Seeking and Finding Wholeness

This article about a NASA technology utilizing LED lights to help plants grow in space and humans to heal on Earth. Results are remarkable in healing wounds, this device is small, light weight and doesn’t consume much battery power due to the use of energy efficient LED.  The light seems to be “increasing energy inside cells“. It was found that “skin and muscle cells grown in cultures and exposed to the LED infrared light grow 150 to 200 percent faster than ground control cultures not stimulated by the light”

This is an AMAZING article, about a technology, tested and proven to heal people. Definitely a main-stream project, including laboratory and human trials, approved by the U.S. FDA and funded by a NASA Small Business Innovation Research contract.

This article is from the year 2000,  yet I don’t see main stream doctors and hospitals using this color therapy technology to heal wounds people today, how come this device or similar ones are not being sold in stores?

The article mentions that Dr. Whelan’s findings will be summarized in upcoming issues of Space Technology and Applications International Forum 2001 and in The Journal of Clinical Laser Medicine and Surgery.

I have more questions:

Was this study mentioned in these journals? Would the FDA approve a device like this to be sold to the public? What would the AMA think of this device?

If you have read about this study somewhere else or have further info please leave a comment. Thanks!

Title: NASA Space Technology Shines Light on Healing

Doctors at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee have discovered the healing power of light with the help of technology developed for NASA’s Space Shuttle. Using powerful light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, originally designed for commercial plant growth research in space, scientists have found a way to help patients here on Earth.

Doctors are examining how this special lighting technology helps hard-to-heal wounds, such as diabetic skin ulcers, serious burns, and severe oral sores caused by chemotherapy and radiation. The project includes laboratory and human trials, approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and funded by a NASA Small Business Innovation Research contract through the Technology Transfer Department at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.

“So far, what we’ve seen in patients and what we’ve seen in laboratory cell cultures, all point to one conclusion,” said Dr. Harry Whelan, professor of pediatric neurology and director of hyperbaric medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin. “The near-infrared light emitted by these LEDs seems to be perfect for increasing energy inside cells. This means whether you’re on Earth in a hospital, working in a submarine under the sea or on your way to Mars inside a spaceship, the LEDs boost energy to the cells and accelerate healing.”

Dr. Whelan’s findings will be summarized in upcoming issues of Space Technology and Applications International Forum 2001 and in The Journal of Clinical Laser Medicine and Surgery. Other related peer-reviewed journals have published articles on Whelan’s medical research with light-emitting diodes.

Dr. Whelan’s NASA-funded research has already seen remarkable results using the light-emitting diodes to promote healing of painful mouth ulcers caused by cancer therapies such as radiation and chemotherapy. The treatment is quick and painless.

Read more…

Many may sneeze here and there during the spring and summer seasons due to pollen, dust, and other particles in the air. Sneezing is our body’s natural response for protecting itself against harmful particles in the air. Most blame the plants and nature on their allergic reaction. In this article I hope to share one often overlooked allergen, that is not only sneeze-inducing but also potentially hazardous to health.

I am sensitive to the smell of chemicals, especially those sprayed on yards and lawns. When I visit a home improvement store, I literally cannot walk down the isle where pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers are shelved. If I find myself in close proximity, the smell disgusts me and can even make me feel sick, not to mention I start to sneeze.

The harmful and annoying effects of these chemicals seems to often be missing in the mainstream awareness. I rarely hear talk about lawn chemicals and that throat burning chemical smell unique to these chemicals, how they are over used, abused, and often confused with the notion of a healthy lawn.

As I drove to work this morning, I could see chemical spraying vehicles from a local company proudly proclaiming “true green”. A sobering and sad reminder that summer is here. Don’t get me wrong, I adore summer. I loath the chemicals used in the summer.

I got to work, parked my car next to a lawn that was reeking with the chemical smell. As I exited my vehicle heading to my work place I sneezed.

Everybody wants that truly green lawn, right? Wrong, I don’t. I never use chemicals on my lawn, it is not the greenest, nor the prettiest, but that is not my concern. I value safety and doing no harm to others and nature more than a green lawn. My lawn is not polluting your air, making you sneeze or poisoning your air.

When you use chemicals on your lawn here is what you are doing: You are paying factories to make synthetic poisonous chemicals, tons and tons of them (due to consumer demand). You then pay them to package these in plastic containers (plastic waste), ship them all over the US (green house gases due to transportation). You follow that by doing your consumer duty, you grab the chemicals and spray them over your land. If you want better results, you pay a little more, and you get a vehicles assuring you “true green lawns”, this vehicles is one super pray bottle, it is filled with chemicals that should they be dumped in a pond would kill all the fish. You watch as they proudly spray that poison over your grass, you think it’s a small price to pay for the result, my beautiful green lawn is just around the corner. You also may believe the lie that your grass is safe to touch, lay down on, walk barefoot on, within 3 days or a week.

