Saturday, May 26, 2012

16. Crosswords – exercise of the Brain


The morning dose of crossword solving has become almost an addiction with us. A good addiction no doubt; it improves your vocabulary and knowledge and makes your mind and memory sharper. Between the two of us we manage to solve most of the crosswords of the few newspapers that we get every day.  The one in the TOI has become a cakewalk because most of the clues and answers are repetitive and on a few bad days it’s full of names which are totally unknown to us so we just dump it and promise ourselves a change of newspaper, but being creatures of habit…. Our financial- newspaper, carries the cryptic crossword which can really tax the grey cells and make them groan. The very purpose of cryptic crosswords is to confuse and confound you. Cryptic means secret or mysterious.  However, once you’ve got a hang of it, it can give you hours of pleasurable brain exercise much like a gym workout for your body. 

At first sight the clues read like gibberish and can throw you off completely but if you persist a little you will make sense of it. I took to it after I saw a visiting cousin solve some without any effort. She explained a few methods and then gradually, trying to make sense of it with both the clues and answers in hand, I was able to figure out how to decode them. The idea is to find out what kind of a clue it is – an Anagram, or Synonym or a Charade or there is a word hidden in clear sight. Believe you me it can be quiet thrilling. Let me dwell on each type to make it clearer.

SYNONYM is the most common technique used. But let me warn you that they are seldom straightforward and may not pertain to the most obvious synonym of the word/s. For instance, supporter of visual art (5). EASEL or fiancé doing a swap earning money (7, 2, 5) ENGAGED IN TRADE are some easy ones. Generally one part of the clue will provide the synonym and the other part will give you the hint to solve it eg. no place for horses that might fall down (8) UNSTABLE, here ‘that might fall down’ is the synonym and ‘no place for horses’ gives a broad hint to it.
Many a times the synonym clues are just a play on words, which are mostly easy and the first ones I get completed, eg you’re out of spirits when he leaves (8) EXORCIST or ghost of a drink (6) SPIRIT. This leads me to the –

&LIT (meaning ‘literally so’) clues (I just found out they are called that). These clues mostly have the ! (apostrophe) mark at the end and indicate that the whole clue is the definition. An example I am seeing now is – a bully for your astrologer! (7) That’s TAUREAN I guess. Incidentally, the tense of the clue and the answer as well as the number ie if it is singular or plural will grammatically, remain the same in the answer as in the clue.

CRYPTIC DEFINITION clues mostly denoted by ? (question mark) require you to think outside the box, for instance sample this – twice the man when given a beating? (6) TOMTOM or here’s another – behave like a very hungry bird? (6) RAVEN.

ABBREVIATIONS AND ROMAN NUMBERS are frequently referred to in the clues. Thus if ‘five’, ‘six’, ‘ten’ etc is mentioned it is hinting at the letters V, VI, X in the answer. Similarly unspecified numbers like ‘many’ ‘large’ etc may suggest the Roman numbers C, D, or M. The Queen, Ruler, Sovereign, Leader etc. calls for the abbreviation ER in the answer. ‘Bridge Partners’ calls for N S, E W or ‘Compass Points’ or ‘bearings’ the directions like SE, NE etc. ‘Stranger’  or ‘alien’ is ET; ‘Big City’ is NY; ‘troops’ is MEN etc.
The ‘French’, ‘Italian’ or ‘German’ refers to LE, LA, LES or DES (Fr), IL (It) and DER (Gr) , eg. the French go over a meadow (3) LEA. You will discover plenty of these as you start your crossword journey.

