Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Reminder: Classes

Classes Spring 2009
Thursday, 26 February 2009

Due to consumer demand, the Natural Life Therapy Educational Presentations are now scheduled on Thursday evenings from 6:00pm to 7:30pm. These studies will cover an understanding of Natural Medicine for the consumer, as well as the philosophical basis of Natural Life Therapy, that is, the Kototama Principle. These presentations will draw upon the work of Masahilo M. Nakazono Osensei, founder of Natural Life Therapy, with much references to his books, The Real Sense of Natural Medicine; Messiah's Return; Inochi, The Book of Life; and Kototama Principle. These presentations are free and open to the public. Each class will begin with 15 minutes of Sound Meditation.

April 30: Messiah's Return – Kototama Sounds
May 7: Physical Exercise
May 14: Messiah's Return – Kototama 100 Gods
May 21: Diet and Physical Health
May 28: Messiah's Return – The Perfection of Civilization
June 4: Traditional Medicine
June 11: Explanation of the Fifty Sounds of Kototama
June 18: Home Health Care Recipes
June 22 - August 27: Summer Break

JIZO BOSATSU: The Celebration of Life, is conducted one Sunday each month at 10am: March 22, April 19, May 17, June 21, July 19, Aug 23

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Miso Soup

Though we might be exiting the true "soup season," there's nothing wrong with a nice bowl of miso soup for lunch, dinner, or (it's true!) breakfast, when the warming qualities of the soup can really getting your day off to a nutritious start.

We point you today to a simple recipe for a simple soup, compliments of the Natural Life Therapy Clinic website. Here's that link.

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Next week, we'll have more from our Conversations series, with Dr. Duckworth discussing the actual properties of the needles used during acupuncture; and Jason Hackler discussing his origins in Kototama Life Medicine. Stop back by, or subscribe with the RSS feeds available to the right.

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Converstations with Dr. Duckworth: On Chanting

Krishna Das will be appearing at the Ethical Society on Tuesday, as noted in the previous post. As Dr. Duckworth is advocating for his patients to consider attendance, it seems a good time to check in with him on his feeling towards chanting.

How did you become introduced to chanting?
Well, I first heard about it as a teenager, hearing Catholic monks doing Gregorian chants. But my spiritual journey included time spent with an acquaintance, a friend, Dick Alpert, who went to India and came back Ram Dass. I commenced studies with him 1969 and it was he who taught me how chanting worked as a form of meditation.

What was the appeal to you at that time? The most profound elements of it?
Internal quietude. It was almost instantaneous. You begin working with the sounds, the mantra, and it's just a peaceful feeling. And it was from the first times I did it. Studying in Kototama, I began learning that this was tapping into the "ah" dimension. So many chants are in that "ah" sound: krishna, rama rama. Those vibrations lift the spirit.

Have you heard that said by others?
I've never discussed it, as we are here, but as a shared experience, absolutely. From my travels in the '60s and '70s, I became very open to a Hindu-type of chanting, and dervish dancing, from the Islamic traditions.

For people who have not taken part in a collective chanting experience, what might keep them from going the first time? And I suppose the flipside to that: what would attract them?
To the first, I'd say anyone who's afraid of what's outside their own world, would feel that. Those who would feel that it might deflect from their own spiritual practices; there are a lot of so-called Christians who fear that this would be serving some other God. I have a friend who has practiced yoga for years, in classes, but is afraid to do yoga outside, for fear someone would see her doing yoga. I had a patient yesterday, who has been involved in yoga for years and is relatively-recently remarried. I've met her husband, who is salt-of-the-earth, a great guy. And she asked if she should take him to Krishna Das' evening session and I said, "no. He would freak out and go running down the street." People who are not strong in their own spiritual practices, or those who are not comfortable with their own practices, or those whose spiritual practices don't provide them with that sense of peace... then, yeah, those people would not be attracted to this. But those who've had a sense of euphoria from listening to, say, gospel singers... they should go. Those who've listened to Southern Baptists singing songs to God should go. Anyone who enjoys hearing the sounds of voices should partake in and experience chanting.

With the shape of the evening, how would you anticipate the evening going?
One part of me says to really try to do something that I've tried to achieve my whole adult life, which is to not have anticipation. Having said that, the longest chant I've been involved with happened many years ago, when several hundred of us gathered in a park in Boulder, CO, and chanted songs to Shiva, from sunset to sunrise. It was summertime, so a shorter night, but still about 10-hours of chanting and it was collectively extraordinary and euphoric. I expect this evening would be about three hours. I'd expect that people who don't achieve that sense of euphoria to be bored, to be looking around. Those who synchronize with the activity of the evening will have their blood pressure lowered and their sense of peacefulness increased. And they'll leave with a smile on their face.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

An Evening of Chanting with Krishna Das

"An Evening of Chanting with Krishna Das," April 21, 7:30 pm-10:30 pm at the Ethical Society of St. Louis, 9001 Clayton Road. Tickets $25.00 in advance and $30.00 at the door. Advanced tickets online at www.krishnadas.com; local availability at The Living Insights Center, 6361 Clayton Road.

That's what the flyer tells you. Here's what I can tell you. I first partook in chanting with Krishna Das about 35 years ago, both at Lama Foundation and at my ranch in Embudo, New Mexico. Through the sacred blessing from our Guru, Neem Karoli Baba Maharaji. I had been introduced to sacred chanting by my teacher, Baba Ram Dass in 1969 and five years later, found myself with Krishna Das and 70 others in my orchard chanting the sacred sounds that open the heart and mind. It was the chanting and singing of sacred sounds that led me to Masahilo M. Nakazono O Sensei and the study of Kototama, Sacred Sounds of Words. The study of Kototama Sound is the basis of the medicine I practice, Kototama Life Medicine. So it is no surprise that I write to encourage all to set aside the evening of April 21st and come chant. The very worse that could happen, is nothing.

See you there,
Thomas (Govind Das) Duckworth, Doctor of Kototama Life Medicine

Monday, April 13, 2009

The Artwork of M.B. Shaw

We were remiss in not posting up word of a recent art show by an Official Friend of Natural Life Therapy Clinic. But you can catch up on the work of M.B. Shaw at a couple of places.

Digital galleries and general information can be found at her website.

You can also track her shows and workshops at her blog.

We hope you visit one, or both.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Benefits of Walking

They might seem evident, but writer Bill Bunn takes the notion of walking and extends some extra benefits to the experience.

Here's a recent piece from Salon.com that will appeal to pedestrians of all sorts.

Monday, April 6, 2009

ABC News: Acupuncture for Kids

Concerned about your kids and allergies this season? Mr. Hackler suggests taking a look at a recent ABC special on Acupuncture for Kids. Though we can't embed the video here, we can point you to the link, which also contains the text version of the story, in case you can't watch video at work.

Click here for words and video from ABC News.

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Acupuncture and Allergic Rhinitis

A piece on the above topic was just posted at the Natural Life Therapy website, but we'll go ahead and link it here, for your convenience.