Once these chemicals have been manufactured in the factory (thanks to consumer demand) they are here to stay. When these are sprayed on your grass, so much of this chemical vapor goes into the air, on your trees, on your house siding, into your windows; the air blows this chemical residue on to your neighbors property, onto their vegetable garden, and into their open windows. The chemicals on the grass or in the soil don’t stay there either; sooner or later rain will push these chemicals down into the soil and eventually into ground water, it will pollute the soil for many years and ground water for decades. If you live close to a lake or marsh rain will wash off the chemicals into the lakes drastically effecting the ecosystem, killing fish increasing algae and effecting those who eat the fish and swim in the lake.

One often missed point, is that once you cut the grass, as the mower chops the glass and shakes it violently, these chemicals are released into the air again. Ultimately, the use of these chemicals and the impact they have on nature contributes to weakening people’s immune systems and causing cancer.

If you have children, seriously reconsider chemicals in your yard and lawn. Grass is very attractive, don’t turn it into a poisonous trap for your kids.

Respect your neighbors, you most likely do not throw trash into your neighbors house, yet you are ‘ok’ allowing the release of poison into the air that gets, not only inside your house but, into your neighbors house. If your neighbor is me, you may hear me sneezing as I smell this nasty chemical odor.

In the past I used to curse at these lawns when I sneezed, rather than thinking or expecting a ‘bless you’ I’d utter a curse. I’d blame the lawn, the property owner or ignorance. Today as the summer nears and the chemicals are again unleashed, I sneezed, I did not curse this time; I said “bless you” to the lawn.

Read more…

As I was scanning my eyes over the buffet of bumper stickers plastered  to the passenger side of a car, this one jumped out at me.  I had never seen that before!  Never heard that before, never thought of that before-  “What does that mean to me?” I wondered, and toyed with the idea in my head.   Immediately my mind showed me an image of a person, being bombarded with information and opinions, mainly mass media: magazines, television, newspapers, radio, advertisements, etc.  Then i thought of a parent, pointing their finger at their child, telling them they are not enough of this, they are too much of that, etc.  Then we can bring in religion.  And societal ‘norms’.  And culture.  And the list goes on and on…

I thought of how quickly we tend to compare ourselves to each other, to the status quo, to what everything “out there” is telling us.  We are constantly being told how to be.  We are being told how to look FOR the world and how we should SEE the world.  So we don’t always see the truth about ourselves.  Most people have maybe never even pondered , let alone remembered that WE ARE FINE THE WAY WE ARE.

You may not like your body, you may not like the way you appear to others, you may look in the mirror and resist what you see, whether it’s your face, your skin, your hips, your hair, but

YOU ARE FINE THE WAY YOU ARE.  Take a deep breath.  Take a load off!  Can you feel any relief from this possibility??

It’s easy for us to get overloaded and mislead by everything around us.  But the truth of you is inside you- always was, always will be, You cannot lose it.  You’ve just forgotten it’s there.  I am a bodywork practitioner, and that’s why I LOVE doing massages for people- it chills us out, quiets us down, in body and mind, allowing our truth, each individual’s deep well of wisdom and uniqueness, to easily float closer to the surface, eventually permeating out into what appears to be beyond the boundary of our bodies- into what we call ‘reality’

When we stop fussing, mussing, worrying over and trying so damn hard to look good, be ‘appropriate’, make a positive impression and be accepted by people, and we instead put our intention and focus on feeling peaceful, grounded, centered in our True Self’s awareness… we just naturally shine!  And we become magnetic- to other people and to what we want.  That’s hot.  It’s attractive!  And innate within us- patiently waiting, right now, to flood every cell of you and influence all the ways you go about and interact with the world: through your thoughts, words and deeds.

Take a deep breath.  Instead of trying to fix or change what you’re seeing, just let it be.  This goes for your body, as well as any and every situation in which you could ever find yourself.   When we let it be,  it can then have the space and opportunity to change, right before your very eyes.  If it doesn’t change, then at lease your concept of it will-  Cuz everything starts within, behind the eyes.  What ideas and perceptions you hold inside, determines what your eyes will see outside.

