See Also: http://www.determinism.com/quotes.shtml
I'll be talking about a very basic principle of logic here, -- perhaps the most basic and primary. It is so obvious, it is overlooked by nearly everyone. Schopenhauer explores it admirably in his "The Four-Fold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason". As one philosopher articulates it: "Everything that happens has a reason for being such as it is, and a lack of reasons for being other than it is."
The arguments to support this are endless, because it is the very foundation of all argumentation. Logic itself assumes connective links between what has been and what is now, and between what is now and what will be. Every cause is also an effect, as every effect is also a cause. When we seek to locate a cause within the individual we are denying this fact; imagining that the individual, his choice, or his will, somehow exists within a vacuum, as a causeless cause; something godly. It's a form of hubris, and it's a denial of our dependence on the natural order.
What is remarkable is that we admit the power of our internal and external environments only in extreme cases: We see that a madman is not responsible for his choices, but we fail to see what is more subtle; that all men are mad; all operating from various levels of unconsciousness, and basing their decisions on whatever material arises from the unconscious.
We say that one man is innocent of murder by reason of insanity, while another is guilty, but we overlook the flaw in our logic, which essentially tallies as: "murder is sane". We say that we do not expect everyone to be a saint, effectively confessing that there is a difference between the "free will" of saints and that of average men, but we still have expectations for the man; more or less arbitrary, based as they are on observations of others (whom we expect the man to resemble), on idealized fantasies of how people in general "should" be, and not on the subject under consideration; the man himself.
Determinism, the philosophy most firmly rooted in observation of the law of cause and effect, proposes that we cease to hold people responsible only in the sense that we do not hold a hurricane responsible for devastating a town. We do what we can to prevent hurricanes, and to protect the town, but we do not add insult to injury by blaming, and holding a personal grudge against the hurricane.
We can see this principle everywhere in nature, as it relates to our use of language.. We say that the leaves rustle, but the leaves dont really do anything; they are moved by the wind. We say that the wind blows, but the wind is moved by atmospheric pressures, which have their origin in still more distant causes. All things, including human beings, obey the same laws of dynamics.
Nietzsche gives attention to this tendency of our language to confuse matters when he writes of our tendency to say "lightning strikes". He argues that the strike is a part of what we call lightning, and not a function of it. The same, he says, is true of the choices and actions of men. They cannot be separated from us (that would be to separate the cause from the effect), just as we cannot be separated from our environments and upbringings. The strike is the lightning, and our choices are an extension of us. If we are imbalanced, our choices will be too. If we are balanced, so with they be. A sick man coughs, while a healthy man breathes freely.
More examples of how we neglect to observe causality:
We say that something could have been different, but, if we take just an instant to reflect upon this statement, we will be shocked by its absurdity and superficiality. In order for things to have gone differently, some factor, some cause, would have to have been different, -- but, in order for the cause to have been different, it would have to have been proceeded by another different cause, and so on, ad infinitum. In fact, what we're really saying is that the entire universe could have been, and could be, different. Very simply, determinism is about seeing and accepting what is; without imagining that what is could have been otherwise; or that it suggests what might have been, rather than what has been.
While this way of seeing admittedly turns our assumptions about people and the world on their heads, it is, nevertheless, factual; founded on pure logical observation, and not any personal desire to escape from responsibility. Whether or not the Determinist's motive in promoting this view is personal, and less than noble, is secondary and debatable. The fact remains that the logic is sound. And you will find that, if you are, by nature, a healthy-minded, responsible person, then this philosophy will not deter you from fulfilling what you see as your obligations. History is full of socially-conscious determinists.
Only someone who prides him/herself on being a hard-headed pragmatist, but who is really just impatient with subtlety, would object that the root of selfish action may be reduced to plain selfishness. There is nothing plain about the root of things. Concluding that selfish action arises from selfishness is giving may be called "an operational definition". It is really to say nothing at all. Its like saying the sky is blue because of the color blue. Selfishness is the very thing you wish to understand, but you abort the process of understanding selfishness as a behavior when you are satisfied to arrive at selfishness as an orientation. The question still remains, "what is the cause, or root, of the selfishness?"
The great diagnosticians of the soul of man have placed the causes for these things deep within the constitution of the individual; in psychological or physiological imbalances, inherited from nature and largely encouraged by culture/environment. But we must have an eye for detail, or we will refuse to admit these causes.
For instance, we will see that one man attributes his deplorable condition to an unloving mother, while another man is able to rise above far greater adversities, and, without taking their differences into account, we will interpret the success of the latter as a refutation of the "excuses" of the former. In fact, the two men are different.
Likewise, we will have sympathy for a child, but not a man, under similar circumstances, without regard to the real differences between that man and that child; because we judge according to assumptions and probabilities, and without observing the unique factors of each particular situation. External appearances notwithstanding, the most important determinants of behavior are internal. Internally, it may be that the man is more of a child than the child.
Forced by frustration to admit the reality of this, many people will agree that the man is indeed a child, but not without a feeling of superiority, scorn, and revulsion; and not without judging the man somehow more responsible for his childishness than a child would be. Rare is the person who sees this reality in its depths, and who is moved to compassion for the man, and to consider him much as he would consider a child; as innocent.
Could we force him to "grow up" by making him answerable to grueling circumstances? Perhaps. But we can do the same thing to a little child, and it would be, perhaps, no less of a tragedy, or a hastening of natural processes for the sake of unnatural ends.
For all these reasons, we are encouraged to love the sinner, while despising the sin, and to see sinfulness as an affliction, rather than a choice. Crucified, Jesus cries out, "Forgive them, for they know not what they do!" He is giving evidence of the rarest objectivity, by recognizing the subjectivity of his torturers.
It's something to which we should all aspire.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Friday, March 11, 2011
My Soul
somewhere
a rifle discharges
and larks trade wheat
for open sky --
but on the horizon
floats
a scarf of fog
where my soul is thickest;
it lingers
and is gone
a rifle discharges
and larks trade wheat
for open sky --
but on the horizon
floats
a scarf of fog
where my soul is thickest;
it lingers
and is gone
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Hybrid Mythologies
"Green Psychology" by Ralph Metzner, Ph.D.
