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Thursday, 3 September 2015

Agnolo Bronzino

                  Agnolo Bronzino

BIOGRAPHY

Agnolo di Cosimo Bronzino was born to a negative family in Monticello, out of doors of Florence. Agnolo was introduced to portray at age eleven, through the Florentine painter Raffaellino del Garbo, and at age 12 have become the scholar of Pontormo. Agnolo and Pontormo were inseparable, living and operating together for the next decade, their patterns almost indistinguishable. Through about 1530 Bronzino had moved far from Pontormo's worried sensibility and advanced an art and profession impartial of his grasp. His new fashion became first obvious in his portraits. For Bronzino, a portrait changed into a masks. Rather than revealing the sitter's character, the Florentine aimed to bring his concern's social standing, elegance, and discretion. Bronzino expressed the cloth international in his graphics; the enameled colors and attention to depicting information like his sitters' lace collars, hair, and jewelry, and even the veins in their arms gave his images a far off decorativeness.

As court docket painter to Cosimo I de' Medici, first Grand Duke of Tuscany, Bronzino additionally painted religious works, which he approached with the identical cool detachment as his pics. Among 1546 and 1548, Bronzino lived in Rome. His allegorical paintings motivated younger Manicurist painters with their distorted poses, exaggerated expressions, and emphasis on movement. In his later paintings, Bronzino discarded his frozen passion, conceiving his public paintings as cumulative presentations of his encyclopedic information of art history and his talent for assimilating it into his very own works.

Creation of Agnolo di cosimo


 Agnolo Bronzino, whose actual call became Agnolo di Cosimo and is most usually referred to as Il Bronzino or actually Bronzino, become a stand-out artist of the second one-wave of Italian Mannerism inside the center of the 16th century. He lived his whole life in Florence and modeled his portray style so closely to that of his mentor, Jacopo Pontormo, that art historians nowadays nonetheless debate the credit score of several art work.

Succeeding in which Pontormo had now not, Bronzino finally have become courtroom painter to the effective Medici own family of Florence and received notoriety for his portraiture fashion that meshed a detached realism depicting bloodless and regularly conceited expressions of his noblemen sitters with bold coloring such as ice blue and raspberry red. His pix have confirmed to be his primary legacy and stimulated portraiture portray for a century following his death in 1572.

Bronzino took the standards developed by Pontormo and ran with them. The end result was pics that had been immaculately practical in element, with his topics exuding blank, stoic expressions, yet with a experience of the Aristocracy and haughtiness. His use of color is on the whole what units Bronzino's fashion aside from Pontormo's and earned him a permanent place among the extremely good Italian Mannerists.
Agnolo Bronzino inventive Context
The Mannerist movement developed around 1520 in both Florence or Rome and replaced the excessive Renaissance technology. It lasted until around 1580 with the emergence of the Baroque fashion. Early Mannerist painters include Andea del Sarto, Jacopo Pontormo and Rosso Fiorento and such artists are regarded for their elongated forms and theatrical lighting fixtures.

Mannerism combines numerous patterns and is heavily influenced by means of the confined naturalism associated with painters such Raphael, Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. This, Mannerism is known for its synthetic rather than naturalistic traits.

Mannerist images by using Agnolo Bronzino are prominent by using a nonetheless sophistication and outstanding interest to detail. Bronzino centered closely on the garb and materials featured in his works and this changed into often stated to create a gulf among the subject and viewer.
Agnolo Bronzino Biography

Early Years:

Bronzino was born November 17, 1503, inside the metropolis of Monticello out of doors Florence to a bad circle of relatives. He commenced his artwork training at the age of 11 as a student of Raffaellino del Garbo, a Florentine Renaissance painter. In 1515 Bronzino undertook an apprenticeship in Florence with the person who could turn out to be his largest creative affect and, a few say, adopted father: Jacopo Carucci, better called Pontormo.

In 1522 when Bronzino turned into 19 years old, the plague broke out in Florence so he and Pontormo left the coronary heart of the city to avoid the Black dying and stayed 3 miles away at Certosa di Galuzzo, a cloistered Carthusian monastery.


Middle Years: 

In 1925, Pontormo known as upon his scholar to help with what could be his masterpiece: Deposition from the move. This altarpiece changed into painted within the Florentine church of Santa Felicità. Pontormo became commissioned to decorate the complete church with frescoes and in a testimony to Pontormo's consider in and affection for Bronzino he allowed him to assist him over again.

Bronzino fled to Urbino after the Siege of Florence in 1530 after being invited there by means of the Duke of Urbino to color a nude Cupid on a spandrel of a vault of the Imperial. Quickly after he arrived, Pontormo wrote letter after letter asking Bronzino to come back returned. Yet, a prince at Urbino was so inspired with Bronzino's painting that he commissioned him to paint his portrait. Once it changed into finished, Bronzino rejoined his instructor in Florence.


