For those keen to know more about the boy wizard, a link is provided here. Also, some news: JK Rowling is already writing two more books - one for children and one not. Both of these she was writing 'before HP took over'. This is according to Yahoo News the other day.
The link is one to an article about Potter with lots of links in it, so rather than endlessly type them in, am just providing her link. It's http://caffeinatedlibrarian.blogspot.com/2007/07/some-potter-links.html
Right, on to my Telecourse.
Tuesday 31 July 2007
Monday 30 July 2007
Day 96: Keep your Heart Healthy - and your Skin!
Hawthorn is a great herb to protect the heart and Calendula is great for the skin. As heart problems and skin problems are so common, perhaps this can help us all stay healthy.
Hawthorn – Crataegus oxyacantha
Family: Rosaceae
Parts used: Ripe berry and young (white or pink) blossom.
Actions and medical uses: Cardiovascular tonic, vasodilator, diuretic, astringent, hypotensive sedative.
Systems affected: Cardiovascular, digestive.
Specific indications: The best tonic for the heart and circulatory system. Hawthorn nourishes the heart, assisting it to return to normal activity by either gently stimulating or depressing its activity as needed. Can be used for palpitations of the heart. Used over a period of time, it treats cardiac weakness and/or failure, hypertension, arteriosclerosis and insomnia. Improves digestion.
Combinations: combines well with Yarrow, Lavender and Motherwort for treating high blood pressure; with Motherwort to specifically treat tachycardia (unduly rapid or arrhythmic heartbeat). Combines well with Ginkgo and Horsechestnut as a vascular tonic.
Preparations: Infusion*: 1 cup 3 times a day. Tincture*: 20 to 50 drops 3 times a day. Combined with other appropriate herbs useful as a syrup for treating sore throat.
Other uses: Makes excellent jams and syrups. Ornamental tree.
Calendula (Marigold) – Calendula officinalis
Family: Compositae
Parts used: Whole flower.
Actions and medical uses: Anti-inflammatory, astringent, vulnerary, sytptic, antiseptic, anti-fungal, cholagogue, emmenagogue.
Systems affected: Skin, digestive, reproductive.
Specific indications: An excellent first-aid remedy. Used safely and effectively for all skin inflammations, be they due to injury or infection. Unlike Arnica, Calendula can be put directly onto an open wound. It is recommended to use this soothing flower on burns, external bleeding, bruises, slow healing wounds or skin ulcers. These same actions of Calendula are equally safe and effective for use on the internal skins of the digestive system. Use it for indigestion, digestive inflammation and peptic or duodenal ulcers, where it gives soothing anti-inflammatory action along with healing vulnerary and astringent actions. As a chologogue, it gives relief in gall-bladder problems, aiding digestion. Calendula is reputed to be a normalizer of the female menstrual process. It helps balance the energy of male organs as well.
Combinations: Excellent anti-inflammatory and vulnerary combined with Arnica and St. Johnswort as a compound oil infusion or compound tincture, or with Garlic oil and Mullein flower oil for use as an ear oil. Combines well with Chamomile and Marshmallow for nervous stomach and digestive problems. Combines well with Witch Hazel as a lotion for hemorrhoids and varicose veins, also with Goldenseal and Myrrh as an antiseptic application.
Preparations: Infusion: 1 cup 3 times a day. Tincture: 25-50 drops 3 times a day. Prepare as an oil infusion, lotion or tincture for skin conditions.
Other uses: A gorgeous uplifting yellow-orange dried flower for visual aesthetics in a potpourri.
*How to Prepare
Infusions (tea)
Put one heaping teaspoonful (a teabagful) of cut, powdered or crushed herb leaves and/or flowers (the tender more delicate plant parts) into a preheated cup, pan or teapot (approximately two teaspoonsful if using a fresh undried herb); add boiling water, stir, cover, and let steep for 10 minutes; strain and drink. You have made a natural medicine called an herbal infusion, or call it herb tea. You need to use this infusion within 24 hours. It deteriorates rapidly. Standard dosage is 1 cupful 2 to 3 times a day.
Some mucilaginous herbs such as Marshmallow and Slippery Elm are best prepared as cold infusions. This process extracts the most mucilage from these herbs, and these constituents don’t coagulate in the cold water solvent (menstruum). To make a cold infusion, simply place the cut or powdered herb into a container of cold, distilled water, stir it well, let it steep 5 to 12 hours until the water is slimy, and strain. Adding a little maple syrup gives flavor.
*Tincture
Perhaps it’s easier to buy a ready-made tincture than prepare one. Let me know if you want the instructions to make it, however. NB: If you ever wish to eliminate most of the alcohol from each dose of a tincture, drop the dose to be taken into ¼ to ½ cup of boiling water and simmer 2 minutes, cool and drink. This will not impair the quality of the tincture.
The above is adapted from The Male Herbal by James Green, Herbalist.
Hawthorn – Crataegus oxyacantha
Family: Rosaceae
Parts used: Ripe berry and young (white or pink) blossom.
Actions and medical uses: Cardiovascular tonic, vasodilator, diuretic, astringent, hypotensive sedative.
Systems affected: Cardiovascular, digestive.
Specific indications: The best tonic for the heart and circulatory system. Hawthorn nourishes the heart, assisting it to return to normal activity by either gently stimulating or depressing its activity as needed. Can be used for palpitations of the heart. Used over a period of time, it treats cardiac weakness and/or failure, hypertension, arteriosclerosis and insomnia. Improves digestion.
Combinations: combines well with Yarrow, Lavender and Motherwort for treating high blood pressure; with Motherwort to specifically treat tachycardia (unduly rapid or arrhythmic heartbeat). Combines well with Ginkgo and Horsechestnut as a vascular tonic.
Preparations: Infusion*: 1 cup 3 times a day. Tincture*: 20 to 50 drops 3 times a day. Combined with other appropriate herbs useful as a syrup for treating sore throat.
Other uses: Makes excellent jams and syrups. Ornamental tree.
Calendula (Marigold) – Calendula officinalis
Family: Compositae
Parts used: Whole flower.
Actions and medical uses: Anti-inflammatory, astringent, vulnerary, sytptic, antiseptic, anti-fungal, cholagogue, emmenagogue.
Systems affected: Skin, digestive, reproductive.
Specific indications: An excellent first-aid remedy. Used safely and effectively for all skin inflammations, be they due to injury or infection. Unlike Arnica, Calendula can be put directly onto an open wound. It is recommended to use this soothing flower on burns, external bleeding, bruises, slow healing wounds or skin ulcers. These same actions of Calendula are equally safe and effective for use on the internal skins of the digestive system. Use it for indigestion, digestive inflammation and peptic or duodenal ulcers, where it gives soothing anti-inflammatory action along with healing vulnerary and astringent actions. As a chologogue, it gives relief in gall-bladder problems, aiding digestion. Calendula is reputed to be a normalizer of the female menstrual process. It helps balance the energy of male organs as well.
Combinations: Excellent anti-inflammatory and vulnerary combined with Arnica and St. Johnswort as a compound oil infusion or compound tincture, or with Garlic oil and Mullein flower oil for use as an ear oil. Combines well with Chamomile and Marshmallow for nervous stomach and digestive problems. Combines well with Witch Hazel as a lotion for hemorrhoids and varicose veins, also with Goldenseal and Myrrh as an antiseptic application.
Preparations: Infusion: 1 cup 3 times a day. Tincture: 25-50 drops 3 times a day. Prepare as an oil infusion, lotion or tincture for skin conditions.
Other uses: A gorgeous uplifting yellow-orange dried flower for visual aesthetics in a potpourri.
*How to Prepare
Infusions (tea)
Put one heaping teaspoonful (a teabagful) of cut, powdered or crushed herb leaves and/or flowers (the tender more delicate plant parts) into a preheated cup, pan or teapot (approximately two teaspoonsful if using a fresh undried herb); add boiling water, stir, cover, and let steep for 10 minutes; strain and drink. You have made a natural medicine called an herbal infusion, or call it herb tea. You need to use this infusion within 24 hours. It deteriorates rapidly. Standard dosage is 1 cupful 2 to 3 times a day.
Some mucilaginous herbs such as Marshmallow and Slippery Elm are best prepared as cold infusions. This process extracts the most mucilage from these herbs, and these constituents don’t coagulate in the cold water solvent (menstruum). To make a cold infusion, simply place the cut or powdered herb into a container of cold, distilled water, stir it well, let it steep 5 to 12 hours until the water is slimy, and strain. Adding a little maple syrup gives flavor.
*Tincture
Perhaps it’s easier to buy a ready-made tincture than prepare one. Let me know if you want the instructions to make it, however. NB: If you ever wish to eliminate most of the alcohol from each dose of a tincture, drop the dose to be taken into ¼ to ½ cup of boiling water and simmer 2 minutes, cool and drink. This will not impair the quality of the tincture.
The above is adapted from The Male Herbal by James Green, Herbalist.
Saturday 28 July 2007
Day 94: The Gospel According To Spiritism
The following extracts continue the theme running through many of the posts on this blog, namely that of the power of positive thinking, prayer and visualization to help get what you want in life.
The Gospel According To Spiritism by Allan Kardec details and explains a universal moral code of conduct, based upon the Teachings of Jesus. It is a book to be read by adepts from all religions and by those who profess no specific religion.
The Gospel According To Spiritism by Allan Kardec details and explains a universal moral code of conduct, based upon the Teachings of Jesus. It is a book to be read by adepts from all religions and by those who profess no specific religion.
Friday 27 July 2007
Day 93: continued further (part 3)
The last of the series today, all stuff I find very interesting. Why am I posting it? Because my purpose in writing this blog is not only to inform people about my book but also to share information to add massive value to people's lives. We are not just physical, and whilst most blogs focus on how to be richer, this one seeks to enrich you on all levels - physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually...
Thursday 26 July 2007
Day 90, 91 & 92: Too Busy to Blog!
You know you're busy when you can't even find the time to blog! Neither over the past two days nor today did I/do I really have time to blog, but must leave this until tomorrow. Work on my book is progressing but there never seem enough hours in the day. Still, it was good to spend time with my mum and be in the country for a while, even with the rain!
Monday 23 July 2007
Day 87, 88 & 89: Harry Potter
On Friday night, I decided to join the queue outside a bookshop for the final Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
I spoke to a woman next to me in the queue, who had read the first six several times and we were both approached by two girls with witches' hats on, who offered us cupcakes and jellybeans and gave us a Harry Potter-themed quiz.
A group of three women from Switzerland joined the back of the queue next to us and we all joined forces to fill in the quiz. One of the Swiss women was a twenty-year-old writer, so we exchanged email addresses.
It became exciting when the queue went so far down Oxford Street that I couldn't see the end of it and we became immune to the lads coming up to us and saying, "Harry Potter dies," or, "Ron dies."
Finally, midnight arrived and we were ushered inside slowly. After three hours waiting it was an immense relief, despite the good company. I said goodbye to my friends - the English one, recently married, half-way through her third book of the day and the Swiss girls heading back to Lausanne the following day after their holiday.
I had thought I would read it straight away, but - on impulse - decided to go to a Latino haunt where the dancing was fun and a contrast to the hours of sitting. After an hour there, I went and read the whole book, although I had a break when a friend rang me and we went around town for a few hours.
Now I'm in Sussex and had a lovely walk with my mother yesterday. Afterwards we met up with the man who was with my mum for five years, called 'Dave' in my book, and he and mum played duets by Mozart on the flute whilst I listened before we went to the pub, where I had a roast (for brunch) and they had drinks. 'David' and I talked about writing and the journey to get published. Today, 'Dave' is teaching my mum how to use the internet and I am posting this in the local library.
I spoke to a woman next to me in the queue, who had read the first six several times and we were both approached by two girls with witches' hats on, who offered us cupcakes and jellybeans and gave us a Harry Potter-themed quiz.
A group of three women from Switzerland joined the back of the queue next to us and we all joined forces to fill in the quiz. One of the Swiss women was a twenty-year-old writer, so we exchanged email addresses.
It became exciting when the queue went so far down Oxford Street that I couldn't see the end of it and we became immune to the lads coming up to us and saying, "Harry Potter dies," or, "Ron dies."
Finally, midnight arrived and we were ushered inside slowly. After three hours waiting it was an immense relief, despite the good company. I said goodbye to my friends - the English one, recently married, half-way through her third book of the day and the Swiss girls heading back to Lausanne the following day after their holiday.
I had thought I would read it straight away, but - on impulse - decided to go to a Latino haunt where the dancing was fun and a contrast to the hours of sitting. After an hour there, I went and read the whole book, although I had a break when a friend rang me and we went around town for a few hours.
Now I'm in Sussex and had a lovely walk with my mother yesterday. Afterwards we met up with the man who was with my mum for five years, called 'Dave' in my book, and he and mum played duets by Mozart on the flute whilst I listened before we went to the pub, where I had a roast (for brunch) and they had drinks. 'David' and I talked about writing and the journey to get published. Today, 'Dave' is teaching my mum how to use the internet and I am posting this in the local library.
Friday 20 July 2007
Day 86: Prayer
Prayer
658. Is prayer acceptable to God?
“Prayer is always acceptable to God when dictated by the heart, for the intention is everything in His sight; and the prayer of the heart is preferable to one read from a book, however beautiful it may be, if read with the lips rather than with the thought. Prayer is acceptable to God when it is offered with faith, fervour, and sincerity; but do not imagine that He will listen to that of the vain, proud, selfish man, unless it be offered as an act of sincere repentance and humility.”
659. What is the general character of prayer?
“Prayer is an act of adoration. To pray to God is to think of Him, to draw nearer to Him, to put one’s self in communication with Him. He who prays may propose to himself three things: to praise, to ask, and to thank.”
660. Does prayer make men better?
“Yes; for he who prays with fervour and confidence has more strength for withstanding the temptations of evil, and for obtaining from God the help of good spirits to assist him in so doing. Such help is never refused when asked for with sincerity.”
- How is it that persons who pray a great deal are sometimes very unamiable, jealous, envious, and harsh, wanting in benevolence and forbearance, and even extremely vicious?
“What is needed is not to pray a great deal, but to pray aright. Such persons suppose that all the virtue of prayer is in its length, and shut their eyes to their own defects. Prayer, for them, is an occupation, a means of passing their time, but not a study of themselves. In such cases, it is not the remedy that is inefficacious, but the mode in which it is employed.”
661. Is there any use in asking God to forgive us our faults?
“God discerns the good and the evil: prayer does not hide faults from his eyes. He who asks of God the forgiveness of his faults, obtains that forgiveness only through a change of conduct. Good deeds are the best prayers, for deeds are of more worth than words.”
662. Is there any use in praying for others?
The spirit of him who prays exercises an influence through his desire to do good. By prayer, he attracts to himself good spirits who take part with him in the good he desires to do.”
663. Can we, by praying for ourselves, avert our trials, or change their nature?
“Your trials are in the hands of God, and there are some of them that must be undergone to the very end; but God always takes account of the resignation with which they are borne. Prayer calls to your help good spirits who give you strength to bear them with courage, so that they seem to you less severe. Prayer is never useless when it is sincere, because it gives you strength, which is, of itself, an important result. ‘Heaven helps him who helps himself,’ is a true saying. God could change the order of nature at the various contradictory demands of His creatures; for what appears to be a great misfortune to you, from your narrow point of view, and in relation to your ephemeral life on the earth, is often a great blessing in relation to the general order of the universe; and besides, of how many of the troubles of his life is man himself the author, through his shortsightedness or through his wrong doing! He is punished in that wherein he has sinned. Nevertheless, your reasonable requests are granted more often than you suppose. You think your prayer has not been heeded, because God has not worked a miracle on your behalf; while, in fact, He has really assisted you, but by means so natural that they seem to you to have been the effect of chance or of the ordinary course of things. And, more often still, He suggests to your minds the thought of what you must do in order to help yourselves out of your difficulties.”
664. Is it useful to pray for the dead, and for suffering spirits, and, if so, in what way can our prayers soften or shorten their sufferings? Have they the power to turn aside the justice of God?
“Prayer can have no effect upon the designs of God; but the spirit for whom you pray is consoled by your prayer, because you give him a proof of your interest, and because he who is unhappy is always comforted by the kindness which compassionates his suffering. On the other hand, by your prayer, you excite him to repentance, and to the desire of doing all that lies in him to become happy; and it is this way that you may shorten the term of his suffering, provided that he, on his side, seconds your action by that of his own will. This desire for amelioration, excited by your prayer in the mind of the suffering spirit, attracts to him spirits of higher degree, who come to enlighten him, console him, and give him hope. Jesus prayed for the sheep that have gone astray; thereby showing you that you cannot, without guilt, neglect to do the same for those who have the greatest need of your prayers.”
665. What is to be thought of the opinion that rejects the idea of praying for the dead because it is not prescribed in the gospel?
