in Karakoram or Himalaya Ranges arrive at Gilgit first. Many tourists choose to travel to Gilgit by air, since the road travel between Islamabad and Gilgit, by the Karakoram Highway, takes nearly 24 hours, whereas the air travel takes a mere 45–50 minutes.

There are several tourist attractions relatively close to Gilgit: Naltar Valley with Naltar Peak, Hunza Valley, Ferry Meadows in Raikot, Shigar town, Skardu city, Haramosh Peak in Karakoram Range, Bagrot-Haramosh Valley, Deosai National Park, Astore Valley, Rama Lake, Juglot town, Phunder village, Yasin Valley and Kargah Valley.

Gilgit lies about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) off the Karakoram Highway (KKH). The KKH connects it to Chilas, Dasu, Besham, Mansehra, Abbottabad and Islamabad in the south. In the North it is connected to Karimabad (Hunza) and Sust in the Northern Areas and to the Chinese cities of Tashkurgan, Upal and Kashgar in Xinjiang.

There are various transports companies i.e. Silk Route Transport Pvt, Masherbrum Transport Pvt and Northern Areas Transport Corporation (NATCO), from these NATCO offers most coverage. It offers passenger road service between Islamabad, Gilgit, Sust and Tashkurgan, and road service between Kashgar and Gilgit (via Tashkurgan and Sust) started in the summer of 2006. However, the border crossing between China and Pakistan at Khunjerab Pass—the highest border of the world—is open only between May 1 and October 15 of every year. During winter, the roads are blocked by snow. Even during the monsoon season in summer, the roads are often blocked due to landslides. The best time to travel on Karakoram Highway is spring or early summer.

Pakistan International Airlines flies ATR 42-500 flights twice daily between Gilgit Airport and Islamabad International Airport and the journey offers one of the most scenic aerial views in the world as it passes close to Nanga Parbat and the mountain peaks are higher than the aircraft's cruising altitude. There are two routes that the aircraft takes. First one is a direct route from the capital Islamabad that takes the plane over the Margalla Hills then over the town of Haripur directly over the Kaghan Valley from where it heads towards Nanga Parbat mountain. Finally, after passing the mountain, descent starts into the Indus valley. The second route takes along the Indus valley, which is also scenic but a little longer. These flights, however, are subject to the clearance of weather and in winters, flights are often delayed by several days due to bad weather. After a military Fokker F27 aircraft crashed near Multan in 2003, the Government of Pakistan banned all Fokker flights in domestic operations.[citation needed]

The health system in northern areas is still in its primary phase with just a District Hospital in whole Gilgit city, supported by a military hospital. Some NGOs do play a minor role in uplift, but are catering for specific communities. Government has yet to fully develop a comprehensive health system in the area.

Tuberculosis, endocrinal disorders with mainly iodine deficiency disorders, iron deficiency, and diarrheal diseases are more common. Sewage system has yet to be fully established, electricity and water supply are still faulty. These factors make a hindrance in developing a strong health care system.

Colleges

•F.G Degree college Jutial

•F.G Degree college for women

•Army Public School and College

•Public School and Colleges Jutial

University

•Karakoram International University Gilgit

Beware of the too-simple answer...

Hilda Bastian is Editor etc at PubMed Health, blogger at Scientific American.

Commenting on epidemiology with cartoons at Statistically funny.

" Leonard is so lucky! He's just asked a very complicated question and he's not getting an over-confident and misleading answer.

Granted, he was likely hoping for an easier one! But let's dive into it. "

Continue reading Does it work? Beware of the too-simple answer, by Hilda Bastian.

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Chances are that your home is polluted with dangerous and sometimes life threatening chemicals...

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Our posts about Breast Cancer - Cancer - Endocrine Disruptors

Gilgit is the largest city in the Northern Areas of Pakistan but still it is quite small. It is over 8 hours from Besham in Swat on the Karakoram Highway. The journey to Gilgit is long and aftera while boring. It is an adventure but I personally tired off the narrow Indus valley with mountains walled closely. After Dassu in Kohistan and all the way to Gilgit itself the journey is through treeless river valley.

Gilgit city is set in mountains whose grey towering peaks guard the city. The bottom of the valley in and around the city its suprisingly green because of the abundant trees.

There are many cheap hotels in Gilgit and its one of the few places in Pakistan where you will see foreign tourists in quite a number. They are from neighbouring China as well as Europe too. Most tourists have come to trek in the many mountainous regions or travel onwards to China.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilgit

Gilgit (Urdu: گلگت, Hindi: गिलगित) is the capital city of the Northern Areas, Pakistan. Gilgit City forms a tehsil of Gilgit, within Gilgit District. Its ancient name was Sargin, later to be known as Gilit, and it is still called Gilit or Sargin-Gilit by local people. In the Burushaski language, it is named Geelt. Ghallata is considered its name in ancient Sanskrit literature. Gilgit City is one of the two major hubs in the Northern Areas for mountaineering expeditions to the Karakoram and other the peaks in the Himalayas, the other hub being Skardu.

Gilgit has an area of 38,000 square kilometres (14,700 sq mi). The region is significantly mountainous, lying on the foothills of the Karakoram mountains, and has an average altitude of 1,500 metres (4,900 ft). It is drained by the Indus River, which rises in the neighbouring regions of Ladakh and Baltistan.

Gilgit was an important city on the Silk Road, along which Buddhism was spread from South Asia to the rest of Asia.

The Dards and Chinas appear in many of the old Pauranic lists of peoples who lived in the region, with the former also mentioned in Ptolemy's accounts of the region. Two famous travellers, Faxian and Xuanzang, traversed Gilgit according to their accounts.

“The former rulers had the title of Ra, and there is reason to suppose that they were at one time Hindus, but for the last five centuries and a half they have been Mohammedans. The names of the Hindu Ras have been lost, with the exception of the last of their number, Shri Buddutt. Tradition relates that he was killed by a Mohammedan adventurer, who married his daughter and founded a new dynasty, since called Trakhàn, from a celebrated Ra named Trakhan, who reigned about the commencement of the fourteenth century. The previous rulers—of whom Shri Buddutt was the last—were called Shahreis.

Gilgit was ruled for centuries by the local Trakhàn Dynasty, which ended about 1810 with the death of Raja Abas, the last Trakhàn Raja.[2]

The rulers of Hunza and Nager also claim origin with the Trakhàn dynasty. They claim descent from a heroic Kayani Prince of Persia, Azur Jamshid (also known as Shamsher), who secretly married the daughter of the king Shri Badat. She conspired with him to overthrow her cannibal father.[3] Sri Badat's faith is theorised as Hindu by some[3][4] and Buddhist by others.[5][6] However, considering the region's Buddhist heritage, with the most recent influence being Islam, the most likely preceding influence of the region is Buddhism. Though the titular Sri and the name Badat denotes a Hindu origin of the this ruler.

Prince Azur Jamshid succeeded in overthrowing King Badat who was known as Adam Khor (lit. man-eater)[7][8], often demanding a child a day from his subjects, his demise is still celebrated to this very day by locals in traditional annual celebrations[9]. In the beginning of the new year, where a Juniper procession walks along the river, in memory of chasing the cannibal king Sri Badat away[10].

Azur Jamshid abdicated after 16 years of rule in favour of his wife Nur Bakht Khatùn until their son and heir Garg, grew of age and assumed the title of Raja and ruled, for 55 years. The dynasty flourished under the name of the Kayani dynasty until 1421 when Raja Torra Khan assumed rulership. He ruled as a memorable king until 1475. He distinguished his family line from his step brother Shah Rais Khan (who fled to the king of Badakshan and with who's help he gained Chitral from Raja Torra Khan), as the now known dynastic name of Trakhàn. The descendants of Shah Rais Khan being respectfully known as the Ra'issiya Dynasty.[11]

The period of greatest prosperity was probably under the Shin Ras, whose rule seems to have been peaceable and settled. The whole population, from the Ra to the poorest subject lived by agriculture. According to tradition, Shri Buddutt's rule extended over Chitral, Yassin, Tangir, Darel, Chilas, Gor, Astor, Hunza, Nagar and Haramosh all of which were held by tributary princes of the same family. [12]

”

The area had been a flourishing tract but prosperity was destroyed by warfare over the next fifty years, and by the great flood of 1841 in which the river Indus was blocked by a landslip below the Hatu Pir and the valley was turned into a lake[13]. After the death of Abas, Sulaiman Shah, raja of Yasin, conquered Gilgit. Then, Azad Khan, raja of Punial, killed Sulaiman Shah, taking Gilgit; then Tair Shah, raja of Buroshall (Nagar), took Gilgit and killed Azad Khan. Tair Shah's son Shah Sakandar inherited, only to be killed by Gaur Rahman, raja of Yasin of the Khushwakhte Dynasty, when he took Gilgit. Then in 1842, Shah Sakandar's brother, Karim Khan, expelled Gaur Rahman with the support of a Sikh army from Kashmir. The Sikh general, Nathu Shah, left garrison troops and Karim Khan ruled until Gilgit was ceded to Gulab Singh of Jammu and Kashmir in 1846 by the Treaty of Amritsar,[2] and Dogra troops replaced the Sikh in Gilgit.