ANAGRAMS are also a common technique used but you have to learn to identify the word /s which constitute the anagram. You will know  the clue is hinting at an anagram if you see words like “anew”, “altered”, “bad”, “damaged”, “attack”, ”arrange” etc. Once you know it’s an anagram you have to look for the word/s which constitutes it. The length of the word (no. of letters) normally gives a hint to that, eg. They attack Red’s air of instability (7)  - here the word “attack” hinted at it being an anagram and clearly pointed at ‘Red’s air’ (7 letters) as the words in play, the answer being RAIDERS.
Many a times it is not so straight forward. In this one the words of the anagram are scattered – Unit is very unruly in this seat of learning (10) UNIVERSITY. Of course ‘unruly’ being the clue that it is an anagram and also, incidentally, that the letters are not in one place (good clue!).
Once in a while the compiler will give a two step clue. First you find a synonym and then make an anagram of that (these really get my goat!) eg. A sideways view of the tottering aristocracy (6) TILTED. Titled being the synonym of aristocracy and tilted its anagram for the synonym of sideways.

HIDDEN OR EMBEDDED WORDS also called CONTAINERS are indicated by hints like ‘in’, ‘inside’, ‘in part’, ‘held by’, ‘some’ etc. The letters of the word will be in the exact order but may be spread over 2 or more words. Once you get the hang of identifying them, they are perhaps, the easiest and bring the “Aha!” moment the fastest. Here’s one – what’s in the bag has Terry horrified (6) AGHAST.

CHARADES - you may have played the game. Well! Now you can use it to solve some clues. Similar to the game, the clue is split into many parts, which when taken together, form the answer. An example will clarify -  coming for the opening after seeing the publicity (6) ADVENT. The word is ‘coming’ and the charade – VENT=opening which comes ‘after’ AD=publicity. 

HOMOPHONES are another interesting technique used. In this the clue hints at words which ‘sound’ alike for instance – mail – male, sail – sale, rite – right, birth – berth etc. The indicators to it being a homophone would be words like, ‘it sounds like’, ‘reference to’, ‘on the radio’, ‘vocally’ etc. if the words are the same length I just wait till the crossing words are filled in to find out which one to fill. A sample would be, employ sound sheep (3) USE (EWES).
I have given the main techniques used by compilers and hope it will prove sufficient to get you started on this wonderful past-time.

Monday, May 14, 2012

15. Playing Cards - Lesser known Card Games


1. Bezique

I learnt this game from Rajeev. His grandparents picked it up during their travel to London aboard a ship during the 40s, when his Grandfather Dr O.P. Gupta was deputed to join the London School of Economics as faculty. When just the two of us are playing cards, say on a long train journey, we play bezique. People looking on get quite intrigued because it is a little known game here. So far, apart from Rajeev’s family only our friend Nisha, knew this game. Of course it was first made famous by Hercule Poirot, Agatha Christie's hero. Here are the rules as bullet points.
  • >2 players play the game.
  • > Bezique is either the Q of spades & J of diamond (if the trump is clubs or hearts) or Q of clubs & J of hearts (if the trump is spades or diamonds)
BEZIQUE


  • > 64 cards of 2 packs, Ace through seven of each suit are used.
  • >A set of 3 and 6 of spades and 3 and 6 of hearts each are used as counters. The black set as units of 10 and the red as units of 100.
COUNTERS

