The Athlete's Calculator

The Athlete's Calculator are a series of free, online calculators brought to you by Stevens Creek Software. We also have a number of products for sale:

• The Athlete's Diary software
  Multisport training log for Windows, Macintosh, and Palm. Free trial copies available for online download.
• The Athlete's Calculator for Palm
  A special-purpose calculator for PalmOS handheld computers from Palm, Handspring, Sony, and others, perfect for runners, cyclists, swimmers, and triathletes. Free trial copy available for online download.
• The Athlete's Bookstore
  Books on running, cycling, swimming, triathlon, ultras, and health and fitness.

Currently Available Online Calculators:

• Target Heart Rate Calculator
• Calorie Calculator
  Calorie Calculator, Java (tm) Edition

  How many calories are you burning in your daily, weekly, or monthly workouts? How many calories will you burn in an upcoming race?

• Body Fat Estimator

  This estimator uses two different methods, one based on height and weight, the other based on waist size and weight, to estimate your body fat. You should take the estimates with a VERY large grain of salt.

• Rancho Runner!
  Rancho Runner!, Java (tm) Edition

  A calculator showing route distances and ascents for any possible route at Rancho San Antonio, Cupertino, California

Target Heart Rate Calculator

A service of Stevens Creek Software

Visit our site for more information about
The Athlete's Diary software and The Athlete's Bookstore.

• Resting Heart Rate:
• Maximum Heart Rate

  Use Entered Maximum:

  Calculate Maximum Using the Following Information:

  • Your Age:
  • Select a Formula:
    • Male

      220-Age (Non-athletic)

      205-Age/2 (Fit)

      214-0.8*Age (Alternative)

    • Female

      226-Age (Non-athletic)

      211-Age/2 (Fit)

      209-0.7*Age (Alternative)

From now on watch your internal vital organs from the outside in and use the following techniques below to determine your present state of health.  You do not need a doctor for self-examination - for the body is a temple of god - you have everything you need to heal yourself:

Facial analysis
Tongue analysis
Body Odor and sound analysis
Nail analysis

BOTTOM LINE... Everything experienced on the 'outside' is just a reflection of what's going on 'inside' of you.

Exercise, dieting, popping pills, herbal dietary supplements, drugs, and medications do nothing to cleanse, nourish, heal, renew and rejuvenate the internal organs. Ascending good health and longevity thereby becomes evasive. 

Ascending good health is your legitimate birthright. Reclaim it here. From today start looking at yourself and your health prospects with a different view. An internal view.

Facial self diagnosis

Question:  Do bags under the eyes come from indulging in too much
alcohol, from smoking, stress, aging, too much work, or lack of sleep? Which one?

Answer: None of the above

Discover the facial-organ correlations below.

Tongue self diagnosis

Question:  Which aperture of the body reflects the internal organs related to 
excretion and assimilation? Anus, urinary tract, ears, nose, or mouth?

Answer: Mouth.

Your tongue accurately reflects the state of your digestive system- from rectum to esophagus, including the stomach, small intestines, colon (large intestine), pancreas, spleen, liver and gall bladder. 

Imagine, you don't need a battery of tests to find out what part of your digestive tract is in stress. You can diagnosis the whole GI tract and corresponding organ integrity all in one easy view- just stick your tongue out.

As a whole the tongue reflects the condition of the digestive system and the organs associated with blood, nutrient assimilation, and excretion. You can also see how 'hot' or how 'cold' your internal organs are. Therefore it has a high value as a diagnostic tool.  

Specific sections of the tongue mirror the condition of particular parts of the digestive system and the digestion related internal organs.

The following correspondences exist in this relationship:

A- the tip area reflects the rectum and the descending colon. B- the peripheral area reflects the large intestine. C- the middle region corresponds to the small intestine. D- the back edge region relates to the liver, gallbladder, duodenum, and pancreas. E- the near back region corresponds to the stomach. F- the back region ('the root of the tongue') reflects the esophagus. G- the underside of the tongue reflects the quality of blood and lymph circulation in each corresponding area.

Structural characteristics

Like each particular area of the body, the tongue can be used to evaluate one's overall condition. Zetsu Shin as it is called in Japanese, is one of the most important forms of diagnosis used in Chinese medicine. Two main aspects are considered in tongue diagnosis.

First is the structure of the tongue. Is it wide or narrow, thick or thin, pointed or rounded? Such qualities convey information concerning the individual's basic constitution and overall strengths and weaknesses of body and mind.

