Tao Te Ching - 1st Chapter

I have recently embarked on adventure to understand this classic (and I-Ching) to connect it with Chinese Medicine and healing.  I discovered not that many people have actually read and understood it.  It requires me to search new arenas for this knowledge and it was really fun.  

If you know of any great sources, please let me know.  Thanks.

Lao Tzu: Tao Te Ching

(excerpt from Master Henry Chang's article - Tao Te Ching I- The Introduction)  ~ TaoPractice.org 

Translations of Chapter 1

The Tao that can be spoken of
Is not the Everlasting Tao
The name that can be named
Is not the Everlasting name
The nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth
The named is the mother of ten thousand things
Therefore, ever desireless
One can observe the hidden mystery;
Ever desiring
One can observe the manifestations.
These two issue from the same origin,
Though named differently.
Both are called the dark.
Dark and even darker,
The door to all hidden mysteries.

  

The original text in Pinyin Romanization:

dao ke dao, fei chang dao.
ming ke ming, fei chang ming.
wu, ming tian di zhi shi.
you, ming wan wu zhi mu.
gu chang wu, yu yi guan qi miao,
chang you, yu yi guan qi jiao.
ci liang zhe, tong chu er yi ming.
tong wei zhi xuan,
xuan zhi you xuan,
zhong miao zhi men.

When the first chapter is read in Chinese it sounds like a poem. Even if you do not understand Chinese, you will find natural rhythms that Chinese people feel when they read it. You can find these rhythms if you read it a couple of times aloud. When you read these first three lines of the Tao Te Ching, you can feel your qi moving. Each line corresponds to the three major dan tian’s (or energy centers) in the body, beginning with the dan tian at the top of your head. The words resonate in your body.

The first chapter is an introduction, and its purpose is to describe the concept and structure of Tao. All of the chapters are connected to the first chapter, because it is the foundation of the Tao Te Ching. If you understand chapter one, it will be much easier to understand the remaining chapters. You cannot understand the remaining chapters without understanding chapter one. When you begin reading the other chapters, it will become apparent how well you understand chapter one. Chapter one is inherently difficult to understand since Lao Tzu was trying to explain the unexplainable. Lao Tzu was trying to explain something that was inexpressible with language.

 

  “The Tao that can be spoken of, is not the Everlasting Tao”  “Dào kě dào,fēi cháng dào”

We have never seen Tao, but we try to explain it. This line means that there is something out there, but it is unknown so we do not know what to call it. When you study the Tao Te Ching, you have to use your heart to try to imagine what Tao really is. When we try to understand something that does not have a name and then try to name it, its name will not represent its true nature. For example, you can call someone Ted- but “Ted” is a common name and does not refer to a specific “Ted”. This is an example of the fact that when you try to name something, you are attaching your own meaning to it. The name we give something is limited by our knowledge of it. Because Tao is so difficult to understand, we cannot use our own knowledge and opinions to give it a name. What Lao Tzu is saying here is that even though he calls this thing “Tao”, the word “Tao” does not represent the true Tao.

When we say “Tao”, we have to know that we are referring only to the Tao that we understand from our own perspective- our narrow vision- and not the entire, true “Tao”. We do not understand the real Tao- we only understand a piece of it. This is something that is hard to explain and absorb, but you need to try to understand it. Remember that even if you use the name “Tao”, it does not represent Tao itself. Once you open your heart, you will start to absorb many things that come from the source- from Tao itself. 

The Indian fable of the elephant is a good example of the fact that no matter what approach we take to explain Tao, we can never explain to the fullest extent what Tao really is.

“In the fable, there are blind men with an elephant, and each is trying to explain to the others what he thinks is the elephant’s essence. One touches the elephant’s side and exclaims "the elephant is like a wall". The other touches his trunk and says "it is like a snake." The other touches his tail and says "no, it is like a rope," while the other touching his leg says "it is really more like a tree." Each one of them is accurate, yet limited, in his own description, but this can only be understood by the one who can see the whole elephant.”

 

“The name that can be named, Is not the Everlasting name” “Míng kě míng, fēi cháng míng”

When he refers to the nameless Tao, he refers to the original Tao- that which came before everything else. When you give something a name, it does not represent the true thing. Something that has a name is distinct from something without a name. Something without a name is something that existed before all else. The universe originated from the nameless Tao.  When you find Tao, you find the source of all life in the universe.

Tao had no name when the universe was first born; it was only given a name when physical life forms emerged. We know that we are very closely related to Tao; everything in this world and this universe is connected to Tao. When you find Tao, you find the source of all life in the universe.

“Wú míng, tiān dì zhī shĭ” refers to the concept of time.

“Yŏu míng, wàn wù zhī mŭ” refers to the concept of space.

This is how the universe was born- it came about through a union of time and space.

In the sentence “cháng yŏu yù”, the third word means “desire”. I will use a metaphor to explain what desire means in this sentence. When we watch television with no purpose, we do not care what is being shown. However, when we watch a particular program with a purpose, we try to analyze it and learn what it is about. Through this analysis, we come to understand the true meaning of the program. Some people act with a purpose (or desire) and others do not; both are acceptable.

I Ching

Why does Lao Tzu say that the eternal Tao cannot be talked about? Because Lao Tzu knows that Tao is an ever-changing thing. The moment you try to describe Tao, it transforms and your description is no longer accurate. This coincides with the philosophy of the I Ching, or the Book of Change. The structure of Tao is visually represented on the I Ching chart. We cannot define Tao, but on the I Ching chart, Tao is symbolized by the Tai Chi (or yin yang) symbol. In this symbolic structure, Tao equals one yin and one yang. Yin and yang change as well. This may seem very vague, but from this sentence we know that Tao is an ever-changing thing. “Ming” means name. When you try to understand something, you are able to label it. For example, when you talk about one of your friends, you mention his name and this means that you know who he is. If you know nothing about something you cannot give it a name. For example, if you do not understand Tao you cannot call it “Tao”. When you refer to something as “Tao” it means that you understand what Tao is. However, Lao Tzu said that whatever you understand as “Tao” is not the true Tao. So, Tao’s current name is not its real name.

