Ted Cibik's Inner Strength

Season of Thanks

2011-11-21T17:11:35Z

In the hustle and bustle of the upcoming holiday season, please take a moment to give thanks for all the blessings that you have currently. Notice I said currently, not what you did have or what you would like to have. The thankfulness should start out really simple …very simple.

Giving thanks that you can breathe, for there are many who struggle daily with COPD, asthma, emphysema, or mesothelioma etc. Giving thanks that you can still walk, for those who have lost their legs to war, accidents, paralysis or diabetes.

Giving thanks that you can read this to broaden the mind and a simple pleasure of being able to read a joke, or cartoon to make you smile. You get the picture. So often the very basics that impact the quality of life are the simplest, never mentally appreciated until they are gone or stripped away from you.

If you start out the day with a small meditation like this and just give thanks for what you already have and maybe even take for granted, the day may seem a little lighter and brighter. For me it is an excellent mediation, sometimes in a form of a prayer, awakening my consciousness to the fact that I have so much abundance in my life.

This is a humbling exercise in a time of year that is traditionally so full of over-stimulation and competition. By staying simple – a truly Taoist attribute – we come to realize that joy and happiness are a by-product of appreciating our God-given gifts.

FormlessTaoism

2011-08-11T20:15:03Z

The modern world of the 21rst century is enormous with rapid change.

Formless Taoism is a way to experience and to gain peace within oneself for the 21rst century – exuding that peace in all you do. It is not religion, nor does it follow any other markings of a Taoist sect of thought. It can’t if it’s to be redesigned for the 21rst century. Old truths will always be true, but the language we use to explain them has to evolve - as so do we.

Therefore, previous terminology, stratifications, charts and everything else must evolve to meet the modern mind and truth. Formless Taoism is a way to train the mind to be able to deal with life’s inevitable problems, to reflect the changing world, to utilize the powers of the mind and the heart and to see the options in life. It tears away the delusion (judgment) that causes suffering and gives a perspective on how to live an authentic life. It allows the body, mind and spirit to heal from trauma. The methods increase concentrative abilities thereby being able to make optimal decisions with far less stress to the system. The result is a peaceful state of mind no matter what life throws at you.

The Formless Taoist method of instruction www.formlesstaoism.com opens up the doorway for true and lasting change. It is a pure way of training minds, consciousness and expanding ones ability to think independently. With this training, not only do doors of spiritual understanding open, but also critical thinking, decision-making and emotional discernment become increasingly clear.

One of my favorite authors, Thomas Merton wrote, : "Mystical Theology" and "Contemplation" are two ways of saying the same thing. So in Formless Taoism, we use contemplation or meditation as our vehicle and the power of that vehicle is based in nature. Nature being the most authoritative, enduring force that we can witness, experience and scratch the surface of understanding. Nature becomes our textbook and the Mind becomes the student.

Formless Daoism is meant to be experienced and felt, never to be locked into stasis, but free to grow and evolve into an intrapersonal evolution assisting the embodiment of ones’ own spirit, towards a fulfillment of ones destiny.

New Years Resolutions - Reduce Inflammation

2010-12-30T12:50:00Z

As the New Year rolls around, and we begin to think about our New Year Resolutions…many of which include diet and exercise. Diet and exercise control something called inflammation - which is born from stress. Now if there is no stress in your life, then you don’t have to read the rest of this blog.

Where you aware that inflammation is the possible cause of 80 – 90% of diseases in the body? Another way of saying this is to say that the reaction the body has to un-channeled, unfocused chronic stress is synonymous with inflammation. This low–grade inflammation that very people think about, know about, is the demise of our health.

Stress/inflammation can lead into such common disease as Alzheimer’s, allergies, Arthritis (yes, all of the over 100 types), heart disease, MS, cancer, IBS, ulcers, skin disorders, migraines – and the list goes on.

Theories of where does inflammation start have been postulated from dendritic cells, to Eosinophils, to B-Cell development to CD4 and CD8 Effector cells and then which systems mediate and keep the inflammation process accelerating including: immunoglobins, prostaglandins,Chemokines ( Interleukin-1, or IL-2, or IL-12, or Il-17, or IL-23 in Autoimmunity). Wheeeeew!

All of this research point to one simple fact: the medical/research community is baffled by the complete process of inflammation.

This article is not to give you a crash chemistry lesson, but to assure you that one of the most profound answers to 21rst century health care is much simpler than you think. Well, in that simplicity – it reveals ultra complexity!

In my research and in my own experience of surviving cancer, autoimmune disorders, arthritis, and multiple surgeries and infections from those surgeries, I am here to tell you that nothing ……Nothing ….will ever help you to heal and recuperate your health more than training the mind/body with the easiest being exercise or movement based therapies.

If fact if you have a disease – you can guarantee that inflammation from stress plays a huge part in its development and/or exacerbation. And no, you can’t just blame your genes anymore. Genetics plays less than 20% of your disease. Genes are not your destiny…!!!

Emotions, Diet, exercise (or the lack thereof), and stress control your destiny!

In other words, your mind…or your reactions to your internal /external environment – processed by the mind are your destiny.

Movement Is key to a healthy mind and body. Bodhidharma, way back in the 5^th /6ht century found this out when the monks he was trying to teach to become enlightened by meditation, could not hold a single point thought becasue their body was so deconditioned. For as long as you occupy this vessel or body, it is designed to move, work and then rest and relax or meditate - a Yin / Yang balance.

A brief summary of how inflammation starts and continues in the body:

· Stress causes an increased output of cortisol from the adrenal glands which fuels inflammation.

· Lack of sleep places a stress on the body with an inability to recuperate from previous days stressors.

