Nervous System Dictionary

Advanced Strain and Counterstrain

is a myofascial release method for smooth (involuntary) muscle tissue using specific positioning and directional pressure from the therapist. Through ASCS it is possible to directly affect and improve bladder spasms, difficulty swallowing, irritable bowel syndrome, and other conditions caused by autonomic nervous system disorders.

(See also: Strain and Counterstrain , Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)

Neuromuscular Therapy: This form of deep tissue massage seeks to balance the central nervous system with the structure and form of the musculoskeletal system.

(See also: Neuromuscular Therapy , Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)

Missing Link On the theory that man has been produced by evolution from the anthropoid apes, a type which shall be intermediate between the anthropoid and man. A misleading term, implying that a chain of graduated types between animals and men has been completely established except for the lack of a single link or type which, when found, will make the chain complete.

The existence of such a nearly complete chain has always been largely suppositious. The Darwinian theory requires that man evolved by successive stages of continually greater refinement, from an unknown beast ancestor, then from a primitive savage and almost bestial type, up to the man of today. The numerous degrees of human refinement found living today or evidenced by their remains, do not represent a progressive, unbroken serial time scale of evolution, but merely a complicated assortment of types which in all times known to science appear to have existed contemporaneously with each other. Moreover the so-called primitive types are now recessive, and have been so for ages, being themselves to us the remote descendants of far earlier races, once civilized, but now represented merely by these degenerate remnants.

The existing anthropoid apes, however, are truly the closest of the animals or semi-animals to the human stock, actually having originated from a miscegenation by very early, quasi-mindless humans (actually undeveloped savages of those far distant times) with what then were fairly evolved simian types. Thus the present-day anthropoids are a somewhat, if slightly, advanced stock over their earlier forefathers who were the original anthropoids produced by the "sin" of unevolved and savage Atlantean tribes with simians. Precisely because the anthropoids have some human ancestry they will attract to incarnation in the future human egos as yet in a low state of unfolded spiritual and intellectual powers and capacities, and who will thus, as the cycles roll on, finally evolve into a low type of thinking and sensitive human being.

In theosophy evolution is unfolding or emanational development from within outwards of the incarnating monads; and the bodies in which these monads incarnate are the least important part of the matter. The bodies slowly follow, in improving sensitivity and relatively continuous perfection of the nervous system, including the brain and spinal cord, the unfolding impulses from within, which thus guide these bodies to greater degrees of perfection. As the egos or monads unfold from themselves the latent powers of spirit and mind, as well as of the psychological nature, the bodies feel the inner and compelling urges and impulses, and very slowly through the ages conform to become vehicles fitted to express the inner fires.

(See also: Missing Link , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary)

Herbal therapy or botanical therapy or herbalism:

employs parts of plants (seed, stem, flowers, root, bark, leaf) for the relief of conditions, ailments, or complaints; the earliest known form of medicine. Some popular herbs and common applications are:

algae (spirulina): the most commonly used variety is blue-green algae. Algae is available in powder, tablet and supplemental fruit drink forms. Used to reduce cholesterol levels and to treat degenerative disorders, including arthritis. Unproven medical benefits include treating obesity, colitis, and diabetes mellitus.

aloe or aloe vera: plant widely used as a skin moisturizer and healing agent, especially in treating cuts, burns, insect stings, eczema, bruises, acne, poison ivy rash, sunburn, and psoriasis.

arnica: used as an external remedy for bruises, sprains, and sore muscles and joints.

astragalus: from a family of peas that benefits digestive processes and the immune system; increases resistance to disease and infections; restores depressed immunity, and is used to treat peripheral vascular diseases and to restore peripheral circulation.

black cohosh: helps relieve sinusitis and asthma; lowers cholesterol levels and blood pressure; relieves pain, morning sickness, hot flashes, and menstrual cramps.

burdock: with diuretic and orexigenic properties, used to treat cutaneous eruptions, rheumatism, gout, anorexia nervosa, and eczema.

calendula: traditionally used to treat gastric and duodenal ulcers, amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, and epistaxis; varicose veins, hemorrhoids, and conjunctivitis.

