The Ordinary Mystic

Practitioners of tai chi have, for a long time, claimed that tai chi brings about health benefits. Indeed, in the last few years preliminary medical studies involving immunity to the herpes zoster virus in the elderly seemed to indicate that. Now a recent follow-up study funded by the National Institute of Health has demonstrated that “behavioral intervention” can help protect older adults from the virus, which causes both chickenpox and shingles.

In the clinical trial, that behavioral intervention was the practice of tai chi.

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Being featured on the Oprah Winfrey show was one enormous milestone for the movie The Secret.

But in the area where I live, I caught another significant milestone that demonstrates how far the Secret has come in gaining popularity - its appearance in a Frys’ Electronics ad in the paper.

For those not familiar, Fry’s Electronics is a huge chain in the western United States. With its headquarters in Silicon Valley, Fry’s is the mecca for electronics and computer hobbyists. But they also sell appliances, music, and DVDs, so it’s an all around popular place to shop.

So now this vehicle for getting the message of the Law of Attraction to the masses has made it to a Fry’s ad, right alongside PC video games and computer software.

Yeah, we’ve all heard how stress does all kinds of harm to the body, such as increasing blood pressure and increasing the risk of heart attacks.

Now researchers are pointing to a more subtle high-risk factor - feeling that life treats you unfairly.

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A recent news article has reported yet another example of ancient wisdom that is ahead of modern science and medicine. And it shows how spiritual views of physiology and “the way things work” can have a basis in reality, even by scientific standards.
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Proponents of the Law of Attraction often make it sound like it’s the answer to any problem you may have. While I do agree based on my own experiences that you can effect changes in your life that way - it is only part of the solution.

One example is in the matter of relationships.

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Don’t you hate it when a speck of dust ruins a photograph?

But what if that blemish on your picture wasn’t caused by dust, or pollen, or water? What if your camera captured something that modern science cannot explain?
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