 At the level of Tai Chi, yin and yang had not begun working- this is the level of the nameless Tao. 

When yin and yang separate, they become the nameable Tao.

 

 Other translations of Tao Te Ching Chapter One

The tau (reason) which can be tau-ed (reasoned) is not the Eternal Tau (Reason). The name which can be named is not the Eternal Name.

Non-existence is named the Antecedent of heaven and earth; and Existence is named the Mother of all things. In eternal non-existence, therefore, man seeks to pierce the primordial mystery; and, in eternal existence, to behold the issues of the Universe. But these two are one and the same, and differ only in name.

This sameness (or existence and non-existence) I call the abyss — the abyss of abysses — the gate of all mystery.

Translated by John Chalmers (1868)

---

The TAO, or Principle of Nature, may be discussed [by all]; it is not the popular or common Tao.

Its Name may be named [i.e., the TAO may receive a designation, though of itself it has none]; but it is not an ordinary name, [or name in the usual sense of the word, for it is a presentment or ειδωλον of the Infinite].

Its nameless period was that which preceded the birth of the Universe,

In being spoken of by name, it is as the Progenitrix of All Things.

It is therefore in habitual passionlessness [the Quiescent phase of TAO] that its mystery may be scanned; and in habitual desire [the Active phase of TAO] that its developments may be perceived.

These two conditions, the Active and the Quiescent, alike proceed [from TAO]; it is only in name that they differ. Both may be called profundities; and the depth of profundity is the gate of every mystery.

Translated by Frederick Henry Balfour (1884)

---

The Tao that can be trodden is not the enduring and unchanging Tao.

The name that can be named is not the enduring and unchanging name.

(Conceived of as) having no name, it is the Originator of heaven and earth;

(conceived of as) having a name, it is the Mother of all things.

Always without desire we must be found,
If its deep mystery we would sound;
But if desire always within us be,
Its outer fringe is all that we shall see.

Under these two aspects, it is really the same; but as development takes place, it receives the different names. Together we call them the Mystery. Where the Mystery is the deepest is the gate of all that is subtle and wonderful.

Translated by James Legge (1891)

For more Translations, Click here.

Research on Sound

As stated in another post, I had taken music for granted.
This research has opened my eyes to how powerful and amazing sound is.

Everything is energy, sound, and rhythm.

If we can tune into and align with nature/seasons/universe, 

everything else will flow naturally.

A few interesting facts 

from my group Research about Sound

(I will elaborate more after my research is complete).

Excerpts from the book "Song of the Spine - Sound Healing and Vibrational Therapy

by Dr. June Leslie Wielder

~Chiropractic is founded on tone.  When the spine loses its "tone," the result can be subluxation, partial dislocation of the vertebrae that affects the nervous system and surrounding tissues. - Daniel David Palmer, the father of chiropractic

 ~Astronomers discovered that a black hole in the Perseus star cluster emits a B-flat sound wave 57 octaves below the middle B-flat on a piano.

~Each bone of the spine has its own tone and frequency.

 ~Pythagora (582-507 BC) Greek mathematician, musician, mystic, teacher, philosopher, and prophet thought the universe embodied numerical symmetries with perfect geometric proportions that could be expressed as ratios.  He believed that the perfect and harmonious proportions of the kosmos (harmony and order aka universe), could be re-created in music, particularly the divine sounds created by the planetary spheres (Music of the Spheres).  
He felt that music used in the right way could contribute greatly to a person's health.

He was considered the originator of musical medicine.

The 7 string lyre was thought to represent the harmony of the spheres. Each string of the lyre represented one of the planets, and the musical sounds themselves were given the names of planets.  Because the mathematical laws reflected in the musical scale and the cosmic spheres appeared to be related, music was regarded as a natural  connection between the soul and the heavens, between matter and spirit.

~Hermetic law "As above, so below."  This implies that from the orbiting of the planets around the sun to the orbiting of electrons around an atom, the same fundamental tones and their harmonics are created.

~The wise healer seeks to restore the body's natural harmony.  

~Plato wrote: "The Muses gave us music to help the soul restore its order and harmony."

 ~"Our bodies," said Mickey Hart (drummer for the Grateful Dead and author of Drumming on the Edge of Magic) , "are multidimensional rhythm machines with everything pulsing in synchrony, from the digesting activity of our intestines to the firing of neurons in the brain.  Within the body, the main beat is laid down by the cardiovascular system, the heart and the lungs.  As we age, however, these rhythms can fall out of sync.  And then, suddenly, there is no more important or crucial issue than regaining that lost rhythm."  He said drumming has been used among older people to promote healing because it is easy enough for anyone to do.

~Music has been proven to aid in post surgical pain reduction. 

Music and the Mind

Christine Gorman 

(excerpts from Time Article)

Sometimes we lose sight of how powerful melody and rhythm can be in the realm of medicine, particularly with respect to Alzheimer's patients and their caregivers.
No one is suggesting that music can reverse Alzheimer's disease or the slow destruction of brain cells that causes it.
How to relate to a loved one with Alzheimer's--especially in the later stages of the disease, when you can enter a room and have your own mother hide under the covers. Singing or humming as you walk in can ease your entry. "People with Alzheimer's often respond to music when they respond to nothing else," says Suzanne Hanser, chair of music therapy at Berklee College of Music in Boston. After all, if someone is singing, everything must be O.K.
Transitions--from day to evening, from one room to another--are another big challenge.  Music therapists work with family members and other caregivers to choose familiar songs--such as Home on the Range--to calm the agitation.
The American Music Therapy Association musictherapy.org can provide a list of qualified professionals in your area.