Nathu Shah and Karim Khan both transferred their allegiance to Gulab Singh, continuing local administration. When Hunza attacked in 1848, both of them were killed. Gilgit fell to the Hunza and their Yasin and Punial allies, but was soon reconquered by Gulab Singh's Dogra troops. With the support of Gaur Rahman, Gilgit's inhabitants drove their new rulers out in an uprising in 1852. Gaur Rahman then ruled Gilgit until his death in 1860, just before new Dogra forces from Ranbir Singh, son of Gulab Singh, captured the fort and town.[2] The rule of Jammu was restored. Gilgit came under British rule in 1889, when it was unified with neighbouring Nagar and Hunza in the Gilgit Agency.

In 1877, in order to guard against the advance of Russia, the British Government, acting as the suzerain power of Kashmir, established the Gilgit Agency. The Agency was re-established under control of the British Resident in Jammu and Kashmir. It comprised the Gilgit Wazarat; the State of Hunza and Nagar; the Punial Jagir; the Governorships of Yasin, Kuh-Ghizr and Ishkoman, and Chilas.

In 1935, the British demanded Jammu and Kashmir to lease them Gilgit town plus most of the Gilgit Agency and the hill-states Hunza, Nagar, Yasin and Ishkoman for 60 years. Maharaja Hari Singh had no choice but to acquiesce. The leased region was then treated as part of British India, administered by a Political Agent at Gilgit responsible to Delhi, first through the Resident in Jammu and Kashmir and later a British Agent in Peshawar.

Jammu and Kashmir State no longer kept troops in Gilgit and a mercenary force, the Gilgit Scouts, was recruited with British officers and paid for by Delhi. In April 1947, Delhi decided to formally retrocede the leased areas to Hari Singh’s Jammu and Kashmir State as of August 15, 1947. The transfer was to formally take place on August 1.

The Indo-Pakistani War of 1947 affected Gilgit as well. The Pakistani forces advanced against the Indian army quickly. In Gilgit, the Gilgit Scouts joined with them, thereby granting control of northwestern Kashmir to Pakistani forces. Gilgit Scouts progressed with Pakistani troops from north through High Himalayas and contributed in attacking of Skardu in summer 1948, pushing further towards Ladakh area.

After Pakistani good progress of early 1948, Indian troops gathered momentum in late 1948. Finally, the newly-formed India asked UN intervention, and a ceasefire was agreed in December 31, 1948. This conflict left Pakistan with roughly two-fifths of Kashmir, leaving three-fifths to India. This agreement left Gilgit to Pakistan territory.

Weather conditions for Gilgit are dominated by its geographical location, a valley in a mountainous area, southwest of Karakoram range. The prevalent season of Gilgit is winter, occupying the valley eight to nine months a year.

Gilgit lacks significant rainfall, averaging in 120 to 240 millimetres (4.7 to 9.4 in) annually, as monsoon breaks against the southern range of Himalayas. Irrigation for land cultivation is obtained from the rivers, abundant with melting snow water from higher altitudes.

The summer season is brief and hot. The piercing sunrays may raise the temperature up to 40 °C (104 °F), yet it is always cool in the shade.

As a result of this extremity in the weather, landslides and avalanches are frequent in the area.[14]

The Gilgit Manuscript[15] was nominated[16] in 2006 to be included on the UNESCO Memory of the World register, but without success.

The Gilgit manuscripts are among the oldest manuscripts in the world, and the oldest manuscript collection surviving in Pakistan, having major significance in the areas of Buddhist studies and the evolution of Asian and Sanskrit literature. The manuscripts are believed to have been written in the 5th to 6th Century CE, though some more manuscripts were discovered in the succeeding centuries, which were also classified as Gilgit manuscripts.

This corpus of manuscripts was discovered in 1931 in Gilgit, containing four sutras from the Buddhist canon, including the famous Lotus Sutra. The manuscripts were written on birch bark in old Sanskrit language in the Sharada script. The Gilgit manuscripts cover a wide range of themes such as iconometry, folk tales, philosophy, medicine and several related areas of life and general knowledge.

Gilgit city is one of the two major hubs for all mountaineering expeditions in the Northern Areas of Pakistan. Almost all tourists headed for treks in Karakoram or Himalaya Ranges arrive at Gilgit first. Many tourists choose to travel to Gilgit by air, since the road travel between Islamabad and Gilgit, by the Karakoram Highway, takes nearly 24 hours, whereas the air travel takes a mere 45–50 minutes.

There are several tourist attractions relatively close to Gilgit: Naltar Valley with Naltar Peak, Hunza Valley, Ferry Meadows in Raikot, Shigar town, Skardu city, Haramosh Peak in Karakoram Range, Bagrot-Haramosh Valley, Deosai National Park, Astore Valley, Rama Lake, Juglot town, Phunder village, Yasin Valley and Kargah Valley.

Gilgit lies about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) off the Karakoram Highway (KKH). The KKH connects it to Chilas, Dasu, Besham, Mansehra, Abbottabad and Islamabad in the south. In the North it is connected to Karimabad (Hunza) and Sust in the Northern Areas and to the Chinese cities of Tashkurgan, Upal and Kashgar in Xinjiang.

There are various transports companies i.e. Silk Route Transport Pvt, Masherbrum Transport Pvt and Northern Areas Transport Corporation (NATCO), from these NATCO offers most coverage. It offers passenger road service between Islamabad, Gilgit, Sust and Tashkurgan, and road service between Kashgar and Gilgit (via Tashkurgan and Sust) started in the summer of 2006. However, the border crossing between China and Pakistan at Khunjerab Pass—the highest border of the world—is open only between May 1 and October 15 of every year. During winter, the roads are blocked by snow. Even during the monsoon season in summer, the roads are often blocked due to landslides. The best time to travel on Karakoram Highway is spring or early summer.

Pakistan International Airlines flies ATR 42-500 flights twice daily between Gilgit Airport and Islamabad International Airport and the journey offers one of the most scenic aerial views in the world as it passes close to Nanga Parbat and the mountain peaks are higher than the aircraft's cruising altitude. There are two routes that the aircraft takes. First one is a direct route from the capital Islamabad that takes the plane over the Margalla Hills then over the town of Haripur directly over the Kaghan Valley from where it heads towards Nanga Parbat mountain. Finally, after passing the mountain, descent starts into the Indus valley. The second route takes along the Indus valley, which is also scenic but a little longer. These flights, however, are subject to the clearance of weather and in winters, flights are often delayed by several days due to bad weather. After a military Fokker F27 aircraft crashed near Multan in 2003, the Government of Pakistan banned all Fokker flights in domestic operations.[citation needed]

The health system in northern areas is still in its primary phase with just a District Hospital in whole Gilgit city, supported by a military hospital. Some NGOs do play a minor role in uplift, but are catering for specific communities. Government has yet to fully develop a comprehensive health system in the area.

Tuberculosis, endocrinal disorders with mainly iodine deficiency disorders, iron deficiency, and diarrheal diseases are more common. Sewage system has yet to be fully established, electricity and water supply are still faulty. These factors make a hindrance in developing a strong health care system.

Colleges

•F.G Degree college Jutial

•F.G Degree college for women

•Army Public School and College

•Public School and Colleges Jutial

University

•Karakoram International University Gilgit

Elsevier now offers a series of derivative works based on the acclaimed Meylers Side Effect of Drugs, 15th Edition. These individual volumes are grouped by specialty to benefit the practicing physician or health care clinician.

Endocrine and metabolic diseases are common, includes diseases such as diabetes, thyroid disease, and obesity. Endocrinologists, including diabetes professionals, internal medicine and primary care practitioners, obstetricians and gynecologists, and others will find this book useful when treating endocrine or metabolic diseases.

The material is drawn from the 15th edition of the internationally renowned encyclopedia, Meyler's Side Effects of Drugs, and the latest volumes in the companion series, Side Effects of Drugs Annuals. Drug names have usually been designated by their recommended or proposed International Non-proprietary Names (rINN or pINN); when those are not available, clinical names have been used. In some cases, brand names have been used.