Width:

a wide tongue reflects an overall balanced physical and psychological disposition.

a narrow tongue reflects a lack of physical adaptability with pronounced strengths and weaknesses. Mentally, thinking may be sharp but tend toward seeing a narrow view.

a very wide tongue reflects a generally loose and expanded physical condition and a tendency toward more psychological concerns.

Tip:

a rounded tip reflects a flexible yet firm physical and mental condition.

a pointed tip reflects a tight, perhaps even rigid physical condition and an aggressive or even offensive mentality.

a very wide tip reflects an overall weakness of the physical body and a flaccid or even "spaced out" mental condition.

a divided tip reflects a tendency toward physical and mental imbalances with the possibility of sharp fluctuations in thinking and mood.

Thickness:

a flat tongue reflects a balanced condition and the ability to flexibly adapt to circumstances.

a thin tongue reflects a more mental orientation, with a tendency to be more gentle and easy going.

a thick tongue reflects a more physical orientation, with the tendency to be assertive or even aggressive.

In comparison to structure, the condition of the tongue is influenced more by daily lifestyle and provides information about an individual's current state of health. Qualities to look for include:

Color:

Dark red: indicates inflammation; lesions or ulceration; and sometimes a degeneration of the related organ.

White: indicates stagnation of blood; fat and mucus deposits; or a weakness in the blood leading to such conditions as anemia.

Yellow: indicates a disorder of the liver and gallbladder, resulting in an excess secretion of bile; deposits of animal fats, especially in the middle organs of the body; and possible inflammation.

Blue or Purple: indicates stagnation of blood circulation and a serious weakening of the part of the digestive system that corresponds to the area of the tongue where the color appears.

The color on the underside of the tongue can also be used to determine the internal condition. In general, the colors and their indications listed above are the same, with the following exceptions:

Blue or Green: In excess, either of these color reflect disorders in the blood vessels and in blood quality and circulation.

Purple: In excess, this color reflects disorders of the lymphatic and circulatory system. It indicates a weakening of the immune ability and of the blood vessels.

Texture:

a swollen or enlarged tongue: indicates a Jitsu, or full state.

a shriveled or withered-looking tongue: indicates a Kyo, or empty state.

Movement:

the flexibility of the tongue also reflects the condition of the digestive system. Characteristics to look for include:

a flexible, supple, smoothly moving tongue.

a stiff, tense, or inflexible tongue.

a loose or lolling tongue.

a tongue with a pronounced slant to the left or right when it is extended.

Pimples or projections of the tongue's surface indicate the discharge of fat, protein, and sugar.

Where in the body this discharge is coming from can be determined by the specific area of the tongue on which it appears. You can find the correlation between the areas of the tongue and the digestive tract.

The second major aspect considered in tongue diagnosis is the coating, or moss, as it is called in Chinese medicine, on the tongue's surface.

Qualities are again divided into antagonistic pairs, and include moist and dry, excessive and deficient, thick or thin. The color of the coating reveals a precise information concerning specific internal conditions.

The guidelines explained above, particularly concerning the aspects of location and color, can be used for a general understanding of the different qualities of coating found on the tongue.

They are especially extremely useful when fasting, cleansing or when one is ill. A precise understanding of the nature of the problems can be achieved in seconds.

