Celestial events in June - good time for more meditation

There are several days of increased energy in Nature now:

June 21 - June (summer) solstice.

June 22 - New moon

June 23 - Moon at perigee -- 358 000 km (Moon closest to Earth)


The 3 days before, during and after the June solstice the energy is very intense in Nature and in the body. It's an excellent time for more meditation and receiving energy from Nature. At the summer solstice there occurs a major change in the energy - from Yang to Yin. The days in the northern hemisphere start to become shorter and the Yin energy increases...

During the June solstice the energy is concentrated mostly at the bai hui 百会 point（"Hundred Meetings", "Heaven Gate" GV-20), located on the top of head on the fontanel. This acupoint naturally opens more easily now, which is of great benefit for our health. Bai hui is one of the most important acupoints as it stimulates the energy flow in the whole body.

The new Moon (June 22) is also a good time for meditation. The new moons are time of increase in the Yang energy.

When Moon is at perigee, the Moon is closest to Earth, which also is of great influence and brings more energy.

It's also good to mention the aphelion, which will happen on July 4th (Sun farthest from Earth).

And, on July 22nd is the longest total solar eclipse in the 21st century - lasting for 6 minutes and 39 sec. Here is more info about it in wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_eclipse_of_July_22,_2009

During the solar eclipse, the energy in Earth naturally goes down a little bit, but this is only for a few minutes.

Enjoy the good energy now and do some more qigong meditation!


Annie

The Eight Trigrams Town

In the city of Tekesi, located in Xinjiang, the Uyghur autonomous region in the Western part of China, there is a Eight Trigrams town 八卦城.

According to some scholars, its construction started 800 years ago, when the famous taoist monk Qiu Chuji met with Genghis Khan. It was renovated in 1939 and is promoted as the "biggest Eight Trigrams city in the world". It is completely built on the principles of I Ching and fengshui.

In the middle of the town is the Yin Yang park. There are 8 main streets, which divide the eight sides of the Bagua. Each street is 1.2 km long.Within the first ring road, there are 8 streets;within the 2nd ring road - 16 streets;within the 3rd ring road - 32 streets;within the 4rd ring road - 64 streets.

No traffic lights in this city. They say that there is no need for traffic lights...

According to one Chinese travel site, "Tekesi Eight Trigram County is famous for its radial circle layout which looks like a labyrinth. It is the biggest and the most well preserved eight trigram county in the world. And also it is a place where the I ching culture is widely known. There is a strange thing in this county. That is no traffic lights can be seen here. No matter which direction you choose to head for , you can reach your destinations at last because the roads are closely linked to each other".

The town is enlisted in the Guinness Book of Records as the biggest Bagua city in the World.

You can see the town in Google Earth - 43° 13' 5.62" N 81° 49' 56.91" E

Here are more photos from this unique place:

The "Kun trigram" street

The swin flu will disappear sooner or later - it's very possible that this happens after the arrival of the solar season "Beginning of Summer" 立夏 (May 5th) or after the Summer Solstice 夏至 (June 22), which will bring major changes in nature and energy.

I remember several years ago SARS disappeared with the coming of "Beginning of Summer" in early May. This time may take a little bit longer, but we will see what happens.

正气存内，邪不可干

"When the genuine energy is stored within,
the pathogens cannot enter the body."

- a famous qigong saying

Swine flu and Chinese medical astrology

The current swine flu outbreak can be explained with the theory of 5 periods and 6 energies in Chinese metaphysics.

According to the theory of 5 periods and 6 energies 五運六氣, the year of Earth Ox (ji chou) is characterized with more humidity and cold patterns in the weather.

The first half of the year is more windy and humid, while the second half of the year is expected to be a little bit colder than usually.

The year is divided into 6 energy phases with specific domination of the elements in the “main energy” 主气 and ‘’guest energy” 客气 (this is related to the 24 solar seasons):

Period 1: January 21st – March 21st – wood (main qi) + wood (guest qi)

Period 2: March 21st – May 21st – fire (main qi) + fire (guest qi)

Period 3: May 21st – July 23rd – fire (main qi) + earth (guest qi)

Period 4: July 23rd – September 23rd – earth (main qi) + fire (guest qi)

Period 5: September 23rd – November 23rd – metal (main qi) + metal (guest qi)

Period 6: November 23rd – January 21st (2010) – water (main qi) + water (guest qi)

As a whole, the guest qi is distributed very well in 2009 and the weather is normal.

However, starting from the Spring Equinox (when Period 2 begins), the weather is dominated by Fire (君火), which is seen both in the main energy and in the guest energy. The two Fire patterns stimulate each other and initiate “great fire”. This fire is combined with the humid climate tendency in the first half of the year. So, during this time (Period 2) febrile diseases and epidemics easily spread out. In this way, the cause of the epidemic is due to pathogenic phlegm and heat entering the body. This leads to accumulation of turbid energy 浊气. The viruses quickly spread out during the time of pathogenic phlegm and heat.

The cure: herbs and foods that expel Phlegm-Heat from the body.

For example – honeysuckle flowers - Lonicera Japonica (金银花), Isatis root - ban lan gen (板蓝根), dandelion (蒲公英), mung beans (绿豆), rice vinegar.

Annie Pecheva

A happy child in Cambodia

a happy child in Cambodia, originally uploaded by Annie Pecheva.

In Cambodia many children sell souvenirs in Angkor Vat. This child was not selling anything, just enjoying the life. Happy and carefree... When he saw our group passing by, he joyfully said "Hello! Hi! Welcome to Cambodia!"