Water in Interior Design

Water and Interior Design

Water is used to activate or slow down Chi in a room, being highly beneficial for health, wealth and relationships. Indoor fountains copy the natural flow of water in a harmonious way creating the energy of Chi.



Common practive is to place a tabletop fountain in your home or office is the easiest way to add Chi into you life and will significantly enhance the desires you are working for. They can have an amazing effect on your wealth, romance and general well-being. To enhance your wealth and prosperity, position your indoor water feature in the southeast element of your home or office. For career luck, place in the north.



Fountains also add the relaxing sound of a babbling brook to your environment and are recommended for homes that have central heating, as they increase the humidity level which in turn decreases dust, pollutants and static electricity. Flowing or moving water also increases negative ions in the air. Excessive amounts of positive ions (which are created by pollution and other factors) can result in sickness and depression. Water Fountains can help by balancing the negative and positive ions in the air.

Water Screens





The latest in video projections - projected onto water. Indoor or outdoor use.

More info and a nice video here

James Turrell

ames Turrell (born 1943, Los Angeles) is an artist primarily concerned with light and space. He is best known for his work in progress, Roden Crater. Located outside Flagstaff, Arizona, Turrell is turning this natural cinder volcanic crater into a massive naked-eye observatory, designed specifically for the viewing of celestial phenomena. His other works usually enclose the viewer in order to control their perception of light; a James Turrell skyspace is an enclosed room large enough for roughly 15 people. Inside, the viewers sit on benches along the edge to view the sky through an opening in the roof. He is also known for his light tunnels and light projections that create shapes that seem to have mass and weight, though they are created with only light.

A James Turrell skyspace is a freestanding enclosed chamber large enough for about 15 people and designed and constructed with utmost precision to heighten our sense of sight and perception.

The Henry Art Gallery Skyspace is the very first to combine two aspects of James Turrell's work: skyspace and exterior architectural illumination, making it accessible to viewers from both the inside and the outside. From the outside, the elliptical chamber becomes a luminous light work as the eighteen foot-high glass panels covering its exterior are softly illuminated from within with slowly changing color.

Inside the skyspace, visitors sit on a bench and view the sky and atmospheric changes through an opening in the roof. On rainy days a moveable dome covers the opening and a secondary light source creates a seemingly infinite visual space beyond the roof “aperture.”

Qi Theory

TCM theory rests on the notion that we should all live in harmony and balance with Nature, with each other and with the Universe. Over the millennia, TCM practitioners have developed a number of theoretical frameworks that help explain the human condition, the Universe, and the interconnectedness of all things. Modern TCM practitioners have a deep reservoir of theoretical and practical knowledge from which to draw.

The main theories of Chinese Medicine are
1.) The Theory of Qi
2.) The Theory of Yin/Yang
3.) Five Elements Theory

According to ancient Taoist thought, Qi is the motive force in all living things and in the Universe. Qi takes on infinite forms in the physical world. All Qi is derived from Universal or Heavenly Qi. A convenient, if highly inaccurate translation of Qi is 'energy. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, there are numerous kinds of Qi, that are related to health and well-being. There is Yuan Qi, which is roughly translated as Original Qi or Congenital Qi. This is the Qi we are born with. It is the Qi we inherit from our parents. It is the Qi that animates us and gives us life. This also called Heavenly Qi, because when we come into this world we bring a bit of heaven with us. Yuan Qi can be strong or weak. Babies born with congenital deficiencies are said to have weak Yuan Qi. According to TCM theory, the Qi that one is born with is all the Qi that one gets for life. Except for certain difficult Qi building exercises in Qi Gong practice, Yuan Qi cannot be created. It must be 'topped up' by Acquired Qi, produced in the Spleen and the Lungs.

Ying Qi is also known as Acquired or Post Heavenly Qi. Ying Qi is produced by the Spleen from food and water and mixes with Yuan Qi which is stored in the Kidneys. Ying Qi is seen as replenishing one's Yuan Qi. Over the course of one's life, Yuan Qi is slowly depleted by day to day activities. A bad diet, illness, or Spleen disharmony will fail to produce sufficient Qi to restore reserves and the body suffers. Overindulgence in Sex, illness or other Kidney disharmony will deplete Yuan Qi faster than the Spleen can produce Ying Qi to top it up.

Another form of acquired Qi, is called Zhong Qi, or pectoral Qi. This type of Qi is produced in the Lungs from air and water and like Ying Qi helps to 'top up' Yuan Qi. In Chinese Medicine there is a unique relationship between the Lungs and the Kidneys.

Finally, there is Wei Qi, also known as defensive Qi. Wei Qi exists in the exterior layers of the body and the skin. Its main function is to warm the body and defend it against outside invasion of Heat, Cold, Wind, Dryness, or Dampness.

There are numerous other kinds of Qi in the body, but these are the main ones.

According to TCM theory Qi circulates in the body along its own energetic pathways, in the same way that blood circulates in the arteries and veins. Qi is also present in the blood and is said to be the energy that animates it and moves it along.

In TCM diagnosis one may observe specific signs and symptoms of Qi excess or deficiency. For example, one of the most common ailments, especially in Western culture is Liver Qi Stagnation. Liver Qi Stagnation has specific signs and symptoms such as pain in the diaphragm area, a wiry pulse, possibly headaches, redness or slight purplish colour along the sides of the tongue and irritability. A western diagnosis would show no organ damage, and conclude that nothing is wrong. At best western medicine would attempt to suppress the symptoms.