Cleansing. The elixir of youth.  Don't postpone or shut down good health.   Sound and Odor self diagnosis  Has your voice ever fluctuated between fast and slow, or maybe  between a high pitch and a low pitch for a few weeks/months, totally out of the blue? Question:  Which of your internal organs does that fluctuation give you clues about? Another clue:  Body odor with a sweet tinge to it?  What internal organ does that indicate needs attention? Answer: Spleen/stomach Diagnosis by sound and odor. Learn more below. Diagnosis by Odor Within the category of listening diagnosis Oriental practitioners included the diagnostic technique that uses the sense of smell. A disorder with either member of an organ pair will often generate a particular telltale odor. the solid, physically yang organs are considered to be the source of these specific smells. However, the hollow, structurally yin, partner organ will be affected whenever imbalances develop within its complementary partner. The correlation between the organs and their related odors is listed in the following table: "Odors" and the Five Transformations Odor Energy Organ Pair Oily, Fatty Rising Liver/Gallbladder Burnt Active Heart/Small Intestine Fragrant, Sweet Downward Spleen/Stomach Fishy Gathering Lung/Large Intestine Rotten, Putrefying Floating Kidney/Bladder Maybe the above chart means nothing to you... incomprehensible gibberish. If that is the case let us give you an example. Do you eat a lot of sweets or drinks lots of coke-cola? Take note of your b'o. It has a sweet smell to it. Alternatively when your excretory system is blocked and dysfunctional, then your other elimination systems take up the slack... and you'll see those blockages in your body odor. If you have b/o then look for a solution to your problem not in deodorant, but first of all in your colon. Once your colon is cleaned out then dietary adjustments will bring about changes to your body odor. Eat a lot sugar for weeks on end and your b/o will be sweeter. Eat a lot of animal protein your b/o will have a fishy smell to it. Eat a lot of fruit, salads, brown rich and avoid processed foods, foods with chemicals and preservatives, sugar and dairy- no b/o at all. Using deodorant does one thing only- it masks your health disorders and allows the deterioration in your health to continue. Those people who have good health and good eliminations daily, don't have a problem with body odor. Why? Because the toxic morbid waste from their body is eliminated daily in their BM's, not through their armpits. I talk from personal experience...  When your colon is thoroughly cleaned-out the HPS-ONLINE way and you follow the rules of food combining, all your other internal organs and eliminations systems will function better. I had to use deodorant for over 20 years. Since cleansing it's ten years that I have no need for it. Using deodorant is like shooting the messenger. Instead of dealing directly with the problem, deodorant and all the other fragrant alternatives mask the bad body odor problem, thereby further complicating the real present and future dangers! Bad body odor is a clear sign that internally you need to get your health in order. Diagnosis by Listening Diagnosing an individual through the sense of sound includes two complementary aspects. The first more yang method is by direct questioning to gain information about the symptoms and general condition. As the same time, one needs to pay attention to the patient's manner of speaking. Is the individual bright and cheerful, confident and optimistic, depressed, fearful, hesitant. These and similar characteristics provides clues to the individual's strengths and weaknesses, and to the nature of the particular problem that prompted him to seek help. The second, more yin method involves assessing the quality of the patient's voice. From this alone, a skilled practitioner can determine not only the cause of a problem but an individual's overall state of mental and physical health. Listening diagnosis is based on the same principles as visual diagnosis. The difference being that listening deals with a different set of vibrations, or a different type of chee. Visual diagnosis uses light, while listening diagnosis uses the vibration of sound. The application of this technique is based on the polar relationship between the paired complementary internal organs, which tells us that if there is a problem with one organ in the pair, the other organ will also be affected: Heart/Small Intestine: Problems with either of these organs are reflected in irregular speech patterns. Speech does not flow smoothly, continuously, or rhythmically. It is punctuated by inappropriate breaks. The individual may often make mistakes in wording as well. If the heart is expanded, a yin condition, the pitch will be high, and interrupted with frequent pauses. Lungs/Large Intestine: If the energy of the lungs or large intestine is stagnated, the voice will be heavy and stuffy, especially when mucus deposits exist in either organ. In the case of a more yin condition, the voice will be thin or weak, as it is in the case of tuberculosis. Kidneys/Bladder: Problems in these organs are generally caused by imbalances of liquid or salt. This produces a watery voice, and a low vibration. Spleen/Pancreas: Troubles with these organs produce a whining, complaining voice. It fluctuates between fast and slow, high pitch and low pitch. Liver/Gallbladder: Troubles with these organs produce an impatient, often blunt speech pattern. the pitch is heavy, and the pattern is short and often brusque. We can also list distinct "voices" each of which relates to one of the five organ pairs. If one of these voices is characteristic of an individual's speech we can suspect an imbalance in the energy of the related organ pair and meridians. By way of review these correlation's are as follows: "Voices" and the Five Transformations Voice Energy Organ Pair Shouting Rising Liver/Gallbladder Talking (excessive) Active Heart/Small Intestine Singing Downward Spleen/Stomach Crying Gathering Lung/Large Intestine Groaning Floating Kidney/Bladder Nail self diagnosis  Nail changes may signify a number of disorders elsewhere in the body. These changes may indicate illness long before any other symptoms appear.  