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In last week’s article on longstanding medical philosophies, I introduced India’s ancient system of health and healing: Ayurveda. In any discussion on Ayurveda with English speakers, the first thing to get out of the way is pronunciation. About half the people I meet pronounce the word Ayurveda as “are you veda,”so let’s work on that. The correct way to say it is “ah-yur-veda.” If that’s still too tricky, just pretend it’s the traditional medicine of Ireland and say “Ire-veda” – it sounds the same. As I explained last week, Ayurveda has been around for roughly 3000 years, and it means the “science of life” or the “art of living.” Much more than a means of treating disease, Ayurveda is foremost a system for staying healthy.
It would be absurd to even attempt to give you a nutshell explanation of all of Vedic science. Not that I’m qualified to do so anyway. But I have studied it off and on for the past 20 years, so I know enough to be dangerous … and to convey some of the more interesting and accessible facets of this profound system.
One facet that almost never comes up in the West is karma. It’s also something Westerners tend to be confused about. There’s no simple explanation for karma, partly because Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and others all have different ways of understanding it. But what follows is the most practical interpretation I can give you. (It’s colored significantly by the teachings of Vimalananda, as conveyed by American practitioner and author, Robert Svoboda.)
First, let’s talk about what it’s not. In the West, we tend to think of karma as a system of retribution and reward based on the good and bad things we do, all subject to the evaluation of some universal judge. We do something “bad” and the universe punishes us; we do something “good” and the universe smiles on us. This is natural, steeped as we are in Christian concepts such as sin and virtue, heaven and hell, and the generally vengeful nature of our legal system. More than once, I’ve witnessed something unfortunate, and heard a bystander say, “That’s karma coming to bite you in the ass.” Traditional texts on karma don’t actually mention ass biting, though. Another common misconception about karma is that it absolutely dictates the course of our lives – that all we’re doing is living out the consequences of karma from previous lives.
One way to understand karma is as an expression of debt (rna in Sanskrit) that results from our actions. The cycle of reincarnation is seen as being perpetuated by our having unresolved karmas, or debts, with the world. Our past actions create what are known as samskaras or “imprints” in our consciousness that color our perception, shape our tastes and desires, influence the circumstances we come in contact with, and lead to new actions and karmas. Thus, our past influences our future, but not as directly as some believe. For all the satisfaction we may get from pronouncing that someone just got bitten in the ass by karma, there are countless cases of bad behavior by people who live long, more or less happy lives, because karma just doesn’t work that way. In fact, the traditional understanding is that we are here to work out karma from previous lives, and that karma accumulated in this lifetime isn’t resolved until a later rebirth.
Classical sources emphasize that there is a key element that dictates whether an action will produce a debt – or we could say reaction – that we will eventually experience: the identification of oneself as the doer of the action. As Robert Svoboda writes, “The more strongly you identify with your karmas, the more closely your experience will conform to the reaction they promise.” Thus, the more we think that we’re steering the boat and that we’re making the river of life flow – rather than simply going along for the ride – the more likely we are to engage in actions that produce debt. Svoboda continues, “ The Law of Karma, the unimaginable complexity of which has cowed the greatest of scholars, loses some ability to dismay when viewed through the prism of surrender.”
Sometimes I think of karmic debt in chemistry terms. When atoms and molecules interact, bonding and separating, charges are created and neutralized. Charged particles “want” to be neutralized. A molecule with a positive charge and another with a negative charge will readily bond so that both are stabilized and form a neutral product. In a similar same way, we could see ourselves as coming into life with numerous charges – each of which represents an unsettled debt with a particular person. Sometimes we’re the “creditor” and sometimes we’re the “debtor.” The other parties have these charges related to us, too, and the charges draw us to one another.
Now, here are some (highly over-simplified) examples. If one soul has a debt to repay to another soul, the creditor might be born as the child of the debtor. Thus, the parent will give a tremendous amount in energy and money to the child, and in so doing, both souls will have the opportunity to rectify the debt. On the flip side, it may occur that a child is born to a parent to whom they owe a karmic debt. One way this might manifest could be that the child ends up being the parent’s caregiver or working to support the parent financially.
Or, let’s say you and another feel a strong mutual attraction. You date for a few months, buy them some meals, give them some orgasms, and at a certain point, the attraction is suddenly gone. One possible interpretation through the lens of karma could be that the initial attraction was fueled by the draw of a karmic debt. The ensuing exchange of energy may have rectified the debt. Finally, with no remaining debt, the “charge” disappeared.