“Christ has said, to all mankind, ‘Love one another.’ This injunction implies, for all men, the duty of employing every possible means of testifying their affection for each other; but without entering into any details in regard to the manner of attaining that end. If it be true that nothing can turn aside the Creator from applying, to every action of every spirit, the absolute justice of which He is the type, it is none the less true that the prayer you address to Him, on behalf of a suffering spirit for whom you feel affection or compassion, is accepted by Him as a testimony of remembrance that never fails to bring relief and consolation to the sufferer. As soon as the latter manifests the slightest sign of repentance, but only then, help is sent to him; but he is never allowed to remain in ignorance of the fact that a sympathising heart has exerted itself on his behalf, and is always left under the consoling impression that his friendly intercession has been of use to him. Thus your intervention necessarily induces a feeling of gratitude and affection, on his part, to the friend who has given him his proof of kindness and of pity; and the mutual affection enjoined upon all men by Christ will thereby have been developed or awakened between you and him. Both of you will thus have obeyed the law of love and union imposed on all the beings of the universe; that Divine law which will usher in the reign of unity that is the aim and end of a spirit’s education.”**
666. May we pray to spirits?
“You may pray to good spirits as being the messengers of God, and the executants of His will; but their power, which is always proportioned to their elevation, depends entirely on the Master of all things, without whose permission nothing takes place. For this reason, prayers addressed to them are only efficacious if accepted by God.”
**This reply was given by the spirit of M. Monod, the well-known and highly-esteemed Protestant pastor of Paris, deceased in 1856. The preceding reply (no. 664) was given by the spirit of St Louis.
The above extracts are, again, from The Spirits’ Book by Allan Kardec.
Right, tonight I am going to join the hordes of eager book-buyers in central London to buy Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Then, most likely, I shall tomorrow go to Sussex and stay until Wednesday. Therefore, I may be away from my blog until then, although I shall try and post something if possible.
658. Is prayer acceptable to God?
“Prayer is always acceptable to God when dictated by the heart, for the intention is everything in His sight; and the prayer of the heart is preferable to one read from a book, however beautiful it may be, if read with the lips rather than with the thought. Prayer is acceptable to God when it is offered with faith, fervour, and sincerity; but do not imagine that He will listen to that of the vain, proud, selfish man, unless it be offered as an act of sincere repentance and humility.”
659. What is the general character of prayer?
“Prayer is an act of adoration. To pray to God is to think of Him, to draw nearer to Him, to put one’s self in communication with Him. He who prays may propose to himself three things: to praise, to ask, and to thank.”
660. Does prayer make men better?
“Yes; for he who prays with fervour and confidence has more strength for withstanding the temptations of evil, and for obtaining from God the help of good spirits to assist him in so doing. Such help is never refused when asked for with sincerity.”
- How is it that persons who pray a great deal are sometimes very unamiable, jealous, envious, and harsh, wanting in benevolence and forbearance, and even extremely vicious?
“What is needed is not to pray a great deal, but to pray aright. Such persons suppose that all the virtue of prayer is in its length, and shut their eyes to their own defects. Prayer, for them, is an occupation, a means of passing their time, but not a study of themselves. In such cases, it is not the remedy that is inefficacious, but the mode in which it is employed.”
661. Is there any use in asking God to forgive us our faults?
“God discerns the good and the evil: prayer does not hide faults from his eyes. He who asks of God the forgiveness of his faults, obtains that forgiveness only through a change of conduct. Good deeds are the best prayers, for deeds are of more worth than words.”
662. Is there any use in praying for others?
The spirit of him who prays exercises an influence through his desire to do good. By prayer, he attracts to himself good spirits who take part with him in the good he desires to do.”
663. Can we, by praying for ourselves, avert our trials, or change their nature?
“Your trials are in the hands of God, and there are some of them that must be undergone to the very end; but God always takes account of the resignation with which they are borne. Prayer calls to your help good spirits who give you strength to bear them with courage, so that they seem to you less severe. Prayer is never useless when it is sincere, because it gives you strength, which is, of itself, an important result. ‘Heaven helps him who helps himself,’ is a true saying. God could change the order of nature at the various contradictory demands of His creatures; for what appears to be a great misfortune to you, from your narrow point of view, and in relation to your ephemeral life on the earth, is often a great blessing in relation to the general order of the universe; and besides, of how many of the troubles of his life is man himself the author, through his shortsightedness or through his wrong doing! He is punished in that wherein he has sinned. Nevertheless, your reasonable requests are granted more often than you suppose. You think your prayer has not been heeded, because God has not worked a miracle on your behalf; while, in fact, He has really assisted you, but by means so natural that they seem to you to have been the effect of chance or of the ordinary course of things. And, more often still, He suggests to your minds the thought of what you must do in order to help yourselves out of your difficulties.”
664. Is it useful to pray for the dead, and for suffering spirits, and, if so, in what way can our prayers soften or shorten their sufferings? Have they the power to turn aside the justice of God?
“Prayer can have no effect upon the designs of God; but the spirit for whom you pray is consoled by your prayer, because you give him a proof of your interest, and because he who is unhappy is always comforted by the kindness which compassionates his suffering. On the other hand, by your prayer, you excite him to repentance, and to the desire of doing all that lies in him to become happy; and it is this way that you may shorten the term of his suffering, provided that he, on his side, seconds your action by that of his own will. This desire for amelioration, excited by your prayer in the mind of the suffering spirit, attracts to him spirits of higher degree, who come to enlighten him, console him, and give him hope. Jesus prayed for the sheep that have gone astray; thereby showing you that you cannot, without guilt, neglect to do the same for those who have the greatest need of your prayers.”
665. What is to be thought of the opinion that rejects the idea of praying for the dead because it is not prescribed in the gospel?
“Christ has said, to all mankind, ‘Love one another.’ This injunction implies, for all men, the duty of employing every possible means of testifying their affection for each other; but without entering into any details in regard to the manner of attaining that end. If it be true that nothing can turn aside the Creator from applying, to every action of every spirit, the absolute justice of which He is the type, it is none the less true that the prayer you address to Him, on behalf of a suffering spirit for whom you feel affection or compassion, is accepted by Him as a testimony of remembrance that never fails to bring relief and consolation to the sufferer. As soon as the latter manifests the slightest sign of repentance, but only then, help is sent to him; but he is never allowed to remain in ignorance of the fact that a sympathising heart has exerted itself on his behalf, and is always left under the consoling impression that his friendly intercession has been of use to him. Thus your intervention necessarily induces a feeling of gratitude and affection, on his part, to the friend who has given him his proof of kindness and of pity; and the mutual affection enjoined upon all men by Christ will thereby have been developed or awakened between you and him. Both of you will thus have obeyed the law of love and union imposed on all the beings of the universe; that Divine law which will usher in the reign of unity that is the aim and end of a spirit’s education.”**
666. May we pray to spirits?
“You may pray to good spirits as being the messengers of God, and the executants of His will; but their power, which is always proportioned to their elevation, depends entirely on the Master of all things, without whose permission nothing takes place. For this reason, prayers addressed to them are only efficacious if accepted by God.”
**This reply was given by the spirit of M. Monod, the well-known and highly-esteemed Protestant pastor of Paris, deceased in 1856. The preceding reply (no. 664) was given by the spirit of St Louis.
The above extracts are, again, from The Spirits’ Book by Allan Kardec.
Right, tonight I am going to join the hordes of eager book-buyers in central London to buy Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Then, most likely, I shall tomorrow go to Sussex and stay until Wednesday. Therefore, I may be away from my blog until then, although I shall try and post something if possible.
Thursday 19 July 2007
Day 85: Union of Soul and Body
More from The Spirits' Book by Allan Kardec. Fascinating...
Union of Soul and Body
344. At what moment is the soul united to the body?
“The union begins at the moment of conception, but is only complete at the moment of birth. From the moment of conception, the spirit designated to inhabit a given body is united to that body by a fluidic link, which becomes closer and closer up to the instant of birth; the cry then uttered by the infant announces that he is numbered among the living.”
345. Is the union between the spirit and the body definitive from the moment of conception? Could the spirit, during this first period of that union, renounce inhabiting the body designed for him?
“The union between them is definitive in this sense – namely, that no other spirit could replace the one who has been designated for that body. But, as the links which hold them together are at first very weak, they are easily broken, and may be severed by the will of a spirit who draws back from the trial he had chosen. But, in that case, the child does not live.”
346. What becomes of a spirit, if the body he has chosen happens to die before birth?
“He chooses another body.”
- What can be the use of premature deaths?
“Such deaths are most frequently caused by the imperfections of matter.”
347. What benefit can a spirit derive from his incarnation in a body which dies a few days after birth?
“In such a case, the new being’s consciousness of his existence is so slightly developed that his death is of little importance. As we have told you, such deaths are often intended mainly as a trial for the parents.”
348. Does the spirit know beforehand that the body he chooses has no chance of living?
“He sometimes knows it; but if he chooses it on this account, it is because he shrinks from the trial he foresees.”
349. When, from any cause, a spirit has failed to accomplish a proposed incarnation, is another existence provided for him immediately?
“Not always immediately. The spirit requires time to make a new choice, unless his instantaneous reincarnation had been previously decided upon.”
350. When a spirit is definitely united to an infant body, and it is thus too late for him to refuse this union, does he sometimes regret the choice he has made?
“If you mean to ask whether, as a man, he may complain of the life he has to undergo, and whether he may not wish it were otherwise, I answer, Yes; but if you mean to ask whether he regrets the choice he has made, I answer, No, for he does not remember that he has made it. A spirit, when once incarnated, cannot regret a choice which he is not conscious of having made; but he may find the burden he has assumed too heavy, and, if he believes it to be beyond his strength, he may have recourse to suicide.”
351. Does a spirit, in the interval between conception and birth, enjoy the use of all his faculties?
“He does so more or less according to the various periods of gestation; for he is not yet incarnated in his new body, but only attached to it. From the instant of conception confusion begins to take possession of the spirit, who is thus made aware that the moment has come for him to enter upon a new existence; and this confusion becomes more and more dense until the period of birth. In the interval between these two terms, his state is nearly that of an incarnated spirit during the sleep of the body. In proportions as the moment of birth approaches, his ideas become effaced, together with his remembrance of the past, of which, when once he has entered on corporeal life, he is no longer conscious. But this remembrance comes back to him little by little when he has returned to the spirit-world.”
352. Does the spirit, at the moment of birth, recover the plenitude of his faculties?
“No; they are gradually developed with the growth of his organs. The corporeal life is for him a new existence; he has to learn the use of his bodily instruments. His ideas come back to him little by little, as in the case of a man who, waking out of slumber, should find himself in a different situation from that in which he was before he fell asleep.”
353. The union of the spirit and the body not being completely and definitively consummated until birth has taken place, can the foetus be considered as having a soul?
“The spirit who is to animate it exists, as it were, outside of it; strictly speaking, therefore, it has no soul, since the incarnation of the latter is only in course of being effected; but it is linked to the soul which it is to have.”
354. What is the nature of intra-uterine life?
“That of the plant which vegetates. The foetus, however, lives with vegetable and animal life, to which the union of a soul with the child-body at birth adds spiritual life.”
355. Are there, as is indicated by science, children so constituted that they cannot live, and if so, for what purpose are they produced?
“That often happens. Such births are permitted as a trial, either for the parents or for the spirit appointed to animate it.”
356. Are there, among still-born children, some who were never intended for the incarnation of a spirit?
“Yes, there are some who never had a spirit assigned to them, for whom nothing was to be done. In such a case, it is simply as a trial for the parents that the child arrives.”
- Can a being of this nature come to its term?
“Yes, sometimes; but it does not live.”
- Every child that survives its birth has, then, necessarily a spirit incarnated in it?
What would it be if such were not the case? It would not be a human being.”
357. What are, for a spirit, the consequences of abortion?
“It is an existence that is null, and must be commenced over again.”
358. Is artificial abortion a crime, no matter at what period of gestation it may be produced?
“Every transgression of the law of God is a crime. The mother, or any other, who take the life of an unborn child, is necessarily criminal; for, by so doing, a soul is prevented from undergoing the trial of which the body thus destroyed was to have been the instrument.”
359. In cases in which the life of the mother would be endangered by the birth of the child, is it a crime to sacrifice the child in order to save the mother?
“It is better to sacrifice the being whose existence is not yet complete than the being whose existence is complete.”
360. Is it rational to treat the foetus with the same respect as the body of a child that has lived?
“In the one, as in the other, you should recognise the will and handiwork of God, and these are always to be respected.”
Union of Soul and Body
344. At what moment is the soul united to the body?
“The union begins at the moment of conception, but is only complete at the moment of birth. From the moment of conception, the spirit designated to inhabit a given body is united to that body by a fluidic link, which becomes closer and closer up to the instant of birth; the cry then uttered by the infant announces that he is numbered among the living.”
345. Is the union between the spirit and the body definitive from the moment of conception? Could the spirit, during this first period of that union, renounce inhabiting the body designed for him?
“The union between them is definitive in this sense – namely, that no other spirit could replace the one who has been designated for that body. But, as the links which hold them together are at first very weak, they are easily broken, and may be severed by the will of a spirit who draws back from the trial he had chosen. But, in that case, the child does not live.”
346. What becomes of a spirit, if the body he has chosen happens to die before birth?
“He chooses another body.”
- What can be the use of premature deaths?
“Such deaths are most frequently caused by the imperfections of matter.”
347. What benefit can a spirit derive from his incarnation in a body which dies a few days after birth?
“In such a case, the new being’s consciousness of his existence is so slightly developed that his death is of little importance. As we have told you, such deaths are often intended mainly as a trial for the parents.”
348. Does the spirit know beforehand that the body he chooses has no chance of living?
“He sometimes knows it; but if he chooses it on this account, it is because he shrinks from the trial he foresees.”
349. When, from any cause, a spirit has failed to accomplish a proposed incarnation, is another existence provided for him immediately?
“Not always immediately. The spirit requires time to make a new choice, unless his instantaneous reincarnation had been previously decided upon.”
350. When a spirit is definitely united to an infant body, and it is thus too late for him to refuse this union, does he sometimes regret the choice he has made?
“If you mean to ask whether, as a man, he may complain of the life he has to undergo, and whether he may not wish it were otherwise, I answer, Yes; but if you mean to ask whether he regrets the choice he has made, I answer, No, for he does not remember that he has made it. A spirit, when once incarnated, cannot regret a choice which he is not conscious of having made; but he may find the burden he has assumed too heavy, and, if he believes it to be beyond his strength, he may have recourse to suicide.”
351. Does a spirit, in the interval between conception and birth, enjoy the use of all his faculties?
“He does so more or less according to the various periods of gestation; for he is not yet incarnated in his new body, but only attached to it. From the instant of conception confusion begins to take possession of the spirit, who is thus made aware that the moment has come for him to enter upon a new existence; and this confusion becomes more and more dense until the period of birth. In the interval between these two terms, his state is nearly that of an incarnated spirit during the sleep of the body. In proportions as the moment of birth approaches, his ideas become effaced, together with his remembrance of the past, of which, when once he has entered on corporeal life, he is no longer conscious. But this remembrance comes back to him little by little when he has returned to the spirit-world.”
352. Does the spirit, at the moment of birth, recover the plenitude of his faculties?
“No; they are gradually developed with the growth of his organs. The corporeal life is for him a new existence; he has to learn the use of his bodily instruments. His ideas come back to him little by little, as in the case of a man who, waking out of slumber, should find himself in a different situation from that in which he was before he fell asleep.”
353. The union of the spirit and the body not being completely and definitively consummated until birth has taken place, can the foetus be considered as having a soul?
“The spirit who is to animate it exists, as it were, outside of it; strictly speaking, therefore, it has no soul, since the incarnation of the latter is only in course of being effected; but it is linked to the soul which it is to have.”
354. What is the nature of intra-uterine life?
“That of the plant which vegetates. The foetus, however, lives with vegetable and animal life, to which the union of a soul with the child-body at birth adds spiritual life.”
355. Are there, as is indicated by science, children so constituted that they cannot live, and if so, for what purpose are they produced?
“That often happens. Such births are permitted as a trial, either for the parents or for the spirit appointed to animate it.”
356. Are there, among still-born children, some who were never intended for the incarnation of a spirit?
“Yes, there are some who never had a spirit assigned to them, for whom nothing was to be done. In such a case, it is simply as a trial for the parents that the child arrives.”
- Can a being of this nature come to its term?
“Yes, sometimes; but it does not live.”
- Every child that survives its birth has, then, necessarily a spirit incarnated in it?
What would it be if such were not the case? It would not be a human being.”
357. What are, for a spirit, the consequences of abortion?
“It is an existence that is null, and must be commenced over again.”
358. Is artificial abortion a crime, no matter at what period of gestation it may be produced?
“Every transgression of the law of God is a crime. The mother, or any other, who take the life of an unborn child, is necessarily criminal; for, by so doing, a soul is prevented from undergoing the trial of which the body thus destroyed was to have been the instrument.”
359. In cases in which the life of the mother would be endangered by the birth of the child, is it a crime to sacrifice the child in order to save the mother?
“It is better to sacrifice the being whose existence is not yet complete than the being whose existence is complete.”
360. Is it rational to treat the foetus with the same respect as the body of a child that has lived?
“In the one, as in the other, you should recognise the will and handiwork of God, and these are always to be respected.”
Wednesday 18 July 2007
Day 84: Animals and Men
Animals and Men more extracts from The Spirits' Book by Allan Kardec
592. If we compare man with the animals in reference to intelligence, it seems difficult to draw a line of demarcation between them; for some animals are, in this respect, notoriously superior to some men. Is it possible to establish such a line of demarcation with any precision?
