He Who Cannot Ask Cannot Live

There is an old proverb: “He who cannot ask cannot live.”

Human life is complex, and living is complicated. In order to truly understand what life is all about, you must distill life to one simple but difficult question: “Am I happy?”

This is a simple question, but the answer may not be as simple and straightforward as you may think. This simple question is about life, which is never simple; living for life may, indeed, be very complicated, especially for those who are always unhappy.

If your life is getting more complicated, you may have problems with life and living. If, on the other hand, you never have problems with feelings of anger, fear, frustration, or you never have felt that life is meaningless, you are probably not human.

Generally speaking, the purpose of living is two-fold: to enjoy life, and to expand happiness.

But how can one enjoy life if one is not happy by nature, or how can one expand happiness if one has no idea what happiness is all about? Indeed, living for life begins with that simple question: “Am I happy?”

You may want to ask another poignant question: “Why would one even bother to ask or answer that question if one is already unhappy with life?”

So, if you wish to be happy, you must ask yourself on a regular basis that one simple question: “Am I happy?”

Focusing on so-called goals in life, many of us lose our true selves in the pursuit of our dreams. If you are one of them, you must re-direct your life. If you wish to re-discover your "new" self, or never want to go back to your "old" life, THE BOOK OF LIFE AND LIVING is right for you.

Stephen Lau  

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Dental Health and Over-Acidification

Dental Health and Over-Acidification

Dental Health and Tooth decay may be more than just brushing your teeth not hard enough or rinsing your mouth with Listerine not often enough. Your body chemistry may be the culprit.

Your body's acid-alkaline imbalance may play a pivotal part in tooth decay. Too acidic an environment may strip the enamel of your teeth of minerals, making them more vulnerable to attack by bacteria, and thus causing tooth decay. Acidity in your mouth may also affect the potency of your saliva in checking bacteria from leftover bits of food in your mouth. Furthermore, any upset in your body's acid-alkaline ratios may lead to improper absorbing of nutrients, such as calcium, the lack of which result in tooth decay.

The bottom line: Don't just brush your teeth and rinse your mouth; keep your body free from over-acidification. Excess intake of foods containing great amount of acid, and insufficient elimination through your kidneys (urination) and the skin (perspiration) may lead to acid-alkaline imbalance, which is the underlying cause of tooth decay. Remember, the corrosive nature of acid causes inflammation, which is often a source of pain (tooth ache) and gum disease.

The main sources of acidity from foods and drinks are: animal proteins, cereals, and sugars; alcohol, coffee, and sugary drinks. Eat more alkaline foods, such as green vegetables, colored vegetable, chestnuts, black currant fruits, potatoes, bananas, almonds and Brazil nuts, among others.

A balanced acid-alkaline diet is essential for not only general health, but also dental health.

The Acid-Alkaline Diet: Balance your body's chemistry to create internal balance for self-healing, weight loss, and wholesome wellness.

Freedom from Dental Disease: Save yourself thousands of dollars by achieving a disease-free mouth through self-healing. Conventional dentistry may not help you with gum disease and tooth decay. Treat your mouth disease naturally. Find out what you should know about your mouth and body that no doctor or dentist is going to tell you.

Stephen Lau

Copyright © by Stephen Lau 

Herb of Kings

Herb of Kings

Hippocrates, the father of medicine, once said: "Let food be your medicine, and your medicine be your food." This is the essence of self-healing. 

Basil was herb of kings, according to ancient Greeks. As a matter of fact, it has been used as a healing herb in India for more than 4,000 years. It was believed that basil was found near the tomb of Jesus Christ, and henceforth it began to spread to all over the world.

Basil has rightfully earned its title as "herb of kings" for a good reason. It is a potent herb for self-healing.

The medicinal properties of basil include the phenolic compounds with potent antioxidant properties, and flavonoids to prevent cell damage, and its anti-bacterial properties. Basil is good for heart health: animal studies in rats and rabbits have demonstrated better blood circulation and less damage to heart tissues.

Nowadays, basil is extensively used in cooking for its mint-like flavor (basil is an herb of the mint family). Remember, put basil only in the last few minutes of your cooking in order to preserve its flavor and its medicinal properties.

In addition to using in recipes for cooking, basil is also used to heal common ailments:

Treating mouth ulcer by putting a basil leaf in the mouth

Curing earache with a drop or two of juice from basil leaves into the ear canal

Rubbing the scalp with basil oil to prevent hair loss

Drinking water with basil and rock salt to overcome indigestion

Treating hoarse voice with honey and basil juice

Always use natural healing foods, such as basil, to combat diseases and disorders -- not pharmaceutical drugs!

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Finding Your Faith

Finding Your Faith

To find God, you need faith. Let faith be your guiding star in your life, and you will find Him.

