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DAOIST MEDITATION LESSON EIGHT THEORY: GOLDEN FLUID & THE MICRO-COSMIC ORBIT

Posted on April 24, 2013

Contents [hide]

• 1 Saliva: Elixir of Immortality
• 2 Science & Saliva
• 3 Ren and Du & The Micro-Cosmic Orbit
• 4 Important Du Channel Acu-Points
• 5 Important Ren Channel Points Acu-Points
• 6  Circulation of the Micro-Cosmic Orbit
• 7 Waxing and Waning of Yin and Yang in the Micro-cosmic Orbit
• 8 Hormones, Jing, and The Endocrine System
• 9 Notes:
• 10 You might be interested in:

Lesson Eight of Nine Lessons on Daoist Meditation: A Theoretical Discussion of Micro-Cosmic Orbit Meditation.

Saliva: Elixir of Immortality

Saliva is a key element in Daoist meditation and internal alchemy. Swallowing saliva is a part of virtually every Daoist exercise, including many forms of Nei Gong. Hence saliva is referred to by many names in different Daoist texts:
Golden Fluid jin ye 金 液
Golden Elixir jin yi 金 酏
Jade Dew yu lu 玉 露
Jade Fluid yu ye 玉 液
Jade Juice yu zhi 玉 汁
Jade Beverage yu yin 玉 飲
Divine Juice ling zhi 靈 汁
Heavenly Dew tian lu 天 露
As we shall see in this lesson, production of saliva is one sign that the meditation is being performed correctly. When Jing is concentrated in the lower abdomen, transformed into Qi/Breath and moved upward, saliva is secreted and then descends to replenish Jing.
The tongue (known as the “red dragon”) is sometimes used to further stimulate the production of saliva, as is the action of clicking the teeth. Isabelle Robinet tells us that the center of the mouth, where the saliva accumulates, called the “Jade Pool,” is the upper-body equivalent of the lower Dantian where the sexual essence (Jing) accumulates.[1] According to Chinese medicine, saliva is made up of two basic parts. One part is more pure and refined. It is associated with the kidneys and therefore the Jing. This portion moistens and nourishes the teeth, themselves extensions of the kidneys. The other part is associated with the organs of digestion, particularly the stomach. This more turbid, less refined portion is related to digestive juices of the stomach and aids in breaking down food. Proper performance of “Reverse Breathing” and the Micro-Cosmic Orbit, which we cover in this lesson, promotes the production of a sweeter, thicker, more nourishing saliva, associated with the Jing. This “golden fluid” is then swallowed so that it can sink to Dantian.
Saliva flows from two  channels under the tongue. If it is swallowed properly it can enter the Ren Mo (“conception vessel”), which runs down the center of the body to the Dantian, genitals and perineum, thereby returning to the Dantian. If not swallowed properly, it descends to the stomach. The proper method of swallowing the saliva is to have the tip of the tongue touching the upper palate. When the mouth fills with saliva (from correct practice of the micro-cosmic orbit), one must straighten the neck and swallow the saliva. [2]

Science & Saliva

Modern science has discovered that saliva has many important properties. Studies in Japan have shown that saliva contains various enzymes and hormones that help to aid digestion, maintain health and prevent disease. The digestive enzyme Ptyalin begins the process of breaking down carbohydrates. Other substances in saliva detoxify and protect against toxic substances in foods. There is some indication that saliva may even contain substances that fight cancer. Parotin, a hormone found in saliva, has been found to strengthen the activities of the muscles, maintain the blood elasticity of the vessels, maintain the elasticity of the skin and strengthen connective tissue, cartilage, bones and teeth.
Nutritionist Lino Stanchich, tells the amazing story of his father who, during WWII was taken prisoner in Greece and sent to a concentration camp in Germany. It was a work camp. His father was cold and hungry all the time and received only a slice of bread and coffee for breakfast and soup for lunch and dinner. He discovered that by chewing is food and even his water many times, it actually seemed to increase his energy. He shared his discovery with two other prisoners and the three of them all felt warmer and more energized after chewing their food an water as much as 150 times before swallowing it. In the end only these three survived. [3]

Ren and Du & The Micro-Cosmic Orbit

The Ren and Du Vessels run along the midline of the body. The Ren Mo (“conception vessel”) runs along the front midline of the body from the Perineum to the chin and mouth and the Du Mo (“governing vessel”) runs along the back midline of the body from the perineum to top of head and then down through the forehead and nose to the inside of the upper lip and upper palate. Both vessels originate in the kidneys. It is important to remember when looking at the pictures of their pathways, that Du Mo passes through the interior of the spine and Ren Mo passes through the interior of the abdomen.

Important Du Channel Acu-Points

Du 1               Chang Qiang (Wei Lu)       “Long Strong” (“Turtle Tail”)
Du 4               Ming Men                            “Life Gate”              
Du 10             Ling Tai                                “Spirit Tower”
Du 11             Shen Dao                              “Spirit Path”
Du 14             Da Zhui                                “Great Hammer
Du 16             Feng Fu                                “Wind Mansion
Du 17             Nao Hu (Yu Zhen)             “Brain Door“ (“Jade Pillow”)
Du 20             Bai Hui                                  “Hundred Meeting”
Du 24             Shen Ting                             “Spirit Court”
Extra              Yin Tang (Zhu Qiao) [4]    “Seal (chop) Hall” (Ancestral Aperture”)
Du 26               Ren Zhong                            “Human Center”

Important Ren Channel Points Acu-Points

Ren 24    Tian Chi                    “Celestial Pool”
Ren 23     She Ben                     “Tongue Root”
Ren 17     Shang Qi Hai            “Upper Sea of Qi”
Ren 12      Zhong Wan              “Central Cavity”
Ren 8        Shen Que                   “Spirit Gate”
Ren 6         Qi Hai                        “Sea of Qi”   
Ren 4          Guan Yuan              “Original Pass”
Ren 1           Hui Yin                    “Meeting of Yin”
Du Mo is the sea of all the yang vessels (meridians) in the body. It connects these vessels and ties them all together. Ren Mo is the sea of all the yin vessels. The true breath arises from the Ren and the Du and they are at the same time active expressions of the true breath.[5]

The two vessels of Ren and Du are but two branches with a single source. One travels along the front of the body and another travels along the back of the body. A person’s body has the Ren and the Du, just as heaven and earth have midday (zi) and midnight (wu), which may be perceived as divided and united. Divide them and it is apparent that their yin and yang [aspects] cannot be separated. Unite them [and] it is apparent that they are coalesced without differentiation. The singular is plural and the plural is singular. [6]

Ren Mo and Du Mo are where Kan-Water and Li-Fire intersect, where water and fire ascend and descend. Because of the relationships of these two vessels with the other meridians and their role in the transformation of water and fire, it is said that: If a person can open these two vessels than all of the hundreds of vessels can all be open.[7]
The Microcosmic Orbit, or Small Heavenly Circulation (Xiao Zhou Tian), is a method of Daoist meditation that attends to the circulation of the Qi/Breath through Ren Mo and Du Mo. In the Treatise of Affirming the Breath and Making the Soul Return, it is described as follows:

The jing transformed into qi rises up toward the heights;

If the qi is not strengthened, the jing becomes exhausted.

