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Why Was This Ancient Spice Given to Slaves Building the Pyramids?

Posted by Melodie Munro on October 2, 2011 at 4:22pm

Why Was This Ancient Spice Given to Slaves Building the Pyramids?
Posted By Dr. Mercola | September 28 2011

Garlic has a truly astonishing number of health benefits. Green Med Info has assembled studies that list more than 150 beneficial effects that garlic can have on your health.

The studies show that garlic:• Inhibits cholesterol accumulation

• Reduces risk for heart attack and stroke
• May be effective against drug-resistant bacteria
• Lessens cadmium-induced liver damage
• May have protective effects against cancer

According to one of the studies linked on the site, garlic may also help fight multi-drug resistant tuberculosis:

"Alternate medicine practices with plant extracts including garlic should be considered to decrease the burden of drug resistance and cost in the management of diseases. The use of garlic against MDR-TB [multi-drug resistant tuberculosis] may be of great importance regarding public health."

Saffron is another spice making headlines, as there is increasing evidence to suggest that it may be an effective means of managing Alzheimer's disease. A study found that saffron had an effect similar to the drug donepezil in the treatment of mild to moderate Alzheimer's after 22 weeks -- and had fewer side effects.

Another study found that dietary supplementation with vitamin E and folic acid, as well as ALA, DHA, and GPC, could aid in decreasing oxidative stress in mouse brains.
According to FYI Living:

"... [T]his reveals that such dietary supplementation also helps improve cognitive performance in the normal mice. This study is a significant step towards development of newer preventive nutritional therapies in the elderly who are susceptible to cognitive decline and related diseases such as Alzheimer's. It also enables an understanding of the involvement of oxidative stress and other molecular mechanisms that lead to age-related loss of cognitive abilities."

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

If you want a simple way to increase the disease-fighting power of your meals, be generous with your use of high-quality herbs and spices. There is no shortage of research showing that these foods are among the healthiest you can consume, and the best part is they taste wonderful and are relatively inexpensive, so they're a "secret weapon" that just about everyone can take advantage of.

When it comes to using herbs and spices, you really can't go wrong as long as you choose those that appeal to you and "agree" with you. But I want to highlight two in specific that are showing great therapeutic promise, one that you're already familiar with -- garlic -- and one that you may not be -- saffron.

Garlic: One of Nature's Most Impressive Foods

Garlic has been treasured for its medicinal properties for centuries. In ancient times, Greek and Roman soldiers ate garlic before going off to war, and it was reportedly given to the slaves who built the Egyptian pyramids in order to enhance their strength and endurance.

It also happens to be one of the most heavily researched plant foods around. At GreenMedInfo you can find 133 studies involving 153 different conditions that garlic may benefit. Among them:

Atherosclerosis High blood pressure Cancer Gallstones
Ear infections Mercury poisoning Diabetes Low immune function
MRSA High triglycerides Candidiasis Ulcerative colitis
Wound healing Stroke Heart attack Bacterial infections

As you can see from the wide range of conditions it impacts, garlic exerts its benefits on multiple levels, offering anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-fungal and antioxidant properties. It's thought that much of garlic's therapeutic effect comes from its sulfur-containing compounds, such as allicin, which are also what give it its characteristic smell.

An Infection-Fighting, Heart-Protective, Cancer-Preventive Powerhouse

Researchers have revealed that as allicin digests in your body it produces sulfenic acid, a compound that reacts faster with dangerous free radicals than any other known compound. This is one of the reasons why I named garlic as one of the top seven anti-aging foods you can consume.

Garlic is also a triple threat against infections, offering antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal properties. Not only is it effective at killing antibiotic-resistant bacteria, including MRSA, but it also fights yeast infections, viruses and parasites.

Garlic also helps relax and enlarge the blood vessels in your body, improving blood flow, especially to your heart. This can help prevent conditions like high blood pressure and life-threatening events such as a heart attack or stroke. Garlic also inhibits the formation of plaques in your arteries, and prevents cholesterol from becoming oxidized, a condition that may contribute to heart disease.

This powerhouse food is also known to help increase your protection against at least five forms of cancer: breast, colon, ovarian, prostate and esophageal. In one study, the more often participants ate vegetables from the allium family, particularly garlic and onions, the lower their risk of certain cancers became. Part of this effect may be due to garlic's ability to increase tissue activities of phase II detoxification enzymes, which are necessary to help your body excrete chemicals and other toxins.

Interestingly, the allicin in garlic is so powerful it has even been found to help weight loss in rats fed a fructose-rich diet -- which is virtually guaranteed to make most people gain weight. Animals being fed only the fructose-rich diet gained weight, but those whose diets were supplemented with allicin did not, and some even lost weight. Of course, this does not mean you can eat all the fructose you want and then eat a couple of cloves of garlic and expect to lose weight … but it does give you an idea of just how far-reaching garlic's benefits appear to be.

The Healthiest Way to Eat Garlic

In many cases, eating whole foods is a far better approach to taking a supplement, and in the case of garlic this is especially true. Typically, garlic must be crushed or chopped in order to stimulate the process that converts alliin into the beneficial allicin. Once the garlic is cut, the active compound loses potency rapidly and will all but disappear within about an hour of chopping.

So the best way to eat garlic is to take a whole, fresh clove, chop it, smash it or press it, wait a few minutes for the reaction to occur, and then eat it. If you use jarred, powdered, or dried garlic, you will not get all the benefits that fresh garlic has to offer.

Saffron: An Important Spice for Brain Health?

The other spice that deserves attention, but is far less well known in the United States than garlic, is saffron. Saffron comes from the flower of the crocus plant (it's actually the plant's dried stigma) has a reddish thread-like appearance, and is a rich source of carotenoid antioxidants.

Used since ancient times for a variety of medicinal purposes (saffron is known for its immune-boosting power, among others), in the modern day it is widely used in Persian, European, Indian and Turkish cooking, both for its unique sweet, grassy flavor and its ability to add vibrant yellow-orange color to foods.

There are quite a few studies that reveal saffron's beneficial properties, and one of the most recent showed promise for treatment of mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease. In a 22-week, double-blind study of patients with Alzheimer's, a saffron supplement worked as well as the drug donepezil (brand name Aricept), but with significantly less vomiting experienced among the saffron group.

The researchers noted:

"This phase II study provides preliminary evidence of a possible therapeutic effect of saffron extract in the treatment of patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease."
It is becoming increasingly clear that supplementing your diet with foods and supplements rich in a variety of compounds, such as vitamin E, folic acid, DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), and ALA (alpha-lipoic acid), may help reduce oxidative stress and delay the progression of age-related cognitive decline. And it appears saffron is no exception.

Separate research has shown saffron to help prevent and treat dementia, and inhibit platelet aggregation (which can lead to blood clots) and lipid peroxidation (which causes cell damage). It's also known to have chemopreventive properties against cancer, which are also strongly associated with the common saffron alternative turmeric (which is often referred to as Indian saffron). While in China, Marco Polo in 1280 AD recorded information on turmeric in his diary:

"There is also a vegetable which has all the properties of true saffron, as well the smell and the color, and yet it is not really saffron."

So, turmeric has been used as a substitute for saffron (an old world spice) in Europe for over 700 years, and this spice has been found to have many of the same health advantages, including showing promise for Alzheimer's.

If you've never tried saffron, the reason may be because it's earned the moniker "most expensive spice in the world." There are only three stigmas in each crocus flower, and it reportedly takes 80,000 flowers (about the number of plants on one acre of land) to produce one pound of saffron. Turmeric is much easier to come by and is also much less expensive, while offering many of the same potential health benefits, as well as the same characteristic yellow color. You can learn more about turmeric, or "Indian saffron," here.

There's Good Reason to "Spice" Up Your Life

Herbs and spices have very low calorie content, they're relatively inexpensive, and they're a great way to turbo-boost the natural antioxidant and anti-inflammatory power of your diet. All these benefits, and the ones noted above, give you ample reasons to be adventurous in adding spices to your meals, and to be generous in the amounts you use. It will be worth it for the flavor enhancement alone, and the boost it will give your health is the icing on the cake.

There's obviously much more to herbs and spices than the garlic, saffron and turmeric mentioned in this article … you can get more information on healing herbs, including how to select spices for their medicinal benefits, here.

Homemade Laundry Soap Detergent

Posted by Melodie Munro on October 2, 2011 at 4:21pm

Homemade Laundry Soap Detergent
by Matt Jabs

When we first set out to make our own homemade laundry detergent we thought it would be difficult and time consuming, boy were we wrong! It was actually incredibly fast, easy, and inexpensive. Now, years after making our first batch, thousands of others have tried it and loved the results.

Note: This soap/detergent works in all HE front-load washers… read more below.

Homemade powder soap required only 3 simple ingredients & took around 5 minutes to create, in respect of opportunity cost I abandoned my original idea of brewing a liquid detergent and set my sights on creating the powder variety. What follows is my own personal pictorial tutorial to making homemade powder laundry detergent. Enjoy!

Soap/Detergent cost breakdown & savings

Prior to making our own, we were using Arm & Hammer liquid detergent. Here is the breakdown in cost analysis:

Note: you only need to use 1 tablespoon of this homemade detergent per load, although you can use 1 – 2 scoops for heavily soiled loads)

• Arm & Hammer® liquid 100 ounce detergent – $6.79 – 32 loads = $0.21 per load
• Tide® with Bleach powder 267 ounce detergent – $20.32 – 95 loads = $0.21 per load
• Jabs Homemade powder 32 ounce detergent – $2.98 – 64 loads = $0.05 per load

As you can see, whether I compare against traditional store bought liquid or powder, I am saving $0.16 per load!

There are also many other benefits of homemade products aside from cost savings.

SIMPLE INGREDIENTS
I purchased all these ingredients at my local grocery store:

• 1 – 55 ounce box of Arm & Hammer® Super Washing Soda = $3.99
• 1 – 76 ounce box of 20 Mule Team® Borax = $4.99
• 1 – 10 pack of 4.5 ounce bars of Ivory® Bar Soap (**note** you can use cheaper soap, I actually had this on hand already. Use whatever tickles your fancy – Other brands of commonly used bar soaps include Pure & Natural®, Fels-Naptha® and/or ZOTE®. Both ZOTE® and Fels-Naptha® are made for and sold as “laundry bar soap.”)
All items were found in the laundry isle.

A SIMPLE RECIPE
Each batch yields approximately 32 ounces (between 32-64 loads based on how many Tbsp used per load).

• 1 bar of shaved bar soap (Ivory, ZOTE, Fels-Naptha)
• 1 cup of borax
• 1 cup of washing soda

Thoroughly stir together for 5 minutes and enjoy the results! That’s it folks…seems too good to be true, but it is true indeed!

