26/12/2018

“The Silent Of ‘The Silent Night’”

It’s the 2018 Christmas Eve message at the St. Ignatius Catholic Church in Tokyo.

Whenever my husband and I are the out-of-towners to spend the Christmas holiday here in Tokyo, we would make a point to participate the midnight Mass on the Christmas Eve.

This year, Christmas 2018 marked the most meaningful Christmas ever for us. First, on 23rd December, the 4th Sunday in Avent, we were blessed to listen to Pastor Symington’s (Tokyo Union Church) sermon that expounded scriptures from Psalms 111 as the Psalms for the lowly, and in line with the scripture reading on the gospel of Luke 1:39-55 to explain that we, as Christians also need to have room in our hearts to reverent Mary.

In the afternoon, my husband was led to read and meditate on Luke chapter one again concurrently with the Revelation chapter 12 that prepared our hearts for Midnight Mass the next day.

Christmas Eve is the real ‘Holy Night’ for the season. The church structure has had a very high ceiling but with a small mezzanine floor for the choir team; the welcoming but not the suffering Christ was before the huge Cross on the wall.

When the altar boys are holding candles leading all Catholic priests clothed in white walking toward the platform, the entire sanctuary was filled with strong sense and spirit of reverence.

When the choir team led the sing of the Christmas Carols from the mezzanine floor, it was like the real ‘Angel Sings.’ After the opening prayers, scripture reading and the responsorial Psalm 95 was the message for the night.

The Catholic priest gave a brief history from its first performance in the Christmas Eve 1818 and the popularity of the Christmas Carol, ‘The Silent Night.’

I was a bit disappointed as the message was more factual than spiritual. However, I was blessed to be able to experience the silent in my spirit when I start to sing the carol, then I was able to be still inside the Catholic church and know that my High Priest is the LORD of my life.

The closing Hymn of ‘St Thomas,” has always brought me tears at the Christmas Eve Mass.

Blessings.

13/12/2018

Diabetics  – 消渴(Xiāo kě)  In TCM

Proverb 28:5b  …”but those who seek the LORD discern all things” – the Jewish Study Bible 

According to the National Diabetes Fact Sheet, the Statistics Report on Diabetes and its burden in the USA on July 2014 that there are 21.0 million people diagnosed with Diabetes and 8.1 million people with it that are undiagnosed. And 29.1 million is 9.3% of the total population in the US. The publicly available data from Singapore Diabetic Society,  1  out of   9 people aged 18 to 69  has diabetes. That’s about 11.3% of the total population. 

Singapore government has declared its war against Diabetics in the past two years, and an article with the title ‘Diabetes Must Be Fought On Multiple Frons: Tharman,’  on ‘Straits Times,’ a  local newspaper dated 27/Nov/2018 states that the Deputy Prime Minister, Mr.Tharman Shanmugaratnam  drums up employers, public and the entire government to grapple the disease in one accord that is ‘prevention, prevention and prevention.’

I was led to redraft my old work and hope that others would have access to understand Diabetics in the lens of TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine). Ancient China was the first to bring about the awareness of the set of symptoms that relate to the modern Diabetics of today, but with a totally different the name.  The first record of naming the illness was on an open dialogue between the mystical Yellow  Emperor(黄帝) and  Qíbó (Chinese: 岐伯), the physician that documented in the Emperor’s Internal Classics, 《黄帝内经》Huángdì Nèijīng.   

帝曰：有病口甘者，病名为何？何以得之？奇病论_百度百科One day, the Emperor asked Qibe, his physician,  saying “what is the name of the syndrome that a person whose has had the sweet taste in his mouth.? And what would be the cause of it? 

岐伯曰：此五气之溢也，名曰脾痹。夫五味入口，藏于胃，脾为之行其精气津液在脾，故令人口甘也，此肥美之所发也，此人必数食甘美而多肥也。肥者令人内热，甘者令人中满，故其气上溢，转为消渴。治之以兰，除陈气也。(baike.baidu).

In Qibe’s answer, it is the incapacity or impairment of the Spleen Qi that names it 脾痹(Pi Bi), he further expounds that as the food goes into our mouth, usually has five-tastes,  stores into our stomach – and for the Spleen Qi to digest and emit nutrients to our entire body.   If the Spleen Qi is unable to process the food that is what it called 脾痹 (Pi Bi). If only the sweet taste remains in the mouth that is the result of eating too much fatty or caloric food. 

Fat would build up heat inside the system, and in excessive of sugar would cause people feeling ballooned inside of the stomach. And the pathogenesis of 脾痹 (Pi Bi) is 消 渴 (Xiāo kě). ‘治之以兰 (Zhìzhī yǐ lán)’ means to look up the Classical prescription in “兰《兰室秘藏》“Lán shì mì cáng” for treatment to war off the congestion of Qi. It is not literally to treat the condition with “兰 (means Orchid).

Evidently, Classics are linguistically tricky to understand. To start, it’s vitally important to know that although the Chinese word to name each of the orangs is same as in TCM but the function of it has been remotely related to the anatomical organ in our body. Take,  for example, Kidney in TCM  is about the Kidney Qi or Kidney system; stomach is the stomach Qi or the stomach system. Further, in the digestion system, the Spleen Qi and the Stomach Qi are inseparable.  

