We are a nonprofit global health education organization (Paul D. Pickens II Research Foundation) building an App that will help people, all over the world, de-stress and gain greater health and happiness. Please check out
http://www.Indiegogo.com/ExtraordinaryBreathCampaign.
There is a change in the thought of the world. This change has been happening for a while, and it is now happening at a faster rate. There is a vast difference between simply thinking, and directing our thought consciously, systematically and constructively, when we do this we place our mind in harmony with the Universal Mind, we are in tune with the Infinite, we set in operation the mightiest force in existence, the creative power of the Universal Mind. This, as everything else, is governed by natural law, which is that Mind is creative, and will automatically take its thoughts and manifest them.
Extraordinary breath: intention merged with breath; Directing your thoughts consciously, systematically and positively. Creating your future, one thought at a time.
The Extraordinary Breath is different from many other deep-breathing methods, this system is more than merely bringing a greater volume of air into your body; as you inhale and exhale, long, deep even breaths, your positive intentions are synchronized with your breathing.
Science has proven that every time you think a thought, feel an emotion, or perform an action, your neuro-circuitry changes. When you take charge of this process, through the Extraordinary Breath, the positive changes become limitless! Read the Article at HuffingtonPost
To quote one of our country’s founding fathers, Benjamin Franklin, “We must all hang together, or assuredly, we will all hang separately.”
We’ve received some interesting feedback on our using commendations we’ve received from two United States presidents.
Some people are offended by our being so bold and being proud of our accomplishments and showing what we have achieved.
There are so few people in the world who have received accolades from the highest office in this country, and even fewer people in the world who are doing the work we do. We honor and respect all those who have given of themselves to make this world a better place.
Although Obama and Bush, the Presidents who have praised our work, may not always be in alignment with our core values, the fact of the matter is that they are in the positions of being two of the most powerful and influential people in the world.
Therefore receiving an acknowledgement for the good work that WE do in the world is just that. And, not all that good people do in the world is good, and not all that bad people do in the world is bad.
This is where the power of discernment comes into play, otherwise we as humans through our ignorance throw the baby out with the bathwater and find nothing to unite us or find what we all have in common, which is why we chose the simple, human act of breathing. And including intentions with our every breath, such as love, greater health, success, safety, peace and harmony worldwide, sets these positive intentions into the Universe and the more people who join in this movement the greater the vibrational frequency of these positive thoughts and emotions permeate and take permanent root in our collective consciousness.
And this is exactly what our movement is about, finding what we all have in common and setting aside those seemingly insurmountable differences. We work for peace, peace all around the world.
Some people are offended by what they perceive as the failings of President Obama in enacting, or not enacting, many of his policies, and direct their anger at him. By supporting the positive aspects of what Obama is saying and doing, we are creating the conditions and energy for these positive aspects to grow and benefit millions of people. We don’t just sit and ask ourselves, “Well, how can Obama make our lives better, and why isn’t he?” That is our responsibility, and we work every moment of our lives to bring this into our reality, but not just our own reality, for the good of the whole world.
How do we achieve peace and acceptance of our differences if we don’t find it first within ourselves?
Rest assured that your intentional breath merged with the collective powerful, positive intentions are always present to help you, and everyone else, in your evolution to your highest potential.
We all know that exercise is good for us, although there have been some scientific studies done recently that seemed to indicate the benefits from exercise weren’t that great.
But as we know from our own lives as athletes and as teachers, movement of any kind brings positive physiological changes to our bodies, releasing endorphins that elevate our moods, flushing toxins that get stuck in our bodies and increasing our endurance and strength.
Now, according to the Harvard Medical School, the secret to better health is, wait for it, exercise!
Regular exercise improves your mood, boosts your ability to fend off infection, and lowers your risk for heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and colon cancer. Today, hundreds of studies have demonstrated that exercise helps you feel better and live longer.
The secret to better health — exercise
Children, adults and senior all benefit from regular exercise, with discipline you can enhance your health and well-being at any age. But although many people understand that exercise is important to living a balanced life, it’s become too easy to put it off and sit around watching TV, surfing the Internet, or playing computer and video games.