Unusually wide, square nails can suggest a hormonal disorder. Brittle nails signify possible iron deficiency, thyroid problems, impaired kidney function, and circulation problems. Brittle soft, shiny nails with a moon may indicate an overactive thyroid. Dark nails and/or thin, flat, spoon-shaped nails are a sign of vitamin B12 deficiency or anemia. Nails can also turn gray or dark if the hands are placed in chemicals (most often bleach) or a substance to which one is allergic. Deep blue nail beds show a pulmonary obstructive disorder such as asthma or emphysema. Greenish nails, if not a result of a localized fungal infection, may indicate an internal bacterial infection. Black, splinterlike bits under the nails can be a sign of infectious endocarditits, a serious heart infection; other heart disease; or a bleeding disorder. A half-white nail with dark spots at the tip points to possible kidney disease. An isolated dark-blue bank in the nail bed, especially in light-skinned people, can be a sign of skin cancer. Nail beading (the development of bumps on the surface of the nail) is a sign of rheumatoid arthritis. Nails that chip, peel, crack, or break easily show a general nutritional deficiency and insufficient hydrochloric acid and protein. Minerals are also needed. Ridges can appear in the nails either vertically or horizontally. Vertical ridges indicate poor general health, poor nutrient absorption, and/or iron deficiency; they may also indicate a kidney disorder. Horizontal ridges can occur as a result of severe stress, either psychological or physical, such as from infection and/or disease. White lines across the nail may indicate a liver disease. If the white moon area of the nail turns red, it may indicate heart problems, if it turns slate blue, then it can indicate either heavy metal poisoning (such as silver poisoning) or lung trouble. White nails indicate possible liver or kidney disorders or/and anemia. White nails with pink near the tips are a sign of cirrhosis. Yellow nails or an elevation of the nail tips can indicate internal disorders long before other symptoms appear. Some of these are problems with the lymphatic system, respiratory disorders, diabetes, and liver disorders. Downward-curved nail ends may denote heart, liver or respiratory disease. Connect with a friend today. Share this info at the beauty parlor. Lifestyle quiz The Ultimate Resource for Healing, Rejuvenation, Colon Care, Fasting, & Dieting  Online Question: Does your present lifestyle contribute to ascending good health & longevity? The higher you score on the BELOW quiz, NO. The lower you score. YES. Please do the below quiz. It shouldn't take more then 4 minutes to complete. Check your score below, and follow the hyperlinks. Mark your score down in a safe place, on a piece of paper.  Compare it next time you come back here. Good luck! 1. Are you a current or former smoker? Yes No 2. Do you work or socialize around smokers? Yes No 3. Do you eat much meat? Yes No 4. Do you eat many dairy products? Yes No 5. Do you have less than one bowel movement per day? Yes No 6. Are you presently on heavy medications or drugs (legal or illegal)? Yes No 7. Do you not exercise regularly? Yes No 8. Are you more than 20 pounds overweight? Yes No 9. Do you drive in congested traffic, or live near air pollution? Yes No 10. Do you drink less than three glasses of water daily? Yes No 11. Do you eat less than one serving of fresh fruit and one serving of fresh vegetables (salad, steamed vegetables, sprouts, etc.) daily? Yes No 12. Do you work in an industrial environment with a lot of chemicals? Yes No 13. Do you take laxatives? Yes No 14. Does your family have a history of short life span? Yes No 15. Do you have mucus problems? (stuffy nose, sinus congestion, etc..) Yes No 16. Do you have bad body odor when not using deodorant? Yes No 17. Do you have "bad breath"? Yes No 18. Do you get sick easily. Yes No 19. Do you have any major illness? Yes No 20. Do you have any chronic illnesses. Yes No Score =    Most people find that once they see how easy it is to cleanse and detoxify, they are prepared to continue cleansing on their own. We can provide you with comprehensive support during your first few cleanses. 25%-40%score: means that you're doing fine, but there is still lots of work to do. We all have issues to deal with.  Check the food combining information, the cleansing programs available for you to join, and the longevity guidelines sections to understand what we mean by "lifestyle that does not contribute to vibrant health. What does your score mean? 60-100% score: means toxins are accumulating in your body at an excessive and accelerated pace. You must obviously be experiencing the negative effects of this both in your physical, mental and emotional performance. Your sexual performance might also be declining dramatically these last few years. Isn't is so? This is a wake up call. Click here friend to fix your score. You could be doing a lot more to take control of your health, and your life. You have many different options available. Please utilize at the least just a few of them. Hopefully you will find inspiration to do so from this HPS-ONLINE website. 