“Your philosophers are far from being agreed upon this point. Some of them will have it that man is an animal; others are equally sure that the animal is a man. They are all wrong. Man is a being apart, who sometimes sinks himself very low, or who may raise himself very high. As regards his physical nature, man is like the animals, and less well provided for than many of them; for nature has given to them all that man is obliged to invent with the aid of his intelligence for his needs and his preservation. His body is subject to destruction, like that of the animals; but his spirit has a destiny that he alone can understand, because he alone is completely free. Poor human beings who debase yourselves below the brutes! Do you not know how to distinguish yourselves from them? Recognise the superiority of man by his possessing the notion of the existence of God.”
593. Can the animals be said to act only from instinct?
“That, again, is a mere theory. It is very true that instinct predominates in the greater number of animals; but do you not see some of them act with a determinate will? This is intelligence; but of narrow range.”
…
594. Have animals a language?
“If you mean a language formed of words and syllables, no; but if you mean a method of communication among themselves, yes. They say much more to one another than you suppose; but their language is limited, like their ideas, to their bodily wants.”
- There are animals who have no voice; have they no language?
“They understand one another by other means. Have men no other method of communicating with one another than by speech? And the dumb, what do you say of them? The animals, being endowed with the life of relation, have means of giving one another information, and of expressing the sensations they feel. Do you suppose that fishes have no understanding among themselves? Man has not the exclusive privilege of language; but that of the animals is instinctive and limited to the scope of their wants and ideas, while that of man is perfectible, and lends itself to all the conceptions of his intelligence.”
595. Have animals free-will in regard to their actions?
“They are not the mere machines you suppose them to be; but their freedom of action is limited to their wants, and cannot be compared to that of man. Being far inferior to him, they have not the same duties. Their freedom is restricted to the acts of their material life.”
596. Whence comes the aptitude of certain animals to imitate human speech, and why is this aptitude found among birds, rather, for instance, than among apes, whose conformation has so much more analogy to that of man?
“That aptitude results from a particular conformation of the vocal organs, seconded by the instinct of imitation. The ape imitates man’s gestures; birds imitate his voice.”
597. Since the animals have an intelligence which gives them a certain degree of freedom of action, is there, in them, a principle independent of matter?
“Yes; and that survives their body.”
- Is this principle a soul, like that of man?
“It is a soul, if you like to call it so; that depends on the meaning you attach to this word. But it is inferior to that of man. There is, between the soul of the animals and that of man, as great a difference as there is between the soul of man and God.”
598. Does the soul of the animals preserve, after death, its individuality and its self-consciousness?
“It preserves its individuality, but not the consciousness of its me. The life of intelligence remains latent in them.”
599. Does the soul of the beasts the choice of incarnating itself in one kind of animal rather than in another?
“No; it does not possess free-will.”
600. As the soul of the animal survives its body, is it, after death, in a state of erraticity, like that of man?
“It is in a sort of erraticity, because it is not united to a body; but it is not an errant spirit. The errant spirit is a being who thinks and acts of his own free-will; but the soul of the animal has not the same faculty, for it is his self-consciousness which is the principal attribute of the spirit. The soul of the animal is classed after its death, by the spirits charged with that work, and almost immediately utilised; it has not the leisure to enter into connection with other creatures.”
601. Do animals follow a law progress like men?
“Yes; and it is for this reason that, in the higher worlds in which men are further advanced, the animals are more advanced also, and possess more developed means of communication. But they are always inferior to man; and subject to him; they are, for him, intelligent servitors.”
…
602. Do animals progress, like man, through the action of their will, or through the force of things?
“Through the force of things; this is why there is, for them, no expiation.”
603. Have the animals, in the higher worlds, a knowledge of God?
“No; man is a god for them, as spirits were formerly gods for men.”
604. The animals, even the advanced ones of the higher worlds, being always inferior to man, it would seem as though God had created intellectual beings condemned to a perpetual inferiority; such an arrangement does not appear to be in accordance with the unity of design and of progress discernible in all His works.
“Everything in nature is linked together by an enchaining which your intellect cannot yet seize; and things apparently the most discrepant have points of contact at the comprehension of which man will never arrive in his actual state. He may obtain a glimmering of them through an effort of his intelligence; but it is only when that intelligence shall have acquired its full development, and shall have freed itself from the prejudices of pride and of ignorance, that he will be able to see clearly into the work of God; until then, his narrowness of thought causes him to look at everything ffrom a low and petty point of view. Know that God cannot contradict Himself, and that everything in nature is harmonised by the action of general laws that never deviate from the sublime wisdom of the Creator.”
- Intelligence, then, is a common property, and a point of contact, between the soul of the beast and that of man?
“Yes, but the animals have only the intelligence of material life; in man, intelligence gives moral life.”
605. If we consider all the points of contact that exist between man and the animals, does it not seem as though man possessed two souls – viz., an animal soul and a spiritual soul, and that, if he had not the latter, he might still live, but as a brute; in other words, that the animal is a being similar to man, minus the spiritual soul? From which it would follow that the good and bad instincts of man result from the predominance of one or the other of these two souls.
“No, man has not two souls; but the body has its instincts resulting from the sensation of its organs. There is in him only a double nature – the animal nature and the spiritual nature. By his body he participates in the nature of the animals and their instincts; by his soul he participates in the nature of spirits.”
- Thus, besides his own imperfection, which he has to get rid of, a spirit has also to struggle against the influence of matter?
“Yes, the lower a spirit’s degree of advancement, the closer are the bonds which united him with matter. Do you not see that it must necessarily be so? No; man has not two souls: the soul is always one in a single being. The soul of the animal and that of man are distinct from one another, so that the soul of the one cannot animate the body created for the other. But if man have not an animal soul, placing him, by its passions, on a level with the animals, he has his body, which often drags him down to them; for his body is a being endowed with vitality, and that has its instincts, but unintelligent, and limited to the care of its own preservation.”
…
606. Whence do the animals derive the intelligent principle that constitutes the particular kind of soul with which they are endowed?
“From the universal intelligent element.”
- The intelligence of man and of the animals emanates, then, from one and the same principle?
“Undoubtedly; but, in man, it has received an elaboration which raises it above that which animates the brute.”
607. You have stated that the soul of man, at its origin, is in a state analogous to that of human infancy, that its intelligence is only beginning to unfold itself, and that it is essaying to live (190); where does the soul accomplish this earliest phase of its career?
“In a series of existences which precede the period of development that you call humanity.”
The soul would seem, then, to have been the intelligent principle of the inferior orders of creation?
“Have we not said everything in nature is linked together and tends to unity? It is in those beings, of which you are very far from knowing all, that the intelligent principle is elaborated, is gradually individualised, and made ready to live, as we have said, through its subjection to a sort of preparatory process, like that of germination, on the conclusion of which that principle undergoes a transformation and becomes spirit. It is then that the period of humanity commences for each spirit with the sense of futurity, the power of distinguishing between good and evil, and the responsibility of his actions; just as, after the period of infancy comes that of childhood, then youth, adolescence, and ripened manhood. Is the greatest genius humiliated by having been a shapeless foetus in his mother’s womb? If anything ought to humiliate him, it is his lowness in the scale of being, and his powerlessness to sound the depths of the divine designs and the wisdom of the laws that regulate the harmonies of the universe. Recognise the greatness of God in this admirable harmony that establishes solidarity between everything in nature. To think that God could have made anything without a purpose, and have created intelligent beings without a future, would be to blaspheme His goodness, which extends over all His creatures.
Does this period of humanity commence upon our earth?
“The earth is not the starting-point of the earliest phase of human incarnation; the human period commences, in general, in worlds still lower than yours. This, however, is not an absolute rule; and it may happen that a spirit, at his entrance upon the human phase, may be fitted to live upon the earth. Such a case, however, though possible, is infrequent; and would be an exception to the general rule.”
608. Has a man’s spirit, after death, any consciousness of the existences that have preceded his entrance upon the human period?
“No; for it is only with this period that his life, as a spirit, has begun for him. He can scarcely recall his earliest existences as a man; just as a man no longer remembers the earliest days of his infancy, and still less the time he passed in his mother’s womb. This is why spirits tell you that they do not know how they began.”
609. Does a spirit, when once he has entered upon the human period, retain any traces of what he has previously been, that is to say, of the state in which he was in what may be called the ante-human period?
“That depends on the distance that separates the two periods, and the amount of progress accomplished. During a few generations, there may be a reflex, more or less distinct, of the primitive state, for nothing in nature takes place through an abrupt transition, and there are always links which unite the extremities of the chain of beings or of events; but those traces disappear with the development of free-will. The first steps of progress are accomplished slowly, because they are not yet seconded by the will; they are accomplished more rapidly in proportion as the spirit acquires a more perfect consciousness of himself.”
610. The spirits who have said that man is a being apart from the rest of creation are, then, mistaken?
“No, but the question had not been developed; and besides, there are things that can only be known at their appointed time. Man is, in reality, a being apart, for he has faculties that distinguish him from all others, and he has another destiny. The human species is the one which God has chosen for the incarnation of the beings that are capable of knowing Him.”
592. If we compare man with the animals in reference to intelligence, it seems difficult to draw a line of demarcation between them; for some animals are, in this respect, notoriously superior to some men. Is it possible to establish such a line of demarcation with any precision?
“Your philosophers are far from being agreed upon this point. Some of them will have it that man is an animal; others are equally sure that the animal is a man. They are all wrong. Man is a being apart, who sometimes sinks himself very low, or who may raise himself very high. As regards his physical nature, man is like the animals, and less well provided for than many of them; for nature has given to them all that man is obliged to invent with the aid of his intelligence for his needs and his preservation. His body is subject to destruction, like that of the animals; but his spirit has a destiny that he alone can understand, because he alone is completely free. Poor human beings who debase yourselves below the brutes! Do you not know how to distinguish yourselves from them? Recognise the superiority of man by his possessing the notion of the existence of God.”
593. Can the animals be said to act only from instinct?
“That, again, is a mere theory. It is very true that instinct predominates in the greater number of animals; but do you not see some of them act with a determinate will? This is intelligence; but of narrow range.”
…
594. Have animals a language?
“If you mean a language formed of words and syllables, no; but if you mean a method of communication among themselves, yes. They say much more to one another than you suppose; but their language is limited, like their ideas, to their bodily wants.”
- There are animals who have no voice; have they no language?
“They understand one another by other means. Have men no other method of communicating with one another than by speech? And the dumb, what do you say of them? The animals, being endowed with the life of relation, have means of giving one another information, and of expressing the sensations they feel. Do you suppose that fishes have no understanding among themselves? Man has not the exclusive privilege of language; but that of the animals is instinctive and limited to the scope of their wants and ideas, while that of man is perfectible, and lends itself to all the conceptions of his intelligence.”
595. Have animals free-will in regard to their actions?
“They are not the mere machines you suppose them to be; but their freedom of action is limited to their wants, and cannot be compared to that of man. Being far inferior to him, they have not the same duties. Their freedom is restricted to the acts of their material life.”
596. Whence comes the aptitude of certain animals to imitate human speech, and why is this aptitude found among birds, rather, for instance, than among apes, whose conformation has so much more analogy to that of man?
“That aptitude results from a particular conformation of the vocal organs, seconded by the instinct of imitation. The ape imitates man’s gestures; birds imitate his voice.”
597. Since the animals have an intelligence which gives them a certain degree of freedom of action, is there, in them, a principle independent of matter?
“Yes; and that survives their body.”
- Is this principle a soul, like that of man?
“It is a soul, if you like to call it so; that depends on the meaning you attach to this word. But it is inferior to that of man. There is, between the soul of the animals and that of man, as great a difference as there is between the soul of man and God.”
598. Does the soul of the animals preserve, after death, its individuality and its self-consciousness?
“It preserves its individuality, but not the consciousness of its me. The life of intelligence remains latent in them.”
599. Does the soul of the beasts the choice of incarnating itself in one kind of animal rather than in another?
“No; it does not possess free-will.”
600. As the soul of the animal survives its body, is it, after death, in a state of erraticity, like that of man?
“It is in a sort of erraticity, because it is not united to a body; but it is not an errant spirit. The errant spirit is a being who thinks and acts of his own free-will; but the soul of the animal has not the same faculty, for it is his self-consciousness which is the principal attribute of the spirit. The soul of the animal is classed after its death, by the spirits charged with that work, and almost immediately utilised; it has not the leisure to enter into connection with other creatures.”
601. Do animals follow a law progress like men?
“Yes; and it is for this reason that, in the higher worlds in which men are further advanced, the animals are more advanced also, and possess more developed means of communication. But they are always inferior to man; and subject to him; they are, for him, intelligent servitors.”
…
602. Do animals progress, like man, through the action of their will, or through the force of things?
“Through the force of things; this is why there is, for them, no expiation.”
603. Have the animals, in the higher worlds, a knowledge of God?
“No; man is a god for them, as spirits were formerly gods for men.”
604. The animals, even the advanced ones of the higher worlds, being always inferior to man, it would seem as though God had created intellectual beings condemned to a perpetual inferiority; such an arrangement does not appear to be in accordance with the unity of design and of progress discernible in all His works.
“Everything in nature is linked together by an enchaining which your intellect cannot yet seize; and things apparently the most discrepant have points of contact at the comprehension of which man will never arrive in his actual state. He may obtain a glimmering of them through an effort of his intelligence; but it is only when that intelligence shall have acquired its full development, and shall have freed itself from the prejudices of pride and of ignorance, that he will be able to see clearly into the work of God; until then, his narrowness of thought causes him to look at everything ffrom a low and petty point of view. Know that God cannot contradict Himself, and that everything in nature is harmonised by the action of general laws that never deviate from the sublime wisdom of the Creator.”
- Intelligence, then, is a common property, and a point of contact, between the soul of the beast and that of man?
“Yes, but the animals have only the intelligence of material life; in man, intelligence gives moral life.”
605. If we consider all the points of contact that exist between man and the animals, does it not seem as though man possessed two souls – viz., an animal soul and a spiritual soul, and that, if he had not the latter, he might still live, but as a brute; in other words, that the animal is a being similar to man, minus the spiritual soul? From which it would follow that the good and bad instincts of man result from the predominance of one or the other of these two souls.
“No, man has not two souls; but the body has its instincts resulting from the sensation of its organs. There is in him only a double nature – the animal nature and the spiritual nature. By his body he participates in the nature of the animals and their instincts; by his soul he participates in the nature of spirits.”
- Thus, besides his own imperfection, which he has to get rid of, a spirit has also to struggle against the influence of matter?
“Yes, the lower a spirit’s degree of advancement, the closer are the bonds which united him with matter. Do you not see that it must necessarily be so? No; man has not two souls: the soul is always one in a single being. The soul of the animal and that of man are distinct from one another, so that the soul of the one cannot animate the body created for the other. But if man have not an animal soul, placing him, by its passions, on a level with the animals, he has his body, which often drags him down to them; for his body is a being endowed with vitality, and that has its instincts, but unintelligent, and limited to the care of its own preservation.”
…
606. Whence do the animals derive the intelligent principle that constitutes the particular kind of soul with which they are endowed?
“From the universal intelligent element.”
- The intelligence of man and of the animals emanates, then, from one and the same principle?
“Undoubtedly; but, in man, it has received an elaboration which raises it above that which animates the brute.”
607. You have stated that the soul of man, at its origin, is in a state analogous to that of human infancy, that its intelligence is only beginning to unfold itself, and that it is essaying to live (190); where does the soul accomplish this earliest phase of its career?
“In a series of existences which precede the period of development that you call humanity.”
The soul would seem, then, to have been the intelligent principle of the inferior orders of creation?
“Have we not said everything in nature is linked together and tends to unity? It is in those beings, of which you are very far from knowing all, that the intelligent principle is elaborated, is gradually individualised, and made ready to live, as we have said, through its subjection to a sort of preparatory process, like that of germination, on the conclusion of which that principle undergoes a transformation and becomes spirit. It is then that the period of humanity commences for each spirit with the sense of futurity, the power of distinguishing between good and evil, and the responsibility of his actions; just as, after the period of infancy comes that of childhood, then youth, adolescence, and ripened manhood. Is the greatest genius humiliated by having been a shapeless foetus in his mother’s womb? If anything ought to humiliate him, it is his lowness in the scale of being, and his powerlessness to sound the depths of the divine designs and the wisdom of the laws that regulate the harmonies of the universe. Recognise the greatness of God in this admirable harmony that establishes solidarity between everything in nature. To think that God could have made anything without a purpose, and have created intelligent beings without a future, would be to blaspheme His goodness, which extends over all His creatures.
Does this period of humanity commence upon our earth?
“The earth is not the starting-point of the earliest phase of human incarnation; the human period commences, in general, in worlds still lower than yours. This, however, is not an absolute rule; and it may happen that a spirit, at his entrance upon the human phase, may be fitted to live upon the earth. Such a case, however, though possible, is infrequent; and would be an exception to the general rule.”
608. Has a man’s spirit, after death, any consciousness of the existences that have preceded his entrance upon the human period?
“No; for it is only with this period that his life, as a spirit, has begun for him. He can scarcely recall his earliest existences as a man; just as a man no longer remembers the earliest days of his infancy, and still less the time he passed in his mother’s womb. This is why spirits tell you that they do not know how they began.”
609. Does a spirit, when once he has entered upon the human period, retain any traces of what he has previously been, that is to say, of the state in which he was in what may be called the ante-human period?
