Sudha Hamilton

Sacred Chef Cooking School on the sunshine coast.

Blog Posts, Cooking, Cultural Issues, parenting, Reality, Uncategorized

Why We Eat What We Eat

As a cooking teacher, who regularly meets people through my cooking classes, here on the sunshine coast, I get to see what a cross-section of society likes to eat and feels comfortable with on their plate. It is interesting to observe shared traits amongst the groups of people, who pass through my cooking school, and it gets me thinking about the whys and why nots. I wonder why most of us tend to eat from a similarly small selection of meals, despite the fact that we now have available in our supermarkets a far greater choice of ingredients than ever before. I think about what food represents, in terms of its psychological ramifications within our lives, and whether these settings can be adjusted.

It seems to me that many of us retain attitudes towards foods, which were garnered in the family home when we were children; and that the apple generally falls close to the tree. If mum and dad liked certain foods and cooked these foods more often, then for many people these influences remain strong throughout their adult lives. A bit like the children, who upon leaving the nest, build their own homes in the same street, suburb or town as mum and dad, keeping extended family close. Food like shelter is a primal need and is intimately tied up with our notion of emotional security.

As we expand the concept of family outwards and it becomes our cultural heritage, food choices again are inextricably linked to our regional and national identities. Here in Australia we can celebrate the rich diversity of our many multicultural strands and this happens most often through experiencing the foods and culinary dishes of these transplanted cultures, like Italian, Thai and Chinese foods – made available by the restaurants and takeaways, which have been created by the sons and daughters of foreign shores.

We are enriched by experience when we allow ourselves to move beyond the close confines of who and what we think we are. Just as our human species is strengthened biologically when we mate and breed outside of those whom we call our own. The cross fertilisation of genes, ideas and even recipes can make us all healthier, smarter and our lives definitely tastier. Our predominantly Anglo-Saxon backgrounds, have unfortunately, cursed many of us somewhat with limited culinary antecedents and if we do not break out of these restrictive walls, then we are condemned to eat poorly and to miss out on the more sublime flavours that life has to offer.

What and how we cook is often a bit like how we make love, we learn from experience a few things and then tend to groove these moves; somewhat unchangingly. Primal activities are a bit like that, not something that we muck about with too much, and what and how we eat falls into this category. We eat to refuel, to derive energy and sustenance from food, but eating is also a profoundly sensual activity. The nerve endings and taste buds inside our mouths feel every morsel as it slides about, and we experience our food in full technicolour, sensorama – if we are lucky enough to be in touch with our full five senses of taste, smell, sound, sight and feel.

So eating is a very personal activity, it is close to who we are, and yet we often eat in public, unlike other intimate activities like sex and going to the toilet. This sharing of the eating experience in communal structures, like cafes, restaurants and workplaces is a ritualised cultural activity. We bring our own mores, likes and dislikes, to this public performance of consumption. I am always reminded of the recounted experience of migrant children in the Australian school yard at lunchtime, as the contents of their lunch boxes were reviled by the Anglo kids because of their peculiar differences. As children we often fear what is not customary and uniform, and unfortunately many of us remain in this childish state, particularly around our foods and what we consider acceptable.

When people form intimate relationships, like marriage and close friendships, they are often confronted with the need to move beyond their culinary comfort zone in a bid to cement the stability of their relationship. The desire to share tastes and flavours is sometimes paramount to couples and their ongoing sense of emotional security. I regularly hear about the compromises being made by one partner or the other, and the effect that the changes to their diets has upon them, both positively and negatively. In fact this can be a major motivating impetus in getting people to come along to my cooking classes. A bit like going into relationship counselling I suppose, with both parties hoping that the inspirational influence of a neutral teacher may magically impart some shift in the culinary status quo of their relationship; and it sometimes does.

Seafood is a commonly held culinary ‘no go zone’, among many of the people who attend my classes. I hear again and again the refrain, “Oh I didn’t know that seafood could taste this way!” Whether they had an unfortunate early experience with a bad cook or perhaps have actually never tried the said example of fish or shellfish, due to the fact that mum or dad likewise had avoided the experience and did not cook these critters at home, the fear based result was the same. We often work out who we are by declaring the things we know that we dislike, “Oh I don’t eat fish, or oysters, or mussels.” I may have made this decision when I was 6 years old but I unquestioningly stand by it today. The walls around this individual are close and in yours and their face, perhaps it makes them feel safe. Eventually however there comes a time when the individual feels somewhat cramped by their stated dislikes, and this is when they often find themselves in one of my cooking classes, either alone or with their partner.

I speculate that the adolescent or young adult who has consciously rebelled against the tastes and predilections of his or her parents, usually has developed a wider and more far-reaching culinary diet – they still may not be able to cook but they may consume more different foods. This individual has broken away from the invisible ties that bind the obedient child to the emotional strings surrounding mummy and daddy. We are all on variable time lines regarding this necessary rebellion, some do it early and some very late, but eventually we all need to break the moorings and swim free; and perhaps then taste the sea.

©Sacred Chef

House Therapy – Discovering Who You Really Are at Home.

Tagged Australian attitudes to food, children, consciousness, cooking classes maleny, cooking classes sunshine coast, cooking lessons maleny, cooking school sunshine coast, cooking teacher, cultural change, eating, food philosophy, health, humanity, maleny, nutrition, oral gratification, parents, psychology, psychology of food, sacred chef, spheres of influence, sudha hamilton, sunshine coast cooking lessons, weight loss

Aug 18 2011

Excerpt from Sudha’s new book House Therapy – Discovering who you really are at home!

Blog Posts, Cultural Issues, Health, Meaning, New Ideas, Reality, Reviews, Therapy, Uncategorized

Secrets about you revealed within your home

Our own house may be a building containing many rooms or it may be a smaller space with fewer rooms, whatever the size, its lay-out and furnishings reflect who we are. Our home, the physical structure in which we reside is our castle and as such tells a story about our lives. You are the princess or prince, king or queen, inside your castle and there is a myth or fairytale taking place right now. Like all good fairytales there is a message, or archetypal quest, happening beneath the daily hum drum; and it is in the rooms within your palace where we can discover it. Each room has a story to tell, and if we can stop for a moment, and cast an appraising eye around we will see it for ourselves.

I call this House Therapy but it could also be called Secrets about You- within Your Home. The seemingly unspeaking rooms, within your home, do in fact have a voice, as it is in their furnishings, face paint and aspect which tell a story. A compelling story about you, and your relationship to the world. It is in how, you have or have not, influenced the look and feel of every room in your house or apartment. It is in the very Isness of your home’s appearance that the secret knowledge of who you are and how you relate is revealed. Like in so many things it is based on how we are all connected to everything in our lives, and it is in this holistically connected web, that we all survive, and occasionally thrive.

Our lives leave an impression upon everything we touch, but what greater material impression is left than the one imposed upon our home. Every room we walk into, sit in, eat in, and sleep in, is affected by our presence; and tell tale clues are left to piece together. Like a form of anthropology or archaeology, House Therapy, reveals our story. We are all familiar with those TV programs detailing the lives of Pharaohs, who lived thousands of years ago; well our own lives can be assessed in the same way. This information is in fact far more valuable to us, as once it is properly analysed it can change the quality and enjoyment of our living experience. The hieroglyphics on your walls and floors, represented by arrangement of the furnishings and interior design of your home, have as much to say about life in the twenty first century, and in particular your life, as any statistical study by a sociologist or behavioural psychologist.

The great advantage that House Therapy has, as a research tool, over questionnaires or surveys we may fill in, as part of a psychological profile, is that it avoids a reliance on our conscious mind putting down what it thinks we should put down. Our house or home is the way it is, whether you are a truthful person or not, whether you are a pessimist or an optimist, whether you are happy or sad, and it is the undeniable nature of the imprint, that we leave in our surroundings, which can deliver the most truthful and insightful self examination you have ever received. I guarantee that you will discover things about yourself that you never knew before and if you take the journey with these insights, well a richer and more enlightening future awaits you.

©Sudha Hamilton

Tagged anthropology, archaeology, architecture, author, ego, furnishings, homes, house therapy, houses, identity, insights, interior design, new book, personality, psychology, secrets revealed, self, self examination, self-help book, sociology, sudha hamilton, Taoism, therapeutic tool, therapy, who are you, wisdom

Aug 13 2011

Blog Posts, Cultural Issues, History, Meaning, New Ideas, Reality, Science, Sudha's Art, Uncategorized

Polymath

Having multiple talents and pursuing them in the marketplace, is it a blessing or a curse? I have a number of interests and have invested time in each of them and have achieved a level of proficiency in several of these pursuits. Does this entitle me to express these in the marketplace as vocations or does one have to limit oneself to a single professional calling?

My experience in the marketplace, with this quandary, is that most people wish to associate you with one thing (whether this is a reflection of their own simplicity in this matter is another question). I find that there can be an initial dropping off of respect, from potential clients, when they are informed of my multiplicity in this regard. So in many circumstances I remain mum, when discussing their needs and requirements, so as not to disrupt their professional equanimity when doing business with them. This can be frustrating when watching them make mistakes that could be avoided, but I suppose this is often the case anyway, as we all want to do things our own way and learn most from our own mistakes.

We are all familiar with the term, ‘Jack of all trades,’ I would posit, and that this is often used in the pejorative sense, as it is followed by the rejoinder, ‘Master of none.’ Is this saying a result of the sour grapes felt by the the majority of people, who have no second string to their bow, or is it based on some verifiable truth in the matter? Of course the world has greatly changed since the first coining of this, ‘so called,’ kernel of wisdom, and singular professional vocations have gone, to a substantial extent, the way of the dodo. A vast percentage of people are now forced by economic circumstances to pursue a second or third means of employment; but these are most often jobs not vocations.

When I was reading about the renaissance in sixteenth century Europe, I suddenly thought, ‘I am a renaissance man!” As at this time a multitude of Arts and Sciences were explored through the rediscovery of classical texts from ancient Greece and Rome, which had been suppressed by the Church for the previous ten centuries( ie the dark ages). Leonardo da Vinci, the greatest polymath of this fervently fertile time, homosexual? bisexual? vegetarian and blessed with an insatiable curiosity and creativity; along with great talent and technical expertise in drawing and painting. Still, I imagine during his own lifetime, that he was confronted with clients and friends who questioned his proficiency in some of his expressions of interest. Being dead and famous always makes things appear easier, I find.

The fact is, that we are not all suited to the narrowly focused exploration of a single pursuit, we are not all made that way, and indeed, some are born with a degree of interest in a variety of directions. However, our education institutions are not designed to encourage this polymath approach to learning and life, our education institutions are still firmly rooted in the nineteenth century, in the way they educate. We are encouraged to sample a selection of pursuits at the beginning of our educations, which are then quickly removed to narrow the focus to a single vocational study as we progress through to tertiary levels of education. That this approach probably fails the majority of students has never been of particular concern to the proponents of this system, as they merely squeeze the round peg to fit through the square hole. Education, over the last hundred years, has been stripped of its classically well rounded approach to learning and our universities denuded to provide functional, technical college, style educations aimed at producing specialists with limited broad spectrum appeal. Giving us technicians,’ masters of the molecule’ who are unable to know the whole, unfamiliar with their own history and language, and easily manipulated by their political masters.

Tradition sits on our backs like a fat arsed Cardinal from the middle ages, holding back humanity and condemning it to repeat its mistakes, again and again. As a new grandmother generally wants her daughter to ‘mother’ just as she did, and is usually offended by any initiatives in this regard, our schools and colleges are just as miserly with their openness to real change. Schools, as we know them today, began in the eighteenth century, as places to mind the children of the newly wealthy middle classes and to provide them with a basic education; and it was not until the nineteenth century that a national system to include the children of the lower classes was instigated in England. Which is why schools are run along the lines of prisons or army barracks, their concern has been as much with the security of the children as possessions as it has been about education. By which I mean there has been very little innovative thought going into how and what is the best means of enlightening and ‘drawing out’ (which is the meaning of edukate from the Greek) – ‘know thyself’ was a motto of the Hellenistic times – the best for and from children and young adults in these institutions. Cramming as many as can be fitted into a room, seated at uncomfortable desks, and ordered to listen to the droning of an often less than inspired teacher, is the model followed still today by most schools. Perhaps having laptop computers and the Internet may change things for the better, but I doubt the core principles underpinning how the children are instructed to learn will alter that much.

We live in an age, where we are all conversant with a mega multitude of data, superficially acquainted with a surfeit of knowledge, and this is only increasing through our exposure to technology. Perhaps it is time to open up to the possibility that we can be good at more than one thing and that when we go to a party, and someone says, as they usually do, “what do you do for a living?” The answer may be more than the listener quite expected.

©Sudha Hamilton

Tagged da Vinci, history, jack of all trades, Leonardo, Leonardo do Vinci, polymath, polymathic person, renaissance man, vegetarian

Aug 12 2011

House Therapy is Sudha’s soon to be published new book.

Blog Posts, Cooking, Cultural Issues, History, Meaning, Published Articles, Religion

Kitchen gods and the sacrifice

Excerpt from – House Therapy – Discovering who you really are at home!

By Sudha Hamilton

The Kitchen

The Ancient Greeks, who gave us many of the founding principles upon which we base our modern societies – democracy; logic; philosophy; literature and poetry to name but a few salient examples, had a rich collection of gods and goddesses. Hestia was the goddess of hearth and home, older sister to Zeus and first born of the titans Kronos and Rhea – perhaps not as well known today as her siblings Demeter, Hera, Haides and Poseidon. This may have been due to the fact that she was swallowed first by her titan father Kronos, who in a bid to avoid being overthrown by one of his children, as prophesied, ate all his children, she was thus the last to be regurgitated, once Zeus had forced his father to do so.

The Romans also worshipped her in their homes and knew her as Vesta. The areas of responsibility for which Hestia was worshipped and sacrificed to, were most aspects of domestic life and in particular what we now call the kitchen. For it is around the cooking hearth or kitchen that a home or house builds up or out. Hestia was always toasted at the beginning of a meal in thanks for the hospitality proffered. She was probably where the early Christians appropriated their ‘saying of grace’ before dinner from.

Homeric Hymn 24 to Hestia (trans. Evelyn-White) (Greek epic C7th – 4th B.C.) :
“Hestia, in the high dwellings of all, both deathless gods and men who walk on earth, you have gained an everlasting abode and highest honour: glorious is your portion and your right. For without you mortals hold no banquet,–where one does not duly pour sweet wine in offering to Hestia both first and last. And you, Argeiphontes [Hermes], son of Zeus and Maia, . . . be favourable and help us, you and Hestia, the worshipful and dear. Come and dwell in this glorious house in friendship together; for you two, well knowing the noble actions of men, aid on their wisdom and their strength. Hail, Daughter of Kronos, and you also, Hermes.”

Interestingly Hestia was a virginal goddess and refused the suits of both Apollo and Poseidon. Perhaps this is where we get the separation of the sexual roles of the wife and mother in the home and the focus on providing nurture and hospitality instead. Hestia was seen as the giver of all domestic happiness and good fortune in the home and she was believed to dwell in the inner parts of every home. She was also the first god mentioned at every sacrifice, as she represented the hearth where sacrifices took place – this is the direct link to our kitchens today and the genesis of the sacred chef. There are very few temples of Hestia extant and this is thought to be because every home was her temple in the Hellenistic world. I think we can draw some intuition from this in our view of our homes being places of divine inspiration.

The kitchen has of late become a popular focus of interest, with TV chefs and groovy restaurants grabbing the public’s imagination. For House Therapy the kitchen represents our centre, our practical and instinctual selves. This is where we prepare food for family and ourselves. It is also often where food is stored in the refrigerator and pantry cupboards. Food is about survival and security. There is no bullshit about these things and the kitchen is a place where the elements of nature still regularly intervene. Fire on the stove and in your oven; water at the sink, earth in the bench tops and structure; and air in the extractor, fan forced oven and all around. You can be hurt in the kitchen if you do not pay attention to what you are about. Unlike the faux furies vented in the kitchens on TV, you can experience some real passions in these hot and pressurised places at home. You might be burning fingers and dishes, dropping scoldingly hot plates and crying bitter tears over chopped onions. The kitchen is where we show our real reactions to strong emotions, pressure in our lives and our appetites and jealousies.

Have a look around now at your kitchen, the colour of the walls and general lay-out of things. What is your first impression? What does it say to you about your instinctive self? Are you clinical or passionate? Are the walls white/neutral or vivid/strong colours? Is it large or small? Is the instinctual, raw and pragmatic you an important part of your life? Or is it hidden away or missing? The trend in studio apartment architecture now, to build them without kitchens and have neutered mini servery’s instead, is a reflection of a missing essential in sections of our culture. Stripping away the practical ability to fend for yourself by cooking your own food and becoming dependent on pre-prepared meals is symptomatic of us having lost our way along the journey. Is your kitchen well equipped? Can you cook? Do you enjoy cooking for friends, family and yourself?

Returning to the rich historical connection our modern day kitchen has with Hestia’s hearth, as mentioned earlier it was the place where the highly necessary ritualised sacrifices took place. These sacrifices usually involved a calf or some other domesticated animal and those involved with the sacrifice would share in eating the meat of the roasted animal. So the power of the sacrifice would be in the ritualised slaughtering of the animal in dedication to the goddess for a particular purpose – to bring good fortune upon whatever was so desired for example. Today the cook or cooks go into the kitchen, risking cuts, perspiration and burns, to prepare a celebratory meal for our friends and or family – Christmas, birthdays and other days of ritualised festivities. We may not consciously invoke Hestia or any other gods but the overall intention is the same, we wish to share good cheer with those we love and bring good fortune upon us all.

It is interesting to ask oneself what is true sacrifice and what does it mean in our lives today? When we think of sacrificing something, we tend to see it as foregoing or missing out on something so as to have something else. “You cannot have your cake and eat it too.” Which I have always thought was an incredibly stupid saying, because what is the point of possessing uneaten cake? A sacrifice I hear you say, perhaps a slice for the gods. Interestingly the Greeks and Romans would eat the cooked flesh of their sacrifice, offering the bones and fat to the gods and goddesses, but it was the life itself, that was the real sacrifice in my view. The word sacrifice means to make sacred, so whatever we offer up in dedication to the gods becomes sacred. Actually the word anathema, was the Greek word for laying-up or suspending something in wait for the gods, and it is has now taken on the meaning of something that is accursed, through its contact, down through the ages, with the jealous Hebrew god, Yahweh; the Christian god. Our language, and lexicon of words, have taken an interesting journey over the last four millennia, and it is no wonder we are all a little confused at times. So we could make a correlation between sacrificing something in our life and that thing, which has been sacrificed becomes anathema to us or accursed. How do you feel about the things you have sacrificed in your life? A person’s love; a relationship; a career; types of food; alcohol; drugs; sex; lifestyle; freedom? We do not live in a particularly sacrificial age, more of a ‘you can have it all’ age, but can you really enjoy it all and be present for entirely disparate things in your life? Do we appreciate things more when we make room for them in our lives? Perhaps sacrifice still has a part to play in our lives today, better sharpen those knives.

The kitchen is also a place of transformation, where base elements are turned into the gold of love and nourishment. Is your kitchen a space where magic like this happens, regularly or just on special occasions? Domestic kitchens have a great tradition throughout the West of being incredibly impractical, lacking preparation space and adequate and functional cupboards. This is now being addressed in more modern homes, as the passion is returning to the kitchen. I think that we suffered for a few decades from the ‘American wonder of white goods’ syndrome, where no home was complete without these wonderful space and time saving machines and that a mentality of faster was better grew up around them. Fast foods, sliced white bread, whipped cream in a can, all these travesties were accorded the haloed status of modernity and progress. When in actual fact they were soulless short cuts that ripped the heart out of good cooking. Yes we still do have a lot of gadgets in the kitchen but we also now understand that good food still needs dedication and application. Bread makers are great, but bread cooked in a wood fired oven tastes better and if it is naturally fermented sour dough even better. Espresso coffee from your home machine tastes a lot better than instant coffee.

Your kitchen is a place where you can practically respond to the basic needs of living. Is your kitchen letting you do this? Is your kitchen supporting you in feeling centred and secure in dealing with the vicissitudes that life often throws up? Are your knives sharp and well balanced? Do you have enough bench space when preparing meals? Does your stove cook the way you want it to cook? If not then you are letting yourself down and going around with a bloody great hole where your centre should be. As a member of the human tribe you need to be able to fend for yourself, and the kitchen can empower you to be grounded in the here and now. Not wafting around on the ceiling hoping for the crumbs of human kindness to drop your way.

Things we can do to transform our kitchen

As a chef, who has owned and managed a number of restaurants and cafes, I know all about kitchens and their design downfalls. First and foremost it is about space and in particular bench top space where most kitchens, especially older kitchens, are lacking. Storage space comes a close second and it is in these areas that a solid beginning can be made in transforming your kitchen from a frustration trap into a pragmatic pleasure dome. Cooking is never completely easy, if it is, it isn’t real cooking, in my opinion, there must be some blood, sweat and tears in every great dish but not too much. Unnecessary suffering is not on anyone’s menu by choice.

Buy an island bench if you lack bench top space and cannot easily create more, they are great and I have several of them, and you can take them with you when you move.

Sharp knives, that are also well weighted in the overall heft of the knife, can bring a smile to any good cook and I always say, “happiness is a sharp knife.”

Obviously kitchens need to be clean and cleaned regularly for all sorts of reasons, hygiene, health and happiness. Clutter in the kitchen causes chaos and calamity, food takes longer to prepare and the energy around it is bad.

Trapped dead energy, in the form of rotting and old produce in fridges and cupboards, does not augur well for happy kitchen gods and thus producing yummy healthy and nutritious food; so clean out and clean up.

©Sudha Hamilton

Cooking school on the sunshine coast, the Sacred Chef cooking classes, where you will prepare delicious food, discover new recipes, eat, drink and meet new friends.

For more articles www.sudhahamilton.com or www.sacredchef.com

Tagged ancient Greeks, Ancient Rome, cooking, Demeter, good cooking, Haides, Hera, hestia, history of cooking, house therapy, kitchen design, kitchens, Kronos, Poseidon, Rhea, Roman culture, sacred chef, sacrifice, sacrificial rituals, titans, Vesta, Zeus

Aug 04 2011

Healing, Therapy

Shut Up and just listen to me!!!

Heading: Emotional Healing.

Subheading: Af-x Release Therapy.

What first attracted me to Af-x Release Therapy©, was the notion of respect for our own mind’s ability to heal ourselves, inherent within its philosophy. Here, it seemed, was a process that put the onus on self-responsibility, instead of the almighty therapist. Having tried numerous therapies, I now have a greater respect for anything that puts me in touch with my own wisdom, rather than something that makes me dependent on someone or something else. It intrigued me, too, when I was told there would be only three sessions and I would not be required to speak much in any of them. This was definitely like no counselling I’d had before.

A Zen-like flavour pervaded my encounter with Af-x’s founding practitioner, Ian White, with few words on my part and from him a confidence in my ability to “right my own mental and emotional cart.” The silence growing within me was a welcome change from the usual chatter as I listened to him outlining the coming sessions. Why was I here? I suppose you could call it mild depression. I was also interested in experiencing this therapy. Closing my eyes and sitting back in my chair, I opened my mind to the words being spoken to me.

Af-x Release Therapy© is based on the work of the School of Affectology, developed by Australian psychotherapist, Ian White. Its roots are in studies are in studies of early childhood and the discovery that we develop a subtle emotional sense well before we begin to think conceptually. In the period of birth to 18 months, we’re developing our feeling selves long before we learn words and how to think in a narrative way. We learn what feeling responses work for us and this is the basis of the development of our emotions. This information is stored by the limbic brain, there to be called on when we require an emotional response. The process is referred to as neuro-encoding. Many of the scientific studies of this early learning period are covered in books by Goleman, Damasio, LeDoux and others.

“Of course, our affect -meaning emotional reactions, are immediate and don’t allow us to think about them because they are happening at a subconscious level – the reactions defy our rational selves,” says Ian. “Through this we build a habit of feeling, that eventually grows into our own unconscious sense of self.” Af-x Release Therapy© predicates that these first learning’s have a powerful influence on how we react emotionally throughout our life, often without realising why. As these feelings are experienced pre-verbally, it is, Ian’s view, ineffective for the client to attempt to “talk it out.” “What is important is to allow the client to focus on, and safely reach, that inner feeling space, and it’s only through silence and a quietening of the mind’s chatter that this is possible,” says Ian. “Once there, the subconscious mind’s own sophisticated self-correcting gear is available to a simple ‘reminder like’ suggestion.”

“So isn’t this just hypnotherapy?” I put to Ian. “I prefer to use the term ‘assisted self attention’, or ‘focus on feelings’, as it’s not necessary for the client to be in any particular state for the process to work, and the term ‘self attention’ also describes the meditative state, which I think is a closer fit for this work,” responds Ian. “Also, what is integral to understand here is that, unlike hypnotherapists and all other counsellors and psychotherapists, we are not responding to a particular complaint voiced by the client, because of course the client has not said anything. The Af-x practitioner is appealing to the client’s own innate ability as a perfect being to make the necessary adjustments to their emotional self.”

As I hear these words and ruminate on being a ‘perfect being,’ memories of my own spiritual journey filter into consciousness. I remember being told stories by my spiritual ‘master’ about how insanity was dealt with in the East, in the time of Lao Tzu; how the suffere would be locked in a cell in complete darkness with no contact with any other person, meals being slipped under the door. It sounded barbaric but, apparently, it was often a quick cure as the inflamed mental state was not pandered to and an encounter with the”original face or self” was hard to avoid. The strict adherence of the client to the no-speaking approach in Af-x therapy and the self-attention consciousness of the meditative state ring a few bells for me, so I am not surprised to learn that Ian White trained as a Zen Bukkyo monk in his earlier years.

“Yes, I sat in Zasen in black hakama robes, being whacked on the back with an oak walking stick by the senior monk and scrubbing a sterile, perfectly clean floor over and over again, and all that other exciting stuff, but I never really took to it because it didn’t deal with my impatience about helping bring peace to my fellow person,” says White.

It is perhaps that focus that has led Ian to a life devoted to assisting in the healing of thousands through the development and refinement of Af-x Release Therapy©. Through the School of Affectology, Ian White has trained Af-x practitioners in Australia, the US and Europe. He and those who are using the therapy in their work have had particular success in dealing with those apparently suffering from the many forms of depression, as well as a host of other mental-emotional problems. Ian says, “One of the most important aspects of the Af-x approach is that we do not consider that ongoing psychotherapy is productive in changes for the better. In fact, ongoing therapy actually gets in the way of people making the mental and emotional change choices that bring about success.”

“How do you monitor whether three sessions are enough or are effective at all?” I ask.

“Over the past 10 years, every Af-x client has been asked to participate in a feedback system,” Ian ventures. “Questionnaires are sent out guaranteeing that the client’s responses will remain confidential and anonymous. We just get the pure data and so we know in the majority of cases that it is working.”

Many ex-clients have come forward to volunteer their personal stories about their experiences with Af-x. It’s through this process that I am able to read through testimonials from clients who have visited an Af-x practitioner. Although these people range widely in age and circumstance, there’s a common theme, which runs through their experiences. In nearly all cases, they were previously informed by health professionals that they were suffering from depression, panic attacks or stress and required medication. One testimonial in particular caught my attention – “Lisa’s Story.” I think it was because, being a teenager, Lisa (not her real name) conveyed her situation with that rawness and emotional honesty often seen in her age group.

Lisa’s Story (age 17)

“For many years I suffered from what is known as clinical depression, a diagnosis I received from psychiatrists and doctors. From the early days of my problem, I was prescribed various antidepressants. I also suffer from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. During this time, I thought about suicide on many occasions. Life seemed to be of no use, no purpose, and I didn’t want to spend the rest of it living in the big black hole I seemed to exist in. I felt lost and alone. No one knew how to help me. Of course, many people tried to help, but for a long while I suffered alone, thinking I was beyond help; just willing myself to die. On more than one occasion, I attempted to take my life, never thinking I could find any solutions to getting any better than just coping from day to day, taking drugs and lashing out at everyone and everything around me.

“My friends and family were desperate for my recovery. Endless visits to the school counsellor seemed to make no difference. I spent many months ‘in therapy’ with a psychiatrist. Same outcome. Those many years of taking antidepressants and even alternative natural medication resulted in no answer. In fact, things were getting steadily worse. Quite apart from my depressive sickness, there was a steadily increasing pressure on me to get better. Pressure that people who had no idea of the loneliness of me applied. I know they had the best intentions, but they didn’t know they were adding incredibly to my burden.

“Then my parents heard about Ian White and his work, which he called Af-x therapy. My parents had no idea how it worked and, quite incorrectly, translated it to me as being ‘hypnotherapy.’ This, of course, didn’t help my expectations and I was opposed to the idea of seeing him from the start. In fact, I was very sceptical about the idea, I thought it would be another case of crazy person with crazy antics claiming to have all the answers. For this reason, I refused the treatment.

“After months of my family pleading with me to ‘give it a go’, I reluctantly agreed. In all honesty, that was merely to stop the pleading and give me an excuse to say to them, ‘See, this didn’t work, either!’ I walked into his rooms, making it very obvious that I didn’t want to be there and I was only there to ‘shut everybody up’. Of course, I was determined to derail anything he was going to try with me. As a result of my many visits to other counsellors and therapists, I was certain I knew how to handle him to my own ends.

“But I was very surprised at his approach. Now, in hindsight, I would say I was pleasantly surprised. Ian was lovely and considerate of the fact that I had been pressured to undergo treatment. He talked about that pressure right from the outset and gave the impression that he knew all about how I felt about ‘everybody trying to tell me what’s best for me’. He made me feel very comfortable and relaxed and told me I was ‘the boss’. In other words, he did not do or say anything I was uncomfortable with and I was given no reason to oppose the idea of going ahead with helping myself out of the dilemma.

“He explained the procedures of Af-x very clearly, removing any idea that there was ‘a mystery’ about what he had to offer. Ian explained he didn’t want me to talk unless I wanted to ask a general question about the treatment. He explained why it was important for me not to try to put my problems into words. That was a great relief, because I had been trying unsuccessfully to put my problems into words for years. I had always left counsellors’ offices wondering whether I had really explained things in a truthful way.

“After my third session I thanked Ian for his time and walked away wondering when and if I would notice any change. In some ways, even though I had enjoyed my time in the therapy, I still couldn’t see how it could help to ‘say nothing’ and ‘take notice of my self’. I did what Ian suggested and tried not to analyse what we had done in therapy. As a matter of fact, I tended to forget I had gone to see him.

“About a month later, I stated to feel very strong, physically and emotionally, and I decided to stop taking medication for my depression. I had depended on that medication for such a long time, that there was a part of me that seemed to be saying, ‘Well, I’ll stop taking it and that’ll prove that I can do without it.’ But that didn’t happen. I started to notice that my energy levels were gradually rising and my desire for sleep was declining. I also started to notice I had a calmer and less aggressive approach to negative situations. My friends, my family and my teachers all noticed and commented on this change. I no longer felt a need to resolve my problems with violence, verbal or otherwise, and for the first time in my life I felt happy. Although I did not understand how the therapy worked, I remember on many occasions, the things he said and explained came back to me in those moments when I once would have become depressed or lost my temper.

“Today, eight months after my therapy, I am still not taking medication, I’m attending the gym three times a week and I seem to not react to things as I used to- angrily. I receive compliments all the time on how much I have improved in all areas of my life. At times, these comments are about changes that I think are obvious, but sometimes I’m surprised that people have noticed some of the more gentle changes to who I am. I feel like I have eventually found myself, and found the person inside that I once used to be, and found the person I can be.”

No analysing?

The idea that we can undergo change without analysing it, talking it through and even intellectually understanding that change is baffling for many people. In many of the volunteered stories I read the most common response was: “I don’t know how this thing worked but it did.” Ian White talks about ‘re-education’, that the work of Af-x Release Therapy© is all about re-educating our early emotional selves. This is subtle stuff and it doesn’t employ any high tech gadgetry….well, except, that is, for the most sophisticated gadget of all, the human mind. Perhaps as we evolve further we will learn to value the finer workings of the human brain. At present, our models of our own consciousness are computers, which in truth are terribly inadequate.

For many people, the whole purpose of their visit to a counsellor is to pour out their problems, so this ban on words can be a major deterrent. Ian explains it’s absolutely vital to the success of the therapy: “As soon as you listen to their story you are complicit in their world paradigm – the half truths, the snippets of pseudo self-help theories they’ve picked up and applied to their own situation; and you are caught in their web with them. The Af-x practitioner comes clean to the table and bypasses all this completely, working directly with the subconscious emotional mind.” White likens this process to the Zen therapeutic approach of “holding the mirror firmly.”

After speaking with Ian for many hours about his past training and personal experiences, I begin to get a picture of how this therapy has come into being. The development of Affectology has been a constant evolution of a work that began with a desire to understand the qualities of consciousness. Having at its core a profound respect for the ‘perfection’ of humankind, it’s a therapy for a conscious age. Also, at that core seems to be a deep concern for the way society believes many of the damaging myths about our mental and emotional wellbeing.

How was it for me? I experienced an upsurge of self-belief immediately after the sessions, which I had over a three week period. My self esteem, which had been low, due to a failed relationship that had ended some 16 months before, felt markedly stronger at the conclusion of the sessions. While I was suffering only a low level of depression, the results were gentle and subtle, yet definite. As for curing ‘the human condition’, Ian White maintains strongly that our human condition is already perfect but needs some guidance for reflective emotional and mental healing. That’s the nature of Af-x Release Therapy©.

There are now a number of practitioners who have been trained by the School of Affectology in Australia, the US and Sweden. Ian White is currently in Greece, training practitioners in Athens.

©Sudha Hamilton

Appeared in WellBeing Magazine.

The Sacred Chef cooking school on the sunshine coast for nutritious and delicious food for better health and happiness!

Tagged Australian therapies, eastern mysticism, emotional healing, hypnotherapy, Ian White, psychology, psychotherapy, subconscious mind therapy, Zazen, Zen

Jul 09 2011

History, Meaning, Reality, Religion, Science, Therapy

Stages of Our Mental Journey

Heading: Stages and Phases of the Mental Journey.

Subheading: Exploring consciousness, linguistics and language.

“O, what a world of unseen visions and heard silences, this insubstantial country of the mind! What ineffable essences, these touchless rememberings and unshowable reveries! And the privacy of it all! A secret theatre of speechless monologue and prevenient counsel, an invisible mansion of all moods, musings, and mysteries, an infinite resort of disappointments and discoveries. A whole kingdom where each of us reigns reclusively alone, questioning what we will, commanding what we can. A hidden hermitage where we may study out the troubled book of what we have done and yet may do. An introcosm that is more myself than anything I can find in a mirror. This consciousness that is myself of selves, that is everything, and yet nothing at all- what is it?

And where did it come from?

And why?”

Excerpt from Julian Jayne’s book, The Origins of Consciousness In the Break Down of the Bicameral Mind.

This journey of mind we set out upon hopefully fearlessly, but invariably not, is unique to each of us. It has been indelibly influenced by our childhood and the love we did, or did not quite receive in the particular manner that we would have preferred. From the very beginning we start with a sense of our self, a nascent spark that will emerge in time like a sculpture quite unlike any that has ever been before. So defined by our life experiences and in turn our reactions and responses to them, that the twisting formless space that seems to be located behind your eyes might be beautiful art or something else again.

Does the aging process effect our thinking and feeling sense of self, and if so, how does it?

I once read, that according to a study conducted amongst a cross section of age groups, most people feel in their mind’s eye that they are twenty five years old, irrespective of their actual body age. That whether they be fifty, sixty or seventy years old, inside they see themselves as that bright, shiny twenty five year old. Perception and self image are powerful things, and perhaps we function best when we feel young at heart. It begs all sorts of questions, like what is wisdom, and how does one get it? Is it the stoic acceptance of the vicissitudes of life and the bearing of tragedy with uncommon grace? Is a flexible quality of mind something that we should foster in the hope of a life well lived?

The mental journey through life could be said to be the only real journey we take, as we modern folk don’t live much below the chin. We think ourselves through life, from a moment somewhere between conception and birth up until physical death takes us we are marching to the constant thinking, taking place in our brains. Rene Descartes’ old dictum, “I think therefore I am,” sums it up pretty well. A few qualifications are needed before we can continue. Is our mental journey the journey of consciousness, and what is the definition of consciousness? Is our beginning located in developmental psychology or in the actual origin of consciousness itself? Who am I? What is consciousness? Pretty heady stuff as you can see.

The word consciousness is used in a multitude of circumstances to mean:

a. awake in the literal sense (as in not asleep or in a coma).

b. general awareness of things happening around you.

c. the totality of a person’s thoughts & feelings.

d. a spiritual merging of your awareness with God/s.

I think we will take c. here – the totality of a person’s thoughts and feelings – to be our definition in this instance. Looking briefly at the development of consciousness in the individual we need to understand its beginnings in our infancy.

Developmental psychology begins its inquiry with the conceptual sense of self. When the child is born, and first breathes its breath separate from the mother, and perhaps even earlier as a foetus inside the womb, it is that sense of self that we know that defines us as truly us. When a baby first begins to smile in response to its parents’ gaze at the age of two to three months it is due to an altered subjective experience within the baby. It is the beginning of a pre-designed sense of social awareness that all babies are born with and which Daniel N Stern, infant psychologist and author of The Interpersonal World of the Infant, views as the beginning of the development of the core, separate self. He states, “the subjective experience of union with another can occur only after a sense of core self and a core other exists. Union experiences are thus viewed as the successful result of actively organising the experience of self-being with another, rather than as the product of a passive failure of the ability to differentiate self from other.” So we begin with a sense of the self. As that sense of the self, within our own mind, grows with age we continue to differentiate what is us, and what is not. The child later begins to understand that its inner thoughts are not automatically known by those around him or her but that he or she can still convey that information by facial expressions and the like.

Our minds and in particular their use of language is what really sets us apart from other animals on this planet. It has indeed been posited that our experience of consciousness is in fact a result of metaphorical language and the constructs this has caused. Put simply we do not just see, hear, touch, smell or taste something, we immediately place that experience in the context of our own unique reality or story. We name it according to our rules and define its reality in line with our wishes. There is no true objective reality but only our mental interpretation of it. Everything is interconnected in a web of language that explains something by referring to it in comparison to something else. For example words like ‘heart of the matter’ or ‘bring to a head’ are all words that have been taken from our bodies to describe situations. Metaphors have created our languages and perhaps language has created our consciousness.

In this quoted passage from Julian Jayne’s book, The Origins of Consciousness In the Break Down of the Bicameral Mind, we can grasp the essence of the mystifying question that has plagued us down through the ages – what is consciousness?

“We are trying to understand consciousness, but what are we really trying to do when we try to understand anything? Like children trying to describe nonsense objects, so in trying to understand a thing, we are trying to find a metaphor for that thing. Not just any metaphor, but one with something more familiar and easy to our attention. Understanding a thing is to arrive at a metaphor for that thing by substituting something more familiar to us. And the feeling of familiarity is the feeling of understanding.

Generations ago we would understand thunderstorms perhaps as the roaring and rumbling about in battle of superhuman gods. We would have reduced the racket that follows the streak of lightning to familiar battle sounds, for example. Similarly today, we reduce the storm to various supposed experiences with friction, sparks, vacuums, and the imagination of bulgeous banks of burly air smashing together to make the noise. None of these really exist as we picture them. Our images of these events of physics are as far from the actuality as fighting gods. Yet they act as the metaphor and they feel familiar and so we say we understand the thunderstorm.”

What I am conveying here, is that much of what we trust in our shared realities is in fact complete delusion – we do not really know what happens inside a thunderstorm but we have a story that we all agree upon. Our mental worlds are all uniquely different, and we share tenuous imaginary links that hold our communities together – that perhaps stop the sky from falling in. Our minds are magical things that have been directed to think in certain ways by the adherence to traditions. We have an innate ability to believe in things and thus make them appear real. Religions are a great example of this, when you do a little investigating into many of the religions of the world, you find an incredible willingness to believe things based simply on tradition & the handing down of beliefs from generation to generation. In the Christian tradition, Mormonism, a relative late comer to the field, has an extraordinary tale to tell of solid gold giant tablets inscribed with the words of the angel Moroni – that nobody except the profit Joseph Smith Junior ever saw. Far fetched fantastical stories that apparently only occurred a couple of hundred years ago in the United States of America, and yet now several generations down the line, these things are solemnly accepted as true by bicycle riding missionaries around the world. Now I don’t wish to merely pick on Mormonism, as the stories in Catholicism and the other bands of Christian faith are equally unrealistic with virgin births and the raising of the dead. We have an inordinate faith in anything that has been written down or passed down to us as true by our forefathers. Even when faced with incontrovertible evidence of the impossibility of these things, we hold them near and dear to us – in fact we place them as the very bedrock of all our civilising institutions – myths that we swear by in justice, in love and in government.

Our minds are malleable and impressionable, and our consciousness is very likely a construct of excerpts of our sensory reality, which are glued together by the lie of language. No wonder there is a lot of pain and suffering in the world. Socrates was apparently a very ugly looking chap, and every day he would go into the city square and challenge the truth of various statements made by his fellow citizens. He would not back down and would not accept the little white lies that we all share in, and as if peeling back layers of the onion he sort out the truth. Of course it all ended badly for Socrates. We are all so conditioned to accept lies, untruths and tall stories that it is a very hard road if one chooses to seek the truth.

Develop a healthy aptitude for doubt in your life and mentally this will take a great deal of the bullshit out of everything. As we age be vigilant for the desire to take ‘short cuts’ and to limit the size of your world – remain open to the mysteriousness of life in all its strange and varied nature.

Following ideals in your life can be a two edged sword – it can inspire and motivate you to reach for things and states that are seemingly beyond you, but it can also make you immune to the spontanaeity and passions that mark our existence as well. As we get older the attachment to certain ideals can cause us to become rigid and inflexible. Compassion and the ability to truly say you are sorry are the hallmarks of a great soul.

In returning to the question of what is wisdom. Is it knowing that you are right? Or is it knowing that you don’t know the answer to any of the really important questions in life? Or perhaps it is having experienced the very real pain of losing someone that you loved forever? When I meet much younger people than myself, I notice that they have an almost bullet proof idea of optimism in the future and I sense an absence of depth that only tragedy can truly provide.

Releasing control over your life or rather letting go of the illusion that you have any control anyway will free up a great deal of your mental faculties. You are going to die and people close to you and loved ones are also going to die – accept these facts with good grace. The compulsion today to always have a fantastic time and to avoid any pain or discomfort, has created in many of us a vacuum where the other side of life’s experience once resided. Without the fullness of sadness in our lives we cannot scale the heights of ecstasy and we will be forever in the shallows of ‘searching for happiness.’

Age can give us perspective on things, allowing one not to get all ‘het up’ over the details. Having experienced the ups and downs of a life well lived; we can refrain from being so quick to judge things at any particular juncture in time. I am reminded of a hundred clichés and truisms that point this very fact out.

Of course our minds are not able to live in isolation; they are a part of our monkey bodies and they will not function at their highest level without being exercised. A healthy body – a healthy mind, the interconnectedness of our brains with the other major organs and our autonomic nervous system really places our mind throughout our body. For peak mental performance, lots of stimulation – physical, emotional and intellectual – is desirable.

New research into depression and Alzheimer’s disease is now seeing inflammation within the body as a cause for these very serious conditions and imbalance in our diet and lifestyle is a strong contributing factor. Feeding our brains a diet rich in Omega3 essential fatty acids will improve their functioning ability and re-dressing the imbalance in our diets by reducing the intake of foods rich in Omega6 fatty acids will further this.

In my own experience I have found the strategy of making decisions about things highly effective – don’t dither or procrastinate over choices in your life, trust in your instincts and make a decision. If it turns out in hindsight to be the wrong choice then review and be flexible enough to change tack. There is no value in over identifying with your life choices. We are in my view travelers through life and there are no prizes for getting everything right first time. I used to be very fearful of making mistakes as a young man and found parallels for this in my father’s attitudes to life. That whole thing of only attempting things that you know that you are good at and avoiding everything that may embarrass you. At a certain point, as a young adult, I needed to confront and make conscious this aspect of myself and let go of this life strategy, as it was not aiding my journey. I remember someone sharing with me the story of how an aeroplane reaches its destination by continually correcting its course.

Life is a mental journey and it is far more interesting than many of us acknowledge. Thinking techniques based on fear avoidance and pain avoidance severely limit your life experiences. Drop the mental barriers and go fearlessly where you have not gone before. Start conversations with people – from whom you cannot predict replies – and relax into a sense of unknowingness because you will never know everything anyway. Smile at the sky sometimes and encourage gratitude for the showering flowers in your life. And if you cannot see those flowers look a little deeper.

©Sudha Hamilton

Appeared in WellBeing Magazine.

www.wellbeing.com.au

Tagged ageing, Alzheimer's disease, beliefs, brain, Christianity, consciousness, happiness, how we think, illusions, inner universe, language, life, linguistics, living well, mental journeys, mind, Mormonism, omega 3 essential fatty acids, psychology, religion, Socrates, sudha hamilton, therapies, thinking, wellbeing

Jul 08 2011

designSauce graphic design studio sunshine coast

Healing, Health, Published Articles, Therapy

Tapping the Pain Away

Heading: Thought Field Therapy.

Subheading: Tapping the healer within.

Do our thoughts have an energy field? Are we beginning to see the emergence of a new type of medicine based on the treatment and understanding of subtle energy fields? Thought Field Therapy (TFT) is one of these new therapeutic tools that may seem like magic from the outside, but is firmly based on the premise of our thoughts having an energy field.

It is interesting to stop and consider our own thinking processes. Especially those thoughts we run through our conscious mind again and again. Usually when we are very concerned about something and we begin to obsess about it. Is there an energy field around these obsessive thoughts? How are these thoughts affecting our physiology?