Botox, make-up, the right clothes, cologne, teeth-whitening kits, most personal care products- don’t even care of us at all-they are toxic and poisonous.   What most people put on and in their bodies is an underlying  futile attempt to help us feel whole.

Wholeness starts within.  Seek within.  Change the way you see things, and worry less and less about how you look on the outside.  Go to the core of you, the truth of you, which nothing can alter, and will not be masked for much longer. Things are really shifting right now on our planet, are they not?!   We are being called now ,to change the way we see each other, our relationship to the planet, and our connection to what many refer to as God.  Through this fresh way of seeing, we are making manifest heaven on earth.  Heaven floats within you!

May you blissfully float in and exist from the Heaven within you.

~Namaste~

A great suggestion:

You can change what you want to change right now if you want to.

No excuses, no reasons, if it doesn’t change it’s your choice and you must deal with that.

There’s nothing, no-thing, preventing you from changing in the way you wish to change now, not your upbringing, your history, past lives, nothing!

There is nothing holding you back from becoming who you desire to be, except for the choices you make about who you believe you are.

Those things do not hold you, you hold you.

Nothing is holding you now that you do not want to be held by for your own reasons.

You can’t blame any other person, entity, energy, past. The blame game is gone, no excuses anymore

By: Bashar

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves: Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” 

 Marianne Williamson

Greetings and salutations!

the following is a message that I feel is very worthy of sharing with those of us who are seeking wholeness, especially on this day many call “valentines day”. This message was sent out yesterday from the founder and leader of Young Living brand essential oils. if you don’t know who or what i’m talking about then here’s my quick shpeel: Young Living is passionate and serious about producing therapeutic-grade products; Gary has the strictest standards for purity, potency and safety when it comes to the essential oils that Young Living produces, and he is passionate about bringing a higher quality of life to all of the world. if you are new to ‘essential oils’, they can be considered, but are far from limited to the word aromatherapy. they are basically considered the blood of a plant/tree/fruit/flower and this blood contains enormous healing potential, and is imbued with the intelligence of nature.

I am a distributor of these oils-
i use them in a variety of ways daily, on myself, on dogs, and in my massage and healing practice, so i have stories from using the oils myself, as well as from other people over the last year and a half, since I first heard about Young Living.

i hope you have a wonderful valentine’s day! know that i love you, and care for you so very much. You are an invaluable piece of the giant Cosmic Puzzle, I will say. and that is no small thing! I mean, your ability to realize grander dreams and desires for ourselves and others, is important. Your health, happiness, fulfillment and satisfaction in life IS IMPORTANT. i think you came here to this thing we call “Life” to evolve and achieve deeper fulfillment in your own unique and perfect way. And really, right here and now, you are doing that just perfectly. You are perfect, whole and complete. You are lovely. I love you!

if you would like to get to know more about the Young Living essential oils on your own, you can click here or just get in touch with me.

peace!

~angie

My dear friend of Minnesota’s environment and public health,

Can you take just a couple minutes to help save Minnesota lakes, rivers, streams, and groundwater from the first serious threat of pollution by toxic Acid Mine Drainage from copper-nickel mines?  Here’s a quick-and-easy webform provided by our friends at Organic Consumers Association:  http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/642/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=1839

TWIN-CITIES COMMENT-WRITING WORKSHOP  this Sunday:

Also, you and anyone you  know who might be interested are invited to attend this special comment-writing workshop Sunday, January 17, 1-4 PM in St. Paul.  Please refer others, even if you’re not likely to attend.  It is a private meeting for contributors to substantive public comments on the draft environmental impact statement, hosted by WaterLegacy.org.

This is a limited opportunity, with comment period set to close *February 3*, 2010. Your comments are critical to the project receiving the scrutiny it deserves. It would create toxic acid mine drainage for hundreds or thousands of years.

Register NOW. Be sure to state your topic(s) or area(s) of interest in the DEIS.
http://www.mepartnership.org/mep_calendar.asp?cal_id=3510

All levels of citizen participation are welcome. Some would just like to sign a form letter and hand it in. Some would like to pick a narrow topic and write comments in one hour, or stay for the duration and write extensive comments. We held a similar workshop in Cloquet last weekend, which was very well-attended and productive.  Many completed and either emailed or mailed their comments that day.

You will benefit by learning from other citizens, background and technical documents, information about PolyMet and the environmental review process, and tips to make your comments most effective. We can provide talking points and drafts.  We will facilitate according to your needs.

Professional input will be available and more is welcome.

NOTE:  Even if you may not feel comfortable submitting written comments on the EIS directly, your expertise would be very beneficial.