The theory of Qi allows practitioners to treat disharmonies, while they are still energetic in nature, before any physical damage occurs. Liver Qi Stagnation is a relatively minor and easily treatable condition. Prolonged stagnation in the body though if untreated will eventually become much more serious.

Finally, an aspect of Qi that even Traditional Chinese Medicine as it is practiced today, tends to overlook, is that it animates the Spirit as much as the body. For many, the practice of healing is a Spiritual practice, and movement of Qi ultimately is designed to heal the spirit. Bringing balance and harmony means to harmonize the body, emotions, mind and spirit. There are many Acupuncture points whose functions include calming the spirit, releasing emotional buildups, and promoting mental clarity. Very often these are the very same points that affect the body physically.

It was thought by ancient practitioners that the proper and determined cultivation of Qi in the body would eventually lead to 'spiritualization' of the body. That is the ability of the practitioner to transcend the limits of the physical body and achieve immortality.

In Chinese medicine, the manipulation of Qi to promote wellness at the energetic or metaphysical levels is as important as anything that is done to treat disease at the physical level.

New Spirituality: Need for Depth

These Are Anxious Times

Holy War, Global Warming, Toxins, FDA, Prescription Drugs, 911... these are heady times!

People in spiritual crisis and disenchanted with contemporary religions are making a mad dash for any exotic moral authority and spiritual path advertised to them. New Age businesses excel at marketing products to the spiritually bereft. Pseudo-Eastern philosophies, shamanism, and similar belief systems are a lucrative commodity in the spiritual marketplace.

To ease our anxiety, in anxious time, we infuse new value into the past (actual or mythical)

"to see if we left anything useful behind in our rush to some undefined goal of progress," says Paul Devereux. We all want to create a new moral authority that will work in this time.

Some years ago, Mark Johnson, a Feng Shui practitioner and author, noted that we think nothing of "borrowing" concepts like Feng Shui from other cultures and filtering the knowledge through our limited understanding.

One cannot separate the spiritual problems of people from their religion.
The New Age movement is infamous for mixing half-baked ideologies and philosophies and marketing overpriced, hodge-podge products to customers who don't know whether a product is authentic or of lasting value.

Paul Devereux talks about this phenomenon in Secrets of Ancient and Sacred Places: The World's Mysterious Heritage:

"Both the research and religious aspects of this renewed interest in the past have their good and bad sides. Some lines of research are genuinely uncovering new approaches to the past, and fresh facts and perceptions are emerging. Other developments are, however, somewhat fantastical and worthy of the mainstream accusation of "lunatic fringe."

Because the area is outside the protection of the academic pale, it is open to the predatory attention of journalistic hacks, egocentric would-be gurus and well-intentioned but poorly informed enthusiasts, often from a "New Age" background, who rush into print with their pet ideas of the past, of ancient mysteries, before they have done their homework. It makes for a babel of competing claims and ideas, and what is essentially a fictional view of ancient wisdom is created.

Astrology, numerology … a variety of martial arts techniques, various brands of shamanism, and modern versions of witchcraft fill the empty hours of the affluent fringe groups who reject Christianity but want to have some hold on religious experiences.

Concepts are "Americanized" to make them palatable and marketable — oversimplification is a particularly popular technique. It is astonishing how New Age marketers find nothing wrong about appropriating someone else's culture and homogenizing it for the tastes and dilettantism of American consumers.

---- In other words - this need to be done accurately and correctly.


Scientific Support for Spirituality

Let's begin with the origin of the universe. Most educated people are at least somewhat familiar with the Big Bang theory, namely that the universe emerged with incredible heat and light energy some 12 to 15 billion years ago and has been expanding and solidifying ever since into galaxies, stars and planets under the operation of fixed natural laws built into the process. This 20th century scientific theory replaced, at least for some people, the spiritual belief of an Almighty God somehow creating everything that is.

Did that mean spirituality was dead? Some tried to argue that it was, but the claim of faith is not so easily dislodged from the human mind. In fact, it was the existence of the human mind itself that gave the scientific explanation of reality the most trouble. While scientific laws and mathematical formulae can explain the formation of a material universe, they cannot account for the existence of immaterial mind or consciousness. The "popular" scientific view is that consciousness emerges from the brain, but there is no scientific way to explain how it is possible for the immaterial to emerge from the material.

On the other hand, science has demonstrated precisely the opposite. It has to do with the physics of a vacuum. Quantum mechanics has shown that virtual particles and antiparticles spontaneously emerge from a vacuum and become "real" if energy is added. This gives rise to scientific speculation that the origin of the universe was a quantum fluctuation within a vacuum, which initiated not only the "stuff" of our world, but also space-time itself.

What I am leading up to is an argument that by the end of the 20th century scientific research rather than dislodging the notion of spirituality has in fact strengthened it. Again we turn to quantum mechanics, which has shown that a particle exists both in its particle form and also as a wave. The quantum wave is smeared throughout the whole of space, and it only collapses as a particle into our physical space-time when a conscious observer makes a measurement.

Was it such a super-ordinate Consciousness (called God) that collapsed the wave function in a primordial vacuum and created the universe? This gives us an explanation in scientific terms that confirms the essence of the intuition from spiritual traditions of an omnipotent, omniscient Consciousness (or Spirit) behind what we know as reality.