Finding faith begins with loving God. Many Christians believe that following the commandments of God and the precepts of the church is an expression of their love for God. But loving God goes beyond that. Maybe we have never been taught to love God; we were brought up to obey Him. To love God seems such an abstract thought; after all, God is a spirit. However, falling in love with God is no mystery to those who really seek God through their faith. Even Jesus said: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul.” (Mark 12:30) Jesus would not have demanded the impossible from us. It is not impossible, and can be done with faith. Therefore, it is humanly possible to fall in love with God. With the love for God, faith will come along. That is how you can find faith by loving God first.

Jesus showed us the highest kind of love: self-offering love. “Greater love than this no man hath, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13) What is true of human love is also true of love for God. The Bible has repeatedly shown us individuals with self-offering love for God, such as apostle Peter.

God wants each and every one of us to love Him. However, despite our efforts, our love will be imperfect, because we are imperfect and God is perfect. We are not worthy to love God, and it is impossible to have true love for God over a long period of time without some special help from God. That special help comes in the form of illumination and inspiration–something that God never denies us, if we have faith. “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ” (Luke 11:9)

So, we find God only through our love for Him, and we find that love only through faith, and through faith we find God.

But is finding faith easy? Finding faith is the tallest order in human life.

Stephen Lau

Copyright © by Stephen Lau

Acupressure Points

Traditional Chinese medicine discovered that excesses of particular activities weaken the immune system by overstressing certain acupressure meridian pathways.

Excess standing damages the bladder and kidney meridians, which can cause fatigue and low backaches..

Excess sitting can damage the stomach and spleen meridians, which can contribute to anemia or digestive disorders.

Excess lying down can damage the large intestine and lung meridians, which can affect both respiration and elimination.

Excess use of your eyes (as in close desk work) or emotional stress can damage the small intestine and heart meridians, which can create emotional imbalances.

Excess physical exertion can damage the gallbladder and liver meridians, which can cause cramps and spasms.

By using acupressure points regularly, balancing your activities, and practicing deep breathing, you can counteract stresses, prevent fatigue, and boost your immune system. Deep breathing exercises alone can greatly increase your energy level and boost your immune system.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

A Better and Happier You in 2018

A Better and Happier You in 2018

There is an old Latin axiom: “nemo dat quod non habet” — meaning, one cannot give what one does not have.

If you don’t have the wisdom to know your real self, you won’t have the wisdom to understand others, especially who they are and what they need. In order to understand others to have better human relationships, you must first and foremost have the wisdom attained through asking self-intuitive questions throughout your life.

Then, with mindfulness, you observe with a nonjudgmental mind what is happening to you, as well as around you. Gradually, you will be able to see things as what they really are, and not as what they may seem to you: anything and everything in life follows its own natural cycle, just as the day becomes night, and the night transformed into dawn. With that wisdom, you may become enlightened, which means you begin to know your true self—what you have and what you don’t have, and you were created to be who you are, and not what you wish you were or want to become. Knowing what you have, you can then give it to others. It is the giving, rather than the receiving, that will make you become a better and happier you in 2018.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

How To Be Better and Happier in 2018

How To Be Better And Happier in 2018

As a New Year resolution, reflect on your current state of being, and see others as the same. They are not better or worse than you are, but just different in their own ways. There isw no basis for you to be angry with them, or to be envious of them. There is no rhyme or reason for you to dwell on “what could have” or “what should have”— they only prey on your mind, preventing you from being a better and happier you.

To be a better and happier you, follow the behaviors of the ancient masters and sages.

“The ancient masters were

subtle, mysterious, profound, responsive.

The depth of their knowledge is unfathomable.

Because it is unfathomable,

All we can do is to describe their appearance.

Watchful, like men crossing a winter stream.

Alert, like men aware of danger.

Courteous, like visiting guests.

Yielding, like ice about to melt.

Simple, like uncarved blocks of wood.

Hollow, like caves.

Opaque, like muddy pools.

Who can wait quietly while the mud settles?

Who can remain still until the moment of action?

Observers of the Tao do not seek fulfillment.

Not seeking fulfillment,

they are not swayed by desire for change.”

(Chapter 15, Tao Te Ching)

Be watchful: be aware of living in the present moment.

Be alert: be mindful of self and others; be perceptive of the whole picture so as to see the reality of anything and everything.

Be courteous: be loving of self, and be compassionate to others.

Be yielding: be ready and willing to embrace what life has to offer—including life challenges and difficulties.

Be simple: be simple in your needs and wants; simplicity leads to non-attachment.

Be hollow: be open-minded and receptive to new ideas.

Be opaque: Be patient, letting go of anything and every-thing, and allowing nature to run its course because the way of nature is unchanging.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau