In 1973, I had the good fortune to study and observe both acupuncture and martial arts in Kowloon and Hong Kong, China. While in Kowloon, I was the student of Master Tam Po Kwan who, without a doubt, was one of the most revered masters of his time. This year-long experience was the impetus to continue my study of a variety of life's mental energetics that led to what most would consider a very successful practice. On my return to the United States, I continued my studies with various masters, collecting from them a host of thoughts and philosophies that have been considered the most powerful of the "laws of life." What follows here are without question the most important rules governing a successful life and practice perhaps ever assembled. When I studied in China, this type of mental focus was referred to as the "Breath of the Dragon"!
Post these laws in a conspicuous place and read just one or two of them each morning. Do not try to study daily all of them at one time. Make these laws an integral part of your life and know them by memory. Doing this will be met with incredible rewards; to ignore this advice may be one of the most foolish things you will have ever done. What will become of your personal development, practice and life adventures will be forever positively altered by knowing and using these laws.
Lao Tzu has been credited with saying, "A journey of a thousand miles, begins with a single step." Best wishes on your life journey: you've taken the first step.
THE LAW OF CREATION: Whatever we think about and focus on, grows into reality. We create the situations we think about throughout the day. Think you will succeed, you will. Think you will fail, you will do that too. Think you are old, others will perceive you that way. The same is true for youthfulness.
THE LAW OF ATTRACTION: We attract people, places, things and circumstances into our lives in direct proportion to our wants, needs and desires. People and situations come into our lives not by accident, but by our creation of the need.
THE LAW OF CONTROLLING OUR OWN LIFE: If we are not specifically controlling our own life and creating the circumstances which are necessary to meet our desires, we will become an instrument for others who do have control of their own life. We in essence will be used by others to meet their mission and destiny.
THE LAW OF RELAXATION: With physical laws, the harder we work, the more is accomplished. With mental laws, the more we relax, believe and expect to succeed with ease and confidence, the better the results.
THE LAW OF RECIPROCITY: Whatever we see in the universe sees us! Whatever attitudes, feelings, thoughts and desires we put out, regardless of if they are negative or positive, will always return to us.
THE LAW OF THE UNIVERSE (KARMA): Like the Law of Reciprocity, which deals with mental factors, the Law of Karma deals with physical manifestations. This law is what may affect our personal belongings, physical health and financial status. This law works both negatively or positively depending upon what we have put out to the universe.
THE LAW OF RETURN: Our rewards in life are in direct harmony with the value of our products, services or ideas.
THE LAW OF SUBSTITUTION: Consciously substitute all negative thoughts with positive ones immediately upon experiencing the negative thought. We can only experience one thought at any given time, therefore by substituting a positive for a negative, only positive will reach the subconscious.
THE LAW OF BELIEF: Whatever we believe with strong feelings becomes our reality. We are not limited by what we think we can do, but by what we think we can't. Self-limitations are not based upon reality; they are based on negative belief systems.
THE LAW OF PRESENT TIME CONSCIOUSNESS: It is imperative that we live in the present as opposed to "tomorrow," or in the past. Preparing for tomorrow with righteous living and positive thoughts prepare us for what we will manifest, however, it is what we do today, right now (present time consciousness) which is important to achieve the rewards of life.
THE LAW OF PERSONAL GROWTH: "To become, act and feel as if." To become a successful practitioner, businessperson, parent, sports player, etc. act and feel as if you are already successful. The human spirit will act upon what it is given.
THE LAW OF EXPECTATION: We must know what it is we want to accomplish or obtain before the universe can manifest our desires. Most people don't know what they want due to unclear thinking and foggy mental vision.
THE LAW OF CLARITY: The clarity of our mind and thoughts are in direct proportion to the physical clutter in our lives. Take a look around you.
THE LAW OF CAUSE AND EFFECT: Within universal law, our thoughts are the cause; the conditions, either good or bad, are the effects. The outcome is totally dependent on our creation of thought.
THE LAW OF PERSEVERENCE: People who succeed, never stop trying. People who stop trying, never succeed.
THE LAW OF FORGIVENESS: Forgiving all others is a necessary and effective purgative for a successful life. The law doesn't demand that we like the other person or situation, just that we forgive them and let go of the mental chains which entrap us.
Chronic pain afflicts over 20% of the adult population. Sadly, most MDs have essentially no education in treating pain, beyond offering a few toxic medications. Then they tend to steer people with pain away from those health practitioners who are trained. This puts the acupuncture community on the front lines for addressing this epidemic.
When the body is going through a stressful event, the sympathetic system is activated. This activation will help the body with a life-threatening situation. If this state is activated for prolonged periods of time, it starts to consume energy. These traumatic events that generate stressors in the autonomic nervous system (ANS) will eventually become internalized.
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One of the things that makes acupuncture so difficult to measure is that the medicine actually does contain some esoteric aspects. There have been numerous studies that demonstrate the neurochemical reasoning behind why acupuncture points stimulate the autonomic nervous system to enact change However, not all the benefits of TCM can easily be measured by randomized, controlled trials. But does that make them fundamentally and definitively untrue?
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