Vimalananda, an Indian mystic, said, “I am very anxious to finish off my cycle of births and deaths so I allow every person who has any rnanubandhana [“debt bondage”] with me to take whatever they are entitled to. Whether they are destined to make my life miserable, or to make me poor, or whatever, I don’t mind. Let them do it; they cannot take from me any more than the value of the debt I owe them. The moment I object in any way, then karma has begun. Likewise, if I have to take from someone I take only what I know I am entitled to, no more and no less.” In Vimalananda’s case, he was said to have the advantage of being able to perceive the precise nature of his karmic debts with others, so he could resolve them as efficiently as possible. To those who are conscious of the philosophy of karma and intent on being liberated from debt, one of the primary purposes of life is to allow these debts to be repaid, and in the process to experience an increasingly light existence.
Whether you choose to interpret this discussion literally or more metaphorically, perhaps the key lessons are these: First, whatever happens to you, try to consider it an expression of the balancing forces of nature. Even if it seems unfortunate, notice what happens if you surrender to it and trust that knots are being untied in the process, and that you will be ever more free through your acceptance. Second, even if karma doesn’t deliver you immediate gifts as a reward for good deeds, why not strive to contribute to the world and help your species anyway? You just may be planting seeds of beautiful trees (and meanwhile, it will keep you out of trouble). Third, if you don’t have the gift of knowing the exact value of your credits and debts with others, you might as well just roll with life in the lightest way you are able to. Give without concern for the return and accept without concern for the debt.
Be well,
Dr. Peter Borten
[post_title] => Does Karma Bite?
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In light of the risks of suppressing skin problems, which I discussed in last week's article, I present to you some healthy alternatives to steroid creams and topical antibiotics.
1. Baking Soda: Baking soda is one of the cheapest and easiest things to try for itchy skin. I've prescribed it many times to people with hives and bug bites and it almost always helps in a big way. For overall itchiness, you can pour an entire box of baking soda into your bath (best to add to hot water and then add cooler water after it's dissolved) and hang out in it for a while. (It's also a good idea to keep the bath a bit on the cool side.) For spot treatment, you can make a paste with baking soda and water. Baking soda is also nice in a home foot bath for sore and/or stinky feet. Some people swear by baking soda as a treatment for acne, but the reviews are mixed. It can be highly drying, so if you use it, it's recommended to keep the treatment brief – like 30 seconds of baking soda paste applied to pimples – and then wash off and apply an appropriate toner to restore your skin's optimal pH.
2. Lavender Essential Oil: Lavender is excellent for soothing a wide array of skin irritations. Research has shown that it calms allergic skin reactions; it reduces redness after an episiotomy; it promotes wound healing; it reduces pain; and it inhibits numerous bacteria and fungi that cause skin problems. One study suggested that regular use of lavender oil may protect against the damaging (aging) effects of sun exposure. I regularly recommend it for rashes, sunburn and other burns, insect bites and stings, pimples and boils, and wounds.
Although it can be applied undiluted to most people's skin, there's rarely a need to use it in such a concentrated way. I find that essential oils are often overused. Most of the studies on lavender oil have utilized it in concentrations ranging from 0.5% to 10%. You can dilute it in a bit of olive oil, coconut oil, water, or whatever else you wish.
3. Calendula: Calendula is an orange flower in the marigold family. I used to love seeing it bloom throughout the winter in Portland. It is anti-inflammatory and promotes wound healing. One great thing about calendula is how gentle it is. I don't hesitate to use it on babies with sore, raw, or itchy skin. It's great for cuts, scrapes, chapping, skin ulcers, burns, bed sores, rashes, bruises, hemorrhoids, sometimes acne, and it may even help with varicose veins. Depending on your preference, you can get calendula in an oil base (such as olive oil), a cream, or a gel. For chapped and cracked skin, it's best in a moisturizing base.
4. Ching Wan Hung: This Chinese herbal ointment belongs in every home. It is the most excellent burn remedy I've ever found. I don't see it becoming popular in hospitals because it looks and smells a bit weird for Westerners, but honestly, it should be. I have applied this stuff to first and second degree burns dozens of times and it always leads to a quick resolution of the damage. Of course, in second degree burns there is considerable damage, so I recommend getting medical care, but on the way, put some of this on it.