This volume is critical for any health professional involved in the administration of endocrine and metabolics mediations.

Dr Jeffrey K. Aronson is a consultant clinical pharmacologist and physician in the Department of Primary Health Care in the University of Oxford and a consultant physician in the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals Trust. He has been associated with the Meyler series since 1977 and has published many research papers on adverse drug reactions. He is also the editor of Meyler's Side Effects of Drugs and the Side Effects of Drugs Annual series. He is President of the British Pharmacological Society and serves on many committees concerned with drug therapy, including the Technology Appraisal Committee of the UK's National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) and the Joint Formulary Committees of the British National Formulary and the British National Formulary for Children.

We now go live to a message from the President of the United States.

“My fellow Americans, I’ve come before you all today in response to a threat made against one of the cities of our nation. At this stage the intelligence agencies are working diligently to discern the severity of this threat and we hope to neutralise any potential danger posed to this city. But in order to ensure the safety of the citizens of Gotham City, I have spoken with both the state Governor and the Mayor of Gotham and we have all agreed to deploy the national guard to assist acting Mayor West and the local law enforcement. Though at this time we cannot be sure of the credibility of these threats, we are taking every necessary precaution in order to safeguard the wellbeing of those who live in Gotham and have ordered a mandatory evacuation of the majority of the population. The national guard will assist in the evacuation process, and the United States Army are currently in the process of setting up temporary accommodation outside of Bludhaven whilst the threat level is determined and dealt with.

God bless the United States, and God bless the citizens of Gotham.”

”The President doesn’t have long but he will now attempt to answer some of your questions.”

”How about we just rip the bandaid off early. Nancy?”

”Thank you, Mr. President. You said in your remarks that the intelligence community is still investigating whether or not this threat against the city of Gotham is legitimate. The threat was issued just over two hours ago. How can you be certain that it’s possibly a hoax and if so why go to the lengths of deploying the nation guard to Gotham if you’re unsure.”

”Well in regards to your question, the difficulty in discerning whether or not the video that was broadcast online lies primarily with the identity of the individual who made the threat against Gotham City. As I’m sure you’re all aware Ra’s Al-Ghul is widely regarded as little more than an eight-hundred-year old myth of a man who found the solution to death. Now, I get daily intelligence briefings and those often entail telling me the secrets that are best left a mystery. Trust me, I’d know if someone on this planet had mastered a way to avoid death. This is partly why we somewhat suspect that this whole thing may be a hoax as you and I may know of that myth but so few other people do, so to them it would be an entirely new person which would explain the choice of name.”

”Apologies Mr. President but if all that points towards this being a hoax surely that makes your actions look as though you’re over-reacting to what may simply be an elaborate prank by an incredibly gifted teenager.”

”That may appear to be the case, but there’s enough already to give us cause for concern. There have a series of attacks by hooded individuals reported across Gotham in the last month or so, I believe just two weeks ago the acting Mayor was held hostage by one of these individuals. So whilst there’s some potential evidence to suggest that this whole message is a hoax, there’s also been a number of incidents in Gotham to hint at some credibility to the claims. Either way, we can’t afford to treat this as if it’s just some well thought out prank without complete certainty. To do so would be putting the citizens of Gotham is unnecessary danger.”

“Mr. President!?”

”I’m all ears, Kelly.”

“Sir, what actions does your administration intend to take regarding the current situation at Wayne Manor and do you still believe this supposed threat against the city of Gotham is just a hoax?”

”I’m sorry, I’m not aware of what you’re talking about.”

“Wayne Manor, Mr. President. Reports are coming in that the house is ablaze and multiple explosions have been heard.”

Before the President can respond, a White House staffer races to his side and whispers something in his ear. The calm expression the President had shown throughout the majority of the press conference quickly disappears as he makes his way out of the press briefing room.

”Ladies and Gentlemen, we’d like to apologise but a matter is come up which requires the President’s immediate attention. If you have any further questions regarding the current situation in Gotham City, press secretary Boon will be more than happy to answer them.”

The camera pauses for a moment before returning to the regularly scheduled Dave Endocrine show where both hosts had been watching the press conference live.

“So do you make of that then Kalinda? Do you think President Walker's suggestion that this whole situation could be nothing more than a practical joke gone too far?”

”Personally Dave, I think that suggestion all but fell apart the moment reports came in about the fire at Wayne Manor. A public threat is one thing, but actions always speak louder than words. I suspect there’s far more to this crisis in Gotham City than the President wanted to believe.”

“And that’s part of the problem here isn’t it, Kalinda? Just moments before the news broke of the, what we can only assume, attack on Wayne Manor the President was stood at that podium trying to keep people calm about the unfolding situation. I don’t know about you, but that worries me more than anything. I mean, it made Walker look like he had no idea what was going on and that never goes down well for a sitting President, especially one who’s only held his office for just over a year.”

”It’ll undoubtedly hurt him come his next election cycle but that’s beside the point right now Dave.”

“You’re right Kalinda, right now our concerns should be with the people of Gotham. The President may have dispatched the national guard to assist acting Mayor West and the Gotham City Police Department but that doesn’t help calm the fact that the city is under attack from a currently unknown enemy.”

”Indeed, and our thoughts and prayers are with them in this frightening time.”

“So what I want to know right now is, where does Batman factor into all of this? After all it was him that resolved that hostage situation at Gotham City Hall just a few weeks ago. Personally if I were the President or Mayor I’d be reaching out to him for help right this second.”

”If I were in Batman’s shoes I’d go further and call in the Justice League?”

“A great point, Kalinda. Surely there’s no better time for them to get involved than right now? Why wouldn’t he want their help thwart a potential terrorist attack against the city that he calls home?”

At certain brain wave frequencies, a sense of "ego boundary" vanishes. In the "theta" state, we are resting deeply and still conscious, at the threshold of drifting away from or back into conscious awareness.There is also a prana breathing tube that runs through the body. It connects the apexes of this Star Tetrahedral field. Learning how to breathe through this tube, combined with rotating the fields, produces the merkaba, a vehicle of ascension. As the brain enters deeper states, our consciousness is less concerned with the physical state, our 'third eye' is active, and separation becomes natural. You can be aware of your truth in every moment of every day by drawing on the deepest blue strand you can find. That strand won’t let you listen to third-dimensional words that are designed to deceive you. You will walk away from words that are not in the highest truth. With your truth strand out front, you won’t be deceived. You’ll know and hear truth, and if you hear an untruth, it will not work for you.Your blueprints have always been available to you, and when they’re interwoven, you can use this exercise to travel through the etheric fabric to find what you’re looking for. When you present your request properly to your higher self, you’ll be surprised by just how much you do know about where you want to go. Much of what you know is unsaid, hidden in your feelings, but accessible..Prana breathing tube that runs through the body. It connects the apexes of this Star Tetrahedral field. Learning how to breathe through this tube, combined with rotating the fields, produces the merkaba, a vehicle of ascension.he photon energy belt that the Earth will move through during the Shift is so huge that I cannot provide you with a precise description of its immensity. Second, prana is a vital life-giving breath, involving deep inhalation, which allows the photon energy to enter into the body through the crown chakra. Finally, your pineal gland is the receptacle of the photon energy in the body..These are three identical fields superimposed over each other, the only difference among them being that the physical body alone is locked, it does not rotate. The merkaba is created by counter-rotating fields of energy. The mental Star Tetrahedral field is electrical in nature, male, and rotates to the left. Since the higher energies work with your feelings, your focus must be on your emotional body. If you learn to think emotionally, you will be aware that your emotions guide everything within your realm. Your emotional body is between your mental and physical bodies, so when you feel something, the latter two bodies go along for the ride..The emotional Star Tetrahedral field is magnetic in nature, female, and rotates to the right. It is the linking together of the mind, heart, and physical body in a specific geometrical ratio and at a critical speed that produces the merkaba.The MerKaBa (sometimes spelled merkavah and, or merkabah) is a vehicle of Ascension. It was believed in ancient times, and even written about by the Hebrews, that the merkavah could be turned on by certain principles in meditation. This involves breathing changes & mind, heart, and body changes that alter the way a person perceives reality..The word “Mer” denotes counter-rotating fields of light, “Ka” Spirit, and “Ba” body, or reality. So the Mer-Ka-Ba then, is a counter-rotating Living field of light that encompasses both Spirit and body and it’s a dimensional vehicle. It’s far more than just that, in fact there isn’t anything that it isn’t. It is the image through which all things were created, and that image is around your body in a geometrical set of patterns.The field extends out a full fifty to sixty feet in diameter (18 to 20 meters), depending on your height. It looks like a flying saucer (Fig. 1). That field is an immense science that is being studied everywhere throughout the cosmos. How well someone understands the MerKaBa, is usually in direct relationship to their consciousness level..