Regarding High Efficiency (HE) Front-Load Washers
HE front-load washers require “special soap” for one reason alone – low suds. Because they use less water, they require soap that is less sudsy. The good news is, this homemade detergent is VERY low suds. The ”special” HE detergent is just another advertising mechanism to push consumers to buy “special soap” for unnecessarily high prices.

Regardless of your washer type, just make your own in confidence, here’s how.

THE MAKING OF A BATCH

1. Start with these ingredients & utensils:

2. Shave 1 bar of soap. I used a simple hand grater:

3. My shaved bar looked like this:

4. Add 1 cup of borax:

5. Add 1 cup of washing soda:

6. Stir thoroughly:

>

7. Continue stirring thoroughly:

8. Stirring is complete when you have a powder like this:

9. 2 batches of this recipe fit perfectly into a 32 ounce yogurt container:

10. I wanted to use my trusty black Sharpie, but my wife LOVES her some label maker!

When you do a load use 1 tablespoon of detergent per load (you can also use 1 – 2 scoops for heavily soiled loads).

There you have it folks!
Simple, easy, fast, & efficient homemade laundry detergent.

What are you waiting for? Go get the ingredients & make yours today!

Recycling hotel soap to save lives

Posted by Melodie Munro on October 2, 2011 at 4:20pm

Recycling hotel soap to save lives
By Ebonne Ruffins, CNN
June 16, 2011

Atlanta (CNN) -- That bar of soap you used once or twice during your last hotel stay might now be helping poor children fight disease.

Derreck Kayongo and his Atlanta-based Global Soap Project collect used hotel soap from across the United States. Instead of ending up in landfills, the soaps are cleaned and reprocessed for shipment to impoverished nations such as Haiti, Uganda, Kenya and Swaziland.

"I was shocked just to know how much (soap) at the end of the day was thrown away," Kayongo said. Each year, hundreds of millions of soap bars are discarded in North America alone. "Are we really throwing away that much soap at the expense of other people who don't have anything? It just doesn't sound right."

Kayongo, a Uganda native, thought of the idea in the early 1990s, when he first arrived to the U.S. and stayed at a hotel in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He noticed that his bathroom was replenished with new soap bars every day, even though they were only slightly used.

"I tried to return the new soap to the concierge since I thought they were charging me for it," Kayongo said. "When I was told it was just hotel policy to provide new soap every day, I couldn't believe it."
Kayongo called his father -- a former soap maker in Uganda -- and shared the experience.

Derreck Kayongo, a Uganda native, started the Global Soap Project in 2009.

"My dad said people in America can afford to throw it away. But I just started to think, 'What if we took some of this soap and recycled it, made brand new soap from it and then sent it home to people who couldn't afford soap?' "

For Kayongo, collecting soap is "a first line of defense" mission to combat child-mortality around the world.

Each year, more than 2 million children die from diarrheal illness -- the approximate population of San Antonio, Texas. According to the World Health Organization, these deaths occur almost exclusively among toddlers living in low-income countries.

"The issue is not the availability of soap. The issue is cost," Kayongo said. "Make $1 a day, and soap costs 25 cents. I'm not a good mathematician, but I'm telling you I'm not going to spend that 25 cents on a bar of soap. I'm going to buy sugar. I'm going to buy medicine. I'm going to do all the things I think are keeping me alive.

"When you fall sick because you didn't wash up your hands, it's more expensive to go to the hospital to get treated. And that's where the problem begins and people end up dying."

Do you know a hero? Nominations are open for 2011 CNN Heroes

Kayongo, 41, is familiar with the stress that poverty and displacement can create. Almost 30 years ago, he fled Uganda with his parents because of the mass torture and killings by former Ugandan military dictator Idi Amin, he said.

Witnessing the devastation of his homeland shaped Kayongo's mission and still haunts him today.
Are we really throwing away that much soap at the expense of other people who don't have anything?
--CNN Hero Derreck Kayongo

"It's a long-term grieving process that sort of never ends," he said. "As a child coming from school, passing dead bodies for 10 solid years -- 'It's not cool,' as my son would put it. It's not good. A lot of my friends were orphaned, and I was lucky."

Kayongo and his parents fled to Kenya, where he would visit friends and family in refugee camps and struggle to survive -- sometimes without basic necessities.

"We lost everything," Kayongo said. "We didn't live in the camps, but we sacrificed a lot. The people worse off lived in the camps. Soap was so hard to come by, even completely nonexistent sometimes. People were getting so sick simply because they couldn't wash their hands."

Kayongo transitioned from the tough life of a refugee to become a college graduate, a U.S. citizen and a field coordinator for CARE International, a private humanitarian aid organization. But he has not forgotten his roots -- or the fact that many refugees in Africa continue to lack access to basic sanitation.

"As a new immigrant and a new citizen to this country, I feel very blessed to be here," he said. "But it's important, as Africans living in the Diaspora, that we don't forget what we can do to help people back at home. It's not good enough for us to complain about what other people aren't doing for us. It's important that we all band together, think of an idea and pursue it."

With the support of his wife, local friends and Atlanta-based hotels, Kayongo began his Global Soap Project in 2009.

So far, 300 hotels nationwide have joined the collection effort, generating 100 tons of soap. Some participating hotels even donate high-end soaps such as Bvlgari, which retails up to $27 for a single bar.

Web extra: CNN Hero Derreck Kayongo
http://cnn.com/video/?/video/us/2011/06/17/cnnheroes.kayongo.extra.cnn

Volunteers across the U.S. collect the hotel soaps and ship them to the group's warehouse in Atlanta. On Saturdays, Atlanta volunteers assemble there to clean, reprocess and package the bars.

"We do not mix the soaps because they come with different pH systems, different characters, smells and colors," Kayongo said. "We sanitize them first, then heat them at very high temperatures, chill them and cut them into final bars. It's a very simple process, but a lot of work."

A batch of soap bars is only released for shipment once one of its samples has been tested for pathogens and deemed safe by a third-party laboratory. The Global Soap Project then works with partner organizations to ship and distribute the soap directly to people who need it -- for free.

To date, the Global Soap Project has provided more than 100,000 bars of soap for communities in nine countries.

Kenya Relief is one organization that has benefited. Last summer, Kayongo personally delivered 5,000 bars of soap to Kenya Relief's Brittney's Home of Grace orphanage.

"When we were distributing the soap, I could sense that there was a lot of excitement, joy, a lot of happiness," said Kayongo, whose work was recently recognized by the Atlanta City Council, which declared May 15 as Global Soap Project Day in Atlanta.

"It's a reminder again of that sense of decency. They have (someone) who knows about their situation, and is willing to come and visit them ... to come and say, 'We are sorry ... We're here to help.' "

Want to get involved? Check out the Global Soap Project website at www.globalsoap.org and see how to help.

Dead Sea Scrolls!

Posted by Melodie Munro on October 2, 2011 at 4:18pm

Dead Sea Scrolls!

Back in 1947 a young Bedouin goat herder made the initial and fantastic discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls!

Found in caves 13 miles east of Jerusalem and hidden in 11 caves they have been called the greatest manuscript discovery of modern times.

Dating back 2000 years and written mostly on animal skin parchments, they include not only the oldest known surviving copies of the bible but also non-biblical documents that offer insights into life and religion in ancient Jerusalem, including the birth of Christianity.

The last words of Joseph, Judah, Levi, Naphtali, and Amram (the father of Moses) are written down in the Scrolls.

Before now, only a small handful of scholars and archeologists have ever viewed the scrolls, but now anyone around the world can view, read and interact with five digitized Dead Sea Scrolls on their computer!

http://youtu.be/5rYj_0foJYA

A Tribute Through Music and Poem To Mama, The Klamath River Whale. August 22, 2011

Posted by Melodie Munro on October 2, 2011 at 3:56pm

A Tribute Through Music and Poem To Mama, The Klamath River Whale. August 22, 2011

A Flute Song for Mama, the Klamath River

This is a beautiful tribute written by my friend, Mihael Kavanaugh (pictured), in a farewell poem he wrote for Mama. Mihael played the flute to Mama on two occasions while canoeing on the Klamath River, one of which I was honored to accompany him on the canoe.

A Flute Song for Mama, The Klamath River Whale 2

Mihael Kavanaugh
Peaceful Rest

She has laid down to rest
Her journey home now complete
Her story known by many
Her message, a mystery …
A sigh of sadness
For she touched many a heart
Her dance
Was with such grace
The mist of her spout
Still refreshes my face
Such a friend …
One can’t replace
Though in story and song
She’ll echo her grace
Mama whale ~~~
Peace be with you …
As you go
From this worldly place

©2011 Mihael Kavanaugh

Seth Altamus, a stand-up paddler, had hopes Mama would follow him out to the ocean. She followed him to the Klamath River RV Park, a short way from the bridge, but then she turned and swam back to her spot by the bridge and continued her circles. Here Seth is waving a bittersweet farewell to Mama when he realized she did not want to leave. In the other image, he was serenading her with his ukelele from his paddle board.

All of the above images were what I would term a “holistic” approach in an attempt to soothe Mama or an attempt to convince her to head back to the ocean. Music has the capability to touch all beings, but Mama had her own path to follow, a reason for which we do not know, and she seemed content to stay near the bridge and make her continual circles mesmerizing all who watched this beautiful creature.

Many more images can be seen at AshalaTylor.com and http://www.flickr.com/photos/ashala

Warrior Captain Jack, Modoc Kintpuash 1837-1873

Posted by Melodie Munro on October 2, 2011 at 3:55pm

Warrior Captain Jack, Modoc Kintpuash 1837-1873

In 1864, the Modoc Indians were living on their ancestral tribal lands near Tule Lake, on what is now the Oregon-California border region. However, because white settlers wanted the rich Modoc lands for themselves, the US Government relocated the Modoc people to the Klamath Indian Reservation in southwest Oregon.

Unhappy with how Modocs were being treated on the Klamath Reservation, Captain Jack led his people back to their tribal lands in 1865.

In 1869, U.S. Army soldiers again rounded up the Modoc people and moved them back to the Klamath Reservation, but conditions there had not improved for the Modocs.
A year later, 1870, Capt. Jack again led his people back to their tribal lands at Tule Lake.

BATTLE OF LOST RIVER

In 1872, Army soldiers were again dispatched to Tule Lake to escort Captain Jack and his band back to Klamath Reservation.

However, during negotiations, a fight broke out between an Army soldier and a Modoc warrior and the Battle of Lost River ensued.

After the battle, Captain Jack led his band into what is now known as the Lava Beds National Monument — Captain Jack's Stronghold — a natural maze of caves and trenches worn into the lava bed.

The Modoc braves were very successful in defending this stronghold and the Army was losing dozens of soldiers during fights to evict the band from this natural Indian fort.

Captain Jack is said to have believed that if the white Army leaders were killed, the Army would be defeated and the government troops would leave the Modocs alone.

