Genetically-modified food is one of the most controversial subjects today. Not only are regulations loose and manufacturers getting away with not labeling them, they’re being approved at an alarmingly swift rate without the appropriate long-term health assessment. The Food and Drug Administration recently approved of two GMO foods, potatoes and apples, as safe and equally nutritious as conventional varieties, and they’re pushing to get these items to a grocery store near you.
The Approval of GMO Foods Apples and Potatoes
The new approval is covering six varieties of potatoes and two varieties of apples. [1] The potatoes come from Idaho from the J. R. Simplot Co., and the apples come from Canadian company Okanagan Specialty Fruits, Inc. Fortunately for the health food movement, McDonald’s, a long-time client of J. R. Simplot Co., is no longer purchasing from the company, opting out of using GMO potatoes for its food.
ConAgra is another big-name company that supplies potatoes for restaurants all across the world, and it is also in line with consumer demand for non-GMO potato varieties. While french fries and hash browns are certainly not health fare, it does go to show how companies listen and respond to the desires of consumers. In order to keep up the fight against GMOs and keep them out of our food supply, we need to continue advocating for labeling laws that will help us, as consumers, differentiate between natural food and Frankenfood.
What You Can Do
Along with contacting the FDA and urging them to look into labeling laws, there are a few things you can do to get the ball moving. Buying organic as much as possible shows companies that consumers are demanding more natural, non-GMO foods. Consumer research into buying trends weigh heavily on the actions of companies in producing their products, so vote with your pocketbook by buying as many of your products as natural as possible.
-Dr. Edward F. Group III, DC, NP, DACBN, DCBCN, DABFM
NY Cops Used ‘Stingray’ Spy Tool 46 Times Without Warrant
The police department in Erie County, New York fought hard to prevent the New York Civil Liberties Union from obtaining records about its use of a controversial surveillance tool known as a stingray.
The reason why may be because of what the records show: that cops in that county, which includes the city of Buffalo, used the devices 47 times since 2010 but only once sought and obtained a court order to do so. That revelation contradicts what the county sheriff said last year when he asserted that the department only used the devices under “judicial review.”
In the single case in which police sought permission from a court, they asked for a court order rather than a warrant, which carries a higher burden of proof. And in their request, they mischaracterized the true nature of the tool.
“These records confirm some of the very worst fears about local law enforcement’s use of this expensive and intrusive surveillance equipment.”
The records, which the NYCLU published in a blog post today, also show that the county sheriff’s office signed a stringent gag order with the FBI to maintain secrecy about their stingray records. The department was told to withhold information about the devices in any documents filed with courts, such as affidavits and other documents describing how they obtained evidence in criminal cases. The department was even told that the FBI maintained the right to intervene in county prosecutions to request criminal cases be dismissed if there was a chance that a case might result in the disclosure of information about law enforcement’s use of stingrays.
“Stingrays are an advanced surveillance technology that can sweep up very private information, including information on innocent people,” NYCLU Western Region Director John Curr III said in a statement. “If the FBI can command the Sheriff’s Office to dismiss criminal cases to protect its secret stingrays, it is not clear how the $350,000 we are spending on stingray equipment is keeping the people of Buffalo safer.”
The revelations continue a trend in several states across the U.S. wherein law enforcement agencies have gone to great lengths to prevent the public from learning about their use of stingrays. The surveillance tool simulates a legitimate cell phone tower to trick mobile phones and other devices on a cellular network into connecting to the devices and revealing their location. Stingrays emit a signal that is stronger than the signal of other cell towers in the vicinity in order to force mobile phones and other devices to establish a connection with them and reveal their unique ID. Stingrays can then determine the direction from which the phone connected— a data point that can then be used to track the movement of the phone as it continuously connects to the fake tower.
Many police departments have signed non-disclosure agreements with the Harris Corporation, one of the leading makers of the devices, to prevent them from releasing records about the systems or discussing them. In Florida, the U.S. Marshals service went so far as to seize records about a local police department’s use of stingrays in order to prevent the American Civil Liberties Union from obtaining them. And many law enforcement agencies have deceived judges about their use of the devices in order to prevent defendants and the public from learning about how they’re being used.