Chapter 8
"Sky Gods and Earth Deities"
excerpt:
A pantheon of sky and warrior gods was superimposed on the Earth and nature divinities of the original inhabitants of Old Europe... Thanks in large measure to the work of the archeologist-mythologist Marija Gimbutas, the symbolic language and mythic imagery of these most ancient cultures have been rediscovered and extensively described in the second half of the twentieth century. As Gimbutas writes in the concluding section of her monumental work The Civilization Of The Goddess, "The functions and images of Old European and Indo-European deities... prove the existence of two contrasting religions and mythologies. Their collision in Europe resulted in the hybridization of two symbolic structures in which the Indo-European prevailed, while the Old European survived as an undercurrent." ...Gimbutas's concept of hybrid mythologies provides a kind of corrective lens through which many previously obscure and incomprehensible features of European mythology can be understood.
I should point out that whereas, originally, my approach to mythology, heavily influenced by Joseph Campbell and C.G. Jung and his followers, was to see it as an expression of intrapsychic symbolism and psychospiritual growth processes, I am now convinced of the view represented by Marija Gimbutas, Robert Graves, Mircea Eliade, and others, who see mythology in a more inclusive vein, as the total knowledge tradition of an oral culture, including cosmology, science, and history, as well as psychological insight and instruction.
..The ancient nature-goddess cults were appropriated and their stories twisted for ideological purposes. Hera, one of the forms of the ancient Great Goddess, whose cult was overrun by the Hellenes, almost certainly with much resistance by her worshipers, is ridiculed in Greek myths as the complaining wife of a robust, adulterous father-god. Athena, a form of the ancient life-giving bird goddess, is transformed into a cool warrior-strategist, born fully armed from Zeus's head -- thus eliminating any traces of her true origin and status and turning her into a "brainchild" of the father-god.
The invading Hellenes' takeover of the preexisting matricentric goddess cults is vividly portrayed in the well-known stories of the Olympian gods, including Zeus and Apollo, with their seduction (more accurately called rape) of local goddesses, nymphs, and nature spirits, as well as human women, priestesses of the Goddess. One example is the substitution of the solar god Apollo for the Earth goddess Gaia as the protector deity of the cave oracle at Delphi. Another is found in the story of the Cretan goddess Europa, after whom the continent is named: Zeus changed himself into a gorgeous bull, whom Europa trustingly rode, not suspecting his intent to seduce her. According to Graves, this myth reflects the Olympian's takeover of the Minoan sacred bull cult, in which the priestesses rode on the bull in processions and danced with the bull in the games. A third well-known example is the abduction and rape of Persephone, daughter of the Cretan Earth goddess Demeter, by Hades, ruler of the Underworld and brother of Zeus, with the latter's complicity.
Some Greek gods and goddesses, however, were not Olympians. They clearly belong to the older stratum of Earth- and Goddess-centered religion. Pan, the horned, goat-bodied god of wild and domesticated animals, was invoked by lusty country people in orgiastic celebrations. Robert Graves suggests that the satyrs, portrayed as goat-bodied with rampant erections, were goat totem tribesmen whose chosen god was Pan. To the Christians, with their life-negating attitudes, he was the embodiment of the horned and hooved Devil. Around the time of the beginnings of Christianity, a legend arose that sailors on a ship in the eastern Mediterranean had heard a supernatural voice proclaim, "Great Pan is dead!" In the underground pagan traditions of witchcraft and folklore, however, Pan survived; he became the Lord of Animals, the wild man covered with hair, who represented our connection with the nonhuman natural world, particularly animals. His feminine counterpart was the Lady of the Beasts, whom the Greeks knew as Artemis and the Romans as Diana, the protectress of witches...
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Nutritional Advice
"Food is Medicine."
~ Hippocrates
"When diet is wrong, medicine is of no use.
When diet is correct, medicine is of no need."~ Ancient Ayurvedic Proverb
A Necessary Introduction
Bare in mind, none of this is set in stone; I am speaking from my present level of understanding, and everything here is open for revision in light of new evidence.
First, it must be understood that there are two main schools of medicine. The model currently used in the mainstream is allopathic medicine, while the model I'm aligning myself with is homeopathic, or natural, medicine (although, in recent years, "homeopathy" has acquired another meaning, and no longer suggests its original meaning, which is simply natural medicine; the use of food as medicine, to treat the whole person). These two models have been at odds for thousands of years, but it is only recently that allopathy has risen to the forefront, mainly due to the rise of large corporations, which profit from keeping people sick.
While conspiracy theories like this one will naturally provoke incredulity at first glance, after one has become acquainted with the larger, historical picture, such conspiracies can be taken matter-of-factly, as commonplace occurrences. I feel very grateful that my own occupation has allowed me the free time to pursue these issues, which, understandably, many people have been unable to uncover. I also feel a responsibility to share my findings, in as concise and compelling a form as possible. My hope is that people will listen with open minds, and be willing to doubt some things which they have hitherto taken as truth.
The fact is, too many of our beliefs are accepted simply because they have been spoken by a perceived voice of authority. We tend to accept the popular beliefs of the place and time into which we have been born. This, again, is understandable, especially since life as we are required to live it today effectively hinders us from the pursuit of independent knowledge; by loading us up with all sorts of unnecessary responsibilities; necessary only to maintain a society which exalts the mass production, distribution, and consumption of material goods, -- and which does so by embracing a hierarchical model based on competition, conquest, and acquisition.
The roots of these issues, and of our own civilization, extend into the mists of prehistory. It may be necessary to gain an understanding of paleolithic cultures, and the values embraced by them (including respect for nature, and the equality of the sexes), in order to grasp the reality of how our own way of life, and thinking, has come into being. Unfortunately, recent archeological discoveries along these lines have yet to penetrate the mainstream consciousness, and children are still being taught in school that Babylonia and Sumeria, Greece and Rome, represent the official beginnings of Western Civilization.
We are told that "man" carved his way out of inhospitable nature by embracing a competitive and warlike spirit. In fact, the beginning of what we now call civilization was essentially the end of civilization in the highest sense; for tens of thousands of years, well organized social groups existed and thrived in an atmosphere of peace. While numerous examples of artistic accomplishment have been found, including flutes dating back to 40,000 B.C., evidence of weapons is entirely lacking. Two seminal works on the subject are Marija Gimbutas' "The Civilization of the Goddess" and Riane Eisler's "The Chalice And The Blade". But, while these are relatively scholarly texts, a great book for beginners would be Ralph Metzner's "Green Psychology".