During a high-level meeting, Captain Jack and several other Modocs drew their pistols in unison and killed two leading members of the government commission, including General Edward Canby.

General Edward Canby

The killings resulted in the US Government sending in over 1,000 reinforcement troops, and the soldiers attacked Captain Jack's Stronghold with superior forces and successfully evicted the Modocs from their safe haven.

On October 3, 1873, Captain Jack was hanged for the murder of General Canby.
Compiled by webmaster.

Battle of Lost River
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Part of Modoc War (Indian Wars)
Date November 29, 1872
Location Lost River (along the California-Oregon border)

Result Marginal United States victory

Belligerents
United States
Modoc

Commanders and leaders
Captain James Jackson
Captain Jack
Scarface Charley

Strength
40+ {U.S. 1st Cavalry Regiment}+citizens Unknown

Casualties and losses
1 killed, 7 wounded 2 killed, 3 wounded

The Battle of Lost River in November 1872 was the first battle in the Modoc War in the northwestern United States. The skirmish, which was fought near the Lost River along the California-Oregon border, was the result of an attempt by the U.S. 1st Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army to force a band of the Modoc tribe to relocate to the Klamath Reservation. In the subsequent war, Captain Jack of the Modoc and 53 warriors held off over 1000 U.S. soldiers for 7 months.[1]

Captain Jack's Stronghold, named for Modoc chief Captain Jack, is a part of Lava Beds National Monument. The stronghold can be accessed from the Perez turnoff, off Highway 139 between Tulelake and Canby, California.

During the Modoc War, Captain Jack's band settled here following the Battle of Lost River, and held off a United States Army force outnumbering them by as much as 10 to 1 for several months. The lava beds made an outstanding stronghold for the Modocs because of the rough terrain, rocks that could be used in fortification, and irregular pathways to evade pursuers.

In the First Battle of the Stronghold, January 17, 1873, 51 Modoc warriors defeated an Army force of 225 soldiers supported by 104 Oregon and California volunteers,[2] killing 35 and wounding several others, while suffering no casualties or serious woundings. During the Second Battle of the Stronghold, April 15 - 17, the reinforced Army of over six hundred men captured the Modoc spring and cut off their route to Tulelake, forcing the Modoc to flee when their water supplies ran out. After fleeing the Stronghold, the band of Modoc splintered, and the last group, made up of Captain Jack, John Schonchin, Black Jim, and Boston Charley were captured on June 1, 1873.

All four were hanged on October 3, 1873, at Fort Klamath.

The area originally served as a hunting and gathering area.

Edward Richard Sprigg Canby
November 9, 1817 – April 11, 1873 (aged 55)

Edward Richard Sprigg Canby (November 9, 1817 – April 11, 1873) was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars.

Early life
Canby was born in Piatt's Landing, Kentucky, to Israel T. and Elizabeth (Piatt) Canby. He attended Wabash College, but transferred to the United States Military Academy, from which he graduated in 1839. He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the 2nd U.S. Infantry and served as the regimental adjutant. He married Louisa Hawkins at Crawfordsville, Indiana, August 1, 1839. Although often referred to as Edward Canby, a biographer has suggested that he was known as "Richard" during childhood and to some friends for most of his life. He was called "Sprigg" by fellow cadets at West Point, but during most of his career, he was generally referred to as E.R.S. Canby, sometimes signing his name "Ed.R.S. Canby."

Early military career
During his early career, he served in the Second Seminole War in Florida and saw combat during the Mexican-American War, where he received three brevet promotions, including to major for Contreras and Churubusco and lieutenant colonel for Belén Gates. He also served at various posts, including Upstate New York and in the adjutant general's office in California from 1849 until 1851, covering the period of the territory's transition to statehood. Against his own wishes, he was ordered to serve in what was supposed to be the civilian post of custodian of the California Archives from March 1850 until he left California in April 1851. The Archives included records of Spanish and Mexican governments in California as well as Mission records and land titles. Evidently, Canby had some knowledge of the Spanish language, which came in handy during this period. (The Filson Historical Society in Louisville, Kentucky holds what appears to be a document written in Canby's own hand in Spanish, in which he identifies himself as "Edwardo [sic] Ricardo S. Canby.")

He served in Wyoming and Utah (then both part of the Utah Territory) during the Utah War (1857–1858). During this period, Canby crossed paths with Captain Henry Hopkins Sibley (whom he may have known slightly at West Point) when the captain was court martialed and Canby served on the panel of judges. Sibley was acquitted.

Subsequently, Canby wrote an endorsement for a teepee-like army tent that Sibley had invented. Both officers were later assigned to New Mexico where Canby coordinated a campaign against the Navaho in 1860, commanding Sibley in a futile attempt to capture and punish Navajos for "depredations" against the livestock of settlers. The campaign ended in frustration, with Canby and Sibley rarely so much as sighting Navajos, and then usually at a considerable distance that seemed impossible to close.

Civil War
At the start of the Civil War, Canby was in command of Fort Defiance, New Mexico Territory. He was promoted to colonel of the 19th U.S. Infantry on May 14, 1861, and the following month commanded the Department of New Mexico. Although subsequently defeated by Confederate Brigadier General Henry Hopkins Sibley in February 1862 at the Battle of Valverde, his troops eventually forced the Confederates to retreat to Texas after the Union strategic victory at the Battle of Glorieta Pass.

Immediately following this battle, Canby was promoted to brigadier general on March 31, 1862. Recombining the forces he had earlier divided, Canby set off in pursuit of the retreating Confederate army, but he soon gave up the chase and allowed them to reach Texas. Shortly after the failure of the Confederate invasion of northern New Mexico, Canby was relieved of his command by Gen. James H. Carleton and reassigned to the east.

Canby's achievement in New Mexico had largely been in his planning an overall defensive strategy. He and his opponent, Sibley, both had limited resources. Though Canby was a little better supplied, he saw that defending the entire territory from every possible attack would stretch his forces too thinly. Realizing that Sibley had to attack along a river, especially since New Mexico was in the middle of a long drought, Canby made the best use of his forces by only defending against two possible scenarios: an attack along the Rio Grande and an attack by way of the Pecos and Canadian rivers.

Moreover, the latter defensive force could easily be shifted to protect Fort Union if the enemy attacked by way of the Rio Grande, which they did. Canby also took initiative in persuading the governors of both New Mexico and Colorado to raise volunteer units to supplement regular Federal troops; the Colorado troops proved helpful at both Valverde and Glorieta. It was Sibley's campaign to win or lose, and in spite of occasional superior soldiering by Confederate troops and junior commanders, Sibley's sluggishness and vacillation in executing an extremely risky plan led to an almost inevitable Confederate collapse.

After a period of clerical duty, Canby became "commanding general of the city and harbor of New York" on July 17, 1863. This assignment immediately followed the New York Draft Riots. He remained in that post until November 9, not only restarting the draft, but overseeing a prisoner of war camp in New York Harbor. He then went to work in the office of the Secretary of War, unofficially describing himself in correspondence as an "Assistant Adjutant General." Looking back on Canby's record, a twentieth century Adjutant General, Edward F. Witsell, described Canby's position as "similar to that of an Assistant to the Secretary of the Army."

In May 1864, Canby was promoted to major general and relieved Nathaniel P. Banks of his command at Simmesport, Louisiana. He thereafter returned to the Midwest, where he commanded the Military Division of Western Mississippi. He was wounded in the upper thigh by a guerrilla while aboard the gunboat USS Cricket on the White River in Arkansas near Little Island on November 6, 1864. Canby commanded the Union forces assigned to conduct the campaign against Mobile, Alabama in the spring of 1865, culminating in the Battle of Fort Blakely, which led to the fall of Mobile in April 1865. Canby accepted the surrender of the Confederate forces under General Richard Taylor in Citronelle, on May 4, 1865, and those under General Edmund Kirby Smith west of the Mississippi River on May 26, 1865.

Canby was generally regarded as a great administrator, but opinion was mixed as to whether or not he was a great warrior. Ulysses S. Grant thought him not aggressive enough. In a telling incident, Grant sent Canby an order to "destroy [the enemy's] railroads, machine-shops, &c." Ten days later, Grant reprimanded him for requesting men and materials to build railroads. "I wrote... urging you to... destroy railroads, machine-shops, &c., not to build them," Grant said pointedly. The story is instructive regarding Canby's character: although he could be a destroyer when he felt he had to be, he clearly preferred the role of builder.

Today, he might be considered a "policy wonk" because he was expert in the minutiae of administration. If someone had a question about army regulations or even Constitutional law affecting the military, Canby was the man to see. Grant himself came to appreciate this in peace time, once complaining vigorously when President Andrew Johnson proposed to assign Canby away from the capital where Grant considered him irreplaceable.

John D. Winters in The Civil War in Louisiana (1963) writes that Canby "lacked the social amenities" of Banks and appeared to most people as stern and taciturn."[1] Winters quotes Treasury agent Geroge S. Denison of New Orleans: "General Canby is very active, but his work makes no great show as yet, because it is conducted too quietly and without ostentation. Canby is a tall man of thoughtful and kind face - speaks litte and to the point - thoroughly a soldier and his manner is very modest and unassuming and sometimes even embarrassed."[2]

Canby's father had once owned slaves. Some of Canby's cousins fought for the Confederacy, and one was taken prisoner of war. The man's father wrote to Canby asking the general to use his influence to parole his son, but Canby declined on the grounds that he felt he was not entitled to use his influence to benefit family members. Later, when Canby was a military governor during Reconstruction, he declined to favor relatives who had become carpetbaggers in his jurisdiction.

Post War assignments
After the war, Canby served as commander of various military departments, remaining in charge in Louisiana from 1864 to May 1866. The Department of Washington, Delaware, Maryland, the District of Columbia, and Alexandria and Fairfax counties in Virginia from June 1866 until August 1867, when he was appointed to command the Second Military District comprising North and South Carolina. In August 1868, he briefly resumed command in Washington, but was off to the Fifth Military District in November. There he focused primarily on the reconstruction of Texas. He left Texas for Virginia, the First Military District, in April 1869, serving there until July 1870.

Each of these postings occurred during Reconstruction and put Canby at the center of conflicts between Republicans and Democrats, whites and blacks, state and federal governments. New state constitutions were either being written, ratified or put into effect in each district that he commanded, and he could not help but offend one side or the other and often both. Nevertheless, Charles W. Ramsdell called Canby "vigorous and firm, but just." Even political opponents like Jonathan Worth, governor of North Carolina, admitted that Canby was sincere and honest.

