Cancellation: October Jizo Bosatsu

The Jizo Bosatsu ceremony scheduled for 9 a.m., Sunday, October 21st has been canceled. The next celebration will be Sunday, November 18th at 9 am. Thank you - thank your ancestors.

Reminder of September/October Coursework

Single weekend options are available: 

Institute of American Acupuncture & Life Medicine
443 N. New Ballas Rd. Suite # 224
St. Louis, MO 63141
(314) 991-6044
INOCHI – The Ministry (ULC)
Rev. Thomas E. Duckworth
Doctor of Kototama Life Medicine
announces


Autumn approaches;
Life Energy turns inward;
The Season of discrimination
Follows the Season of excess.
It is the time to make choices;
Harvest what will feed you in the Winter.


This Fall, I am being sponsored by the Institute of American Acupuncture & Life Medicine(IAALM) and Inochi, a ministry of the Universal Life Church (ULC), in presenting a fifty hour training program entitled THE WAY OF THE HEALING WARRIOR.  This program is a summation of the basic skills and training of Sakai Sensei, Nakazono Sensei and Dr. Duckworth and their commitment to sharing the power of healing and the Way of Kototama Medicine.

The program schedule will be:
    September 15th & 16TH          New Moon: The Arising of the Healing Warrior
September 23rd            Jizo Bosatsu – Healing Sounds & the Celebration of life
September 29th& 30th        Full Moon: The Sounds of the Healing Warrior
October 13th & 14th        New Moon: The Growth of the Healing Warrior
October 21st            Jizo Bosatsu – Healing Sounds & the Celebration of life
October 27th & 28th        Full Moon: The Fulfillment of the Healing Warrior

The cost for this one time presentation is $850.  The four twelve hour weekends may be attended individually for the fee of $252 per weekend.  The required textbook, The Real Sense of Natural Therapy, will be available through IAALM after September 1st  or may be purchased directly from www.kototamabooks.com.   Completion of the full course earns a Certificate in Angelic Healing.

Enrollment:  There is a minimum of four and a maximum of twelve enrollees.  Registration ends on September 10th.  Write iaalm@sbcglobal.net for registration form.  Thank you.

Thomas E. Duckworth, DKM, L.Ac.
Executive Director – IAALM

August Events at NLTC

August 16 (6pm-6:45pm): Kototama Sound Practice; Public Invited

August 19 (9:00am-10:30am); Jizo Bosatsu Celebration; Public Invited

August 23 (6pm-7:30pm); Kototama Class; Public Invited

 August 30 6pm-9pm)   Professional Development Activities; Professionals invited

Fall Program

Institute of American Acupuncture & Life Medicine
443 N. New Ballas Rd. Suite # 224
St. Louis, MO 63141
(314) 991-6044

INOCHI – The Ministry (ULC)
Rev. Thomas E. Duckworth
Doctor of Kototama Life Medicine

announces

Autumn approaches;

Life Energy turns inward;

The Season of discrimination

Follows the Season of excess.

It is the time to make choices;

Harvest what will feed you in the Winter.
This Fall, I am being sponsored by the Institute of American Acupuncture & Life Medicine(IAALM) and Inochi, a ministry of the Universal Life Church (ULC), in presenting a fifty hour training program entitled THE WAY OF THE HEALING WARRIOR.  This program is a summation of the basic skills and training of Sakai Sensei, Nakazono Sensei and Dr. Duckworth and their commitment to sharing the power of healing and the Way of Kototama Medicine.

The program schedule will be:

September 15th & 16th: New Moon: The Arising of the Healing Warrior
September 23rd: Jizo Bosatsu – Healing Sounds & the Celebration of life
September 29th& 30th: Full Moon: The Sounds of the Healing Warrior
October 13th & 14th: New Moon: The Growth of the Healing Warrior
October 21st: Jizo Bosatsu – Healing Sounds & the Celebration of life
October 27th & 28th: Full Moon: The Fulfillment of the Healing Warrior

The cost for this one time presentation is $850.  The four twelve hour weekends may be attended individually for the fee of $252 per weekend.  The required textbook, The Real Sense of Natural Therapy, will be available through IAALM after September 1st  or may be purchased directly from www.kototamabooks.com.   Completion of the full course earns a Certificate in Angelic Healing.

