Category Archives: Blog

What is Your Cup of Tea? (4)

Pu-erh tea grows in China’s Yunnan province. Its history can be traced back to the Han dynasty (206 B.C. – A.D. 220) but it became popular outside China only at the end of 20th century. Pu-erh tea is made from a large-leafed variety of tea. The buds and tender leaves are first converted to raw material called mao-cha (毛茶) by a process involving wilting, kneading, and drying in the sun. The mao-cha is then steamed and pressed into a compressed disk or brick form, then put in storage to allow a natural aging process to “mature” the tea.

Continue reading

What is Your Cup of Tea? (3)

With green tea as an innocent, energetic teenager, and oolong tea as a sophisticated, mature lady, there must be a father figure in the tea family; it is an assertive gentleman– Black Tea.

Black tea, which the Chinese call “red tea” because of its rich red color when properly brewed, is a fully fermented tea.  With a strong full-bodied flavor and taste, black tea is the most consumed tea in the world.  It accounts for some 70% of all production and consumption.

Continue reading

What is Your Cup of Tea? (2)

Oolong tea is a partially fermented tea.  The process of making oolong tea is consider being the most exquisite and refined tea-making technique.  Oolong tea combines the mellow sweetness of black tea and the fresh fragrance of green tea.  From the point of the Yin-Yang theory, green tea is more yin, black tea is more yang.  Oolong tea being in-between, is the most balance variety of tea, harmonizing both yin and yang qualities.

Continue reading

What is Your Cup of Tea? (1)

There are over a couple hundred varieties of tea in China and there are many ways to classify them: by locality, by harvest season, by processing method, and by the form of the finished product. The varying characteristics of tea –color, aroma, taste, and form –are largely the result of enzymatic oxidation.  This process is traditionally called “fermentation,” even though it is not actually caused by yeast or other organisms.

Continue reading

Chi and the Higgs Boson-God Particle

On July 4th, while America celebrated their national Independence Day, the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) physicists celebrated the discovery of a new particle, Higgs boson, also known as the God particle; the long sought elementary particle that gives mass to the universe, the possible missing piece of the Standard Model of physics.

 

CERN physicists hailed this discovery as the biggest advance in knowledge about the cosmos of over 30 years.  From the point of view of future physics, this may be the end of an era, yet this historic milestone may be just the beginning of future discovery.

Continue reading

More on Fasting

On my birthday, I began my routine fasting, following the method I posted on my previous blog “The Secret of Successful Fasting”.  After a couple days, I did not have any hungry feeling what-so-ever.  However, eating is an important part of living.  Without food you are missing a lot of fun in life.  Though not hungry, I felt bored.  So, I decided to ask for help.  Right before I slept, I lay in bed and talked to my body: “fasting should not be boring, please help”.  And magically, the following day I felt happy and lively, the boredom and any desire for food had simply gone.  I was able do my writing throughout most of the whole day as well as fit in a one and half hour walk.

If we see a human being as a Taiji, based on the holographic theory, the external features, internal organs, and single cells are the same Taiji but are on different levels.  From a Taoist perspective, by communicating to micro levels; there is a more intimate connection. In mobilizing the support of the WHOLE body, the resonance brings forth empowerment to manifest what you are asking for.

Try to talk to your body on all levels. You might be surprised to find out that indeed, it listens and works.

 

The Secret of Successful Fasting

Two years ago, I used fasting to cleanse my body as a way to celebrate my birthday.  The fasting resulted in more energy, better mental clarity, and boosted spirits—as well as weight loss. I felt so good during the fast and hoped to continue as long as I could. However an important consulting mission in the Ukraine ended the fasting on the 24th day. Today, I still maintain the weight I achieved at the end of fasting.

Continue reading

Natural Law Perspectives on Vegetarianism as a Spiritual Path

Vegetarianism has been a popular topic among nutritionists and spiritual seekers, as well as in political circles. About 400 million people, roughly 6% of the world population, claim to be vegetarian. Their reasons are varied, from seeking better health to adhering to cultural and religious codes, to respecting sentient life. One question I often hear is, “How important is vegetarianism on the spiritual path?”

Continue reading

The Feng Shui Prospective of 9-11 Memorial Park

Ten years in the making, the National September 11 Memorial was completed and opened to the public on September 12, 2011.  The eight-acre park was designed by Israeli- American, Michael Arad of Handle Architects, a New York and San Francisco firm.

The Memorial is composed of a forest of swamp white oak trees with two square pools, one on each of the original foot prints of the North and South Towers.  The core of the design is a 30-foot man-made wall of water that hugs the sides of the one-acre reflecting pools. The downward-streaming water is meant to symbolize falling tears.

Continue reading

Why has so much money flooded the Seattle/Puget Sound area in the last couple decades?

Change is the nature of the universal energy, qi. The only thing in the universe that does not change is change itself.  Change reflects the flow of energy.  On a large scale, the planet’s energy shifts from continent to continent by the century. In the 19th century energy was high in Europe, in the 20th century energy moved to North America, and in the 21st century energy is flowing toward Asia.

Continue reading