The qi which becomes the saliva, descends to the depths;

If the Jing does not return, the qi is altered.

It is like water which one heats in a tripod;

If at first there is no qi,

How will qi be produced?

Because it descends and cannot escape.

By rising, water becomes qi,

Qi in turn becomes water when descending.

They rise and descend in endless rotation.[8]

By gently letting the breath sink to Dantian, Qi/Breath begins to flow up the Du channel to the top of the head. Acu-points in the head allow the Qi/Breath to enter the brain and then descend down into the mouth, where saliva is produced and where there is a connection with the Ren channel. From there the Qi/Breath (and the saliva) flow downward to the Dantian and the cycle is repeated. The Qi/Breath rises with inhalation and descends with exhalation. Through this process Jing is transformed into Qi/Breath and Qi/Breath in turn nourishes the spirit (Shen). The Shen guides and harnesses the Qi/Breath to replenish the Jing. Through this process, one is reconnected with the “true breath” – the primordial yin-yang current that flows between Heaven and Earth. This not only invigorates the body by allowing the Qi/Breath, blood and Jing to enter the bone marrow, tendons, ligaments, flesh and muscle, restoring the pliability of these structures,  it also reconnects us with our own innate wisdom, thereby re-inciting the life that is within us. Francois Jullien explains the importance of these channels as follows:

The principle artery or du, which irrigates the back from bottom to top and is the vessel through which energy flows. Why does our attention, once liberated from the endlessly spendthrift thirst for knowledge, focus on this artery as  defining the line and rule of life? Because, as we have already discussed, this median artery has a regulative capacity that ensures respiratory constancy. And what is this respiration but a continual incitation not to dwell in either of two opposite positions – inhalation or exhalation? Respiration allows each to call upon the other in order to renew itself through it, thus establishing the great rhythm of the worlds evolution. Thus respiration is not only the symbol, the image or figure, but also the vector of vital nourishment.[9]

 Circulation of the Micro-Cosmic Orbit

As you inhale and the breath rises, the ribs in the back open. With the perineum (and anus) lifted, the tailbone sinking and the vertex lifting upward, the Qi/Breath is able to ascend through the spine. The chin is slightly held in, allowing the points at the base of the skull to open so that Qi/Breath does not block at these points and thus it enters the brain rises to the top of the head.
With the exhale the Qi/Breath is able to sink because the tongue tip touching the upper palate connects Ren Mo and Du Mo.  The lifting of the head, the position of the neck and the open ribs allow the Qi/Breath to drop downward to return to the Dantian. As the Qi/Breath sinks it seems to exhale not through the nose but down into the Dantian. The Dantian then naturally has a feeling of expanding  as one exhales (the reverse breathing we practiced in the previous lesson). The flow of air is continuous even and smooth like a thread being wound smoothly around a spindle.
As you inhale visualize the Qi/Breath sinking to the Dantian and then, by keeping the perineum lifted (the “lower magpie gate”), and the tail sinking, the Qi/Breath rises through the tailbone to the Ming Men (Du 4: “life gate”) and up through the  center of the back to acu-point Du 16 (Feng Fu). Here Qi/Breath enters the brain. Qi/Breath then passes through Du 17 (“Jade Pillow”) at the occipital protuberance. From there, it  continues to rise to Bai Hui (“hundred meeting”; Du 20) point at the vertex, and moves forward to Shen Ting (“spirit court“; Du 24) before beginning to descend with the exhalation.
As you exhale the Qi/Breath moves into the mouth and connects to the Ren Mo via the tongue (the “upper magpie gate”), and then passes down the front of the body. Rather than passing out the nose or mouth, the Qi/Breath descends through the throat to enter the chest behind Ren 17 (“Upper Sea of Qi”) and then down into the abdomen passing through Ren 12 (“Central Cavity”). From here the breath returns to the navel (Shen Que; “Spirit Gate”) and then to the Dantian.
Circulation of the Qi/Breath in Ren Mo and Du Mo is a bit like an electrical circuit. The two ends of the vessels must be connected for there to be an uninterrupted flow. The upper Magpie Bridge is the tongue, and the tongue touches the upper palate to link with Ren Mo and Du Mo in the upper part. The lower Magpie Bridge is in the perineum and links with the Du Vessel and Ren Vessel in the lower part. Thus, the Ren and Du are linked and the Heavenly Circle flows.

Waxing and Waning of Yin and Yang in the Micro-cosmic Orbit

Yang Qi gathers as the Qi/Breath rises up the back and Yin Qi coalesces as the Qi/Breath sinks back to Dantian. Thus on the inhalation, yang waxes and yin wanes. On the exhalation and yin waxes and yang wanes. Similarly Qian-Heaven and Kun-Earth wax and wane just as day becomes night and night becomes day in  endless cycles. In Qian there is  opening – an opening of the gates for Qi/Breath to flow and change and transformation to occur. In Kun there is reception, closing and consolidation. Inhalation is opening and exhalation is closing, like a bellows pumping. The changes and transformations, the opening and closing are a product of Heaven and Earth’s breaths, which also flow through us. The diagram below uses hexagrams from the Yi Jing (I Ching: the Book of Changes) to show this dynamic process. These twelve hexagrams are sometimes called: The Waxing and Waning Hexagrams, or the Twelve Sovereign Hexagrams They are also used to describe the waxing and waning of yin and yang over the 12 months of the year.

The hexagrams change from the bottom up, the yin lines pushing out the yang, beginning at the summer solstice and the yang lines returning at the winter solstice. During Micro-Cosmic Orbit Meditation, these same yin-yang transformations occur inside us. As we inhale, yang begins to grow rising from kidneys and the perineum, and moving up the Du vessel until yang peaks just before reaching the top of the head. Then yin returns and begins to grow at Bai Hui. Yin gathers until all the lines return to yin again at the perineum.




Drawing adapted from The Complete System of Self Healing: Internal Exercise, by Dr. Stephen T. Chang. San Francisco: Tao Publishing 1986, p. 200.

