Self-help relaxation - Do-it-yourself-road to healthier, happier life.

Self-help relaxation - Do-it-yourself-road to healthier, happier life.

Dr Abe V Rotor

Living with Nature - School on Blog 

Self-help through daily health habits. Here are the guideposts along the do-it-yourself-road to healthier, happier life.

1. Secure adequate medical services (A regular medical checkup will eliminate many of your tensions. A visit to your doctor and dentist will ease your mind. Regular consultations guide you to form sound living habits. 

2. Live in moderation (Moderate, don't over react, don't abuse, don't say,bahala na and plunge into the pool of danger that may cost your health or even your life.) 

3. Stop often to relax (After US President Eisenhower suffered a heart attack, he learned to slow down with the acronym ARRRW

• A nap after the noon meal
• Rest pauses during the day
• Recreation for diversion
• Reduction of some responsibilities
• Working in a more relaxed manner

4. Be regular in all your daily health habits. There was a fellow who always wanted his work done, come rain or shine, and would work until he finished his job. A heart attack changed his work ethic, and he live happily ever after.

5. Be especially regular in your sleep habits. Don't disturb your sleep cycle, the regularity of your waking-sleeping biological clock. My dad used to say, "Early to bed and early to rise makes a child health and wise." This is a good reminder to kids in our computer age. 

6. Balance your mental and physical work. Your mind and body work together in a miraculous cooperative effort. Overuse or underuse of one will result to a dangerous imbalance. On the other hand, unreleased energy makes you restless. It "eats you up" if you don't use it. It is the cause of boredom. It may lead to anxiety. Keep busy and released your bottled emotions. 

7. Develop good mealtime habits. Eat in peace, avoid "eating on the run", don't eat when you your digestive system is not ready - perhaps you are too tired or tensed. 

8. Learn how to mellow the stresses. Avoid strenuous living, prevent tension from accumulating, know your limits, reduce your 24-hour load, avoid the pressure of hurry, respond calmly, retain the integrity of your heart, act your age. 

9. Rationalize, do not emotionalize your health. Don't be a slave to styles like uncomfortable wears, don't rationalize smoking or heavy drinking - no conditions will lead you to a happy compromise. 

10. Practice good mental health. Think constructively, positively; be your own psychologist.

Use home therapies to relax yourself (e.g., a leisurely warm bath, gentle massage, simple exercises, take a day off, talk over your problems)

Nature's Way of Relaxation is Sleep

Lastly, and the most important, sleep well.  There's no substitute to a good sleep.

Just what is sleep? Sleep is is one of the greatest gifts of nature - the loss of consciousness accompanied by complete relaxation of the muscles. It is nature's way of giving you a necessary escape from life's daily problems and tensions, so that you can carry on in a healthy fashion. But like any gift of nature it has its price.

So goes the biblical passage, "As a man liveth his day, so shall he sleep at night." How well you sleep depends upon the kind of day you have experienced.

Relax Your Way to Health, warns that you cannot work all day long in a tense, anxious state and expect your body from the accumulated tensions automatically the moment your head hits the pillow. If you were restless in your sleep you were probably restless during the day.

This kind of restless behavior increases your tension and fatigue, and at night it tends to keep you awake. The implication is that, if you do not accumulate too much tension during the day, your chances of a good night of sleep are much better. And the rule is that, technically you go to bed to relax - not to sleep. Sleep comes as the height of relaxation. If you are relax, you sleep. If you don't relax, you stay awake.
Sleep Deprivation: Sleepers losing Zs are more likely to report being unable to:

                  Activity                      Tired                Rested
Work well, efficiently                    25%                   9%
Exercise                                        30%                  10%
Have sex                                       16%                   7%
Engage in leisure activities         28%                 10%

Source: National Sleep Foundation, USA
Seventy million Americans or 27% of the US population, are losing sleep mainly over financial worries. The quality and quantity of sleep affects productivity and mood. A lack of deep, restorative sleep can lead to weight gain, decreased productivity, poor focus, moodiness and a whole host of other health problems over time. "Get more sleep or your overall health may decline," sleep experts warn.~ 

*Lesson on former Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (People's School-on-Air) Ka Abe Rotor and Melly C Tenorio 738 DZRB AM, evening class 8 to 9, Monday to Friday 

The Animal World on Wall Murals

The Animal World on Wall Murals  

Dr Abe V Rotor

Living with Nature School on Blog

 Owl - Night Sentinel: Wall mural by Anna Rotor St Paul University QC 20002

Doves - Early Risers:  Wall mural by Anna Rotor, SPU-QC 2000

Rodents at their burrow's entrance at dusk: Wall mural by Anna Rotor SPU-QC 2000

Red and blue parrots on their perch: Wall mural by Marlo Rotor SPU-QC 2000

Note: These murals have seriously deteriorated due to exposure of the elements, neglect notwithstanding.

