Question:

    My friend recently returned from a 6 month sabbatical in East Germany, where she researched various archives of Nazi wartime documents which had been unavailable to Western scholars under the Communist regime. Among the tons of archives which she reviewed, she found a Nazi running/athletics magazine, circa 1942. I’m told that it translates loosely into "Reich Runner’s World" or "Reich Athelete’s World", depending on the translation. I won’t even attempt to reprint the title as I am hopeless in the language area. This is a summary of the contents. COVER Red and Black border. A full-cover photograph of  three smiling, attractive blond "jungfraus" in track outfits with the swastika logo on the front. Each is holding a leather water bottle in the shape of a wine flask with a screw-on metal top. One is holding it to her lips in a somewhat posed manner. The headline underneath says: "Our Annual Water Taste Competition". Line underneath says: "Reich water is still the sweetest and purest". ADVERTISEMENTS    The magazine apparently derived most of it’s income from advertisers, which were primarily running shoe companies. One company had full page ads based on the theme "Be Decisive!". It showed an athelete at the point of exhaustion, as he contemplates yet another hill. In another ad, the same athelete is shown in combat, facing hordes of attacking ape-like Russians, unsure as to where to aim his rifle. Interestingly, tobacco ads were prominent, often with the theme of athletes relaxing with a cigarette after a hard training session. One full page ad showed a coach pulling on his pipe while a group of wholesome male and female athletes encircle him, cigarettes in hand. The slogan: "Well Done! Now it’s Time to Relax…". EDITORIAL PAGE The editorial page contained items to be expected in Nazi Germany: exortations to work and fight harder, to support the Fuhrer, etc. The major piece was a polite but clearly emotional diatribe against Japanese runners (keep in mind that Japan was Germany’s ally). The editorial complained that Japanese runners were monopolizing the finish line because their small stature gave them an unfair advantage over the larger German runners. It implied that the Japanese runners had a genetic advantage, but the piece sniffed that "being a faster runner doesn’t carry over into superiority in more important areas…" The piece suggested that Japanese runners be restricted as to how many can run in a given race, and recommended that Germans who win receive larger cash awards. TABLE OF CONTENTS Each article is listed in the Table of Contents in a manner familiar to readers of most magazines. The title of the article is followed underneath by a short teaser which gives the reader an idea of its focus, apparently to induce browsers to purchase the magazine.   Ten Great Runs in Occupied Russia You’ll have your fill of wide-open spaces in these runs. The local population is enthusiastic about our presence, but tuck a 9mm Luger in your waistband just in case. The Miracle of Reich  Sports Apparel Production Using Aryan discipline, long hours and low pay for foreign workers from occupied zones, the Reich athletic shoe and apparel industry is the envy of  Western industrialists.   Five Ways to Spot  Racial Impurity Don’t be fooled by blond hair; the athlete running next to you may not be as pure as he appears. And what if he actually beats you? Avoid embarrasment with these simple tips which anyone can use. Use Ancient Yoga from India  to Manage Stress Unable to meet Party volunteer work goals? Concerned about your upcoming appearance before the Racial Purity Commission? Relax. These yoga exercises from far-away India will help you to loosen up and be at your best. A day in the Life of a Sports Doctor Think it’s easy being a medical experimenter? Come with us as we accompany Dr. Josef  Mengele on his twelve hour work days preparing to carry out research on bone fractures. EDITORIAL POLICY     The archives also included internal correspondence of the magazine’s publishers. A directive from the publisher warned the editors to keep the material simple, avoid overly technical articles, and avoid offending advertisers. "Keep them entertained" it admonished. "The average runner" it continued, "is not particularly intelligent, and will buy any magazine put in front of him." Another directive, from the magazines medical director, warned the runners on the staff never to exceed twenty miles a week. "There is overwhelming evidence that excessive running destroys brain cells", it explained.

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"My friend recently returned …"

"I’m told that it translates loosely into …" "I won’t even attempt to reprint the title as I am hopeless in the language area…" I guess that says it aol. —

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"Reich Runner’s World" or "Reich Athelete’s World" Ten Great Runs in Occupied Russia You’ll have your fill of wide-open spaces in these runs.