40%-60% score: means that you are leading a lifestyle that does not contribute to ascending long-term health. You can benefit immediately by changing some of your old habits and patterns. . Quite a few of the seemingly 'minor' health problems you are experiencing are clearly avoidable. Cleansing your body would be most beneficial to you before these minor problems transform themselves from the acute state into a chronic state of bad health. Learn how to improve you immunity, that will serve you well in the especially in the next few years. Cleansing program information here-  a 7 Day Wonder program. Watch your minor ailments disappear the completely natural way! in this lifetime, you do too. You'll probably come to the conclusion after reading this website that you could be doing a lot more to easily and quickly improve your health. Bring your score down to the 5-20% range! Learn more about squatting, Tao sexual yoga, and liver cleansing here. You can benefit immediately from all three sections. Fasting and colon cleansing should be a 'natch' for you. You saw already from the samples what's lurking in your colon, let's work together on removing it. Don't be fooled, just because it hasn't crippled you yet, doesn't mean that we shouldn't deal with it now. Your reasonable low toxicity rating at this quiz shows that you understand the concept of preventative medicine, holistic health care, healing and taking responsibility for your own health. If you didn't it would be difficult to achieve a 25%- 40%. Build on that fact. Invest further in your health already today. Click here  for more body purification and cleansing information. How about strengthening and renewing your already good connections with yourself and your surroundings, already today? A rating of 25% or below: means that you are aware, conscious and mindful of the fact that your health is your own responsibility. You are a Wholistic person. You have positive intent, you take action and you are making continuous efforts to help yourself, and to help others. I congratulate your intent. May you be blessed in all your activities, and may you continue to find happiness and to enlighten other sentient beings too.   Immunity and energy Aberrant energies always exert an immunosuppressive influence on the human system by upsetting the delicate balance of internal bioenergies upon which immunity depends. Aberrant energies can invade the human energy system from external sources such as exposure to microwaves, radiation, fluorescent lights and other forms of electromagnetic pollution, or they can be generated internally by emotional turmoil, toxins, ailing organs, or obstructed energy channels. Either way, the first casualty of aberrant energy is immunity and the first aid to repairing immune deficiency caused by energy imbalance is the internal alchemy of Taoist energy exercises. Energy factors that impair immunity Abnormal electromagnetic fields We have already discussed in detail the hazards to human health generated by power lines, electrical appliances and a growing array of electronic gadgets. By suppressing the pineal and pituitary glands and impeding cerebral functions, abnormal electromagnetic fields impair immunity at its central headquarters in the brain. Microwaves Not only do microwaves suppress the same glands and tissues as abnormal electromagnetic fields, they also constitute a primary stimulant of the human stress response today. You don't have to be uptight, paranoid or stuck in a stressful job or marriage in order to suffer chronic stress. Passive exposure to microwave radiation triggers stress response in even the calmest most balanced individuals. In laboratory tests conducted on rats, exposure to microwaves at levels twenty times below the current safety standards set in the USA provoked sufficient stress to exhaust and cause a complete breakdown of their immune system. Air pollution Air pollutants such as motor-vehicle exhaust, smoke and industrial emissions fill the air with heavy positive ions that negate the activity of negative ions, the tiny charged particles which hold atmospheric energy and carry it into the human system via breath. Air conditioning and central heating have the same effect, robbing the air in closed buildings of vital negative-ion energy. Atmospheric negative-ion energy, along with the energy extracted from food by digestion, constitutes a primary ingredient in TRUE HUMAN ENERGY. Unless you compensate for such "dead" air with internal energy practices such as chee-gung and deep breathing, or alternatively you purchase an ionizer, your immune system will gradually wind down like a clock, leaving you chronically fatigued and vulnerable to the mildest pathogens. Deficient light Light is the primary source of energy for the pituitary gland, which receives the energy through the retina and optic nerve. Light also influences the pineal gland. Light is required by the body to produce vitamin D, which is why this nutrient is called the "sunshine vitamin". Light also regulates many human biorhythms, particularly sleep. The sort of wholesome light that nourishes the body is called "full-spectrum light", which means that it contains all the wavelengths of natural sunlight. Ordinary light bulbs are deficient in many vital frequencies; the light from fluorescent tubes and television screen is not only deficient, it also vibrates erratically and thereby irritates the pituitary gland and the central nervous system via the optic nerve. Numerous studies conducted in American schools have shown that many of the abnormal behavior patterns and learning impediments which increasingly impair classroom discipline and education in the USA are quickly corrected when fluorescent lights are replaced with full-spectrum lights. Shallow breathing and physical stagnation Lack of sufficient exercise and shallow breathing create conditions of chronic fatigue and physical stagnation