Enrollment:  There is a minimum of four and a maximum of twelve enrollees.  Registration ends on September 10th.  Write iaalm@sbcglobal.net for registration form.  Thank you.

Thomas E. Duckworth, DKM, L.Ac.

Seasonal Health: Summer

Dear Friends,

Summer. Expansive. Yang. We have touched on how the different seasons play an intricate role in our health. How do the summer months affect our health here in St. Louis?

There are two basic energies in the universe, yin and yang; concentrating and expanding energies. Energy concentrates in the colder months and expands in the warmer months. We attempt, through lifestyle and diet, to obey and synchronize with these natural laws, and if we don’t, we experience dis-ease or even illness.

We encourage you to listen to your body. As the weather becomes warmer and warmer, what foods or drink do you crave? If you start to crave more fruits and vegetables and more raw food then you’re on track. If you crave less meats and lighter proteins, such as, fish or grain proteins, then you’re on track. If you drink more water in general then you’re on track. During the summer months, the days are longer, and you may feel more active until later in the evening. You may even sleep less but not feel more tired. If you feel low, either energetically or emotionally, you may notice that you recuperate more quickly. These are all responses of the Yang season, summer.

So as we head into summer pay attention to your body, to your emotions and mental state, to your cravings. If you find that you are off track, make some adjustments. The changes you make or don’t make in this season will affect you in the following season. In the warmer months, especially summer, due to the expansive, yang aspect of our energy, we often will be able to push our bodies, even ‘disobey’ the natural laws I just spoke of and not get ill during the summer. However, if you pay attention, you may find that early the following season, you don’t feel so well, perhaps even get sick. It is quite possible that this is due to overdoing it in the summer, not listening to the natural laws.

Being attentive to yourself, to your emotional and mental state, your lifestyle and diet, and making adjustments as needed, is, in essence, preventative health care. Coming in for an energetic alignment towards the end of the season and receiving your Meridian Acupuncture treatment is also preventative health work. I’ll leave you for now with one of my favorite preventative health care quotes from the Yellow Emperor’s Classic from 500 B.C., the oldest known Oriental medical text:

“To administer medicines to diseases which have already developed and thereby suppress bodily chaos which has already occurred is comparable to the behavior of those who would begin to dig a well after they have grown thirsty, or those who would begin to cast weapons after they have engaged in battle. Would these actions not be too late?”

Keep in touch and let Dr. Duckworth or I know if we can be of assistance to you and your family with your health care needs and goals.

Enjoy your summer!

With gratitude,

Jason R. Hackler, Dipl.Ac, L.Ac.

Thomas Duckworth, DKM, L.Ac.

June Coursework

Kototama Sound Practice - Thursday, June 14.  6:00 PM-6:30 PM

    

Jizo Bosatsu - Celebration of Life - Sunday, June 17.  9:00 AM-10:30 AM [Note new time] :)

    

Kototama Studies - Thursday, June 26.  6:00 PM-7:30 PM

 

Spring/Summer Coursework & Classes

Inochi Full Body Te a Te Studies
Incorporating Anma, Ampuku, Shiatsu and Kappo
Based on the teachings of M.M. Nakazono, Osensei; Master Sakai; and
Thomas. E. Duckworth, Doctor of Kototama Medicine

Saturday, May 5th, 9:00 am-3:30 pm            
Saturday, June 9th, 9:00 am-3:30 pm
Saturday, June 23rd, 9:00 am-3:30 pm
Saturday, July 14th, 9:00 am-3:30 pm
Saturday, July 21st, 9:00 am-3:30 pm
Saturday, July 28th, 9:00 am-3:30 pm

Explanation, Demonstration, Application, Reception, Discussion

36 hours w /Certificate of Attendance                        
Fee: $1,000.00
This class is full.  
If interested in the Autumn program, contact Dr. Thomas Duckworth at (314) 991-6035.

