Daniel Reid > Quotes

“Food has become a cause of disease rather than a guardian of health in the modern world. Once regarded as the central pillar of life and the most effective of all medicines, food is now a major contributing factor in cancer, heart disease, arthritis , mental illness, and many other pathological conditions. Virtually monopolized by agricultural and industrial cartels, public food supplies, are processed and packaged to produce profits and prolong shelf life, not to promote health and prolong human life. It seems incredible that public health authorities permit the unrestricted use of hydrogenated vegetable oils, refined sugar, chemical preservatives, toxic pesticides, and over 5,000 other artificial food additives that have repeatedly been proven to cause cancer, impair immunity, and otherwise erode human health, while restricting the medical use of nutrients, herbs, acupuncture, fasting, and other traditional therapies that have been shown to prevent and cure the very diseases caused by chemical contaminants in food and water.”
― Daniel P. Reid, The Complete Book of Chinese Health and Healing: Guarding the Three Treasures

“Many of the Chinese medical texts dating back from 2,000 years ago lament the ills of 'modern times' and allude to the traditional 'good old days' another 3,000 years before that. A common theme in these texts is the decline in human health due to careless lifestyles and the deterioration in human relations due to lack of love: degenerative conditions that Taoist alchemy as well as psychoneuroimmunology would link as symptoms of the same syndrome.

In his essay entitled 'Loving People' Chang San-feng, the thirteenth-century master, summed it up by saying: 'Therefore to those who want to know the way to deal with the world, I suggest, Love People.' This is a potent description for health and longevity that generates positive healing energy throughout the human system by stimulating the internal alchemy of psychoneuroimmunology.”
― Daniel Reid

“Spiritual masters claim that the insights obtained from the 'original mind' in deep meditation cannot be conveyed in terms of rational thought and language, which are products of an entirely different, much narrower mode of consciousness. Only through persistent personal practice may one come to experience the awareness of 'original mind' and tap the vast trove of primordial wisdom and spiritual insight it holds.”
― Daniel Reid

“Cow's milk has four times the protein and only half the carbohydrate content of human milk; pasteurization destroys the natural enzyme in cow's milk required to digest its heavy protein content. This excess milk protein therefore putrefies in the human digestive tract, clogging the intestines with sticky sludge, some of which seeps into the bloodstream. As this putrid sludge accumulates from daily consumption of dairy products, the body forces some of it out through the skin (acne, blemishes) and lungs (catarrh), while the rest of it festers inside, forms mucous that breeds infections, causes allergic reactions, and stiffens joints with calcium deposits. Many cases of chronic asthma, allergies, ear infections, and acne have been totally cured simply by eliminating all dairy products from the diet.”
― Daniel Reid

“The essential Taoist approach to life is captured in the phrase ching-jing wu-wei, literally, “sitting still doing nothing.” Doing nothing doesn’t mean sitting around all day like a bump on a log, but rather doing only those things that really need to be done and doing them in a way that does not run counter to the natural order of Tao and the patterned flow of cosmic forces. It means engaging only in spontaneous, unpremeditated activity, doing things purely for their own sake rather than for ulterior motives, and living in harmony with rather than trying to conquer nature.”
― Daniel P. Reid, The Tao Of Health, Sex, and Longevity: A Modern Practical Guide to the Ancient Way

“When the mind is clear and calm, the images it reflects are real and the knowledge it gathers is true. When the mind is agitated and confused, it's like throwing a stone into a still pond, or holding a camera with a shaky hand: the images it reflects are distorted and do not accord with reality.”
― Daniel P. Reid, The Complete Book of Chinese Health and Healing: Guarding the Three Treasures

“In a chapter of the Internal Medicine Classic entitled 'The Oldest Truth', it is written: 'When one empties the mind and frees it of all desires, the genuine energy arises. If one maintains an undisturbed spirit within, no disease will occur.”
― Daniel Reid

“Fusing Fire and Water This is a moving exercise in which the hands help raise and lower chee between the Sea of Energy (water) and the heart (fire). Posture: Horse stance, or sitting Technique: Exhale thoroughly and bring your hands together just below the navel, with palms up and fingertips about an inch apart. Begin inhaling slowly through the nose and slowly raise your upturned hands the torso until they reach the nipples. Time it so that inhalation is complete and hands reach the heart about the same time. Apply the Three Locks and retain the breath 3 to 5 seconds, then turn the palms over to face downward and slowly push them back down the torso as you exhale slowly through the nose, timing it so that hands reach bottom as lungs empty. Pause briefly, relax abdomen, then turn the palms back up and begin another cycle. Repeat 6 to 10 breaths. Pointers: Breathe and move hands in unison. Keep shoulders, arms, and neck muscles loose and relaxed, and “sink” the breath down as deeply as possible during retention. Benefits: This exercise moves energy up and down between the “fire” of heart and the “water” of the navel region, thus blending and balancing these two types of energy. It regulates and deepens heartbeat and develops awareness of the Sea of Energy as the body’s chee headquarters.”
― Daniel P. Reid, The Tao Of Health, Sex, and Longevity: A Modern Practical Guide to the Ancient Way