Don't be afraid to do a little singing or whistling on your own. 

If you can't think of what to do, sit and read to your loved one.

If you read poetry, it's almost like singing.

The Use of Music in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)

(excerpts from Five Element Theory Used to Match Musical Tones to Enhance Healing)  by Dawn M. Smith

Music therapy is a recognized tool in modern medicine but few are aware that it had its origins in Traditional Chinese Medicine where it was the first form of health care.

The 5 Tones

Chinese 'Five Tones' Healing Music is based on the 'Five Element' Theory in traditional Chinese medicine. This music is composed to regulate the circulation of 'Chi' in the human body, improve the functions of internal organs, strengthen psychological condition, and stimulate emotional reaction in order to prevent and cure illnesses. Different kinds of music are prescribed for different illnesses on theoretical grounds.

The acoustic effects of these five kinds of music in their five different tones moderates the movement of Chi in the body in response to the release of Wood Chi, the rise of Fire Chi, the stability of Earth Chi, the induction of Metal Chi and the descent of Water Chi. The viscera they act on are the liver, heart, spleen, lungs and kidneys. Their actions on the viscera and the Chi mechanism result in improved psychological condition and activated emotional function. These in turn will regulate the functions of the viscera themselves. This is where the theory of Healing Music with Five Tones lies. On this basis, specific therapeutic music is prescribed to particular pathological condition.

Shang - Lungs and Metal Qi. tone is heavy and unbending.  One is said to become friendly and honest from listening to Shang music.  The music starts with metallic sounds of the luo (gong) and pieng Chung (bells). It helps to induce the Qi inside the body.

Chueh - Liver and Wood Qi . Tone is bright and renewing.  Listening to this encourages kindness.  It is expressed by the di (bamboo flute) leading the melody. It helps to release the excessive Qi inside the body.

Chih (Jyy) - Heart and Fire Qi.  Tone is energetic and emotional and believed to encourage generosity. The lively sonorous sound of Sona (Chinese trumpet) creates an atmosphere full of the characteristics of Fire. It helps to enhance the Qi in the body.

Kung - Spleen and Earth Qi.  Tone is noble and thought to encourage tolerance.  The beginning melody is played by a ceramic earthen ware Xuan,' which corresponds to characteristics of Earth. It maintains the stability of Qi within the body.

Yue (Yu) - Kidneys and Water Qi.  Tone is melancholy and placid, encouraging contentedness.  Its characteristic is most fully displayed in the guqin and guzheng. It helps the Qi to descend inside our bodies.

TCM practitioner assesses and recommends music that will help return the patient to a more balanced, healthy state. Practitioner can also advise on sounds or tones that may aggravate the individual's condition which should be avoided during the healing processs. 

Click here, for the main source of the 5 tone information.

 Definition of the Six Healing Sounds (excerpt from Wikipedia)

The Six Healing Sounds or Liu Zi Jue (六字訣) is one of the common forms of Chinese qigong, and involves the coordination of movement and breathing patterns with specific sounds.  The Term Liu Zi Jue first appears in a book called On Caring for the Health of the Mind and Prolonging the Life Span written by Tao Hongjing of the Southern and Northern Dynasties (420 - 589). A leading figure of the Maoshan School of Taoism, Tao was renowned for his profound knowledge of Traditional Chinese Medicine.  

The theoretical basis of the Liu Zi Jue exercises is in line with the ancient theories intrinsic to Traditional Chinese Medicine of the Five Elements and the Five Solid Viscera. They tend to be on common ground on such issues as mouth forms and pronunciation methods, and the direction of body movements and mind follow the inner circulation law of the meridians.

The sounds/sections

""One has only one way for inhalation but six for exhalation"

• 噓 XU [pronounced like 'she,' with the lips rounded] - 'deep sigh' or 'hiss' - Level the Liver Qi
• 呵 HE [pronounced like 'huh'] - 'yawn' or 'laughing sound' - Supplement the Heart Qi
• 呼 HU [pronounced like 'who'] - 'to sigh,' 'to exhale,' or 'to call' - Cultivate [or Shore Up] the Spleen/Pancreas Qi
• 呬 SI [pronounced like 'sir'] - 'to rest' - Supplement the Lung Qi
• 吹 CHUI [pronounced 'chway' or 'chwee,' depending on locale] - 'to blow out,' 'to blast,' or 'to puff' - Supplement the Kidney Qi
• 嘻 XI [pronounced like 'she' with tongue high, and well forward, in the mouth] - 'mirthful' - Regulate the Triple Burner Qi

All syllables are pronounced on a level tone - the so-called first tone (regardless of the dictionary pronunciation of each word); typically all but the fifth sound are sustained - the fifth sound may be sustained, or pronounced quickly and forcefully.

Vibrational Medicine on Sound Healing

by Dr. Richard Gerber (excerpts from this book)

Intricate musical tone studies done by the Shanghai Chinese Traditional Orchestra resulted in a series of six tapes, collectively known as Yi Ching Music for health. Yi Ching music is actually a healing music based on the Five Element Theory of Chinese medicine. These are particular songs or musical compositions associated with each of the five elements. To use the healing compositions for a particular illness, one would analyze the illness in terms of classical Chinese medicine. For instance, in Five Element Theory, the liver meridian and organ are associated with the element wood. To assist in healing an individual who has a liver disease, such as hepatitis, you would utilize "Wood Music" to help balance the element wood in the body. The wood music may stimulate balanced flow of energy in the liver meridians that feed nutritional Qi (energy) to the liver organ.
Healing with musical compositions based on the energy systems of ancient Chinese medicine is one of the many varied approaches to healing with sound. It is a unique example of ancient healing principles merging with new vibrational concepts to provide yet another sound healing system. Perhaps future research will verify the particular healing benefits of each sonic healing technology, alone, or in combination with other vibrational healing modalities.