  • >The players cut to deal. The one drawing the higher card deals.
  • >8 cards are dealt in batches of 3-2-3 to each player. The next card is placed face up and indicates the trump. If the trump card is a 7, the dealer gets 10 points.
  • >The non-dealer leads with any card from hand. The dealer can then play any card not necessarily following suit.
  • >If the second player chooses to play a higher card or a trump he wins a trick. If 2 cards of the same rank are played, the trick goes to the first player.
  • >The holder of a 7 of the trump can, at any point of the game when on lead, exchange it for the turn up trump card and score 10 points. The holder of the duplicate trump 7 can also score 10 points on declaring it.
  • >The winner of a trick can declare, what are called melds (details in table below with points gained). Eg. 4 aces, Ks, Qs, Js or 10s. Pairs, sequence etc. A card once melded cannot be shown again in the same formation but can be used in a different one eg. a queen shown in a set of four can be shown again as a pair with a king or in a sequence of Ace, K, Q, J, 10 of the same suit.
  • >The aces and tens called brisques, earn 10 points each, for the trick winner, the aces ranking higher than 10s.
  • >The winner of the trick draws first from the deck or stock. The players hold 8 cards (including declared melds) in their hand at all times till the stock cards are exhausted.
  • >After the stock is exhausted 8 more tricks are played.
  • >The game can be played till a player wins 1000 points or more.
Seven of trumps turned up, played or declared
10
Winning last trick(before the final 8 tricks)
10
Common Marriage(king and queen of any plain suit) declared together
20
Royal Marriage(king and queen of the trumpsuit) declared together
40
Bezique(Q of spades & J of diamonds) or (Q of clubs & J of Hearts)
40
Double Bezique (both Qs & Js of the Bezique)
500
Four Jacks    (can make it one of each suit to increase difficulty level)
40
Four Queens (-dito-)
60
Four Kings  (-dito-)
80
Four Aces  (-dito-)
100
Sequence of ace, ten, K, Q, J of the trump suit
250
Brisques – aces and tens in the tricks won by either player are each
10

Starting a Game

Segregate the cards below seven along with jokers from 2 packs of playing cards. You can of course keep the score on a piece of paper or you can make Bezique counters using the 3s and 6s of spades and hearts to keep a count of 10s and 100s respectively.  Lightly shuffle the remaining 64 cards. Cut the deck to decide the dealer; the one with the higher card deals.

The Deal

The dealer deals 3 cards to his opponent then 3 to himself, 2 to his opponent and 2 to himself, lastly, 3 to the opponent and 3 to himself.  The next card after the deal is opened to determine the trump. The remaining deck called the ‘stock’ is placed in the centre with the trump card kept face up next to it. If the trump card happens to be a 7, the dealer gets 10 points.

The Game I

The players will each have 8 cards in their hand. The value of the cards from the highest to the lowest will be as follows – ace, 10, king, queen, jack, 9, 8, 7. The non-dealer will start the game, leading with any card. If the dealer plays a higher card or a trump he will win a trick otherwise the non-dealer takes the trick. The cards are taken by the winner and kept separately face-down, not to be used in this round other than to count the points won (aces & 10s) at the end of the game. If a player has a meld to declare he has to first win a trick. After winning a trick he will place his meld or combination face up on the table and collect the points for it, as shown in the table above. These cards will be part of his hand but will be visible to his opponent. He can use the cards in this meld in future combinations too with some exceptions, eg a Queen or King once shown married cannot be married again to the second Queen or King in the pack ( no, they cannot divorce and remarry!)
The winner of the trick leads the second round, picking a card from the stock and playing a card. The loser draws next and so on, even if no meld is declared.

The Game II

The second part of the game starts once the stock cards are over. All melds should have been declared before this stage. The last card goes to the winner of the trick and the loser gets to pick the open trump card. In this part the loser has to follow suit or else trump and only if both are not possible, he can play any card. The main focus in this part of the game is to get the maximum points by way of aces and tens. If one has no aces or tens or trumps to capture some of the opponent’s you have no further scope of gaining any points.
Now all that remains to be done is to count all the tens and aces in the cards that have been won by each player and accord 10 points for each.

Friday, May 4, 2012

14. Mind – Body Healing: Ailments and their underlying causes


In continuation of my previous article on Reiki I am listing some ailments and their underlying causes which I had compiled as an aid to healing. All ailments are a result of how we think therefore till the time we have worked on that, our problems don’t seem to go away. The Mind-Body connection is so integrated that any change in the Mind will have a corresponding change in the body but because thoughts are subtle and are affecting the body at the cellular level we do not see the change immediately.  Over a period of time our negative thought patterns start to reflect on our body in the form of chronic diseases. The good thing is that the reverse is also true – as soon as we change the way we think the resultant change will occur in the body. So while healing the body with Reiki and similar alternate healing methods it is important to be aware of the negative thoughts that are causing those ailments to avoid recurrence.