If, when speaking to your higher self, you say, “I want to get from here to there and I want you to guide me,” your higher self will do whatever it wants, and it might be years before you see any results, because your higher self has no concept of time. If you want the unseen energies to guide you, you must learn to communicate with them effectively, and that means you must work with your feelings. The unseen energies do not understand language or words as you know them. They can feel you, and if they can feel you, they will know what you want. When these energies respond to your feelings, you will feel the responding communication from them. So, when you ask your higher self to guide you from here to there in the shortest manner possible, it means nothing, unless you focus on getting the feeling of where you want to go, and how and when you want to get there. If you give those feelings to your higher self, after you’ve woven them through the two brains, you will accomplish your goal. The key here is weaving the local and omni brains together. Practice this by contacting the Elven world, where the language is closest to yours here on the Earth plane. Photon, or love, energy is at the root of the current Shift in Consciousness. Pineal gland is the true master gland. It is situated between the eyes. It is the organ of clairvoyance, Third eye, the eye of Ra or Heru (God). Biblical Jacob saw God face to face on the island of Pe-ni-el. Its secretes melatonin which is anti ageing in effect and anti oxidant in nature. This also secretes melanin which colours our skin. The pineal gland, the most enigmatic of endocrine organs, has long been of interest to anatomists. Several millennia ago it was thought to be a valve that controlled the flow of memories into consciousness. René Descartes, the 17th-century French philosopher-mathematician, concluded that the pineal was the seat of the soul. A corollary notion was that calcification of the pineal caused psychiatric disease, a concept that provided support for those who considered psychotic behavior to be rampant; modern examination techniques have revealed that all pineal glands become more or less calcified..The pineal organ is small, weighing little more than 0.1 gram. It lies deep within the brain between the two cerebral hemispheres and above the third ventricle of the spinal column. It has a rich supply of adrenergic nerve fibers that greatly influence its secretions. Microscopically, the gland is composed of pinealocytes (rather typical endocrine cells except for extensions that mingle with those of adjacent cells). Supporting cells that are similar to astrocytes of the brain are interspersed.. The pineal gland contains a number of peptides, including GnRH, TRH, and vasotocin, along with a number of important neurotransmitters such as somatostatin, norepinephrine, serotonin, and histamine. The major pineal hormone, however, is melatonin, a derivative of the amino acid tryptophan. Melatonin was first discovered because it lightens amphibian skin, an effect opposite to that of melanocyte-stimulating hormone of the anterior pituitary. Secretion of melatonin is enhanced whenever the sympathetic nervous system is stimulated. Of greater interest, however, is the fact that secretion increases soon after an animal is placed in the dark; the opposite effect takes place immediately upon exposure to light. Its major action, well documented in animals, is to block the secretion of GnRH by the hypothalamus and of gonadotropins by the pituitary. While it was long thought that a decrease in melatonin secretion heralded the onset of puberty, this hypothesis cannot be supported by studies in humans. It is possible that the pineal contains an as yet unidentified hormone that serves that function. Melotonin is the only hormone secreted by the pineal gland. (The pineal gland is a tiny endocrine gland situated at the centre of the brain.) Melatonin was discovered in 1958 by Aaron B. Lerner and other researchers working at Yale University. Melatonin is produced in humans, other mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians. It is present in very small amounts in the human body. Melatonin was previously known to cause the skins of amphibians to blanch, but its functions in mammals remained uncertain until research discoveries in the 1970s and '80s suggested that it regulates both sleeping cycles and the hormonal changes that usher in sexual maturity during adolescence. The pineal gland's production of melatonin varies both with the time of day and with age; production of melatonin is dramatically increased during the nighttime hours and falls off during the day, and melatonin levels are much higher in children under age seven than in adolescents and are lower still in adults. Melatonin apparently acts to keep a child's body from undergoing sexual maturation, since sex hormones such as luteotropin, which play a role in the development of sexual organs, emerge only after melatonin levels have declined. This hypothesis is supported by the fact that children with tumors of the pineal gland often reach sexual maturity unusually early in life, presumably because the pineal's production of melatonin has been hampered. Melatonin also seems to play an important role in regulating sleeping cycles; test subjects injected with the hormone become sleepy, suggesting that the increased production of melatonin coincident with nightfall acts as a fundamental mechanism for making people sleepy. With dawn the pineal gland stops producing melatonin, and wakefulness and alertness ensue. The high level of melatonin production in young children may explain their tendency to sleep longer than adults. In mammals other than humans melatonin possibly acts as a breeding and mating cue, since it is produced in greater amounts in response to the longer nights of winter and less so during summer. Animals who time their mating or breeding to coincide with favorable seasons (such as spring) may depend on melatonin production as a kind of biological clock that regulates their reproductive cycles on the basis of the length of the solar day.When activated, the pineal gland becomes the line of communication, with the higher planes. The crown chakra, reaches down, until its vortex touches the pineal gland. Prana, or pure energy, is received through this energy center in the head. With Practice, the vibration level of the astral body is raised, allowing it, to separate from the physical. To activate the 'third eye' and perceive higher dimensions, the pineal gland and the pituitary body, must vibrate in unison, which is achieved through meditation and / or relaxation. When a correct relationship is established, between personality, operating through the pituitary body, and the soul, operating through the pineal gland, a magnetic field is created. The negative and positive forces, interact and become strong enough, to create the 'light in the head. ' With this 'light in the head' activated, astral projectors can withdraw themselves, from the body, carrying the light with them. Astral Travel, and other occult abilities, are closely associated with the development of the 'light in the head'. After physical relaxation, concentration upon the pineal gland, is achieved, by staring at a point in the middle of the forehead. Without straining the muscles of the eye, this will activate the pineal gland and the 'third eye'. Beginning with the withdrawal of the senses and the physical consciousness, the consciousness is centered in the region of the pineal gland. The perceptive faculty and the point of realization, are centralized in the area between the middle of the forehead and the pineal gland. The trick is to visualize, very intently, the subtle body... escaping through the trap door of the brain. A "popping sound" may occur at the time separation of the astral body, in the area of the pineal gland. Visualization exercises, are the first step, in directing the energies in our inner systems, to activate the 'third eye'. The magnetic field is created around the pineal gland, by focusing the mind on the midway point, between the pineal gland and the pituitary body. The creative imagination visualizes something, and the thought energy of the mind gives life and direction to this form. 'Third eye' development, imagination, and visualization are important ingredients, in many methods to separate from the physical form. Intuition is also achieved, through 'third eye' development. Knowledge and memory of the astral plane, are not registered in full waking consciousness, until the intuition becomes strong enough. Flashes of intuition come, with increasing consistency, as the 'third eye' is activated to a greater degree, through practice. Universal Knowledge... can also be acquired...The pineal gland, corresponds with divine thought, after being touched by the vibrating light of Kundalini. Kundalini starts its ascent, towards the head center, after responding to the vibrations from the 'light in the head.' The light is located at the top of the sutratma, or 'soul thread', which passes down from the highest plane of our being... into the physical vehicle. The 'third eye,' or 'Eye of Siva,' the organ of spiritual vision, is intimately related to karma, as we become more spiritual in the natural course of evolution. As human beings continue to evolve, further out of matter, on the journey from spirit to matter... back to spirit, the pineal gland will continue to rise from its state of age - long dormancy, bringing back to humanity... astral capacities and spiritual abilities...Your body produces its own photon energy, but you can bring more of this golden energy into your body by prana breathing it in through your crown and down through your pineal. That simple activity will awaken your God cell, also known as your Signature Cell, which is in your pineal gland. Prana breathing will flow the golden particles from the pineal through the whole of your physical body, affecting the emotional, mental and spiritual bodies in the process.Next, your thought process must be pure. If you want to get from Manhattan to a specific place in Queens and you’ve never been to Queens, you must have pure thoughts about the journey, concentrating only on the specific place you want to reach, feeling every aspect of it. Then you must go into the etheric pattern until you find and get through that little “gray space” that lets you know you’ve left the third-dimensional reality. You will find yourself in Queens, looking at the specific place you wanted to reach. You will then have to back away from it until the neighborhood where it actually is comes into focus. You will recognize the surrounding neighborhood. You may not have seen how you got there, but you will have enough information, such as an address, to Google it or to ask someone how to get there. You can go from where you are to any place in the world that way during these pre-Shift times. As a four-bodied energy, you have spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical bodies, and you have four strands of DNA that correspond to each of those bodies. The first strand of DNA is the physical, the second, the emotional, the third, the mental, and the fourth, the spiritual...The four strands of DNA are powerful, but one strand is more powerful than the rest and that is the golden strand. Each set of four strands of DNA has one golden strand, which is found in the spiritual, or etheric, body. The golden strand is pure photon energy. The photon energy you bring into your body through prana breathing gets woven with everything else via the pineal gland. During the Shift, you will let go of your third-dimensional reality with the help of that magical golden fourth strand of DNA, which is equipped to transfer you into the fourth dimension.The foundation of our spiritual practice has to be very clear to us, otherwise it is very easy to enter into mistaken techniques and practices. In the Gnostic tradition, we always seek to re-evaluate our spiritual approach; our teacher Samael Aun Weor was very rigorous in his analysis of himself, his spiritual practice, and his technique. He constantly re-evaluated his method, and corrected himself in order to ensure he was on the right path. This is because he relied on practical experience, and was constantly examining the nature of suffering in himself, and was not satisfied with concept or theory. Samael Aun Weor suffered a lot, and that suffering is what gave him the impulse, the motivation, to constantly revise his spiritual practice in order to conquer suffering, and also to help others to do the same. Really, this viewpoint about suffering is the foundation of every genuine path, so understanding suffering is the foundational aspect of all teachings. In essence, spiritual practice is about harnessing energy. In the first levels, in the foundational and Mahayana levels, the two classifications of teaching, we are really learning how to discipline our mind stream and attune it with the mind stream of Christ. This is why Bodhichitta can also be translated as Christ mind (bodhi = wisdom = Chokmah; chitta = mind).