Meanwhile, you can demand that DNR provide adequate public participation in the environmental review process. Specifically, ask for 1) extension of the comment period from only 90 to at least 180 days; 2) more convenient and interactive public hearings around the state. Email: Stuart Arkley MDNR stuart.arkley@dnr.state.mn.us <mailto:stuart.arkley@dnr.state.mn.us>

Read more…

Peace …comes within the souls of men when they realize their relationship, their oneness, with the Universe and all its powers, and when they realize that…the center of the Universe… is really everywhere, it is within each of us.

—Black Elk, Oglala Lakota, 1947

After a while, the United States is simply too much: too much religion and not enough gods, too much news and not enough wisdom, too many weapons of mass destruction – or, for that matter, private destruction (why search so far away when they live right under our noses?), too much entertainment and not enough beauty, too much electricity and not enough light, too much lumber and not enough forests, too much real estate and not enough earth, too many books and not enough readers, too many runners and not enough strollers, too many freeways, too many cars, too many malls, too many prisons, too much security but not enough civility, too many humans but not enough eagles. And the worst excess of all: too many wars, too much misery and brutality – reflected as much in our own eyes as in those of our enemies.

by Bill Holm

Very valuable – must watch:

It is sad how people experience stress during the holidays, but things don’t have to be this way!

The shopping, driving, mailing out greeting cards, going to the post office, budgeting, traveling and seeing relatives. Sounds familiar?

I want to tell you now, that you can change this. You do not have to be stressed. In fact, you can be happy and make a bunch of other people happy.

You do not have to navigate crowded malls, get stuck in traffic, drive long distances, deal with airports and air travel, worry what gifts to buy, wrap gifts, mail gifts, send cards… nothing! Yes, you can simply say “no”.

Many alternatives to the commercialized, stressful, costly and polluting norms exist. Consider finding a bunch of friends that are close to your heart and locale (in your same state or region) and spend time with them.

Give people good words, give good wishes, give hugs, give love, give smiles, do good deeds, be extra relaxed, open doors for people, plant trees, etc.. The sky is the limit. You do not have to venture into these pesky malls.

You have the power to save money, save the environment, save yourself from headaches and have a greater more positive impact this season by being a better friend to yourself, to others and to nature.

Yes, YOU have to power to keep things simple. To say no. To start new traditions. To be unique.
Consider giving a donation to non profit organizations, give the Gift of Microfinance , be selfless, serve others, or make some good food and invite people to eat.

Consider spending time alone in meditation, in counting your blessings, in reflection, in prayer, in adoring Nature or a candle’s flame. Take a walk on a trail, go alone or take a loved one, if it’s cold bundle up and go out, adore the snow, adore the sky, adore the trees, spend time with your God or Nature.

Make the new years, Christmas, solstice or Yule a time to be good, truly good to yourself, to nature and to other people.

If you celebrate Christmas, this year remember that Jesus said “Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” and “sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”

Rid yourself of materialism and stress, keep things simple, honest, spiritual; you will be happier and make others happier while saving a bunch of trees, reducing your carbon and waste footprint and feeling better than ever for having done what you KNOW is right, not what you are told is right.

Remember, you are not alone.

Blessings, Love & Wisdom

Rather than buying gifts, packaged in boxes, wrapping them & mailing them out (think of the carbon and waste produced as a result), how about giving the gift of hope and opportunity to people via micro-finance or micro-credit?

This season, you can help others find hope and start businesses in the US or around the world with a small financial gift!

Learn more here:

• Grameen America
• Grameen Foundation
• Grameen Bank
• Enterprise Development Group
• KIVA
• Accion USA

Find more on how you can support charitable efforts

Winona LaDuke, is an Anishinaabeg (Ojibwe) enrolled member of the Mississippi Band of Anishinaabeg and is the mother of three children. Winona is the Program Director of Honor the Earth and Founding Director of White Earth Land Recovery Project.

Leading Honor the Earth she provides vision and leadership for the organization’s Regranting Program and its Strategic Initiatives.  In addition, she has worked for two decades on the land issues of the White Earth Reservation, including litigation, over land rights in the 1980’s.  In 1989, she received the Reebok Human Rights Award, with which in part she began the White Earth Land Recovery Project.

In 1994, Winona was nominated by Time Magazine as one of America’s fifty most promising leaders under forty years of age, and has also been awarded the Thomas Merton Award in 1996, the Ann Bancroft Award, Ms. Woman of the Year Award (with the Indigo Girls in 1997), the Global Green Award, and numerous other honors. A graduate of Harvard and Antioch Universities, she has written extensively on Native American and environmental issues.