The truth is, we are the offspring of two vastly different civilizations and peoples; on the one hand, the peaceful, Goddess-and-Nature-worshiping societies of Old Europe, and on the other hand, the later, militaristic, patriarchal, Sky-God-worshiping Indo-European societies which conquered, but also blended with, the original inhabitants of Old Europe. These two divergent, yet converging, streams of ancestry have resulted in the peculiar antagonism characteristic of our modern psychological condition, and interestingly epitomized in the conflict between allopathic and homeopathic medicine.
As I said, we acquire many of our beliefs from perceived authority figures. But when the legitimacy of those so-called authorities is called into question, so also are the many "truths" they have declared. What I am discovering is that, supported by sweeping, historical currents, large corporations have been allowed to gain supremacy in our time, and to essentially dictate to the public, and even to private universities, teachings, or rather, dogmas, which support their own corporatist (not to say "capitalist") agenda. They exercise the power to manufacture all manner of pseudo-scientific studies, and to prosecute as criminals anyone who sufficiently challenges their supremacy. This is the modern predicament.
While creating an illusion of freedom, they effectively "manufacture consent" (to use a term popularized by political critic and theorist Noam Chomsky), by making use of the media to distribute only those ideas endorsed by themselves. Cracks in this facade can be found, or made, but they are few and far between. Only with the rise of the internet has freedom of information become a reality, and a real threat to the existing power structures. It is now up to us to make use of this new freedom, and, to the very best of our ability, throw off the shackles of our cultural conditioning.
For Reference:
Some books of interest:
"The Gerson Therapy"
"The Food Revolution"
"When Healing Becomes A Crime"
"Medication Madness"
"Brain Disabling Treatments In Psychology"
Some documentaries of interest:
"Healing Cancer From Inside Out"
"Dying To Have Known"
"Food, Inc."
"The Future Of Food"
A few sites to look at are:
http://www.living-foods.com/
http://www.drnatura.com/
https://www.herbdoc.com/
http://www.therawfoodworld.
Some names to remember:
Dr. Max Gerson
Dr. Brian Clement
Dr. Joseph Mercola
Dr. Gabriel Cousens
Dr. John Christopher
Dr. Arnold Ehret
Dr. Peter Breggin
(While I do not agree with everything these men say,
and while they do not always agree with one another,
they are generally reliable, and a good place to start.)
Nutritional Advice
First, some general tips:
Foods to Avoid include animal products, which create numerous acids, including and especially uric acid, which inhibit the creation of an alkaline environment in the body; something essential for true health. Bleached and otherwise refined flours. Healthy carbohydrates are WHOLE GRAIN, not whole wheat. Refined flours, and especially white flour, turns to thick glue in the digestive tract. This is also true of white rice. White and otherwise refined sugars, salt, and caffiene. These three (sugar, salt, caffiene) are powerful neurotoxins, or drugs, which alter and pervert normal brain chemistry, resulting in irritability, excitability, lethargy, and a host of symptoms associated with ADD, ADHD, Chronic Fatigue, and various Mood disorders. Cooked and Overcooked Foods. You may have heard of the Raw Food Movement, which advocates the exclusion of all cooked foods. But even TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) has recommended short periods of fasting from cooked foods, and eating only raw foods, for the purposes of detoxifying the body. While TCM claims that an all-raw diet is too astringent for use in the long-term, it recognizes raw foods as powerful healers (indeed, too powerful for long-term use). Also, TCM insists that food be very lightly cooked. Anything processed or heavily processed, including canned foods, and almost everything in the grocery store, which contains numerous additives, preservatives, and genetically modified ingredients.
A more in-depth discussion:
I landed myself in the intensive care unit, and in a coma, the summer before last. This provoked me to adopt an all raw diet, and during the time when I was faithful to it, I never felt more energized or positive in my entire life. Here's some of what I learned.
One of the pieces of advice you'll most commonly find is to start slow, eliminating just a few things at a time, and at a pace you are comfortable with. For a couple of years, before I began juicing, I had already given up beef, pork, and lamb (anything on four legs), and shortly before going raw I had stopped eating chicken. For a while, during my recovery, I gave up all processed and cooked foods, and returned to the sort of diet our prehistoric ancestors would have recognized -- the sort of diet upon which our own physiology evolved, and which we are apparently designed to survive, and thrive, on. Giving up meat was a decision motivated by ethical concerns, foremost being the suffering of animals, but also environmental considerations (as I'd discovered that the leading contributor to environmental instability is the consumption of meat; specifically, factory farmed meat -- I'd learned that factory farms dump more waste into the air and ocean than any other industry, that it takes as much water to produce a pound of meat as one uses in a year of showering, and, also, that the land and materials used for growing grain, which could feed the world's hungry, were alloted to feeding animals for human consumption). We've grown up thinking of our distant ancestors as hunters, or hunter-gatherers, but the evidence I've studied suggests they were gatherers first, and only hunted rarely, usually to supplement the diet during long droughts and frosts when plants were less available.
I've learned that a lot of what we've been told are lies, often intentionally spread for the purpose of making money. For one thing, meat is not necessary for protein. All of the building blocks for proteins can be found in plants. I also learned that cooking food deprives it, and us, of the majority of it's nutrients. If the food is not organic to begin with, it has already suffered a significant depletion of its nutrient content, so this is an even bigger consideration now that foods are being produced with heavy traces of man-made chemicals, proven to be toxic to the human constitution. All in the name of making a small number of people obscenely wealthy, while making the rest of us fat and sick.
The reality of health, I've learned, is far from what I once thought. The reality is that almost all of us are sick. Sickness is so common, we have come to view it as our normal state -- as health! We think of some people as lazy, dull-witted, or irritable people, but the fact is that what they are eating has made them sick, and these are just a few of the symptoms of toxicity in the body. We look at people vibrant and vibrating with health, and we think it's just the luck of the draw; we think we weren't made that way. The truth is, we have no idea of who we are; that is, who we are when we are healthy, and not overloaded with toxins. Our potential is waiting to be unlocked.
