Image by kafka4prez via Flickr

Sometimes life’s most painful physical ailments tennis elbow, swimmer’s ear, martini drinker’s wrist simply require a little ancient Chinese wisdom.

And by wisdom, we mean a bunch of suction cups.

Welcome to Chaun Body plus Soul,  a hall of strange and wondrous ancient Chines treatments.

Basically, this corridor represents LA’s first merging of highbrow finery that would be the Langham with Eastern philosophy even older than Larry King. Treatments here are based on the five essential elements metal, wood, fire, water, earth, and the goal is to find out which one is out of whack.

The centuries old solution might involve cupping or seeds left in your ear for a few days.

And if you’re feeling especially badass, you might be up for a little moxibustion, picture an acupuncture needle, and a white hot flame heading toward that needle, and a sudden sensation of heat on the other end of said needle. Which is inside your body.

Hey, China knows what they’re doing.

7. Lightning Balls

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Modern science has no concrete explanations about the physical nature of a rare atmospheric electrical phenomenon known as ball lightning. Ball lightning can be seen as spherical objects about 30 centimeters in diameter that is usually  associated with thunderstorms. However, the occurrence of lightning balls  sometimes lasts longer than lightning flashes. Researchers have difficulty gathering substantial data including photos to study since this phenomenon appears rarely and randomly. With little facts gathered to work on, many experts thought that this phenomenon was merely a fantasy or a hoax.

6. Stigmata

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Another strange phenomenon worth looking into is one that has association with the Roman Catholic faith — one that has resemblance with the crucifixion wounds of Jesus. Records showed that individuals who experienced stigmata bore marks or sores on their bodies, apparently without rational explanation. Usually, these wounds appear on the victim’s wrists, feet, forehead, and in the side. In some cases, no external marks are visible but the victim feel the pain. In most cases stigmatics are females. Saint Francis of Assisi is one famous person who experience stigmata. He first suffered the wounds in La Verna, Italy, in 1224. The most famous stigmatist of the twentieth century was Saint Pio of Pietrelcina (1887-1968).

5. Out-of-body experiences

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Most well-documented occurrences of Out-of-body experiences (OBEs) happen in operating rooms when doctors are working on near-death patients. A common OBE scenario is that of a patient seeing himself standing besides his bed, looking down at his body. In another case, a clinically dead woman in a life-support machine, was able to describe in details the exact operating apparatus the doctors used during their surgery.

4. Acupuncture

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Originating from ancient China, acupuncture is a technique of inserting and manipulating fine needles into specific points on the body to relieve pain or for therapeutic purposes. This medical practice is based upon the unproven theory of “vital energy,” “energetic balance” and “energetic imbalance.” Acupuncture practitioners believe that by inserting needles into the skin at specific points (known as “meridian points”), the natural flow is restored and the pain relieved. Though this medical procedure needs further researches and investigations, medical experts are in one that acupuncture is safe when performed by well-trained practitioners using sterile needles. 

3. UFOs

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Unidentified flying object (commonly abbreviated as UFO or U.F.O.) is the popular term for any aerial phenomenon whose cause cannot be easily or immediately determined. Thousands of UFO sightings are reported annually. Of these, at least 90 per cent can be identified as conventional objects (usually aircraft, bright planets or stars, meteors, satellites, birds and balloons), and only a small percentage of reported UFOs are actual hoaxes. 

2. Extra-sensory perception

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 Extra-sensory perception or ESP is the ability to acquire information through psychic means, rather than through the physical senses. ESP is perception occurring independently of the ordinary five senses sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. of sight, hearing. It can provide the individual with information of the present, past, and future; as it seems to originate in a second, or alternate reality. Most scientists dismiss all forms of ESP—which include clairvoyance, telepathy, and precognition—as they have never been supported by any substantial evidence.

1. Ghosts

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It is a popular belief that a ghost is the ethereal spirit of a dead person. However, up to this very minute no substantial and categorical evidences can prove that ghosts exist. Another widespread belief about ghosts is that they were composed of a misty, airy, or subtle material. Also, these eerie entities are often pictured as troubled occupants of  haunted houses, especially houses where murders have occurred. In many rural areas, there are numerous reported sighting of  “White Lady“, which supposedly a victim of a brutal or tragic death.  Phantom armies, ghost-animals, ghost trains and phantom ships have also been reported. However, for as long as humans have existed, so has the concept of ghosts—it is one of surprisingly few beliefs that binds all human cultures, past and present. 

Smoking

Smoking is probably the most common bad habit in the world, and also one of the most difficult to kick. Smoking can have a negative impact on your social life, not just on your health. With that in mind, there are a lot of ways to give up. There are a lot of gums and patches that you can buy to help you to resist the addiction, but there are also more extreme ways to give up smoking. You can get specific acupuncture designed to prevent cigarette cravings, which work very effectively, but they can lead to illness for a short period after the acupuncture begins.

Nail Biting

Nail Biting mightn’t seem like a bad habit with negative health impacts, but it does have a lot of them. Not only does it look disgusting, it also damages future nail growth and it can damage the skin under and around the nails. It can also damage your teeth, and nail fibres aren’t exactly healthy for digestion. Luckily, preventing yourself from biting your nails isn’t too difficult. I know a number of people who put on a small coat of Vaseline on their nails each morning, so not only do they look silly if they have lumps of Vaseline in their mouth, they also get a horrible taste in their mouth each time they bite their nails.

Knuckle Cracking

Knuckle cracking is quite a common, well known bad habit, and can have serious health impacts in later life. It is a well known cause behind arthritis. It’s also a habit that is performed subconsciously, which can make it very difficult to stop. A great way to prevent this is to wear gloves, as you are far more likely to notice your hands touching when the glove fibres rub off each other.

Hopefully this article will have helped people with some or all of these bad habits, and made other people more aware of them. Look out for a possible follow up article in the future, if I can think of more bad habits and more ways to solve them.