The etymology of the Chinese word of 痹 (Bi) in English is ‘paralysis or numbness (http://www.zdic.net/z/).Therefore, that’s why the incapacity of Spleen Qi would be the etiologic and pathogenesis to expound the condition of 脾痹 (Pi Bi). If a person overeating  too much of high caloric food without having vigorous exercise to burn off the unbalanced energy, then the excess energy would store up and translate into body fat, and the  fat would turn into heats (not about the temperature) that’s the prognosis of the 消 渴 (Xiāo kě) also known as Diabetes more than two thousand years later. 

消 Xiāo literally means ‘wasting’ or ‘disappear;’ 渴 ( kě) means ’thirsty.’ 消 渴 (Xiāo kě) as a phrase is talking about the symptom of the condition. With the water as the radical in the dictionary, 消 Xiāo and 渴 ( kě) actually share the same meaning of ‘exhausted.’ The inner heats are the contributing factor for what it has been the saying of 三多一少（san Dao yi shoo) that’s too much urination (多尿-DuoNiao) constantly thirsty（多饮-DuoYin）hungry（多食-Duo shi）and weight lost（消 瘦-xiao shou).  

消 渴 (Xiāo kě) had been written off as one of the many Odd diseases that was recorded in the discussion of 奇病论_百度百科,《黄帝内经·素问》中第四十七篇文章, (Qíbìng lùn -https://baike.baidu.com/item/奇病论/7857943?fr=aladdin), Chapter 47 of Huángdì Nèijīng around 400 BC. Footnotes after footnotes; commentaries upon commentaries by many renown TCM masters for more than two thousands year, and modern scientists have also done more than their shares of researches. Diabetes should no more be the  Odd illness, but why we still have the alarming data on the diseases that shock the world? 

It says profoundly in the Neijing that “上功治未病 (Shàng gōng zhì wèibìng), “ which means that any competent practitioner should be, or should at least, aim to be able to treat undiagnosed illness. I did put in more than 10,000 hours to finish the basic course study and practical training. How can anyone be a competent TCM practitioner and be able to treat any undiagnosed illness without relying on aids of any of the latest medical equipment, or screen a blood test?  That’s the depth and richness of TCM.

People usually would turn to the TCM doctor as their last resort, after trying all sorts of medication and treatments, but in vain. Take, for example, most of my patients who suffer from chronic pain and yet not go well with their painkiller drugs. I wouldn’t take offence but welcome it as a challenge.  I have been in practice for more than 8-years. I like my patients. As a born-again Christian,  knowing that I have my dear Lord of God, Jesus as my High Priest to provide me with His wisdom and His healing virtue to touch the sick through me as His instrument. 

Evidently, Diabetes is an ancient disease that has no cure still, but it is treatable and definitely preventable. I assume that many people are more health conscious than ever, normally they would have believed in early detection but some demurred to do anything and chose to live in self-denial. If you found out that a sweet taste on and off remains in your mouth, even you didn’t have any sweet, then you need to do all necessary check-ups without being tarry. 

As for me, I just need to learn how to rely on my dear Lord of God, Jesus to claim His promise, for His faithful, as it says in:

James 1:5 

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. 

p.s. 

I will expound on Diabetics – 糖尿病 （Tángniàobìng）in TCM soon.

09/10/2018 

Recently one of my young friends mentioned to me that the ‘Dunkin Donut’ would have its name changed to ‘Dunkin’ as if I cared. But I wonder how would one of the American predominant fast-food chains that founded in 1950  sell dounts decide to drop the ‘Donuts’ as its new business name? Certainly, I don’t know any better. Take ‘Google,’ for example, the company probably wouldn’t have reached the same level of worldwide recognition and success if the company didn’t drop the name of ‘BackRub,‘ which was its original name (1).

The same week I was stunned to find out the gigantic Chanel No. 5 perfume commercial that used to cover one wall in one of the local malls was being replaced by a new colossal wall ad of Gabrielle Chanel Perfume. It was a brand confusion to me. Was it a  rebranding of the Chanel No. 5  or is Gabrielle Chanel the sub-line perfume of Chanel No. 5?  What would the marketing specialist in the house of Chanel try to accomplish and not cause confusion for all the brand lovers of Chanel No. 5?

Even though Gabrielle Chanel was the original name that Madam Chanel born with, however, Chanel No. 5  has been the popular trade name for the legendary perfume since 1921. Unless the marketer was thinking to add a personal touch to a number, but ‘Chanel No. 5’  is not merely about a number. Many may know of ‘Coco Chanel, and its iconic products and ‘Coco’ was the given nickname for Madame Chanel. 

I don’t wear Chanel No. 5 myself. However, I have been very passionate to be able to view the success story of Chanel, its iconic products and creations in the filter of my faith. Thus I dug out and fine-tuning what I wrote in 2013 for this posting.

 

29-03-2013 

Chanel No. 5 – The Signature Perfume of Coco Chanel (rework)

 ‘Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from above .’ (2)

Being a prolific and creative fashion designer, Coco Chanel influence extended beyond couture clothing, jewellery and handbags. With the help of perfumer Ernest Beaux, in 1921, the legendary perfume, Chanel No. 5 was born, and it was meant for the ‘Scent of Woman.’ People may wonder why she decided on the numeral 5 to be the brand name? It was saying that she listened to her fortune teller. Now people could find all and know all about her by the grace of the Google search.

She was born in 1883, spent most of her formative years in the orphanage; and was raised by Catholic nuns. Her humble beginning had actually contradicted with what people generally believe that the sense of flair or the touch of class is an inheritance. Evidently, her unique androgynous approach into all of her design works is a gift by itself, and that’s the key to her success that has outlived her for many decades.