The minimum threshold of activity for good health is burning at least 700 to 1,000 calories a week through physical pursuits. Experts are now saying that ‘decades of solid science confirm that exercise improves health and can extend your life.’ By adding a minimum of half an hour of moderately intense physical activity to your day will prevent many serious ailments – heart disease, diabetes, depression, and several types of cancer, particularly breast and colon cancers.
According to these experts, regular exercise has been known to help you sleep better, reduce the symptoms of stress, help you control your weight, definitely brighten your mood, sharpen your mental functioning, and, as an extra bonus, improve your sex life!
Research shows that your balanced exercise program includes four types of exercises – aerobic activity, strength training, flexibility training and balance exercises – and each component benefits your body in a different way.
First, Aerobic Exercise
Aerobic exercise should be the centerpiece of your fitness program. Research shows the disease-fighting benefits of exercise revolves around cardiovascular activity – walking, jogging, swimming, and cycling. If you are just starting your new exercise regimen, you should begin by working out at moderate intensity when doing aerobic exercise - we suggest brisk walking while doing the Extraordinary Breath. (To learn correct deep abdominal breathing, download our free eBook, Extraordinary Breath, available on our website
http://www.extraordinarybreath.com/ .) Moderate intensity exercising is safe for almost everyone and will give you the desired health benefits. As you build up strength and endurance, you can increase the intensity of your aerobic routine and enjoy even greater health benefits.
We’ve found that our Shao Lin Chuan martial arts routine (which we learned as teenagers) is a perfect aerobic exercise, from the envigorating warmups, the sinew-strengthening stretching exercises to the powerful forms themselves. Shao Lin Chuan is a dynamic, fluid, powerful system of martial arts developed by Buddhist monks in China to cultivate a philosophy of wellness, and strength, flexibility, balance, and endurance are developed through this practice.
Second, Strength Training
You can build muscle and protect your bones with strength or resistance training, such as elastic-band workouts and the use of weight machines or free weights.
It’s a fact that bones lose calcium and weaken with age and strength training can help slow or sometimes even reverse this trend. Strength training will make you look and feel better, and increase your endurance for everyday activities: climbing stairs, carrying groceries, and even better performance at your job. By strengthening your muscles your body will have better mobility and balance, with a lower risk of falling and injuring yourself. You can also control your weight with strength training, because each pound of muscle burns more calories than its equivalent in fat.
Tai Chi Chuan, and in particular the lively Guang Ping Yang Tai Chi Chuan that we teach, is excellent for improving your health. Regular practice of Tai Chi Chuan, according to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine at the National Institutes of Health, has been shown to maintain and even increase bone density. Practicing Tai Chi Chuan on a daily basis has greater health benefits as well, among them improving balance and increasing musculoskeletal strength.
Third, Flexibility Exercises
Stretching or flexibility training is the third prong of a balanced exercise program. Muscles tend to shorten and weaken with age. Shorter, stiffer muscle fibers make you vulnerable to injuries, back pain, and stress. But regularly performing exercises that isolate and stretch the elastic fibers surrounding your muscles and tendons can counteract this process. And stretching improves your posture and balance.
For those with chronic back pain, doctors are now recommending daily exercises to ease the pain, keep the spine flexible and recover faster from the injury.
As some of you know, Donald suffered a severe back injury about twelve years ago, a frank injury that ruptured the disc between L4 and L5. You wouldn’t know it today by looking at him, though, because he used all of his wisdom and knowledge to avoid the surgery his doctors were insisting upon and brought himself to full recovery. Paramount to the robust spinal health he enjoys today is his intention-driven bio-energetic exercises.
As you can see in this video from our 2011 summer retreat in the Swiss Alps, Donald has no difficulty demonstrating the demanding Chinese Pushups for our students (watch for it at the 1:14 mark).
Fourth, Balance Exercises
In most people, balance slowly erodes over time, leaving people fearful and hesitant at home and in public places. Being fearful of falling while you are doing simple tasks and exercises is a very real concern, and stops you from enjoying your life to the fullest.
Thankfully, we’ve found that mindfully performing balance exercises is one of the best ways to protect yourself against falls that can lead to temporary or permanent disability, and we’ve helped many seniors regain their joy in life because they could resume beloved activities in their daily lives.