Advanced Years: 

As Bronzino began to be recognized for his images, the nobility in Florence took word. He became the respectable portraitist for the Medici and shortly went to paintings portray the graphics of the ruling circle of relatives participants, which he is now in large part recognized for, and which is Bronzino's finest contribution to Mannerism.


Bronzino had many students as he labored as court painter, a role he fulfilled until his death, but none as preferred as Alessandro Allori. In a circulate that reflected his courting with Pontormo, Bronzino followed Allori as his son. Bronzino moved into the Allori circle of relatives residence and died there on November 23, 1572, on the age of sixty nine.


Agnolo Bronzino style and approach

artwork historians have frequently struggled to discover the paintings of sixteenth-century Italian Mannerist Bronzino because of the reality that he is notorious for adopting Pontormo's fashion so well that the author of some paintings remains debated.


Portraiture style: 

common phrases used to describe Bronzino's portraiture fashion are cold, calculated, unemotional, detached, fantastically sensible and with immaculate interest to element, specially while portray complicated garb styles and fabrics. He molded his faces and our bodies into an nearly 3-dimensional effect in preference to acting flat on the canvas. His images capture the conceitedness of excessive society that have become en style throughout the sixteenth century.

Bronzino's portraiture style became so famous that it influenced courtroom portraiture all through Europe and for hundreds of years to return.


Spiritual and Allegorical fashion: 

Bronzino's spiritual works are commonly marked by complex compositions and contorted frame positions, an influence of each Pontormo and Michelangelo. Yet, Bronzino lacked the passion that Pontormo oozed in his non secular art work meaning they frequently seemed emotionally empty despite the fact that the craftsmanship turned into glaring.


Chiaroscuro: 

Bronzino used this approach to convey attention to the mild-coloured figures inside the painting in order that they stood out from the dark heritage.


Allegories: 

Bronzino's allegory artwork closely used symbolism and, like many of his non secular works, made use of the naked human shape.


Method: 


Bronzino's painting technique is extremely managed and meticulous. His brushstrokes seem non-existent, which gives his works, specially his photos, a really sensible, almost lifestyles-like look.

How sound effects and heal?

How sound effects and heal?

This is the first article I will be writing in a series devoted to the growing field of sound healing. Before going into the science, technique, theories and practices surrounding the therapeutic use of sound in the series, it’s important to introduce the basic principles of sound healing, name a few pioneers in the field and more important address how sound and music (i.e. organized sound and silence) affects people. Lastly, I’ll start to discuss how you can become more conscious in your own process as an artist, producer and/or composer.

Vibration and Frequency

Everything around us is vibrating. It’s easy to forget that any objects we perceive as solid or not ‘alive’ are actually vibrating. It may be at a very slow pace, beyond our sense of movement, but the atoms and molecules that make up rocks and trees and man-made goods are moving energy. Nothing is at rest.
Low to High Frequency Sweep
Low to High Frequency Sweep.

Everything has a frequency. We attract and repel people with our energy or individual frequency. We can think of our individual frequency as a tone or a harmony of tones unique to us. Inside our bodies, our organs, bones and cells vibrate at their natural frequencies. Frequencies are measured in Hertz, just like we see in our equalizer controls whether they be hardware or software based. The longer and more spread out the wave, the lower the sound and the closer together the waves are, the higher the sound.  
Dr. Peter Guy Manners completed extensive clinical research with the help of medical doctors and clinical researchers starting in 1940 to pinpoint the natural resonant frequencies or ‘biosignatures’ of our healthy tissues organ systems. Since then, tools and instruments have to been developed to help feed the body with these frequencies to help balance the body.
Dr Tomatis Listening and Evaluation device
Dr Tomatis Listening and Evaluation device.

Dr. Tomatis a French physician and auditory neurophysiologist believed our ear drives and affects our entire nervous system and depending what we are listening to, music or otherwise, will dictate our energy level and sense of well-being. He experimented with different music including high frequencies, and/or low frequencies to see how they affect the brain and the patient overall. By studying Benedictine monks in France, he observed how important the monk’s chanting was to their overall health and well-being. When the daily chanting ritual was taken away from them for a short time, most fell ill before the singing was reintroduced to their full recovery. Don Campbell, in his book ‘The Mozart Effect,’ studied how listening to Mozart boosted the brain capacity, focus and spatial reasoning of the listener while they were studying or answer questions. More and more evidence and study is coming out all the time about the power of sound and music to well-being.
The study of the visible representations of vibrational sound is called Cymatics. This research was pioneered by Dr. Hans Jenny who played tones at different frequencies through a vibrating plate filled with sand. As he swept through tones and frequencies, you could see the sound arrange itself into distinct geometrical patterns, or mandalas, showing the unique visual imprint of each tone. Every sound we hear has an imprint.  
Dr. Hans Jenny Experiments with Cymatics
Dr. Hans Jenny Experiments with Cymatics.