Final assignment and death
On July 21, 1870, Canby was awarded a doctor of laws honorary degree by Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. In August, he was posted to command the Pacific Northwest. One of the problems he soon faced was that the Modoc tribe, which had previously lived in Northern California, had been compelled to live on the same reservation in Oregon with the Klamath tribe with whom they did not get along. The government would not give them their own reservation in California, so the Modocs returned to their old territory illegally. In 1872, the Modoc War broke out. The Modocs, entrenched in Captain Jack's Stronghold south of Tule Lake, resisted army attacks, fighting to a stalemate.

General Canby received conflicting orders from Washington as to whether to make peace or war on the Modocs, but war was not working, so the federal government authorized a peace commission and assigned Canby a key position on it. The purpose of the commission was undermined by the fact that there were many lines of communication between the Modocs and whites. At one point, someone in touch with the Modoc leader Captain Jack, alleged that the governor of Oregon intended to hang nine Modocs, apparently without trial, as soon as they surrendered. This caused the Modocs to break off scheduled talks, and infuriated Canby because he believed that his federal authority trumped the governor's and made the threat irrelevant; if they surrendered to him, Canby had no intention of allowing the Modocs to be punished without a trial.

Winema (Toby Riddle) standing between an Indian agent and her husband Frank (on her left) with other Modoc women in 1873

On April 11, 1873, after months of false starts and aborted meetings, Canby went to another parley, unarmed and with some hope of final resolution; however, Judge Elijah Steele of Yreka, California maintained that when he warned Canby that the Modocs were volatile and apt to kill the peace commissioners at the slightest provocation, Canby replied, "I believe you are right, Mr. Steele, and I shall regard your advice, but it would not be very well for the general in command to be afraid to go where the peace commissioners would venture." The talks were held midway between the army encampment and Captain Jack's Stronghold near Tule Lake. Two members of Canby's party brought concealed weapons, but, even more of the Modocs were armed.

Frustrated by the negotiations, Captain Jack, along with Ellen's Man, one of his lieutenants, shot Canby twice in the head and cut his throat. He was the only General killed during the Indian Wars. Other members of Canby's party were killed, including Reverend Eleazar Thomas. Others were wounded. According to Jeff C. Riddle, author of Indian History of the Modoc War (1914), the Modocs (believing a peace settlement that would allow them to remain in their home country impossible) had plotted to kill Canby and other peace commissioners before the meeting even began, and then "fight until we die."[3] Captain Jack was reluctant to go along with the killings, believing it "coward's work," but was pressured by other tribe members until he finally agreed. Jack's one condition was that they first let him ask Canby again to "give us a home in our country."[4] Canby did not have the authority to give this promise, so Captain Jack initiated the attack. (Riddle was the son of Frank Riddle, Canby's interpreter at the talks.)

Aftermath
Following Canby's death, there was a severe backlash against the Modocs. Eastern newspapers called for blood vengeance. (All except for one newspaper in Georgia that headlined the story: "Captain Jack and Warriors Revenge the South By Murdering General Canby, One of Her Greatest Oppressors." In contrast, citizens of Richmond, Virginia, where Canby had actually served as military governor, met on April 18 to express their appreciation of Canby and sorrow at his death.) E.C. Thomas, son of the murdered peace commissioner, demonstrated the extent and limitation of moderation when he accepted the inevitability and even desirability of reprisals against Captain Jack and his men, but reminded people that his father's memory would be dishonored by generalized malice toward Native Americans: "To be sure, peace will come through war, but not by extermination." Eventually, Captain Jack AKA Kintpuash, Boston Charley, Schonchin John and Black Jim were tried for murder and executed on October 3, 1873. The Modocs were sent to reservations.

Funeral of the Late General Canby -- the Body Lying in State

The killing of Canby, and the Great Sioux War, undermined public confidence in President Grant's peace policy, according to Robert Utley.[5]

After services were performed on the West Coast, Canby was returned to Indiana and buried in Crown Hill Cemetery, Indianapolis, Indiana on May 23, 1873. Attending the final funeral service in Indianapolis were at least four Union generals: William Tecumseh Sherman, Philip Sheridan, Lew Wallace, and Irvin McDowell, the last two serving among the pall bearers. A reporter noted that, although the funeral procession was generally reserved, "more than once, expressions of hatred toward the Modoc" marred the silence.

In recognition of his assassination, Canby's Cross was erected in the 1880s in the area that would later become Lava Beds National Monument. The towns of Canby in Clackamas County, Oregon, Canby in Yellow Medicine County, Minnesota, and Canby in Modoc County, California, are named for him. Every year in Canby, Oregon, on July 4th, the town celebrates General Canby Days, including a pancake breakfast, car show, parade and music.[6]

Padre Pio

Posted by Melodie Munro on October 2, 2011 at 3:53pm

Padre PioThere is no greater proof of the power and will of God if He wishes to exercise it for the glorification of any particular individual like Father Pio!40 years after his death, Padre Pio looks like this.About Padre PioPadre Pio, a humble Capuchin priest from San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy , was blessed by God in many wonderful and mysterious ways. The most dramatic was the stigmata. Padre Pio bore the wounds of Christ for fifty years!Among his other gifts were perfume, bilocation, prophecy, conversion, reading of souls, and miraculous cures. People are still being cured through his intercession in ways that cannot be explained by medicine or science..More important, if less spectacular, are the spiritual healings that take place in all parts of the world! Padre Pio is a powerful intercessor!!Padre Pio's incorrupt body!To see him resting so peacefully it's hard to believe that he died 40 years ago!A Prayer to Padre Pio�Beloved Padre Pio, today I come to add my prayer to the thousands of prayers offered to you every day by those who love and venerate you in Jesus' name. They ask for cures and healings, earthly and spiritual blessings, and peace for body and mind. And because of your friendship with the Lord, he heals those you ask to be healed, and forgives those you ask be forgiven in Jesus' name.�Through your visible wounds of the Crucified Jesus, which you bore for 50 years, you were chosen in our time to glorify the crucified Jesus. Because the Cross has been replaced by other symbols, please help us bring back the veneration of the wounds of Jesus Christ, for we acknowledge His Precious Blood as true a sign of salvation, cleansing and purifcation.As we lovingly recall the wounds that pierced your hands, feet and side, like �beloved Jesus Christ, we not only remember the blood He shed as you also shed in pain, along with your smile, and the invisible halo of sweet smelling flowers that surrounded your presence, certainly the Scent of The Lord, symbolic as the perfume of sanctity.Padre Pio, may the healings of the sick become the testimony that the Lord has invited you to join the holy company of Saints. In your kindness, please help me with my own special request: (mention here your petition, and make the sign of the Cross).Bless me and my loved ones. In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.In Memoriam J.S.The following quotes of Padre Pio tell how he looked after and loved his spiritual family:'I love my Spiritual Children as much as my own soul and even more.''Once I take a soul on, I also take on their entire family as my spiritual children.''To my Spiritual Children, my prayers for you will never be lacking.''If one of my spiritual children ever goes astray, I shall leave my flock and seek him out.'

Beached whale found 800 meters ashore in Yorkshire

Posted by Melodie Munro on October 2, 2011 at 3:52pm

Beached whale found 800 meters ashore in Yorkshire
Marine experts have been left baffled after a rare whale was found over 800 metres from the shore in the Humber Estuary, Skeffling, East Yorkshire.

The 33ft mammal is thought to have died after getting caught in shallow waters – rolling onto its own blowhole before getting swept inland by the tide. Experts are “95 percent sure” the whale is a female from the rare Sei species – only three of which have been found stranded on the British coast in the last twenty years.

“It is sad. It was in shallow water of about 4ft to 5.25ft, making contact with the bottom,” said Andy Gibson, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust. “This was about 800m offshore. When it gets in that situation it rolls onto its side and it can cover its blowhole.”

“Sometimes whales come into shallow water looking for food and get stuck,” added Kirsten Smith, North Seas manager at Yorkshire Wildlife Trust. “With the high tide the whale probably got carried up on to the salt marsh, got pushed back further in shore and then got stuck when the tide went out.”

Earlier this month a fin whale washed up dead near Spurn Point, North East Lincolnshire after getting stranded at Immingham. Yorkshire Wildlife Trust has seen a rise in whale sightings over the last year but are unable to explain the increase in the North Sea.

Listeria in Cantaloupes: Deadliest Outbreak in a Decade

Posted by Melodie Munro on October 2, 2011 at 3:50pm

Listeria in Cantaloupes: Deadliest Outbreak in a Decade

At Least 13 People Have Died From Cantaloupes Tainted With Listeria Bacteria

By Brenda Goodman
WebMD Health News
Reviewed by Laura J. Martin, MD

Sept. 28, 2011 -- The CDC says 72 people have been sickened and 13 have died as a result of eating cantaloupes tainted with listeria bacteria, making it the deadliest outbreak of food-borne illness in the U.S. in a decade.

State officials say they are investigating three more deaths -- one each in New Mexico, Kansas, and Wyoming -- that may also be connected to the contaminated Colorado cantaloupes.

The new numbers mean that the death toll has outpaced the number of deaths tied to an outbreak of salmonella in peanut products nearly three years ago. Nine people died in that outbreak.

According to the CDC, this is the third deadliest outbreak of food-borne illness since the agency began keeping records. In 1985, cheese contaminated with listeria killed 52 people. In 1998, listeria-contaminated hot dogs killed 21 people.

The melons involved in the current outbreak, "Rocky Ford" brand cantaloupes sold by Jensen Farms, were recalled on Sept. 14.

But health officials warn that that people may still have recalled melons in their refrigerators. They have also been used in some cut-fruit salads.

Unlike other many other kinds of food-borne pathogens, listeria bacteria can continue to grow despite the cold temperatures of a refrigerator.

"If they can't confirm that it's not Jensen Farms, then it's best to throw it out," said CDC Director Thomas R. Frieden, MD, in a news briefing on Wednesday.

Officials also say that because it can take weeks for people to get sick after coming into contact with listeria bacteria, they expect the number of deaths and illnesses linked to the melons to rise.

"The time between when you consume it and when you get sick is longer than it is for many other bacteria," Frieden said, "so people who consumed it some time ago may continue to develop illness in the coming days and weeks."

The majority of deaths in the current outbreak have occurred in people older than 60.
Listeriosis Symptoms

Listeriosis, the illness caused by listeria bacteria, typically strikes vulnerable people, like the elderly, pregnant women, and those with weakened immune systems.

Infection from listeria bacteria starts in the stomach and intestines where it may cause diarrhea and other gastrointestinal symptoms. If it spreads beyond the gut, listeriosis causes flu-like symptoms including fever and muscle aches, headache, stiff neck, loss of balance, and convulsions.

Officials say that while states reacted swiftly to contain the outbreak, the source of the contamination is still largely a mystery.

"This is the first time we have seen listeria contamination in whole cantaloupes, and we're working very hard to determine how this happened," says FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, MD.

Though it's the first time listeria has contaminated cantaloupes, it's not the first time the melons have made people sick.