Wildlife shrinking fast in the hands of man,
creatures orphaned, man looks up high;
forever gone are their homes under the sun,
save some walls of art to remember by.  

Lesson on former Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid Ka Abe Rotor and Melly C Tenorio 738 DZRB AM Band, 8 to 9 evening class, Monday to Friday

UN International Youth Day (August 12, 2020): The Mystery Child: Insights of Life for the Pioneer Graduates of SVIS

2020 THEME CONCEPT NOTE: YOUTH ENGAGEMENT FOR GLOBAL ACTION

The Mystery Child:  Insights of Life for the Pioneer Graduates of SVIS

Our world today loves the Prodigal Son more than his proud and obedient  brother. The son who found his home again, who filled up the missing link of a family, the gap of the bigger world that he saw and experienced with the small world he was born into and where he grew up, the son who learned repentance as a condition to humility, the son who taught the world “love on bended knees.”

                                              By Dr Abercio V Rotor, Ph.D.

  Guest of Honor and Commencement Speaker

Commencement Address, a re-print

 San Vicente Integrated School, March 27, 2018

Almost one year ago in this very place, I addressed the graduates of Grade 6 in this school. I said then that it is the greatest honor bestowed upon me as an alumnus of this school some 64 years ago. I am doubly honored today to be with you, the first graduates of San Vicente Integrated School under the new curriculum.

Never in our history had there been five generations living under one roof, so to speak, which include, other than my generation, the baby boomers (born 1946-1964, ages 50 to 71), followed by Generation X – those who come from small families (born 1965-1980, ages 35 to 49). Generation Y constitutes those born 1981-1996, ages 14-34, followed by Generation Z or iGeneration, born thereafter, ages from 6-21). Generations Y and Z constitute largely the millennials who have one thing in common: They are highly dependent on technology, and tend to be individualistic and narcissistic.

You are among the millennials and the i gens. By the way, who (what) is your best friend?

It is the cell phone, the smartphone you carry around, put in your pocket, around your neck, backpack, handbag, under your pillow, on the dining table. It is your most intimate friend, as if it is surgically attached to your body. By the way the cellphone and cellsite are the main sources of radiation that causes cancer and psychological disorder. It has spread into a pandemic, affecting mainly the y and Z generations.

How often do you look at your phone? According to a survey, the average user picks up his or her device more than 1,500 times a week, reaches for it at 7:31 in the morning, checks personal emails and Facebook before he gets out of bed, uses his phone at least 3 hours daily. And almost four in ten users admitted to feeling lost without their device. Have you given a name for your smart phone, other than Galaxy? iPod? Lenovo? Nokia?

What is the implication of this revelation? Listen to my story.

“I cannot feel,” Computer

A teacher gave a home assignment to her students: first, what is love, and second, what does it feel to be truly in love.

Promptly the students consulted their computer. Not their parents first because they were not around. They were in their work, or abroad. Not their friends, they’re bias, of course. Not a spiritual adviser, to many, he is too religious. Not an elderly, he is too traditional. Hello? Anyone out there? Everybody seems to be too preoccupied.

So Johnny or Jon-jon, as Juan likes to be called, typed the first question: What is love? Immediately the computer responded with a hundred definitions. And he chose the easiest and shortest one. It’s just an assignment, he thought. His teacher may not have time to read it. She is loaded with school activities other than teaching.

Next, he entered, What does it feel to be in love? The computer printed: WAIT. Johnny was impatient. He had to hurry up, otherwise he’ll miss his favorite TV program. He tried again. The computer finally answered: I CANNOT FEEL.

And here we have our youth with their best friend the computer, who cannot feel, spending hours every day, 365 days a year, and most likely throughout their lives.

We seem to be locked up with a robot, our intelligence is no longer a natural one. We are becoming slaves of the robot. Modern industries are run by robots (automation). War is fought by robots (drones). Robots beat us in Chess. They steal our time, peep into our room, and trace us on the street (CCTV). They rob us of our privacy. We have indeed enslaved ourselves with our inventions, a new kind of slavery.

Computers gather and store huge amounts of information, information we do not really need, mixing up important and trivial, genuine and fake information materials. This is the newest kind of pollution today – information pollution or “inpollution.” We are sinking into a quagmire of information waste alarmingly increasing every day. We lose our sense of judgement and priorities. Computers cannot truly think and feel, they have no capacity for love, and faith. Without love and faith we break our interrelationship as humanity, the interconnection of the human spirit and creation, and our sacred relationship with God.