Noise Kills and Music Heals

With this in mind there are certain sounds, when heard and visualized, that can harm and also heal. Distorted, irregular cymatic patterns of loud noise and harmful electro-magnetic energies can disrupt the healthy vibrational patterns of our bodies causing disease. The patterns of these harmful sounds even look jagged and irregular while soothing, pure sound have beautiful geometric shapes, like snowflakes.
Every snowflake is unique
Every snowflake is unique.

Hearing is the first sense to develop in the womb. The vagus nerve connects our ear to every organ and muscle system in our body. Many believe what we hear is processed and carried throughout our body affecting it in a positive or negative manner, even causing change at the cellular level and that this is why music and sound with the right intention can also heal us. Sound also permeates us quickly because 70% of our bodies are made of water.  
I had the pleasure of attending a workshop with Dr. Mitchell Gaynor, a well-known oncologist who works with his cancer patients combining traditional chemotherapy with chanting, singing, guided meditation, tibetan bowl and crystal bowl therapy. He has had great success with sound healing techniques and has seen people release a great amount of psychological and physiological blockages, facilitating their healing process and recovery. Music has the power to relieve anxiety and stress while releasing endorphins and boosting our immune systems. No drugs required!
Large Tibetan Bowl
Large Tibetan Bowl.

Funadmental principles of sound healing

Resonance may be the most important principle of sound healing and has various definitions. In the context of healing humans or animals it can be described as the frequency of vibration that is most natural to a specific organ or system such as the heart, liver or lungs. This innate frequency is known as the prime resonance.All cells emit sound as a consequence of their metabolic processes. There is an interaction between the cells own sounds and those imposed by the environment, including those applied by sound healing devices. The resonance principle relates to the cellular absorption of the healing sounds and/or their harmonics. In sound healing, resonance principles are employed to re-harmonize cells that have been (hypothetically) imprinted with disruptive frequencies. Such troublesome imprints may have been a result of toxic substances, emotional traumas, pathogens, or long-term exposure to noise pollution.

Another possible explanation of how sound is able to trigger the healing response relates to cellular ion channels. Situated within a cella membrane, ion channels are the means by which the cell receives nourishment and communicates with neighboring cells. In dysfunctional cells it is proposed that some of these vital channels are shut down causing cell senescence, so literally the cell is sleeping. In this hypothesis, sound opens the closed channels, supporting the cell to awaken and resume normal functioning and replication.

Dr James Gimzewski, of UCLA, California, has taken a revolutionary approach to studying cellular function. He uses an atomic force microscope, a kind of super-sensitive microphone, to listen to the sounds emitted by cells. The focus of this new science, called a sonocytology, is mapping the pulsations of the cella's outer membrane, thus identifying the song's of the cell. Gimzewski's work has revealed that every cell in our bodies has a unique sonic signature and 'sings' to its neighbors. Sonocytology is a potentially powerful, diagnostic tool for identifying the sounds of healthy cells versus those of injurious ones. But it introduces an even more exciting prospect: the ability to play the destructive sounds of rogue cells back to them greatly amplified, so that they implode and are destroyed. In this scenario there would be no collateral damage to surrounding tissue since healthy cells would not resonate with these frequencies.

Dr Gimzewski, himself a Nobel Prize winner, is one of a large number of innovative minds at work in our world that share the vision of creating modalities to assist the body to heal. Audible sound therapy may offer the greatest potential in non-invasive healing. In the years to come we may well see diagnostic and therapeutic beds that resemble a scene from the futuristic Star Trek sick bay. We will certainly see a proliferation in modalities in which sound is the governing principle. Sound heals life naturally.

It is now widely accepted that electromagnetic interactions are fundamental to the workings of biological tissues. The drawing below shows this effect diagrammatically, derived from the work of Allen & Cross 1963 and Sauer 1995. Even though the two protein molecules are not in direct contact, the oscillating electric component of the electromagnetic field (termed biophotons) causes the amino acid of protein 2 to oscillate in sympathy with the corresponding amino acid in protein 1. However, the important point to remember is that all electromagnetism is created as a direct result of sound collisions. Sound is always the precursor to electromagnetism.

Saturday, 25 July 2015

Color Healing Therapy

                              Color Healing Therapy 

Purpose:

Color therapy, also known as chromatherapy , has been around since ancient times.  In a therapeutic aspect, it is used to balance an individual where energy is lacking, whether it is an emotional, spiritual, physical, or mental problem.  In a more scientific aspect, color therapy is used to stimulate the body’s healing process and treat many diseases.