· Too much fat, sugar, preservatives, processed and fast foods, sodas and energy drinks as well as over-proportioned amounts of fatty meat.

· An imbalance of organisms in your gut causes your immune system to overreact. H pylori is a bacteria in the stomach that contributes to inflammation and the development of ulcers. H pylori is present in 50% of adults over 60 years old and in 20% of adults under the age of 40!

· Leaky gut – an increase in the permeability of the intestinal lining can result in toxins leaking from the bowel resulting in inflammation

· Chronic low-grade food allergies or food sensitivities that may cause few symptoms.

· Toxins from food, water, your environment and personal care products. Most folks never think about the products they rub on their skin, but much of that can be absorbed into the blood.

· Food sensitivity or intolerance and food allergies cause low grade inflammation

· Obesity – the fatty tissues of the body secrete hormones that regulate the immune system and inflammation, but in the case of an overweight individual this can become out of control.

· Dehydration makes inflammation worse

So what can we do? Well start by including the following foods.

10 excellent inflammation-fighting foods

· Long Grain rice (Basmati, Jasmine etc) are really good for helping quiet inflammation and is a great alternative to the enormous amount of wheat product we consume

· Wild caught salmon, not farm-raised salmon, is another way to get beneficial omega-3 fatty acids. You can also try other fatty fish like mackerel and sardines.

· Tart cherries can reduce inflammation ten times better than aspirin! Tart cherries or cherry juice help reduce your risk for heart disease. Tart Cherry juice is also good to drink for bladder infections and UTI’s.

· Walnuts are often mentioned, but I have found a lot of folks allergic to this nut. A better choice is chestnuts roasted.

· Onions and Garlic. Onions have lots of quercetin, a potent antioxidant that can help your body fight inflammation. Be careful with onions if you have an irritable gut. Garlic has long been a folk remedy for colds and illness, and its anti-inflammatory properties are spectacular. Again be careful not to eat too much at once until you know your tolerance. Also, fresh garlic needs to be mashed in order for it to become biologically active with its anti-inflammatory properties.

· Fermented Foods and Liquids like organic Keefer, Yogurt and raw milk are good for the gut. If the gut is happy, your body is happy!

· Spices: Ginger & Tumeric

Turmeric is a spice used extensively in other cultures, and for good reason. It contains curcumin, a substance that actively reduces inflammation.

Ginger works in a way similar to tumeric to lower inflammation and in some studies has been shown to reduce pain associated with arthritis.

Next…GO FOR A WALK !!!

Yes ..this is the oldest form of exercise and is probably the best and always will be. Take your dog for a walk and then pet the dog - all has been proven to lower blood pressure and the inflammation response!

If you would like to find out more on how to reduce inflammation/stress and become educated on anti-aging therapies, please contact Inner Strength at 724-845-1041 or 1- 800-chi-gung.

Sleep or the Lack of It - An Epidemic

2010-10-04T14:11:00Z

Over 100 million people have trouble sleeping....well pretty much all of us at one time or another. But what I am speaking here is chronic - night after night of sleeplessness. Often, people will say that they dreamt all nigh and awoke exhausted too.

We now know that dreams, once thought to occur only during REM sleep, also occur (but to a lesser extent) in all sleep phases. It is theorized that there may not be a single moment of our sleep when we are actually dreamless.

REM dreams are characterized by bizarre plots, but non-REM dreams are repetitive and thought-like, with little imagery – such as obsessing that you forgot to lock the door to the house.

In a recent survey of 4,000 people with sleep issues, 65% stated that the number one reason they cannot fall asleep or have interrupted sleep is because of the inability to let go of the stress of the day. No surprise there

Unresolved stress manifest in disturbed sleep patterns affecting the internal organs in Chines Medicine. From rebellious Qi (acid reflux) to Shen disturbances manifesting in manic mood swings in bi-polar patients or initiating depression sequences. Research shows that an inability to sleep is one of the major signs of clinical depression.

Formless Taoism and Dream Therapy

In Formless Taoism, I have developed a method of utilizing lucid dreaming and therapeutic goal setting to assist patients in their progress towards healing. Since we spend one third of our lives sleeping, it makes sense to use this as a pro-active means of reinforcing and programming ourselves for success and happiness.

In sessions, we uncover many of the fears and insecurities that are preventing a client from achieving their objectives. Whether that is removing the fear of dying in a phase four cancer patient or ameliorating the worry of past transgressions and facing forgiveness of self and others, the patient can now begin to program themselves towards a healthier way of consciously living.

If you would like to read more, see my article in Qi Magazine this month for the full and complete article.

Or you can make an appointment here at Inner Strength. Please call us at 724-845-1041.

Food for Thought

2010-09-12T14:11:00Z

The self is limitless, like the Tao

People consume their own blood in defining their boxes

As you create a right, you create a wrong

By creating division, you create limitation.

Are Hearburn Drugs Dangerous?

2010-05-11T17:27:00Z

In a recent medical publication, there has been some startling news with regards to drug interactions (no surprise!)

Reported this month, the popular class of antacids that includes Aciphex, Dexilant, Nexium, Prevacid, Prilosec, and Protonix (called Proton Pump Inhibitors) increases the risk of C. diff infection and bone fracture!

Perhaps the scariest PPI risk is serious infection with C.difficile bacteria, a hard-to-cure infection that minimally causes severe diarrhea. Stomach acid with proper pH levels does a wonderful job of keeping C.diff down.

PPI's, however, keep stomach acid below the levels that protect against this bad bug. Yet another reason to look for other options for heartburn, which most of these drugs are prescribed for. Additionally, allopathic medicine knows that most stomach ulcers and associated digestive disorders are caused by an equally insidious bacterial infection. Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), not only triggers ulcers and acid reflux, but is behind the growing rates of stomach cancer, too!