Doing your balance exercises will take only a few minutes a day, and you can easily incorporate them into the warm-up portion of your workout. According to the Harvard Medical School, many strength-training exercises also serve as balance exercises, and balance-enhancing movements may simply be woven into other forms of exercise, such as Tai Chi Chuan, yoga, and Pilates.
We have an excellent series of balance exercises that we teach in almost every one of our retreats, and the results in our older students (and even the younger ones!) have been phenomenal.
When you exercise on a regular basis, you will:
Reduce your chances of getting heart disease. For those who already have heart disease, exercise reduces the chances of dying from it.
Lower your risk of developing hypertension and diabetes.
Reduce your risk for colon cancer and some other forms of cancer.
Improve your mood and mental functioning.
Keep your bones strong and joints healthy.
Help you maintain a healthy weight.
Help you maintain your independence well into your later years.
And who wouldn’t want all those wonderful health and longevity benefits?
We are very excited to announce that we have formed a new company, Quantum States Inc., which is a subsidiary of PDP II Research Foundation. Quantum States Inc. will produce our latest mind-body medicine cognitive restructuring project, a revolutionary product that will change the field of healing for generations to come. This, we believe, is the future of medicine.
We have many visionary experts on board, including a consciousness scientist, a world-renowned Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner and a brilliant psychologist, and there is a lot of support and excitement in others we’ve consulted.
This cutting-edge project blends the latest in technology with proven, effective mind-body medicine practices, to bring relief to millions suffering from many illnesses and diseases.
To bring this product to market, we have incorporated as a Benefit Corporation, a brand new type of company in the United States, a new class of corporations that are required to create a material positive impact on society and the environment and to meet a higher standard of accountability. B Corps emphasis the Triple Bottom Line, People, Planet and Profits.
We are very proud that last year, it was our very own San Rafael Assemblyman, Jared Huffman, who introduced the historic Assembly Bill 361, allowing California for-profit companies to file as a Benefit Corporation in order to pursue social missions AND tap the capital markets to raise money.
Our new company, Quantum States Inc., is a subsidiary of PDP II Research Foundation, but it is a stand-alone corporation, able to receive investments from venture capitalists, angel investors and companies.
We are gathering together our team of visionaries, raising start-up funds for Quantum States Inc. This exciting project will have countless benefits for humanity, we sincerely hope that you will join with us as we bring this state of the art, transformative mind-body medicine to humanity.
Donald and I have been blessed to participate in, and even to be the catalyst for, many miracles, not only in our own lives, but in the lives of our families, friends, students and clients.
We set our intention for specific outcomes, and more often than not this reality unfolds before our eyes.
Twelve years ago, one of our very dear longtime friends, Norman Schwartz, a Wall Street whiz, was walking his dog in the early New York City springtime when he slipped on black ice and broke his leg. The fracture was very bad, and while still in the hospital he developed compartment syndrome. His doctors were considering amputating his leg, as the swelling was quite severe, and getting worse. Donald flew there immediately, and stayed by Norman’s side performing healing prayers and rituals until Norman was released from the hospital with his leg intact.
It took Norman quite a while to heal completely from this injury, and Donald and I flew several times to New York to be with him and do healing work on him. During one long, particularly powerful meditation/prayer/ healing session in Norman’s twelfth-story apartment in late spring, we glanced out the plate-glass windows and saw, although the sky was blue all around the city, snowflakes falling but only over Norman’s apartment building!
Not long after this, Norman called us from his hospital bed, telling us the doctors said he was dying from osteomyelitis in his leg and a stubborn high fever, several days of antibiotics were not working, and he begged us to come see him and save him from dying. We flew in the very next day, and the moment we walked into his hospital room his fever started to go down, and the infection started to recede. His girlfriend and the doctors attributed it to the antibiotics finally kicking in, but we knew in our hearts that his belief in us, and our belief in our healing abilities, brought Norman back to recovery.
In mid-2000, Donald’s mother, Maria, was diagnosed with uterine cancer at Montefiore Hospital, in the Bronx, New York. A sweet, seemingly delicate woman, Maria didn’t believe she was sick, and she went to doctor’s appointments only reluctantly. For the next year, Donald traveled to the Bronx every six weeks to spend a week or two with his mother, doing bio-energy healing work on her. Her extensive tests from Montefiore showed that the cancer had metastasized to her lymph system, pancreas and liver. Donald took her to the top cancer hospital in New York City, Memorial Sloan-Kettering, where a noted oncologist agreed to see her. More tests were done on Maria that confirmed the findings at Montefiore, and it was noted by Maria’s doctor that her uterus looked shrunken and diseased. Finally, surgery was scheduled, and Donald sat in the family waiting room, deep in meditation, ‘seeing’ his mother free of cancer and mentally guiding the surgeon’s hands.