It was her heart’s desire to create a fragrance, so-called the ‘Scent of Woman.’ Like what she puts it that in any social stratification around the world, there are the “Respectable” versus the “Sexuality.” In the lense of Yin/Yang, like the homemaker vs career women or ladies in leisure vs ‘courtesans, who were more like the kept women or prostitutes during Chanel’s times. Therefore, it was a daunting task to create a fragrance without being discrimination for all women.

With the given discerning spirit, and sensitivities she intuitively picked the blend of ‘pure essence of a single garden flower,’ the ‘May Rose,’ which harvests only in the 3rd week of the month of May every year‘ that were believed to more appeal to the “Respectable” and the ‘sensual, provocative and scent with “animal musk” for the “Sexuality.” In the 1920s, in tune with her breaking through to liberate women with her lines of high fashion, her fragrance for women was perfect to exemplify the modernism. 

She chose a whiskey decanter (Y+) like, “exquisite, expensive delicate glass” to bottle the perfume (Y-). The bottle has become the timely expression of the Art form of a fragrance and Ernest Beaux, creator of Chanel No. 5  won a place in the permanent collections of the ‘The Art of Scent’ at the Museum of Arts and Design’  in 1921(3). And the same bottle has never changed ever since. In  2012, the ‘Brad Pitt’s Odd’ Chanel Perfume No. 5 commercial (3) was the talk of the world, but it has continued to interface the perfume with her androgynous spirit.

The Iconography of the name of the Chanel No. 5 and the ingredients of the fragrance would be a click away. (Chanel No. 5- Wikipedia). It also leads people to wonder how much a single product could captivate consumers for nearly 100-years (1921- 2018). Has it ever occurred to you that it must be a miracle? Christians would relate the spiritual significance with the numerology of Five that symbolises Grace, God’s goodness or God’s unmerited favour.  

For Jesus is the personification of Grace, and without being scripturalized things, let’s look at the  ‘numeral Five’ that occurs in the Bible:

In Exodus 23, 24 and 30 we learned that cinnamon; myrrh; calamus; olive oil and cassis are the Five (5)  ingredients in the holy anointing perfume.

In Ephesians 4:11 we learned that there are Five (5) ministries that God used to channel His Grace to the world – Prophets, Evangelists, Apostles, Pastors and Teachers. And

In John 6:1-10 Jesus in His Compassion and Grace with only Five (5) loaves of bread to feed Five Thousand people.

Knowing little of her spiritual life except she was raised by the Catholic nuns, it is not far-fetched to conclude the numeral Five is far beyond as the ‘lucky number’ told to her by her fortune teller. Commercially ( known as one of the world’s best selling perfume); emotionally (to all the brand enthusiasts), and spiritually, it would be entirely unwise to drop the No. 5, and please keep the original packaging as well.

Deuteronomy 8:18- ESV

You shall remember the LORD your God, for it is HE who gives you the power to get great wealth,…

 

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Google
2. https://biblehub.com/james/1-17.htm
3. Fragrances as Art, Displayed Squirt by Squirt by Carol Kinonov, 15, 2012 Continue reading the main story
4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhYSNwVLll8

07/08/2018

For two weeks, I have been praying for God’s word to speak to me regarding what to post for this week and the news about Jeremy Lin, the Basketball player came to me this morning. Through the Google search, I found it says that ‘Jeremy Lin open to playing for China in FiBA World Cup‘ by Paolo Songco Aug 4, 2018 (https://clutchpoints.com/hawks-news-jeremy-lin-open-to-playing-for-china-in-fiba-world-cup/) I was led to dig out and rework on what I wrote in 2012. How time flies and being an ethnic Chinese, I feel very proud because of him.

17-02-2012 – rework

2 Timothy 1:6 ESV

For this reason, I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.

It was within a day apart while fans around the world still in mourning for the sudden and mysterious death of the gifted singing artist Whitney Houston, then the ‘Nobody to Lin-sanity’has swept up the NBA over last Friday, 10/02/2012 and now it seems like the sensation that has gone worldwide:

‘A Harvard grad, a starter, Jeremy Lin had a 38-point performance for the New York Knicks against the LA Lakers last Friday. He miraculously steered his team to four straight wins.’

 Basketball was the only ball game, which I understand and love to watch when I was studying in the US, in the 80’s. Later I have lost the interest to watch it for more than a few decades. My cousin, Archie emailed me from San Francisco last night saying that he never followed the NBA, but now he is checking scores …and he is hooked. He also said that ‘it is hard to not root for the guy, a Chinese Harvard grad who can play basketball too? I was moved not only because Lin is Chinese American, but also is a Christian.

The best of all that he has shown his maturity in his walk with our heavenly Father that he has never tapped into HIS glory with his given success. And it is refreshing to see a young person, a young Christian that continually praises and to testify the goodness of his Heavenly Father in public with such boldness. I tuned into TVBS, Taiwan wanting to find out more about Jeremy.  One TV anchor was openly praising Lin’s technique and his brilliance in the game.

However, the anchor said it sincerely that he had respect for Lin’s Christian faith, but feeling uncomfortable to hear/witness Lin has reverted too much of his glory to Jesus. He even casts his doubt, the significance as Lin usually rallies his team players to pray together before each game. Again, there is no room to argue with any pre-believer over things like that. Especially when there is only less than 2% of the total population are Christians in Taiwan.

I wondered whether or not that Lin is God’s chosen instrument to win souls? To bring more Taiwanese people especially the young people into HIS kingdom as Lin originally was from Taiwan. In the mirror of Yin/Yang, People would marvel at how impossibilities (Y-)could have turned into possibilities (Y+) for Lin to be the player of NBA.

