Strength or power that comes upward and outward from the earth (opposite of heaven’s force). In macrobiotic understanding, this is a yin, expanding energy.

One of Ohsawa’s goals was to unify the spiritual wisdom of the East and the scientific knowledge of the West. He viewed them as complementary to each other. To this end he translated Professor F. S. C. Northrop’s The Meeting of East and West in two volumes into Japanese in 1951 and sought to launch a movement for World Government in Japan in the early 1950s.

One of the principles used to select foods by which perishable foods that grow nearest to one’s local environment are preferred. The overriding principle is found in the Japanese Buddhist expression: “Shin do fu ji” (the body and soil are not separate).

One of the principles used to select foods by which whole foods and using an entire food (no waste) are preferred. In addition, foods such as organic ones that are grown without insecticides or other chemical additives are favored.

Education that is aimed at reaching highest judgment through understanding the Order of the Universe—both material and spiritual discovery. The goal is for each individual to learn to think for himself or herself, including learning from one’s mistakes. It seeks to avoid creating imitators and conformists who repeat memorized facts.

Eggplant soaked in sulfur and rubbing alcohol and used as a massage to remove red birthmarks.See Cautionary note.

Ohsawa recommended that people avoid eggs that have been chemically fed. He advised eating only fertile eggs. Nonetheless, some macrobiotic practitioners eat non-fertilized eggs on occasion. Eggs are considered very yang, almost as yang as sea salt and, if used, need to be balanced accordingly with yin foods. Eggs contain all essential amino acids and are a good source of complete protein. Good vegetal sources of essential amino acids (complete proteins) are quinoa, sesame seeds, soy products like miso and shoyu, and whole grains and beans eaten in combination.

An exaggerated sense of self-importance. The macrobiotic thinking is that egoism is a symptom of exclusivity and arrogance, the biggest sickness of all. Excess selfishness and ego desires create separation between people and a feeling of separation from the Infinite Oneness. Egoism is characterized by an emphasis on the small self and an expression of low sensorial judgment. Living with less egoism leads to greater happiness. Herman Aihara, in Kaleidoscope (pg. 33), writes: “If one avoids extra ego desires, one’s spirit circulates through the whole body and the internal organs function well.”

The world of elements evolves from subatomic particles and is the beginning of atoms, stars, and millions of solar systems. Antagonisms and complementaries include mountain and river, land and sea, air and earth, polar and tropical regions, hot and cold, day and night, and surface and center of Earth. This is the fifth world of the Order of the Universe. Worlds two through five comprise the inorganic world. 

The macrobiotic view is that the best and cleanest source of energy is complex carbohydrates. Thus, whole grains combined with whole beans to make a more complete protein forms the basis of a macrobiotic dietary approach.

In macrobiotic practice, enemas are used only in emergency cases. Follow the directions on the enema syringe package to administer.

Pyrethrum Tea Enema: The use of boiled, strained, and cooled pyrethrum flowers and stems as an enema. Useful for ridding the body of pinworms. See Cautionary Note.

Ume Extract Tea Enema: The use of thinned ume extract as an enema. Useful for pain due to colon cancer. See Cautionary Note.

Water Enema: The use of salt water, salted bancha tea, or kombu water as an enema. Useful in cases of tenacious constipation that can’t be remedied any other way. See Cautionary note.

Ohsawa teaches that in there are no enemies in the relative world. “Our philosophy also teaches that no enemy or evildoer exists in this world—nature and human society included. There is only misunderstanding, incomprehension, or awkward behavior.” Cancer and the Philosophy of the Far East, 100. However, humans view some people (and things such as cancer) as enemies. In these cases, Ohsawa encourages people to change enemies to friends using macrobiotic principles. He says cancer, for example, can be seen as beneficial because it shows that changes in one’s life are needed to remedy it.

Tea popular in Japan made from five herbs: enmeiso, hatomugi, habuso, kuko, and kumasasa. Enmei means longevity.

the surroundings or conditions one lives in that help determine the choices one makes in daily life, including food selection. These factors include climate conditions, season of the year (winter is more yin and summer is more yang), population density (the greater the density, the more yang effect), and geography (living in the mountains is a more yin factor while living in an open place such as a desert is more yang). See also Climate Effects.