Hormones, Jing, and The Endocrine System

Modern Chinese physicians sometimes relate Jing to hormones and the endocrine system and some believe that microcosmic orbit breathing activates, stimulates and regulates the endocrine system. When Jingqi from the kidneys moves upward to nourish the brain and the spirit, it may be that it connects the adrenal glands with the hypothalamus which lies just above the brain stem. The hypothalamus has direct connections with the pituitary gland which is also located in the brain. The hypothalamus not only links the nervous system to the endocrine system, it also regulates secretions from the pituitary and co-ordinates many hormonal and behavioral circadian rhythms. Endocrine glands that signal each other in sequence to produce hormonal triggers are referred to as an “axis.” One such axis is the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis which increases production and release  of corticosteroids.[10] Dr. Tian He–lu of Shanxi province in mainland China points out that the hypothalamus and pituitary are in the Upper Dan Tian and the adrenal glands and gonads whose hormonal secretion is also controlled by the pituitary) are in the Lower Dan Tian.  Furthermore, Dr. Tian feels that practice of the  micro-cosmic orbit directly effects the endocrine system, particularly the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. He attributes many of the health benefits ascribed to the Micro-Cosmic Orbit to its stimulation and regulation of the endocrine system.[11]

Notes:

[1] Taoist Meditation: The Mao-Shan Tradition of Great Purity, by Isabelle Robinet, translated by Julian F. Pas and Norman J. Girardot. Albany, NY: State University of New York (SUNY) Press, 1993. Originally published in French as Meditation Taoiste (Paris: Dervy Livres, 1979), p. 91.
[2] Taoist Yoga: Alchemy and Immortality by Lu K’uan Yu (Charles Luk), Maine: Samuel Weiser Inc., 1973, pp. 10-11.
[3] Power Eating Program: You Are How You Eat, by Lino Stanchich. Asheville, NC: Healthy Products Inc. 1989, pp.3-4.
[4] Fire Pathognomy Due to Internal Injury in Chinese Medicine, by Tian He Lu translated by Huang Guo Qi.
[5] An Exposition of the Eight Extraordinary Vessels: Acupuncture, Alchemy & Herbal Medicine, by Charles Chace and Miki Shima. Seattle WA: Eastland Press, 2010, p. 70.
[6] Ibid, p. 146.
[7] Ibid, p. 70.
[8] Taoist Meditation: The Mao-Shan Tradition of Great Purity, by Isabelle Robinet, translated by Julian F. Pas and Norman J. Girardot. Albany, NY: State University of New York (SUNY) Press, 1993. Originally published in French as Meditation Taoiste (Paris: Dervy Livres, 1979), p. 87.
[9] Vital Nourishment: Departing From Happiness by Francois Jullien, translated by Arthur Goldhammer. New York: Zone Books, 2007, p. 31.
[10] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypothalamus
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endocrine_system
[11] Fire Pathognomy Due to Internal Injury in Chinese Medicine, by Tian He Lu translated by Huang Guo Qi.
All material © 2013. Excerpted from the upcoming book, Decoding the Dao, Nine Lessons on Daoist Meditation, by Tom Bisio. All rights reserved.

http://www.internalartsinternational.com/free/daoist-meditation-lesson-eight-theory-golden-fluid-the-micro-cosmic-orbit/

THE MICROCOSMIC ORBIT

The chakras are polarized. Recall, when we discussed the chakras in , we learned that Dr. Motoyama believes the chakras to be cones, with their roots on the spine and their open ends on the front of the body. Along with this third dimension, comes a yin and yang orientation to each chakra. The open end of the cone, on the front of the body, is the yin part of the chakra. The point on the spine is the yang part. So far, all the orbits of energy we have looked at were along the yang lines of the chakras. This touches only part of the chakras. The microcosmic orbit touches the yin and yang parts of the chakras, and circles the whole upper body. The term "microcosmic orbit" is a translation of the Daoist term for a full orbiting of energy through the front and back body. In Japan, it is called "shoshuten," which means a "circling of light." The microcosmic orbit is a way to gather, and channel, all the stray energies in the body, and raise them up from the muladhara to the ajna. An orbit is followed, beginning in the lower belly, circling down under the spine, up the back and over the crown of the head, ending at the ajna. This is the inhalation half of the orbit. On exhalation, the orbit is completed, as energy descends along the front of the body, back down to the lower belly. This activation of energy is a key preparation for many advanced Daoist practices. Through activating the microcosmic orbit, the reservoirs of the Governing Vessel and Conception meridians are refilled, which means this energy is available to all other meridians and organs. This is perhaps the best way to cultivate health and long life, while at the same time preparing the way to a deep spiritual understanding. In the 1930s, Richard Wilhelm [1] described the benefit of the circling of light in his translation of the Secret of the Golden Flower, a Chinese Book of Life. This ancient text was transmitted orally for centuries before being written down in the eighth century. Wilhelm, a friend of Carl Jung's, wrote:

If the life forces flow downward, that is, without let or hindrance into the outer world, the anima is victorious over the animus; no "spirit body" or "Golden Flower" is developed, and, at death, the ego is lost. If the life forces are led through the "backward-flowing" process, that is, conserved, and made to "rise" instead of allowed to dissipate, the animus has been victorious, and the ego persists after death. It is then possessed of shen, the revealing spirit. A man who holds to the way of conservation all through life may reach the stage of the "Golden Flower," which then frees the ego from the conflict of the opposites, and it again becomes part of Tao, the undivided, Great One.

It was Wilhelm's work that turned Jung in the direction of alchemy, which the Daoists had been practicing for thousands of year. The circling of light is an alchemical or transforming process. When the light circles long enough, it crystallizes and the body is transformed. We attain the natural spirit-body, and this body is formed "beyond all heavens." The sages claim in the Secret of the Golden Flower that the only tool we need to master is this concentration of thought on the circling light. Circulating energy through the microcosmic orbit can be done at any time: prior to asana practice, just before meditation, during the long holds in the yin poses, or even at the beginning of Shavasana as we lay on our backs. In Shavasana, bring your awareness to the second chakra, on the front of the body. This is the svadhisthana, which is about halfway between your navel and pubic bone. Feel, or imagine you feel, energy there. Exhale completely. As you inhale, follow a flow of energy down the midline of your body, under the pubic bone to the tailbone, and then upward, along the spine, the back of the neck, over the top of your head, and right to the ajna point between the eyebrows. Pause here at the top of the inhalation for two or three seconds. As you exhale, slowly feel the energy descend inside the face and throat. Continue to follow the midline of the body down to the sternum, to the navel, and right back to the svadhisthana again. Pause here for two or three seconds before beginning a new orbit. As you orbit the body, touch each chakra on both the yin and yang sides (front and back) of the body; feel the energy at those points. Two or three minutes of orbiting the energy should be sufficient. When you have finished, release the effort, and let the breath be whatever it wants to be. Watch closely how you feel, without reacting to anything. There is an orbit beyond the microcosmic called the "macrocosmic orbit." It is not considered as important as the microcosmic loop. The macrocosmic orbit extends the journey of energy down, and back up, the legs as well. An orbit is a closed, circular path that is repeated over and over. The journey along an orbit never ends. Our journey together down the Yin River is nearing completion … but it too is not ending. While the time has come to leave you, we leave you to continue on with your own journey … perhaps with new guides who will help take you closer to the universal ocean.