Take, for example, his height of 1.91 and body weight of average 91 kg could possibly be the hindrance (Y-) for him to play in the American Basketball Arena(Y+). Lin had a 4.2-grade point average (GPA) in high school, but two of his dream universities didn’t (Y-) offer him sports scholarships.  Even his admission to Harvard has only guaranteed him a part of their basketball teams but without providing him (Y-) sports scholarships.  As a Harvard grad and a starter, Lin’s basketball career was like on a roller coaster ride (Y-) before he joined NBA (Y+).

Evidently, Lin is proven a gifted basketball player (Y+). And it is easy for people and basketball enthusiast to cheer his success as the end result without looking into the process of his bumpy rides (Y-) such as the sense of denials (Y-) and setbacks (Y-) that he had to go through before he is at what he is now. Lin and all of his fellow believers around the world would share one common conviction that is what every good gift is from our heavenly Father (James 1:17). Lin knows that he has to rely on God’s power to go through vigorous training and to keep a sober and abstemious lifestyle as a player.

He definitely is in great needs of Father’s hand of protection to keep him from sports injuries and HIS healing virtue to be immediately upon him whenever unavoidable injuries occurred. Finally, HIS living word would always be his shield as he is in the limelight being a public figure and a star basketball player. As fellow believers, it is our privilege to cheer for Lin’s given success, but it is also our spirit of purpose to pray for him and with him that he would always be able to experience in unison with His Heavenly Father to stand firm and gain wisdom.

 

 

 

 

17/07/2018

Sleeplessness 不寐 (bu mei)

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”  Matthew 11:28 New Living Translation

‘Sleeping Disorder,’ and ‘Insomnia’ are interchangeably used to depict how people having the problem to sleep at night. We also have the terms of 不寐 (bu mei), in TCM  two thousand years ago.  The condition is definitely not pleasant and varies a lot, from person to person. According to the publicly available information, it has become an epidemic that has affected millions upon millions of people globally. It is estimated that more than 100 million Americans have occasional sleep problems and some of them are chronic insomnia.

Research has been continually trying to look for the pathogenesis of it. Whether it is recurrent or chronic or acute sleeping disorder, people seem to accept it without reservation that the negative emotions such as anxiety, stress, fear, or worry.. are the contributing factor to it. Personally, I never believe it as coincidental that Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has viewed that emotional (情志- Qíng zhì) elements play a significant role in line with the cause/Effects of the sleeping disorder.

The latest medical equipment still wouldn’t able to scan the movement of our Mind (Y-). If we brought in the etymology of the two Chinese words Chinese phrase of 休息 Xiūxí which means ‘rest, repose or break.’ The first character 休 (Xiū) means to stop or to cease of. The formation of the 息 (Xi) comes with two independent characters, it has the self (自) on the top and the word of the heart (心) at the bottom. Evidently, we would be very restless in our spirit if we put ‘self’ on top of our mind, instead of faith, hope and love. 

Now we know that Yin/Yang is the guiding principle for TCM in diagnostic and treatments. In fact, TCM is all about how each individual can be in perfect harmony with nature; so the most descriptive Diagnosis in Differentiation (辨证– Biànzhèng) of ‘Sleeplessness’ must be as what says of 阳不入阴 (Yángbù rùyīn). The Google translation of 阳不入阴 (Yángbùrùyīn) would say that ‘Nothing Yin or Yang.’

However, it literally means Yang Qi (阳气 = Y+) couldn’t find pathways entering into Yin Qi(阴气 = Y-), as for how the day (Y+) into the night (Y -). If I added some wit to it, I would say that Yang Qi doesn’t have the Yin Qi to tangle together with. Without having any medical or TCM training, the Chinese have always held on to the belief that any form of imbalance of Yin/Yang would be detrimental to the body, mind and the spirit.

The Sound Asleep is a cycle of two opposite states from the technical terms of REM (rapid eye movement) stage that is (Y+), which most dreaming befalls. And the NREM (Non-REM) stage that is (Y-), which is when people gradually pass from tossing (Y+) and turning to deep sleep (Y-). During the day (Y+) our entire being is in sync with the Yang Qi (Y+) in the air, and we become Active (Y+) and Charge up (Y+). As Night (Y-) befalls that Yang Qi (Y+ >Y-) starts diminishing out while Yin Qi (Y-) circulating in (Y ->), and our body should be in sync with the Yin Qi (Y-) and grow into the need for a Retiring from the day mode.

Even if people didn’t have any medical or TCM training background, as long as they can have a good grip of the idea of Yin/Yang, and sensitive to the inner voice of their body, and never miss the window of the time for retreatment, everything shall be fine. Finally, in the line of the complexity of the condition/disorder, many questions are still pending for answers. Such as ‘Is Insomnia Curable?’ Is it Hereditary? ‘Is Sleeping disorder a part of Mental Disorder?’ ‘Is a Disability?’ Or ‘is it part of PMS Syndromes or Post Menopause Syndrome?’

Scientists wouldn’t be able to tell us what causes insomnia. But most sleep disorder clinic would engage in proper scientific,  procedures (Y+) to test the hypothesis (the unproven idea Y-) to see if it is what might be causing insomnia. The most common one is to keep a Sleep Logbook for many weeks, in which patients set up a Sleep Log to record down how well they sleep at night and a Day Log of how they did and how they felt the next day. Keeping a Sleep Logbook can be time-consuming, but it helps to understand the patient’s sleep pattern, before treating it.

