Esoteric Views on Health
A Medical and Metaphysical Look at Health IssuesBy Hock Chye YeohiUniverse, Inc.
Copyright © 2010 Dr Hock Chye Yeoh BSc, MBBS, DRM, FICGP, FIAMS, M.Med
All right reserved.ISBN: 978-1-4502-6670-3Contents
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS........................................................viiINTRODUCTION............................................................TP1ξTP1TC1[1. My Journey]TC1 12. Miss, you have Hypertension..........................................143. Something about Diabetes Mellitus....................................274. Diagnosing Diabetes and Hypertension.................................335. The Pitfalls of Treatment............................................386. Obesity..............................................................427. Re-emergence of Tuberculosis.........................................488. Cancer...............................................................539. Dealing with Death...................................................8210. Supplements – Are they required?..............................9711. A Guide to Supplements that make the Difference.....................10412. The Tao of Chinese Medicine.........................................11913. The Chakras.........................................................12614. Strange Illness caused by the Unknown...............................13815. Meditation and Health...............................................15316. The Ultimate in Preventive Medicine.................................16617. The Age of the Internet.............................................17318. Coma, Dreams and Sleep..............................................17919. Big and Expensive is better ........................................19220. Time to be a Vegetarian.............................................19921. Time to Discard Negative Attitudes..................................20522. We Are All One......................................................21323. The Cosmic Man......................................................225Bibliography and recommended reading....................................228RESOURCES...............................................................230
Chapter One
My Journey
It is best to start with a glimpse of my own story on the journey of my life. When I was a small boy, I remembered that I was often sick and poor mum had to take me to see the government doctor. It was an ordeal to wait for the consultation and then for the medications. My frequent trips to the doctor made me wonder how he knew which sickness I had and what to give me to make me well. In other words I wanted to comprehend how a doctor thinks and diagnoses.
I needed to be one of them. Now that I am one, I realise that there are many things doctors know nothing about and what they do know, is not complete. This is despite the six long and strenuous years of toil and burning the mid-night candles, after which I embarked upon some specialized training to improve my skills and still it was not enough. I knew I had to seek knowledge elsewhere but I had no idea where.
Slowly my hard attitude was eroded by a very good friend who leant me some books to read. At that time, the only books I was interested in were medical journals of any kind. I felt that novels were totally a waste of time whereas factual books were more satisfactory. Though time was limited and precious, as any doctor will tell you, I started to read as many books as I could borrow from my friend.
The book that opened my mind was one on the magus of Strovolos, a wise man who could bilocate and heal illnesses that doctors had long since given up hope of finding a cure for and who wrote about reincarnation. It was not difficult for me to accept the idea of reincarnation basically because of my Asian values but to know that others from a different culture were thinking likewise was comforting.
This is what I meant by having deeper knowledge about life and searching for answers while my medical knowledge was only providing a very small part of the whole picture.
I had even for a time followed an Indian holy man and under gone Hindu rituals to cleanse myself. Years later, I made a pilgrimage to India to pay penance for a previous life episode. I travelled deep into the heart of India to complete my atonement and among the many things I had to do, one was quite funny. I had to travel to a Church in South India and just sit there after lighting candles for a full two hours! It was torture to me as this particular church was situated in a very remote fishing village and by the time I had reached it, I was really exhausted.
The other things I had to do were to feed the poor and at another village in remote Tamil Nadu, I had to pay respects and ask for forgiveness from seven ladies of the village. As I journeyed to give back all that I had owed, I began to understand more about my previous lives. I believe that my past existences were nothing to shout about and also I felt I must have been a terribly horrible person and thus in this lifetime I decided to turn over a new leaf.
Talking about leaves, I wish to include the "leaf" that changed my life. It was the Nadi Leaf. I had to track down the particular Leaf Reader, first in Singapore and then the trail led me to India.
Nadi leaves were written by Hindu sages hundreds of years ago, who after some deep meditation took on the monumental task of writing down prophecies of the individuals they were told to keep information on and who were not yet born. The name of the person and even their parents' names were recorded. These were written on leaves because it was before paper had been invented.
These leaves were stored in temples for safe keeping but some were lost or destroyed in the course of time due to termites, natural disasters, wars or theft.
The leaves that survived were distributed among the keepers of the leaves and thus they were spread all over India. You need to track down the correct keeper's descendants to be able to get your leaves read and interpreted and mind you India is a very large country. However I was led to the correct Leaf Reader by unseen hands although tracking him down was an adventure in itself.
After some years had passed I began the study of Feng Shui and took to it like a duck takes to water. I say this because deep inside me, I don't need any proof regarding the workings of this ancient Chinese art and science; somehow it just feels right and very comfortable.