“That depends on the distance that separates the two periods, and the amount of progress accomplished. During a few generations, there may be a reflex, more or less distinct, of the primitive state, for nothing in nature takes place through an abrupt transition, and there are always links which unite the extremities of the chain of beings or of events; but those traces disappear with the development of free-will. The first steps of progress are accomplished slowly, because they are not yet seconded by the will; they are accomplished more rapidly in proportion as the spirit acquires a more perfect consciousness of himself.”
610. The spirits who have said that man is a being apart from the rest of creation are, then, mistaken?
“No, but the question had not been developed; and besides, there are things that can only be known at their appointed time. Man is, in reality, a being apart, for he has faculties that distinguish him from all others, and he has another destiny. The human species is the one which God has chosen for the incarnation of the beings that are capable of knowing Him.”
Tuesday 17 July 2007
Day 83: Capital Punishment
Capital Punishment
More extracts from The Spirits’ Book by Allan Kardec:
760. Will capital punishment disappear some day from human legislation?
“Capital punishment will, most assuredly, disappear in course of time; and its suppression will mark a progress on the part of the human race. When men become more enlightened, the penalty of death will be completely abolished throughout the earth; men will no longer require to be judged by men. I speak of a time a long way ahead of you.”
761. The law of preservation gives man the right to preserve his own life; does he not make use of that same right when he cuts off a dangerous member from the social body?
“There are other means of preserving yourselves from a dangerous individual than killing him; and besides, you ought to open the door of repentance for the criminal, and not close it against him.”
762. If the penalty of death may be banished from civilised society, was it not a necessity in times of less advancement?
“Necessity is not the right word. Man always thinks that a thing is necessary when he cannot manage to find anything better, In proportion as he becomes enlightened, he understands more clearly what is just or unjust, and repudiates the excesses committed, in times of ignorance, in the name of justice.”
763. Is the restriction of the number of the cases in which capital punishment is inflicted an indication of progress in civilisation?
“Can you doubt its being so? Does not your mind revolt on reading the recital of the human butcheries that were formerly perpetrated in the name of justice, and often in honour of the divinity; of the tortures inflicted on the condemned, and even on the accused, in order to wring from him, through the excess of his sufferings, the confession of a crime which, very often, he had not committed? Well, if you had lived in those times, you would have thought all this very natural; and, had you been a judge, you would probably have done the same yourself. It is thus that what seemed to be right at one period seems barbarous at another. The divine laws alone are eternal; human laws change as progress advances; and they will change again and again, until they have been brought into harmony with the laws of God.”
764. Jesus said, “He that taketh the sword shall perish by the sword.” Are not these words the consecration of the principle of retaliation? And is not the penalty of death, inflicted on a murderer, an application of this principle?
“Take care! You have mistaken the meaning of these words, as of many others. The only righteous retaliation is the justice of God; because it is applied by Him. You are all, at every moment, undergoing this retaliation, for you are punished in that wherein you have sinned, in this life or in another one. He who has caused his fellow-men to suffer will be placed in a situation in which he himself will suffer what he caused them to endure. This is the true meaning of the words of Jesus; for has He not also said to you, ‘Forgive your enemies,’ and has He not taught you to pray that God may forgive you your trespasses as you forgive those who have trespassed against you, that is to say, exactly in proportion as you have forgiven? Try to take in the full meaning of those words.”
765. What is to be thought of the infliction of the penalty of death in the name of God?
“It is a usurpation of God’s place in the administration of justice. Those who act thus show how far they are from comprehending God, and how much they still have to expiate. Capital punishment is a crime when applied in the name of God, and those who inflict it will have to answer for it as for so many murders.”
More extracts from The Spirits’ Book by Allan Kardec:
760. Will capital punishment disappear some day from human legislation?
“Capital punishment will, most assuredly, disappear in course of time; and its suppression will mark a progress on the part of the human race. When men become more enlightened, the penalty of death will be completely abolished throughout the earth; men will no longer require to be judged by men. I speak of a time a long way ahead of you.”
761. The law of preservation gives man the right to preserve his own life; does he not make use of that same right when he cuts off a dangerous member from the social body?
“There are other means of preserving yourselves from a dangerous individual than killing him; and besides, you ought to open the door of repentance for the criminal, and not close it against him.”
762. If the penalty of death may be banished from civilised society, was it not a necessity in times of less advancement?
“Necessity is not the right word. Man always thinks that a thing is necessary when he cannot manage to find anything better, In proportion as he becomes enlightened, he understands more clearly what is just or unjust, and repudiates the excesses committed, in times of ignorance, in the name of justice.”
763. Is the restriction of the number of the cases in which capital punishment is inflicted an indication of progress in civilisation?
“Can you doubt its being so? Does not your mind revolt on reading the recital of the human butcheries that were formerly perpetrated in the name of justice, and often in honour of the divinity; of the tortures inflicted on the condemned, and even on the accused, in order to wring from him, through the excess of his sufferings, the confession of a crime which, very often, he had not committed? Well, if you had lived in those times, you would have thought all this very natural; and, had you been a judge, you would probably have done the same yourself. It is thus that what seemed to be right at one period seems barbarous at another. The divine laws alone are eternal; human laws change as progress advances; and they will change again and again, until they have been brought into harmony with the laws of God.”
764. Jesus said, “He that taketh the sword shall perish by the sword.” Are not these words the consecration of the principle of retaliation? And is not the penalty of death, inflicted on a murderer, an application of this principle?
“Take care! You have mistaken the meaning of these words, as of many others. The only righteous retaliation is the justice of God; because it is applied by Him. You are all, at every moment, undergoing this retaliation, for you are punished in that wherein you have sinned, in this life or in another one. He who has caused his fellow-men to suffer will be placed in a situation in which he himself will suffer what he caused them to endure. This is the true meaning of the words of Jesus; for has He not also said to you, ‘Forgive your enemies,’ and has He not taught you to pray that God may forgive you your trespasses as you forgive those who have trespassed against you, that is to say, exactly in proportion as you have forgiven? Try to take in the full meaning of those words.”
765. What is to be thought of the infliction of the penalty of death in the name of God?
“It is a usurpation of God’s place in the administration of justice. Those who act thus show how far they are from comprehending God, and how much they still have to expiate. Capital punishment is a crime when applied in the name of God, and those who inflict it will have to answer for it as for so many murders.”
Monday 16 July 2007
Day 82: Global Warming
The following is an extract from The Weather Channel blog:
July 9, 2007
LIVE EARTH TARGETS YOU AND ME Andrew Freedman, Environmental Writer
In case you were unaware of the Live Earth concerts this past weekend, you
missed out on a prime opportunity to get your inner green on. According to its
organizers, led by Al Gore, the shows on seven continents added up to the
largest single global entertainment event in history.
As in: "ever." As in: "wow."
As in "really?" And: "so what?"
Ok, maybe the event didn't actually bring global concentrations of greenhouse
gases below pre-industrial levels (the observations haven't come in yet), and in
fact the concerts contributed to the climate crisis through emissions associated
with the shows themselves, but it was still a turning point in the fight for
climate change containment. Here's why:
Live Earth was the boldest attempt yet to galvanize the collective worldwide
conscience to focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It was not the
culmination of a movement but rather a sometimes artistically mediocre
beginning.
This is now Day Three of the global movement to solve the climate crisis that
the concerts kicked off. Proceeds from the shows - which drew an estimated
audience of about two billion people worldwide - are being funneled into Al
Gore's Alliance for Climate Protection, a group that's planning an advertising
blitz during the '08 elections in the U.S. to make sure climate change is at the
top of the political agenda.
The performances were notable for sticking to the message of thinking globally
and acting locally. Artists and celebrity MCs spoke of the benefits of billions
of people making tiny changes in their lives that would add up to a substantial
reduction in the global carbon footprint.
Key items on the agenda were encouraging people to change light bulbs in their
homes from traditional incandescents to compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) and
advocating driving less and biking more. Attendees and viewers were asked to
sign a detailed pledge to combat climate change at home, on the road and in the
workplace.
Focusing on the small scale seemed odd at first. My parent's generation went to
Woodstock to listen to bands sing about peace on Earth, yet people my age now
groove to CFLs and fully inflated tires. How lame is that?
At times it appeared that the bands from the 1970s and 80s who played Live
Earth, such as Genesis, Crowded House and The Police, didn't understand the
logic behind the small scale focus. I imagined awkward green room conversations.
"Um, Mr. Sting, please remember to mention compact fluorescent lightbulbs. Mr.
Collins forgot to mention them."
"Compact what in the who now?"
"Compact fluorescent light bulbs."
"You brought me here to sing about light bulbs? Do I look like GE to you? I'm
going to sing about the bloody rain forests instead."
Comedian Chris Rock tapped into the dichotomy between holding the biggest
entertainment event ever and using it to talk about light bulbs when he told
concert goers at Britain's Wembley Stadium: "Every day in Jamaica a baby bursts
into flames, so let's do something about this."
The concert's emphasis on inspiring small scale actions in the near term could
prove to be a brilliant move. Gore and company are betting that people will be
more likely to support large scale actions on climate change, including measures
that may cost them money at the gas pump for example, if they're already working
to reduce their own carbon footprint. Gore said as much in a recent interview
with Rolling Stone magazine. "... when people make changes in their own lives,
they are much more likely to become part of a critical mass of public opinion
and to support the bigger policy changes that are going to be needed to really
solve the problem," he said.
Live Earth took Gore's social science framework and beamed it around the world,
although it was unclear whether the performers, attendees and viewers at home
understood that CFLs and driving less won't be enough to solve the problem.
The big question now -- with millions of lives riding on the outcome -- is
whether Live Earth will succeed in jump starting the massive change in public
opinion that Gore and company believe is necessary to rapidly push forward with
mitigating climate change.
Posted at 3:16 pm ETRead Comments | Post Your Comment
27 Comments on This Entry
July 9, 2007
LIVE EARTH TARGETS YOU AND ME Andrew Freedman, Environmental Writer
In case you were unaware of the Live Earth concerts this past weekend, you
missed out on a prime opportunity to get your inner green on. According to its
organizers, led by Al Gore, the shows on seven continents added up to the
largest single global entertainment event in history.
As in: "ever." As in: "wow."
As in "really?" And: "so what?"
Ok, maybe the event didn't actually bring global concentrations of greenhouse
gases below pre-industrial levels (the observations haven't come in yet), and in
fact the concerts contributed to the climate crisis through emissions associated
with the shows themselves, but it was still a turning point in the fight for
climate change containment. Here's why:
Live Earth was the boldest attempt yet to galvanize the collective worldwide
conscience to focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It was not the
culmination of a movement but rather a sometimes artistically mediocre
beginning.
This is now Day Three of the global movement to solve the climate crisis that
the concerts kicked off. Proceeds from the shows - which drew an estimated
audience of about two billion people worldwide - are being funneled into Al
Gore's Alliance for Climate Protection, a group that's planning an advertising
blitz during the '08 elections in the U.S. to make sure climate change is at the
top of the political agenda.
The performances were notable for sticking to the message of thinking globally
and acting locally. Artists and celebrity MCs spoke of the benefits of billions
of people making tiny changes in their lives that would add up to a substantial
reduction in the global carbon footprint.
Key items on the agenda were encouraging people to change light bulbs in their
homes from traditional incandescents to compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) and
advocating driving less and biking more. Attendees and viewers were asked to
sign a detailed pledge to combat climate change at home, on the road and in the
workplace.
Focusing on the small scale seemed odd at first. My parent's generation went to
Woodstock to listen to bands sing about peace on Earth, yet people my age now
groove to CFLs and fully inflated tires. How lame is that?
At times it appeared that the bands from the 1970s and 80s who played Live
Earth, such as Genesis, Crowded House and The Police, didn't understand the
logic behind the small scale focus. I imagined awkward green room conversations.
"Um, Mr. Sting, please remember to mention compact fluorescent lightbulbs. Mr.
Collins forgot to mention them."
"Compact what in the who now?"
"Compact fluorescent light bulbs."
"You brought me here to sing about light bulbs? Do I look like GE to you? I'm
going to sing about the bloody rain forests instead."
Comedian Chris Rock tapped into the dichotomy between holding the biggest
entertainment event ever and using it to talk about light bulbs when he told
concert goers at Britain's Wembley Stadium: "Every day in Jamaica a baby bursts
into flames, so let's do something about this."
The concert's emphasis on inspiring small scale actions in the near term could
prove to be a brilliant move. Gore and company are betting that people will be
more likely to support large scale actions on climate change, including measures
that may cost them money at the gas pump for example, if they're already working
to reduce their own carbon footprint. Gore said as much in a recent interview
with Rolling Stone magazine. "... when people make changes in their own lives,
they are much more likely to become part of a critical mass of public opinion
and to support the bigger policy changes that are going to be needed to really
solve the problem," he said.
Live Earth took Gore's social science framework and beamed it around the world,
although it was unclear whether the performers, attendees and viewers at home
understood that CFLs and driving less won't be enough to solve the problem.
The big question now -- with millions of lives riding on the outcome -- is
whether Live Earth will succeed in jump starting the massive change in public
opinion that Gore and company believe is necessary to rapidly push forward with
mitigating climate change.
Posted at 3:16 pm ETRead Comments | Post Your Comment
27 Comments on This Entry
Sunday 15 July 2007
Day 81: Multi-Level Communication
Previously, I mentioned the value of meditation and self-hypnosis in maintaining health. Taking that further today, I want to share something taken from John Overdurf & Julie Silverthorn’s Training Trances – Multi-Level Communication in Therapy And Training, which is a transcript from a live training:
JOHN: Your conscious mind can be aware of seven plus or minus two chunks of information and your conscious mind can pay attention to whatever is going on at the time.
JULIE: While your unconscious mind knows everything else.
JOHN: Your conscious mind tends to think in a sequential way, because it thinks one thing has to go after another.
JULIE: And your unconscious deals in simultaneity; it has the possibility of dealing with everything simultaneously.
JOHN: Your conscious mind is logical.
JULIE: Your unconscious mind is intuitive and it associates new learnings easily.
JOHN: Your conscious mind tends to think in terms of cause and effect; it’s linear. It says this makes that happen: one thing after another in the same way so that it is sequential and logical.
JULIE: Your unconscious mind knows everything is a cybernetic loop, that one thing merely influences the other, not one thing causes the other. Your unconscious mind knows it’s a cybernetic system.
JOHN: Your conscious mind is constantly asking, why is this true? Why is this the way that it is?
JULIE: Your unconscious mind knows why.
JOHN: The conscious mind generally is the part of you which does the thinking. All the regular thinking, the intellectual thinking which you engage in during the course of the day.
JULIE: Which makes it easier for your unconscious to do all your feeling.
JOHN: Your conscious mind is generally equated with your waking state.
JULIE: And your unconscious with your sleeping and dreaming state.
JOHN: Consciously, you can voluntarily move parts of your body.
JULIE: Yet its your unconscious which moves your body involuntarily.
JOHN: Consciously, you can be aware only of what is happening right now.
JULIE: Yet your unconscious is the storehouse of all your memories.
JOHN: Conscious mind tries to understand problems. It thinks that by understanding problems, it won’t have the problem.
JULIE: If only it would allow the unconscious mind which does know the solution to present you with the solution, then your conscious mind can…
JOHN: Direct the outcome. Your conscious mind can decide what it wants all the rest of you to do.
JULIE: While your unconscious mind expedites the outcome.
JOHN: Conscious mind is deliberate.
JULIE: Unconscious is automatic.
JOHN: Conscious mind is verbal.
JULIE: Unconscious is nonverbal.
JOHN: Conscious mind is analytical.
JULIE: Unconscious mind is able to synthesize things.
JOHN: Conscious mind is most effective when tending to information that’s occurring.
JULIE: While the unconscious mind records all the information to which the conscious mind has attended.
JOHN: So the conscious mind has a limited focus.
JULIE: And the unconscious mind has an unlimited focus.
JOHN: The conscious mind is the domain of your cognitive learnings and understandings.
JULIE: And the unconscious mind is the domain of all your experiential learnings.
JOHN: Notice what that does. How many of you experienced a feeling of something spreading apart or expanding? What we did was very minimal because we virtually read down the list and added only a few words. In actual practice, you may not even need to use the whole list [to induce a trance]. You can be selective. There are a number of other nuances we’ll be adding which will make this far more effective than what you’ve just experienced. Additionally, you can combine this experience with Pacing Current Experience…So, as you’re sitting here, you can pay attention to me consciously…
JULIE: And your unconscious mind, that logical part, can wonder what this is really all about.
JOHN: While your unconscious mind can really be getting to grips with the source of why you’re here.
JULIE: And while your unconscious is doing that, your conscious mind on some level may still be asking why, why would we be doing any of this in the first place?
JOHN: And consciously you can consider what your outcome is. Consciously you can even make a picture of you at the end of the training. [And we reading can make a picture of ourselves with what we want too].
JULIE: You can think about it consciously for as long as you like.
JOHN: Because it’s your unconscious mind that will go back through your history and find all the resourceful experiences you need to combine in various ways that will make that outcome happen.
JULIE: And you’ll know you’ve had that outcome when your unconscious signals you with the right feeling.
JOHN: But that’s not nearly as important as being consciously aware of what’s being said right now each time your eyes blink.
JULIE: And for some of you your eyes blink automatically.
JOHN: Unconsciously.
JOHN: Your conscious mind can be aware of seven plus or minus two chunks of information and your conscious mind can pay attention to whatever is going on at the time.