According to Renee Brodie, "Sound is an energy form generated by a vibrating body. Depending on its frequency, the human body will react to and perceive this energy in different ways. If the pitch is below the audible level and the amplitude is high, we may feel it although we do not hear it. If it is within the audible range, we will hear it and classify it according to our knowledge of sound. If the pitch is ultrasonic - above the audible range - we will not hear it but may experience unpleasant bodily reactions to what is known as White Sound."

Heart and Brain...Fields and Waves

Do you ever hear stuff you think are pretty cool.  

Yet, wonder how real is it? What's the proof? Did you make it up?

At first I was dreading reading a dry science book.

Then I remembered my mentor Keith Cunningham who said, 

"Teach what you want to master."

Thank you for the opportunity to share, teach and write in my blog about my adventures.

This has enhanced the level I absorb all the new information I find challenging. 

Fun and educational. 

There's info about the heart I've heard too many times and now, the book  Energy Medicine - The Scientific Basis by James L. Oschman confirms it all. 

Heart Electricity? What is it?

Each heartbeat begins with a pulse of electricity through the heart muscle.  This electricity arises because a large number of charged particles (ions of sodium, potassium, chloride, calcium, and magnesium) flow across the muscle membranes to excite contraction.  These currents also spread out into surrounding tissues.

Some of the flow of electricity from the heart is through the circulatory system, which is an excellent conductor of electricity because of its high salt content.  As the circulation carries blood toe very tissue, heart electricity flows everywhere in the body and the electrocardiogram can be picked up anywhere on the skin, even from the toes.  

The enigma is most cardiologists are certain that the heart's electrical field is a by-product, almost a waste product, of the heart's activities, and has no significant physiological role except as a diagnostic tool.

BASIC  LAW OF PHYSICS

When an electric current flow through a  conductor, a magnetic field is created in the surround space (discovered by accident by Hans Christian Oersted 1820).

Therefore, heart's electricity creates magnetism (not until 1963 was it proven by Gerhard Baule and Richard McFee).  

Through measuring instruments, the heart produces the strongest field in the body and is detected 15 feet away from the body.  The biomagnetic field of the heart extends indefinitely into space.  While its strength diminishes with distance, there is no point at which we can say the field ends. 

The fields produced by the brain are weaker (and is detected 2-3  inches from the body).

However, neural activities control our movements and attitudes about ourselves, and can therefore produce profound effects.

The eye acts as a battery and produces a substantial electrical field whose intensity depends on the amount of light falling on the retina.  

Muscles in the body produces magnetic pulses when it contracts.  

Any movement of any part of the body is 'broadcast' into the space around the body as a precise 'biomagnetic signature' of that movement.

Effects of Practice on Brain Waves 

A study of magnetic waves of musician (Elbert et al 1995)

Hypothesis:

repeated and intense use of the fingers ofhte left hand, over years of practice, would increase the size of the brain areas involved in movements and sensation of those fingers.  

Musicians and non musicians served as controls.

Result:

The biomagnetic fields produced by specific cortical regions were more intense in musicians vs. non-performers.  There were also a correlation between the number of years of practice and the intensity of the brain waves from the areas controlling skilled fingers.  The number of nerve cells involved in controlling and sensing movement seems to increase with practice. 

The brain field, like the heart field, is not confined to the organ that produces it.  We refer to 'brain waves' as though they are confined to the brain, but they are not.  The fields of all the organs spread throughout the body and into the space around it.  One of the primary channels for the flow of electrical waves through the body is the circulatory system.  So in theory, practicing 'hands-on' work can also affect the biomagnetic output from a healer's fingers and hands.  In other words, all forms of therapeutic contact may involve far more than simple pressure on the skin.

So in theory,everything if repeatedly practiced, enhances the biomagnetic output from corresponding areas of the brain.

This adventure has given me another perspective to appreciate skills I already have.

I not only know how to play piano, I also have stronger brainwaves flowing through my brain to my fingers due to years of (not so willing) practice.  Thanks mom.

I had a desire to merge music into my healing and now I have found a path.

Plus, it explains how acupuncture plays into all this about the fields of all organs connected and flowing throughout the body.  It isn't just woowoo.

I am still fascinated how it came to be thousands of years ago.

That's my research into the I-Ching, Tao Te Ching and Huang Di Nei Jing to discover answers...and of course more questions.

Life would be boring without the great ???

How do you spend the hours of your week? your life?

My friend challenged me with these questions that took me on a journey to look at how I spend my hours.

It jump started and reminded me of another question.  I'm sure you've heard it before.

Feel free to ask yourselves these questions.

Would love to know how it turns out for you.

What if you switched the hours of the week (168 hrs) into dollar amount $168? 

Would you spend it differently? the same?

For sure, I'd make sure every hour/dollar was used to its maximum potential. 

Did you ever outline your weekly schedule? What were the results?

Do you dislike following boundaries, restrictions?

Felt a lack of freedom?

Well, I did and resisted scheduling how I used my time for the longest because I loved my freedom and boundaries meant confined and taking it all away.  Go with the flow.  Always coloring inside the line isn't fun.

What I thought was freedom without certain boundaries, I realized time disappeared like smoke. Poof.