Before I continue let me tell you another story.

Mystery Child.

In a workshop for village leaders, the instructor asked the participants to draw on the blackboard a beautiful house, a dream house ideal to live in and raise a family. The participants formed a queue before the blackboard to allow everyone to contribute his or her own idea of such a dream house. The first in the queue drew the posts , on which the succeeding members made the roof and floor, followed by the making of the walls and windows. In the second round the participants added garage, porch, veranda, staircase, gate, fence, swimming pool, TV antennae, and even a car and other amenities.

Finally the drawing was completed and the participants returned to their seats. What make a dream house, an ideal house? A lively “sharing session” followed and everyone was happy with the final drawing – indeed a dream house.

Just then a child was passing by and peeped through the open door. He saw the drawing of the house on the blackboard and entered the classroom, and stood there for a long time looking at the drawing. The teacher approached him, the participants turned to see the unexpected visitor. The child pointed at the drawing on the board and exclaimed, “But there are no neighbors!”

In the same village there was a similar workshop exercise, but this time the participants were to draw an aerial view of an ideal community. The participants formed a queue before the blackboard and after an hour of working together, they came up with a beautiful drawing of a community. There are houses, a church, a school, village hall, and plaza. A network of roads and bridges shows the sections of the village. People are busy doing their chores, especially in the market place. Indeed it appeared as an ideal village.

“What constitute a community?” It was a lively discussion and everyone was so delighted with their “masterpiece” that the teacher even wrote at the corner of the blackboard “Save.”

Just then a child was passing by. When he saw the drawing on the backboard through the open door, he entered the classroom. He went close to the drawing and looked at it for a long time. The teacher and participants fell silent looking at their very young guest.

The child exclaimed, “But there are no trees, no birds; there are no mountains, no fields, no river!”

Some days passed since the two workshops. No one ever bothered to find out who the child was or where he lived. Then the whole village began to search for the child, but they never found him – not in the village, not in the neighboring village, not in the capital, not even in the church. Not in any known place.

Who was the child? Everyone who saw him never forgot his kindly beautiful and innocent face, bright eyes, radiant smile, and pondered on his words which became the two greatest lessons in life. ·

• But there are no neighbors of the beautiful house! 
• But there are no trees, no birds; there are no mountains, no fields, no river in the ideal community! 

Analyze the story. Who is this Mystery Child? What is the significance of this story to you? To your future career? Meantime I’ll relate another story, this time, about Narcissus in Greek mythology.

Death of Narcissus

Narcissus, a very handsome man in his youth, loved himself so much he spent hours day after day looking at his reflection on a lake, until one day he fell and drowned. The nymph Echo who was deeply in love with Narcissus but was never reciprocated, wept together with other nymphs over the dead Narcissus. So with the animals in the forest, the wind, the trees, and all those who had known him, except, the lake.

“Why aren’t you weeping?” the nymphs asked the lake. The lake answered, “It’s because Narcissus never saw me, he saw only himself. Every day he came to see his beautiful face, but he never saw a bit of beauty in me - I, who gave him the reflection of himself.”

This story tells us of a common weakness of men and women today, a malady doctors call Narcissism or Narcissistic Syndrome. Time magazine featured the millennials in a special issue as Me, Me, Me Generation. The relevance of this story to you is far reaching. Don’t be an “I” specialist. Never adore yourself. Don’t be conceited. Learn to reciprocate, especially in matters of genuine relationships, of true love. Had Narcissus reciprocated the love of the nymph Echo, and remained humble with his beauty the story wouldn’t be a tragic one, but one with an ending, “and they lived happily ever after.”

The lessons that can be derived from these stories, I believe are important in facing 12 major challenges of our ultramodern world, or postmodern world, as may be referred to.

· Threat of Nuclear Armageddon
· Global Terrorism.
· Drugs and Vices
· Territorial Conflicts
· Tragedy of the Commons
· Environmental Degradation.
· Loss of Privacy
· Auto-toxicity.
· Amorality and Neutral Morality
· Institutional Breakdown
· Pandemic Diseases
· Consumerism

Sibyl’s Wish 

I have another story to tell, also from Greek mythology. It’s about Sibyl, a version from the original myth.

Sibyl was a young, beautiful woman of high intelligence; in fact she was regarded as a prophet. One day Apollo, god of music and intelligence, asked Sibyl. “What is your wish in life?” Shy and naive Sibyl simply declined. “Come on Sibyl, every mortal has a wish.” “Well, if you insist, I wish to live forever.” Apollo knew she wanted to be a goddess. “Oh, foolish Sibyl, but your wish will be granted.”