Bodhichitta is a kind of energy that vibrates with the ray of creation, with the Ain Soph Aur, a type of light that emerges out of the Absolute, a light that comes from Adhi-Buddha, the primordial Buddha. This light, which is the supreme clear light, is the type of light that is absolutely perfect, and is the first and primordial expression of the divine. It is a light of unbelievable, indescribable radiance, whose chief characteristic is a brilliant, shining love. If you meditate on that, simply that, you will comprehend why most of the teachings of Tantra you find in the world are black. They are completely contradictory to that light. That light is not interested in pleasure. That light is not interested in the satisfaction of desire. Those are the interests of demons.

When that light emerges out of the Absolute abstract space, it emerges as a form of an archetype, related to the world of Atziluth in Kabbalah. An archetype is a blue print, a primordial form that has not yet become. For that becoming to happen, there has to be a long process of development, and that is the path of initiation, the path through which the soul is born, the soul is created. We are only the embryo of soul, a seed. We are not a soul yet. This is why Jesus said, “With patience you will possess your soul.”

The development and creation of the soul depends upon it being nourished by the light of Christ, this Christic force, which is also called Avalokiteshvara, Quetzalcoatl, Vishnu, and Osiris. They are all the same force. Christ is not a person, but an energy, an intelligence, a light.

That energy creates what we see here as the Tree of Life. That energy descends and condenses and unravels and reveals everything that exists. It is also called the great breath, and is symbolized in Kabbalah and other religions as the breath of God that emerges out of the nothingness. That great breath, that exhalation, is how everything comes to exist, macrocosmically and microcosmically. That Great Breath in Sanskrit is called Prana. The relationship between the Pineal Gland and the Sun shows how much influence the Sun has on us. It is our body clock. The Pineal Gland also reads the Sun and informs animals when it is time to hibernate..Many primitive cultures related to the Sun as the closest physical structure to God due to it’s influence on daily life. Without the Sun life would be over, but the Sun shows up everyday and on-time. The Sun not only influences human bodies internally, but provides the energy for the food humans need to survive to grow. Thus the Sun is the source of life on this planet.

This position would be especially logical if one believed that the fluids themselves were being recycled to nourish body tissues.The future has always been surprising. The body is loaded with 100% optimism. It’s just like you don’t have any timeTaoist alchemy and Kundalini yoga, in their respective ways, are religious traditions based on an imperative of rational, yet creative,experimentation with the relationship of the internal body to objects in the outside world, and the relationship of human physical energy with the abstracted realms of religious symbolism and ontological beliefs. Both systems present a picture which is not entirely comprehensive by the methods and assumptions of modern science. Yet these types of traditions may have something useful to teach us, if we can analyze their beliefs and practices within the historical and cultural context in an effort to understand them as they were, and as they are, within their individual cultural framework. Scientific methods such as neurobiology can give us some insight into the basic underlying causes of human experience, yet will never be able to fully explain the phenomenological idiosyncrasies of religious ritual. With this in mind, we can apply the knowledge of modern science to the study of ancient religious in a responsible and realistic way. Taoist and Tantric sexual practices conserve and utilize the precious energy within the genital fluids. The vital forces energies that sustain life are ojas and prana. One particular type of prana is kundalini or shakti. The Taoist equivalent is ching. By murmuring this energy, life is enriched and preserved. By squandering it, health suffers and death results, Yogys believe kundalini energy is coiled up like a serpent at the base of the spine to the pineal gland in the brain, and enlightenment is attained. The kundalini energy flows through the chakras, energy centers in your subtle body related to the endocrine glands. The endocrine glands are fed by your body’s central heating system, the sexual center. If that center is weak, you entire system is weak. If that center is functioning optimally, the body can survive indefinitely. Taoist and Tantric techniques strengthen the sexual chakra. Their methods conserve its precious fluids and also pump these nourishing fluids back into the body, directing them to the endocrine glands. This technique stimulates the production of ojas and soma. The only caution about Taoist and Tantric sexual practices is the following: because of the tradition of patriarchal oppression, many of theses practices are designed solely for the male to attain immortality, often at the expense of young, ignorant, inexperienced girls, whose vitality {shakti } is drained from their bodies. The male is cautioned to never let semen leave his body, to practice coitus reservatus, stopping short of ejaculation. Yet he is advised to bring his partner to orgasm repeatedly. With his sperm held in check and his vital energy pumping back into his system continually, he invigorates and rejuvenates his body. Also pumping the energy and fluids of the female into his body at the time of her climax, he obtains her vitality as well. Practitioners are advised to engage in this female-draining activity a dozen or more times a day with several 14-to 19 year old virgins. Innocent females are victims of this crime against their health, driving them to early grave.

On other hand, when both partners ate fully knowledgeable and experienced in Taoist or Tantric sexual practices, a mutually beneficial, enriching, elevating relationship can growth is only possible with mutual respect, love, honesty, commitment, and trust. When partners recognize and worship each other as divines beings, there can be an exchange of divine energy in both body and Spirit.How does this move in the body? If we cannot see it, does it really exist? Science is only just getting a few tests going that prove energy is in the body and around it. Is it real what the Ancient wisdoms teach us? Can it guide us to oneness and conscious awakening?

It has been a long road for those in the energy field of health getting the message across to the general population that energy is everywhere, particularly in the body. With proof, barriers seem a lot easier to free up. Oriental medicine and Ayurvedic medicine are the clearest and longest standing observational sciences that describe and fully believe that energy exists as long as 5000 years ago. Both have movement medicine in the forms of Yoga and Qigong.

As I already discussed in the previous article Bring the energy home, there is a cycle called the Microcosmic cycle which when experienced connects the front and back energy meridians. Also called the Governing and Conception channels, in Oriental medicine a further 12 major channels exist that run up and down the body through the limbs, arms and legs (6 Yin and 6 Yang).These energies connect to the sun (yang) and moon (yin) influences. Predominantly yang energy in the morning and more yin energies in the afternoon, changing again after midnight. Then more yang energies developing until we awake and the body starts to function optimally again in the awakened state.The logograph 氣 is read with two Chinese pronunciations, the usual qì 氣 "air; vital energy" and the rare archaic xì 氣 "to present food" (later disambiguated with 餼). Pronunciations of 氣 in modern varieties of Chinese with standardized IPA equivalents include: Standard Chinese qì /t͡ɕʰi⁵¹/, Wu Chinese qi /t͡ɕʰi³⁴/, Southern Min khì /kʰi²¹/, Eastern Min ké /kʰɛi²¹³/, Standard Cantonese hei3 /hei̯³³/, and Hakka Chinese hi /hi⁵⁵/. Pronunciations of 氣 in Sino-Xenic borrowings include: Japanese ki, Korean gi, and Vietnamese khi. Reconstructions of the Middle Chinese pronunciation of 氣 standardized to IPA transcription include: /kʰe̯iH/ (Bernard Karlgren), /kʰĭəiH/ (Wang Li), /kʰiəiH/ (Li Rong), /kʰɨjH/ (Edwin Pulleyblank), and /kʰɨiH/ (Zhengzhang Shangfang). Reconstructions of the Old Chinese pronunciation of 氣 standardized to IPA transcription include: /*kʰɯds/ (Zhengzhang Shangfang) and /*C.qʰəp-s/ (William H. Baxter and Laurent Sagart). The etymology of qì interconnects with Kharia kʰis "anger", Sora kissa "move with great effort", Khmer kʰɛs "strive after; endeavor", and Gyalrongic kʰɐs "anger".The earliest texts that speak of qi give some indications of how the concept developed. In the Analects of Confucius qi could mean "breath". Combining it with the Chinese word for blood (making 血氣, xue–qi, blood and breath), the concept could be used to account for motivational characteristics:

The [morally] noble man guards himself against 3 things. When he is young, his xue–qi has not yet stabilized, so he guards himself against sexual passion. When he reaches his prime, his xue–qi is not easily subdued, so he guards himself against combativeness. When he reaches old age, his xue–qi is already depleted, so he guards himself against acquisitiveness.— Confucius, Analects, 16:7

The philosopher Mozi used the word qi to refer to noxious vapors that would in eventually arise from a corpse were it not buried at a sufficient depth. He reported that early civilized humans learned how to live in houses to protect their qi from the moisture that troubled them when they lived in caves. He also associated maintaining one's qi with providing oneself with adequate nutrition. In regard to another kind of qi, he recorded how some people performed a kind of prognostication by observing qi (clouds) in the sky. Mencius described a kind of qi that might be characterized as an individual's vital energies. This qi was necessary to activity and it could be controlled by a well-integrated willpower.page needed] When properly nurtured, this qi was said to be capable of extending beyond the human body to reach throughout the universe. It could also be augmented by means of careful exercise of one's moral capacities.[14] On the other hand, the qi of an individual could be degraded by adverse external forces that succeed in operating on that individual. Living things were not the only things believed to have qi. Zhuangzi indicated that wind is the qi of the Earth.Moreover, cosmic yin and yang "are the greatest of qi".He described qi as "issuing forth" and creating profound effects.[15] He also said "Human beings are born [because of] the accumulation of qi. When it accumulates there is life. When it dissipates there is death... There is one qi that connects and pervades everything in the world." Another passage traces life to intercourse between Heaven and Earth: "The highest Yin is the most restrained. The highest Yang is the most exuberant. The restrained comes forth from Heaven. The exuberant issues forth from Earth. The two intertwine and penetrate forming a harmony, and [as a result] things are born." The Guanzi essay Neiye (Inward Training) is the oldest received writing on the subject of the cultivation of vapor [qi] and meditation techniques. The essay was probably composed at the Jixia Academy in Qi in the late fourth century B.C. Xun Zi, another Confucian scholar of the Jixia Academy, followed in later years. At 9:69/127, Xun Zi says, "Fire and water have qi but do not have life. Grasses and trees have life but do not have perceptivity. Fowl and beasts have perceptivity but do not have yi (sense of right and wrong, duty, justice). Men have qi, life, perceptivity, and yi." Chinese people at such an early time had no concept of radiant energy, but they were aware that one can be heated by a campfire from a distance away from the fire. They accounted for this phenomenon by claiming "qi" radiated from fire. At 18:62/122, he also uses "qi" to refer to the vital forces of the body that decline with advanced age. Among the animals, the gibbon and the crane were considered experts at inhaling the qi. The Confucian scholar Dong Zhongshu (ca. 150 BC) wrote in Luxuriant Dew of the Spring and Autumn Annals:[17] "The gibbon resembles a macaque, but he is larger, and his color is black. His forearms being long, he lives eight hundred years, because he is expert in controlling his breathing." ("猿似猴。大而黑。長前臂。所以壽八百。好引氣也。") Later, the syncretic text assembled under the direction of Liu An, the Huai Nan Zi, or "Masters of Huainan", has a passage that presages most of what is given greater detail by the Neo-Confucians: Heaven (seen here as the ultimate source of all being) falls (duo 墮, i.e., descends into proto-immanence) as the formless. Fleeting, fluttering, penetrating, amorphous it is, and so it is called the Supreme Luminary. The dao begins in the Void Brightening. The Void Brightening produces the universe (yu–zhou). The universe produces qi. Qi has bounds. The clear, yang [qi] was ethereal and so formed heaven. The heavy, turbid [qi] was congealed and impeded and so formed earth. The conjunction of the clear, yang [qi] was fluid and easy. The conjunction of the heavy, turbid [qi] was strained and difficult. So heaven was formed first and earth was made fast later. The pervading essence (xi–jing) of heaven and earth becomes yin and yang. The concentrated (zhuan) essences of yin and yang become the four seasons. The dispersed (san) essences of the four seasons become the myriad creatures. The hot qi of yang in accumulating produces fire. The essence (jing) of the fire-qi becomes the sun. The cold qi of yin in accumulating produces water. The essence of the water-qi becomes the moon. The essences produced by coitus (yin) of the sun and moon become the stars and celestial markpoints (chen, planets).— Huai-nan-zi, 3:1a/19 Characters In Yoga they talk of Ida and Pingala channels and a central channel called Sushumna with very many Nadis connecting our energy back to our Chakras. This Kundalini shakti energy moving systematically when ready to the top most Chakra Sahasara and then connects to the Supreme shiva and universe.

This energy is also affected by our emotions, the food we eat, and how we move this energy i.e. with Qigong and Yoga and how well we relax. Learning these skills help develop and refine this energy and maintain a storage where we can then start to develop longevity and preserve our inherited energy from our family.We are also affected energetically by our environment, particularly magnetic waves, microwaves sonic waves, radio waves, TV signals, mobile phones and so on. The long term effect has not been fully understood, our body’s energy is at the mercy of these frequencies unless we learn energy techniques to take control of these movements and redirect the flow. Managing our bodies and its needs sometimes can feel overwhelming but with the correct help and attitude we can soon feel the benefits of repeated Qi flow and awakened consciousness.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qi

Yoga also uses movement to connect ourselves to the universe. We can learn so much from these practices about our bodies and how to get into a flow that benefits mind, body, and spirit. My experience when studying Kundalini Yoga was a very powerful one. Kundalini is known as the mother Yoga and when followed by its principles and ancient wisdom, allows for natural movement of the Kundalini. This is a simple but effective Yoga, often postures being held and breath sequences and Bhandas used to help move energy. Meditations and Mantras with Mudras further help reconnect the spirit and open us to the universal oneness. Both Qigong and Yoga have deep understanding of our energetic connections and make use of techniques and principles that guide us safely back to our spiritual home and beyond. Having studied and experienced both of these models extensively, I feel privileged to have great teachers and the opportunity to pass onto others these great energy healersIn Hindu philosophy including yoga, Indian medicine, and martial arts, Prana (प्राण, prāṇa; the Sanskrit word for "life force" or "vital principle")[1] comprises all cosmic energy, permeating the Universe on all levels. Prana is often referred to as the "life force" or "life energy".[not verified in body] It also includes energies present in inanimate objects.[not verified in body] In the Hindu literature, prana is sometimes described as originating from the Sun and connecting the elements of the Universe. This life energy has been vividly invoked and described in the ancient Vedas and Upanishads.[not verified in body. In living beings, this universal energy is considered responsible for all bodily functions through five types of prana, collectively known as the five vāyus. Ayurveda, tantra and Tibetan medicine all describe praṇā vāyu as the basic vāyu from which all the other vāyus arise. Indologist Georg Feuerstein explains, "The Chinese call it chi, the Polynesians mana, the Amerindians orenda, and the ancient Germans od. It is an all-pervasive 'organic' The ancient concept of prana is described in many early Hindu texts, including Upanishads and Vedas. One of the earliest references to prana is from the 3,000-year-old Chandogya Upanishad, but many other Upanishads also make use of the concept, including the Katha, Mundaka and Prasna Upanishads. The concept is elaborated upon in great detail in the practices and literature of haṭha yoga, tantra,and Ayurveda. Prana is typically divided into multiple constituent parts, in particular when concerned with the human body. While not all early sources agree on the names or number of these subdivisions, the most common list from the Mahabharata, the Upanishads, Ayurvedic and Yogic sources includes five, often divided into further subcategories.This list includes: Prana (inward moving energy), apana (outward moving energy), vyana (circulation of energy), udana (energy of the head and throat), and samana (digestion and assimilation).[citation needed] Early mention of specific pranas often emphasized prāṇa, apāna and vyāna as "the three breaths". This can be seen in the proto-yogic traditions of the Vratyas among others.[6]:104 Texts like the Vaikānasasmārta utilized the five pranas as an internalization of the five sacrificial fires of a panchagni homa ceremony.[6]:111–112 Vāyus

