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Bio What?? Article in the San Diego State University "Time Out" Magazine
by Fritz Heaton
From the distant hills of Ocean Beach came a man of incredible power. The power to chart bio
rhythms, to point out your good and bad days, to show you the way to improve your life. And from the streets of San Diego you could hear the shouts of the people, "It's a bird. No, it's a plane. No, it's Captain Biorhythm!"
And when Captain Biorhythm arrived in San Diego he was shocked to find that very few people had ever heard of biorhythms.
And so he set forth to educate the masses on biorhythms so that one day all
could enjoy and prosper from this knowledge.
What seems to be the script from
an old Hollywood movie is actually a true story, except of course the shouts from the streets of San Diego. There were shouts, but usually in the form of, "Who's the kid with the cape?"
The Captain is in reality 27-year old Ralph Zuranski, a graduate student of the University of California, San Diego. Zuranski has had an interest in human awareness for 13 years, and has done extensive
research on the subject.
Before the Captain Biorhythm was created, Zuranski
went about in regular street clothing advocating the personal science of biorhythm. A professional skateboarder and staff writer for the National Skateboarding Review, Zuranski has been influential in bringing
biorhythm to the attention of the skateboarders. "After studying skateboarders during tournaments I found that the ones who had accidents were, on the average, those who were having a critical day," Zuranski said. "If they had
known about biorhythm there would be a good chance that the accident would not have occurred."
Biorhythm is not a form of astrology, but is a forecast of the changes in the physical, emotional and intellectual state of the body. Discovered around 1897 it has yet to become popular with modern
science. In the early 1900's researchers in medicine and psychology reported the discovery of a 23-day high and low tide affecting the nervous sys tem. During each change of phase, they noted, man's physical and mental state
experiences periods of in stability lasting about a day. They call these the "critical" or "off” days be cause they recorded a surprising in crease in the outbreak of illnesses, in mental depression and in human error,
failure and accidents.
These events were traced and it was found that the
cycle was originated at birth, the day when massive stimulation of all sensory organs starts the infant on its independent life. It seems that each individual sets his or her own biological clocks at birth, regulating the rhythms
by keeping attuned to the daily influences of the 24-hour cycles of light and darkness.
On the physically critical days one is most likely to have accidents, catch a cold and suffer all types of bodily harm, including death. Quarrels, fights, depressions and senseless frustration are.
typical of emotionally critical days. When the intellectual rhythm which is 33 days in length is at the critical point one can expect bad judgment, difficulty in expressing things clearly and a general resistance to learning
anything new or remembering what we already know.
“A critical day does not
have to be a bad day," Zuranski said. "Too many of the books and articles on biorhythm report that a critical day is horrible. It's true that they are a day to watch out for, but it is also true that it could be the best day of
the month."
According to Zuranski the reason for this is that the body cycle
is going through a type of time zone. The body can either respond in a positive manner or a negative one. "If you are a stable person then a critical day will usually be an achievement day. If your not stable then you will have to
be extra careful to avoid any unnecessary activity."
“This is the purpose of
Captain Biorhythm, to educate people to know their body cycles and how to control them. I needed a gimmick to attract attention, but I never figured it would be Captain Biorhythm," Zuranski said.
It all came about on Halloween 1976, when Ralph decided to attend a party dressed as a super hero for biorhythm. The costume consisted of tennis shoes, knee socks, gym shorts, a tank top with a
biorhythm chart on the front in glitter, and a large blue cape. The costume caused so much attention he decided to use it in his quest to find followers for biorhythms.
Captain Biorhythm is a gimmick and can be used for only selective groups. The Captain has found the costume to be most effective with high school and college students. "One afternoon I visited a real
estate office to inform the owner on how biorhythm could help his sales. I was not only thrown out of his office, but I was also called a few choice names," Zuranski said.
Therefore the Captain has decided to wear his business suit when visiting non students or non sporting events. Besides making special appearances and writing for the National Skateboarding Review,
Captain Biorhythm will also be featured in an upcoming comic strip for the magazine and a soon-to-be-released Captain Biorhythm comic book. He hopes to spread the news faster by presenting the facts of biorhythm in this form.
He also has a business which charts yearly biorhythms for $5.95. All that is needed is the person's birth date and if that seems too expensive you can attend a free group seminar held by the Captain himself. If that's not enough
to keep the Captain busy he is also writing a book on the subject. Many books are out on the subject and according to the Captain the best one is titled appropriately “Biorhythm,” by Bernard Gittelson.
"The main problem with the books available is that they concentrate only on the bad things that can happen to you," Zuranski said. "My book will be different in that respect. I shall show that a
critical day can be very beautiful." Some of the charts included in Gittelson's book are those of Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland and President Ford.
Clark Gable had a heart attack on November 5, 1960, a day when his physical rhythm was in a critical zone. He didn't die until November 16, when he suffered a second heart attack and again he was on a
physically critical day. Marilyn Monroe was found dead of an overdose of sleeping pills on August 5, 1962, when her emotional and physical states were critically low. Judy Garland also died of a drug overdose-on the night of June
21, 1969, when she was emotionally critical with both physical and intellectual rhythms low.
And President Ford on September 8, 1974, gave Mr. Nixon his pardon. On this day Mr. Ford was both intellectually and emotionally negative and according to Gittelson, "May have been suffering from
impaired judgment."
Biorhythms are now being used in Japan and parts of
Europe. A few airlines are using biorhythms as well as some large American companies. "Biorhythm can show you the days to be prepared for," Zuranski. said, "but you must also become aware of everything around you and be in tune to
your own body." |
