Friday, 20 May 2011

The Yin, Yang and Hara of Macrobiotics


(Italics are this blogger's comments.)

Yin and Yang - the in and out, expansion and contraction of creation, the breathing, the earthly and cosmic forces.  I like this way of explaining the positive and negative, the opposites of life.  Balance of the two equals equanimity and peace, and according to Mr. Kushi, so much more!  But, as always, I enjoy these concepts put forth, but take any neatly contained answer to existence with a grain of salt.

 When you hear the term "Macrobiotics" you may think that it is just another way of eating.  Yes, there is a recommended way of eating, which is: 50% of every meal should be whole cereal grains, 5% soup-not too salty, 20-30% in-season vegetables, 10-15% cooked beans and seaweed; beverages should include roasted bancha twig tea, Mu tea, dandelion tea, cereal grain or coffee and traditional tea that is not artificially produced or fragrant.  This way of eating, though, is based on a much deeper understanding of the universe and the forces which mould, guide and affect us; the Yin (expansion) and Yang (contraction) of it all; and on the belief that inifinte space is in human consciousness.  Mr.Kushi states that through practicing macrobiotics we refine the condition of the body, which, if not clouded by toxins and rough vibrations, becomes more sensitive allowing us to recover our infinte memory and actually catch vibrations from infinity!  I believe this is what we do in Zen, mindfulness, meditation, etc.  And my question, after reading Mr. Kushi's words, is who or what, then, starts and stops the charging of our bodies, resulting in death?

The following Charts and text from "Natural Healing through Macrobiotics" by Michio Kushi, Japan Publications Inc., 1978.



RE the above chart and the one below:

"Meridians occur universally in nature. eg, lines on a leaf show presence of meridians, as do the ridges of a cactus, and the earth contains a network of energy lines.  Human body has 12 major pairs of meridians.  The meridians are created as a result of the electromagnetic charge existing between heaven and earth. (how does he know this?) The universe, or heaven generates a centripetal force which enter the body through the hair spiral, while the expanding force produced by the earth's rotation enters through the genitals.  After entering through the hair spiral, heaven's force charges the midbrain.  This charge is distributed to the cells of the brain, and results in the formation of images and thoughts, similar to the way in which a television creates an image and sound.  Proceeding downward, heaven's force charges the area deep inside the mouth and the root of the tongue, then charges and vitalizes the vocal cords, the thyroid and parathyroid glands.  (this all sounds quite logical)
"Proceeding further, it charges the heart and surrounding area resulting in continuous beating, as well as the movments of breathing.  The stomach is the next major region to be activated by heaven's force and from there, energy is distributed to the liver, spleen, gall bladder, pancreas and kidneys stimulating their functions.
"Heaven's force then charges the region deep inside the small intestine, known in the Orient as the Hara, creating rhythmic movements and absorption of foodstuffs.  Heaven's force exits through the region of the sexual organs.  (could this explain how the yogis who live solely on prana can do it?)
"Women also receive heaven's force, but this is superseded in the lower region of the body by earth's expanding force.  Earth's upward moving force creates the female uterus.  Earth's force continues upward to the Hara region, where it collides with heaven's descending force, creating spirals known as the ovaries.  Both forces collide again at the heart region creating the breast spirals.  Earth's force is stronger in women, so their voices tend to have a higher pitch.
"The meridians radiate outward from the main heaven-earth channel and channel electromagnetic current to and from each of the body's organs."
(And to think this all going on while we get caught up in our thoughts and fantasies!)




From pages 141-142 "Infinity has two dimensions - infinite space and infinite time.  Infinite space comprises the Yin aspect of infinity, since it is contantly expanding in all directions. Infinite space is the source of all images and vibrations, and these are being continually dispatched to every galaxy, planet and object in the universe. (so our slightest movement affects all..mind boggling!)

"The second aspect of infinity is the beginningless and endless stream of time.  In comparison to space, time is Yang, serving to condense or gather together all phenomena.  Since we are replicas of the infiinite universe, our capacity includes both of these aspects.  Infinite space appears in the human consciousness as the infinite capacity for love, which is an expanding or embracing phenomenon.  Infinite time manifest as our capacity for infinite memory.

"Both of these capacities can be linked in the form of a cross, with infinite love representing the vertical dimension of space, and infinite memory representing the horizontal dimension of time.   At the center of this figure is the human body, and these lines extend infinitely outward ffrom there.  As we continue to eat macrobiotically, our condition becomes increasingly refined, and we are not disturbed by toxins, cloudy vision, or by the rough vibrations of other people....we become increasingly sensitive, we start to recover our infinite memory, meaning that we start to catch vibrations from infinity.  At the same time, we begin to dispatch our image or dream, which exists in the form of vibration back out toward infinity. ("With our thoughts we create the world."~Buddha)  While we are living here in the form of a human being on this tiny planet known as the earth, we begin to know what is taking place millions of light ears away, as well as what occurred billions of years ago or what will occur billions of years from now.  This ability is known popularly as "universal consciousness." (See what I mean by 'macrobiotics' being so much more than diet!)

"Universal consciousness if often though of in terms of more sentimental expressions such as universal love, etc.  Although it includes this, it can be thought of more as the power of insight or understanding which extends beyond this solar system and galaxy, and beyond millions of galaxies and through to the dimensions of infinite space and time.  These capacities do not require any special training to develop, but evolve naturally through the practice of macrobiotics.  By eating small quanities of good food, chewing very well, and keeping busy, we develop our capacity to receive vibration from infinity and to dispatch vibration back to infinity.  This process depends on the quality and coordination of the body, which should ideally function as a finely-tuned instrument for receiving and dispatching infinite vibrations.  This very simple method is the most universal way of developing the unlimited capacities of human consciousness." (So, according to Mr. Kushi, you are what and how you eat! And on this depends your quality of spaciousness and consciousness?!?)













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