A lot of data comes from the more than 130,000 women enrolled in the Women's Health Initiative. Women who reported current PPI use were 47% more likely to have had a spine fracture, 26% more likely to have a forearm or wrist fracture, and 25% more likely to have any kind of fracture. Clearly, a lot of this risk can be avoided!

I have developed an easy to follow program that keeps the stomach acid in the proper ph range and 90% of time eliminates the need for these drugs and their life-threatening side effects.

Often times this can be explained and a full gamelan given in just one appointment. To me, working with difficult cases it is like solving a mystery where the clues are sparse and unconnected. If you would like me to help you solve your mystery, please see my website at www.inner-strength.com for more details. Additionally, stress is such an impetus or catalyst for many issues of stomach upset and reflux. Please check out www.inner-strength.org to see many stress relieving options.

Is organic milk safe?

2010-04-24T21:50:04Z

Careful which ‘Organic “ milk product you buy!!!

Many of the “cheaper” organic milks have bGH or rBGH in them which is an additive that I believe is extremely dangerous to all humans and pets (dogs/cats) and can still be listed as "Organic!"

Bovine growth hormone, or bovine somatotropin (also called bGH, rbGH, or bST), is given to cows to make them mature faster and produce more milk. The hormone is produced by cows' pituitary gland and an extra amino acid is attached before it's injected into dairy cows. Any of the above listed products should be avoided in your milk, yogurt cottage, cheese consumption and needs to be labeled as such.

rBGH, is a highly potent genetically engineered version of BGH, the natural bovine growth hormone manufactured by Monsanto.

rBGH is sold to dairy farmers under the trade name Posilac. Injection of this hormone forces cows to increase their milk production by about 10%. Why we need this is a mystery, as currently, there is national surplus of milk production. Monsanto has stated that about one third of dairy cows in the nation are in large herds where the hormone is now used. rBGH factory farms now pose a major threat to the viability of small organic dairy farms, and fattens Monsanto’s pockets without any benefits to consumers.

Monsanto, strongly supported by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), still insists that hormonal milk is indistinguishable from natural milk, and that it is safe. This is blatantly false according to Samuel S. Epstein, M.D. Professor emeritus Environmental & Occupational Medicine University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health, Chairman, Cancer Prevention Coalition.

Dr. Epstein further states that:

Ø rBGH makes cows sick. Monsanto has been forced to admit to about 20 toxic effects, including mastitis, on its Posilac drug label.

Ø rBGH milk is often contaminated with pus, due to mastitis commonly induced by rBGH, and also with antibiotics used to treat the mastitis. This poses risks of nationwide antibiotic resistance to life threatening infections.

Ø rBGH milk is chemically, and nutritionally different than natural milk. These differences include increased levels of milk fat, posing cardiovascular risks.

Ø Milk from cows injected with rBGH is contaminated with the hormone, traces of which are absorbed through the gut into the blood, and provoke foreign antibodies.

Ø rBGH milk is supercharged with high levels of a natural growth factor (IGF-1), which is readily absorbed through the gut. These levels are further increased following pasteurization.

Ø In numerous published scientific studies over the last two decades, excess levels of IGF-1 have been incriminated as causes of breast, colon, and prostate cancers. IGF-1 blocks natural defense mechanisms, technically known as apoptosis, against the growth of early submicroscopic cancers.

Clearly then, these additives need to be avoided.

The FDA and bGH manufacturers have resisted public demand that milk containing bGH be labeled as such. In fact, they have also opposed labeling milk as “bGH-free.” Your best defense is to look for manufacturers that label “rbGH-free."

As an advocate for healthy eating/living, we should all demand these products be eliminated from our grocery shelves and stop supporting companies who use them.

The bigger question then is: who knows what long term effects these chemicals will have on our aging, disease progression and development?

Skin Sensitivity

2010-03-13T20:33:00Z

Are we putting more chemical into our systems transdermally than we realize? Consider the following statement from WebMD:…..”Doctors say a chemical added into furniture shipments from China to prevent the growth of mold has been linked to severe rashes.

The chemical, dimethylfumate (DMF), can penetrate the fabric and subsequently clothing when a person sits on the furniture, says Joseph F. Fowler Jr., MD, clinical professor of dermatology at the University of Louisville, Kentucky.

DMF is also used in the shipping of some clothing and shoes, Fowler says. And some people are very allergic to the preservative, he tells WebMD. When they come into contact with DMF, susceptible individuals develop contact dermatitis, a rash that can occur anywhere on the body. Irritated skin becomes dry and chapped and eventually red, scaly, and inflamed.”

I have noticed this with starches in new clothing as well. Make sure that you wash all new clothing before wearing it and especially before you wear it in warm conditions. Sweat opens the pores and allows the chemicals to enter the body causing everything from dermatitis to migraines.

In fact, most people including MD’s do not recognize chemical sensitivity or multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) because the symptoms are so vague. Anything from rash, hives, bloating and gas, breathing problems, sore throat, sneezing, stuffy head or congestion, fatigue, and migraines can be caused from chemical sensitivity.

By becoming a detective in this matter you will notice patterns that emerge as you wear a piece of clothing or wear shorts on a piece of furniture and notice a rash or eat a certain type of food and notice stuffiness in your head sometimes several hours later or perhaps even the next morning.

I truly enjoy helping people figure out what is afflicting them. To me it is like solving a mystery where the clues are sparse and unconnected. If you would like me to help you solve your mystery, please see my website at www.inner-strength.com for more details.

