We all want to live our lives fully, successfully, healthfully and happily.
In the Orient, these attainments are cumulatively called 'radiant health.'
Physical health alone becomes irrelevant if it is accompanied by a troubled
life, unhappiness, or failure. The loss of our physical health can become
an all-consuming disaster. Sooner or later, most of us fall prey to various
disharmonies in our lives and to small or serious ailments, which can
accumulate and disrupt our lives and reduce our capacity to live fully
or reach our potential.Yet it is possible to build and protect our health so that we can live life optimally. Radiant health is attainable, and we can maintain it once we have it. Radiant health is attainable if we learn the secrets of living in accord with Natureís laws and take advantage of a few of Natureís tools. Among the great 'tools' discovered by humankind to aid in the attainment of radiant health are the Chinese tonic herbs, also called the 'Superior Herbs' in Asia. The tonic herbs are the elite herbs of the Chinese herbal system, the most fully developed herbal system in the world. The Chinese Tonic herbs have always held a very special place in Asian culture. These very special natural substances have been associated with the highest qualities of living, and thus are associated with the ideals of long life, slow aging, glowing health, happiness, wisdom, physical vitality, adaptability, sexual vigor and response, mental acuity and clear intuition, love and compassion, and harmonious relations with nature and with one's fellow human beings. By achieving these goals, one can be said to have attained true 'radiant health.' The ultimate purpose of consuming Chinese Tonic herbs and of applying the principles of this 'way of radiant health' is not so much to eradicate disease, as it is to achieve these ideal goals of living. It has become clear over many centuries that the great Chinese Tonic herbs can make a very major contribution toward one's ultimate well being by providing very special nutrients that help the body-mind become radiantly healthy. What distinguishes Chinese herbalism from other systems has been the attitude the Chinese and other Asian societies have taken toward health. Putting the emphasis on promoting health, they have created a body of knowledge concerning the health-promoting tonic herbs that no other society or system has matched. Other systems have emphasized the remedial over the preventive, at least as it has come down to us today. Traditional Asian herbalism has evolved over thousands of years. The Chinese have chronicled their discoveries and have passed the knowledge along from generation to generation for over three thousand years. Because of their respect for, and continued utilization of these herbs, Asian societies have paid special attention to preserving the existence of these treasures of the earth. The vast traditional herbal knowledge that has developed through centuries of continued practice has led recently to an intense search for scientific understanding, and for new improved methods of cultivation, production, distribution and consumption. As a result of three decades of research in thousands of institutions and laboratories throughout the world, Asian herbalism is now becoming well understood and is taking its rightful place as a major form of health care throughout the world. Science and traditionalism have been well blended in Asia, where the traditional is respected but science is required to meet modern standards. Thousands of herbs have been thoroughly examined. Major research institutes throughout Asia have performed innumerable studies on the major tonic herbs, and thus these natural substances are now becoming quite well understood. There is a logic to the herbs based not only on age-old tradition, but on good modern science. |