Officials say 10 other outbreaks of food-borne illnesses in the last decade have been tied to cantaloupes. In seven of those outbreaks, the melons were tainted with salmonella. In three, they carried norovirus.

"It's still a good thing to eat fresh fruits and vegetables, and we encourage people to do that," Frieden said. "It's a good thing to wash them before you eat them and to wash your hands after handling food."

Listeria Hot Spots

So far, illnesses have been reported in 18 states in the West and Midwest.
Colorado and New Mexico have been hit the hardest. To date, 15 people have fallen ill in Colorado and two have died in that state. In New Mexico, 10 have gotten sick and four have died.

Other states reporting illnesses linked to the outbreak, according to the CDC:•

. California (1 illness)
• Florida (1)
• Illinois (1)
• Indiana (2)
• Kansas (5)
• Maryland (1)
• Missouri (1)
• Montana (1)
• Nebraska (6)
• North Dakota (1)
• Oklahoma (8)
• Texas (14)
• Virginia (1)
• West Virginia (1)
• Wisconsin (2)
• Wyoming (1)

Steal someone's confusion with this Jedi mind trick

Posted by Melodie Munro on October 2, 2011 at 3:49pm

Steal someone's confusion with this Jedi mind trick
Monday, September 26, 2011 by: Mike Bundrant
(NaturalNews)

The Jedi understand that states of confusion (as well as other states) are malleable and transferable. Like a yawn, they can be passed on to others. Jedi Masters use this phenomenon to "steal" confusion so that the original carrier is freed from it. This Jedi mind trick is rarely shared, so pay attention and don't forget to try it when you can be of help to someone in need.

First, understand that we are all connected. To be in the presence of another person is to have some effect upon them and visa-versa. There is no way around this and no one has ever been immune from it. How do you want to impact others? How much choice do you want to have? How aware do you wish to become?

The Dark Side is a proponent of perceptual blindness in this matter. It wants the average person to have little awareness and choice in how they affect other people and how they are affected. The less you know about communication and your own inner workings, the more power the Dark Side has to intervene, encouraging reactive behaviors over proactive behaviors.

The Jedi advocate awareness, intention and choice. The more awareness you have about the nature of communication, the greater your opportunity to serve and make the world a better place.

With that, here is how to steal another person's confusion.

1. When someone is confused and engaged in conversation with you (assuming you have a nice rapport), listen politely and give them a chance to work it out on their own. If they don't need you to steal their confusion, don't attempt it.

2. If they remain stuck and can't seem to get clear, steal it! Here's how: Become confused at their confusion. Act as if they are confusing you. Better, allow yourself to truly become confused by their confusing situation! Get sucked in.

3. When this trick works, the other will respond to your confusion by popping out of their own confusion and explaining (often spilling the beans about something they were hiding from themselves) it all to you, thus helping you out.

Here is an example of an actual dialogue:

Fred: I don't get it. How did I get here? I don't have a dime to my name and, well, I frankly don't know what to do. Should I start my own business? Wait, I can't do that. How will I live? I am so messed up!

Jedi: You really don't have a dime? (Keeps the conversation going to allow Fred a chance to work out a productive direction on his own)

Fred: Huh? I don't know. No. I mean, sure, I have a dime, but...what the hell happened to my life? I just don't get it.

Jedi: You don't get what?

Fred: I honestly don't know. I'm confused. I wish I knew how to escape my own head sometimes, really. I don't know what's going on. I wish I had more money, but...(he looks off into the distance as if searching on the horizon, his brow furrowed and stuck in a deep, confused trance. He remains that way for 10 seconds or so before the Jedi intervenes).

Jedi: Hmm. I'm actually getting confused myself (He takes on a confused look, sinking into his chair and diminishing his posture). I'm not sure what to (He cocks his head to one side and furrows his brow)....I really don't get it. This IS confusing! How could....?

Fred: It's actually not that complicated. I don't track my expenses - at all. That's it! I have no idea how much money I spend every month and really should be on a budget, something I have been resisting for years, actually.

Who can expect to spend so freely and not have financial troubles? God, I knew this day would come - I have to grow up and hold myself accountable to a budget. Then, if I can save some money, I'd like to make a break from my dead end job and start a business.

Jedi: Ah! Now that makes perfect sense.

Once the air is clear and the confusion has dissipated, the trick is done.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/033687_confusion_Jedi_mind_trick.html#ixzz1ZZA998JZ

Who am I? Ramana Maharishi

Posted by Geetha on October 2, 2011 at 3:36am

Excerpt from: ‘Talks with Ramana Maharishi’.
Maharishi’s response on being asked: Who am I? How is it to be found?

B.V. Narasimha Swami, author of Self- Realization, asked: Who am I? How is it to be found?

Maharishi: Ask yourself the question. The body (annamaya kosa) and its functions are not ‘I’.

Going deeper, the mind (manomaya kosa) and its functions are not ‘I’.

The next step takes one to the question. “Wherefrom do these thoughts arise?” The thoughts are spontaneous, superficial or analytical. They operate in intellect. Then, who is aware of them? The existence of thoughts, their clear conceptions and their operations become evident to the individual. The analysis leads to the conclusion that the individuality of the person is operative as the perceiver of the existence of thoughts and of their sequence. This individuality is the ego, or as people say ‘I’. Vijnanamaya kosa (intellect) is only the sheath of ‘I’ and not the ‘I’ itself.

Enquiring further the questions arise, “who is this ‘I’? Wherefrom does it come?” ‘I’ was not aware in sleep. Simultaneously with its rise sleep changes to dream or wakefulness. But I am not concerned with dream just now. Who am I now, in the wakeful state? If I originate from sleep, then the ‘I’ was covered up with ignorance. Such an ignorant ‘I’ cannot be what the scriptures say or the wise ones affirm. ‘I’ am beyond even ‘Sleep’; ‘I’ must be now and here and what I was all along in sleep and dreams also, without the qualities of such states. ‘I’ must therefore be the unqualified substratum underlying these three states (andandmaya kosa transcended)

‘I’ is, in brief, beyond the five sheaths. Next, the residuum left over after discarding all that is not-self is the Self, Sat-Chit-Ananda.

Devotee: How is that Self to be known or realized?

Maharishi: Transcend the present plane of relativity. A separate being appears to know something apart from itself (non-Self). That is, the subject is aware of the object. The seer is drik; the seen is drisya.

There must be a unity underlying these two, which arises as ‘ego’. This ego is of the nature of chit (intelligence); achit (insentient object) is only negation of chit. Therefore the underlying essence is akin to the subject and not the object. Seeking the drik, until all drisya disappears, the drik will become subtler and subtler until the absolute drik alone survives.

23.33 degrees libra, spica, arcturus and nov 11/11

Posted by Annette Gordon on October 2, 2011 at 12:13am

Namaste. Im not writting this as an informative blog. More as ,for once, a self centered musing. Im not citing referances as im not copying.When thinking on atlantis and even Mu i asked what did morrocco or even 24 degrees libra had to do with anything...duh, saturn conjuncts spica at that degree on nov 11/11. Not thinking on myan calendar predictions im more aware of arcturus sitting on 24 degrees libra.(same? Please, any astrologers help.... (and my venus north node midpoint 23 something libra). This pulls in recent higher conciousness or really 'remembering'So Arcturus is the planet of white brotherhood. Also part of the 11th and 12th chakra high system. It apparently will help to activate '12' strand dna sequencing to enable world transition into the 13th realm and chakras, which will initiate a portal into galactic point. (26' sag ?)

WHO EVER THOUGHT OF THIS SHOULD GET A GREEN MEDAL

Posted by Melodie Munro on September 28, 2011 at 5:54pm

WHO EVER THOUGHT OF THIS SHOULD GET A GREEN MEDAL

WHAT A GREAT IDEA. NO MORE TWIST TIES OR RUBBER BANDS.
AND THEY ARE WATER PROOF AND AIR TIGHT. GREAT!

The guy who first thought of the idea must be given an award for originality !!!

How to seal a bag
and make it air-tight

Cut up a disposable water bottle
and keep the neck and top, as in photo

Insert the plastic bag through the neck
and screw the top to seal.

The bottle is made to be air-tight, such that water will not leak, the secret lies with the top and screw!

This is a great idea to share. Good for us and the environment too.

