food parable

i thought up a metaphor to explain to the people why we does what we does.

There once was a magic house and three men who wanted to go inside. The Wise man, the first one to enter, walked straight through and opened the front door, and stepped inside. The second man, the Honest man, got to the gate, and from their followed a footpath to the back of the house where he found a backdoor. He opened it and went inside. The third man, the Ignorant man, found his own unique way- he went to the corner of the house and climbed up on the roof. From there he found a small gap that he could squeeze through and enter into one of the rooms and get to where he wanted to go.

Now how does this relate to food? Explain to us this parable! He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

Entering the house is the same as feeding our body. Not all the ways into the house are equal in health and in virtue.

The way through the front door is eating sugar as found in fruit, which is to say, as found in nature. Every cell in our body is fueled by fruit sugar. It is the easiest way, both on our bodies and on our environment, delicious and satiating by its self.

The way through the backdoor is also a generally acceptable way, though not as straightforward as fruit. It is found in the eating of cooked grains and starches, as these digest directly into sugars in the body. These foods are supplemented well with fresh raw and conservatively cooked vegetables of the non spicy or hurtful type, to make up for deficiency of alkaline minerals, vitamins and enzymes. This is the food that can be easily grown in temperate and cool climates where access to fruits is limited in wintertime.

The way through the roof, also called the Fool's Way, lies in the consumption of fatty and proteinaceous foods. As the body can convert amino and fatty acids into sugars, it still qualifies as a way into the house... but in the process you will damage the environment through the resources demanded in the production of these foods, and you will drain your body of energy and toxify it. Along with the proteins and fats themselves, you likely get saturated fats, cholesterol, acid minerals and in the process of conversion to sugars you get ketone bodies. One can be vegetarian on this diet by consuming a lot of egg and dairy. One can even be vegan by consuming lots of nuts and oils and avocados, as well as legumes if one is specifically not trying to be low carb.

Which way are you going to take?
I tell people these concepts and they still don't believe the evidence. They need more proof, they don't accept the studies I quote- it just doesn't make sense to them. Children will have an easier time with understanding and accepting this parable than adults will, who have so much to lose, and so much to be afraid of. Tell it to all the children you can! For they are such that will enter into the kingdom!

a science of health and life

Editor's note, this was posted to the Richard Dawkins discussion forum.

Let us debate a subject of great importance to me and I think our society and planet even. I want people arguing with me now. Let's take off our gloves and duke it out! I'm ready! My thesis is below:

What is health, and what is disease? At least 95 percent of all diseases are of our own making, the siamese twin co-causes, enervation and toxemia. The best 'cure' for these diseases is to live naturally and healthfully. genetic disease (which if we weren't born with, we don't have. even if our genes got later altered by xrays, that could be considered toxemia) account for only a few percentage points or less, and germs only multiply where there is good soil.. where they find a good home in a body with decaying animal flesh in the bowels, or dying cells of the body that they can feast on. then disease evolves into different stages. natural hygiene says these stages are as follows, but even if they aren't exactly so, at least NH takes a stab at it. Enervation, toxemia, irritation, inflammation, ulceration, induration (hardening) and cancer. 

How many diseases is there a name for in modern medicine? Do you think these all have separate causes or are separate things? They are largely the same disease in different locations and stages. Suppress general fatigue and you may get a cold, and suppress that maybe the flu or something, and then maybe something worse. same location (all over the body) different stage. Or indigestion (toxemia) stomach irritation, inflammation, ulcers, cancer. Same location (stomach) different stage. Or stomach cancer, bowel cancer, prostate, lung or skin cancer. same stage, different location. same "cure" for all- remove the causes of ill health, institute healthy conditions (proper diet, sufficient sun, fresh air, pure water, rest and sleep, exercise, emotional and mental and other factors, etc etc) and you will get health. 

How long will we be of two minds? If medicine is true follow it. if nature is true, follow it!

Natural Hygiene is even against the most of the theories of "alternative medicine". At best, different alternative modalities touch on one aspect of healthy living, such as emotional equilibrium. Or at least they are harmless in themselves. But at worst it teaches the same philosophy of modern medicine, namely that the substances, forces, influences and conditions (medicines, surgeries and therapies) that won't do a healthy person any good, and may do him harm, will somehow help 'cure' or bring back the sick from ill health, and that without removing the cause of disease and giving the body what it truly needs. Natural hygiene sees alternative medicine as very similar to orthodox allopathy in philosophy. Natural Hygiene is based on nature, and Hygiene in every sense of the word, mental, physical and emotional. While good external hygiene is certainly important to a degree for optimal health, inner hygiene is much more so. It's more important to clean the inside of the cup than the outside, as some people don't seem to realize in our culture. 

Germs proliferate when given a proper environment. Genes are activated and expressed based on their 'environment'. just as flies hover around a pile of garbage, but did not create such garbage, so germs do not cause the waste matter. That's a half truth, they do excrete toxic wastes, but they can't do so in a healthy body, without a habitat where they can really take hold. So it is the environment that matters most. 

Environment includes internal and external environment, because what is external becomes internal environment of the cells. It also includes the physical as well as mental and emotional. After all, is not the central nervous system affected by emotions and thoughts? Does it not alter the blood composition? Environment is all and all, but it includes mind and diet, as well as rest and sleep and exercise, and sun, and so on. 

Care for the sick in ways hygienic include removing causes and instituting needed conditions. Virtually everyone is in violation of right diet. Also there are numerous lifestyle factors that large numbers of people are in violation of. The conditions needed for health are the same among the sick as they are for the health, albeit the portion sizes differ. The sick may need less food, and need more rest. Hence, the idea of a fast. But it must be carried out properly and wisely or it can do damage. I will in no ways be held responsible for damage done to one fasting without supervision or proper planning and understanding. I myself have fasted on water, 8 days, so I have a modicum of experience, and have researched it, by reading shelton and other writers. 