CometX has taken, I believe, some liberties in the way the magazine is described. I saw a presentation of this material at a symposium in Berlin on Nazi archives in late August, and my recollection is that it was not as simple as he presents it. The title "Ten Great Runs in Occupied Russia" was in fact, as I  recall "Ten important things to remember when running in the Russian territories". It then showed various military Kommando units in the course of their runs – carrying not only Lugers but submachine guns as well. The part about Yoga is accurate. It may sound strange, but remember that these magazines were generally limited to Party loyalists, and some of the off color material was intended as an expression of German humor (yuck…). Also bear in mind that the Germans have always been fascinated by Indian culture. The factory article is again somewhat simplified. It actually stated "the athletic apparel factories are an example of how production quotas are met by intelligent use of foreigners, Germanic discipline, wage inflationary controls, etc. etc. etc. My understanding is that a number of scholarly institutes in East Germany have collections of similar material, but of a much more controversial nature. Regards P. Bendorius  PHD, LS/MFT

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Right.  Now pull the other one. Owen McCall

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Question:

to awaken kundalini many people can but to hold the energy only a few that`s why you need a guru om shanti sivadas

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   Hello. I am going to India from January 97 to July 97 with the intention to start learning kundalini yoga. Has anyone got any ideas about places when one can go for this. Thank you very much for ANY sugestion you might have,                            Tomas Maul — Name: Tomas Maul

Do you know what you’re doing. Have you been on a vegan diet for at least a year. If you have lots of toxins in your body you’ll probably die of kidney failure. Why? Because the kundalini will burn and purify everything out of the body. Maybe you are pure. I don’t know, but the kundalini can be a most dangerous energy. GOOD LUCK!!! Jim Birke

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Snipped Section< My two cents: You have been probably very lucky so far!!! Kundalini yoga can be dangerous for those who practice it without guidance from an ethical, qualified and practicing guru who can provide personal guidance, instruction and counseling. It is not something to be trifled with nor to be pursued without preparation which would have to include diet and lifestyle changes. Kidney failure may or may not happen but lot worse things can happen! Cheers Mukti

Dear Mukti, Would you tell me please, what experience you base your opinion on? Also, exactly in what way would it be dangerous for an un-guided person?   I have read many case studies on people who have gone through kundalini awakening, and not one of those people had a teacher or guru.  Yes, some of them had great physical difficulties (the most notable one being Gopi Krishna), but the thing that really seemed to be threatened in all those cases was the ego, not the physical existence.   An ego death, you might say.   If you, personally, have known of someone who seriously damaged themselves by awakening kundalini unprepared, I would like to know about it.  Really I would! I think there is way too much hearsay and fear-mongering about it.  I have yet  to hear of a case where someone actually DID injure themselves, because I haven’t run across one yet! Following this to its logical conclusion,  if it either is true or it isn’t true that one needs a guide,  and there are people who have successfully gone through a kundalini awakening without a teacher or guru, then that falsifies your conclusion. Responses are heartily encouraged. Tracy

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write: Path:

newsfeed.gte.net!news.sprintlink.net!news-fw-12.sprintlink.net!arclight.uor egon edu!news-peer.gsl.net!news.gsl.net!portc01.blue.aol.com!audrey01.news.aol.c om! not-for-mail Dying of kidney failure? Definitely not! That is the sort of distorted info about kundalini yoga that should not be tolerated. As a kunalini yoga teacher and practitioner, the process as I have experienced it so far consists of a gradual, peaceful, in control awakening of the inner and outer spectrums of your spirit, your lifestyle, your awareness. You will receive and experience what you, your place on the journey of awareness, your body, etc. are ready for, no more, no less. Kunalini yoga is not dangerous, is very effective and powerful, and is within your conscious control at all times. I follow the teachings of Yogi Bhajan which are extremely practical, straight forward, and experiential. SAT NAM

My two cents: You have been probably very lucky so far!!! Kundalini yoga can be dangerous for those who practice it without guidance from an ethical, qualified and practicing guru who can provide personal guidance, instruction and counseling. It is not something to be trifled with nor to be pursued without preparation which would have to include diet and lifestyle changes. Kidney failure may or may not happen but lot worse things can happen! Cheers Mukti

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Do you know what you’re doing. Have you been on a vegan diet for at least a year. If you have lots of toxins in your body you’ll probably die of kidney failure. Why? Because the kundalini will burn and purify everything out of the body. Maybe you are pure. I don’t know, but the kundalini can be a most dangerous energy. GOOD LUCK!!! Jim Birke

Jim: I’ve only been studying kundalini yoga for a short time, but have received shaktipat from Anandi Ma and study and practice under her guidance (and the guidance of Shri Dhyanyogi).  I am not on a vegan diet, nor am I on a fully sattvic diet, and my kidneys are fine. The guidance of a guru is the most important aspect of kundalini yoga, as a guru can help to control the energy.  Kundalini isn’t the sort of thing you want to awaken without guidance, but it won’t kill you if you’ve got a good guru. Cary Steiner