So Sibyl lived on and on. But she was losing her youthfulness and beauty, because she inadvertently missed in her wish the word young. “I wish to live young forever.”

One day, a young man met Sibyl, now long past her youth, a very old woman. “And what do you wish this time Sibyl?” Wryly she said, “I only wish to die.”

How many mortals wish to be immortal? Corpses in cryogenic tanks await science to resurrect them in the future. The pyramids and other ornate tombs were built for the afterlife. People search for the fountain of youth believed to be somewhere in Shangri-La in Tibet.

The message about Sibyl is clear: “We – all of us – pass this way but once.” A missionary once said, “I shall pass this way but once; any good that I can do or any kindness I can show to any human being; let me do it now. Let me not defer nor neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.”

The Fourth Wise Man

I have yet another story. Have you heard of the Fourth Wise Man, a novel written by Henry van Dyke. It is about a fourth “king” who lost his way and got separated from his three friends – the three wise men or three kings who succeeded in seeing the new born Holy Infant, whom they lavishly gave personal gifts. After that they were never heard of again. On the other hand, Artaban, their lost companion, never saw the Holy Infant. All along the way he did not ignore people in need of help, in the process spent all the gifts intended for the Holy Child. He had “wasted” 33 years. 

Unexpectedly news reached him that a holy man was condemned to die on the cross. He gathered his last strength and went to Jerusalem. There he saw the person he was looking for nailed on the cross on top of a hill (Golgotha). Artaban was gravely shocked and suffered a heart attack. As he lay in a corner dying Christ appeared to him. “I am very sorry, my Lord, I lost my way. I have nothing to give You now.”

“You have given me more than your gifts. You have not lost your way or time. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in. I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. What you have done to the least of your brethren you have done it to me.”

The fourth wise man took his last breath; his face turned heavenward bearing a divine smile of peace and fulfillment. 

If you can’t be one of the three wise men who paid a visit to the holy Infant, then be that fourth wise man. Be like Albert Schweitzer who became a missionary to fill up what the three wise men failed to do. 

Think and aim high to the point of idealism. Aim at a goal, more than that, aim at a cause. Dedicate your work to that noble cause, live your life for it. Peace, integrity, freedom, have no measure, because they belong to the realm of the human spirit. It is said that great men and women fought not only for their philosophy in life, but for their faith. Our own national hero Jose Rizal fought for freedom and dignity of the Filipinos, Mahatma Gandhi for independence of India, Abraham Lincoln for the abolition of slavery, Mother Teresa, now a saint, for love for the poorest among the poor. 
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"Philosophy takes us to the highest plane of reason, whereas theology
takes us to the highest plane of faith." - avr
--------------------
When Albert Einstein, the greatest mind in modern times, was asked, “What else can you not understand, Dr. Einstein?” The man behind the splitting of the atom, and adjudged Man of the Twentieth Century, answered in all humility, “I understand just a little about the atom; all things in the universe, only God can understand.” It is a manifestation of deep faith in the Higher Principle, over and above that of science.

On the other side of the coin, when Pope Francis was bombarded with questions on ethico-morals confronting our postmodern world, he answered calmly and hushed the audience, “Who am I to be your judge?” And he led the faithful to a prayerful meditation. It is deep wisdom humbling everyone with the biblical lesson, “He who has no sin throws the first stone.” 

And Mahatma Gandhi, Man of the Millennium brought not only man to his knees, but a whole proud nation Great Britain that was once the biggest empire on earth – “The sun never sets on English soil.” Through Asceticism and non-violence – terms that cannot be explained - India was liberated from centuries of human bondage, undoubtedly by the power of the Human Spirit.

Commencement means to start, to begin, and graduation is a planned process, by phase, step-by-step. It is not forging ahead and changing the world. Commencement is also looking back while standing at a crossroad given the choice to go back home like the Prodigal Son. Our world today loves the Prodigal Son more than his proud and obedient brother. The son who found his home again, who filled up the missing link of a family, the gap of the bigger world that he saw and experienced with the small world he was born into and where he grew up, the son who learned repentance as a condition to humility, the son who taught the world “love on bended knees.” 

Change, if only for the sake of “progress” is not the saving grace of our world. In fact, it is its greatest dilemma. After all, the most precious thing every person must have, and it is the greatest of all human rights, of all aspirations and goals in life is happiness. If you are not happy you are a loser, in spite of wealth, fame and honor. Take off all unnecessary load, be practical, go back to basics when you are in doubt, much so if you are lost. Live happily, lovingly, truthfully and freely. 