Erie County similarly fought hard to prevent the NYCLU from obtaining these records but was ordered to turn them over by a court. The documents show that the sheriff’s office used stingrays at least 47 times between May 1, 2010 and October 3, 2014. The one time the department sought judicial approval was in October 2014, contrary to what Erie County Sheriff Tim Howard said in May, 2014: that the devices were used under “judicial review” in all criminal matters, implying that investigators always seek court approval before using them.
Not only this, but the records show that when the department did seek a court order, they identified the spy tool they planned to use as a pen register device, not a stingray or cell site simulator. The use of the term “pen register device” is controversial. Law enforcement agencies maintain that stingrays operate like pen registers and are not invasive, but this doesn’t paint the picture. Pen registers record the numbers dialed from a specific phone number, but stingrays are used primarily to track the location and movement of a device and can be much more invasive than pen registers. By describing the tool as a pen register device to the judge, the law enforcement agency was withholding information about the full capability of the device.
In fact, the public has yet to learn exactly how much these surveillance tools can really do, due to the secrecy around them. Recently, a federal agent admitted to a court that stingrays have the ability to disrupt cellular communications for any device in its vicinity, not just the ones targeted by law enforcement. And there are also stingray devices that have the ability to collect the content of phone calls, though U.S. law enforcement agencies have often insisted that the ones they use have this capability disabled.
Although there’s still much more the public should know about how and when law enforcement uses this invasive spying tool, it’s clear departments will continue to do everything in their power to keep the public, and judges, in the dark.
Many Americans have some form of varicose veins. Processed food, lack of physical activity, obesity, nutritional deficiencies and prolonged sitting or standing can burden the veins.
Varicose veins are blood vessels that have become enlarged and tortuous. Varicose veins usually happen in the legs and is associated with chronic inflammation and poor circulation. You must de-flame the body to reduce and eliminate varicose veins. Garlic is a great remedy for varicose veins. It can break down the protein content in the body and distribute it evenly. This increases the protein supply to the lower limb region.
How to make Garlic oil to Treat Varicose Veins Naturally
Ingredients:
5 cloves of garlic
3 oranges
2 tablespoons olive oil
Finely slice 6 cloves garlic, put them in a clean jar with lid, then add the juice of 3 oranges and 2 tablespoons olive oil
Allow to sit for 12 hours before you use it.
Shake well before use
In the evening, pour several drops of garlic mixture on fingers, and rub it on the areas of concern with a circular motion. Put a plastic bag and wrap the legs with bandage or a warm cloth. Repeat every night.
Turmeric is one of the world’s healthiest foods. Turmeric’s antiseptic and antibacterial properties make it great for cleaning and treating wounds, and its anti-inflammatory properties work well against joint pain and are effective for treating arthritis. Experts believe that turmeric may even have over 600 potential preventive and therapeutic applications and 175 distinct beneficial physiological effects. Turmeric has been found to replace man pharmaceutical drugs such as ibuprofen.
Turmeric can be easily grown indoors. Turmeric is grown from rhizomes (root cuttings) similar to ginger. Turmeric does not propagate seeds. So all you need is one turmeric root which you can find at health stores (Whole Foods or Indian stores.)
How to Grow your own turmeric. It is FAR better than buying it
To grow turmeric indoors, just follow these simple steps:
1. Break a larger rhizome into a small rhizome piece that has two or three buds.
2. Fill the pots with rich organic soil, which is lightly moist but well drained. The ideal pH should range from 4.5 to 7.5
3. Place it about two inches below the surface of the soil, with the buds facing up.
3. Water the container.
That’s all there is to it!
Turmeric likes water. So try watering it once in 2 days. Keep the soil of the turmeric plant moist, but not too wet.
How to Harvest Turmeric
Turmeric takes between 6 to 10 months for the edible rhizomes to mature. Harvesting is easy, just dig up the entire plant including the roots.
Cut the needed amount off a finger at the edge of the pot and then return the soil.
Turmeric is a perennial herb plant that re-shoots every spring; it will continue to produce roots.
There are a lot of health writers who recommend staying away from using fish oil as a supplement for omega-3, and there are mainstream reports of studies that “prove” supplementing omega-3 does nothing for heart health.
But rarely is anything mentioned about brain health. Omega-3s are the building blocks for the cell walls and neuron structures of the brain, myelin sheath, and nervous system.
“We have strong data that suggest omega-3 will activate good proteins to cope with brain damage and turn off proteins that cause neuroinflammation,” said Dr. Nicolas Bazan, director of the Neuroscience Center of Excellence at LSU Health in New Orleans and author of one of the studies that determined this.