1 -- Called the Marco Polo of the inner world of China.

http://www.yinyoga.com/ys2_2.2.7.3.4_microcosmic_orbit.php

PRACTICE THE "INNER SMILE"

By Elizabeth Reninger, About.com Guide

One of the most well-known of Taoist neidan (Inner Alchemy) practices is the "Inner Smile" - in which we smile inwardly to each of the major organs of our body, activating within us the energy of loving-kindness, and waking up the Five-Element associational network. Here we will learn a variation on this classic practice, which allows us to direct the healing energy of a smile into any part of our body that we would like ...

Difficulty: Easy

Time Required: 10 - 30 minutes, or longer if you'd like

Here's How:

1. Sit comfortably, either on a straight-backed chair, or on the floor. The important thing is for your spine to be in an upright position, and your head arranged to allow the muscles of your neck and throat to feel relaxed.
2. Take a couple of deep, slow breaths, noticing how your abdomen rises with each inhalation, then relaxes back toward your spine with each exhalation. Let go of thoughts of past or future.
3. Rest the tip of your tongue gently on the roof of your mouth, somewhere behind, and close to, your upper front teeth. You'll find the spot that feels perfect.
4. Smile gently, allowing your lips to feel full and smooth as they spread to the side and lift just slightly. This smile should be kind of like the Mona Lisa smile, or how we might smile - mostly to ourselves - if we had just gotten a joke that someone told us several days ago: nothing too extreme, just the kind of thing that relaxes our entire face and head, and makes us start to feel good inside.
5. Now bring your attention to the space between your eyebrows (the "Third Eye" center). As you rest your attention there, energy will begin to gather. Imagine that place to be like a pool of warm water, and as energy pools there, let your attention drift deeper into that pool - back and toward the center of your head.
6. Let your attention rest now right in the center of your brain - the space equidistant between the tips of your ears. This is a place referred to in Taoism as the Crystal Palace - home to the pineal, pituitary, thalamus and hypothalamus glands. Feel the energy gathering in this powerful place.
7. Allow this energy gathering in the Crystal Palace to flow forward into your eyes. Feel your eyes becoming "smiling eyes." To enhance this, you can imagine that you're gazing into the eyes of the person who you love the most, and they're gazing back at you ... infusing your eyes with this quality of loving-kindness and delight.
8. Now, direct the energy of your smiling eyes back and down into some place in your body that would like some of this healing energy. It might be a place where you've recently had an injury or illness. It might be a place that just feels a little numb or "sleepy," or simply some place you've not recently explored. In any case, smile down into that place within your body, and feel that place opening to receive smile-energy.
9. Continue to smile into that place within your body, for as long as you'd like ... letting it soak up smile-energy like a sponge soaks up water.
10. When this feels complete, direct your inner gaze, with its smile-energy, into your navel center, feeling warmth and brightness gathering now in your lower belly.
11. Release the tip of your tongue from the roof of your mouth, and release the smile (or keep it if it now feels natural).

Tips:

1. As with all neidan practices, it's important to find a balance between effort and relaxation. If you notice a build-up of tension, relax, take a couple of deep breaths, then return to the practice. If your mind wanders, simply notice this, and come back to the practice.
2. Remember to maintain the quality of a gentle, genuine smile - infused with the energy of loving-kindness and compassion - particularly when directing your "inner smile" into an injured place. If you notice frustration, anger, fear or judgment creeping in, take a couple of deep breaths, then connect again with loving-kindness and compassion - the energies that can heal us.
3. The Crystal Palace is known also - in Hindu yogic traditions - as the Cave of Brahma. For another powerful technique for energizing this center, check out the link below to Sai Maa's "Brain Illumination" DVD.

What You Need

• A precious human body.
• A straight-backed chair, or floor to sit on.

http://taoism.about.com/od/meditation/ht/inner_smile.htm

THE MICROCOSMIC ORBIT

Reintegrating The Ren & Du Meridians

By Elizabeth Reninger, About.com Guide

What Is The Microcosmic Orbit?

The Microcosmic Orbit is one of the most well-known of qigong practices based in the Eight Extraordinary Meridians – the body’s deepest level of energetic structuring. I’ve come across several dozen variations of the Microcosmic Orbit practice, and here will present a very simple one, that I’ve found to be quite lovely. Most generally, the purpose of the Microcosmic Orbit practice is to create a continuous circular energetic loop between what typically, in an adult human body, are two distinct meridians: the Ren (Conception Vessel) and the Du (Governing Vessel).
When we’re in our mother’s womb, our energy circulates naturally along this pathway, moving from the perineum up along the spinal column, and then down along the center-line of the front of our tiny torso, back to the area of the lower dantian. This circuit – along with our grosser levels of physical functioning – is “fed” via the umbilical cord.
Once we’re born, and the umbilical cord is cut, a rather dramatic reorganization unfolds, one of whose consequences is that, within the first few years of our life, that once-continuous energetic circuit separates into the Ren meridian – flowing from the perineum up the front of the torso to the area of the lower lip – and the Du meridian – flowing from the tip of the coccyx up along the spinal column, over the head and ending near the upper lip. We can use the Microcosmic Orbit practice to re-member a flow of energy very similar to what we experienced in our mother’s womb.
Before working with this practice, please review abdominal breathing, which will be our foundation.