Antidepressants - Another Option?

2010-03-03T19:17:00Z

I have always believed that that power of mind is the most important part of healing available in any medical technique – whether allopathic or naturopathic/complimentary.

A recent article published in Scientific American states exactly that same thing: “A controversial article just published in the prestigious Journal of the American Medical Association concluded that antidepressants are no more effective than placebos for most depressed patients.

(Think about that statement for a moment!)

Jay Fournier and his colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania aggregated individual patient data from six high-quality clinical trials and found that the superiority of antidepressants over Placebo is clinically significant only for patients who are very severely depressed. For patients with mild, moderate, and even severe depression, placebos work nearly as well as antidepressants (Again, please think about that statement for a moment!)

There have been at least four other review articles published in the last eight years that have come to similar conclusions about the limited clinical efficacy of antidepressants

……..In clinical practice, of course, there is no placebo group, and therefore patients and their doctors are likely to attribute all symptom improvement to the medication.”

Wow! I am sure that this will be challenged almost immediately, as there is an enormous amount of money to be lost from pharmaceutical companies if this is again proved to be true – and more importantly – this becomes common public knowledge!

Regardless, of the study, I personally have proved to myself from surviving “incurable asthma and cancer” that the power of the mind is real….no proof is needed in my mind.

I have been working in this field of mind (sometimes a minefield or mindfield) all my life – mostly from a survival perspective, but now to help my clients in all aspects of healing – physically mentally and spiritually. The mental aspects of this perspective I call Formless Taoism – (a philosophical approach to life). Many of these perspectives and concepts are very old techniques borrowed from ancient Taoist masters.

I have found the root of all disease to be from two factors: stress and inflammation. So this is the chicken and the egg question, which comes first?

Here at Inner Strength, I have developed some very unique concepts of self-healing, based on my own survival, that I now share with my clients on how to alleviate these two culprits. I use a variety of methods - like having different tools in the toolbox -one tool may work better than another. Please contact us today and begin the journey to living life to its fullest again, rather than thinking of just getting through the day, imagine about how to enjoy the day !

ãCopyright Inner Strength, Inc. All rights reserved under state and federal laws.Copyright control of this article, the title and ALL content remains with Inner Strenth, Inc. at ALL times. Content may not be copied, altered, edited, disseminated, or reproduced in any way.

Spiritual Direction For 2010

2009-12-28T14:04:00Z

So, with New Years just a few days away, perhaps some of you are outlining your resolutions for the New Year. Most of us forecast what we need in our lives, put an action plan into place and try our best to stick with it throughout the year. Ah yeah. That resolution usually lasts until February!

So this year, why not try something new? How about instead of making resolutions, you contemplate the following 2 questions:

Are you on a spiritual path (not a dogmatic path)?

And, if you are on a spiritual path….Why are you?

Dogma does not engender spirituality, although they can be merged. Ritual does not define spirituality either. Any “religion” that is self-serving, or only serving a select group, is not spiritually based. Jesus, a Jew, loved all…not just those who followed Judaism or Christianity. He was patient, kind and compassionate to all men, women and children regardless of their affinity.

The second question is my main focus of this Blog article. Why did you begin a spiritual quest? My teacher Jeffrey Yuen, once spoke of how in ancient China; many people who entered monasteries and covenants did so because they had a really crappy life (my words not his). Their lives where outlined by sadness, rejection and abandonment. They entered the retreat so hoping that they would come out with some newfound healing and abatement of their suffering through divinity. Obviously with that perspective, in time, one can become “mad at God” if the cessation of suffering is not fulfilled.

Many people do the same in modern times. Are you seeking becoming spiritual because of your weakness and in turn bringing your weakness to a spiritual life? Or, are you a seeker because you want to bring your strengths to the spiritual world?

Most seekers doing so out of their weakness and think of a return vs. what they can contribute. In order to be a contributor to the spiritual path, one must come to terms with the humanness of their perceived fallacies and shortcomings or at least come to know them through cultivation.

Instead of choosing to come to know the holiness and divine within themselves, the novice perpetually looks external for their salvation and answers. They are not comfortable with themselves and/or their affliction (we all have some affliction - no-one is exempt).

One should seek a spiritual life because it has something to teach you. The Intern works to understand themselves through cultivation through non-biased eyes. As you come to understand and know yourself and your true nature, you thereby come to know God.

If you are interested in becoming an Intern, please see the website www.formlesstaoism.com

Inflammation, Blood and Disease

2009-11-12T12:16:00Z

Inflammation is linked to every known disease and disorder of the body, although we know very little about how the whole inflammation process starts, which cells are involved, and what activates the inflammatory process and what keeps it in that state.

Theories of where does inflammation start have been postulated from dendritic cells, to Eosinophils, to B-Cell development to CD4 and CD8 Effector cells and then which systems mediate and keep the inflammation process going including immunoglobins, prostaglandins, Chemokines ( Interleukin-1, or IL-2, or IL-12, or Il-17, or IL-23 in Autoimmunity)….which just further points out to me that the medical/research community are really not sure of the process.

In fact, I am going to make a bold statement….All the correct and perfect diet(s), supplements and the latest and greatest “berry” in the world will not work –without intense exercise!!!!! You will not heal from just diet alone….you may improve…...but you will not heal!!!!!

We all need to move our blood, or exercise and the more you move it the healthier your cells are going to be.

Blood Your Body’s Best Friend

Blood truly is the icon of life itself. We probably don’t think of our blood often except when we cut ourselves or we hear the Central Blood Bank plea for blood as their reserves run low. How often do we think of our own blood and its health for instance? We probably think of it quite often if we are a cancer patient and have concern about our “counts” like our T-cells, white blood cell count, or an Aids patient or a hemophiliac. However, most of us have little conscious thought about our blood’s condition – let alone worry about it.