capsicum/capsaicin/cayenne fruit: taken orally to improve circulation, digestion, and stop bleeding from ulcers, to relieve nausea, rheumatism, arthritis, and pleurisy. Used externally for painful muscle spasms of shoulder, arm, and spine and to treat arthritis, rheumatism, neuralgia, lumbago, chilblains, intractable pain associated with shingles (herpes zoster), postmastectomy, diabetic neuropathy, and cluster headaches.

cat's claw bark: used to treat AIDS patients, arthritis, neurobronchitis, allergies, rheumatism, diverticulosis, Crohn's disease, peptic and gastric ulcers, gastritis, parasites, colitis, leaky bowel syndrome, dysentery, hemorrhoids, cancer, herpes, diabetes, and inflammation.

chamomile: often made into a tea and used as a digestive aid, nerve tonic, sleep aid, and appetite stimulant.

cranberry fruit: used for the relief of ladder and urinary tract infections, blood disorders, stomach ailments, liver problems, vomiting, appetite loss, scurvy, and cancer.

dong quai root: used for hot flashes, menopause, premenstrual syndrome, vaginal dryness, anemia with dizziness and palpitation, amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, constipation, rheumatic arthralgia, menorrhalgia, rheumatalgia, functional bleeding, chest, and abdominal pain.

echinacea herb, also called purple coneflower: bitter herb used for colds and chronic infections of the respiratory tract and lower urinary tract, treatment of Candida albicans infections, prostatitis, polyarthritis (rheumatoid arthritis). Externally, an ointment is used for poorly healing wounds and chronic ulcerations, burns, eczema, psoriasis, and herpes simplex.

evening primrose oil: aids in weight loss, reduces high blood pressure, and helps to treat all skin disorders, female disorders such as cramps and heavy bleeding, hot flashes, multiple sclerosis, arthritis, and alcoholism.

feverfew: used for prophylaxis and treatment of migraine headaches, nausea, vomiting, arthritis, fever, and menstrual disorders. .

flaxseed: used for female disorders, colon problems, inflammation, and tumors. Promotes strong nails, bones, and teeth and healthy skin.

garlic cloves: used in the West primarily for its cardiovascular effects, principally as a support to dietetic measures at elevated levels of lipids in blood and as a preventive measure for age-dependent vascular changes. Garlic is also used for atheroma, prophylaxis of atherosclerosis, hypertension, respiratory infections, and catarrhal conditions and as a natural antibiotic.

ginger rhizome: primary uses of ginger are prophylaxis of the nausea and vomiting of motion sickness, dyspepsia, stomachic. It is also used as a tonic digestant in sub-acid gastritis, for lack of appetite, as a postoperative antiemetic for minor surgical procedures, for colic, for morning sickness, anorexia, bronchitis, and rheumatic complaints.

ginkgo biloba leaf extract: improves memory loss, brain function, depression, cerebral and peripheral circulation, oxygenation, and blood flow. Good for tinnitus, asthma, Alzheimer's disease, heart and kidney disorders, and glucose utilization.

ginseng root: used for impotence, stress, cocaine withdrawal, energy, diabetes, colds, and chest problems. Promotes lung function, enhances immune function, stimulates appetite, and normalizes blood pressure. Varieties popularly used include American ginseng, Asian ginseng, and Siberian ginseng.

goldenseal: used to strengthen the immune system; acts as an antibiotic; has anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties, potentiates insulin, and cleanses the body. Good for colds, flu, inflammation, glandular swelling, gum disease, morning sickness, diabetes, hypoglycemia, and ulcers.

grape seed extract: used as a dietary supplement for antioxidant and other cardiovascular benefits and for anti-inflammatory actions.

green tea leaf: believed to act as an antioxidant to prevent cancer and possibly other diseases; reduces the risk of stroke; lowers the risk of cardiovascular disease.

kava kava rhizome: used to treat nervous anxiety, stress, and restlessness.Contraindicated in pregnancy, nursing, or endogenous depression.

licorice root: used for catarrhal conditions of the upper respiratory tract and gastric/duodenal ulcers. Licorce is an ingredient in cough drops and syrups, tonics, laxatives, and antismoking preparations.

ma huang: has been used to relieve allergies, asthma, hay fever, colds, and inflammatory conditions. The plant contains two primary alkaloids, ephedrine and pseudoephedrine.

passionflower: said to possess sedative, hypnotic, antispasmodic, and calming effects. Used to treat neuralgia, seizures, hysteria, nervous tachycardia, spasmodic asthma, and insomnia.

saw palmetto berry: used primarily for urination problems in benign prostate hyperplasia stages 1 and 2.