Dramatic Episodes of Brain Damaged Victims Recovering With Fish Oil
Every once in a very great while, mainstream doctors look away from their “standard of care” medical bags and dare to use unusual approaches with non-pharmaceutical substances that deliver surprisingly effective results.
In 2010, high school student Bobby Ghassemi was taken out of his crashed vehicle and airlifted to a nearby Virginia hospital more dead than alive with severe brain trauma.
He was so much more dead than alive that the physician who eventually advised the Ghassemi family on using fish oil, Dr. Michael Lewis observed, “For all intents and purposes, he was dead on the scene. I’m looking at the reports, and they report a Glasgow Coma Score of three. A brick or piece of wood has a Glascow Coma Score of three. It’s dead.”
Bobby was placed in intensive care in a coma with all the apparatus possible to keep him a breath away from death. The hospital’s physicians commented that his brain injury was so bad, it was a wonder that he was alive enough to be in a coma!
They told Bobby’s father and mother it was doubtful he’d be more than a vegetable if he came out of the coma, and he’d be unable to speak or recognize his family.
A Good Time to Gamble with an Unusual Intervention
After 10 days, Bobby was still comatose but stable. His dad, Peter Ghassemi, felt more should be done than maintaining stability in a coma. So he started asking around to old Army buddies and was led to Army colonel Dr. Micheal Lewis.
“It really gets down to what I would call my brick wall analogy,” Dr. Lewis said. “If you have a brick wall and it gets damaged, wouldn’t you want to use bricks to repair the wall? And omega-3 fatty acids are literally the bricks of the cell wall in the brain.” (Emphasis added)
Dr. Lewis recommended fish oil based on an earlier episode of a West Virginia coal miner who barely survived a mining accident with severe brain damage. Except for extreme myelin sheath damage (nervous system’s fatty protective coats) from breathing toxic fumes, Randall’s condition resembled Bobby’s current state.
The 26-year-old miner, Randall McCloy, was “on death’s doorstep,” according to Randall’s hospital neurosurgeon, Dr. Julian Bailes. He and the other doctors then decided to forgo the normal wait and see after Randall was stabilized in intensive care.
Even as some recovery is noticed after a brain injury, the brain cells continue dying from progressive inflammation.
Dr. Bailes knew that the brain needs to feed on omega-3 fatty acids to heal inflammation as well as stimulate brain and nervous system cell growth. Unlike plant based omega-3s, fish oils do not require the body to convert ALA into the more efficacious aspects of omega-3 fatty acid, DHA and EPA.
After discussing Randall’s condition with fish oil omega-3 experts, Dr. Bailes determined that 20 grams of fish oil, several times the standard supplement dose of one to three grams, should be fed through Randall’s feeding tube daily might bring him around.
This successful intervention was explained to Bobby’s dad, Peter. In order to overcome authoritative medical “standard of care” resistance, Peter persistently urged the hospital staff to try the fish oil. Eventually the hospital yielded.
At his high school graduation, Bobby took off his cap and waved it to the cheering students. His dramatic three month recovery had left him with some weakness on his left side and walking difficulty, for which he had just begun therapy. But he was back.
More recently, in 2014, a repeat performance of a fish oil miracle. Grant Virgin was the pedestrian victim of a hit and run accident while walking near his family’s home. At first thought dead, he was rushed to a hospital. Doctors told his parents he would never recover from his coma and to “let him go”.
But the parents refused that and searched for solutions. They got an email from someone telling them about fish oil, and had to urge the hospital to perform “medical disobedience”, as reported from a medical source.
Here’s that story:
Instead of simply using the same treatment that saved these three trauma brain damaged victims when there is nothing Big Pharma can provide that effectively treats the 1.7 million people who suffer a traumatic brain injury each year in the United States, state Attorney Generals are waging wars against supplements.
Yes, there are Greens that should NOT be eaten raw!
Recent trends in nutrition promote eating mostly raw foods. As a nutritionist I feel it’s necessary to qualify a few things about this popular new eating practice.
First off, although fresh raw foods do retain more of a food’s life force, it is not true that all nutrients and enzymes are lost when plant-based foods are cooked, and it is not true that all vegetables and fruits are best for you when eaten raw.
Some vegetables actually release beneficial nutrients when cooked as in the case of cooked tomatoes producing more lycopene (a powerful antioxidant which prevents cancer- causing free radical damage and helps prostate problems, night blindness and asthma) than when eaten raw. Other vegetables such as cooked carrots, spinach, mushrooms, asparagus, cabbage, peppers also supply more antioxidants, such as carotenoids and ferulic acid, to the body than they do when raw. And when it comes to energy, cooked foods are easier to digest because your body does not have to do as much work to break down the undigestable cellulose from the cell walls of the plants.
Another important issue is the fairly new increase in young, otherwise healthy people who regularly consume green juices developing hypothyroidism (low thyroid function). Naturopathic doctors are seeing more and more of this anomaly. The problem is with juicing raw cruciferous vegetables which have an enzyme that blocks the production of thyroid. Kale, which has become very popular for its nutrients and ALA (alpha lipoic acid) content helpful in regulating blood sugar and blood pressure, as well as its high potassium level which helps the heart, is a member of the cruciferous family. It has become popular to juice kale every day, which can negatively affect the thyroid.
While recent studies show that these vegetables do not block thyroid production in everyone who eats them, and that it may take a large quantity to actually negatively affect thyroid function, I believe it is wise to lightly steam these vegetables rather than eating them raw in anything but small quantities, and to completely avoid them raw if you have low thyroid. Steaming them eliminates the enzyme that blocks your production of thyroid and still retains their beneficial properties.
Other cruciferous vegetables include: cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, bok choy, arugula, collard greens, mustard greens and radishes (including Daikon radish). Contrary to some lists, swiss chard and beet greens are NOT cruciferous as they do not belong to the Brassica family. Chard and Spinach, however, contain Oxalic acid which can interfere with calcium absorption. Again, cooking these foods eliminates the mineral-blocking effects. Dr. Andrew Weil had this to say about spinach:
“Concentrations of oxalic acid are pretty low in most plants and plant-based foods, but there’s enough in spinach, chard and beet greens to interfere with the absorption of the calcium these plants also contain. For example, although the calcium content of spinach is 115 mg per half cup cooked, because of the interference of oxalic acid, you would have to eat more than 16 cups of raw or more than eight cups of cooked spinach to get the amount of calcium available in one cup of yogurt.”
Dr Weil goes on to say he certainly would not avoid eating these foods because they give so much folic acid, potassium and magnesium, as well as vitamin K, carotenes, vitamin C and lutein, however, he recommends if you want to eat these foods raw to make sure you are getting calcium from other sources throughout the day, a recommended amount of 1200 mg for women and 500 mg for men from all sources (men should not use Calcium supplements, as too much calcium may contribute to prostate problems).
What do Leafy Greens give us? For one, Chlorophyll, which helps the body’s detoxification systems, curbs food cravings, controls body odor and is a powerful antioxidant. A study at the Linus Pauling Institute at the U of Oregon showed that, “In the developed world, a diet high in natural chlorophyll from vegetable consumption could offer substantial protection against food- and air- borne carcinogens, in addition to all the other known benefits of a vegetable-rich diet.” Vitamin K, which helps blood to clot and prevents many age-related illnesses such as cardiovascular disease, bone fragility, and calcification of the arteries and kidneys is another benefit to leafy green veggies. One cup of leafy greens, especially kale, chard or dandelion leaves gives us all the Vit. K we need for one day. Greens also lower blood cholesterol and give us important B vitamins, calcium and other minerals.
What about Wheat Grass? Of all the nutritional claims I have seen over the years (the acai berry craze, mangosteen, noni etc) I do believe Wheat Grass or Barley Grass Juice have very good benefits and are good additions to one’s daily diet especially since these greens do not possess the problems mentioned above and gives us many useful nutrients in concentrated form. B vitamins (except B12 & folic acid), vitamins A&E and many of the essential amino acids and minerals our bodies need are abundant in wheat grass.
Nevertheless, scientific studies are surprisingly lacking and many claims of the benefits of wheat grass are unsubstantiated. I say this with respect, however, as empirical evidence (practitioners and patients reporting good results) is important to consider as I know from my own herbal medicine practice. Clinical studies are expensive and often profit-driven and there is no financial gain in performing these studies on something people can grow in their back yards for pennies.
Still, when analyzed, the nutrient value of wheat grass, though concentrated, is the same as eating broccoli or spinach, but the power of drinking wheatgrass may lie in its ability to detoxify the digestive system and reduce inflammation. It is my hope that with the popularity of this su-called “superfood” some of the companies that are making money selling wheatgrass juicers, powder or growing kits will begin to fund studies to prove their claims.
Wheat grass is sprouted from seeds, “wheat berries”, and is easy to grow. In one animal study, it did reduce cholesterol levels, and in another small study it seemed to reduce symptoms of ulcerative colitis. Claims that because of its high chlorophyll content (70%) and chlorophyll’s structural similarity to human red blood cells wheat grass helps build hemoglobin or red blood cells are unfortunately not true. The reality is that chlorophyll can do two things:
1. It blocks dietary iron-induced metabolites from creating havoc in our system. In other words, it can help balance an iron-heavy diet such as heavy meat eaters have. Chlorophyll also binds to certain carcinogens, carrying them out of the body.
2. It is a dietary source of magnesium which can also be found in green leafy vegetables, young cereal grasses, and chlorella. These are all alkaline-forming foods which promote healthy pH levels in the body, and particularly in the gut, which in turn helps good bacteria to thrive.
People with gluten sensitivities can safely drink wheat grass juice, but if you have an actual ALLERGY to wheat, the juice is not recommended (you may notice immediate sore throat or swelling of mouth/lips if you are allergic, but this is rare.) Wheat grass gives you B vitamins (except B12 & folic acid), vitamins A&E and most of the essential amino acids and minerals our bodies need.
Recommended dose is 2 oz per day, more if you are combatting a serious illness and need both more alkalinity and antioxidants. Wheat grass is easy to grow. There are many u-tube presentations on the internet to learn how. In our garden here at AmaTierra we grow the seeds in a medium of coconut fiber and our hydroponic nutrients, with very good results. The grass is ready to juice (we put ours in the Vitamix) in 6-8 days.
It is my hope that this information is helpful to you in making healthy food choices. Detoxing the body from time to time is important, and fresh greens do help in this endeavor as do herbal teas and supplements. Feel free to write to me with your comments or to schedule an individual consultation with me at amatierra@gmail.com.
Let’s push it, let’s birth it. Let’s create and heal and risk the pain. I love the way you lead the way, the way you risk that disapproving sneer, the distasteful glare. I love the way you dive right into the fear of isolation and rejection, just to become the truth. Sure, we want to be good and to be loved, but following the rules has never unveiled the joy we seek.
Now is not the time to follow the old rules!
The world is in a great initiation, a giant transition. It’s time to question the (de)construction of every wall. Those of us willing to identify as leaders and healers are uniquely poised to help this process. Surviving crisis is written in our DNA, but this time around, the scale is larger.
Many of us have had the luxury of time spent together in friendship, spiritual or professional community, celebrating the cycles of the planet and imagining the world that is to come. Our intention is sent out to create that world where natural resources are valued, everyone has what they need and our relationships with plants and animals are healthy. We want to recognize the interdependence of our lives with other humans. We are surrounded by people who may have a different view of what is coming or who may fear the events that are unfolding around our climate, racial justice and change in economy.
The first is Business as Usual; this seems to be the way that most of Western urbanized culture is going. Governments still recommend economic progress based on overuse of resources; the media still gives the message to consume. No change is recommended anytime soon.
In The Great Unraveling story, it is the opposite. All the dire truths about this time weigh heavy and there is no other direction except for imminent destruction.
The third paradigm, The Great Turning, is about a major transition in lifestyle and actions to shift human culture towards a holistic healing relationship with our planet.
People who are practicing Business as Usual seem to be living in denial about climate changes, extinction of species and extreme economic disparity. When faced with this story, everything can feel hopeless and we find ourselves spending hours searching the internet or distracting ourselves. It is seductive to engage in The Great Unraveling as well. This one feels like we are really doing something by convincing people how bad it is out there. Our urgency feels like the opposite of apathy. Perhaps we grow more desperate, thinking that it is too late for significant change; that we are surely doomed.
In healing leadership, we continue to revisit The Great Turning as a possibility for the future. We share what is so painful and exciting about being alive right now. We remember what is worth fighting for and loving; and what qualities leaders need in the real world to bring The Great Turning to life.
Qualities of Visionary Leaders and Healers
Capacity For Holding Grief.