JULIE: While your unconscious mind knows everything else.
JOHN: Your conscious mind tends to think in a sequential way, because it thinks one thing has to go after another.
JULIE: And your unconscious deals in simultaneity; it has the possibility of dealing with everything simultaneously.
JOHN: Your conscious mind is logical.
JULIE: Your unconscious mind is intuitive and it associates new learnings easily.
JOHN: Your conscious mind tends to think in terms of cause and effect; it’s linear. It says this makes that happen: one thing after another in the same way so that it is sequential and logical.
JULIE: Your unconscious mind knows everything is a cybernetic loop, that one thing merely influences the other, not one thing causes the other. Your unconscious mind knows it’s a cybernetic system.
JOHN: Your conscious mind is constantly asking, why is this true? Why is this the way that it is?
JULIE: Your unconscious mind knows why.
JOHN: The conscious mind generally is the part of you which does the thinking. All the regular thinking, the intellectual thinking which you engage in during the course of the day.
JULIE: Which makes it easier for your unconscious to do all your feeling.
JOHN: Your conscious mind is generally equated with your waking state.
JULIE: And your unconscious with your sleeping and dreaming state.
JOHN: Consciously, you can voluntarily move parts of your body.
JULIE: Yet its your unconscious which moves your body involuntarily.
JOHN: Consciously, you can be aware only of what is happening right now.
JULIE: Yet your unconscious is the storehouse of all your memories.
JOHN: Conscious mind tries to understand problems. It thinks that by understanding problems, it won’t have the problem.
JULIE: If only it would allow the unconscious mind which does know the solution to present you with the solution, then your conscious mind can…
JOHN: Direct the outcome. Your conscious mind can decide what it wants all the rest of you to do.
JULIE: While your unconscious mind expedites the outcome.
JOHN: Conscious mind is deliberate.
JULIE: Unconscious is automatic.
JOHN: Conscious mind is verbal.
JULIE: Unconscious is nonverbal.
JOHN: Conscious mind is analytical.
JULIE: Unconscious mind is able to synthesize things.
JOHN: Conscious mind is most effective when tending to information that’s occurring.
JULIE: While the unconscious mind records all the information to which the conscious mind has attended.
JOHN: So the conscious mind has a limited focus.
JULIE: And the unconscious mind has an unlimited focus.
JOHN: The conscious mind is the domain of your cognitive learnings and understandings.
JULIE: And the unconscious mind is the domain of all your experiential learnings.
JOHN: Notice what that does. How many of you experienced a feeling of something spreading apart or expanding? What we did was very minimal because we virtually read down the list and added only a few words. In actual practice, you may not even need to use the whole list [to induce a trance]. You can be selective. There are a number of other nuances we’ll be adding which will make this far more effective than what you’ve just experienced. Additionally, you can combine this experience with Pacing Current Experience…So, as you’re sitting here, you can pay attention to me consciously…
JULIE: And your unconscious mind, that logical part, can wonder what this is really all about.
JOHN: While your unconscious mind can really be getting to grips with the source of why you’re here.
JULIE: And while your unconscious is doing that, your conscious mind on some level may still be asking why, why would we be doing any of this in the first place?
JOHN: And consciously you can consider what your outcome is. Consciously you can even make a picture of you at the end of the training. [And we reading can make a picture of ourselves with what we want too].
JULIE: You can think about it consciously for as long as you like.
JOHN: Because it’s your unconscious mind that will go back through your history and find all the resourceful experiences you need to combine in various ways that will make that outcome happen.
JULIE: And you’ll know you’ve had that outcome when your unconscious signals you with the right feeling.
JOHN: But that’s not nearly as important as being consciously aware of what’s being said right now each time your eyes blink.
JULIE: And for some of you your eyes blink automatically.
JOHN: Unconsciously.
Saturday 14 July 2007
Day 80: Herbal Actions
Herbal Actions
There are approximately 120 different actions identified over the ages. However, only 40 of these actions are commonly considered.
Tonic
This is first in the list because it makes perhaps the most important contribution herbal medicine can make in the process of natural healing. Tonic herbs stimulate nutrition by improving the assimilation of essential nutrients by the organs, improve systemic tone and give increased vigor, energy, and strength to the tissues of either specific organs or to the whole body. The list of tonic herbs is long. To name a few: oats, hawthorn, nettles, garlic, goldenseal, calendula, dandelion, Ashwagandha, Ginseng, Oregon Grape, Vervain, Raspberry, Sarsaparilla.
Adaptogen
This is a timely new action concept that is unique to herbal therapeutics. Adaptogenic or hormonal modulating actions increase the body’s resistance and endurance to a wide variety of adverse influences from physical, chemical and biological stress, assisting the body’s ability to cope and adapt. Adaptogens are non-toxic and possess normalizing actions. For example adaptogens tend to normalize high or low blood pressure, under active and over active adrenal glands and possibly other endocrine glands, and high or low blood sugar. This adaptogen action appears to work through hormonal regulation of the stress response which in turn has a modulating effect on human immunity. Siberian Ginseng, Chinese & American Ginseng, Schizandra, Ashwagandha, Licorice, Stinging Nettle, Suma and Astragulus.
Alterative
Herbs that have this property gradually restore health and vitality to the body. They have been referred to as blood cleansers. They help the body assimilate nutrients, eliminate metabolic wastes and restore proper function. Alterative herbs are used to help treat infection, blood toxicity, skin eruptions, impotence and chronic degenerative conditions: Burdock, Red Clover, Nettle, Cleavers, Oregon Grape are merely a few of the commonly used alterative herbs. Nature is generous with these health builders.
Analgesic, Anodyne
These herbs relieve pain when administered orally or externally, but they are not narcotic: Scullcap, Valerian, Passion flower.
Antacid
These herbs neutralize excess acid in the stomach and intestinal tract: Fennel, Catnip, Dandelion, Slippery Elm, Mullein, Meadowsweet (clears symptoms of hyperacidity).
Anthelmintic
These herbs destroy or expel worms from the digestive tract: Garlic, Onion, Wormwood, Rue, Thyme
Antibilious
These herbs help remove excess bile from the system and help relieve biliary conditions or jaundice in the body: Centaury, Balmony, Barberry, Dandelion, Goldenseal, Yarrow, Turmeric.
Anticatarrhal
These herbs eliminate or counteract the build-up of excess mucus and catarrhal buildup from sinus or other upper respiratory parts: Eyebright, Echinacea, Garlic, Cayenne, Sage, Hyssop, Goldenrod, Yarrow, Yerba Santa
Anti-emetic
These herbs lessen nausea and help relieve or prevent vomiting: Balm, Peppermint, Ginger, Fennel, Dill, Gentian, Meadowsweet.
Anti-inflammatory
Moderate inflammation is the body’s appropriate reaction to infection, injury or irritation, resulting in enhanced tissue repair and containment of invaders. One does not always want to lessen this inflammation, but often finds it more efficacious to stimulate it by using rubifacients or systemic vasodilators. (See rubifacient and vasodilator actions below). One uses anti-inflammatory action to combat extensive or too painful occurrence of inflammation. Anti-inflammatory herbs include those having demulcent, emollient and vulnerary actions when applied externally: St. Johns Wort [NB: DO NOT TAKE THIS IF YOU ARE BLOOD TYPE O or do not know your blood type – Editor SBW’s note], Calendula, Arnica, Licorice, Chamomile, Wild Yam.
Antilithic
These herbs help prevent or dissolve and discharge urinary and biliary stones and gravel. For urinary system kidney and bladder stones: Gravel Root, Hydrangea, Dandelion, Cleavers, Buchu, Goldenrod, Corn Silk, Uva Ursi. For gallbladder: Oregon Grape, Chaparral.
Anti-microbial
These herbs help the body’s immune system destroy or resist pathogenic micro-organisms: the green, unripe Black Walnut hulls, Echinacea, Chaparral, Garlic, Goldenseal, Wormwood, and herbs high in volatile oils such as Anise, Caraway, Clove, Eucalyptus, Myrrh, Peppermint, Rosemary, Thyme.
Aphrodisiac
These herbs help correct conditions of impotence mostly by strengthening sexual excitement and desire. They tend more to stimulate sexual arousal than to improve performance. The combined use of alteratives helps restore proper function: Damiana, Saw Palmetto, Ginseng, Sarsaparilla, Yohimbe.
Aromatic
These herbs have a salient, usually pleasant odor, which stimulates the gastro-intestinal system (see carminative action) and are frequently used to improve the aroma and taste of medicines and foods: Lavender, Peppermint, Angelica, Cardamom, Cinnamon, Dill, Citrus Peel
Astringent
This action promotes greater density and firmness of tissue by precipitating protein and condensing the cellular structure of the tissue, contracting and firming relaxed weakened tissue such as piles and prolapsed organs. Astringency can reduce excessive discharge of fluids like diarrhea in the intestines; blood haemorrhaging from the lungs and kidneys or excessive perspiration from the skin. These herbs include: White Oak, Pipsissewa, Horsechestnut, Partridgeberry, Witch Hazel.
Bitter
These herbs stimulate the sectretion of digestive juices benefiting the digestive process. They stimulate the activity of the liver and pancreas, aiding the elimination of toxins: Gentian, Hops, Artichoke, Mugwort, Dandelion.
Carminative
This action excites intestinal peristalsis, promotes the expulsion of gas, soothes the stomach promoting digestion and relieves gripping (severe cramping pain) in the gastro-intestinal tract. These herbs are rich in aromatic volatile oils: Anise, Fennel, Chamomile, Peppermint, Caraway, Ginger.
Cholagogue
This action excites the discharge and flow of bile from the gall-bladder into the small intestine. This is beneficial in treating gall-bladder problems. Bile helps disinfect the bowels and can have a laxative effect, as bile naturally stimulates peristalsis elimination. Cholagogues include: Barberry, Goldenseal, Dandelion, Oregon Grape, Wild Yam.
Demulcent
This action relaxes and soothes the tissue of the digestive tract upon direct contact, and triggers reflex mechanisms that travel through the spinal nerves effectively reducing inflammation and irritation in the respiratory and urinary systems. These herbs are mucilaginous, gelatinous, soothing and protective: Comfrey, Marshmallow, Slippery Elm, Mullein, Corn Silk.
Diaphoretic
Fever is a very appropriate defense response of the body for dealing with infection. Contrary to accepted medical technique, stimulating a fever is often highly beneficial. This acts to increase sweat bringing the heat and inflammation outward to the surface of the skin, cooling the skin by evaporation of the sweat and concurrently facilitating the excretion of waste matter. These herbs induce increased perspiration, dilate capillaries and increase elimination through the skin: Elder, Yarrow, Ginger, Peppermint.
Diuretic
These herbs increase the elimination and regulate the flow of urine. For best results, drink lots of pure water while using diuretics: Dandelion, Couchgrass, Uva Ursi, Plantain, Horsetail.
Emetic
Emetics cause vomiting, helping the stomach empty. To produce this effect, these herbs usually need to be taken in large doses: Lobelia, Ipecac, Boneset.
Emollient
Applied to the skin, these emollients soothe, soften and protect externally much like demulcents do internally: Comfrey, Chickweed, Plantain, Slippery Elm, Marshmallow
Expectorant
These herbs support the respiratory system in removing excess mucus. Stimulating expectorant – These herbs stimulate the nerves and muscles of the respiratory system to manifest a coughing syndrome, causing expectoration by encouraging the loosening and expulsion of mucus: Elecampane, White Horehound.
Relaxing expectorant – These herbs reduce tension in lung tissue, often easing tightness, allowing natural coughing and flow of mucus to occur: Coltsfoot (excellent for children), Gumweed, Licorice, Hyssop.
Amphoteric expectorant – These herbs can stimulate or relax the respiratory system, using the body’s wisdom to determine which is necessary: Lobelia, Mullein, Horehound, Coltsfoot, Elder, Garlic.
Febrifuge
These herbs assist the body to reduce fevers: Angelica, Catnip, Elder Blossom, Peppermint.
Hemostatic
These herbs are internal astringents that arrest haemorrhaging: Bayberry, Blackberry, Cayenne, Shepherd’s Purse, Goldenseal.
Hepatic
These herbs strengthen and tone the liver, stimulating its secretive function, and causing an increase in the flow of bile: Oregon Grape Root, Agrimony, Dandelion, Goldenseal, Wild Yam.
Hypnotic
These herbs have a powerful relaxant and sedative action and help to induce sleep: Hops, Valerian, Wild Lettuce.
Hypotensive
These herbs reduce elevated blood pressure: Crampbark, Onion, Garlic, Yarrow, Hawthorn berries and flowers.
Laxative & Aperient
Laxative herbs stimulate bowel action, promoting evacuation: Cascara Sagrada, Yellow Dock.
Aperient herbs have a very mild laxative action: Dandelion root, Boneset, Beet root.
Lymphatic
These herbs support the health and activity of the lymphatic system: Cleavers, Calendula, Echinacea.
Nervine
These herbs affect the nervous system, having either a tonic (Oats, Damiana), relaxing (Chamomile, Hops) or stimulating (Coffee, Yerba Mate) effect.
Pectoral
These herbs have a general strengthening and healing effect on the entire respiratory system: Elecampane, Coltsfoot, Comfrey, Mullein, Yerba Santa, Anemopsis.
Rubefacient
When applied locally to the skin, rubefacients cause gentle irritation, promoting capillary dilation and increased circulation in the skin, drawing blood from deeper areas of the body. Drawing blood from deeper areas of the body relieves inflammation and congestion in these parts, often reducing pain. These herbs are useful for treating acute sprains, chronic arthritis, rheumatism and other joint afflictions: Stinging Nettle, Mustard seed, Cayenne, Horseradish.
Sedative
These herbs calm the nervous system by lowering the functional activity of an organ, or by reducing stress and nervous irritation throughout the body: Valerian, Scullcap, Passion Flower, Black Cohosh.
Sialogogue
These herbs promote the secretion and flow of saliva from the salivary glands: Echinacea, Gentian, Prickly Ash.
Stimulant
These herbs warm the body, quicken the circulation, break up obstructions and congestion, increase energy and possess a notably intense energy: Cayenne, Ginger, Horseradish, Mustard, Wormwood.
Styptic
These herbs arrest or reduce external bleeding due to astringent action on blood vessels: Yarrow, Horsetail, Cayenne, Bayberry, Plantain.
Vasodilator
These herbs expand blood vessels allowing increased circulation: Ginkgo, Feverfew, Siberian Ginseng, Ginger, Cayenne, Bayberry.
Vulnerary
These herbs help the body to heal wounds and cuts, and are applied externally: Comfrey, Calendula, Chickweed, St. Johns Wort [again, DO NOT use if Blood Type O or if you do not know your blood type], Marshmallow.
Plants listed by common names
Agrimony******Agrimonia eupatoria
Alfalfa*******Medicago sativa
Angelica******Angelica archangelica
Arnica******Arnica Montana
Artichoke******Cynara scolymnus
Ashwagandha******Withania membranaceus
Astragalus******Astragalus membranaceus
Balm******Melissa officinalis
Basil******Ocimum basilicum
Bayberry*******Myrica cerifera
Bearberry*******Arctostaphylos uva-ursi
Black Cohosh*******Cimicifuga racemosa
Blackberry*******Rubus villosus
Bladderwrack*******Fucus vesiculosis
Blessed Thistle******Cnicus benedictus
Blue Cohosh*******Caulophylum thalictroides
Blue Flag******Iris versicolor
Bogbean******Menyanthes trifoliate
Boneset******Eupatorium perfoliatum
Buchu*******Agathosma betulina
Burdock*******Arctium lappa
Calendula*******Calendula officinalis
California Poppy******Eschsholzia californica
Cascara Sagrada*******Rhamnus purshiana
Catnip*******Nepeta cataria
Cayenne******Capsicum spp.
Celery seed******Apium graveolens
Centaury******Centaurium umbellatum
Chamomile******Matricaria chamomilla
Chaparrel******Larrea mexicana
Chaste Tree******Vitex agnus-castus
Chicory******Cichorium intybus
Chickweed******Stellaria media
Cinnamon******Cinnamomium zeylanicum
Cleavers******Galium aparine
Coffee******Coffea arabica
Coltsfoot*******Tussilago farfara
Comfrey******Symphytum officinale
Coriander******Coriandrum sativum
Corn Silk******Zea mays
Couch Grass*******Agropyron repens
Cramp Bark*******Viburnum opulus
Cranesbill*******Geranium maculatum
Cubeb******Piper cubeba
Damiana******Turnera diffusa
Dandelion*******Teraxacum officinale
Devil’s Club*******Oplopanax horridus
Dill*******Anethum graveolens
Dong Quai*******Angelica sinensis
Echinacea******Echinacea purpurea
***************Echinacea angustifolia
***************Echinacea pallida
Elder******Sambucus nigra
Elecampane******Inula helenium
Eucalyptus******Eucalyptus globules
Eyebright******Euphrasia officinalis
False Unicorn******Chamealirium luteum
Fennel******Foeniculum vulgare
Fenugreek******Trigonella foenum-graecum
Feverfew******Tanacetum parthenium
Flaxseed******Linum usitatissimum
Garlic******Allium sativum
Gentian******Gentiana spp.
Ginger******Zingiber officinale
Ginkgo******Ginkgo biloba
Ginseng******Panax spp.