in the human body, lowering resistance and impairing immunity. Such habits deprive the body of sufficient oxygen, impede circulation and blood, restrict distribution of nutrients, shrink the protective shield of radiant energy around the body and inhibit internal alchemy. Emotional turmoil Frequent outbursts of extreme emotions are regarded as the primary internal source of disease in traditional Chinese medicine and the new Western science of psychoneuroimmunology has confirmed this ancient Taoist premise. It is well known that grief, for example, such as that experienced after the death of a spouse, renders a person highly vulnerable to disease and degeneration. Emotional equilibrium is a precondition for maintaining strong immunity and nothing throws human energy off balance more quickly and extremely than sudden outbursts and prolonged bouts of uncontrolled "energies in motion". Fortunately, there are simple and effective ways to remedy and prevent assaults on the immune system by aberrant energies. When practiced in conjunction with methods that boost immunity on the level of essence, these "energy supplements" become even more effective by virtue of synergy. Energy boosters for immunity Chee-gung Chee-gung counteracts the immunosuppressive effects of stress by switching the body over to the parasympathetic branch of the autonomous nervous system. This gives the adrenals a chance to rest and recuperate and stops their secretion of adrenaline, cortisone and other immunosuppressive hormones. Chee-gung also strengthens the radiant shield of energy that protects the body from invasion by aberrant environmental energies, balances yin and yang, Water an Fire and other polar energies, harmonized the Five Elemental Energies of the vital organs and recharges every cell in the body with fresh energy. It greatly enhances circulation, thereby enabling blood to deliver immune factors to all tissues and carry away accumulated metabolic wastes. Chee-gung also establishes immune-enhancing biofeedback between the nervous and endocrine systems. Deep breathing Deep breathing is an essential part of chee-gung, but it also has therapeutic benefits of its own and should be practiced at all times. By practicing chee-gung daily, one gradually learns how to breath correctly at all times. Deep breathing causes the diaphragm to massage and stimulate the adrenals with each breath, providing rejuvenating physical therapy to these much-abused glands. It enhances cerebral circulation of oxygen and nutrients, thereby boosting cerebral functions, which in turn maintain immunity. It maximizes assimilation of negative ion energy from the atmosphere and keeps the autonomous nervous system from constantly driving the body into the high gears of the sympathetic branch, which enervates immunity. The great Tang-dynasty physician and Taoist adept Sun Ssu-mo extolled the benefits of deep breathing as follows in his medical masterpiece entitled Precious Recipes: "When correct breathing is practices, the myriad ailments will not occur. When breathing is depressed or strained, all sorts of diseases will arise. Those who wish to nurture their lives must first learn the correct methods of controlling breath and balancing energy. These breathing methods can cure all ailments, great and small". Energy supplements Just as there are ways to supplement essence with vitamins, herbs, enzymes and so forth, so there are ways to supplement energy. Traditionally, quartz crystals and various gems have been used to attract positive cosmic energies from the planets and stars and channel them into the human energy system. This is the mechanism by which talismans work. Gold also helps the body to collect and store beneficial environmental energies. In addition to these traditional methods, modern electronic technology has devised a wide range of pulsed audiovisual aids and many others. Geomancy The ancient Taoist science of geomancy (feng-shui) calculates the flow of celestial and terrestrial energies in a designated area in order to determine the best locations for homes, temples, offices and other buildings, so that these natural environmental energies harmonize favorably with human energies in order to promote the health and longevity of the occupants and users. Though little understood and often debunked in the West, geomancy definitely works, as anyone who has lived in the Far East for a while can readily attest. Even such common problems as insomnia can often be completely remedied simply by relocating a bed or sleeping in a different room and thousands of business firms in the Far East have gone from the brink of bankruptcy to the pinnacle of profit overnight by calling in a qualified geomancer to rearrange their offices, seal off doors that leak energy out, turn the boss's desk to a more favorable angle and make other adjustments in the flow of the invisible but highly influential energies of sky and earth. If you've tried everything else to no avail, you might give geomancy a chance to improve your fortunes and boost your energies. Wherever you find a sizable overseas Chinese community, you are bound to find a practicing geomancer. Immunity and spirit Chronic stress is probably the primary cause of immune deficiency in the modern world, especially in the crowded urban centers of industrially developed societies. The human body is equipped to deal with the sort of stress people faced in the pre-industrial world, such as crossing paths with a saber-toothed tiger, tribal warfare, avalanches, floods and other situations that provoke the fight-or-flight response. In such situations, the adrenal glands spurt adrenaline into the bloodstream and switch the nervous system over to the action mode of the sympathetic branch. The body then responds by fighting, running or some