By Akil Palanisamy, M.D.

“Let me not pray to be sheltered from dangers,
But to be fearless in facing them.
Let me not beg for the stilling of my pain,
But for the heart to conquer it.
Let me not look for allies in life’s battlefield,
But to my own strength.
Let me not crave in anxious fear to be saved,
But hope for the patience to win my freedom.
Grant me that I may not be a coward, feeling your mercy in my success alone,
But let me find the grasp of your hand in my failure.”

– Rabindranath Tagore, Nobel Prize winning poet from India

I was on top of the world. I was a senior at Harvard University and had been accepted to

medical school to pursue my lifelong dream of becoming a doctor. That’s when the trouble started. While working on my senior thesis I noticed severe wrist pain with numbness and tingling in my arms. The pain got worse and began to interfere with my sleep. I could no longer type on a keyboard. I went to student health services and was diagnosed with repetitive strain injury (RSI).

I had worked hard during my college years in classes and research activities, but nothing out of the ordinary. I was used to working hard, and had a lot of energy to fuel that work. The previous year I had become vegetarian. Certainly, I was under stress but managed it with a daily meditation practice. I had a regular routine of gym workouts and yoga. The reason for my illness puzzled me.

I was prescribed anti-inflammatory medication and physical therapy, and was given extra time for writing during exams and help with typing my thesis. My symptoms abated but did not disappear. I was able to finish college and graduate with honors.

I then began medical school at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). My top choice, UCSF was considered the top medical school on the west coast and I was excited to begin. After eight years in Boston I was eager to escape the snow as well, although the cool climate in San Francisco surprised me. I began to understand the quote attributed to Mark Twain, “The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.”

I completed my first year and was happy, although I was in class all day and studied several hours each night. My symptoms had been manageable with physical therapy but began to worsen when I started my second year. The wrist pain was intolerable at times and was accompanied by back pain that made it impossible to sit for more than fifteen minutes.

Also, a heavy and onerous fatigue began to set in, which I attributed to stress. Inexplicably, I lost 30 pounds over several months from my already lean baseline weight of 138. I could not attend lectures due to worsening back pain and fatigue. I was given extra time for exams, which helped me to pass my exams and not flunk out of medical school, but I began to struggle with severe anxiety, which had never bothered me before.

I adapted. I began intensive hand and wrist therapy. I learned to use voice recognition software. The University provided a foot-operated mouse. I dictated papers and class assignments. I studied at home using textbooks. Eventually I began to study lying down on my side, the only position that was comfortable for my back. This unfortunately led to neck and shoulder pain.

After completing my Board exams (8 hours of sitting down and typing answers to questions on a computer), I was afflicted with excruciating pain for three days. Although school had been challenging until then, I was about to start the most difficult part of medical school, the third year. This entailed long hours caring for patients in the hospital, being on overnight calls without sleep every few days and studying intensely without much time off.

I knew I couldn’t do it. I was in a state of deep despair. Here I was, after getting my degree at Harvard, pursuing my life’s passion of studying medicine at one of the top schools in the country, and I had to stop because my body was failing me. I had been in pain for so long that I wondered if it was even possible for me to get better. I had seen some of the top doctors in the country, gotten the best treatments, but continued to decline. I felt hopeless.

I asked for a leave of absence and was granted a year off. I decided I needed to get to the bottom of my illness. Three years of intensive physical therapy, doctor’s visits and medications had not helped at all. Something was missing.

My parents thought diet was a factor. They thought my becoming vegetarian was causing a problem. I believed this was not true because I ate a ton of fruits and vegetables, and ate tofu and dairy products for protein.

I had given up eating meat for ethical, environmental and spiritual reasons. I was an active member of the San Francisco vegetarian society, had organized vegetarian events for the University, and was a strong advocate for vegetarianism. I thought that my spiritual growth and meditation practice would be deepened by avoiding meat.

I had been studying Ayurveda, the traditional medicine of India, for a while on the side. I decided to visit a practitioner in San Francisco. She diagnosed me with excess vata (air energy) and low ojas (vitality). She recommended some herbs and spices and dietary modifications. She suggested that I eat for my Ayurvedic body type and also incorporate some nourishing foods.