“Flexibility, spontaneity, and complete freedom of thought and action are the only ways to respond successfully to the constant flux of nature and thus live in accord with the Tao.”
― Daniel P. Reid, The Complete Book of Chinese Health and Healing: Guarding the Three Treasures

“Food enzymes are another important dietary element for cultivating vitality. The richer the enzyme content of food (such as raw and fermented foods), the less enzyme power the body must divert for digestive duty, resulting in an overall enhancement of vitality. Eliminating 'enzyme robbers' such as refined sugar and starch, hydrogenated vegetable oils, processed foods, and overcooked meats also boost vitality.”
― Daniel Reid

“The herbs he recommended most highly for promoting health and prolonging life were ginseng, gotu kola, Polygonum multiflorum, and garlic.”
― Daniel P. Reid, The Complete Book of Chinese Health and Healing: Guarding the Three Treasures

“In true, Taoist parlance, 'immortality' refers to a spiritual state, not a condition of physical permanence. In his books on the teachings of Don Juan, Carlos Casteneda refers to the primordial source of creation as the nagual, the vast ocean of emptiness in which material worlds take form and dissolve like drops of dew. Nagual refers to everything that cannot be expressed in words, which brings to mind the second line of the Tao Teh Ching: 'The name which can be named is not the real Name.' Don Juan's teachings are remarkably similar to Taoist alchemy, and they both cite our innate awareness as the only bridge between the awesome emptiness and power of the nagual and its material manifestation in the temporal world.”
― Daniel Reid

“En la Unión Soviética, empero, es parte del procedimiento habitual en todos los hospitales y clínicas el administrar una limpieza colónica a fondo a todos los pacientes que ingresan, sea cual sea su enfermedad.”
― Daniel Reid, El tao de la salud, el sexo y la larga vida

“La putrefacción y la fermentación son las causas principales de todo tipo de problemas digestivos, como gases, ardor, hinchazón, estreñimiento, heces fétidas, hemorroides sangrantes, colitis y demás. Muchas de las llamadas «alergias» son también consecuencia directa de la mala combinación de los alimentos: la corriente sanguínea absorbe toxinas de la masa fermentada y putrefacta que llena los intestinos, y estas toxinas a su vez provocan erupciones, urticaria, dolores de cabeza, náuseas y otros de los síntomas que habitualmente se catalogan como «alergias».”
― Daniel Reid, El tao de la salud, el sexo y la larga vida

“Hipócrates, el padre de la medicina occidental, compartía el mismo parecer cuando advirtió a sus estudiantes, «que vuestro alimento sea vuestra medicina»,”
― Daniel Reid, El tao de la salud, el sexo y la larga vida

“Today, Americans spend billions of dollars every year to maintain a strong national defence as a deterrent against external attack by foreign powers, but they fail entirely to apply the same principle of preventive defence to their own health. They eat, drink, and live indiscriminately and treat their bodies as engines of pleasure, without the slightest regard for the damage their habits inflict on their health. When they get sick, they run to the doctor or hospital for a quick fix and never imagine that their ailments are self-inflicted. Those ailments are then further compounded at the clinic, because more often than not they are not correctly diagnosed owing to the lack of a comprehensive and systematic view of the human body and human health. Western medical practice has become increasingly fragmented into narrow fields of specialty, and patients are referred to 'specialists' based entirely on what parts of the body exhibit their symptoms. It does not occur to Western medical specialists that symptoms may appear in parts of the body far removed from the root cause of the disease, although this remains a fundamental tenet of traditional Chinese medicine.”
― Daniel Reid

“En la medicina china, estos circuitos se denominan «meridianos» y forman una red de canales invisibles que transportan qi a todos los tejidos del cuerpo.”
― Daniel Reid, El tao de la salud, el sexo y la larga vida

“As for osteoporosis, it is caused not so much by calcium deficiency in the diet as it is by dietary factors which leach calcium from bones and teeth, especially sugar. Sugar, meat, refined starch, and alcohol all cause a constant state of acidosis in the bloodstream, and acid blood is known to dissolve calcium from bones. The best way to correct osteoporosis is to consume the non-dairy calcium-rich foods mentioned above, while simultaneously cutting down or eliminating acidifying calcium robbers from the diet. A daily supplement of 3 mg of the mineral boron also seems to help bones assimilate and retain calcium.”
― Daniel Reid

“Los maestros taoístas engloban a los ojos, oídos, nariz, lengua y cuerpo bajo la denominación de los «Cinco Ladrones» de la respiración y la meditación, pues literalmente le «roban» a uno la atención mental necesaria para controlar el aliento y la energía.”
― Daniel Reid, El tao de la salud, el sexo y la larga vida

“Tres Tesoros como la «Trinidad taoísta».”
― Daniel Reid, El tao de la salud, el sexo y la larga vida

“En la tradición taoísta no hay lugar para el machismo, ya sea práctico o filosófico. El hombre que comprende claramente la naturaleza de la superioridad sexual de la mujer, ya ha dado el primer paso hacia la utilización de ese poder superior”
― Daniel Reid, El tao de la salud, el sexo y la larga vida

“A large dose of niacin is one of the most rapid and reliable ways to pull a person out of a bad trip on psychedelic drugs.”
― Daniel P. Reid, The Complete Book of Chinese Health and Healing: Guarding the Three Treasures

“El camino que puede expresarse con palabras no es el verdadero Camino. El nombre que puede ser nombrado no es el verdadero Nombre.”
― Daniel Reid, El tao de la salud, el sexo y la larga vida

“Hierba del Chivo Rijoso.”
― Daniel Reid, El tao de la salud, el sexo y la larga vida

“Cuando se alimenta a dos grupos de ratas con dietas compuestas respectivamente de alimentos crudos y alimentos cocidos, el grupo alimentado en crudo alcanza una longevidad media de tres años, mientras que el grupo que consume alimentos cocidos rara vez supera los dos años de edad.”
― Daniel Reid, El tao de la salud, el sexo y la larga vida

“Veinte minutos de respiración diafragmática profunda antes de acostarse reducen aproximadamente en una hora el tiempo necesario para un completo descanso.”
― Daniel Reid, El tao de la salud, el sexo y la larga vida

“Fasting is by far the most effective method for purifying the blood, organs, and all bodily tissues, and in this age of pervasive pollution it is more important than ever in warding off premature degeneration of the body due to toxicity. In laboratory tests on rats and other animals, periodic fasting has proven to extend average life spans by up to 50 per cent.”
― Daniel P. Reid, The Complete Book of Chinese Health and Healing: Guarding the Three Treasures

“Los taoístas también procuran ingerir alimentos que presenten una afinidad natural con sus órganos más débiles y con los correspondientes sistemas de energía. Los regímenes taoístas tratan de fortalecer los cuatro principales aparatos del organismo: el digestivo, el excretor, el respiratorio y el circulatorio. Cuando estos cuatro sistemas funcionales están correctamente alimentados, armonizados y sanos, la salud y la vitalidad de todo el organismo están garantizadas. Uno de los principales objetivos de las dietas taoístas es el de aumentar la potencia sexual mediante la estimulación de las glándulas sexuales y el fortalecimiento de los órganos sexuales. El fin último no es el de incrementar el placer sexual —aunque ello represente un indudable beneficio adicional— sino más bien el de aumentar las reservas de hormonas, semen y otras formas de «esencia vital» necesarias para optimizar la vitalidad y la resistencia a las enfermedades. La esencia sexual constituye nuestra mayor fuente interna de qi, y la potencia sexual es un importante indicador de una buena salud. Puesto que la carne suele entrar en gran cantidad en las dietas occidentales, no estarán de más unas cuantas indicaciones taoístas respecto al consumo de la misma. El gran médico Sun Ssu-mo, de la época Tang, y otros dietistas taoístas han advertido siempre contra los efectos nocivos que a la larga conlleva el comer grandes cantidades de carne de animales domésticos, como el buey y el cerdo. La única carne doméstica que consideraban saludable e inofensiva para el organismo humano era la de perro, y eso únicamente por su poderoso efecto calorífico durante el intenso frío de mediados del invierno. El motivo de que los animales domésticos sean tan poco recomendables para el consumo humano radica en que sus propias dietas se componen principalmente de sobras de cocina, basura y paja seca. En la actualidad, la situación es aún peor, debido a todas las hormonas sintéticas, antibióticos y demás drogas que se añaden rutinariamente al pienso del ganado. Los taoístas han recomendado siempre la caza silvestre como el tipo de carne más beneficioso para el consumo humano. El venado es especialmente bueno, sobre todo porque los ciervos se alimentan de toda clase de hojas, bayas, cortezas, nueces silvestres y otros vegetales que entran en la farmacopea china por sus propiedades curativas.”
― Daniel Reid, El tao de la salud, el sexo y la larga vida

“The body concentrates vitamin C around brain and nerve cells specifically to protect them from oxidation and free-radical damage, because vitamin C is one of nature's most powerful antioxidants.”
― Daniel P. Reid, The Complete Book of Chinese Health and Healing: Guarding the Three Treasures

“What this means is that the highest goal of spiritual immortality can only be reached through the living vehicle of the human body and its powerful vitality. But once the adept has arrived at this goal, he may only realize the ultimate truth by abandoning the body for his spiritual 'flight into space'. A good analogy here is a chicken embryo growing inside its eggshell. If the shell breaks before incubation is complete, there is no life; similarly, if an adept's body 'breaks' and dies before he has completed 'incubation' of his spirit-body, he loses his chance of spiritual immortality after death. When the inner embryo in a chicken egg is fully developed, however, it must crack open the shell and discard it in order to live. Similarly, once the adept has fully developed his spirit-body, he must abandon the flesh sooner or later in order to let his spirit roam freely in the cosmos. This exit occurs through an actual crack that develops in the suture on the crown of the skull in such adepts. Only newborn babies and the most advanced adepts have such loose sutures in their skulls. p393”
― Daniel Reid, The Tao of Health, Sex, and Longevity: A Modern Practical Guide to the Ancient Way