The argument for a spiritual dimension to being becomes stronger when we consider what 2500 years of mental research by Buddhists (and others), as contrasted with 300 years of empirical research by scientists, has revealed about consciousness. The collective result is that at its deepest level consciousness is a state of luminous emptiness. In Buddhist terminology this absolute ground of consciousness is called the Great Perfection. In other words, there is a ground state of primordial awareness from which everything we call reality came and into which everything dissolves. This gives us the foundation for a 21st century spirituality in which human faith is anchored in a revelation of eternal wholeness and oneness from which we as human beings along with the material universe come for a period of physical existence and to which we return.

Implications of the New Spirituality

Let us now explore further the implications of this spirituality for how we might live together on the planet. A fundamental spiritual principle emerges from the above understanding of the origin and continuing unfoldment of the universe and the living portion of it that we know as the biosphere of planet Earth. This is the principle of oneness, not only within the human realm, but also of humanity with all life on Earth. This is a point that cannot be overstated, for it stands in marked contrast to the history of human spiritual experience over tens of thousands of generations.

Wherever human tribes or communities grew up on the continents and islands of our world, they embraced some form of spiritual belief. This strongly suggests that the propensity for spiritual thought, like the facility for language, is built into the human genetic makeup. However, because humanity evolved in isolated and separate enclaves, divided along ethnic lines, this innate spirituality expressed itself in personal deities, who were usually seen as the protector and sustainer of the ethnic group.

Because of another innate propensity in our species, namely to perceive others outside the ethnic or tribal grouping as enemies, the natural inclination was to bond fiercely under the protection of the tribal god or gods, and to wage war against the enemy in his/her name. Even when we come to relatively recent times from an evolutionary perspective, namely the last 3000 years, when great spiritual traditions emerged and spread across large geographical areas encompassing many nations, the same propensity for separation persisted. Indeed, the 20th century experienced two world wars and other international clashes when nations expressing the same faith tradition fought against each other in the most brutal ways ever conceived.

At the beginning of the 21st century the world now finds itself teetering on the brink of what some would call holy war or a clash of civilizations divided along spiritual lines. Of course, international politics and policies of economic globalization make everything much more complicated than that, but the fundamental human predisposition for conflict and separation remains firmly established. That is why a spirituality of oneness would be such an extraordinary leap forward in human thinking.

Naturopathic Medicine

Naturopathic medicine (also known as naturopathy) is a school of medical philosophy and practice that seeks to improve health and treat disease chiefly by assisting the body's innate capacity to recover from illness and injury. Naturopathic practice may include a broad array of different modalities, including manual therapy, hydrotherapy, herbalism, acupuncture, counseling, environmental medicine, aromatherapy, nutritional counseling, homeopathy, and so on. Practitioners tend to emphasize a holistic approach to patient care. Naturopathy has its origins in the United States, but is today practiced in many countries around the world in one form or another, where it is subject to different standards of regulation and levels of acceptance.

Naturopathic practitioners prefer not to use invasive surgery, or most synthetic drugs, preferring "natural" remedies, for instance relatively unprocessed or whole medications, such as herbs and foods. Licensed physicians from accredited schools are trained to use diagnostic tests such as imaging and blood tests before deciding upon the full course of treatment. Naturopathic Practitioners also employ the use of prescription medications and surgery when necessary and refer out to other medical practitioners.

More here

Cooking and Five Elements Theory

Cooking and Five Elements Theory

"He that takes medicine and neglects diet, wastes the skills of the physician."
(Chinese proverb)

Like the concept of yin and yang, the Five Elements Theory is at the cornerstone of Chinese culture. What is the Five Elements Theory? The Chinese believe that we are surrounded by five energy fields: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. However, the elements are not static: they are constantly moving and changing. (In fact, some scientists think the term "element" is misleading, and prefer to refer to the "five phases" or "five forces.")

Once the Chinese identified the five elements, they set about categorizing all phenomena within the five categories. Everything, from a river to sounds to the organs in our bodies, can be described in terms of the five elements. How things are characterized depends on their individual qualities. For example, earth is associated with growth and nourishment, so the spleen, which monitors the blood - digesting debris and producing antibodies when necessary - is categorized as an earth element.

Just as an imbalance between yin and yang can produce destructive forces, keeping all elements in balance promotes harmony both in our surroundings and ourselves. Of course, balancing five elements is a little more complicated than achieving harmony between two opposing forces. According to Chinese belief, each element acts upon two others, either giving birth to it or controlling it. For example, wood gives birth to fire and controls or suppresses earth. Similarly, fire gives birth to earth and controls metal. All the elements are constantly interacting with other elements - none stand alone. The table below outlines the relationships.

Gives Birth To Controlling
Wood - Fire Wood - Earth
Fire - Earth Earth - Water
Earth - Metal Water - Fire
Metal - Water Fire - Metal
Water - Wood Metal - Wood

To give an example from nature, a plant (wood) grows when it is given water. When burnt, wood gives birth to fire, and the burnt ashes subsequently return to the earth.

What role does the Five Elements Theory Play in the Chinese diet?

You'll see adherence to the five elements theory in many facets of Chinese life. Martial arts, for example: many schools have a series of basic movements, each designed to keep the body in harmony with one the elements. And the five elements theory plays a large role in Feng Shui, the latest trend in both landscaping and interior decorating. Literally meaning "wind and water," Feng Shui is all about aligning energies in your home or work environment in a way that is most conducive with your own personal energy.

