Week 11 - The Gates of Life

1. Global Food Crisis? What would I do?
2. Carbon Offsets? Effective or No?
3. Laughter as the best medicine?

1.
Were I given complete control over all resources and means to correct the disharmonies that are causing hunger in the world this is one thing I might do:
I would take almost all of the monies and resources and people and energy in general that is being directed toward murder/defense/terror/etc. and redirect it towards projects that would restore ecosystems and local food production around the world, especially urban centers in our own country where there are children starving for REAL FOOD and connection with the natural cycles of life. Providing people with the means to produce their own food by buying up land, providing the tools, seeds, education and any other needed support would restore people's sense of power, control, peace, nourishment and satisfaction. This is what happened in Cuba... as seen in the photo;


Just redirect the energy... use conscious, creative joyous energy to channel it rather than fear, hatred, and destructive misunderstanding.


2.
"Carbon Offsets" - "

Carbon offsetting as part of a "carbon neutral" lifestyle has gained some appeal and momentum mainly among consumers in western countries who have become aware and concerned about the potentially negative environmental effects of energy-intensive lifestyles and economies. The Kyoto Protocol has sanctioned offsets as a way for governments and private companies to earn carbon credits which can be traded on a marketplace. The protocol established the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), which validates and measures projects to ensure they produce authentic benefits and are genuinely "additional" activities that would not otherwise have been undertaken. Organisations that have difficulty meeting their emissions quota are able to offset by buying CDM-approved Certified Emissions Reductions. The CDM encourages projects that involve, for example, sustainable power generation, changes in land use, and forestry, although not all trading countries allow their companies to buy all types of credit. (Wikipedia)

I honestly see this fabrication as a denial of the immediacy of the situation and an allowance of capitalistic consumerism to continue as usual. Reduce emissions do create a false relationship between a planted tree and the emissions generated by your coal plant or factory's chemical plumes....

I am refraining from intense vulgarities... but this whole idea is ridiculous. Somebody needs to buy some carbon offsets for the steam and natural gas rising from this pile of shit. Carbon offsets are bull.


3.
And so... we laugh, otherwise we would be holding in all the ridiculous distortions of energy we have learned to manifest. LAUGH or become a crippled being... laugh and be healed... be made whole and free and relaxed... let the energy flow through you.

I love laughter and I love the mystery of laughter... David Byrne of the Talking Heads once said, "The Universe has infinite jokes." This, to me, is yet another sign of the Universe's infinitely healing quality; there is an abundance of good and friendly qualities available to those who wish to enjoy them...

Laughter is the physical, psychic, and spiritual enjoyment of/release of any and all energies. If this isn't healing, then I don't know what else could be.

So laugh:

Orchid Time-Lapse

Orchid Time-Lapse HD from danLinfield on Vimeo.

Week 10 - Diversity of Life

1. How would you prioritize the reintroduction of the American Bison into its natural home?
2. How would you assess the "New pill promises to reduce breast cancer risk"?

1.
For me, this says it all (or most of it, anyway) :

"We recognize the bison is a symbol of our strength and unity, and that as we bring our herds back to health, we will also bring out people back to health." - Fred DuBray, Cheyenne River Sioux

For me, any return to a deeper respect and intimate relationship with of our animal ancestors would be tremendously healing, helpful, and empowering for the human beings. With this in mind, I believe that the returning of the Bison to their land and abundance is extremely important and relevant to our times and our needs.


2.
I am all for the improvement of health, freedom, body-wellness and healthy body-image. I am all for feeling good.

I am also highly suspect of ANYTHING that stops the monthly release of blood and energy that the female human body expresses. I realize that the effects of preventing the period may not be immediately or directly noticed but I would like this to stopping the release of urine or sweat, or any other substance naturally coming out of the body.

