Monday, February 15, 2010

The Deadly Seven

 
Remember the nerve jangling thriller, Seven, and how the psycho killer stalks the trail of those guilty of the seven capital sins? Its not just in the movies that a person gets victimized and used as a living personification of sins. We’ll make a slight twist and go to the more relevant emotions in real life. In a sense, there are the seven deadly sins which continue to corrupt and consume the very being of those enslaved by them. This is no Biblical allusion for them this time, so we’ll refer to them as the

Usually, emotions connote someone who’s disturbed, lying in a couch with a psychiatrist sorting, unwinding, and unknotting intricate webs of emotional traumas and neuroses. Western emotions attributes exclusively to the workings of the mind. In our times of high specialization, the study of the mind has been compartmentalized as Psychology. Interesting to note here is the etymology of Psychology. It originally comes from the Greek word “psyche”, meaning soul. But with the more materialistic outlook with which everything must be quantified, psychology has now been converted to the study of the human mind. As for the soul, this is within the realm of belief and mystery, the scope of religion.

In the early 1900s, Freud attempted to resolve psychological conflicts by reverting to the patient’s childhood. Skeptics viewed Freudian attempts of regressing to one’s childhood as futile, as a solution was quite difficult to come by.
How is person trigger to respond with a certain emotion? The ancient book, Bhagavad-gita, elucidates, “While contemplating the objects of the senses, a person develops attachment to them, and from such attachment lust develops, and from lust anger arises, and from anger, complete delusion arises, and from delusion bewilderment of memory.

When memory is bewildered, intelligence is lost, and when intelligence is lost one falls down again into the material pool (Ch.2:26:63).”

We can understand that all emotions start from that to which the senses are exposed. From the external, the internal is affects the external. A vicious cycle goes on and on.
This vicious cycle is also corroborated by the Chinese saying, “Contact with the external world generates internal emotions”. It is simply the external affecting the internal. Our senses, as active cameras and tape recorders, capture the sense-objects from the environment and then send electrochemical impulses to the brain. These are projected into the movie screen of the mind which is viewed and reacted upon by the self, you.

Aversion and attraction is at the base of the projected emotion attached to response. This response of the self enters the mind, then ethers the body mechanism as energy. So, human emotions are nothing but energy in motion traveling through the body’s energy channels.
With each emotion comes secretion of particular hormones, discharging certain electrochemical activity in the nervous system, causing alteration of the pulse and blood pressure, adaptations in respiration, and stimulation or suppression of digestion. Only when the emotion is smooth, swift, and well-balanced does the person experience a positive stimulation to his system. But should be the emotion explosive or extreme and prolonged, the body’s energy mechanism goes into some kind of shock, causing serious damage. The body’s immune system becomes impaired, thus affecting the internal organs of the body. Disease, degeneration, and debility are rooted in offensive emotions.

Wilhelm Reich, in the 1950s, was the trailblazer on the frontiers of the obvious link of emotions and psychological pathology. Yet his studies on human bio-energy have pathetically earned not just a Nobel Prize but a term in the prison cell. The controversial statement of Reich was that, “fixation and conflicts cause fundamental disturbances of the bio-electric system and so get anchored somatically. It is impossible to separate psychic from the somatic process”.

Dr. Wider Penfield, meanwhile made extensive studies on the brains of epileptic patients. He was able to map out the certain biological movements and emotions of their corresponding part in the human brain.

These “controversial” ideas boggled minds of the people in the West. It was yet to be realized that traditional Chinese medicines and Ayurvedic system had already developed a whole system of monitoring, controlling and curing the ways of roller-coaster emotions people inevitably encounter.

The Seven Deadly Emotions have always been there affecting us, making it very easy for us to relate to them. It is sad to think though the psycho-psychological link up between emotions and health has been known by the Oriental and Indian world since ancient times, Western doctors have failed to properly understand or correctly treat the ailments accompanying such emotions. Western medicines needs to first grasp an understanding of the basic dynamics of human energy.

Greed, Anger, Anxiety, Envy, Grief, Fear, and Lust are the Seven Deadly Emotions. How many people have hyperventilated and fainted because of as upsurge of emotion? How many widowers have succumbed to diseases and other fatal ailments due to the extreme grief of losing someone they loved? When we experience these emotions, how exactly do your bodies become affected? Answers to these on issues to follow. Thanks to Marilitz “thoughts”.