A whole week can fly by and just a blur.  Things were done, yet not acknowledged or recognized.

If any of you are your own boss, other people wish they had it good like you where they aren't locked down to 9-5 job. What some people don't know is a lot of discipline and commitment is required.

As I experimented with organizing my time, I realized you actually create more time by scheduling.

By scheduling my day or week (heck even the year which is pretty cool), I actually have more time now because none is wasted wondering what to do next or where to go. By knowing what I have planned out for the day, I am clear what I completed and celebrate.

How much time do you spend in the masculine mode versus the feminine each week?

For me, it's a constant reminder to balance both. Yin and yang.  

Very tempting to be sucked into the extremes.

masculine - yang - action, work, success, GO GO GO.

feminine - yin - nurture,relax, maintenance, meditate.

How many hours each week do you think of anything related to success or business challenges? (you can replace it with other priorities).
Here's my rough draft sample of this week.

168   hrs/week

-56 sleep

112

-18 meals (3meals/day includes some family time)

-9 health maintenance (healing from injury)

-3 exercise, nurture feminine energy, reading for my spirit and soul

-35 Chinese Medicine, higher learning, travel, study

 47

-31 (work or $ related. business. challenges. emails. follow ups. problem solve. webdesign)

    - 7 (prep time morning & night)
   -4 family time

5 balance I can apply to unscheduled events or R&R.

If you would like a chart, send me a message and I'll send you a document to create it.  It's fun to look at time from a different angle.

How can I spend it differently next week? 

Next week:

~subtract 3hrs from health and add 3 hrs to exercise and soul.

 ~create more play time by managing time for higher learning better.

~Schedule Time in for:

-2-3 hrs healing research (Chinese Medicine)

-2-3 more hrs spiritual time

-9 hrs to create balance in my space

I truly believe in order to take action on doing something  you dislike, 

Key is finding a way to play and have fun with it.

I did some more research and discovered I was on the right track.  Woohoo. (pat on back).

I just didn't have a name for what I was doing.

(Information below obtained from Academic Skills Center, Dartmouth College).

THE MASTER SCHEDULE.

Any plan to schedule time and activities must have at its center a MASTER SCHEDULE, that is, a schedule of activities that is fixed. A master schedule needs to be drawn up only once every few months: unless, of course, changes occur in the basic program.

First, fill in all the required activities, such as classes or work.

Second, add other regular activities, such as part-time jobs, commuting time, sports, and regular meetings.

Third, include sleeping and eating.

With the fixed activities accounted for, the remaining blank spaces on the uncluttered chart  or time schedule are free for use on a weekly or day-by-day basis. Such a schedule, unclutters your mind, and more important, enables you to visualize the blank boxes as actual blocks of time into which you may fit necessary activities.

With the MASTER SCHEDULE as your source, you may concoct any type of schedule that fits the uniqueness of your courses, your part-time or full-time job, or your personality. What matters most is that the schedule works for you.

Why Time Scheduling?

People who deliberately undertake to schedule their time are not ones who have decided to spend all their time studying and doing nothing else.  They usually have decided to use efficiently the time they have to spend studying anyway, and to "de-sensitize" themselves to the many distractions that are commonly occurring.

What does this "desensitizing" involve? It means removing oneself from constant day-to-day, hour-to-hour decisions as to whether one will or will not spend the next hour working,whether one will or will not go to the library to study,whether one will or will not go to a show on impulse, and whether or not to use that hour between work to get next week's assignment out of the way.

A workable time schedule can make decisions for you, thus desensitizing you to momentary distractions. And, an hour of study in one course is not disturbed by wondering when you will study for another course, or when you'll be able to get out and have some fun. An adequate schedule includes those for you.

How Much Time Scheduling?

Usually a minimum time schedule is best. In other words, plan what you know is necessary, and add to it later only if necessary.  But plan as your first schedule one you know you can keep, and one that it is important to you to keep.

Remember: -Keeping to a schedule is not a matter of "will power," but of the development of a habit of referring to the schedule and following its outline, and this habit development may take weeks of practice.

-Exceptions will occur, but afterwards return to the schedule's pattern.

Time Tips

1.Count all your time as time to be used and make every attempt to get satisfaction out of every moment.

2.Find something to enjoy in whatever you do.

3.Try to be an optimist and seek out the good in your life.

4.Find ways to build on your successes.

5.Stop regretting your failures and start learning from your mistakes.

6.Remind yourself, "There is always enough time for the important things." If it is important, you should be able to make time to do it.

7.Continually look at ways of freeing up your time.

8.Examine your old habits and search for ways to change or eliminate them.

9.Try to use waiting time-review notes or do practice problems.

10.Keep paper or a calendar with you to jot down the things you have to do or notes to yourself.

11.Examine and revise your lifetime goals on a monthly basis and be sure to include progress towards those goals on a daily basis.

12.Put up reminders in your home or office about your goals.

13.Always keep those long term goals in mind.

14.Plan your day each morning or the night before and set priorities for yourself.

15.Maintain and develop a list of specific things to be done each day, set your priorities and the get the most important ones done as soon in the day as you can. Evaluate your progress at the end of the day briefly.

16.Look ahead in your month and try and anticipate what is going to happen so you can better schedule your time.

17.Try rewarding yourself when you get things done as you had planned, especially the important ones.

18.Do first things first.

19.Have confidence in yourself and in your judgement of priorities and stick to them no matter what.

20.When you catch yourself procrastinating-ask yourself, "What am I avoiding?"

21.Start with the most difficult parts of projects, then either the worst is done or you may find you don't have to do all the other small tasks.

22.Catch yourself when you are involved in unproductive projects and stop as soon as you can.