Is our autonomic nervous system reacting to how these thoughts are making us feel?

Perhaps even before we have registered that we are having an emotional reaction to these thoughts.

In the instance of trauma or severe anxiety, it is understood that these negative thoughts are encoded or embedded in our subconscious mind and can subsequently produce a range of physical reactions without first registering in the conscious mind. These so called diseases of the mind, psycho-symptomatic phobias, post traumatic stress and the like, have been and still are difficult conditions for our doctors and psychologists to successfully treat. As there has been no pharmacological answer to the debilitating experience of severe anxiety, except drugging the person into a state of apathy, the onus has fallen upon the “talk therapy” of our psychologists.

One of these psychologists was Dr Roger Callaghan, the founder of Thought Field Therapy (TFT) and the author of Tapping the Healer Within, the definitive TFT self-help book. Dr Callaghan who trained and practised as a clinical psychologist in the USA, and was associate professor of psychology at the University of East Michigan, was professionally frustrated at his own, and his colleagues, lack of success in treating these types of illnesses with cognitive based “talk therapies”. “Whether we were treating them for depression, phobias, or a shattered relationship, too many clients seem entrapped in years of expensive psychotherapy, talking endlessly about their life circumstances. They’d painfully relive their trauma. They’d often blame something or someone in their past for their current troubles. But at the end of the day- or the year- they had nothing to show for it,” he states in his book.

This led him to explore therapeutic approaches outside the mainstream. This quest would eventually open his mind, almost accidentally, to the consideration of Chinese medicine and its theory of energy meridians running through the human body. Whilst seeing a long term patient, who had a severe water phobia, Dr Callaghan chanced upon the idea, almost out of desperation, of using the acupressure points on the body to treat the symptoms of the phobia. The patient had said, “I feel it in the pit of my stomach. Every time I look at or think of water I feel it right here in my stomach.” Although not formally trained in acupuncture, Dr Callaghan knew that that position directly under the eye was the location of the concluding point of the stomach meridian. Instructing the client to tap with two fingers on that particular spot and to think about her fear of water he was amazed when she reported back a few minutes later that the sick feeling in her stomach was gone. Further more the client was positive that she was no longer afraid of water.

Although skeptical at the time, Dr Callaghan continued refining this technique through research and trial and error. He was hopeful that the stunning result that he had achieved with this one patient would be reproduced with all his patients, he was to be disappointed. However, as this was the most powerful healing experience he had had in thirty years of practising he persevered with his research into what would become TFT. He discovered that with certain clients a whole series of meridian points would need to be tapped and not just anyhow but in specific sequences. The value of this was that many more clients with a variety of psychological ailments beyond just phobias were helped and a system of tapping “algorithms” was developed.

These “algorithms” or specialised sequences of tapping on various pressure points on the body are used in conjunction with the initial focus on the thought that contains the fear, anger or negative emotion. It is paramount to the effectiveness of TFT that the person experiencing the therapy holds that thought in their consciousness. Thus the thought field is activated and the therapy can do its work. Apart from the tapping there is also a series of exercises involving the opening and closing of the eyes and the pointing of them in various directions.

These eye movements are common to a variety of therapeutic techniques and Dr Callaghan explains that the eyes are an extension of the brain. “I believe that each eye movement may access a different area of the brain. Some research shows, for example that when the eyes are open, the back of the brain receives relatively greater stimulation; when they are closed, the front of the brain is more stimulated.” In addition he states, “the humming and counting processes are designed to activate the right and left brain, respectively. Theoretically, the right side of the brain is being receptive to treatment by the humming and tapping, and the left side of the brain by the counting and tapping.”

If you are like me when you first begin these exercises you may feel a little like an uncoordinated child on your first day at ballet classes, trying to rub your tummy and pat your head at the same time. With a little clear instruction and practice you soon get the hang of it though, and even when I fell on the floor laughing I noticed how much better I was feeling already.

Dr Callaghan’s study of several other fields has also contributed to the evolution of TFT. His look into physics has given him a language and a scientific structure to explain the effectiveness of TFT. Starting with Einstein’s basic postulation that everything is energy (E = mc2) then thought is an energy. This energy has a field like a magnetic or gravitational field; you cannot see them but they exist. Dr Callaghan in his book employs a dictionary definition for a field as thus: “a complex of forces that serve as causative agents in human behaviour.” He goes on to say, ” The thought field is the most fundamental concept in TFT. This intangible structure or scaffolding can contain large amounts of information, but in treating psychological distress, we’ll concentrate on the negative emotions you are experiencing. When you are terrified of snakes, devastated by a marital breakup, or depressed over the loss of a job, the cause of this disturbance is contained in the thought field.” Dr Callaghan then uses the term “perturbation” to describe this disturbance in the thought field – this is a unique entity according to him that contains “active information” (a quantum physics concept) of a highly specified sort that can be isolated within the thought field. He states, “the psychological upset is due not to a trauma or the loss of a love, for example. These experiences give rise to the perturbation, but it is the perturbation itself that is responsible for generating, guiding, and controlling all of the fundamental changes within the body.”

One of the most interesting pieces of scientific evidence produced in Dr Callaghan’s book to support the health benefits of TFT is its effect on Heart Rate Variability or HRV. HRV, which is the quantified variation in the intervals between heartbeats, has been used in cardiological research (for the last 30 years) as an indicator into the functioning of the autonomic nervous system. A low variation in heart beats per minute is seen as a depressed HRV and can be a warning about the health of the patient’s heart. Whereas the higher variability in pulse rates per minute is a sign of better overall health. Dr Callaghan has been assessing the physiological health of his patient’s bodies through HRV, before and after TFT sessions. He states, “although you probably aren’t conscious of it, your heart functions with subtle variations between beats. In fact HRV appears to be the most accurate tool we have for monitoring the autonomic nervous system or ANS, which is the internal system that controls heartbeat, breathing, body temperature, blood pressure, blood chemistry, tissue repair, metabolism, immune function, and other processes considered involuntary and beyond conscious control. Clearly, the more optimally your ANS is functioning, the healthier you are likely to be.”

The dramatic results that TFT has achieved with patients, some of whom were seriously ill with heart conditions, in raising their HRV has shown Dr Callaghan that the psychological healing is also producing measurable physiological changes. He states, “I often use HRV to evaluate TFT whether I’m trying to heal a patient’s anger, grief, anxiety, or phobia, or relieve his or her physical problems such as migraine pain or allergies. HRV is an adjunct to TFT that objectively demonstrates and quantifies the effectiveness of this breakthrough therapeutic technique.”

Dr Callaghan goes on to quote further HRV/TFT testing that has been done by Dr Fuller Royal, medical director of the Nevada Clinic. “Heart Rate Variability is the only test known that will not respond to the placebo effect,” he said. “You can’t fool the autonomic nervous system.” He added, “TFT has been for me a nice piece of the puzzle that has been missing on how to enter, and correct rapidly, defects in the autonomic nervous system.”

The broadening research into HRV as a clear indicator of our state of health, and in many studies as the strongest predictor of mortality is widely covered in Dr Callaghan’s book. He also puts forward research that states, “making changes – particularly rapid changes – in HRV readings is virtually impossible. Two studies (one of humans, the other an animal study) found that exercise was the only common way to get those HRV scores to budge in a positive way, but even then it would take eight weeks or more of intense physical activity to produce improvements.” This puts TFT’s remarkable effect on HRV into context.

Personally, I find that TFT seems to be a whole body therapy that listens not just to our chattering mind but is a further revelation in the understanding of the holistic paradigm. It is another step forward in removing our focus away from just what lies between our ears. We hear the words, that we are an interconnected system within an even larger interconnected system, but perhaps now we are beginning to see the proof of that through our healing experiences.

I did have some preconceived doubts and negativity in regard to how quickly TFT works in many of the cases reported. I suppose I share a common attitude about therapy and spirituality that we need to suffer to truly understand, before we are relieved of our burdens. For those who have carried these debilitating conditions, it is often like a miracle when they are set free from them. We as human beings are, I think, examples of the most incredible life forms, and the growing awareness of energy medicine is very exciting. TFT is part of that continuing enlightenment.

Now with more than twenty years’ research into TFT, Dr Callaghan, and a substantial number of therapists all over the world are achieving unparalleled success in the treatment of phobias, anxieties and psychological disorders. The work has evolved and been refined even further with the next generation “Voice Technology.” In Australia, Eugene Piccinotti has established a TFT centre here, and offers workshops all over the country. Eugene trained with Dr Callaghan in the USA, and personally overcame huge obstacles through TFT. Like many before him, he tried numerous variations of “talk therapy” without success. Eugene has now facilitated hundreds of people into energy shifting TFT releases, and continues to be inspired by the work.

©Sudha Hamilton

Appeared in WellBeing Magazine.

Sacred Chef cooking school on the sunshine coast

Tagged acupressure, anxiety, autonomic nervous system, brain, energetic medicine, grief, healing, health, HRV, panic attacks, phobias, placebo effect, psychology, Roger Callaghan, tapping, TFT, thought field therapy, trauma, whole body therapy

May 29 2011

Blog Posts, Cultural Issues, History, Meaning, Reality, Religion, Science, Uncategorized

Imagine If You Will…

Imagine if you will, that you lived in a world where every day you were told that you had no influence on the really important things in your life. Imagine that you were born to parents, who likewise, believed that they, and you, had no power to affect the way life was; and that they also had been born to parents, who were very sure, that they too, were powerless in this manner. Generations of firm belief and concomitant proof, through life experience, that this was true. That reality was operating outside of you and that you had no noticeable effect upon it, it would go on doing what it would do, whether you were there or not. The sun would come up in the morning and set in the evening; the rain would fall from the sky when there were precipitating circumstances; people around you would live and die – and all of these things would happen, pretty much without your direct input making a world of difference. Imagine what effect this would have upon your sense of self worth and attitude towards your existence.

Well, welcome to the real world, and to the psychological basis of your life and the lives of the majority of the six billion people living on this planet we call Earth. Newtonian science has for the last four hundred years firmly placed us outside of reality, as spectators in our own life, able to measure things but not much else. We have been taught and told, as were our parents, that life and matter happens independently of us. We can of course engage in transmutation of substances, if we follow strict rules for doing so, in a laboratory under controlled conditions and with the appropriate levels of technological education. Our subjective consciousness, our sense of who we are and how we process the sensory experience of our lives, however, cannot directly interface with existence. It can bear witness and it can measure, and oh what pleasure can it be to measure, everything. Science has measured and identified and named much of the fabric of our known universe, we know a hundred different names each for a billion different things we have never experienced; and most likely never will. I suppose it is a bit like that old Islamic idea of there being 999 names for God. Our Western scientific heritage has set us up as the ultimate arbiters of measurement and not so much good taste.

For the taste of powerlessness is one reason why, I think, that we have massive levels of depression in our modern cities and why we are medicating, or sedating, vast numbers of their inhabitants. Now smarties can put up their hand and say well Newtonian physics is dead, it died in 1904 with the discovery of Quantum Mechanics, but I would reply, that this fact is a well kept secret, culturally speaking, and that the greater majority of human beings are untouched by its revelations. Even Einstein struggled with accepting Quantum physics basic premise and resisted its outcomes for decades. The uncertain nature of The Uncertainty Principle does not lend itself to the delusional controlling proclivities of generations of white coated lab assistants and the population at large. We are all in love with the idea that we can benignly go about life, if we stick to the rules as Science has laid out for us, derived from all that measuring, and, like a good anti-depressant, avoid the lows by sacrificing the highs.

So the good news is, that on the most basic level we can perceive matter, the sub-atomic level, we actually do effect whatever we attempt to observe or measure, our consciousness of it changes it; and so the deadening spectator sport, that was Newtonian physics, is now obsolete. The bad news is, that the reality of this over the last hundred years has failed to bite, or be taken up by us, the masses, and that our lives continue to be mired in the complacency of our previous understanding of the workings of reality. Which means, that while we live in a truly wondrous world of modern scientific genius, the greater majority of us only get to experience it, as consumers, as if we are watching it on TV- and I reckon, that discovering ground breaking shifts in human evolution, via the Discovery Channel, years after they happen, is not an individually deeply rewarding experience. As populations in our cities, have grown and grown, we have replaced concern with the direct experience of the individual with statistical concern for the majority percentage of the many. Which is why so many people can still be unhappy or depressed, despite the fact that their lives contain less death, hunger, poverty, disease, and numerous other positively indicated quality of life evaluation measurements. Western medicine is a statistical science in practise and theory and concerns itself ultimately with the individual only as a unit of population. The pharmaceutical industry, which funds the medical behemoth in part and provides it with its tools for healing, is predicated on the double blind testing of its drugs and their ability to work on the greatest statistical percentage of people with as few side effects as can be managed.

“Over the last 30 years, rates of depression have been steadily increasing in Western societies. In the last ten years, consumption of antidepressants has doubled in the most advanced Western countries. Today, more than 11 million Americans are taking antidepressants. The estimated number of people in Britain taking antidepressants is two million. In Australia, 66 percent of those seeing a GP for the first time about depression have a chance of being medicated – in most cases with antidepressants. These data are so stark that most of us and our institutions prefer not to think about them.”

Dr David Servan-Schreiber, Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Pittsburgh University School of Medicine

Author of Healing Without Freud or Prozac, 2004, Rodale.

So we live in a world, where care and concern, is officially monitored in terms of our per unit participation in demographic data for various population studies. We read in the newspaper, or online, about rates of unemployment, rates of breast cancer, rates of life expectancy, and rates of mortgage defaulting etc. We learn that if something affects the many then it must be powerful and have substance – it must be real. An example of this is the many chronic health conditions, which began under clouds of suspicion, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome began as this shady condition affecting bludgers and other weak and lazy people; Bulimia and Anorexia were likewise considered examples of neurotic women’s problems; ADHD is still doubtful in many people’s minds – but once weight of numbers builds up, then democracy grants acceptance for these diseased manifestations into the canon of medical reality. Pharmaceutical companies then go into overdrive to come up with a drug to cure them – often recycling ones that did not work out for other diseases, like Ritalin, now the drug of choice for ADHD and ADD.

Common sense is most people’s strongest definer of reality, meaning if the largest number of fellow citizens consider something to be so, then it must be so. The term common sense also has many subtle strands of meaning: its common sense! Can be exclaimed to mean that something is so manifestly obvious, that its truth cannot really be questioned. For something to be of common sense, it must appeal to a primary indicator of what is true, which is shared by the greater majority. We school our children in institutions made up of hundreds and sometimes thousands of pupils, we encourage socialisation and the herd mentality that goes with it. Common sense must survive the sometimes brutal testing of the mob and therefore have the appeal of being the lowest common denominator. Common sense is very often paraded as a decidedly uncommon virtue by those wielding it in argument.

I question whether common sense is the most apt indicator for the understanding of truth and also whether capitalism – the so called ‘free market’ and selling things – is the best distributor of truth. How will we, the masses, discover the changing nature of humanities perception of physical reality? Through our consumption of product, which has been created in light of the technological changes made possible by subatomic particle physics, and through the consumption of media informed by it. It has been over a hundred years since the first experiments baffled and perplexed physicists like Nils Bohr and Werner Heisenberg, before ultimately turning them 360 degrees around in a new direction. Yet most people have no idea about this reality shaking, new awareness and the consequences to our culturally accepted perception of what existence is made up of and our consciousness of it.

“I think it would be misleading to call particles, the entities involved in the most primitive events of the theory (quantum topology) because they don’t move in space, they don’t carry mass, they don’t have charge, they don’t have energy in the usual sense of the word.

Q – So what is it that makes events at that level?

A- Who are the dancers and who the dance? They have no attributes other than the dance.

Q- What is they?

A- The things that dance, the dancers. My God! We’re back to the title of the book.”

Physicist David Finkelstein & author Gary Zukav

The Dancing Wu Li Masters, 1979, Hutchinson & Co.

So the nature of matter, at the most fundamental level known to humanity, is a dance of energy and barely understood as matter. We have gone on, since the publication of this book, to comprehend that much of our known universe is in fact empty space and that we could fit all the actual particles or dancing energy, which make up the six billion people who inhabit the Earth, into a small suitcase. So perhaps Mother Earth is travelling light after all and cataclysmic disasters, like that which wiped out the Dinosaurs are not such a big deal, sub-atomically speaking anyway.

The most important aspect of this to understand, is that how the universe is perceived by those who make it their business to care, has had a filtering down effect upon humanity since the beginning of time. It may seem so much irrelevant bumph to those firmly rooted in the here and now of survival and making money, but once those, who wish to lead and control the rest of us, get hold of this information; they then utilise it for their own ends. In the West we are still greatly influenced by the thinkers and early scientists of the classical world, from ancient Greece and then Rome.

“Every domain of post-classical life and thought has been profoundly influenced by ancient models. True, these models have not always been interpreted in ways that a sober modern scholarship would consider correct. On the contrary: it has often been creative misunderstandings that have preserved the ancient heritage and made it useful.”

Edited by Anthony Grafton, Glen W Most & Salvatore Settis

The Classical Tradition, 2011, Belknap Press

Our very language, the meaning of our words, comes from those who thought in Ancient Greek and Latin. Homer the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, who was alive anywhere from 1200BC to 850BC, is a great example of where we can see the changes in consciousness, in the development of the words used to describe these states. Terms like thumos, phrenes, noos and psyche, which are the first recorded words referring to places within an individual where inner life is happening. There were no words for ‘mind’ or such as we would understand, and in the Iliad everything happens outside of the hero, through the directions of the gods. Achilles is directed by the goddess Athene in his actions against Hector, during the Trojan War, and the Iliad relates similar control over the other players into the hands of the gods. Thumos originally is used as a term in the poem to indicate spirit of life, as in it ceases to exist when a warrior is slain, it then evolves to incorporate the aroused pre-battle state experienced by a warrior; and then if it is not a god urging a man into battle it is his thumos. Julian Jaynes goes on to say:

“All these metaphors are extremely important. Saying that the internal sensations of large circulatory and muscular changes are a thing into which strength can be put is to generate an imagined ‘space’, here located always in the chest, which is the forerunner of the mind-space of contemporary consciousness. And to compare the function of that sensation to that of another person or even to the less-frequent gods is to begin those metaphor processes that will later become the analog ‘I’.”

Julian Jaynes

The Origin of Consciousness In the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind, 1976, First Mariner Books, pp 263.

Noos of course becomes nous, and this term is still used as a slang colloquialism in English to mean intelligence or smarts. It began in the Iliad as a term referring to perception or seeing, or a sight or show, as in for a warrior there is no better noos than hand to hand combat. Noos was then located in the chest and began to mean heart or spirit. Words in all languages evolve and often come to mean different things over time, but in these early recorded examples it can show us the development of how these people were thinking. These are the first recorded examples of the internalisation of consciousness in human beings.

This process obviously continued over time and grew and grew until we had such a strong sense of an inner subjective consciousness, and this was reflected and emphasised in our languages, that we separated mind from body; mind from matter. Dualism was born and came to flourish into Aristotelian physics, which really lasted from Aristotle’s time 384BC-322BC right up until Isaac Newton in the seventeenth century. It continues today as commonly held belief – that our minds are separate from our bodies. And most of us live inside our heads, within those 20cm from chin to the top of our skull. Well that is where we perceive ourselves to reside – to be floating somewhere inside our craniums; as we sit slumped on our couches at night staring at flickering screens and wondering why we are depressed. So our imagined space, where we consider our consciousness to reside, has moved from chest to head over the last couple of millennia.

Where do we reside inside ourselves? Do you know where your consciousness, spatially, has its abode? When you speak of your self, and your awareness of your self, where is that self inside you located? Where does the watcher live? What do you imagine when you refer to these things? How do you calibrate your own levels of self? Do you have a soul and is your mind separate from it?

Religion has made great use of this split between body and soul, and flourished in the crack like a healthy weed. For once you remove the necessity of having a corporeal presence, then you are unfettered by any physical limitations like material reality, you can bend truth any which way you like. God, in my opinion, is an invention based on our own inner reflections of mind space, and, seemingly, can float like a butterfly and sting like a bee (apologies to Muhammad Ali). Has there ever been a bigger fib than the one about there being a god? An all seeing, omnipresent , omnipotent and omnificent being, who, just like Santa, knows when you are good and definitely knows when you are bad. The thought police were invented by the Church and still exist in many people’s minds today, because if you are brought up with these fairy tales about good and evil, God and Satan, Jesus dying for your sins etc – then you have been brainwashed at an early and very vulnerable age to believe in fantasy. If your mummy and daddy believed in these things and their mummies and daddies also believed in all of this, then it becomes solidly fixed as a reality; a traditional lore established over generations. People stop questioning things like this and act out of deference to the past. It takes much greater strength to question and overcome tradition, to break away from the beliefs of your tribe. Because once you believe in things that have no verifiable relationship to reality, and are simply asked to have faith, then you are lost in Maya – an illusion of ancient parentage designed to control you within the flock.

“One facet of the many faces of religion is intense love focused on one supernatural person, i.e. God, plus reverence for icons of that person. Human life is driven largely by our selfish genes and by the processes of reinforcement. Much positive reinforcement derives from religion: warm and comforting feelings of being loved and protected in a dangerous world, loss of fear of death, help from the hills in response to prayer in difficult times, etc. Likewise, romantic love for another real person (usually of the other sex) exhibits the same intense concentration on the other and related positive reinforcements. These feelings can be triggered by icons of the other, such as letters, photographs, and even, as in Victorian times, locks of hair. The state of being in love has many physiological accompaniments, such as sighing like a furnace.”

John Smythies, Neuropsychiatrist, 2006 - http://wn.com/John_Raymond_Smythies

Ask yourself how many assumptions, about reality and existence, you hold among your most valued truths? How many untested beliefs live inside your consciousness? Is there a god? Is there good and evil? Do you believe in sin? What about love, what is love? What is the purpose of your existence?

Do you have any proof, any discernable evidence that would stand up in a court of law for your answers to the above questions? Why do you believe the things you do? Where did these beliefs come from? Who was involved in their transference to you?

The reality is, that just because something has been passed down to you by family, does not make it true. And just because something has been written in a book, and published, similarly does not make it true, even if it is a really old book, which has been accepted as the gospel truth over hundreds of years. Truth is something we all need to seek out ourselves, in our own lifetime, and see it put to the test by experience. At some point in time, we all need to put aside, the desire to be liked and to belong, and use our time on earth to find out what is really what. Don’t take my word for it – find out yourself!

Who are you? What are you? Beyond the roles you may play of wife, husband, partner, mother, father, daughter, son, and far beyond the work you may perform. Who are you really? Deep inside your consciousness, what are you? Go beyond the pat answers you may have read in some book and answer the question from your own true knowledge and experience. Nobody knows you as well as you know yourself! So who are you?

Are you an accident of nature? A dribble of sperm and some egg, that has grown into a human being and been given your name? If you don’t know who you are, then why are you here? What is your real purpose? Why are you alive this day? Why do you have consciousness?

©Sudha Hamilton

Tagged Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, antidepressants, beliefs, capitalism, chronic illnesses, classical life, common sense, consciousness, David Finkelstein, depression, drugs, Einstein, energy, existence, family, free markets, God, healing, humanity, inner life, Julian Jaynes, Latin, love, mass, meaning of life, metaphors, mob rule, Newtonian science, Nils Bohr, noos, parents, pharmaceuticals, physics, psychology, quantum physics, reality, religion, science, Servan-Schreiber, statistical medicine, subatomic, thumos, truth, uncertainty, universe, Werner Heisenberg, Western medicine

May 24 2011

Blog Posts, Meaning

Send Me Your Dreams

“Send me your dreams,” said the Devil, “and I will make them come true.”

“And all I want in return is a piddling little thing.

Your soul!”

But seriously folks I am writing a book at the moment and I require some data about dreaming in the 21C.

So send me a brief synopsis or summary about what you have been dreaming about recently.

Anonymity guaranteed for those who wish it – if you would like an acknowledgement please include details.

Send me your dreams!

Tagged author, book, data, dreaming twenty first century, dreams, publishing, research, sudha hamilton

May 04 2011

Blog Posts, Cultural Issues, History, Meaning, Reality, Religion, Science, Uncategorized

One God

Today in the harsh daylight of our overcrowded cities, in developed nations around the globe, we are encouraged to worship only one god, the holy dollar. People are rushing about in their cars, and on public transport, to reach their destinations, their places of work and of investment, where labour and lead may be turned into gold. Sitting at terminals, tapping keys, in the hope that interest rates will rise or fall, that the market will strengthen their position; and that bears will turn into bulls. If you can imagine an animated city scene, with hundreds of besuited pedestrians crossing the pavements, all with a cartoon circle above their heads, showing their thoughts as a dollar sign. This is the charge of the light brigade, where horses have become mobile phones and helmets and swords, iPods and sunglasses.

Newspapers, and online sources, today are filled with economic imperatives, and this obsession, which began in the late nineteen seventies, has become the overriding concern for dad and mum; and their kids. Money is on everyone’s lips and in everyone’s mind, how to get it, how to make it, how to keep it; and how to hide it. Everyone’s become a banker and governments are complicit in this – the tax department has driven these changes , as your tax return became more and more complex, you had to think like an accountant to make sense of it. Paul Keating, as rock star Treasurer, had a hand in it, as he, and PM Hawke, deregulated the banks and made public announcements about “banana state economies.” Suddenly everyone had to get up to speed on the balance of payments and interest rate figures daily made the front page. It was like a crash course in economics, skewed with the dramatics and sensationalism that sells papers.

There are and were positives, about this new found economic literacy amongst the hoi polloi, as people are always empowered by knowledge. In this new era of freedom, individuals and groups, were able to break down decades and centuries of banking obfuscation, to achieve their wants; even women, who had been particularly disadvantaged by the prejudices of this male dominated industry. Economic growth came spurting out, after years of lazy conservative rule, people got money and invested it in new businesses and real estate – the housing market exploded. Of course we got some excessive behaviour, Alan Bond, Christopher Skase etc but generally it was much more for the good, as a greater number and spread of people were enabled to become productive.

However, and I will use a controversial analogy here to illustrate my point, the economic awareness grew and has now become such an overweening thing that it has strangled all other gods. I liken it to the historical journey of Western women, from their hair covered and protected imprisonment in wifely roles, through the suffragettes and then the women’s liberation movement, up until now in their emancipated state from legislated prejudice; but still with the biological necessities to be women. This potentially challenging, dichotomous position is most dramatically seen in the form of the traditionally attired Islamic woman, as she represents the other extreme pole, as if she has just stepped out of the pages of history into the twenty first century. I respect the fiercely won freedoms of today’s Western woman, but also see the conflicting impact that the demands of the world have made upon the inner life of some women. In a similar vein, today’s awareness of the economic imperative has damaged the inner life of us all, removing perceived value from other pursuits not so closely held to the material bosom.

As Science, in the service of money, has slain the Christian religion, condemning it to the irrelevancy of a surfeit of poorly attended suburban churches clamouring for ageing attendees, the great god avarice has filled the breach. Materialism, what you can buy with money, has taken hold of head and heart inside the majority of us all. What is the holiest, most sacred, thing that you can purchase? It is of course the home, a house or flat, villa or apartment, but a home by any other name just the same. This haloed quest, the often life time journey devoted to owning your own home, is, in Australia anyway, a culturally approved goal that lies beneath the day to day activity of millions. It gives meaning to life to many of these people, and I imagine the banks must really love it. It reminds me of the association between diamond rings and marriage; doctors, pharmaceutical drugs and illness; and other firmly entrenched cultural beliefs. How do you get people to work all the time and do it more or less willingly? By making what they want so expensive that they have to. If the average home is priced around nine times the average annual income, and you have to borrow hundreds of thousands of dollars from the banks at substantial and fluctuating interest rates, then you are going to be tied into working for a very long time. Mentally, by the time you have paid off your house and loan, you are often so brain washed into that behaviour that you go on working anyway. Homes bought as investment properties, charge rentals at a market value so determined, that they can pay off housing loans and or profit accordingly – thus making shelter/housing expensive for everyone. The goal for many in owning their own home is financial freedom, which often really means, once achieved, becoming a landlord and profiting from others, for money as they say does not stand still and you will be advised by those who work with money to invest your new found freedom in more real estate; and the cycle continues.

Going to work every week day, and often doing something that you dislike in some way, treating another human being in a less than human way by focusing on the money at the expense of everything else, damages the soul some say. You might go to your doctor and complain that you are not feeling, dare I say it, happy, and he most probably will tell you that you are depressed and prescribe an antidepressant.

Dr David Servan-Schreiber, Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Pittsburgh University School of Medicine

Author of Healing Without Freud or Prozac, 2004, Rodale.

Then, in a tra la la drugged state, not caring so much about a lot of things, unable to achieve an orgasm, you will keep on doing what you were doing, working in much the same way and edging hopefully closer to that nirvana, called financial freedom. When you set out on the journey as a youngish adult, I imagine that the many things you associate with financial freedom will change over the years and that when you get there, often decades later, you will be a completely different person. It is like any long journey, in that it is better to make the experience of your journey your succour than the goal itself. Otherwise you are training yourself, every day, to switch off subtly and desensitise yourself to life, killing yourself a little bit each day in the hope that when you get to the end you will be able to turn yourself back on; and enjoy that wonderful financial freedom you see in the scenes depicted in those TV ads for the banks.

If you read a little history and have a good look at the Christian religion, you will see that belief in god, for much of their sixteen hundred years in power, was not optional. From the time of Constantine, the Roman emperor in the fourth century AD when Christianity became the state religion – the Holy Roman Catholic Church, if you did not believe in a Christian god, and their version of that Christian god, you were very likely to be put to death. This heavy handed approach began to soften after the Renaissance in the sixteenth century, but life remained very hard for those who did not acquiesce and worship in the prescribed manner. Jews of course were murdered, exiled, banned and generally hated since the time of Christ. The crusades slaughtered millions of Muslims over centuries and religious pogroms have continued the genocide of both Jews and Muslims by Christians. I always smile when I remember Sunday School, and the things I was told about the poor Christians being thrown to the lions by the Romans, of course this was true for the three centuries it happened, but nobody was teaching the children about the next twelve centuries of Christian atrocities committed against the rest of the world; and also within their own communities in the prosecution of heresies. History always favours the victors.

Within, and despite all this bloodshed, many people had an experience of god being present within their lives. It seems in a lot of instances to have provided these individuals with a sense of belonging to something divine, which was beyond the reach of those with the swords. I would posit that the very threat to some people’s belief in god, through perceived heretical accusations, as in the time of the Cathars in France in the thirteenth century, and in the very bloody later schism between Catholics and the Reformation Church in the sixteenth century, to name but a few, intensified their experience of their religion and god. Nobody loves quite so much as when that love is threatened and or about to go away. Religion, and or belief in god, is always like that enormous elephant in the room, which will not go away.

“Superstition requires credulity, just as true religion requires faith. Deep-rooted credulity is so powerful that it may even, in false beliefs, be thought to perform miracles. For if anyone believes most firmly that his religion is true, even if it is in fact false, he raises his spirit by reason of that very credulity until it becomes like the spirits who are the leaders and princes of that religion and seems to perform things which are not perceived by those in a normal and rational state.”

Cornelius Agrippa (1486-1535)

De Occulta Philosophia

I ask myself, a lot, what belief in god really is. Rationally there is no evidence for the existence of a god, and in my historical search so far, there never has been any evidence. In Christianity’s case, we now clearly know that the gospels in the Bible, which were written between seventy and up to two hundred years after the time of Jesus, are not reliable historical accounts and indeed are more like PR releases or overly favourable biographical sketches, designed to sell Christianity to the Roman power elite and others. The account of Pilate for instance, is completely fictitious and reworked by the writers of the gospels to exonerate the Romans from the execution of Jesus and to put that blame squarely upon the Jews; which has had onerous historical consequences to put it mildly. Christianity is not alone in creating fictions to make it divine and more than merely human, in PR and sales there is a great and long lasting tradition, which is about making your product uniquely special and divinity ticks all those boxes. The tablet which held the ten commandments, where is it and who else but Moses really saw it and if it was placed in the Ark of the Covenant, where is it also? The Mormons then, through their prophet, Joseph Smith Junior, and I imagine from his impression of the historical precedent set by Moses as reported in Exodus, had a solid gold tablet from the Angel Moroni containing their scriptures, which conveniently only Joseph actually saw. Now Christians, who believe in Jesus rising bodily from the dead, often chuckle softly at the unrealistic beliefs of other religions, whilst having no problem with the outlandish collection of miracle stories and the like contained in their Bible. When we inherit beliefs from our parents, these loving and respected beings, and they likewise inherited their beliefs from their parents and so on, it is easy to understand why these often ridiculous beliefs have lasted so long. It is hard to shoot down the firmly held beliefs of your elders and those whom you love; many people choose to turn away from confronting the elephant in the room.

Buddhism, both the Theravada and Mahayana schools of Buddhism, are also a collection of stories tinged with the magical properties of the divine. Siddhartha Gautama, the Nepalese prince did exist historically and most probably did venture out on a spiritual quest, but then the story tellers take over and we are regaled with unearthly feats designed to impress the uneducated masses. Hinduism is a fantastic collection of wildly colourful stories, creation myths involving gods and demons, many of them extraordinarily beautiful.

“An ancient Hindu warrior-king named Muchukunda was born from his father’s left side, the father having swallowed by mistake a fertility potion that the Brahmins had prepared for his wife; and in keeping with the promising symbolism of this miracle, the motherless marvel, fruit of the male womb, grew to be such a king among kings that when the gods, at one period, were suffering defeat in their perpetual contest with the demons, they called upon him for help. He assisted them to a mighty victory, and they, in their divine pleasure, granted him the realisation of his highest wish. But what should such a king, himself almost omnipotent, desire? What greatest boon of boons could be conceived of by such a master among men? King Muchukunda, so runs the story, was very tired after his battle: all he asked was that he might be granted a sleep without end, and that any person chancing to arouse him should be burned to a crisp by the first glance of his eye.

The boon was bestowed. In a cavern chamber, deep within the womb of a mountain, King Muchukunda retired to sleep, and there slumbered through the revolving eons. Individuals, peoples, civilisations, world ages, came into being out of the void and dropped back into it again, while the old king, in his state of subconscious bliss, endured. Timeless as the Freudian unconscious beneath the dramatic time world of our fluctuating ego-experience, that old mountain man, the drinker of deep sleep, lived on and on.

His awakening came- but with a surprising turn that throws into new perspective the whole problem of the hero-circuit, as well as the mystery of a mighty king’s request for sleep as the highest conceivable boon.

Vishnu, the Lord of the World, had become incarnate in the person of a beautiful youth named Krishna, who, having saved the land of India from a tyrannical race of demons, had assumed the throne. And he had been ruling in Utopian peace, when a horde of barbarians suddenly invaded from the northwest. Krishna the king went against them, but, in keeping with his divine nature, won the victory playfully, by a simple ruse. Unarmed and garlanded with lotuses, he came out of his stronghold and tempted the enemy king to pursue and catch him, then dodged into a cave. When the barbarian followed, he discovered someone lying there in the chamber, asleep.

“Oh!” thought he. “So he has lured me here and now feigns to be a harmless sleeper.”

He kicked the figure lying on the ground before him, and it stirred. It was King Muchukunda. The figure rose, and the eyes that had been closed for unnumbered cycles of creation, world history, and dissolution, opened slowly to the light. The first glance that went forth struck the enemy king, who burst into a torch of flame and was reduced immediately to a smoking heap of ash. Muchukunda turned, and the second glance struck the garlanded, beautiful youth, whom the awakened old king straightaway recognised by his radiance as an incarnation of God. And Muchukunda bowed before his Saviour with the following prayer:

“ My Lord God! When I lived and wrought as a man, I lived and wrought – straying restlessly; through many lives, birth after birth, I sought and suffered, nowhere knowing cease or rest. Distress I mistook for joy. Mirages appearing over the desert I mistook for refreshing waters. Delights I grasped, and what I obtained was misery. Kingly power and earthly possession, riches and might, friends and sons, wife and followers, everything that lures the senses: I wanted them all, because I believed that these would bring me beatitude. But the moment anything was mine it changed its nature, and became as a burning fire.

Then I found my way into the company of the gods, and they welcomed me as a companion. But where, still, surcease? Where rest? The creatures of this world, gods included, all are tricked, my Lord God, by your playful ruses; that is why they continue in their futile round of birth, life agony, old age, and death. Between lives, they confront the lord of the dead and are forced to endure hells of every degree of pitiless pain. And it all comes from you!

“My Lord God, deluded by your playful ruses, I too was a prey of the world, wandering in a labyrinth of error, netted in the meshes of ego-consciousness. Now, therefore, I take refuge in your Presence – the boundless, the adorable – desiring only freedom from it all.”

When Muchukunda stepped from his cave, he saw that men, since his departure, had become reduced in stature. He was as a giant among them. And so he departed from them again, retreated to the highest mountains, and there dedicated himself to the ascetic practices that should finally release him from his last attachment to the forms of being.

Muchukunda, in other words, instead of returning, decided to retreat one degree still further from the world. And who shall say that his decision was altogether without reason?”

Joseph Campbell

The Hero With A Thousand Faces, 1993, Fontana Press, pp 194-196.

I would say that the original author of this story was probably a new parent, indicated by the hero wishing for eternal sleep over all other riches LOL. What it also tells us, is that the successful religions, which have been taken up by kings and therefore the state, all have messages at their heart which assure the listener that the rewards and sufferings of life are nothing in comparison with the promises of divinity. These are not their only messages, but clearly that message would resonate with the suffering masses – to hear that all life, good and bad, is an illusion, would be a panacea to the many who were decidedly short changed by the distribution of commonwealth. It is kings who have driven religions and enforced participation in their rituals, and kings who have controlled and censored the scriptural content of these religion’s holy books. Kings have had much more need of religion and its ability to control the behaviour of adherents, than have subjects had need of religious beliefs.

The belief in a god, who will upon the death of the believer, even things up in terms of getting a fair share of the goodies, in heaven or some paradisiacal garden in the afterlife, has had broad appeal among the disadvantaged. I think we see that now in the fervent take up of extremist Islamic beliefs, many of these adherents are poor and have been racially slighted in the countries they reside in, and they believe that their actions and belief in a vengeful Allah will deliver them to paradise. The African American slaves took the Christian message of the meek inheriting the Earth to heart; women, who have been down trodden and abused by men, have found succour in religion, and it is often a belief which burns brightest in the hearts of mothers within a family; perhaps as salve to the tragedies that historically affected women through the deaths of their children. To believe in something better than avarice, competition and bloodshed is an understandable wish, if Darwinian evolution can only provide that the strong/intelligent will prevail, then it is perfectly understandable that humanity would invent a god that possibly offers the mercy of something else with a kinder face. Although the original incarnations of the old testament Judo-Christian religions were decidedly brutal.

“The great unmentionable evil at the centre of our culture is monotheism. From a barbaric Bronze Age text known as the Old Testament, three anti-human religions have evolved – Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. These are sky-god religions. They are, literally, patriarchal – god is the Omnipotent Father – hence the loathing of women for 2000 years in those countries afflicted by the sky-god and his earthly male delegates.”

Gore Vidal

The belief in god has been used by the strong to justify their rule and control over others, the divine right of kings to rule, and the same belief has been employed by the weak to salve their hurts and pains in the hope for a better deal in the afterlife; it is a flexible beast this elephant. All religions seem to make a heap of promises, which require your extinction before they pay out on them, and as nobody has as yet returned from the dead (Jesus excepting but then he works for them) we are none the wiser when it comes to knowing their truth and efficacy. The poor and down trodden masses, who were forced to subscribe to the state religion – the Holy Roman Catholic Church – would have taken what message of hope they could from their time in church. The church collected taxes from these same people and controlled their lives as much as the king, for hundreds of years people were expected to go on a religious pilgrimage during their lives and if they did not they were expected to pay the church the equivalent amount of money they would have spent on their holy journey. Representatives of the church would sell common folk religious relics, purporting to be splinters of the cross that crucified Jesus and the like, and absolutions; so you could buy a piece of heaven, a bit like you can buy financial freedom through home ownership today.

I would say that in our relationship with the new religion, materialism, we have done away with a good deal of hypocrisy about money and its importance in our lives. When I was growing up it was considered rude to ask direct questions about money, which set me back somewhat for many years when it came to negotiating transactions. It was bad form to ask how much something was worth – shopping could be a struggle – bad manners to ask how much someone earnt for a living – life was a bit less exacting I suppose – I imagine as it was before the advent of the electric light, when the edges of existence were not so pronounced in gaslight and candle light. Not a bad thing sometimes to have a bit more mystery. There was however a great deal of downplaying falsely of the importance of money and this was simple dishonesty in many instances. A bit like not being able to talk about ‘fucking’ and always having to say ‘making love’ when referring to sex, which was also the case when I was growing up, at least in polite society or with a lady. But sometimes ‘fucking’ is a more correct description for the activity and incorporates more of our animal natures, whereas ‘making love’ is a far more ethereal term, non-corporeal in fact; and “fucking” is after all only a small part of making love. There always needs to be black and white in the equation, otherwise if we are forced to pretend to only live in the light, we will get corruption, as we do with celibate priests and all those who deny the darkness and their shadow side.

Similarly we need the balance of spirit, inchoate things inside of us, anti-matter if you like, especially now in the time of money. When the zeitgeist is the passion for money and the things that money can buy and people are marching to the consumerist beat, for technological toys like IPhone’s and other gadgets, then the opposite pole becomes so very important. Familiarity breeds contempt and that is what is happening, and will happen even more, with materialism, its strident voice drowns out the sensitive and the mysterious. Science like a Krispy Kreme doughnut has deliciously explained the how but has nothing at its centre to explain the why – consciousness continues to elude neuroscience and all other branches of material knowledge. We need to realise that just because we have named a street on a map and given a moment in time a precise number, that it does not truly define the reality of that particular space and moment. We have killed the mystery, the unexpected nature of existence, by naming and measuring everything and then agreeing amongst ourselves that this is its only reality – we have turned symbols into things and references into realities. No wonder so many people are depressed, having lost contact with the earth beneath their feet, because they are walking on a line on a map inside their head.

I wonder if you or I were to go and lie in a dark cave for a year, a space with no light whatsoever, but with enough warmth, food and comfort to sustain us, and we had no contact with the outside world for that entire year – how we would be on our emergence from the cave after the year? Would our consciousnesses be changed, affected, transformed in any meaningful way? What would we encounter within our own psyches and would the zeitgeist of the times slip away? I imagine that our thoughts would continue to go around and around, as they do, chasing their own tails and tales. But after awhile, with no points of external reference, with which to reinforce their existence, these thoughts would, I suspect, evolve or devolve. Perhaps as in a spiral motion returning to their points of origin, regressing to where they came from – things someone said that we appropriated; wisdom from mum and dad; teachers and mentors; books that we have read; Sunday School scriptures; and finally back even further as we lie there in the pure blackness. We would, I suspect, begin to break down all thoughts and all the things we live by, our moral compass so to speak, our very own philosophy of life, and things would be reduced to essentialities and much of the guff would simply fall away. Close your eyes now and drift away into that eternal night of King Muchukunda.

©Sudha Hamilton

Tagged antidepressants, Australia, banking, belief, Bob Hawke, Buddhism, Cathars, Christianity, Church, Constantine, doctors, economics, financial freedom, genocide, GP's, Hinduism, history, home ownership, investment, Islam, Jesus Christ, jobs, Judaism, Krishna, materialism, money, Mormons, Moses, Muchukunda, one god, Paul Keating, persecution, pogroms, prejudice, Reformation, religion, Roamn catholic Church, science, spirituality, Vishnu, women, womens liberation, work

Apr 20 2011

graphic design studio sunshine coast

Cultural Issues, Health, Meaning, New Ideas, parenting, Reality, Reviews, Science, Uncategorized

What is being human?

Our Posthuman Future – Consequences of the Biotechnology Revolution

By Francis Fukuyama

Profile Books, 2003.

Book Review

A disturbing orange cover, with a picture of what looks like a conveyer belt full of robotic looking babies stretching into infinity, possibly delayed my reading of this brilliant book. Its publication date accidentally synchronised with the birth of my own children and perhaps I was too involved in the real thing to have the time to read about biotechnology and its impact on humanity; well I am glad I finally have. Francis Fukuyama likes to invoke the heavy hitters of philosophy right off and Nietzsche’s ominous quotes are littered throughout at chapter beginnings, I suppose it is called getting your attention. Fukuyama weaves around all over the place a bit at first, delineating things by way of reference to George Orwell’s 1984 and Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, before settling down and finding his stride. These two books were the two poles of possible fears for Fukuyama’s American baby boomer generation, representing the futuristic totalitarian IT nightmare in the former and the more creepy biotechnological nirvana in the latter. We have of course now arrived into a world where, both the technologies featured in these two books are part of our reality, and the author goes on throughout his book to show, that it is the biotechnological possibilities of which we have most to fear.

He classifies biotechnology into three major parts: Neuropharmacology; Genetic Engineering; and Lifespan Extension. Beginning with Neuropharmacology Fukuyama paints a vivid picture of now, in our Western urban worlds, with facts about the prevalence of antidepressant drug use through Prozac and its many SSRI cousins, and even more disturbingly the massive use of Ritalin being prescribed for our children. We are deeply involved in mind and behaviour control on a societal level through our complacent acceptance of these drugs. Doctors are prescribing antidepressants and amphetamines to men, women and children at an alarming rate. Why is this happening? Why has something like ADHD suddenly gone from not existing at all to enormous levels within our communities? Fukuyama does not take a moralistic tone in his discussion about this but brings the facts and their ramifications into sharp focus. There are various forces at work within these situations: our expectations regarding happiness are very different now to twenty or thirty years ago and our reliance on medical science has been consistently encouraged by governments and the pharmaceutical industry during the last few decades. Economically we are all expected to provide maximum levels of productivity, whether you are a mother or a teacher, we do not have the same amount of time to devote to the care of our children in many cases and we therefore expect our children to be more cooperative at school and at home. When they are not we now classify them as deficient in attention and drug them.