St. John's wort: traditionally used as a muscle relaxant to relieve menstrual problems, as a mild tranquilizer and as a treatment for depression and insomnia.

valerian root: used primarily for restlessness, sleeping disorders based on nervous conditions; also good for headaches, colic, gas, pain, stress, anxiety, muscle cramps, and spasms.

(See also: Herbal therapy , Alternative Medicine, Body Mind and Soul)

Hallucination. A state produced sometimes by physiological disorders, sometimes by mediumship, and at others by drunkenness. But the cause that produces the visions has to be sought deeper than physiology.

All such visions, especially when produced through mediumship, are preceded by a relaxation of the nervous system, in variably generating an abnormal magnetic condition which attracts to the sufferer waves of astral light. It is the latter that furnishes the various hallucinations. These, however, are not always what physicians would make them, empty, and unreal dreams. No one can see that which does not exist - i.e., which is not impressed - in or on the astral waves.

A Seer may, however, perceive objects and scenes (whether past, present, or future) which have no relation whatever to himself, and also perceive several things entirely disconnected with each other at one and the same time, thus producing the most grotesque and absurd combinations.

Both drunkard and Seer, medium and Adept, see their respective visions in the Astral Light; but while the drunkard, the madman, and the untrained medium, or one suffering from brain-fever, see, because they cannot help it, and evoke the jumbled visions unconsciously to themselves, the Adept and the trained Seer have the choice and the control of such visions.

They know where to fix their gaze, how to steady the scenes they want to observe, and how to see beyond the upper outward layers of the Astral Light. With the former such glimpses into the waves are hallucinations: with the latter they become the faithful reproduction of what actually has been, is, or will be, taking place.

The glimpses at random caught by the medium, and his flickering visions in the deceptive light, are transformed under the guiding will of the Adept and Seer into steady pictures, the truthful representations of that which he wills to come within the focus of his perception.

(See also: Hallucination , Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary,)

Anesthesia (from Greek anaisthesia no feeling)

Want of feeling; a condition of total or partial insensibility, particularly to touch. The many classical references to anesthetics indicate that the ancients knew much about the subject that has not been rediscovered. Blavatsky refers to the sacred beverage used by the hierophants in ceremonies to free the astral soul from the bonds of matter, so that the inner man might rise to the level of spirit (IU 2:117, 1:540).

Surgical patients suffering from fright and fear before or during the induction of an anesthetic take it with more difficulty, and feel more aftereffects, than those who meet it without anxiety. The first stage of general anesthesia, usually not unpleasant, ends with the loss of physical consciousness. Then begins the second, or stage of struggling more or less vigorously, evidently due to the automatic reaction of the physical body, from which its conscious astral soul is being dissociated. In the third stage, the muscles relax and the disturbed heart and lungs settle down to regular rhythm, controlled by the sympathetic nervous system, as in a deep, dreamless sleep. The self-conscious ego, thus withdrawing from its ordinary state of being, enters more or less deeply into the subjective realm of its inner life. It is in a state of what has been called, paradoxically, conscious unconsciousness. The danger here is that the soul may become so far separated from its body that it does not come back again, and then death results.

However insensible the person is of externals, he is conscious in some part of his composite nature, just as each principle of his being has its own range of awareness after death. Some people have brought back a more or less clear memory of a state of being transcending anything they had ever imagined on earth. Their first feeling is one of a delicious peace and liberation; then comes a mental clearness with majestic visions of perfect truth, and a realization of a self-existent "I" as a part of a universal whole. The spiritually-minded person may attain to an instant and complete buddhi-manasic vision of "things as they are." Such a one, at the moment of recovery, is often vividly sensible of being aroused from a state of superior existence, but is unable to recall what it was. Again, any gleams of knowledge that do survive the transit may be misinterpreted by the brain-mind from its preconceived philosophical or religious ideas. The average person, however, brings back little if any remembrance of his experience.

The anesthetized person may also be conscious of standing aside or looking down upon his own body under operation, and retains a vague memory of the out-of-body experience.

See also SOMA

(See also: Anesthesia , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Craniosacral therapy:

gentle manipulation of the brain, spinal cord, bones of the skull, sacrum and interconnected membranes--to correct misalignments and distortions in the structure and function of the craniosacral mechanism that surrounds the central nervous system.

(See also: Craniosacral therapy , Alternative Medicine, Body Mind and Soul)

Catatonia (from Greek kata down + tonos tension)

Referred to as tension-insanity, this condition is marked with successive stages of psychological depression, excitement, and stupor; the typical symptoms are peculiar mannerisms, stereotyped movements, a cataleptoid muscular rigidity, and great mental and physical stubbornness.

There may be hallucinations, depressing illusions, or fantastic religious ideas, or sudden impulsions of violence or indecency, and there is always a dulling of the higher emotional and ethical feelings.

After an attack, the person often admits that he has been acting perversely, foolishly, or childishly, but explains that he could not help it. When analyzed in the light of composite human nature, and of the action of different principles during life and after death, the peculiar conditions are explainable.

Evidently the sufferers are overcome by some besieging astral entity of kama-rupic nature; or in certain cases by aggregated or collected thought-impressions of former emotional and lower mental storms, excitements, or passion, which at times of ethical inattention flow back upon the brain-mind and affect the receptive body and its nervous system, so that these cases are really reactional effects of precedaneous causes which may even go back in time to a preceding life or lives.

(See also: Catatonia , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Aventurine: Aventurine is a pleasing dark green stone with a metallic iridescence or spangled appearance. It is a compact quartz stone, composed of silica with some impurities. It is found in India, China and Brazil.

It is said to bring luck and adventures in love and games. It makes an individual independent and original. It has a binding and healing force, and is good for skin diseases and improving the complexion. At one time it was used to cure nearsightedness. It is helpful for the etheric, emotional and mental bodies. Aventurine has strong healing energies, and affects the pituitary gland. It can be used for creative visualization, higher-self attunement, and is good for the muscle and nervous system.

Aventurine is a good stone for artists, writers and all those of a creative nature. It brings prosperity; the green vibrations attract money.

(See also: Aventurine , Magic, Shamanism, Paganism, Wicca)

Gaia - N

A Greek name for the goddess of the earth. It also refers to a scientific hypothesis formulated by James Lovelock whereby all living matter on the earth is believed to be a single living organism. In such a scheme, humanity is considered the nervous system of the living earth.

(See also: Gaia , New Age, Body mind and Soul)

Tai chi:

through this form of movement, one achieves health and tranquility while developing the mind and body. Tai chi teaches the individual how to control the nervous system in order to put the entire body to rest, believed to be an effective way of staying healthy.

(See also: Tai chi , Alternative Medicine, Body Mind and Soul)

SHIATSU: a form of acupressure, used in Japan for over 1,000 years to treat pain and illness and for general health maintenance.

Practitioners apply finger pressure at specific points on the body in order to stimulate chi, or vital energy. Used to treat stress, circulatory problems, depression, asthma, headaches, diarrhea, bronchitis.

Shiatsu, which literally translates to finger pressure, is a gentle, yet powerful healing technique from Japan which relies on senitivity of touch to locate and release imbalances within the body. 

Theory of Shiatsu

Shiatsu focuses on the natural bioenergy or Qi (pronouced Ki) flowing through the body.  The theory was developed that if a stimulus in the form of heat, pressure, or a needle was applied to specific points on the body, it would relieve the symptoms of many conditions. It was determined that these points were not random but followed energetic pathways along the body, and each one was linked to a particular internal organ.