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Tuesday, February 9, 2010

thoughts on love: The Indecent Proposal

INDECENT PROPOSAL

A married couple tries their chances in Las Vegas casino hoping to win and finance their dream real estate property but lose. They met a billionaire who offers a million dollars for spending a night with the wife, both agrees to recover and pursue their dream. Hoping to forget the incident, the husband insecurities increase with the fear that the relationship of his wife will prosecute.

The husband asks his wife if they had sex, and the wife said yes, and it was good. The wife files for divorce. The husband makes his final attempt to win back his wife by signing the divorce papers and giving away the one million and he succeed.
Here, love conquers sex enjoyment and money.

The Word Web defines the meaning of love as enjoy, have sex, have intercourse, lovemaking, sleep together, sexual love, and so on.
Excerpts from Wikipedia, defining love;

Love is any of a number of emotions related to a sense of strong affection and attachment. The word love can refer to a variety of different feelings, states, and attitudes, ranging from generic pleasure ("I loved that meal") to intense interpersonal attraction ("I love my husband"). This diversity of uses and meanings, combined with the complexity of the feelings involved, makes love unusually difficult to consistently define, even compared to other emotional states.
“Parting is such a sweet sorrow”. Romeo and Juliet.

Biological models of sex tend to view love as a mammalian drive, much like hunger or thirst. Helen Fisher, a leading expert in the topic of love, divides the experience of love into three partly overlapping stages: lust, attraction, and attachment. Lust exposes people to others; romantic attraction encourages people to focus their energy on mating; and attachment involves tolerating the spouse (or indeed the child) long enough to rear a child into infancy.

The World Defines

The Persian word for love is eshgh, deriving from the Arabic ishq. In the Persian culture, everything is encompassed by love and all is for love, starting from loving friends and family, husbands and wives, and eventually reaching the divine love that is the ultimate goal in life.

Two philosophical underpinnings of love exist in the Chinese tradition, one from Confucianism which emphasized actions and duty while the other came from Mohism which championed a universal love. A core concept to Confucianism is Ren ("benevolent love", 仁), which focuses on duty, action and attitude in a relationship rather than love itself. In Confucianism, one displays benevolent love by performing actions such as filial piety from children, kindness from parent, loyalty to the king and so forth.

In Japanese Buddhism, ai is passionate caring love, and a fundamental desire. It can develop towards either selfishness or selflessness and enlightenment. Amae, a Japanese word meaning "indulgent dependence," is part of the child-rearing culture of Japan. Japanese mothers are expected to hug and indulge their children, and children are expected to reward their mothers by clinging and seIn

Hebrew, Ahava is the most commonly used term for both interpersonal love and love of God. Judaism employs a wide definition of love, both among people and between man and the Deity. rving. Some sociologists have suggested that Japanese social interactions in later life are modeled on the mother-child amae.

In Buddhism, Kāma is sensuous, sexual love. It is an obstacle on the path to enlightenment, since it is selfish. Karuṇā is compassion and mercy, which reduces the suffering of others. It is complementary to wisdom and is necessary for enlightenment. Adveṣa and mettā are benevolent love. This love is unconditional and requires considerable self-acceptance. This is quite different from ordinary love, which is usually about attachment and sex and which rarely occurs without self-interest. Instead, in Buddhism it refers to detachment and unselfish interest in others' welfare.

In Hinduism, kāma is pleasurable, sexual love, personified by the god Kamadeva In contrast to kāma, prema – or prem – refers to elevated love. Karuna is compassion and mercy, which impels one to help reduce the suffering of others. Bhakti is a Sanskrit term, meaning "loving devotion to the supreme God." A person who practices bhakti is called a bhakta.

The Christian understanding is that love comes from God. The love of man and woman—eros in Greek—and the unselfish love of others (agape), are often contrasted as "ascending" and "descending" love, respectively, but are ultimately the same thing.

 "For God so loved (agape) the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. (John 3:16) The gift of God's son as a provision for sin was given to all humans, regardless of who we are. God's love is unconditional.

“Indecent Proposal” was more than 15yrs ago and can be hardly identify those emotions as of now. Love has become very shallow and one-sided feelings or emotions.

Can one give up the million dollars and the luxury it will bring you? We find description of love as what others can do for “me”.

Can you approved your divorce and give the money away just to win back your wife or can you give up an attractive woman for she will not be happy with you? It has become love when a wife thinks that “He will buy me a mansion because it is my dream.” Many situations create the meaning of love in which greed and self-thought is the center of the word.

We must rule-out greed, lust and selfish thoughts as “love.” We don’t want these love perversions to control our lives. We must set forth our love for others without expecting anything in return other than love itself and we must base it on the unconditional love of God for us.