My path to recovery began with two words: bone broth. The Ayurvedic practitioner recommended it as one of the nourishing foods that could help restore vitality in my depleted body. But I was resistant. I could not eat animal products. I went back-and-forth about this for a few weeks.

Finally, because I was using animal bones that were about to be discarded, I decided that this did not violate my principles. After a month of daily bone broth, I was about 10% better, which was the first time anything had helped in years. Bone broth is rich in minerals and gelatin, which support digestive health and help reduce inflammation. My recovery from illness began with healing and repair of my gut.

In the story of the Buddha, after practicing an extreme form of asceticism, the Buddha was weak and near death. He was visited by a milkmaid who offered him a little milk. Despite the taboos against this, he decided to accept and eventually recovered his health. He went on to teach about moderation and The Middle Way. I felt I had reached a similar turning point. I questioned everything I thought I knew about health and disease. I decided to keep an open mind. I realized that there was a lot I didn’t know about nutrition and alternative therapies.

Next, I explored acupuncture, visiting three different acupuncturists for 10-12 sessions each. I didn’t see much improvement. I tried Qigong. I visited energy healers and reiki practitioners. I deepened my yoga practice. I continued taking herbs. I improved another 20%.

Four months of my year off had passed and I was still not feeling much better. I was becoming desperate. I decided to experiment with eating meat again. I was deeply conflicted about this after three years of vegetarianism. However, I was willing to try anything to recover my health, because I knew that I could not fulfill my dream of becoming a doctor without a healthy body.

One day I stopped by the UCSF cafeteria and bought a chicken sandwich. I went to an empty classroom where I could eat mindfully. Before eating, I prayed for some sort of sign or clue to let me know if I was doing the right thing.

Eating the sandwich was uneventful. But, as I was chewing the last mouthful of chicken, I bit into something hard. Surprised, I pulled the morsel out of my mouth and realized that it was a tiny rolled-up piece of paper. I unfurled it and saw that it had a word on it. The word was “RATION”.

I was puzzled. I decided to try to make some sense of this and just think about what the word might mean. To me, a ration was something scarce and valuable consumed during a time of need. Perhaps the message was that I needed a small amount of meat in my diet to get better. To this day, I don’t know how that piece of paper got into my sandwich. It’s a mystery.

I then meditated on the decision for several days. I realized that perhaps I should try eating meat for a while to see how I felt. My Ayurvedic practitioner agreed with this and explained that certain body types may do better with animal protein. In fact, she had wanted me to eat meat after our first visit. However, she started me initially with bone broths because she sensed I would be more open to that at the beginning, based on my strong ethical convictions.

(To be continued…)

Excerpt taken from The Paleovedic Diet by Akil Palanisamy M.D. (Skyhorse Publishing) Copyright © 2016. All rights reserved

Report Released at CES Finds “Second Screen” Trend May Worsen Eye Symptoms

LAS VEGAS (January 6, 2016) – Nearly eight of  every 10 Americans who suffer from digital eye strain use two or more devices simultaneously, according to a nationwide survey released today at the International Consumer Electronics Show.  The report by The Vision Council, based on a survey of more than 10,000 adults, finds that 65 percent of Americans experience symptoms of digital eye strain, such as dry, irritated eyes, blurred vision, neck and back pain and headaches.

“Our eyes are not built to stare at digital screens all day, but the demands of our modern-day world frequently put us in front of a screen for hours every day,” said Justin Bazan, OD, medical adviser to The Vision Council.  “Patients underestimate how their technology use may be contributing to eye strain and do not consider ways to reduce this stress.”

The report, Eyes Overexposed: Digital Device Dilemma, finds that Americans are spending more time using devices. In fact, one in 10 people report spending at least three-fourths of their waking hours on a digital device. Prolonged periods of use appear to exacerbate symptoms as 96 percent of Americans who experience digital eye strain spend two or more hours each day using devices. A combination of factors foster the onset of digital eye strain, including the proximity of the screen, the frequency and duration of use and the degree of exposure to high-energy visible (HEV) or blue light emitted by video screens.