The first step, as all true healers will tell you, is to cleanse the colon. The colon is the key. This is where toxins go to be released from the body, and when the colon is impacted (as most modern colons are), elimination of toxins is greatly inhibited. Our organs, primarily the liver, work to expel toxins from the blood, but all that work is in vain when the colon is clogged; toxins just end up being "recycled" back into the blood. Serious practitioners recommend as many as 30 sessions! of colon hydrotherapy in the initial stages of healing. This can get expensive, but the comparison is often made to what we spend fixing our cars. If we are willing to spend large sums fixing our cars, why are we so reluctant to spend them to fix our bodies -- ourselves? At the very least, enemas and/or a home colon cleansing program is recommended.
Simply doing a program like this, before making any significant dietary changes, can rid the body of a lot of accumulated toxic matter and free up a lot of energy for other biological processes. The only thing they recommend at this point is an avoidance of salty and fried foods. The reason you don't want to begin infusing the body with fresh juices right away is because giving the body what it needs (after having been deprived for so long) will trigger a massive release of toxins, and if the colon isn't clean these will be unable to escape from the body, and a healing crisis will almost definitely occur. After cleansing the colon, and possibly doing some of the other cleanses (you'll see on herbdoc a number of cleanses, including liver, kidney, and gallbladder) you can begin drinking serious juices. At least 20 ounces of green juice a day is recommended. Anything green, but especially dark green leafy veggies, is essential to health. Never underestimate these juices, as they are among the most powerful medicines known to "man". You'll feel the difference immediately. Of course, you'll want to mix these with apple and carrot juices, because they can be very bitter on their own. But try not to overdue the sweet veggies and fruits. They provide "good sugars", and can give boosts of energy (some juice enthusiasts recommend a glass or two of fresh orange or grapefruit juice in the morning, to start the day -- works better than coffee, which is a very powerful and destructive drug; much more so than marijuana, for instance), but you don't want to overdo these.
What you take in is important, but even more important is what you leave out. Refined sugars, white flour, meat, etc. should be seen as positively toxic substances. Meat, especially, is very acidic. You've probably heard of the findings concerning alkaline and acidic foods. The body, in order to be healthy, needs to be slightly alkaline, but the modern diet makes the body extremely acidic. Incidentally, fruits like lemons and oranges, which we tend to think of as acidic, actually have an alkalizing effect on the body. Nuts and seeds are wonderful, especially when raw. The real key here is RAW. All that information on the back of packages about serving size, calories, etc. means nothing. The further removed a food is from its natural state, the more toxic it is. This is not an absolute rule, of course, but a general rule which may be relied upon in most cases.
Olive oil is wonderful, and should be used whenever possible in place of Canola or Vegetable oil. Bear in mind that cooking changes the chemical composition; heating oils actually begins turning them into plastics and metals! But olive oil is relatively safe. Oils, and especially the oils found in nuts and seeds, lubricate the cells and provide a very mothering kind of energy. Butter should be avoided, unless it is raw. Raw dairy is a beautiful thing, but is only legal to sell directly from the farm. If you can find a local farm willing to sell raw dairy -- great! Small farms usually treat their animals very well, for one thing. The sort of dairy products you find in stores have been cooked at high temperatures and had their structures changed. They are some of the most acid-producing substances. People find this hard to believe, since drinking milk can often calm a sore stomach, which we've been taught to think of as an acid stomach. People take "antacids", for instance. But the truth is that soreness in the tummy is caused by a lack of acids, needed for proper digestion, and so-called antacids stimulate the body to produce acids in the stomach. While this is one good form of acidity, it is not optimal and the long-term effects are harmful. The best cure for an upset stomach is mint, or about fifteen mintdrops dissolved in water.
Bottom line: begin thinking of foods as either medicines or poisons, because that's what they are. Garlic, ginger, cayenne pepper -- these are some of the most powerful medicines in your arsenal. Also, you want to expect to feel crumby during a detox. When you begin to change your diet in this radical way, your body starts to shed the wastes which it has been using as a substitute for real nutrition. You may break out in acne, you may feel very letharic, you may get headaches, etc. The mainstream doctors will see these things as signs that what you're doing is not working. Many people are advised by their doctors to stop the cleanse at this point, which they do. That's a shame, because true health is just on the other side of those reactions. It has to get worse before it can get better.
The problem with most mainstream medicine is that it's aim is to eliminate symptoms, and not the sources of disease. When you get a cold, for instance, the body is purging itself of toxins. It's a good thing! The last thing you want to do is suppress these attempts to rid the body of toxins, but that's exactly what our doctors do. They make your symptoms disappear, and you think you are well. Meanwhile, toxins are being sequestered in your organs. Tumors form because of deposits of toxins. The body, unable to rid itself of the disease, finds a place for it in the organs, where it continues to accumulate. Doctors who "treat" Cancer think there's a problem with the liver, or the lungs, or the brain -- wherever the tumor or tumors are localized, -- but really the problem is with the whole body. They surgically remove the tumor, or break it up with radiation, and then it just comes back.
I hope this information is helpful for you. Good luck, and remember not to be hard on yourself. Start slow. The sources of disease are on your dinner plate, but the sources of destructive behavior are rooted in psychological issues common to all of us. Being harsh with yourself will only backfire. So be patient, be gentle, and always keep in mind the person you are on your way to becoming. People who make the transition to a truly healthy diet become happier, more energetic, more eager to take on projects, and more attractive. It is not uncommon for these people to have a youthful glow to their skin and a twinkle in their eyes. This is the natural state; as God, or Nature, intended us to be.
~ Hippocrates
"When diet is wrong, medicine is of no use.
When diet is correct, medicine is of no need."~ Ancient Ayurvedic Proverb
A Necessary Introduction
Bare in mind, none of this is set in stone; I am speaking from my present level of understanding, and everything here is open for revision in light of new evidence.
First, it must be understood that there are two main schools of medicine. The model currently used in the mainstream is allopathic medicine, while the model I'm aligning myself with is homeopathic, or natural, medicine (although, in recent years, "homeopathy" has acquired another meaning, and no longer suggests its original meaning, which is simply natural medicine; the use of food as medicine, to treat the whole person). These two models have been at odds for thousands of years, but it is only recently that allopathy has risen to the forefront, mainly due to the rise of large corporations, which profit from keeping people sick.
While conspiracy theories like this one will naturally provoke incredulity at first glance, after one has become acquainted with the larger, historical picture, such conspiracies can be taken matter-of-factly, as commonplace occurrences. I feel very grateful that my own occupation has allowed me the free time to pursue these issues, which, understandably, many people have been unable to uncover. I also feel a responsibility to share my findings, in as concise and compelling a form as possible. My hope is that people will listen with open minds, and be willing to doubt some things which they have hitherto taken as truth.
The fact is, too many of our beliefs are accepted simply because they have been spoken by a perceived voice of authority. We tend to accept the popular beliefs of the place and time into which we have been born. This, again, is understandable, especially since life as we are required to live it today effectively hinders us from the pursuit of independent knowledge; by loading us up with all sorts of unnecessary responsibilities; necessary only to maintain a society which exalts the mass production, distribution, and consumption of material goods, -- and which does so by embracing a hierarchical model based on competition, conquest, and acquisition.
The roots of these issues, and of our own civilization, extend into the mists of prehistory. It may be necessary to gain an understanding of paleolithic cultures, and the values embraced by them (including respect for nature, and the equality of the sexes), in order to grasp the reality of how our own way of life, and thinking, has come into being. Unfortunately, recent archeological discoveries along these lines have yet to penetrate the mainstream consciousness, and children are still being taught in school that Babylonia and Sumeria, Greece and Rome, represent the official beginnings of Western Civilization.
We are told that "man" carved his way out of inhospitable nature by embracing a competitive and warlike spirit. In fact, the beginning of what we now call civilization was essentially the end of civilization in the highest sense; for tens of thousands of years, well organized social groups existed and thrived in an atmosphere of peace. While numerous examples of artistic accomplishment have been found, including flutes dating back to 40,000 B.C., evidence of weapons is entirely lacking. Two seminal works on the subject are Marija Gimbutas' "The Civilization of the Goddess" and Riane Eisler's "The Chalice And The Blade". But, while these are relatively scholarly texts, a great book for beginners would be Ralph Metzner's "Green Psychology".
The truth is, we are the offspring of two vastly different civilizations and peoples; on the one hand, the peaceful, Goddess-and-Nature-worshiping societies of Old Europe, and on the other hand, the later, militaristic, patriarchal, Sky-God-worshiping Indo-European societies which conquered, but also blended with, the original inhabitants of Old Europe. These two divergent, yet converging, streams of ancestry have resulted in the peculiar antagonism characteristic of our modern psychological condition, and interestingly epitomized in the conflict between allopathic and homeopathic medicine.
As I said, we acquire many of our beliefs from perceived authority figures. But when the legitimacy of those so-called authorities is called into question, so also are the many "truths" they have declared. What I am discovering is that, supported by sweeping, historical currents, large corporations have been allowed to gain supremacy in our time, and to essentially dictate to the public, and even to private universities, teachings, or rather, dogmas, which support their own corporatist (not to say "capitalist") agenda. They exercise the power to manufacture all manner of pseudo-scientific studies, and to prosecute as criminals anyone who sufficiently challenges their supremacy. This is the modern predicament.
While creating an illusion of freedom, they effectively "manufacture consent" (to use a term popularized by political critic and theorist Noam Chomsky), by making use of the media to distribute only those ideas endorsed by themselves. Cracks in this facade can be found, or made, but they are few and far between. Only with the rise of the internet has freedom of information become a reality, and a real threat to the existing power structures. It is now up to us to make use of this new freedom, and, to the very best of our ability, throw off the shackles of our cultural conditioning.
For Reference:
Some books of interest:
"The Gerson Therapy"
"The Food Revolution"
"When Healing Becomes A Crime"
"Medication Madness"
"Brain Disabling Treatments In Psychology"
Some documentaries of interest:
"Healing Cancer From Inside Out"
"Dying To Have Known"
"Food, Inc."
"The Future Of Food"
A few sites to look at are:
http://www.living-foods.com/
http://www.drnatura.com/
https://www.herbdoc.com/
http://www.therawfoodworld.
Some names to remember:
Dr. Max Gerson
Dr. Brian Clement
Dr. Joseph Mercola
Dr. Gabriel Cousens
Dr. John Christopher
Dr. Arnold Ehret
Dr. Peter Breggin
(While I do not agree with everything these men say,
and while they do not always agree with one another,
they are generally reliable, and a good place to start.)
Nutritional Advice
First, some general tips:
Foods to Avoid include animal products, which create numerous acids, including and especially uric acid, which inhibit the creation of an alkaline environment in the body; something essential for true health. Bleached and otherwise refined flours. Healthy carbohydrates are WHOLE GRAIN, not whole wheat. Refined flours, and especially white flour, turns to thick glue in the digestive tract. This is also true of white rice. White and otherwise refined sugars, salt, and caffiene. These three (sugar, salt, caffiene) are powerful neurotoxins, or drugs, which alter and pervert normal brain chemistry, resulting in irritability, excitability, lethargy, and a host of symptoms associated with ADD, ADHD, Chronic Fatigue, and various Mood disorders. Cooked and Overcooked Foods. You may have heard of the Raw Food Movement, which advocates the exclusion of all cooked foods. But even TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) has recommended short periods of fasting from cooked foods, and eating only raw foods, for the purposes of detoxifying the body. While TCM claims that an all-raw diet is too astringent for use in the long-term, it recognizes raw foods as powerful healers (indeed, too powerful for long-term use). Also, TCM insists that food be very lightly cooked. Anything processed or heavily processed, including canned foods, and almost everything in the grocery store, which contains numerous additives, preservatives, and genetically modified ingredients.
A more in-depth discussion:
I landed myself in the intensive care unit, and in a coma, the summer before last. This provoked me to adopt an all raw diet, and during the time when I was faithful to it, I never felt more energized or positive in my entire life. Here's some of what I learned.
One of the pieces of advice you'll most commonly find is to start slow, eliminating just a few things at a time, and at a pace you are comfortable with. For a couple of years, before I began juicing, I had already given up beef, pork, and lamb (anything on four legs), and shortly before going raw I had stopped eating chicken. For a while, during my recovery, I gave up all processed and cooked foods, and returned to the sort of diet our prehistoric ancestors would have recognized -- the sort of diet upon which our own physiology evolved, and which we are apparently designed to survive, and thrive, on. Giving up meat was a decision motivated by ethical concerns, foremost being the suffering of animals, but also environmental considerations (as I'd discovered that the leading contributor to environmental instability is the consumption of meat; specifically, factory farmed meat -- I'd learned that factory farms dump more waste into the air and ocean than any other industry, that it takes as much water to produce a pound of meat as one uses in a year of showering, and, also, that the land and materials used for growing grain, which could feed the world's hungry, were alloted to feeding animals for human consumption). We've grown up thinking of our distant ancestors as hunters, or hunter-gatherers, but the evidence I've studied suggests they were gatherers first, and only hunted rarely, usually to supplement the diet during long droughts and frosts when plants were less available.
I've learned that a lot of what we've been told are lies, often intentionally spread for the purpose of making money. For one thing, meat is not necessary for protein. All of the building blocks for proteins can be found in plants. I also learned that cooking food deprives it, and us, of the majority of it's nutrients. If the food is not organic to begin with, it has already suffered a significant depletion of its nutrient content, so this is an even bigger consideration now that foods are being produced with heavy traces of man-made chemicals, proven to be toxic to the human constitution. All in the name of making a small number of people obscenely wealthy, while making the rest of us fat and sick.
The reality of health, I've learned, is far from what I once thought. The reality is that almost all of us are sick. Sickness is so common, we have come to view it as our normal state -- as health! We think of some people as lazy, dull-witted, or irritable people, but the fact is that what they are eating has made them sick, and these are just a few of the symptoms of toxicity in the body. We look at people vibrant and vibrating with health, and we think it's just the luck of the draw; we think we weren't made that way. The truth is, we have no idea of who we are; that is, who we are when we are healthy, and not overloaded with toxins. Our potential is waiting to be unlocked.
The first step, as all true healers will tell you, is to cleanse the colon. The colon is the key. This is where toxins go to be released from the body, and when the colon is impacted (as most modern colons are), elimination of toxins is greatly inhibited. Our organs, primarily the liver, work to expel toxins from the blood, but all that work is in vain when the colon is clogged; toxins just end up being "recycled" back into the blood. Serious practitioners recommend as many as 30 sessions! of colon hydrotherapy in the initial stages of healing. This can get expensive, but the comparison is often made to what we spend fixing our cars. If we are willing to spend large sums fixing our cars, why are we so reluctant to spend them to fix our bodies -- ourselves? At the very least, enemas and/or a home colon cleansing program is recommended.
Simply doing a program like this, before making any significant dietary changes, can rid the body of a lot of accumulated toxic matter and free up a lot of energy for other biological processes. The only thing they recommend at this point is an avoidance of salty and fried foods. The reason you don't want to begin infusing the body with fresh juices right away is because giving the body what it needs (after having been deprived for so long) will trigger a massive release of toxins, and if the colon isn't clean these will be unable to escape from the body, and a healing crisis will almost definitely occur. After cleansing the colon, and possibly doing some of the other cleanses (you'll see on herbdoc a number of cleanses, including liver, kidney, and gallbladder) you can begin drinking serious juices. At least 20 ounces of green juice a day is recommended. Anything green, but especially dark green leafy veggies, is essential to health. Never underestimate these juices, as they are among the most powerful medicines known to "man". You'll feel the difference immediately. Of course, you'll want to mix these with apple and carrot juices, because they can be very bitter on their own. But try not to overdue the sweet veggies and fruits. They provide "good sugars", and can give boosts of energy (some juice enthusiasts recommend a glass or two of fresh orange or grapefruit juice in the morning, to start the day -- works better than coffee, which is a very powerful and destructive drug; much more so than marijuana, for instance), but you don't want to overdo these.
What you take in is important, but even more important is what you leave out. Refined sugars, white flour, meat, etc. should be seen as positively toxic substances. Meat, especially, is very acidic. You've probably heard of the findings concerning alkaline and acidic foods. The body, in order to be healthy, needs to be slightly alkaline, but the modern diet makes the body extremely acidic. Incidentally, fruits like lemons and oranges, which we tend to think of as acidic, actually have an alkalizing effect on the body. Nuts and seeds are wonderful, especially when raw. The real key here is RAW. All that information on the back of packages about serving size, calories, etc. means nothing. The further removed a food is from its natural state, the more toxic it is. This is not an absolute rule, of course, but a general rule which may be relied upon in most cases.
Olive oil is wonderful, and should be used whenever possible in place of Canola or Vegetable oil. Bear in mind that cooking changes the chemical composition; heating oils actually begins turning them into plastics and metals! But olive oil is relatively safe. Oils, and especially the oils found in nuts and seeds, lubricate the cells and provide a very mothering kind of energy. Butter should be avoided, unless it is raw. Raw dairy is a beautiful thing, but is only legal to sell directly from the farm. If you can find a local farm willing to sell raw dairy -- great! Small farms usually treat their animals very well, for one thing. The sort of dairy products you find in stores have been cooked at high temperatures and had their structures changed. They are some of the most acid-producing substances. People find this hard to believe, since drinking milk can often calm a sore stomach, which we've been taught to think of as an acid stomach. People take "antacids", for instance. But the truth is that soreness in the tummy is caused by a lack of acids, needed for proper digestion, and so-called antacids stimulate the body to produce acids in the stomach. While this is one good form of acidity, it is not optimal and the long-term effects are harmful. The best cure for an upset stomach is mint, or about fifteen mintdrops dissolved in water.
Bottom line: begin thinking of foods as either medicines or poisons, because that's what they are. Garlic, ginger, cayenne pepper -- these are some of the most powerful medicines in your arsenal. Also, you want to expect to feel crumby during a detox. When you begin to change your diet in this radical way, your body starts to shed the wastes which it has been using as a substitute for real nutrition. You may break out in acne, you may feel very letharic, you may get headaches, etc. The mainstream doctors will see these things as signs that what you're doing is not working. Many people are advised by their doctors to stop the cleanse at this point, which they do. That's a shame, because true health is just on the other side of those reactions. It has to get worse before it can get better.
The problem with most mainstream medicine is that it's aim is to eliminate symptoms, and not the sources of disease. When you get a cold, for instance, the body is purging itself of toxins. It's a good thing! The last thing you want to do is suppress these attempts to rid the body of toxins, but that's exactly what our doctors do. They make your symptoms disappear, and you think you are well. Meanwhile, toxins are being sequestered in your organs. Tumors form because of deposits of toxins. The body, unable to rid itself of the disease, finds a place for it in the organs, where it continues to accumulate. Doctors who "treat" Cancer think there's a problem with the liver, or the lungs, or the brain -- wherever the tumor or tumors are localized, -- but really the problem is with the whole body. They surgically remove the tumor, or break it up with radiation, and then it just comes back.
I hope this information is helpful for you. Good luck, and remember not to be hard on yourself. Start slow. The sources of disease are on your dinner plate, but the sources of destructive behavior are rooted in psychological issues common to all of us. Being harsh with yourself will only backfire. So be patient, be gentle, and always keep in mind the person you are on your way to becoming. People who make the transition to a truly healthy diet become happier, more energetic, more eager to take on projects, and more attractive. It is not uncommon for these people to have a youthful glow to their skin and a twinkle in their eyes. This is the natural state; as God, or Nature, intended us to be.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Religion As Language
Religions are spiritual languages. If someone were to say, "English is the only language capable of effective communication. Everyone who speaks any other language is led astray and only imagines that they're communicating," their foolishness would be apparent to everyone. Yet how many people say, "Christianity is the only true path to God. All who practice other religions are deceived and only think they are in communion with God," and how many more will suppose their words contain, or may contain, some sense? Really, there is no difference between the two.
Religions are languages, comprised, like all languages, of symbols, intended to convey objects, states, processes, themes, and impressions not otherwise apparent. Because religious language is highly poetical, the speaker must be granted some amount, great or small, of poetic license. In Paul's First Epistle to the Corinthians, he says "I speak with tongues," and though many believe that speaking in tongues means uttering words inspired by God yet unintelligible to mortals, I myself believe that speaking in tongues means speaking in religious language; with symbols provided by a specific religious tradition. So, when Paul says, "With men of other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people; and yet for all that will they not hear me, saith the Lord," (14:21) I believe he means that he will speak in the language -- that is, with the symbols -- of a religion which is not the religion of the people to whom he is speaking. And since these people are not bi-religious, -- which is to say, spiritually bi-lingual -- they will not "hear", will not understand, him, "except he interpret, that the church may receive edifying" (14:5). He says that the ability to interpret is essential, otherwise the language will not be understood by those outside the Church.
"If therefore the whole church be come together into one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those that are unlearned, or unbelievers, will they not say that ye are mad?" (14:23) This is our present state of affairs. When we haven't the ability to interpret, and to make clear the meaning of religious terminology, then those outside the Church will think that we speak nonsense. Indeed, the confusion aroused by such a misunderstanding has reached the point where many within the Church do not even understand their own symbols. They speak in tongues, but have no one to interpret. So, while they may imagine that they understand, really, the meanings have been lost, and the religion has ceased to be a true language of the spirit for them. While the words may still make sense, to one who can interpret, they nonetheless remain nonsense for the majority of people who speak them.
What is needed now are people who can understand and speak of spiritual matters without recourse to religious language. But, perhaps even more than these, we need people who are capable of speaking and interpreting religious language. The Christian philosopher, Soren Kierkegaard, understood that there is nothing more difficult than teaching something (in this case, Christianity) to one who mistakenly believes that he already understands it. Interpreting religious symbols for one who has no concept of their meaning, or whose "cup is empty", can be difficult enough; but the task of reinterpreting symbols which a person has misunderstood is like walking on a slippery slope, or trying to fill a cup with wine which is already full of water. That your words will be buried in projected preconceptions, and taken in a context not intended by you, at least, in the beginning, is almost inevitable. Nevertheless, it is a task which all who understand the teaching feel called to perform. Moreover, elucidating the proper interpretations of religious language, though difficult, may be the easiest, and perhaps the only, way to reach many of the people who use -- or, rather, misuse -- that language, and remain deaf to all others.
Religions are languages, comprised, like all languages, of symbols, intended to convey objects, states, processes, themes, and impressions not otherwise apparent. Because religious language is highly poetical, the speaker must be granted some amount, great or small, of poetic license. In Paul's First Epistle to the Corinthians, he says "I speak with tongues," and though many believe that speaking in tongues means uttering words inspired by God yet unintelligible to mortals, I myself believe that speaking in tongues means speaking in religious language; with symbols provided by a specific religious tradition. So, when Paul says, "With men of other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people; and yet for all that will they not hear me, saith the Lord," (14:21) I believe he means that he will speak in the language -- that is, with the symbols -- of a religion which is not the religion of the people to whom he is speaking. And since these people are not bi-religious, -- which is to say, spiritually bi-lingual -- they will not "hear", will not understand, him, "except he interpret, that the church may receive edifying" (14:5). He says that the ability to interpret is essential, otherwise the language will not be understood by those outside the Church.
"If therefore the whole church be come together into one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those that are unlearned, or unbelievers, will they not say that ye are mad?" (14:23) This is our present state of affairs. When we haven't the ability to interpret, and to make clear the meaning of religious terminology, then those outside the Church will think that we speak nonsense. Indeed, the confusion aroused by such a misunderstanding has reached the point where many within the Church do not even understand their own symbols. They speak in tongues, but have no one to interpret. So, while they may imagine that they understand, really, the meanings have been lost, and the religion has ceased to be a true language of the spirit for them. While the words may still make sense, to one who can interpret, they nonetheless remain nonsense for the majority of people who speak them.
What is needed now are people who can understand and speak of spiritual matters without recourse to religious language. But, perhaps even more than these, we need people who are capable of speaking and interpreting religious language. The Christian philosopher, Soren Kierkegaard, understood that there is nothing more difficult than teaching something (in this case, Christianity) to one who mistakenly believes that he already understands it. Interpreting religious symbols for one who has no concept of their meaning, or whose "cup is empty", can be difficult enough; but the task of reinterpreting symbols which a person has misunderstood is like walking on a slippery slope, or trying to fill a cup with wine which is already full of water. That your words will be buried in projected preconceptions, and taken in a context not intended by you, at least, in the beginning, is almost inevitable. Nevertheless, it is a task which all who understand the teaching feel called to perform. Moreover, elucidating the proper interpretations of religious language, though difficult, may be the easiest, and perhaps the only, way to reach many of the people who use -- or, rather, misuse -- that language, and remain deaf to all others.