As for diet, Chinese herbalists believe that, to properly treat a patient, you must know the state of the five elements in their body. A deficiency or an excess of an element can lead to illness. In The Chinese Kitchen: Recipes, Techniques, Ingredients, History, and Memories from America's Leading Authority on Chinese Cooking, Eileen Yin Fei-Lo provides some wonderful examples of how her grandmother used the principles of the five elements theory to cure common illnesses. Treating a cough with winter melon tea and fresh water chestnuts is just one example.



A detailed look at the use of five elements theory in diagnosing and treating illnesses is beyond the scope of this article. Suffice to say that practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine rely on it to explain the relationships between the body organs and tissues, as well as between the body and the outside environment. The table below outlines the relationship between the five elements and body parts, feelings, colors, and taste.

How would a physician use the above information to make a diagnosis? Let's say a patient suddenly developed a preference for sour food. This could indicate liver problems. Of course, the actual process of examining a patient and making a diagnosis is much more complex than merely consulting a chart. It requires a thorough understanding of the interaction between all the elements. Because time and date of birth are also thought to play a role in an individual's "state of the five elements," many physicians will consult astrological charts before making a diagnosis.

Macrobiotic Cooking

Macrobiotic Diet Basic and Five Element Theory

How nature flows between opposites.

The study of this flow, called The Five Element Theory, is 5,000 years old in Oriental Medicine. The elements are Fire, Earth, Metal, Water, and Tree.

Five Element Theory

Imagine the following Five elements moving clockwise around a circle with FIRE at 12, SOIL at 2, METAL at 5, WATER at 7 pm and TREE at 10.

The elements support eachother in the clockwise direction and control eachother in the following star-shaped pattern: water douses fire, fire bends metal, metal cuts tree, tree break up soil, soil holds water.

(The following categories of the Five Elements contain only a few examples of the foods and elements in each category.)

FIRE
Taste: Bitter Foods: Bitter greens, Kale, Collards), toasted seeds
Organs: Heart/Small Intestine
Season/Color: Red/Summer
Energy direction: Outward
Cooking Method: Stir fry, Dry Roasting

SOIL
Taste: Sweet
Foods: Winter Squash, Sweeteners
Organs: Stomach/Spleen, Pancreas
Season/Color: Early Autumn/Orange
Energy direction: Downward
Cooking Method: Boiling

METAL
Taste: Sharp or Pungent
Foods: Ginger, Garlic, Mustard, raw Onion
Organs: Lungs/Large Intestine
Season/Color: Late Autumn/White
Energy Direction: Inward
Cooking Method: Pressure Cooking/Baking

WATER
Taste: Salty
Foods: Sea Vegetables, Beans
Organs: Kidneys/Bladder/Sexual
Season/Color: Winter/Blue, Black, Deep Purple
Energy Direction: Floating
Cooking Method: Pickling

TREE
Taste: Sour
Foods: Sprouts, Lemons, Sauerkraut, Vinegars
Organs: Liver/Gallbladder
Season/Color: Spring/Green
Energy direction: Upward
Cooking Method: Steaming


The significance for us in cooking and health is:

Each of these tastes is found on the tongue, so if each is found in the meal, the meal will be satisfying. (For example: Rice with Dulse sprinkle, Fish with Ginger, Winter Squash, Kale, Sauerkraut).
Each of these tastes influences a different organ system in the body so foods from each category need to be eaten every day to nourish all of the organs.
If a certain organ needs support, you can make extra sure you eat the healthy foods in that category.
There are supportive and unsupportive foods for each category:
Unsupportive Foods in each category:
Fire - cigarettes
Soil - white sugar
Metal - baked white flour products
Water - iodized salt
Tree - alcohol
For example, if someone is having a problem with constipation (Metal - Large Intestine) they would want to stay away from baked white flour products. If someone wants to quite smoking (Fire) if they eat more bitter leafy greens it'll probably help. If someone is having problems with their blood sugar balance- insulin and the pancreas, (Soil), they should avoid refined sugars.

Can you 'taste' the taste?

All foods would be classified in one of these elements but only certain ones are used for the distinct 'taste' of the category. Can you 'taste' the different tastes as you think about each category?

Bitter: leafy green vegetables: kale, collards, broccoli, parsley, brussel sprouts, chicory, dandelion greens, endive, mustard greens, cucumber, chard.

Sweet: yellow-orange vegetables: cooked carrots; winter squash (acorn, butternut, buttercup, delicata, hokkaido) sweet corn, rutabagas, sweet potatoes, yams.

Sharp or Pungent: ginger, garlic, mustard, watercress, raw red and white radish, scallions, onions, leeks, horseradish.

Salty: sea salt, miso, shoyu, tamari, umeboshi plum, salty condiments, and sea vegetables.

Sour: vinegars (rice, umeboshi, hato mugi, apple), sauerkraut, sour pickles, lemons and limes.

When cooking, it's very important to season with the 'salt' first. Once the salt amount is correct, (ie. miso in a miso soup) then you season with the ginger or other flavorings. If not enough salt is used, the other flavorings won't show up. If too much salt is added, the other flavorings might overpower the dish and you might need to add something to balance it. Check the chart....ie. if a dish is too bitter, add something sweet or sharp to balance the bitter.