At the same time, as we are officially giving happy pills to a substantial percentage of our population, we are condemning and prosecuting another large section as illegal drug users. You can see the strange hypocrisy in this fact, as Fukuyama points out the similarities, chemically speaking, between many of these drugs, like Ecstasy and the SSRI’s, and that Speed is an amphetamine like Ritalin. It is these fine lines of demarcation within our societies, defining what neuropharmacology is really for, that this book explores. Drugs are OK if we are sick but are bad if merely for pleasure and that certain levels of unhappiness then become sickness (depression), as do certain levels of not paying enough attention (ADHD). Who is deciding the points on the scale? Doctors and the medical industry? Don’t they have a vested interest in all these matters and indeed a trillion dollar interest in pharmacology? A lot of what this book is about, is asking who in our Western civilised worlds should be making these decisions for society and is it really OK to let the market decide? Being an American, Francis Fukuyama is living in the nation, which has the most avaristic culture in the world, especially around technological developments; as we have seen in the IT industry. He postulates that we as a world need to think about the consequences of these biotechnological developments and legislate for them; for our own protection.

Moving on to Genetic Engineering, and the myriad of biotechnological challenges we now and in the very near future face, Fukuyama shepherds in Dolly the Sheep and its obvious pointer to human cloning. Human cloning is currently banned in most countries and faces a huge amount of legal discussion, as to the rights of a clone within our societies. The whole genetic question raises the unholy spectre of Eugenics and the Nazis experiments on the weak and their racially judged inferiors. It was not only in Germany and Japan, where these ghastly experiments went on, scientists in the US in a Jewish hospital infected the chronically ill with cancer cells, in another case it was mentally retarded children with hepatitis and the more famous case (they made a movie about it) of 400 black men, many of whom were purposely not treated for syphilis with available medication to record the diseases progression. Fukuyama’s book indicates that this whole racial genetic argument is still very much alive in the US and that the nurture versus nature questions splits the sciences down the middle on political grounds. He states that the Left have always come down on the side of environmental factors affecting intelligence levels within races – not enough to eat so the brain doesn’t develop – where the Right have been firmly on the side of white people being genetically superior in terms of intelligence. Reading all this myself I wondered about the tests being utilised in all this so called intelligence testing, the criteria for intelligence and how it is judged? Scientists, politicians and bureaucrats all testing on the basis of their own preconceived ideas about what it is to be intelligent in a predominantly white Anglo Saxon culture. And even beyond questions of race what is intelligence anyway, is it IQ or Emotional Intelligence or Spiritual Intelligence?

The horrors of rational fascistic science have lodged in the cultural consciousness and so there is a justifiable amount of fear around Genetic Engineering. In contrast to this are the things we now can do about diseases and conditions like cystic fibrosis and Down’s syndrome, which are now being screened for with preimplantation genetic diagnosis. The extension of this will be designer babies, where technology again offers the graduation from avoidance of sickness to ideas of perfection. Introducing questions of who will be able to afford it and will this become the province of the rich, thus increasing the gulf between the haves and have nots? The author emphasises again that governments must play their part in making sure that genetic engineering does not disadvantage the already disadvantaged within our communities; and goes further to suggest that it could indeed be a technology used to improve things for these sections of the community. Fukuyama recommends international bodies for the guidance of biotechnology and offers the examples in the nuclear industry as proof of possible efficacy in this regard. The dangers of the nuclear industry (as seen by the crisis currently in Japan) are, I think he is inferring, on par with the dangers inherent in the biotechnology sphere.

Francis Fukuyama talks a lot about what it means to be human and the essential qualities of humanness. He invokes Aristotle and a whole pantheon of philosophers and moral judges in answering this question. In the end I think he comes down on the side of feeling, that it is our human feelings which define us as human. So we have the harsh and hostile world of Darwinian evolution and the men in white lab coats on one hand and the subjective consciousness of the feeling world on the other, his book may be an informed cry for help. An Achtung before it is too late and we have sold our humanness for bigger boobs, and smarter and taller, better looking kids. Stem cell therapy and the use of research involving embryos are or have been hot topics recently, with governments voting on legislation, and often doing so as votes of conscience rather than on party policy grounds. The ability to grow new cells and possibly limbs and other organs for the sick versus the rights of the unborn. This takes us back to abortion and how that is still used in many Eastern countries as a genetic engineering tool in favour of males over females in the human species. Abortion is a very volatile topic in the US especially, and anything to do with it opens up that great religious divide and debate. The genetic engineering argument embraces the scientist’s pragmatic view that if we are terminating unwanted pregnancies, and also if there are extra embryos left over from IVF, then we should be using these for embryonic stem cell research. Against this we have the Right To Life religious organisations and also non-religious anti-biotechnology groups, who see this work as a corruption of the rights of the individual, which opens the question – at what age do we become human?

The third part of this whole dilemma, according to Fukuyama, is science’s work in prolonging our life expectancies. The twentieth century has seen the life expectancies raised in women from 46.3 and men from 48.3, in the US in 1900, to that of 79.9 for women and 74.2 for men in the year 2000. The author points out, when you combine this with falling birth rates in most Western countries we are now facing a rapidly changing age demographic, meaning that fewer young people will be supporting many more older and infirm people in our communities and economies. In addition to the well publicised affect this will have on social security systems, there will be further ramifications with a growing divide internationally, with developing nations with higher birth rates having younger population demographics; more angry young men. Fukuyama posits that the US will have a decidedly older and more feminine population, as women live longer, and that this will contrast politically with their dealings with these young countries (I think it more likely to be a good thing as grandma is less likely to bomb people). Our Posthuman Future goes onto list many of the possible scenarios related to these population and demographic shifts related to life span extension, and in particular talks about our attitudes to the elderly, facing challenges; when we are forced to care for them on mass and they are taking our jobs – (which the baby boomers have been doing for years in Australia LOL). Fukuyama spells out the medical facts about prolonging life spans and that quality of life experience will not necessarily accompany this extension; and that our cultural worshipping of youth is very much about sexual reproductivity. Lives lived for the majority of years as aged, and non-reproductively, will present clear cultural and psychological challenges for the participants and for all those around them. Medical science is taking us all down this path because nobody really wants to die and wants to see their parents die, and euthanasia is feared by many within our societies. We do and will need to have these discussions about death and what it means to have a life, beyond the ‘hands off’ and keep everything alive for as long as possible, which is the current position of governments and medical science. I think we as a community will have to grow up and religions will need to pull their heads out of the sands of two millennia ago – which is when their religious texts were written.

Francis Fukuyama, being an American and working in the US education system, as the Professor of International Political Economy at John Hopkins University, in my opinion shies away from stressing the very large part that the free market in our capitalist economy plays in this. Despite the fact that the overall message of his book is that we need impartial democratic government bodies policing biotechnology, I still think the author misses out on emphasising the fact, that we as a society leave a great deal of medical science in the hands of a market intent on making as much money as possible out of whatever situation they find or create. Our democratically elected representatives in government are too dependent on popular decisions and election campaign dollars from the pharmaceutical industry. Our scientists are equally dependent on private enterprise funded research grants and even the scientific journals, which publish the reports, are dependent on big pharma advertising dollars. If we value the dollar over everything else how will we ever get any impartiality in any decision making body and if every government department is only potentially lasting four or five years how can we carry out any far reaching legislation?

This is a really worthwhile and enjoyable book to read, drawing on our great Western philosophical canon to pose many of the questions, we as a society face in regard to the biotechnological revolution.

©Sudha Hamilton

Sacred Chef cooking school on the sunshine coast for nutritious and delicious food – fun learning and intelligent living!

Tagged abortion, biotechnology, cloning, control, designer babies, DNA, embryonic stem cells, embryos, eugenics, Francis Fukuyama, genetic engineering, genetics, Government, human cloning, life extension, medical science, nazi, neuropharmacological, nietzsche, pharmaceutical industry, philosophy, politics, posthuman, race, racial equality, religion, right to life, science

Apr 14 2011

Blog Posts, History, Reviews

Who Murdered Chaucer?

Who Murdered Chaucer?

Book Review

Who Murdered Chaucer? – A Medieval Mystery

By Terry Jones, Robert Yeager, Terry Dolan, Alan Fletcher, Juliette Dor

Methuen, 2004.

Geoffrey Chaucer, poet and most importantly one of the earliest literary stars of the English language, was the author of The Canterbury Tales – a celebrated collection of verse pieces which have provided an incredibly rich source of historical information about the types of people inhabiting the Middle Ages. Many of us studied Chaucer at school, and I am afraid, that by dint of either my own shallowness or via unenthusiastic teaching, I was not a big fan at the time– the early English language was quite challenging I seem to remember – he remains however a major influence upon our Western canon. Like much of the history taught at school, a great deal of important information and context was omitted, thus denuding what could have been a powerful lesson about real life. You see, Chaucer seems to have been disappeared, in the same way, that more recently, people in South American countries have been disappeared by forces within their governments.

I don’t know if it is merely that the majority of people who study history and literature are averse to making waves, or that it is something else entirely, but we seem to get a dry, unquestioning version of history being passed down in our educational institutions. I know here in Australia, teaching was always the profession of choice for the less academically gifted and the ones who didn’t really know what they wanted to do at university. Perhaps the title of this essay should really be, Who Murdered History? As one of the primary integral qualities for teaching must be passion, if a teacher’s communication is not imbued with enthusiasm and real care for the topic, then who is going to listen to him or her?

Geoffrey Chaucer was a poet and scholar in the court of the English king, Richard the second, at the close of the fourteenth century. Now if you are at all familiar with medieval history, or Shakespeare, you will know that Richard II has a seriously sullied reputation as the fey, spoilt, generally unloved king, who was usurped by a far more deserving Henry IV. Here however, is a great example of the fact that history is written by the victor, and the disappointing thing in this circumstance is that in this case, it has been unquestionably accepted by historians down the centuries. I personally came across Richard II as an acting student, when I was doing my NIDA audition – I studied Shakespeare’s play of the same name and chose an audition piece, of Richard expressing his outrage and righteous indignation at being deposed. The whole experience made a lasting impression upon me and I found it very interesting to revisit this piece of history. Terry Jones and his co-authors make it abundantly clear, that Richard was not the despot history and Shakespeare made him out to be, citing chronicled evidence to the contrary. More importantly they show that these chronicles, kept by the religious orders within their abbeys (Westminster, Kirkstall), had been doctored and amended once Henry IV had taken the throne.

Richard II had ascended the throne at the age of ten, and so you can imagine the difficulties he had in establishing his authority as he grew into the role, with overweening advisors and power hungry barons all around him. Terry Jones posits, that far from being a weak and corrupt king, Richard was in fact a king who was at the forefront of new royal practises. He suggests that Richard was creating a uniquely English court, and that Chaucer, with his wonderful wielding of the newly flourishing English language(in contrast to Latin and French), was a big part of that. Richard resisted supporting the maintenance of the military campaigns in France, that his father, the Black Prince, and grandfather Edward III and his forebears had campaigned so vigorously at. Indeed he wished for a peaceful reign and copped a great deal of flak from the more warlord like dukes around him. Similarly today in the United States, great chunks of their industrial wealth is based on armaments and technologies of war, and Presidents are lobbied to support these activities to maintain the economy (Donald Rumsfeld and George W Bush in Iraq). Likewise, several of the barons around Richard, depended upon constant military actions for their upkeep and any threat to this was viewed with great resistance, especially by Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester, Richard’s uncle and the youngest son of Edward III. Often this military action was portrayed, especially to the poor, as courageous and brave behaviour to be admired in a man and a leader; manipulations utilising cultural assumptions that still exist today. So Richard reigned during a precarious time and his behaviour actually challenged the status quo, in ways, which we would now admire in our modern more peaceful world.

Terry Jones and co-authors make clear that Richard II, once he had taken personal control over the realm in 1389, made the pursuit of peace with France a priority. They cite the influence of Giles of Rome, the Italian theologian and philosopher, in Richard’s education, as a setter of kingly aspirations in the direction of peace. They also suggest that Richard may have been a more intellectual king than his predecessors, and one who fostered and encouraged men of letters; like Chaucer and his contemporaries. Jones makes a good argument for Richard’s court being one of new ideas and creativity; and in a cultural ferment with the recently flourishing English language at its centre.

‘Namoore of this, for Goddes dignitee,’

Quod oure Hooste, ‘for thou makest me

So wery of they verray lewednesse

That, also wisly God my soule blesse,

Myne eres aken of thy drasty speche.

Now swich a rym the devel I biteche!

This may wel be rym doggerel,’ quod he.

The Canterbury Tales, VII, II. 919-25

‘No more of this, for God’s dignity,’

Swore our Host, ‘for you make me

So weary of your total unlearnedness

That, just as God will bless my soul,

My ears are aching with your dreadful speech.

Now such a rhyme I’ll teach the devil!

This may well be doggerel rhyme, ‘ said he.

It is interesting to read the early English employed by Chaucer and in particular the spellings of the words – I found it threw new light and understanding about certain words and their origins. The piece above by Chaucer, is in the persona of the character Harry Bailey, and highlights the author’s opinions of the travelling minstrels, who were the traditional courtly entertainers before the advent of the poet/authors. A modern parallel for this evolution in courtly tastes would be the difference between the singer/songwriters of the sixties (Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell) and the vocalists or cover bands of the previous decade , who did popular renditions of standards. So Richard II was a new type of ruler and under him there flowered a new language, new expressions and new ideas.

In the book Who Murdered Chaucer? the authors describe the effect this change had on those with vested interests in how things were, and the Roman Catholic Church was one organisation who had deeply rooted and very valuable vested interests in medieval England. The powerful leaders of the Church were busy protecting their own authority against forces for change, like John Wyclif, an Oxford theologian who translated the Bible into English and was against many of the commercial aspects of the Church. Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Arundel, eventually aligned the Church establishment in its reactionary crushing of all dissent and introduced the practise of burning heretics at the stake into England. Terry Jones and co-authors produce evidence, that it was the recently exiled Archbishop Arundel who joined forced with Henry Bolingbroke, Earl of Derby, another recently exiled by Richard II, to topple the young king and place Henry on the throne. Together they travelled from Europe back to England illegally, and became irresistible forces of conservatism, appealing to the barons and bishops who had been dismayed and offended by Richard’s new methods and associations. Richard II had been surrounding himself with men of ideas and letters, who were not necessarily from the aristocratic classes, and promoting these men of middle class into positions of power. This is suggested as one reason for the relatively quick and successful usurpation by Henry, as he and Arundel were able to unite the anti-Richard forces together and bring down the king.

Chaucer, and his literary cohorts, had under Richard II been able to express a number of quite radical ideas in their work, ideas about the role of the Church and State. There are many Wyclifian concepts within Chaucer’s work, and in particular in the mouths of certain characters, who inhabit The Canterbury Tales. The Poor Parson truly embodies Christ like behaviours in his holy thoughts and good works, and these sit in direct contrast to the avaristic exemplars of what Jones calls the ‘Church Commercial.’ Chaucer parodies other Church representatives, like Friar Huberd in The General Prologue and the character of the Summoner in The Summoner’s Tale, conveying the well known corruption within the Church, being practised by these ecclesiastical officers. The selling of relics to the general public, pieces of the holy cross which crucified Jesus and a myriad of other bogus bits of rubbish, was rife throughout Christendom. In addition to this, people were encouraged to purchase prayers, and if they did not go on a pilgrimage they were expected to donate the dollar value of the journey to the Church in compensation. The Church collected taxes from everyone in the form of tithes, which could be 10% of their income or more. Basically the Church was a vehicle for the systematic abuse and exploitation of the population. It was run by the disinherited children of the aristocracy, the sons who were not first born, and became their private fiefdoms – many bishops were ordained at the ages of twelve and fifteen. You had the irony of the Church being run by completely irreligious people, who were more akin to our corporate CEO’s today.

Archbishop Thomas Arundel, was like a Rupert Murdoch of the Church Commercial, conspiring to prevent the radical forces of change from interrupting the control exerted by the Church and the flow of revenue coming to it. Chaucer could be seen as a literary lion, who expounded with humour and style the lie of the land, and told those who would listen, what was really going on. During Richard’s reign this was permissible and Terry Jones would say perhaps even encouraged, but upon Henry IV taking over, it was now an entirely different universe. The rules had changed and it was unfortunate for Chaucer that he had a written body of work out there, which could act as evidence of his heretical beliefs. Like many usurpers Henry IV was insecure, especially just after murdering an anointed king in Richard II, and he looked to secure his newly stolen throne by a policy of containment and suppression. Apart from the evidence of his sending out a directive to all chroniclers, that he wished to witness what they had written, an unspoken message that said you better write nice things about me and my new rulership of the realm or else, there was also a spate of mob executions of most of Richard’s friends and allies. Henry IV, with the help of the master strategist Arundel, was able to eradicate much of his opposition without directly bloodying his hands. The last known record of Chaucer, was that he had in the year 1400, just taken out a 53 year lease on a house in the garden of Lady Chapel, in Westminster Abbey. Westminster was a sanctuary of the Church, which meant that theoretically it was a place you could go and not be touched by forces of the State, but in practise it did not stop determined agents riding in and dispatching whoever they were really after. Westminster became known as a place where people who were still loyal to Richard II gathered, and indeed the Abbey itself, was implicated in a plot to overthrow the new king and this was discovered by Henry IV not long after the usurpation; and there were deadly ramifications for some of those involved. So it was a time of secrets and suspicions, a bit like East Berlin during the cold war, and those writers and liberals who had flourished in Richard’s court were under the microscope of Archbishop Arundel and Henry IV.

John Gower, a Chaucer contemporary, managed to rewrite sections of his Confessio Amantis, swapping praise of Richard II to Henry of Lancaster, and this rewriting of history to support Henry IV’s new regime was so successful that it was used by later historians to justify the Lancastrian view of English history. This was one example among many of the exorcising of Richard II from histories warm embrace and his consignment into no-speak and ignominy. Thus we have had six centuries of misinformation and unfounded slander upon Richard II and his reign. This book and its detailed referencing of available records and evidence, really showed me how easily history can be re-edited by those who control the information and records. If we do not ask the question and are not prepared to dig a bit deeper then we will never know the truth.

There is no clear and incontrovertible evidence that Chaucer was murdered by agents on behalf of Arundel or Henry IV, but there is a long list of unexplainable facts.

Why did Chaucer the literary star of his day just disappear?
Why did he leave no Will, when he was a meticulous public servant?
Why was no monument built to him?
Why do none of his own copies of his work survive today?
Why is his death eulogised as a tragedy by other poets?

It seems as if Geoffrey Chaucer, England’s most esteemed poet and public servant, just dropped off the face of the Earth. It is the very lack of recorded information about his death, which points to something decidedly suspicious having occurred and the likelihood that he may have died in Archbishop Arundel’s prison; like many other perceived heretics of the time. Arundel used the uncertainty of the times to eradicate enemies of the Church at home and managed through the threat of burning heretics at the stake to get many dissenting voices within the Church to recant and retract their statements. William Sawtre was the first man burnt at the stake in this new England, this religious police state. Sir Lewis Clifford, one of Chaucer’s oldest friends and one of the Church’s most outspoken critics , was persuaded to recant under the new regime and to bow before the unholy spectre of an agonising death amid the flames. Chaucer’s fellow poet John Montagu, the Earl of Salisbury, was ripped to pieces by the mob at Cirencester in the wake of an abortive revolt in 1400. This was a very scary time to be alive, if you held to an alternative view about Henry IV’s right to be on the throne and the nature of Church and State.

Nobody knows exactly when Chaucer died, whether it was the year 1400 or 1402, various biographers down the ages have drawn on misinformation and then compounded that by using that as mistaken sources for factual information. Like a few journalists today, I suppose these biographers thought why spoil a good story just because there are no concrete facts about the ending. Most commonly Chaucer is depicted as gently dying of old age, in a state of contentment at his own home, of course there is no evidence for this and a whole lot of holes in the story – what happened to his substantial library (books were very rare and valuable in 1400) and his own copies of his body of work? Why didn’t an old man, well versed in the law as a respected public servant in the employ of a king, leave a Will? Very strange indeed and highly unlikely. Who murdered Chaucer? The most likely candidates, Archbishop Arundel and Henry IV, have swept clean histories trail and left little trace, but the book concludes, that the glaring omissions of any recorded evidence regarding Chaucer’s final days and demise are highly suspicious, and considering that they quietly despatched Richard II with similarly no official announcement- it is, in detective speak, their MO modus operandi.

©Sudha Hamilton

Tagged Archbishop Arundel, Black Prince, Chaucer, Edward III, English history, English kings, English language, English literature, fourteenth century, French, Henry IV, John Gower, John Wyclif, Lancaster, Latin, Medieval history, Middle Ages, Parsons Tale, poetry, Richard II, Roman Catholic Church, Shakespeare, The Canterbury Tales, verse, York

Mar 29 2011

Meaning, Reality, Reviews, Science

Finally finished with physics

Book Review

The Dancing Wu Li Masters

By Gary Zukav

Fontana/Collins 1980.

Who else out there, has carried a book around with them for twenty plus years, with the intention of reading that book, because it is really something they ought to read? That book for me, has been The Dancing Wu Li Masters by Gary Zukav, first published in 1979 and subtitled – An Overview of the New Physics. Now I was never big on science at school, in fact I only did biology in my final years of school, because you had to do at least one science or math subject for tertiary admittance, and I failed that (biology not my TAE). In the years since I have developed a far keener interest in the non-humanities and I put down my adolescent indifference to the sciences, to the appalling teachers we had – repressed science types with no flair for teaching. In the intervening years, I have found a fulfilling passion for Richard Dawkins, the celebrated atheist and biologist, reading several of his enlightening books about selfish genes and blind watch makers (being a selfish bastard myself I could easily relate to those genes). I have also flirted with neuroscience and a number of studies of the human brain by a variety of scientific authors.

I suppose, however, I have read more of what they call pseudoscience than anything else, all those self-help authors who have picked up a scientific concept or two along the way, and expounded upon them for a book or ten. Deepak Chopra springs to mind but there have been many more, Wayne Dyer, Stuart Wilde, Ken Wilber, and the list could go on and on. What these authors were and are, are great communicators – able to deliver a concept with best selling aplomb. Gary Zukav, fits into this category, but the content of The Dancing Wu Li Master does not – physics of the non-Newtonian, non-classical sort, is not light reading.

The mystery of the sub-atomic world and its quantum mechanical behaviour has always appealed to me. Sure, the gist of it all, has leaked out into my world over the last thirty years and has conceptually influenced many of the seminars I have attended and many of those pseudoscientific books I have read. Still I wanted to read this account of it and I had carried this book with me for most of those thirty years. The fact is, it wasn’t even my book, as confirmed by the name inscribed in the fly leaf, it was an old girlfriends and I am not even sure if my appropriation of it was entirely mutually consenting – but this kind of things often happens with books doesn’t it? I had of course made several attempts to read the thing over the years, but a number of issues had prevented me each time. These stumbling blocks are clearly visible now in hindsight, but at the time were not.

Firstly, the edition of this book was a Fontana paperback, now yellowing with age, and the size of the type is highly sympathetic to the sub-atomic subject matter. I would begin the book and after struggling through a couple of pages, listing experiments involving excited atoms and a Danish physicist in 1913, I would begin to glaze over and squint at the black micro copy now dancing on the page. If I had also had a few glasses of wine with dinner, then the whole campaign would be very short lived and the petit paperback would find its way back onto the bookshelf; to be lost for another half decade or so.

Another little matter, or amusing literary device employed by the author, Gary Zukav, which I was entirely unaware of in my earlier unsuccessful stints at reading the book, was the fact that there are multiple chapters but they are all entitled Chapter One. So to the dilettante reader who makes only occasional forays into the book, one never seems to make any headway and when picking the book up again after a break is never sure where he is up to. This in combination with the seemingly nonsensical content of quantum physics is almost a guarantee of unreadability.

However, today, I stand before you as a new man who has now read an overview of the new physics. I did have to make a few changes in my life for this remarkable achievement to have finally occurred. My marriage break down and separation, was an important stepping stone I now see, and the following break down and separation from my subsequent lover was also a vital link in the chain. I would also posit, that my removal from all friends and acquaintances, was equally integral to creating the necessary ambience for the reading of this title. Not having a job, which could get in the way and distract from the level of concentration required, was another step in the right direction. In toto I would say that all of these things contributed to having the time and space to complete my reading of The Dancing Wu Li Masters.

It is an excellent and at times exciting book about a topic that is often imponderable and at heart indescribable. Quantum Theory is really a theory about the ultimately elusive nature of matter’s smallest building blocks. Very early on in the book we discover that these sub-atomic particles can be observed to be behaving as both waves and particles, but not at the same time. This immediately, for the first time since Isaac Newton gave us our classical world view of the physical nature of all things, created uncertainty; bona fide scientific uncertainty. What does science love to do in such circumstances? Name things of course, so we end up with Werner Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle , which states that we cannot know both the position and the momentum of a particle with absolute precision. The more we know about its position, the less we can then know about its momentum. Our study of the sub-atomic world was taking us beyond what we knew as common sense and delivering us into an unknown realm of maybes. The book shares the shocking sentiment, this experimentally verified new physical reality sent into the established scientific world. Nothing would ever be the same again in that once rock solid scientific strata.

Quantum physics questions, and then dissembles, the once sanctified truth, which was the separation between the observer and what was being measured. In the old Newtonian scientific view, when and where an experiment was held, all things being declared, had no measurable influence on the outcome. Not so in the sub-atomic universe, as particles or waves appeared and disappeared depending upon the observer’s intention to observe. Zukav then begins to introduce the parallels with Eastern philosophical mysticism and in particular it’s understanding that language can never deliver experience. Similarly words and even mathematics cannot adequately convey what is truly happening on the sub-atomic level. All languages have their own symbology and rules which define them and thus make them unable to describe things that they were never designed to describe. So our attempts at understanding sub-atomic reality, our ability to picture it, are on par with languages attempts to describe mystical enlightenment or satori. This conundrum has been poetically referenced as to be like a finger pointing at the moon.

The Dancing Wu Li Masters are another poetic metaphor, taken from one of the many meanings of the Chinese characters utilised in the term Wu LI. They are used here to reference the possible nature of the sub-atomic realm, as a quantum energy field alive with dancing probabilities. The indications of the unfolding new physical realities of the quantum universe are tantalisingly mysterious, and mathematical equations and so called proofs are all pointing at something so much more alive with unforeseen possibilities. The book imparts a real attitude of excitement and infers that science, and physics in particular, has awoken after a long sleep of certainty.

One of the more interesting possibilities is the Many Worlds Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics, in this it is posited that when a particle appears in a certain place or behaves in a certain way, all the other possibilities occur simultaneously in other dimensions or worlds, rather than just not happening in this world. This level of unknown behaviour and reality is mainly possible because we are unable to perceive the sub-atomic world with our senses (the dark adapted eye apparently can detect single photons, but all other particles must be detected indirectly). Zukav is suggesting that the nature of existence is far more unpredictable than we once thought.

Humanities best loved and most well known scientist, Albert Einstein, graces the pages of The Dancing Wu Li Masters and we are informed of his importance to much of the new understanding of the quantum universe. Einstein himself rejected the pragmatic Copenhagen Interpretation of the new physics, citing its inability to represent all aspects of physical reality. He felt that a true theory needs to be able to interact with all levels of reality and that Quantum Mechanics may indeed be the best explanation for the sub-atomic realm but could not provide a one to one correspondence between reality and theory. The book is very illuminating when explaining Einstein’s Theories of Relativity, both the general and the special; it is worth reading for this alone. We all know Einstein as some sort of twentieth century celebrity but very few of us actually understand the ramifications of his scientific work. Basically he brought a fourth wall or dimension to our understanding of the universe, a space-time continuum, that alone shattered our age old assumptions built on Euclidean geometry. He questioned things, which had never been questioned before, and that is why he was able to come up with answers nobody else had. Of course much of what he achieved and gave us goes completely over my head but this book did give me a grasp of a few things.

A large part of the book is concerned with explaining how sub-atomic particles collide into each other and reform as completely new particles. This is what Zukav calls the dance and we hear a lot today about particle accelerators and colliders, including the giant one, CERN, in Switzerland. He explains how the colliding and accelerating of these particles is really all about creating mass, as sub-atomic particles have no mass at rest, and through this activity the quantum behaviour can be observed in an attempt to get closer to understanding the fabric of the universe. We have particles and anti-particles, photons, protons, neutrons, electrons, possibly gravitons, and the four forces known as: the strong force; electromagnetic force; weak force; and the gravitational force. Bubble chambers are used to capture the particle behaviour on photographic plates, as we chase the elusive tail of this mythical dragon, made up of sub-atomic matter.

I have used the Internet to check out the ongoing Quantum Physics journey, since the book’s publication, and there has been the discovery of the W & Z Bosun particles discovered at CERN in 1983 – which led to a Nobel prize for its discoverer in 1984. There is still talk of discovering Tachyons, once we are travelling beyond the speed of light, and we hypothetically think a lot about Gravitons too. So what has happened to the general zeitgeist of physicists since the publication of this book? Well not a lot as far as I can see, there still seems to be those (the majority) who keep their head down and don’t formulate the big questions and carry on like technicians, to borrow a defining term from the book, rather than as scientists in search of the answers to “what is the nature of existence?” But how the hell would I really know. The book is worth the read, even if it took me thirty years to scale it, and in a way it’s timeline is my timeline, as I first ventured out on the road to nowhere at about the same time. So if you have a little space in your life I recommend a dance with a Wu Li master.

©Sudha Hamilton

Tagged book review, CERN, dancing wu li masters, Einstein, electrons, Gary Zukav, graviton, mystical science, mysticism, particle physics, photons, protons, quantum mechanics, quantum physics, sub-atomic particle, tachyon, W bosun, Werner Heisenberg, wu li masters

Mar 18 2011

Cultural Issues, Meaning, Reality, Sex, Uncategorized

Is sex a mystical gateway?

Is sex a mystical gateway, to a boundless place of untold pleasures and exquisite pains, in your life?

Sex, I think, is different things at different times of our lives. It reflects what we are seeking, at that juncture, and therefore, who, we are attracting into our life. For it is a union of energies after all, and as they say in the song, “it takes two to tango, baby.” Occasionally that saying has some negative connotations, and similarly our sexual experiences can at times be defined by our partner’s energies, for good or bad.

Making love, having sex, it is a moment when we return to our interior universe and tune into our sensory responses. It is an intensely personal experience, which is also shared, in an intimate revelation of our essentially animal natures. We roar and groan, grunt and gasp, in a symphony of respiratory action, for our ride to pleasure is carried on each breath. It is that breath, which makes sexual activity a possible doorway to the divine. Reading Tim Winton’s novel, Breath, you can sense the parallels between experiences of the ocean and sexual experiences. Metaphorical language used to describe the tumbling; submerged qualities inherent inside a wave are similar to the ocean of bliss, inside us, which can well up during sex. At times we are letting go to the inextricable force of the sea, as we must’ let go’ to the surging currents within our sexuality. We ride upon, and inside, our wave of ecstasy and our breathing triggers the biochemical reactions, which can awaken orgasmic brain activity.

Sex is most often heightened at the beginning of a relationship, when two individuals come together as strangers and begin a process of removing outer signs of independent identity. Clothing, which like a uniform represents each individuals place and possibly role in society, is stripped away and they stand naked before one another. Clothing can hide essential truths, about who we are, and allow us to pretend to be someone we are not. Sex asks of us, right at the start, to play the hand we have been dealt by nature ( I suppose cosmetic surgery has interjected here). Sex asks us to bring the bare truth to this union, as the key to opening a doorway to bliss. Our feelings, at the beginning, can be on a knife edge, as we show parts of ourselves, normally well hidden, and vacillate between hopes and fears, regarding our acceptance by the beloved. We are not only showing our arse in public but celebrating its function and uses with another. It is a merging process, as we share and discover our erogenous nooks and crannies with another. Our normally vigilant guard comes down and our pupils dilate, as we hold the gaze of our lover and drink in the cause of this new delight. There is the magic of the unknown in the air and it is charged with the frisson of the archetypal merging moment. There is glory and boldness, and there is surrender and humbleness, there is the charging of the stag with antlers aquiver, and the dissolving into an endless ocean of energy. There are intense moments of you and equally intense moments beyond you. There is the ride and there is the fall.

Once committed to the fruitful sexual act, and thus rewarded with acceptance by our new sexual partner, we bring a sense of hope and with it the possibility of a clean slate, in regard to an ongoing mutually rewarding physical and emotional relationship. For ‘gateway’ sex, as I call it, is a magical, sacred space and we can only access it when we have hope in our heart. The sexual realm, can ask all of us to embody archetypal energies, no longer displayed by our genders in the modern age. It can create a dichotomy or unresolvable dynamic tension, where what we play out sexually can never quite fit into the rest of our lives. It has a special place and demands distinct rules around it, for it to survive and prosper in the twenty first century. So many relationships break down here, as the magic fades in the harsh light of the day and countless tiny grievances mount up to close his or her heart away. Once that heart and hope are locked away then sex becomes a macabre shadow dance, where the bodies go through the motions but with no soul at play. It can be like someone has switched off all the nerve endings, and more importantly all the meaning, from the activity. It is like making love whilst encased in a thick glove of suspended despair. The individual has returned to that individual space and no merging is possible anymore. When love dies it is a very sad day and our consciousness’s run endless reruns of sepia tinted memories to drive all joy away. Grieving the loss of love is probably the most traumatic experience we all will experience in our lifetimes. Like the bush after a fire, everything is black and burnt away. There are skeletons of trees, which mark how high our joy once reached. The echo of love’s laughter keeps the birds at bay. For a time nothing new will grow here and the skies are always grey.

Many of us have put away the magic of sex into the bottom drawer of an old cupboard, which we never use anymore. Somewhere inside of us we have sworn off this disrupting force and condemned that last great hurt to be the final one. We may masturbate our selves, often or not, but without the emotional commitment of another’s fumbling touch. Sex is a momentary relief to help us get to sleep or a frustrated release that doesn’t stain the sheets. Layers of emotional scar tissue have built up hard upon our souls and the smile we may offer another is firmly closed indoors. When, and if, love returns to these shores it faces a long thaw and the messianic job of raising Lazarus from the dead. I know from my own personal experience that there can be a physical delay in being able to respond sexually after a long lay-off. It is like those layers of calcified hurt must be given time to melt away before my penis will trust enough to fill with blood and stretch out to meet the new day.

Returning now to that time, when we have just established honest sexual union with our new partner and that sense of being ‘in love’ is reciprocated. Can you remember what it is like? When every part of their body is simply amazing and emanating some intangible quality. To touch their skin is the greatest pleasure you have ever known and it is all holistically connected with some cosmic secret that you just had no idea about before it happened. When you wake up in the morning and glance over at this beatific being, lying next to you and the realisation hits that you and, he or she, are ‘together’. This is the magic realm and it is often bitter sweet for our cynical selves to recall this state of ‘in loveness’. We have developed the habit of ‘putting down’ such heightened states labelling them as ‘the honeymoon period’ and quickly assuring the occupants that it will be over before you know it. You cannot stay too long in fairy land and Peter Pan must grow up to face the grim realities of a real relationship. Yet today, even in the age of ‘fast food’ marriages and divorces, we still clamour to be ‘in love’ and now the Internet has brought the supermarket experience to shopping for love and relationships. In aisle one, we have forty five year old, divorced Capricorns with a penchant for reading the newspaper on the loo; in aisle two……..

How do we integrate magic into our hum drum lives? How do we honour the gods in our lovers and in ourselves? Can we maintain a sense of reality? Can we go to work; support the family; clean the bathroom; listen to the gripers and whingers in the average world; and still delve into the delicious, dripping divinity of another realm?

Is sex a mystical gateway, to a boundless place of untold pleasures and exquisite pains, in your life?

©Sudha Hamilton

Tagged archetypes, bliss, breath, divinity, ecstatic love, hurts, intimacy, language, love, love making, magic, making love, merging, metaphor, pains, partners, relationships, sex, sexual activity, sexual union, Tim Winton

Mar 17 2011

Cultural Issues, Meaning, New Ideas

Do you ever long for certainty?

Do you wish that you had a direct line to God, especially during those times when you are really unsure about what direction to take in your life? Would you like to be able to reach deep inside yourself and just know the right answer? Well according to the theory of the bicameral mind, and its part in the origin of consciousness, we all do have that facility within our brains. In fact it was originally all we did have, as it preceded that sense of I or me, our very own subjective consciousness which we all have today. Julian Jaynes published his book, The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind, in 1976 and the waves of influence have been spreading out ever since. The first sixty pages of his book are to me, the most immediately confronting and mind expanding – as they focus on what consciousness actually is or is not.

I mean consciousness is not mere reactivity or being awake, it is much more than that isn’t it? Think about what your sense of consciousness is to you. Where is your consciousness located? Is it somewhere on or in your body? What purpose does your consciousness serve? Is it so that you can learn things? Jaynes lists a number of scientific studies showing that our ability to learn things is not dependent upon our sense of consciousness and is actually impeded by it – a perfect example is when we are overly self-conscious we cannot perform basic tasks that involve motor skills like talking. Try it now, try speaking and at the same time focus on your articulation, bringing your full consciousness to bear on every enunciated syllable. How each vibrational sound is made inside your throat – you will just stop speaking as it becomes overwhelming.

Our consciousness is also not a perfect copy of our experiences; it is not some recording device taking impressions of memories and storing them. You can show this to yourself by asking yourself what information you can remember about walking into the last room you walked into. Try remembering what was in the room and where, get a piece of paper and write down your results. You will find that you have very little to show for it, so our consciousnesses are not providing this service. Jaynes goes on to say, that when we recall a memory, we do not call up the actual physical memory but a generalised version of it largely invented by ourselves to represent whatever it is – swimming or walking in a park. The memory is a construct involving thoughts we have about the activities and often is influenced by how we imagine others see us swimming or walking – so our consciousness is not a faithful recording of reality.

What Julian Jaynes does posit, is where our sense of consciousness has come about from, and he points the finger at language and in particular languages love of metaphor. In fact he states language is largely metaphor and shows how many words have their roots in metaphor, for example the verb ‘to be’ comes from the Sanskrit ‘bhu’- meaning to grow, or make grow. Similarly our English words ‘am’ and ‘is’ have evolved from the Sanskrit ‘asmi’- meaning to breathe. Think to yourself now just how many times our language references other familiar pictures to describe less familiar things. For example how we use parts of the human body to describe parts of other things, like the face of a clock, cliff, card; and the eyes of needles, storms, potatoes; the lips of cups, craters; and the tongues of shoes, joints; and the teeth of winds, cogs etc. Indeed we reference and compare constantly with language, in the meaning of the words themselves and in the expressions we invent to make metaphors with. The vastness of language over several millennia means that we lose touch with its incredible elasticity and tend to think of it as some solid construct, missing the obvious evidence it has to show us about ourselves and the origin of consciousness.

It is through the ability to metaphor that the modern lexicon of our language is able to remain a reasonably finite collection of words. Otherwise like the Inuit we would have to have 150 different words for snow. Jaynes talks about the function of metaphor being one of creating understanding through familiarity. We use a familiar example to shine a light on something less familiar, but ultimately this brings us a limited understanding based entirely on the quality of the metaphor employed. I would go on to say that it means we actually know far less than we think we do. An example of this would be our understanding of what happens during an electrical storm, we have learnt at school that it involves air pressure, vacuums and particle friction but we have no real direct experience of what happens and only a theoretical knowledge of it. Our sense of subjective consciousness is based on how we perceive existence through the use of language and referencing through metaphor. It is like the relationship between a map and the geographical reality of what has been mapped. So ultimately our knowledge of reality is a tenuous one at best and it is riddled with theoretical understandings based on metaphorical language constructs. You think you know stuff that you don’t really.

Where does that certainty principle, I mentioned at the beginning, fit into this? It seems like we are getting further and further away from that shore of assurance. Well Jaynes postulates, that prior to the development of our illusory sense of subjective consciousness, we had a fully operating God spot in the right hemisphere of our temporal lobe and it was here that we received direct transmission from the divine. He lists a number of studies into the brain, where scientists have removed sections and whole hemispheres to reveal what areas of the brain are responsible for particular functions and how the brain adapts. He gives a fascinating example where a dozen neurosurgical patients have undergone a complete commissurotomy, the cutting of all interconnections between the two hemispheres down the middle, as a treatment for severe epilepsy. For a period of about two months some patients lose the power of speech, but gradually they all return to a sense of being how they were prior to the operation. Normal observation of these patients shows nothing amiss either. However under rigorous study it becomes clear that these people cannot see things on their left side and the dominant left hemisphere projects a repeat of the right side vision to fill in the gaps. Even more astonishing though is that the right hemisphere is actually seeing what is there on the left side but because of the cutting of the interconnections between the two sides of the brain has no way to communicate it. Tests have shown that these people using their left hand only can point out or draw what is on the left side but have no verbal or cognitive awareness of what is there. It is like there are two separate awareness’s, functioning independently within the same body.

Julian Jaynes goes on, in a satisfyingly erudite manner, to illustrate through countless examples taken from the great recorded histories like The Iliad, The Old Testament, Egyptian Papyruses, Babylonian Cuneiforms and more, how different humankind was at this time. That this difference in how they thought was because of this bicameral mind, that there were literally two separate minds at work within them. A dominant over mind or ‘God speak’ operating from the right hemisphere, which was triggered during times of stress or novel challenges outside the normal demands of the time, and the more prosaic left hemisphere ‘man brain’, which at this time had no subjective consciousness, no sense of I or me. Jaynes takes you on a journey from languages evolution from signalling and intentional calls to the development of nouns. Remember for a long time nobody had a name for things and for individuals. Death was a different beast when the one who died did not even have a name. Try and imagine a time when the sense of self was so small or non-existent and nobody had names. When there were no names for things and no words, how would you think?

It is an incredible theory and explains a great deal about why we worshipped statues of Gods and why we buried dead kings and priests surrounded by things to eat and treasures to keep. If these Gods and their stewards were continuing to speak inside our heads, beyond their allotted life spans, then it makes a lot more sense. Religion has always been about control and if that controlling centre is inbuilt inside our brains, then anthropologically a lot of stuff makes much more sense. It explains why we still cling to religions even now hundreds of years after science had ridiculed their fundamental platforms of belief. We are programmed to believe and to follow instructions, to understand – meaning stand under God. Jaynes maintains an aesthetic appreciation for the many wonders that humankind’s devotion to beliefs in Gods have produced and he is perhaps an example of his Christian American background. Still his insights and his theory are so startlingly original that he may have had no reason to bother with aggravating those of a more narrow minded persuasion.

The modern parallels with those suffering from schizophrenia are explored and Jaynes again proffers numerous scientific studies to illuminate his theoretical claims. Joan of Arc and many of the first testament prophets are prime examples of individuals recorded in history, who heard the passionate and insistent voice of God inside their heads. These individuals often laid down their own lives and willingly would lay down the lives of others to fulfil the ambitions of the voice within their head. Culturally now we have no room for those exhibiting a fully fledged bicameral mind and the voice of God; and so we lock them up and drug them.

Jaynes points out that it is poetry, and poetries link to music, which has been the favoured speech of the Gods, with most of our great and holy missives having been delivered in verse. This fact again links the right hemisphere of our brains with our connection to God, for it is in the right hemisphere where we process music and poetry. Music comes from the Muses, and they were the daughters of Zeus – bringers of divine inspiration; our connection to the Gods. Poets have, down through the ages, often been deliverers of God’s message, and the metre of verse can have a hypnotic, hallucinatory effect upon the listener. So many of the strands of evidence produced by Jaynes, to promote his theory, illuminates these aspects of humanity with a new understanding of where they actually fit in with the greater scheme of things.

What I particularly like about Julian Jayne’s theory of the bicameral mind is that it shatters the safe and often dry outcomes of much of the study of ancient history. We are so far removed from these ancient millennia’s, and the translations of these earliest languages are rife with modern approximations, making so many assumptions about who they were grossly incorrect. This book is a quantum leap into the unknown and really worth reading on so many levels.

The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind

By Julian Jaynes

First Mariner Books ISBN 0-618-05707-2

©Sudha Hamilton

Tagged Ancient Greece, ancient history, Babylon, book review, brain hemispheres, Egypt, God, Hebrew, Iliad, Julian Jaynes, left brain, Muses, old testament, origin of consciousness, poetry, right brain, voice of god, Zeus

Mar 11 2011

Blog Posts, Cultural Issues, Meaning, Reality, Reviews

Gandhi

I enjoyed the opening installment of the program on Gandhi, currently showing on the ABC Monday’s at 7.30pm. It traced his roots to his birth town in India and looked at the early influences on his life. There is a tendency in us all, I think, to see great historical figures as ready-made and cardboard cut-outs, rather than the deeply complex individuals they were. In fact, I posit, the same is true of us all – we are all far more complex than we are seen and considered by our friends and networks of acquaintances to be.

I wonder if this tendency is due to the design of our brains and how we think. The fact that we can only hold about a six or seven thoughts in our conscious brain at any one time, before needing to delve into memories stored in another part of the brain. Perhaps we hold a single over-riding impression of someone, like a main categorisation, and below this lesser details are listed in other thoughts and memories. If that person was an intimate – a partner, parent or child – then we would readily augment our basic definition with subtler complexities. If, however, they were someone outside of our inner circle we would generally not bother with such shades and colouring of character.

Gandhi’s early life was influenced by Jainism, a religious sect predating Buddhism by 500 years. In particular the seeds of non-violence were sown through his exposure to his mother’s Jain proclivities. Osho or Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh was also raised in the Jain tradition. The program stressed that Gandhi was initially resistant to the strict religious expectations within his family home life and that he rebelled by eating meat, drinking wine and having sex. So the great soul was not born already formed but developed slowly from his unfolding life experiences. There is a lesson here for all of us and in particular our expectations upon our children.

Indeed Gandhi’s commitment to vegetarianism came to fruition, during his time in England, where he was studying law. He was exposed to a rich vein of social and spiritual practices in the great city of London, where he met many influential people. Gandhi became acquainted with Madame Blavatsky’s Theosophists and greatly admired their appreciation of the rich diversity of religions and spiritual approaches. He was very young, and I would imagine impressionable, as we all are in our youth, during his time in the capital of the British Empire.

Upon his return, as a newly qualified barrister, to India and his home town of Porbandar, Mohandas Gandhi received a number of powerful blows to his self-esteem. Firstly the news of his mother’s death was deeply effecting, and then an attempt to establish a legal practice in what was then Bombay failed. This was then compounded, when whilst defending one of his brothers, he was officially stymied by a British officer and refused any legal status in the matter. His career in a becalmed state in India, Gandhi then accepted a post in South Africa.

It is here that most of us are more familiar with his story, from the Richard Attenborough movie of Gandhi’s life. The ABC program points out a seminal moment in Gandhi’s time in South Africa, when he has been ejected from a train after purchasing a first class ticket – after refusing to move into the third class carriage. Sitting in the station where he was put off, he spends a cold night in serious contemplation about his life’s purpose and comes to a powerful decision to combat racism. Over the next twenty years Gandhi develops his core ideas that become Satyagraha (devotion to truth) through non-violent means and the program points out that this was also influenced by his reading and contact with Islam – in that it was his Jihad or divine struggle.

The next installment will focus on Gandhi’s return to India and promises to enlighten us further to the reality of his experience, in contrast to the Hollywood movie version – which portrays his almost immediate elevation to the leadership of the Indian resistance movement. It is always wonderful to be reminded of the complexities of reality and to remember the light and shade in every bodies lives. Groups and influential individuals are always appropriating segments from the lives of people like Gandhi and then promoting these aspects alone to help their own causes, conveniently leaving out any conflicting realities. For example the Hindu’s, who cast Gandhi out for leaving India for England, then later claim him as their Mahatma. Gandhi was a man – a human being – as we are all human beings.

Tagged destiny, Gandhi, India, Jainism, jihad, non-violence, osho, partition, political leaders, racism, reality, South Africa, spiritual leaders

Mar 10 2011

Uncategorized

When someone you love judges you.

What are the salves for the wound that festers beneath the skin? When it is someone, whom you have let in, spitting acid upon your sense of self. Judging, condemning and rejecting who you are. Where does the matter truly lie?

What do they say,’ hold your loved ones near but your enemies even closer, ‘or something like that anyway. It is a painful fact, that when someone who has shared love with you turns on you, there is no escape and no buffer from the hurt. When it happens suddenly it is even more disturbing and if from out of the blue comes a banshee bearing your heart bad news – well you lose a little confidence in life’s essentially benign nature.

Intellectualising about it really doesn’t heal the canker but sometimes getting it down in front of you can enlighten one a little to the facts as they stand before you.

Mar 10 2011

Blog Posts, Cultural Issues, Meaning

Suicide Rates in Australia

I read with interest a recent report into suicide, published in The Australian newspaper, where it was declared that the rate of annual suicide in Australia is now well over that of road deaths. It was, I think, a feature written with the intent to ring a few alarm bells in this country, amongst leaders and the general population. It seems to me, that despite the wonders of a hundred and one different kinds of mobile phones and the fabulous Internet, the lives of Australians, and in particular our youth, are not all they are cracked up to be. Not as they are portrayed in the countless advertisements for all these apparently necessary, technological accoutrements, which are inferred to guarantee a fulfilling life. The ability to communicate in a nanosecond, eighteen different ways does not come with an automatic application to develop content worth communicating it seems.

Gizmo’s and gadgets are not going to provide meaning to anyone’s life. Waiting for the new IPhone or tablet reader is no anteroom experience on the way to transformation. As a society it seems that we are always helpless to effect any real change in the face of the markets relentless desire to satisfy the inconsequential. The article in The Australian did not address why people and in particular young people are killing themselves, it was all about what could have been done in the period immediately prior to the suicide to prevent such a tragedy. I always ask myself why are people killing themselves, obviously there are unique situations in each case but I also feel that there are shared cultural reasons why suicide rates are so high. Where is the deep meaning in these people’s lives and where is it rooted in your own life? Ask yourself honestly what you are living for?

to live a good life
for friends and family
to amass a fortune
so I can have sex with ______
to help others
for the love of some god
because I love ________
I don’t know I have never thought about it

These are some of the answers I have received in answer to this question. We emerge from our mother’s womb and make our way through childhood, having reasons to ‘be’ indoctrinated into us, by everything from the messages inherent within our children’s stories to the modern version of fireside chats with our parents. Early life comes with a moral behind every lesson, in the hope that it will train us to becomes good little boys or girls. But what are we training or being trained for? What is the real core meaning in our lives? What is the bottom line, when everything is stripped away and you are bare of all the palaver? Is it merely a choiceless choice! This is it, you have been born and there is no meaning to it, beyond the obvious experience itself, so just get on and make the best of it.

It seems we in the wealthy West, where we are not generally scrabbling for our very survival, are caught in this intensely materialistic society. A society which celebrates the invention and endless modification of communication devices and holds the purchase of your own home, as the most sacrosanct of all things that can be achieved in a lifetime. So our kids grow up as consumers not creators, coveting sleek, technological gadgets. Believing that liberty and freedom are achieved in the possession of these talismans of ‘cool‘, just like in the ads. Perhaps when things don’t quite pan out the way the advertising has been assuring them they will and they are subject to a concerted digital hate campaign via Facebook by their ‘so called’ friends, then these individuals are missing a reason to live for.

The cultural changes and evolution, which are endlessly unfolding, finds us at a time when the meaning of life, seemingly apparent in our parents and grandparents lives, have become a flicker on a screen – an entry in Wikipedia on a Google page ranking list. Belief in god has been subject to the erosion of a full twentieth century’s worth of scientific derision. So many sub-splinters of meaning came from this one awesome god delusion. Millions of people down the ages have been slaughtered in this belief and it emanates in our DNA like a blood disease. So we are left now at the altar of our lives looking around for the next suitor to give our lives something worth living for. Belief in ourselves perhaps?

Well we have become so functional in everything we do and say. Language has become so functional, losing all it’s flowery intrigues of earlier times. Education is so god damned functional, all about jobs and continuous assessments. Love has become pretty functional too, try before you buy living together and fast food divorce. Can functionality alone give deep and true meaning to life? My function in life is to ______________________ insert your own function in the space provided. Will that function give you the meaning you need to cope with tragedy and grief in your life?

If we really want to reduce the number of people killing themselves within our communities, I think we need to ask ourselves about the meaning of our lives. Digging bloody great big holes in the ground and selling ore to the Chinese is not going to provide us all with a meaningful reason to celebrate being alive. Having a new mobile phone is not going to change your life where it matters. How we educate our children and ourselves is going to get a bit closer in that search for meaning. We need to really have a look at our whole education system and see what it provides, beyond the ability to get a job. We need to move the ancient education set-up we have out of the nineteenth century, remove the god botherers from their positions of influence, and ask ourselves some real honest to _____? questions about ourselves and the meaning of life. We can do this we just need to care enough to do something.

Tagged Australia, computers, cultural change, education, evolution, gadgets, God, human development, Internet, meaning of life, religion, science, suicide, suicide rates, technology, youth suicide

Feb 02 2011

Reality, Uncategorized

Denial the pathway of No

What is your pathway to truth and enlightenment? Is it one of self-denial and sacrifice? There are so many spiritual traditions based on the righteous denial of the flesh. Jesus dying on the cross, symbolising the death of the flesh as sacrifice to a metaphysical truth. Christianity has its genesis in this and condemns human flesh as sinful by its very nature. Gautama the Buddha leaves behind his palace, wife and kingdom to sit beneath the bodhi tree. These are big actions and they speak to the many who have come after these spiritual icons. Indeed many now worship these sacrifices and mimic them in their own choices to deny the flesh and to focus on the spirit.

What is the symbol of Christianity? The cross and doesn’t that suggest that the focus is on the crucifixion of Christ? Why doesn’t Christianity have a symbol that emphasises the love in Jesus’ message? Why focus on death and martyrdom? The Judaic Christian tradition loves to play the victim card – saying our saviour and our people have suffered – because there is powerful PR in shocking the masses. Dying on the cross is dramatic and being the chosen ones and all the suffering that entails was far more effective in days gone by. In the past when the masses were suffering they could empathise with that reality but now things are a bit different in the west, people are suffering more from ennui than anything else. Traditional religions play to a bigger crowd in less developed regions where people are starving and killing each other – where the suffering is fresh on every one’s lips. There, priests and missionaries can say, ” yes Jesus died on the cross for you,” and it emanates deep inside the listener.

Now in the west the Church has to work hard on its marketing. That is why just about every church now has a billboard with a clever slogan, which is reaching out to an indifferent populace. The basic message no longer appeals – a suffering messiah who shares your suffering. Science has pushed back much of our suffering, at least to a later time in life, which is why we have aging populations in our churches. Governments now care and look after their weak and poor, no longer leaving it all up to the charity of the Church – thus removing much of the Church’s market. With organised religion out of state schools, where are the future Christians coming from? There own schools of course, but still the rapid decline in numbers and influence will continue.

Especially in the face of continuing bad press all over the world, due to the exposure of the deviate pedophile behaviour of a substantial number of priests, ministers and religious teachers. When a crime is so bad and is perpetrated against the innocent – the resultant publicity is game breaking and you do not as an organisation ever come back from this level of public condemnation.Would I send my child to a school run by organisations that have attracted and protected people who sexually prey on children? No.

Why do people admire and wish to emulate those who experience pain? Are these people able to experience joy? Is the worship of suffering a healthy inclination for humanity? Show me the joy I say. Share the joy. Teach our children joy. Accept sadness yes and allow yourself to go deep into sadness but do not put it and suffering on a pedestal to aspire to.

Deepak Chopra speaks of following your desires to God and this strikes me as sensible. Why do we have desires otherwise, what are they for and where do they come from? He says that they come from God. The Bible would say they come from the devil. This illustrates the differing viewpoints of those who see the world as one and those who see it as a duality. Is all life a manifestation of God or is it split into good and evil? When we separate the self from the other we are creating partitions within our universe.

We have created so many partitions and sub-partitions through our obsession with science. What is science? It is simply an attempt to measure everything. We created time, because it did not exist before we measured it. There is now and in a moment it will still be now. It won’t be the same now but it will still be now. Focusing our attention away from the present removed our consciousness from the shared heartbeat of existence. It moved us into imagining what we now call the past and the future, neither of these states truly exist outside our individual imaginations. Is there an objective space called the past? No it belongs to our subjective memories on the matter and like all good autobiographies it is part of the Art of lying to ourselves.

Why do we deny ourselves things? As children we are taught to delay gratification in the expectation that it will result in something greater. We were taught to save our pennies so that we could later buy something that we really wanted. Sacrifice the lolly and later you can buy a bike. Live poorly now, save your dollars and later you can buy your house. What happens to us however as we follow this learned behaviour day after day? We switch off to the pleasures and experiences of the moment, as we discipline ourselves to deny now for tomorrow. We lose the ability to respond to the here and now. These days we borrow the money from the bank, so that we can have our house now, but we still owe the bank the money and bottom line is they really own the house. We in the west live on credit, extended to us by banks who are happy to take the risk of a few debt defaulters when they can enslave the majority of the population. We no longer work in the hope of future pay, now we work to repay our borrowings from yesterday.

Ask yourself, “am I living in this moment? Do I have the freedom to truly respond to the opportunities of the moment?” Or are you bound to the promises of an elusive future and the fears of a rapacious past? Misery begets misery and a joy neglected is a joy missed. Denial is saying no to yourself. Who knows you best? You do!

Tagged banks, Buddha, Christ, Christianity, denial, God, joy, misery, reality, religion, science, spirituality, time, Western society

Jan 20 2011

Reviews, Uncategorized

Gandhi

Tagged ABC, Gandhi, great soul, Hindu, India, Indian history, Islam, Jainism, Muslim, non-violence, osho, partition, rajneesh, satyagraha, spiritual leaders, television, TV

Jan 15 2011

Uncategorized

Gay Marriage in Australia

Nothing annoys me more in the newspaper, than News Corp’s paid opinion piece writers ( I can’t call them journalists because they don’t do any journalism) commenting on what suburban Australian’s think and feel. How would they know? How long has it been since they have been out in the field actually asking people? There continues to be a reliance on impressions made by listening to talk back radio, which is not a true indication of ordinary Australian’s view points – talk back radio attracts extremists from both sides of the political spectrum. Likewise surveys taken from microscopic samples do not show a really accurate representation of public opinion on issues. In my own experience as a market researcher many people simply refuse to take part in surveys and so you often end up with a sample of the opinions of the type of people who likes to participate in polls, which ignores the sizeable section of the population who don’t.

Gay marriage is the new hobby-horse of the Murdoch press and in particular in relation to how the ALP minority Government is going to handle it. The conservative media is continually attempting to beat up tension between the Greens and the ALP over policy differences and gay marriage is a favourite at the moment. I think that out in the real world Australian’s really couldn’t give a stuff about this, as we have lived with homosexuality being out in the open for over 30+ years. We all know someone who is gay, or have had a gay family member and have definitely watched it on TV ad nauseam. The gay reality is entrenched and most Australians expect a fair go for everyone – poofta or not. The Government needs to embrace the future and move ahead into the twenty-first century – people have rights whatever their sexual persuasion.

The sanctity of marriage should not be defined by what sort of genitals you have and it is not an exclusively Christian institution either. Australia is a secular nation and we allow marriages of a wide variety to take place – obviously it is time to sanction gay marriages. A civil marriage between consenting adults of the same-sex should be legalised as a matter of course. We should be encouraging homosexuals to commit to deep and profound relationships, despite the fact that heterosexual Australians have made a complete mess of marriage in over 50% of instances, according to recent census figures.

So come on Julia Gillard show some leadership and don’t get sucked into the media traps being set by the Murdoch press. Why did Australia vote for you? If you are not going to accelerate our national social evolution, especially after a decade of the recalcitrant Howard years. Moving forward to a fairer more just society, which accepts all equally, whether black or white, male or female, able or disabled, hetero or gay. What is the point of creating great wealth by selling our mineral deposits if we do not improve society for all and improve our cultural wealth as a nation? We have had an openly gay high court judge, who was in a long term relationship with his homosexual partner for decades, so why are we stalling on these much needed reforms?

Come on Australia let us lead the way in making the world a fairer place for all.

Jan 09 2011

Reviews, Uncategorized

Immigration Nation

I was very impressed with the first episode of Immigration Nation on SBS. It really brought home to me the deep-seated roots of racism in Australia and put it in an international context, showing it’s effect upon the world around us. To not realise, or not care, how this appalling attitude would impact on our Asian nation neighbours, and in particular Japan, conveys an incredible contempt and naivety for and about the non-white world at the time. Perhaps it puts the reported ferocity of the Japanese soldiers during WWII into some sort of context, as there is no action without a reaction – treated as less than human they became so in battle – fueled by vengeance.

It also made me think about John Howard and his decade of denial as PM of Australia. He attracted around him all those who would sweep the past under some sort of carpet. Historians reinventing a milder, less guilty history and spinning a new truth for those who just wanted to get on with things and bugger what happened in the past. Of course it has been shown time and again, that those who ignore the lessons of the past are condemned to repeat them. If we choose to see the past as an innocent time of white picket fences and lawn tennis clubs, and turn away from those we embittered by our prejudices, then nothing and nobody evolves.

The men who made up the parliament of Australia, were white, anglo-celtic in the main and determined to create a paradise for those who reflected their own identity and colour of skin. This urge to make something exclusive – where does it come from? I see it still today in the attitudes of recent Australian immigrants, who are vociferous in their condemnation of refugees and the next wave of immigrants coming to this country. I also see it in the ‘sea changers’ – those who move to places like Byron Bay – once they have found their niche in paradise, they actively deter others who come after them as spoilers of their exclusive environment.

The great egalitarian Aussie digger, who fought the good fight and was a shining example of the sanctity of mateship – as long as you were white of course – seems to be a lot less innocent in the expanded light of what White Australia was really about. The democracy we forged at Federation seems less in the shadow of all those we left out, the so-called servile races. No wonder bitterness lingers, towards Australia, in the hearts of recent leaders of countries, like Malaysia and Indonesia. Policy based on fear usually creates the very things that are feared – treat people badly and they will act badly.

Australians really need to come to terms with our racist past and this program can contribute to that process. In our heart of hearts white Australia is not out of the woods yet in relation to our feelings for those racially different from ourselves. Political correctness is still only a very thin layer in the consciousness of those who live in the cities and if you travel out into more ‘white bread’ regional areas you still find the same nasty, intolerant, fear based attitudes to non-whites commonly expressed.

I look forward to the next episode of Immigration Nation. Sunday night at 7.30pm

Dec 07 2010

Uncategorized

Bank Trading Hours

Why do we have a banking system, which makes multi-billion dollar profits and still operates for the consumer on a Mon-Frid 9am to 4pm or 5pm basis? In this digital age of Internet banking, is it not absurd that we as consumers, are still forced to wait for funds to be cleared as per when banks are open and tellers are working, when in reality money is flowing back and forth via computers without any human interference?

Let’s demand digital banking for consumers, it is nothing to do with unions, it is banks using these human excuses to make more money out of their consumers. Come on lets get real, come on Government let us make these changes!

Oct 26 2010

Uncategorized

The ALP and the Demise of the Two Party System

Australian Politics in Flux

by Sudha Hamilton

Discussion by political scribes, about the demise of the two party system in Australia, and in particular the waning of the Labor Party, is all the rage right now. Talk about the failure of the ALP to be a truly representative worker’s party, and its apparent hijacking by professional politburocrats, seems to be commentary long overdue. For the ALP began this transmutation way back with Whitlam in the late sixties and was the only means for them to be elected after 23 years of conservative government. They needed to expand out of an identity, locked into the union movement, and move toward one more representative of the rapidly expanding Australian middle class.

The Liberal Party has always had a less rigidly defined identity in Australia, and this is in part because it formed out of a merging of several political parties during the 1940’s. The United Australia Party, the Young Nationalists and the Australian Women’s National League all merged to form the Liberal Party of Australia. Under Robert Menzies it became the main conservative party, most often in coalition with its junior partner, the Country Party/National Party, and represented both big and small business, professionals, and all those aligned against socialism; who did not vote for those parties on the more extreme right. The Liberal Party was like the Holden car of politics, broadly Australian in its form and function.

The ALP carried some baggage from the past, through its union connections, which was perceived by many, in the Australian electorate, to be on the extreme side – communists on the parties executive – reds under the bed stuff, and, whether this was true or not, it was widely exploited by those on the conservative side of politics. The ALP needed to move further to the centre of the political spectrum and they successfully did this during the Hawke/Keating years in government. To represent a majority of Australians, it was important to be seen as a party, which was in tune with a better educated nation and a population involved in vocations outside that of factory and farm workers, miners and the like.

There has been a balancing act going on ever since, with the union movement on one hand and the emerging middle class intelligentsia on the other. The affluent inner city residents who have been tertiary educated and maintain a strongly held concern for those in the community who are worse off – Indigenous Australians, the unemployed, the poor and the sick – have traditionally supported Labor but are now looking for keener representation. They are moving to the Greens, who voice their concerns for the environment, for empowering disenfranchised sections of society like homosexuals, and a variety of other issues close to their heart. The Greens do not need to compromise their principles and are finding appeal as a party of greater integrity.

Australia and the ALP, in the first half of the twentieth century, has a pretty rum record of racial intolerance. The White Australia policy was broadly supported by both sides of politics during its time as a key immigration policy. Workers here in Australia have feared, and still do, fear losing their jobs and livelihoods to cheaper labour brought in from overseas through migration. These fears have also been easy to exploit by both sides of politics when it has suited them. I have always found it interesting that often the most virulent exponent of racial intolerance and anti-immigration views in this country is the most recent immigrant himself. Just try jumping in a cab in Sydney or Melbourne and listening to the banter coming from the taxi driver and what radio station he is often tuned into. I wonder if Alan Jones knows that some of his most ardent listeners are members of the same racial groups he is slagging off?

So what do you do when you find you have voters within your family, who hold opposite views on key issues, like immigration policy and the treatment of refugees? You compromise and make everyone a little unhappy! After three decades of this compromise I think the ALP as home for these disparate groups is wearing a bit thin. The two party parliamentary system itself, is I think, an outmoded one and leads to so much back room maneuvering, in its desperate need to appear to be presenting a united front on often highly complex policy debates. Why not have these debates in the parliament itself by a collection of multi-party delegates or representatives? This occurs in European nations like Germany and France, and would we say that these nations are hamstrung by their parliamentary situations? No more than in Australia I would say, it is just their debates are more upfront and in the public eye.

Will the ALP return to its roots and become once again the worker’s party? I seriously doubt it, as I cannot see a future for any party based on policy designed to favour the protectionist view point subscribed to by those wishing to maintain the status quo. Like Pauline Hanson’s One Nation and the Tea Party in the USA, these anti-change parties, are destined to be short lived, loud and often spiteful in nature. With union membership in Australia down to around 17% of workers, a harder line by the ALP on issues like immigration, environment policy impact on industry, and maintaining government ownership of public utilities, would only hasten the narrowing of its representation.

With a woman now leading the ALP minority government and a highly intelligent, excellent communicator as well, the tricky job of compromise has never been in better hands. Despite this I think many Australians are sick of being represented by parties of compromise and long to hear some unadulterated rhetoric, declaring what they passionately stand for. They want an end to the ‘double speak’ of professional politics. How can you stand up and proudly say ‘I am for this,’ when you know that half of your voters are not for it but against it? The answer is you can’t ever!

I see a gradual move away from the two party system in this country and the continuing rise of the Greens and more single issue parties. If and when we get the National Broadband Network delivering faster Internet access to more Australians, all over the country, we may see an increase in the sophistication of voters. The Internet is rapidly becoming a much more effective way to deliver a more complex political message to voters and one in which they can exchange their own view point with political parties. The greater the exchange of information in the political process, the lessening of the power of fear based campaigns based on misinformation. Campaigns of this nature have flourished in Australia, feeding on our political disinterest and stupidity. Although predicting a rise in intelligent behaviour is always a risky proposition I really do think that greater access to information from a variety of sources can lead to a better political outcome.

We must remember that Australian political and parliamentary history began with world leading reform – with votes for non-land owners and then the vote for women – long before it happened in Britain and other so called democracies!

Tagged ALP, Australian, Australian Labor Party, Greens, Liberal Party, Menzies, politics, Two Party System, Whitlam

Oct 24 2010

Uncategorized

National Broadband Network

Murdoch’s News Corporation’s Campaign to Derail NBN

by Sudha Hamilton

We have a government attempting to build a real Australian wide national broadband network – this in an island continent like Australia is not an easy or cheap thing to do. Despite all the difficulties involved in doing this, and especially so with a minority government, it looks like progress is happening, albeit slowly. Why then do we have The Australian newspaper, owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, engaging in a blatant smear and destroy campaign? Why do we condone this tearing down, negative style shit perpetrated by one of the world’s richest men in our market place? Is Rupert offering to make it cheaper and or more effective? No.

We in Australia, apparently one of the richest and best performing economies in the world, have appallingly underachieving levels of broadband speeds, even in our major capital cities. Has the market done anything about this over the last 5 years? No despite the fact that Australia, a secure and wealthy Western place in which to do business, would seem to fulfill most free market model expectations. The market and its forces seem to have so far failed us. So our government steps in to do the business and what do we get – a protracted campaign to derail this initiative by a newspaper owned by a mogul who lives in the US, where broadband speeds for the rich are way beyond what is available in this country.

The negative coverage of the NBN roll out is quite unlike anything we have seen before, with multiple reports criticizing the take up and speculating upon its long term economic failure, this is a concerted campaign to shaft something bigger, than we as a nation have ever embarked upon before. Doing something of this size and scope, which looks to improve the speed and access of the Internet for all Australians, is not going to be perfect right off and will need readjustments after it is up and running. Why are we listening to the harping and nay saying of journalists, employed by News Corp to pull apart and wreck something this substantial and way beyond what the market will ever do for those unviable regional areas of our country?

The Internet has potentials unrealized for all Australians – many of us, including myself, do not really know the full extent of what we can use the Internet for – we all need training to understand how amazing this online resource actually is. Education: everything is there – more knowledge than you can poke a stick at – the Internet is not just EBay, porn and gross celebrity soap – but we all need guidance in its utilization. The market is not going to offer this because they do not see an easy dollar in it – the fact is a great deal of human knowledge is already available online – but the market is not interested in peddling this to our children. Access to the Internet is just the beginning, we need educators to advise on its use and the whole idea of schooling to be expanded beyond the physical realms of their current geographic locations.

Rupert Murdoch is not, to my understanding, currently involved in the the education industry but rather he in the entertainment industry, why is he directing our debate on access to information? Lets create something wonderful for all Australians and roll out the NBN, we can adjust and improve things as we go. There is a reason why these private enterprise moguls don’t want governments to make these things possible for all of us -they want only the rich to be able to pay for it!

Nov 08 2009

Published Articles, Reviews

Gough Whitlam – A moment in history

Reviewed by Sudha Hamilton.

Gough Whitlam – a moment in history.

By Jenny Hocking

The Miegunyah Press

An imprint of Melbourne University Publishing www.mup.com.au

9780522855111 (hbk.)

In this acclaimed biography of Australian political icon, Gough Whitlam, Professor Jenny Hocking, shines a light on the roots of our political system. Reminding us all that it was Australia, which was the first nation to give the popular vote to non-land owners, and that it was a direct outcome of the Eureka Stockade. In the early chapters of this first volume of Gough Whitlam’s biography, we discover his ancestors, great grandparents and grandparents, and they are placed in the tent cities of the Victorian goldfields. Writing with great verve, Jenny Hocking, brings to life the day to day realities of our early settlers and the challenges they faced in finding work and building a home. Startlingly she reveals that in just two generations the Whitlam family traversed the great divide between Pentridge prison and the Prime Ministership of Australia.

If you would like to go beyond the current cynicism, with which our parliamentarians are commonly held today, and actually understand the ideas and principles behind the political parties governing our country, then this superb book will enlighten you. If you think that Australia has been fairly free of religious involvement in our political system, think again. The tremendous schism within the ALP – caused by the Catholic Movement and the battle between those who favoured state funding for state schools but not for private Catholic schools and their opposite numbers – contributed strongly to Labor being unable to win government for 23 years. The incredible polarity between the conservative side of politics and those on the socialist side, along the protestant/Catholic divide; and how the whole Australian community was equally separated accordingly. Australia today is a very different place and it was Gough Whitlam, who helped resolve these differences through his lifelong work.

Gough Whitlam was brought up in a household, devoted to learning and Christian service to the community. His father, Fred Whitlam, was a federal public servant and one of the first to move to the new capital Canberra. Fred Whitlam worked in the Attorney-General’s Department as a Crown Solicitor and was highly respected all his life, instilling in Gough the importance of integrity and adherence to democratic ideals. Often after a family meal, devoid of alcoholic refreshments, members of the Whitlam family were encouraged to open up an encyclopedic volume to study and improve themselves. Being reared in Canberra also gave Gough a unique insight into the workings of the federal capital, and perhaps a focus on the top job from an early age. A brilliant student early on, he regularly topped his class at Canberra Grammar School and thought about becoming an academic, but began to lose focus at Sydney University, realising his skills and ambitions lay elsewhere. His shift to studying for a Law degree was interrupted by the War and he joined the Air Force and became a leading navigator pilot officer, flying bombing raids against the Japanese in Timor and other islands in that area.

At the conclusion of the War, Gough Whitlam completed his Law degree and having married Margaret Dovey, they built a new home in Cronulla. Gough would walk and catch the train into Macquarie Street, six days a week to practise Law at the Denman Chambers, where Labor luminary, Dr HV Evatt had rooms. As a beginning barrister he initially struggled to make ends meet, and was often engaged to provide free legal aid to returned service personnel and their families – as part of the Labor government’s commitment to postwar planning and reconstruction. During this time, Gough Whitlam contested the Australian National Quiz Championship and all that encyclopedia reading obviously came in handy, as he won it twice. Gough Whitlam first joined the East Sydney Branch of the ALP in 1945, and was made minute’s secretary shortly after his induction. Within 3 years he had put his name forward 5 times to represent the party in local and state elections, and although unsuccessful, his standing within the party was rising. In 1952, Gough Whitlam got his chance to contest the federal seat of Werriwa and won his first election to become a member of the House of Representatives.

The battle, however, had just begun in terms of Gough Whitlam’s and the ALP’s journey toward forming government. Gough would have to overcome many layers of intransigent resistance within the Labor party, in particular the Catholic/communist split, which had gone on to cause the formation of the breakaway Democratic Labor Party (DLP) and which would remain a thorn in the side of the ALP until 1972. The generational change that Gough would come to represent, and his ‘crash or crash through’ style was to force the necessary revolution, and culminate with the much awaited victory and “It’s time…” campaign. Along the way there would be some incredible moments, such as his trip to Beijing in 1971, before Australia had even recognised The People’s Republic of China, and it’s amazing effect on Gough’s international standing.

This book is well written and imbued with a keen intelligence for what was really going on at the time. It captures Australia’s conservative slide into a comfortable style of government, based on exploiting the Australian people’s cold war fears and maintaining the status quo. At the same time, the other side of politics fought amongst themselves whilst trying to work out church and state commitments and historically based class warfare. Gough Whitlam – a moment in history illustrates just how important a strong opposition is, in keeping governments performing at their very best. Gough Whitlam’s career long desire to see the eradication of the senate or upper house, (based on the fact that its creation was, like the British House of Lords, to protect land owners and was intrinsically undemocratic and unrepresentative), was ultimately unsuccessful and proved to be, in the best Greek Mythological tradition; his downfall. This focuses attention on the Rudd government’s situation today, where once again, we have a popularly elected government with a majority in the House of Representatives often unable to pass the legislation that they have a mandate to implement. The senate, which has reinvented itself to become the so called ‘house of review’ is now held ransom by single issue independents and greens. In my opinion, Australian’s are over governed and are paying twice the wage bill to achieve very little but frustration. If a political party is elected on the basis of its policies and a majority of the people have voted to see those policies implemented, what right does an unnecessary and unrepresentative layer of government have to frustrate and prevent these policies being legislated into law? There is no senate or legislative council in Queensland and this makes for a more dynamic and responsive single layer of state government. Removal of the senate federally, would see a more representative lower house, with the greens, independents and minor parties being forced to seek a more representative mandate from the people. Gough Whitlam’s time on top of the hill may be fading in memory, but his vision for Australia is still as sharp as it ever was.

Tagged ALP, Australian politics, book review, Gough Whitlam, Jenny Hocking, labor party, political history, political icons, twentieth century Australia

Nov 06 2009

Blog Posts

Quick and Easy!

Quick and Easy – Transformation Guaranteed!

We have all seen these words splashed across advertisements, books, and websites; and heard them coming out of the mouths of sales people everywhere. There are doctors, naturopaths, therapists, and other ‘so called’ health professionals, extracting dollars through the promotion of pills, courses and products – all claiming to do the hard work for you. Well it’s not true! There are no quick fixes in health, weight loss, and just about anywhere else in life. Ask yourself honestly, have you ever really taken a pill and instantly achieved whatever it claimed to do for you? Of course not, occasionally they have been an accessory and encouragement on the road to your goals – a bit like gym clothes really.

If you want a few guidelines in life that really stack up, this is point one – there are no quick fixes. Now immediately you have one structure in your life to guide you away from delusional situations, involving those who claim to be able to facilitate change in your life, instantly and without some sacrifice. This is not a case of mere exploitation with you and me as the victims; no we are actively involved in the whole fraud, because we want a quick fix too- as we do not want to do the necessary hard work to achieve change. We want to have our cake and eat it too – and we want to be thin and attractive at the same time, as we want to stuff our faces with cake. This is the modern dilemma of humankind in the consumerist age.

Quick and easy meals! Just 4 ingredients! Dinner in 5 minutes! Cookbooks around the globe are emblazoned with these headlines. What is the mass appeal of this message saying about us? Well maybe that we don’t enjoy cooking and that we would rather be doing something else. There are a number of issues here of course – mothers who are traditionally coerced into cooking meals for an often unappreciative family audience; singles who would rather work or play elsewhere and do not enjoy cooking for one; and those who do not know their tastebuds from their haemorrhoids, to name a few. However health is derived from a good nutritional diet and if we continue to take the easy option, popping a few multi-vitamin pills to prop up our neglected nutritional selves, we are heading for a state of disease. Quick and easy cancer in just a few years!

Become a Reiki master in 3 days! Learn to heal your emotional self in one weekend! Re-birthing in a single session! Wow when I flick through the pages of the monthly, throwaway, holistic journals I can see how easy it all really is. World hunger, victims of the devastation of war and suffering watch out – there is a Reiki master waving his hands right now. Refugees from the war zones in Afghanistan and Iraq, where our Australian soldiers are fighting now, are however not benefitting from these ads for instant transformation – in fact they cannot even get into our country.

Horny goat weed; fat blaster; tiger penis; snake oil – products packaged and sold in pharmacies, multi-level marketing pyramids, and TCM shops around the globe – all promising transformation in exchange for money. The health industry! We have doctors and pharmaceutical companies (who now own all the vitamin producers) on one side, ready to chop you up and medicate you with anti-depressants, and on the other side we have a mish-mash, containing a few good hearted healers interspersed with the providores of the all natural, quick fix, in various forms. The former bunch do not respect you at all and see you as meat, muscle and bone and the latter are predominantly ineffectual and unrealistic in their claims for you and for themselves – because in many cases their training has been as inadequate as the one they are now selling to you.

All however is not lost. Put down the newspaper, magazine, and mouse. Close your eyes and ask yourself – really ask yourself, where do I go next? What is the next step for me? How can I heal myself? Keep asking the questions – this is no quick and easy solution. Meditate upon them and follow your fears into the unknown. It may take a lifetime but the journey is worth taking, and really you don’t have a choice anyway. It’s your life after all!

Tagged diet, doctors, fat blaster, health, horny goat weed, instant results, nutrition, pharmaceuticals, transformation, weight loss

Mar 12 2009

Blog Posts

A Taxing Time

They say that only two things in life are certain, death and taxes, well I am yet to experience the former but have been hard at work at the latter once again. Yes the annual tax marathon has been in full swing for the last two weeks and at times it does feel like a long slow death, drowning in screwed up little pieces of paper, which were once receipts. Hey guys how about making it law that receipts are printed with indelible ink on indestructible paper – its only fair if you want me to keep this evidence for all these years.

Some people I know hand all this stuff over to accountants – people who are apparently paid to do this kind of work all year round – wow special people! I have experienced tax this way but I prefer to immerse myself in the process and do it myself. Tax time is a time of accounting, a personal period of facing up to what you have been doing for the last year or multiple years in my case a few times. It can be highly enlightening as to where all your money has gone to, particularly when you add up all the bank fees and credit card interest charges – those guys in the bank sure know how to fleece you good and proper.

Sitting down and going through all those scraps of paper and all those bills and bank statements – is like a review of your life. Where you get to remember all the good times, bad times and completely forgotten times – “was I really there and did I really spend that much money?”

Tax is also a time where you get to measure your life according to just one criteria – money! Like the game of Monopoly – everything you have done is tallied up and valued by the dollars and cents. It gives a simplistic glow or gloom to your life, without the multi-dimensional complexities of real life. There are no hard questions like, “should I have slept with my best friend’s girlfriend?” No, it is refreshingly clear in its reframing of life -”how much was that experience worth or how much did it cost me to sleep with my best friend’s girlfriend?” “Well we had dinner at Zacs and that was $200 and the taxi back to her place was $43 – so the value of this experience was $243.”

Tax is also a time where you really get to test your integrity, to find out whether you keep to the spirit of the law in your tax return. Do you stretch the truth? Well that receipt could refer to a business expense but deep down you know that it was really that time you took your best friend’s girlfriend out to dinner. Tax is a bit like applying the rules of golf during a game, when your ball moves at address and you are way over in the bushes and nobody can see you, let alone your golf ball. Are you going to write down that extra stroke and call that penalty shot upon yourself? Tax is all about self regulation and understanding what it is to be really honest.

Of course the tax return documents themselves are hideously complex and difficult to understand. How certain questions are phrased can render you completely flummoxed and staring blindly into those piles of statements and scribbled bits of paper, which make up your life according to the tax department. Do I put the total amount of deferred losses here, including previous years or just this year’s loss? I dont know, I just dont know! Then you get to the best question in the whole thing – how many hours did it take you to complete your tax return?

Tagged accounting, tax, tax return

Feb 17 2009

Blog Posts, parenting, Uncategorized

Fatherhood Part Two – the journey continues.

Having one child changed my world forever, having two in quick succession broke the camel’s back. There was nowhere left to hide, no time for a quick puff on a cigar on the porch, always a baby or toddler to get to sleep. I was working more and more from home to be on hand as a parent, and as much as I embraced the role it never quite measures up to the expansive fit of the mother. Biologically speaking, I don’t think it will ever be thus, men will always be caught between worlds – brought up to be out in the world providing for the family and yet wanted on the home front to share the load. It is often an inner dichotomy as well, wanting to stay home with these new innocent beings and often having to leave the nest to bring home some bacon.

My wife embraced parenting and motherhood like a tsunami does an archipelago, it was fantastic to behold. No book unread, no Internet forum unbreached and a passion for it that made me smile inside. Natural parenting was the buzz word; Attachment Parenting the correct moniker and the forum interaction ran thick and fast. Any break from physical parenting was enjoined by the virtual parenting discussions – I thought it was great, that the shared wisdom of parents everywhere was now accessible on the web. Of course after awhile the sheer brutal demands of parenting tests every part of you. The broken sleep, with two little ones going off, is grindingly tough – one feeding on the breast all night and the other waking up exceedingly unhappy, because of the very existence of the other having supplanted its position with the mother. We tried many things to reduce the trauma of this situation but it is such a primal state of affairs, with a one year old’s blood curdling screams at 3am not conducive to much cognitive therapy.

Those cries and screams at the midnight hour can unhinge feelings inside, that have not seen the light of day for many a year. Sometimes for a brief moment you are not sure if you are awake or asleep and many times I began to discover my screaming child was in fact asleep or sleep screaming, as in sleep walking, and no amount of desperate soothing or reasoning could reach our poor child. It was like a Blitz, not of bombing but of blighted shadows emerging uninvited out of our baby girl.

Getting up and getting to work got later and later, and I suppose I was lucky that I had a job that did not watch the clock. Sometimes after a night like this I would drive hundreds of kilometres to meet a client and attempt to sell them something. My sales erected smile got limper by the day and often people would buy more out of empathy than any other motivating force. My drive for results was ebbing away and no amount of pep talking was bringing it back. It was like I had descended into another world, where things were more real than ever before, more raw and far more demanding than my day light reality had ever been.

Now when I hear that my favourite footballer has just had a baby I know what is in store for him and how it will affect his performance on the field. I know that he and his wife will experience the wonders and the challenges of parenthood, and that they have embarked on a journey both long and arduous. The simple fact is that parenthood gives life profound meaning and meaning can only come through a process, which tests us to the core. Having a baby is not about cute little booties and pink rattles – it is about complete care – wiping faeces and vomit off a multitude of surfaces; holding your baby skin to skin; worrying about unseen things like fevers and viruses; and loving that child until your end. It is the most life changing event on this planet and has been thus since the beginning.

It marks the changes from girl to woman and from boy to man. It heralds the transformation from caring about yourself to the nth degree to caring about another even more. I think that women make this move much more rapidly, propelled as they are through the physical stages of pregnancy and birth, and us men watch these unfolding events like some blood and guts spectacular in the theatres of our homes.

Slowly we are called upon to do more and more, and the sacrifice of selfish desires becomes the norm. Within this process we are transformed to care for another before we consider our selves – and yes this inclination can get out of hand and your sense of self and mojo can be crushed. You may join a dazed procession of zombie parents wandering and wondering who they actually are. You can see them in the supermarket aisles pondering the unit prices of disposable nappies and pushing prams in parks like disheveled gypsies, with endless pockets and pouches issuing streams of material and plastic containers. All of them asking themselves is this what it is really all about?

It seems to involve a lot of words beginning with the letter ‘S’ – like survival and surrender; sacrifice and sleep – please go to sleep darling! God I need some sleep! Sex is of course what got us here in the first place and it is the consequences of this act, which has changed our lives forever. Fatherhood is so much more than a seminal deposit.

So we continue on everyday and they change so much, so noticeably, growing and developing like nothing else on earth. There is nothing as fascinating as your own children. I have often though that evolution has made the children of all life’s species as appealing as possible, because with the amount of work involved well……… I always remind myself at the darkest times that this too will pass. The sun does invariably rise again and things are never as bad as you think or feel at the time. Life is not the fantasy that either my wife or I may have pictured but there is something else there in front of you and inside you. A shining light in the eyes of my children that illuminates even the darkest corner of my life.

To be continued……

©Sudha Hamilton.

Tagged attachment parenting, babies, breast feeding, children, fatherhood, fathers, growing up, man, men, motherhood, mothers, natural parenting, parenting, psychology of parenting, sex, sibling jealousy, sleep, sleep deprivation, transformative life cycles, woman, women, work/home balance

Jan 31 2009

Blog Posts, Published Articles

Barack Obama the West’s new white knight

Barack Obama: The West’s new white knight

By Sudha Hamilton

Barack Obama’s Presidency has come to represent, to many people around the globe, the hope for a new future based on fairer principles – after a dark time of ignorance and fear induced US international policy. With the US still seen as the world’s pre-eminent economic and military superpower, it was a frightening time for many, to witness the US under George W Bush, invading Iraq and operating a ‘tooth for a tooth’ style anti-terrorism policy. There has been too much death, flying under the banner of a ‘good old boys’ quasi religious war against Islam.

With the election of the US’s first African American President, it is seen as an almost symbolic shift in consciousness toward disadvantaged minorities and away from the entrenched ruling elite. The hyperbole and fanfare that has accompanied Obama’s rise to the oval office has been quite incredible, and not since the assassination of John F Kennedy has sentiment reached this level of fervor in the US. Of course, for a country founded in part on the slavery of African Americans, it is quite a journey for one stained with that skin to reach the highest office in the land.

Obama enters the office of the Presidency at a time of real crisis, with the US leading the world financial markets down a spiral of unprecedented severity. There will be nowhere to hide, and states of emergency are the making or breaking of leaders. Will the huge expectations be rewarded or will they crush the life out of such a left field candidate running the biggest game in town? President Obama has assembled a quality team to execute government policy and it will be interesting to see what type of CEO he is – consensual or lone ranger? The call to action right now is loud; and it is for decisive and far reaching policy to end the panic, stimulate demand and stop the freefall of markets.

Will the West’s new white knight come to the rescue of a jaded and cynical world? Will Obama be able to restore belief in the US’s democratic quest to bring freedom and enlightenment to parts of the globe ruled by despots? Where are we right now on capitalism’s life cycle, and will the market welcome legislature to rein in its unfettered desire for ever more? Barack Obama comes to town at a time when there are a lot of burnt fingers and I think Wall St will keep its mouth shut for a while anyway. It is a great opportunity to start again – to rebuild a US economy and world economy factoring in things like climate change at the outset. To get carbon credit schemes functioning around the globe and for governments to guide development based on principles of sustainability.

If global capitalism is widely believed to have seen off socialism, then the ‘champ’ has all of a sudden fallen in a big hole of his own making. Where have all the ‘free-marketeers’ gone? We are not hearing so much about how perfect the market is and all that self correcting claptrap. No it is big business with its hand out for government assistance and packages in the trillions of dollars. The US carmakers, which have studiously ignored non-oil dependent technologies for so long, are at the front of the queue demanding bail outs for their failing billion dollar businesses. Perhaps it is time to let go of the status quo and allow real change to take its course. President Obama and his team will be faced with questions like this, and how much damage control will be good for the US in the long run?

I think there is a collective hope for some personified goodness in America’s new leader, and that he will heal some old wounds in the country and in the greater world. Whether this can transmute beyond mere words and sentiment into empowering action will have to be seen. In a similar way to our own PM Kevin Rudd, who came after a decade of self interest under Howard, and had the opportunity to ‘say sorry’ and ratify Kyoto, will they both talk the talk…and walk the walk?

2009 is going to be a fascinating and challenging year to be alive. I wish President Barack Obama all the very best!

©Sudha Hamilton.

Tagged Barack Obama, car makers, eco living magazine, global crisis, global economy, international policy, President Obama, sudha hamilton, trillion dollar package, US economy, US President

Jan 29 2009

Blog Posts

Retrenched After Two Days

The global economic crisis just bit me on the bum. I was recently employed on contract as a senior journalist for the local newspaper in my town. My wife had just started as their editor three days before me and we were both over the moon to be working in the field we loved and locally. Every night we would sit up planning editorial content and creating new Google docs for the pagination. Meetings in the day at the office had that stimulating high, which only comes from a very new job – where you feel that you can do anything no matter how long the hours.

The owners were a small team of people, formerly employed by the town’s original local paper before it was bought up by a conglomerate and lost it’s soul. They had already brought out a dozen issues and we were replacing an earlier editorial team. We asked them at the interview if they had the money to run this business (as we have been running our own publications and know how tough it can be) and they assured us they had local bank funding. They loved us and kept telling both of us they were so happy that we were now on board.

Well I was out on the street doing vox pop interviews when I got the call from my wife and editor, that something weird was going on and that no one at the office was answering her calls. We are the parents of a two and four year old and the work/family life balance is always a challenge. Writing and publishing is one of the jobs we find that we can combine effectively. So we both soon discovered to our complete dismay that these same people who had interviewed and briefed both of us with confidence, were pulling the pin and going into voluntary insolvency.

I was gobsmacked, I was seriously pissed off, I could not believe it – my wife was crushed – she had worked tirelessly to pull their shambles of an editorial system into the twenty first century and now it was over. It was like a desert mirage or a bad acid halucination – we both felt bad. Yes we still have not been paid and I don’t like to say out loud what part of me already knows but it is more than just being ripped off.

That a group of people can question your committment over a series of interviews and ask for your full blooded service as an employee. You know the usual jumping over hoops that the interview process involves and then to have them be so naive that they were unaware of their very imminent demise. Talk about a one night stand.

Of course none of them bothered to let the dozens of editorial contributors know about the paper’s demise and it was left to us to tell everyone. We are in the invidious position of having to go on doing their work to maintain our own professional reputations. Still no pay. Of course we were promised that they would fix us up and that is why they were pulling the pin now so that they could leave gracefully without unpaid creditors.

Probably what stung the most in retrospect was the gutlessness of this group of people – you know running a small business challenges and changes you if you if you really run the course. My wife and I both know – it toughens you and demands that you put it all on the line – if you want to make your passion work in the real world.

We attempted to revive this group and in several meetings by phone, email and then in the flesh said we would join them and have a go at making this work. But their leader, the ad sales guy was happy to go gently into the night, rather than ruffle the feathers of all the advertisers who still had not paid their bills – because of course this was the root cause of the problem – a cash flow crisis born out of the fact that nobody paid on time and nobody signed a contract. It was all done on a handshake – well my hands been shaken but my pocket is still empty.

©Sudha Hamilton

Jan 24 2009

Poems & Songs

If I Sleep

If I Sleep

If I sleep, will you remember me?

This night, is waiting, wanting you,

Always wanting you.

Lay back in bed, and listen to,

Soft murmurings, intent on loving you.

In a thousand dreams, of loving you,

I remember, all the pain, and pleasures too.

Let this night be true.

Remember all my loving you,

Wanting to be part of you.

I love to touch your skin,

Won’t you let me in?

Kiss your ever wet lips,

Please let me in.

I love to stroke your hair,

Have someone to care.

Feel you everywhere,

Your in my prayers.

If I sleep, will you remember me?

This love, is eating me,

Always eating me.

Lay back in bed, and come for me.

She cries for God, in her infancy.

If I dream, I always dream alone.

Love leaving, leaving me alone.

She lies, back in bed alone.

Cries for love, but not for me,

Alone, desperately.

If I sleep, will you remember me?

If I sleep, who will remember me?

©Sudha Hamilton and Philip Korn

Tagged love, love song, lyrics, obsession, poem, poetry, recorded song, sleep, song, sudha hamilton

Jan 24 2009

Poems & Songs

Reptiles

Reptiles

In the spider’s grip, we speak of love,

With words - such worthless, weightless stuff.

Promise this and swear thy heart,

Side by side we shall never part.

Moistened eye to moistened eye,

The rational buckles, burns and bends.

Woman weeps, her tears will flow.

Mankind watches and doesn’t know,

That fear drifts through hands that hold,

Fairer, softer, smoother skin.

For beneath the surface, upon the ocean floor,

Lies cold blooded crustacean’s claws,

Exacting vengeance for crimes unknown.

Mother nature turns on phallic fools,

Who believe the witches have a mind.

When feelings fail her instinct finds,

The naked male asleep in bed.

Wraps her coils still glistening wet,

Around his heart and limpid prick,

To feed in savage lust till sick.

©Sudha Hamilton

Tagged gothic, love, loves shadow, poem, poetry, sudha hamilton

Jan 19 2009

Blog Posts, New Ideas, Uncategorized

Child Care Solutions

Aged care and child care synergies for a better world.

By Sudha Hamilton.

An idea that I have been carrying around for sometime is to do with two similar needs from two disparate subsections of our communities – the old and the very young both require care and company. What if we combined these two institutions – the retirement village and the child care facility – or at least placed them next door to each other with connecting access? We would have two groups of cared for people who could, under qualified supervision, provide well meaning contact with each other.

How many times have we observed our older members of the community deriving rejuvenating joy from reaching out to toddlers and other little people who are just beginning their journey. Is this not the DNA plan once fulfilled within our extended families, which have unfortunately fallen away with changes within our modern communities – divorce, broken families and today’s mobility of the workforce creating geographical challenges . Why not have a community or state led program which brings grandparent age people and little ones together at their most vulnerable times of their lives to give to each other.

Older people reaching the concluding stages of their lives are often reviewing their pasts with a wisdom born of experience and an innate understanding of things based on their very real time life clock. Something inside them rejoices at new life in all its innocence and wishes to reach out with love. Little children are developing and theirs is a synergy of timing between the very old and very young – their parents are often rushing around and paying the rent but grandparents are in retirement and moving at the same unhurried pace. Why not bring these two groups together?

Obviously qualified carers servicing both groups would still be required but the numbers of these could be reduced in real time and a more substantial interaction between groups could be achieved. There would also be older individuals who might not wish to interact with little ones and my coexisting facility would respect their wishes. Older patrons of retirement villages would not become involuntary child carers, but rather would have the experience as an optional extra. This idea is all about the exchange of warmth, friendship and care, based on free will.

Our state sponsored facilities and programmes would best serve all of us by bringing sections of our communities and humanity together, rather than separating everybody. This separation continues to be propagated by the arbitrary academic separation of community groups via the stages of their lives in research and development programs, in areas of sociology and in the vital areas of social policy. It is time for governments to become user friendly rather than forever servicing academic/public service fuelled specialisation.

If we can bring an appreciation of humanity – a natural sense of our world – to dealing with the challenges we face within our community – child care and aged care in particular – perhaps bring some common sense to a situation – then we can unite shared purposes.

Please feel free to comment and make your contribution regarding this idea!

©Sudha Hamilton.

Tagged aged care, child care, eco, eco living magazine, health aware, living, solutions, synergy

Jan 14 2009

parenting, Reviews

Book and CD Reviews

Book and CD Reviews

Heart to Heart Parenting

By Robin Grille

ISBN: 9780733322983

Heart to Heart Parenting is a book on nurturing your child’s emotional intelligence from conception to school age. For anyone who enjoyed the expansion and wisdom of Parenting for a Peaceful World – this is the developmental sequel. Practical in application, but still with the historical context and psychological understanding that is characteristic of Robin Grille’s creations.

Raising your children can be the most fulfilling thing you ever do. But your children can also challenge you like no one else ever will. To make it through the sleepless nights and toddler tantrums, it is fundamental that you develop an understanding of what makes your child tick.

An empowering book for parents, Heart to Heart parenting is more than just a ‘how to’ book about raising happy and resilient children – it aims to help you create a deep and lasting relationship that is unique to you and your child. Using techniques that are based on connection rather than shaming, manipulation or punishment, Robin Grille introduces you to insightful and practical ways to benefit your child’s emotional wellbeing and development. Available from ABC Shops / Centres, selected bookstores and online at www.abcshop.com.au RRP $35.00

The River Runs Free – Exploring and Defending Tasmania’s Wilderness

By Geoff Law

ISBN: 9780670072453

Geoff Law first rafted the dangerously beautiful Franklin River on a whim. He was inexperienced and in a leaky raft, the weather was treacherous, and his travelling companion was someone he didn’t know and who hated the place. But that eventful trip drew him into the historic battle to save the Franklin from being dammed. It was a struggle that brought down a federal government, and one whose ecological reverberations, twenty-five years on, are more commanding than ever.

In The River Runs Free Geoff Law gives a lively and witty account of that flagship campaign, weaving it around stories of his wilderness travels. Drawn since childhood to wild places, he is an experienced solo bushwalker, one who can never resist a challenge. He writes powerfully about the connection between humans and landscape, the source of inspiration for his life’s work. Travel with him and you never know what’s coming next – but you’ll arrive exhilarated. RRP $32.95

The Conscious Cook

By Giselle Wilkinson

ISBN: 9781921221385

Giselle Wilkinson has been a social and environmental activist for over thirty years. Influenced by

early experiences of communal living and travel Education, Giselle realised earlier then most that choosing to live consciously is a powerful force for positive change. What better way to live consciously than in the kitchen? Her book takes us on a journey into the breadth of food-associated issues, helps us join the dots connecting the issues and demonstrates the complexity of sustainability and the simplicity of many of the actions involved in achieving it. Containing 50 delicious recipes covering an eclectic mix of ethnicities, ingredients and dishes, The Conscious Cook is completely different from other cookbooks. It looks at food, not only from the point of health and taste, but also through the lens of the global sustainability movement working to reduce our impact on our very stressed planet. The Conscious Cook raises awareness of the interconnections that link human health and wellbeing with that of the health of the planet. RRP $34.95 Order online at http://consciouscook.org/buy

Starsong

By Lia Scallon

The Sacred Language and melodies of Sirius channelled here through Lia are a beautiful healing gift for all. The sounds of ‘Starsong’ travel deep within to touch and heal the wounded child.

These sacred harmonics gently stir the soul, unlocking its secrets, reawakening it to recalling its true purpose. ‘The Sounds of Sirius’ are a gift to humanity at this time of great change. They come to assist us with the major shift in consciousness and to reconnect us with our true essence. Comforting, calming and deeply relaxing, ‘Starsong’ is a gentle and joyous celebration of life.

‘Starsong’ & ‘Song Of The Earth’ are companion CD’s, brought through from Spirit together. Although each individual ‘Sounds of Sirius’ recording works on many levels of the being, these two particular CDs, used together, have proven to be profound “Inner Child” therapy. Available at ABC Shops or from Lia www.soundsofsirius.com RRP $29.95

©Sudha Hamilton

Tagged aware, book reviews, CD, channelling, children, conscious, cooking, eco, environment, geoff law, health, heart, lia scallon, living, music, parenting, recipes, robin grille, sirius

Jan 14 2009

Astrological Writing

Saturn Square Definitions

Heading: Saturn Square Definitions

Subheading: As part of the family curses article.

With all of these placements think Father principal with a capital F & Mother principle with a capital M – meaning both the experience of your own mother and father but more importantly their experience of each other & its impact upon you. Also your own inner mother & father & how they interact with each other & the other sub-identities within you. Then expand that into your experience of your relationships , authorities ie work & society; & the need & ability to nurture in life. I have listed a few key principles here but there are so many more.

Saturn in Aries squares:

Moon in Cancer – This square pits a restrained masculine controlling father against the all feeling mother. Saturn in Aries acts as a brake but still has no understanding of the mysterious Moon in the watery depths of Cancer.

Moon in Capricorn – The repression of feelings is even stronger here with the reinforcement of the Moon placement.

Saturn in Taurus squares:

Moon in Leo- Conservatism & denial of pleasure. Mother thinks she is special but receives no recognition from father.

Moon in Aquarius – Whacky & wonderful feelings meet stolid tradition that represses with rationality.

Saturn in Gemini squares:

Moon in Virgo – Difficulties with learning, lead to controlling through ignorance & distrust of intelligent partners.

Moon in Pisces – Skepticism & fixed ideas scorns the intuitive & emotionally expressive.

Saturn in Cancer squares:

Moon in Libra – Hypersensitivity leads to denial & emotional ambiguity.

Moon in Aries – Tradition blocks creativity & expression of feelings.

Saturn in Leo squares:

Moon in Scorpio – Outer adherence to societal status quo block secret passions that will erupt & tear down the edifice, usually from without.

Moon in Taurus – Ideals deny the instinctual inner life of feelings. Earth mother made to feel unworthy.

Saturn in Virgo squares:

Moon in Sagittarius – Conservative values repress the expression of the sometimes bold & occasionally fanatical feelings.

Moon in Gemini – Practical father devalues the maternal input of intellectual playfulness. Trust in things over the instability of the mind.

Saturn in Libra squares:

Moon in Capricorn – The search for social acceptance denies one’s true inner feelings & can often lead to the formation of relationships based on outer appearances rather than real feelings.

Moon in Cancer – Strong urge to keep a superficial charm controlling things & to keep the door locked on one’s emotional life, where deep turgid feelings lie in wait.

Saturn in Scorpio squares:

Moon in Aquarius – Dead men tell no secrets! Father keeps the family lore locked up & squashes mother’s desperate desire to chatter the truth.

Moon in Leo – Self-sabotage can undermine your ability to shine, as the instinct to remain in the back room clashes with the feeling that you are very special.

Saturn in Sagittarius squares:

Moon in Pisces – The adherence to ideals crushes the whimsy and beauty of a life lived according to the heart. Keep your eye out for the delicate & sensitive.

Moon in Virgo – More of the above denies access to the wisdom of the body & health issues may result. Remember that God & the devil are in the details.

Saturn in Capricorn squares:

Moon in Aries – A repressive influence upon the spontaneous expression of the self. Beware of wild women as they have the key to your tower.

Moon in Libra – The stolid denies access to pleasurable pursuits. Daddy did not waste time or money on frivolous pursuits.

Saturn in Aquarius squares:

Moon in Taurus – The cold touch of the mind belittles the natural wisdom of the body and feelings. Class or cultural inequalities can be present in relationships.

Moon in Scorpio – Fixed values bespeak of worshipping at the altar of rationalism and the feeling world lies tangled at the bottom of the garden.

Saturn in Pisces squares:

Moon in Gemini – Worry fuels the restraining energy here that clouds the clever expression of feelings. Too serious to allow the transforming nature of humour & trouble with the social lubricant of small talk.

Moon in Sagittarius – Martyrdom raises its ugly religious head here & the overweening need to get it right on an existential level represses a lot of playful passion. Watch out for saving people in relationships.

Interestingly my own Saturn square Moon aspect was the very last one & that happened by sheer chance!

I would like to acknowledge the information and insight that I have drawn over many years from Betty Lunsted’s Astrological Insights into Personality & recommend it for further study.

©Sudha Hamilton

Tagged aquarius, aries, aspects, astrology, betty lunsted, cancer, capricorn, challenging, eco living, father, gemini, hard, leo, libra, Moon, mother, pisces, principles, sagittarius, Saturn, scorpio, squares, taurus, virgo

Jan 10 2009

Health, Published Articles, Reviews

Planetary Newsbeat

Heading: Planetary Newsbeat

New Eco Friendly De-Inking Process Developed.

A new technology utilising enzymes (biological molecules) has been shown to remove ink from recycled paper. A research project conducted by the University of Malaysia Sarawak reported the use of a crude enzyme preparation for the enzymatic de-inking of mixed office paper. Traditional de-inking methods have involved the use of large quantities of chemicals, causing pollution to the environment. The enzyme material was prepared by growing endoglucanase (enzyme use for the enzymatic treatment) producing Bacillus licheniformis BL-P7 in a liquid culture media containing sago pith waste and rice husk. Furthermore, the process proved to be more effective for the removal of larger ink particles. Also, properties such as brightness, air permeability, tensile, and tear were enhanced in the preparation of the recycled mixed office paper.

Researchers : Hashimatul F.H., Hairul A.R., Andrew Wong H.H., Awg A.Sallehin A.H. (all of Universiti Malaysia Sarawak), Nigel Lim P.T. (Sarawak Forestry Corporation) Adapted from materials provided by Universiti Malaysia Sarawak

Organic Wine Leaves Only Half the Eco Footprint of Non-Organic!

Italian environmental scientists from the University of Siena, measured the resources needed to produce wine at two farms in Tuscany. Both were utilizing Sangiovese grapes but one was totally organic and the other was not. The organic farm used natural fertilisers and most of the work was done by hand, while the other farm used conventional methods of production. A bottle from the organic farm had an eco-footprint of 7.17 square metres, half that of the non-organic wine with a footprint of 13.98 square metres. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, DOI: 10.1016/j

Low Sperm Count Link to Soy also includes Nuts, Wines and Beers

The high levels of oestrogen like chemicals in soya beans have also been found in beers, wines and nuts. Gunter Kuhnle of the MRC Dunn Human Nutrition Unit in Cambridge, UK tested foods and beverages using mass spectrometry. Previous testing had focused on lignans but ignored isoflavones and this expanded search has found phytoestrogens in many more foods and drinks. Studies into the effects of phytoestrogens have produced a mixture of results, with some showing compounds that protect against cancer, menopausal symptoms and heart diseases, whilst others have been linked to increased risk of breast cancer and male infertility. Journal reference: Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (DOI: 10.1021/jf801534g)

A-Beta Protein Alzheimer Disease Clues

Amyloid-beta the thinking brain’s protein has been shown to be intrinsically involved in increased neuron activity. A study into people with severe brain injuries resulted in steadily rising levels of A-beta protein as their brain activity increased through recovery. A-beta, as the protein is sometimes called, is best known for causing plaques in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease. It is a normal component of the brain, but scientists don’t know what it does. Traumatic brain injuries increase the risk for Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers from Milan, Italy and Washington University in St. Louis, USA used advance brain testing techniques to ascertain if brain injuries cause a spike in amyloid-beta levels that could lead to plaque formation, a team of researchers from Milan, Italy, sampled fluid from the brains of 18 comatose patients.

What the researchers found was exactly the opposite of what they expected, says David L. Brody, a neurologist at Washington University who led the study with Sandra Magnoni of the Ospedale Maggiore in Milan. Instead of seeing a spike of A-beta soon after brain injury from falls, car accidents, assaults or hemorrhages, levels of the protein started low and rose as the patients improved, the team reports in the Aug. 29 Science.

Farm Kids Avoid Asthma & Allergies

Pre-natal exposure to farm animals and plants helps protect children from asthma, allergies and eczema. Researchers from the Centre for Public Health Research discovered farmers’ children had a lower incidence of allergic diseases than children not exposed to animals, grain and hay products. The findings have been published in the European Respiratory Journal. Associate Professor Jeroen Douwes says it is the first study to show a direct link between exposures in utero and a significant reduction in asthma symptoms, hay fever and eczema.

©Sudha Hamilton

Emag

Tagged A-beta protein, allergies, Alzheimer disease, asthma, beers, brain injuries, de-inking, eco, eco footprint, eco living, eco news, eczema, health news, low sperm count, nuts, organic wine, phytoestrogens, recycled paper, soy, wines

Jan 10 2009

3 Comments

Blog Posts, Reviews

New Eco Living Magazine

Heading: New Eco Living Magazine

Subheading: Australia’s best holistic eco publication.

Eco Living Health Aware is now in the shops and turning heads. A beautiful magazine full of inspiration and practical information to make our planet a better place. Eco Living Magazine is a font of consciousness, natural health wisdom, green issues and global information. 112 pages of great articles, amazing images and eco adventures.

Eco Living Health Aware features comedienne Anthony Ackroyd; spiritual teacher Bernie Prior; tantric masters Kerry and Diane Riley; eco expert Libe Chacos and green clean mistress Lesley-Ann Trow. Eco Living Magazine investigates the organic skin care industry; colonic hydrotherapy and building a sustainable home.

Eco Living is a portal to a new way of living, eco living in balance with nature, with people, and with spirit. Eco Living Health Aware can inspire you to make a difference! Eco Living is made with love for open hearts and minds everywhere. Check out the best new eco living magazine.

Eco Living Magazine is available in newsagencies around the country every 3 months.

Emag

Tagged Anthony Ackroyd, Bernie Prior, climate change, colonic, eco living, global warming, green cleaning, green issues, health aware, holistic health, magazine, natural health, organic, skin care, sustainable homes

Dec 30 2008

Blog Posts

The Year of the Ox

Heading: The year of the Ox

Subheading: Slow and steady wins the race.

We are, just now, reaching the end of the year of the rat and it has proved true to form with the economic downturn and financial crisis. For the rat, is great, in times of paucity, drought and starvation – a great provider when things are scarce. How have you coped in the year of the rat? Are you feeling bereft of your usual sense of security or have you refocused your sense of values to the simpler things in life? Down sized your expectations and let go of the longer term life view – and perhaps you are finding joy in the company of friends and family. Enjoying a good meal or a good book and making do with a sense of surviving to live another day, until the winds change and you might raise up the energy for another foray forward.
The spectre of 2009 looms before us and the dreaded ‘R’ word – recession is whispered around the world, with all its negative implications for continuing prosperity. The year of the ox brings with it no lightning fast resurrection of the markets but more a stolid one foot in front of the other approach to living. This will be an attention to detail kind of year, where progress can be made, slowly and with steady intention. The year of the ox will bring success to those that persevere and tether their camels. Starting again at the beginning, can be initially, a melancholy business but it is what is needed to get back into the game of life. The ox does what is required, works hard and pulls the dray to get those crops in and growing. Patience comes to the fore and the work will pay rewards in the end but is a no get rich quick scheme.
Indeed this year is the year we need to have in response to the ‘greed squeeze’ factors, which have put us all where we are – cap in hand- so to speak. Regulation and appreciation of just rewards are on the menu in 2009 – Wall St cowboys and the Howard years are well and truly over. Get used to a return to the values of yesteryear – an honest return for an honest day’s work! Welcome to the year of the ox.
©Sudha Hamilton.

Tagged recession, year of the ox, ox, rat, year of the rat, financial crisis, prosperity, tax, economic downturn, security, work

Poems & Songs

Modern Man

He sits, enclosed with perch and swing,

Hopping, jumping, from thing to thing.

Chirping, happily, his freedom songs,

Whistling right and left, his rights and wrongs.

So unaware of his pinned down wings, and fear,

Screeching bravely, he does appear,

Within ruffled feathers, very sure,

That he could fly, beyond the cages locked door.

©Sudha Hamilton

Tagged modern man, poem, poetry

Poems & Songs

Streetway

See beneath this awning, streetway.

Spattering rain comes upon it.

Such darkened dreams filter by,

Oh, these gloomy sights and sounds.

Pavement rubbish remains, crumpled and decrepit,

I see drab colours, from this dim doorway.

Grey sky perturbed by rain clouds,

Reflected in the faces, of passers by.

See beneath this awning, streetway,

Cold winds vent upon, victims of the day.

©Sudha Hamilton

Tagged gloomy, poem, poetry, streetway, weather

Poems & Songs

Sadness

I look deep into her eyes to see inside me,

The frightened falling in.

Holding one another, silently together,

Feelings owned, and free, are ignited within to flame;

We shiver from the smoke.

Embraced by inner hands of sadness, I feel.

As soft noises utter from my lips.

Both of us on fire, our bond is breath.

The sharing of each other’s pain and joy,

A realisation of love’s depth,

A union toward death.

©Sudha Hamilton.

Tagged death, love, poem, poetry, sadness, union

Poems & Songs

Touch

We two touch,

Soft, softly, sipping in trust;

Our entering embrace.

The lapping seas,

The licking flames,

Such is touch.

Empty winds breezing,

Formless fragrances.

Our dissolving,

Beneath a sky of endless fire.

The melting, merging,

Touch.

©Sudha Hamilton.

Tagged love, poem, poetry, touch

Poems & Songs

Trust

When desire is not even there,

When words do not come,

When the meeting of our eyes glaze the mind,

When…..

Trust:

A gossimer’s winged flight home.

Trust:

When the fire burns all.

When god whispers.

When the bridge is no more.

When…..

Trust,

My love,

Trust.

©Sudha Hamilton

Poems & Songs

The Male’s Complaint

On the edge of night we creep together, once again,

Two stars alight, meeting far from this dusty veranda.

Each to mount the other, with instinctual expectations,

I tensed and hard in all desiring fear.

Once begun, finished and unresolved.

Soaring through realms of prickly pain and open grins,

Excited as one, perhaps the only.

A wedge of words, gasping, jamming out the world.

Rapid roads, travelled fast.

Bowing too soon, in perspired, expired intention.

Furtive glances toward the water hole, to which we,

Snort and grunt in groaning reverie.

©Sudha Hamilton.

Tagged coming together, love making, poem, poetry

Poems & Songs

River Running Through My Soul

I’m feeling healed again.

I’m feeling love again.

I got a river running through my soul.

Its washed away the pain and fear of tomorrow.

Its telling me, I love you.

This day dawned, like all others.

I kept my hands on my bottle.

The laughter limped like my liver.

I didn’t look you up or down.

Seems like I made an impression.

Somehow fate had me in mind.

To hold your babies in my arms.

And to catch that sea bound train.

Well I loved those days of summer.

When the heat and sun came down.

To turn your skin so brown.

And to end my endless bummer.

I’m feeling healed again

I’m feeling love again.

I got a river running through my soul.

Its washed away the pain and fear of tomorrow.

Its telling me, I love you.

©Sudha Hamilton

Tagged country, healed, love song, lyrics, song, western

Poems & Songs

A Woman’s World

Heartache in the morning

Rat -a tat -tat

Heartache in the evening

Slap slap slap

No through roads

She turns back

A lover’s rebuff

She falls flat

Heartache in the morning

Rat- a -tat-tat

Monthlies here again

Blue down manic black

Toilet seat tears

Screaming at the cat

Heartache in the morning

Rat-a -tat-tat

Heartache in the evening

Slap slap slap

Soft voices hard-on laps

Leering eyes so cunninglingus

Those dim lit corners

Ever staring out

Heartache in the morning

Rat-a tat-tat

Sorrow in the evening

Slap kiss slap

©Sudha Hamilton

Tagged poems, poetry, woman

Published Articles

When Retreating is Actually Advancing.

Heading: When Retreating is Actually Advancing.

Subheading: Fountainhead Organic Health Retreat.

The Sacred Chef cooking school on the sunshine coast - nutritious and delicious food for better health and happiness!

The very first time I attended a health retreat I was a little anxious about what would happen there. Would I be forced to do and eat things that I did not want? Would I have to subsist on lettuce leaves, weak herbal teas and watery lentil stews? Would my thirty something wilful self embrace the experience or storm out in a huff? Well apart from the odd uncomfortable moment, my time at Fountainhead Organic Health Retreat was a great experience. Taking me beyond my physical and mental comfort zones to a new me, or a more essential me stripped of bad habits born of short cuts to relaxation, like too many drinks after work, that never truly relax you anyway. These realisations were not forced upon me, rather the energy of the place expands your consciousness about one self and the facilities are there to give you real relaxation options to explore.

Meeting the founder Wayne Parrot was a big part of that, Wayne Parrot is an intensely alive person and it is his vision and entrepreneurial dynamism that has created this healing paradise. Born out of the desire to keep his ailing mother alive, she had cancer, Wayne sort out knowledge, natural health experts and found a very special piece of land to bring Fountainhead together. Located in the Blackall Ranges, in Maleny on the Sunshine Coast hinterland in Queensland, Fountainhead is visually rich. Uniquely designed and fitted out chalets, are strategically placed within an organic avocado orchard, with each chalet afforded complete privacy by the surrounding foliage. Fountainhead accommodates between 10 to 16 guests at anyone time, so it is possible to feel like this is your own personal health farm. The name Fountainhead, familiar to readers of philosopher and novelist Ayn Rand, is testimony to Wayne’s approach of self-determination in healing diseases and overcoming the root of diseases, damaged self-esteem. Like the characters in Ayn Rand’s novels, Fountainhead attendees are given the opportunity to understand, mend and move beyond debilitating conditions that might be holding them back from the full enjoyment of a wonderful life. Or in my case scrape back some of the dross, that modern life in big cities can contribute to accumulating, covering over my own sense of vitality with desensitising addictions like alcohol.

The food is fantastic at Fountainhead, organic and much of it grown on the property, the flavours are alive and the healthy knowledge behind the menu are available to be learnt at the weekly organic cooking school. Fountainhead sees a succession of health experts visiting and sharing their knowledge, during a variety of programs, that address specific conditions like depression, cancers and weight loss. There are lengthy 20 day programs available or you can come for a couple of days to test the waters, so to speak. Those waters are bubbling up from beneath the mountain in its hot mineral water baths and spa complex, the perfect antidote for stressed muscles and minds. A Turkish steam room and dead sea salt spa are great detox options and I made it a bit of a daily routine during my stay at Fountainhead. You can swim laps in the beautiful blue pool or catch a few rays of sunshine stretched out on a lounge. Stretch, walk, run and jump with personal training coordinator “Deano,” who pointed out to me just how important encouragement and informed discipline can make to achieving goals that you have set yourself around fitness and appearance. In fact Boot Camp programs are available at Fountainhead on a regular basis.

Fountainhead is a place that you can come to, both to find self-awareness, and the skills and facilities to explore healthier options in your own life. A health retreat is really that, a temporary retreat from the world to refocus on the essentials and structures in your life that can either make you healthy or unhealthy. Much of life is about established routines, and if the current one’s in your life are not serving you as well as they could or you would like to discover everything you possibly could be, then a time at the top of the mountain to review and explore could be just for you.

©Sudha Hamilton

Tagged Ayn Rand, depression, detox, Fountainhead, Glass House Mountains, Greg Neville, juice fast, maleny, organic retreat, retreats, sunshine coast, Wayne Parrot, weight loss

Dec 27 2008

Astrological Writing, Published Articles

Astrology First Part Introductory Course

Heading: Astrology A Introductory Course.

Subheading: The language of the stars.

With the recent advent of a greater interest in all things astrological I thought that it might be a great time to present an introductory course in astrology. This course will run over 24 months and be segmented into 12 issues. Each issue will cover one astrological sign, one house of the horoscope and one ruling planet – thus making up the complete zodiac. Astrology is among many things a language, a language of the stars, and it is in my opinion a very useful language to speak and comprehend. It has in my experience, deepened my understanding of humankind, the world we inhabit and what we call soul. It is very useful to know the basics when meeting potential new suitors, housemates and workmates. To know what it means that his Sun is in Capricorn, Moon is in Scorpio and he has a Leo ascendant or rising (probably driving a BMW and hell bent on world domination, but will pick up the tab for dinner). Of course everyone is unique, but there are a few general ground rules that can be helpful in dealing with certain situations in life. So I hope that you will read on and perhaps join me in an astrological journey of discovery over the coming years.

Returning to the theme or allegory, of astrology as a language, it has like all languages an alphabet of symbols, which make up characters and these characters can tell stories. Stories that have been told down through the ages, which resonate in our lives, like well trodden paths. Patterns of behaviour repeating themselves, archetypal characters from Greek, Roman, Norse, Celtic and many more cultural myths, which we seem to inhabit from time to time – as we play betrayer and or victim in steamy tragedies transposed to the suburbs of our modern lives. Basically there are 3 main interrelated systems that need to be learnt – the planets from Sun to Pluto, the twelve signs from Aries to Pisces and the corresponding twelve houses. Thus we have a collection of planetary bodies which rule, transit and inhabit our twelve signs and houses. It is therefore easy to learn and remember which planet rules, which sign and which house – another useful allegory that has been used in the past is to imagine the planet – say Mercury as the actor/character in a play, the sign of the zodiac the costume he or she wears and the house placement the stage setting upon which he or she walks. The Mercurial Kath, from TV’s Kath and Kim, adorned in the self-consciously, somewhat sporty, Virgoan, crotch biting tights striding around the 4th house of Casa Fountain Lakes. Hold that image and see it as the beginning of new knowledge that may unlock the doors of your perception.
The KEY 3 Sets of Corresponding Symbols

Signs – Planets – Houses

Aries – Mars – 1st House = Cardinal Fire
Taurus – Venus – 2nd House = Fixed Earth
Gemini – Mercury – 3rd House = Mutable Air
Cancer – Moon – 4th House = Cardinal Water
Leo – Sun – 5th House = Fixed Fire
Virgo – Mercury – 6th House = Mutable Earth
Libra – Venus – 7th House = Cardinal Air
Scorpio – Pluto – 8th House = Fixed Water
Sagittarius – Jupiter – 9th House = Mutable Fire
Capricorn – Saturn – 10th House = Cardinal Earth
Aquarius – Uranus – 11th House = Fixed Air
Pisces – Neptune – 12th House = Mutable Water

We begin with the sign of Aries, our Cardinal Fire sign – where fools rush in – you may know an Arien or have that sign highlighted in your own horoscope. Perhaps you have felt that rush of blood to the head or observed the resultant behaviour in an intimate – exciting stuff! The planet Mars rules the sign of Aries and he is the God of War – like the hero Achilles bestride a chariot, armed to the teeth with sword and spear, in full flight or fool flight (sometimes), hell bent on some destruction. A metaphor for the energy that is required to begin, to be born, breakout of the birth canal and scream that first cry of life. Aries is the first sign and illuminates all the planets and positions that inhabit it with the desperate need to be first – it rules the 1st house in the house system. The 1st house represents the body, the skin, the basics of the self – who am I? It is the spirit about to be manifest in a body, an idea about to be launched into the world and the passion of love that can enrapture and destroy anything in its way.

So you can now see the three sets of symbols that interact to form the first of twelve segments that make up the zodiac. Applying this information to your own chart you would look firstly to find the sign of Aries, which is represented by the symbol —— signifying the horns of the ram. Is the sign of Aries, in your horoscope, empty of planetary bodies or does it contain one or more? Whatever planet or planets reside in Aries at the moment of your birth will be coloured by that restless, aggressive energy and will seek to be first, to be prime in their sphere of influence. A couple of examples: Sun in Aries – the Sun is our larger sense of self, another step on from Mars in the inspiring fire ruled journey of life and the two planets are integral to each other. Our Sun is where we are heading and Mars is how we enact that through our desires, Sun in Aries is in a hurry to get wherever it wants to go and unless there are major impediments, adversely aspecting this placement it will be headstrong, impulsive, quick witted, spontaneous and initially determined to get there. Its sense of self is warrior- like in its desire to achieve. Venus in Aries – is what one values and finds beautiful and this placement has elements of a martial nature, the sleek warrior, the front-on assault to love – no wimps for this Goddess of Love. It is an interesting home for love and brings it quickly to the fore and makes it numero uno in this person’s life. In both of these planetary placements you would look to see what house the sign of Aries falls in as another sphere of influence at to where these archetypal forces are being played out. Is our Sun in Aries burning in the 1st house, meaning that the chart holder has a Pisces or Aries ascendant or rising, thus reinforcing the Mars/Aries influence upon them. The body type would usually be prominent with strong features, larger head, perhaps muscular and facially coloured florid or redder. The skin would speak of life’s challenges and passions throughout their journey. It would be important in this person’s life to be seen to be virile, active and a trailblazer in life. Placing the Sun in Aries in another house, for instance the 2nd house, would move this energy out of the body somewhat, into that person’s world of values and possessions. It may be their home or car that now bursts with thrusting Arian Sun energy, to be the best or most beautiful or biggest, or it may be what they regard as most prized. I can see a red sports car, a trophy spouse or a Tuscan Mcmansion on the hill.
The sign of Aries may appear empty in your chart but look and find what houses intersect the sign – as you learn and understand what those houses signify – you will find that those houses are influenced by their placement in Aries & thus those areas of your life.
Next we look to find the placement of Mars in your horoscope, the sign and house it resides in, as this will reveal how the expression of your desires are influenced and where they take place in your life. How your call to action is played out, how anger flares or doesn’t and where the blood flows. Where sexual desire and its resultant enactment plays out – the hot spot so to speak. Mars is symbolised by the erect phallus, its head full of blood, pointing in the direction of what it so desires, reaching out to penetrate, conquer and begin union – and this energy resides in us all, man or woman. So much of sexual arousal happens in the head and this is where Aries/Mars lives. Mars in the fire signs Aries, Leo and Sagittarius will be quick to arousal, quick to anger and quick to arms. Mars in the earth signs Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn will be slower, more cautious in their responses but once aroused will be enflamed for longer. Mars in the air signs Gemini, Libra and Aquarius will be strategic and clever in their lightning fast appraisal of their desires and their costs. Mars in the water signs Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces will bubble and steam in the depths of their sensitive desires and churn and spit in the pit of their stomach when so aggrieved.
Where are these colourful actions taking place? On what stage or in what house are they unfolding at various times of our lives? Mars in the 1st house would be doing its bit in and on the body, the head and face – a few broken bones I bet. In the 2nd house reaching out for beauty, things and possessions and in the 3rd house communicating, desiring frequent, interpersonal exchanges – chatting up life. The 4th house surging around the home and family, desiring the essence of the hearth, and in the 5th house wonderful love affairs and remarkable children. In the 6th house it would be in service to others and dealing with issues of health; and in the 7th house the perfect relationship whether of love or hate. The 8th house desires other people’s money and or their husbands and wives; and in the 9th house Mars seeks the knowledge and or experience of God. In the 10th it seeks the power and the glory on earth; and in the 11th house it seeks its pleasure and influence in friends and groups. Finally in the 12th house Mars desires dissipation in some end game of the spiritual realm.

The Elements
The Signs

Fire = Aries – Leo – Sagittarius
Earth = Taurus – Virgo – Capricorn
Air = Gemini – Libra – Aquarius
Water = Cancer – Scorpio – Pisces

The Planets

Fire = Mars – Sun – Jupiter
Earth = Venus – Mercury – Saturn
Air = Mercury – Venus – Uranus
Water = Moon – Pluto – Neptune

The Houses

Fire = 1st – 5th – 9th = Personal Houses
Earth = 2nd – 6th – 10th = Practical Houses
Air = 3rd – 7th – 11th = Social Houses
Water = 4th – 8th – 12th = Terminal Houses

To sum up what we have covered, before I present you with the questions that will determine your score in this first instalment of Astrology for Beginners, lets go over the main points to remember. Like learning the alphabet, when you were a child, it pays to repeat the order of the names in the zodiac again and again – Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer – form the first triplicity – then the four elements are repeated in order again by Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio – forming the second triplicity – then once again the same order of elements this time represented by Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces – completing the triplicity. This helps you to remember because you know it goes Fire, Earth, Air then Water each time. There is of course a reason for this ordering of the elements and it forms the basis of many ancient philosophies – outlining how spirit enters matter to become reason before reason meets feeling and is deepened to return to a state of oneness in an ever-repeating spiral through the zodiac.

Each element also contains a cardinal sign, a fixed sign and a mutable sign and these groups of four are so defined by their crossed position on the zodiac. The cardinal signs and their planetary rulers are recognised by their initiating or beginning quality – they are most at home starting something new Aries/Mars is full of new ideas; Capricorn/Saturn new rules to live by; Cancer/Moon new emotional considerations and Libra/Venus new ways to relate.
The fixed signs are the manager/mothers of the zodiac – keeping things going Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius. Stubborn energy is sometimes required to keep a family or business together and the fixed signs are so disposed to do so. Mutable energy has qualities of both and is defined most by its flexible nature and in my opinion can be often found at the ending of things. Gemini is mutable Air; Virgo mutable Earth; Sagittarius mutable Fire and Pisces mutable Water.
Practise remembering by rote the descending order of signs, Aries right through to Pisces, and then practise remembering the corresponding three sets of symbols – Aries = Mars = 1st House; Taurus = Venus – 2nd House and so on. Ask yourself why Mars rules Aries and the 1st house, what are the qualities of Mars and Aries and the 1st House, what do they have in common? This is an alphabet that you need to initially master on a basic level and in time your appreciation and understanding of the meaning of the symbols will deepen.

If you would like to receive a Certificate of Astrology Introductory Level, simply complete each lesson over the next 12 issues, by answering the questions below and submitting them to me at admin@ecolivingmagazine.com.au at the conclusion of each issue. Prior to the publication of each issue, containing a lesson, prizes will be awarded to those with the highest scores and most compelling intelligent astrological answers and acknowledged excerpts of these will be published in Eco Living Magazine. Thus sharing the wisdom within our Eco Living Health Aware community and fostering greater learning among us all.

Questions

1a. How many sets of KEY corresponding astrological symbols are referred to here?
1b. How many houses are there in a horoscope?
1c. What planet rules Aries?
1d. What house corresponds to the sign of Aries?
1e. Describe some of the qualities inherent in the sign of Aries?

2a. Name the correct order that the elements Air, Fire, Water, Earth appear in the zodiac?
2b. Name the three planets that rule the fire signs?
2c. Name the fire signs in the order that they appear in the zodiac?
2d. Name the colour that you would think represents Aries?
2e. Describe the element of fire and your understanding of its qualities?

3a. If the sign of Aries is empty of planetary bodies in your birth chart does it still have any influences in your chart?
3b. How does the house placement of Mars effect its influence and actions?
3c. How does the sign placement of Mars effect its influence and actions?
3d. Describe your understanding of Mars and its possible effects?

4a. List what are known as the Personal Houses?
4b. Name the cardinal fire sign?
4c. Name the planetary ruler of the cardinal fire sign?
4d. Describe your understanding of cardinal energy?

5a.What parts of the body do I refer to as particularly Arien?
5b. Describe some of the qualities of the 1st House?
5c. List five historical figures who you would describe as Arien & your reasons why?

6a. List the twelve signs of the zodiac in their correct order?
6b. Name the planetary ruler of each house in the zodiac in the correct order?

7a. Write a short essay on Mars, with particular reference to understanding its expression in your own life. (max 500 words)

©Sudha Hamilton

Appeared in Conscious Living Magazine.

Tagged aries, astrology, cardinal sign, elements, fixed sign, houses, introductory course, Mars, mutable sign, planetary bodies, signs, Venus, zodiac

Dec 26 2008

Astrological Writing, Published Articles

History of Astrology

Heading: The History of Astrology

Subheading: From Babylonian stargazers to Liz Greene.

Looking back in time in search of the origins of astrology, we are faced with the question, what is astrology? Is it an advanced scientific hypothesis, based on the premise that the heavenly bodies give off an ‘influence,’ which affects individual events on earth, or is it primarily a universal language, as argued by Giovanni Pontano, the Italian Renaissance astrologer? Pontano’s treatise, On Celestial Things, published in 1512, stated that astrology is “a language of the stars and planets that formed the letters of a cosmic alphabet that conformed in all essential ways to the language of humans.” In my experience as an astrologer, it has been the latter definition, which has made most sense to me and encouraged me to take the journey of life guided by the stars above.

It is generally agreed that humankind’s look to the stars has been one that all the tribes of earth – indeed, every culture – has shared in. Evidence of this remains today on ancient cave and wall paintings, and on surviving archaeological tablets and texts in museums around the world. To look up at the night sky and witness the incredible changes of the celestial light show would have been profoundly awe-inspiring. It would also have stimulated the formation of a number of basic philosophical questions like: why are we here? What is nature of time? Who controls the movement of the stars across the heavens? When we ask, what is the history of astrology? We must consider that, incredibly, there once was a time when the inhabitants of this world did not know what time it was! Imagine how that would affect everything you did or wanted to do.

The quest to calibrate time is paramount to an understanding of humankind’s history of astrology. Which leads us to the twin sister, astronomy and astrology – one now the realm of science’s greatest achievements and the other, now considered a shabby con for the naïve and ignorant. It has not always been thus; in fact, both ‘girls’ started out from the same family, a Babylonian family. For it was in the latter stages of the Mesopotamian civilisation, around 1500 BC, that the emergence of mathematical astronomy made possible the journey towards the creation of the first ‘star chart.’ It would not be until the fifth century BC that Babylonian ‘star gazers’ would cast that first recognisable individual horoscope.

Within the Assyrian Empire there was a class of scholar-priests called the Ummanu, who served the Babylonian royal family. They would observe and correlate the patterns of the stars over scores of decades. It was their job to watch out for omens in nature and to advise how to ritualistically act to cleanse sin and thus avoid calamity. Eclipses, shooting stars, conjunctions and the like were, according to surviving Babylonian instructional texts in the British Museum, signs placed in the natural world by the gods to warn the king of impending dangers. This was, at the time, a divine science that was exclusively in service to the king, the god’s representative on earth, and not for the general use of the larger population.

The Mesopotamians had a written history, like the Greeks and Egyptians (see Hermes and Thoth), that tells of divine teachers from ancient times who passed on special knowledge of the sciences, philosophy, law and wisdom to the Ummanu. The work of the Ummanu is also confirmed in certain passages within the Christian Bible’s, Old Testament; for example, in the scornful words of Isaiah towards the Babylonian stargazers and soothsayers (Isaiah 47: 12-13) and in the Book of Daniel: “There is in your kingdom a man who has in him the spirit of the holy gods, a man who was known in your father’s time to have a clear understanding and a godlike wisdom. King Nebuchadnezzar, your father, appointed him chief of the magicians, exorcists, astrologers and diviners. This same Daniel is known to have a notable gift of interpreting dreams, explaining riddles and unbinding spells” (Daniel 5: 11-12).

Three Stars Each

Astrology, as we know it today, clearly had its birth in Babylon, although it was to be influenced substantially on its journey through Egypt, Persia, Greece, Rome, Islam, India and then the Western world. It was injected with certain vital elements from each culture it spent time with and those strands have come together to make up what we know today as astrology. The mathematical astronomical foundation was developed in Mesopotamia, indelibly contributing to the technical ability to cast a horoscope.

Surviving tablets from around 1000 BC, known as the “Three Stars Each”, are circular diagrams divided into 12 equal parts representing the 12 months of the year. For each month, three stars are listed as rising and becoming visible just before dawn – the ‘helical rising’. The tablets are also split into three sections that show the northern sky (nearest the centre of the wheel), the sky directly overhead (in the middle) and the southern sky (the outer zone). The whole circular tablet is then a calendrical star-wheel that links each month to an astronomical event.

There is still the puzzling question, however, of whether the Babylonian astronomers thought of the heavens as a sphere itself and why they did not create a model or working paradigm of the heavens in motion. This would be left to the Greeks and their cosmic theory of the celestial sphere. The “Three Stars Each” tablets also show that at this time the yearly passage of the Sun through the constellations of the zodiac has not yet been recognised by the Babylonians, for if it had they would have surely been used to mark the months.

The Babylonians were primarily interested in the Sun, Moon and Venus and believed they were manifestations of their gods Shamesh, Sin and Ishtar. The Sun and Moon were important, of course, because of their affect on the measurement of time. In the Babylonian creation epic, “Enuma Elish”, the heavens are said to have been created in order to mark the passage of time and to give order to humanity’s cosmos. This learning through recorded observation of the initial three solar entities led them to expand their search to include the motion of the five planets of the classical cosmos.

Babylonian astronomy was cross-fertilised by the Babylonian’s astral religion and the planets all had shared identities with their gods:

Marduk – Jupiter – creator and ruler of the heavens and god of life and justice.

Nergal – Mars – god of war and the Underworld.

Nabu – Mercury – god of writing and intellectual pursuits.

Ninibe, or Ninurta – Saturn – god of the hunt.

The linking of the planets with these deities that affected everyday life was the primary motivator in the development of Babylonian astronomy. It was important to know the celestial positions of these gods/planets to aid in the prediction and understanding of their divine intentions. It can be posited that the development of mathematical astronomy would not have occurred without the astrological desire to know the will of the gods on earth.

Mesopotamians knew the planets as the gods of the night. By the seventh century BC, the extent of their astronomical knowledge was featured in a new series of tablets known as “Mul Apin”, meaning ‘the stars of Apin’. This is a complete compendium of their study of the stars, listing up to 70 individual stars with helical rising dates and tracing a lunar path through 18 constellations. It shows they used the movement of the Moon rather than the elliptic path of the Sun. Here are the constellations and their modern equivalents:

Mul (the Mane) – the Pleiades

Guanna (the Bull of Anu) – Taurus

Sibzianna (Anu’s Shepherd) – Orion

Sugi (the Old Man) – Perseus

Gam (the Sickle Sword) – Auriga

Mastabbagalgal (the Great Twins) – Gemini

Allul (meaning unknown) – Cancer and Procyon

Urgula (the Lion) – Leo

Absin (the Furrow) – Virgo

Zibantitum (the Scales) – Libra

Girtab (the Scorpion) – Scorpio

Pabislag (the Archer) – Sagittarius

Suhurmas (the Goatfish) – Capricorn

Gula (the Great Star or Giant) – Aquarius

Zibbati (the Tails) – Pisces

Sirmmah (the Great Swallow) – Pisces and part of Pegasus

Anunitum (Goddess Anunitum) – Pisces and part of Andromeda

Luhunga (the Hired Man) – Aries

The Babylonians shared with the Egyptians the belief that the Sun spent the hours of darkness in the Underworld, only to emerge from out of the earth at dawn. Likewise, the stars returned to this Underworld at the rising of the Sun. It was some time around the sixth century BC that the step was taken to subdivide the path of the Sun into 12 sections, each named after a constellation and corresponding to the passage of one month of the calendar year. Interestingly, however, there is no surviving evidence linking the figures of the zodiac with Mesopotamian myths or particular deities. The only obvious connection is that the ancient sages who handed down the sacred knowledge to the Ummanu were described as having the forms of animals, or as being half man, half animal (like the centaur). Now, with the zodiac circle divided into 360 degrees and with each section evenly covering 30 degrees, we have the referencing system that can locate any celestial body.

There has survived a small number of tablets from the fourth to the first century BC that list the positions of the stars in the zodiac for individuals other than the king, telling us that the influence of astrology had by this time expanded into the wider Babylonian community. A horoscope from 235 BC reads: “Year 77 (of the Seleucid era), the fourth day, in the last part of the night, Aristokrates was born. That day: Moon in Leo, Sun in 12 degrees 30 minutes of Gemini, Jupiter in 18 degrees Sagittarius. The place of Jupiter means his life will be regular, he will become rich, he will grow old, his days will be numerous. Venus in 4 degrees Taurus. The place of Venus means wherever he may go it will be favourable to him. He will have sons and daughters….” From this we can see a clearly recognisable, albeit brief, chart and interpretation. An immense journey had already been made in the formation of astrology, from basic observation of celestial omens to a vast and complex star chart – that had begun to calibrate time in space while simultaneously weaving religious meaning into the movements of the cosmos. This placed humankind at the very centre of the universe.

Astrology’s time in its Babylonian birthplace was, however, coming to an end. In 539 BC, King Cyrus of Persia conquered Babylon and for the next two centuries it formed part of the Achaemenid Empire. It was during this period that much of the meaning behind astrology’s symbolism was engendered through its exposure to the mysterious cults of Zoroastrianism and Mithraism. Indeed, it can be argued that these two mystery schools have profoundly influenced the spiritual nature of all the great Western religions of the world. Astrological knowledge had also by this time crossed into Egypt, where many wrongly thought it had originated. The historian Herodotus wrote of his visit to Egypt in 450 BC, “I pass to other inventions of the Egyptians. They assign each month and what disposition a man shall have according to the day of his birth.”

The Graeco-Roman world

Alexander the Great was the military ruler and political force who brought Babylon under the rule of Greece. By 330 BC the social landscape of the region had undergone enormous shifts through resettlement, opening the way for cultural and scientific exchanges. It was during the Hellenistic period that the science and mathematics of the Greeks merged with the esoteric religions of the East, and this was especially seen in astrology’s development.

The underpinning concept to emerge in Greek astronomy was the celestial sphere, which could be geometrically charted. Parmenides was first to put forward that the earth itself was spherical. To Pythagoras the sphere was the most perfect shape in nature, and both Plato and Aristotle taught that the universe was a system of interlocking spheres. The Greek mathematicians, Eudoxus and Hipparchus, postulated that the language of geometry could be used to describe the movements of the stars. It was the visual quality of this model that proved to be such an epiphany. One name, Ptolemy of Alexandria, stands out in Hellenistic astrological history as the crowning executor of this new geometric paradigm that could plot the position of any known star or planet in time.

Once again, astrology was imbued with the philosophies of the culture in which it flourished, this time with Stoicism. The Graeco-Roman world embraced the concept that fate or destiny was identified with divine reason. “Apatheia” was the Stoic ideal, a state of acceptance of the unfolding of a divine purpose in life, and astrology provided an individual map of that unfolding. Posidonius, who was teaching in Rhodes in the first century BC, was a leading figure in the spread of Stoicism throughout the Roman world. Seneca and Cicero were influenced by Posidonius and they shared in the belief that nature offered signs of future events to those who could read them. Astrology was becoming acknowledged as the science that gave that code-breaking ability.

In the cities of Antioch, Pergamum, Athens, Rome and, in particular, Alexandria, astrology was well established in a form that would be recognisable to today’s astrologer. There are surviving papyrus horoscopes, written in Greek and Demotic between the first and fourth centuries BC, that tell us astrologers were aware of exaltations, lots of fortunes decans. Marcus Manilius and Vettius Valens, in the first century AD under the rule of Emperor Tiberius, were the authors of the first two systematic treatises on astrology. Manilius’ Astronomicon is written in verse, of all things, as apparently it was part of the literary challenge of the time to versify scientific work.

An important consideration of horoscopes of this time is that when they speak of the native being born under a certain sign, they are not referring to the location of the Sun within the chart. Rather, they indicate the particular sign that is present at the rising or contains a stellium of planets, or some other important point in the horoscope. The focus on the Sun sign in astrology is entirely a twentieth century phenomenon. There is also at this time no clear interpretive connection between planets and signs, unlike today’s astrology. Aspects between the planets and points of interest were, however, of fundamental importance to the Graeco-Roman astrologer and expressed the Hellenistic mathematical ideals in the relationships of trines, squares and sextiles. The development of the astrological houses, or ‘loci’, originates here, following from the splitting of the heavens into quadrants. Two central axes cross the 360 degree circle of the chart, from the Ascendant to the Descendant and from the Midheaven to the Imum Coeli; these quadrants are then trisected into a total of 12 houses.

Astrology’s time in Rome was punctured by its use and abuse by emperors; it was debated in the senate by proponents and opponents and generally embraced by its citizens. Emperor Tiberius (14-37 AD) employed a ‘secret police’ of astrologers to identify possible political rivals. He also enjoyed testing astrologers by inviting them to predict the time of their own deaths, before proving them wrong by executing them on the spot. It was a time when astrologers needed to do a lot of quick thinking on their feet if they were to remain on them for long. The evidence of astrology’s popularity in Roman society can be seen in the naming of the seven day week after the planetary gods.

A thousand years in the darkness

With Emperor Constantine’s official endorsement of the Christian faith in 312 AD, astrology was plunged into “a thousand years of darkness”, and removed from Western consciousness. The new church state began a program of eradication, which included any pagan practices that were not prescribed by the theological authorities. Astrology became a crime punishable by death. Rome and the Church were divided into two distinct areas, the east and west, with the eastern Byzantine sector far more forgiving of its pagan past. Here astrological study managed to continue until around 549 AD, when the last pagan school of learning was closed in Athens.

Christian theological thinkers such as Tertullian (160-220 AD) and St Augustine (354-430 AD) were fiercely uncompromising in their condemnation of astrology and their attacks were characterised by the notion of Christian ‘free will’ versus the classical idea of ‘fate’. The real closure on astrology, along with many other ‘sciences’ in the Latin West, can be attributed to the decline of classical learning as the Christian Church ushered in the “Dark Ages”. Many of the classical texts were in Greek, and the Church’s control ensured they were not translated into Latin. Ptolemy’s treatise on spherical astronomy, Almagest, was not translated, nor were any tables of pre-calculated astronomical positions. Without these texts it was near impossible for aspiring astrologers.

Islam

As with many things in life, if something is suppressed in one region, it often moves to where it can still flourish; in this case, astrology moved to the Islamic world. From available evidence, astrological knowledge journeyed to India around the second century AD. The recorded sources are Hellenistic, although there are also signs of earlier Babylonian -influenced celestial omens. Persia was the cultural point where the classical Hellenistic world and India crossed, and the adaptation caused some interesting new ideas to bloom. Five elements instead of the usual four, plus the transmigration of souls, were added to the astrological mix. The lunar nodes became a more important focal point of the horoscope and new calibrations of the zodiac were made, dividing it by seven and nine into saptamas and navasamas. Astrology continued to flourish in India, unharmed by state or religious persecution, and is widely practised to this day.

The Islamic culture embraced astrology as much for its philosophical qualities as for its predictive usefulness, and it was here that many consider it reached its highest state. “As above, so below,” the old maxim tells of the oneness of existence, encapsulating astrology’s appeal to Islamic thinkers. It was here that the astrolabe and the “Zig”, two devices for calculating the time and the degree of the elliptic in the ascendant at any time from celestial positions, were perfected. Abu-Mashar (787-886 AD) is known as the founder of Islamic astrology and his theories on planetary conjunctions have been immensely influential. His work on the importance of the Jupiter-Saturn conjunctions throughout history has filtered down to us today.

Astrology returned to the Latin West from Islamic sources via Toledo in Spain when, during the Reconquista, Islamic cultural centres fell under Christian control in 1085 AD. Here scholars were able to translate the major works of Greek science that had never before been translated into Latin. A new font of learning was opened and this would feed down through the centuries. As Christianity became a little more magnanimous, now that it was long established and felt far less threatened, Church scholars absorbed the new learning and sought to integrate it with their religious principles. Leading thinkers such as Albertus Magnus, Roger Bacon and Thomas Aquinas were all in agreement that the movements of the stars affected life on earth. Geoffrey Chaucer had a special interest in astrology and composed the first English treatise on the astrolabe. His poetry is full of references to the stars and a few of his stories are actually allegories for particular astrological star groupings.

Astrology still trod a dangerous path during the rule of Christian kings, and burning at the stake and astrologers being hung, drawn and quartered (still very mathematical) were not uncommon occurrences. Astrologers were often in service to kings as advisers for when was the best time to go into battle, and to ‘would be kings’ for advice on their chances of succession. It was, I imagine, a job fraught with danger when things did not work out according to the stars, or to the king’s desire. Shakespeare is a great source of historical evidence for the role astrology played in the Middle Ages. Astrological almanacs were published every year in most cities throughout Europe, proving popular with the general community and listing likely weather for the growing of crops, the phases of the Moon and fortuitous times of the year.

The Renaissance

The Renaissance in the 15^th century was the culmination of the rediscovery of the treasure trove of classical knowledge. The Medici rulers in Florence were the greatest political supporters of this unfettered exploration but it also flourished in many other European cities. Rome, Paris, London and the like all sported intellectuals and artists who once more began to stretch the limits of humankind’s knowledge. Astrology flowered here like it had not done so for an age, as great thinkers discovered the pearls of wisdom that had been hidden for hundreds of years in the obscurity of the East.

The Hermetic texts, then thought to be ancient writings purporting to be the words of the Egyptian deity, Thoth, to his disciples, were translated by Marsilio Ficino (1433-1499). These made a huge impact on the thinkers of the day, and it was experienced as a validation of the concept of a lineage of philosophers and teachers passing on wisdom down through the ages to the present time. (It was later suggested by Isaac Casaubon, in the 17th century, that the Hermetic writings, because of the language used, dated from the second century AD and not from antiquity, a view universally subscribed to today.) Also, the words of Plato and Aristotle were resonating through the halls of learning for the first time in nearly a thousand years.

Astrology was at this time being taught in universities all over Europe and, in particular, had great appeal to doctors for use in diagnosis. Paracelsus and Ficino both considered astrology the core of medical doctrine. The popular practice of bleeding patients (phlebotomy) was usually undertaken in conjunction with knowledge of astrological medicine. In fact, the various veins, along with parts of the human body, all fell under certain astrological signs. You would not, for example, bleed someone from the thighs if the Moon was in Sagittarius, as it was considered dangerous, even fatal. The Moon, ruling the tides in nature, was seen to be the major influence over the body’s internal fluids.

Of course, astrology’s uneasy relationship with the Church continued. Girolamo Cardano, the brilliant Italian mathematician, physician and astrologer, was but one of many who fell victim to the Inquisition. His crime, was having the audacity to publish the horoscope of Jesus Christ, in his treatise on Ptolemy’s Tetrabiblos. Although the date of the chart 24 December 1 BC – is thought to be incorrect, that was not why he was eventually prosecuted. Rather, it was blasphemy to say that Christ’s body was subject to the will of the stars.

It was not the Church, however, that would this time play the decisive role in the fall of astrology from its lofty intellectual position, but the rise of the ‘new god on the block’ – science. Galileo’s revolutionary discovery that the earth and all the other planets in our solar system, rotated around the Sun , not around the earth as previously believed, was a fatal blow. So too was Copernicus’ idea that the universe might be infinite, making the closed concept of the zodiacal constellations obsolete. Prior to this, scholars had invoked the names of the great classical thinkers to add weight to their treatises; with these revelations, much of what came before was suddenly incorrect; it was suddenly ‘a new world’. All these revered ancient texts became wrong in their most basic assumptions. Of course, this did not happen overnight; it took many years for the dismantling. Indeed, it was not until the 17^th century that the split between astronomy and astrology was clearly seen in academic circles. Astrology was on its way to that dirty ‘fairground’. The later discoveries of the planets Uranus and Neptune were also seen as further discrediting the astronomical ‘facts’ of the classical universe.

Rebuilding

From the 1800′s onwards, astrology in the West entered the ‘underworld’ once more, existing on the streets in trashy books and in secret societies like the theosophists and other groups of spiritualists. It was from these groups that astrology reinvented itself as an adjunct to spiritual growth. The old, negative, classical interpretations were junked in favour of character building ones. Astrologers like Englishman Alan Leo (1860-1917) contributed to rebuilding interest in a new, positive astrology that used esoteric knowledge for growth. German astrology was another driving force in the rebirth of astrology.

It has been astrology as a psychological language, however, that has kept my interest. In particular, the work of Carl Jung (1875-1961) has mined a fertile vein of mythological information. Astrologer Liz Greene continues this exploration today and her books are a rich source of old knowledge seen through new eyes – discovering philosopher’s stones to alchemical equations.

The history of astrology is like the history of humankind itself- enormous. I have only been able to give you the broadest of outlines and a few bon mots. I would like to acknowledge Peter Whitfield’s History of Astrology (The British Library 2001) as my main source of information and encourage those who have enjoyed this introduction to pursue it further with Mr Whitfield.

©Sudha Hamilton

Appeared in WellBeing Astrology Magazine.

Tagged aspects, astrology, Babylon, celestial bodies, celestial sphere, Christianity, Church, conjunction, Egypt, Graeco-Roman, Greece, history, horoscope, Islam, Jupiter, Mars, mesopotamia, Moon, Persia, planets, Rome, Saturn, science, star chart, star gazers, stars, Sun, time calibration, universal language, Venus, zodiac

Dec 25 2008

www.ecolivingmagazine.com.au

Health, Published Articles, Reviews

Retreats and Spas – The New Holiday.

Heading: Retreats and Spas.

Subheading: – The New Holiday.

The Sacred Chef cooking school on the sunshine coast - nutritious and delicious food for better health and happiness!

As we live in an increasingly demanding high tech world, where our downtime is rapidly disappearing into the Ether(net) – where it is trapped by Microsoft and Google in an endlessly informative embrace. Work never seems to finish, as it follows us home via cunningly invisible wireless cables and our living spaces are filled with screens, which never sleep, and phones that go beep, beep, beep. We used to go on holidays for the sun, surf and beach – but our blackberries accompanied us, and nestled there beside us on the towel began to wink a message or two or three about work. No island resort was ever far enough away from a colleague on the phone or an email from the boss.

Stress was mounting up like the Himalayas in June, and alcoholic relief was just a drink away but in the morning it was worse. Where can we get away to escape the maddening ring of technologies echoing? A monastery or nunnery? Perhaps a touch too austere; but retreat we must or face the curdling of the milk beneath the full white moon.

A retreat indeed, to a place where there are trees and grass, where nature walks tall and the life is not so fast. To a place which is all about us; about the fleshy bits that change as we age and seasons pass, rather than the synapses drawn tight by modern life. Where expert hands can rub relief into bodies running on adrenal fatigue and quiet vegetarian food beckons a good night’s sleep. A spa that smells so pure, that it must be made of milk and honey. The sensual joy of a natural scrub, ridding your skin of grime and the cities’ dub. Where exercise is something that happens when walking to and from your cabin – and fun is to be found outside running about with others. A return to the childlike pleasures of mucking about in nature, and seeing the pure experience reflected in the eyes of another, who is likewise having a good time just being themselves. Retreats are like this – mixing an ambience of naturalness with gentleness and providing a resource for practical advice about diet, exercise, life coaching, natural therapies and your health. This is the healing holiday experience that you often feel that you need to take after a family holiday or ill fated overseas jaunt with a partner.

Retreats and spas are fast becoming the new holiday of choice, as an antidote to the pressured life of the mind that we all seem to be corralled into these days. So what are the defining differences between spas and retreats and what are some of the features you may encounter on your new holiday of the physical senses? Well a spa is defined in real terms as the kind of place where you will find a variety of treatments that relate to your skin and body. Many establishments qualify themselves as a beauty spa or day spa and they specialize in a wonderful cornucopia of aromatising, massaging, bathing, skin conditioning therapies which will make you feel cleaner, fresher, revitalised and more beautiful. Many of these spas will have a special relationship with a resort providing accommodation in their locale – so that you can make your holiday special. Many new skin care companies, who have developed unique ranges of organic skin care products, have relationships with these spa operators to bring you a treatment experience that you just don’t have access to in your own bathroom cabinet.

A retreat will usually involve accommodation specifically chosen for its naturally soothing character, either in its surrounds or on the property itself. It may indeed offer access to day spa facilities as well or it may not. The soul of the retreat experience is in its program of healthy activities – or non-activities in the case of a meditation retreat. The retreat is, by its very name, a retreat from the demands of modern life into a program defined by a philosophy, which focuses on reconnecting the individual with their elemental selves. Their body – fitness, heart rate, muscle tone, unwanted tension, health of the skin, weight issues, and groundedness. Their dependencies – so often we find ourselves self-medicating with alcohol, nicotine, drugs, sugar, work, parenting and various addictive behaviours, which we use to avoid periods of self-reflection that may initially lead to feelings of despair. When we stop; and arrive at a place, which, by design, does not have the stuff with which we distract ourselves from our real issues; things like TV, computers, trashy magazines and the idle chatter of co-dependents (like minded folk who are also avoiding their issues), we face the overwhelming emptiness of our lives and often freak out for awhile. This however passes and slowly with the help of the retreat staff, who are trained in positively assisting you through this phase, you come out the other side. Where you find the inner peace to enjoy stillness of the lake or the wind whistling through the trees above you, and all the myriad unimportant junk of your day to day life withdraws to give you the space to feel again. To feel your connection with yourself, to laugh again as you jump and skip and make a lovely fool of yourself attempting some physical pursuit that you have not tried for umpteen numbers of years. You can find your heart again, not in the embrace of anyone else but in the enjoyment of simply being with yourself. All these things are available and more when you surrender to the retreat experience.

Good Retreats and Bad Retreats

OK so the ideal retreat experience can deliver us to a state where healing can take place but how do we spot the bad retreat or the retreat that is not up to the mark. Tension – if you can feel tension in the air or insecurity among the staff, beyond encountering someone on their first day at work, then this is a sure sign that perhaps things are not all that they are cracked up to be. Health retreat staff have a duty, like all healers, to be aware that they are stewards to individuals who have made a commitment to the healing process. Everybody from the cleaner to the retreat coordinator needs to be on the same conscious page and if they are not, then it is not supporting your journey to heal. How to discover this before you actually book and are on the property? Well, ask some pertinent questions, like how long has the establishment been operating and what is the average length of employment and what appropriate qualifications are held among the staff? Ask to speak with the coordinator and perhaps a therapist or even a guest – it is quite within your rights to make thorough enquiries before you make your investment of time and money.

Every retreat has its own particular philosophy, and has been uniquely created in response to this set of ideals or life lessons – you can usually get a fair idea from their website. Being open to the full retreat experience involves vulnerability on your part, so you want to feel a certain trust in the people who are interacting with you – therapists, practitioners and staff. Retreats have a certain mystique about them in our psyches – Avalon like places where the mists part to reveal holy grounds where transformations and miracles take place -this is can be a powerful help to fully letting go to the healing experience, but it is also wise to tether your camel before the journey.

Retreats in Review

Hopewood Health Retreat

One of Australia’s longest established health retreats, Hopewood has been operating for 46 years – located just one hour’s drive from Sydney and surrounded by beautiful bush land. Hopewood is the epitome of a well run health retreat, with dedicated, professional staff who have been working there for many years. Renowned for its natural health philosophy, which advocates a diet rich in fresh fruit and vegetables, gentle exercise, plenty of water, fresh air and rest; Hopewood Health Retreat is the perfect place to relax by the river, revitalize and revive your mojo and zest for life. Specialising in natural healing, stress control, weight management, as well as massage and beauty pampering, Hopewood has long been helping Australian’s to rediscover their equilibrium.

Good food is a cornerstone of their successful approach to healing and transformation – passionate chefs, who love plying their trade at a fantastic health retreat, and presenting you with knock out combinations of delicious healthy ingredients. Utilising the smart and simple dietary technique of food combining – which serves particular vegetarian food groups together and avoids combining starch and protein – you will feel lighter and more vital. Of course you get to take home these secrets with you and the great feelings come with you. Hopewood even has its own cookbook, full of yummy healthy recipes and tips for detoxing diets. Hopewood’s juice therapy pointers are:

Drink a small glass or two of freshly prepared juice every day.
Avoid mixing fruits and vegetables as it can cause fermentation in your stomach.
Top up with carrot and ginger instead of coffee when you need a lift.
Juices are a great addition to your diet but remember to also eat whole fruit and veggies for the added fibre.

There is a full range of exercise and fitness activities available and you can tailor your own program to suit your desires and aspirations. Inspiring guided bush walks, yoga classes, aqua aerobics and personal training assessments are just some of the options from which you can choose to make your stay both enjoyable and transformational. After the exercise you can unwind with the de-stressing massage therapies like myofascial release; reflexology; shiatsu and hot stone therapy to name a few. Feel beautiful with organic facials, body wraps and other divine skin treatments all available on site at Hopewood. This is a total retreat experience where you can put aside the pressures of your day to day life to give something back to yourself. All Hopewood’s retreat packages include accommodation – ranging from balcony rooms with ensuite to budget rooms in single or twin with shared bathrooms; full use of all facilities; smorgasbord vegetarian meals and the daily activities program.

For further information www.hopewood.com.au Ph- 02 4773 8401.

Dargan Springs Mountain Lodge Wellness Retreat

Looking for a natural high? Where the air is cleaner and a little more rarified? Dargan Springs is the Blue Mountains health retreat par excellence, surrounded by breath taking views, peace and tranquility. Located 2 hours from Sydney, it is nestled in the trees and looks out upon the majestic vistas of Australia’s greatest mountain range. Each retreat has its own unique slice of natural magic and Dargan Springs is a beauty to behold and experience. Mountain lodge accommodation finds you ensconced in the light and airy luxury of those who live in the clouds, with each room having private ensuites, valley or garden views, and king sized or twin beds. Central heating keeps you warm inside, with soft linen, natural bedding, thick towels and down doonas to ensure a good night’s sleep.

Outdoor activities are conducted by host and owner Mike Corkin, who trained in climbing, abseiling and mountaineering in New Zealand at Otago University. Happy to instruct and guide small groups and individuals at all levels of proficiency, Mike is passionate about sharing the special magic inherent in the mountaineering experience and the exhilaration it can produce. One of the special advantages Dargan Springs’ guests have is the lodge’s direct access to amazing walks, climbs and abseiling trips, meaning more time in the natural wilderness. All the Dargan Springs outdoor trips are certified with Advanced Eco-Accreditation, which recognises their commitment to ecologically sustainable eco tourism. Whether you wish to enjoy the mountains with an expert, or prefer to go it alone, the experience of this incredible wildlife resource is an inspiring life choice and will have you feeling more alive than you have before. Wildflowers in brilliant colours, dramatic rock formations, wallabies and a host of native birds freewheeling before your eyes, it is a rich pageant of life and of course you need to stay alert up here. Like on a Zen meditation walk your awareness is keen and the witness state allows life to flow through him/her.

All this mountain air activity provokes an appetite for sure, in addition to burning off calories; you want and get to eat fantastic fresh food at Dargan Springs. Being in the pure mountain climes somehow stimulates you to appreciate the pure flavours in good healthy food, it’s delicious and Dargan Springs offers you a range of quality meat, fish and vegetarian meals that are all low fat and bursting with freshness. Food never tasted so good and your body never felt so good. Plus certified mountain spring water flows from all the taps, freshly made juices are available and hot drinks too.

Massage therapies, yoga, aromatherapy facials, wellness consultations, meditations, hot spa’s and tai chi are all on the menu at Dargan Springs. Plus you have the choice of experiencing it at what level you wish to, from the wonderfully restorative Healthy Escape package to the bed and breakfast option. Dargan Springs can be a sensational place for a healthy group conference, a longer stay healing program or a divine place to explore the Blue Mountains from. It is welcoming and life enhancing without being too fanatical.

www.dargansprings.com.au Ph – 02 6355 2939.

Fountainhead Organic Health Retreat

The Fountainhead Organic Health Retreat is, according to founder Wayne Parrott, the only certified organic health retreat in the world. Established five years ago on an avocado orchard, it combines the stunning beauty of its chalets and lake setting with the natural order of a working organic farm. Utilising permaculture principles it is not a place of manufactured beauty like some resorts but a truly tranquil and magical locale for a healing retreat. Based in Maleny, in the Blackall ranges on the Sunshine Coast hinterland in Queensland, Fountainhead is a vision of rolling pastures, bubbling creeks and pristine lakes. Fountainhead runs a range of exceptional life changing programs focusing on Helping Overcoming Depressive and Anxiety Illnesses; Fit for Life and Cancer Education retreats. It is also a great place to pamper yourself, with the help of some wonderful massage therapists, life coaches and their attentive staff.

Organic juices flow at Fountainhead three days a week, in conjunction with some seriously delicious meals, which utilise the organic farm’s veggie output and also bring in some quality local organic produce from around the hinterland. Cooking schools demonstrate the best way to get the maximum amount of live nutrition from your food at home. Detox programs are available with expert input and guidance.

The Fountainhead Maleny Baths utilise natural spring water in the pools and there are saunas, a steam room and a fantastic area for relaxing by the pools. The brilliant blue of the bath centre’s walls contrasts with the green natural foliage all around and you have this sneaking suspicion that you might be in paradise after all. I remember during my last visit the chef bringing me over a fantastic warm salad of grilled king prawns, avocado and organic mixed leaves as I relaxed on a sun lounge by the pool. There are usually guests playing games in the pool or doing languid laps on their path to fitness and health. Choose from yoga, bush walking, aqua aerobics, personal training assessments, beach visits and daily excursions.

Accommodation is in a variety of architecturally designed chalets and you can choose from premium or deluxe levels. www.fountainhead.com.au Ph 07 5494 3494.

©Sudha Hamilton

Appeared in Eco Living Magazine

Tagged beach, beauty spa, bush walks, climbing, Dargan Springs, day spa, fitness, Fountainhead, fruit juice, heart rate, holiday, Hopewood Health Retreat, Maleny Baths, mountain lodge, organic spa, retreats, skin treatment, spa, therapies, vegetarian food, weight loss, yoga

Sudha's Art

First Mountain View

Mountain View

©Sudha Hamilton

Tagged Art, Glass House Mountains, maleny, painting, trees

Sudha's Art

Beach

©Sudha Hamilton

Tagged Art, beach, painting, shoreline, waves

Sudha's Art

Maleny

Maleny Mountain View

©Sudha Hamilton

Tagged Art, Glass House Mountains, maleny, Mountain View, painting

Sudha's Art

The Outback

©Sudha Hamilton

Sudha's Art

Water Lilies

©Sudha Hamilton

Tagged Art, floating, lilies, painting, water lilies

Sudha's Art

The Pink House

©Sudha Hamilton

Tagged Art, house, maleny, painting, pink

Sudha's Art

Orange

©Sudha Hamilton

Tagged Art, energy, orange, painting

Sudha's Art

Green Hills

©Sudha Hamilton

Tagged Art, green hills, painting, rolling hills

Sudha's Art

Magic Magnolia

Magic Magnolia Bush

©Sudha Hamilton

Tagged Art, luminous bush, magnolia, maleny, painting

Sudha's Art

Gotham City

©Sudha Hamilton

Tagged Art, blue, city night skyline, Gotham City, metropolis, painting, sky scraper

Sudha's Art

Flowers

©Sudha Hamilton

Tagged Art, colour, flowers, painting, spring blooms

Dec 21 2008

Health, Published Articles

Emotional Healing – Af-X Release Therapy.

Heading: Emotional Healing.

Subheading: Af-x Release Therapy.

“How do you monitor whether three sessions are enough or are effective at all?” I ask.

Lisa’s Story (age 17)

No analysing?

There are now a number of practitioners who have been trained by the School of Affectology in Australia, the US and Sweden. Ian White is currently in Greece, training practitioners in Athens.

©Sudha Hamilton

Appeared in WellBeing Magazine.

The Sacred Chef cooking school on the sunshine coast for nutritious and delicious food for better health and happiness!

Tagged Af-x Release Therapy, affectology, brain, chronic fatigue syndrome, clinical depression, counsellor, Damasio, depression, early learning, emotional healing, emotions, Goleman, healing, health, human condition, hypnotherapy, Ian White, Lao Tzu, LeDoux, limbic brain, medication, meditation, OCD, perfect being, practitioners, psychotherapy, subsconscious mind therapy, suicide, therapy, Zen

Dec 21 2008

Health, Published Articles

Thought Field Therapy – Tapping the healer within.

Heading: Thought Field Therapy.

Subheading: Tapping the healer within.

Is our autonomic nervous system reacting to how these thoughts are making us feel?

Perhaps even before we have registered that we are having an emotional reaction to these thoughts.

©Sudha Hamilton

Appeared in WellBeing Magazine.

Tagged acupressure points, anxiety, autonomic nervous system, brain, Dr Roger Callaghan, EFT, energetic medicine, energy fields, Eugene Piccinotie, grief, healing, health, heart variability rate, HRV, panic attacks, phobia, placebo effect, psychology, Roger Callaghan, tapping, TFT, therapeutic techniques, thought field therapy, trauma, whole body therapy

Dec 18 2008

Poems & Songs, Uncategorized

Man Tu Par Utar Kanh Jaiho

To what shore would you cross, o my heart?

There is no traveller before you,

There is no road:

Where is the movement, where is the rest,

On that shore?

There is no water; no boat, no boatman is there:

There is not so much as a rope to tow the boat,

Nor a man to draw it.

No earth, no sky, no time, no thing, is there:

No shore, no ford!

There, there is neither body nor mind

And where is the place

That shall still the thirst of the soul?

You shall find naught in that emptiness.

Be strong, and enter into your own body:

For there your foothold is firm.

Consider it well, O my heart! Go not elsewhere.

©Kabir says: Put all imagination away,

And stand fast in that which you are.”

Tagged be who you are eart, boat, emptiness, imagination, Kabir, poetry, road, soul, traveller

Dec 18 2008

Uncategorized

You have to accept sadness.

You have to accept sadness. It will disappear only through acceptance. If you fight it, it will remain with you forever – it will become chronic.

Sadness is perfectly natural. Sometimes it is cloudy, sometimes it is sunny. Exactly like that, sometimes it is sadness, sometimes it is joy. We have to love all the moods of life and all the shades of being.

If you are continuously joyous for twenty four hours, you will become tired of joy. You will commit suicide. You will be bored to death. Sadness is good for a change.

Start accepting it and then see what happens…….

©Osho

Tagged acceptance, chronic, depression, sadness, suicide

Dec 17 2008

Blog Posts, Uncategorized

Media Waning

Heading: Media Waning

Subheading: The rapidly changing face of today’s media.

Every time I accidentally flick on to the commercial, free to air, TV stations, I am truly amazed and appalled at what is showing. I try to remember if it has always been this bad or whether it appears worse now, because we have a lot more choice – pay TV, the Internet, DVD’s and the like. Of course, it is particularly bad at this time of the year, Christmas and being outside of the ratings period, but the amount of fluff in their programing is astounding. Reality shows, reality dance shows, Gladiators for god sake, quiz shows, piss weak low budget drama, wall to wall American drivel and news, which is reminiscent of FM radio in the nineties, with so much smiling, local yokel branding, you want to be sick. Quality current affair and drama programs have disappeared. As much as those Channel Nine news personalities were smugly annoying, you could at least sense their journalistic commitment – understandable as they all came from the ABC.

If the rating figures are to be believed, and having worked for Advanced Television Ratings, I can tell you – we do not get a real cross section of the community putting their hand up, to have a people metre attached to every TV in their house (it is quite common these days for families to have 6 TV’s). It is a far more attractive option, for those who regularly like to enter supermarket and radio station competitions, as the ratings company, ATVR, cannot pay people to have the metres on their TV’s, they offer them bonus gift items, like microwave ovens and mobile phone covers – to encourage their participation. You just don’t get busy, intelligent people taking part in these kinds of surveys. But if the ratings figures were to be believed, we definitely do not live in the clever country, unless a whole lot of clever people really like to watch complete rubbish.

Media is now purely entertainment – action movies with stunts and special effects, inane talk shows with staged antics, commercialised sport, PR driven news, reality TV everywhere you look, and I wonder what the mirror is reflecting back to us? Are we smarter than the people watching TV in the 1970′s? The 80′s or 90′s? I don’t think so, not if what we watch is reflecting who we are.

Movies are a hell of a lot worse now, and I think movie making reached a peak in the 70′s, combining strong story lines with characterisation and great dialogue – The Deer Hunter, The Godfather, Sunday Bloody Sunday – where are the likes of these films today? I agree that, Spielberg’s Jaws, introduced us to the teenage led parameters, which have defined movies ever since. We are watching the crap designed for ADHD kiddies, and none of the accountants, who run the industry are complaining – they are, I think, these same kids grown up or sort of grown up anyway.

My main beef with the Media today, however, is the demise of the strong Media owner, who had some passion about what the Media could achieve. Who grew up in the business and cared about what the media could deliver to the communities it served. But siting Murdoch as some last remaining saviour, come on, this is the guy who began the steep decline – giving us commentators instead of real investigative journalism and tabloid exploitation of the basest community appetites. Now the alternative is faceless share holders, demanding bottom lines and ever increasing profits. Do they really care about what journalists are supposed to care about ? The veracity of the story. Selling newspapers, selling advertising space and keeping the account managers happy, are what the corporate media directors are now concerned with – to the exclusion of the needs of the intelligent reader or watcher.

The dumbing down of things, across the board, our political leaders – George. W. Bush and John Howard for ten years, telling you and the rest of the world that they were capable managers. Plagiarism rife in the media – Alan Jones and many more – and in politics our own, Julia Bishop. I remember watching a dumb ass US movie, about some character played by a comedic actor being sent into the future and everyone in the future had succumbed to the PR plunge – nobody knew anything but ad slogans and were surrounded by sexploitation, like on the Internet today. It was actually a great movie, with something to say, about how bloody stupid we have let ourselves become, in return for a nicer house, car and whatever else. Your house, may be now be worth a million dollars, but it doesn’t mean that you have not blocked out large chunks of your social responsibility in return for a pay off. Perhaps the process and the result are related.

I think for news to work, people have to care about what is being reported, both the new’s journalist and the audience are required to give a shit. We do not have that today – the newsroom is seemingly run by performing monkeys working for accountants. It is now all about about entertainment and money. The visual medium has numbed us, with its indiscriminate coverage of tragedy the world over, and we have meaning fatigue from overload. We see the pictures, but we are not so moved anymore. Too many celebrities on the scene and who really wants to see a dying or dead baby? Dots or pixels on the screen making recognisable shapes for an ever shorter, meaningful moment.

The Media today is all about making money. Some say that the Media has always been about making money. Does the Media have any responsibility outside of its money making entertainment value? Do we harp on about members of the Media being so called role models, as we do with sport’s people? Do we examine these same, self righteous, commentators, with the same conviction, as our weekend ball playing heroes? I don’t think so.

Sport’s journalism is, in my opinion, at its lowest ever ebb, it is hardly ever about the game but always about the star players – their falls and foibles – in stark contrast to the sanitised commercial image of the business of playing football. I always read an undercurrent of journalistic jealousy, in the reports of these modern day Achilles. Sporting endeavour is about the quest for glory, and the schmuck in the pub is still dreaming of his own unrealised potential. He doesn’t really want to read about the bullshit and corruption, which underpin sports in the commercial arena. He knows about that intimately in his own life – why his boss is ripping him off and why everybody hates the boss at work. Tell us about the game and the glorious acts, which were committed in fulfilling the crazy quest to win, we can see the game on countless screens, but sharing the joy with language befitting a writer, is something sadly lacking. Mr sport’ s journalist you are a writer, a communicator – why not Matt Price like, tell us your story and let us in. We want to share your appreciation of the unlikely and laugh with you at the courage shown by these tribal warriors while chasing a ball and never giving in.

If the Media is cynical, if the mirror does not reflect the magic all around; then we will all turn to our own personal media- and maybe that is not a bad thing.

©Sudha Hamilton

Tagged ABC, ADHD, Alan Jones, Channel Nine, Christmas, corporate media, entertainment, football, free to air TV, George W Bush, John Howard, journalism, Julia Bishop, Matt Price, media, movies, pay TV, PR, Rupert Murdoch, sport, television, television ratings, TV

Dec 15 2008

Blog Posts

What is the Wellness Industry?

Heading: What is the Wellness Industry?

Subheading: A look at the health system.

Welcome to the latest installment of Midas Words, where words are designed to change your world, whether it be for the wiser or the wealthier. Midas Words has been created to stimulate thought and to aid you in your journey into greater wellbeing, in business and in life. There has been of late, a great deal of talk about the new – “wellness industry” – and I think it might be useful to establish what some of its defining aspects are.

Looking back historically, humanity has always been interested in its own mortality, how to preserve it, improve it and prolong it. At the same time, these primary urges have also often provoked an economic response, as those with the knowledge and/or skills to heal, have sought to be renumerated for their services. A fare exchange being the bedrock upon which we have based our capitalist system, and which allows those so inclined to practise their specialised craft.

For the last hundred years, or so, the state sponsored health industry in our country has been the exclusive domain of those trained via the allopathic school of medicine (defined as the use of opposites in treating disease* and is commonly referred to as ‘modern medicine”). A consequence of this proliferation of a “one school” specialised approach, has been the disempowerment of the individual in his or her responsibility for their own health. Our failure, to include a greater emphasis on health and wellbeing, when educating our young has further removed the individual’s ability to manage his or her own health.

However, despite some magnificent breakthroughs in the treatment of diseases such as childhood leukaemia, heart disease and many more, there has been a growing general disaffection with modern medicine and its inability to treat chronic illnesses. Perhaps also in part due to its failure to respectfully deal with the mind, as distinct from the body, and science’s continuing inability to understand human consciousness; but also in it’s arrogant dismissal of alternative healing approaches. Modern medicine is after all a big business, and like many big businesses, it prefers a monopoly to competition for those health dollars. Funded by large pharmaceutical corporations it treads a precarious path in its bid to fulfil its Hippocratic oath,** and not be swayed by the often unseen lure of filthy lucre.

It is the general overview of the modern medical/pharmaceutical behemoth, that there will be a pharmacological cure/treatment for every disease/medical condition, if you can find or fabricate the right drug/ingredient. Whether this premise is indeed correct, or not, cannot hide the fact that for many people the current crop of available pharmaceutical drugs is not the panacea that they are searching for right now. Many in the community (a recent Victorian survey confirmed up to two thirds surveyed had consulted an alternative non-allopathic practitioner) have turned away from the local GP, prescribing pain killers and antibiotics, in search of an alternative, that is possibly more inclusive and often gives them more time, care and understanding. In response to this market led shift away from complete dominance of the health industry there has been some small cross fertilisation by doctors learning acupuncture, naturopathy, homeopathy and the like – and the renaming of alternative health as complementary health (proving in business that if you cannot eradicate your competition then the next best thing is to incorporate them into your own business).

This just about puts us where we are, at the beginning of the 21C, and in the midst of a trend or movement toward wellness or preventative medicine, where a growing proportion of the population are self-medicating with vitamins, minerals, supplements and organic food. This is generally, I believe, in the hope that they will avoid many of the diseases, that their parents and grandparents have fallen foul of, and indeed beyond that- to live longer and better lives. Enter the wellness industry with its rapidly growing nutriceutical manufacturers, associated bodies representing natural practitioners, natural health media and a host of astute businesses, recognising a hugely expanding market, that have jumped on the band wagon.

As in many sections within the business community, you can find a mixture of motivating reasons why these people are involved in this particular industry: personal commitments based on health issues that have affected themselves or a close family member; vocational destiny; avarice, pure chance and a combination of the above. However, as more and more existing companies seek to align themselves with this push toward health, the number of people, who will find themselves working in a health related field, will continue to grow exponentially; and these people will need to be educated beyond their current level of knowledge.

The recognition and accreditation, recently achieved by many of the natural health educational institutions, is tantamount to this fact. The establishment of the Complementary Healthcare Council, under the direction of the Therapeutic Goods Administration, and the ever growing legislative requirements of this body- is further testament to the size and recognition of the natural health industry. Recent problems, best illustrated by the Pan Vitamin Crisis, saw the largest recall of vitamins ever seen in this country. Hundreds of lines of vitamin supplements were recalled, in defiance of the fact, that Pan, was also a manufacturer of pharmaceuticals, and that the Travacalm product, which caused the serious complaints, which led to the TGA action, was actually a pharmaceutical item. This disturbing incident has created a certain unease within the general public and I am sure has had long lasting negative implications for the industry.

However it seems regulation is necessary, and for the industry to continue to grow, certain requirements will need to be met. History shows, that pioneers, who establish new industries will often resent government interference at first, but that it is part and parcel of the natural evolution from small to big business. Of course many of the vitamin manufacturers are primarily pharmaceutical companies, who have developed the vitamins as a side line or who recognising the market growth have bought in. It does raise certain questions about their positions on the Complementary Healthcare Council and could be seen to be somewhat compromised. Who are they representing, and what hat are they wearing, when decisions affecting both the highly regulated pharmaceutical industry and the traditionally less regulated natural health supplement industry are being made. It is in my view, always a shame, when the expense of regulation moves an industry out of the financial reach of many of those who wish to take part in it, but the upside of this is the removal of many of the so called “snake oil” salesmen who inhabit it (the future possibility that snake oil is found to actually contain the ingredients of some wonder drug would render this metaphor obsolete). Welcome to the wellness industry.

* whereas homeopathy uses minute doses of substances that create similar effects to the existing symptoms of the condition.

Hippocrates Hippocrates, the father of medicine

Hippocratic Oath — Classical Version

I swear by Apollo Physician and Asclepius and Hygieia and Panaceia and all the gods and goddesses, making them my witnesses, that I will fulfil according to my ability and judgment this oath and this covenant:

To hold him who has taught me this art as equal to my parents and to live my life in partnership with him, and if he is in need of money to give him a share of mine, and to regard his offspring as equal to my brothers in male lineage and to teach them this art – if they desire to learn it – without fee and covenant; to give a share of precepts and oral instruction and all the other learning to my sons and to the sons of him who has instructed me and to pupils who have signed the covenant and have taken an oath according to the medical law, but no one else.

I will apply dietetic measures for the benefit of the sick according to my ability and judgment; I will keep them from harm and injustice.

I will neither give a deadly drug to anybody who asked for it, nor will I make a suggestion to this effect. Similarly I will not give to a woman an abortive remedy. In purity and holiness I will guard my life and my art.

I will not use the knife, not even on sufferers from stone, but will withdraw in favor of such men as are engaged in this work.

