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CASTOR-CISE: A TIME FOR HEALING
Once all indigenous cultures had healing rituals. Those rituals provided people
with purpose and structure for a time of shared silence and spiritual renewal.
We now live "fast" lives—what might be the benefits of the time so saved is not
clear to me—and healing rituals have been victim of that speeded up life.
This is the age of toxic environment, toxic foods, and toxic thoughts. These
toxicities create a state of molecular and cellular burn-out. High blood
pressure is one of the consequences of those toxicities. At present, we need
healing rituals far more than during an earlier time in human history. In
clinical medicine, I recognize the absolute need for regular periods of
spiritual work, the language of silence, physical exercise, and detoxification
measures. Castor-Cise is my personal effort to bring such a healing ritual in my
life. The idea of Castor-Cise evolved slowly as I continually improvised on what
my patients needed. The ideal subject to test whether castor oil worked or not
work, of course, was myself. Below, I describe my integrated
spiritual-detox-exercise program for which I have used the term Castor-Cise in
pervious publications.
The following are the components of my Castor-Cise program followed on weekend
mornings.
Recognition of unrecognized unkindnesses to others,
Language of silence,
Water therapy,
Dr. Ali's breakfast (described below),
Oral, liver, and bowel Detox,
Limbic exercise,
Oxygen therapy with peroxide foot soaks,
Limbic breathing, and
Sauna detox.
It is desirable to include all of the above elements. However, it is important
not to skip the whole program on days when any of the above components cannot be
done for any number of reason. Indeed, infrequently I myself am not able to do
the full Castor-Cise program. First things first. The element of recognition of
unrecognized unkindnesses to others sets the stage for the rest of the Castor-Cise
period. Later, I give one example of unrecognized unkindnesses to illustrate my
point.
Imagine, Act, Observe, and Imagine Again
True teachers inspire their students to reach beyond their teaching. In that
spirit, my crucial message is: readers will learn Castor-Cise, understand it,
test it, validate the benefits of this time of healing, then imagine how it can
be improved. I hope there will begin a personal path of discovery,
understanding, and enlightemnent with four steps: imagine, act, observe, and
Imagine again. Of course, I do not suggest this path of imagine, act, observe,
and Imagine again only for a periods of castor-Cise. I am a dreamer. I am also a
realist. I recognize habitual thinking can be a tough competitor. However, I see
inspiring examples of change every working week, and so continue to impressed by
human capabilities.
Dr. Ali's Castor-Cise
On weekend mornings, I warm two tablespoons of castor oil in a large spoon by
flame. I apply the oil liberally to:
(1) the liver area (the rib cage on the right side, extending from mid-line in
front to the mid-line behind);
(2) the front and sides of the abdomen;
(3) shoulders; and
(4) face (light smear). For the next two hours, I stay in a limbic state, a
meditative state free of chatter of a cluttered head (see The Monkey and Healing
[1990] for description). I do not use the telephone, nor watch TV. Low volume
music is acceptable at times. I prepare my breakfast (described in chapter 9
entitled "Optimal Food Choices for Normalizing Blood Pressure") and take
nutrient and herbal supplements with eight to ten ounces of the breakfast shake
at a time. Intermittently, I engage in limbic (gentle, meditative,
non-competitive exercised described in chapter 7 entitled "Limbic Exercise for
Normalizing Blood Pressure"). I favor rebounding exercise (jumping jacks on a
rug wearing thick socks, trampoline), rug-running, and light weights (twenty to
thirty pounds). There is no sweating, huffing, or puffing, nor any sore muscles
(crucial for a 67-year-old with much work to do). In between segments of
exercise, I practice limbic breathing (described in chapter 8 entitled "Limbic
Breathing for Normalizing Blood Pressure.") I describe some aspects of my
spiritual work later in this chapter and refer the readers to The Crab, Oxygen,
and Cancer (2007) for many valuable practical suggestions. During castor-Cise, I
often read and work on my computer at intervals. Writing is easier in the limbic
states). At the end, I shave, shower, and get ready to see my patients. In the
shower, I begin with hot water and end it with a sudden burst of cold water to
help maintain autonomic equilibrium. In each Castor-Cise period, I am mostly
free of the demands of a cluttered mind.
Castor-Walk, Castor-Jog, Castor-Gym, and Castor-Sleep
There is a difference between gurus and teachers. Gurus do not want their
disciples to escape their servitude. Teachers, I write above, yearn to get their
students to go beyond their reach. To encourage my patients to innovate and
modify the basic Castor-Cise outlined here, I introduced the following terms:
Castor-Walk, Castor-Jog, Castor-Gym, and Castor-Sleep. Some of my patients apply
warmed castor oil before going for a walk (Castor-Walk), a jog (Castor-Jog), or
a work-out in a gym (Castor-Gym). Many of my patients with cancer and other
serious disorders sleep with castor oil application (Castor-Sleep). Other
patients skip one, two, or more components of Castor- Cise on some days,
depending upon availability of time, mood, or inclination. The crucial point is
that each castor period is free of the demands of a cluttered mind.
Castor Rub HM
The term castor Rub HM stands for castor oil rub with heat application and
massage. I find Castor Rub HM to be one of the most effective therapies for
treating acute and chronic painful conditions affecting ligaments, tendons,
muscles, joints, vertebral discs, and related tissues. I prescribe direct
application of warmed castor oil to painful and swollen tissues and then apply
warmth and massage for periods of ten to fifteen minutes. Some effective and
inexpensive brands of heating pads with in-built massage (vibrations) units.