Other:

Thursday, May 3rd, 6:00 pm-6:30 pm, Sound practice
Thursday, May 17th, 6:00 pm-7:30 pm, Sound Class
Sunday, May 20th, 9:00 am-10:30 am, Jizo Bosatsu Ceremony

Thursday, June 7th, 6:00 pm-6:30 pm, Sound practice
Thursday, June 21st, 6:00 pm-7:30 pm, Sound Class
Sunday, June 17th, 9:00 am-10:30 am, Jizo Bosatsu Ceremony

Thursday, July 5th, 6:00 pm-6:30 pm, Sound practice (CANCELLED)
Thursday, July 19th, 6:00 pm-7:30 pm, Sound Class
Sunday, July 22nd, 9:00 am-10:30 am, Jizo Bosatsu Ceremony

Sunday, August 19th, 9:00 am-10:30 am, Jizo Bosatsu Ceremony

Meridian Points in Acupuncture

Dr. Duckworth suggests a view...

Sound Meditation and Jizo Bosatsu: this week

Sound Meditation class tonight at 6:30;  Jizo Bosatsu Ceremony at 10 am, Sunday, April 22.

 

Next  month: Sound Meditation class on May  17th (Thurs) at 6 :30 pm and Jizo Bosatsu  at 9 am, Sunday, May 20th.

Continuing Studies: March Calendar

Come join us. There are no fees for these activities.

Thursday, March 1, 6:30-8:00 p.m.; Breath & Sound
Thursday, March 8, 6:30-8:00 p.m.; Sound & Quiet

Breath, Sound & Quiet - Enhancing the Spiritual Journey - Practice of Meditation, Contemplation, Japa and Kototama Sound with discussion.

Thursday, March 15, 6:30-8:00 p.m.; Kototama Studies

Carrying on the Way of Ogasawara and Nakazono - Studying how consciousness and language are co-creators of "reality."

Sunday, March, 18, 10-11-ish a.m.; Jizo Bosatsu Ceremony

Jizo Bosatsu - Every month, we celebrate life, living and all those who came before us, allowing us to come into being. This Jizo Bosatsu Ceremony takes place on the Sunday closest to, but not past, the 23rd of each month. Jizo Bosatsu Ceremony will be held on March 18th, April 22nd and May 20th.

All studies presented by the Institute for Acupuncture and Life Medicine and Thomas Duckworth, L.Ac., Doctor of Kototama Medicine.

The Story Has No Beginning

By Thomas Duckworth, DKM, L.Ac.

The story has no beginning but one chapter tells of involvement with collegiate political rabble-rousers who advocated laissez-faire everything and ingested psycho-tropic substances, often with the intent of attempting to explore the depths and boundaries of the human mind, yet continuing with the same intellectual and spiritual compromises. It was 1966. I had been ritualistically ingesting peyote for 5 years before I first took LSD. In one eight hour period, LSD doubled the sum total of the psychedelic spiritual experiences I had had in the past five years. The senses and sensibilities were taking on new meaning; the rational mind was going into retirement, or at least, time out.

Our little group had founded the Alliance of Libertarian Activists (ALA) in response to the Right-wing Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) and Left-wing Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). We focused our activities on the University of California-Berkeley campus. First we sponsored a talk and discussion entitled “Fuck Communism, A Right-wing Case for Sexual Freedom.” It drew a small but appreciative audience but we wanted a bigger presence. What could we do?

The idea was fairly collective. I don’t know how we got our speaker or who scheduled the lecture hall. I do remember showing up early to meet and greet our guest, Richard Alpert, Ph.D, formerly of Harvard University, now unemployed psychedelic advocate extraordinaire and first such type of speaker invited onto the Berkeley Campus. Our little organization had achieved stardom!