23.Find time to concentrate on high priority items or activities.

24.Concentrate on one thing at a time.

25.Put your efforts in areas that provide long term benefits.

26.Push yourself and be persistent, especially when you know you are doing well.

27.Think on paper when possible-it makes it easier to review and revise.

28.Be sure and set deadlines for yourself whenever possible.

29.Delegate responsibilities whenever possible.

30.Ask for advice when needed.

 

Isaac Newton with acupuncture and self growth

Playing around with how these laws can be applied to acupuncture and self growth.

These are early thought processes I will fine tune as I continue my research.

Isaac Newton (1642-1727) 3 LAWS OF MOTION

1st Law - the law of inertia.  Every object continues in its state of rest, or in uniform motion in a straight line, unless compelled to change that state by forces impressed upon it.

2nd Law - the acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the net force acting on the object, is in the direction of the net force, and is inversely proportional to the mass of the object. F= Mass x Acceleration

ex:

F= human A= push M= train

RESULT: not go very far

F= human A= push M= marble

RESULT: goes pretty far

3rd Law - Whenever one object exerts a force on a second object, the second object exerts an equal and opposite force on the first.

My Interpretation

Acupuncture

1st law - From inertia to going to acupuncture. Perhaps due to some article, injury,symptoms or disease.

2nd law - The patient and practioner's intentions to heal.  Practioner is the force. Patient is the mass (whether choosing to be a ball and roll with things or a square which makes it harder).  The combination will be the result of the acceleration.

3rd law - Needling and intention from the practitioner will trigger a response from the patient's body.  Balances out the Qi in the body to tonify, sedate or circulate.  When the body is moving in harmony and motion, there is no pain or disease.

Self Growth

1st law - Awakening. awareness.  A Spark.  Desire to do something different.

2nd law - F = what the drive is and why the person is doing it.  If the F is big enough, the how will just happen.

3rd law - One cannot go about life alone and continue moving without support.  Therefore, a second object could come in forms of a coach, trainer, accountability buddy.  Someone who is playing at your level or higher and can exert the right force on you to constantly keep you in motion.  To stand back up if you fall off the horse.  To continue moving forward.  There's no way you can go back to inertia with another force constantly watching you.

KNOW THYSELF - Aristotle and beyond

Aristotle seems to be popping up on my path today so I'm paying my respects to a great man and I just love where these quests take me.

This is what my mentor J. Pulisfer shared with me today.

Aristotle's theory of natural motion where objects move according to the elements it is derived from.  air, water, fire, earth.

examples:

-clay STRIVES to be back down into the earth.

-smoke STRIVES upward.

-feather is a mix of air and earth.  Therefore it STRIVES for both.  It delicately floats in the air as it moves towards the ground.

I've never been interested in the science of physics which is all about logics, math, boring stuff.

Yet, now my mentor is showing me a different way to look at it all and I am totally fascinated.  It's all about shifting our old ways of thinking.

Anything is possible.  Know thyself.  (I love google).

As I searched to see who said this, I found quotes I'd like to share that inspired me. (It's quite a list).  Enjoy.

"Know Thyself "

- A central component of the philosophy of Socrates  (469–399 B.C.E)

The hardest victory is victory over self.

-Aristotle (384-322 B.C.)

He who knows others is learned (intelligent);

He who knows himself is wise (true wisdom).  

Mastering others is strength;

Mastering yourself is true power.

- Lao-tzu, Tao te Ching (sixth century B.C.)

Wherever we go, whatever we do,

self is the sole subject we study and learn.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), Journals (1833)

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Think. Believe. Dream. Dare.

-- Walt Disney's "Four Most Important Words."

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Still I am learning.

-- Michelangelo, on his death bed

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Look well into thyself;

There is a source of strength which will always spring up if thou wilt always look there.

 -- Marcus Aurelius

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Learning to live with what you're born with

 is the process, the involvement, the making of a life.

 -- Diane Wakos

When I'm trusting and being myself...

everything in my life reflects this by falling into place easily, often miraculously.

 -- Shakti Gawain

People travel to wonder at the height of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses of rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motion of the stars; and they pass by themselves without wondering.  -- St. Augustine

Discouragement is simply the despair of wounded self-love. -- Francois de Fenelon

If you want peace, stop fighting. If you want peace of mind, stop fighting with your thoughts. -- Peter McWilliams

We will discover the nature of our particular genius when we stop trying to conform to our own or to other peoples' models, learn to be ourselves,

 and allow our natural channel to open. -- Shakti Gawain

I am who I choose to be.

I always have been what I chose -- though not always what I pleased.

-- Lois McMaster Bujold

First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do.

-- Epictetus

I myself am made entirely of flaws, stitched together with good intentions.

-- Augusten Burroughs

I don't want to be a passenger in my own life. -- Diane Ackerman

Intimacy is being seen and known as the person you truly are. -- Amy Bloom

If I have lost confidence in myself, I have the universe against me.

-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

One of the secrets of life is to be honestly who you are. Who others want you to be, who you used to be, and who you may some day become ... these are fantasies. To be honestly who you are is to give up your illusions and face today with courage.

-- Bill Purdin

If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.

-- Henry David Thoreau

Be who you are and say what you feel,

because those who mind don't matter

and those who matter don't mind. -- Dr. Seuss

When you have given nothing, ask for nothing. -- Albanian Proverb

To be pleased with one's limits is a wretched state. -- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

To know your limits is a state of self-delusion. -- Bill Purdin

You have to know how to accept rejection and reject acceptance. -- Ray Bradbury

Actions have consequences...first rule of life.

 And the second rule is this:

You are the only one

responsible for your own actions. -- Holly Lisle

It is as hard to see one's self as to look backwards without turning around.