I have often thought of the similarities of Western medicine and Chinese or Tibetan medicine, and their preoccupation with the health of ones blood.

In Chinese medicine, everything is about the blood or Xue. The Chinese say that “Qi (our life force) is the commander of blood and blood is the mother of Qi”. This speaks of the interrelationship between the Yin and Yang in Chinese medicine theory where Yin is of Earth and Yang is of Heaven, the tangible and the intangible. In Chinese medical diagnosis, we are concerned about blood stasis for instance in trauma (emotional or physical) or disease. We believe that the blood carries with us all the experiences of our entire life – good, bad or indifferent. We can injure our blood through our negative repetitive thoughts or our emotions. The mind can activate memories in the blood “bubble up”; causing the blood to “heat up” - giving rise to inflammation syndromes (allergies, cancer, MS, autoimmune disease, fibromyalgia, coronary artery disease etc.)

Blood is an amazing substance that is more of its own little ecosystem than we once thought. The Ph of our body has an immense affect on our blood. If the Ph of our blood becomes imbalanced ever so slightly, microbes can become pathogenic, enzymes can become destructive, mineral assimilation can be thrown off leading to a state favoring yeast, viruses, bacteria and cancer. Moreover, if the Ph of the gut or the Ph of the tissues anywhere in the body swing chronically either to alkaline or to acidic – chaos and disease can occur! With this understanding, this is a foundation of how I heal everything from fibroids to multiple sclerosis, from Irritable bowel disease to cancer. Of course it is a little more complicated than that, but this provides a solid platform to springboard off of.

To most of us, blood flows without our thoughts and when healthy, is in constant motion, forever orbiting the body in an endless loop like the Earth around the Sun. Irregardless of how efficiently we can breath or how well we can digest our food once eaten, if it wasn’t for the blood itself, as the trucking company traveling down a thousand mile highway system of arteries, arterioles and capillaries, we would soon die. Therefore, in a healthy body, blood moves sometimes slowly, but moves nonetheless, assisted by the contraction of muscles in the body (i.e. movement of the body). Therefore, movement of the body is imperative for the health of the blood, not only for the assistance it provides in moving the blood, but from the increased fresh supply of oxygen from our deeper breathing which facilitates our healing energies.

Long before Western understanding that blood absorbed oxygen in the lungs via capillary beds, to its distribution pathways from the left chamber of the heart to further capillary delineation in the body, the ancient Chinese realized the connection between breathing in oxygen and the health of the blood. Breathing (fast or heavy and slow) combined with exercises were studied and experimented with on how they affected health, energy levels and recuperation from illness. Therefore blood and breathing became a very common treatment modality in ancient China.

Ironically, this vital substance called blood is under constant production - as its shelf life is minimal. In an average day, 100 billion neutrophiles (a type of white blood cell) are produced by an average adult, but what is more incredible is that this liquid is manufactured in a solid….the bone! Speaking of the Yang forming within the Yin! The Chinese even have special exercises called Marrow Washing Qigong that is used to build up the blood cell production. I use a form of this exercise with several of my cancer clients as well as people who are anemic.

Movement and deep breathing, regardless of its nature, is how the body was designed to function. The problem with modern exercise prescription is that it is too conservative. We are so in-active compared to our grandparents, that we have to integrate even more intensity and time in our “structured workout or gym time.” I have just recently developed a workout routine that is designed to change measurable blood chemistry in as little as 6 weeks. As an example of out-dated information that is still believed to be truth, the old adage of finding your maximum heart rate (you remember, 220- your age = Max heart rate) is outdated for those over age 40. This is the new formula: Multiply your age by 0.7 and subtract that figure from 208 to get max heart rate.

This is where you need guidance so that you do not injure yourself, but can reap the benefits of the oldest secret in the world – Hard work never killed anyone….. Inactivity has. So if you need the latest, most scientific exercise science information coupled with ancient wisdom – I am your man.

Passing Into The Light

2009-08-10T20:54:00Z

In September, I will be speaking publicly for the first time in my life about what happened when I was pronounced dead in a hospital and stayed that way for over 14 minutes. Being “dead “ that long is not to common, from what I understand, and it allowed me “time” to see and understand things that very few humans ever could understand. This happened at a very young, impressionable age. I recounted these experiences to physicians and psychiatrists many times over the years as they followed my case in the hope that I could reveal to them something that science could use. This is why, perhaps that I remember the experience so vividly later in life….the constant recalling of sensations and feelings immediately after “my return” for many years.

What is interesting is that the second time that I flat lined /died (in another hospital by the way), I was 12, and the experience was different. I was only dead a few minutes this time. This has lead me to come to some very unique conclusions and in studying various religious traditions, I have come to realize what many of the masters have alluded to and many texts such as the Bible, Bhagavad-Gita, and the Tibetan Book of the Dead are trying to explain to people.

For the record, I have never read other peoples near death experiences or wanted to know what other people’s experiences were - so, my story is unique, not influenced by others stories or their books or lectures. I have heard that many people have talked about their near-death experience, as they are now labeled, but very few have Two experiences so close together to compare to!

I want to talk about how each death experience was different, what I experienced, what I came away with in knowledge, as well as what I know understand as I have gotten older and hopefully wiser. I will also be drawing parallels to an ancient oral tradition from the Yu Ching Huang Lao Pai tradition of Taoism as well as my tradition of Formless Taoism.

Hopefully, when people leave, they will leave with a complete new perception on what death means, what it meant for those we loved who have passed (including pets), and how we can be empowered to live deeper more meaningful lives.