other high-energy physical reaction, burning off the simulative hormones and extra glucose pumped into the bloodstream for the purpose, then returning to normal. Such situations occurred occasionally, not chronically and when they passed, the body naturally recovered its energy and endocrine balance. Today, the same biochemical responses are triggered, hundred of times throughout the day and night by frustration in the office, marital strife, repressed rage, bad news on television, exposure to microwaves and abnormal electromagnetic fields, fear alienation, peer pressures and other hazards of modern life. However, instead of making high-energy physical responses, people repress their rage, fear and other negative emotions provoked by stress, thereby failing to utilize the powerful hormones and aneurochemicals released into the blood. These potent biochemicals quickly break down into various toxic by-products that poison the system, suppress immunity and impede other vital functions. Under chronic stress, the body never has a chance to excrete these toxins thoroughly and restore proper balance in essence, energy and spirit. Stress is basically a sudden demand on the body to adapt quickly to a new situation and therefore it depends largely upon perception and sensory input, which belongs to the realm of spirit. However, the effects of stress instantly reverberate down through the realms of energy and essence via biofeedback and the nervous system. Stress thus preoccupies the entire human system whenever it strikes, engaging body, mind and energy in a vicious circle of tension and turmoil that has no outlet. In recent years, stress has finally become recognized as a major immunosuppressant and a primary cause of dis-ease. Unfortunately, the tendency of modern Western medicine is to treat stress with tranquilizers, which temporarily relieve the overt symptoms but compound the physiological damage. Stress causes the adrenals to secrete adrenaline and cortisone, the latter being a particularly powerful immunosuppressant, especially in the thymus, lymph nodes and spleen. Cortisone also impairs production of interferon, one of the body's most potent immune agents. Disease associated with high cortisone levels include cancer, hypertension, arthritis, stroke, chronic infections, skin diseases, Parkinson disease and ulcers. Elevated cortisone is also associated with an increased tendency towards suicide. In Maximum Immunity, Dr. Michael Weiner states: "Psychological stress releases powerful hormones that suppress our immune defenses". In Eat Right or Die Young, Dr. Cass Igram states the case against stress even more bluntly. The role played by stress in the causation of cancer is so great that it would not be an exaggeration to say that 80% or more cancer cases have their immediate origin in some form of mental pressure or strain. Grief, distress, fear, worry and anger are emotions which have horrible effects on the body's functions. Researchers have discovered that these emotions cause the release of chemicals from the brain call neuropeptides. These potent compounds have a profound immune-suppressive action. Scientists have traced a pathway from the brain to the immune cells proving that negative emotions can stop the immune cells dead in their tracks. This results in part from the release of chemicals from nerve endings. Once this happens, harmful microbes or cancer cells can invade any tissue in the body. Dr. Igram's analysis is virtually identical to the traditional Chinese medical view of negative emotions as potent causes of disease. Since the central nervous system has branches with nerve endings that terminate in the glands which regulate the immune system, there is constant biofeedback between hormones and neurochemicals. The immune system functions much like a sensory organ, responding to external stimuli based on sensory input mediated by the nervous system. A fight-or-flight response from the brain immediately triggers a similar response in the adrenals and other glands and those glandular secretions in turn sustain continued activity of the neurochemicals that triggered the original stress response. Similarly, calming, soothing, neurochemicals stimulate secretion of calming, soothing hormones, which in turn sustain the activity of those neurochemicals through biofeedback. Recall the statement of Master Luo Teh-hsiou of Taiwan that the primary mechanism by which chee-gung generated vital energy and rejuvenates the body is by establishing soothing biofeedback between the nervous and endocrine systems. Dr. Weiner states in Maximum Immunity: "By learning how to control our mind, subtle hormonal changes emerge that then control our biochemical reality". Yale university's cancer surgeon Dr. Bernie Siegel agrees: "Psychological and spiritual development are capable of reversing the disease process". This is virtually a paraphrase of a statement in the chapter entitled "The Oldest Truth" in the 2,000 year-old Internal Medicine Classic; "If one maintains an undisturbed spirit  within, no disease will occur". The PNI system can be stimulated into a mode of positive biofeedback, which heals the body and restores immunity simply by adopting the right mental attitude. PNI explains, for example, the placebo effect. If the mind can be made to believe that a sugar pill or a capsule of vitamin C is actually a miraculous new drug, it promptly mobilizes the immune system, triggers the healing response, and orchestrates a cure. The "Power of Positive Thinking" is thus rooted in the physiological and biochemical effects it triggers in the body via the nervous system. As Norman Cousins writes; "The will to love is not a theoretical abstraction, but a physiologic reality with therapeutic characteristics. There are many aspects to positive