-- Henry David Thoreau

Running from your problems is not "moving forward." -- Bill Purdin

Be a first rate version of yourself, not a second rate version of someone else.

-- Judy Garland

The thing that is really hard, and really amazing,

 is giving up on being perfect and beginning to work on becoming yourself. -- Anna Quindlen

The real power behind whatever success I have now was something I found within myself -- something that's in all of us, I think -- a little piece of God just waiting to be discovered. -- Tina Turner

Reputation is what other people know about you.

Honor is what you know about yourself. -- Lois McMaster Bujold

Maybe it's easier to like someone else's life, and live vicariously through it, than take some responsiblity to change our lives into lives we might like. -- Tish Grier

Self-pity in its early stages is as snug as a feather mattress.

Only when it hardens does it become uncomfortable. -- Maya Angelou

We should every night call ourselves to an account;

What infirmity have I mastered today? What passions opposed? What temptation resisted? What virtue acquired? Our vices will abort of themselves if they be brought every day to the shrift. -- Seneca

It is easy in the world to live after the world's opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude. -- Ralph Waldo Emerson
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Seek out that particular mental attribute

which makes you feel most deeply and vitally alive,

along with which comes the inner voice which says,
'This is the real me,' and when you have found that attitude, follow it.

-- William James

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Some say that my teaching is nonsense.

Others call it lofty but impractical.

But to those who have looked inside themselves,

this nonsense makes perfect sense.

And to those who put it into practice,

this loftiness has roots that go deep.

I have just three things to teach:

simplicity, patience, compassion.

These three are your greatest treasures.

Simple in actions and in thoughts,

you return to the source of being.

Patient with both friends and enemies,

you accord with the way things are.

Compassionate toward yourself,

you reconcile all beings in the world.

-- Tao Te Ching

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I was brought up to believe that how I saw myself

was more important than how others saw me. -- Anwar el-Sadat

Search others for their virtues, thyself for thy vices. -- Benjamin Franklin

So long as you are praised think only that you are not yet on your own path

but on that of another. -- Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

I define comfort as self-acceptance.

When we finally learn that self-care begins and ends with ourselves, we no longer demand sustenance and happiness from others.

-- Jennifer Louden

Every time you don't follow your inner guidance, you feel a loss of energy,

loss of power a sense of spiritual deadness. -- Shakti Gawain

The most important thing is to be whatever you are without shame. -- Rod Steiger

You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don't try.

-- Beverly Sills

Blessed are they who heal you of self-despisings. Of all services which can be done to man, I know of none more precious. -- William Hale White

The first principle is that you must not fool yourself

-- and you are the easiest person to fool. -- Richard Feynman

You are in control of your life. Don't ever forget that.

You are what you are because of the conscious and subconscious choices you have made. -- Barbara Hall

Cherish your own emotions and never undervalue them. -- Robert Henri

Each person's only hope for improving his lot rests on recognizing the true nature of his or her basic personality, surrendering to it, and becoming who he or she really is.

-- Sheldon Kopp

What I am is good enough if I would only be it openly. -- Carl Rogers

No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. -- Eleanor Roosevelt

Let the world know you as you are, not as you think you should be. -- Fannie Brice

Men and women are not prisoners of fate,

but only prisoners of their own minds.

-- Franklin D. Roosevelt

It is the habitual thought that frames itself into our life. It affects us even more than our intimate social relations do. Our confidential friends have not so much to do in shaping our lives as the thoughts which we harbor. -- J.W. Teal

Take pride in how far you have come, have faith in how far you can go. -- Anonymous

We know what we are, but know not what we may become. -- William Shakespeare

You grow up the day you have your first real laugh - at yourself. -- Ethel Barrymore

At some point your heart will tell itself what to do. -- Achaan Chah

Be honorable with yourself if you wish to associate with honorable people.

-- Welsh Proverb

Enlarge your consciousness.

If your consciousness is small,

you will experience smallness in every department of your life. -- Robert Pante

We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are. -- Anais Nin

The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.

-- William Shakespeare

We are what we repeatedly do.

Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. -- Aristotle

To thine own-self be true;

And it must follow, as the night the day.

Thou can'st not then be false to any man.

-- Hamlet. Act I. Sc. 3

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It may be all right to be content with what you have; never with what you are.

-- B.C. Forbes

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He that respects himself is safe from others;

He wears a coat of mail that none can pierce.

-- Henry Wordsworth Longfellow

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Never think you're not good enough yourself. A man should never think that. People will take you very much at your own reckoning. -- Anthony Trollope

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I thank God for my handicaps, for through them,

I have found myself, my work and my God. -- Helen Keller

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Everyone should carefully observe which way his heart draws him, and then choose that way with all his strength. -- Hasidic Saying

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Everything that irritates us about others

can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.

-- Carl Jung

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The only tyrant I accept in this world is the still voice within. -- Mahatma Gandhi

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When we see men of a contrary character, we should turn inwards and examine ourselves. -- Confucius

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No one can give you better advice than yourself. -- Cicero

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The most common sort of lie is the one uttered to one's self. -- Nietzsche

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An old man sat outside the walls of a great city.

When travelers approached, they would ask the old man, "What kind of people live in this city?"

And the old man would answer, "What kind of people live in the place where you came from?"

If the travelers answered, "Only bad people live in the place where we came from," the old man would reply, "Continue on; you will find only bad people here."

But if the travelers answered, "Good people live in the place where we came from," then the old man would say, "Enter, for here, too, you will find only good people."

-- Yiddish folk tale

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If you have a skeleton in your closet, take it out and dance with it.

-- Carolyn MacKenzie

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People often say that this or that person has not yet found him or herself.

But the self is not something that one finds. It is something one creates.