I was looking at a tall, lanky 35 year old with dishwater curly blond hair, a white, puffy-sleeved Mexican wedding shirt and multi-colored checkered pants. Visually pleasant if you’re ‘trippin’’ on acid. I was. Later that year, I too adopted the practice of dressing as if everyone I encountered might be in an expanded state of consciousness and would appreciate good visuals.

He did not look like a 1966 college professor. Well, maybe he looked like a college professor who had been fired by Harvard for the crime of advocating expanded consciousness. Everything seemed pretty “far-out,” and I couldn’t figure out if it was his vibe, his attire or my current state of mind. I had a very strong urge to talk with him. After his presentation, he agreed to talk with me privately.

I do not know what Dick Alpert addressed in the auditorium. I was in an altered state. Afterwards, we went for a walk and talked. My previous psychedelic experiences had been deep and far reaching, in very foreign terrain and unguided. Now I was on a guided journey with an older brother. Primarily he assisted me reaching into myself for deeper self-awareness. He endorsed my looking into my own mirror to see the light and recognize how I was casting the shadows on my own mental and spiritual landscape. We talked of consciousness and family and the role and goal of the visionary or scout; the potential and the ability to respond to an ever new moment. We talked for hours.

He returned to New Hampshire where he lived, I returned to my family and continued with my studies and inner journey. We corresponded occasionally and he continued to offer insights to my questions.

One day I was on a psychedelic journey and I was very much in my head with the “Who am I?” “What if……” “Is there any sense to this or any experience?” Thinking and wondering and trying to figure out what life is all about, I wandered out into the yard and stood staring at a young maple tree, a sapling. It spoke to me and said, “I am. Be. All is complete and perfect. Be.” As they say, it blew my mind.

As that experience settled in, I wrote a letter to Dick and shared my “burning bush” experience.

Months went by and I did not hear from him. That was unusual and I thought, “Oh boy, I went over the deep end and he is putting distance between us.” Actually, I really did not feel abandoned. I had confidence in him and in our relationship and I told myself to be patient and to remember the sage advice of the maple tree. Sometime later, I heard that he gone off to Africa or India or someplace exotic, probably in search of psychotropic substances.

It was about a year and a half later when the letter arrived. The handwriting and the Franklin, New Hampshire postmark told me who it was from. I was wrong, it wasn’t from Dick Alpert.

The 5 1/2 x 8 sheet of golden rod colored paper had gold ink writing on it. Close examination revealed Sanskrit beautifully written all over it. The letter was written in black ink. At the top, he had drawn the OM symbol. The letter read:

(front page)
Tom
“Difficulty at the beginning works
Supreme success,
Furthering Through perseverance"
I Ching

Do nought with the body but relax
Shut firm the mouth and silence remain
Empty your mind and think of nought
Like a hollow bamboo
Rest at ease your body
Giving not nor taking
Put your mind at rest
Mahamudra is like a mind that clings
To nought
Thus practicing in time you will
Reach Buhhahood
The Song of Mahmudra


Desire is a trap
Desire-less-ness is MOXA.

I have no scruple of change nor fear of death,
Nor was I ever born, Nor had I parents.

(back page)

India (Bharat) took me by the hand &
led me through the door
NOW
I am doing Sadhana
In a cabin in New Hampshire
The only battle is within!

Ashirbad (Blessings)

Shanti

Ram Dass*

*Dick Alpert

______________________________________________________________________________

Clearly, a new chapter was now in the works. A spiritual teacher had materialized. To be continued.

Meditation Classes

"Enhancing the Spiritual Journey": classes on sound, silence, prayer and meditation at Natural Life Therapy Clinic, 443 N. New Ballas Rd, #224, St. Louis 63141.

(314)991-6035

Thursday Jan 12 & Jan 19, from 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.