Many years later, I found out the reason. I met a South African woman who is psychic and she would give me hints of my past lives. One of which was that I had been an advisor to an Emperor of China about architecture of the palace but died a disillusioned man when my advice was not taken. When I related this to a relative of mine with knowledge of Chinese history, he said that there was no one actually called an architect in old China but perhaps more appropriately they were known as Feng Shui masters!
I had to re-learn everything, having no memory of my past experience. I was lucky as various masters came into contact with me and I enrolled in their classes. It was one master who really "opened" my feng shui eyes and with his guidance I too gained the confidence of a master.
I also had the opportunity to be under one meditation teacher who teaches along the lines of Taoist practice but was only able to follow him at the most basic and rudimentary level.
Next, I took up Tai Chi to sustain good health and had the chance to learn it as an express student because I told the teacher that I was a busy government doctor and could not follow the slow snail's pace of learning the art. He was kind enough to oblige and I didn't disappoint him.
It was my youngest sister Annie, who introduced me to Reiki healing and persuaded me to go for it. My eyes were opened wider still and I began to see things differently.
I had also been very eager to know more about Buddhism and therefore enrolled for a diploma and was surprised that I could not attain the highest score and be the best student in class! It was indeed a humbling experience. I decided to expand my knowledge in Buddhism by reading more than just the books suggested in the course and began to understand why Albert Einstein, the Nobel Prize winner, had high regards for the Buddhist philosophy.
This was attributed to what Albert Einstein had said on Buddhism "Buddhism has the character of what would be expected in a cosmic religion for the future. It transcends a personal God, avoids dogmas and theology. It covers both natural and the spiritual and is based on a relative sense arising from the experience of all things natural and spiritual, as a meaningful unity."
I also accomplished a Certificate Class in Hinduism to compliment my Buddhist studies. My thirst for deeper knowledge in Hinduism started after I read the Mahabharata, Ramayana, Bhagavad Gita and the many books written by Paramahansa Yogananda. Again it was an inner peace-like feeling when I read these works and my soul did not reject any of the ideas, hence I took up serious studies in Hinduism. In my earlier years, I had followed a Hindu priest closely for several years.
My journey continued deeper along this path and I found myself being initiated into an Indonesian based religious order. The experience I had was out of this world.
The ceremonies I had gone through were simply magical. After an interview and screening by the "Bapak" I was allowed to be initiated into the order.
During the ceremony, I was surprised that my arms looked like the big scaly legs and sharp talons of an eagle; I even noticed feathers appearing on my upper arms. The master said he saw a huge peacock flying round the room during the initiation. I was told this was a good omen.
Another friend who was initiated a week earlier was disappointed in that his practice of the art was stagnating while I had good progress. It took me many years to appreciate the significance of the energy that arose in me as my knowledge grew and I was able to connect and combine what I had been taught through several modalities.
Many years later, I had to make the difficult decision of whether or not to be initiated into Taoism. I had under gone some purification processes and on the day of one of the initiation ceremonies I found myself in a group heading towards a temple, about 250 km away from where I live! This was despite being unsure whether or not to undergo the final ceremony. There was time to chicken out! Although I appeared calm on the outside, I was struggling within and had to keep reassuring myself with the knowledge that I could always change my mind.
We reached the temple by nightfall and my friend parked his car in the temple grounds and began to change into the attire for the ceremony. I had asked the Taoist gods for a clear sign to let me know whether I was making the correct decision. If I chose to take part and be initiated I would have to undergo a very strict regime for a complete year and I had doubts that I would be able to follow this discipline! Eventually I put on the ceremonial dress although I felt some reluctance having not yet seen any signs from the Gods to guide me in my decision.
I said to myself I could still back out at the last moment. This initiation process only occurs once in several years and through a very selective procedure, part of which was that we were to be recommended by our Grandmaster. We had to register our names and when I saw I was to be the 13th disciple that day I was full of happiness because that was the sign! You see, in our family, the number 13 turns out on very special and important matters! It is also a sign from my ancestors, giving their approval. This special number was recorded in our family history dating back several generations in ancient China. I was so pleased to be initiated. But there was another problem ...
Being Malacca born, the land of the Babas of Malaysia I had very much difficulty in speaking the Chinese dialect which they used to converse. This was now the main worry. I told the temple officials and they assisted straight away with some coaching to help me answer some of the possible questions that our Spiritual Master would ask. He was to be channelled by the temple medium in a trance state. It was rather difficult to commit the phrases I learned to memory in such a short time and seemed even tougher than any medical exams I had sat!
The ceremony started and all of us had to attend a lecture by the Spiritual Master talking through the medium. Needless to say, I understood nothing, zero. Instead I tried to practice speaking in this unfamiliar dialect while sweating nervously at the same time. My only inner thoughts were 'Surely I will fail the question and answer time. Now what have I got myself into!'