We are in a time where many things are changing and being lost. Sometimes, the growth on the other side of loss isn’t immediately obvious. Our opportunities to sit with people who are in distress may increase.
In many of the healing arts, there are techniques around energetic shielding to effectively help people process deep emotions without taking them on ourselves. Grief sometimes elicits anger, anxiety or fear which can be difficult to support. The tendency can be to try and ‘fix it’ so the person will stop expressing the emotion we perceive as negative. In Chinese medicine, all emotions move qi (life force) through us. Emotions are in service to our health and they will not be endless. When people feel things intensely, we can learn to give them space and empathy. We cannot fix it and sometimes what people want is to be physically or emotionally held so that they can keep going.
If you do not feel comfortable around heavy emotions, ask yourself what is hard for you about it. How can you grow your capacity to hold people in transformation? What are the resources in your community to help people process loss and anger?
Capacity For Rejuvenation.
Just as we expand our ability to hold suffering, it is also necessary to become excellent at rejuvenation. At a memorial service for my friend, Jim Brandau, we were told that one of Jim’s great mottos was a rule from the Running of the Bulls festival in Pamplona, Spain. “All participants are required to lend to the joy of the fiesta.” Our joy matters now more than ever.
One of the first signs of trouble in an activist campaign is when we lose enthusiasm. As leaders, we are responsible for knowing what brings us pleasure, how we can find respite. Our self care becomes more vital than ever. Because passion and motivation are such wonderful qualities in leaders, we must be ever seeking inspiration.
What are ten practices that refill you? Who are the people or beings who help you relax, reconnect with resources and with yourself?
Ability to Listen and Synthesize.
We all love leaders who have brilliant ideas and communicate them in a succinct way. Even more coveted is the ability to synthesize what has been said. Leaders who release attachment to their own ideas and draw together the passionate opinions of others are needed. One of us is rarely as brilliant as all of us and the marriage of different ideas is a way to achieve innovative solutions. It is great to restate people’s words in a group, ensuring that everyone understands what is being said and allowing individuals to edit their own offering. Crafty leaders also begin to notice when folks are saying similar things and make proposals.
Mediation Skills.
I am an unapologetic fan of Marshall Rosenberg’s Nonviolent Communication. His assertion that every human being has the same needs is revolutionary. I have seen his system bring more empathy and ability for people in serious conflict to reconnect than any other. We have conflict when an underlying need of ours is not being met. Leaders can use NVC (or another comparable system) to assess what unmet need is causing the upset in a group and help to meet the need if possible. When leaders seek conflict resolution training, we all have a better chance of moving forward.
Intimate Relationship With Our Challenges.
Thank goodness we are imperfect. It is a lifelong struggle to accept this about ourselves and in leadership, it is amplified. Our ability to be aware of our own challenges and to be kind to ourselves around the ways that we make mistakes is imperative. I recommend making a list of tendencies that sometimes feel like barriers to success. Along with a commitment to work on them, give yourself permission to be an imperfect leader. Ask a trusted mentor to be ‘on call’ to give a reality check if they see your challenges becoming a problem. It can be freeing to give your challenges names, faces and personalities. Now, when I hear my Rigid Controller (RC for short) start to speak inside my head, I have much more empathy for myself and ability to edit what that part of me has to say.
Ability To Laugh At Ourselves.
We are funny monkeys! We do strange and outrageous things. The more we relax and give a good guffaw when we can’t control things, the easier it is to lead others in doing the same. I love it when anyone in leadership asks for a “do over” when they do something that they didn’t intend. The more sense of humor that is displayed, the more my respect grows. Taking ourselves too seriously has got to go.
Ability to Apologize When Our Impact Does Not Meet Intention.
Cedar Barstow emphasizes that even with the purest intention, what we say or do may still feel offensive. We hate that. We want to explain and excuse ourselves. We want people to think well of us. Often, the best thing to do is just apologize. It can be the most disarming thing. More information from you may be welcome after that or not. I will sometimes even get advice about another way that it could have been said or done to achieve the impact that I want. Leading with an authentic apology when something has gone awry, rather than a defense, is one of the best moves a leader can make.
Showing the Vulnerability That Builds Trust.