I also maintain that what is healthy for our bodies, it seems by some miracle of nature, is also healthiest for the planet and ecology, and is also the most economical. And I might also add, most fun and most joyful. It has been so in my experience. I haven't missed meat once since giving it up, or milk or ice cream or egg, but that may be just me. I have more fun with food. Eating simple vegetarian food and living simply in small houses in close contact with earth certainly requires far fewer resources than big houses and meat and animal foods. This means less war because we don't have to take another person's territory. Wars have been fought over grazing rights in the past. (In the past only?). So much water is saved, so much food is saved, so much energy is saved. With better health, less money is spent in hospitals. Less money is spent on food. Now I agree in some twisted and corrupt way, it can wind up being cheaper calorically and by mass, buying junk food and cookies than fresh whole fruits and vegetables and even meat is sometimes cheaper. now this is an anomaly, partly due to subsidies and malinvestment, partly due to animal raising efficiencies, that don't take into account the welfare of animals, and perhaps partly due to other causes. But we still pay for it in terms of health and vitality. With a few exceptions, such as arctic eskimos and seafaring people without good arable soil relying on fishing, it is easier to produce vegetarian foods then flesh foods. I also think it is fun picking fruits, and I think children really appreciate this joy more than adults tend to, but adults are just big children deep down. Living the way I do and have, I have much fun camping and waking up with the sun, and hearing the birds chirping in the morning. Picking fruits and eating them straight from the tree. Communing with nature from whom I came, and basking under the sun, swimming in cool rivers and streams on a hot day, communing with friends of like mind, meditating in peace under trees, and falling asleep under the stars. What more could one want? Having camped for nigh a year, and then went back to sleeping in comfortable beds, inside I truly feel worse off physically and mentally. I sleep later, go to bed later, and don't get as rested or as much joy from it. 

Now it is easy to be confused about what our natural dietetic type is. There are few creatures that are what we are. We are neither carnivores (or even omnivores designed to eat meat) or herbivores or graminovores (eaters of grains). We are frugivores. Now we can argue about whether we (or other species of primates) eat only fruits and greens or whether they eat a little meat. We can argue are there some that only eat plants? Or do they only eat meat when fruits are scarce? But I'll concede that some maybe eat 1-5, even 10 percent from meat, to avoid a deep digression into a side issue, being the nice person I am. We see a field of grass or a golf course we do not salivate, so we are not herbivores, which most people equate with vegetarians because there is so few fruit in nature and most vegetarian creatures are this. We do not go to a pasture and salivate over the cattle. How would we even take them down without being biologically equipped for it? But we salivate over peaches and mangos. True we can't live calorically on apples and broccolli, but I would argue we can get sufficient calories from peaches, grapes, mangos, papayas, cherimoyas, guavas, citrus, figs, mulberries, jakfruit, mangosteen, durian, bananas, breadfruit, carob, persimmons, etc etc etc. now we are neither flesh eaters by nature nor grain eaters, but starches come much closer to our natural type, and I will make a case for this, because I know atkins type people say otherwise. 

every cell in our body, in the krebs cycle, is fueled by fructose or glucose. This is precisely what fruit provides. starch is a chain of interlocked glucose molecules. Carbohydrate is not an essential nutrient, but that is only because proteins and fats can be converted into sugar molecules as backup mechanism. Still it is a more energy expensive and ketone toxin producing process. Carbohydrate is the best fuel. Why Atknis people lose weight is that with no carb coming in, the body thinks it is starving and therefore burns it's body fat as a fuel. Also they are shown to eat fewer calories on average, but for that to work, they have to elimiate carbs entirely. Doctors like John McDougall get results on exactly the opposite program, all you can eat of vegan food, no animal products, and no vegetable oil and low fat (less than 10 percent by calorie). Atkins diet is known to have side effects, and there is no known ethnic group that follows a low carb and high protein and fat diet like his except the eskimos, but they also don't eat many vegetables as atkins recommends. There are many groups in the world that follow the McDougall way, and the healthiest people are the chinese and asians that are vegan or essentially so and eat low fat and high carb. The mediterranean diet is healthier than the American or British but it is not the healthiest in the world. 

Fruit, while possibly not complete in itself (though it may in fact be) is ideal because it doesn't have too much fat or protein, but comes close to meeting our needs in those nutrients. More is not necessarily better in the world of nutrition. It also is the best source of carbohydrates and sugars (can be eaten raw and uncooked, simply naturally delicious and sweet) and is high in vitamins and minerals. it is alkaline forming to the blood. Even orange and pineapple juice are alkaline, because the acids break down into carbon dioxide which does not rob the bones of calcium but is excreted by the lungs. Pasteurized milk, by contrast, is acid forming because the calcium is unusable and the sulfur containing amino acids require binding with calcium to excrete. 

But grains and starches, combined with vegetables, especially the salad greens and celeries, approximate the value of fruit, by providing the carbs, with the heavy vegetable dose of alkaline minerals. So it's a great program, especially for people living where there are winters that prevent winter fruits. But I maintain that those in the tropic countries have no need to eat starches or grains, but can get all their fuel from fruits, if they want. Either way it's not a huge deal. 

fat and water don't mix, and when we eat a lot of fat it coats and thickens the blood viscosity, and coats every molecule with a layer of grease. This is in fact the cause or a main cause of "insulin resistance" and "blood sugar metabolic disorders", as if sugar and insulin are to blame for everything. The insulin has trouble talking to the glucose and fitting into the receptor site when all are coated in grease. Blood doesn't gush as fast with a lot of fat in it, and that means oxygen gets to the cells a little slower and wastes drain away a little slower as well, which diminishes performance, whatever it is we are trying to perform- the tour de france or public speaking. 

Few diseases are actually dietary deficiency, and the only ones I think of are rectified by fruits and vegetables. Scurvy is one- rectified by fruits. Starvation is another, as is protein deficiency, which one only ever finds in starving people, as all foods (excepting oil and sugar and pure white flour) have proteins and Amino Acids in them. 

Meat travels slowly through the gut and at close to 100 degreen F, does it not begin to putrefy, and do the products of such putrefaction not enter the blood and poison it? I think it was Caldwell Essylstein, MD, but it may have been Colin Campbell, who said they can see evidence of the beginning of heart or blood disease after just one fatty meal. I do wish I could pull up the quote. If I find it I will post it. Cheese is already mostly decayed. 

Most vegetables actually aren't that appetizing to me, by the way. I generally steer right clear of onions, cabbage, mushrooms, garlic and the bitter and spicy green leaves. Most other vegetables have their uses, but tender greens are the most important to me. 

What industry tries to do and how they try to use and hijack science for their own purposes is as follows. When they have a vested interest in some food, for example, they try to prove it is a good thing to eat. When they lose on one level, they try to take it to a deeper level and confuse and deceive people. When they lose on that level, they go deeper. Let me give an illustration. Level one, the obvious, is that we are not equipped for meat eating. We don't have sharp teeth (no, our four front teeth are not sharp enough to rip and tear flesh apart). Meat eating is against most people's psychology (now here most will try to give their own exceptions, but remember you are eating cooked, seasoned meat, not eating it like animals, offal and all). Or at least killing animals is against most people's instinct or psychology, and their good taste. Our bowels are longer than omnivores and eaters of flesh so meat takes longer to travel and it can putrefy. Our saliva is alkaline not acid, or at least is when we eat naturally, and our stomach acid is of a lesser pH then meat eaters. There's more examples I'm sure. But they lose on this level, so they descend to saying we need the proteins, iron, calcium (from milk), and so on. Well people begin to realize these are deceptions as well, and what we get with protein (of inferior quality) is acidosis, osteoporosis, atherosclerosis, et ceterosis. 

People are just now waking up and realizing these are lies, so they are taking it deeper. they are saying things about carnosine and b12. Folks, this is not real science. Of course there are elements of truth in them, because propaganda cannot just be pulled out of thin air, as chomsky says. but it is half truth at best.. maybe only a quarter truth. I should not have to explain things like b12 as proof of our natural diet, because the obvious should speak for itself, and in a way, industry is winning if we have to descend such, but I will. Meat eaters suffer as much as b12 deficiency as vegans, even though they say b12 is not found in plant foods. But there is a bacteria in our gut that produces this nutrient, which we can absorb. When we eat a high fat, low carb diet, it is a double whammy against us, because the bacteria in question eats sugar as it's food. on a low carb diet there is not enough sugar in the blood and the colony size decreases, so less b12 is produced. the double whammy comes when fat coats all the molecules and receptor sites, making them harder to absorb. This pernicious anemia is what I call a toxemia based malabsorption deficiency disease, not a pure dietary deficiency disease as they would have you believe. 

I'm not here to judge people's ways, but to bear witness to what i see as truth. I want people to debate with me. I don't want believers, but thinkers. Think about what I say and look into it yourself. 

If you follow the conditions of health you will certainly become healthier. How do I have that confidence? An alcoholic with liver problems walks into the doctor, and the doctor tells him to stop drinking. He will certainly get better, yes? A smoker with lung problems goes to the same doctor who tells him to stop smoking. But an obese man who has already had a few heart attacks goes to the same doctor and is given medicine, not told what to eat or how to live. What is with this? But if he adopts a low fat and plant rich diet, will he not at least improve? In 100 percent of the cases, there will be improvement. When we forsake the harmful for the helpful, we will see improvement. 

I am interested in causes. I am interested in Roots. I am interested in the Laws of life, in a science of life. In a society based not around machines or money, but around human needs and accommodating to them. 

I need help. I want to be a spokesman. I want to be a prophet of health. I do not want or care to be famous, except in as much as more people will get to hear the message I have to share. Right now I am just an anonymous person, but I want to make a difference. 

We are all responsible for our lives, to the extent we have the knowledge and the power. In the past we didn't know, so we can be forgiven. But when we realize what is true, then there is no excuse left to make, no 'cover for our sins'. There is the least guilt among the ignorant, more guilt among the knowing, and the most guilt among those who willfully deceive others. 

Stimulants like coffee or nicotine do not give energy. This is an illusion. They take energy from the system. we don't see any show and sound when a battery is charging, but we see when the energy is being spent. When you take red bull and you are hyped up, this is energy being spent- precious energy. the natural substitute for caffeine is not tea, but is sleep. i see parallels in this regarding how the US government is trying to 'fix' the economy. And yes I know where our money supply originates. I am something of a political and economic libertarian. And in the economy of the body, stimulants don't give. they take. When we do need a natural "kick", in the case of an emergency, well, that is what our adrenals are for. 

Does eating too much sugar cause candida? No. Candida is present in every human. It is live saving when the blood sugar levels get too high. Candida organisms have a short life span. They die after several hours. I hear of people 'fighting' candida for years. It should only take a day or two. They bloom when there is too much sugar in the blood, but this is caused by too much fat, so that insulin can't work. Type two (and even type one) diabetics, listen up. Your insulin can work efficiently. It is at least worth a try, isn't it? 

Are we all of different types- pitta and kapha and blood type D or A or whatever, or fast metablic or slow? No, but we are all of different types- carnivores, herbivores, frugivores, and every human is of the same type, and needs the same kinds of foods. Among the foods of a kind, there is room for variety, and one may be allergic to certain things. 

Natural Hygiene has identified and listed some 21 or so factors that are responsible for health and needed by the living organism. Of course the number depends on definitions and classifications. They are such things as 

natural wholesome food (and they have conditions that identify a food as wholesome), pure water, fresh air, sufficient exposure to sun, exercise and motion, rest and sleep, internal and external cleanliness, emotional poise, nurturing relationships, positive outlook, human touch, sense of humor, sense of community, gregariousness, freedom from harm, etc etc. health is as strong as the weakest link. If these things seem obvious, and they are, then why are they neglected? So many people 'know' sun is important, yet don't get enough, even in the height of summer, even though it's the simplest thing. So these are the 'elusive obvious'. Of course we know pure air is important, yet we foul our air at every step and then smoke cigarettes. So don't criticize this list for being so obvious, unless you apply them in your daily life.

It is also worth noting that Natural Hygiene had (I believe, though I could perhaps be wrong) an atheist, a more or less agnostic, and an evangelical christian all in high ranks. They all can agree that life is based on Law and Principle, and they all got along with each other, more or less. What a miracle! 

I have said a lot. i will put this on my blog also. it is good, and fairly complete. I think I may have missed a few points I wanted to get in there, but if so, they are probably minor ones. 

I'll end with a thought. There can be no freedom from the law. There is only freedom through the law.

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how to make an ideal world

Here are my thoughts on how to make the world a great place, a perfect place even to the extent that is humanly possible. Will it happen on this earth? Well I am an optimist, but I'm not naive. Still it helps to know what to do, and have a vision and a target to aim for, and ways and means and strategies and things to work for. Also one can improve one's personal life if not the life of our collective citizens.