This 2-day seminar is called Passing into the Light Saturday and Sunday September 26/27 2009 from 9-5pm.

Health Care Communication Skills

2009-07-26T13:16:00Z

According to Pfizer research, 90 million people in the United States may be at risk because of the difficulty some patients experience in understanding and acting on health information. Errorsin intensive care units (ICUs), even with all the computer technology, account for errors as high as 1.7 per patient perday. In another study, slightly more than one-half of patients had an episode with pharmacists giving information that scared patients out of taking medication. Communication, especially in health care, is critical, but it is important for everyday communications too.

Communication is such a powerful and delicate thing. Most speakers/ communicators have a fairly good grasp of their native vocabulary, but how they manipulate those same words change them from being able to just talk to becoming a person you can learn from. To move into the category of a great speaker you must also have timing and a rhythm of your sentences so that the impact settles into the very pores of the person listening. A dynamic speaker uses his actually energy or Qi to project into the audience, not just the words with timing and rhythm, but with an energy that one can feel into your very heart and soul – a lecture/sermon/seminar that moves you to the core!

A great speaker lecturing to a group appears to be communicating to each person individually – as if the speaker knew them personally. Great books accomplish the same intimacy. That is why there are so many interpretations of the Bible or the Tao Te Ching. They are the top two most printed books in the world – but most readers interpret them slightly different.

As a professional speaker, I have had some fabulous opportunities. Some of my favorite memories were teaching communication skills to the U.S. Dept of Justice and the U.S. Attorneys office in Washington D.C. I used a variety of skills to present the seminar including voice projection, active listening to questions, learning to read the energy of the audience and give back exactly the kind of energy the participants needed and wanted to hear, as well as using the vibration of my voice to capture the minds of the audience. Yes, your voice has an energy to it that can be harnessed and used as a tool.

In teaching my 3-year class in Chinese Medicine, I also have included these skills for my students. Although many health care professionals are wonderful speakers and are very capable of communicating their ideas to their patients, the patients themselves may not be as great of a communicator and may not actually have their needs met in the office. Sometimes the patient feels rushed, intimidated, or just is not used to asking for things succinctly (often times, they just “do not like to bother someone”) – which can all lead to communication breakdown and unmet needs and mental dissatisfaction.

That’s is why I am teaching my students communication skills in addition to Chinese medicine skills. I have found that the human voice, when trained properly, can be a wonderful underestimated healing tool that can calm and sooth a suffering soul sitting across from you. Learning to harness Qi this way and utilize it is an art, like most effective healing modalities, is something that has to be cultivated. I like to think that my graduates will have an enormous array of tools available to them, including the ability to sooth and heal with their voice, with enhanced listening and speaking skills.

Dr. Cibik will be speaking on Effective Communication skills for patients and health care professionals on September 12^th, 2009, from 9am to 1pm. The cost is $99.00. Dr. Cibik will be demonstrating various voice projection techniques (Qi projection) for effective communication as well as word choice and timing skills.

Surviving the Crossroads of Transition

2009-05-26T13:56:00Z

I have not Blogged in a while…..to be honest I have not felt like writing. My mother passed away on February 25^th, or transitioned into her true divine self, as I like to think of it. A place where there is no more pain and suffering of the flesh, but equally the loss of the ability to feel and hold the warmth of her form. This defines a crossroads of understanding of what it means to live – and what it means to survive another’s passing.

I looked on the internet for camaraderie for dealing with the death of your mother in mid-life….but most of the limited advice I found was for women only. That is not fitting the bill here. I discovered that there is nothing on the Internet for middle-aged guys who lose their mother - who just happen to be the only child, which is odd, I thought. I am here to tell you that it is hard….with no brothers or sisters for support to commiserate with – you really do feel alone in the world. I am not a weak person by any stretch of the imagination, but I suppose this is something that people just do not feel comfortable talking about. (So here I am talking about it) Like so many things, we just ignore it; stuff it down inside and move on with life. Although, I can move on with life, that does not mean that I do not feel the abyss that has been placed in my life. Perhaps for men, admitting so would appear to be less than macho - this means of course that you are concerned about how others perceive you and allow that to drive your persona.

So, I began to watch and listen to other people tell the story of what happens in their life when a parent dies. In thinking about their commentaries, society briefly sympathizes with the survivor(s) of a lost parent, but it is as if the mid-age survivor should snap back after a week or two and be completely normal. This expected mask of delusion placed by societies expectations, I surmise, is because you are older, busier and supposedly have more emotional tools available at your command.

I have found that the grieving process really does not hit until several months later and that may only be the beginning. So, it is a process to say the least. This process requires a completely different set of tools that you can never prepare for through either experience or reading. You learn as you go along. Every loss of someone you love is different, so how can you prepare?

Well, I have my mother to thank for many gifts. Personally, I am now aware of her Shen, or spirit, that flows through my veins even more than ever before. A blessing that allows me to truly feel her moment-by-moment in all that I am, and all that I do.

The Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh, says this, “If you look deeply into the palm of your hand, you will see your parents and all generations of your ancestors. All of them are alive in this moment. Each is present in your body. You are the continuation of each of these people.”

On reflecting of her transition, I remembered the many gifts she gave me. My mother always had the gift to sense and feel another’s pain or discomfort and always had a way – through word or action –that allowed her to comfort another – even if that was the animal that she had just rescued.

Another was her tolerance of allowing me to find my own path. In reading Thomas Merton, I discovered a quote that describes her perfectly, albeit she never read Merton that I know of: “The beginning of love is to let those we love be perfectly themselves, and not to twist them to fit our own image. Otherwise we love only the reflection of ourselves we find in them.”