thinking, foremost among which is will, which the Chinese call yi and equate with primordial spirit. But mental factors, such as enthusiasm, are also important in maintaining health. If you are bored or frustrated by your job, hobby, marriage or other activities, your mind lacks enthusiasm for life, which in turn saps the will to live. Simply by changing your habits or creatively solving the problems that frustrate you, you recover enthusiasm, which in turn stimulates vitality and boosts immunity. A good example of this is the investment banker who late in life contracted "incurable" leukemia. As it turned out, he had always wanted to be a concert violinist rather than a banker, but he repressed his dream in order to please his father and went reluctantly to Wall Street. Condemned to death by his doctor's diagnosis, he decided to shuck his pinstriped suit, retired and learned to play the violin with such enthusiasm that he actually performed on stage before an audience, realizing the dream of a lifetime. Before long, his leukemia went into what his perplexed doctor called "spontaneous remission"; his renewed enthusiasm for life triggered his psychoneuroimmunological defence system to attach the mutant cells causing his leukemia. Visualization is another effective way to restore immunity and heal the body. Carl and Stephnie Simonton of the Cancer Counseling and Research Center in Dallas, Texas, reported a case of a young boy with cancer to whom they taught a therapeutic method of visualization. Day after day, the boy vividly imagined jet fighters zooming into his body to strafe and bomb his tumors and sure enough, the tumors soon began to shrink and finally disappeared altogether, without chemotherapy, radiation or surgery. Using this technique, the Simonton's have managed to double the survival times of terminal cancer patients under their care. Despite this impressive achievement, however, conventional medicine continues to rely on radical chemical-mechanistic therapies which destroy the human immune system and make the remaining days of terminal-cancer patients utterly miserable. Visualization is also a key technique in triggering the healing response during the practice of the Six-Syllable Secret healing chee-gung exercise introduced in an earlier chapter. The breath mobilizes energy, the lips, tongue and throat establish the required frequency and the movements of limbs stimulate the associated energy channels; at the same time visualization directs the stream of energy into and out of the target organ. Similarly, in order to activate "palm breathing" during chee-gung or meditation, all you need to do is visualize energy streaming in and out of the points in the center of your palms while performing deep abdominal breathing and soon you can feel it happening. If you can't it means that you're not concentrating fully on the visualization, that you have serious doubts it will work, or that you're simply not paying sufficient attention to the resulting sensations, any of which factors will negate the effects of the visualization. Mind over matter works both ways; while faith in the method delivers the desired results to the body, doubt obstructs it. Meditation is a very effective method for boosting immunity and cultivating the power of positive thinking, visualization and mind over matter. Simply by "sitting still, doing nothing" for a while each day, you give your mind a chance to retire from the stresses of daily life and explore its own innate powers. Even in the beginning stages of practice, when the "monkey mind" hops from one trivial thought to another, meditation still boosts immunity on the physiological level by switching the nervous system over to the restful, restorative, immune - enhancing parasympathetic mode. Later when you've developed a feel for internal energy and learned how to transport it wherever you wish within your system, you can apply that power to heal injuries, balance energies, stimulate glandular secretions, enhance cerebral energy, exchange energy with your sexual partner, dissolve tumors and other useful purposes. Though it may sound like a cliché, as so many truths do, love also has great healing powers. Dr. Siegel says: "If I told patients to raise their blood levels of immune globulin's or killer T-cells, no one would know how. But if I can teach them to love themselves and other fully, the same changes happen automatically. The truth is "love heals". Love energizes the entire immune system and specifically stimulates the production of antibodies. Lack of love for oneself and others gives rise to negative thoughts and emotions, which as we've already seen, releases immunosuppressive hormones and neurochemicals into the system via the PNI mechanism. Many people, especially in crowded cities, find themselves stuck in situations they hate, but cannot do anything to change, so they end up hating themselves and others. This results in a state of chronic immune deficiency. Many of the Chinese medical texts dating from 2,000 years ago lament the ills of "modern times" and allude to the traditional "good old days" another 3,000 years before that. A common theme in these texts is the decline in human health due to careless lifestyles and the deterioration in human relations due to lack of love: degenerative conditions that Taoist alchemy as well as psychoneuroimmunology would link as symptoms of the same syndrome. In his essay entitled "Loving People" Chang San-fen, the thirteenth-century master, summed it up by saying: "Therefore to those who want to know the way to deal with the world, I suggest, "Love People". This is a potent prescription for health and longevity that generates positive healing energy throughout the human system by stimulating the internal alchemy of psychoneuroimmunology.