The ways to make it better fall into two categories.. what individuals can do, and what states should do to make things better. I'm going to be brief and not spend so many words explaning the details of each because this is just an overview and list.

Things to do personally
1. become a more conscious, wiser, and nonviolent consumer, for the planet and for exploited workers
2. life healthyfully and adopt a low impact and nutrient rich vegan diet.
3. Think positive and be friendly and helpful and loving and wise and as virtuous as possible to the world and it's inhabitants

If everyone was as such, or in that direction, this world I believe would be a Garden Paradise and a Wonderful Society, in harmony with everything from Trees and Bees and Flora and Fauna.

But besides the individual, what should an ideal State look like? What should Government be and do?

While I believe in God and that His/Her Heavenly Kingdoms are examples of perfect and ideal governments, I am assuming He doesn't intervene in Human Affairs much here on Earth (despite what is written in the Old Testament), and wants us to do our best largely on our own .. for two reasons. First, SHe wants to preserve free will for those who don't believe in His existence and it is their world to govern and decide the fate of, too. And secondly, He wants us to grow and learn things, even if it means learning things the hard way. She is entrusting us with capital (the golden talents) that SHe expects a return of investment on. The harvest is great but the workers are few. And like a good parent, He does not intend to stifle or delay our develpoment by telling us what to do all the time, but by letting us figure things out, and even if little disasters come as a resut. We are created in God's image and have the conscience that He made for us as a guide, even for atheists.

So what would an ideal Human State look like?

The government that governs least, governs best.

1. Constitutionality. The constitution is not perfect but it is one of the best political documents so far created. A 'living constitution' is a dead constitution because the governments can interpret it as they will, and it loses meaning. If changes need to be made they can do it through the amendment process. It's good to have a constitution that limits and defines what Governments can and can't do. the one we have now is quite nice and will suffice, in my view. Now we just have to start following it.

2. Money. Abolish the Federal Reserve. This will help the economy for three reasons. The Central Bank called the Federal Reserve is neither federal nor an actual reserve. Is a private or quasi private organization (business) which has a profit motive and private ownership. And yet we give them great power and limited oversight. The Fed prints our money, lending it at interest to us. Yes, you read it right. We are a debt based money system. By definition and right from the get go, we are in debt and must make interst payments, just for something the government could do on its own. By definition there is more debt than money in circulation, so in actuality, it can never be paid off? The money we use to service this debt and interest comes from taxpayers and goes into the hands of private individuals. Money is siphoned away from other possible projects, into simply paying off debt.

A Central Bank such as the Federal Reserve, is probably the worst thing that can happen to an economy. However "Free Market" we are otherwise, if the money supply is manipulated, the free market is manipulated, at it's very core. This causes bubbles and crashes, and it causes inflation and hyperinflation, devaluation of our currency, which hits the poor and middle classes the hardest. Here's how it works:

In a free market, interest rates (cost of borrowing money) naturally fluctuate, based on various causes, such as the savings rate and how much money is avaible for spending. When the interest rates on borrowing money get high, people and companies stop investing in long term things, because it no longer becomes profitable. The economy may slow down, and while it might be better if the economy was naturally was moving faster, it is not correct to make the economy artificially go fast. This is what the Fed tries to make happen by printing more money and lending it to banks. Where do they get their money? Not from anywhere, only from their imaginations. They simply print it, like you print a document on your computer. When the money supply so increases, unnaturally, interst rates fall, unnaturally, and people are led to invest in things that are even still not wise to invest in, because the signals that tell us what to do in a free market are distorted and messed up at a very core and fundamental level. this leads to mal-investment, which leads to a market bubble, which naturally leads to a burst and collapse and subsequent depression. The Fed bills itself as one who will take us out of depression, but they only prolong it. It is something like taking stimulants, coffee, red bull, etc to get energy. It only actually comes at the expense of energy. It actually makes a draught on our remaining energy and we are worse in the long run. Let the market correct itself, even if it feels painful, like getting over a hangover. It has to happen so face it like a grown up.

Not only these things invariably happen, but more money in circulation devalues currency, causing prices to rise. This hits the poor the harest and benefits the rich, because of the order in which money moves. The rich bankers and businesses get the extra printed money first, before prices have risen, so they get a double windfall. Then, consumer prices rise on goods and services. Lastly we see wages increase. Rent and food prices goes up before your paycheck, and that hurts. this is well documented but kept hush hush. It is why inflation is a silent tax on the poor and middle class. Also, inflation hurts those who are no longer working who have their money put aside in investments or savings. Their investments must grow at whatever the inflationary rate is, just to be tredding water.

If money just kepts getting printed, if the fed keeps increasing the money supply, and if the bad investments and the inflation that inevitably follow keep happening, what could happen, and what has happened in many parts of hte world, becomes more and more likely. People begin to lose confidence in the value of the currency and hyperinflation occurs, where the currency becomes almost totally worthless. It is not backed by anything but our faith in government. While it may just be that that is enough of a thing to back it if we keep the supply constant, or at least modest, in keeping with economic growth, if we keep printing money it can spiral out of control and become worthless paper. When this happens, like it has elsewhere, in germany, mexico and brazil and other places, it happens suddenly, fast and furious. Confidence in the dollar collapses, and rightly so, and all one's savings and investments are wiped out.

No matter how free our market is economically, so long as we have a Central Bank like the Fed which manipulates money supply, we Definitely do not have a free market.

What I just wrote about is a particular theory of economics called the Austrian School, which is very libertarian, and good information can be found at http://mises.org/. It makes at least to me more sense than any other system, definitely more than the one we are currently practicing right now, Central Planning. It makes as much sense economically as Natural Hygiene does in terms of Health and Healing. This does not mean there can't be at least some government spending or entitlements. In fact I support basic welfare that no one be hungry or homeless. Also I support a gradual transition from things like social security and medicare because people have been brought up in them and are depending on them.

The apologists for the current system would have you believe one or a few men know more about how much money should be in circulation than the market itself does, and they can set the levels. The invisible hand can't work because someone knifed it to the table, like they did on the godfather. Without the Fed, I believe we would have no inflation at all, or very little, or perhaps even deflation occasionally (prices dropping). Keeping the money supply constant does not strangle the economy or keep it from growing as fast as it could. That's like increasing the blood supply. Only disaster can result. I believe we would have sustainable growth, with no real or no real serious crashes. After all, trees keep growing year after year. I don't beleive we necessarily need economic downturns, provided we save, be frugal and invest wisely and sustainably.