In tune with the above passage of scripture, it says it loud about the spiritual root cause of our restlessness and Jesus’ promise of rest. In the beginning, in God’s creation, we learn in the book of Genesis, that God has to cause Adam, the man, to sleep before HE created the woman. So all born-again Christians can conclude that God is also in the business of our sleep at night. Further, in HIS hesed wisdom,  it says in the book of Proverbs 14:40 ‘It is healthy to be content, but envy can eat you up.’ – Christian Standard Bible. That’s why it has been said that ‘envy’ is the worst form of torment to our soul.

Finally, what comes to my mind is the paraphyses of what I read from “The Overshadowing of God’s Personal Deliverance” by Oswald Chambers from his devotional book, ‘My Utmost of His Highest“(1). It reads that ‘we need to shield our minds from emotional invasion; we shall replace our common sense with God’s; we shall hold on to our worldly possessions loosely; we shall never look for justice, but never cease to give it, and we shall love our God wholeheartedly.’ It is not easy to be content, we all need to rely on the power of the Holy Spirit to rejoice with those who rejoice.

1. Posted on 27/06/2013, 6:28:43 PM by Vision

 

 

10/07/2018 –

rework 25/04/2013

Androgyny – ‘Boy Oh Boy ‘Smoking’ Again!

The steps of a man are established by the LORD when he delights in his way; Psalms 37:23 ESV

Both Coco Chanel and Yves Saint Laurent have held my highest regard as two of the most influential, gifted French designers. It’s with their brilliant gender blending (Y-/Y+), sophistication, and their relinquishment (Y-) of the traditional French stylistic, they have upended (Y+) the entire apparel industries around the world for many decades.

All my life I have had a great interest in fashion and I wouldn’t defend myself if people whom I know labelled me as a shallow fashionista. Now as I grow older, without being wiser, I would still keep myself well abreast with the latest trends through flipping the fashion magazines without my own subscription.

Recently, I was intrigued by the supposed to be the most covetable item for women all over that is the ‘Boy Bag (Y-/Y+ women handbag),’which launched in September 2011 by the House of Chanel, with a various usage of the materials, colour stories, sizes and definitely the different suggested retail prices.

‘ To be irreplaceable one must always be different.

 ~ Coco Chanel (19 August 1883 – 10 January 1971)~

From high fashion, handbags, jewellery and even perfume are all iconic products of the house of Chanel. And by the grace of Google, and Wikipedia people would be able to know more about the spirit of Chanel far beyond the price tags that adhesive to all of her lines of products.

I didn’t know that she was the only fashion designer to occur on the ‘Time’ magazines list of the 100 most influential individual of the 20^thcentury. She was inspired to liberate women from the constraints of the “corseted silhouette” by creating the clear-cut luxury ‘black dress.’

Karl Lagerfeld, the current head designer in the house of Chanel, once said: “ One is never over-dressed (Y+) or under-dressed(Y-) with a little black dress.“ Many women would believe that it is essential to own one to complete their wardrobe. And that is simply referred to as the “LBD (1).”

Suddenly Julia Roberts’ black cocktail dress in the movie of “Pretty Woman” comes to my mind. That black dress was the final touch to bring out a total transformation of her movie character, from a street girl (Y-) on Sunset Blvd in Los Angeles, into the ‘Pretty Woman (Y+) that fits into the Beverly Hills 

It has been said that the true spirit of the house of Chanel in Couture high fashion has always been the wit combination of both feminine and boyish deluding (Y-/Y+). Personally, I felt that her androgynous dynamism has either directly or indirectly impacted many other fashion houses around the world.

“Fashions fade, style is eternal.”

~ Yves Saint Laurent (August 1, 1936 – June 1, 2008)~

One generation later, we had Yves Saint Laurent (YSL), another ingenious, gifted French fashion designer. He was the head designer of the House of Christian Dior at age 21. When the House of Dior faced financial difficulties, it was YSL’s 1958 Spring collections (2) that kept the house from financial embracement.

Dresses with a narrow shoulder (narrow is Y-/ shoulder is Y+)and with gently flared at the bottom (Y-/Y+) were part of his 1958 collection (2). And later it was known as the “trapeze dress. ”And Fifty (50) years later, we found ‘Silk (Y-) and Wool (Y+)– blend trapeze dress in 2011 AW(Autumn/Winter)-  Victoria Beckham collection

“Chanel freed women, and I empowered them!”– Yves Saint Laurent

In tune with Coco Chanel’s androgynous spirit (Y-/Y+), YSL further proclaimed,  ‘I created the wardrobe for the contemporary woman.’In the 1960s and 70s, YSL tip over the entire fashion world with his mixture of the feminine/masculine, high/low, and the classic/avant-garde in most of his collections.

In the 80’s, I was so fascinated with YSL and did a term paper for my Sociology class on his life and his works. It’s almost impossible to fusion the ‘brainy and sexiness or ‘respectability’and ‘sexuality’in high fashion for women. But YSL was able to glamorise detailing taken from the men’s suit for women at the end.

His most famous classic well-tailored evening tuxedo suit, the ‘Le Smoking’(3)  woman brilliantly showed case his androgyny dynamic in his Fall 1965 collection. Yves once said, “If I had to choose one design out of everything I’ve done, it would undoubtedly be le smoking”.

It is revolutionary to use well-tailored suits, which raised significant controversy and even scandalous (Y-) at first, and later became a feasible and fashionable alternative to traditional evening gowns (Y+). Modern Saint Laurent collections regularly include a reincarnation of the tuxedo suit for women.