Listen to that child who guides you when you are lost, comforts you when you are sad, reminds you if you are late for school, jolts you when you feel lazy. The child who keeps you strong to resist temptation, enlightens you when you are in doubt, . 

The child who strengthens you with your conviction, in search for truth, who leads you back to your loved ones in peace and reconciliation; the child who encourages you when you are losing hope, who helps you fight for life when you are gravely ill, who takes you away from danger, who weeps when you have committed a grave error while strengthening you to resolve and rise over it. 

The child who talks to the stars, flies a kite as high as your dream, who writes poetry, sings, and loves life with reverence to all living things, who reminds you to keep the earth clean and orderly. The child that never tires, who never grows old, and who lives on in sweet memories. 

The child who detests Narcissus and Sibyl, and resists their temptations. The child who does not regret for failing to see the infant Child, just to be able to help the least of his brethren while lost on his way. 

This is the mystery child in you, in your life, the child who guides you in your search for a place in the world. ~
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Congratulations to you beloved graduates, your parents and teachers, and to all those who contributed to your success, and the success of this occasion. Last but not the least, congratulations to Principal Beatriz Riotoc and staff of San Vicente Integrated School, my alma mater I will always love. ~

The Camera - Your Third Eye

The Camera - Your Third Eye 

Dr Abe V Rotor  

Living with Nature - School on Blog

A raft lies among the rocks as the waves roll forever, the breeze hisses 

in the tree in the lazy air of summer.

Love that camera, it's your third eye,

the window to the world in passing; 

as never in another time ever again, 

on this way or that before you die.

When the world is up or down, you go

down the lane and around the bend, 

in times of plenty or dire in comfort, 

the camera shall bring in the rainbow.  

Magic does technology amaze us all, 

work in a lifetime is but a moment,

and the artist is each and every one,

with a little of Da Vinci et al in full.    

Take the road, the sun, make haste,

for having lost your prime and hale,

the lens too, clouds out like the eye,

the window closes. Oh, what a waste! ~

Children -  favorite subject of photography

Lesson on former Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (People's School-on-Air) Ka Abe Rotor  with Melly C Tenorio  738 KHz DZRB AM Band, 8-9 evening class, Monday to Friday

Never say goodbye to a stream

Never say goodbye to a stream
Make use of your eighth sense - naturalism.

Dr Abe V Rotor
Living with Nature - School on Blog
Naturalists are those who talk to Nature and understand her language better than most people do. Read the works of Charles Darwin, Francis of Assisi and Aristotle, and contemporary naturalists like Peter Farb, Edwin Teale, EO Wilson, David Attenborough, and Aldo Leopold.

Flow gently friendly stream, detail of mural, AVR 2010

I talked to the stream down the hill,
words softly came in whisper;

played with the colorful fish
going in and out of cover;

talked to the gathering cloud
as it fell into gentle shower;

watched the bees and butterflies
kissing flower after flower;

waved at the birds passing by
heading home for summer;

picked wild fruits and berries
to satiate my hunger;

brushed the grassy shore
and hushed the unseen under -

it's a quail, an old familiar friend,
dashing to its shelter;

I bathed in the stream of my boyhood,
cooling away an old fever;

and laughed - its water tickling my feet
as it headed for the river;

stream of no return, keep on flowing,
never shall I say goodbye - never. ~

Reference: Living with Nature Handbook, AVRotor UST Publishing House Manila 2003

Stem Cell Burger, anyone?

Stem Cell Burger, anyone?

Who care about laboratory grown burgers but a hungry world, teeming cities, slum dwellers, - and what a price to affluent and fancy living! 

Dr Abe V Rotor

Living with Nature - School on Blog

Burger revolution: farm meat to lab meat

Burger made from stem cells in the laboratory,

     it could be beef, pork, chicken, fish, 

and in many different combinations no single

     recipe can define, menus in array.

Stem cells are universal to all living things,

     plants the simplest, animals complex,

human ultimate, ethico-moral notwithstanding,

     but who can stop science, progress? 

Simple as seed germinating into stem and root,

     as zygote differentiating into tissues,

to organs, to systems, on to a complete being;

     from organelles to uni-celled protists.     

Analogy from simple to complex shows Nature

     at work, transferring life in patterns,

key to evolution's continuity and diversity -

     but these don't need man's intervention. 

Disobedience from the tree of knowledge persists,

     discovery by invention or serendipity,

man saw how a seed grows, an embryo forms,

     in vivo, in vitro, Eureka! 

If in test tube life grows, and tissue culture 

     replicates the mother, henceforth grow

stem cells harvested from the bone marrow,

     adipose, amniotic, umbilical - 

Would a mold make a bone, a heart, an eye,

     kidney? Or simpler, in situ - pronto!

it's bio-automation, two centuries after Ford;

     burgers in millions, nay in billions.  