The word "economy" used to mean how much money one saves and how thrify one is. Now it means the reverse, how big the economy is is how much money is spent, not saved. Is it not obvious that this kind of thinking will lead to disaster? The measure of economy values plastic barbie dolls for two dollars and fifty cents as good for the economy as the same value of food, or tools, or something useful.

Enough about that.

3. Social Freedoms. God is not a dictator. In fact, quite the opposite, he lets us even do what will harm us, if we so decide. So is our government greater than God, to have the authority to make laws that intrude on our way of living. Certain things have disasterous consequences, which I'm not even sure are unintended.

3a. The war on drugs, for example, supports druglords and organized crime and violence. Criminalizing drugs also puts those in prison who have hurt none but themselves. this is both costly and inhumane to our nation and a disgrace. I agree with those who say drugs are awful things, but laws against them are moreso in my view. So long as what one does doesn't hurt or violate other people's rights, it is permitted.

3b. An exception to the rule.. sort of. Abortion is an exception to personal liberty, not because I want to take away a women's choice and freedom, but because I think the developing child is someone to whom the government must extend their protection of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness to. Barring that, women can do what they like to themselves. I would like to extend the government protection to animals such as livestock also, and not allow meat eating, based on the same principle, but I think that is a bit idealistic. Once more, I am not interested in telling people how to live or what to eat or do. I am simply protecting the creatures of the country from those who would rob them of their rights and life, be they human, animal or unborn. Not to dictate what people eat. Yet I know people would talk about how animals kill other animals, so I would outlaw humans from killing, and the eating of flesh. But it's not easy to go that far.. and I doubt any actual government could.

5. I support basic level of welfare to the extent states can afford it, to provide for food and basic accomodation. Beyond this, the government doesn't do so much spending or have many social programs.

6. Certain things the government must do and cannot (or perhaps cannot) be outsourced into the private sector, such as policing, printing of money, a military (if we even have one), etc. These things remain the core of government spending. the rest can be left to the private sector.

7. Speaking of the private sector, and corporations.. we abolish corporate personhood, where it has the rights of a flesh and bone citizen, and none of the responsibilities or limitations. We hold those who own the corporations as welll as their management and staff responsible for their actions and their crimes. We force them to eat their externalities, like pollution of the environment, like using our military at our expense to keep the oil flowing. We regulate their scope and function. If people want businesses, they can make companies that are not recognized as individuals in themselves. We can't let "entities" face charges on behalf of the flesh and blood people who own and run these entities. That is a violation of justice and truth. If people don't want to be personally liable for their businesses, that is too bad. They can't have their cake and eat it too. If they don't want to be sued, they better not do anything that they could be sued for. Of course we must end awarding big settlements to people with frivilous claims, which might make honest people afraid of even walking out the door.

10. Foreing policy will be one of diplomacy, trade and friendship. We will not force others, with weapons, to be like us. If we want the world to be democratice, we must set a high standard and induce them to emulate us for our righteousness. Not through force, which is caosting us dearly, financially as well as our losing Goodwill and breeding terrorists through our intervention and blowback. We will not be isolationist. We will trade and extend friendships and diplomacy. We will simply not be fighters, except for self-defense, and we will avoid international entanglements.

11. The federal government, as per the constitution, cannot make laws that it is not in it's power to be made. If the states want to, and they have the power, then they can. Otherwise these powers are reserved for the people, at Local Levels. We live in a local level type of system, at least on paper. But in practice we are becoming Centralized. I prefer not to use the words "communist" or "capitalist" for what we are becoming, because those words don't really have meaning anymore. What we are becoming is Centralist and Statist.

Germs, Genes, Health and Half Truths

Germs do not cause disease, nor do Genes, aside from those few percent of people or less who are born with genetic defects (and you know who you are). They are both bits of propoganda, and as such must be based on half truths, for propganda cannot be pulled straight out of thin air.

Germs require adequate soil to prosper. Such soil includes fiberless and difficult to digest foods that take a long time in transit through the body and bowels, such as animal flesh and animal foods, cheeses and other factory foods. Soil can also include dead and dying cellular material and tissues and metabolic wastes. Did you ever stop to think germs have a positive role to play in the body, as agents of waste disposal and breakdown- as janitors, in other words? In any case, even the nasty ones require adequate soil, and how can they overwhelm and take down healthy cells and a healthy immune system?

Many of the problematic germs are right now in our bloodstreams, in the blood of all or virtually all of us. We are not affected by them because they are not out of balance. They are not out of balance because we have not created the conditions for them to be.

Just as flies swarm around a pile of manure or rotting fruit, that does not mean they caused the pile of waste. In the same way they swarm around the disease areas of the body, which are high in waste- the waste of dying and dead cells. This is the relationship that germs have to disease. Often they are doing the job of clean up.

Yes, if we ingest the accumulated waste of the germs, bacteria or fungi, as in the form of alcohol or aceitic acid (vinegar) or botulism, we will be poisoned, but it is only because we created the conditions for them to thrive, be that inside or be that outside of our bodies at a distillery.

There may be exceptions to this general rule but I'm not aware of them.

In order to be well then, and safe, I advocate hygiene. Most of the hygiene I advocate is internal. That matters more. Cleaning the inside of the cup is more important than the outside because that's the part you drink from. I'm not referring to washing your dishes, but to keeping your inner body clean, your bowels and blood, more than your skin, with diet and lifestyle. In terms of outer hygiene I think that basic hygiene is enough for basic actions. If we can't see or smell anything nasty on our bodies and surfaces, then it is probalby good enough if we are eating or shaking hands. Water is generally enough as a cleansing agent. in fact, I am wary of toothpaste. It even acknowledges on it's box that it is a deadly poison if swallowed. For extraordinary jobs like childbirth and surgery, one might need a higher level of hygiene, just to be safe, but look in nature! No animal seems to have as much a problem with childbirth as humans. They can give birth in dirt and conditions that would be unbelievable to us.