Goat’s Rue******Galega officinalis
Golden Rod******Solidago virgauria
Golden Seal******Hydrastis Canadensis
Gotu Kola******Centella asiatica
Gravel Root******Eupatorium purpureum
Guarana******Paullinia cupana
Gumweed******Grindelia spp
Hawthorn******Crataegus spp.
**************Crataegus oxyacantha
Hops******Humulus lupulus
Horehound******Marrubium vulgare
Horsechestnut******Aesculus hippocastanum
Horseradish******Armoracia rusticana
Horsetail******Equisetum arvense
Ho shou wu******Polygonum multiflorum
Hydrangea******Hydrangea arborescens
Hyssop******Hyssopus officinales
Irish Moss******Chondrus crispus
Kola******Cola vera, C. acuminata
Lady’s Mantle******Alchemilla vulgaris
Lavender******Lavender officinalis
Licorice******Glycyrrhiza glabra
Linden******Tilia cordata
Lobelia******Lobelia inflata
Ma Huang******Ephedra sinica
Marshmallow******Althaea officinalis
Meadowsweet******Filipendula ulmaria
Melilot******Melilotus officinales
Milk Thistle******Carduus marianum
******************(Silybum marianum)
Motherwort******Leonurus cardiaca
Mugwort******Artemisia vulgaris
Mullein******Verbascum spp.
Mulberry******Morus spp.
Myrrh******Commiphora myrrha
Nasturtium******Tropaeolum majus
Nettle******Urtica spp.
Oat Bark******Quercus spp.
Oat******Avena Sativa
Olive Leaf******Olea europaea
Orange******Citrus aurantium
Oregon Grape******Berberis aquifolium Pursh.
Parsley******Petroselinum sativum
Partridge berry******Mitchella repens
Pau d’Arco******Tabebuia spp.
Passion Flower******Passiflora incarnata
Pennyroyal******Mentha piperata
Peppermint******Mentha piperata
Periwinkle******Vinca major (or Vinca minor)
Pipsissewa******Chimaphila umbellate
Plantain******Plantago lanceolata
**************Plantago major
Prickly Ash******Xanthoxylum americanum
Pumpkin******Cucurbita pepo
Raspberry******Rubus spp.
Red Clover******Trifolium pratense
Rosemary******Rosmarinus officinalis
Sage******Salvia officinalis
St. John’s Wort******Hypericum perforatum
Sarsaparilla******Smilax spp.
Sassafras******Sassafras albidum
Saw Palmetto******Serenoa serrulata
Scullcap******Scutellaria laterifolia
Shepherd’s Purse******Capsella bursa-pastoris
Siberian Ginseng******Eleutherococcus senticosus
Slippery Elm******Ulmus fulva
Sorrel******Rumex spp.
Southernwood******Artemisia abrotanum
Star Anise******Illicium anisatum
Strawberry******Fragaria vesca
Suma******Pfaffia paniculata
Tea Tree******Melaleuca alternifolia
Thuja******Thuja occidentalis
Thyme******Thymus spp.
Turmeric******Curcuma longa
Usnea******Usnea spp.
Uva Ursi******see Bearberry)
Valerian******Valeriana officinalis
Vervain******Verbena officinalis
Wild Cherry******Prunus serotina
Wild Indigo******Baptisia tinctoria
Wild Lettuce******Lactuca virosa
Wild Oat******Avena fatua
Wild Yam******Dioscorea villosa
Willow Bark******Salix spp.
Witch Hazel******Hamamelis virginiana
Wormwood******Artemisia absinthium
Yarrow******Achillea millefolium
Yellow Dock******Rumex crispus
Yerba Manza******Anemopsis californica
Yerba Mate******Ilex paraguensis
Yohimbe******Pausinystalia yohimba
Yucca******Yucca spp.
The above information is taken from The Male Herbal by James Green, Herbalist. I edited it very slightly. In my firm opinion, the best way to use the above information is alongside the blood type information - see http://www.dadamo.com
There are approximately 120 different actions identified over the ages. However, only 40 of these actions are commonly considered.
Tonic
This is first in the list because it makes perhaps the most important contribution herbal medicine can make in the process of natural healing. Tonic herbs stimulate nutrition by improving the assimilation of essential nutrients by the organs, improve systemic tone and give increased vigor, energy, and strength to the tissues of either specific organs or to the whole body. The list of tonic herbs is long. To name a few: oats, hawthorn, nettles, garlic, goldenseal, calendula, dandelion, Ashwagandha, Ginseng, Oregon Grape, Vervain, Raspberry, Sarsaparilla.
Adaptogen
This is a timely new action concept that is unique to herbal therapeutics. Adaptogenic or hormonal modulating actions increase the body’s resistance and endurance to a wide variety of adverse influences from physical, chemical and biological stress, assisting the body’s ability to cope and adapt. Adaptogens are non-toxic and possess normalizing actions. For example adaptogens tend to normalize high or low blood pressure, under active and over active adrenal glands and possibly other endocrine glands, and high or low blood sugar. This adaptogen action appears to work through hormonal regulation of the stress response which in turn has a modulating effect on human immunity. Siberian Ginseng, Chinese & American Ginseng, Schizandra, Ashwagandha, Licorice, Stinging Nettle, Suma and Astragulus.
Alterative
Herbs that have this property gradually restore health and vitality to the body. They have been referred to as blood cleansers. They help the body assimilate nutrients, eliminate metabolic wastes and restore proper function. Alterative herbs are used to help treat infection, blood toxicity, skin eruptions, impotence and chronic degenerative conditions: Burdock, Red Clover, Nettle, Cleavers, Oregon Grape are merely a few of the commonly used alterative herbs. Nature is generous with these health builders.
Analgesic, Anodyne
These herbs relieve pain when administered orally or externally, but they are not narcotic: Scullcap, Valerian, Passion flower.
Antacid
These herbs neutralize excess acid in the stomach and intestinal tract: Fennel, Catnip, Dandelion, Slippery Elm, Mullein, Meadowsweet (clears symptoms of hyperacidity).
Anthelmintic
These herbs destroy or expel worms from the digestive tract: Garlic, Onion, Wormwood, Rue, Thyme
Antibilious
These herbs help remove excess bile from the system and help relieve biliary conditions or jaundice in the body: Centaury, Balmony, Barberry, Dandelion, Goldenseal, Yarrow, Turmeric.
Anticatarrhal
These herbs eliminate or counteract the build-up of excess mucus and catarrhal buildup from sinus or other upper respiratory parts: Eyebright, Echinacea, Garlic, Cayenne, Sage, Hyssop, Goldenrod, Yarrow, Yerba Santa
Anti-emetic
These herbs lessen nausea and help relieve or prevent vomiting: Balm, Peppermint, Ginger, Fennel, Dill, Gentian, Meadowsweet.
Anti-inflammatory
Moderate inflammation is the body’s appropriate reaction to infection, injury or irritation, resulting in enhanced tissue repair and containment of invaders. One does not always want to lessen this inflammation, but often finds it more efficacious to stimulate it by using rubifacients or systemic vasodilators. (See rubifacient and vasodilator actions below). One uses anti-inflammatory action to combat extensive or too painful occurrence of inflammation. Anti-inflammatory herbs include those having demulcent, emollient and vulnerary actions when applied externally: St. Johns Wort [NB: DO NOT TAKE THIS IF YOU ARE BLOOD TYPE O or do not know your blood type – Editor SBW’s note], Calendula, Arnica, Licorice, Chamomile, Wild Yam.
Antilithic
These herbs help prevent or dissolve and discharge urinary and biliary stones and gravel. For urinary system kidney and bladder stones: Gravel Root, Hydrangea, Dandelion, Cleavers, Buchu, Goldenrod, Corn Silk, Uva Ursi. For gallbladder: Oregon Grape, Chaparral.
Anti-microbial
These herbs help the body’s immune system destroy or resist pathogenic micro-organisms: the green, unripe Black Walnut hulls, Echinacea, Chaparral, Garlic, Goldenseal, Wormwood, and herbs high in volatile oils such as Anise, Caraway, Clove, Eucalyptus, Myrrh, Peppermint, Rosemary, Thyme.
Aphrodisiac
These herbs help correct conditions of impotence mostly by strengthening sexual excitement and desire. They tend more to stimulate sexual arousal than to improve performance. The combined use of alteratives helps restore proper function: Damiana, Saw Palmetto, Ginseng, Sarsaparilla, Yohimbe.
Aromatic
These herbs have a salient, usually pleasant odor, which stimulates the gastro-intestinal system (see carminative action) and are frequently used to improve the aroma and taste of medicines and foods: Lavender, Peppermint, Angelica, Cardamom, Cinnamon, Dill, Citrus Peel
Astringent
This action promotes greater density and firmness of tissue by precipitating protein and condensing the cellular structure of the tissue, contracting and firming relaxed weakened tissue such as piles and prolapsed organs. Astringency can reduce excessive discharge of fluids like diarrhea in the intestines; blood haemorrhaging from the lungs and kidneys or excessive perspiration from the skin. These herbs include: White Oak, Pipsissewa, Horsechestnut, Partridgeberry, Witch Hazel.
Bitter
These herbs stimulate the sectretion of digestive juices benefiting the digestive process. They stimulate the activity of the liver and pancreas, aiding the elimination of toxins: Gentian, Hops, Artichoke, Mugwort, Dandelion.
Carminative
This action excites intestinal peristalsis, promotes the expulsion of gas, soothes the stomach promoting digestion and relieves gripping (severe cramping pain) in the gastro-intestinal tract. These herbs are rich in aromatic volatile oils: Anise, Fennel, Chamomile, Peppermint, Caraway, Ginger.
Cholagogue
This action excites the discharge and flow of bile from the gall-bladder into the small intestine. This is beneficial in treating gall-bladder problems. Bile helps disinfect the bowels and can have a laxative effect, as bile naturally stimulates peristalsis elimination. Cholagogues include: Barberry, Goldenseal, Dandelion, Oregon Grape, Wild Yam.
Demulcent
This action relaxes and soothes the tissue of the digestive tract upon direct contact, and triggers reflex mechanisms that travel through the spinal nerves effectively reducing inflammation and irritation in the respiratory and urinary systems. These herbs are mucilaginous, gelatinous, soothing and protective: Comfrey, Marshmallow, Slippery Elm, Mullein, Corn Silk.
Diaphoretic
Fever is a very appropriate defense response of the body for dealing with infection. Contrary to accepted medical technique, stimulating a fever is often highly beneficial. This acts to increase sweat bringing the heat and inflammation outward to the surface of the skin, cooling the skin by evaporation of the sweat and concurrently facilitating the excretion of waste matter. These herbs induce increased perspiration, dilate capillaries and increase elimination through the skin: Elder, Yarrow, Ginger, Peppermint.
Diuretic
These herbs increase the elimination and regulate the flow of urine. For best results, drink lots of pure water while using diuretics: Dandelion, Couchgrass, Uva Ursi, Plantain, Horsetail.
Emetic
Emetics cause vomiting, helping the stomach empty. To produce this effect, these herbs usually need to be taken in large doses: Lobelia, Ipecac, Boneset.
Emollient
Applied to the skin, these emollients soothe, soften and protect externally much like demulcents do internally: Comfrey, Chickweed, Plantain, Slippery Elm, Marshmallow
Expectorant
These herbs support the respiratory system in removing excess mucus. Stimulating expectorant – These herbs stimulate the nerves and muscles of the respiratory system to manifest a coughing syndrome, causing expectoration by encouraging the loosening and expulsion of mucus: Elecampane, White Horehound.
Relaxing expectorant – These herbs reduce tension in lung tissue, often easing tightness, allowing natural coughing and flow of mucus to occur: Coltsfoot (excellent for children), Gumweed, Licorice, Hyssop.
Amphoteric expectorant – These herbs can stimulate or relax the respiratory system, using the body’s wisdom to determine which is necessary: Lobelia, Mullein, Horehound, Coltsfoot, Elder, Garlic.
Febrifuge
These herbs assist the body to reduce fevers: Angelica, Catnip, Elder Blossom, Peppermint.
Hemostatic
These herbs are internal astringents that arrest haemorrhaging: Bayberry, Blackberry, Cayenne, Shepherd’s Purse, Goldenseal.
Hepatic
These herbs strengthen and tone the liver, stimulating its secretive function, and causing an increase in the flow of bile: Oregon Grape Root, Agrimony, Dandelion, Goldenseal, Wild Yam.
Hypnotic
These herbs have a powerful relaxant and sedative action and help to induce sleep: Hops, Valerian, Wild Lettuce.
Hypotensive
These herbs reduce elevated blood pressure: Crampbark, Onion, Garlic, Yarrow, Hawthorn berries and flowers.
Laxative & Aperient
Laxative herbs stimulate bowel action, promoting evacuation: Cascara Sagrada, Yellow Dock.
Aperient herbs have a very mild laxative action: Dandelion root, Boneset, Beet root.
Lymphatic
These herbs support the health and activity of the lymphatic system: Cleavers, Calendula, Echinacea.
Nervine
These herbs affect the nervous system, having either a tonic (Oats, Damiana), relaxing (Chamomile, Hops) or stimulating (Coffee, Yerba Mate) effect.
Pectoral
These herbs have a general strengthening and healing effect on the entire respiratory system: Elecampane, Coltsfoot, Comfrey, Mullein, Yerba Santa, Anemopsis.
Rubefacient
When applied locally to the skin, rubefacients cause gentle irritation, promoting capillary dilation and increased circulation in the skin, drawing blood from deeper areas of the body. Drawing blood from deeper areas of the body relieves inflammation and congestion in these parts, often reducing pain. These herbs are useful for treating acute sprains, chronic arthritis, rheumatism and other joint afflictions: Stinging Nettle, Mustard seed, Cayenne, Horseradish.
Sedative
These herbs calm the nervous system by lowering the functional activity of an organ, or by reducing stress and nervous irritation throughout the body: Valerian, Scullcap, Passion Flower, Black Cohosh.
Sialogogue
These herbs promote the secretion and flow of saliva from the salivary glands: Echinacea, Gentian, Prickly Ash.
Stimulant
These herbs warm the body, quicken the circulation, break up obstructions and congestion, increase energy and possess a notably intense energy: Cayenne, Ginger, Horseradish, Mustard, Wormwood.
Styptic
These herbs arrest or reduce external bleeding due to astringent action on blood vessels: Yarrow, Horsetail, Cayenne, Bayberry, Plantain.
Vasodilator
These herbs expand blood vessels allowing increased circulation: Ginkgo, Feverfew, Siberian Ginseng, Ginger, Cayenne, Bayberry.
Vulnerary
These herbs help the body to heal wounds and cuts, and are applied externally: Comfrey, Calendula, Chickweed, St. Johns Wort [again, DO NOT use if Blood Type O or if you do not know your blood type], Marshmallow.
Plants listed by common names
Agrimony******Agrimonia eupatoria
Alfalfa*******Medicago sativa
Angelica******Angelica archangelica
Arnica******Arnica Montana
Artichoke******Cynara scolymnus
Ashwagandha******Withania membranaceus
Astragalus******Astragalus membranaceus
Balm******Melissa officinalis
Basil******Ocimum basilicum
Bayberry*******Myrica cerifera
Bearberry*******Arctostaphylos uva-ursi
Black Cohosh*******Cimicifuga racemosa
Blackberry*******Rubus villosus
Bladderwrack*******Fucus vesiculosis
Blessed Thistle******Cnicus benedictus
Blue Cohosh*******Caulophylum thalictroides
Blue Flag******Iris versicolor
Bogbean******Menyanthes trifoliate
Boneset******Eupatorium perfoliatum
Buchu*******Agathosma betulina
Burdock*******Arctium lappa
Calendula*******Calendula officinalis
California Poppy******Eschsholzia californica
Cascara Sagrada*******Rhamnus purshiana
Catnip*******Nepeta cataria
Cayenne******Capsicum spp.
Celery seed******Apium graveolens
Centaury******Centaurium umbellatum
Chamomile******Matricaria chamomilla
Chaparrel******Larrea mexicana
Chaste Tree******Vitex agnus-castus
Chicory******Cichorium intybus
Chickweed******Stellaria media
Cinnamon******Cinnamomium zeylanicum
Cleavers******Galium aparine
Coffee******Coffea arabica
Coltsfoot*******Tussilago farfara
Comfrey******Symphytum officinale
Coriander******Coriandrum sativum
Corn Silk******Zea mays
Couch Grass*******Agropyron repens
Cramp Bark*******Viburnum opulus
Cranesbill*******Geranium maculatum
Cubeb******Piper cubeba
Damiana******Turnera diffusa
Dandelion*******Teraxacum officinale
Devil’s Club*******Oplopanax horridus
Dill*******Anethum graveolens
Dong Quai*******Angelica sinensis
Echinacea******Echinacea purpurea
***************Echinacea angustifolia
***************Echinacea pallida
Elder******Sambucus nigra
Elecampane******Inula helenium
Eucalyptus******Eucalyptus globules
Eyebright******Euphrasia officinalis
False Unicorn******Chamealirium luteum
Fennel******Foeniculum vulgare
Fenugreek******Trigonella foenum-graecum
Feverfew******Tanacetum parthenium
Flaxseed******Linum usitatissimum
Garlic******Allium sativum
Gentian******Gentiana spp.
Ginger******Zingiber officinale
Ginkgo******Ginkgo biloba
Ginseng******Panax spp.
Goat’s Rue******Galega officinalis
Golden Rod******Solidago virgauria
Golden Seal******Hydrastis Canadensis
Gotu Kola******Centella asiatica
Gravel Root******Eupatorium purpureum
Guarana******Paullinia cupana
Gumweed******Grindelia spp
Hawthorn******Crataegus spp.
**************Crataegus oxyacantha
Hops******Humulus lupulus
Horehound******Marrubium vulgare
Horsechestnut******Aesculus hippocastanum
Horseradish******Armoracia rusticana
Horsetail******Equisetum arvense
Ho shou wu******Polygonum multiflorum
Hydrangea******Hydrangea arborescens
Hyssop******Hyssopus officinales
Irish Moss******Chondrus crispus
Kola******Cola vera, C. acuminata
Lady’s Mantle******Alchemilla vulgaris
Lavender******Lavender officinalis
Licorice******Glycyrrhiza glabra
Linden******Tilia cordata
Lobelia******Lobelia inflata
Ma Huang******Ephedra sinica
Marshmallow******Althaea officinalis
Meadowsweet******Filipendula ulmaria
Melilot******Melilotus officinales
Milk Thistle******Carduus marianum
******************(Silybum marianum)
Motherwort******Leonurus cardiaca
Mugwort******Artemisia vulgaris
Mullein******Verbascum spp.
Mulberry******Morus spp.
Myrrh******Commiphora myrrha
Nasturtium******Tropaeolum majus
Nettle******Urtica spp.
Oat Bark******Quercus spp.
Oat******Avena Sativa
Olive Leaf******Olea europaea
Orange******Citrus aurantium
Oregon Grape******Berberis aquifolium Pursh.
Parsley******Petroselinum sativum
Partridge berry******Mitchella repens
Pau d’Arco******Tabebuia spp.
Passion Flower******Passiflora incarnata
Pennyroyal******Mentha piperata
Peppermint******Mentha piperata
Periwinkle******Vinca major (or Vinca minor)
Pipsissewa******Chimaphila umbellate
Plantain******Plantago lanceolata
**************Plantago major
Prickly Ash******Xanthoxylum americanum
Pumpkin******Cucurbita pepo
Raspberry******Rubus spp.
Red Clover******Trifolium pratense
Rosemary******Rosmarinus officinalis
Sage******Salvia officinalis
St. John’s Wort******Hypericum perforatum
Sarsaparilla******Smilax spp.
Sassafras******Sassafras albidum
Saw Palmetto******Serenoa serrulata
Scullcap******Scutellaria laterifolia
Shepherd’s Purse******Capsella bursa-pastoris
Siberian Ginseng******Eleutherococcus senticosus
Slippery Elm******Ulmus fulva
Sorrel******Rumex spp.
Southernwood******Artemisia abrotanum
Star Anise******Illicium anisatum
Strawberry******Fragaria vesca
Suma******Pfaffia paniculata
Tea Tree******Melaleuca alternifolia
Thuja******Thuja occidentalis
Thyme******Thymus spp.
Turmeric******Curcuma longa
Usnea******Usnea spp.
Uva Ursi******see Bearberry)
Valerian******Valeriana officinalis
Vervain******Verbena officinalis
Wild Cherry******Prunus serotina
Wild Indigo******Baptisia tinctoria
Wild Lettuce******Lactuca virosa
Wild Oat******Avena fatua
Wild Yam******Dioscorea villosa
Willow Bark******Salix spp.
Witch Hazel******Hamamelis virginiana
Wormwood******Artemisia absinthium
Yarrow******Achillea millefolium
Yellow Dock******Rumex crispus
Yerba Manza******Anemopsis californica
Yerba Mate******Ilex paraguensis
Yohimbe******Pausinystalia yohimba
Yucca******Yucca spp.
The above information is taken from The Male Herbal by James Green, Herbalist. I edited it very slightly. In my firm opinion, the best way to use the above information is alongside the blood type information - see http://www.dadamo.com
Friday 13 July 2007
Day 79: Tackle Climate Change Today!
The following is a very important message that was passed on to me and that gives us all the tools with which we can make a massive difference.
Dear friend,
Thanks for making this commitment to do your part to end the climate
crisis. The more people sign the Live Earth Pledge, the closer we come
to building a sustainable world for future generations.
Help us take this message to every corner of the planet--forward the
pledge to everyone you know:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/climate_pledge/tf.php
In hope,
Ben, Paul, Graziela, Ricken, Galit, Lee-Sean, Iain and the whole Avaaz
team
_____________________________________
I PLEDGE:
1.To demand that my country join an international treaty within the
next 2 years that cuts global warming pollution by 90% in developed countries
and by more than half worldwide in time for the next generation to inherit
a healthy earth;
2.To take personal action to help solve the climate crisis by reducing
my own CO2 pollution as much as I can and offsetting the rest to become
"carbon neutral;"
3.To fight for a moratorium on the construction of any new generating
facility that burns coal without the capacity to safely trap and store
the CO2;
4.To work for a dramatic increase in the energy efficiency of my home,
workplace, school, place of worship, and means of transportation;
5.To fight for laws and policies that expand the use of renewable energy
sources and reduce dependence on oil and coal;
6.To plant new trees and to join with others in preserving and
protecting forests; and,
7.To buy from businesses and support leaders who share my commitment
to solving the climate crisis and building a sustainable, just, and
prosperous world for the 21st century.
Dear friend,
Thanks for making this commitment to do your part to end the climate
crisis. The more people sign the Live Earth Pledge, the closer we come
to building a sustainable world for future generations.
Help us take this message to every corner of the planet--forward the
pledge to everyone you know:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/climate_pledge/tf.php
In hope,
Ben, Paul, Graziela, Ricken, Galit, Lee-Sean, Iain and the whole Avaaz
team
_____________________________________
I PLEDGE:
1.To demand that my country join an international treaty within the
next 2 years that cuts global warming pollution by 90% in developed countries
and by more than half worldwide in time for the next generation to inherit
a healthy earth;
2.To take personal action to help solve the climate crisis by reducing
my own CO2 pollution as much as I can and offsetting the rest to become
"carbon neutral;"
3.To fight for a moratorium on the construction of any new generating
facility that burns coal without the capacity to safely trap and store
the CO2;
4.To work for a dramatic increase in the energy efficiency of my home,
workplace, school, place of worship, and means of transportation;
5.To fight for laws and policies that expand the use of renewable energy
sources and reduce dependence on oil and coal;
6.To plant new trees and to join with others in preserving and
protecting forests; and,
7.To buy from businesses and support leaders who share my commitment
to solving the climate crisis and building a sustainable, just, and
prosperous world for the 21st century.
Thursday 12 July 2007
Day 78: tips for a tip-top intuition!
Previously, I shared information about intuition. Here, I detail methods to fine-tune, brighten and deepen your intuition. A very quick method, that is in intuition and beyond by Sharon A. Klingler, is to think of a question and have an internal image of traffic lights and seeing whether you get red for stop, green for go for it or yellow for wait. You may, however, need to just ask yourself what colour is the light if you are not very visual and you may find it easier to just note how you feel – some of us get gut feelings more than anything else. Sharon clarifies:
“Questions Not To Ask
1. When starting to work with your intuition, don’t ask ambiguous questions that can be answered in conflicting ways (especially ‘either/or’ inquiries.)
2. Try not to ask any ‘shoulds’. The question, ‘Should I move?’ could be influenced by financial restraints or any number of obligations. If you are seeking to remove the ‘shoulds’ from your vocabulary, don’t use them when you’re speaking with your intuition!
3. Don’t restrict yourself to asking merely about the choices you are already considering. There are always more options, and your spirit is capable of knowing a great deal more than you might think [….] After you have asked about each of your known options individually, ask your intuition to show you any choices you may have not yet considered.
4. Stay away from any questions with broad-brush outcomes. For instance, ‘Will I be rich?’ is entirely dependent upon what that state of being means to you at any given time.
5. Don’t focus only on the material outcomes. Your spirit wants to take you to the highest experiences of your truth, but it can’t take you there if you’re only looking for the closest parking space and best retirement package. Ask your intuition, ‘What can I learn from this situation’? or ‘How can I make my world better today?’ These types of questions will truly make your life richer by helping you discover your power, your purpose and the action you need to take to realise both.
Now That You’ve Got The Questions, How Do You Get The Answers?
Answers and messages from your inner guidance can appear in many various ways:
1. Sudden, spontaneous knowing or gut feelings can grab you right out of the blue.
2. Singularly focused, often nagging thoughts that may stick around for hours, days or even weeks – until you start listening to them!
3. Physical sensations can include hairs standing up on the back of your neck, goose bumps, nervousness, butterflies or tightness in the stomach, and dry mouth.
4. Subtle, undefined feelings of anticipation
5. Symbols that appear in dreams, meditations and visualisations that come of their own accord, or symbols you choose consciously as focusing tools.
6. Symbols and objects that you notice around you in the environment which act as figurative or literal signs, especially when they are repetitive or seem to have a pattern. When my husband was young, he went through a period of several weeks seeing boats all around him. He then decided to build his first boat. After that, the only boat he seemed to notice was the one he was building in his garage! Noticing what’s around you and paying attention to what distracts you are important components in experiencing your intuition
7. Synchronicity in meetings, observations, actions and events is a sign that there is no such thing as coincidence!
Tips For Asking and Answering
1. Release doubt. Always trust everything you get, and always trust the way that you get it.
2. GO DEEP!
3. Embrace your intuitive experience even if you don’t comprehend it
4. You can get the answers without knowing the answers!
5. Get to know your own style of seeing inside.
6. Keep practising
7. Diversify your practice.
8. Wake up to the details
9. Notice what is calling your attention inside and out.
10. Live in a state of curiosity!
11. Ask and Answer
12. Be willing to release your agenda and go where it may be difficult to go.
Always Seek Knowing!”
“Questions Not To Ask
1. When starting to work with your intuition, don’t ask ambiguous questions that can be answered in conflicting ways (especially ‘either/or’ inquiries.)
2. Try not to ask any ‘shoulds’. The question, ‘Should I move?’ could be influenced by financial restraints or any number of obligations. If you are seeking to remove the ‘shoulds’ from your vocabulary, don’t use them when you’re speaking with your intuition!
3. Don’t restrict yourself to asking merely about the choices you are already considering. There are always more options, and your spirit is capable of knowing a great deal more than you might think [….] After you have asked about each of your known options individually, ask your intuition to show you any choices you may have not yet considered.
4. Stay away from any questions with broad-brush outcomes. For instance, ‘Will I be rich?’ is entirely dependent upon what that state of being means to you at any given time.
5. Don’t focus only on the material outcomes. Your spirit wants to take you to the highest experiences of your truth, but it can’t take you there if you’re only looking for the closest parking space and best retirement package. Ask your intuition, ‘What can I learn from this situation’? or ‘How can I make my world better today?’ These types of questions will truly make your life richer by helping you discover your power, your purpose and the action you need to take to realise both.
Now That You’ve Got The Questions, How Do You Get The Answers?
Answers and messages from your inner guidance can appear in many various ways:
1. Sudden, spontaneous knowing or gut feelings can grab you right out of the blue.
2. Singularly focused, often nagging thoughts that may stick around for hours, days or even weeks – until you start listening to them!
3. Physical sensations can include hairs standing up on the back of your neck, goose bumps, nervousness, butterflies or tightness in the stomach, and dry mouth.
4. Subtle, undefined feelings of anticipation
5. Symbols that appear in dreams, meditations and visualisations that come of their own accord, or symbols you choose consciously as focusing tools.
6. Symbols and objects that you notice around you in the environment which act as figurative or literal signs, especially when they are repetitive or seem to have a pattern. When my husband was young, he went through a period of several weeks seeing boats all around him. He then decided to build his first boat. After that, the only boat he seemed to notice was the one he was building in his garage! Noticing what’s around you and paying attention to what distracts you are important components in experiencing your intuition
7. Synchronicity in meetings, observations, actions and events is a sign that there is no such thing as coincidence!
Tips For Asking and Answering
1. Release doubt. Always trust everything you get, and always trust the way that you get it.
2. GO DEEP!
3. Embrace your intuitive experience even if you don’t comprehend it
4. You can get the answers without knowing the answers!
5. Get to know your own style of seeing inside.
6. Keep practising
7. Diversify your practice.
8. Wake up to the details
9. Notice what is calling your attention inside and out.
10. Live in a state of curiosity!
11. Ask and Answer
12. Be willing to release your agenda and go where it may be difficult to go.
Always Seek Knowing!”
Wednesday 11 July 2007
Day 77: Spiritism Explained
Spiritualist Philosophy
The Spirits’ Book
Containing
The Principles of Spiritist Doctrine
on
The immortality of the soul: the nature of spirits
and their relations with men; the moral law:
the present life, the future life, and
the destiny of the human race
according to the teachings of spirits of high degree,
transmitted through various mediums,
collected and set in order
by
Allan Kardec
Translated from the Hundred and Twentieth Thousand
by
Anna Blackwell
Extract from Translator’s Preface:
“When, about 1850, the phenomenon of “table turning” was exciting the attention of Europe and ushering in the other phenomena since known as “spiritist”, Allan Kardec [born in Lyons, France, in 1804, and then living in Paris] quickly divined the real nature of those phenomena, as evidence of the existence of an order of relationships hitherto suspected rather than known – viz., those which unite the visible and invisible worlds. Foreseeing the vast importance, to science and to religion, of such an extension of the field of human observation, he entered at once upon a careful investigation of the new phenomena. A friend of his had two daughters who had become what are now called “mediums”. They were gay [happy], lively, amiable girls, fond of society, dancing, and amusement, and habitually received, when “sitting” by themselves or with their young companions, “communications” in harmony with their worldly and somewhat frivolous disposition. But, to the surprise of all concerned, it was found that, whenever he was present, the messages transmitted through these young ladies were of a very grave and serious character; and on his enquiring of the invisible intelligences as to the cause of this change, he was told that “spirits of a much higher order than those who habitually communicated through the two young mediums came expressly for him, and would continue to do so, in order to enable him to fulfil an important religious mission.”
Much astonished at so unlooked-for an announcement, he at once proceeded to test its truthfulness by drawing up a series of progressive questions in relation to the various problems of human life and the universe in which we find ourselves, and submitted them to his unseen interlocutors, receiving their answers to the same through the instrumentality of the two young mediums, who willingly consented to devote a couple of evenings every week to this purpose, and who thus obtained, through table-rapping and planchette-writing, the replies which have become the basis of the spiritist theory, and which they were as little capable of appreciating as of inventing.
When these conversations had been going on for nearly two years, he one day remarked to his wife, in reference to the unfolding of these views, which she had followed with intelligent sympathy: “It is a most curious thing! My conversations with the invisible intelligences have completely revolutionised my ideas and convictions. The instructions thus transmitted constitute an entirely new theory of human life, duty, and destiny, that appears to me to be perfectly rational and coherent, admirably lucid and consoling, and intensely interesting. I have a great mind to publish these conversations in a book; for it seems to me that what interests me so deeply might very likely prove interesting to others.” His wife warmly approving the idea, he next submitted it to his unseen interlocutors, who replied, in the usual way, that it was they who had suggested it to his mind, that their communications had been made to him, not for himself alone, but for the express purpose of being given to the world as he proposed to do, and that the time had now come for putting his plan into execution. “To the book in which you will embody our instructions,” continued the communicating intelligences, “you will give, as being our work rather than yours, the title of Le Livre des Esprits (The Spirit’s Book); and you will publish it, not under your own name, but under the pseudonym of ALLAN KARDEC (translator’s note: an old Breton name in his mother’s family). Keep your own name of Rivail for your own books already published; but take and keep the name we have now given you for the book you are about to publish by our order, and, in general, for all the work that you will have to do in the fulfilment of the mission which, as we have already told you, has been confided to you by Providence, and which will gradually open before you as you proceed in it under our guidance.”
The book thus produced and published sold with great rapidity, making converts not in France only, but all over the Continent, and rendering the name ALLAN KARDEC “a household word” […] “
From Page 132:
Physical and Moral Likeness
207. Parents often transmit physical resemblance to their children; do they also transmit to them moral resemblance?
“No; because they have different souls or spirits. The body proceeds from the body, but the spirit does not proceed from any other spirit. Between the descendants of the same race there is no other relationship than that of consanguinity.”
- What is the cause of the moral resemblance, that sometimes exists between parents and children?
“The attractive influence of moral sympathy, which brings together spirits who are animated by similar sentiments and tendencies.”
208. Are the spirits of the parents without influence upon the spirit of their child after its birth?
“They exercise, on the contrary, a very great influence upon it. As we have already told you, spirits are made to conduce to one another’s progress. To the spirits of the parents is confided the mission of developing those of their children by the training they give to them; it is a task which is appointed to them, and which they cannot without guilt fail to fulfil.”
209. How is it that good and virtuous parents often give birth to children of perverse and evil nature? In other words, how is it that the good qualities of the parents do not always attract to them, through sympathy, a good spirit to animate their child?
“A wicked spirit may ask to be allowed to have virtuous parents, in the hope that their counsels may help him to amend his ways; and God often confides such a one to the care of virtuous persons, in order that he may be benefited by their affection and care.”
210. Can parents, by their intentions and their prayers, attract a good spirit into the body of their child, instead of an inferior spirit?