I would say that this is the MOST risky aspect of this proposed pharmaceutical chemical cocktail. Also, considering that we are finding contraceptive chemicals from the Pill and other pharmaceutical birth-control substances in our drinking water, I find it ironic to think that we would be flushing a new birth-control and anti-cancer chemical down the toilet while suffering from cancer potentially caused by, or connected with the drinking of toxic water. This new chemical - mifeopristone - is completely unknown to the human body or the natural world. How much are we going to test it? or how much has it been tested and the appropriate number of people educated about it that we can now release it publicly?? This article only offers "protective effect" and signs that the chemical, when put in contact with cancerous cells, appears to have "limited their growth". So, is this insurance enough that this pill I am going to ask you to take is safe? Are you convinced? I bet the lab rats who were given this drug aren't!

I love this woman's quotation, it reveals some amazing logic; Anna Glasier says, "The idea that not having a period is unnatural is not true. Years ago, women would be pregnant, or breastfeeding and died much earlier; we had far fewer periods."

WHAT? so what I am reading is: it isn't not natural to stop having a period indefinitely because of taking a foriegn chemical substance BECAUSE women of yore had fewer periods??

wait.

women had less periods in the past? really? because why?
because they were pregnant, breastfeeding or dying... riiiiiiiggggghhhhhhht...

Who are these people and what pill(s) are they on?

There are herbs that do the same thing aren't there? Contraception isn't some new modern wiz-technology... it's been around since before we can remember.


Here is an appropriate quotation:

"In science one tries to tell people, in such a way as to be understood by everyone, something that no one ever knew before. But in poetry, it's the exact opposite." - Paul Dirac

A Documentary - Living At the End of An Empire

Week 9 - Ecosystems & Deep Ecology

1. the "Eight-point Deep Ecology Platform" - How do I think about it?
2. Explain why ecosystems are both "strong and fragile".
3. How would you assess the "end goals" of Social Ecology?

1.
I agree with the proposed ideas but upon discussing them with my friend, we both found number 5. to be particularly narrow in it's view of the possibilities of the situation. We both felt that these points are assuming a moral stance that is basically unnecessary - "Humans have no right to reduce this richness and diversity except to satisfy vital needs" - How can we say who has or does not have a right to be or do something? Perhaps it isn't about whether or not we have a right but more about how our interconnectedness and mutual engagement with our world and ourselves reflects our view of ourselves in the world. How we are in the world becomes how are world is for us.

Also troubling is the idea that human life is required to be reduced in order for non-human life to flourish. Couldn't we alter our way of being in the world to allow for us all to enjoy abundance and health? Yes, we need to alter our lifestyles on a massive scale but I question the idea that this change also includes a reduction in our numbers.

These ideas have come out of a very Christian, god-the-great-judge view of reality that almost wants to reverse upon itself and completely punish humanity for its path. This is based on guilt and shame and quickly becomes anger, frustration, and self-righteousness. I think that these ideas have since evolved into a more egalitarian, impartial, and open view of our situation. If not, then I would hope to see people critiquing these ideas.


2.
Eco-systems are both strong and fragile:
Strong:

• dynamic living meta-systems of micro-systems that can handle fluctuation and variation
• embedded in the natural world, which is self-sustaining and highly proficient in processing materials and various forms of energy

Fragile:

• dynamic and interconnected living system in which the damaging of one element can harm the well-being of the entire system
• passive and 'help-less' systems of living and non-living beings that cannot protect themselves from massive environmental changes brought on by human activity

3.
The end goals of social ecology (in my own conception/interpretation) :

• to realign the human being within its cosmological and environmental context such that it co-exists to generate harmonious relationship; to heal
  
• to navigate the human species and the living and non-living world through the extreme disruption and change caused by human presence within the Earth-Gaia system; to steward
• to re-educate and increase awareness of the human impact on surrounding living and non-living systems; to inform
  

This is my assessment and reinterpretation of the 'endgoals of deep ecology'.

Bioenergetics - Presentation of a New Paradigm

Please enjoy a PDF version my presentation. I gratefully share the information I have gathered in the hopes of opening further and more willing discussion of the potential development of human understanding of itself and nature/reality.