Her books include: Last Standing Woman (fiction), All Our Relations (non-fiction), In the Sugarbush (Children’s), and The Winona LaDuke Reader.

To show respect to all of her work, I post this article about Winona LaDuke under the Best Of category.

For more information, visit: http://nativeharvest.com.

I remember hearing my grandmother talk about how castor oil was used in the old days, especially when children got sick, had stomach aches or pretty much any ailment.  I know my aunts and mother hated the taste of this Oil. They would reluctantly drink some, braving the discussing taste. But, the logic was, and remains, that the taste meant this was good for you. They all believe, while the taste was horrible, that Castor oil did have a positive healing outcome.

I never had the pleasure of trying Castor oil. But I was curious, I found some at a local store and I was considering trying some, but the warning on the bottle that mentioned ‘external use only’ deterred me from ingesting it.

Besides the stories I heard from my grandmother, pretty much I did not know anyone else that used this oil as a traditional remedy. I understand how disgusting the taste could be, but I can’t help but wonder if this is oil is does in fact work, and if its effectiveness and usefulness in healing has been forgotten.

Middle easterners used it in the old days to deal with ailments, it is apparently effective on skin and acne and modern day medicines do contain elements extracted from Castor oil.

Have you or anyone you know used Castorl oil for medicinal purposes?

Here’s what Wikipedia says on Castor oil (retrieved 10/25/2009 6PM CST):

Castor oil in food

In the food industry, castor oil (food grade) is used in food additives,^[13] flavorings, candy (e.g., chocolate),^[14] as a mold inhibitor, and in packaging. Polyoxyethylated castor oil (e.g., Cremophor EL)^[15] is also used in the foodstuff industries.^[16]

Medicinal use of castor oil

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has categorized castor oil as “generally recognized as safe and effective” (GRASE) for over-the-counter use as a laxative, with its major site of action the small intestine.^[17] However, although it may be used for constipation, it is not a preferred treatment.^[18] Undecylenic acid, a castor oil derivative, is also FDA-approved for over-the-counter use on skin disorders or skin problems.^[19]

Castor oil penetrates deep into the skin thanks to its molecular weight, which is low enough to penetrate into the stratum corneum. Castor Isostearate Succinate is a polymeric mixture of esters with Isostearic Acid and Succinic Acid used for skin conditioning, such as in shampoo, lipstick and lip balm.^[20]

Ricinoleic acid is the main component of castor oil and it exerts anti-inflammatory effects.^[21]

One study has found that castor oil decreased pain more than ultrasound gel or Vaseline during extracorporeal shockwave application.^[22]

Therapeutically, modern drugs are rarely given in a pure chemical state, so most active ingredients are combined with excipients or additives. Castor oil, or a castor oil derivative such as Cremophor EL (polyethoxylated castor oil, a nonionic surfactant), is added to many modern drugs, including:

• Miconazole, an anti-fungal agent;^[23][24]
• Paclitaxel, a mitotic inhibitor used in cancer chemotherapy;^[25]
• Sandimmune (cyclosporine injection, USP), an immunosuppressant drug widely used in connection with organ transplant to reduce the activity of the patient’s immune system;^[26]
• Nelfinavir mesylate, an HIV protease inhibitor;^[27]
• Saperconazole, a triazole antifungal agent (contains Emulphor EL-719P, a castor oil derivative);^[28]
• Tacrolimus, an immunosuppressive drug (contains HCO-60, polyoxyl 60 hydrogenated castor oil);^{[citation needed]}
• Xenaderm ointment, a topical treatment for skin ulcers is a combination of Peru balsam, castor oil, and trypsin;^[29][30]
• Aci-Jel (composed of ricinoleic acid from castor oil, with acetic acid and oxyquinoline), used to maintain the acidity of the vagina.^[31]

Read more…

People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.

My TV broke 3 weeks ago. Since, I’ve had much more time for quietness and for reading. I am getting more stuff done and am flipping books like a lean mean reading machine. I do watch movies or certain TV episodes online on websites that offer streaming, flash and divx movies. But I can easily now read more, which is good since I am currently studying for the GMAT test, reading the book “Relearning to See”, taking a hypnosis class. Not to mention my day job. Life is busy, I am glad the TV doesn’t work!

Speak well to yourself because your deep mind is always listening.

By Devin Hasting

mad as hell doctors.com - Where the rubber gloves meet the road

For those who have doubts about where doctors stand on the public option, this recent survey of doctors should help.

