Me and 13

'Experiences' - Me, 13', and others

1. You can 'STOP' the Common Cold !

From childhood on I was very prone to getting Common Cold (German: 'Erkaeltung'). Some years ago, from my readings on Yoga etc, I thought that I may prevent Colds by 'Autosuggestion', and I experimented with myself. So when I got Colds, I started repeatedly telling myself several times a day, that it will go away quickly and it will not be heavy etc. Later after the Cold was gone, I told myself and thought in my mind repeatedly, that I will not get a Cold, I am resistant to Cold etc. Naturally, I was skeptical at the beginning. Later, when it seemed to work, I started to tell my colleagues, my children and other people about this; so I think it had an added confirming effect. Thus I developed good resistance to Common Cold, through this simple technique. Now for about 6-7 years, I do not get Colds that easily. Sometimes I get the symptoms of an infection of Cold - sneezing, irritation in the throat etc, but my body fights and defeats the infection so that I do not get the Cold. In a few instances I got a light Cold, but it lasted only 2-3 days. And whenever I get symptoms, I tell myself repeatedly that I will not get it, I am resistant to Cold, my immune system is intact etc - that is the technique of autosuggestion - reaffirming myself; and it works !! You may be skeptical; doesn't matter; please try and you have nothing to lose. And when it works, you know; then you can tell others, and even write about it !

2. Prevent Ear Pain during Air Travel

On my first plane journey in 1974, during the landing of the plane, I experienced ear pain. As it became very severe, I asked help from the airhostess. She suggested to close the nose and apply some pressure into the ears, an open-and-close mouth exercise, or do like chewing. I did all these, but there was no relief. As this ear pain repeated during plane landings, with more or less severe intensity in later plane journeys, I consulted other Airhostesses, ENT (Ear Nose and Throat) Specialists and friends for a solution for this great problem. The . ENT specialist explained that I may have a very narrow canal between my nose and ear, and if it is congested by a Common Cold the ear will experience pain during landings. Air pressure in the cabin is decreased during the flight, and the air pressure within the ear chamber decreases slowly during the ascend and the flight of the plane. During plane landings, the cabin pressure is increased and the process is rather quicker. Then, if the canal between inner ear and nose is congested outer pressure on the thin ear membrane will cause it to bulge inwards straining the delicate tissue, causing pain. The ENT specialist suggested to take some anti-histamine tablets, the day before the flight to prevent or relieve congestion, and to keep some painkillers to take during the flight, if the pain is severe. One airhostess suggested to put a few paper napkins in a cup and soak it with very hot water, and keep the ear on the cup's mouth to get the warm moisture from it; this procedure gave some relief. What I noticed from the reaction from all these people was, that they did not seem to realize the severe pain I had. However, during plane journeys, I kept painkiller tablets ready, and took one or two about an hour before the landings, and it gave some relief. But there was pain during almost every plane landing, and it gave very uncomfortable feeling in the ear for two or three days after each plane journey. And my hearing was very poor immediately after the landings.

During a plane journey about 15 years after my first plane journey, the passenger sitting next to me was from my own state. On hearing my problem of ear pain, he said that he also used to have the same problem, and explained how to avoid it. One should close the nose with the fingers, and slowly apply pressure to the inner chamber of the ear a number of times, as if you are injecting air into the inner ear chamber. The important point is that, it works only when it is done slowly, repeatedly, and in small doses of pressure - a single dose of greater pressure did not help in my case. After, I learned to do this technique called 'Valsalva Technique', I have absolutely no ear pain at all during plane landings. In fact most of the people do not have this problem, and therefore, they cannot understand it, and also cannot explain precisely how to perform this trick ! That is why suggestions by many did not help me.

3. Simple remedy for Dandruff

About 20 years ago, I started getting 'dandruff', and tried various shampoos, but the problem persisted. After some months, it became more severe and the scalp started getting red and wound. I wrote a letter to Kottakkal Aryavaidyasala, describing the problem. They suggested to use Coconut Oil with Lemon Juice, and a number of other remedies. I tried the easiest of the suggested remedies. A lemon's juice is added to about 250 ml of Coconut Oil, and heated in low temperature until the water content in the juice start to escape giving a spluttering sound. The sound stops when all the water has escaped. Then the oil is cooled well, and is applied on the scalps and washed after 15 to 20 minutes. With this remedy, my dandruff problem was under control. Initially I used soap or shampoo to wash out the oil. After several months, when Oil with Lemon Juice was exhausted, I tried just Coconut Oil alone; it also helped to keep the dandruff under control. However, it was not completely cured; dandruff shows up again if I do not use the oil for two weeks continuously. For the last two years, because of a serious eye problem, I am using 'Thribhaladikeram', special coconut oil with Ayurveda's famous ‘Thribhala’, which means three fruits, for the head. Before that, for about 12 years, I used coconut oil once in a week on the head, face and all over the body, and take a bath with out using soap or shampoo. Our idea that we must use soap to wash out oil is because, we never tried it without soap. I tried it and found that there is no problem; when taking a shower even with water alone, lot of oil get washed away; then when we dry our body with a towel most of the oil will be gone. But, flour of Black Gram or Mung Beans can be used effectively and without washing out too much of our own skin oils. These natural substances are better for skin health, it will be less expensive, and also will not strain the environment. I did not use soap or shampoo almost for ten years, except a few instances in an year, when I wanted to go out soon after the oiling procedure and bath. I use only limited cosmetics such as a few drops of hair oil to keep the hair groomed, and a rose water spray as a light perfume. In fact, 'Ayurveda', the 'Indian science and art of life' recommends application of a suitable oil and mild massage all over the body, as one of the procedures of its prescribed daily regime; it recommends a dress code for physicians and for common man as well as suggests to use perfume. If interested, you can read more on Ayurveda in my English and Malayalam writings on Ayurveda on this site.