Who care about laboratory grown burgers

    to a hungry world, to teeming cities,

to slum dwellers, and – to affluence and fancy?

     It is hard to defect from the bandwagon.

Pavlov after all makes no exception, more so

     in consumerism, and Darwin’s

survival in fitness, and on the expense of others,

     is true from ancient to postmodern.

For why should man eat the bacteria in BT corn?

      The arctic flounder in tomato?

Daffodil in rice, human hormone in cow’s milk?

     Bio-pharmed plants, other Frankenfood?

Perhaps because he accepted coffeeless coffee,

     sugarless sugar, fatless fat;

sulfite, chromates, monosodium glutamates,

     irradiation, moieties and clones.  

And now stem cell burgers, and other products

     from lab meat - today’s Green Revolution –

so why farm the land, raise cattle on the ranch,

     hunt down the endangered species?

When you can grow food in test tube

     from stem cells of endless source:

animal, plant, moneran and protist – and human -      

     Stem cell burger, anyone? 


Lesson on former Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (People's School-on-Air) Ka Abe Rotor with Melly C Tenorio 738 DZRB AM, 8-9 evening class Monday to Friday

Respite with Nature (Meditation)

Respite with Nature
When you can find love and care in the wilderness, unity in the diversity of creation, music and poetry by a living stream, science in a dewdrop, miracle in a blade of grass - rejoice and thank Nature.

Dr Abe V Rotor
Living with Nature School on Blog [avrotor.blogspot.com]

Respite with Nature in acrylic (24" x 48") AV Rotor 2015

When city living becomes prosaic and dull in the midst of so-called progress measured by affluence; when the good life doesn't bring genuine freedom and happiness - have a respite with Nature;

When you have reached the peak of your career, but you're not in good health and cheerful disposition in life; when in the midst of company you feel all alone and a stranger;  have a respite with Nature;

When you are overtaken by grief and loneliness, stranded on the low ebb of life, rise up and continue on living, and when you shall have coped up with the pace of change, slow down, look back and  have a respite with Nature;

When responsibility and accountability demand your decision and action, and the consequences are the potential hallmark of your career and person, take it as a precious challenge, but first, have a respite with Nature;

When your prayers are getting fewer, so with the answers you expected, or prayers you cry out in times of distress; when hopelessness dims your faith not only towards your Creator but your fellowmen - have a respite with Nature;

When warned of the consequences of environmental degradation, like global warming and pollution, you look up to global policies and programs,  then ask what an individual like yourself can do - have a respite with Nature;

When you don't see fireflies anymore, when neon lights subdue the stars, sunset comes early and fades away unnoticed; when you don't hear birds that accompany spring, see kites in the summer sky - have a respite with Nature;

When you can hardly differentiate natural from cosmetic beauty, function from aesthetics, work from play, ethics from morals, rich from wealthy, humor from wit, important from urgent, it's time for a retreat with Nature;

When you can find love and care in the wilderness, unity in the diversity of creation, music and poetry by a living stream, science in a dewdrop, miracle in a blade of grass - rejoice and thank Nature;

When you aim to "catch the biggest fish" in your lifetime, you are blessed and ageless like in Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea ; and having caught one but receiving no trophy, found the biggest fish of all - Peace of Mind with Nature. ~

Dedicated to Asst. Administrator Leticia G Cruz, National Food Authority, on her retirement from public service.  

Takip-kuhol (Centella asiatica) - a Panacean home remedy

Takip-kuhol (Centella asiatica)

 - a Panacean home remedy

Dr Abe V Rotor

Living with Nature - School on Blog

Takip kuhol which means literally the operculum of gastropods or snails, grows wild, often as weeds in the garden and field where the soil is moderately damp.  It is easy to raise it in pots such as this sample (At home, QC)

Takip kuhol is a highly regarded plant of many uses; in fact it has a panacean reputation in folk medicine. Ask an herbolario, a bona fide housewife, or a village elderly. And they would say, "Takip kuhol lang ang kailangan diyan." (All you need is Centella asiatica, the scientific name of the plant.) 

Of course they are talking about common ailments, referring to ordinary colds, fever, flu, skin infection, sore throat, boil (pigsa), headache, constipation, blows and bruises.  The herbal may be prepared as decoction (boiled) or fresh.  It may be toasted and served as tea or infusion.*  For external use, the leaves are crushed and applied as ointment or liniment with vaseline or coconut oil. 

In a research conducted, takip-kuhol leaf extract was found to be an antibacterial agent against three common infectious bacteria, which explains the efficacy on the plant against infectious diseases which these bacteria cause.