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Dying of kidney failure? Definitely not! That is the sort of distorted info about kundalini yoga that should not be tolerated. As a kunalini yoga teacher and practitioner, the process as I have experienced it so far consists of a gradual, peaceful, in control awakening of the inner and outer spectrums of your spirit, your lifestyle, your awareness. You will receive and experience what you, your place on the journey of awareness, your body, etc. are ready for, no more, no less. Kunalini yoga is not dangerous, is very effective and powerful, and is within your conscious control at all times. I follow the teachings of Yogi Bhajan which are extremely practical, straight forward, and experiential. SAT NAM

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Yes, Grant road and Forest road in Bombay have excellent locations for Kundalini Yoga instruction. I understand that their rates are reasonable (especially in foreign exchange) as well. -akhilesh – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text –    Hello. I am going to India from January 97 to July 97 with the intention to start learning kundalini yoga. Has anyone got any ideas about places when one can go for this. Thank you very much for ANY sugestion you might have,                            Tomas Maul — Name: Tomas Maul

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Sorry I can’t tell you where to learn "Kundalini" YOGA in India though I have studied other forms of Hatha but that statement about the absolutely neccesary is nonsense, but it does help. CXH

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Write the people of the 3HO Foundation at 1620 Preuss Rd, L.A., CA 90035 for a listing of Kundalini Yoga Teachers and contacts in India and the rest of the world. Dig around their webpages at http://www.sikhnet.com/ Most sane teachings on Kundalini Yoga I’ve ever encountered. Blessings Kirpal

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        Hello. I am going to India from January 97 to July 97 with the intention to start learning kundalini yoga. Has anyone got any ideas about places when one can go for this. Thank you very much for ANY sugestion you might have,                                 Tomas Maul — Name: Tomas Maul

Tom, Go to Rishikesh, Uttar Pradesh for learning any yoga.  This is the place where everybody goes for Yoga training, as it has the best ashrams, gurus, and reputation for YOGA.  Also, this place has much cleaner environment than any metropolitan city in India (e.g.,Bombay, Delhi, etc.) Sincerely, Deepak Nautiyal

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Perhaps the best thing is to find places that offer Kundalini in your home country, and have them refer you to their home base in India…. Raja

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        Hello. I am going to India from January 97 to July 97 with the intention to start learning kundalini yoga. Has anyone got any ideas about places when one can go for this. Thank you very much for ANY sugestion you might have,                                 Tomas Maul — Name: Tomas Maul

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Question:

A friend of mine who almost went mad and nearly perished during his sleep as a result of meditation, later told with me with deep bitterness that two meditation schools he sought instructions from have failed to guide him properly. He had since gave up meditaiton.

I don’t buy it.  I am not impressed in the least by accounts of people going mad because they didn’t get guidance from some wise person.  Do you really think people are at risk of losing their minds if they don’t send you email and learn the "real" way to meditate?  Is sitting on a cushion not thinking so complicated that it requires classes and gurus? I think not.  This sounds like hocus pocus to me.  Your evidence is unscientific in the extreme.  Have you considered that these "deep-end" cases could have been loopy TO BEGIN WITH?  It’s the old Dungeons and Dragons argument:  He was really into D&D and he killed himself.  Must have been the D&D.  If only we had GUIDED him… I don’t mean to be adversarial.  I just think we are in danger of trumping up the power of a simple act because it makes us feel more adventuresome. –caden

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Don’t post this stuff to alt.folklore.herbs and BTW Buddha is not a god, just a wise person. type: ~Meditation is not scientic, and attempts to quantify or ~  define it seldom lead to much success. ~   ~    There are more roads to where you want to go than you think. ~ ~    Experimentation is not a bad thing. ~ ~    Adherence to any particular religion or philosophy is ~    coincidental to meditation, you need not be pure of heart, ~    body, or mind. You can deal with that later, if you wish. ~ ~    Your god Bubbha isn’t really that rigid, I would suspect. ~ ~ ~                                                 – Joe in Nova Scotia Gypsy Jayne England . . . at least the wheels go round . . .

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So am I saying that meditation is of no value? On the contrary, it is precisely because meditation is a very powerful method of quickening the human evolution, that a more complete knowledge is needed — something which  is unfortunately lacking even in highly esteemed traditional meditation treatises.

