gavinski's profile - StumbleUpon

Last login: 20 hours agoGavinski: Gavin is a 33 year old married guy from Chengdu, China.; Likes 984 pages, 86 videos, 70 photos • 204 fans • Received 41 reviews; Member since Dec 23, 2007

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www.kansascity.com | 05/12/2008 | Death toll in China earthquake approaches 10,0…: May 12, 10:48pm 2 reviews news, china, earthquake
http://www.kansascity.com/105/story/617106.html; Thanks to everyone for all the mails asking if we're ok here in Chengdu!! Thank God we are, but it's been pretty scary. We were in the flat when it happened. At first we huddled under a door, thinking it would pass, but when it started getting stronger we fled downstairs from the fourth floor. outsise people were franticaly scrambling over the back gate of our condo, which was locked, and my wife was cut getting over the gate. dust was rising, and we felt sure that our building was going to collapse. the mood in the streets was relaxed and festival-like though, after the initial terror passed. people had a good laugh at the sight of me in a pair of fisherman's trousers, with no top on, and carrying around a chinese flute which i'd just been playing at the time the quake happened. one girl was wondering around in her knickers, others in pyjamas. as far as i know, chengdu city has not been that badly affected. the only death i've so far heard of here was the pet cat of a famous local rock singer, which jumped out of its high storey flat when the tremor hit. more quakes are expected though (yesterdays at the centre was 7.9, in chengdu it was 5.6, today a 6.6 one is expected here!), and we spent the night sleeping in an open space at a nearby university campus, braving the flat again after torrential rain forced us indoors! i'm sure we may end up there again tonight. it all feels a bit like something out of War of the Worlds, or Cloverfield, which we just watched a few days ago. my heart goes out to those caught in the epicentre though, and i pray that things don't get worse over the following days. anyway, time to get back outside. i really, really shouldn't be indoors. good luck to anyone else stuck in this.

Yellow River - National Geographic Magazine: May 11, 10:46am 3 reviews environment, china
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/05/china/yellow-river/larmer-text; China's Yellow River, the country's 'mother river' is slowly being poisoned...a good article on this, and more aspects of China, in the current National Geographic. Thanks nickstreet.stumbleupon.com [nickstreet.stumbleupon.com]

http://images.gfxartist.com/images/ArtworkItem/full/34754.jpg: May 11, 5:37am 48 reviews painting, arts
http://images.gfxartist.com/images/ArtworkItem/full/34754.jpg

The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Special Exhibitions: Anatomy of a Masterpiece: …: May 11, 5:30am 2 reviews painting, arts, china
http://www.metmuseum.org/special/anatomy_masterpiece/view_1.asp?item=5&view=l; Emperor Huizhong (1082-1135) - Finches and Bamboo. Always sure to find something of beauty over on Budoshu's pages. Thanks mon frere!

May 11, 5:30am: If you're wondering what a 'thangka' is...just click on the image above, which is one of my favourites, and is currently hanging on our living room wall.
THIS IS A STICKY POST - if you want to know how to make sticky posts for your own blog, you'll find the info, and many other SU add-ons at Thayli's website

Das Tao Te King von Lao Tse: Content: May 11, 5:12am 2 reviews religion, spirituality, china, taoism
http://home.pages.at/onkellotus/Menu/Content.html; This is pretty stunning - contains what sems to be just about every version of the Tao te Ching ever published, in a plethora of different languages - even recent ones like the Stephen Mitchell version from '88, which is the one I bought not so long ago. A very neat feature is the ability to compare various versions - for example an English translation with a Chinese pinyin one - by splitting the screen into 2 or 4 panes. Makes you just love what some people are doing with the internet these days. Thanks a lot vidchi.stumbleupon.com [vidchi.stumbleupon.com]

http://www.herbalcureindia.com/ayurvedic-herbs.htm: May 11, 5:04am 1 review health, alternative-health, ayurveda, herbs, alternative-medicine
http://www.herbalcureindia.com/ayurvedic-herbs.htm; This is a good online encyclopedia of many herbs commonly used in Ayurveda, with Ayurvedic properties and uses, based largely on the classical texts. One irritation for those less familiar with Ayurveda is that it only lists Sanskrit and Latin names, making identification difficult for the lay reader - why not mention the English names of such common herbs as ginger, coriander, dates, etc? This is, sadly, typical of the sloppiness in many modern Ayurvedic publications coming out of India.