It seems most high fashion houses have never taken this Yin/Yang dynamism out of their design rooms ever since.  A few decades later, we have had Giorgio Armani. Reading from the ‘Weekend Edition of Financial Times, men’s suit for women is much in vogue again for Winter/Spring of 2012-2013.

‘Phathom Thread, ‘a 2017 movie that earned six Oscar nominations and won for Best Costume Design is the validation for me to rework on this piece, dated 24/04/2013. The topic of fashion has been very close to my heart, and without fail, I can talk about fashion and appreciate it from the perspective of Yin/Yang. Thus, please allow me to encourage to hit the following link for your own enjoyment.

1. Coco Chanel biggest invention The little black dress” by vict0ria.
   https://goo.gl/images/ouYgXn
2. https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&tbm=isch&q=ysl+1958+collection&backchip=online_chips:laurent+trapeze&chips=q:ysl+1958+collection&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwidsLO1s-fbAhVWWisKHY3yBeYQ3VYIIygA&biw=1024&bih=672&dpr=
3. https://www.whowhatwear.com/yves-saint-laurent-le-smoking-suit

4. Phathom Thread – Jump to navigationJump to search

03/07/2018

 Yin /Yang In Architecture Adventure

I couldn’t believe that I was able to hold on to a job in an architectural firm for more than 5-years when I was in my 20’s. With gracious colleagues and my deep curiosity, I am thankful to have excellent exposures both in the artistic and practical areas of architecture, God has also blessed me with a few dear friends who are architects with prominent standings in the society. And my cousin, Archie is an architect who is based in San Francisco.

However, without formal training in architecture, it would be too presumptuous to make any attempt to elaborate on anything that is remotely about the adventure in architecture. One evening, like many other evenings, after dinner as I was aimlessly flipping the remote control, and finally stopped at BBC, on FlameKylin Dan Cruickshank’s ‘ the Architecture Adventure,’ he is a British art historian and BBC TV presenter, with a particular interest in the history of architecture.

What my intuitive insight was not on all the dramatic Architectural features, but was on how I could be able to perceive the idea of Yin/Yang that popped up in the feature story. The documentary was about the structure of ‘an Igloo. It is of how people use the blocks of ice to build a structure and how people are able to keep warm inside, while outside the weather condition is freezing cold.

An Igloo is literally a dome-shaped house that people live in Greenland, the North Pole and frozen ice were used as the construction material. It is counterintuitive to use the hard block of Ice ( Ice is Yang Y+) to keep people warm ( Warm is Yin, Y-) and comfortable inside (is Yin, Y-) even when the outside (is Yang, Y+) temperatures dip to minus 50 degrees F.

I have to skip the technical building process and architectural feature of an Igloo but look into the critical function of the heat conductivity, in the filter of the idea of Yin/Yang. The principle lies merely on either the body heat, stove or campfire that radiates the warmth that rises up (Y+) and then melts the ice to fill up all the ice holes that are inside (Y-) of the Igloo.

Then the ice refreezes and tightly seals up the Igloo, so it becomes an airtight doom. And we all know that the property of ice does not conduct heat well; thus any heat generated within the Igloo would remain, and with the airtight snow blocks serving as an insulator.

So people are Warm (Y-) within (Y-) the entire structure that built with Iced bricks (Y+).  I could see the perfect pictogram an Igloo, in the mirror of the concept of Yin/Yang; with Cold(Y+) is opposite to Warmth (Y-). But the ‘intertwined duality’of the heat conductivity could generate warmth (Y-) for people inside (Y-) of the structure while outside (Y+) the weather is icy cold (Y+).

‘雪屋–Xuě wū’is the Chinese translation of an Igloo, it simply means a ‘snow house,’ a type of housing built of snow. More features on an Igloo would be just a Google away. And I could only talk about this ‘Architecture Adventure’ without talking about Architecture by God’s Grace (hesed wisdom) and in the lens of the idea of  Yin/Yang. Just as we use Taijitu to tell what’s Yin/Yang to people even if they were illiterate if what a simple chart can do the work, written words are redundant.

Very often my dear God would answer prayers even before I actually my request before HIM. Personally, my simple heart’s desire is to see more things or more extraordinary use Yin/Yang eyes. I knew nothing at all about an Igloo until I watched the program of ‘BBC Tonight.’ I was surprised to find out that one of my architect friend who had never heard of  ‘an Igloo.’ 

 Isaiah 65:24– ESV  

Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking, I will hear.

26/06/2018

Is Taijitu Is Taijitu (太極图) A Symbol Of Devil?

Further to YinYang 101, here we have the simple ‘divided circle ()’ form, the Taijitu (太極图). A diagram generally refers to an old ancient symbol for the concept of Yin-Yang and also known as the sign of Taoism. People all over, around the globe, especially people with deep Asian cultural background are ways too familiar with this sign, young people may like to emblazon the logo across their garments. But many of them were entirely ignorant of the profoundness of this graph.

Vividly, I remembered,  9-years ago, one Sunday morning, at church corridor, I met with a well-respected itinerant preacher. In confidence, he told me, almost in whispering, that he was very displeased to see one young church member wearing a T-shirt that has the Taijitu as the design pattern, to the minister, the diagram was a sign of demonic. Inside of the church building? As Christians, I wonder,  is that what’s inside of us, are more potent than what’s outside of us (Ephesian 3:20)?