Whatever houses I may visit, I will come for the benefit of the sick, remaining free of all intentional injustice, of all mischief and in particular of sexual relations with both female and male persons, be they free or slaves.

What I may see or hear in the course of the treatment or even outside of the treatment in regard to the life of men, which on no account one must spread abroad, I will keep to myself, holding such things shameful to be spoken about.

If I fulfil this oath and do not violate it, may it be granted to me to enjoy life and art, being honored with fame among all men for all time to come; if I transgress it and swear falsely, may the opposite of all this be my lot.

Translation from the Greek by Ludwig Edelstein. From The Hippocratic Oath: Text, Translation, and Interpretation, by Ludwig Edelstein. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1943.

Tagged allopathic medicine, alternative medicine, complementary medicine, happiness, health, Hippocratic oath, Midas Words, modern medicine, Pan Vitamin Crisis, TGA, wellbeing, wellness industry, westerm medicine

Dec 15 2008

Uncategorized

Kevin Rudd’s Merry Christmas Aussie Battler’s Package

The recent ten billion dollar, Rudd Government, economic stimulus package is a wonderful Christmas present for many Australians who have been doing it tough. With credit tightening around the globe, for both big and small borrowers, it comes at a much needed time. Despite the boo hoos of the usual nay sayers, insert leader of the opposition’s name and News Ltd conservative commentators, it will be a short term fillup for retailers; and more importantly allow the battlers to have a decent Christmas – before they face the economic onslaught in 2009.

Pensioners, carers and people with children, who are financially struggling, will all find this bit of extra lolly, if not a Godsend then at least a Ruddsend. I hope they all toast Kevin on Chrissie day and remember to stay positive into the future – as it will be the media fanned, fear mongering, which will hasten and intensify this coming recession. People are already losing their jobs and with the commodities boom busting, it is sure to get worse.

Many of the really small businesses, I deal with in my work, have already pulled their heads in and as the doors close it can be tough to remember to stay positive. As a father of two small children, four and under, I really appreciated the support just before Christmas and despite the gloom I take heart from the actions of the government. I also hope that we can all do our bit for each other when the time comes, me included – so hip hip hooray for Mr Kevin Rudd.

Tagged Aussie battlers, carers, economic stimulus, Government, Kevin Rudd, parents, pensioners, ten billion dollars

Dec 10 2008

Uncategorized, Blog Posts, Health, Reviews

Foodmatters DVD Review

Heading: Foodmatters DVD Reviewed.

Subheading: You are what you eat.

I was really impressed with the content of Foodmatters – You are what you eat - strong voices speaking with confidence about nutrition in the face of the institutionalised apathetic attitude of the scientific/medical community.

This subject has been close to my own heart for many years, and it is great to see that these film makers have produced a high quality documentary with something to say, which really matters. Food does matter, and the betrayal of humanity’s needs by capitalism in this regard is a crime – millions of people with cancer and heart disease, dead and dying, while our supermarket shelves are groaning with processed foods full of fat, salt and sugar.

If it is always about the money, if money is the bottom line, then we are all just slaves on a production line heading to the cemetary. Of course it isn’t really about money, it is about living with heart and soul. Stop buying crap – fast food, pre-prepared food and start cooking fresh food.

Start growing your own organic veggies, and if you stop ‘working for the man’ – stop lining the pockets of the rich, you will have the time available to do so. It feels a hell of a lot better than telling the lies we all have to tell to make a living.

Foodmatters the DVD – has some very intelligent people, sharing some poorly understood information, about the importance of eating good food. Andrew Saul is particularly impressive in the way he communicates what he knows, and the state of play in the world. It is bloody unbelievable that doctors publicly question the validity of vitamins, and that hospitals feed you white bread and packaged custard. In the US, hundreds of thousands of people die every year from wrongly prescribed, and misadministered pharmaceutical drugs, and the numbers may be lower in Australia but it is still much higher than those killed on our roads.

A point of interest here – it is quite difficult to get this information in Australia, as, suprise suprise, all the focus in studies is on illicit drugs; it seems hospital mortality rates are a closely guarded secret.

Andrew Saul makes the point, that there have been ten suspected deaths in the US involving vitamins over the last twenty three years - only suspected, never proven - while he conservatively figures that over two million people have been conclusively shown to have died from wrongly prescribed medication. Our health system here, as in the US, is in the hands of vested interest groups, pharmaceutical corporations and the associations of doctors who dole out their product to you and me.

Government health policies are controlled by the medical lobby groups and in the US, the re-election of MP’s are funded by pharmaceutical money. In Australia, the AMA is always on the front foot, threatening state and federal governments with action by their doctor members, if their wishes are not met. Hospitals are run by doctors and bureaucrats, who used to be doctors, all trained in the same system, and every road leads back to the drug companies.

The scientific medical journals, which publish discriminately, ‘ so called’ medical breakthroughs, and research studies, are funded by the pharmaceutical companies through their advertising spend. The studies themselves are directly funded by the drug companies. The regulatory bodies are funded by the pharmaceutical corporations. The doctors, until recently in Australia, were encouraged to sell more pharma product by being presented with lavish gifts – holidays, all expenses paid conferences, golfing trinkets and luxury goods, by the companies that made them. It is now illegal in Australia for the pharma giants to do so.

The PR employed by pharma and the medical associations is immense. When you hear about a medical breakthrough or new ‘wonder drug’ on the nightly news, this information has been fed to the TV stations and newspapers by PR agencies in the employ of the drug companies. There has usually been very little journalistic scrutiny engaged by the media in these instances. Why? Because the money involved is big and the pharmaceutical corporate influence is so heavily embedded in our western cultures that we hardly are even aware of it anymore.

The widely held assumptions run something like this -

Doctors are like Gods because they heal the sick.

Drugs are the modern saviours of our wonderful health system.

Things were bad before we had all these drugs to fight off disease.

Now there is some truth in these statements but that does not mean that we cannot debate aspects of modern medicine’s approach to healing. It does not mean that we have to accept the way things are currently run. Why does the AMA want to control things so much? And why do they actively disparage any other approach to healing?

Money!

You cannot easily make so much money from encouraging and indeed selling fresh healthy food. You cannot copyright fresh produce to the same extent as an artificially produced pharmaceutical drug – but they are trying with Genetically Modified canola and the like. In Australia, many of the vitamin producers are now owned by pharmaceutical companies, as there are a lot of vitamins being sold, despite the best efforts of the medical fraternity in rubbishing their efficacy.

The Pan Vitamin Crisis may still be fresh in the minds of many Australians – funny that it is referred to by that name, as Pan was a producer of pharmaceautical products and the poisoning, which occurred with Travacalm, was a pharmaceutical not a vitamin supplement. This did not however stop the TGA from stripping from our shelves, Australia wide, every Vitamin supplement ever made by Pan. Damaging the natural health supplement industry on every level and putting many smaller concerns out of business permanently.

Once again this echoes Andrew Saul’s playfully expressed conundrum – why, if every one is dying from pharmaceutical poisoning and nobody is dying from vitamin overdoses, are the medical fraternity so worried about natural health supplements? Why are they pointing the finger at the wrong suspect and hiding their own gross mortality rates?

Foodmatters is beautifully put together and maintains an inspirational but determined tone throughout its eighty minute duration. It isnt a rant (unlike my blog at times), it is full of intelligent experts like Prof Ian Brighthope, Charlotte Gerson, Phillip Day, Dr Dan Rogers, David Wolfe and Jerome Burne. It points out startling inconsistencies in the way our health system operates, and the way our food chain has been exploited and polluted by capitalism, in search of bigger profits. It illustrates why we are getting sick with chronic illnesses, which modern medicine cannot heal; because it cannot cut them out or prescribe an effective pill.

Nutritionists, turned film makers, James Colquhoun and Laurentine ten Bosch, have created a timely masterpiece, which buzzes with alive energy and contains a poignant message for humanity. I loved the way they employed archived footage and audio from the fifties and sixties, complete with smug voice over and patronising tone, conveying our ‘ all knowing’ western science of the time, now proven to be a toxic disaster.

If you want to watch something, which is hard hitting, vibrant and intelligent, watch this.

Sacred Chef cooking school on the sunshine coast for nutritious and delicious food, fun learning and good living

www.foodmatters.tv

Tagged health, nutrition, humanity, food, capitalism, medical community, AMA, US, scientific studies, cancer, heart disease, processed foods, fat, salt, sugar, money, heart and soul, organic, organic veggies, fresh food, Andrew W Saul, vitamins, hospitals, mortality, pharmaceutical, corporations, drugs, prescription drugs, medicines, health policy, doctors, drug companies, TGA, Pan Vitamin Crisis, wonder drug, research, healing, disease, modern medicine, genetically modified, GM, canola, natural health supplement, poisons, natural health industry, Prof Ian Brighthope, Phillip Day, Charlotte Gerson, Dr Dan Rogers, David Wolfe, Jerome Burne, Andrew Saul, food chain, illness, chronic disease, pills, eating, toxic, DVD

Dec 09 2008

www.wellbeing.com.au
Eco Living Magazine

Health, Published Articles

Hard to Digest

Heading: Hard to Digest

Subheading: Food allergies and intolerances.

Food allergies and intolerances in children have become the topic du jour in parenting circles and among health professionals. Whether the increase in interest is merely a raising of awareness or the true cause of the intolerances and allergies is the preservatives, chemicals and additives found in foods separates the experts. There has also been speculation that a generally more chemical rich environment can add to susceptibility to allergies in food, with so much pressure on our immune system, it is hardly surprising that allergies are affecting children’s immature immune and digestive systems much more than in the past.

Eating organically can reduce the stress on children’s immune system, by removing the stress of unnecessary chemicals, pesticides, phosphates in the fertilisers, not to mention the practice of picking the produce unripe, not allowing the important nutrients to fully develop, providing vital nutrition for growing immune and digestive systems.

Allergies and intolerances have a different physiological base and vary in severity and implication for the child’s health. An intolerance is an unpleasant reaction to food, such as runny nose after a hot curry or a particularly antisocial aftermath to a bean casserole, some intolerances are more severe and symptoms may include bloating,

An allergy on the other hand is a function of the mast cells which are found underneath the lining of the skin, gut, lungs, nose and eyes. These cells are our protective force against worms and parasites. In allergic people, these cells react to the allergen when it presents itself. “Mast cells are like “land-mines”, and contain “bags” filled with irritant chemicals including histamine. Mast cells are armed with proteins called IgE antibodies, which act as remote sensors in the local environment”

FOOTNOTE — 1

A person allergic to peanut, for example, will have IgE antibodies capable of recognizing the shape of peanut protein (the allergen), in much the same way that a lock “recognizes” the shape of a key. When this happens, mast cells are triggered to dump their contents (such as histamine) into the tissues, causing an allergic reaction.

Kristina Hoffman Philpott, M.D. on childhood food allergies

“The most common form of food intolerance is lactose intolerance, resulting from a lactase deficiency. Lactase is an enzyme made by the cells lining the stomach. It is responsible for breaking down lactose, the simple sugar found in dairy products. The symptoms of lactose intolerance are gas, bloating, abdominal pain and sometimes diarrhoea.

The most common food allergens for American children are milk, eggs, peanuts, soybeans, wheat and fish. In adults with food allergies, the most common culprits are shellfish (such as shrimp, escargot, squid, crab and clams), peanuts, tree nuts (such as walnuts, pine nuts and almonds), fish and eggs.

A true food allergy is an abnormal response to a food, triggered by the immune system. When the immune system overreacts to a food protein, an allergic reaction may result. Food intolerances differ from allergies in that they do not involve the immune system. It is important to identify true food allergies because these reactions can be severe and even life threatening”. http://www.pamf.org/children/newsletter/foodallergies.html

1. http://www.allergycapital.com.au/Pages/food1.html

Of course allergies & food intolerances grow up with their hosts & remain active in adult life & it is fascinating to speculate on their origins. If genetic predisposition is the first answer, where did it have its genesis in the generations before? Is it a mixed race issue? With lactose intolerance being far more common in non-caucasian races for instance. Or perhaps the degradation of our environments & the continuing costs of mechanised mass production have changed our essential relationships with foods?

Eating food, ingesting nourishment – nutrition – the thing that we do everyday, mostly three times a day and often without thought. I wake up in the morning and break my fast with fresh juice, toast and coffee. I have lunch and later on dinner and hopefully leave it at that for the day, before sleeping and repeating the cycle once again, until one day I sicken and die and have no more need of food. What is the essential nature of this most banal of activities? What secrets lie at the heart of understanding – nutrition? When we do things unconsciously, or without considered thought, we are prone to repeat the mistakes of our forefathers – why am I eating toast for breakfast? Because my father did & his father before him. Is there intrinsic nutritional value in coming from a long line of toast eaters? Well if it is organic sour dough perhaps. So many of the basic and most important human activities like eating are handed down generationally, and like a taboo they come with many strings attached. If you eat differently from your parents in many cases they will be initially offended by your decision and will see your new nutritional path as a rejection of their values and upbringing of you. I am sure that many readers will have experienced this and that the differences can continue to grate in shared social settings, and as our parent’s age and sicken one of the most frustrating things is trying to get them to eat better themselves. Traditions are like walls that keep people in and people out.

The Greek root of the word diet is diatia, which refers to a way of life toward wellness, and is more than just a regime of eating do’s and don’ts. It understands the link between how you live your life and what and how you eat. Epicurus the Greek philosopher of BC 341-270 stressed the importance of eating with friends, and I personally know that when I eat with good friends that I eat with a greater degree of joy and dont eat as much as when I eat alone. Good conversation and the sharing of gratitude for a well prepared dish is the reason why, I think, that we first started eating out at friends places and restaurants in the first place. The level of noise in most restaurants in Australian cities has taken much of the joy of keen conversation away, above the ‘night club’ yell, “how’s the steak?” Where we eat and how we eat impacts on our digestion and therefore ability to benefit from good food. Dishes in restaurants have to be designed to excite and rise above the clamor of the hustle and bustle of busy eating houses, they are therefore usually rich and high in sugar and fats. How do you get noticed in a crowded room? By being extra spicy or so sensual that I melt in your mouth. The ambience within restaurants is part of a cyclical fashion trend and I am confident that it will shift again, away from the current din.

So what actually happens on a physiological level when we eat. As I understand it once we have ingested the food and it has travelled down the gullet into our stomach, having been chewed into smaller bits and coated with saliva, the digestive process begins with acids and small particles that have been released from the stomach, liver and pancreas called enzymes. At this stage foodstuffs have been reduced down to a liquid by mastication by the muscles of the stomach wall, working in conjunction with acids and enzymes. Here the food’s large molecules of carbohydrates, proteins and fats are broken down into even smaller particles that the body can absorb. Complex carbohydrates are reduced into simple sugars by the enzymes sucrase, amylase, maltase and lactase. Fats are separated into fatty acids and glycerol by the lipase enzymes. Protein becomes amino acids transformed by the enzymes pepsin, trypsin and chymotrypsin. Moving then to the small intestine, which on average receives around 6.5 litres of fluid from the stomach, salivary glands, pancreas and liver on a daily basis. This fluid is absorbed by the small intestine and then transfered by means of osmosis through the cell walls, this being totally dependent upon the level of sodium present within the cells (the vital importance of salt in our diet). The small intestine is responsible for virtually all the absorption of nutrients into our blood, which includes electrolytes such as sodium, chloride & potassium, and all the organic molecules, which include glucose, amino acids and fatty acids. The small intestine is lined with hairlike projections called villi that are close to many tiny blood vessels and nutrients are passed through the villi into these capillaries.

So the starchy foods we eat like bread, cereals, rice, pasta and potatoes are broken down from complex carbohydrates into simple sugars or monosaccharides, as are carbohydrates derived from lactose and sucrose. We are left with glucose, galactose and fructose from maltase, lactase and sucrase respectively and these make their way into our blood stream and give us energy. Proteins are almost always not absorbed directly but are digested into amino acids or dipeptides and tripeptides and these are likewise absorbed into our blood. One exception to this is for new born babies who are able to acquire passive immunity through the absorption of immunoglobulins in their mother’ colostral milk. Fats are broken down by bile salts and the enzyme lipase through the process of emulsification and become fatty acids and monoglycerides. These are absorbed differently to the simple sugars and amino acids by diffusion across the plasma membrane. One well known lipid trygliceride is cholesterol which is vital to cell membranes, sex hormones and in digesting fats, it is however carried through the blood stream by lipoproteins and low density lipoproteins in particular. The build up of these in the blood can of course cause plaque deposits on artery walls and lead to heart attacks and strokes. Fatty acids are generally divided into three groups: saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated – and these terms refer to the number of hydrogen atoms attached to the carbon atoms of the acid chains in the molecule of fat. The polyunsaturated fats are further defined by the number of carbon atoms in their acid chain and so named Omega-3, Omega-6 & Omega-9.

Enzymes are present in just about everything we eat and they are necessary for most of the chemical reactions within our bodies that make life possible. As proteins they are the catalysts for so many of the metabolic functions that give us our energy and the spark of life. With over 5000 now identified, they are involved in all the bodily processes that lead to movement, thinking, digestion and maintenance of the immune system. Cooking food at temperatures over 52C kills off the enzymes and so we derive most of our enzymes from raw plant life. New research is now positing that a diet poor in raw foods places a strain on the pancreas to keep producing enzymes for healthy digestion and metabolism. Studies have also shown that as we age we produce less of our own enzymes and diet becomes even more important for healthy functioning. Research has also shown that the body recycles enzymes by absorbing them through the large intestine & colon and then sending them back up through the bloodstream to the small intestine to be used again. Which may indicate their vital importance to the human body.

Lactose Intolerance

Lactose intolerance or lastase deficiency is an inability to break down the carbohydrate lactose, usually found in milk and dairy products. This can cause digestive problems resulting in abdominal pain and diarrhoea. The enzyme lactase is responsible for breaking down lactose into simple sugars so that we can derive the energy benefit from the carbohydrate. Without enough lactase in the mucus of the small intestine, the lactose finds its way into the large intestine and is partially broken down by the bacteria there. This can be experienced painfully as bloating and bowel problems.

If you think that you may be lactose intolerant, you can check by firstly eliminating foods that contain lactose – like dairy foods that are predominantly derived from cows & foods that contain milk solids, like milk chocolate; milk breads; processed foods that contain milk products & soups & sauces that are dairy based. If your physical reactions cease during this break & then re-appear when the foods are re-introduced then this is a very good case for a lactose intolerance.

Some of the things that you can do to manage this condition, apart from a complete avoidance of these highly nutritious foods, are to eat fermented milk products like cheeses & yoghurts as these do not cause as much problem. . In particular goats or sheep milk products like fetta ( be warmed most fetta’s are not made from sheep’s milk unless stated on the packaging); pecorino cheese made from ewe’s milk & goats cheeses are delicious and do not contain the same level of lactose.

Avoid low fat milks as they move through your digestive system quickly causing a reaction, as the fats in full cream milk actually slow down the process and give the lactase more time to break down the lactose.

Soy food products are a good source of calcium and can be used in some cases as an alternative.

Acidophilus is a natural source of lactase.

There are some natural enzyme supplements that help the body’s own lactase enzymes to digest the milk products & studies are proving these very effective.

Coeliac Disease & Gluten Intolerant

Although two different conditions they obviously share a problem with the digestion of the wheat protein gluten. In Coeliac Disease it is an apparent autoimmune reaction that causes the destruction of the villi, which are hairlike projections of the mucosa into the small intestinal lumen & are actively involved in the digestion of sugars and proteins. It is posited that when the gliadin wheat protein is ingested by Coeliac Disease sufferers, the glutamine found within that binds to tissue transglutaminase and forms glutamic acid & the resultant gliadin epitopes are recognised as foreign by the host cells. This causes inflammation and mutation of the villi structures within the lumen. The consequences of this are varied and symptoms can range from many to none at all.

Symptoms can be:

Bloating and stomach cramping.

Nausea and vomiting.

Fatigue and lethargy.

Weight loss.

Anaemia.

Diarrhoea or Constipation.

Basically the absorption of the nutrients is not occuring and there is an inflammatory reaction that can manifest across a broad spectrum in different people. The only treatment for Coeliac Disease is a gluten free diet. Wheat is not the only grain to cause this reaction, as rye; barley & oats contain proteins called prolamines which have a similar effect.

The control of this amazing digestive system is achieved by electrical and hormonal messages in concert, coming from both the digestive functions own nervous and endocrine systems, and from the central nervous system and the adrenal gland. The body is a finely tuned instrument of incredible complexity that is continually interacting within itself and from without – meaning that the ability to digest and metabolise food into energy and life maintenance is effected by a myriad of things, thoughts and circumstances. In my opinion to simply focus on one particular aspect in exclusion of all others, for instance a particular food or chemical ingredient within a food, is often missing the whole picture. It is not only what we eat but how we eat and under what conditions both externally and internally do we eat that can seriously impact upon our health. Like an extremely delicate fulcrum we are all about balance and it may involve adjustments in not just what is ingested but in lifestyle and influences upon your life. Awareness of food allergies and intolerances may be just the beginning and they are quite likely pointers to a whole host of changes that may involve deeper introspection and attitudinal shifts from the current status quo. Our often defensive attachment to what has been scientifically proven and our quickness to ridicule any thing outside of the known scientific paradigm is in my opinion evidence of our resistance to the expansiveness of enlightenment, so many of us have an investment in keeping our world small. For what is scientically known is forever changing and what we know now about nutrition is only beginning to unfold. My experience in all of this is that new nutritional answers are being revealed all the time like pieces of a jigsaw in a puzzle that nobody knows in its entirety.

Appeared in WellBeing Magazine

Tagged acidophilus, additives, ageing, allergies, amino acids, bacteria, bloating, breakfast, carbohydrates, chemicals, children, coeliac disease, constipation, diet, digestion, enzymes, fats, food allergies, food intolerances, histamines, immune system, inflammation, lactose, nourishment, nutrition, omega 3 fatty acids, organically, organics, physiological, preservatives, sex hormones, sugars, weight loss

Dec 08 2008

Blog Posts, Earth Hour, Uncategorized

Earth Hour

Earth Hour 2009

I am writing up the international copy of Earth Hour online for the WWF and it is bringing home to me what an exciting concept Earth Hour is. Researching what is happening in Moldova, Belize, Vietnam, Belgium, Panama, Kenya, Fiji and the list goes on and on, I can sense the amazing unifying energy that things like Earth Hour have. Knowing that people in all these places are actively involved in organising global warming awareness actions in their cities, really gives me the sense that people power on a planetary level is not only possible but is where we are heading as humanity. Utilising the technology of the internet for global good is what I imagine it was actually devised for.

Getting inside the Earth Hour idea, as I have through writing it up for over 30 countries, I can see how powerful it is. Getting people to sit in the dark together with family and friends, sharing special time by the flickering light of a candle. Thinking about what we all can do to reduce our energy consumption and at the same time feeling the bonding intimacy of people coming together as members of the human race, it is a brilliant concept. Go Earth Hour.

It also has its macro moments, with the theatrical drama of large landmarks and office towers extinguishing their lights for one Earth Hour. Buildings and monuments, which never normally dim their lights, suddenly plunged into darkness – symbolising our possibly cataclysmic future if global warming continues unchecked. Thousands of people in public places holding mere candles in the wind amid the pitch black. Earth Hour takes the stage in 1000 cities around the world and in 2009 they hope to have 1 billion people taking part.

I hope that you will join me and millions of other humans on the 28 March, 2009 for one Earth Hour.

Tagged carbon footprint, cities, climate change, darkness, Earth Hour, energy, energy consumption, global, global warming, humanity, light, people power, planetary action, saving energy, sixty minutes, worldwide, WWF

Dec 07 2008

Astrological Writing, Published Articles

Family Curses

Heading: Family Curses

Subheading: Generational Astrological Syndromes

We are all individuals with our own unique astrological blue print, which charts the myriad of interacting complexities that make up our lives. The planets within the zodiacal signs and the houses aspecting each other and the points of reference like the ascendant and midheaven. As we journey on the road of self-discovery, we can use our own horoscopes as an amazing tool to illuminate so many portals into character, destiny and potential. Utilising the richness of an astrological language that cannot be matched, in my opinion, by any other system of human philosophy.

But we are also all part of a family, a network of mothers, fathers, and children, siblings and even grand parents that have shared characteristics. Born of our parents’ loins, we repeat the evolutionary genetic success story that makes up our particular branch of the family tree. More than the obvious blue eyes, brown eyes, fair skin, dark skin, short stature, tall stature, we continue other less easily seen traits like particular types of intelligence. Generations of breeding have refined certain characteristics that you now share with your family, and whether through nature or nurture, these qualities are the bedrock of your identity.

I know in my own experience and that of many friends, who have broken away from their families at one time or another to discover themselves, free from filial expectations, you reach a point where you clearly see the shared characteristics of family operating within you. As you get older and hopefully wiser you have those déjà vu moments of behaving just like your mother or father, despite the fact that you may have rejected their values and life styles. Is this your family curse or family blessing?

Studying generational astrology can be an incisive analytical tool for understanding the finer complexities of familial identity and a bridge to greater understanding and acceptance of difficult family relationships. Why am I so hung up about sex? Why have I got such a trip about money? Why is my whole family hung up about these things? Getting hold of birth charts for everyone in your family and in particular grandparents, parents and yourself can show you a whole lot of answers. You may find it difficult to get exact birth times for grand parents and even some parents but you can still read the natural chart, sans houses, and derive a great deal of information.

Ask yourself, what is one of the primary characteristics of your family, something that you have noticed in your mother or father’s behaviour and that you are aware also resides within you. It may also be something that you can see or remember seeing in your grand parents behaviour. It is a fascinating process to begin, and although when you do isolate this particular trait it may have had negative manifestations in your life, and the life of your family, ultimately becoming aware of it will heal those problems. This is why astrology is such a useful tool in the development of self-awareness and it is that consciousness that heals all wounds. It is easier to forgive when you understand that the possibly repressive actions of your mother/father were a result of their own often now unconscious pain and that they too were the victims of similarly repressive behaviour by their parents.

Staying with the theme of repression, we look to the planet Saturn in our own birth chart firstly, and see by sign, house placement, rulerships and by aspect; what is the strongest focus here. In my own horoscope it is the particularly challenging aspect, Saturn square Moon, and I look inside to feel that pain deep within that seemingly never goes away. The pain of unfulfilled nurturing at the hands of my mother that has echoed through countless relationships. With my Moon in the Seventh house, I have searched for that nurturing in all of my relationships and that has been, I suppose a defining quality of what I call ‘true love’. This knowledge first seen through an astrological chart session and then explored through psychotherapy and observed through self awareness within the relating process, once again conveys how apt real astrological work is. Like a mirror to life, seeing the reflection and then feeling the life experience. Technically speaking, Saturn’s placement in the chart, and aspecting influence indicates where we experience limitation, restriction and fear in our lives.

Saturn the inhibitor squaring, in this instance, the Moon, which represents our emotional experience of our mother and therefore all nurturing coming after this, through unconscious repetition. Immediately this aspect draws you to the experience of your own mother and father’s relationship and the challenging nature of the square bespeaks of the father thwarting the mother’s individual expression. Blocking and restricting her behaviour and life style, most probably in my parents’ case, through the manifestation of fear. The father of those with this aspect is also often a wet blanket to the child’s natural exuberance and constantly deals negativity upon childhood enthusiasms. The upshot of this in later life is a lack of trust in women and a desire to prevent further hurt by either cutting off or creating that cessation of relating through the other’s actions. The imprint is that Men don’t express their feelings and don’t trust anyone that does.

Looking now to the charts of the parents we see firstly in the father’s chart Saturn in Scorpio in the second house squaring the Moon in Leo in the twelfth house. Once again, and now closer to the source of things, we see the same kind of repression but quite possibly much more damaging to the native of this chart. As the Moon conjuncts Neptune as well, spinning a spell of mother/goddess/saviour so that dad is idolising his mother but still never getting the love he so desires. The Saturn in Scorpio motif intensifies the fear of emotional expression and becomes a placement that we will see repeated in two of his children as well. In the father’s horoscope the fourth house cusp is ruled by Jupiter and this finds itself in Capricorn reinforcing the same emotionally repression.

In the mother’s chart we again see Saturn in Scorpio, this time in the third house but approaching the fourth house cusp. It is also involved in a very challenging T-square as the crux point squaring Mars and Jupiter in the seventh house in Aquarius and squaring Neptune in Leo in the first house. The Saturn squaring Mars influence once again puts fear often instilled by the father and a great seriousness about things that inhibits expression in life and can block off creativity. The Neptune effect will once again delude the native into idolising her father and preventing any real analysis of the situation.

The incredible value of all this is that you can look closely into the roots of your own negative behaviour and attitudes that have been imprinted upon your psyche when you were very young and unable to defend yourself. Through a deep understanding of the patterned behaviour operating within your family you can take real responsibility for it and be released from its instinctive clutches. Without a tool like this it is very difficult to actually get to the guts of the situation and most often your parents don’t want to know about it. For them it is akin to lifting up an old rock in the garden and seeing the creepy crawlies that live underneath it. The manifestation of the Saturn influence in your family may be a family promise to keep quiet about some traumatic event that occurred long ago, but the tentacles of shame still reach down and bind the truth from emerging and freeing you all. There are so many skeletons in the closet that purport not to hurt some family member, but energetically damage every family member. These are indeed family curses and like some spell cast down by a wicked witch, tend to reappear in the following generations, manifesting in each of us. Astrology used in this way can be like a mirror, that when held up to your face not only reflects you but your whole family.

Looking now to another planetary influence that is often strong in families, we encounter Pluto, ruler of Scorpio and the eighth house. Pluto is ultimately a transformational energy but when involved in challenging and often unconscious aspects like the square, conjunction and opposition it can manifest in being controlled or controlling others. It is a compelling and often irresistible force that underpins the behaviour of many mothers and fathers. Perhaps this desire to control had its beginnings in the primal urge to protect one’s children from danger but in time has degenerated into simply staying in control. Someone famous once said, “children naturally grow out of childhood but parents never grow out of parenthood.” What once nourished and protected us can now strangle and choke the life out of us, if we are not aware.

Pluto in hard aspect to the Moon can indicate a level of emotional control and manipulation that is often handed down from parent to child, and is then considered normal. The signs are obsessiveness in all loving relationships, planning everything down to the last detail so that no unforeseen thing can happen. If the mother strategically works out every course of action she is killing off spontaneity and preventing the freedom of the moment from entering her child’s life and the life of her partner. Love is ultimately about freedom and trusting that it will be there without constant effort and for those with Pluto/Moon aspects that is a difficult premise to accept.

Looking at a second family now, we see the father has Pluto in Leo in a stellium with Mars and Saturn and this forms a very powerful T-square. Squaring the Moon in Taurus and also squaring a massive stellium of planets in Scorpio that includes the Sun; Chiron; Mercury; Venus and Jupiter. We don’t have an exact birth time here so we are without a house system. Despite this we can read the strong influence that Pluto is having on the entire chart with its square being exact to the Moon, and with five planets in Scorpio, and the native having his Sun sign ruled by Pluto as well. This is a controlled/controlling chart with nearly the entire chart in fixed signs and Pluto anchoring that powerful T-square. The strong mother influence here indicates the importance of family above all else and stability and security – the Moon is over there on her own however and at times intergrating this nurturing energy is a struggle.

In the daughters’ charts we see the Moon in Scorpio and Scorpio rising in one, Pluto opposing the Moon in another, and Pluto squaring the Moon and a Scorpio rising in the third daughter. Here we can see the continuing inheritance of this family’s generational obsession with controlling nurture. The manifestation in this family will involve issues like secretiveness, inner tension in the maintaining of emotional control at all times and manipulations based on so called ‘love.’ Having been mothered by an invasive and controlling force, it will be natural and instinctive for them to mother their children in the same way. The idea of allowing their children the freedom to ‘just be’ will be foreign, unless some awareness is brought to bear on the situation. Indeed in a third generation we see in the chart of a grand daughter that Pluto square Moon aspect arising once again, will the manifestation of this repeat the family dynamic or will it be broken once and for all.

The Pluto/Moon connection challenges us to break free through emotional transformation from the overweening mother complex. As our mother is the first person who traditionally cares for us and provides all of our essential needs, it is a very special relationship and one that holds us in many forms of rapture, and is therefore a difficult one to leave. The Pluto/Moon mother, like the goddess Kali, can swallow us up if we cannot psychically liberate ourselves from her loving clutches, and this is often a major challenge for many.

These have just been two examples of many possible generational astrological syndromes that can permeate through families. We all have families, whether alive or dead, and our ancestors live on inside our bodies and heads, and it is I think, a highly useful exercise to get to know them. Astrology can help to turn frustration into love and forgiveness, and I highly recommend getting to know the horoscopes of your near and sometimes dear. Charts can be constructed free on certain sites on the Internet and you can, of course, also engage the services of a skilled professional astrologer. May you transform your family curse into a thousand blessings.

Appeared In WellBeing Astrology Guide.

Tagged analytical, ascendant, aspects, astrology, charcter, conjunction, destiny, evolution, family curses, father, generation, generational syndromes, horoscope, houses, human behaviour, Mars, Mercury, mideheaven, Moon, mother, Neptune, networks, opposition, parents, planets, Pluto, psychology, Saturn, self discovery, signs, squares, Venus, zodiac

Dec 06 2008

Poems & Songs

The Kid

“The Kid”

As he aimlessly wanders the city streets,

With an air of an indifference to the sounds and rhythmic beats.

He becomes a living shadow, with watchfulness and smirk,

Witnessing the tension and paranoia, that makes society work.

One more proletariat android calculating the pennies his life is worth,

Despising and sharing the escapist joy of intoxicated mirth.

The naked streets have become his home,

A world encased in puissant gleaming chrome.

An inner-city refugee fleeing, suburban slow death,

Left to gabble in the gutters and draw a polluted breath.

While society looked on, with indignant cries and howls,

Suggesting remedies for dogs and cats that prowl.

Before dusk, he descends beneath the superficies to slumber,

Where prostrated in a corner, he recants a welfare number.

To battle the cold and filth orientated insomnia of today,

Submerged in dreams far from graffiti frescoes, adorning this subway.

This momentary retreat plagues his being,

Contradicting the brutality his sunlight hours are seeing.

Cursing life, such an unseen and frustrating foe,

Remembering pain inducing policing, punching low.

Street-wise, he parades his rage and feeds on fear,

Futile to hold hope, only statistically they hear.

Universal injustice and blind belief,

Survival as vandal and petty thief.

Daubed in dirt he threatens his misanthropic machinations,

Fuelled by sanctioned, social neglect and deprivation.

With a pulsating instinct to lift the establishment lid,

Spitting at charities’ turgid tambourines, he is the kid.

Driven by the sound of the empty can and its consistent clatter,

Chaperoned by hate and the desire to grow fatter.

Tagged city streets, crime, hunger, injustice, inner city, life, neglect, poetry, poverty, rap, revolution, street kids, street life, street poetry

Dec 06 2008

http://www.waba.org.my/docs/gs_iycf.pdf

parenting, Published Articles

Raising Children Consciously

Heading: RAISING CHILDREN CONSCIOUSLY

Subheading : Parenting for a peaceful world.

By Sudha Hamilton & Suzy Barry

Is parenting a thankless task of unfathomable consequences or an opportunity to bring a keener light of consciousness to our universe?

Parenting is a state that resides deep within the lands of instinct and tradition. The most common determinant of your parenting instincts is your own parents and how they parented you. Depending on the circumstances you may either repeat that act of parenting or do the opposite in reaction to the unwelcome reminder of your own parent-induced trauma.

This repetition in parenting behaviour patterns is condemning us to keep on making the same mistakes again and again. If you do not take responsibility for raising your children in the most enlightened manner possible then how can you ever expect them to take responsibility for themselves, their health, their state of mind and their ability to love. It is a challenge to stand apart from the ever repeating cycle and honestly ask yourself, “what do I want for my child in every moment?”

It is those moments that make up the whole. So what does it all mean? How can we apply the same level of consciousness to raising our children as we do to our own issues? Here are some practical solutions for ‘aware parenting’.

The “Fourth Trimester”

The first few months of new parenthood can be considered the “fourth trimester” of your baby’s life. For parents they are the most intense, but need not be the most difficult! Humans are born at the earliest maturation of all mammals. Consider other mammals that are born almost as fragile and dependent as humans. A baby orang-utan is carried almost constantly on its mother’s body until it is capable of dealing with life on its own. This is a useful way to look at the early months: it helps to separate the advice based on this premise and the advice characteristic of a fast-paced, ‘get things done’ society.

Controlled Crying

Controlled Crying is an example of a common practice considered to be harmful and unnatural by many. Keeping your baby close is what’s best for baby and your relationship with them. You might say, “There are no predators in the nursery, my baby is safe,” but the hollow sound of a baby’s unanswered anguished cries indicates a type of predator, a human emotional predator, which can engender a sense of abandonment and is extremely distressing for the infant. The Australian Association for Infant Mental Health has expressed concern and does not encourage this practice of Control Crying and other variations on the theme, which essentially disregard the only method of communication available to your child. Babies and young children have shorter sleep cycles providing more opportunity for awakening but also more REM sleep and hence, essential brain development. This means that if those inconvenient awakenings that infants are prone to in the first two years or so, are by-products of the short sleep cycles, which are vital for their brain development. Controlled Crying and other sleep training methods designed to keep children asleep for longer periods, must train them out of these shorter cycles, hence rob them of their quota of REM.

Physical touch

English psychiatrist John Bowlby, developed in the nineteen sixties, what has come to be known as attachment theory. This theory holds that babies thrive best on having a secure touch orientated attachment to their parents, being constantly held rather than being placed in a pram or cot. More recently science has detected positive benefits to the babies immune system when they are predominantly held in states of physical closeness to the mother or primary carer.

When you think about it, it is not so surprising, having been inside the womb for nine months, the transition from mother’s body to spending large parts of the day in a pram or cot, away from the reassuring heart beat of the mother does seem harsh. Jean Liedloff in her nineteen seventy five seminal book, The Continuum Concept, named this vital stage in early childhood care the “in-arms phase.” Spending several years in the jungles of South America with a tribe of Indians, she observed a different and decidedly more nurturing way to raise children.

Skin to skin contact is a vital physical reassurance to the newborn child and like our monkey forebears this contact provides a successful two million year old continuum. Strapping the baby to the mother by means of a sling or other similar device allows the child to be part of the mother’s energy field and has been a part of numerous cultures throughout the world; in Africa; Asia and beyond. Through observation the baby is also learning about the mother’s universe, her day-to-day activities. Beware though of the front packs where the legs hang straight down, they are not good for spinal development. [STUDIES?]

Rochelle L. Casses, D.C, taken from http://continuum-concept.org/reading/spinalStress.html

“A baby’s spine is placed in a compromising position in many of today’s popular carriers. If the carrier positions the infant upright, with the legs hanging down and the bodyweight supported at the base of the baby’s spine (i.e. at the crotch), it puts undue stress on the spine which can adversely affect the development of the spinal curves and, in some cases, cause spondylolisthesis (forward slipping of a vertebra on the one below it).

Spondylolisthesis is documented in approximately 5% of white males, but is prevalent in native Eskimos (as high as 60% of the population is affected). There has been much discussion on the high percentage of affected Eskimos as to whether it is a genetic predisposition or related to environmental factors (i.e., papoose carriers). Knowing how dynamic and vital the biomechanics of the spine are, I believe that environmental factors are the cause. If the trend continues in the U.S. to carry infants in carriers (or place them in walkers, jumpers, etc.) that place their spines in a weight bearing position before the spine is developmentally ready to do so, I believe we will see an increase in the incidence of spondylolisthesis”

Breastfeeding

The World Health Organisation recommends breastfeeding for the first two years and beyond. The WHO encourages food as a diet of food and bm after 6 months, exclusive bfeeding up to 2 years and beyond.

“Promoting appropriate feeding for infants and young children

10. Breastfeeding is an unequalled way of providing ideal food for the

healthy growth and development of infants; it is also an integral

part of the reproductive process with important implications for

the health of mothers. As a global public health recommendation,

infants should be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of

life to achieve optimal growth, development and health.1 Thereafter,

to meet their evolving nutritional requirements, infants should

receive nutritionally adequate and safe complementary foods while

breastfeeding continues for up to two years of age or beyond. Exclusive

breastfeeding from birth is possible except for a few medical

conditions, and unrestricted exclusive breastfeeding results in

ample milk production.”

The WHO’s recommendation to exclusively breastfeeding to six months should not be mistaken as an instruction to wean at six months. There are wonderful benefits to full term breastfeeding. Six months is such a premature time to wean when the human history is taken into account as is the world’s current population. If you can do it, the best foundation for ensuring your child’s needs are being met is to breastfeed on demand for the first year and as long as is mutually desirable. Some time in the second year, the child’s understanding of others’ needs may grow to allow you to gently begin to assert your own needs, your own instincts and your child’s reaction are the best guides here. Breast milk changes with the growing infant and is undoubtedly the best source of nutrition for a young child.

Toddler Years and Beyond

The toddler years are the beginning of individuation and undoubtedly the most challenging for many parents and children. The toddler is becoming aware that they are separate people and their own desires are emerging and taking control of their body, mind, voice and spirit. The age of the tantrum is upon you! How many of us have looked at or partaken in a sort of release therapy? Toddlers should be release therapy practitioners. They are open valves of emotion, they live in the moment and embody the oneness that so many of us are striving for.

Raising toddlers consciously means not crushing this exuberance, whilst guiding your tremendous toddler in the ways of the world, via your own personal boundaries. To parent authentically is to allow your toddler to express themselves within the boundaries you are comfortable with. There is no benefit to the toddler allowing them to climb on your head, while you patiently wait for their exuberance to change to respect, you need to indicate that you have personal boundaries. They are now ready for them. In teaching them that you need your boundaries respected, they will learn to give this respect and expect the same from others; here we have the foundation of respect for self.

Gentle Discipline

Gentle discipline means respecting your toddler as another human being. It does not mean allowing them to walk all over you as this is rarely what the toddler wants or needs. Gentle discipline involves negotiation from a place of empathy with a view to a long-term goal, as opposed to short-term convenience of an obedient toddler with eyes downcast in shame. Shaming and physical punishment/ solitary confinement (time-out) have become the cornerstone of popular discipline. This is what Robin Grille, psychologist and psychotherapist, in his book Parenting for a Peaceful World terms operating in “Socializing Mode”. The socializing mode is characterized by the preoccupation with social norms and producing children who will function well in society, be employable, polite and well mannered. In order to train children it is necessary to curb their natural desires in some way. Every time we employ these conventional methods, we are attempting to “break” our children. An obedient animal has its sprit broken, and every time this happens to a child, a little of them must surely die.

Redirection

If you see your child becoming aggressive, don’t wait for them to hit someone, and then punish them. Intervene, ask if they are feeling angry and tell them it is not acceptable to hit people, but that it is just fine to feel angry and invite them to belt a cushion to alleviate their frustration. This can be great fun!

Negotiation

Invite and employ negotiation. Think about the wonderful skills you are passing on by respecting their desires enough to negotiate. Blind obedience loses its appeal somewhat after about age 10, then we value initiative. Probably one of the few simple formulas: If your child doesn’t want their nappy changed, but it is stinky and you need to go out. You can say: “We have to change your nappy, but would you like to bring this toy with you, or this one?” Or “We have to change your nappy now, but would you like to do it on the change table or on the couch?” This alleviates the monotony a toddler must feel of not being in charge by giving them a choice within your own boundaries. You need to go out now – that is your boundary – so within that, what can you offer?

Allow Expression

Frustration abounds in the toddler years, they are becoming independent in so many ways, but their natural exuberance means that they are often met with opposition from parents and from their own capacity. Allow and encourage tantrums, they are the toddler’s therapy; they are valid expressions and should be honoured. If your child wants chocolate in the middle of shopping and you don’t want her to have it – fair enough! But…she will be upset and though it wouldn’t distress you that much, it is the end of the world for her, so there is no point telling her it’s not! Let her sit on the ground and have a ‘tanty’, really what’s the big deal, be brave and weather the disapproving glances of the old ladies who ‘never would have had that in their day’ or who would ‘have given them short shrift’. Remember, it is children brought up under that paradigm who pack the waiting rooms of therapists, and whose depression levels have hit record levels. Honour your child and focus on your child and you will be amazed at the transformation after she has grieved the chocolate experience that never was.

Look behind the behaviour

It is important that you delve beneath the behaviour presented by your child and always ask, “Why?” A holistic way is to look at the whole child, not just the behaviour you would like to stamp out. What is happening for your child that is making them react in this way? Can you help them? As we all know; it is always better to deal with the cause than the symptom.

Unconditional Parenting

Alfie Kohn has published works including “Unconditional Parenting” on the problems with a system of punishments and rewards. We are not dealing with a rat, which is what behaviourism was based upon. (The faith in a punishment/reward system is based on studies conducted with rats and morsels of food; not humans).

Withholding love and approval sends a message to our children that they are only lovable if they do what we want, what a concerning idea to take to the world! The idea is to ‘work with’ your children to achieve the best consensus for all involved, instead of ‘doing to’ them – in order have your own laws obeyed. For example, a punishment is something you do to your children; instead consider working out a solution that is acceptable to all parties.

Mutual Respect and Authenticity

These are perhaps the most important elements that underpin all aspects of Gentle Discipline. When your child does something that makes you angry tell them so just as you would your partner. Communicate with your child with respect, but with feeling and authenticity. Your children want to know you. Your needs are also important, a self-sacrificing parent is not being authentic and our children can feel it. If you have had enough of reading “Maisy” after the 50^th time that day; stop. Offer another suggestion, or just say, I need a break and offer an alternative activity that doesn’t involve you…or Maisy. Your child should respect your threshold, as you should respect theirs.