Ching Wan Hung also works well for about half the rashes I've prescribed it for, and it's usually helpful for bug bites and stings, too. It smells strongly of sesame oil, so that part can take a bit of getting used to, but if you use it immediately after getting a burn, you'll be sold. I've used it on all kinds of burns, from steam to fire, to chemicals, to sunburns, to radiation burns. I had a patient with severe skin damage from radiation treatments for breast cancer, and after applying this ointment for a couple months, the skin was completely back to normal.
This is the one item on this list that's not widely available in stores, but it's easy to find online, or we can order it for you at The Dragontree.
5. Apple Cider Vinegar: Apple cider vinegar (ACV) has some very zealous supporters. I usually shy away from zealotry and fads, but in the case of ACV, much of the praise is well deserved. First, to be clear, I'm not talking about just any apple cider vinegar, but specifically Bragg ACV, which you can find in most grocery stores. Like the other items in this list, ACV is useful for many kinds of skin issues (and, internally, for some non-skin issues, too).
First, you can use diluted ACV on the skin for acne, or just as a good skin toner, acid exfoliant, and restorer of the skin's optimal pH. Mix one part ACV with 2 to 3 parts water or tea (chamomile or rooibos teas are good), and apply to the face with a cotton ball. You don't need to wash it off unless it causes irritation. I recommend for facial application that you start with a rather weak ACV solution and only work up to a less diluted mixture if your skin can handle it.
The same can be applied to eczema, yeast infections, fungal skin infections, and other rashes. Again, while there may be a little tingling, we don't want burning. Vinegar is a strong acid and it can harm the skin if used too much or too concentrated.
Apple cider vinegar is also great for the hair and scalp. Most cases of dandruff will benefit or resolve completely with several applications of ACV. Mix 1 part ACV with 2 or 3 parts water. It's best to put it in a squeeze bottle with a pointed tip so that it can be squirted directly onto the scalp. Leave it on for a few minutes, then rinse. It can be used in the same dilution as a hair rinse to remove the residue of hair care products.
At the more hardcore end of the spectrum, I know people who have used ACV undiluted to remove warts, and skin tags. In these cases, we're relying on its strength as an acid, and there is risk of collateral skin burns, so please proceed with caution and proper guidance in this arena.
Natural remedies aren’t always better or safer than the alternatives, but I believe the items on this list are pretty special. And I believe they can provide relief and/or promote healing without being suppressive. Give them a try and share your experience with us in the comments section. Have other home remedies for skin that you love? We want to hear about those, too!
Be well,
Dr. Peter Borten
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I’m a big proponent of creative expression. Even if your life’s work centers around buying and selling, interpreting, communicating, or destroying, I think it’s worthwhile to make time for creating. Create music, or art, or gardens, or recipes, or whatever feels good. There’s something about tapping into our source of creative inspiration that is good for us in a way that’s different from other activities.
I consider myself lucky to have so many opportunities to get creative in my work. Along with the collection of tinctures, liniments, creams, and patches I created for The Dragontree, Briana and I have developed some really cool body scrubs, and we recently decide to get creative and develop three new scrubs to promote radiant skin.
This process always begins in the kitchen with dozens of bags of raw herbs, salts, sugar crystals, seeds, oils, and bottles of aromatic plant extracts. It’s messy, it smells wonderful, it takes a lot of trial and error, and above all, it’s fun.
First, we wanted to make a scrub that utilized activated charcoal. Activated charcoal is fascinating stuff. When you look at it under a microscope, there are so many minuscule nooks and crannies all over each particle that it has a tremendous surface area. A teaspoon of activated charcoal has the surface area of about half a football field! And all this surface area amount to many binding sites for whatever gunk it comes into contact with – including stinky odors and toxins. Drinking a slurry of activated charcoal in water is a first intervention for many kinds of poisoning, and it’s often taken in capsules for intestinal gas. Once in the Sky Mall catalog, I saw a comforter that was filled with activated charcoal for the purpose of preserving matrimonial harmony when one member of the couple has bad gas.