As no one shall take it light-heartedly over comments from a minister. Later, I found out that many of my Christian friends have shared the same disdainfulness over the Taijitu and the concept of YinYang. I was then in the senior year of my study on TCM, it deemed wise for me to keep it close to my chest and in my prayers to my Daddy-God till this day. In His mercy, I had His sustaining power, discerning spirit and peace to finish my study and become a TCM practitioner.

As Yin-Yang is a Oneness with two different premises. It says that ‘no feature is independent of its opposite, nor so trifling that it does not contain its opposite in a tiny little dot form. To me, the Taijitu is a brilliant circle with flowing boundary, in which with the black as Yin and the white as Yang to symbolise this ‘intertwined duality of all things in nature’ without using any of written words. The tiny circle within the vast regions is to pictograph the vague division in between the black and white.

Like our human body, we can’t have the back without having the front. Evidently, the two semi-circles magically depict an idea that ‘totally unobstructed in every direction when there is a small circle within a big circle?’ As to Taijitu’s link to Taoism, according to I-Ching (易经), the Book of Changes, Tao/Dao (道) is about a single Yin and single Yang. So most scholars probably endorse the effectiveness of Taijitu to expound the idea of Yin/Yang in Daodejing (道德经) section 42, the text of Taoism.

We now know that Taoism is a philosophy or even as a religion that distinctively differs from the traditional school of Taoist that is institutionalised to teach the veneration for Laozi; ancestors; immortals; a variety of Exorcism, Divination and many other strange rituals. Maybe it’s not all wrong for people to view Taijitu as a sign of demonic if they failed to realise the distinctive difference between a philosophy (Y-) vs a school of Taoist (Y+).

The word of Tu (图) in Taijitu is about a chart/graph. However, if a simple chart only served to illustrate a concept, it’s illogical for people to conclude that a simple logo has to do with any of the above ‘Voodoo’ rituals practices. Finally, if we look intently, we can see a similar ‘divided circle‘ on the national flag of Korea Republic, that’s Taegeuk (Hangul: 태극기) which is the Korean form of Chinese term Taiji. But comparatively, its a more graphical circle because of the red and blue colour.

What do you think? Is Taijitu a sign of demonic?  The Taijitu is the Tu (图), which effectively relies on two black and white, semi-circles to pictograph nothing is visibly absolute when the different premises is secure. All I know is that I take comfort from what Apostle Paul says in the book of Romans –

Romans 11:36 For from him and through him and for him are all …

‘Everything is from Him and by him and for Him… For the universe owes its origin to Him, was created by Him, and has its aim and purpose in Him’

17/06/2018

I was in awe to find out that yesterday marked the first anniversary of setting up my blog. With or without a good reason, I didn’t write anything for months. Finally, it must be HIS Spirit,  and together with my BFF, Linda Lai’s soft nudging, so here I am. I have made a few minor changes to my header; moved away a few of my previous postings and I hope to find time to apply a new coat of colour to boost the outlook of my blog soon.

YinYang 101

People, in general, may profess to know the idea of YinYang ( not Yin and Yang).  But how many could boldly claim to possess this profound Chinese wisdom? I am still in the midst of searching for the essence of it. However, I have perceived that even with my shallow knowledge of it, I can use it as a lead-in to articulate the insights and visions that I have received in the past, in areas of the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), my Christian faith and many other issues in life.

The simple concept of YinYang is how ancient Chinese people philosophically take the initial view that of all things that exist on earth through the lens of either a single Yin (Y-) or a single Yang (+) for thousands of years. Today, people would accept, for example, Sun is Yang (Y+), and the Moon is Yin (Y-);  the night is Yin (Y-), the day is Yang, and small is Yin, and big is Yang, and so forth. Soon the ancient Chinese were able to discern that nothing is absolute even with the strong opposite premises.

Like the Shadow is Yin and the Light is Yang, but shadow exists only with the existing light; our Moon is at night, so it’s Yin and Sun is Yang and how the contrast between the Sun and Moon. But if we knew about the various lunar phases, especially the phrase in the relationship between Sun and Moon, then, in fact, we can see the Moon, during the day that’s in the shadow of the Sun. Therefore, it would be a fallacy to say that we see the Moon only at night.

In conception, the single Yin, and Yang has evolved into a two-word phrase concept of YinYang.  And YinYang is seemingly Opposite yet is Complimentary. YinYang is ‘Opposite but not Absolute;’ YinYang is Co-existing and is also ‘Codependent.’ Like the Moon and Sun; YinYang is interconnected; they grow into each other as they interrelate to each other in spite of its Opposite reference. If we expound YinYang with YinYang, then it is the constant ‘Duality within Oneness’ to the point that we can touch the infinity.

Sadly, the downright misconception is that many were led to believe that YinYang is full of Taoism. It’s understandable, as people, in general, would know not the distinctive difference between the Taoism as philosophy and the school of Taoist that teaches the practice of ‘Divination.’ More than 10 years ago, the Tao (道) of Taoism was defined as ‘ineffable’ through my Google search. Only recently, it says that the early Taoism drew its Cosmological notions from the School of Yinyang.

Without having a little Chinese resource, it would be hard for people to fathom the depth of YinYang. Worst of all, if we had ministers irresponsibly, openly labelled YinYang with evil contents from the pulpits, no wonder many Christians curl their lips in disdain. In fact, the idea of YinYang had derived from its original inception in the Chinese Classics of I-Ching (易经), also known as ‘the book of Change’ dated 1000BC and before. Chronologically Taoism didn’t come to China till 5th century BCE.