How To Practice The Microcosmic Orbit

Sit with your spine comfortably upright, either on a straight-backed chair or crossed-legged on a cushion on the floor. Close your eyes, and release any unnecessary tension, particularly in your face, neck, jaw or shoulders. Smiling gently will help this to happen. Tune into the flow of your breathing, and follow the inhalations and exhalations for ten rounds of the breath, making no effort to alter, in any way, their rhythm or quality.
Notice that, in the manner of abdominal breathing, with each inhalation, your lower abdomen gently expands, and with each exhalation it relaxes back to a neutral position. Place the palms of your hands on your lower abdomen, with the tips of your thumbs touching directly over your navel, and your first fingers touching several inches below your navel.
Now, to begin to explore the Microcosmic Orbit, imagine that each inhalation fills the space of your lower dantian (within the triangle outlines by your two hands) with beautiful golden-white light. See this light forming into a sphere of energy within the space of your lower dantian. With each inhalation, add to the potent brightness of this sphere of light. As you do this, you may feel sensations of warmth or tingling. Simply enjoy those sensations. Devote at least ten inhalations to “charging” the dantian in this way, using the power of visualization to fill it with energy/light.
Once the dantian feels full and bright, proceed to this next step of the practice: As before, with the inhalation, draw energy into the dantain. Then, with the exhalation, send that sphere of light/energy from the dantian down to Hui Yin – the first point on the Ren meridian – which is located about a half-inch in front of the anus (just behind the root of the scrotum, for males; and just behind the posterior labial commissure, for females).So, with the exhalation, we’re sending the energy of the dantian – in the form of a beautiful sphere of golden-white light – down to the center of the perineum/pelvic-floor. Use your imagination in combination with gentle intention to move the energy in this way.
With the very next inhalation, feel that sphere of light/energy immediately being drawn upward (kind of like the sphere of light/energy had just “bounced” upward off of that Hui Yin point) into the lower end of the spinal column. Allow the energy, with that single inhalation, to flow from the root of the spine all the way up to the center of the brain, directly beneath the crown of the head. Then, with the next exhalation, feel it flowing, like a waterfall, down the center-line of the face and front of the torso, back into the space of the lower dantian. You’ve just completed one round of the Microcosmic Orbit.
When you’re first learning the practice, it’s nice to pause for several rounds of the breath, gathering new light/energy into the dantian, before once again circulating that energy down to Hui Yin, up along the spinal column (i.e. the Du meridian) to the brain, and then down the front of the body (i.e. the Ren meridian) back to the lower dantian. Once you’re more familiar with the practice, you can experiment with allowing the cycling to be more continuous.
As with any qigong practice, do your best to maintain an attitude – a mental posture – of gentle focus and relaxed clarity. If you notice yourself clenching, either physically or mentally/emotionally, take a break – drop the practice entirely, for a couple minutes or longer, coming back to it when you’ve realigned with a spirit of childlike playfulness, patience and wonder. Enjoy!

http://taoism.about.com/od/bodycultivation/a/Microcosmic_Orbit.htm 

MADAME BLAVATSKY - THE SECRET DOCTRINE

MEDITATING ON AND BALANCING THE CHAKRAS

Various techniques have been presented on working with the chakras, both optimising normal chakras to allow more ch'i energy through, and helping or balancing chakras that are not functioning properly (i.e. which may be unbalanced, blocked, or malfunctioning). I would like to state at the outset that I am no expert, so please do not email me for technical advice! But from what I have read and understood it seems there are several possible techniques.
Activating the chakra through breathing, visualisation, movement, and yoga postures. This is good for all chakras, and for balancing the organism as a whole. It particularily pertains to the Tantric, seven-chakra linear scheme, rather than the Taoist circular scheme of chakras. There are many specific exercises associated with each chakra, and usually different books give different exercises, so it would take too long to go through all the books, chakras, and exercises here. All I can do is recommend that you browse through the books on this subject in a well-stocked esoteric or theosophical bookshop, find one that you feel intuitively attracted to, and go with that.
Projecting love and light into the chakra. This is also good for malfunctioning and blocked chakras, but not overactive ones, which already have enough energy going through them as it is. Imagine the area of the affected chakra as pervaded by a brilliant white, golden, or other coloured light, which is of the complete essence of love. Imagine this light healing the chakra, opening it, and restoring it to its proper functioning. If for example you have difficulty with understanding abstract mental concepts, you would visualise light and love in brow and forehead chakras, allowing them to open harmoniously, and the energy to flow through.
Talking to or meditating on the particular chakra in question. This is the technique recommended by Genevieve Lewis Paulson. Focus on the chakra in question, massage the area of the body it pertains to, and breath into it. Let the energy flow through it, and ask yourself what needs to be done about the particular psychic state in question. If for example you have an overactive heart chakra, ask yourself in what situations are you being too giving and putting the needs of others before your own.
The microcosmic orbit. The microcosmic orbit is the most powerful technique of all, because it involves and includes all the chakras, the front and rear ones as well as the lower and higher ones. It is especially good for balancing the ch'i energy in all the chakras, and restoring and maintaining equilibrium in your entire being. There is no one technique here, but actually a number of different methods. One involves simply holding one's attention on the particular chakra point, without any visualisation or breathing exercises. Alternatively (this is the main method taught by Mantak Chia), you can go through each chakra in turn, visualising the spiraling energy (24 clockwise and anticlockwise), and/or (where it is accesable to reach) moving the palm of the hand in a spiralling motion over the chakra in question. Various breathing techniques can also be used, such as breathing into each chakra in turn, and. Mantras can be employed, such as saying "chhhiii", "aaauuummmm", or any other mantra at that point. You could also or alternatively try feeling love or smiling energy in each chakra in turn, visualising white or golden or rainbow-coloured light, or doing whatever other techniques one feels comfortable with. The important thing is not to force things
Two points should be adhered to however. The first is to always begin and finish at either the Navel or the Sea of Ch'i centre. This is to be done even if you only meditate or focus on one or two other chakras. Due to the proximity of the Navel and Sea of Chi chakras with the Lower Tan Tien, the ch'i energy is balanced and grounded after each meditation
The second important point is to always progress down the front of the body, and up the back. This is the natural direction of flow of ch'i energy in the human body. I emphasise this point because it is so important yet so little known. I once attended a guided meditation where everyone was told to meditate on the chakras at the front of body from the lowest to the highest. This is the exact opposite of the true direction of flow, and it was obvious that the people running the show didn't have the faintest idea what they were doing. Such ignorance is all too widespread in the New Age movement nowadays, for the simple reason that the New Age is a movement without a strict teachings or dogmas, so people are free both to arrive at the truth unhindered, and to make blunders without any safeguards. Thus, whilst one should follow one's own truth, one should also be extremely careful to ensure that one's psycho-spiritual practices are authentic ones
For those who are interested in exporing the practice of the microcosmic orbit beyond the basic introduction provided here, I would strongly recommend a perusal of the works of Mantak Chia, especially Awaken Healing Energy of the Tao.
For opening the specifically Tantric ("primary" or archetypal) chakras, Harish Johari some time back released a cassette tape giving the correct mantric sounds for each chakra and petal. This is still available and is very powerful.
In meditating on each chakra, you may want to use some of the correspondences listed in these web pages. Alternatively, you may want to choose your own correspondences, or not use any at all. The important thing is to let oneself be guided by what intuitively feels right, rather than slavishly follow what some book or guru or teaching says. This so in all aspects of life and with all psycho-spiritual practices, not just those techniques given here. The intention of this coverage is to encourage and stimulate your own exploration in these matters, not to add one more dogma to a world that is already too full of dogmas as it is.