• Escherichia coli, a type of bacteria that lives in our intestines. Most types of E. coli are harmless. However, some types can make us sick and cause diarrhea. 

• Staphylococcus aureus, a bacterium frequently found in the human respiratory tract and on the skin. 

• Salmonella enterica. Salmonellosis is an infection with bacteria called Salmonella. Most persons infected with Salmonella develop diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps

• Pure extract of Takip-kohol leaves is effective against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella enteritidis. Boiled extract is not as effective, especially against E coli. 

Panacea is often referred to as cure-all, which is mythological, Panacea being the Greek goddess of healing. There is no single remedy for all ailments. As a caution, takip kuhol should not be used as a prescription to serious ailments and diseases, specially those that require medical attention.~ 

Botany of Takip-kuhol
Family: Apiaceae
Scientific name: Centella asiaticaa (Linn) Urb
Synonym: Hydrocotyle asiaticaa Linn
Other common names: Gotu kola, hydrocotyle, Indian pennywort

 Illustrated life cycle of Centella asiatica;  plant in bloom (Acknowledgement: Wikipedia)

Traditional Use:  Crushed leaves aare commonly consumed by Sri Lankanss as salad or hot beb\verage.  More rewcntly the herb acquired a conssiderable reputation as an aphrodisiacv, a agent that stimulates sexual vitality.

Phytochemicals: ALKALOIDS, ALKALOID CHLORIDES, ASIAtICOSIDE, BRAHMINOSIDE, BRAMOSIDE, CALCIUM, DEXTROSE, Fe2O3,  MADECASSOSIDE, MUCILAGE, PECTIN, P2O5, RESIN, SAPONIN, TANNIN, VELLARINE, VITAMIN B

Other properties/actions: Hypotensive, longevity promoter, sclerotic, stimulant, tonic, treatment for abscesses, dysentery, fevers, headaches, high blood pressure, jaundice, leprosy, mental troubles, nervous disorders, rheumatism, skin eruptions, ulcer.

Plant Description:  Slended, creeping plant with stems that root at nodes.  Leaves are rounded to kidney- or heart-shaped at the base.  Flowers are 3 sessile.  Fruits are minute, ovoid, white or green and reticulate. 

*Infusion is the process of extracting chemical compounds or flavors from plant material in a solvent such as water, oil or alcohol, by allowing the material to remain suspended in the solvent over time (a process often called steeping). An infusion is also the name for the resultant liquid. The process of infusion is distinct from decoction, which involves boiling the plant material, or percolation, in which the water passes through the material as in a coffeemaker. Wikipedia

Reference: Rotor AV, De Castro D and RM Del Rosario, Philippine Herbs to Increase Sexual Vitality

Lesson on former Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid with Ka Abe Rotor and Melly C Tenorio

738 DZRB AM, 8 to 9 evening class, Monday to Friday

Philippine Legends - “Dama De Noche,” “Philippines' Creation,” and “Balete Drive”.

Philippine Legends: Dama De Noche, Philippines' Creation, and Balete Drive.
Dr Abe V Rotor
Co-author, Philippine Literature Today
C and E Publishing Co. Inc.

Philippine Literature Today: A Travelogue Approach (co-authors  Abercio V Rotor and Kristine Molina-Doria C and E Publishing Co.) 

  

The Philippines is a small country located in the Southeast side of Asia, having a really nice tropical weather, and having one of the richest areas of biodiversity, but also it’s one of the richest in culture and stories in the whole world.

Philippine legends may vary according to nature and some supernatural forces that inhibit the country, and there is a story behind all of that. Most of our legends talks about the creation of this world and how it affects our society from before until now. We will discuss the legends of Dama De Noche, Philippines Creation, and Balete Drive.
Philippines are famous for its folklore. There are many stories and tales that are recounted by locals. Here are some example of the most famous Philippine legends:

Dama De Noche

Cestrum nocturnum, or night blooming jasmine, is a plant from the family solanaceae. It's other names are Lady of the Night, Dama de Noche or Galan de Noche.The legend of Dama de Noche says that a beautiful princess used to live a long time ago. Since she was a baby, she could connect with people's emotions. If someone was happy in the house, she would laugh, if there was a sad person, and then she would cry.

This beautiful baby was named Dama (in the dialect, mean "Feel", making reference to her gift of feels other people's feelings).

Also, Dama loved perfumes, when she was a teenager, she would play with different flowers to create various perfumes, and the legend says that Dama even had her own fresh smell, especially at night, which made her have lots of suitors.

One day, Dama got really sick, as days went by, her health was deteriorating, and not even the best medics of the Barangay could do something, finally dying. Her funeral was full of garlands of flowers, and her body bathed in perfume, being buried on her vast garden.