The following are some of the details about Pomegranate (Dadima) given there:

"Dadima is one of the herbs mentioned in all ancient Sanskrit scriptures of Ayurveda. It has been commonly used as an edible fruit, as well as for medicinal purpose, domestically. The medicinal properties of the plant have beendescribed by Susruta as appetite stimulant, antiemetic and antidiarrhoeal. Caraka has categorized it as grahi or atisaraghna - antidiarrhoeal, sramahara relieves fatigue, while Susruta classified it as hrdya heart tonic. Also it is mentioned in other texts as arucighna - alleviates distaste, chardinasaka anti-emetic, medhya nervine tonic and krmighna - vermicidal.

Properties

Dadima is sweet, astringent and sour in taste , sweet or sour in the post digestive effect and semi - hot in potency , It alleviates the kapha and vata dosas. It possesses light and oily attributes. It is an appetizer, digestant, anti - diarrhoeal,nervine tonic and improves the quantity of seminal fluids. It alleviates the diseases of mouth, throat and purifies the blood. (Bhavaprakasa Nighantu)

Uses

The fruit, the rind of the fruit, roots and the skin of roots have great medicinal value. Dadima is used both, internally as well as externally. Externally, the rind decoction heals the wounds earlier and reduces the swelling. The gargles of the same, heal up the ulcers in the oral cavity and throat. In epistaxis the nasal bleed, the juice of its flowers is instilled nasally to arrest the bleeding promptly. Even the fruit juice applied on skin, effectively mitigates the allergic skin rashes, due to insect bites.

Generally, the berbs with sour taste (amla rasa) aggravate the pitta dosa. Dadima and amalaki are the exceptions to this rule.Internally, different parts of dadima are used in different diseases. The dadima fruit improves the sensation of taste and stimulates an appetite. It also boosts the digestion and controls diarrhea. It effectively controls hyperacidity and thirst, when given with rock candy. The diarrhea in children is treated with benefit by the giving its tender flowers, matted with goat's milk. The decoction of the roots is recommended on empty stomach, followed by a laxative nest day, to kill and expel athe worms. In diarrhea and colitis, the rind of its fruit works well with buttermilk. In dysentery, the decoction of dadima rind and butaja roots, mixed with honey, Is the best panacea to control the bleeding. The juice of raw dadima fruit combined with sunthi, lavanga and mayaphala mixed with honey is the best preparation to control the frequency of defecation in colitis. The most popular formulation dadimavaleha is effectively used in anorexia, abdominal pain, tuberculosis, oedema and dysentery with fever. Dadimastaka curna is another preparation salutary in loss of appetite, distaste and ailments of the throat.

Dadima fruit is pleasant and calming to the mind and heart , benevolent to arrest bleeding, hence is rewarding in raktapitta, heart diseases and anaemia. It pacifies the vata and pitta dosas and promptly nourishes rasa and rakta dhatus. Thus, boosts the energy."

PART I of IV... INTRO. TO S. INDIAN CLASSICAL MUSIC: May 7, 7:24pm 1 review india, music, indian-music
http://openscroll.org/ramesh/gentle1.html; A wonderful introduction to Indian Classical music which gives you a basic grasp of the theory behind Indian melodies, as well as insights into how to compose Indian music.

Eckhart Tolle Interview by Andrew Cohen: May 6, 6:53am 2 reviews buddhism, religion, spirituality, vedanta
http://www.inner-growth.info/power_of_now_tolle/eckhart_tolle_interview_cohen...; A deeper interview with Eckhart Tolle, including a good discussion of whether there is a need for renunciation and abandonment of the everyday world, as the Buddha preached, or whether, as in the Vedanta view, one can surrender while stil living in the world, with no need for external signs of renunciation.

Eckhart Tolle: Interview by John Parker: May 5, 9:19pm 5 reviews buddhism, spirituality, hinduism, vedanta
http://www.inner-growth.info/power_of_now_tolle/eckhart_tolle_interview_parke...; This is an excellent interview with Eckhart Tolle, where he explains the essence of his teachings and talks about his early life - dropping out of school at 13, for example - and the experiences which led up to his 'realisation'. I recommend anyone with the slightest interest in spirituality to read Tolle's 'Power of Now'. I've not read that widely on contemporary Spiritual teachers, but for me, Tolle's teachings are the clearest, least mumbo-jumbified exposition of the peace that comes from non-identification with the self which I've yet come across. Everything he writes seems to come from an intense personal experience of Stillness and is infused with both wisdom and humility. He puts little stress on technique, as when you try to use 'technique' to 'achieve' a spiritual goal it is likely that you will separate yourself from the moment. Instead, the emphasis is on becoming present in the moment, and learning to act, rather than blindly reacting, to the vicissitudes of life.

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