How it works:

    *  Red is associated with energy, empowerment, and stimulation.  It is used for circulation and stimulation of red blood cell production. 
* Orange is associated with pleasure, enthusiasm, and sexual stimulation.  It is used as an antibacterial agent and to ease digestive discomforts. 
* Yellow is associated with wisdom and clarity.  It is used as a decongestant, antibacterial agent, and for the digestive and lymphatic systems. 
* Green is associated with balance and calmness.  It is used for treatment of ulcers, as an antiseptic, a germicide, and as an antibacterial agent. 
* Blue is associated with communication and knowledge.  It is used to eliminate toxins, and treat liver disorders and jaundice. 
* Indigo is associated with sedative qualities, calmness, and intuition.  It is used to control bleeding and abscesses. 
* Violet is associated with enlightenment, revelation, and spiritual awakening.  It is used to soothe organs, relax muscles, and calm the nervous system
Warm colors are generally used for illnesses of weakness, and cool colors are commonly used for illnesses of excess.  Vibrationsfrom the colors are believed to balance the individual.  Chakras are areas of the body associated with certain colors.  When an individual is experiencing a problem with a certain area of the body, different colors work to heal the associated chakra.  There are seven chakras associated with the body.
* The first chakra is associated with the color red and is located at the base of the spine. 
* The second chakra is associated with the color orange and is located at the pelvis and groin area. 
* The third chakra is associated with the color yellow and is located at the solar plexus. 
* The fourth chakra is associated with the color green and is located at the heart. 
* The fifth chakra is associated with the color blue and is located at the throat. 
* The sixth chakra is associated with the color indigo and is located at the brow. 
* The seventh chakra is associated with the color violet and is located at the crown of the head.

  There are different methods to administer color therapy to a patient.  One method is colored body wraps, where the individual is wrapped in a cloth of the necessary color to treat their ailment.  Another method is eating certain colors of food, or drinking water from a colored glass that has sat in the sunlight for a certain amount of time. 
brain        The scientific aspect of color therapy explains that color therapy works through the regulation of the pineal gland.  The pineal gland contains melatonin and serotonin.  Melatonin is associated with sleep, whereas serotonin is associated with wakefulness.  When an individual produces too much melatonin, they can suffer from depression.  Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that’s action is linked with mental disturbances, such as schizophrenia and hallucinogenic states.
        Max Luschner, a professor of psychology at Basle University, states that the significance of color originated in early history when behavior was governed by day and night (the colors yellow and dark blue respectively).  He believes that differences in metabolic rate and glandular secretions are due to color, and autonomic responses in the body are involved with color.

Claims

        There are many claims to color therapy’s healing abilities.  Among them are therapy helps cure:
* heart disease                                             * cancer
* osteoporosis                                               * menstrual problems
* depression                                                 * jaundice in premature babies
* dyslexia                                                       * migraines
* snoring                                                        * rheumatoid arthritis
   * injured tissue                                               * addictions
   * eating disorders                                          * impotence
   * sleeplessness                                             * psychological benefits

Safety

Color therapy is relatively safe.  If someone is planning on trying color therapy they should visit a qualified practitioner.  Too much exposure to one color can cause problems in an individual’s health.  The color red should be handled with the most caution, because it can lower resistance to pain, increase blood pressure, and cause changes in heart and brain function.  Pregnant women should be careful with color therapy also because color can affect the embryonic cell structure.  Color therapy should not be used as a substitute for conventional treatment of any physical disease

Friday, 24 July 2015

Primo Vascular System

                         Primo Vascular System

Primo Vascular System: Past, Present, and Future

What is Primo Vascular System (PVS)? Let us take a journey through oriental medicine in a time machine. Over the past 2000 years, acupuncture and moxibustion in Chinese medicine have been developed based on the concept of the meridian system; however, the anatomical reality of the meridian system has been controversial in various aspects. Even today, the meridian system is still being investigated with well-known anatomical structures. Among them, connective tissues called the fascia system are representative ones for which the putative function of the meridian system has been established and is understood.

A fundamental insight into the acupuncture meridian system and its novel anatomical structures was conceived by Kim in the 1960s. According to his idea, the meridian system has the role of circulating DNA microparticles, named “Signals,” with several hormones independently from the cardiovascular and the lymph systems. In the 1970s, Fujiwara tried to duplicate and verify Kim’s findings; however, his works have also been neglected. Since 2002, Soh’s group at Seoul National University, Republic of Korea, has tried to verify the findings of Bonghan Kim’s work, and they found much evidence suggesting that Bonghan Kim’s ideas on the acupuncture meridian system are reasonable.
At present, what do we study about the PVS? to answer this question and for insight into current works on this novel system, we have a new special issue, Primo Vascular System, in which we have published several research papers and a few review articles. The research papers can be classified as those directly related to the function of PVS and those focusing on the discovery of this new PVS. Representative articles in the former category are the C. H. Leem group’s stem cell work “Expression of stem cell markers in primo vessel of rat,” and K.-S. Soh group’s endothelial cell work “Discovery of endothelium and mesenchymal properties of primo vessels in the mesentery.” In the latter category are the works of Y. H. Ryu laboratory “Primo vascular system accompanying a blood vessel from tumor tissue and a method to distinguish it from the blood or the lymph system” S. Z. Yoon’s medical team “Composition of the extracellular matrix of lymphatic novel threadlike structures: is it keratin?”and B.-C. Lee’s laboratory “Evidence for the primo vascular system above the epicardia of rat hearts.” Also, a Chinese team led by X. Jing has published a very meaningful idea that the PVS could represent artifacts from pathological conditions “Preliminary research of relationship between acute peritonitis and celiac primo vessels,”but another Chinese team led by W.-B. Zhang has suggested via heparin treatment that the PVS might have real anatomical structures “Study on the formation of novel threadlike structure through intravenous injection of heparin in rats and refined observation in minipigs.” Based on these data, admittedly, at present, for the PVS to be established absolutely, an international exchange is needed.
In the future, what will we study about the PVS? Based on our long research careers, we editors suggest the following areas of study to establish an international unified consensus for the novel system that is called the Primo Vascular System:(1)the establishment of the Primo Vascular System in terms of a novel circulation system,(2)the concept of “Sanal” and the relationship between stem cells and Sanals,(3)the involvement of Sanals in cancer metastasis,(4)The potential of the PVS in the brain for diagnosing and treating degenerative brain diseases.
Now let us think of “time” by leaving the time machine. Time really flows in only one direction, toward the future! Thus, our research minds should be directed beyond the past and the present and toward the future. With free, dedicated efforts toward human-oriented holistic medicine, we should be able to build a real evidence-based alternative medicine. Given the present circumstances, a new circulation concept, the Primo Vascular System, is waiting for us to establish fully its potential for benefitting all mankind in ways not previously known.

Visualization of the Primo Vascular System,a Putative Cancer Metastasis Thread Afloat in a Lymph Duct

Because of the potential roles of the primo vascular system (PVS) in cancer metastasis, immune function, and regeneration, understanding the molecular biology of the PVS is desirable. The current state of PVS research is comparable to that of lymph research before the advent of LYVE-1. There is very little knowledge of the molecular biology of the PVS due to difficulties in identifying and isolating primo endothelial cells. Present investigations rely on the morphology and the use of differential staining procedures to identify the PVS within tissues, making detailed molecular studies all but impossible. To overcome such difficulties, one may emulate the explosive development of lymph molecular biology. For this, one needs a reliable method to obtain PVS specimens to initiate the molecular investigation. One of the most reliable methods is to detect the PVS afloat in the lymph flow. The protocols for observation of the PVS in large lymph ducts in the abdominal cavity and the thoracic cavity were reported earlier. These methods require a laparectomy and skillful techniques. In the current work, we present a protocol to identify and harvest PVS specimens from the lymph ducts connecting the inguinal and the axillary nodes, which are located entirely in the skin. Thus, the PVS specimen is more easily obtainable. This method is a stepping stone toward development of a system to monitor migration of cancer cells in metastasis from a breast tumor to axillary nodes, where cancer cells use the PVS as a survival rope in hostile lymph flow.

Primo Vascular System in Human Umbilical Cord and Placenta
The primo vascular system (PVS) has been observed in various animals such as mice, rats, rabbits, dogs, swine, and cow, but not in humans. In this work, we report on the observation of a human PVS on both the epithelial fascia and inside the blood vessels of the umbilical cord (UC). The main morphological characteristics of the primo vessels (PVs) and primo nodes (PNs) from the human UC were in agreement with those of the PVS in various animal organs, including the thicknesses and the transparency of the PVs, the sizes of the PNs, the broken-line arrangement of the rod-shaped nuclei, the sparse distribution of nuclei, and the presence of hollow lumens in the central inner parts of the PNs. It was rather surprising that the human PV was not thicker than the PVs from small animals. The difference between the PVS and blood/lymph vessels was confirmed using immunofluorescence staining of von Willebrand factor, CD31, LYVE-1, and D2-40. The positive expression of the PVS to proliferating cell nuclear antigen, a cell-proliferation marker, was consistent with the recent finding of very small embryonic-like stem cells in the PVS of mice.




The Healing Labyrinth path

The Healing Labyrinth Path
Metaphor for Life
Metaphorically, labyrinths reflect the path of illness and recovery. Despite the many uncertainties and changes of directions, if we are diligent and stay the course, we will arrive at our goal. This is one of the most common insights reported by labyrinth walkers.
There are numerous books which use a literary metaphor to compare the healthcare system to a maze, in which the patient gets lost and becomes fearful and isolated. In a maze we do indeed lose ourselves, but in a labyrinth, we find ourselves. Walking a labyrinth is a type of pilgrimage, which takes us within, not just to the center of the design, but to our own center. That's where inner healing takes place. The labyrinth leads where science cannot enter.
Self-Care
Inner healing has many levels and aspects. It differs from person to person. With inner healing, there can be no standard dose, no specific regimen. Inner healing defies and baffles scientific method, but it is effectively embraced by the labyrinth. For this reason, labyrinths meet people wherever they are emotionally, spiritually, psychologically, leading them gently forward to the next step, and then the following step, and then the step beyond that.
Historically, healthcare settings and treatment modalities have been designed and controlled by men. As a result, they were largely impersonal, left-brained, and masculine, reflecting social, economic, and scientific influences. The movement toward more personal, patient-centered care has been directed mostly by women. Labyrinth walking fits into this softer paradigm. Being intensely personal, right-brained, feminine, and spiritual, labyrinths make a unique contribution to holistic healthcare, broadening its reach.
One group in need of self care are the employees and staff at health clinics and hospitals, who are frequently under a lot of stress. Staff retention is a major emphasis, as good people are hard to replace in today's marketplace. Labyrinths can offer a tool to help staff members cope with their important responsibilities.
Scientific Verification
For 30 years, Herbert Benson at Harvard University has championed the physiological benefits of meditation, which he calls the "relaxation response." He clearly shows that meditation slows breathing, heart, and metabolic rates, and lowers elevated blood pressure more effectively than drugs. As a form of walking meditation, the labyrinth produces the same verifiable results.
Ultimately, however, one cannot use the measurements of outer healing to adequately measure or verify inner healing. I am certain that careful, double blind experiments will show that labyrinth walking results in shorter recovery times, better attitude and compliance to treatment requirements, and fewer complications. Nevertheless, the use of labyrinths should not depend on scientific verification..
The fact that science and labyrinths speak different languages is a great benefit, not a detriment. Working together they address the complete person, physically and spiritually. Labyrinths offer an accessible, cost-effective, pro-active spiritual technology that does what science cannot do. They overcome the inadequacies of the reductionist paradigm. Even in cases where outer healing fails, inner healing can still take place. Hence, hospices are beginning to discover the benefits of using labyrinths. Working in concert, medicine, design, environment, and labyrinths offer a whole that greatly exceeds the sum of its parts.
Photo, right: A labyrinth we installed for West Clinic, Memphis, TN.
One View of Healing
In physical healing, we can see the bone mend, or the drugs interact with the body, but observation is not explanation. Often we give our observed phenomenon a name. When we see cells reproducing out of proportion, we label that behavior "cancer." To then say that the phenomenon happens because the patient has cancer, is to give cause to what is really an observation of the effect. The cause is metaphysical, beyond the physical, beyond explanation and understanding. The best that medicine, science, and even design and environment can do is to organize the external elements that have shown to be effective and then hope that healing follows. Statistics demonstrate that often healing does result, but sometimes, in identical situations, it doesn't.
Healing is not mechanical, it is spiritual. Just as scientific medicine organizes the physical elements, so does the labyrinth organize the experiential and spiritual elements that facilitate inner healing. From walking the labyrinth can come joy, hope, calm, balance. To the extent that the external malady reflects an internal, spiritual malaise, the labyrinth also offers outer healing. Labyrinths represent a methodology available to healthcare facilities to address critical non-physical circumstances. How? Being ancient and archetypal, labyrinths touch us at a very deep level. They take us far beyond the rational mind and the intellect, which are so highly valued by science, to our inner essence. Ultimately, all healing is spiritual, and the labyrinth is a spiritual technology.
Cost
Labyrinth Enterprises, LLC, (www.labyrinth-enterprises.com, 800-873-9873) is the world's leading full-service labyrinth resource. Services range from lectures, training, consulting and design to on-site labyrinth installation. Having made more than 750 labyrinths, our prices range from a few thousand dollars to well into six figures. For institutions such as churches, schools, and hospitals, we have developed a proprietary method with polymer concrete (no stain or paint, it's all concrete), resulting in a concrete labyrinth that is extremely durable and low-maintenance. We also offer portable fabric labyrinths for indoor use, with prices beginning at $2,200.
Our mission is to get labyrinths into the world. We support our mission through the services described above. The subject of labyrinths in healthcare settings is far broader than I have been able to cover in this brief monograph. It will be the subject of my next book on labyrinths. Meanwhile, my hope is that you, the reader, will get a glimpse of the potential value of labyrinths and inform yourself further about this fascinating and important spiritual technology. The future has arrived. 