A Secret Scrolls 52 – 57

Posted by Melodie Munro on September 28, 2011 at 5:53pm

A Secret Scrolls #52A Secret Scrolls message from Rhonda ByrneCreator of The Secret and The PowerFrom The Secret Daily TeachingsKnow yourself! Watch how you manifest the small things in life and think about how you felt inside with those things. Think about how easily they came. You will find that you thought of a small thing once and never thought about it again, and then it manifested.What really happened was you didn't think any thoughts or speak any words which contradicted what you wanted, so the law of attraction was able to do its work.May the joy be with you,Rhonda ByrneThe Secret and The Power... bringing joy to billionsA Secret Scrolls #53A Secret Scrolls message from Rhonda ByrneCreator of The Secret and The PowerTo celebrate the end of the year, and to guarantee that 2011 is your absolute best year yet, this Secret Scrolls contains one of the life-changing revelations from the book The Power, and one of the most powerful processes you can do in your life.Whether you realize it or not, you bring everything to you through the power of your imagination. The power of imagination is not something you have to acquire; you have it already! You think in images even if you aren't aware that you do, and you use imagination or imaging every single day of your life. When you think about the past you are imagining. When you think about the future you are imagining. And as you imagine and concentrate on anything with feeling, you are bringing it to you.When you worry about something, you are using your immense power of imagination negatively. You are imagining the worst, and as you imagine the worst, you are bringing it to you. When you are excited about something, you are using your power of imagination positively. You are imagining the best, and as you imagine the best, you are bringing it to you.Using the power of your imagination is something that comes to you naturally, but I want you to understand something about your imagination that will change your life: Whatever you can imagine already exists! You simply can't imagine anything unless it exists already, because when you imagine something you are actually tuning into a particular frequency, and if that frequency didn't exist in the Universe you wouldn't be able to tune into it. So when you imagine yourself with something you want you are tuning into a real thing that already exists, and you are looking at the very frequency of you with your desire!Now I am going to take you step by step through a revolutionary process using your imagination from the book The Power.First, imagine something that you really want. It could be money, health, a particular job, a partner, a vacation, happiness, or anything else. Imagine yourself with your desire; close your eyes and really get the picture of yourself with your desire.Pay special attention to what you see about yourself in your imagined picture. Notice how you are talking. Notice how you are moving. Notice how you are walking. Notice how you are acting. Notice how you are feeling. Look at everything about yourself in your imagined picture, but in particular, notice how happy you are! Capture every detail that you can, and open your eyes.Understand that the picture you just imagined of yourself with your desire exists already! You know it exists because if it didn't exist how could you tune into it? How could you see it in your imagination? When you imagined yourself, you were looking at the actual real version of you with your desire!Can you see the difference between yourself right now and your imagined picture of yourself? Because your job is to become as much like the version of yourself in the picture as you can! Walk like that now. Talk like that now. Act like that now. Feel the same as that, now. Become as happy as that person, now. Be that person, now! When you become the person in your imagined picture you have shifted yourself to the frequency of your desire, and it must and will appear. Your imagination is showing you precisely the person you need to become. It is showing you what you look like and how to act and feel so that you can copy it and become that person!To help you become more and more like the person in your imagination, practice closing your eyes and seeing yourself in the imagined picture with your desire as many times as you want. Seeing the imagined picture of yourself will continuously remind you how you need to be, feel, and act. Then come out of your imagination and go about your day doing your best to act and feel like that person, now. You will be amazed at how little copying it takes before you see the evidence that your desire is coming.This is one of the most powerful processes you can ever do to make your desires appear with lightning speed. This process is based on the physics of the Universe. Use it! Practice it! You have The Power to your life; every force in the Universe will do anything for you, but you have to use The Power that you have!Happy Christmas, Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year, and may joy be with you in every moment,Rhonda ByrneThe Secret and The Power... bringing joy to billionsA Secret Scrolls #54A Secret Scrolls message from Rhonda ByrneCreator of The Secret and The PowerFrom The Secret Daily TeachingsEvery religion on the planet has told us to have FAITH. Faith is when you cannot see how, but you absolutely know that the moment you have the dream it is given to you, and all you have to do is relax and allow the Universe to magnetize you to your dream and your dream to you.May the joy be with you,Rhonda ByrneThe Secret and The Power... bringing joy to billionsSecret Scrolls #55A Secret Scrolls message from Rhonda ByrneCreator of The Secret and The PowerFrom The Secret Daily TeachingsIt is when you no longer feel the need for money that money will come. The feeling of needing money comes from the thought that you don't have enough, and so you continue to create not having enough money.You are always creating, and when it comes to money, you are either creating the lack of it or the abundance of it.May the joy be with you,Rhonda ByrneThe Secret and The Power... bringing joy to billionsA Secret Scrolls #56A Secret Scrolls message from Rhonda ByrneCreator of The Secret and The PowerFrom The Secret Daily TeachingsNo-one is destined to live a life of poverty, because each of us has the ability to change everything in this life. The law of attraction is the law of creation, and it allows each person to create the life they want. Every person has their own unique circumstances to overcome, but every single person has the opportunity to achieve anything - and change everything.May the joy be with you,Rhonda ByrneThe Secret and The Power... bringing joy to billionsA Secret Scrolls #57A Secret Scrolls message from Rhonda ByrneCreator of The Secret and The PowerFrom The Secret Daily TeachingsSo often when things change in our lives, we have such a resistance to the change. This is because when people see a big change appearing they are often fearful that it is something bad. But it is important to remember that when something big changes in our lives, it means something better is coming. There cannot be a vacuum in the Universe, and so as something moves out, something must come in and replace it.When change comes, relax, have total faith, and know that the change is ALL GOOD.Something more magnificent is coming to you!May the joy be with you,Rhonda ByrneThe Secret and The Power... bringing joy to billions

Secret Scrolls 46 - 51

Posted by Melodie Munro on September 28, 2011 at 5:51pm

Secret Scrolls #46

A Secret Scrolls message from Rhonda Byrne
Creator of The Secret and The Power

From The Secret Daily Teachings

Imagine writing an email of what you want to the Universe. When you are happy that your email is very clear, you hit "Send" and you know your request has gone into the ethers. You also know that the Server of the Universe is an automatic system, and it doesn't question email requests. Its job is simply to fulfil every request.

If you begin to worry and stress that you haven't got what you wanted, then you have just sent another email to the Universe to stop your order. And then you wonder why you haven't received what you asked for.

Once you Ask, know that the Server of the Universe is an automatic infallible system that never fails, and expect to receive your request!

May the joy be with you,

Rhonda Byrne
The Secret and The Power... bringing joy to billions

Secret Scrolls #047

A Secret Scrolls message from Rhonda Byrne
Creator of The Secret and The Power

From The Secret Daily Teachings

Whether you know it or not, today you are placing an order for your tomorrows from the catalogue of the Universe. Your predominant thoughts and feelings today are creating a frequency that is automatically determining your life tomorrow.

Feel good now and for the rest of the day, and make your tomorrows magnificent.

May the joy be with you,

Rhonda Byrne
The Secret and The Power... bringing joy to billions

Secret Scrolls #048

A Secret Scrolls message from Rhonda Byrne
Creator of The Secret and The Power

From The Secret Daily Teachings

Every day, or at the very least once or twice a week, take a few minutes and focus on seeing yourself in joy. Feel yourself in joy. Imagine only joy ahead in your life and see yourself basking in it. As you do this the Universe will move all people, circumstances, and events to bring you that joy. You can't be in joy if you have money worries, or health worries, or relationship problems with friends or family. So deposit some joy in the bank of the Universe as often as you can. There isn't an investment that is more worthwhile.

May the joy be with you,

Rhonda Byrne

The Secret and The Power... bringing joy to billions

Secret Scrolls #049

A Secret Scrolls message from Rhonda Byrne
Creator of The Secret and The Power

This Secret Scrolls features a very powerful process from my new book, The Power, which will help you bring your desires at lightning speed!

This process, called 'The Point of Creation', uses a powerful ancient symbol, and helps to dissolve the idea in your mind that your desire is 'big' and that it will therefore take a long time to appear. This simple process will have a big effect in dissolving 'big' and 'long time' in your subconscious mind.

Excerpt from The Power

The Point of Creation

"To help you have the true perspective of creation, no matter how big your desire may seem to you, think of it as the size of a dot! You may want a house, car, vacation, money, the perfect partner, your dream job or children. You may want to receive full health in your body. You may want to pass exams, get into a particular college, break a world record, become president, a successful actor, lawyer, writer, or teacher. It doesn't matter what it is you want, think of it as the size of a dot, because for the force of love, what you want is smaller than a dot!"

"If you find your faith wavering, just put a dot in the center of a large circle and next to the dot write the name of your desire. As often as you like, look at your drawing of your dot in the circle, knowing your desire is the size of that dot for the force of love!"

I wish you a life of joy, and a very Happy Thanksgiving.

Rhonda Byrne
The Secret and The Power... bringing joy to billions

Secret Scrolls #50

A Secret Scrolls message from Rhonda Byrne
Creator of The Secret and The Power

From The Secret Daily Teachings

Our highest power is love, and it is one thing each of us has an unlimited amount of. How much love do you give to others in one day? Each day we have an opportunity to set out with this great, unlimited power in our possession, and pour it over every person and circumstance.

Love is appreciating, complimenting, feeling gratitude, and speaking good words to others.

We have so much love to give, and the more that we give, the more we receive.

May the joy be with you,

Rhonda Byrne
The Secret and The Power... bringing joy to billions

Secret Scrolls #051

A Secret Scrolls message from Rhonda Byrne
Creator of The Secret and The Power

From The Secret Daily Teachings

You can most certainly help others through your thoughts, and they can help you. Every good thought you send to another is a living force. However, the person you are sending the thought to has to be asking for the same thing you are sending. If the person does not want it, then they are not in harmony with your thought frequency, and it will not penetrate them.

You cannot create in another's life against their will, but if it is something they want, your thoughts are a real force that helps them.

May the joy be with you,

Rhonda Byrne
The Secret and The Power... bringing joy to billions

Vitamin C And The Law

Posted by Melodie Munro on September 28, 2011 at 5:50pm

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, November 11, 2010

Vitamin C And The Law
A Personal Viewpoint by Thomas E. Levy, M.D., J.D.

(OMNS November 11, 2010) As a patient, you have the right to any therapy that is not prohibitively expensive, established to be effective, and not prohibitively toxic.

Any physician, or panel of hospital-based physicians, claiming that vitamin C is experimental, unapproved, and/or posing unwarranted risks to the health of the patient, is really only demonstrating a complete and total ignorance or denial of the scientific literature. A serious question as to what the real motivations might be in the withholding of such a therapy then arises.

A doctor has the right to refuse to see you or treat you. A doctor does not have the right to deny you any therapy that is inexpensive and known to be effective and nontoxic; if there is toxicity involved, the patient can discharge his responsibility for such toxicity with proper informed consent. A doctor does not have the right to deny you consultation with another doctor that may have conflicting medical points of view.
Just as ignorance of the law is no sound defense to legal charges brought against you, ignorance of medical fact is ultimately no sound defense for a doctor withholding valid treatment, especially when that information can be easily accessed

While a hospital may or may not have a legal right to dictate to its physicians what they may or may not do, the patient and the family of the patient have the legal right to sue that hospital for any negative outcome that is perceived to directly result from such interference in patient care.

The patient and the family of the patient also have the right to sue any physician that refuses to administer an inexpensive, nontoxic therapy that is established to be of use in the medical literature, such as vitamin C, especially when no other options other than permitting the patient to die are offered. Doctors have a very strong herd mentality, and they do not thrive well when forced to deal with a lawsuit alone, and possibly not even with the backup of their malpractice insurance company, which would seriously question why an approved medicine such as vitamin C was withheld from the patient. Remember that any insurance company always looks for a legal way not to pay expenses or settlements.

In a court of law, legal decisions regarding medical issues are usually decided by comparing a doctor's actions (or inactions) to the accepted standards of medical practice in the community in question. The legal sticking points relate to how different that community might be from others, and whether the accepted standard of practice is too far deviated from overall mainstream medicine norms.

The legal system struggles with reconciling something well-established in the medical literature, but not reflected in the standard medical textbooks. A case involving withheld vitamin C would not currently have any direct legal precedent of which I am aware, but there are multiple reasons to believe that the time is ripe for the law to rule for the patient's right to receive vitamin C in the hospital over the doctor's "right" to withhold it.
The time for changing the view of vitamin C by the law and mainstream medicine has arrived. Over the past 20 years, many more doctors have begun to routinely give 50 grams (50,000 mg) or more of vitamin C intravenously on a regular basis to patients with the entire gamut of medical conditions. These doctors have come from the same medical schools and postgraduate training programs as their unlike-minded mainstream counterparts, meaning they have the same traditional credentials and warrant equal consideration.

The law recognizes that there is no one perfect medical approach to a patient. Having an increasingly large body of doctors who recognize the importance of vitamin C will allow the courts to permit an additional "school of thought" as long as enough traditionally-trained doctors think that way. The question yet to be legally determined is, How many such doctors is "enough?"

Under United States law, the long-standing Frye standard (1923) held that expert opinion based on a scientific technique is admissible only where the technique is generally accepted as reliable in the relevant scientific community. This standard made it almost impossible for any technique embraced by a minority, however competent or appropriately trained, to ever coexist with, much less supersede, a technique embraced by the larger scientific community. Basically, majority always wins, and minority always loses.

