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I was referring to the mistranslation of the often hijacked Chinese word qi.

I would agree that far too often pagan practices are incorporated into parishes by radicals who are looking somewhere over the rainbow for Truth. When everything they ever needed was right there in their own backyards (the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.)

with all respects to Harmon3110, I will share and hope that it will not be a stumbling block to Harmon3110, or anyone else.
I have in my library, a book: "Christian Yoga" that was given to me by a pious little old Episcopalian lady some years ago, I enjoyed the book, and see many an insight. one time, off the top of my head, I asked the chaplain at the Newman Center at UTChattanooga if he had anything on the subject. he surely did, I listened to the tapes he lent me.
I myself have a belt in Karate, and despite of my RA, I work out everyday to the limits that have been set for me by my health. I also incorporate yogic exercises, which include pranayama (breathing exercises)when warming up, as well as stretches taught to me by my Christian sensei when we had a dojo. I have had several conversations with a Chinese brother who I went to seminary with, we discussed Karate, Yoga, Qi Gong,Tai Qi, etc. he said that the exercises were great and helpful, but to be on guard against spiritual influences, and stick with the Word.he being from Singapore, he knows well of what he counseled.
as far as New Age (which is pretty much over) philosophy,I had been a member of a discussion group that met in a New Age bookstore, and still have a number of relevant books, though they are in the process of review, and some will be purged as irrelevant, again, I am familiar with this topic.
many years ago, I was involved with a political organization that was chock full of Satanists, witnessed one satanic ritual of initiation, and here, I have knowledge on that subject.
as an observant Eastern Catholic, I read my Bible nightly. a couple of nights ago, I was reading in Deuteronomy about Divine injunctions against using pagan worship methods in worship of the LORD. so there is a fine line between using yogic, etc., exercises for health, and using Hindu, or any other worship forms when worshipping the LORD. I suggest that each of us stick with EC, Latin, Protestant, or other forms in the pale of Christianity when worshipping the LORD.
KEEP THINGS SEPERATE AND IN PERSPECTIVE.
Much Love,
Jonn

my brother James Manjackal knows what time it is. he hit on the head, perfectly.
Much Love,
Jonn

One must remember, at all times, that our Heavenly Father created all. That which is created, is neither good nor evil in of itself, but that towards which it is applied. A lamb can be the center of a Paschal feast or the center of a satanic ritual. The lamb in of itself is not that which is good or evil, but the use towards it is applied. So it is with medicine. The same drugs I give can either heal or kill. The drugs themselves are not what is in question, but the use that we put them towards. The same is in effect for eastern medicine. And many times we don't know why things work, but they do. An example from western medicine is the chemotherapeutic drug Taxol. It is basically the distilled juice from the yew bushes that many of you have around your house. For some reason that we do not understand, it has a property that effectively destroys cancerous breast cells and is currently the most prescribed therapy in the treatment of advanced breast cancer. We don't know why it works, we just know that it does. The same can be applied to the practitioners of alternative medicine. I have personally seen the effectiveness of some eastern modalities that I cannot explain. And since all that is good comes from God, I merely offer a silent prayer of Thanksgiving and chock one up for God. Now man in his fallen state has taken wisdom, which comes from God, and applied it to that which is unholy. Such is the case with occult practices such as yoga, tantra, and so forth. As long as one does not buy into the esoterical nature that advanced study of eastern medicine can lead one to, I see no harm, but rather good that comes from it. And in all truth, the advanced study of western medicine has led many into unbelief, thinking foolishly in their heart that it their wisdom that heals, not the grace of God. So to practitioners of eastern medicine, such as good Dr Eric, I salute you. And no, you can't stick needles in me!

Alexandr

John said:

"And, frankly, one of the reasons I (and others) are Eastern Christian is that the Eastern Church still knows the Holy Spirit and the Eastern Church still lives and preserves the life in Christ through the Holy Spirit. That was what we were looking for all along."

And all of us Latin-Rite Catholics say "thanks for letting us know we don't know anything about the Holy Spirit!"

Logos - Alexis

Aww c'mon Alexandr I think there are some of your nurses who want me to give you some payback!

I promise I won't hurt you!

The Japanese say that a good acupuncturist can insert a needle into a sleeping cat and not get scratched.

Lastly, the majority of good experiments on acupuncture actually have come out of....

you guessed it... RUSSIA!

When it comes to needles, I am definately yang and not yin!

Alexandr

I use western medicine along with my chiropractor that uses some alternative treatment. I have been very blessed in that my neurologist, internist, pulmonary doctor, and chiropractor have worked together (no they do not know each other). They have worked so that I am on a minimal amount of drugs, as my body was being poinsoned by the very drugs that were to help by body.

In 2000, I could not even stand up straight, I was basically bent over at the waist looking at the floor when I stood up. Now in 2007, I stand perfectly straight for the most part. I can truly say that by God's grace and healing, if it were not for the chiropractor and his alternative treatments I would not be here.

Another example is, my heart had been enlarged. When they put me in the hospital in 2004 - of which I was there pretty much between Thanksgiving and Pascha of 2005 - upon entering they said your heart is in really bad shape. Well guess what? When they did the ultra sound, my heart was in perfect shape They could not understand. Now my heart is perfect size. So our wonderful Lord used the many talents of this chiropractor to heal this crazy body. Though I am not there yet - completely healed, I have a wonderful 'quality' of life now. Glory to God!

Alexandr,

Acupuncture is a yang technique whereas ingestion of drugs or herbs is yin.

But I am the one injecting, so yang it is!

Alexandr

Can you inject a sleeping cat without getting scratched?

Fascinating. Thank you, John. I will think on your first hand experience and your measured, considered response. Much food for thought.

-- John

If that's how you took my remark, then I apologize for a lack of clarity. That is not what I wrote. Take another look. I wrote "the Eastern Church still knows the Holy Spirit and the Eastern Church still lives and preserves the life in Christ through the Holy Spirit." That doesn't mean that people in the Western Church "don't know anything about the Holy Spirit." There are plenty who do. It means that the Eastern Church still remembers the Holy Spirit and the life in Him through Christ. And because it does so, and because I was searching for Him, and because I found Him in the Eastern Church, I joined the Eastern Church.

-- John

the other day, I made reference to a passage of Scripture warning the faithful not to worship the LORD using pagan forms, here it is: Deuteronomy 12:29-32. while it does mention passing one's children through the flames, and such is not practiced in any civilized nation of whatever religion, there is the abiding principle of which I mentioned. oh, and I did my yogic and karate warmups this morning and worked out (HAI!).
Much Love,
Jonn

John,

I'll take you at your word and assume that's not what you meant (and based on your previous posts, it is not so, no worries), but your sentence as understood by the standard reader clearly implies things about the exclusivity of the Eastern Church, or the lack of awareness of the Paraclete in the Western Church.

Logos - Alexis