http://www.kheper.net/topics/chakras/chakra_balancing.html

SOME NOTES ON WORKING WITH CHAKRA ENERGIES AND ENERGY BALANCING

Kevin Farrow

(Webmaster's Note) The following very interesting account is from several emails from Kevin Farrow, dated Fri, 03 Nov, Sat 04 Nov and Tue 07 Nov 2000. The diagram is also by Kevin and can be referred to when reading the text.

diagram © 2000 Kevin Farrow From my observations working on people, the points that are part of the circulation of the light (Microcosmic Orbit) can be felt on the physical body as pulses and can be balanced - i.e. pulsing goes from figure 8's, alternate etc to even strength and frequency in both hands. If you follow the circ around on someone and do this (you have to bridge nose to chin - perineum and toes) you discover that the pulse balance holds.
I work from the front of the feet to front of knee, to perineum, to sacrum up to the head then down again to perineum (assume you know points in between) then back of knees to soles of feet (K1) then front of feet up to knee. Takes an hour and a bit usually.
The chakras I use only in the sense of mapping them with a pendulum. Not that I believe you can tell anybody anything much from this (and I refrain), but I think it gives an indication of the energetic relationship between the client and practitioner. In workshops I've run, I've noticed that dowsing the chakras gave different results for different people. Invariably, bitter old husband and wife teams would rate each other's sex chakras as closed - but you could get an open reading by getting some spunk they were attracted to, to read them. I'm sure parts of some peoples chakras are semi-permanently blocked off to some energies and this is what you may be able to tell from the Barbara Brennan version of the shape of the pendulum swing, if you can get a consistent reading from at least a few different people.
Haven't seen it done except in my workshops and it's generally an unpopular outcome, especially for the New Age.
Also, I don't think (Tantric) chakras go at the front or back but can be read from either position. They do seem to read differently front to back so Barbara Brennan is probably right about different influences, although her idea of what really amounts to 2 sets - well! I think you're right and that she has just transposed the circulation of the light as chakras.
I think Caroline Myss's idea of Chakras as data banks seems to have the most relevance - they are how you are and you can't change them in an hour or so on a massage table. You can alter the flow from clockwise to anticlockwise and back if you try. I've done it to show students of mine and I've shown a few people how. There are several ways but the most remarkably simple is to have someone use a pendulum above your sex chakra and then think of the most unappealing sexual partner you can, invariably this will go anticlockwise. Then think of Sharon Stone or whoever else turns you on and it will go clockwise. Very amusing party trick.

The below feet and above head points are useful when balancing the off body energies. If you put too much energy into the head area you can give people headaches and you can reverse this by placing left hand on the sky point and right hand over the brow.

Similarly, if someone is too spaced to walk you can draw the energy down to the earth by placing the right hand down at the earth point and the other over the feet.

Can be done very strongly with two people, one at the head and one at the feet.

Had an interesting discussion with an accupuncturist/Tai Chi teacher who reminded me that the sky point is what you focus on in Tai Chi - the body sort of hands off it. He also noted that his old Taoist Master, told him that the sky, earth and perineum were connected as one of the strange and secret flows and that balancing that flow balanced the spirit in the body.

http://www.kheper.net/topics/chakras/balancing.html

THE DALAI LAMA LOJONG

A GOD IN MAN'S IMAGE

Virgins saved for later use

"Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known a man by sleeping with him. But all the young girls who have not known a man by sleeping with him, keep alive for yourselves."

Numbers 31.17,18

Moses flies into a rage because his returning Israelite war party has slaughtered only the adult male Midianites!

Uzzah learns the hard way to keep his hands to himself

"At that Jehovah's anger blazed against Uzzah so that he struck him down because he had thrust his hand upon the ark, and he died there before God."
(1Chronicles 13.9,10)

Korah finds no democracy in Israel - Rebels consumed by earth, fire, plague

"But on the morrow all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying, Ye have killed the people of the LORD.

And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Get you up from among this congregation, that I may consume them as in a moment ..." (Numbers 16.41,45)

Run for Your lives!

"And as the ark set out Moses would say, Arise, O Yahweh, may your enemies be scattered and those who hate you run for their lives before you!' "

– Numbers 10:35,36

Gross

''The Bible has been interpreted to justify such evil practices as, for example, slavery, the slaughter of prisoners of war, the sadistic murders of women believed to be witches, capital punishment for hundreds of offenses, polygamy, and cruelty to animals.

It has been used to encourage belief in the grossest superstition and to discourage the free teaching of scientific truths."

–Steve Allen (Bible Religion & Morality)

Who Jew?

According to Israeli law a person is considered 'Jewish' if his/her mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and great-great-grandmother were Jewesses by religion; or if the person has converted to Judaism in a way satisfactory to the Israeli authorities.

Eye-full of purity

According to post-Talmudic rabbinic law the conversion of a non-Jew to Judaism requires that conversion is performed by authorised rabbis in a 'proper manner' – which entails for females, their inspection by three rabbis while 'naked in a bath of purification'!

Racial Purity

"We want assimilation to be replaced by a new law: the declaration of belonging to the Jewish nation and Jewish race...

For only he who honors his own breed and his own blood can have an attitude of honor towards the national will of other nations."

Dr Joachim Prinz, vice-chairman of the World Jewish Congress (Wir Juden, 1934, pp 150-1) quoted by Israel Shahak, Jewish History, Jewish Religion)

A Good Book?

" Happy the one who takes and dashes your little ones against the rock! "

-- Psalm 137.9.

God's work?

Charred remains of baby girl, partially eaten by dogs. A victim of the Israeli assault on Gaza.

"I form the light, and create darkness. I make peace, and create EVIL. 

I the LORD do all these things." – Isaiah 45.7.

All cultures have anthropomorphized their gods into humanoid (if sometimes grotesque) form. Were the Jews the exception? Hardly. We know precisely what the Hebrew god looked like. We are, after all, fashioned in his own likeness! "Yahweh", in fact, is an abbreviation of the longer name, "Yahweh Sabaoth." It means, "He who musters armies." Thus Yahweh's name identifies the god primarily as the military leader of the tribe. No wonder the God bequeathed to the world by the Jews turned out to be a monster.

A God in Man's Image

"The Lord is a man of war; Yahweh is his name." – Exodus 15.3.

Yahweh was a man, no doubt looking remarkably like the bearded sage asking us to worship him.