“No; but they can improve the spirit of the child whom they have brought into the world, and is confided to them for that purpose. It is their duty to do this; but bad children are often sent as a trial for the improvement of the parents also.”
211. What is the cause of the similarity of character so often existing among brothers, especially between twins?
“The sympathy of two spirits who are attracted by the similarity of their sentiments, and who are happy to be together.”
212. In children whose bodies are joined together, and who have some of their organs in common, are there two spirits, - that is to say, two souls?
“Yes; but their resemblance to one another often makes them seem to you as though there were but one.”
213. Since spirits incarnate themselves in twins from sympathy, whence comes the aversion that is sometimes felt by twins for one another?
“It is not a rule that only sympathetic spirits are incarnated as twins. Bad spirits may have been brought into this relation by their desire to struggle against each other on the stage of corporeal life.”
214. In what way should we interpret the stories of children fighting in their mother’s womb?
“As a figurative representation of their hatred for one another, which, to indicate its inveteracy, is made to date from before their birth. You rarely make sufficient allowance for the figurative and poetic element in certain statements.” “
Later in the book, questions are posed against those who doubt reincarnation:
1. Why do souls manifest so great a diversity of aptitudes independently of the ideas acquired by education?
2. Whence comes the extra-normal aptitude for certain arts and sciences displayed by many children wile still very young, although others remain in a state of inferiority, or of mediocrity, all their life?
3. Whence do some individuals derive the innate or intuitive ideas that are lacking in others?
4. Whence do some children derive the precocious instincts of vice or virtue, the innate sentiments of dignity or of baseness, which often contrast so strikingly with the situation into which they are born?
5. Why is it that some men, independently of education, are more advanced than others?
6. Why is it that among the races which people the globe some are savage and others civilised?
Religious people who reject reincarnation can read:
“[…](T)he principle of reincarnation is implied in many passages of Holy Writ, and is explicitly formulated in the Gospels:-
“When they came down from the mountain (after the transfiguration), Jesus gave this commandment, and said to them – ‘Speak to no one of what you have just seen, until the Son of Man shall have been resuscitated from among the dead.’ His disciples thereupon began to question Him, and inquired, ‘Why, then, do the Scribes say that Elias must first come?’ But Jesus replied to them, ‘It is true that Elias must come, and that he will re-establish all things. But I declare to you that Elias has already come, and they did not know him, but have made him suffer as they listed. It is thus that they will put to death the Son of Man.’ Then His disciples understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist.” (St Matthew, chap. xvii.)
Since John the Baptist is declared by Christ to have been Elias, it follows that the spirit or soul of Elias must have been reincarnated in the body of John the Baptist.”
…
“To sum up:- We assert the doctrine of the plurality of existences is the only one which explains what, without this doctrine, is inexplicable; that it is at once eminently consolatory and strictly conformable with the most rigorous justice; and that it is the anchor of safety which God in His mercy has provided for mankind.
The words of Jesus Himself are explicit as to the truth of this last assertion; for we read in the 3d chapter of the Gospel according to St John that Jesus, replying to Nicodemus, thus expressed Himself:-
“Verily, verily, I tell thee that, if a man be not born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” And when Nicodemus inquires, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter again into his mother’s womb and be born a second time?” Jesus replies, “Except a man be born of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the spirit is spirit. Be not amazed at what I have told thee; you must be born again.”
Resurrection of the Body.
1010 . Is the doctrine of the resurrection of the body an implication of that of reincarnation, as now taught by spirits?
“How could it be otherwise? It is with regard to that expression as to so many others, that only appear unreasonable because they are taken literally, and are thus placed beyond the pale of credibility; let them only be rationally explained, and those whom you call free-thinkers will admit them without difficulty, precisely because they are accustomed to reflect. Free-thinkers, like the rest of the world, perhaps even more than others, thirst for a future; they ask nothing better than to believe, but they cannot admit what is disproved by science. The doctrine of the plurality of existences is conformable with the justice of God; it alone can explain what, without it is inexplicable; how can you doubt, then, that its principle is to be found in all religions?”
1011. The Church, then, in the dogma of the resurrection of the body, really teaches the doctrine of reincarnation?
“That is evident; but it will soon be seen that reincarnation is implied in every part of Holy Writ. Spirits, therefore, do not come to overthrow religion, as is sometimes asserted; they come, on the contrary, to confirm and sanction it by irrefragable proofs. But, as the time has arrived to renounce the use of figurative language, they speak without allegories, and give to every statement a clear and precise meaning that obviates all danger of false interpretation. For this reason there will be, ere long, a greater number of persons sincerely religious and really believing than are to be found at the present day.”
Proofs of the Existence of God
4. What proof have we of the existence of God?
“The axiom which you apply in all your scientific researches, “There is no effect without a cause.’ Search out the cause of whatever is not the work of man, and reason will furnish the answer to your question.”
9. What proof have we that the first cause of all things is a Supreme Intelligence, superior to all other intelligences?
“You have a proverb which says, ‘The workman is known by his work.’ Look around you, and, from the quality of the work, infer that of the workman.”
The Spirits’ Book
Containing
The Principles of Spiritist Doctrine
on
The immortality of the soul: the nature of spirits
and their relations with men; the moral law:
the present life, the future life, and
the destiny of the human race
according to the teachings of spirits of high degree,
transmitted through various mediums,
collected and set in order
by
Allan Kardec
Translated from the Hundred and Twentieth Thousand
by
Anna Blackwell
Extract from Translator’s Preface:
“When, about 1850, the phenomenon of “table turning” was exciting the attention of Europe and ushering in the other phenomena since known as “spiritist”, Allan Kardec [born in Lyons, France, in 1804, and then living in Paris] quickly divined the real nature of those phenomena, as evidence of the existence of an order of relationships hitherto suspected rather than known – viz., those which unite the visible and invisible worlds. Foreseeing the vast importance, to science and to religion, of such an extension of the field of human observation, he entered at once upon a careful investigation of the new phenomena. A friend of his had two daughters who had become what are now called “mediums”. They were gay [happy], lively, amiable girls, fond of society, dancing, and amusement, and habitually received, when “sitting” by themselves or with their young companions, “communications” in harmony with their worldly and somewhat frivolous disposition. But, to the surprise of all concerned, it was found that, whenever he was present, the messages transmitted through these young ladies were of a very grave and serious character; and on his enquiring of the invisible intelligences as to the cause of this change, he was told that “spirits of a much higher order than those who habitually communicated through the two young mediums came expressly for him, and would continue to do so, in order to enable him to fulfil an important religious mission.”
Much astonished at so unlooked-for an announcement, he at once proceeded to test its truthfulness by drawing up a series of progressive questions in relation to the various problems of human life and the universe in which we find ourselves, and submitted them to his unseen interlocutors, receiving their answers to the same through the instrumentality of the two young mediums, who willingly consented to devote a couple of evenings every week to this purpose, and who thus obtained, through table-rapping and planchette-writing, the replies which have become the basis of the spiritist theory, and which they were as little capable of appreciating as of inventing.
When these conversations had been going on for nearly two years, he one day remarked to his wife, in reference to the unfolding of these views, which she had followed with intelligent sympathy: “It is a most curious thing! My conversations with the invisible intelligences have completely revolutionised my ideas and convictions. The instructions thus transmitted constitute an entirely new theory of human life, duty, and destiny, that appears to me to be perfectly rational and coherent, admirably lucid and consoling, and intensely interesting. I have a great mind to publish these conversations in a book; for it seems to me that what interests me so deeply might very likely prove interesting to others.” His wife warmly approving the idea, he next submitted it to his unseen interlocutors, who replied, in the usual way, that it was they who had suggested it to his mind, that their communications had been made to him, not for himself alone, but for the express purpose of being given to the world as he proposed to do, and that the time had now come for putting his plan into execution. “To the book in which you will embody our instructions,” continued the communicating intelligences, “you will give, as being our work rather than yours, the title of Le Livre des Esprits (The Spirit’s Book); and you will publish it, not under your own name, but under the pseudonym of ALLAN KARDEC (translator’s note: an old Breton name in his mother’s family). Keep your own name of Rivail for your own books already published; but take and keep the name we have now given you for the book you are about to publish by our order, and, in general, for all the work that you will have to do in the fulfilment of the mission which, as we have already told you, has been confided to you by Providence, and which will gradually open before you as you proceed in it under our guidance.”
The book thus produced and published sold with great rapidity, making converts not in France only, but all over the Continent, and rendering the name ALLAN KARDEC “a household word” […] “
From Page 132:
Physical and Moral Likeness
207. Parents often transmit physical resemblance to their children; do they also transmit to them moral resemblance?
“No; because they have different souls or spirits. The body proceeds from the body, but the spirit does not proceed from any other spirit. Between the descendants of the same race there is no other relationship than that of consanguinity.”
- What is the cause of the moral resemblance, that sometimes exists between parents and children?
“The attractive influence of moral sympathy, which brings together spirits who are animated by similar sentiments and tendencies.”
208. Are the spirits of the parents without influence upon the spirit of their child after its birth?
“They exercise, on the contrary, a very great influence upon it. As we have already told you, spirits are made to conduce to one another’s progress. To the spirits of the parents is confided the mission of developing those of their children by the training they give to them; it is a task which is appointed to them, and which they cannot without guilt fail to fulfil.”
209. How is it that good and virtuous parents often give birth to children of perverse and evil nature? In other words, how is it that the good qualities of the parents do not always attract to them, through sympathy, a good spirit to animate their child?
“A wicked spirit may ask to be allowed to have virtuous parents, in the hope that their counsels may help him to amend his ways; and God often confides such a one to the care of virtuous persons, in order that he may be benefited by their affection and care.”
210. Can parents, by their intentions and their prayers, attract a good spirit into the body of their child, instead of an inferior spirit?
“No; but they can improve the spirit of the child whom they have brought into the world, and is confided to them for that purpose. It is their duty to do this; but bad children are often sent as a trial for the improvement of the parents also.”
211. What is the cause of the similarity of character so often existing among brothers, especially between twins?
“The sympathy of two spirits who are attracted by the similarity of their sentiments, and who are happy to be together.”
212. In children whose bodies are joined together, and who have some of their organs in common, are there two spirits, - that is to say, two souls?
“Yes; but their resemblance to one another often makes them seem to you as though there were but one.”
213. Since spirits incarnate themselves in twins from sympathy, whence comes the aversion that is sometimes felt by twins for one another?
“It is not a rule that only sympathetic spirits are incarnated as twins. Bad spirits may have been brought into this relation by their desire to struggle against each other on the stage of corporeal life.”
214. In what way should we interpret the stories of children fighting in their mother’s womb?
“As a figurative representation of their hatred for one another, which, to indicate its inveteracy, is made to date from before their birth. You rarely make sufficient allowance for the figurative and poetic element in certain statements.” “
Later in the book, questions are posed against those who doubt reincarnation:
1. Why do souls manifest so great a diversity of aptitudes independently of the ideas acquired by education?
2. Whence comes the extra-normal aptitude for certain arts and sciences displayed by many children wile still very young, although others remain in a state of inferiority, or of mediocrity, all their life?
3. Whence do some individuals derive the innate or intuitive ideas that are lacking in others?
4. Whence do some children derive the precocious instincts of vice or virtue, the innate sentiments of dignity or of baseness, which often contrast so strikingly with the situation into which they are born?
5. Why is it that some men, independently of education, are more advanced than others?
6. Why is it that among the races which people the globe some are savage and others civilised?
Religious people who reject reincarnation can read:
“[…](T)he principle of reincarnation is implied in many passages of Holy Writ, and is explicitly formulated in the Gospels:-
“When they came down from the mountain (after the transfiguration), Jesus gave this commandment, and said to them – ‘Speak to no one of what you have just seen, until the Son of Man shall have been resuscitated from among the dead.’ His disciples thereupon began to question Him, and inquired, ‘Why, then, do the Scribes say that Elias must first come?’ But Jesus replied to them, ‘It is true that Elias must come, and that he will re-establish all things. But I declare to you that Elias has already come, and they did not know him, but have made him suffer as they listed. It is thus that they will put to death the Son of Man.’ Then His disciples understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist.” (St Matthew, chap. xvii.)
Since John the Baptist is declared by Christ to have been Elias, it follows that the spirit or soul of Elias must have been reincarnated in the body of John the Baptist.”
…
“To sum up:- We assert the doctrine of the plurality of existences is the only one which explains what, without this doctrine, is inexplicable; that it is at once eminently consolatory and strictly conformable with the most rigorous justice; and that it is the anchor of safety which God in His mercy has provided for mankind.
The words of Jesus Himself are explicit as to the truth of this last assertion; for we read in the 3d chapter of the Gospel according to St John that Jesus, replying to Nicodemus, thus expressed Himself:-
“Verily, verily, I tell thee that, if a man be not born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” And when Nicodemus inquires, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter again into his mother’s womb and be born a second time?” Jesus replies, “Except a man be born of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the spirit is spirit. Be not amazed at what I have told thee; you must be born again.”
Resurrection of the Body.
1010 . Is the doctrine of the resurrection of the body an implication of that of reincarnation, as now taught by spirits?
“How could it be otherwise? It is with regard to that expression as to so many others, that only appear unreasonable because they are taken literally, and are thus placed beyond the pale of credibility; let them only be rationally explained, and those whom you call free-thinkers will admit them without difficulty, precisely because they are accustomed to reflect. Free-thinkers, like the rest of the world, perhaps even more than others, thirst for a future; they ask nothing better than to believe, but they cannot admit what is disproved by science. The doctrine of the plurality of existences is conformable with the justice of God; it alone can explain what, without it is inexplicable; how can you doubt, then, that its principle is to be found in all religions?”
1011. The Church, then, in the dogma of the resurrection of the body, really teaches the doctrine of reincarnation?
“That is evident; but it will soon be seen that reincarnation is implied in every part of Holy Writ. Spirits, therefore, do not come to overthrow religion, as is sometimes asserted; they come, on the contrary, to confirm and sanction it by irrefragable proofs. But, as the time has arrived to renounce the use of figurative language, they speak without allegories, and give to every statement a clear and precise meaning that obviates all danger of false interpretation. For this reason there will be, ere long, a greater number of persons sincerely religious and really believing than are to be found at the present day.”
Proofs of the Existence of God
4. What proof have we of the existence of God?
“The axiom which you apply in all your scientific researches, “There is no effect without a cause.’ Search out the cause of whatever is not the work of man, and reason will furnish the answer to your question.”
9. What proof have we that the first cause of all things is a Supreme Intelligence, superior to all other intelligences?
“You have a proverb which says, ‘The workman is known by his work.’ Look around you, and, from the quality of the work, infer that of the workman.”
Tuesday 10 July 2007
Day 76: SANE
Today, I want to share the effect an article had on me when I read it in last Sunday’s The Sunday Times (UK). It was an article about mental illness and the setting up of a charity called SANE to deal with what is apparently a chronic shortage of adequate care facilities for those who are in acute need of treatment.
In a civilized and prosperous country it is nothing short of a scandal that provision for those with serious mental health problems is poor, and according to the founder of SANE, leads directly to 100 suicides a year. So moved was I by the article, that I will investigate setting up a fund from the proceeds of my book to go to this or a similar charity. All too often, around the world, those who suffer from mental health problems are seen less as sufferers and more as causing their own illnesses and there is little sympathy, understanding or support as well as similar disarray in terms of funding and organisation of the services that are meant to care for them.
I need to research more about SANE, but certainly we can all do something to help by being aware that those with mental health problems are often the most reviled and ignored yet frequently simply because the causes of their illnesses are not known. Many have been sexually abused or been made homeless or have suffered other severe threats to anyone’s sanity, so we would do well to not see free will as being involved – often those who attempt suicide are doing so out of abject despair not any kind of true freedom. I hope that a recent reform coming through parliament will help but it is the public in all countries who can help the most by not giving way to prejudice or fear.
It is common to see people visiting inmates in prisons, but what schemes are there for people to support those suffering from debilitating depression, isolated in decaying psychiatric establishments? I think a sea change is necessary in how we treat the most vulnerable in society and needed now. For without charity, where are we as a nation or indeed as a world?
To learn more about SANE see http://www.sane.org.uk/
In a civilized and prosperous country it is nothing short of a scandal that provision for those with serious mental health problems is poor, and according to the founder of SANE, leads directly to 100 suicides a year. So moved was I by the article, that I will investigate setting up a fund from the proceeds of my book to go to this or a similar charity. All too often, around the world, those who suffer from mental health problems are seen less as sufferers and more as causing their own illnesses and there is little sympathy, understanding or support as well as similar disarray in terms of funding and organisation of the services that are meant to care for them.
I need to research more about SANE, but certainly we can all do something to help by being aware that those with mental health problems are often the most reviled and ignored yet frequently simply because the causes of their illnesses are not known. Many have been sexually abused or been made homeless or have suffered other severe threats to anyone’s sanity, so we would do well to not see free will as being involved – often those who attempt suicide are doing so out of abject despair not any kind of true freedom. I hope that a recent reform coming through parliament will help but it is the public in all countries who can help the most by not giving way to prejudice or fear.
It is common to see people visiting inmates in prisons, but what schemes are there for people to support those suffering from debilitating depression, isolated in decaying psychiatric establishments? I think a sea change is necessary in how we treat the most vulnerable in society and needed now. For without charity, where are we as a nation or indeed as a world?
To learn more about SANE see http://www.sane.org.uk/
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