We want to see ourselves in our leaders. It is difficult to see ourselves in people who appear to be perfect. I consistently get feedback that writing or telling stories about overcoming obstacles in my life or the places where I still struggle are helpful to others. We feel hopeful when we see people we admire be vulnerable. We trust them more. It awakens the mammal in us. People want to know how you arrived where you are. There is an art to sharing your personal stories. Oversharing from the center of your unprocessed painful experience might cause mistrust. However, giving some personal details about what you are experiencing now or what you have been through to get where you are today will help us connect to you.
Embracing Paradox.
Truth is not simple these days. Leaders who can do the mental gymnastics of holding two opposing truths simultaneously are in demand. The ocean levels are rising and there are millions of organizations creating healing and justice in the world. How can we hold disparate realities as being relevant and accurate? There is a way to shift our perception of the world to support our actions and resolve and it will require a strong relationship to holding paradox.
Stress Relief Techniques.
The Dalai Lama recently said that humans are in a pandemic of anxiety and depression. While this may be appropriate given what is happening to our planet, it can keep us helpless. Our ability to feel deeply and move our emotions through us is paramount. What are the ways we can support ourselves and each other in doing this? This is connected to our capacity for rejuvenation but also necessary just to keep moving, to get out of bed in the morning. Our media and our circumstances keep our nervous system in constant sympathetic arousal. We must find breathing techniques, movement, exercise, and relaxation, anything to get us back to our creative brain and out of reaction. What does this for you?
Contributing to the Transition
One of our challenges is to take our wisdom into a world that may not understand what we do. People may be repulsed or frightened by our beliefs or the words we use to self identify. We must not be deterred. The skills we have are desperately needed. People will sense who you are and ask you to assist in their crisis, facilitate their meetings, interpret their dreams, perform their memorial service, create art or ritual for them, settle their arguments, or answer their questions about spirituality or medicine for these times. How will you respond?
Carolyn Raffensperger asks a provocative question in an interview with Derek Jensen. “What is the biggest and most important problem in the world that you can [help to] solve with your unique skills and abilities?” I pose this question to all current and potential leaders and healers. It helps us face the size of the transition with which we are dealing but also to see our distinctive contribution to it.
Sometimes, our protest results in a policy change, our patient recovers, our kids learn something, our client feels better, our students understand; we make a visible difference that we can acknowledge. Those are great moments, but our attachment to having them happen frequently is problematic. Sometimes we have to do the work that is directly in front of us and not see the results of our actions. Instead, we may have to trust that our children, students, or some descendent in the future may be touched by what we do. We can continue to support each other and hold the vision. There is no certainty about where we are going. All we can do is exactly what is in front of us and contribute as much as possible to the joy of the ongoing fiesta unfolding around us.
I suspect we have enough of everything we need to make this transition. Let’s keep going. Squeeze out that last drop of wonder in the tube. Stop clenching and clawing and clamping down. Open your chest, your heart, your lower back, your whole life. Live audaciously all the way to the edge and I will too.
This is a day of questions and questioning. You can be wondering why you have done things, re-thinking old decisions, trying to make up your mind about what to wear, etc. All sorts of issues will be coming your way today. There will be a temptation not to be true and strong in WHO you are, but do not give in to that. Those kinds of thoughts come from old doubts and worries. You are way beyond that. Take time to ground and center this morning, and you will find that you are able to see things for what they are and to be true to your best interests. This is a day of power, and by working with your true heart’s knowing, you will come to appreciate just how much you have done, how far you have come, and your own inner strength.
FDA Sets Hearing to Regulate Homeopathic Medicine- ACT NOW to save access to homeopathic remedies
Wednesday, April 08, 2015 by: Talya Dagan
(NaturalNews) The FDA has called a hearing to decide the future of access to homeopathic medicine. Urgent comments are needed to protect health freedom. The FDA is reevaluating their “regulatory framework” for homoeopathic remedies. Friends and supporters of homeopathy have to act immediately to tell the FDA that they want to maintain their freedom to use homeopathic medicines.
The hearing will be on April 20 and April 21, 2015. You can send materials to the FDA to support homeopathic freedom. Materials must be received by the FDA by June 22, 2015. Comment online at: http://www.regulations.gov or by mail to Division of Dockets Management (HFA-305), Food and Drug Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852. Be sure to include the docket number HFA-305 in any correspondence to the FDA. The hearing will be broadcast live at https://collaboration.fda.gov/hprapril2015/.