Dear Ken, Do you feel that most people should avoid getting into meditation until more studies are done on it or until more knowledge is obtained? Do you feel that some schools may have the complete knowledge? Thanks, Larry

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Today I hope to be of service to and share my views with other practitioners of meditation through postings in these newsgroups and via e-mail replies. Best wishes! Ken

               The Rolling Green Hills         How much our sense of the immediate, the

Question:

        I just attended a lecture by Efram Korngold, a San Francisco Doctor of Oriental Medicine at our community college adult ed program called New Approaches to Health.  He was asked for the Chinese Medicine view of Menopause.         He stated Chinese medicine did not view menopause as deficiency of anything. One has life force essence called "Chi" which at different times is manifested in different hormones. During the reproductive years chi is manifested in estrogens and progesterones. However, chi still continues after menopause and manifests itself in other ways. Menopause is no different than any other life transition. There is a period of readjustment as the body and mind makes major shifts in function.         There is no distinction between mind and body in Chinese medicine, it is one and the same. Where Western medicine sees the body as a machine, Chinese medicine sees it as a garden made up of earthly forces to cultivate rather than parts to fix and repair.         Menopause is viewed as positive transition and as a shedding of old skin for a new life. The life now has new possibilities now that the old biological phase of reproduction has ceased and life can now move on to more spiritual issues and explorations, not chained down by the biological demands of child rearing. (Real conflict for mid-life women still raising children, huh?)         Chinese medicine sees osteoporosis as part of arthritis and is treated by the same remedies. It is not treated as a menopause specific symptom. The cure for osteoporosis is to have built up sufficient bone by age 35 through diet and exercise.  Bones gradually diminish with age and the best prevention is to have enough to withstand the eventual, gradual loss without incident.         Chi, the life force, is the main thing to be enhanced (for which he recommends Dong Quai) as one is born with a set amount and it gets diminished by doing destructive things to both mind and body. One must tend to their chi carefully and not abuse it, aiding it through diet, healthy habits and spiritual discipline. One can not add greatly to it later in life to make up for poor foundations and destructive habits established earlier. ______________The Chinese View of Menopause and Mid-life. (Korngold) Joan

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- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -joan…@rain.org (Joan Livingston) wrote:

   I just attended a lecture by Efram Korngold, a San Francisco Doctor of Oriental Medicine is manifested in estrogens and progesterones. However, chi still continues    Chi, the life force, is the main thing to be enhanced (for which he recommends Dong Quai) as one is born with a set amount and it gets diminished by doing destructive things to both mind and body. One must tend to their chi carefully and not abuse it, aiding it through diet, healthy habits and spiritual discipline. One can not add greatly to it later in life to make up for poor foundations and destructive habits established earlier. ______________The Chinese View of Menopause and Mid-life. (Korngold) Joan

Joan Thanks for sharing this interesting information – there is a lot in it.   I have been using Dong Quai for hot flashes – it has helped. Take care B.J.

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In article <545cp4$…@dns2.inter.net.il

, Jablonka <j…@inter.net.il wrote: joan…@rain.org (Joan Livingston) wrote: ….       Chi, the life force, is the main thing to be enhanced (for which he recommends Dong Quai) as one is born with a set amount and it gets diminished by doing destructive things to both mind and body. ….

Tai Chi works with the chi, as does Aikido (from Japan), yoga (from India), and probably various western disciplines (albeit esoteric ones). I am a great believer in the energy. But I don’t believe that only certain physical things interact with it. I think everything does. I also don’t think we are born with only a specific amount of life force, which we expend. Among other things, if that were true, then older people should have much less Chi. But I attended a "healing circle" of older women once, and the power there was awesome. Cathe             (Browman)

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From:    joan…@rain.org (Joan Livingston)

        I just attended a lecture by Efram Korngold, a San Francisco Doctor of Oriental Medicine at our community college adult ed program called New Approaches to Health.  He was asked for the Chinese Medicine view of Menopause.

snip  Where Western medicine sees the body as a machine,

Chinese medicine sees it as a garden made up of earthly forces to cultivate rather than parts to fix and repair.

snip

        Chi, the life force, is the main thing to be enhanced (for which he recommends Dong Quai) as one is born with a set amount and it gets diminished by doing destructive things to both mind and body. One must tend to their chi carefully and not abuse it, aiding it through diet, healthy habits and spiritual discipline. One can not add greatly to it later in life to make up for poor foundations and destructive habits established earlier.

Wahhh!  Now I find out!  Still, nice new stuff to think about. dn – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -

______________The Chinese View of Menopause and Mid-life. (Korngold) Joan

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Very interesting, Cathe – you’re making me realize how little I know about Chi – I always figured it was "life force" or something like that.  Now I see I really don’t know at all. Thanks – the part about the women’s circle is really interesting.   dn – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -

From:  fake_addr…@nowhere.edu (Catherine Browman) In article <545cp4$…@dns2.inter.net.il, Jablonka <j…@inter.net.il wrote: joan…@rain.org (Joan Livingston) wrote: ….       Chi, the life force, is the main thing to be enhanced (for which he recommends Dong Quai) as one is born with a set amount and it gets diminished by doing destructive things to both mind and body. …. Tai Chi works with the chi, as does Aikido (from Japan), yoga (from India), and probably various western disciplines (albeit esoteric ones). I am a great believer in the energy. But I don’t believe that only certain physical things interact with it. I think everything does. I also don’t think we are born with only a specific amount of life force, which we expend. Among other things, if that were true, then older people should have much less Chi. But I attended a "healing circle" of older women once, and the power there was awesome. Cathe             (Browman)

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Joan, Thanks for your interesting information.  Its good to see articles supporting menopause as a natural rite of passage.  I am so concerned when I hear of women placed on HRT because their hormone levels are down and no other reason.  I feel strongly that HRT is for those coping with difficult symptoms and the use should be reviewed regularly and not automatically considered for life. Amanda

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Question:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – : There is a very long history of cannibis use as an adjunct to the pract : of yoga in India.  Many, many enlightened men and women have used it in dia. : :    I wonder where from you derived this fairy tale. Though many people i : the streets of India use cannabis, most Indian spiritual seekers shun it : completely. Swamis and Zen monks are not allowed to consume even tobacco : and coffee, let alone drugs. Or may be you have you own definition of : enlightenment. Anyhow, there weren’t that many enlightened people in the : whole known human history. : And there are no spiritual seekers on the streets of India?  You class spi ual : seekers as different from street dwellers?  Just because a practice is not : accepted in polite society doesn’t exclude it from being effective.  For e ple, : the Bauls of Bengal are spiritual seekers who regularly use marijuana as a : adjunct to their devotional rituals to Kali or Krishna.  Ramakrishna’s adv a : guru Toti Puri used marijuana, as many, many street dwelling sadhus do.  S a : is depicted many times using marijuana in the Puranas and devotional poems India. : It is the custom of some Swamis to use marijuana during the festival Shiva ri.

When I was in India, I travelled to a place called Hampi, where dozens of very ancient and midieval temples still stand, many cut into living rock. There was one faraway temple to Parvathi, where we heard about these sadhus whose worship to Shiva consisted primarily in smoking charis (hash) and ganga (weed). So we went, taking along as "offering" a few "tolers" of charis (gummy rolls about the size of a little finger).  Long, long walk through some amazing and practically hallucingenic scenes of mountains, hermit caves, monkeys, rivers with coracle-ferries, sleepy villages way beyond range of motor vehicles and electricity, everybody pointing the way to this temple, which we were beginning to feel was mythic. It wasn’t.  We found it finally at dusk.  Old dudes with long white beards, younger dudes with black matted hair, all with the typical Shiva topnot. They took us around and gave us some pretty risky water (it was considered prasad so we had to drink it).  Nice fellows.  Big happy grins when we broke out the tolers of charis. Out to a peeple tree.  A circle of sadhus under it.  One produced this far-out ancient chillum, seven snakes with a bowl in each head.  Loaded almost a whole toler, fired it up, big hit, exhale with the words BOOM SHIVA! I never saw any dopehead who could match those guys.  They smoked toler after toler.  Maybe they were enlightened, but my intuition told me they were stuck in a very low-order trip.  But the whole scene was such a hoot that I didn’t really care. Don’t know if this story adds anything informative to the discussion.  Just thought I’d venture a personal experience.  In India, if you do ANYTHING intensely enough, some people will take you for a spiritual person. Smoke dope like a dragon, get buried, live on top of a flagpole, stare at the sun, walk around naked covered in dung — you name it.  Do it here, you’re headed for the hospital.  Do it there, people will follow you around, give you food, and call you Baba. Stay tuned, Clark

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clark writes: I never saw any dopehead who could match those guys.  They smoked toler after toler.  Maybe they were enlightened, but my intuition told me they were stuck in a very low-order trip.  But the whole scene was such a hoot that I didn’t really care.

Sounds like southern Cal in the late 60’s early 70’s. And it too was a ad nausium not as a gate to anything more, but as a cover under which to hide. bird

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