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prana

Poren Huang (Chinese: 黃柏仁, born 1970), a Taiwanese sculptor, was born in Taichung, located in central Taiwan. His grandfather and parents engaged in wood carving business.During the 1970s, Poren Huang's father, Mingde Huang, had a successful wood carving industry and huge export volume. As a major wood carving factory in Taiwan,the factory employed more than 100 craftsmen to produce wood handicrafts during peak seasons. Mingde Huang expected his son Poren Huang to inherit the family business, but Poren Huang preferred artistic creation to wood handicraft production, resulting in years of differences between the father and son. In 2005, Poren Huang fully expressed his ideas through his series of works, The Dog's Notes. Although he and his father held different viewpoints, he highly values family interaction. He focused on mending his family relationship before pursuing his personal ambition, and some of his works in The Dog's Notes strongly convey enlightenment and morality.After World War II, with the recovery of the global economy, prosperity and focus on human rights, the hard work of the previous generation is often reciprocated with the disregard, self-centeredness, mockery and impiety of the next generation. In The Dog's Notes, Poren Huang added the quality of loyalty and kindness to purify the human heart and create positive influence.Using the dog as a creative starting point, each piece of work is suggestive of the "human". About 10% to 90% of the works borrow from the dog to explore various human behaviors. Modern people generally feel kindly toward dogs because of their ability to soothe. Therefore, Poren Huang uses the dog as his creative theme to convey positive traits such as self-confidence, courage, loyalty or innocence, and to provoke in people deeper thoughts as they come in contact with his work. Many people are first attracted by the amusing forms; however, after a period of contact and interaction with the pieces, they seem to sense the deeper significance and remain inspired by positive ideas and thoughts. There are primarily two types of animals that appear in The Dog's Notes, the dog and the panda. They share a common characteristic of being humanized. These animals do not appear completely animal-like under Poren Huang's sculpting, but instead, they appear to have the scent of a human. That is why viewers tend to stand in front of the artwork and stare for quite a long time, unwittingly; perhaps it is because they did not get an affirmative answer as to whether the artwork is human or animal? When the dog and the panda enter the human's environment, they naturally learn to cohabitate with humans. They lose the wild nature of being wild animals, and become more humanized. People are the same way. Poren Huang wishes that humans can be more inspired by the dogs, and to learn the positive characters found in dogs, such as innocence, loyalty, kindness, bravery, and being passionate. Much like the Chinese proverb, "The son does not despise the mother for being ugly, and the dog does not blame the owner for being poor"; the dog will not despite the owner, and will not leave the owner, instead he will spend the rest of his life by his owner's side. Humans, on the other hand are different. They might look down on others or alienate others. They might even become disrespectful toward parents. The selfishness of humans causes wars and unrest in the world. Therefore, Poren Huang is not just creating artworks of animals, but instead, he is making his sculptures more humanized, so that the viewers can naturally reflect and be inspired. In addition, Poren Huang's humanized works of art also have a little bit of the "Oriental Literati" essence. Although these artworks will have various emotions, but they are never too intense, and are never over the top. Just like Ang Lee, Xi Jinping, Yo-Yo Ma, Jeremy Lin, as well as other generally well-known Chinese, whose personalities are perhaps the same way, which is gentle and refined, and with the modesty of a gentleman. Much like the Eastern literai who are well read of poetry and literature, their emotions are not easily shown; they are more restrained, and are full of character and depth.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poren_Huang

Francois Gachon is an advertising agent of the By Chance agency and a watercolourist graduated from the school of applied arts, he painted this subtle body that I have inlaid in the photo. Poren Huang considered this collage to be very artistic.The wallpaper is a painting by Paul Gauguin named Delightful Land... Te nave nave nave nave fenua, 1892

What is your favorite treat at the Disney parks? How about a happy treat shaped like the Big Cheese?

I used to eat a Mickey Rice Crispy Treat from Main Street Confectionery or Mouse Gear. They were my favorite treats at Disney. My endocrine symptoms began to increase the past several years and it seemed gluten was causing my thyroid gland to swell so I’ve moved my gluten free foodie choices a little, but I still love this photo.

Carousel | Disney Springs, Walt Disney World

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Our lifestyles and our environment are potential contributors to disease. Diet, lack of exercise and exposure to environmental pollutants, including endocrine (hormone) disrupting chemicals (EDCs) present in many everyday products, may increase the risk of hormone related diseases such as breast cancer.

Sources

. A manifesto for the prevention of breast cancer, breastcanceruk.

. Prevention Week 18 to 24 September 2017, breastcanceruk.

. Supporter tool kit, breastcanceruk.

Endocrine Disruptors

. Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals: 2nd Endocrine Society Scientific Statement, 2015.

. Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals: 1st Endocrine Society Scientific Statement, 2009.

. Watch our DES and EDCs research gallery on Flickr.

More Information

. Read #DitchTheJunk, a breast cancer uk campaign and download this guide to safer cosmetics.

. Enjoy our health infographics album on Flickr.

. Our posts tagged EDCs and safe cosmetics.

. Safer chemicals YouTube video playlists: cosmetics and EDCs.

Creation is seen to have taken place, in Western kabbalistic and alchemical terms, in the following process.

The Divine mind of God, the Absolute, or in Hebrew the Ain Soph Aur (Limitless Light), through a series of expansions and contractions establishes the boundaries of Creation. The first world is the most subtle, and closest to the original state of non-existence, and is Atzilooth. This is called the world of Fire, because of the lively, undefined, and almost uncontrollable nature of fire. Next is Briah, or the World of Archetypes and forms as our human mind can grasp them. It is symbolized as the World of Air, and is the result of a barrier world that is formed by the creation of the next World, Yetzirah, or Water. This is the highly psychic and emotionally charged world immediately behind the veil of material existence, or Assiah. Also known as the World of Earth, because of the solid, concrete nature of material life.

The purpose of this scheme, is to show that creation occurs in increasingly dense levels of energy-matter, from the most subtle, or Fire, to the most dense, or Earth. Within this context of increasing density, there also arises a series of ten planes or levels of consciousness which combines with energy-matter, known as Sepheroth, or spheres of being. They occur in a pattern of: unity, reflection, polarity, reflection, polarity, unity, reflection, polarity, unity, and finally materialization. This basic idea of unity-polarity-and re-harmonizing, is the basis of kabbalistic and alchemical practices, and is derived from the observation of Nature.

Each World is a reflection to a denser or more subtle degree than the one before or after it. Each Sepheroth is a reflection, in part, of what proceeds or follows it. However, since each reflection is only partial, or slightly distorted, each Sphere takes on its own unique characteristics. Only the so-called “Middle Four Sphereoth” have the ability to harmonize or reflect in total all of the energies of creation, on some level.

This ‘zigzag’ of Creation is called the “Lightning Flash”. The return of energy from dense matter, back through the various stages, Sepheroth, and Worlds of Creation is known as the “Path of the Serpent” because of its reverse, or complimentary ‘zigzag’ nature back up this diagram called the Tree of Life.

For the alchemist, somewhere between the third and fourth level, or sphere of creation, energy takes on the characteristic that will allow for the formation of matter at some future state, or level ten. This energy is called Prima Materia, Chaos in the Bible, Spiritus Mundi (Spirit of the Earth), and others. Here, duality is made complete, and genuine polarity exists, as opposed to simply the potential, or idea, of polarity that had existed previously. Energy is divided into active and passive modes, with the active energy constituting the energies of life, and the passive one the energy of matter. In “The Golden Chain of Homer”, the active energy is called Niter and the passive energy is called Salt.

The energy of Life manifests in two forms, Fire and Air. While both are predominately active in nature, fire is the more active of the two, with Air being slightly passive because of the partial Water Element in its makeup. Potential Matter manifests its energy as Water and Earth. These Elements have nothing to do with the material bodies of the same name, and as such are capitalized and called “Elemental” to distinguish them from the earth we walk on, water we drink, air we breath, and fire we cook with. They are in fact, energetic states, each with their own unique characteristics, as well as each of the previously mentioned ten levels of consciousness within them. The Elements also have preferred ways of interacting with each other, to form the Three Principles of alchemy. There are in fact, forty different ways energy-matter-consciousness can manifest in our world.