 
AILMENTS     
UNDERLYING CAUSE
ACHES
Strong craving for love or to be held
ACNE
Feeling dejected or disliking self
AIDS

Feeling unprotected and hopeless.
Sexual guilt
ALCOHOLISM
Rejection, feeling incompetent
ANEMIA
Fear of life, lack of joy
ANOREXIA

Extreme fear of rejection. Denying the
self life
ARTERIOSCLEROSIS
Hardened narrow mindedness
ARTHRITIS


BACK PROBLEMS:
  LOWER

  MIDDLE
  UPPER

BALDNESS


BIRTH DEFECTS

BLACKHEADS

BLOOD PRESSURE:
  HIGH
  LOW

BOWEL PROBLEMS

BRONCHITIS

BULIMIA

CANCER

CATARACT

CEREBRAL PALSY

CHOLESTEROL

COLDS

COLIC


COMA


CONSTIPATION

COUGH


DEAFNESS

DEPRESSION

DIABETES

DIARRHEA


DIZZINESS

EYE PROBLEMS:
  ASTIGMATISM
  CATARACT
  IN CHILDREN

  FAR SIGHTED
  NEAR SIGHTED

FLU

GAS PAINS

GUM PROBLEMS


HEADACHES


HEART PROBLEMS

HEART-ATTACK


HEARTBURN (ULCERS)

HAEMORRHOIDS

HERNIA


IMPOTENCE

INDIGESTION

INFECTIONS


JAW PROBLEMS

KIDNEY PROBLEMS


KIDNEY STONES

KNEE PAIN


LARYNGITIS

LEG PROBLEM


LUNG PROBLEMS


NECK PROBLEMS


NOSE PROBLEMS:
  NOSE BLEEDS-
  RUNNY NOSE-
  STUFFY NOSE-

OVERWEIGHT


PARALYSIS

PMS

PROSTATE PROBLEM


RASH

RHEUMATISM


SEIZURES

SENILITY

SHOULDER PROBLEM

SINUSITIS

SKIN PROBLEM

SORE THROAT

STOMACH PROBLEM

STUTTERING

THYROID PROBLEM

TUMORS

ULCERS


VARICOSE VEINS


VENEREAL DISEASE


VIRAL INFECTION

VOMITING

WARTS


Resentments. Fear of criticism. Feeling
 unloved


Financial problems, stress and unresolved
emotions
Guilt, feeling trapped
Longing for emotional support

Fear and tension. Not having trust in the
process of life

Karmic. Dealing with unfinished business

Small outbursts of anger


Unsolved emotional issues
Lack of love. Defeatism

Fear of letting go

Inflamed family environment

Terror. Eliminating self-hatred

Deep hurt or grief

Unable to see ahead with joy

A need to have family bondage

Clogging the channels of joy

Mental confusion and disorder

Irritation and annoyance with the
surroundings

Fear. Trying to escape from something
 or somebody

Refusing to change old ideas

A strong desire to shout at the world.
 Need to be heard

Fear of rejection. Feeling detached

Anger. Frustration

Bitterness in life. No sweetness left

Urge to run off or away from
something

Scattered thinking


Fear of ‘seeing’ the self
Unable to see the joy ahead
Not wanting to see what’s
going on in the family
Fear of the present
Fear of the future