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Sunday, February 7, 2010

The Price of Smoking

Once, my father chastised a taxi driver who was about to light up a cigarette. A chain smoker in his younger days, my father told the driver of the great difficulty of having emphysema, a disorder which he got through the abuse of his lungs. Now, he has to live in a very controlled environment with inhalers always within reach. He wishes to live longer but with his condition, he feels as if death is at his doorstep. Regretful as he may be now, his abusive habit has badly taken its toll.

The hazards of smoking have caught the attention of many people. Yet, there are still those who stubbornly pursue the devastating habit. The power of advertising has surely crept in and is eating the intelligence of many persons.

Cigarette smoke contains high amounts of free radicals. Nitrogen oxides in cigarette smoke react to the polyunsaturated fatty acids found in cellular membranes, causing sells to go rancid, rigid, and then die. Vitamin E protects against these reactions. Yet, no matter how much Vitamin E a smoker takes, the free radicals continuously inhaled into his system open the door and roll out the red carpet for many diseases.

Aside from lung cancer, smoking causes emphysema and increases the risk of heart attacks, strokes, and clots in the legs. It also makes peptic ulcers slower to heal.
We may not be smokers nor have someone close to us who is a walking chimney, but the very air we breathe in is also so polluted. Air pollutants coming from cars and factory exhausts give us an abundant supply of nitrogen oxides, ozone, and sulfur oxides which, when inhaled, generate toxic forms of oxygen that damage our bodies.

Antioxidants are the first line of defense for us who are exposed to air pollutants. Beta-carotene, Vitamins C, E, and B12, zinc, selenium, copper, and folic acid afford us some protection. A 1988 study has found that precancerous lesions in the airways of smokers could be reversed after the smoker receives mega doses of folic acid (10mg.) and Vitamin B12 (10mg.) daily for several months.

Gross pathology of lung showing centrilobular ...Image via Wikipedia

Emphysema is a disease that gradually destroys the lungs’ fine tissues that is essential for oxygen to reach the bloodstream. Usually, when smokes enter the lungs causing irritation and inflammation, the body automatically releases an army of destructive enzymes to fight off the invader. The body also releases protective enzymes which act as buffer to protect the lungs from any injury caused by the body’s own defenses. With emphysema taking over a smoker’s lungs, the protective enzymes run amok, so the fortresses of the lungs fall.
However, once you’re told you’ve got emphysema; your life does not have to end there. With your body a bit debilitated, certain adjustments have to be made4. a change of lifestyle is definitely needed. You have no choice but to stop smoking. It is an action that you have long postponed. Perhaps certain aspects may be irreversible, but at least you slow down the disease’s progression and prevent new problems from arising. It is best that you live in the countryside where you can have a better air to breathe.

Air-conditioned rooms provide such an artificial environment for those with emphysema. Nothing beats fresh air, especially now that you have to exercise your body.
When you have those terrible coughing spells, use deep breathing. This method is done is done with the chest relaxed, making your abdomen expand upon inhalation and contract upon exhalation. Don’t pant your breath. Try to make your body relax and sink your breath down to the abdomen. This type of deep breathing will open up those constricted bronchial tubes to enable the air to flow through.

Some reclining positions can help ease and clear out congestion. Lie face down with your chest and abdomen against the floor. Support your head by resting it on your arms. Put a soft pillow under your pelvis. Another position id to lie down flat on your back with a pillow under your hips, then bend your knees. The third position is done by lying on your side. Rest your head on one arm and drop the other behind you. Put a pillow under your hips. Cough vigorously while holding any of these positions.

Once you’ve clear your lungs of mucus, exercise in the morning and evening. Here are some very simple exercises to strengthen your body;

Exercise 1: Raise your arms and use breathe deeply, filling your lungs completely, with air. Lower your arms slowly as you exhale. Repeat three times and increase as it becomes easier for you.

Exercise 2: lie on your back with your knees bent. Place a pillow for your head and bend your arms so your head rest on them. Raise your right knee toward your chest as you breathe out. Breathe in as you lower your leg. Repeat three times and switch legs.

Exercise 3: Like sit ups, lie on your back with a pillow for your head and bend your arms behind so that they rest on top of the pillow. Now raise your head and shoulders as far as you can, and exhale. You don’t have to sit all the way up. Make three repetitions and slowly increase.

With these simpler exercises and a change of habits, persons like my father can hopefully find some relief from the difficulty of emphysema attacks. The key to success is perseverance and patience when doing deep breathing and exercises. Of course, don’t forget to relax.
My father died three years ago.
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