New England Journal of Medicine: 73% support a public option

New England Journal of Medicine article

NPR:
NPR article

On 09/09/09 I wrote an article titled Diet and Fish Oil to Prevent Tooth Decay? where I referenced a discussion in the community forum titled ‘Fish Oil to Prevent Tooth Decay?‘.

I’ve just researched the book Cure Tooth Decay: Heal and Prevent Cavities with Nutrition (First Edition). I was impressed by the comments that I ordered a copy of this book from Amazon a few hours ago. The user reviews were very encouraging that I decided  the book was worth reading and perhaps trying out some of its tips. I am of the belief that every idea is worth examining, and that usually, the most effective and correct solutions are the simplest ones, this applies to math, physics, engineering as well as it applies to the human body and health, common sense, isn’t it?

I’ve had my share of dental issues as a kid, I remember having many teeth extracted, as an adult these dental issues kept haunting me. It didn’t make sense because I followed the rules, I brushed and ate well and used mouth wash. I look forward to reading this book.

Here’s some info about the book, based on the Amazon comments I read. The book follows on a trail-blazing dentist, Weston Price. The book outlines mistakes of the western society when it comes to food, it discusses how primitive cultures in the 1930’s (now largely decimated by modernization) had remained immune to tooth decay.

Besides research done by Dr. Weston Price, Nagel draws on personal experience and his child’s. The book has a substantial section devoted solely to children’s diets and the connection to their healthy teeth.

It makes sense that health at large effects the health of teeth, if you are in poor health your teeth will undoubtedly suffer. The book discusses how dental health may actually be an indicator of overall wellness.

This sounds like simple common sense to me.

Here’s a quote:

“Years ago, when people were afflicted with various types of ailments and diseases, it was common practice to blame evil spirits. People of the world still do this today, except that these evil spirits now have a new name. Sci entists, doctors, dentists, and government officials have decided that these new ‘evil spirits’ are called micro-organisms (viruses, bacteria, etc.)… The current theory of tooth decay is more like a superstition than a scientifically verified truth… The theory that bacteria thrive on sucrose, and then produce acids that eat away our tooth enamel, seems to be convincing. But it defies both science and logic… A daily mouthwash of some anti-bacterial agent would cure all cavities, if the bacterial theory were true. The answer is clear: what you have been told about tooth decay is a pure, sweet, child-like fantasy.”
~ Ramiel Nagel, “Cure Tooth Decay”

Follow the discussion in the forum: ‘Fish Oil to Prevent Tooth Decay?

Here’s a link to the book:

Read more…

Since CNN is refusing to air this ad, I am posting it here.

Tell CNN to play this ad here

I heard or read this somewhere, written below based on my recollection / in my own words:

Watch your thoughts, they will become your desires
Watch your desires, they will become your decisions
Watch your decisions, they will become your actions
Watch your actions, they will become your habits
Watch your habits, they will become your life style
Watch your life style, it will determine your destiny

Worth watching:

This is a good cartoon video titled ‘Why We Need Government-Run Universal Socialized Health Insurance‘. It explains why we need a public health insurance option or some sort of a government-run health system in the US.

The video compares Health Insurance to the fire department in a very effective manner. I’d like to add that fire departments used to be private and for profit in Chicago, then came the Chicago fire. After the Chicago fire the fire department was socialized to distribute risk and lower cost.

It’s ironic that nowadays fire department remain socialized, and work very well. We all expect the fire fighters to show up at a phone’s call, yet when your own body, your own intestines, brains, or heart are on fire (i.e. sick/ill) you cannot get the attention needed, since the system is so very broken.

Enjoy the video:

Animated by Andy Lubershane. More comics at http://www.earthlycomics.blogspot.com

Text transcript of the video:

Why we need government-run universal, socialized, call it what you want, health insurance.

We all know from basic civil class, or just being alive, that a lot of essential services are already government-run, universal, socialized, whatever you wanna call it.

Think water treatment, police, fire, postal service, coast guard, all those things you know are gonna be there for you, every single day without even thinking about them. We all pay our taxes and the government uses the money to pay for the things everyone needs just to get by.

Now, health care is just as essential as any of these services. Sure, a few of us may be lucky enough to make it through our whole lives without any medical problem but the rest of us depend on health care at some point in our lives just to get by. Besides its essentialness, there’s another reason health insurance is just like those government run, universal, socialized, whatever you wanna call them services, that’s this: There are very very few people that can afford to pay on their own the cost of health care when disaster strikes and they or someone they love gets really really sick.