In the Punjab province of Pakistan and many other regions of Southeast Asia,
there is a strong tradition of mustard oil rubs on the abdomen of women after
childbirth. I do not know if anyone in Pakistan ever tried to carefully
invesitigate and document the clinical benefits of such massage. Nor do I recall
any professor bring the subject up. That is unfortunate because extended
experience with oil massage therapies has convinced me of the great clinical
benefits of this approach. The following are the conditions in which I have been
most impressed by the results of Castor Rub HM:
Colics in infants and children;
GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disorder);
Irritable bowel syndrome, spastic colitis, ulcerative colitis, Crohn's colitis,
and other forms of bowel inflammations;
Energey deficits states (fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, persistent
fatigue after chemotherapy);
Viral hepatitis (Of B, C, and other types);
Cancers and benign tumors (specific guidelines from the examining physicians are
imperative in each case);
Arthritis of various types;
Trigger points
Inflammatory conditions of joints, tendons, muscles, and soft tissues;
The common denominator among all of the above conditions is derangements of
oxygen signaling. I consider Castor Rub HM is a good oxygen transporter therapy.
This, in my view, is the primary mechansim by which castor oil, sesame oil,
mustard oil, and other oils work.
The Cortical Monkey Thrives on Recycling Past Misery.
In my self-regulation (energy-over-mind) work, the cortical monkey is the term
for troublesome chatter of a scattered mind. Most of my chronically ill patients
live highly stressful lives and that stress brings along troublesome clutter of
an unfocused mind. I recognized they need a time to escape the cortical monkeys,
at least for one period of healing time daily. To underscore the nature of the
cortical monkey, In The Cortical Monkey and Healing (1990), I included the
following words:
The cortical monkey thrives on recycling past misery.
When that is not enough, it precycles feared, future misery.
In Monkey, I described the development of several energy methods for
self-regulation. Auto-regulation—autoreg, for short—was the term I settled on
for that energy work. The idea of learning a language of silence for coping—and
chilling out—the cortical monkey developed while I struggled with the stress in
the lives of very sick people. The most effective meditation for reversing
chronic health and preserving health is working meditation. I learned this
crucial lesson while struggling with my migraine attacks many years ago. I wrote
about the language of silence in The Ghoraa and Limbic Breathing (1993) and What
Do Lions Know About Stress? (1996). Since I published my personal experiences
with auto-reg, including complete control over migraine attacks, it has
gratified me much to hear my patients describe similar experiences. More
importantly, I have been inspired by descriptions of ingenious enhancement of
what I teach them by other patients.
Unrecognized Unkindness
I add a few words here about what I consider to be three essential components of
my working auto-reg daily:
Practice of grace and gratitude;
Recognizing and discarding fear addiction
Recognizing and discarding resentment addiction
Awareness of "unrecognized unkindness";
Here is an example of what I call unrecognized unkindness. A friend of my wife
told her the following: I stood on a sidewalk in New York. I wore a colorful
Punjabi salwar-qamees suit. I saw two black young men on the sidewalk. They
noticed my clothes, smiled approvingly, and moved closer to my side of the
sidewalk. Then together they said a loud hello to me and grinned. I became
nervous at their coming close to me. I backed off and nearly yelled, "Go away."
They froze, then raised their hands, apologized repeatedly, and scurried away. I
breathed easier. Moments later, I thought about what had happened. They were two
neat young men with smiling faces. They were gracious. In their own way, they
approached me to complement me. What happened to me? Why did I get alarmed? Why
did I yell at them? Would have I done that if they had been white? I felt
embarrassed, then sick to my stomach.
A Case Study of the Effects of Castor-Cise
The results of Castor-Cise generally reported by my patients have been so good
that I now routinely prescribe Castor-Cise to be done twice or more often in a
week for all my adult patients. The "strangeness" of being "oiled-up" experience
initially by some individuals clears up after two or three Castor-Cise sessions.
In Table 1, I furnish data for a 47-year-old woman who was diagnosed with cancer
of her left breast in January 2006. She underwent surgery, chemotherapy, and
radiotherapy for breast cancer. Her treatment caused progressive and distressing
massive swelling and stiff of the tissues of left breast, axilla, and upper arm
caused by severe lymphedema. She gained several pounds in weight and was unable
to reduce it from the level of 170 pounds despite her best efforts.
During a 14-week period of Castor-Cise, her girth (mid-belly) measurement
decreased from 87 cm to 79.5 as she lost 21 pounds in weight. Concomitantly,
lymphedema of the breast, axilla, and arm decreased with marked softening of the
tissues.
Dr. Ali's Breakfast
The following are the directions I offer my patients when I prescribe Dr. Ali's
Breakfast to be taken four or five days a week:
1. Begin with a 28-ounce mug filled with spring water and one ounce of Seltzer
water
(Seltzer water unnecessary for those who prefer plain water)
2. Drink five to seven ounces of water, taking probiotics with it, followed by
five to seven minutes with gentle limbic (non-competitive exercise) exercise
3. Drink five to seven ounces with additional supplements every five to seven
minutes
Prepare the follow drink:
3.1. Spring water 14 ounces
3.2. One to one-and-half heaping tablespoon of granular lecithin
3.3. One to one-and-half heaping tablespoon of freshly ground (in a coffee
grinder) flaxseed
3.4. Organic vegetable juice 14 ounces
3.5 Mix and drink, again five to seven ounces at a time, taking additional
supplements, and continue doing limbic exercise between drinking the fluid.
4. If desired, on some days vegetable juice may be replaced with milk (cow's,
goats, rice or soy) and one-half of a banana or other fruit may be added for
taste. However, vegetable juice is the best source of minerals and is far
superior to milks. "Very Veggie" brand of Knudson Co. is a good product of
organic bottled juice. Freshly squeezed juice if preferable whenever possible.
5. One or two days a week, the above breakfast may be replaced with an egg
breakfast.
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