Labyrinths: Spiritiual Technology for Inner Healing

Labyrinths: Spiritiual Technology for Inner Healing

The labyrinth as a path of healing

Amdist the stressors in life,people are searching for holistic healing. The labyrinth, a   path for walking meditation,has been introduced as a way to deal with life stressors.
Labyrinth are being built in hospitals ,school,parks and prisons.What is the impact of walking the labyrinth on participants? This presentation demonstrated ways in which the effect of labyrinth walking are consistent with qualities associated with healing.Although healing is a personal and unique experience ,there are qualities of healing that are consistently described in the literature.In this poster presentation ,the relationship between "labyrinth effects,"as described by labyrinth walkers,and the healing process was shown.Individuals who have walked labyrinths in various setting have shared their response to the experience .Using the Labyrinth walk Questionnaire (Rhodes,2006),over 500 reports of the effects of walking the labyrinth have been completed. 
Review of the reports has shown the positive relationship of response with definition of healing presented here - data collected for real-life labyrinth walks rather than control  
situation - support the efficiency of the labyrinth as a path of healing.Result show a positive relationship of response with definition of healing in the holistic nursing literature.For a majority of walkers (66%-82%) labyrinth walking increased levels of relaxation ,clarity ,peace ,centeredness,openness,quiet, and reflectiveness , and reduced levels of anxiety ,stress and agitation.The experience of labyrinth walking supports recovery,renewal,integration of the whole person,and facilitating a sense of harmoney.

A Vision of the Future
Within the next decade or two, labyrinths will become standard and valued features of healing environments. Indeed, the process is well under way, with labyrinths at more than 60 healthcare facilities across the country, led in 1997 by California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco (photo).
The day will be soon be upon us in which no progressive architect will design a healthcare facility without including a meditation labyrinth. The day is not far off when patients, staff members, and doctors will insist that their existing facility install a labyrinth.
Unicursal Design
"Labyrinth" and "maze" are often used interchangeably, referring to everything from tall hedges to video games, from designs in corn fields to a popular David Bowie movie. Meditation labyrinths are a different genre, however, in that they have a single path (hence, "unicursal") which leads unerringly, though circuitously, to the center, with no intersections or dead ends.
In this monograph, "labyrinth" exclusively pertains to unicursal meditation labyrinths. The diagram to the right illustrates the unicursal Chartres Cathedral labyrinth design.
Experientially, there is a vast difference between a maze and a labyrinth. A maze confuses, distresses, excites, and terrifies, whereas a labyrinth calms, heals, comforts, and balances.
Inner Healing
Since science deals exclusively with the visible, observable, and quantifiable, scientific medicine, in turn, takes a reductionist approach, seeking to alleviate symptoms by prescribing drugs or surgery.
Labyrinths effectively address that area ignored by the scientific paradigm, namely, inner healing. Only in recent years has the medical community turned its attention to health design, environment, and patient-centered care, recognizing that the subjective and amorphous qualities of inner healing, such as attitude, state of mind, and beliefs, have an enormous effect on the effectiveness of a patient's treatment and recovery. More and more, patients themselves are demanding that inner healing be given equal emphasis to outer healing.
The new more holistic direction of healthcare has been largely passive, dealing with the color of walls, the view from the windows, and the design of home-like architecture. All are meant to calm and to comfort. Labyrinths, too, calm and comfort. Labyrinths represent the next step forward, in that they are active, not passive. They offer something the patient can do. In fact, labyrinths are pro-active, promoting well-being not just for patients, but for staff, health providers, doctors, visitors, and even the local community.
Use in Hospitals
A recent article about the labyrinth at Mid-Columbia Medical Center in Oregon quotes CEO Mark Scott as stating that the labyrinth complements the use of chemotherapy and radiation in cancer treatment. In verification, a cancer patient agreed that walking the labyrinth gave her a sense of confidence and control over her treatment. Attitude towards one's treatment process (inner healing) has been shown to be a significant factor in the efficacy of that treatment (outer healing).
Three Rivers Community Hospital, also in Oregon, invites the local community to use their labyrinth. Programs have included a women's cancer support group, hospice butterfly release,
survivors' labyrinth walk, holistic nurses retreat, candlelit memorial service, Spears Cancer Center walk, Day of Renewal walk, domestic violence awareness walk, Rotary Club walk, volunteer chaplaincy program, and more.