Responding to mass negativity

Undigested concerns

Unable to take decisions in life.
Being wishy-washy

Self criticism. Non acceptance
 of the surroundings

Lack of joy

Draining all the joy of life for
money or position

Persistence of fear

Fear of deadlines

Feeling the burden of a broken
 relationship

Sexual guilt or pressure

Anxiety about a coming event

Irritation or annoyance about a
recent event

Resentment. Urge to take revenge

Fear of criticism. Shame from
inability to do enough

Lumps of unresolved anger

Stubbornness. Inability to
bend in life

Fear of speaking up

Resistance to change, unable
 to move ahead in life

Feeling unwanted, depression and
 grief

Refusing to take another’s opinion.
Stubbornness.
Inability to express

Need for love and recognition
Looking for help
Lack of self-esteem

Insecurity. Looking for emotional
protection

Extreme hopelessness

Allowing confusion to reign

Fear or guilt of masculinity and
sexual inadequacy

Irritation over delays

Feeling victimized. Chronic
bitterness

Running away from life

Demand for care and affection

Seeing life as a burden

Irritation to someone close

Anxiety, feeling threatened

Inability to express the anger

Fear of some upcoming event

Insecurity, lack of self expression

Humiliation. Unfulfilled desires

Nursing old hurts and shocks

Fear. A strong belief of not being
up to the mark

Bogged down by over-work or
burden

Sexual guilt. Believing that sex
is a taboo

Lack of joy

Violent rejection of ideas

Feeling ugly. Signs of hatred








Exploring the esoteric : Reiki








Thursday, May 3, 2012

13. Exploring the Esoteric – Reiki


In everybody’s life a time comes when questions of the esoteric kind like ‘who or what the hell am I’ and ‘what the heck I’m doing here anyway, living a life which, save for a few moments here and there, sucks’ start to flash in the mind. It is a good idea to prepare oneself, for the inevitable, while still relatively young. Sometimes, and I’ve seen people like that, at the fag end of one’s life it suddenly hits you hard that there were perhaps some very vital things which  one should have done while the body was still able and the mind still willing. The ancient Hindu system of dividing a human life into that of the child, the scholar or learner, the family person and the seeker, does not hold good now. With babies going to school at age 2 and marriage and family getting out of fashion and people working well into their eighties (look at our politicians!), the system is clearly passé. So relegating the business of seeking for the answers to these niggling questions to a time when you are in the hold area for meeting your Maker is clearly not in keeping with the times.
 So, while dwelling on such questions I happened to find Reiki – just like that! It was long back – 12-13 years- when Reiki was not as common knowledge as it is now, I was reading about it on the Net and wondering about it when suddenly a senior colleague mentioned it on the office lunch table and said his wife was a teacher and I could perhaps talk to her. I could have been dropped by a feather. But now I am wiser and am not surprised when people relate such incidents. There is much credence to the saying ‘when you are ready the Guru appears’. Well to cut a long story short, I found an amazing teacher who gave me the tools to find meaning in my life. My life changed, my thinking changed and my body changed – in the reverse order. I was having a hard time coping with the Mumbai life style – commuting and walking distances while the humid weather aggravated arthritic joint pains, eating out too much and trying to do too many things, which the body was not accustomed to. I remember my legs used to feel like lead, the days I had to walk from Churchgate to Madame Cama Road. The first day of my Reiki initiation was like a magical day because that day I RAN UP the stairs of Dadar Station, where I had to go to receive somebody, after the Reiki class and was running late.  
My thinking may have changed, but that did not change the fact that I wanted to understand why Reiki affected me (and others) the way it did. Thus started my spiritual quest and trying to find answers in science to reassure myself that I was not hallucinating and fooling myself into believing what was not there. Reiki is a simple hands-on healing technique using the Universal Life Force Energy which is all pervasive. At the quantum level the human body (as everything else) is just vibrating energy, even though we feel oh so solid.  Our physical (and mental) health is dependent on how freely the energy is vibrating. By channelling the Reiki energy into a body and exposing it to its higher vibratory frequency the Healer is able to remove energy blocks which cause dis-ease. Incidentally these blocks are generated due to our faulty thoughts and emotions. This brings me to the 5 Principles of Reiki which guide us to think right and stay positive so that these energy blocks are not generated.