We combined the charcoal with raw sugar crystals for exfoliating power; coconut oil for a thicker consistency, deep moisturizing, and some antimicrobial activity; vitamin E as an antioxidant and skin conditioner; and our Transcend essential oil blend of amber, vetiver, ginger, and other oils. At first we used way too much charcoal and our skin was stained black. After adjusting proportions, we arrived at a great new blend (that won’t stain your skin).
Next, we wanted to make a scrub incorporating clay and honey. Clay draws toxins from the skin. When it’s hydrated, it becomes like a highly porous sponge. Clay poultices have a long history of topical use for treating acne, boils, venomous bites and stings, as well as certain itchy rashes. In this scrub, the clay particles are so minuscule that they act kind of like the absolute finest grade sandpaper, to “polish” the skin a bit. We decided the clay alone wasn’t scrubby enough, though, so we added some fine sea salt as well, for a combination of “fine grit” and “ultra fine grit” polishing.
The honey was included as a nice soothing agent to promote skin healing and enhance skin moisture (as a “humectant”). We again utilized coconut oil as a thick, moist base and vitamin E as an antioxidant and skin supporter. Due to the finer nature of these scrub ingredients, we decided this blend would be well suited to our Peace essential oil blend, which contains rose, chamomile, sweet orange, and other bright, calming oils.
Third, we wanted to craft a scrub with mother of pearl and pumice powder, since this combination has long been a favorite at our spas. Pearls and mother of pearl are made of a substance called nacre, composed of a calcium rich crystal known as aragonite. This substance is legendary in Asian skin care for smoothing skin and clearing blemishes. Almost as fine as the clay in the previous scrub, mother of pearl powder acts as a finishing “polish” in this exfoliant.
For additional grit to clear dead skin, we used pumice powder that’s just a bit coarser than the pearl. Pumice is a pitted volcanic glass which is widely used as an abrasive for smoothing the skin. Finally, we wanted a third grade of grit, coarser still, but gentle, so we added sea salt. The nice thing about sea salt crystals for exfoliation is that when combined with water in a shower or bath, the water takes off any sharp edges so it’s not too rough. Along with coconut oil and vitamin E, we added our Relax essential oil blend to this scrub, which features, lavender, lime, and ylang ylang. Ylang ylang (pronounced “EE-lahng EE-lahng”) is a delicate flower oil with relaxing properties. In Indonesia, it’s sprinkled on the bed of new married couples.
After lots of experimentation we had our formulatrix, Meredith, make numerous batches and tinker with proportions, and the result was three great new scrubs. We’re proud of them. And you’ll be relieved to know that we’ve been bathing more than ever. If you or a friend are in need of a subtle incentive to get cleaner, smoother, and brighter skin, please give them a try and share your feedback with us.
Be well,
Dr. Peter Borten
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In last week’s article on longstanding medical philosophies, I introduced India’s ancient system of health and healing: Ayurveda. In any discussion on Ayurveda with English speakers, the first thing to get out of the way is pronunciation. About half the people I meet pronounce the word Ayurveda as “are you veda,”so let’s work on that. The correct way to say it is “ah-yur-veda.” If that’s still too tricky, just pretend it’s the traditional medicine of Ireland and say “Ire-veda” – it sounds the same. As I explained last week, Ayurveda has been around for roughly 3000 years, and it means the “science of life” or the “art of living.” Much more than a means of treating disease, Ayurveda is foremost a system for staying healthy.
It would be absurd to even attempt to give you a nutshell explanation of all of Vedic science. Not that I’m qualified to do so anyway. But I have studied it off and on for the past 20 years, so I know enough to be dangerous … and to convey some of the more interesting and accessible facets of this profound system.
One facet that almost never comes up in the West is karma. It’s also something Westerners tend to be confused about. There’s no simple explanation for karma, partly because Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and others all have different ways of understanding it. But what follows is the most practical interpretation I can give you. (It’s colored significantly by the teachings of Vimalananda, as conveyed by American practitioner and author, Robert Svoboda.)
First, let’s talk about what it’s not. In the West, we tend to think of karma as a system of retribution and reward based on the good and bad things we do, all subject to the evaluation of some universal judge. We do something “bad” and the universe punishes us; we do something “good” and the universe smiles on us. This is natural, steeped as we are in Christian concepts such as sin and virtue, heaven and hell, and the generally vengeful nature of our legal system. More than once, I’ve witnessed something unfortunate, and heard a bystander say, “That’s karma coming to bite you in the ass.” Traditional texts on karma don’t actually mention ass biting, though. Another common misconception about karma is that it absolutely dictates the course of our lives – that all we’re doing is living out the consequences of karma from previous lives.