Temple of Heaven

The Temple of Heaven, literally the Altar of Heaven (Traditional Chinese: 天壇; Simplified Chinese: 天坛; pinyin: Tiāntán; Manchu: Abkai mukdehun) is a complex of Taoist buildings situated in southeastern urban Beijing, in Xuanwu District. Construction of the complex began in 1420, and was thereafter visited by all subsequent Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties. It is regarded as the taoist temples , although the worship of Heaven, especially by the reigning monarch of the day, pre-dates Taoism.
The Temple grounds covers 2.73 km² of parkland, and comprises three main groups of constructions, all built according to strict philosophical requirements:
0. The Earthly Mount (圜丘坛) is the altar proper. It is an empty platform on three levels of marble stones, where the Emperor prayed for favourable weather;
0. The House of Heavenly Lord (皇穹宇), a single-gabled circular building, built on a single level of marble stone base, where the altars were housed when not in use;
0. The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests (祈年殿), a magnificent triple-gabled circular building, built on three levels of marble stone base, where the Emperor prayed for good harvests.


Inside the Hall of Annual Prayer.
In ancient China, the Emperor of China was regarded as the "Son of Heaven", who administered earthly matters on behalf of, and representing, heavenly authority. To be seen to be showing respect to the source of his authority, in the form of sacrifices to heaven, was extremely important. The temple was built for these ceremonies, mostly comprised of prayers for good harvests.
Each winter solstice the Emperor and all his retinue would move through the city to encamp within the complex, wearing special robes and abstaining from eating meat; there the Emperor would personally pray to Heaven for good harvests. The ceremony had to be perfectly completed; it was widely held that the smallest of mistakes would constitute a bad omen for the whole nation in the coming year.
The Temple of Heaven is the grandest of the four great temples located in Beijing. The other prominent temples include the Temple of Sun in the east (日坛), the Temple of Earth in the north (地坛), and the Temple of Moon in the west (月坛).
According to Xinhua, in early 2005, the Temple of Heaven underwent a 47 million yuan (5.9 million USD) face-lift in preparation for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics and the restoration was completed on May 1st, 2006.
The Temple of Heaven was registered on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1998.

New Age

The New Age Movement is in a class by itself. Unlike most formal religions, it has no holy text, central organization, membership, formal clergy, geographic center, dogma, creed, etc. They often use mutually exclusive definitions for some of their terms. The New Age is in fact a free-flowing spiritual movement; a network of believers and practitioners who share somewhat similar beliefs and practices, which they add on to whichever formal religion that they follow. Their book publishers take the place of a central organization; seminars, conventions, books and informal groups replace of sermons and religious services.

Quoting John Naisbitt:

"In turbulent times, in times of great change, people head for the two extremes: fundamentalism and personal, spiritual experience...With no membership lists or even a coherent philosophy or dogma, it is difficult to define or measure the unorganized New Age movement. But in every major U.S. and European city, thousands who seek insight and personal growth cluster around a metaphysical bookstore, a spiritual teacher, or an education center." 1

The New Age is definitely a heterogeneous movement of individuals; most graft some new age beliefs onto their regular religious affiliation. Recent surveys of US adults indicate that many Americans hold at least some new age beliefs:

8% believe in astrology as a method of foretelling the future
7% believe that crystals are a source of healing or energizing power
9% believe that Tarot Cards are a reliable base for life decisions
about 1 in 4 believe in a non-traditional concept of the nature of God which are often associated with New Age thinking:
11% believe that God is "a state of higher consciousness that a person may reach"
8% define God as "the total realization of personal, human potential"
3% believe that each person is God.
The group of surveys cited above classify religious beliefs into 7 faith groups. 2 Starting with the largest, they are: Cultural (Christmas & Easter) Christianity, Conventional Christianity, New Age Practitioner, Biblical (Fundamentalist, Evangelical) Christianity, Atheist/Agnostic, Other, and Jewish, A longitudinal study from 1991 to 1995 shows that New Agers represent a steady 20% of the population, and are consistently the third largest religious group. 2



History of the New Age movement:

New Age teachings became popular during the 1970's as a reaction against what some perceived as the failure of Christianity and the failure of Secular Humanism to provide spiritual and ethical guidance for the future. Its roots are traceable to many sources: Astrology, Channeling, Hinduism, Gnostic traditions, , Spiritualism, Taoism, Theosophy, Wicca and other Neo-pagan traditions, etc. The movement started in England in the 1960's where many of these elements were well established. Small groups, such as the Findhorn Community in Inverness and the Wrekin Trust formed. The movement quickly became international. Early New Age mileposts in North America were a "New Age Seminar" run by the Association for Research and Enlightenment, and the establishment of the East-West Journal in 1971. Actress Shirley MacLaine is perhaps their most famous current figure.

During the 1980's and 90's, the movement came under criticism from a variety of groups. Channeling was ridiculed; seminar and group leaders were criticized for the fortunes that they made from New Agers. Their uncritical belief in the "scientific" properties of crystals was exposed as groundless. But the movement has become established and become a stable, major force in North American religion during the past generation. As the millennium comes to a close, the New Age is expected to expand, promoted by the social backlash against logic and science.