Technique of Shiatsu

Shiatsu is a combination of many different techniques including pressing, hooking, sweeping, shaking, rotating, grasping, vibrating, patting, plucking, lifting, pinching, rolling, and brushing. A series of gentle stretches, joint manipulations, and noninvasive pressure applied to the points will balance the flow of vital energy through the body, thus stimulating the body's natural healing ability.  A combination of pressures applied by the palms, thumbs, elbows, and sometimes the knees are used. But these are merely the physical techniques. With an awareness of psychological and spiritual implications, shiatsu has become a kind of dance between giver and receiver. A unique rapport develops between the practitioner and client because shiatsu relies on the simple but powerful experience of touch to awaken the client's own self-healing powers. This "touch communication" between practitioner and client is the foundation to all healing methods. The practitioner uses gentleness, fluidity, and rhythmical motion to work with the imbalances in the client's Qi to restore the natural healing flow.

Although Shiatsu is a holistic treatment encompassing the mind, body, and spirit, on a physical level it can have the effect of improving the circulation and the flow of lymph.  Shiatsu also works directly on the central nervous system promoting relaxation, calmness, and a sense of well-being.

(See also: Shiatsu , Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)

prana-maya kosa:

prana-maya kosa (praana-maaya kosha). The second, subtle sheath of man, consisting of the vital airs and the nervous system.

(See also: prana-maya kosa , Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Feldenkrais: A method to reprogram the nervous system through movement augmented by physical pressure and manipulation.

(See also: Feldenkrais , Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)

Infant Massage

Specific massage techniques for infants, these methods can be easily learned by massage therapists, nurses, parents, and others. Premature babies are especially responsive, and recent studies have proven that the benefits of this technique include weight gain, improvement in Central Nervous System functioning, and enhanced emotional well-being.

(See also: Infant Massage , Alternative Health, Healing, Body Mind and Soul)

Gaia

Greek - Earth) The goddess of the earth. It also refers to a scientific hypothesis formulated by James Lovelock whereby all living matter on the earth is believed to be a single living organism. In such a scheme, humanity is considered the nervous system of the living earth.

(See also: Gaia , New Age Spirituality, Body Mind and Soul)

Soma (Sanskrit) In Hinduism, the moon astronomically; mystically, a sacred beverage of initiates, "made from a rare mountain plant by initiated Brahmans" (TG 304).

As the moon, Soma is an occult mystery, for the moon as a symbol stands for both good and evil, yet more often a symbol of evil than of good. Astrologically, Soma is the regent of the invisible or occult moon, while Indu represents the physical moon. "Soma is the mystery god and presides over the mystic and occult nature in man and the Universe" (SD 2:45). Soma or lunar worship was once purely occult and its rites were based upon a minute and profound knowledge of nature.

According to Hindu tradition, Soma as a sacred juice gave mystic visions and trance-revelations, the result of which union was Budha (esoteric wisdom). This sacred beverage was drunk by Brahmins and initiates during their mysteries and sacrificial rites.

"The 'Soma' plant is the asclepias acida, which yields a juice from which that mystic beverage, the Soma drink, is made. Alone the descendants of the Rishis, the Agnihotri (the fire priests) of the great mysteries knew all its powers. But the real property of the true Soma was (and is) to make a new man of the Initiate, after he is reborn, namely once that he begins to live in his astral body . . .; for, his spiritual nature overcoming the physical, he would soon snap it off and part even from that etherealized form. . . .

"The partaker of Soma finds himself both linked to his external body, and yet away from it in his spiritual form. The latter, freed from the former, soars for the time being in the ethereal higher regions, becoming virtually 'as one of the gods,' and yet preserving in his physical brain the memory of what he sees and learns. Plainly speaking, Soma is the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge forbidden by the jealous Elohim to Adam and Eve or Yah-ve, 'lest Man should become as one of us' " (SD 2:498-9&n).

"A 'soma-drinker' attains the power of placing himself in direct rapport with the bright side of the moon, thus deriving inspiration from the concentrated intellectual energy of the blessed ancestors. . . .

"This which seems one stream (to the ignorant) is of a dual nature -- one giving life and wisdom, the other being lethal. He who can separate the former from the latter, as Kalahamsa separated the milk from the water, which was mixed with it, thus showing great wisdom -- will have his reward" (BCW 12:203-4).