One way to understand karma is as an expression of debt (rna in Sanskrit) that results from our actions. The cycle of reincarnation is seen as being perpetuated by our having unresolved karmas, or debts, with the world. Our past actions create what are known as samskaras or “imprints” in our consciousness that color our perception, shape our tastes and desires, influence the circumstances we come in contact with, and lead to new actions and karmas. Thus, our past influences our future, but not as directly as some believe. For all the satisfaction we may get from pronouncing that someone just got bitten in the ass by karma, there are countless cases of bad behavior by people who live long, more or less happy lives, because karma just doesn’t work that way. In fact, the traditional understanding is that we are here to work out karma from previous lives, and that karma accumulated in this lifetime isn’t resolved until a later rebirth.
Classical sources emphasize that there is a key element that dictates whether an action will produce a debt – or we could say reaction – that we will eventually experience: the identification of oneself as the doer of the action. As Robert Svoboda writes, “The more strongly you identify with your karmas, the more closely your experience will conform to the reaction they promise.” Thus, the more we think that we’re steering the boat and that we’re making the river of life flow – rather than simply going along for the ride – the more likely we are to engage in actions that produce debt. Svoboda continues, “ The Law of Karma, the unimaginable complexity of which has cowed the greatest of scholars, loses some ability to dismay when viewed through the prism of surrender.”
Sometimes I think of karmic debt in chemistry terms. When atoms and molecules interact, bonding and separating, charges are created and neutralized. Charged particles “want” to be neutralized. A molecule with a positive charge and another with a negative charge will readily bond so that both are stabilized and form a neutral product. In a similar same way, we could see ourselves as coming into life with numerous charges – each of which represents an unsettled debt with a particular person. Sometimes we’re the “creditor” and sometimes we’re the “debtor.” The other parties have these charges related to us, too, and the charges draw us to one another.
Now, here are some (highly over-simplified) examples. If one soul has a debt to repay to another soul, the creditor might be born as the child of the debtor. Thus, the parent will give a tremendous amount in energy and money to the child, and in so doing, both souls will have the opportunity to rectify the debt. On the flip side, it may occur that a child is born to a parent to whom they owe a karmic debt. One way this might manifest could be that the child ends up being the parent’s caregiver or working to support the parent financially.
Or, let’s say you and another feel a strong mutual attraction. You date for a few months, buy them some meals, give them some orgasms, and at a certain point, the attraction is suddenly gone. One possible interpretation through the lens of karma could be that the initial attraction was fueled by the draw of a karmic debt. The ensuing exchange of energy may have rectified the debt. Finally, with no remaining debt, the “charge” disappeared.
Vimalananda, an Indian mystic, said, “I am very anxious to finish off my cycle of births and deaths so I allow every person who has any rnanubandhana [“debt bondage”] with me to take whatever they are entitled to. Whether they are destined to make my life miserable, or to make me poor, or whatever, I don’t mind. Let them do it; they cannot take from me any more than the value of the debt I owe them. The moment I object in any way, then karma has begun. Likewise, if I have to take from someone I take only what I know I am entitled to, no more and no less.” In Vimalananda’s case, he was said to have the advantage of being able to perceive the precise nature of his karmic debts with others, so he could resolve them as efficiently as possible. To those who are conscious of the philosophy of karma and intent on being liberated from debt, one of the primary purposes of life is to allow these debts to be repaid, and in the process to experience an increasingly light existence.
Whether you choose to interpret this discussion literally or more metaphorically, perhaps the key lessons are these: First, whatever happens to you, try to consider it an expression of the balancing forces of nature. Even if it seems unfortunate, notice what happens if you surrender to it and trust that knots are being untied in the process, and that you will be ever more free through your acceptance. Second, even if karma doesn’t deliver you immediate gifts as a reward for good deeds, why not strive to contribute to the world and help your species anyway? You just may be planting seeds of beautiful trees (and meanwhile, it will keep you out of trouble). Third, if you don’t have the gift of knowing the exact value of your credits and debts with others, you might as well just roll with life in the lightest way you are able to. Give without concern for the return and accept without concern for the debt.
Be well,
Dr. Peter Borten
[post_title] => Does Karma Bite?
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