The legend says that one night a unique flower started to grow from Dama's grave that had a really sweet fragrance at night. People started to say that the flower was Dama's paying a visit to them, as time went by, the flower was known as Dama De Noche (Dama of the Night).

The Philippines' Creation 

The Philippines’ creation myth, says that at the beginning of time, the first three deities that lived on the universe were Bathala, Amihan better known as the North wind and Aman Sinaya, the Goddess of sea and sky.

The three gods divided the universe, so all three could rule over it, Bathala took the sky, Sea was taken by Aman Sinaya and the realm between was given to Amihan. But differences started to grow between Bathala and Aman Sinaya.

Due to these differences, Bathala and Aman Sinaya always tried to win over each other, Aman Sinaya sending typhoons to the sky while Bathala used his bolts. But when Aman Sinaya sent a big storm to the sky, Bathala tried to stop her sending boulders of mountains to stop her, creating lots of islands.

Amihan was very sad for all of these fights, so in an attempt to stop them, she turned herself into a golden bird and started to fly between the sky and sea going back and forth. With this, both started to get close to each other, until finally they met. With this action, both Bathala and Aman Sinaya decided not to fight anymore and became friends.

Balete Drive (White Lady)

Balete Drive legends have well known in our legends. This is a long street that connects E. Rodriguez and N. Domingo Avenues in the city of New Manila, Quezon City. The corner of Balete Drive and E. Rodriguez is a bustling area that has fast food restaurants and other establishments.

Note white lady behind big tree.

The ghost’s stories and legends were traced back in the 1950's, being the most popular the "White Lady" that haunts the avenue, and it seems to haunt cab drivers in particular.

The story begins with a beautiful woman who lives in a house that is close to the balete tree. She loves to play with children; and her neighbor’s thinks that the woman is a witch so they don’t let their child to play with her.

The woman is engaged to a handsome guy that everyone loves in town, but he has issues with alcohol. And when he’s drunk he beats his fiancée until she bleeds. One night the woman goes home from the market, she saw her fiancée with his friends in the streets. The guy and his friends were drunk so they raped the poor woman on the street.

The woman died from exhaustion and shame, and when her spirit rose. She avenges her death by killing his husband’s friends one by one. The man was so scared that he hired lots of guards to protect him. But it came to a point where the spirit found him and then she killed him avenging her death.

And after that, the girl wandered the streets of E. Rodriguez to haunt all the men that ventures in her territory, the balete drive. ~ 
Acknowledgement: Internet photos

Requiem to the Leaning Fire Tree

Requiem to the Leaning Fire Tree

Dr Abe V Rotor

Living with Nature School on Blog

Fire tree (Delonix regia) Family Caesalpinaceae.

At first glance the road and tree are tilting toward each other - which only shows the extent of the "Living Pisa" phenomenon. The tree is found near the junction of Regalado and Fairview avenue going to SM Fairview in Quezon City.

Actually there are thousands of leaning trees in Metro Manila that are pruned to keep them from touching power lines and communication cables running overhead. These are the few survivors of what we call "progress", but sooner or later they too, will give in to the consequences of deprivation of proper care, and the law of gravity. ~

The Leaning Fire Tree

Fire tree, burn and speak with rage,
before your flowers are your wreath;
burn the whole day through to its edge,
but never die with the sunset.
. . . . .
You have spoken well with your flame 
singeing the sky and the road
the pleading, the sorrow, the shame;
unheard, unseen, untold.

Lesson on former Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (People's School-on-Air) Ka Abe Rotor with Melly C Tenorio 738 DZRB AM Band, 8 to 9 evening class Monday to Friday

"Green Station" for tired and weary passersby

 "Green Station"  for tired and weary passersby 

Dr Abe V Rotor

Living with Nature - School on Blog (avrotor.blogspot.com)

                       Composite Mural by the author in his residence in Lagro QC

It's not jeepney or railway station,
sidewalk stall or shopping mall,
coffee shop or kiosk at a corner,
but a mural of Nature on a wall.

Kids, toddlers, babies in strollers,
guardians, or some lost soul,
teeners going home from school,
take respite before the wall.

Here they are with Nature altogether;
for they are now part of the wall
in a rare moment of peace and quiet
blest by the Angelus' toll.

   

 

Strollers' station, too. 

. .  

Respite by the seashore.  

 




Tired? Stop, relax, and take a rest.

Lesson on former Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (People's School-on-Air) Ka Abe Rotor and Melly C Tenorio 738 DZRB AM Band, 8 to 9 Evening Class, Monday to Friday