Bioenergetics - the Foundation and Structure of the Human Energy Field







Notes on our class-discussion:

• On the question of whether we should use science and technologies to confirm and 'prove' our intuitive, direct, and sensitive sensual experience -
• sometimes the sensitive individual requires the intellectual observations and collection of correspondences to make 'sense' of their insights and experience
• the same is true of the reverse - an intellectual needs the sensitive's direct experience to remain in touch with the living and changing reality/world/cosmos
• Can we become reliant on the science and technological tools so much so that we lose touch with our sensitivities?
• There always seem to be an endless variation in the subjective experiences and observations;
• i.e. the different ideas about the number of chakras, their exact location and the correspondences of color, sound, emotional qualities, organ-relationship

Week 8 Assignment - Cell Biology & HIV-AIDS

1. How do you feel about Western approaches to HIV/AIDS?
2. Can TCM strengthen our Immune systems?
3. What do you think of 'the deal that saved the whales'?

1.
Well, I am not really sure how to approach such a controversial and seemingly misunderstood illness. I am inclined to think that western medical and scientific approaches are trying to attack the virus (which, supposedly has never been isolated in a lab), and/or mechanically-chemically shut off the function of the infection/virus.

Whatever works. If something is working, then great. If something is not working or works just as well as a person changing their lifestyle, the relationship to themselves and their world, and the overall strength of their bodies, then why use it? Alternatives to chemical medicine appear to be cheaper than and just as effective in limiting the extent of the virus.

2.
I asked some questions on someone else's blog:

• Can the phagocytic rate really indicate an accurate measure of immune function? does a certain number of phagocytes equal a certain level of health?
• How is this determined? Through continued observation and correlation called 'science'? Haven't peoples all over the world been making careful observations for hundreds of thousands of years? What is wrong with their observations? They seem to have success with maintaining healthy immune systems...
  
• Is 'immune function' limited to the parts of the body we call the lymphatic and blood systems? what is the immune system and how do we measure it?

I think it is interesting that in TCM we ask the patient how they feel and look to the overt signs of health or illness in order to measure 'immune function' or 'health' or 'illness' rather than rely on tests of the blood and urine and other body fluids. Does allopathic medicine really understand what healthy levels of minerals and compounds in the blood are? Is there a direct relationship between the blood and a overall health of the body? Can blood tell us the health of the immune system? the liver? the heart? the kidneys? etc. or can they only tell us how far off the standard we are?

I think that TCM, in it's root form, as an intuitive and direct-observational medicine/art is capable of assisting people in experiencing their ideal state of wellness.

I am becoming less certain of what 'health' is and less interested in specific details that allopathic medicine focuses so much on. I want to feel good and I want others to feel good too. I don't need to know what levels of phagocyte are in the blood to know how I feel.

Keep the qi flowing and eat well and eat happily... that is all that is required for me to continue.

Think about this: illness is not the cause of death; simply because you have illness at the time of death does not mean that the illness caused the death. Birth causes death more than illness does...

3.
Save everything from capitalistic globalized greed. Save ourselves... save the whales, the fish, the sand, the waters, the trees.... all of it. I love seeing that people are realizing their true relationship to one another and the space and place we live in, on and from. Greed only begets more greed, anger, resentment, isolation, and illness. Who wants any of that?

The Cosmic Serpent - Interview with Jeremy Narby on the Inborn Intelligence of Nature

Jeremy Narby wrote the Cosmic Serpent - a story of his awakening to the understanding and respect for the inborn intelligence of the natural world through experiences in the Amazon with ayahuasca-drinking shamans.

Enjoy his very interesting observations and discoveries in this article online.

Gene that Blocks HIV Found

In recent news: researchers discover a gene that blocks HIV infection in a cell culture.

The spread of the HIV is blocked, thus rendering it ineffective and seemingly harmless. Will it work in human bodies? We shall see...

and in other news...

the sky is spinning -