The Five Principles of Reiki

  •             Just for today, I will be in the attitude of gratitude.
  •            Just for today I will not worry.
  •            Just for today I will not anger.
  •       In your daily work be honest (true) to yourself.
  •   Just for today, I will be kind and respectful to all of creation.
For most of us living life in the fast lane these look rather simplistic and a little redundant, but, to lead a relatively healthy and happy life we need to balance the stress, the bad habits, as also just entropy – you know – the fact that our bodies are aging and dying a little each day we need a tool like Reiki. Even reminding ourselves everyday of these, on the face of it simple but truly life changing, principles can bring consciousness back in our life.  Leading life consciously is the best anyone can do actually – ie being aware and accountable for all your thoughts and actions.

The Master

Dr Mikao Usui

Choosing your teacher is the main thing, because thereafter it is all very simple. Never go to a person promising to attune you in a few hours. Only go to someone who carries the essence of Reiki in his/her bearing ie is joyful and open and makes you feel peaceful and relaxed. Learn from a teacher who teaches Reiki in the traditional method over 2 days and is able to trace his/her lineage to Dr Usui. Now about Dr Usui – Dr Mikao Usui, a Shingon Buddhist priest and a physician was the founder of the modern day Reiki movement. He rediscovered and modified some practices from an ancient Budhist manuscript The Tantra Of The Lightening Flash That Heals The Body And Illumines The Mind for the benefit of the common people. He created an essence of this seven level of Tantric teaching into 3 degrees of Reiki and shared it with many people. The more subtle practices, however, he only taught to 19 of his chosen students, the foremost being Dr Hayashi and Dr Watanabe.  

The Chakras

 