As far as genes, when it comes to diseases like heart disease and obesity, it is not so much what gene is present, but what is expressed based on lifestyle and environment and overall vitality and toxicosis. Most all diseases are but one disease of toxemia and enervation at different stages and in different locations in the body, and the symptoms, which we try suppress are actually the healing processes of the body. So for example, stomach cancer and bowel cancer and lung cancer and skin cancer are the same stages of toxemia but in different locations in the body, whereas indigestion, acid reflux, stomach ulcers and stomach cancer are the same location but different stages of disease. Why can't doctors acknowledge this? Natural hygiene talks about seven stages, and while they might not be perfectly accurate it is a good starting point. From enervation and toxemia, which are two sides of the same coin really, as it requires energy to detox, and toxins occasion energy loss in order to be evacuated, we come to irritation, inflammation to expand the surface area of the affected area in order to affect healing and get more blood to the region. From inflammation we get to ulceration and to induration (or is it reverse?). Ulceration seeks to make an opening for toxins to leave the affected area of the body through openings in the walls of tissue. the last stage is cancer, where the war has been lost on the cellular level, though as far as the organism is concerned, it can go into remission (go away) as soon as causes are removed and needs of the body and mind start getting met, which is generally within everyone's power, to the extent irriversable damage has not been done.

We all have genes to allow for diseases (symptoms) and that is good, for these symptoms are means for dealing with underlying toxemia, which is a good thing, which keeps us alive, rather than dead! Would you have this any other way? I would not! But everyone in my family was obese, or had a heart attack, or got caner! Well you also learned how to live by imitating your family, following their same diet, their same mindset and consciousness, and expectation for the future. First generation Japanese in Hawaii showed no signs of western diseases, unlike the second and third generations, which got progressively worse. Diet is the main cause, and a high carb low fat vegan diet is best. that said, other lifestyle factors are important, but diet is by far the main thing.

The bad thing about germs and genes as being primary causes of disease is that it disempowers people who believe in them. Perhaps that's why people like to believe these theories, because then they don't have to take responsibility for their lives! And the medical people like it because it gives them business, and a way to 'treat' people. Of course there treatment guarantees a return trip months later. I always marvelled that some people never go to the doctor and some must go regularily. Now I understand.

You get the common cold, you suppress it with meds, and it comes back later as influenza. You suppress that and it comes back as something worse, some autoimmune disease or AIDS or something. You suppress heartburn it comes back as ulcers. suppress that, it will come back as cancer. On top of this, you must pay the devil.. ahem, i mean the doctor his due. I'm sorry folks, it's a joke. I'm not bitter or angry, just trying to be funny.

Be free. Take responsibility for your life. Go vegan, Go low fat high carb, high fruit, high vegetables, large percentage of raw. Get sufficient exercize, rest and sleep and recovery, be drug free, gain emotional poise, nurturing relationships and nature exposure. But mostly and first of all, diet. Eliminate the gross elements of your diet. Start with the low hanging fruit first, those changes which are easiest, as long as they are signifigant and not superficial. It's not my life. I like my life and I'm content. Are you?

I tried that ONE vegetarian way

I hear or read about people trying 'vegetarianism', but that's impossible. It's impossible because vegetarianism is diverse. It is as diverse as just about anything. Vegetarianism is high fat or low fat, high carb or low carb, lacto-ovo or pure vegan, processed or whole, fresh and organic, raw veganism or cooked vegan or vegetarianism, and even more choices than this, and that is not even getting into lifestyle as a component of health and wellbeing, such as sufficient rest, sunshine and play.

So you tried vegetarianism, yeah? No, you have to constantly experiment with dietetics, like Mahatma Gandhi. Each piece of the puzzle is separate. Vegetarianism is not a piece. It is a category that includes many pieces, some good and some bad. Salt is vegetarian, but it is also poisonous. Don't believe me, drink saltwater.

If vegetarianism didn't work for you, the way you tried it, does it necessarilly follow that flesh is essential, or could it mean you simply haven't found the optimal way to eat a vegetarian fare. Constant study and experimentation is what is required. I only want people to be free.

I'm nobody's dictator. I do what I do not to be master, but to bear witness to the truth as I see it, to be of service to those in poor health, and also to be a defender of the defenseless (the animals).. but I am not a dictator.

Nor am I a dogmatist. if you can overcome my objections to flesh eating and other such things on scientific and rational grounds, I will then change my mind about the whole thing. I don't see that as being very likely, because I think this is the way, based on so many seemingly certain self evident truths, but it is an open invitation nonetheless. The questions I have are many, and they deserve their separate article for another day. But if you are wondering, they are based on everything from comparative anatomy to digestive and general physiology, to nutrition, psychology, economics, ecology and compassion. I can find no good reason to eat fleshmeats, except for those very very rare circumstances when one is truly starving and there's absolutely no other option, which lets face it, is not good justification for eating meat when we have other options.

The last thing I am also not is one who seeks to bind people with guilt. Ignorance of the Law indeed IS a good excuse. But fear not the lightbringer simply because he robs you of your innocence. Such person wants you to "have life, and have it in abundance." Those who are ignorant are the least guilty. Those who know better have guilt. Those who willfully deceieve others are the most guilty. But the olive branch of forgiveness is available to all who repent upon receiving the light and from then on abide as best they can in truth.

A digression- NVC and various needs

I would like to introduce you to a process and model of communication that doesn't relate at all to food or exercise but which I feel is equally important to health. It is called Non Violent Communication, or also Compassionate Communication. It was developed by a man named Marshall Rosenberg who for any who are impressed by credentials is a ph.d. and I think a practicing or ex-practicing psychiatrist, or is it psychologist. one of the two.

it is a communication based on a certain way of speaking= observing things without evaluating or judging things (which we so easily do unconsciously without even realizing it), identifying feelings in ourselves and the other, and identifying the needs back of the feelings when there are unmet needs, and then learning to create strategies and make requests (and not demands) based on these needs. it should be indicated that according to this model, all "good" feelings indicate human needs being met, and all "bad" feelings are feelings that indicate certain needs aren't being met. And they make up a list on their website (cnvc.org) of basic human needs, feelings where your needs arem't being met, and feelings where they are. Here are some examples- I feel tired because my need for sleep isn't being met. I feel refreshed because my need for rest and sleep has been met. I feel irritated because my need for respect is not being met. I feel happy because my need for connection is being met. A list of kind of category of needs might be as follows: need for connection, for expression, for play and fun, for learning and growth, for autonomy, and of course the physical needs. For hygiene to be a true science of health, I think it would have to include all these non physical needs, and I don't think there is any better explicit form of communication than NVC. Incidentally, marshall has found that some tribes speak what he considers perfect nvc, without ever having taken the course. Indeed, one doesn't have to unlearn what one has never had drummed into them to begin with. Feelings on the one side include happiness, bliss, contentment, pleasure, joy, energy, ca;m, comfort, euphoria, and satisfaction. Feelings on the other side include irritation, tiredness, frustration, pain, discomfort, agony, sadness, etc. If one can't think of the exact feeling, they can always be more general and say hey are feeling 'good' or feeling 'bad'. That is accurate although not very specific, but it is a start, and means a need is or isn't being met. And health is about meeting all one's needs.