-- Thomas Szasz

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There is only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that's your own self. -- Aldous Huxley

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I am always ready to learn, although I do not always like being taught.

-- Winston Churchill

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People seem not to see that their opinion of the world

is also a confession of character.

-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

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He knew that insofar as one denies what is, one is possessed by what is not, the compulsions, the fantasies, the terrors that flock to fill the void.

-- Ursula K. LeGuin, The Lathe of Heaven

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Don't compromise yourself. You're all you've got. -- Betty Ford

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The temptation to moralize is strong; it is emotionally satisfying to have enemies rather than problems, to seek out culprits rather than the flaws in the system. God knows it is emotionally satisfying to be righteous with that righteousness that nourishes itself on the blood of sinners.

But God also knows that what is emotionally satisfying can be spiritually devastating.

-- William Sloane Coffin, The Courage to Love

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Work like you don't need the money.

Love like you've never been hurt.

Dance like nobody's watching.

--Anonymous

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Love not what you are, but what you may become. -- Cervantes

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Do not attempt to do a thing unless you are sure of yourself; but do not relinquish it simply because someone else is not sure of you. -- Stewart E. White

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The way life treats you is a merciless mirror image of your attitude toward life.

-- Anonymous.

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A man's greatest strength develops at the point where

he overcomes his greatest weakness. -- Elmer G. Letterman

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Be not merely good; be good for something. -- Henry David Thoreau

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We can never be certain of our courage till we have faced danger.

~ Duc Francois de La Rouchefoucauld

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Freedom from desire leads to inner peace. -- Lao-Tzu

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As long as you think you're green, you'll grow.

As soon as you think you're ripe, you'll rot.

-- Scott Horton (courtesy of Nicole Smith.)

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Once to every man and nation comes the moment to decide.

-- James Russell Lowell

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The largest room in the world is the room for improvement. -- Anonymous

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More people would learn from their mistakes if they weren't so busy denying them.-- Anonymous

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Signs of Emotional Security

1. Ability to deal constructively with reality.

2. Capacity to adapt to change.

3. Few symptoms of tension and anxiety.

4. Ability to find more satisfaction in giving than receiving.

5. Capacity to consistently relate to others with mutual satisfaction and helpfulness.

6. Ability to direct hostile energy into constructive outlets.

7. Capacity to love.

-- Dr. William Menninger

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HOW TO BE PERFECTLY MISERABLE.

1. Think about yourself.

2. Talk about yourself.

3. Use "I" as often as possible.

4. Mirror yourself continually in the opinion of others.

5. Listen greedily to what people say about you.

6. Expect to be appreciated.

7. Be suspicious.

8. Be jealous and envious.

9. Be sensitive to slights.

10. Never forgive a criticism

11. Trust no one but yourself.

12. Insist on consideration and respect.

13. Demand agreement with your own views on everything.

14. Sulk if people are not grateful to you for favors shown them.

15. Never forget a service you may have rendered.

16. Be on the lookout for a good time for yourself.

17. Shirk your duties if you can.

18. Do as little as possible for others.

19. Love yourself supremely.

20. Be selfish.

This recipe is guaranteed to be infallible.

-- Gospel Herald.

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Every great mistake has a halfway moment, a split second when it can be recalled and, perhaps, remedied. -- Pearl Buck

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There is no satisfaction that can compare

with looking back across the years and finding you've grown

in self-control, judgment, generosity, and unselfishness.

-- Ella Wheeler Wilcox

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The goal in life is to die young -- as late as possible.

-- Ashley Montagu, Anthropologist

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Research is what I'm doing when I don't know what I'm doing.

-- Werner von Braun

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You will find poetry nowhere unless you bring some with you. -- Joseph Joubert

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When you are looking in the mirror, you are looking at the problem.

But, remember, you are also looking at the solution. -- Anonymous

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God holds each of us by a string. When we sin, we cut the string. But God ties it up again, making a knot. Each time our wrongdoing cuts the string, God ties another knot drawing us up closer to Him. -- Meister Eckhart

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He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else.

-- Benjamin Franklin

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Love work.

Turn a deaf ear to slander.

Be considerate in correcting others.

Do not be taken up by trifles.

Do not resent plain speaking.

Meet offenders half-way.

Be thorough in thought.

Have an open mind.

Do your duty without grumbling.

-- Cicero

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The accusations really say more about the condition of the accusers than that of the accused. -- Roderick MacLeish

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Take time to laugh.

It is the music of the soul.

Take time to think.

It is the source of power.

Take time to play.

It is the source of perpetual youth.

Take time to read.

It is the fountain of wisdom.

Take time to pray.

It is the greatest power on Earth.

Take time to love and be loved.

It is a God-given privilege.

Take time to be friendly.

It is the road to happiness.

Take time to give.

It is too short a day to be selfish.

Take time to work.

It is the price of success.

-- Anonymous

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Those who can't laugh at themselves leave the job to others. -- Anonymous

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You grieve you learn

You choke you learn

You laugh you learn

You choose you learn

You pray you learn

You ask you learn

You live you learn

-- Alanis Morissette, from her album "Jagged Little Pill"

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The remarkable thing is that we really do love our neighbors as ourselves;

we do unto others as we do unto ourselves.

We hate others when we hate oursleves.

We are tolerant toward others when we tolerate ourselves.

We forgive others when we forgive ourselves.

t is not love of self but hatred of self which is at the root of the troubles that afflict our world. -- Eric Hoffer: U.S. Writer

Most of the shadows of life are caused by standing in our own sunshine.

-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

If you live only for yourself

 you always in immediate danger of being bored to death

 with the repetition of your own views and interests.

-- Walter Beran Wolfe