After the operation, the doctor came out to talk with the family. She was practically in shock and mumbling to herself, “I don’t understand, I don’t understand.” Donald asked her about his mother, was she okay? The doctor said, “Your mother is in the recovery room. But I don’t understand. I just took the uterus of a seventeen year old out of your mother. So I had to go and review the tests that were done at Montefiore and here at Sloan-Kettering. Those tests clearly showed that there was cancer present, and that it had metastasized. I just did biopsies of the organs, and I am very puzzled because I couldn’t find any cancer! Your mother does not need chemo or radiation, and in fact, I’m sorry to say the surgery itself was not required.” Donald told her, “As long as my mother is okay, what we’ve experienced is nothing short of miraculous. Thank you for your role in this miracle!”
‘Physician as Placebo’ refers to the phenomenon of patients feeling better during, and after, a visit to their doctor or health care provider, and healing faster than normal.
Try Googling ‘Physician as Placebo’ and you’ll find that there isn’t much out there on this important concept. We have seen the effect of this time and time again in our private practice, our clients come to us with life-threatening illnesses, and through our work they transmute their illnesses and bodies into states of extraordinary good health, and transform their lives.
What causes this positive change? We believe it is because of the power of our minds, our trust and belief in ourselves as healers, and the faith and trust placed in us by our clients.
Placebos are defined as substances with no active medicine in them, or procedures and devices that have no curative effects. Placebos are considered deceptions, these substances or procedures somehow ‘trick’ people into the desired outcome, whether it’s shrinking cancerous tumors or lifting depression, or lowering blood pressure, to name just a few.
But how to explain the phenomena of positive results in the patient through the physician/patient relationship? Why do some patients respond better to treatment, real or placebo, with some doctors and fail to respond with other doctors? And not just doctors, but healers from the spectrum of health care providers?
The answer might lie with mirror neurons. A mirror neuron is a neuron that fires when a person acts as well as when the person observes the same action performed by another. The neuron “mirrors” the behavior of the other, as though the observer were himself acting.
If you feel that your doctor, or health care provider, sincerely cares about you and your positive health outcome, you develop trust in that person. Thus, whatever medications, if any, real or placebo, that your doctor prescribes for you will more work more often than not to quickly bring about a positive health outcome.
The power of belief and certainty
These doctors trust and believe in their own wisdom, they have a certainty borne of long years of practice and interaction with patients. This certainty radiates from the doctor, she is an authority due to years of experience and training, it is in the words she speaks, the assured tone of her voice, the comfort you feel from her caring touch, her belief that you can get better, and soon.
As you watch her, and listen to her, and feel her certainty, your neurons are firing in empathic response to her brain activity. You believe you can get better because she knows that you will.
V.S. Ramachandran, the eminent neuroscientist, writes in The Tell-Tale Brain,[1] “It is as if mirror neurons are nature’s own virtual-reality simulations of the intentions of other beings.”
The doctor knows that the body is a healing machine, it begins healing itself automatically. When you cut yourself, the repair to the injured area starts immediately. If you break a bone, it starts knitting back together; if you have a cold or flu, the immune system, always working in the background, kicks into high gear to fight off the bacteria or virus.
So, choose your doctors and health care providers carefully, they can help you accelerate your healing process with their care, their wisdom and their certainty.
“Everyone has a doctor in him or her; we just have to help it in its work. The natural healing force within each one of us is the greatest force in getting well.” Hippocrates.