So, we all need insurance, which basically means when we pool our money together enough so what when anyone of us gets really really sick there’s enough money in the pool to pay for that person to get better, that’s insurance.

But, who should we choose to manage the pool of our money and give out our money to the people who need it? Well, private insurance companies are the ones that we are using right now, but there’s a problem. On average, these companies take 10 – 20 cents out of every dollar we put in the pool.

Read more…

More than three out of every four Americans feel it is important to have a “choice” between a government-run health care insurance option and private coverage, according to a public opinion poll released on Thursday.

A new study by SurveyUSA puts support for a public option at a robust 77 percent, one percentage point higher than where it stood in June.

But the numbers tell another story, as well.

Earlier in the week, after pollsters for NBC dropped the word “choice” from their question on a public option, they found that only 43 percent of the public were in favor of “creating a public health care plan administered by the federal government that would compete directly with private health insurance companies.”

Rea more at Huffington Post

I’ve been reading the book: Molecules Of Emotion by Candace Pert. I have a chapter left to go, and I am very eager to read it.

I have to say, the more you read the better this book gets. The first half is more of a biography, and is a very good foundation for the later parts of the book, it also gives you an insight into the life of a scientists in the lab. The last few chapters have a different taste and are loaded with information, names and useful references.

If you are interested in researching holistic and complementary health topics or the body-mind connection, the later half of this book is a very good starting point.

Find it on Amazon and read users reviews (rated by 118 readers – got 4starts/5 avg rating as of the date of this article)

Have you ever day dreamed about not owning a house, not having to pay rent or mortgage or the never ending utility bills? How about living in the jungle or in a small cabin on some serene hill? Have you ever wished you could climb a mountain, finding a cave and converting it into your residence?

How would you like a small tent or a tipi (tepee) as a place to sleep and rest while having the whole wide world and nature as your real home? ….. Have you ever imagined that?

Have you ever wondered how you would fair without modern life amenities such as electricity, hot water, the internet, personal automotive vehicles or huge grocery stores?

Have you wondered why? Why you live in a city, why you have to work and why we use money?

Have you imagined different systems of living than the ones we live in and rely on nowadays? What would it be like to un-institutionalize yourself from all these systems?

Are homeless people homeless for the same reasons? Is it a life choice? Is it your right to make that choice?

Watch this video about Michael, a homeless person living in the hills around Fairfax, California. It has him talk about his experience, why he is homeless, what it is like to be homeless in Fairfax.

In this interview, Michael says “its my choice to be here right now, i wouldn’t trade [this for anything else]“. He also says that living in nature is a “really healing thing”.

If the video above is not working try watching the interview here:  http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-258613 Make sure you read the comments under the video as well.

I’ve been hearing suicide mentioned often in the news recently so I thought I grab a few recent news articles and compile them here.

Suicide Headlines:

Missing soldier from Fairfield commits suicide in Santa Cruz
SANTA CRUZ — An AWOL soldier committed suicide in a car parked at an ocean overlook on Friday afternoon, three days after he was reported missing from Fort Carson in Colorado.

U.S. Army officials had issued alerts asking for the public’s help in finding Pfc. Roy Brooks Mason Jr., a decorated Iraq War veteran whose hometown is Fairfield, but had no luck finding the 28-year-old.

“We knew that he was missing and we were looking for him,” said Fort Carson spokeswoman Brandy Gill. “We were concerned for him.”

Source: http://www.mercurynews.com/crime/ci_12432747
Post sees second suicide in 2 weeks
The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office confirmed Thursday that a Fort Campbell soldier committed suicide Monday night on Dean Road, the second suspected suicide this month by a soldier.

MCSO spokesman Ted Denny did not identify the soldier, saying MCSO policy prohibits release of details about suicides. Fort Campbell said the cause of the soldier’s death is under investigation.

According to 911 records, a call was made just before 8:40 p.m. Monday night to dispatchers indicating a suicide in the 600 block of Dean Road.

Source: http://www.theleafchronicle.com/article/20090522/NEWS01/905220344

Triple killing a double murder-suicide
Authorities: Man killed wife and son before turning gun on himself

Neighbors in The Cedars neighborhood describe Billy and Jolyne Hardy as the typical all-American family.

Billy worked two jobs to provide for his wife and 3-year-old son, and Jolyne, who also held a full-time job, often was seen outside playing with the child, Bryce, and working in the yard.

“Anyone who knows Billy can tell you he was a hard worker and he loved his family,” said Reginald Autrey, neighbor and close friend of the couple. “They were nice people and always have been.”