Furthermore, we have no right to expect others to meet our needs, even if they are our own children ro parents, or spouses or whatever. We may have a legal right in certain instances of course, and parents should feed and take care of their children until they can take care of themselves. But don't get too focused on details. My point is that we cannot demand anything of anyone else- this is a critical principle of nvc to understand. We cannot justifiably demand anything of anyone else even if they are our marriage partner. We can only request, really- and all requests should for greatest effectiveness be in what marshall calls positive action language- that is definite things the other can do. Demands are discouraged in nvc. what marks the difference between a request and a demand is not what is said or even how it is said, but actually what follows when a person to whom a request was made doesn't agree. For example- someone might 'request' so another to take out the garbage by saying please and speaking in low volume. But if the one to whom the 'request' is directed says that they cannot or will not, and the requester then says- well then you are grounded for the rest of the day- or says you lose car privileges for the week, then in fact it was a demand. One can never know if a request is an actual request or demand until after the fact. We have no right to expect others to meet our needs even if we make polite requests, even though many people seem to think we have such a right. I think if they really thought through with it, they would realize the absurdity of their position.

Also NVC distinguishes between thoughts and feelings. A feeling is not usual more than one word- so if someone is pressed for their feeling and they say they feel that they are not being heard- or if they just start off with the word "that"- such as "I feel that ___" it is not a true feeling but a thought. In fact most feelings reveal vulnerability, and that is the very reason why people seldom reveal them- but it's actually a way to help the other empathize with you, by revealing what you are feeling- I have found. It may not be an easy process at times, but I think it is the best process all around. Even such a line as "i feel unheard"- that too is not a feeling. A real feeling would be such as "I feel irritated" because my need to be understood is not being met. Well then when you take what we just talked about and put it together with this- namely that people are under no obligation to meet YOUR needs (though many do because I really feel it is human to be altruistic and to give from the heart) then you realize that the other person is under no obligation to understand the thoughts and feelings in your head and heart, and you either have to go find someone else who will meet those needs or else fuggitaboutit. Such a one as in the example would feel irritated, but one person you always have to empathize with is yourself, as well as with god and goddess above. In fact a genuine connection I think with any given human being is always a pleasant and beautiful experience. If someone doesn't want to connect though they can, it's usually their loss, though what I will talk about now will reveal why people don't always connect.

It's hard to empathize with someone (to understand where they are coming from and really connect to their feelings and needs) when you yourself need empathy. When two people need empathy at the same time, it can be really hard for anyone to get any, depending on the situation. This is where patience ends and yelling begins in domestic situations. One might have to empathize with someone layer upon layer of emotion and feeling and need, and when one is finally done and reached rock bottom and the person is totally understood and happy from all that was their from all the months and years in the past- still, that person is under no obligation to empathize with you in return, under no obligation to reciprocate- though I can say this- givers get, and the giver gains, and I can also say that it would be easier, and would now be more possible for the other to do so after they have been heard. it's just the basic principle- put the other first, if you can, and you'll get back what you need in time, although only do this if you can still be 'true' to yourself- happy if you never receive what you think you deserve from the other. Your first duty is to yourself, as shakespeare said- be true to yourself and it must certainly follow, as night the day, that thou canst not be false to any man. If you can be true to yourself, and yet still put the other first, then I would say you are in a pretty good place.

You can probably see if you've followed along closely that NVC has a lot in common with health and natural hygiene. No it doesn't talk about raw foods or vegetarianism, but it talks about meeting human needs in general, including physical needs. Hygienists could talk more about the non-physical needs in my view, though I have a lot more hygiene books to read. But in my view you can't separate emotional and mental and spiritual health from health overall- you can't even separate emotional health from digestion! The two are linked.

Two needs of mine I think often go unmet particularily around my mother are the needs for autonomy and respect. That does not mean she doesn't respect me but my need for respect isn't met. I think that if anyone takes anyone else's time, they should first request the person's time and not just assume it's their right. People in my view need to be more mindful of their communication, and that's why I wrote this post.

nutrition and fullfillment

Marshall Rosenberg, developer of Non Violent Communication, says fullfillment is the purpose of life, not happiness, meaning we are to experience all the emotions in their appropriate times as we meet the needs behind the negative emotions that aren't currently being met. Nutrition is one such need.

Listening to Alan Watts on tape today for the first time, I heard him talk about animals and people, when their needs are met, they are fullfilled, they are content to do nothing but be in nature, lay around, contemplate existence and relax, whatever. Well, supposing that my thesis is correct- that if one is not nourished, one will never have true fullfillment or the joy that ultimately arises, and supposing that most americans and most modern people are severely malnourished and over-toxified by the foods they eat and the lifestyle they live, then they will not find peace of mind or contentment or fullfillment, and it also explains why they go on to seek peace, seek fullfillment, seek satiation in all sorts of different ways, but never find it.

So basically if you eat more fruit, you won't feel as much of a need to even chase riches and work yourself to ill health, since fruit satisfies our nutrient needs and that leads to peace of mind. That is essentially what I am saying, except I would also add that one can do creative work that one enjoys and this doesn't apply. Also, nutrition is more than just food and what you eat. Also, nutrition is only one of the factors that lead to fullfillment, peace of mindbody, contentment and so on. But What does lead to peace of mindbody and fullfillment is having All of one's needs met, and basically that is what Hygiene is about, and that is what Health is about, and that is what Non Violent Communication is about. And believe you me, when your needs are met, even temporarily, that is when you come to experience the highest happiness, the highest health, and the highest peace of mindbody.