Device use differs dramatically among generations. Key findings include:

• A majority of parents (70 percent) who let their children use devices for three or more hours a day, or who do not set limits, report being very or somewhat concerned about the impact of digital devices on developing eyes.
• Nearly nine of 10 Millennials (87 percent) in their 20s use two or more devices simultaneously and 73 percent report symptoms of digital eye strain.
• Nearly 7 in 10 (67 percent) people in their 30s spend five or more hours each day on digital devices, contributing to the digital eye strain reported by 69 percent.
• As adults in their 40s face challenges trying to focus their eyesight at varying distances and moving between devices, 66 percent experience digital eye strain.
• Frequent users of computers, Americans 50 and older need to be cognizant of their work-space ergonomic set up. Nearly 65 percent of adults in their 50s and 53 percent of people 60 and older experience symptoms of digital eye strain.

“When using technology, many people think suffering with digital eye strain is unavoidable, but it doesn’t have to be,” said Mike Daley, CEO of The Vision Council. “The optical industry has responded to the shift in digital habits and has developed lens technology to protect eyes from blue light, glare and other environmental stressors.”

Commonly referred to as computer eyewear, these glasses have lenses that are constructed specifically for the mid-distance range at which users typically view a digital screen, and they can be purchased with or without a prescription. The lenses and filters are customized to reduce blurriness and pixilation, decrease brightness, block blue light, and minimize glare while working in front of a screen—or multiple screens.

Adults and children should have regular comprehensive eye exams to help preserve vision and identify other potential eye health issues. During an eye exam, patients should discuss their digital device habits with their eye care provider to determine the best solutions for their lifestyle.

Below are five tips to relieve digital eye strain:

1. Wear computer eyewear and glasses with lens options that can help reduce symptoms of digital eye strain, block harmful blue light and improve vision.
2. Follow the 20-20-20 rule: Take a 20-second break from the screen every 20 minutes and look at something 20 feet away.
3. Build an optically optimal workspace to mitigate outside irritants. For example, reduce overhead lighting to eliminate glare.
4. ‘High-five’ the screen for the right viewing distance when sitting at a computer.
5. Increase text size on devices to better define content on the screen.

To view or download a copy of Eyes Overexposed: Digital Device Dilemma, visit The Vision Council online at www.thevisioncouncil.org/DES.

# # #

The Vision Council is exhibiting at CES in the Family Tech Zone. Find us in CES Tech West at The Sands in the Venetian at booth 74853.

About The Vision Council                                                         

Championing better vision for better lives, The Vision Council positions its members for success by promoting growth in the vision care industry through education, advocacy, research, consumer outreach, strategic relationship building and industry forums. By sharing the latest in eyewear trends, advances in technology and advice from eyewear experts, The Vision Council serves as a resource to the public looking to learn more about options in eyeglasses and sunglasses. For more information, visit www.thevisioncouncil.org.  

Guest blog by Kate Vogt, coeditor of Mala of the Heart

Great spiritual and religious traditions teach us to open and heal our hearts. Silent practices of prayer, meditation, and contemplation give rise to an ever-deepening awareness and opening of our hearts. Similarly, poetry written by saints and mystics consoles the heart, helping to open it in a way that is quite unique compared to that of other art forms. Mala of the Heart: 108 Sacred Poems is a collection of poetry spanning a wide range of cultures and civilizations that celebrates the eternal spiritual truth within each heart. We hope you’ll enjoy this article in which coeditor Kate Vogt shares lessons she learned while working on the book.

###

The journey of coediting Mala of the Heart was filled with many insights. I learned a lot about myself, and, more important, the book offered me a chance to experience some of the great wisdom that is held within its pages. Here are three of the lessons I learned:

1. Let Go! I maintained an underlying sentiment in editing this collection: to honor the source of these poems by helping them live on in the world. In more practical terms, this meant viewing the collection of 108 poetic expressions of supreme transcendence as a precious garden that I was tending. Since these expressions were sung or written by wise women and men without expectation of earthly gain, it only seemed appropriate that as an editor of their words I would take heed of their teachings. Because these poems are pure offerings, I (along with my coeditor, Ravi Nathwani) viewed my role as one of caretaker or temporary nurturer of the collection so that it could attract and inspire others far beyond me. This view allowed me to experience a spiritual practice known as letting go, or acting free of any anticipation of praise, remuneration, or any other tangible benefits. Letting go of expectation wasn’t a specific action; instead, it took the form of heeding the compelling call of the wisdom within the collection to honor and support it. As a result, the collection has been graced with generous contributions from people like Jack Kornfield, who wrote the foreword, and Elizabeth Gilbert, who offered her endorsement. Let go, and grace will flow!
2. Pause! As a child, I always loved looking for the Big Dipper in the nighttime sky. Then I’d move on to the Little Dipper and other constellations. I was always amazed that particular configurations of stars formed different shapes. While editing the poetry, I revisited this childhood habit for the first time. But something had changed: instead of seeing the stars as forming different shapes, I noticed that it was the space between the stars that determined the shapes. The stars are similar in brightness and size. The gaps are like invisible connectors that give meaning and form to a group of them. When the gap is large enough, the space invites the mind to rest in the silence. The poetry in Mala of the Heart changed my experience of habits such as this one of childhood stargazing. The poet-saint is a master of conveying wisdom in the space of a pause. The spacing of gaps between the words and phrases can change or strengthen the meaning of the words and can even invite us to linger in the silence.
3. Laugh! I am lucky enough to have a father who makes it a practice to laugh regularly. Most of his jokes are about average incidents in life and on the surface are not particularly funny. But because of the way my father begins to laugh almost as soon as he starts the story, I can’t help but be infected by his laughter and even see the story as just as humorous as he does. He is ninety-three and attributes much of his longevity to being able to laugh at the foibles of life, his included. When editing the poetry, I began to more fully appreciate that my father had modeled a very practical tool for walking on the path toward self-transcendence or following one’s belief system. The poems feel as though they arose out of immeasurable joy, contentment, and wise happiness. They are not necessarily jokes or humorous, but many of them playfully tug at my mind. For example, “Die while you’re alive and be absolutely dead. Then do whatever you want: It’s all good.” These words by the seventeenth-century Zen master Bunan inspire me not to take myself too seriously. A more overt example is a poem by another seventeenth-century poet, Tukaram of India, in which he begins to call his dog “God.” After a while his dog starts smiling and dancing. Then he stops biting. Tukuram poses the question, “I am wondering if this might work on people?” After spending some time with these poems, I’ve become my father’s daughter, finding myself laughing spontaneously at some of the most mundane occurrences in life. After all, it is “all good.”

###

Based on the book Mala of the Heart: 108 Sacred Poems. Copyright © 2010 by Ravi Nathwani and Kate Vogt.

Kate Vogt teaches both classical Yoga and Yoga philosophy privately and for teacher trainings in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Guest blog by Aleya Dao

Imagine a life filled with happiness, connection, and purpose. Just think: You are able to connect with the divine and perfect aspect of yourself. You feel protected and guided by a loving angelic presence. You use every challenge to grow stronger and to access a higher consciousness. You are healthy and filled with self-love. Deep inside, you feel creative, passionate, and joyful — and all of that is reflected into your life.

Wouldn’t that be lovely?

Well, it is possible, and I am here to show you how. The basic idea is that all your work is done at a level higher than your physical reality. There are aspects of you that exist in higher dimensions, at the spiritual level. I call these parts of you your energy self or your Higher Self.

I have created a step-by-step process to help you gain access to your energy self and the energetic resources it controls. As you develop these tools, your consciousness will evolve, your challenges will transform, and a deep inner peace and empowerment will bloom.

You will learn that your real power comes from within and from beyond. When you explore your inner realms, along with the higher dimensions, your life will start to change in amazing ways.

For many years I looked for fulfillment externally. My life was a half-empty cold cup of coffee. I felt a deep sense of emptiness, even though everything on the outside looked “perfect.” I was living in a beautiful mountain town. I had a thriving acupuncture practice. I was healthy, had great friends, and was single and dating, yet this full life was not enough. I yearned for an inner change, wanting something, anything, that would fill my emptiness.