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Jesus, Siddhartha, and The Higher Self
Jesus embraced the Holy Spirit and became Jesus Christ. In the same way, -- or, rather, in his own way, -- Siddhartha embraced it, and became Siddhartha Christ; the Buddha. Christ is The Higher Self, and when you grow into your higher self, no matter what your first name may be, your last name (and the last name by which you will ever be known) will always be Christ; the Anointed.
Jesus may be your teacher, but Christ is within you. Regardless of who your teacher may be, or what spiritual tradition you may follow, the peak at which all souls arrive, and from which they regard the whole of Creation, is the same. Though our teachers may be men, and our paths may be man-made, the wisdom is from God, and it is God within us who comprehends it.
Jesus may be your teacher, but Christ is within you. Regardless of who your teacher may be, or what spiritual tradition you may follow, the peak at which all souls arrive, and from which they regard the whole of Creation, is the same. Though our teachers may be men, and our paths may be man-made, the wisdom is from God, and it is God within us who comprehends it.
FAITH, The Supernatural Law
Supernatural laws are not unnatural laws. They are not outside of Nature, and they do not contradict Nature. On the contrary, they are the most natural laws of all. They are that part of Nature which we refer to as Higher Nature, or Supernature. They are the part which can be seen most clearly, not in history, but in prophesy; not in the past so much as in the future. So, in order to master supernatural laws, and manifest supernatural powers, we need to be visionaries. Visionaries look with the eyes of Faith, not to past mistakes, but to future victories.
God has overcome the world, and overcome history. He is that perfect manifestation which exists at the end of time, and which draws all things nearer to Himself, and to their own perfection. The method by which He pulls us forward is Grace, and the method by which we go to meet Him is Faith. Grace is the hand God extends to us, from out of eternity into time, and Faith is the hand we extend to Him, from out of time into eternity. When we respond with Faith to the Grace of God, we successfully bridge the chasm between Finite and Infinite.
So, what is Faith?
The mind thinks, the heart feels, but the soul believes; the mind has thoughts, the heart has feelings, but the soul has Faith. Faith is an affirmation of the unseen, and the visions of the faithful are those things which are not yet, but which will be. The slave who has Faith does not dwell on his chains, but on the freedom promised by God to all who believe. In this way, he becomes free.
By Faith, we claim our birthright. Peace is claimed when we say, "Glory to God, His Peace is upon us!" Love is claimed when we say, "Blessed be the name of the Lord, whose Love enfolds and keeps us!" You are a child of God, who anoints, initiates, and protects you. Your success is even now being prepared, -- and is now. Praise the Lord!
The reason we do not see God is that we do not look with the eyes of Faith. God has overcome the world, and we must look beyond the world, if we are to see Him. He is perfect, so our Faith must also be perfect, in order to see Him clearly.
It is our choice, whether to reason in favor of Faith, or against it. And if we choose to reason against it, it will not stand. With just a word, the dream is cut, and all who dream it die. Faith is subtle, and if we choose not to sustain it, it will not insist. It will vanish like a vision when the eyes are closed. But if we reason in Faith's favor, we reason in Faith. We have it already. We have it without question.
There is the seed of a dream in your heart, and Faith is the only thing needed to nurture that dream into fruition. Believe you can do it, and behold -- you are doing it! Believe in His authority, and you will serve Him. Believe in yourself, and He will promote you. Bring your gifts into the light of day, and your Faith will nurture them. And they will multiply, according to the promise of His Word.
I speak in the language of the Christian tradition, making use of symbols resonant for myself. But the message is universal. All traditions carry a strain, or a stream, of this message; some more thin, and some more broad. My intention is to enter this stream, which merges with the great river of Spirit, that both stream and river may become broader still, as they carry all souls into the vast ocean of God that is Eternity. For the salvation of all souls, whatever path they follow, and by whatever name they call The One.
This Peace Be Upon You.
Glory to God and All Souls Everywhere.
Amen
God has overcome the world, and overcome history. He is that perfect manifestation which exists at the end of time, and which draws all things nearer to Himself, and to their own perfection. The method by which He pulls us forward is Grace, and the method by which we go to meet Him is Faith. Grace is the hand God extends to us, from out of eternity into time, and Faith is the hand we extend to Him, from out of time into eternity. When we respond with Faith to the Grace of God, we successfully bridge the chasm between Finite and Infinite.
So, what is Faith?
The mind thinks, the heart feels, but the soul believes; the mind has thoughts, the heart has feelings, but the soul has Faith. Faith is an affirmation of the unseen, and the visions of the faithful are those things which are not yet, but which will be. The slave who has Faith does not dwell on his chains, but on the freedom promised by God to all who believe. In this way, he becomes free.
By Faith, we claim our birthright. Peace is claimed when we say, "Glory to God, His Peace is upon us!" Love is claimed when we say, "Blessed be the name of the Lord, whose Love enfolds and keeps us!" You are a child of God, who anoints, initiates, and protects you. Your success is even now being prepared, -- and is now. Praise the Lord!
The reason we do not see God is that we do not look with the eyes of Faith. God has overcome the world, and we must look beyond the world, if we are to see Him. He is perfect, so our Faith must also be perfect, in order to see Him clearly.
It is our choice, whether to reason in favor of Faith, or against it. And if we choose to reason against it, it will not stand. With just a word, the dream is cut, and all who dream it die. Faith is subtle, and if we choose not to sustain it, it will not insist. It will vanish like a vision when the eyes are closed. But if we reason in Faith's favor, we reason in Faith. We have it already. We have it without question.
There is the seed of a dream in your heart, and Faith is the only thing needed to nurture that dream into fruition. Believe you can do it, and behold -- you are doing it! Believe in His authority, and you will serve Him. Believe in yourself, and He will promote you. Bring your gifts into the light of day, and your Faith will nurture them. And they will multiply, according to the promise of His Word.
I speak in the language of the Christian tradition, making use of symbols resonant for myself. But the message is universal. All traditions carry a strain, or a stream, of this message; some more thin, and some more broad. My intention is to enter this stream, which merges with the great river of Spirit, that both stream and river may become broader still, as they carry all souls into the vast ocean of God that is Eternity. For the salvation of all souls, whatever path they follow, and by whatever name they call The One.
This Peace Be Upon You.
Glory to God and All Souls Everywhere.
Amen
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