Nutrition is more than just food. Nutrition is actually the sum total of all the body-mind processes that go into nourishing and building up our bodies, releasing and receieving energy, and eliminating the wastes. Nutrition is as much dependent on lifestyle factors as it is on food factors. In Hygiene they would say- your overall nutrition is as strong as it's weakest link. This is an empowering attitude as we can all, even the best of us, work on improving on our weak links. Not getting enough rest might be a link or factor, for example. Over-eating may be one. Eating when upset might be one, or eating when not hungry. Not getting enough exercise is one. Undereating produce or fruits is certainly one link, but they are all inter-dependent, you see. Poor food combining, wrong and toxic foods, negative thoughts and attitudes, impurities in the water and air, etc. There are many such factors that one has to live up to, and that is why some call it the 'straight and narrow', but it is also the path of joy, and ultimately, to walk this path, all we have to do is listen to our own bodies, as they give us a tremendous number of clues. Back of every feeling is a need being met or unmet. A negative feeling, like tiredness, for example, is a need not being met. The need not being met may be for rest.. it may also be for resolution with another, for before one can fall asleep one sometimes needs such resolution. A positive feeling indicated our needs are essentially all being met. Joy arises from our needs being met. I suggest empathizing with our feelings and being conscious of our needs, whatever they are, positive or negative. I suggest enjoying our positive feelings, and accepting our negative feelings, and fully feeling them. Negative feelings are to be accepted, and listened to, and learned from- to learn what needs are not being met so the negative feelings can transform into positive ones as we come to meet the needs through various strategies and techniques. Negative thoughts are a different matter. When it comes to our feelings, we want pure positivity. One can control one's thoughts, I understand, whereas one's feelings arise from within in response to one's lifestyle, as one has sown in the past.

As one becomes more and more fullfilled in life, I feel it inevitably takes them to hygiene.. and they become fullfilled as they live hygiene. But to put it in words that are simpler and more obvious about what it is about.. and to answer the question of how one might spend one's time in this lifestyle, here is my response, from what arises from my thoughts. Fruit and nature. Indeed, with my friends we have gone fruit foraging and picking eating to our heart's content of fruit right off the trees or vines- mulberries, strawberries, sapotes, and I hope to soon enjoy an unlimited supply of fresh tree ripened figs, etc. Even if you buy at the store or market, fruit is a large part of the game. The second part is being in nature, being down by the river, or by the redwood forest, or by the beach, or at the lake, or in the garden. I feel just eating lots of fruit and being in nature gets one to fullfillment and nutrition and how to spend one's time. One does not have to "struggle" for success. Furthermore, this lifestyle does not harm the planet. Have faith that this lifestyle can be lived. Even the most hard-cored city slicker, meat eater, chief executive, or military man or government person or what ever, who never retreats to nature (and I know many of you all do retreat to nature at your first opportunity and are just doing these jobs to make ends meet), can come to live this lifestyle in joy. In fact, to make ends meet looks like a need. Money is actually not a need, rosenberg says. What is it then? A strategy to meet needs. What do humans really need more than anything? Well they need food and nature, basically. All things are essentially free in nature. I am not saying get rid of money. I am just saying, recognize at all times and be fully conscious that money is a strategy for needs, and then to become conscious of what these needs behind money are- food and shelter basically. well what about my schooling, or my child's schooling? Well again, schooling is only a strategy. What are the needs? And it's amazing to realize we do not need the medical system for healing. That is only a strategy and a bad one at that, in my opinion. Fruit and nature and fasting is a better strategy for health creation and maintenance, in my opinion. Again, if you are feeling restless and agitated, consider that it is because your needs of nutrition are not being met. It could be other needs, but consider that nutrition is one need not being met, and remember that nutrition is not just food but the sum total of all physical processes. And then I think you will not feel restless anymore. You will be 'cured' of 'restlessness disorder' as one might say. By the way, the psychologiests have a name for a disorder of not caring what you eat and eating anything and everything, but they also have a name for a disorder for caring too much. well what is the happy medium? Well it is whatever they say it is, after they bill you for their services. Personally I feel one can't care too much about one's health or what one eats. It is one's greatest asset, really.

After I find myself satiated from having gorged on the most delicious of fruit when I am fortunate to have found or acquired some, I think about what to do next. Going to the river is my usual choice if I don't need to work to create wealth or money as a strategy. But this is because of where I live now. When I move, it may be going to the lake. Or it may be going to the forest. But water usually factors in. Also taking off one's clothes usually factors in.. after all, it's great to expose the skin. It's only skin. the parts people cover up over shame or fear are the very parts that create and sustain life.. the reproductive parts. Is that wise to create and reinforce shame and fear over the parts of our selves that are responsible for creating life? We should, in my view, be ashamed about taking life, not about creating life, though we should only create life responsibly. But we should be ashamed of weaponry, and the military, and brainwash education. Do you know how good the air and the sun and the wind and water feels on the exposed skin? No I doubt most of you do, and that is why you are not as interested in this as me. Anyway around town I wear simple, loose fitting clothing, as I suggest to you for health and pleasure.

And does one get bored just being in nature always? Heavens no! Nature is full of colors and distinctions and life-forms so much more than any office building or television. I would reverse the question and ask.. do you not get bored in such urban and suburban settings? Do you not get bored with the artificial? I do not get bored by the natural, certainly not, especially when my nutrition needs are met. Someone said, and I believe it now, that we get bored not for want of things to do, but when we are somehow prevented from doing the things what we want.. especially when the prevention comes from someone or something we are annoyed with or disagree with in spirit. When a parent prevents a child from doing what he or she wants and the child doesn't understand why.. then and only then comes boredom. But you notice, do children ever get bored? Not until they start to get older, start to get into habits and programs of modern human culture. Let the child play inside your heart today! Heavens no, I do not get bored gorging on the long black pakistani variety mulberries or laying by the running cool river with full exposure to sun with friends and cohorts on a hot summer day. And my fears start to disappear and dissipate. And my joys start to arise out of the ashes and scars of the past, like a great phoenix being reborn.

So I end with this- be ye nourished (study hygiene to know how) and be ye fullfilled. Be ye happy and blissed, satiated and contented, and essentially all peaced out by life.