The one version of the "New Age" that does not exist:

Major confusion about the New Age has been generated by academics, counter-cult groups, Fundamentalist and other Evangelical Christians and traditional Muslim groups, etc. Some examples are:

Many of the above groups have dismissed Tasawwuf (Sufiism) as a New Age cult. In reality, Sufiism has historically been an established mystical movement within Islam, which has always existing in a state of tension with the more legalistic divisions within Islam. It has no connection with the New Age.
Some conservative Christians believe that a massive, underground, highly coordinated New Age organization exists that is infiltrating government, media, schools and churches. No such entity exists.
Some conservative Christians do not differentiate among the Occult, Satanism, Wicca, other Neopagan religions. Many seem to regard all as forms of Satanism who perform horrendous criminal acts on children. Others view The New Age, Neopagan religions, Tarot card reading, rune readings, channeling, work with crystal energy, etc. as merely recruiting programs for Satanism. In fact, the Occult, Satanism, Neo-pagan religions are very different phenomena, and essentially unrelated. Dr. Carl Raschke, professor of Religious Studies at the University of Denver describes New Age practices as the spiritual version of AIDS; it destroys the ability of people to cope and function." He describes it as "essentially, the marketing end of the political packaging of occultism...a breeding ground for a new American form of fascism."


New Age beliefs:

A number of fundamental beliefs are held by many New Age followers; individuals are encouraged to "shop" for the beliefs and practices that they feel most comfortable with:

Monism: All that exists is derived from a single source of divine energy.
Pantheism: All that exists is God; God is all that exists. This leads naturally to the concept of the divinity of the individual, that we are all Gods. They do not seek God as revealed in a sacred text or as exists in a remote heaven; they seek God within the self and throughout the entire universe.
Panentheism: God is all that exists. God is at once the entire universe, and transcends the universe as well.
Reincarnation: After death, we are reborn and live another life as a human. This cycle repeats itself many times. This belief is similar to the concept of transmigration of the soul in Hinduism.
Karma: The good and bad deeds that we do adds and subtracts from our accumulated record, our karma. At the end of our life, we are rewarded or punished according to our karma by being reincarnated into either a painful or good new life. This belief is linked to that of reincarnation and is also derived from Hinduism
An Aura is believed to be an energy field radiated by the body. Invisible to most people, it can be detected by some as a shimmering, multi-colored field surrounding the body. Those skilled in detecting and interpreting auras can diagnose an individual's state of mind, and their spiritual and physical health.
Personal Transformation A profoundly intense mystical experience will lead to the acceptance and use of New Age beliefs and practices. Guided imagery, hypnosis, meditation, and (sometimes) the use of hallucinogenic drugs are useful to bring about and enhance this transformation. Believers hope to develop new potentials within themselves: the ability to heal oneself and others, psychic powers, a new understanding of the workings of the universe, etc. Later, when sufficient numbers of people have achieved these powers, a major spiritual, physical, psychological and cultural planet-wide transformation is expected.
Ecological Responsibility: A belief in the importance of uniting to preserve the health of the earth, which is often looked upon as Gaia, (Mother Earth) a living entity.
Universal Religion: Since all is God, then only one reality exists, and all religions are simply different paths to that ultimate reality. The universal religion can be visualized as a mountain, with many sadhanas (spiritual paths) to the summit. Some are hard; others easy. There is no one correct path. All paths eventually reach the top. They anticipate that a new universal religion which contains elements of all current faiths will evolve and become generally accepted worldwide.
New World Order As the Age of Aquarius unfolds, a New Age will develop. This will be a utopia in which there is world government, and end to wars, disease, hunger, pollution, and poverty. Gender, racial, religious and other forms of discrimination will cease. People's allegiance to their tribe or nation will be replaced by a concern for the entire world and its people.
The Age of Aquarius is a reference to the precession of the zodiac. The earth passes into a new sign of the zodiac approximately every 2,000 years. Some believe that the earth entered the constellation Aquarius in the 19th Century, so that the present era is the dawning of the age of Aquarius. Others believe that it will occur at the end of the 20th century. It is interesting to note that the previous constellation changes were:

from Aries to Pisces the fish circa 1st century CE. This happened at a time when Christianity was an emerging religion, and many individuals changed from animal sacrifice in the Jewish temple to embracing the teachings of Christianity. The church's prime symbol at the time was the fish.
from Taurus to Aries the ram circa 2,000 BCE. This happened at a time when the Jews engaged in widespread ritual sacrifice of sheep and other animals in the Temple.
from Gemini to Taurus the bull circa 4,000 BCE. During that sign, worshiping of the golden calf was common in the Middle East.


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New Age practices:

Many practices are found among New Agers. A typical practitioner is active in only a few areas:

Channeling A method similar to that used by Spiritists in which a spirit of a long dead individual is conjured up. However, while Spiritists generally believe that one's soul remains relatively unchanged after death, most channelers believe that the soul evolves to higher planes of existence. Chanelers usually try to make contact with a single, spiritually evolved being. That being's consciousness is channeled through the medium and relays guidance and information to the group, through the use of the medium's voice. Channeling has existed since the 1850's and many groups consider themselves independent of the New Age movement. Perhaps the most famous channeling event is the popular A Course in Miracles. It was channeled through a Columbia University psychologist, Dr. Helen Schucman, (1909-1981), over an 8 year period. She was an Atheist, and in no way regarded herself as a New Age believer. However, she took great care in recording accurately the words that she received.
Crystals Crystals are materials which have their molecules arranged in a specific, highly ordered internal pattern. This pattern is reflected in the crystal's external structure which typically has symmetrical planar surfaces. Many common substances, from salt to sugar, from diamonds to quartz form crystals. They can be shaped so that they will vibrate at a specific frequency and are widely used in radio communications and computing devices. New Agers believe that crystals possess healing energy.
Meditating A process of blanking out the mind and releasing oneself from conscious thinking. This is often aided by repetitive chanting of a mantra, or focusing on an object.
New Age Music A gentle, melodic, inspirational music form involving the human voice, harp, lute, flute, etc. It is used as an aid in healing, massage therapy and general relaxation.
Divination The use of various techniques to foretell the future, including I Ching, Pendulum movements, Runes, Scrying, Tarot Cards.
Astrology The belief that the orientation of the planets at the time of one's birth, and the location of that birth predicts the individual's future and personality. Belief in astrology is common amongst New Agers, but definitely not limited to them.
Holistic Health This is a collection of healing techniques which have diverged from the traditional medical model. It attempts to cure disorders in mind, body and spirit and to promote wholeness and balance in the individual. Examples are acupuncture, crystal healing, homeopathy, iridology, massage, various meditation methods, polarity therapy, psychic healing, therapeutic touch, reflexology, etc.
Human Potential Movement (a.k.a. Emotional Growth Movement) This is a collection of therapeutic methods involving both individualized and group working, using both mental and physical techniques. The goal is to help individuals to advance spiritually. Examples are Esalen Growth Center programs, EST, Gestalt Therapy, Primal Scream Therapy, Transactional Analysis, Transcendental Meditation and Yoga.
The Canadian Census (1991) recorded only 1,200 people (0.005% of the total Canadian population) who identify their religion as being New Age. However, this in no way indicates the influence of new age ideas in the country. Many people identify with Christianity and other religions, but incorporate many new age concepts into their faith.



"Indigo Children"

Some within the New Age movement believe that children with special powers and indigo colored auras have been born in recent years. According to Nancy Ann Tappe, this is a global phenomenon affecting over 95% of newborns since 1995. She writes:

"As small children, Indigo’s are easy to recognize by their unusually large, clear eyes. Extremely bright, precocious children with an amazing memory and a strong desire to live instinctively, these children of the next millennium are sensitive, gifted souls with an evolved consciousness who have come here to help change the vibrations of our lives and create one land, one globe and one species. They are our bridge to the future."

Some New Agers feel that the special personality factors among Indigo Children result in them being diagnosed with ADD or ADHD by therapists who do not understand their special qualities and needs. 6,7,8

Esoteric Anatomy: The Body as Consciousness

All creation is the interweaving of cycles. From Galactic manifestation to subatomic waves, the universe is a vast spectrum of cycles. The cycles of birth and death, summer and winter, day and night, in-breath and out-breath weave the fabric of life. The ancient rishis (Yogi’s who purified their body/minds and directly experienced the fundamental forces of creation) experienced the underlying unity of all cycles as the breath of Brahma and the ubiquitous periodicity of the universe as the rhythm of the life breath of a single harmonious Living Being.

Golden Spiral: Life breath of a living universe . . .

The ancient wisdom describes these fields of resonance emanating from the center as elements. The elements are the vibratory archetypes of Cosmic Intelligence that underlie creation. Ether, Air, Fire, Water, and Earth. These five patterns of vibration are at the core of the sciences of the ancients. Dr. Stone writes: “Patterns are mind energy fields. [underlined in the original] Each type of energy has a vibratory speed and wave length which determines its function and affinity to other similar units of energy functioning in the body, or outside in the cosmos.”17 They are the fundamental resonances that are the inner vibrational basis of all phenomena. The elemental harmonics are understood as four phases of radiation (Air, Fire, Water, and Earth) from one center (Ether). Each of the elements represents a progressively denser, more material radiation of a single force, a harmonic of the underlying singular harmony. The elements are archetypal harmonics corresponding to the phases of materialization in the Polarity Evolutionary Cycle.



Cross section of logarithmic spiral pictured above.


Elemental Fields

Ether
Ether + Air sustain Air
Ether + Air + Fire sustain Fire
Ether +Air + Fire sustain Water
Ether +Air + Fire + Water sustain Earth
Energy Fields radiate from a center and step-down in quantum fashion from higher to lower rates of vibration from the core to the periphery. The radiation of energy fields is universally ruled by the Golden Spiral.

Like wheels within wheels, these whirling vortices of force emanate from the center of every energy field in a quantum fashion of discrete zones of resonance that provide the step-down mechanism from Spirit to matter. The Etheric center radiates a series of fields in a quantum step-down mechanism through which spirit crystallizes into matter. The elements represent progressive stages in the cycle of movement of this energy from Spirit into matter. They form the outward, involutionary cycle from within to without, from above to below, from Ether to Earth, from subtle Spirit to the crystallization of consciousness into matter. This movement then becomes an inward-moving evolutionary cycle from below to above and from without to within, as energy cycles back through matter to Spirit.
In the Tantric darsan (a vision of God) nature (prakriti) is differentiated into five forms of motion. Ether (Akasa) fills space with the “Hairs of Shiva,” nonobstructive motion radiating lines of force in all directions, sustaining the space in which the other forces operate. Air (Vayu) is a transverse motion and the source of locomotion in space (from the sanskrit root Va, “to move”). Fire (Tejas) is an upward motion giving rise to expansion. Water (Apas) is a downward motion giving rise to contraction. Earth (Prithivi) is a motion which produces cohesion and obstruction, the opposite of the nonobstructive Ether.