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[1] The Tell-Tale Brain, V.S. Ramachandran, W. W. Norton & Company (January 17, 2011)
We totally agree! In 2008, in response to the global economic meltdown caused by the toxic subprime mortgage debacle, we released our free digital eBook ‘Extraordinary Breath.’ It has been translated into six languages so far (we just received the seventh, French!) We urged people then, and we continue to urge people, to expand during times of fear and contraction, to inspire others worldwide to breathe in love and gratitude and breathe out love and gratitude. Our free eBook ‘Extraordinary Breath’has been downloaded thousands of times, in many countries, and is available on our website
http://www.ExtraordinaryBreath.com , in English, Hebrew, Italian, Lithuanian, German, and Romanian. Read the Article at HuffingtonPost
We just completed the first session of our annual Rubbo Retreat in Switzerland, and we are so delighted to be creating magic with our Swiss students once again.
We’ve got a great group here, it’s a joy to share our wisdom with open hearts and receptive minds.
There’s a great range of ages practicing the aerobic martial art Shao Lin Chuan with us, from 25 to 75. Although Shao Lin is traditionally taught to young people, we believe that anyone can do this health-enhancing system and have watched with joy as our students who are seniors move with grace, confidence and power across the court.
Of course we’ve included our breathing exercises in this retreat. Scuol is at 4,000 feet, and deep breathing exercises done at this altitude will increase lung capacity for not just here (leading to greater health, endurance, clarity of mind, power and effortless energy) but for the lower elevations also.
Elaine, Frank and Mikko doing Chinese pushups
The Shao Lin Chuan Group!
The second session of our retreat began this morning, Awakening the Inner Healer ( Erwecke Deine innere Heilkraft). We are all healers, and at this session we are teaching how to cultivate and express your innate healing abilities. We’ve noticed big shifts already in our retreatants, such a delight to facilitate those aha! moments.
We usually give a name to our tours, previously we had the Rubbo Magical Mystery Tour (a spiritual journey to India, Nepal and Thailand in early 2010), the Rubbo Love is the Answer Teaching Tour (last year in Europe).
We were waiting for the universe to indicate the name for this current teaching tour, and it came to us a few days ago: The Rubbo Limitless Love and Gratitude Teaching Tour. We are infusing our all of our teachings with love and gratitude and transmitting to all of our students the felt-sensations of limitless love and gratitude, for them to appreciate all of the blessings each of us receive, from the universe, from our families and friends, from our communities and from the world.
Several years ago we heard that Peter Max would be signing copies of his new book of paintings at a Borders store in San Jose. I insisted to Donald that we go to the book signing.
We drove down to the Borders store and purchased a copy of the book, and then stood in a long line. One of the employees announced that if you wanted Peter Max to sign the book to a particular person, to write the name of that person on a slip of paper.
We wrote down ‘Don Rubbo’ on a piece of paper. We know that Peter Max hadn’t seen that name in many, many years.
In 1962, Peter Max, Tom Daly and their mentor Don Rubbo started a small Manhattan arts studio together, the Daly & Max Studio. Although his name wasn’t listed, Don Rubbo joked that he was the ampersand in Daly & Max Studio. In 1963, Daly, Max and Rubbo did the illustration, design and color for Helga Sandburg’s (the daughter of poet Carl Sandburg) children’s book Joel and the Wild Goose. (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Rubbo )
At the book signing, we waited patiently for our turn, inching slowly up to the table where Peter Max sat hunched over the books as he was signing them. He rarely looked up, only glancing over at the slips of paper and writing a quick inscription. Finally we reached the table, slid our book to him and placed the piece of paper with ‘Don Rubbo’ on top of the book.
He stared at the piece of paper for a few moments, and then looked up at Donald with a big smile. He leaped over the table and grabbed Donald in a bear hug, exclaiming, “Your father taught us all!”
As the long line of people watched, Peter and Donald were engaged in a lengthy conversation, and finally Peter said to Donald, “Send me a photo of your dad, and I will make a painting of him for you!”
Several years passed, and recently I emailed him again, gently reminding him of his offer, and saying how much it would mean to Donald to receive the painting. I sent again a photo, one that Don Rubbo had taken of himself sitting with his sons, with Donald just behind his shoulder.
Peter’s assistant called me, and said she thought the photo was so exquisite, and that Peter would be creating a painting for Donald and that it would be shipped soon. We were beyond excited, so thrilled and honored, and looking forward to seeing the painting.
It finally arrived, and it is truly a magnificent piece of art. We are deeply grateful to Peter, and as Donald examined the painting, he could feel the energy and love that Peter put into every brush stroke.