If we believe the Bible, he has body parts: eyes and a face (‘they are not hid from my face, neither is their iniquity hid from mine eyes’ – Jeremiah 16.17); nose and a mouth (Psalms 18.8); lips, tongue and breath (Isaiah 30.27,33); loins (Ezekiel 1.27); even ‘back parts’ (Exodus 33.23). He also has several ‘human’ emotions, manly appetites, and a worrying disposition towards pathological violence.

Yahweh feels regret for his own evil (‘And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.’ - Jonah 3.10); and grief (at the wickedness of men) (‘and it grieved him at his heart’ - (Genesis 6.6). He actually gets down and wrestles with Jacob, dislocating his thigh (Genesis 32.24). He forgets (he goes on calling Jacob ‘Jacob’ even after re-naming him ‘Israel’ - Genesis 35.10, 46.2). He practises favouritism (choosing the Israelites ‘above all people’ - Exodus 19.5; but he just does not like Cain or Esau!). He holds grudges (‘I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation’ – Exodus 20.5).

For an omniscient god he is surprisingly unknowing (‘They have set up kings, but not by me; they have made princes, and I knew it not.’ – Hosea 8.4). And for an omnipotent god he has his limitations (‘The Lord was with Judah; and he drove out the inhabitants of the mountain; but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley because they had chariots of iron.’ - Judges 1.19).

And after his creation of the world, he even has to rest from his labour (‘And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work’ - Genesis 2.2) – to the endless bemusement of pagan critics, whose own gods didn’t need to rest!

Carnivore

The most disturbing aspect of Yahweh’s humanoid personality, however, is his blood-lust. The smell of burning flesh is a ‘sweet savour unto the lord’ – so sweet, in fact, that the phrase appears in the Old Testament no fewer than twenty-three times. The butchery demanded by god is truly monumental. Believers are required to sacrifice two lambs day-by-day continuously – and that’s just for starters! Just as well Yahweh had several thousand priests to help him trough through the banquet!

Livestock bears the brunt of god’s appetite but humans could so easily get the chop from the big guy. God kills Uzzah for simply steadying the tumbling Ark (1Chronicles 13.9,10). Poor Onan was zapped for using the withdrawal method of birth control (Genesis 38.10). But such isolated vindictiveness palls in comparison with the mass killings of the Lord. When the autocratic Moses faces a rebellion led by Korah, God uses an earthquake and fire to consume two hundred and fifty rebels. When indignant sympathizers protest at the injustice, God wipes out another fourteen thousand seven hundred with a plague (Numbers 16). What a guy!

Natural Born Killers
	God tells Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. (Genesis 22.2)	Boy terrified in ritual abuse in the mountains -Yahweh cult's 'Test of Fear' "God put Abraham to the test ... Abraham built an altar ... bound Isaac hand & foot ... took the slaughtering knife to kill his son ... But the angel of the Lord began calling ... 'Do not put out your hand against the boy .... for now I know that you fear the Lord ...' (Genesis 22.1,12)
The story of Isaac is NOT a condemnation of child sacrifice. Isaac was spared not because human sacrifice was seen to be wrong but because Isaac was the "child of promise" and needed to survive. The yarn requires the normality of human sacrifice. Abraham was praised for his willingness to appease Yahweh by killing his own son. The sham murder of Isaac (the 'Aquedah') was the prototype for a 'redemptive sacrificial death' subsequently re-worked as the crucified Jesus. It should be noted that in the biblical text, Isaac (like Jesus) is repeatedly called "the only son" of Abraham (Genesis 22.2., 12., 16.) even though Abraham actually has another, older son, Ishmael.
	Prostitute's son Jephthah, in victory vow with God, makes burnt offering of only daughter. (Judges 11.29,39)	Girl Not So Lucky – Religious  Fanatic Sacrifices Virgin Daughter "I will give to the LORD the first thing coming out of my house to greet me when I return in triumph.  I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering ... her father kept his vow, and she died a virgin."
	Moses orders Levite fanatics to murder 3000 golden-calf enthusiasts. (Exodus 32.27,29)	Blessed Murderers "'Today,' Moses said, 'you have consecrated yourself to Yahweh, at the cost of your sons and brothers. And so he bestows a blessing on you today.'"
	When the Lord says kill everyone He means EVERYONE!	Saul loses out: "You didn't kill enough," says the Lord. "You can't be king!" "And Saul defeated the Amalekites … and devoted to destruction all the people … But Saul spared Agag and … all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them. All that was despised and worthless they devoted to destruction. And Samuel said, "What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen that I hear?" … Then Samuel said, "Bring here to me Agag the king of the Amalekites." And Agag came to him cheerfully … And Samuel hacked Agag to pieces before the LORD in Gilgal. And the LORD regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel." – 1 Samuel 15
	The LORD delivers 10,000 Canaanites and Perizzites for slaughter in Bezek. As part of the fun 71 kings have their thumbs and big toes cut off. (Judges 1.2,7)	"And the LORD said, Judah shall go up: behold, I have delivered the land into his hand ... Then Judah went up, and the Lord delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand; and they killed ten thousand men at Bezek." – Judges 1.2-4.
	Female fan of Yahweh drives tent peg into head of sleeping Canaanite general. (Judges 4.21)	"And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said ... fear not ... she covered him with a mantle ... and gave him drink, and covered him ... Then Jael took a nail of the tent, and took an hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the nail into his temples, and fastened it into the ground: for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died."
	Elisha orders the assassination of Jezebel. (2 Kings 9,5,37)		Joshua Slaughters 31 kings (Joshua 12.1,24)
	Elijah Murders 450 Priests of Baal. (1 Kings 18.40)		Samson Slays 1000 Philistines (with an ass's jawbone! ) (Judges 15.16)
	King Amaziah of Judah (c. 801–783 BC) throws 10,000 captive Edomites from the top of a rock. (2 Chronicles 25.12)
	Usurper Jehu tricks all the priests of Baal into temple slaughter. (2 Kings 10.19.30)	"Jehu said to the guard and to the captains, Go in, slay them; let none come forth. And they smote them with the edge of the sword; and the guard and the captains cast them out, and went to the city of the house of Baal. And they brought forth the images out of the house of Baal, and burned them." God was delighted with the massacre: "And the LORD said unto Jehu, Because thou hast done well in executing right in mine eyes, hast done unto the house of Ahab according to all that was in mine heart, thy children of the 4th generation shall sit on the throne of Israel."

In Joshua’s (supposed) wars of conquest, God gets right in there. He throws down ‘great stones from heaven’ (Joshua 10.11) and scores a better body-count than his Israelites with mere swords. When the Lord gets up a real head of steam the slaughter reaches a truly epic scale. For merely looking into his Ark, Yahweh wipes out fifty thousand and seventy unfortunate men of Bethshemesh (1 Samuel 6.19). When King David slips up and orders a national census, an enraged God zaps seventy thousand.