I chased numerous spiritual teachings, hoping that each one would give me the answer. I longed for an enlightenment moment that would miraculously transform my life into one of bliss and joy. But nothing could have prepared me for what was to come.

In the middle of a sound healing session, I was hit by the cosmic two-by-four. I had an awakening. In less than thirty seconds, my consciousness radically altered. A bright light enveloped me. My awareness shifted into a higher realm, and I felt an exquisite vibration of love, as I saw the world surrounded by loving, compassionate beings. Waves of light coursed through me, filling me with new ideas, perspectives, memories, and pearls of wisdom. In every fiber of my being, I could feel and see a multidimensional reality.

I started to see the world through new eyes. It was like getting X-ray glasses. I could feel a deep interconnectedness and purpose behind everything. The fabric of the world looked like an exquisite pattern of love and light, instead of a dark, shadowy, and challenging place. I understood the reason behind every action, and I had a profound awareness of what needs and lessons were being addressed by other people’s behavior. This greater awareness was simultaneously overwhelming, empowering, and comforting.

You would think that having a deep inner knowing of connection and peace would make life a cakewalk. I wish. Often the opposite is true. Life gets real, very quickly.

As you awaken, you will become more sensitive. This sensitivity will become your greatest strength and your greatest challenge. You will need tools to protect this new level of awareness. You will also need discernment, empowerment, and courage.

As you become more sensitive, you may feel other people’s feelings, hear angelic beings and guides, hear or know the thoughts of others, see beings of light and dark, and maybe even see the future of your life and of others’. These experiences may be both comforting and frightening.

You might also experience a conflicting sense of connection and deep loneliness. Old relationships could fall away. You could even find yourself living in a new place, driving a new car, wearing new clothes, and maybe even taking a new name.

Less than six months after my enlightenment experience, I had experienced all the above, and more. My entire life had changed in the blink of an eye. I had to let go of the old and move into the new. I slowly discovered the tools to help me navigate the unknown waters with ease and eventually with grace. I was my very own guinea pig, and my life was the lab. I learned how to discern the difference between my thoughts and feelings and the thoughts and feelings of others. I learned how to hold appropriate boundaries, meet my needs internally, and take responsibility for my inner and outer reality. I met my beloved partner, found a beautiful home, and created a bountiful livelihood.

I am not saying it was easy. I fell down a lot, had my heart broken a few times, spent way more money than I had in my bank account, moved seven times, got sick, got healthy, lost friends, and made new ones. My learning curve was steep and involved many tears, laughs, and thinking I was insane for brief moments of time. Fortunately, I had guidance through the entire process of integrating a higher consciousness.

Through trial and error, and with the help of my angelic guides (beings of love and light who exist in a higher dimension), I have developed seven concepts that have proved useful to my clients, my students, and myself. When understood, practiced, and mastered, these concepts can help you create the life you yearn for, one of abundance, balance, connection, and empowerment. When you take the conscious, slow, gentle path, you will save time, money, relationships, and your general sanity.

After fourteen years of practice and teaching, I have distilled these concepts into what I call the Cups of Consciousness. The seven cups are simple statements of truth:

• First Cup: You Live in a Multidimensional Reality.
• Second Cup: You Are Never Alone.
• Third Cup: You Can Change Your Inner World.
• Fourth Cup: Your Challenges Can Help You Grow.
• Fifth Cup: Your Body Is a Nature Spirit.
• Sixth Cup: Your Soul Has Wisdom and Inner Gifts.
• Seventh Cup: You Are Perfect.

Combining these concepts can help you form a big picture of reality that can dramatically transform your life. If you sip from just one of these cups, however, it can help you find greater peace and empowerment.

If some of the cups do not resonate with you, put them aside. You can always come back to them — or not. Your life will change positively whether you master just one or all seven of the cups.

# # #

Aleya Dao is the author of Seven Cups of Consciousness. She opened the first alternative health-care clinic in Telluride, CO, and has built an international healing practice with her online subscribers and students. Visit her online at http://www.aleyadao.com/

Excerpted from the book Seven Cups of Consciousness ©2015 by Aleya Dao. Printed with permission of New World Library. http://www.newworldlibrary.com