To practice Reiki what one is required to do is just place ones hands on the chakras of the person seeking healing or the self – yeah! That’s it. So what are chakras? The yogic tradition talks about the etheric or energy body. Everything is imbued with energy and has an Aura. The human body has been observed to have 7 layers in its auric field. Each layer has its own function and is associated with a Chakra. The Chakras are funnel shaped vortices of energy which correspond to the major nerve plexuses of the physical body. Each of the 7 major Chakras in front of the body is paired with its counterpart on the back of the body except for the Chakras One (Root or Muladhara) and Seven (Crown or Sahasrara) which are open ended. These two form the two ends of the main energy conduit called the Kundalini which moves parallel to the spine. The function of the Chakras is to exchange energy with the Universal Energy Force; therefore, they are required to be unblocked and open to draw in this Energy Force.
One would think that it would be ideal to have all the Chakras fully open freely interacting with this all pervading, all knowing Consciousness called the Universal Life Force Energy (ULFE), but it is not up every ones street to be able to take in and process this energy. That is why the body and mind is required to be prepared and in keeping with each ones growth the Chakras open up to let in this Supreme Intelligence. Moreover, we block our Chakras (subconsciously) whenever we refuse to experience something – emotions, feelings, life experiences. When a Reiki channel lays his/her hand on a Chakra the ULFE is gently channelled through the Chakra helping the person to resolve the issues which were creating a block. The more the Chakras open up and draw in energy the healthier and happier we feel.
The Root or Mooladhara Chakra is located at the base of the spine and has 4 minor chakras in its vicinity therefore its symbol is a four petaled lotus; its element is earth, colour a fiery red. It corresponds to the root/pelvic or coccygeal plexus and the adrenal or suprarenal gland. It controls the following physical organs and glands – muscular and skeletal system, the spine, the adrenal gland, blood, body heat, general vitality, growth (of children), kidneys. It controls the following mental aspects – self protection, survival instinct, fear, insecurity. The following diseases may manifest in case the root chakra is not functioning well – arthritis, ailments of the spine and of blood, bone cancer, leukaemia, allergies, low vitality, slow healing of wounds and broken bones and children’s growth may be hampered.  The sense of touch is associated with it. When balanced the person feels secure and rooted, when not the persons thought and action revolve around material possessions, security and basic animal needs. If the chakra is blocked the person is weak and devoid of physical and emotional stamina.
The Hara or Swadhishthana Chakra is located near the sacrum or pubic area, slightly below the navel and has 6 minor chakras in its vicinity, therefore its symbol is a six petaled lotus, its element is water, colour orange. It corresponds to the sacral, hypogastric or aortic plexus and the gonads. It controls the following physical organs – sex glands and sexual organs, kidneys, adrenal glands, controls BP, lower parts of the liver, pancreas, spleen, and intestines, bladder, excretion and the uterus. It controls the following mental aspects – desire and craving for sexual and other sensual pleasures, seat of the negative feeling of guilt, hurt and frustration. The following diseases may manifest in case the hara is not functioning well – sex related problems, high BP, back problems, kidney problems, bladder ailments, constipation. When harmonious, one experiences a natural flow in life. During puberty often a misbalance of this chakra causes a state of uncertainty in the sexual expression of the person.
The Solar Plexus or Manipura Chakra is located slightly above the navel and below the ribs and has 10 minor chakras in its vicinity its element is fire, colour yellow. It corresponds to the solar, or coeliac plexus and the pancreas. It controls the following physical organs – stomach, liver, pancreas, spleen, gall bladder, diaphragm, intestines, and to some extent the adrenal glands, heart and lungs. It controls the following mental aspects – ego, craving for name, fame, status, power, control, high ambitions and aggressiveness, negative emotions like anger, jealousy, envy, hatred, greed, violence and cruelty. The following diseases may manifest in case the solar plexus is not functioning well – digestive disorders, ulcer, constipation, diabetes, hepatitis, jaundice, colitis, diarrhoea, skin problems and allergies, heart problem and high BP, asthma. A balanced chakra produces peace and inner harmony and when malfunctioning it gives rise to control issues in a person. A depleted or blocked third chakra makes one feel dejected and discouraged.
The Heart Chakra or Anahata is located in the centre of the chest and has 12 minor chakras in its vicinity its element is air, colour leaf green. It corresponds to the cardiac plexus. It controls the following physical organs – thymus gland, circulatory system, heart and lungs. It controls the following mental aspects – love and compassion and is the centre for higher and refined emotions. The following diseases may manifest in case the heart chakra is not functioning well – heart and circulatory ailments, asthma, bronchitis, tuberculosis and other lung ailments. An open heart chakra makes a person compassionate and makes one radiate warmth and happiness whereas a disbalanced heart chakra is not able to receive and reciprocate love. Blocked heart chakra can make a person vulnerable or cold and indifferent to others.
The Throat or Vishddhi Chakra is located in the centre of the throat and has 16 minor chakras in its vicinity its element is ether or space, colour sky blue. It corresponds to the pharyngeal, cervical or bronchial plexus. It controls the following physical organs – throat, larynx, trachea, thyroid and para-thyroid glands, lymphatic system, arms, hands, mouth, tongue and neck. It controls the following mental aspects – communication, speech, self expression, creativity and aesthetics. The following diseases may manifest in case the throat chakra is not functioning well – goitre, sore throat, speech or voice problems, tonsillitis, and cervical pain. The senses of hearing, smell and taste are associated with it. An open and harmonious fifth chakra makes one expressive and communicative but a disharmonious chakra can make an eloquent person manipulative. Insufficient or blocked chakra can make a person shy and withdrawn. It will prevent the person from expressing his/her true self and potential and may get limited to the inane and the trivial.
The Third Eye or Ajna Chakra is located between the eyebrows and has 96 minor chakras in its vicinity. Its colour is indigo. It corresponds to the cavernous or nasociliary plexus. It controls the following physical organs and glands – hypothalamus, pituitary and other endocrine glands, autonomic nervous system and lower brain and the left eye. It controls the following mental aspects – intuition, intellect, occult powers, ESP. The following diseases may manifest in case the ajna chakra is not functioning well – diseases related to the endocrine glands and those of the autonomic nervous system and lower brain, hearing, sight and smell, sinusitis and swollen adenoids. The sense of sight is associated with it including the extra-sensory. A harmonious sixth chakra expresses itself in an active mind and intellect. However the entire range of possibilities of an open Third Eye is impossible to enumerate. A disharmonious chakra is mostly identified by an over emphasis on the mental sphere. Intellectual arrogance and lack of spiritual understanding are manifestations of this. A blocked sixth chakra can make a person confused and forgetful incapable to think beyond the mundane, lacking spiritual connection.
The Crown or Sahasrara Chakra is located at the top of the head and has 972 minor chakras in its vicinity; therefore its symbol is the thousand petaled lotus and the name Sahasra meaning thousand in Sanskrit. Its colour is violet/white. It controls the following physical organs and glands – the pineal gland, upper or higher brain and the right eye. It controls the following mental aspects – cosmic consciousness and the right eye. The following diseases may manifest in case the crown chakra is not functioning well – diseases related to the pineal gland and cerebral cortex. The sense of sight is associated with it too. The crown chakra is deemed to be the seat of human perfection and in the yogic tradition the ultimate goal of a human life is to be able to open this chakra so that the ‘yoga’ can happen with the divine. When the crown chakra is fully awakened no blockage of energy can remain and all the other chakras start vibrating at their highest frequencies, the absorption of energy from the universe will not be necessary instead the person will be radiating energy. This is the state of enlightenment all of humanity aspires to, either consciously or unconsciously. The crown chakra can also be in disbalance and result in conditions of spiritual addiction where a person uses it as an escape from responsibilities or over intellectualisation without wisdom, a bane of the modern, specially western civilisation.