I love you mom, and as your Shen flows through my veins, I will celebrate your gifts everyday though my words and my actions. Be at peace.

Kidney Stones

2009-01-10T18:02:00Z

One of the most painful things I have ever encountered was a kidney stone. I sympathize with anyone who has chronic problems with them and have some possible insights to prevention and treatment for those of you who are suffering.

Almost 80% of kidney stones are comprised of calcium oxalate crystals. Uric Acid stones can form also when the pH is too low and high oxalate rich foods are consumed such as nuts, chocolate, soybeans and their products, rhubarb and spinach. One of the main causes I have found is the high consumption of cola drinks without equal amounts of water. If the uric acid concentration is high, sometimes the stones will form in combination with Gout.

In rats fed a low vitamin-E diet, who later developed kidney stones, the effect could be reversed by vitamin –E supplementation. Foods naturally rich in vitamin E are: Almonds (also good for your lungs) avocados, olives, asparagus and wheat germ.

Vitamin E is one of 13 vitamins essential to body metabolism, cell growth and function. There are 2 divisions of vitamins E: Tocopherols and Tocotreinols that each has four divisions. All we need to worry about is that in nature tocotreinols and tocopherols occur together. That is precociously how they should be taken, with almost all vitamin E sales going to only one half of the equation - tocopherols. Additionally, the Japanese has recently studied tocotreinols as a cancer preventative.

New research points to common sense as well – more is not necessarily better. Keep your intake of vitamin E to foods first and then to low dose supplements.

My philosohy has always been to teach people how to eat first, rather than place them ever so quickly on supplements. Like all supplements, learning to balance them with diet and movement is the key to better health.

Copyright control of this article, the title and ALL content remains with Inner strenth, Inc. at ALL times. Content may not be copied, altered, edited, disseminated, or reproduced in any way.

The Watering of Soul Seeds

2009-01-01T16:05:00Z

In the last 20 years of coaching, training, healing and mentoring people I have come to realize that many of us do not feel our Soul Seeds. What are Soul Seeds? Soul Seeds are the very seeds given to you upon your conception that you first must discover. These seeds allow you to grow into a truly enlightened being of compassion and servitude that manifest into happiness and bliss so that we may truly enjoy our vacation here on earth. All of us have several soul seeds that correspond to our 7 missions in life. These seeds are as unique as we are.

How do you discover your soul seeds?

First, you must get quiet. The soul does not yell above the chatter of your mind. The soul is a quiet sacred place that whispers its secrets to those who breathe softly, forever listening rather than talking. Some call this meditation. Some call this heaven. Some call this a place of where love is born. It doesn’t matter what semantics are attached. In order to discover you soul seeds you must first learn to be quiet so that the truth (Gandhi said that God was truth) can whisper in your ear. Some might call this the Holy Spirit, the very energy that flows in man allowing him to do wondrous things for others – in other words to serve. Have you been practicing being quiet? Or do mayhem and the crises de jour run your life?

Souls seeds also need watering. What waters souls seeds? Actions water the seeds. Water is always flowing, sometimes falling high from mountaintops to sea level, sometimes rising up to kiss the sky in the form of evaporation, but always descending back to earth where it can do the most good and illicit the most change. In Chinese Medicine we look at water as Chaos. Chaos is not mayhem, but the opportunity for all things to manifest. All possibilities and all miracles can happen in an instant. That is what Chaos is.

What actions are you putting forth to water your seeds this year?

Seeds also need fertile soil. The soil is your mind. What do you recycle in your mind? Kindness? Optimism? Compassion? What do you read to cultivate new ideas, growth, and peace? How do you process the shit that lands at our feet daily? Do you welcome it or curse it? The daily shit can become wonderful fertilizer in the form of teachings and lessons. All of this gets recycled into the very thing that allows you to serve yourself and others better. Fertile soil also needs aerated to be effective. You must mix and stir the fertilizer into the other soil so that the nutrients become evenly spread and not too concentrated (which can burn the seeds) but integrated into something greater than the individual parts. This is where you analytical mind comes into play, taking life’s prior teachings and lessons and integrating them into this new fertilizer, thereby allowing new possibilities and growth to occur.

All good stewards of the land need help now and then. I have dedicated my life to helping people discover their Soul Seeds. Perhaps we can farm the seeds together this year?

Copyright control of this article, the title and ALL content remains with Inner strenth, Inc. at ALL times. Content may not be copied, altered, edited, disseminated, or reproduced in any way.

Did Jesus Ever Get Cancer

2008-12-08T17:09:00Z

I have been thinking about all the great teachers through time: Jesus, Buddha, Rumi, Confucius, Mohammad, Meniscus, Merton…the list goes on. Some like Jesus almost seem superhuman – a superhero if you will from stories and writings. But yet Catholicism teaches that he was a man. In reading Morton Kelsey’s Healing and Christianity, the author makes several great references to Jesus working with Qi (not stated that way in the book – my inference), but nonetheless Jesus was, along with many Christian mystics, a great energy worker. Father Kelsey, an Episcopal priest, and professor emeritus of Notre Dame University, makes a strong connection to Jesus and his healings to shamanism – Which are the roots of QiGong.

Myth and legends surround all of our great teachers and we elevate them with great reverence, stories and characteristics - sometimes so much so that we cannot truly identify with them in our normal daily life.

Recently, I attended a talk by a well known martial artist and Taoist. He was speaking about how to find a good teacher, the characteristics to look for, the personality etc. Then, this gentleman said something that shocked me when speaking of QiGong. He stated that a true QiGong master never gets sick! On the same line of thinking, many believe that Jesus never got sick because he never sinned. I am not comparing QiGong masters to Jesus, but the notion that one gets sick because one is impure is a common one.