Enzymes simulate fat and protein metabolism along with chemical reactions in the body. This helps in the assimilation of food. Insufficient enzymes lead to slower chemical reactions and less nutrient assimilation. Macrobiotics relies on vegetables, sea vegetables, and fermented foods for enzymes. George Ohsawa also taught that eating cooked whole foods increases the manufacture of one’s own vitamins and enzymes.

First century Greek slave who became a stoic philosopher. Ohsawa was fond of Epictetus’s quote: “Everyone is happy; if not, it is their own fault,” using it to encourage people to accept responsibility for their own lives.

There are two sides to macrobiotic essence. The yin side is spirit—you can’t see, touch, feel, or eat it. The yang side is substance/matter—you can see, touch, and feel it. Both are important and essential but the unification of the two (see also Oneness) is most important. The essence of the essence is change. See also Change.

Fats that the body cannot make and thus must come from foods are called essential fatty acids (EFAs). There are two basic groups: one based on linoleic acid (omega-6 group) and the other based on alpha-linolenic acid (omega-3 group). While both groups are essential for survival, current advice is to increase omega-3s to a higher percentage than omega-6s to increase health and improve mental and physical performance. Sources of omega-3s include fatty fish such as salmon and mackerel, flaxseeds, walnuts, and other nuts and seeds. Soyfoods contain some omega-3s but also are high in omega-6s.

A shortened version of the sixth theorem of the Unifying Principle and used in some writings for the fifth law of the seven laws of the Order of the Universe. “In this world, all is subject to change; everything changes. Only the Order of the Universe remains unchanged. It’s only natural that the finite world obeys this order of the Universe because the former arises from the latter. This order is extremely simple; yet, it explains everything in the phenomenal world that can be understood in terms of yin and yang.” Order of the Universe, 42.

The macrobiotic theory of evolution begins with the concept of polarized monism (Oneness) and the idea that there is nothing that is all yin or all yang (theorem 7). All things are the sum total of the interactions of yin-yang in infinitely varied proportions and follow the seven laws of the order of the universe and twelve theorems of the unifying principle. The natural order that all things follow is that yin and yang follow each other forever.

Choosing one thing while completely shutting out another. George Ohsawa viewed exclusivity as a disease and the origin of all unhappiness. He believed the ability to embrace both sides of any pair of opposites with joy and appreciation leads to freedom. Thus, he taught “no exclusivity”—to love sickness as one loves health, poverty as one loves wealth, inconvenience as one loves convenience. In Kaleidoscope (p. 76), Herman Aihara writes: “All who see or believe in only one side of the coin (good or evil, body or soul, sentimental or intellectual) are dualistic, exclusive, and quarrelsome. Only those who see that the two sides of phenomena, visible and invisible, are front and back or beginning and end of One Reality can embrace any antagonistic situation, see its complementarity, and help others to do the same—thereby establishing peace and harmony.”

In macrobiotic practice, a proper amount of physical and mental exercise is seen as fundamental to one’s health. Physical exercise leads to internal heat and greater movement of oxygen throughout the body. This is essential to the process of biological transmutation, the body’s ability to change one element to another, leading to a better usage of consumed nutrients. Other benefits of physical exercise include improved blood circulation, hastened breakdown and elimination of unhealthy tissues, improved growth of healthy cells, and promotion of deep breathing, thus getting rid of carbon dioxide and helping to alkalize the body. It also promotes the discharge of old fat and salt through sweating. Physical exercises include walking, hiking, stretching, calisthenics, gardening, house cleaning, weightlifting, yoga, Do-in, sotai, qigong, aikido, and chewing well. People with cancer or other serious illnesses are advised to check with a health care advisor before beginning any exercise program and to engage in milder forms of exercise because strenuous exercises are acid forming and a weakened body has a difficult time neutralizing this excess. George Ohsawa recommended ongoing mental exercise by study and contemplation of the Order of the Universe, yin-yang, and other macrobiotic principles in daily life. He was an active reader and published an exhaustive list of books in Essential Ohsawa (pages 97-104) he felt were important for his students to read. One of his goals was to get people to think for themselves rather than believing others, including himself. He regularly posed questions to his students on every subject imaginable.

The tendency to expand as in becoming larger or increasing; used in macrobiotics to describe the yin side of the yin-yang pair.

Therapies administered to the outside of the body rather than internally. These are referred to as home remedies in macrobiotics. See Compresses, Plasters, Applications, Baths, Hip Baths, Foot Baths, Charcoaled Treatments, Massages, Gargles, Enemas, and Salt Pack.