The Three Essentials are the alchemical principles of Sulphur, Mercury, and Salt. Like the “Elements” these principle concepts are to be thought of a “Philosophical” and not literally as chemical elements or compounds. The Alchemical Sulphur, or Soul, of a thing predominates in the animating principles of energy (Fire) and intelligence (Air); Alchemical Salt, or the physical body of a thing, predominates in unconscious forces, psychic, and instinctual intelligence (Water) and solid matter (Earth); Alchemical Mercury, or general life force, predominates in intelligence (Air) and instinctual forces, and psychic energy (Water), as such it is the link, or bridge, between the higher forces of Sulphur and the lower body of matter.

In the mineral realm the dominant energy is that of Earth, a little Water, and very little Air or Fire. In the vegetable realm, the dominant energy is Water and Air, but little Fire and Earth. In the animal realm, the dominant force element is Fire, then Air, but little Earth. These qualities need to be understood as they have been defined for the following information to be of any use to the practicing, or aspiring, Hermeticist. For example, using the above definitions, we can say that the plant realm has an abundance of instinctual energy (Water) and intelligence, i.e. a specific function (Air), but little direct energy (Fire), as this is received passively from the sun; and little hard, physical, matter (Earth).

In the East as in the West, the idea of principle Elements and Philosophic Principles are expressed in more or less the same manner. This original undifferentiated energy from creation is often called in Indian philosophy, and modern occult, and New Age circles, as akasha, or Spirit. However, akasha, consists of two (2) aspects, one active as we have noted, Niter, and the other passive, Salt. The energies of Niter are also referred to as the force of Kundalini, or spiritual forces. In alchemy, this is the Secret Fire. To the Salt, belongs the force of Prana, or Vital Energy.

The function of the Vital energy is to maintain physical life forms and existence. It is completely instinctual and unconscious and is heavily influenced by cosmic cycles, astrological pulses, and other natural phenomena. The function of the Secret Fire is to increase in humanity, the only place where it is present, its sense of self, or “I”. At the lowest level or functioning, this is the ego, at its highest, it is Divinity incarnate, as both are two sides of the same coin. One is ‘self’ in relation to the physical world and others; the other is ‘self’ in relationship to all of Creation and as a co-creator.

In the vast majority of humanity, this Secret Fire, or liberating energy of self-consciousness, lies dormant, asleep at the base of the spine, coiled like a serpent. Only a small amount manages to escape, reaching a sepherothic level, or so-called chakra, thus creating a loci of consciousness for each person. If it reaches the top of the skull, and beyond, a spiritual awakening can occur, allowing for a descent and re-ascent of the energy, during which the psychic centers can be awakened allowing for the manifestation of psychic powers and related phenomena.

The Secret Fire ascends as a result of a temporary weakening of the Vital Energy in the physical body. This is why so many spiritual awakenings take place under great physical stress, times of illness, or near-death-experiences. When the Secret Fire will ascend through the various psychic-physical currents causing it to be enveloped in a sphere of luminous light.

The experiencing of the Secret Fire, as a result of the suppression of the physical body’s Vital Energy, can create a condition which manifests in various forms:

-Some perceive the bright light as an angel, their Higher Self, or “Holy Guardian Angel”, others as a spiritual teacher.

-Astral projection may result, along with perception of the immediate surroundings.

-Uncontrolled physical movements may also result, typical of so-called ‘kundalini phenomena’: shaking, rapid breathing, swinging of the torso, uncontrolled giddiness, and sitting straight upright in the Pharonic position.

After a period of time, the energy will descend, and return to the base of the spine.

The effects of this awakening will take some time for the consciousness of the individual to adjust to, and is not limited to the ‘non-physical’ realms. The physical body, although to a lesser degree, is also changed and improved in functioning, constituting a genuine “re-birth’ on several levels. However, it is up to the mind, or sense of “I”, of the individual, to cooperate with this influx of power if more permanent changes in consciousness are to be made.

As we can see, the concept of kundalini, or the Secret Fire, is linked to two polar concepts: that of the undifferentiated creative energy, and the second, as the seed of this energy locked on each cell of material creation, and focused in humanity at the base of the spine.

When this energy rises as a result of psychic experiences, and not because of physical weakness, it can cause the Vital Energy of the body to be concentrated on various areas of the body, creating physical and psychic disturbances. If the energy becomes concentrated in the head, it can create the illusion of a spiritual awakening, as well as the well known “hot and cold” flashes, or currents, up and down the spine. The effects of the Secret Fire however, and not its re-distributive effects on the Vital Energy, can create the following phenomena:

Intense pains suggestive of an illness

Crawling sensations of ants or small bugs over the skin, as well as a ‘jumping’ sensation of the energy

A feeling of crystal clear calmness and tranquillity, rise from center to center to the top of the head

Ascending in the famous ‘zigzag’ or Rising Serpent pattern

The energy can skip a center or two

The energy can reach the top of the head in a flash of light

The character attributes of both positive and negative are exaggerated and sexual power is increased.

If the energy rises to the top of the head, then it becomes possible to work directly on the Vital Energy within the body, and use it, as a means of enhancing the psychic experience and spiritual awakening.

In short, the psychic centers must first be awakened by the Secret Fire and purified, before the energy of the physical body, can be concentrated upon them.

Thus, our psychic exercises, and esoteric meditations are designed to prepare our minds, bodies, and consciousness for the liberation of the Secret Fire buried deep inside us. Through a progressive cleansing of the blood, nervous system, and endocrine glands, the ‘chains’ of the Vital Energy upon the Secret Fire are reduced and eliminated, allowing the ever present power and energy, a veritable pressure waiting to be released, to spring into action. Thus, the Serpent doesn’t really sleep, it is we who are asleep to its presence and potential blessing.

The Secret Fire and the Sepheroth

“So he drove out the man: and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the Tree of Life.” Genesis 3:24

The use of the “Tree of Life” has been both a blessing and a curse for modern esotericism. When understood, the “Tree” offers a complete and working model of Creation on both the microcosmic and macrocosmic scales. However, where many fail is on the personal level. The ability to apply the often very general information of the Tree to personal experiences of the initiate when they deal with physiological phenomena is profoundly lacking in modern esoteric circles. The reasons for this are several: First, many modern esotericists simply repeat what they have learned without experiencing whether or not it is true on a personal level; second, the language of kabbalah is multi-leveled, with the same word having several meanings, thus many who are using the words don’t know what they actually mean, or on what level it may be interpreted; thirdly, the diagram of the Tree is simply too neat and compartmentalized. Many kabbalists are unable to adapt to the fact that interior reality is much more flexible than the Tree allows when applied to the two dimensional page or illustration.

These problems are farther complicated by the idea of “One Tree” but “Four Worlds” making much meaningful, practical information nearly impossible to come by regarding the crises of spiritual awakening and so-called Kundalini phenomena as it relates to kabbalistic practices. When compared to the clear and explicit information available from Taoist and Tantrik sources, it is no wonder that so many Americans and Europeans prefer those systems to those more culturally and historically related.

To help resolve these problems in the transmission of knowledge, only information that has a relationship to experience of the author or others he has discussed this topic with will be included here. Theory will be stated as theory, and experience as experience. The meaning of common kabbalistic words will be defined, and redefined, to keep the communication clear and direct. An extensive use of confusing and somewhat irrelevant god-forms, references to mythology, and cosmology unconnected to the personal experience will be avoided.

Arousing the Sleeping Serpent

“Just as Moses lifted up the flaming serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that all who believe may have eternal life in him.” John 3:14-15

The Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram is often the first ritual learned by aspiring magicians. Its function is to teach the basic mechanics of solitary ritual, and to give a basic technique whereby destructive energies maybe repelled or dispersed from the sphere of influence of the operator. The symbols used in the ritual are fundamental to other rituals of a more complex nature; however, to disregard the Lesser Ritual as somehow less effective is a mistake. A ritual, no matter how simple or complex is only as effective as the skill of its operator. Repeated use of the LRP is can be more effective than incompetent or irregular use of more sophisticated rites.

In total, there are approximately six fundamental rituals used in Western occultism reflecting an influence of The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn: 1) the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram 2) the Supreme Ritual of the Pentagram 3) the Lesser Ritual of the Hexagram 4) the Greater Ritual of the Hexagram and 5) the Rose+Cross Ritual. The use of The Flashing Sword appears to be irregular; however, it will also be considered along with its companion exercise or, The Rising Serpent.

Within these, the use of the Middle Pillar is optional, it is however, the Middle Pillar Exercise which does the most to purify the bodily energies, or Vital Energy, and make pathways for the release of the Secret Fire.

hermetic.com/stavish/essays/secret-fire.html

Sources: Toxic Chemical Exposure Infographic

Chaé Organics May 28, 2013

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