Deepak Chopra, in Quantum Healing, has discussed the therapeutic importance of apprehending this state of absolute emptiness which is uncolored by one's passing and ever-changing emotions, thoughts, and sensations. Ironically, this apprehension is in part dependent upon the consumption of jing essence. It is a fundamental axiom that jing essence is consumed by the aging process and that the signs and symptoms of aging are the signs and symptoms of the kidneys becoming empty and the jing becoming insufficient. However, this process results in experiences, and if one has enough experiences and also has enough consciousness to reflect deeply on those experiences, one will understand that, no matter how many times one has been happy or sad, in pleasure or in pain, essentially it has not indelibly colored nor permanently altered one's essential being. This is the wisdom that hopefully comes with old age. It is the wisdom of spontaneous non-attachment, equipoise, naturalness, and the willingness to let things be.

We all get old and we all die. We all experience pain as well as pleasure. These are inevitable. When we fail to recognize the naturalness of this condition and rather take it as a personal affront or attack, we run after pleasure and its means in order to avoid suffering at all cost. Paradoxically, this ceaseless running towards and running away consumes jing essence and causes the very disease, suffering, and death we seek to avoid. It is transcendance of this rat-race which the wisdom of the East possits as a good, healthy mental attitude.

Because of the above interrelationships between jing, qi, and shen, it is easy to see why diet, exercise, rest, and the development of such a good, healthy attitude are so important to achieving and maintaining good health. This book focuses on dietary therapy. That does not mean that diet is more important than the other three. The diseases of this time are due to a lack of wisdom in all four of these crucial areas. The contemporary Western diet, although it shows signs of improving, is basically ignorant. In addition, we tend to be too sedentary at the same time as being too mentally and emotionally stressed. And few of us can be said to have gained a mature mental equipoise.

It is relatively simple to say that one should get enough exercise and rest. And although Buddhists, Daoists, and Conficianists have filled libraries on how to achieve a good mental attitude, this is not something that can be well conveyed in a book. Diet, on the other hand, although seemingly open to a great deal of contradiction and confusion, is something which can be written about simply and clearly.

This material is excerpted from Arisal of the Clear: A Simple Guide to Healthy Eating According to Traditional Chinese Medicine by Bob Flaws and published by Blue Poppy Press, Inc. Call to order or for a catalog of all titles at 1-800-487-9296.