Dit Da Secrets Episode 1

The Secret Sauce:

I decided to change the order of the episodes and start with one of the most, if not the most important, yet the least known and therefore least used when crafting true, traditional, artisenal Dit Da Jow that provides maximum possible benefit to the user.

Iron Palm Liniment in Aging Jar

McDonald's has their secret sauce. KFC has their secret 11 herbs & spices. Coke jealously guards their original formula. Even dear grandma's special stuffing is classified family knowledge. The purpose of keeping a closed lid on their intellectual property for most is financial in nature, but there are other reasons for keeping certain information to only a few. This will be the subject of another episode

When it comes to dit da jow, the secret is not the herbal formula or recipe listing the ingredients,, although formulations were also guarded and handed down only to those that proved worthy and followed the code of values and virtues.(Mo Dak / Wu De). In fact, since the formulation and process of making herbals was passed on sleectively, it is esoteric tradition rather than a true secret.

In dit da jow and the herbal arts, the secret sauce is the spirit in which the jow is made. It is the intention and the level and nature of the energy of the person crafing it. This is becoming a secret because of how few still use it and more so due to how rarely it is passed on to the next generation. The secret of crafting optimal herbal medicine may soon be forgotten and become a true secret.

My mother passed away recently and some of my fondest memories revolve around the delicious food she used to cook. It seems that everything she touched had a distinctively exquisite taste. I've know other people, male and female, old and young, that had a similar gift. And while my mother did have some special recipes, even the most basic dishes and new recipes that she followed, all tasted heavenly. When others followed the same recipes, the food was tasty but did not have that something that my mother was able to infuse into the dishes she prepared.

We are also all familiar with the small, hole in the wall restaurant, or other type of busines that was notably excellent but as they grew and expanded, they lost the secret sauce. Doctors, insurance agents, auto dealers and literally all types of business fall into this pattern. As they grow in popularity and expand, the old magic dissapears eventually the mojo is lost. Why?

For Love of the Game

This same pattern has been observed in professional athletes, from baseball to boxers. It happens to Politicians and healers. It lies in the transformation from calling to a profession, from vocation to occupation. More specifically, when the primary purpose transitions from love for your role and care for others, to a fixation on more material forms of success, and when growth and revenue take on a life of their own and the emphasis on quanity over quality and over individual attention, respect your contribution, commitment to your tradition and love and sincere desire to benefit those you serve. So then, the secret sauce is Love.

Vocation

What about when there is no vocation and someone enters a field or business based on financial reasons? This is very common in modern times such as when young people select a major based on the financial returns once employeed. This may turn out highly trained doctors, but lacking empathy, compassion or consideration for their patients (sadly, also quite common these days). Vocation what you were meant to do and love doing. Profession is what you do to subsist.

In the mid 2000's, there were there was a tremendous number of people that jumped into the dit da jow bandwagon primarily as an means to make money. Without the sincere interest to learn its depths, they saw it as simply putting some herbs in a jar and mixing them with some base alcohol and bara bing, bara bang, out comes dit da jow. Herbs were cheap back then and margins could be fairly sizeable.. Instead of diving deep, and making the effort to master this herbal modality, many began taking short cuts to avoid the length of aging for example. Some played on the overall lack of understanding and marketed darkness of color and murkiness as signs of potency. These misconceptions and damage done to the understanding of dit da jow persist to this day.

More Detail on the Secret Sauce

Dit Da Activation on Shen Kwan Kung Altar

The dit da jow craftsperson has to love the herbal arts and invest significant time and effort and be deeply devoted serving others in order to inherit and be given the secret steps for not just putting together a great herbal medicine but to activate the dit da jow by transmitting their energy (QI) and sincere intention (Yi) and infuse the herbal medicine. Below are the general steps.

1. The Qi must be clean and balanced

2. The Shen must be even and clear.

3. The body must be in good health.

4. The emotions and feelings must be calm, steady

5. Conduct the ritual as required on the written dit da jow formula

6. If the formula does not provide a specific ritual, conduct the traditional ritual for your lineage.

   
   

   * Note: Most dit da jow formulas from more recent times do not include instructions for activation. During the Maoist era, anything deemed mystical or unscientific was severly punished, so this section was left off of written formulas and as time passed, this became the norm. Unfortunately what followed was the omission of this important step and eventually, its near disappearance.

To complete the above steps requires specific Qigong exercises that vary from formula to formula. There are other steps and actions that are part of this infusion or activation rite and I will touch on some of these in future posts. However, the key is, you must give of yourself to infuse the herbal medicine with your energy to best benefit users.

My student studying Dit Da Ke

So you see, for years... decades really, I have observed more and more dit da jow providers set up shop on the internet by just throwing herbs into a jar, add alcohol (often the wrong type), and fill pretty bottles with exotic names. Not one of those I have observed are training in the activation methods or any of the other steps we will be covering in upcoming posts.

In all fairness, given the right herbs and the correct or close to the correct base alcohol, you will get a good 65% to 80% effective jow. Color, darkness or immedite sensation have nothing to do with the true effectiveness of the dit da jow and subtle gains typically result in overall higher benefits. Color, clarity and sensation are oftent manipulated to give the impression of a stronger jow but have little to do with its actual effectiveness

A Note for followers of All Faiths

I write this with the utmost respect for all religions and belief systems. Giving of yourself, your love, service and respect to infuse the herbal medicine is a practice like others shared by all spiritual disciplines. It is a ceremonial reminder of the spiritual nature of the healing arts. Much like saying grace before a meal, it is an active and engaging symbol of appreciation and gratitude to the Universal Higher Intellegence that permeates us all that and called by many names and revered in different ways.

Disclaimer: The above statements made about specific products have not been evaluated by the United States Food and Drug Administration and are not approved to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent disease. This is for information purposes and is not meant to be constituted as medical or healthcare advice. Always consult with your healthcare professional prior to using any medication, nutritional, herbal or homeopathic product or before beginning any exercise or diet program or starting any treatment for a health issue. User assumes all risk.

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