The Daubert standard (1993) finally replaced the Frye standard. Daubert held that the court should:

1. Evaluate whether the science can be or has been tested
2. Determine whether the science has been published or peer-reviewed
3. Consider the likelihood of error (quality and quantity of the data)
4. Evaluate the general acceptance of the theory in the scientific community

If the court is so inclined, the evaluation of general acceptance in the scientific (medical) community does not have to invoke the "majority rules" nature of the earlier Frye standard. Rather, it can allow the consideration that enough scientific studies embraced by enough qualified doctors could prevail legally. However, any final ruling would be heavily dependent on the particular facts of the case and the precise intervention requested of the court.

The principles of Daubert do not assure a victory for vitamin C proponents in a court of law, but they do allow an objective judge to see that the body of evidence supporting vitamin C usage is clearly established in the mainstream medical literature, warranting a thorough legal evaluation as to why it is not yet a permissible therapy. These principles allow for much more flexibility than the earlier Frye "majority rules" standard.
Also, with any individual case in which a doctor refuses to administer vitamin C and serious damage (including death) occurs, a strong legal case can be now be made that the burden of proof falls with the doctor to show:

1. That the therapy was exceptionally expensive, toxic, and/or unproven
2. That the patient's best interests were somehow best served by withholding vitamin C

Always try to make an alliance with your doctor and avoid an adversarial relationship if at all possible. Theoretically, if your doctor really wants to do what is best for the patient and is not more concerned with being told what to do, much stress and conflict can be avoided by all. However, do not hesitate to let your doctor know directly that you will avail yourself of all your rights or your family member's rights as a patient to optimal health care if so forced.

A very common "out" in all of these scenarios is to suggest that "further studies" should be done. More information is always useful, but vitamin C has already been researched more than any other supplement, or even most pharmaceutical drugs, in the history of the planet. Don't allow another 70 years of research to transpire before its proper use begins.

Stand up for your rights today. The way medicine is practiced will never change until the public demands it and the law legitimizes it. Remember, it's your body and your health. Doctors are answerable to you, not you to them.

Thomas Edward Levy, M.D., J.D. is a graduate of the Tulane University School of Medicine and the University of Denver College of Law. He board certified in Internal Medicine and is also a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology. He was admitted to the Colorado Bar in 1998 and the District of Columbia Bar in 1999. Dr. Levy is on the Editorial Board of the Orthomolecular Medicine News Service.

References:
Frye v. United States, 293 F. 1013 (D.C. Cir. 1923)
Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, 509 U.S. 579 (1993)
An expanded version of "Vitamin C and the Law" by Dr. Levy is available as a free pdf download at http://www.tomlevymd.com/downloads/VC.NZ.Sept.2010.pdf or http://www.doctoryourself.com/VC.NZ.Sept.2010.pdf

Nutritional Medicine is Orthomolecular Medicine
Orthomolecular medicine uses safe, effective nutritional therapy to fight illness. For more information: http://www.orthomolecular.org
The peer-reviewed Orthomolecular Medicine News Service is a non-profit and non-commercial informational resource.

ONIONS

Posted by Melodie Munro on September 28, 2011 at 5:49pm

ONIONSIn 1919 when the 'flu killed 40 million people there was this Doctor that visited the many farmers to see if he could help them combat the flu. Many of the farmers and their family had contracted it and many died. The doctor came upon one farmer and, to his surprise, everyone was very healthy. When the doctor asked what the farmer was doing that was different, the wife replied that she had placed an unpeeled onion in a dish in the rooms of the home, (probably only two rooms back then). The doctor couldn't believe it and asked if he could have one of the onions.She gave him one which he placed under the microscope he found the 'flu virus in the onion.It had obviously absorbed the bacteria, there by keeping the family healthy.Now, I heard this story from my hairdresser in AZ. She said that several years ago many of her employees were coming down with the flu and so were many of her customers.The next year she placed several bowls with onions around in her shop and, to her surprise, none of her staff got sick. It must work... and no, she is not in the onion business.The moral of the story is, buy some onions and place them in bowls around your home. If you work at a desk, place one or two in your office or under your desk or even on top somewhere. Try it and see what happens.We did it last year and we never got the flu. If this helps you and your loved ones from getting sick, all the better.If you do get the flu, it just might be a mild case.. What have you to lose? Just a few bucks on onions!!!!Now there is a P.S. to this... I sent it to a friend in Oregon who regularly contributes material to me on health issues and she replied with this most interesting experience about onions:Thanks for the reminder. I don't know about the farmers story, but I do know that I contracted pneumonia and needless to say I was very ill. I came across an article that said to cut both ends off an onion, put one end on a fork and then place the forked end into an empty jar...placing the jar next to the sick patient at night.It said the onion would be black in the morning from the germs. Sure enough it happened just like that...the onion was a mess and I began to feel better.Another thing I read in the article was that onions and garlic placed around the room saved many from the black plague years ago.They have powerful antibacterial and antiseptic properties.This is the other note.LEFT OVER ONIONS ARE POISONOUSI have used an onion which has been left in the fridge, and sometimes I don't use a whole one at one time, so save the other half for later.Now with this info, I have changed my mind....will buy smaller onions in the future.I had the wonderful privilege of touring Mullins Food Products, makers of mayonnaise. Mullins is huge, and is owned by 11 brothers and sisters in the Mullins family. My friend, Jeanne, is the CEO.Questions about food poisoning came up, and I wanted to share what I learned from a chemist. The guy who gave us our tour is named Ed - he's one of the brothers.Ed is a chemistry expert and is involved in developing most of the sauce formula. He's even developed sauce formula for McDonald's. Keep in mind that Ed is a food chemistry whiz.During the tour, someone asked if we really needed to worry about mayonnaise.People are always worried that mayonnaise will spoil.Ed's answer will surprise you. He said that all commercially-made Mayo is completely safe. "It doesn't even have to be refrigerated. No harm in refrigerating it, but it's not really necessary."He explained that the pH in mayonnaise is set at a point that bacteria could not survive in that environment. He then talked about the picnic, with the bowl of potato salad sitting on the table and how everyone blames the mayonnaise when someone gets sick.Ed says that when food poisoning is reported, the first thing the officials look for is when the 'victim' last ate ONIONS and where those onions came from (in the potato salad?).Ed says it's not the mayonnaise (as long as it's not homemade Mayo) that spoils in the outdoors. It's probably the onions, and if not the onions, it's the POTATOES.He explained, onions are a huge magnet for bacteria, especially uncooked onions. You should never plan to keep a portion of a sliced onion...it's not even safe if you put it in a zip-lock bag and put it in your refrigerator.It's already contaminated enough just by being cut open and out for a bit, that it can be a danger to you. (and doubly watch out for those onions you put in your hot dogs at the baseball park!)Ed says if you take the leftover onion and cook it like crazy you'll probably be okay, but if you slice that leftover onion and put on your sandwich, you're asking for trouble.Both the onions and the moist potato in a potato salad will attract and grow bacteria faster than any commercial mayonnaise will even begin to break down.So, how's that for news? Take it for what you will. I am going to be very careful about my onions from now on. For some reason, I see a lot of credibility coming from a chemist and a company that produces millions of pounds of mayonnaise every year.Also, dogs should never eat onions. Their stomachs cannot metabolize onions.Please remember it is dangerous to cut onion and use or cook the next day. It becomes highly poisonous for even a single night and creates toxic bacteria which may cause adverse stomach infections because of excess bile secretions and even food poisoning.Please pass it on to all you love and care about.

Oncologist suggests cancer treatments responsible for Kara Kennedy's death

Posted by Melodie Munro on September 28, 2011 at 5:48pm

Oncologist suggests cancer treatments responsible for Kara Kennedy's deathFriday, September 23, 2011 by: Ethan A. Huff, staff writer(NaturalNews) Kara Kennedy, daughter of Joan Kennedy and the late Sen. Edward Kennedy, recently died after many years of battling lung cancer. And in a startling admission that confirms everything we have been saying here at NaturalNews for quite some time, Kara's brother, a former Congressman, and a well-respected oncologist from the Women's Heart Clinic (WHC) at the Mayo Institute both admitted that Kara's aggressive cancer treatments were most likely the actual cause of her death.It is a disease that has repeatedly plagued the Kennedy family on numerous occasions, including when it took the life of Sen. Edward Kennedy in 2009 in the form of brain cancer. Farrah Fawcett, Rich Cronin, Michael Douglas, and a number of other prominent figures and celebrities have also succumbed to its inevitable death grip as well.But does cancer inevitably result in death, or are conventional cancer treatments the actual culprit? In the words of Kara's brother Patrick and Dr. Sharonne N. Hayes from WHC, both of which are quoted in a recent Daily Mail piece, it was Kara's chemotherapy and radiation treatments that led to her eventual death, and not necessarily her cancer."Depending upon where the lung cancer was, her heart could have taken a direct hit," commented Dr. Hayes concerning Kara's sudden death following a routine workout at the health club. "The heart muscle can be weakened. This is probably widely under appreciated. People are so fearful of cancer, but in order to save people from cancer, other organs are put at risk -- the heart, in particular."Building upon this, Patrick Kennedy noted that Kara's aggressive treatments "took quite a toll on her and weakened her physically." After getting part of her right lung removed, Kara received conventional cancer treatments so aggressive that "[h]er hear just gave out," said Patrick, a former Rhode Island Congressman, to Daily Mail.Both of these statements -- and Dr. Sharonne's statement about the heart, in particular -- are shocking, not only because of their validity, but because of the fact that the mainstream media actually reported on them. As serious as Kara's condition truly was, it appears, once again, that mainstream medicine's answer ended up being the real killer.If only Kara, Fawcett, and the many other prominent victims of conventional medicine had taken the time to learn about alternative, nutrition-based cancer treatments, their lives may have been able to be preserved.Sources for this story include:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/033658_Kara_Kennedy_cancer_treatments.html#ixzz1YmcfEgUM

Our Ancestors Didn't Die of Cancer

Posted by Melodie Munro on September 28, 2011 at 5:47pm

Our Ancestors Didn't Die of Cancer
Posted By Dr. Mercola | September 23 2011

If you're interested in living a longer, healthier life, nothing beats proper diet and exercise—even low amounts of exercise. A recent study published in the journal Lancet, which included several hundred thousand people between 1996 and 2008 found that a mere 15 minutes of exercise a day can increase your lifespan by three years!

Those who got themselves moving for at least 15 minutes a day, or 90 minutes a week, also had a 14 percent reduced risk of all-cause mortality.

Furthermore:

"Every additional 15 minutes of daily exercise beyond the minimum amount of 15 minutes a day further reduced all-cause mortality by 4 percent, and all-cancer mortality by 1 percent. These benefits were applicable to all age groups and both sexes, and to those with cardiovascular disease risks.