4. Me and 13

About 10-15 years ago, I used a digital watch and noted that I came across the 13th minute quite frequently !! On a digital watch you read the time clearly written in hours, minutes and may even include the seconds as 10:21:38. On an 'analog' watch (one with the HANDS) you only note the position of the hands and therefore, it is not written as such in hours, minutes and seconds. So, when you happen to read the same minute repeatedly, it will be noticed creating a clear impression. Normally one may look in the watch 1 to 4 times a day or not at all. And saw many times I the timings with the 13th minute such as 7:13, 10:13, 15: 13 etc !? It was not that I saw the 13th minute every time or consecutively, but it was more frequent than other minutes I saw. At that time I had chronic back pain, and during a Kerala trip, I visited the Amala Ayurvedic Hospital in Thrissur, Kerala and consulted the Chief Physician. As India has lot of traditional knowledge, I thought that the Ayurvedic physician might know something about 'Numerology'. Therefore, after consultations, I told my unusually frequent observation of the 13th minute. The Chief Physician there was a Nun; she probably did not know much about Numerology, and said jokingly, "you should change your watch". Then, incidentally I looked at my watch; it was 13:13 !!

After that, I took treatment for my chronic back pain at the Ayurveda Hospital of Kottakkal Aryavaidyasala, near Kozhikode in north Kerala. They suggested that I should take the treatment two more times, with one-year gaps. So, before discharged from there, I booked for the next year and returned. Strangely, I continued to see the 13th minute on my watch and also on my digital radio alarm clock, more often than other timings. After about ten months, Kottakkal Aryavaidyasala wrote me that it is time for my treatment, and I should report on 13 Dec 1992. As there is a belief in Germany that 13 is an unlucky number, and as I was having my strange encounter with the 13th minute, I decided not to go there. Instead I decided to take Yoga therapy in Bangalore, and planned to visit Vivekanandakendra (VK) Yoga Research Foundation, and Jindal's Institute of Naturopathy and Yoga in Bangalore. So I went to Bangalore, and first I visited VK Yoga; and there I was the 13th patient that day. Then, after visiting the Naturopathy Institute, I decided to go to VK Yogas and phoned them that I will start there the next day. When I went there the next day, I got room number 13 !! If someone told me a similar incident, before I have this experience, it would have been difficult for me to believe it ! However, nothing unusual happened there. After a number of years, in 1995 my office moved from Frankfurt to Wiesbaden. At Wiesbaden, one of our yearly office 'Christmas Celebrations' happened to be on 13 Dec 1997, and the organizers decided to give away three special Christmas gifts based on a lot drawn from the seat numbers. My seat No. was 101, and I won the first Prize - a Mini Stereo Set. When I told a colleague Mr. Nathan from Sri Lanka who was there in the function, about this '13-syndrome', he said I should play lottery the same day. So I played lottery (6 of 49 - a type of lottery in Germany, where you cross six numbers from 1 to 49, in one or several blocks with 1 to 49 numbers), and got three numbers correct and won a disappointing DM 8.30 - about Rs. 160/- at that time. It seemed there was some luck on that day, but the luck was not much. From these and many other observations, I can say that 13 is my lucky number; and also that there is some truth in the belief that at least some persons have lucky numbers. It seems also possible, to find out one's lucky number by having a digital watch !!

During the Olympic Games of 1996 or 2000, I watched on TV that the winner of the Marathon race had the number 13. The US moon space mission 'Challenger 13' faced great problems, and the mission and the lives of the three astronauts were in danger. The earth to moon 'mother vehicle', which carried the astronauts to moon's orbit and was to carry them back to earth got damaged on its way to moon and became useless. The astronauts immediately escaped into the moon capsule attached to it. The moon capsule was built to land two of the astronauts on the moon and bring them back to the mother vehicle, which will be kept on moon's orbit during the moon landing and return. This moon capsule did not posses the full technical capabilities to carry the astronauts back to earth. However, by a careful and ingenious planning by the ground mission control team and the precise execution of the plan by the astronauts, they survived and returned to earth. The moon capsule's small rocket thrusters together with its velocity in the moon's orbit was jointly used by the astronauts to get on the safe return path to earth. This narrow path could be missed by even a minute variation in the firing duration of the thrusters or in the escape angle from the moon's orbit, and then there was no possibility of any course corrections and the capsule with the astronauts would have lost into deep space. It was an extraordinarily spectacular performance of human endurance, precision, balance of mind, and crisis management skills, and also the capabilities of technology. I also remember reading in newspaper, that the company, which made the moon capsule, filed a case against NASA, for additional payment for the unscheduled use of the moon capsule for the astronauts' journey to earth !! A wonderful feature of US Capitalism!Today, 13 Aug 2006, I noticed from the news that it is Fidel Castro's birth day; his rule is one of the longest in history - this fact also support the inference, that 13 is associated with extreme long and tough performances!

So it seems that the number 13 is associated with extreme, 'Marathon' like performances. Conclusions based on similar unusual observations can be made only by an age of about 50; because before that age, common people are busy with many other things and do not get the time to reflect, or to have sufficient repeated observations to make any such conclusions. Otherwise, someone may research in various fields and collect sufficient data to make theories.

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