"This Hindu sacred beverage answers to the Greek Ambrosia or nectar, drunk by the gods of Olympus. A cup of kykeon was also quaffed by the mysta at the Eleusinian initiation. He who drinks it easily reaches Brahma, or the place of splendor (Heaven). The soma-drink known to Europeans is not the genuine beverage, but its substitute; for the initiated priests alone can taste of the real soma; and even kings and rajas, when sacrificing, receive the substitute. . . . We were positively informed that the majority of the sacrificial priests of the Dekkan have lost the secret of the true soma. It can be found neither in the ritual books nor through oral information. The true followers of the primitive Vedic religion are very few; these are the alleged descendants from the Rishis, the real Agnihotris, the initiates of the great Mysteries. The soma-drink is also commemorated in the Hindu Pantheon, for it is called King-Soma. He who drinks of it is made to participate in the heavenly king, because he becomes filled with it, as the Christian apostles and their converts became filled with the Holy Ghost, and purified of their sins. The soma makes a new man of the initiate; he is reborn and transformed, and his spiritual nature overcomes the physical; it gives the divine power of inspiration, and develops the clairvoyant faculty to the utmost. According to the exoteric explanation the soma is a plant, but, at the same time it is an angel. It forcibly connects the inner, highest 'spirit' of man, which spirit is an angel like the mystical soma, with his 'irrational soul,' or astral body, and thus united by the power of the magic drink, they soar together above physical nature and participate during life in the beatitude and ineffable glories of Heaven.

"Thus the Hindu soma is mystically, and in all respects the same that the Eucharist supper is to the Christian. The idea is similar. By means of the sacrificial prayers -- the mantras -- this liquor is supposed to be transformed on the spot into real soma -- or the angel, and even into Brahma himself" (IU 1:xl-xli).

The mystical drink has been known in all ages and among all peoples. The ancient Teutonic tribes, whether of the Germanic or Anglo-Saxons, spoke of their divine mead, the drink of the gods. The Hindus spoke of Soma, the direct distillation from the moon and from the overseeing and guiding eye of the sun; the Greeks of the Homeric age spoke of ambrosia or nectar, a drink of the gods which renewed their understanding and gave them inspiration as well. Another branch of the Greeks belonging to the Dionysian and Orphic branches of mystical thought, spoke equally mystically of the mystic wine, and also of the mystic cereal, partaken of during the Mysteries, and it is from this last that the mystical wine and cereal or bread of the Christians was taken over almost completely from the Dionysian Eucharist, only among Christians even from quite early times it became degraded into actual blood and flesh of Jesus.

The evident meaning must be connected with the old occult thought that wine, or the mead of the northern peoples where the grape and soma were unknown or uncultivated, all had the meaning of the inspiration of initiation, a kind of ecstasy of vision and knowledge brought about through initiation, of which the physical intoxication of wine, mead, or the soma juice has all the lower and materialized aspect, every spiritual thing having its material counterpart, every right-hand thought or rule in occultism having its left-hand or sorcerer perversion or counterpart. Thus in the highest initiation, even today and from immemorial time, the holy drink or potation was entirely mystical, and had a dozen of these significances, all bound up together; yet despite this fact, for some of the lower initiations where a student found difficulty in throwing off the physical and astral influences, a harmless -- when administered rightly -- drug or drink was given which temporarily stupefied the lower quaternary; but it is to be noted that this substitute of the physical drink came about when neophytes began to find it very difficult to do what their more spiritual forerunners had done: raising themselves solely by inner aspiration up to inspiration, by inner insight up to the epopteia or vision.

Thus the question whether the mystical drink was an actual drink, or merely a mystical one, cannot be answered by a simple yes or no. Originally it was entirely mystical, later it remained as mystical as ever, but the body with its grossness, and the astral influences with their terrible power over the men and women of the time, were temporarily reduced to quiescence by a preparation known to initiates to have the power of bringing about the condition required, without any permanent or even long after-effect, very much as a sedative will be given by a physician today. It is of course true that if this drink, however relatively innocent in a single instance, were to be constantly repeated, it would have developed into a drug habit.

Some of the later peoples in their initiations actually did use a kind of physical soma which had the effect of bringing about a dulling of the restless brain-mind for the time being, so that the inner powers were temporarily freed from the clogging influences of the astral light and the body.