Individuals who were inactive had a 17 percent increased risk of mortality compared with individuals in the low-volume group."

How Exercise Increases Life Expectancy
Exercise is known to be effective in the prevention of disease of all kinds which, naturally, will allow you to live longer.
For example, exercise can help:
Lower your blood pressure
Fight depression
Lose weight
Relieve chronic knee pain

Manage arthritis
Lower your risk of diabetes and reverse pre-diabetes
Reduce your risk of cancer
Slow down your aging process

Lower your risk of heart disease
Build strong bones
Increase your energy levels
Boost your IQ and think better

Researchers have measured the biochemical changes that occur during exercise, and found alterations in more than 20 different metabolites. Some of these compounds help you burn calories and fat, while others help stabilize your blood sugar, among other things. Essentially, being of a healthy weight and exercising regularly creates a healthy feedback loop that optimizes and helps maintain healthy glucose and insulin levels through optimization of insulin receptor sensitivity. And, as I've mentioned before, insulin resistance—primarily driven by excessive consumption of refined sugars and grains along with lack of exercise—is the underlying factor of nearly all chronic disease that can take years off your life.

For example, heart disease and cancer are two of the top killers of Americans, and exercise can effectively help prevent the onset of both, primarily by driving down your insulin levels. Exercise also helps lower your estrogen levels, which explains why it appears to be particularly potent against breast cancer.

Exercise may also be imperative for successful treatment of serious diseases such as cancer. In fact, a new report issued by Macmillan Cancer Support argues that exercise should be part of standard cancer care. It recommends that all patients getting cancer treatment should be told to engage in moderate-intensity exercise for two and a half hours every week. Research has shown that exercise can:

• Reduce your risk of dying from cancer. For example, exercise reduces your risk of dying from prostate cancer by up to 30 percent. And a previous study by Harvard Medical School researchers found that breast cancer patients who exercise moderately for three to five hours a week cut their odds of dying from cancer by about half, compared to sedentary patients. In fact, any amount of weekly exercise increased a patient's odds of surviving breast cancer. This benefit also remained constant regardless of whether women were diagnosed early on or after their cancer had spread.

• Reduce your risk of cancer recurrence. Research has found that exercise reduces risk of breast cancer recurrence by about 40 percent

• Boost energy and minimize the side effects of conventional cancer treatment

According to Ciaran Devane, chief executive of Macmillan Cancer Support:
"Cancer patients would be shocked if they knew just how much of a benefit physical activity could have on their recovery and long term health, in some cases reducing their chances of having to go through the grueling ordeal of treatment all over again. It doesn't need to be anything too strenuous; doing the gardening, going for a brisk walk or a swim, all count."

What's More Important: Diet or Exercise?
Actually, as important as exercise is, it only accounts for about 20 percent of the health benefits reaped from a healthy lifestyle. The bulk of the benefits are really derived from proper nutrition...

"Body by science" by Doug McGuff, MD from Ancestry on Vimeo.
Here, Dr. Doug McGuff, author of the book "Body by Science," explains how going back to a "paleo" way of eating – similar to the way our hunter-gatherer ancestors ate – can help you optimize your health and live a longer, more disease-free life. The paleo diet is not a fad – with proven science behind it, a growing number of physicians and health advocates are embracing this back-to-basics diet, which may be better at lowering body fat than exercise.

During the Paleolithic period, about 12,000 years ago, people ate primarily non-starchy vegetables, fruit, nuts, roots and lean meat, including ostrich and bison as well as organ meats and seafood—a far cry from the standard American diet. Today, these healthy staples have been largely replaced with refined sugar, high fructose corn syrup, cereal, bread, potatoes and pasteurized milk products … which are doing you no favors in terms of health. During the Paleolithic period our ancestors didn't die of heart disease, diabetes and cancer -- which are among the leading causes of death today, and all are related to diet.

The primary disease-causing culprits in the modern diet are sugars, particularly fructose, and grains. If you want to avoid heart disease, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes or even cancer, you'll want to severely restrict your fructose and grain consumption.

My Diet Plan—Summary of Basic Concepts
If you're still confused about what a "proper diet" is, I suggest reviewing my Insulin Diet Plan, which is designed to guide you through the dietary changes in a step-by-step fashion, moving from beginners to intermediary to advanced. When properly applied, it can improve just about anyone's health.

Following is a summary of the basic recommendations:• Limit fructose to less than 25 grams per day. Ideally, you'll also want to limit the amount of fructose from fruit to 15 grams per day, as you're likely consuming 'hidden' fructose if you eat even small amounts of processed foods or sweetened beverages
• Limit or eliminate all processed foods
• Eliminate all gluten, and highly allergenic foods from your diet
• Eat organic foods whenever possible, preferably locally-grown
• Eat at least one-third of your food uncooked (raw), or as much as you can manage
• Increase the amount of fresh vegetables in your diet
• Avoid artificial sweeteners of all kinds
• Swap all trans fats (vegetable oils, margarine etc) for healthful fats like raw butter or coconut oil
• To re-balance your omega-3 to omega-6 ratio, take a high-quality omega-3 supplement, such as krill oil, and reduce your consumption of processed omega-6 fats from vegetable oils (trans fats)
• Drink plenty of pure water
• Optimize your vitamin D levels, either through appropriate sun exposure, a safe tanning bed, or as last resort an oral vitamin D3 supplement

Five Principles of Exercise
Getting back to exercise, variety is the name of the game. You also need to pay attention to intensity or level of difficulty. When an exercise becomes easy to complete, it's a sign you need to work a little harder and give your body a new challenge.

There are five types of exercises that will turn your peak fitness regimen into a truly comprehensive exercise plan:

1. Interval (Anaerobic) Training: This really is aerobic and anaerobic, but the research shows that the anaerobic phase if far more important. The BEST way to condition your heart and burn fat is NOT to jog or walk steadily for an hour. Instead, it’s to alternate short bursts of high-intensity exercise with gentle recovery periods. This type of exercise, known as interval training or burst type training, can dramatically improve your cardiovascular fitness and fat-burning capabilities.

Another major benefit of this approach is that it radically decreases the amount of time you spend exercising, while giving you even more benefits. For example, intermittent sprinting produces high levels of chemical compounds called catecholamines, which allow more fat to be burned from under your skin within the exercising muscles. The resulting increase in fat oxidation increases weight loss. So, short bursts of activity done at a very high intensity can help you reach your optimal weight and level of fitness, in a shorter amount of time.

It also promotes the production of human growth hormone (HGH), known as “the fitness hormone,” which can help you add youthful vigor to your years, in addition to promoting weight loss and improved muscle building.

2. Aerobic: Jogging, using an elliptical machine, and walking fast are all examples of aerobic exercise, which will increase the amount of oxygen in your blood and increase endorphins, which act as natural painkillers. Aerobic exercise also activates your immune system, helps your heart pump blood more efficiently, and increases your stamina over time.

Just don’t make the mistake of using aerobic as your primary or only form of exercise, as you’ll forgo many of the most potent health benefits exercise has to offer if you do

3. Strength Training: Rounding out your exercise program with a 1-set strength training routine will ensure that you're really optimizing the possible health benefits of a regular exercise program. You need enough repetitions to exhaust your muscles. The weight should be heavy enough that this can be done in fewer than 12 repetitions, yet light enough to do a minimum of four repetitions. It is also important NOT to exercise the same muscle groups every day. They need at least two days of rest to recover, repair and rebuild.

4. Core Exercises: Your body has 29 core muscles located mostly in your back, abdomen and pelvis. This group of muscles provides the foundation for movement throughout your entire body, and strengthening them can help protect and support your back, make your spine and body less prone to injury and help you gain greater balance and stability.

Pilates and yoga are great for strengthening your core muscles, as are specific exercises you can learn from a personal trainer. Even if a personal trainer is not in the cards for you right now, please watch these sample videos for examples of healthy exercise routines you can do with very little equipment and in virtually any location. Focusing on your breath and mindfulness along with increasing your flexibility is an important element of total fitness.

5. Stretching

Exercise Tips for Those with Chronic Health Problems
Remember that even if you're chronically ill, exercise can be a potent ally. That said, if you have cancer or any other chronic disease, you will of course need to tailor your exercise routine to your individual scenario, taking into account your stamina and current health. For example, you may at times need to exercise at a lower intensity, or for shorter durations, but do make a concerted effort to keep yourself moving. As mentioned above, even cancer patients should aim for a minimum of 2.5 hours of exercise a week, at moderate intensity, to boost their chances of successful recovery.

Always listen to your body and if you feel you need a break, take time to rest. But even exercising for just a few minutes a day is better than not exercising at all.

In the event you are suffering from a very weakened immune system, you may want to exercise in your home instead of visiting a public gym. But remember that exercise will ultimately help to boost your immune system, so it's very important to continue with your program, even if you suffer from chronic illness or cancer.

Heartburn or heart attack? How to tell the difference

Posted by Melodie Munro on September 28, 2011 at 5:46pm

Heartburn or heart attack? How to tell the differenceMore than 220,000 people suffer from heart attacks in the UK each year, and sadly, about one in three die before even reaching the hospital.Heart attacks need to be dealt with immediately. The odds of surviving a heart attack are significantly improved if you are treated within 90 minutes of experiencing the first symptoms.Despite being a medical emergency, too many people delay calling for an ambulance when symptoms start.Research from the US has found that men waited an average of two and a half hours before contacting the emergency services, and women took even longer.A likely explanation for this is that people know only one of the main symptoms of heart a heart attack - chest pain - but don't know the others. Even then, if the chest pain is mild, heart attack victims often put it down to a bad case of heartburn or indigestion. So how can you tell the difference?Heart Attack Warning SignsThe common or 'classic' symptoms of a heart attack include:• Pain in the centre of the chest• Chest pain which spreads to the arms, neck or jaw• Chest pain and feeling sick or sweaty• Chest pain and shortness of breathThe less commons symptoms of a heart attack include:• A dull pain, ache, or ‘heavy’ feeling in the chest• A mild discomfort in the chest that makes you feel generally unwell• A pain in your chest that can spread to the back or stomach• A chest pain that feels like a bad episode of indigestion• Feeling light-headed or dizzy as well as having chest painHeart attack symptoms differ from person to person. Chest pain can vary from mild discomfort in the centre of the chest to severe pain which is often described as a heavy pressure, crushing or tightness.But, for others, the chest pain may be relatively mild, but accompanied by some of the other symptoms, so recognising a pattern of symptoms is key - 'heartburn' with breathlessness and sweating needs to be checked out.Both men and women can experience common or uncommon symptoms of a heart attack, or even a combination of both. Either way, they need to be dealt with immediately.

Note: this page contains paid content.

Note: this page contains paid content.

Note: this page contains paid content.