All vibration is entrained, through sympathetic vibration, with the resonance of these universal fields of force. All solidity, regardless of the phenomenon, resonates with the Earth harmonic; all fluidity with Water; all heat with Fire; all movement with Air; and all space with Ether.

The ancient seers articulated a distinction between the universal elements prior to manifestation which they called “subtle elements” and the “gross” pentamirus combination of the elements that sustained manifestation. Thus the subtle tanmatras, or essences, combining and recombining, produce the five gross elements of the external universe the Mahabhutas or Panchabhautikas.

It is important to remember that this is a sacred model of creation. While a scientific perspective would hold that “mythology” points to a realm that is less than “real,” sacred “mythology” asserts a transcendental dimension that is more than “real.” The elements are not things . . . but are Primordial Being. The elements are aspects of the Divine Logos and are the root archetypes out of which Cosmic Intelligence manifests creation.

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Echoing with Nature: Chinese Seasonal Cooking

Chinese people have a unique view on food since ancient times. They believe the seasonal changes directly affect our health. From spring warmth, summer heat, autumn dryness and winter coldness, we derive the longevity principles of sowing in spring, growing in summer, harvest in autumn and restoration in winter. Similar to the Yin and Yang concept, we should choose the right food in each season to complement the natural forces of that season, and to replenish the loss of nutrients. This is the Chinese naturopathic system called "Echoing with the Nature".

Spring : From the Arrival of Spring (in the first month of Chinese calendar) to Ching Ming (in the third month of the Chinese calendar), the warm weather wakes up the whole world from the winter. We might have dry lips and tongue in this season and drinking fruit juice or eating vegetables helps replenish the water lost. Spring is believed to be a period of heightened Yang energy, when everything blooms. Greasy, spicy and deep fried food should be avoided as it tends to boost Yang energy further. From the perspective of Chinese medicine, Qi (vital energy) of liver easily loses control in spring and causes dizziness. Hence, consumption of food supplementing the liver, say, sweet food is recommended while refraining from eating too much sour food.

Do's in spring recipes : Chinese chives, lily bulk, Chinese wolfberry leaves, pea sprouts, leeks.

Don'ts: Lamb, quail, cinnamon, star aniseed, onion, Sichuan peppercorn, stir fried soy beans, uncooked spring onion.

Summer starts in the 4 th month of the Chinese calendar. Under the rising temperature, our bodies are especially prone to accumulated Heat and Dampness. The high metabolic rate causes much perspiration, at the expense of Qi (vital energy) and body fluid. The ida drink in summer should clear Heat, benefit Qi, promote body fluid secretion and quench thirst. When feeling fatigue and low in energy or having poor appetite and deterioration of the sense of taste in summer, do not eat greasy, spicy deep fried food. During menstruation period, women should refrain from eating uncooked food that is Cold in nature.

Do's in summer recipes: White lentils, mung beans, pear, watermelon, dark plum, sugar cane, strawberries, mulberries, grapes, coconut milk, lemon, watermelon peel. Persimmons, pineapples, water chestnuts, bitter melon, winter melon, hairy gourd, sweet potato, snake melon, cucumber, tomato, Chinese spinach, straw mushrooms, lotus roots, Chinese wolfberry leaves.

Don'ts: Lamb, longan, dried longan, lychee, Chinese chive, onion, kale, Sichuan peppercorns, cinnamon, stir fried peanuts, stir fried cucumber, cold rice crackers, cold congee, cold rice.

Weather turns cool drastically in autumn, yet the unstable weather might lead to fluctuating temperatures. Plants start wilting and the atmosphere turns dry. Although it feels hot at times in autumn, cold fruit and melons are not recommended as they harm the spleen and stomach. The coldness and dryness in autumn makes us thirsty, causes low volume of urine and dry stool. Good autumn food should stimulate body fluid secretion, benefit Yin and moisturize the body. Qi of the lungs are especially prone to Heat-dryness attach and giving rise to sore throat. Food like lotus seeds, white fungus and dates work best to supplement the body without causing Heat accumulation.

Do's in autumn recipes: lily bulk, lotus seeds, white lentils, lotus roots, caltrop nuts, chestnuts, walnuts, white fungus, swallow nest, peanuts, red dates, snake, yellow eel, Chinese wolfberry leaves.

Don'ts - watermelon, cantaloupe, uncooked cucumber, eggplant, persimmon, banana, mung beans, chilies, stir fried peanuts, pop corn, star aniseeds, lamb.

The cold weather and slow metabolic rate means that replenishment of nutrients for the spleen and stomach is especially important. Use care in choosing supplements according to your body predisposition. Those with blood-asthenia should eat supplements that promote blood cell formation; those with Qi-asthenia should choose Qi-supplementary food; those who suffer from general body debility should eat food that moisturizes and benefits the central energy. Food of cold nature and uncooked or refrigerated food should be avoided as they harm the internal organs.

Do's : lamb, beef, dates, lotus seeds, white wine, ginseng, cinnamon.

Don'ts: clams, conches, crabs, snails, mung beans, uncooked melon and fruit, banana, persimmon, black flossy moss, iced beer, American ginseng, mint.