Attunement

This is a process used by the Reiki Master to initiate a person to Reiki. It helps to open the initiates crown, heart and palm chakras to the ULF Energy ie Reiki. As this energy settles and clears the channels a lot of toxic release takes place. My Teacher had given us a 21 days cleansing period, during which we practiced Reiki on ourselves, after which all of us had some experiences to report. Some rather hair raising! I remember one lady told us about a break-in into her house while she was inside.  A young man broke in and threatened her with a knife. So while this man was asking for the keys to her safe the lady thought of testing her new found powers. She started transmitting Reiki through repetition of intention as taught to us in class and started talking to the man calmly. The man had a change of heart and started crying and telling her, his own story of misery and poverty. So she fed him and gave him some money and sent him on his way. More than the story I was touched by the lady’s demeanour that day. She was of course shaken but also elated to have had such an amazing experience. I realised Reiki (and all spiritual teaching) intends you to experience life with love and without fear – that, I realised, is the purpose of everyones life.
Incidentally with Reiki you not only heal people but also other live as well as inanimate objects and situations. We used to have a field day trying it on traffic lights, the rain clouds, charging torch cells! You name it, we have tried them all. Once we travelled from Mumbai to Mahabaleshwar and back on a car leaking gear oil without any incident, just giving Reiki to our car. In retrospect I think it was more about feeling empowered and connected to everything that was important. Here I should mention an important scientific fact which makes all this believable.

The Holographic Universe

In 1982, the year when I got into the very mundane business of earning a living, a great discovery took place. Alain Aspect a physicist discovered that under certain circumstances, subatomic particles such as electrons are able to instantaneously communicate with each other whether a mile or a million miles apart, which negated Einstein’s theory that nothing can travel faster than light. David Bohm, another famous physicist, gave a radical explanation for this that despite its apparent solidity the Universe in fact is a gigantic Hologram, which implies that objective reality as we see it does not exist (the Vedas have called it 'Maya' meaning illusion). This theory has since been observed to be correct. A Hologram is a three-dimensional picture, taken using laser beams, which no matter how many pieces you cut into will always show the whole picture. Therefore what we view as separate particles may in fact not be separate at all.  If we can visualise this world view the interconnectedness of everything will be apparent to us and being able to connect to ‘another’ through energy will not seem so farfetched.
                                                     Ailments and their underlying causes
Article by Sumita