The labyrinth at California Pacific Medical Center is just outside the waiting room. Inside, there is a sign and brochures describing how to walk the labyrinth. Surgeons sometimes walk the labyrinth before performing an operation, to calm themselves. Nurses send anxious patients and family members to walk the labyrinth, reporting that they return more relaxed and focused.
Labyrinths can be used by both individuals and groups, either without guidance or as part of a specific program, such as dealing with AIDS, supporting the cancer journey, relieving grief or loss, or examining one's priorities.
Photo, right: Portable canvas labyrinth in use at St. Luke's Hospital, St. Louis, MO.

Tuesday, 21 July 2015

WEDELIA GLAUCA (ORTEGA)


                                WEDELIA GLAUCA (ORTEGA)

(ASTERACEAE): POISONOUS WEED 

INTRODUCTION

Wedelia is a flowering plant genus in the sunflower family. They are one of the genera commonly called "creeping-oxeyes".

Wedelia glauca (Ortega) O. Hofmm ex Hicken (Asteraceae), the species was native of Chile, South America and widely spread in Argentina, South Brazil and Uruguay. It is considered a poisonous weed and its toxicity is due to presence of hepatotoxic terpionod, atractyloside. Further, it is commonly known as, Agricultural plague in Argentina. So far India is concern this species was firstly recorded from Tiruppur, Coimbatore, from Tamil Nadu of South India (Aloke Bhattacharya et al., 1995) & also reported in the field of Sugarcane crop from Urun-Islampur of Walwa taluka of Sangli district of Maharashtra (Salunkhe et al., 2002). Plant collection made during floristic survey of Walwa taluka in Sangli district of Maharashtra, author came across an interesting weed population of Wedelia not only in sugarcane crop but also occurs in the field of Chili, Tomato and Wheat crop from Urun-Islampur area, taluka place of Walwa near about 1.5 Km. from Islampur city. Its occurrence in above crops from Sangli district forms new distributional areas and spread in variety of crops and becomes naturalized in Maharashtra. It is recent introduction to this region, possibly through Cucumis or Tomato seeds. A detailed field observations, description and illustration are provided here to facilitate its easy identification for Botanist, veterinarians and Agriculturalist. Examined specimens deposited in the Herbarium, Department of Botany, K.R.P. Kanya Mahavidyalaya, Islampur, District Sangli.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
Field Observations: Wedelia is well growing as a weed in the various crops including sugarcane, Wheat,
Tomato, Chili and Brinjal. It is spread nearly one and half square kilometer field area. It is considered as
poisonous to domestic animals and human and showing toxic effect if it consumes the sheep, goat, cattle,
and cows.
Intoxication by present weed, cattle and cows as well as grazing sheep and goat are found to be sudden
death after eating. Generally, the foetus gets aborted a few hours after consumption even if it accidently
mixed with other forage. The growth and density of the crop plants becomes reduced, stunted in highly
affected area. It is also found that, the total yield of crop is reduced & the fruit smell of tomato and brinjal
are badly affected so market value is lower down. There is no anyone association of other weed in the
field even the Cynadon is common weed in black soil in this region.

DESCRIPTION
Annual or perennial stoloniferous herbs; about 18-30 cm. in height. Stem erect, glabrous, sparsely hirsute
with longitudinal striations. Leaves simple, opposite, sessile about 8-11 cm. oblong-lanceolate, glabrous
to scabrous with minutely hairs; hairs gland based apprising, base narrow with 2-3 or often 2 dentate teeth
and acuminate apex, entire margin towards apex, slightly dentate at lower side. Flowers in pedunculate
solitary, terminal or axillary heads; peduncle about 1.5-3 cm. long. Heads hemispherical to companulate
about 1 -1.8 x .7-1.5 cm. Involucral bracts 2-3 seriate; inner is membranous and outer is leafy. Receptacle
flat or convex, scales prominent. Ray florets carpellate with one row, fertile or sometimes sterile, ligulate.
About .8-1.5 cm. long, limb elongate. Corolla yellow. Disc florets bisexual, tubular, 5-lobed. Anthers
auriculata or truncate base, ovate or slightly acute apex and exserted. Style branched, filiform, hairy
outside. Achenes about .4-.6 cm. obovoid, compressed, angled and glabrous, flattened in ray florets. Disc
usually hairy, 4-angled, compressed and thick. Papus short or lacerate scales with 2 minute awns, awns
absent in ray florets.

Conclusion
Present study pertains present status of poisonous weed & shown that it is badly affected on crop growth,
yield and vegetable market. Present weed adversely affects on the socio-economic status of farmers in this
region. It needs wide publicity and documentation for farmers veterinarians and agriculturist to find out
the proper solution on weed eradication. Further, it is helpful for correct identification of weed.