Thousands of years later, we have the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) finally been wildly accepted in the Western world as an alternative, in the past few decades. Many still look down upon TCM and consider it not scientific when people compare it with the Anatomical medicine. The irony here is that the doctrine of YinYang has always been the guiding principle of TCM in ‘(辨证论治 biàn zhèng lùn zhì),’ the ‘Symptom and Treatment Differentiation. 

In the view of TCM, our stomach, which is inside (Y-) of the human body, so that’s Yin, but the stomach is also the powerhouse of the human body to generate temperature  (Y+) to digest the food, and our stomach, it is Yin because of its position, it is also a Yang because of its function. Therefore, our stomach is Yin/Yang.  TCM is not scientific, that’s Yin whereas modern medicine is Yang. As of now more and more no cures found in many chronic conditions, TCM has become a compelling alternative, but it has also offered scientists a new direction for research, so TCM is Yang, and modern medicine becomes Yin. 

Stay tuned

19/01/2018

Psalms 139:8 a

‘If I ascend into heaven, You (are) there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, you (are there). 

Today is my late sister, Rosaline’s birthday (19/Jan). It was like yesterday when Beatrice, my youngest sister called from Taipei saying that Rosaline passed away at 2 AM in the hospital, on 20/07/2008. She was bravely fighting her cancer for years, and she was in and out of the hospital for months prior her passing, but I was not prepared for it. Today I want to pour my heart to give thanks to Jesus, for her life and for knowing where she is right now.

I was in much despair and sobbing for hours. Because I fractured my left Patella bone just a few days before she passed away, which meant that I wouldn’t be able to travel to attend her funeral; and Rosaline had been a practicing Buddhist for years so that I was not going to see her for eternity. In tears, I went for my devotion. On that morning, the title was ‘‘Expiration Date‘ on ‘Our Daily Bread (1)‘ dated 20/July/2008, scripture readings were from Psalm 139:7-8. 

Literally, the scripture promised that even if Rosaline made her bed in hell, my dear Lord would be there for her. But I refused to be comforted. I cried whenever I had her on my mind. She was never married, stayed on to the same job for over 30-years, and she was fighting for her cancer for 5-years. Yet among us, she was the first to obtain a university degree, the first to get her drivers’ license, she was a gifted artist in Chinese painting and super level-headed. What really cut into my heart was when I found out that in her remaining hours, in the hospital, she grabbed hold of Beatrice’ hands in tears.

We had 4 girls and one brother, Tony in the family when our mother passed away, nothing was the same. I was the first to leave home, in early 70’s for Hong Kong. Our father was the trying single parent for 6-years. But when he remarried, all of my siblings were scattered, and Beatrice had to be in the boarding school. Rosaline had been my only link to the family. Suddenly I remembered that I was told that she used to be on fire and worshipped at the local Seventh Day Adventist Church, and she was often ridiculed for keeping the religious dietary(2) in the family. Later, she had a sharp turn in her faith.

What I didn’t know was it a coincidence or not that our mother died at the Taipei Seventh Day Adventist Hospital?  So I called and cried bitterly on the long distance call, talking to her former classmate, Hsu Ze Fu, a devoured  Christian. And she comforted me saying that she believed that Rosaline might have been saved. And a few weeks before I was fit to travel, the beautiful Hsu Ze Fu called and told me that she went to the church and managed to locate Rosaline’s baptism record. She was baptized in August 1978. Unfortunately, my despair went more in-depth, as she turned away from her first love for Jesus.

The following Sunday, I met our Chinese pastor, Rev. Cheng near the fellowship hall, in the church.  Before I could utter a word,  I felt so broken and crying beyond consoling. And he gently pads on my shoulder saying that ‘ yes, you told me that your sister may have left the Lord to another god. But your Lord of God, Jesus had never left your sister.…’ Immediately, I felt so ashamed of being weak and shallow, and I was entirely in awe of HIS steadfast faithfulness and telling myself that even if I couldn’t make it to the funeral that’s fine.

As for the funeral, from either the late July or early August onward usually fall into the ‘hungry ghost ‘ month in line with the Chinese calendar. For all sorts of reasons, some people would defer having the funeral. So the siblings had decided to take heed of what the local funeral planner had proposed to postpone the funeral till the ‘Ghosts’ month was over. And the scheduled date was exactly the date that my doctor gave me the green light to travel, but I have to go in a wheelchair. I got all the preferential treatments in a wheelchair in and out the airport.

I made it on time to Rosaline’s funeral, gave a eulogy, I was not bothered by the format of the funeral but most importantly, I knew where would Rosaline, my most beloved sister be. I read out the same scriptures in the gospel of  (John 14:1-3) (3) that I used for our own father’s funeral, 9-months ago, when he was called to be with Jesus, that same year. I was moved to see buses load of her business associates turned up for her, a few young people also came to bid her farewell. In my emotion, I always thought that Rosaline had an unfulfilled life on earth, maybe because she was never married, but she was given opportunities to impact many people;  had had a few good friends; was respected at her workplace, and she would always be deeply missed among her siblings.

In the light of faith, I was pointed to the following that helps me in remembrance of Rosaline’s 3rd anniversary of her passing, and I am confident that it would bring comfort to many who are in the grief of the loss of their loved ones.

‘From Him, who loves me now so well. What power my soul can sever? Shall life or death, or earth or hell? No..I am His forever,’ Stebbins

Our Daily Bread date 20/07/2011

1. http://www.christ.com/devotionals/devotional-ourdailybread.html
2. https://www.consultant360.com/n411/articles/seventh-day-adventist-diet-0
3. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+14%3A1-3