Moreover, in the new age community, if someone does get cancer or gets a terminal illness, then they are a false-prophet because they “attracted“ that into their life. Whose mortal body does not eventually die?

I am going to out on a limb here and just say that sometimes it is what you learn from being sick (lessons) that is the important thing - not whether you get sick or not (outcomes). I speak more of this in my latest book, Armageddon of the Mind www.armageddonofthemind.com

One can learn many things from being ill – from the spectrum of emotions that coincide with illness to the actual physical pain, to the many methods where illness can strengthen your spirit and your mind.

How does anyone know what suffering is if they themselves never suffered? How do you truly understand loss –if you never have had loss? How can you know what trials and tribulations really are if you have none? How can you relate to being human – if you are above being human? More importantly …how can you teach others?

Jesus aside, any person that claims that they never get ill due to their practice, belief or supplement that they take…is living a life of delusion. This life of delusion has developed into a pathology of its own – which further leads a person off their center or balance in life. This delusional practice engorges the ego and consumes the grace that one has attained in his/her practice.

Most of the honest healers and teachers that I know, admit their being human, getting ill and using their specialty of practice, to assist them in healing faster and with less suffering. The aspiring student often becomes so fixated on outcomes, rather than the process or journey itself. The veteran teachers stay in their center, and many times continue to work assisting others to heal while they process what they need to in order to come back to health. In this truth, is part of what allows them to stay in center…being mindful and present of what their physical body has encountered and needs, in order to balance itself out. Perhaps that is something as simple as sleep or more complicated such as working through their own loss of a loved one, either way the truly enlightened person understands that there is time and a season for everything – even illness and dying.

Perhaps the transition from illness to health or from health to illness is the true blessing. Thoreau writes, “All change is a miracle to contemplate.” It is through the gift of suffering that we can appreciate the lack thereof. Jesus and Buddha both speak of their suffering and through their generous example – we can transcend ours.

Copyright Inner Strenth, Inc. and Ted J. Cibik. All rights reserved under state and federal laws. Copyright control of this article, the title and ALL content remains with Inner strenth, Inc. at ALL times. Content may not be copied, altered, edited, disseminated, or reproduced in any way.

Meaninglessness Of Words

2008-11-30T13:30:00Z

In my recent book, Armageddon of the Mind, I quickly realized that the intellectual exercise of writing about emotions (and especially spiritual things) is very difficult for one to accurately create a depiction of for readers. The things we hold most dear in the deepest reaches of hearts and minds are the most difficult to describe. Who really has written a true definition of pure altruism? Who has written a true representation for the pure love of God? Yet these two emotions have prevailed throughout history and are infused in many of our most sacred books. The most familiar way of describing these acts is by the telling of stories or myths.

The transference of ideas from one human being to another through the use of words in books, the Internet and in college writing all have their place and importance in life. Not being able to read a road sign and grasp its meaning could be fatal or not being able to read directions on consumer products could also cause enormous misery - That is not what I am speaking of here.

I am considering, as many philosophers before me such as Hume, Kierkegaard, Reinhold and Bacon, who through their incredible intellect, argued the validity of words. Unlike their minds however, I believe that words are only unfitting when used to describe emotions and spiritual experiences.

Words are meaningless if there is no cognitive conscious reference the mind can tangibly attach to. In other words (no pun), the uses of words to describe thought have no significant meaningÅ if they are not attached to an object of the senses. The senses, or portals in Chinese medicine, are the sentient component that limits us to this plane of existence in comprehension – corresponding to the left-brain. For example, most of our orientation in this world comes from our vision. Imagine what your perception of a sunset would be if you were blind from birth? Could you understand the color? Could you understand the way the light contrasts with the clouds? The way a blind person may write about sunset would be different than a person with sight. The use of the portals or senses is critical as that is how we portray tangible things and objects in our mind. Even how we depict a kiss or romance is often defined by what we see in life, movies and pictures and the sounds associated with them. This is the earthy plane of our defined reality.

By contrast, the heavenly plane: that of feelings or right brained is where we can grasp and bring to consciousness the feelings of Love and laughter for example. We all know what those experiences are like, and mankind has tried to capture them in writing for centuries from poems to plays to books. In reality, when someone can capture just a portion of those feelings correctly, and can emotionally move someone in their reading, they are considered a brilliant author.

A definition of earthy vs. heavenly in that all experiences are earthy when they can be described from references points of things created on earth - including paintings and objects under a microscope – even science. The heavenly realm, however, is untapped in possibilities. It is what we have not seen or incomprehensible due to lack of reference. It is the last frontier of discovery. Therefore, when you try to lock in a continually repoducable definition that fits all cases – you will fail. The uniqueness of the human experience such as Love, altruism and God, are ultimately things that are heavenly. John Locke, who amongst other things, influenced our founding fathers, the American revolutionaries and whose philosophy can be seen in the Declaration of Independence states, “Natural Philosophy [the study of nature] is not capable of being made into science.” This thinking is actually a very Taoist point of view.

In Armageddon of the Mind, I propose methods for tapping into that exact frontier of heaven - while embodied here on earth. It is a way to open your mind to a new paradigm of thinking, feeling and experiencing God. See www.armageddonofthemind.com for more details.

Å Significant meaning here refers to the ability to transfer a concept(s) or thought accurately from one person to another without misconception. Otherwise this thought is indigenous to the creator of that thought.

Copyright control of this article, the title and ALL content remains with Inner strenth, Inc. at ALL times. Content may not be copied, altered, edited, disseminated, or reproduced in any way.