How to help
The FDA wants to hear from patients and consumers, as well as from health care providers and those selling or manufacturing homeopathic medicines. You can apply to speak in person or listen to the live meeting. You will be able to listen to the live broadcast of the meeting and comment afterwards. The comment period is open until June 22, 2015. (See addresses below.)
Current FDA regulations of homeopathic medicines
Many homeopathic medicines are sold over-the counter. The FDA has now decided to reevaluate their “regulatory framework.” After sending out a safety alert concerning a homeopathic remedy for asthma in March 2015, the FDA then sent out a notice of public hearing. The hearing has been set in order to: “…obtain information and comments from stakeholders about the current use of human drug and biological products labeled as homeopathic, as well as the Agency’s regulatory framework for such products.”
Current homeopathic regulation of homeopathic medicine by the FDA
The FDA currently recognizes the homeopathic Pharmacopeia along with other drugs labeled USP. A NGO called Homeopathic Pharmacopeia Convention of the United States (HPCUS) has been regulating and monitoring the 1200 included (monographed) homeopathic remedies since 1897. In 1972, the FDA decided to “defer” review of homeopathic medicines based on their “uniqueness.” Because of this, there are no FDA safety reviews required for the sale or manufacturing of homeopathic medicines. In 1988, any “drug products” labeled as homeopathic have been able to be sold and manufactured without FDA approval, based on their Compliance Policy Guide (CPG) published that year. Compliance Policy Guide (CPG) 400.400 entitled “Conditions Under Which Homeopathic Drugs May be Marketed” (see 53 FR 21728, June 9, 1988).
Notice of the FDA hearing on regulating homeopathic medicine (HFA-305)
www.federalregister.gov
How to send comments to the FDA about regulation of homeopathic medicine
Mail:
Division of Dockets Management (HFA-305), Food and Drug Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852
Online:
http://www.regulations.gov
Include docket number HFA-305 in all correspondence.
Study Reveals the Sad Truth: There Are Only Two Truly Intact Forests Left on Earth
We are used to thinking that a forest that is carved up by roads and settlements can still be called a forest. However, the results of a new study suggest quite the opposite, claiming that forest fragmentation has lasting detrimental effects on our planet’s ecosystems. In other words, a fragmented forest ceases to be a good natural habitat for wild animals and plants, which has a long-term negative impact on the ecosystem and the environment in general. Moreover, the study concludes that there are only two truly intact forests left on Earth – the rainforests of the Amazon and the Congo.
The study was funded by the National Science Foundation and involved 24 scientists from different countries led by Nick Haddad, a professor at North Carolina State University. Their task was to analyze the results of the experiments which have been conducted on five continents for decades and were aimed to simulate the effects of human activity on forests.
The researchers studied the impact of forest fragmentation on wildlife and came to astonishing and, at the same time, disappointing conclusions. It appears that the habitat fragmentation leads to 13 to 75 percent decrease in plant and animal diversity! It basically reduces the ability of animals and plants to survive and can even distort the food chain, as smaller patches of forest tend to have an increase in the predator population.
At the same time, forests with more edges have reduced core ecosystem functions, such as the ability to sequester carbon dioxide, which plays an important role in alleviating the climate change effects, and display a decline in productivity and pollination.
Thus, forest fragmentation affects the integrity of the natural habitat – that is why such forests exhibit a decline of wildlife. According to the results of the study, the most significant losses took place in the smallest patches of forest and closest to a habitat edge. What is even more disappointing is that more than 70% of the world’s forests lie within one kilometer of a habitat edge!
“Nearly 20 percent of the world’s remaining forests are the distance of a football field, or about 100 meters, away from forest edges. Seventy percent of forest lands are within a half-mile of forest edges. That means almost no forests can really be considered wilderness,” said professor Haddad.
The researchers also emphasize that the effects of forest fragmentation may remain unnoticed for years and only get worse over time. It was found that, on average, fragmented forests have more than a 50% decrease in plant and animal species abundance within just 20 years!
“The effects of current fragmentation will continue to emerge for decades. We still haven’t seen the full extent of what our slicing and dicing of the forests has wrought,” the researchers said.
Well, it is another study to show how terribly we, humans, treat our own planet… When will the humanity realize that, if we don’t change our attitude towards the nature and the environment, we will soon have no planet at all? The only way to save the environment and ourselves is to live in harmony with nature rather than to continue ruining and exhausting it with our activity. I hope the humanity will come to this understanding before it is too late.
9th April 2015