The use of drugs in initiatory ceremonies of any kind, however, is a relatively late and degenerate practice, and has never at any time been, nor will it ever be, introduced by the Mother-Lodge coming down to us even from the middle of the third root-race. With it the old tradition burns more brightly than ever that the true soma, the true mead of the gods or wine of the spirit, is the raising of the human into the spiritual by aspiration, training, and strict following of the traditional laws of discipleship, so that finally the neophyte feels the sunlight from above stealing through the moon of his mind.

So strongly is this the case, that even today in theosophical occult studies, drug taking of any kind is strictly forbidden, including alcohol, for alcohol is a drug, a product of natural decay and decomposition, and while less spectacular and violent as a rule than drugs such as opium and its derivatives, it is far more easily procurable and is therefore more specifically pointed to as objectionable. The idea of the occult student is to have the body absolutely normal, healthy, clean, and functioning in the smoothness of health, so that even overeating is seen to be a harmful thing, because it clogs the body, dulls the mind, and could even actually lead to physical disability.

There is and has been a great deal of confusion, not only at present but throughout the ages, about these matters, and several mystical schools have even chosen the language of the tavern and drinking house as the cloak for conveying occult or semi-occult teaching. A noted example is the Sufi school with its poems lauding the flowing bowl and the joys of the tavern and the bosom friends therein, and the beloved's breast. Here the tavern was the universe, the flowing cup or wine was the wine of the spirit bringing inner ecstasy, the bosom of the beloved was the raising oneself into inner communion with the god within, of which the Jewish bosom of Abraham is a feeble correspondence. The friends of the tavern are those perfect human relations brought about by a community of spiritual and intellectual interests, and the associations of the tavern are the mysteries of the world around us with their marvels and arcana. Nevertheless in various countries as the fourth root-race ran toward its evil culmination, the mystic became translated into the material, the spiritual degenerated into the teaching of matter, so that indeed in later Atlantean times the drugging of initiates was common, and the results always disastrous, this being one of the sorceries for which the Atlanteans in occult history have remained infamous. Yet even in the fifth root-race, due to the heavy Atlantean karma still weighing on us, many nations as late as historic times employed more or less harmless potations to bring about a temporary dulling or stupefying of the brain and nervous system -- a procedure always vigorously opposed by the theosophic occult school which has never at any time allowed it.

(See also: Soma , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary)

Cybernetics:

Comparative study of the autonomic control system formed by the brains and nervous systems of human and other animals, as well as electro-chemical-mechanical devices and communications systems.

(See also: Cybernetics , Pagan, Paganism, Pagan Dictionary)

Tellington TTouch: This is a method of gentle touch for animals that uses circular movements of the fingers and hands all over the body. TTouch activates the nervous system to promote the healing of physical, emotional and behavioral problems, and to establish a deeper communication and rapport between humans and animals.

(See also: Tellington TTouch , Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)

Neurodevelopmental Therapy: This drug-free approach seeks to treat neurobehavioral disorders such as ADD/ADHD or dyslexia at the root of the behavior. Neurodevelopmental therapists work with clients to identify weak pathways and subsystems in the brain and nervous system while developing a movement and mental rehearsal programs to create enhanced functioning of these systems.

(See also: Neurodevelopmental Therapy , Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)

Mesmerism

An 18th century movement begun in France by the Austrian doctor Franz Anton Mesmer, who believed that astrological influence on humans was conveyed through a force or substance similar to magnetism.

He first began treating patients with magnets or charged fluids but quickly modified his position, theorizing that cures were actually coming from an energy or mysterious Òmagnetic fluidÓ coming from the hands, voice, or nervous system of the practitioner.

This invisible substance or magnetism was thought to be similar to electro-magnetism and was dubbed ÒAnimal Magnetism. Ó Mesmer's pupils were later able to induce a Òmagnetic sleepÓ (trance state or hypnotic condition) in their patients. The term Mesmerism eventually became analogous with hypnosis .

(See also: Mesmerism , New Age Spirituality, Body Mind and Soul)

Sound Healing

is a unique type of vibrational therapy that uses the human voice, tuning forks, Tibetan singing bowls, bells and tingshas, and crystal singing bowls that are directed into and around the body to balance the energy. This therapy, which may be used in combination with other energy therapies, allows the gentle "tuning" of the body's nervous system which provides support in its return to a natural balanced state.

(See also: Sound Healing , Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)