Quite apart from the celestial superman’s own killing, he animates his favourites into wiping out whole cities and nations. Jericho, Sodom, Gomorrah, Ai, Makkedah, Libnah etc., etc., are ‘smote and consumed’ – men, women, young, old, ox, sheep and ass!

‘You shall annihilate them - Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, Jebusites – as Yahweh your God commanded you.’

– Deuteronomy 20.11,18.

In the largest single god-inspired massacre in the Bible, one million Ethiopians are slaughtered! (2 Chronicles 14).

But then we have been warned!

Terrorism

All this carnage, of course, is allegorical, albeit that certain stories may have a tenuous link with an ancient skirmish somewhere. The point is to terrify people into obedience of the priesthood.

‘Moses’ is an archetypal ‘wise priest’, who rules with a rod of iron and brooks no opposition.

‘Take heed’ is the warning. ‘Look what happens when you disobey the word of the Lord!’

10 Commandments? Intolerance writ large

Despite the apparent early date for Moses and his commandments, it is really only in the post-Babylonian period that we can speak of ‘Mosaic’ Judaism, when a priestly caste and a fantasy history of race origins are in place. It is only after the Babylonian experience that the Jews adopted a monotheistic religion, with Yahweh as sole god, not merely as chief god. And with this single ‘jealous’ god, the priests imposed a rigid liturgical year, a regimen in which readings from the Torah (Genesis through to Deuteronomy) were to be read successively and completed within the year.

Where Did They Get Their Ideas From? Of Coming Forth by Light (aka Egyptian "Book of the Dead") On Transformation (Chapter 125) Greetings to you, High God, Master of the two Maats! I came to you, my Master, to see your perfection. I know you and I know the name of the two Maats. Here I have now come to you and have brought what is just and have chased iniquity away. - I have not committed iniquity against men, - I have not mistreated people, - I committed no sins in the Place of Truth, - I have done no harm, - I did not "blaspheme" God, - I did not impoverish the poor in their belongings, - I did not do what is abominable to the gods, - I have not afflicted and made the people weep, - I have not starved anyone (but have fed instead), - I did not kill or order killings, - I have harmed no one, - I did not soil the gods' bread, - I did not steal the holy wafers belonging to the fortunate ones (of the sky), - I was not a pederast, - I did not Reduce my bushel, (my scales were fair), - I did not add to the weight of my scales, - I did not cheat on the measurement of lands, - I did not steal milk from the mouths of small children, - I did not deprive cattle of its pasture, - I did not steal the gods' birds and fish, - I did not divert water when there was a flood, - I did not put out a fire which burned brightly, - I did not forget the days for offering meat, - I did not oppose a god during a procession, I am pure, I am pure, I am pure! My purity is that of the Grand Phoenix at Heracleopolis, as I am the nose of the Master of the winds who makes all men live in this, the day of the Filling of the Eye at Heliopolis. 16th-24th century BC (Trans. E. A. Wallis Budge)

By the closing years of the 6th century BC the priesthood had codified their tribal rules, and were writing with all the authority of their singular deity.

The famed ‘Ten Commandments’ – even today erroneously accepted in the popular mind as absolute and universal rules to live by – are nothing other than a codification of Jewish male property rights.

In their original full versions, two of the commandments endorse slavery; the taboo on adultery was an attempt to stop polygamous Jewish males taking each others wives (‘foreign’ concubines and wives had no rights); the ‘honour’ to be accorded parents merely endorsed a draconian patriarchal social structure; even the taboo on murder was open to interpretation, since the slaying of enemies and wrong-doers would not be ‘murder’ but the Lord’s will!

Here was intolerance writ large. No spirit of ‘live and let live.’ In essentials, these barbarous ‘Laws’ ratified the correctness of annihilating enemies, the subjugation of women, the enslavement of conquered tribes, the suppression of dissent and the curtailment of any liberality, especially relating to the body or sexuality.

The priests of other cults were to be murdered; their ‘altars, images and groves’ to be destroyed (Exodus 34.13).

Libidinous ‘foreign’ women were a particular cause for concern (just look how Delilah had brought Samson down by cutting his strength-giving hair!) – and ‘foreign’ in this context meant from a town a whole 25 miles from Jerusalem!

Captured war-brides were to have their head shaved (Deuteronomy 21.14) but otherwise could ‘give delight.’ However Jewishness could only be inherited from a Jewish female. The stress was upon racial purity and in the real politic of the 6th century, even the original Jewish ‘people of the land’ were summarily excluded from ‘the Jewish race.’

Subsequently, Jewish numbers grew rapidly. Neighbouring tribes were conquered and forcibly converted to the Yahweh cult! They were made part of the ‘Jewish race’ – and were circumcised accordingly – giving the lie to the latter-day notion that circumcision had something to do with ‘health’!

In fact, the Bible tells us that circumcision is purely symbolic and that the obligation extended to purchased slaves. We are led to believe that ‘the LORD appeared to Abram’ (who was ninety nine years old at the time!) and (of all possibilities) told him:

"And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you … He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant."
– Genesis 17.11,14.

Thus, for the Jews, ‘race’ was determined by one’s mother and/or forced genital mutilation, unless that is, political expediency stepped in and required otherwise!
Having thus ‘defined’ their race in a conveniently flexible way, Jewish hostility to marriage outside the cult, fussy dietary laws, and generations of inter-breeding, protected the Jewish gene-pool. Certain physiological traits may have become pronounced, though hardly unique. By the time Greek civilization advanced across the eastern Mediterranean, the Jews were an in-bred cult of several generations, a ‘pseudo-race’, possessors of a sacred text of racial superiority.

Sources:
Paul Johnson, A History of the Jews (Phoenix Grant, 1987)
Dan Cohn-Sherbok, The Crucified Jew (Harper Collins,1992)
Henry Hart Milman, The History of the Jews (Everyman, 1939)
Israel Shahak, Jewish History, Jewish Religion (Pluto, 1994)
Josephus, The Jewish War (Penguin, 1959)
Leslie Houlden (Ed.), Judaism & Christianity (Routledge, 1988)
Karen Armstrong, A History of Jerusalem (Harper Collins, 1999)
Jonathan N. Tubb, Canaanites (British Museum Press, 1998)
Norman Cantor, The Sacred Chain - A History of the Jews (HarperCollins, 1994)
Thomas L. Thompson, The Bible in History (Pimlico, 2000)

 http://www.jesusneverexisted.com/brutal.htm