Source: http://www.shreveporttimes.com/article/20090506/NEWS03/905060325/1002/NEWS

Dad sent a suicide text before killing his family
Adrian Dunne sent a suicide note via text message before killing his wife, two young daughters and then himself.

The misspelled message told exactly what was going to happen. “Ciara and Aidran are so very sorry. We nott going to Livepol. Instad we pick heaven. Please forgive”. (sic)

Read more…

According to a new report released by the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), happiness levels are highest in northern European countries.

Denmark, Finland and the Netherlands rated at the top of the list.

Outside of Europe, New Zealand and Canada also made the top 10. The U.S. did not.

The U.S. ranked the highest for child poverty and obesity among the western nations polled.

Other Very Interesting Findings include:

Adult height: Americans are not getting taller. The United States is the only country in the OECD where men and women aged 45-49 are no taller than those aged 20-24 years old, indicating no improvement in health and social conditions determining gains in height.

Health care: The United States spends the most per capita on health care, but despite their high levels of health spending the Unites States has relatively low life expectancy.

Net National Income: The United States is one of the richest countries in the OECD. In 2006, the United States had a per capita National Net Income in excess of USD 35 000. Only Luxembourg and Norway were higher.

Fertility: The United States has a much higher fertility rate than most other OECD countries of 2.1 children per mother, compared to an OECD average of 1.65.

Child poverty: Child poverty has fallen since the mid-1990s but one in five US children still live in poverty, a rate exceeded only in Poland, Mexico, and Turkey

Social protection: The United States is the fourth lowest in the OECD in terms of income shares of public social spending. However, when tax breaks for social purposes and private social spending are also considered, social spending in the United States rises above the OECD average of 28% to 31% of income.

Eating time: Americans spend around an hour and a quarter eating every day, slightly more than only Canadians and Mexicans but less than half the eating time spent by the French. Despite this limited time spent eating, their obesity rates are the highest in the OECD.

Leisure time of men and women: American men have nearly 40 minutes more leisure time than women per day.
Find the report here: http://www.oecd.org/document/24/0,3343,en_2649_34637_2671576_1_1_1_1,00.html

Let me ask you,

• Are we a nation of Me’s or a nation of We’s?
• How can one justify that it is more important to have a fetus develop into a baby and then be born than to give that new born baby and child health coverage or keep them from poverty?

We may make more money per capita in the US but we spend most of it on health insurance and other ‘fees’ – These are what I call hidden taxes.

These hidden taxes go to corporations not to benefit other citizens; they suck money up the ranks to make the rich richer, making huge profits and paying CEO’s millions of dollars that are basically denied health care reimbursements to you.. In other words, money from your pocket to theirs.

Taxes are used by governments (i.e. we the people) to benefit the population at large, these fees are simply how some corporations (after lobbying congress) dip their hands in your pockets and ’steal’ your money.

Read more…

Carl Gustav Jung was a famous Swiss psychiatrist, a student of Freud & the founder analytic psychology. I find some of his words very interesting and worth thinking about. This is one of the quotes I like:

I am not what happened to me, I am what I choose to become

This one is so true.

How will our world change if women were to rule?

I read an article titled “Woman, Be Silent” by Teresa Silverthorn a few weeks ago. The article started by mentioning a legend about the first civilization of humanity, where women held the authoritative power over the male community, and were created solely for supervisory reasons. Then the men took over the power of the community using trickery.

The article continues on, here are some excerpts:

Today. Our daughters are dressed in push-up bras, slinky clothing, with low self-esteem. They are used by the media to sell. They are used by the media to provoke.

They are used, and remain silent. They are exploited, and remain silent, thinking this is their only way to survive. They were taught this by their mothers, who barely survived. But, did so, by remaining silent.

I have seen how women sometimes hurt themselves indirectly when they force their daughters to abide by cultural expectations and by how they raise their male children. They are not to blame though, women around the globe have power because they raise tomorrow’s generation, but they are restricted in their ability to change the generations; they are bound by pre-established systems that they live in and depend on.

The restrictions that women face stem from the way in which the current systems of life are set up, we can call these systems the systems of living; what I mean is that the current laws, cultures and expectations of women all depend on the systems of living.

People live up to what is asked of them, many personalities are shaped by the cultures they are exposed to, individuals rise or sink due to these systems of living. The way people see themselves depends to a large extent on the systems of living they find themselves in. The same is true with women. Even an essential question like ‘what it means to be a woman’ in its entirety is determined by that woman’s interactions with the systems of living.

Read more…