Finally the moment arrived for the individual interview by Master. It was time to face the music and possible embarrassment. My heart was in palpitation. I had to carry a bowl of water in my hands and kneel down several feet away from Master, who looked so serene and dignified.
He asked me some questions, and to my utter and complete surprise, I spoke as if I knew the language — I was so fluent, the words just flew out of my mouth!
Master eventually pointed to my bowl of water and I saw, in a flash, a ray of light flew from his finger to my bowl, and I quickly drank the blessed water. Master then led us all in prayer to the Heavens and asked us to state our names out loud to the great Universe.
After the ceremony, I happened to take another look at the medium when he was out of the trance and noticed to my amazement, his face was totally different from the way he looked when he was in his state of reverie. I was quite taken aback. During the trance, the medium looked so dignified, like an emperor; his appearance also portrayed that of a wise man and with so much peace in his outlook. He spoke in a voice that was soft and yet authoritative. When the medium came out of his trance and mingled with us in breaking our strict vegetarian diet with a meal of fish and meat, to signify the end of the ceremony, I almost did not recognise him. He now looked so ordinary, like the 'boy next door' and spoke fast and in our local accent. The transformation was amazing!
This magical adventure named Taoism led me to the study of Lao Tzu's works and they were almost as difficult to understand as the I Ching which I studied some years later. It was only very recently however that I had a breakthrough with Lao Tzu's (born 600 BC) 'Tao Te Ching'. I needed to meditate while reading the passages and with the clarity that often comes with meditation, I began to understand at a higher level, the Tao of the Tao Te Ching.
It is the I Ching that still astounds me and keeps me spellbound. Somehow at that time I knew that I needed to embark upon and understand the I Ching and I thus began my search for a teacher. I had dabbled in it as an amateur and while I was working in London, I had tried to do some divination for a good Londoner friend.
He asked several questions on behalf of the various members of his family and I gladly did what I could at that time. Many years later, after I had left the UK, this friend managed to contact me and he informed me of astonishing incidents that had since come true for his family, especially for his only sister! She had taken my advice and never regretted it, saving her a lot of trouble! I was very surprised myself.
When I was working in Kuala Lumpur, a friend told me of a strange hermit who lived in the fringes of a small unnamed village at another very remote place, who knew a lot about I Ching and the Tao. I needed to meet this man and made arrangements with my friend to do so.
It took a long time to make the plans for the trip because the hermit had not wanted to meet anyone he didn't know, and strangely enough, especially anyone from the island of Penang, which is where I was residing!
I told my friend not to reveal this. From my persistent pestering, he finally agreed to try our luck and see if we would be able to meet the hermit without asking him first, as we felt for sure if we did his answer would be a 'no'.
We finally arrived at the hermit's very broken down tiny home, almost at the edge of the jungle. The door of the hut had some kind of deer antlers hanging on the outside and there were puddles of water in the immediate surroundings. Grass was over grown and other vegetation almost swallowed up the shabby wooden structure.
It was a perfect hideout I thought. However he wasn't in although the almost broken door was not locked. There was no need for security measures in such a remote place. So we waited outside for hours. Dusk was falling and then he appeared, looking extremely irritated at our presence but as he knew my friend, he attempted to restrain his annoyance.
He wore really old clothes but looked rather young and robust. My friend had a little conversation with him and finally the recluse turned to me and asked a few questions. We were now in his home and there was almost no furniture except an old bed and half a broken chair. The rest of the hut was filled with many kinds of dried herbs, leaves and some fresh jungle plants. The roof was full of holes through which the setting sun made a perfect natural light.
I waited for what felt an appropriate opportunity and took the courage to ask him if he would teach me the I Ching and the Tao. He answered me with a definite no! I tried my best to make him change his mind, giving several reasons - one was that it would be such a waste if he did not depart his deep knowledge on to someone.
He answered, "There is no worry - the Tao will never be lost; it always will appear to someone somewhere to carry on the knowledge."
Alas I knew this man would not budge from his position, I felt he saw me as an unworthy student. It was with great reluctance that I gave up and turned to other topics of conversation. Finally it was time to leave and he offered me some tea he had freshly brewed and we drank in silence.
Both of us were in deep thought. I then bade him farewell and we left but, not with heavy hearts, just meeting this man was in itself so exciting. Actually I believe he was right not to take me on as a student because it was unrealistic on my part - I was terribly busy working in the hospital, I would not have time to travel so far into the wilderness to spend more hours studying with him.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Esoteric Views on Healthby Hock Chye Yeoh Copyright © 2010 by Dr Hock Chye Yeoh BSc, MBBS, DRM, FICGP, FIAMS, M.Med. Excerpted by permission of iUniverse, Inc.. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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