The bigger picture

Are we parenting today in a manner today that is all about making things easier for parents or are we parenting for healthier conscious children? Is placing six month old babies in full time childcare in the best interests of that child? Are we relinquishing our parental responsibilities over to paid professionals for purely economic reasons? Economics is after all, about the value of “things”. What is the value of a well-loved child throughout his or her lifetime?

There is a millennium of violent, exploitive and sadistic cultural behaviour towards children entrenched in our collective unconscious, and only a handful of sporadic decades that have been characterised by the desire to nurture and value children. Robin Grille prefaces his book by saying, “The key to world peace and sustainability lies in the way we collectively relate to our children.”

This might not be the first occasion in human history on which this idea has been expressed. Today however, groundbreaking research has brought new confirmation to this ancient idea. Our understanding of early childhood development has grown so rapidly in recent years, that we can now say the following with unprecedented confidence: “the human brain and heart that are met primarily with empathy in the critical early years cannot and will not grow to choose a violent or selfish life.” This is Robin Grille. Parenting for A Peaceful World.

There is a link between how we parent our own children and the levels of violence and degradation in our communities. Each moment with our children provides the opportunity to foster respect for self and others, to nurture them with the same enlightened quality of love that you desire in your own life and to above all allow their individual spirit to flourish. When you as a parent are temporarily subsumed by your negative emotions (rage, despair, and the like) find ways to vent these elsewhere away from your children, remembering that in reality they are often just very small children, not the “Toddzillas” they sometimes feel like. As with all moments that seem to be overwhelming remember, “this too will pass.”

There is no future in a return to a spurious golden age of discipline and authoritarian control, as often promulgated by media commentators. This was clearly a time characterised by violence and force. There is no turning back the pages of time and there is no quick fix, raising children consciously is time consuming, challenging and the true consequences of an act of love.

References

Parenting for a Peaceful World

By Robin Grille

Longueville Media 2005

www.our-emotional-health.com

The Continuum Concept

By Jean Liedloff

Penguin Books 2004 reissue

Unconditional Parenting

By Alfie Kohn

Aria Books

The Natural Child – Parenting from the Heart

By Jan Hunt

New Society Publishers, Gabriola Island BC 2001

The Aware Baby : A New Approach to Parenting

By AJ Solter

Shining Star Press, Goleta California 1998

The First Relationship – Infant & Mother

By Daniel N Stern

Harvard University Press 2002.

Appeared in WellBeing Magazine

Tagged aware parenting, baby slings, behaviour, breast milk, breastfeeding, childhood, children, Continuum Concept, controlled crying, cots, discipline, emotional health, fatherhood, health, infants, Jean Liedloff, John Bowlby, milk, motherhood, mutual respect, nappies, nutrition, parenting, prams, raising children, sleep cycles, toddlers, trimesters, unconditional love

Dec 05 2008

Health, Published Articles

Our Right to Health or 1984.

Heading: Our Right to Health or 1984.

Subheading: Control versus individual responsibility in the health system.

Is the TGA helping or hindering our journey to better health?

Is protection, censorship & control the way?

Who will make the necessary investment in nutraceuticals & superfoods to satisfy the regulatory bodies?

Pharmaceutical corporations?

Governments?

I think to begin this topic we need to define what “health,” actually is.

What is health?

“1.The state of being well in body or mind. 2. A person’s mental or physical condition. 3. Soundness, esp. financial or moral.” (Aust Concise Oxford Dictionary)

Health is most often defined negatively as an absence of disease & this is probably closer to the paradigm that encapsulates our modern health system in this country. I think we, as a community need to find a more comprehensive & sophisticated definition of health before we can actually move to a state of overall greater health. A better definition I came across is this one from the nursing dept at a training institute in the United States:

“Health is a unity and harmony within the mind, body and spirit which is unique to each person, and is as defined by that person. The level of wellness or health is, in part, determined by the ability to deal with and defend against stress. Health is on a continuum with movements between a state of optimum well-being and illness which is defined as degrees of disharmony. It is determined by physiological, psychological, socio-cultural, spiritual, and developmental stage variables.”

I particularly like the reference in this definition to the “uniqueness” of each person & the encompassing acceptance of health as a continuum moving between different states at various stages of our lives. The more that we can move to respecting & treating the health of each individual rather than basing our health policy on generalised statistical medicine the greater satisfaction that we all will draw from our health system. Our doctors & health administrators need to stop treating us like cattle or other so called dumb animals, we are not bodies without minds or souls. It is the narrowly defined “universality,” in the laws of science, which has, in my opinion, condemned modern western medicine to always treat the body not the person. Why does an effective treatment always have to be reduced down to what works for everybody or at least a majority of “bodies?” The lowest common denominator will always be precisely that – the lowest. Why can’t we look with more inclusive eyes at the amazing variety of people & their responses to various treatments, be they nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals or so called superfoods?

The increasingly aggressive standpoint of the Australian government’s Therapeutics Goods Administration in challenging health claims made by those in the business of selling these natural substances can be partially understood as a means to protect certain vulnerable sections of the community, those who are sick with terminal & incurable conditions that do not readily respond to those treatments proffered by our doctors & hospitals, & who may be swayed by the testimonials of others who have cured themselves through diet & directly or indirectly through the consumption of a particular natural substance. Therefore, perhaps avoiding treatments recommended by the state in favour of a more natural approach, that may or may not shorten their life expectancy.

This protection for a small minority of people, through strictly enforced censorship based on the premise of science’s lowest common denominator, condemns the rest of the community to ignorance of the health benefits of these substances. Why? Because it is money in our capitalistic economies that drives information, education & research & if these natural health manufacturers & distributors cannot advertise their products then they cannot sell them & the information dries up. It also makes the task of sharing some new healthy discovery a lot harder now & the province of big companies, as it is often too expensive for the smaller player now to enter the commercial arena due to the onerous investment now needed. Do I personally think the majority of Australian business’ involved in selling health supplements genuinely believe that their products contribute to creating better health for those in the community that purchase & use them? In my experience I would say yes. Of course there are also always a small number of business people who exploit demand without a view to the totality of consequences in their pursuit of profits, like the owners of the Pan Pharmaceutical Company who were suspended by the TGA in 2003. However one rotten apple does not make the whole apple industry shonky. We need to be careful that greater regulation does not choke the creativity out of the natural health industry & leave it in the hands of a few with enormous vested interests.

The current lack of definitive western scientific proof for many of the health claims made by many of the people involved in selling things like Goji juice & berries, is due I think to a combination of circumstances. Firstly it is a relative new phenomenon here in the west & there has not really been the time or the money that needs to be invested in these trials but I see signs that is now coming. Secondly, that inertia, has also been fuelled by a general disinterest by the medical/scientific fraternity in testing natural substances when there is far more money to be made in the development of artificial pharmaceuticals that can by copy righted for exclusive income generation. Who funds most tests = pharmaceutical companies. This lack of investment in nutritional science also leads to relatively poor levels of understanding about this field & question marks over whether the right queries are being framed in studies into these substances. Which brings us back to timing & the fact that we are on the threshold of an exciting new era of nutritional understanding & its impact on our quality of life.

Can we empower people to take responsibility for their own health? Does the existing established medical fraternity want people to take back that power? Is it happening anyway in some sort of quiet revolution? All questions that arise when I am faced with this ongoing conundrum about whether a superfood is really that or in fact more snake oil, as many of our health legislators would have us all believe. Lets be blunt, many doctors still think that taking vitamin supplements are a waste of time & money. Self- interest drives much of our world, be it in health or elsewhere, the question is who is driving the TGA? Is it medical experts who have had much of their research funded by pharmaceutical companies? Do we want to end up with a few vitamin giants supplying our supplement market, who are in fact owned by pharmaceutical corporations? Which is pretty much where we are now in this country. Is big business always going to sell us the “good oil?” And where are our passionate modern “shaman” going to put their healing knowledge & energy now? Lots of interesting questions, that we all could be asking our elected representatives in the days ahead. It will be fascinating to see how things continue to unfold & where the power will reside in the ongoing maintenance of our health.

As appeared in Conscious Living Magazine

Health, Published Articles

Stages and phases of the mental journey

Heading: Stages and Phases of the Mental Journey.

Subheading: Exploring consciousness, linguistics and language.

And where did it come from?

And why?”

Excerpt from Julian Jayne’s book, The Origins of Consciousness In the Break Down of the Bicameral Mind.

Does the aging process effect our thinking and feeling sense of self, and if so, how does it?

The word consciousness is used in a multitude of circumstances to mean:

a. awake in the literal sense (as in not asleep or in a coma).

b. general awareness of things happening around you.

c. the totality of a person’s thoughts & feelings.

d. a spiritual merging of your awareness with God/s.

Appeared in WellBeing Magazine.

www.wellbeing.com.au

Tagged ageing, Alzheimer's disease, beliefs, Christianity, consciousness, ideals, illusions, mental journey, mind, Mormonism, omega 3 fatty acids, psychology, religion, search for happiness, Socrates

Blog Posts

Fatherhood

Heading: Fatherhood

Subheading: All the thrills and spills.

To say having children has changed my life is probably up there with the greatest personal understatement of all time. As a first time father in my forties, I had no idea at the sheer labour intensiveness of raising a child in a loving environment.

Having lived a predominantly self-indulgent, single lifestyle for much of my twenties and thirties, with the focus on spiritual development and personal exploration, I reached a time when my life felt deeply unfulfilled and the desire to start a family began to intensify.

I remember thinking about time line parallels with my late father, whilst I was still single, childless and at that time unemployed he had been married for thirteen years and had four children, built a home and business – the contrasts were acute but I had never aspired to being like my father.

I thought about what my body would like to be doing, in the way that animals have a distinct biological clock that predetermines their phases of life, and felt the lack in my single male existence.I was also very bored by the social scene that I found myself in, the game playing of dating was wearing thin and sex in the city was as about exciting as television…

So, when I finally met the love of my life, I let nature take its course, and we were engaged and with child within about two weeks. All intellectual doubts were blown away like dust in a cyclone, and the excitement about what we had done was amazing – I suppose if you have spent so much time avoiding the fertility cycle then the moment when you surrender to it is pretty powerful. Impending parenthood is a hell of a lot easier than the actual thing, you are tapping into an incredibly well subscribed fantasy that families all over the world have celebrated since time began. Slaps on the back, wide smiles and memories of TV show scenes featuring dads and big cigars.

The births were all harrowing in their own way. My wife was so courageous throughout both labours, and the system probably let us down each time, but we, and the babies, survived. In retrospect, I now consider birth to be the most miraculous real thing that happens in the lives of humans, and I suspect most animals feel the same way.

Forget the virgin birth – it is the old fashioned sperm and egg number – when experienced in your own home, without the nurses and white sheets – that is truly amazing. The stretching of flesh, blood and sheer grit that my wife experienced over countless hours is so far beyond any male sporting achievement it begs belief. Yet, until you actually go through the experience with your partner, it does not really rate on your radar, and according to the male dominated media it is something like state of origin football, which is some sort of benchmark in the courage stakes. Maybe if they were physically pulling the footballs out of their arses before crossing over the line for a try I could agree.

When your partner finally gets that baby out it is a big moment. The build up toward this achievement is huge – nine months of expansion in all areas of both your lives. The focus shifts to the fat one; the one with the belly – and you need to quickly train yourself to become a support act, like a male ballet dancer, whose job is to lift the ballerina when required.

It can be a shock to the system because all balance goes out the door, along with the drinking and smoking – and listening to the litany of what she has to endure as this thing grows inside her is not always easy. The changes are so profound that nobody really speaks of them, and perhaps evolution includes a conspiracy of silence to ensure the survival of the species. When this miracle emerges alive smeared in blood and guts, and you have waited out the months, weeks, days, hours and minutes – it is intense, it is tears, hearts in your eyes and almost fainting stuff.

It has however only just begun for mum and dad. The fatherhood clock has only ticked a minute past midnight.

To be continued………..

Tagged babies, birth, change, courage, fatherhood, homebirth, hypnobirthing, life, mothers, natural

Poems & Songs

Every time, I fall

Tap dance and tip toe,

The edge, the open window.

Cut glass charisma,

Every time, I fall.

Published Articles

What do we really know?

Heading: What do we really know?

Subheading: Real knowledge or is it all just referencing?

You are at a party or out to dinner with friends and the conversation turns to something about a healing modality or type of self-development course, it may involve an acronym like NLP or EFT, and you think to yourself, “ yes I know what that is,” but if you stop and really ask yourself, “do I actually know what that is?” The chances are the real answer is, no you do not. You have most likely heard it mentioned in the context of other conversations and other people’s opinions about their experience of it, or you may have come across a reference to it in a magazine article or on the Internet, but you have most likely not studied whatever it actually is or had direct experience of the healing or program. It strikes as an interesting phenomenon, that at this time of heightened communication across the globe, when we are inundated with vast amounts of information, that many of us have assumed this enormously broad mantle of a superficial understanding of so many things. We have become storehouses of international linguistic gossip, stained skin deep by the branding of everything and eager to master the next catchy acronym. Mnemonics, the use of triggering codes to help our brains memorise and recall large amounts of information and Richard Dawkin’s Memes – units of cultural transmissions or imitations – are all means of approaching the understanding of this phenomenon.

The reality is that most of us experience, or truly know, very little in our lives, but we encounter linguistic references to, and about, an almost limitless amount of things. For example we conceptualise birth, death, love and almost everything in-between. We are all born but we have no real memory of this, which we can call upon. We watch our own children being born, often in utter amazement, but we cannot really fathom the direct experience of it inside our adult minds. Likewise we will all die and we may watch our parents pass away, but we will have no true knowledge of the experience and no means with which to share it. What we do however and what we have always done, is make up stories about what we imagine it to be like or the closest reference we can make, our knowledge is that of metaphor and allegory, it is but smoke and mirrors. We are like lighthouses endlessly looking out upon life and its many vicissitudes, blinking our simplistic understanding on – off –on – off and so on. I think it to be one of the great delusions of life that we, humanity, are at various times, considered to be these deep beings, full of wisdom and so different to the animals that we have evolved from. Our osmotic absorption of cultural knowledge is herd like in the extreme and we flock together whenever possible, avoiding solitude at all costs.

It is not however a poor situation, it is simply a misrepresentation of what we are – we are watchers, witnesses to life, with our filters of the five senses locked on, through which we process this cosmic dance of life. I remember the words of a mystic ”, I am but a finger pointing to the moon.” Meaning that, whatever I say cannot ever hope to truly bring this experience to you, indeed words cannot bring any experience or real knowing to anyone. Language can only ever reference experience, it can never directly transmit true knowledge, it is at its best, poetry, painting word pictures in song, which may enchant an echo of experience. The rational scientist with his sensualist’s grip on reality, is ultimately kidding himself or herself, as our understanding of waves and particles blurs the fundamental duality of descriptive language and leaves us with the honesty of Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle. Uncertain is probably a good place to be, in our sense of existence and our place in the scheme of things. Socrates only certainty was, that he really knew nothing for certain.

Which is why so many of us crowd our lives with beliefs – religious, patriotic, racial, class, gender, economic, metaphysical, spiritual and so on – to fill in the real emptiness of our existential uncertainty. The uncertain do not however, usually go to war and they do not generally have an investment in making everyone else wrong about things. The uncertain do not pride themselves on their uncertainty, or much else for that matter. They watch and witness the unfolding of each moment, aware but a little uncertain.

Appeared in Conscious Living Magazine.

Tagged language, linguistics, referencing, true knowledge

http://emag.ecolivingmagazine.com.au/

Published Articles

Skin

Heading: Skin

Subheading: More than skin deep.

Our skin is our single largest living organ and it literally defines who we are. Without our skin, we would be a skeleton in a puddle of blood and that would take some getting used to, I imagine. Skin is often derided for being at the surface of things and thus incorrectly labelled superficial – so skin deep – but what this elastic covering achieves for our anatomical structure is more than just a tidy appearance. Skin breathes and like a baboon’s bottom its colour and appearance indicates our state of health – it is a barometer for all to see, of our moods, our level of hydration, our age and whether we are succumbing to disease.

We look outward in our search for beauty in our lives, we are conditioned to look out and not within, to seek beauty and meaning in romantic love, Art and nature. Beauty that inspires us to love or perhaps to begin the journey to find our heart, and meaning – to find meaning in that same quest for love or is there meaning in beauty itself? Much of our seeming obsession with appearing beautiful is, I think, the desire to be loved for who we are. As Louise Hay writes, “Our skin represents our individuality. Skin problems usually mean we feel our individuality is being threatened somehow. We feel that others have power over us.” I always think of adolescence and the eruption of skin problems at this time as a great example of this.

Our skin makes us uniquely who we are and no other. To touch another’s skin is an intimate act and usually the preserve of mothers and lovers. Skin to skin. The feel of your beloved’s skin is very important – it must feel right to touch for things to proceed from there. How one feels inside one’s own skin is another way of conveying the emotional response to one’s own existence. It is funny that we describe someone as ‘skinny’ when they in fact have less skin than someone who is not so svelte, but perhaps we are referring to them having less fat beneath their skin. Still we call someone a fatty when they have more fat but linguistically ignore the need for the extra skin to stretch over that fat. Skinny latte for me please.

Skin is portrayed in myth as often about magical powers, like the dragon’s scaly skin being impenetrable or the healing powers of the snake shedding its skin as renewed life. Skins were our first clothing in ancient times, to keep us warm and perhaps also to take on some of the properties of the slain animal – bear skins, sheep skins, fox, wolf, mink, cat, dog, buffalo, rabbit, kangaroo………..Shaman still today, wear skins of their totemic animal when performing rituals. When the beautiful white swans descend down to water, they remove their feathered skins to become frolicking naked ladies and if you can steal their skin they will follow you home and be yours forever – according to the myth that is.

Appeared in Eco Living Magazine.

Tagged beauty, health, individuality, myth, skin

Nov 30 2008

Poems & Songs

A Prayer for Sleep

I close my eyes and open the inner door,

To a place of calm and contented dark.

I release my breath to free and easy,

Letting go of control and thoughts of more.

I surrender to the mists of soma,

To the floating cessation of senses no more.

Sleep, sleep, sleep and sleep some more.

Unwind my ticking clock and reverse thought to stop.

Tock, tick, tock, tick, tock.

Submerge conscious self and swoon to the beating of my pulse.

Tock, tick, tock, tick, tock

Embrace this night’s ever hidden face, and sleep.

Sleep, schlaf, sleep, sonno, sleep,

S’endormir, sleep, nemasu, sleep.

I sleep, and am unafraid of dreams,

Trusting my deep centre in all things.

I allow the pattern to unfold, secure in my sense of self.

Watching the breath of existence breathe through me.

Down, down gliding further down.

Deeper to the sleeping sound

Relaxed slippering sleep found.

Snoring snuffling sleeping now

Contented calm upon theta waves

Drift and rejuvenate in soma’s lap

A kaleidoscope of nothing to do

Cradled in love and comfort too

A return to the source

A return to you.

Tagged sleep, soma, surrender

Nov 30 2008

Health, Published Articles

The Time of the Kidney

Heading: Time of the Kidney.

Subheading: Noni and the TCM Kidney Qi

In our western health culture the kidneys are perhaps one of the most invisible and possibly neglected bodily organs. These two vaguely bean shaped organs are located near our spine at the small of the back, just below the liver and spleen. Responsible, in the main, for the removal of urea, mineral salts, toxins and other waste products from the blood, they are seemingly behind us and out of sight, out of mind. Perhaps their association with excreting waste has led to a lack of polite conversation about them over the years. The kidney is not, at this juncture in time, the somewhat sexy organ that the liver has been of late, with its infamous association with drugs, alcohol and partying. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) however prescribes far greater influence for the kidneys upon our physical health and indeed our lives.

Western medicine focuses very much on the diseases that affect the kidney and the field is called nephrology, from the Greek “nephros” for kidney. Renal failure and dialysis are possibly terms and conditions that you have heard of and refer to in the first instance – “renal” Latin for kidney and their failure through disease to remove wastes from the blood; dialysis involves filtering the blood outside of the body assisted by a machine and is used as a means of keeping those with renal failure alive before and if a donor for a kidney transplant can be found. Kidney diseases can be congenital, meaning from birth, or acquired and although most of us are born with two kidneys we can function with one working kidney.

The fully functioning kidney is made up of more than a million nephrons, which are the units that actually filter the blood. Consisting of a renal corpuscle and a renal tubule, which are an intertwined blood vessel and urine collecting tube, a chemical exchange takes place between them as waste materials and water leave the blood and enter the urinary system. Your kidneys are also measuring out the minerals and chemicals like sodium, potassium and phosphorus and releasing them back into the blood as needed. They are the prime regulating organs for these vital substances, where too much or too little can be harmful and indeed fatal. In addition to this the kidneys are directly involved in the release of three important hormones: erythropoietin (EPO) which stimulates bone marrow to produce red blood cells; renin which regulates blood pressure; and calcitriol the active form of vitamin D that maintains calcium for bones and for chemical balance within the body.

The greater proportions of kidney diseases damage the nephrons and cause them to lose their filtering capacity. Diabetes is the most common cause of kidney failure and high blood pressure is a major factor in diabetics developing kidney problems. Indeed high blood pressure in non-diabetics also ranks as a leading cause of kidney disease, as it damages the small blood vessels in the kidneys. That damage reduces the filtering capacity of the kidneys. If wastes are not being removed and proteins are not being returned back into the blood then you are moving toward renal failure and a variety of health issues before death ensues without medical intervention.

So that is a very basic understanding of kidney function within the western medical framework. The TCM outlook is a far more comprehensive and holistic view and involves more than just the organ itself. A brief definition of TCM being that it is a system of health care that encompasses acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine, anmo tuina (remedial massage), qi gong (exercise and breathing), and diet and lifestyle.

TCM assigns the kidney the foundation position among the other organs, as the home of the ‘ancestral chi’ and the root of the yin and yang for the entire body. The kidney stores the vital life essence, and this is produced by the Qi, as it digests food and drink in the stomach and small intestine. According to Chinese Medicine we have a post-haven Qi and a pre-haven Qi, with the former being derived from the food we eat and the air we breathe, and the latter from our parents, perhaps similar to our understanding of our hereditary genes. The kidney in TCM is much more than just renal function, it encompasses the influence of the adrenal glands as well. Kidney energy is divided into kidney yin and kidney yang. Kidney yin refers to the nutritive function of the kidney, body fluids and essential Qi. Kidney yang governs the physiological processes like warming and transforming fluids like hormones. Yin is like the earth or substance that is the body and yang is the life energy that courses through it.

I think that this is a particularly salient example of the difference between the two medical frameworks, with the western medical view only seeing the body & its functioning, but unlike TCM never seeing the life force that runs through the body because it can never measure it or define it under its current scientific rules of evidence. According to the western model early stage kidney disease is very hard to spot with few obvious symptoms and this is perhaps why most information about nephrology focuses on worst case scenarios, leading to dialysis and kidney transplant. The Chinese model allows for earlier detection and indeed kidney tonics form the greater part of TCM herbal remedies. A deficiency of kidney yin means that the body is being run down and not able to maintain its health with too much yang energy showing itself through a flushed complexion, overheating, hypertension, inflammation and the like. Whereas coldness, pale complexion, tiredness, low libido and oedema are indications of a lack of kidney yang.

Ageing in general is seen to be due to declining kidney energy in TCM and will manifest itself as low kidney yang in most cases. The slowing of our metabolism as we age contributes to many of the symptoms like coldness, fatigue, emotional withdrawal, mild depression, frequent urination, loose bowels, memory loss, weak back and legs. Kidney tonics to stimulate yang energy by increasing our metabolic rates and tightening up organ function can delay the onset of many of these conditions. Kidney yang in essence can be seen in the energy lifting secretions of the adrenal medulla, some androgenic hormones secreted by the adrenal cortex, thyroid hormone and growth hormone from the anterior pituitary gland. It is also affected by the release of EPO by cells in the kidneys and to a lesser extent the liver, which stimulates the bone marrow to make erythrocytes. Further symptoms of a kidney yang deficiency are: sensitivity to cold, lack of libido, impotence, sterility, clear urine, dribbling urine, nocturnal emissions, premature ejaculation, oedema of the lower limbs, weak pulse, whitish moist tongue fur.

Morinda officinalis or Noni has a long history of use within TCM and is commonly used as a kidney yang tonic. The roots have been traditionally been employed and Morinda is known as “Bajitian.” Traditionally recognised for its adaptogenic, aphrodisiac, urogenital astringent, analgesic, hypotensive, digestive stimulant and diuretic properties. It provides a tonifying action on the reproductive (sexual), urinary, muscoskeletal and central nervous system functions.

The Morinda plant is a genus of around eighty species and they mainly come from tropical regions. There are seven species found in Australia. Plants can grow from three metre shrubs up to twelve metre trees. It has oval shaped leaves and white flowers that occur in the summer and autumn. These are followed by the fruit, which are edible and have a pungent aroma. The juice of the fruit is considered to have a wide range of medicinal qualities. In recent times, since 1997, Noni juice has become popular in western nations as a health supplement. Studies into the healing benefits of Morinda are now being undertaken by herbal research centres, like Lismore’s Southern Cross University.

The Morinda plant is made up of polysaccharides, which include glucoronic acid, galactose, arabinose and rhamnose, coumarin, medium chain fatty acids, flavone glycosides, sterols ( betta-sistosterol), terpenoids, essential oils, amino acids, vitamin C and potassium. Plus Morindone (yellow dye), alizarin (red dye), rubiadin and a large range of anthraquinones in the roots, bark and leaves. The terpenoids help the body detoxify through their anti-bacterial qualities. The many anti-oxidants within the noni plant like the glycosides provide a defence against free radicals. Scopoletin or coumarin has anti-inflammatory properties. Limonene and anthraquinones have anti-septic value within the body.

Morinda citrifolia (a close relative of Morinda officalis), has been used for centuries by Polynesian healers to treat the respiratory, digestive and immune systems. Likewise it has a strong healing history in India, SE Asia and in our own Northern Australia. Published information on its use by indigenous Australian’s indicate that various groups regarded Morinda citrifolia as “an excellent food and a strong medicine.”

In studies conducted recently at the Southern Cross University, the antioxidant activity of noni juice was assessed to be in a similar range to green tea (with an oxygen radical absorbance capacity ORAC result in the 747 to 1517 level). Professor Wang from the Department of Pathology, UIC College of Medicine, Rockford, Illinois 61107, USA reported on studies conducted on Tahitian noni juice which showed the superoxide anion radicals scavenging activity of Tahitian noni juice to be 2.8 times that of vitamin C, 1.4 times that of Pycnogenol and 1.1 times that of grape seed powder. Also the initial results of cholesterol synthesis inhibition of noni juice are particularly promising. Results reveal that noni juice shows a positive dose response and inhibits cholesterol synthesis. Associate Professor Dr David Leach (Southern Cross University) say’s “The in vitro findings are encouraging, and it is work we would like to repeat”.“In noni’s anti-inflammatory activity scopoletin, quercetin, and ursolic acid were identified as major anti-inflammatory constituents. Since ursolic acid was known to have anti-inflammatory activity, we characterized the mode of action of scopoletin and quercetin.” H. YU, S. Li, M.-T. Huang, and C.-T. Ho. Dept. of Food Science, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey . An antidepressant like effect was also observed in a study conducted by Zhang ZQ, Yuan L, Yang M, Luo ZP, Zhao YM. Division of Psychopharmacology, Beijing Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology. The study observed the antidepressant-like action of the medicinal plant Morinda officinalis in a behavioral swimming test conducted on rats.

There are numerous positive anecdotal reports of noni’s effectiveness in improving vitality, libido, skin condition, hair condition and many of the symptoms related to low kidney yang levels. It is particularly useful for people who have a highly sensitive intestinal tract and who suffer easily from constipation and pain. People who exhibit sluggish metabolism associated with a hypo-thyroid condition also seem to benefit from using noni.

Licorice root (Glycyrrhiza sp.) is another kidney yang tonic ingredient, noted for having cortisone-like action. Glycyrrhizin, a derivative of glycyrrhetinic acid, is chemically very similar to certain adrenalcortical hormones. It is not uncommon for plants to contain hormone-like substances similar to those found in humans. Licorice too has anti-inflammatory properties and these were discovered quite by accident in 1946. When a Dutch physician, F. E. Revers, saw a small-town pharmacist prepare a licorice based remedy for the treatment of gastric ulcers and upon trying it on several of his own patients he found that it worked just fine. In at least half the patients he tested this paste on, the ulcers were nearly gone within a month. Licorice like cortisone, though not as strong, can relieve symptoms of peptic ulcers by inhibiting the inflammatory reactions. Also like cortisone, the regular and excessive use of licorice will produce the oedemic, moon face appearance of Cushing’s syndrome, a condition which can be described as `deficient kidney yang.’ As with corticoid
therapy, licorice in regular and high dosage can cause, elevated potassium levels, resulting in oedema and hypertension. It is, therefore, not recommended for those past the age of sixty five who have a tendency towards renal hypertension.

Rehmannia root, or sheng di huang and/or shu di huang in Chinese, is another very effective ingredient in many kidney tonics. A member of the foxglove family, the root can be used in its raw state as a detoxifying herb that cools the blood in the treatment of wasting fevers. As shu di huang it is cured by soaking and drying the compressed root many times in rice wine, thus warming its influence as a kidney tonic. Like many TCM herbs it can be used in different preparations as both a yin and yang tonic. Rehnammia is said to be the “kidney’s own leading herb.” Promoting kidney function, cooling the blood and bring moisture to dryness. With kidney yin deficiency said to be very common in our modern societies because of the hectic lifestyles. Rehmannia root, taken under the supervision of a trained TCM practitioner, can be of great help in relieving many of the symptoms – like dryness in the scalp, skin, night sweats, frequent urination and dark rings under the eyes.

Siberian Ginseng is a warming TCM kidney yang tonic. The major chemical components of Siberian ginseng are eleuthrosides A-G (phenylpropanoid, sterol,
lignans, isofraxin, carotenoids and coumarins). There is evidence of cortisol like anti-inflammatory activity.

References:
“The pharmacologically active ingredient of noni.” by Heinicke, R. 1985 Pacific Botanical Garden Bulletin.15:10-14
“Anti-cancer Activity of Noni Fruit Juice against Tumours in Mice” by Furusawa E., CTAHR Conf. Jan 2003 P-1/03
“Noni Handbook” by Jackson J, ND & Dr Wermuth PhD. Qld.
Hirazumi A, Furusawa E. Chou SC, Hokama Y. Anticancer activity of Morinda citrifolia (noni) on intraperitoneally implanted Lewis lung carcinoma in syngeneic mice. Proc West Pharmacol Soc 1994; 37: 145-6.
Hirazumi A, Furusawa E. et al., Immuno-modulation contributes to the anticancer activity of Morinda citrifolia (noni) fruit juice. Proc West Pharmacol Soc 1996; 39:7-Hirazumi A, Furusawa E. An immunomodulatory polysaccharide-rich substance from the fruit juice of Morinda citrifolia (noni) with antitumour activity. Phytotherapy Res 1999 Aug:13 (5):380-7 Liu, G., et al. Two novel glycosides from fruits of Morinda citrifolia (noni) inhibit AP-1 transactivation and cell transformation in the mouse epidermal JB6 cell line. Cancer Res 2001; 61:5749-56. Fong ST. et al. Extracts of Morinda citrifolia (noni) exhibit selective anti-tumour activity against breast and colon carcinoma cell lines. Poster presented at: Building Bridges with Traditional Knowledge Summit meeting: May 30. 2001; Honolulu , Hawaii Bushnell OA et al., The antibacterial properties of some plants found in Hawaii . Pacific Science 1950; 4: 167-83

Banbury L, & Brushett D. Investigation of Noni Juice Centre for Phytochemistry & Pharmacology 2004 (11) Wang MY et al. Morinda citrifolia (Noni): A literature review and recent advances in Noni research. Acta Pharmacol Sin 2002 Dec; 23 (12):127-41

Appeared in WellBeing Magazine

www.wellbeing.com.au

Tagged health, kidney, noni, traditional Chinese medicine, yang, yin

Nov 30 2008

Health, Published Articles

Thermal Therapy

Heading: Thermal Therapy

Subheading: Detoxification through Far Infrared Sauna Technology.

“Horses sweat and people perspire, my dear,” who has not heard this well mannered refrain? Getting hot and then getting all sweaty, that sticky, prickly and often unsightly condition that signals overheating, excitement and sometimes fear. Many of us have an aversion to one of our body’s most natural and important functions, especially in public places. In the right circumstances, perhaps with the lights out, most of us would agree that sweating can be fun, and that we often feel pretty good afterwards. Whether we are exercising, working strenuously or perhaps just experiencing a particularly hot and humid day, our bodies perspire to cool us down. What is also happening is that we are cleaning our largest single organ; our skin, as our sweat carries away toxins and impurities.

Sweating is an essential physical process, as it regulates the critical internal temperature of our bodies at around 37C. The skin has greater complexity in its make-up than any other bodily organ save the brain. Composed of blood vessels, nerve endings, pigmentation and lymph vessels, oil glands, hair follicles, cells that waterproof and prevent entry to bacteria, and our many sweat glands. Our skin is so vital that death will occur within hours if its pores and sweat passages are smothered. We have 2.3 million sweat glands embedded in our skin and these are activated by heat sensitive nerve endings, which produce the chemical, acetycholine, as an alerting agent. However not all of them respond as the aprocine sweat glands, located in our pubic and arm pit areas, are activated only by emotional stimuli. They carry a faint scent whose purpose is believed to arouse the sex drive. Nevertheless, the eccrine sweat glands, by far the most abundant, respond to heat.

Heating up the body on purpose through saunas, hot springs and steam rooms has been with us for as long as we have had recorded history. Broaching most cultures from east to west, thermal therapy has a rich and varied past. The baths of Ancient Rome and their importance to the socialisation of that particular civilisation are well documented. Bathing rituals that involved heating up the body and causing the participants to perspire and then scrubbing and massaging the skin are deeply embedded in these cultures. I suspect that the origin of these rituals had something to do with how good you felt afterwards and that feeling great impacted positively on their health.

Thermae, is from the Greek word for heat, and Roman engineers devised the hypocaust method to heat the bath air to temperatures exceeding l00 C. -so hot that bathers had to wear special shoes to protect their feet from blistering upon the floor.

Bathers would journey through three distinct chambers, beginning with the tepidarium, the largest and most luxurious in the thermae. Here, the bather relaxed for an hour or so while being anointed with oils. Then he moved into the little bathing stalls of the caldarium, providing a choice of hot or cold water for private bathing. They were usually built on the periphery of the main bathing room, under which the central fire burned. The final and hottest chamber was the laconicum where the scraping of the skin and vigorous massage was executed, amid much healthy sweating.

The oldest know medical document, the Ayurveda, appeared in Sanskrit in 568 BC and considered sweating so important to health that it prescribed the sweat bath and thirteen other methods of inducing sweat. Sauna rituals and techniques vary from culture to culture – how hot; how wet or dry and whether oils or inhalations are employed. In the Turkish bathing traditions, for example, the body sweats more profusely in the hotter (80-100 degree C) and drier (15-25%) atmosphere of the Turkish bath. In Finland & Russia immersion in very cold water usually follows the sauna experience, and this is viewed as particularly good for heart function and the pores of the skin. The sweat lodges of the Native American Indian involve hot rocks and steam and an intensely communal experience. I remember my own sweat lodge experience, in the wilds of Bermagui in southern NSW, with a seemingly sadistic, Scottish, medicine wheel guide. Sixty stark naked bodies crawled inside the hottest, stuffiest bush oven known to this man, and amid chanting and my eye balls feeling like they were cooking in their own sockets we sweated like the denizens of hell for far longer than humanly possible, in my humble opinion anyway. After slithering over half a dozen hot bodies I at last found the only entry/exit and expunged myself from there; before plunging into a shallow creek and steaming relief.

From one extreme to another the advent of the infrared-ray sauna has greatly improved the efficiency and accessibility of the sauna experience. This dry sauna uses infrared heating elements that are enclosed in a lightweight timber box, creating a small room or closet of varying size. Now available for self-assembly and only needing a domestic power point it has ushered in the era of the home sauna. Where once saunas were very much a communal experience, the infrared sauna is a relatively affordable private health option. No longer do you need to spend vast amounts of money on plumbing or building structures, but rather it is now available in the ‘flat pack,’ erect it yourself and then just plug it in mode. The sauna has become a home health tool for the time and space poor big city inhabitant.

How does the infrared sauna work? It utilises infrared radiation, which is defined as electro-magnetic radiation with wavelengths longer than visible light but shorter than radio waves, and which we experience as heat. Far infrared radiant heat is a naturally occurring energy that heats objects by direct light conversion, meaning that it warms the object but not the surrounding air. This is the main point of difference between traditional saunas and infrared sauna, the air within the chamber is not heated and so breathing is easier and the heating is more energy efficient.

So what exactly are the health benefits of infrared thermal-therapy? We have known for sometime, through the use of infrared ray lamps, that infrared heat can relieve pain and accelerate healing. It achieves this by expanding blood vessels and increasing the circulation of blood and thus oxygen to the injured area of the body. In our increasingly polluted city environments and in combination with our more sedentary lifestyles the therapeutic value of the infrared sauna has become more acute. Recently hyperthermic or sweat therapy has been studied quite extensively and a body of research papers have been published in the scientific press. Through these studies it has been established that saunas can assist in the elimination of accumulated toxins from the body. Toxic heavy metals including mercury as well as organic toxins such as PCB’s (polychlorinated biphenyls) and pesticide residues are excreted in high quantities during the sweating induced by the sauna experience. Heat causes toxins to be released from the cells. The toxic molecules then move temporarily to our lymph fluid, and because sweat is derived from this lymph fluid, the toxins are then carried out of the body. As the liver and kidneys are not involved directly in this process, it can allow detoxification to occur in those with impaired kidney or liver function.

During a 15-minute sauna, sweating can perform the heavy metal excretion that would take the kidneys 24 working hours. Ninety-nine percent of what sweat brings to the surface of the skin is water, but the remaining one percent is mostly undesirable wastes. Excessive salt carried by sweat is generally believed to be beneficial for cases of mild hypertension. Sweating is such an effective de-toxifier that some doctors recommend home saunas to supplement kidney dialysis. Sweat also draws out lactic acid, which causes stiff muscles and contributes to general fatigue. Sweat flushes out toxic metals such as copper, lead, zinc and mercury, which the body absorbs in polluted environments.

Even in Australia, a hot climate country, many of us in this sedentary age simply don’t sweat enough, as we move from our air-conditioned homes, offices and cars. Antiperspirants, artificial environments, pollution, synthetic clothing, toxic and physically idle lifestyles all conspire to clog skin pores and inhibit the healthy flow of sweat. When you have a sauna your skin temperature may increase by as much as 10C but your body’s internal temperature will only increase from 1C to 3C. Still the sauna induces the body to mimic a feverish state, which can kill off harmful bacteria and also provides a workout for your body’s organs, as if you were jogging or stretching. During a 15 minute sauna you can excrete on average a litre of perspiration, and this sweat from the eccrine glands is usually clear and odourless. Any odour present would be from bacteria.

In Japan at the Graduate School of Medicine at Kagoshima University in the Department of Cardiovascular, Respiratory and Metabolic Medicine, they have been testing systematic thermal therapy on patients with congestive heart failure caused by lifestyle related illnesses. The patients were exposed to 15 minutes of infrared sauna at 60C for 2 weeks and the results showed considerable improvement in a number of areas. Heart function was positively stimulated for those unable to exercise and weight loss resulted in the obese.

Hyperthermic therapy is also one of the few means in which to bring about a significant rise in the level of growth hormone, and this hormone helps us to maintain lean body tissue including muscle. Ghrelin is the natural ligand of the growth hormone secretagogue receptor and strongly stimulates growth hormone secretion. Ghrelin is actively involved in balancing food intake and weight gain. Energy intake and body weight are controlled by circuits in the hypothalamic region of our brain and the hormone leptin is involved in providing feedback to this system. It has been posited that leptin may regulate satiety, energy expenditure and weight gain, and leptin deficiency may be a cause of obesity. It was noted in the Japanese study that the responses of plasma ghrelin to food intake and repeated infrared sauna therapy were different between obese and non-obese subjects. The ghrelin levels fell in the non-obese but remained the same in the obese group. The obese subjects decreased their body weight substantially without any physical exercise during the study period.

In my own experience with infrared sauna, I was lucky enough to have a trial period of 10 weeks, in which the sauna was erected at my home, and I had a daily sauna of 20 minutes. After initial experimentation I had the temperature of the sauna at between 55C & 60C during the 20 minute period. Like all new things there was a time of adjustment and at the very beginning I found the infrared heat quite intense and had to get used to the enclosed feeling. I made a few mistakes like not drinking enough water and trial and error gave me a headache or two.

Reading the recommendations and instructions that are posted inside the sauna with a greater degree of care was a definite move in the right direction. There it was, “always drink plenty of water, prior to your sauna, during your sauna and after your sauna.” I had seriously underestimated the amount of water required, but now with practiced familiarity I take in a 1.25 litre bottle of purified water, along with my morning newspaper and a towel. Drinking water during the sauna is a necessity, and when you consider that you are sweating out a litre in 15 minutes at 60C it is a natural re-balancing of the body’s H2O levels. Quite often a quick trip to the toilet post sauna will result in a big clean out, especially if I have over indulged the night before. This flushing, reminds me of the results after a colonic irrigation, obviously the heat is speeding up my body’s processes. If I have drunk enough water then I feel fantastic after this expunging of wastes and ready to meet the day.

Another instruction is do not use the sauna under the effects of alcohol, as this can have dire consequences in relation to the thinning of your blood by both the sauna and the effects of alcohol. There went my fantasy of sipping champagne in the nude in my own sauna on the balcony. In actual fact the discipline of not drinking around the sauna has been an unexpected health benefit as well. So often in the city I find that I turn to a glass of wine after work to unwind, as it is such a hassle to find a park or go to a gym to get that space to exercise. However with the sauna I found that I could speed up my heart rate, detoxify and stay in the nude on my own balcony.

I took a niggling physical injury into my infrared sauna trial, a strained Achilles tendon that was the result of some injudicious domestic furniture moving, and I was surprised to realise a few days later that it had completely disappeared. Also since the regular thermatherapy treatments have begun I have not experienced any strains from my sporadic forays onto the tennis courts, which is unusual. My skin is cleaner and seems to have a healthier glow or colour to it, and the number of friends who commented on how well I looked, made me think, that I probably really needed this. All in all I am feeling more alive and positive about things.

I have lost weight and although I could do with losing some more, I am not that fussed about this aspect of it. I am not going to go the way of the horse jockey and stay in the sauna forever, and again the instructions state, “do not exceed 40 minutes inside the sauna.” I find also that the sweating process continues long after I have departed the box and that a shower and more liquid replenishment is required. A hot shower or bath is recommended prior to your sauna to get things moving quickly. When you first turn on the infrared sauna it will begin at room temperature and the five infrared heating elements soon increase this. There is a temperature control button so that you can set the limit and a timer so that you know how long you have been in there. The timer automatically shuts everything down when it reaches the end of its cycle, for safety reasons I presume.

My wife who also took part in a daily thermatherapy regime reported to me that her skin felt cleaner and more toned, and that she loved the resultant relaxing of her body’s muscles. In particular when pre-menstrual she felt that the sauna relieved her of water retention problems. I noticed that she also lost weight and that she was generally more relaxed.

The actual arrival and erection of the sauna on my balcony was a fairly traumatic occasion, as they literally do come as flat –packs. Two enormous rectangular cardboard boxes were delivered to my residence by a chap in a decidedly small Ute, who shared with me the fact that he had recently cracked one of his ribs and that he would be unable to help me get the flat-packs up my stairs or indeed off the back of his Ute. I pondered at this time about the age we live in, where it seemed that all household purchases now came in flat-packs, whether it be king sized beds, cupboards, bookcases and now even saunas, and that the savings one made were equally dependent upon one’s innate engineering skills, and how some Swedish bastard called Ikea was responsible for all this and that one day I would find him.

Shelving these musings I lumped this truly enormous box on my shoulders and dragged it off the Ute’s tray and onto my front step, before repeating this Herculean feat again with the second flat-pack. All the while being watched by the indifferent delivery driver. Once inside I confess that my wife and I broke up the boxes and carried the timber panels singly up the stairs and out onto the balcony. Thoughts of great follies committed by historical figures tumbled through my head. Would we really be able to put together a sauna by ourselves on our balcony? The answer luckily was no, as our flat mate from downstairs, who had trained in tanks in the Australian army, was soon on hand to direct proceedings. Several hours later amid the odd broken thing we had a spiffy looking sauna, standing like a Finnish sentinel on our balcony. Would it actually work and who would be the first to try it? I could not avoid the odd errant thought of being cooked alive inside this box with five elements. However by this time we had dinner guests about to arrive & as our dining table abutted the sauna we used its in-built CD player first as our entertainment station.

In retrospect it is all fairly laughable and I would probably pay the extra to have a professional put it all together. It is however all still working perfectly 3 months later and the sauna has become one of our indispensable healthy lifestyle accessories. That it fits into my small home and as I have not felt so good in years has turned me into a big fan of therma-therapy.

The Journal of American Medical Association states: “A moderately conditioned person can easily sweat off 500 grams in a sauna, consuming nearly 300 kcal, which is equivalent to running 2 to 3 miles”. The Infrared Thermal System might stimulate the consumption of energy equal to that expanded in a 6 to 9 mile run during only one single session of 30 minutes. The Infrared Thermal System can play a pivotal role in both weight control and cardiovascular conditioning.

TITLE : Electromagnetic Wave Emitting Products – Potentiate Human Leukocyte Functions

AUTHOR : Niwa Y; Iizawa O; Ishimoto K

SOURCE : Int. J. Biometeorol 1993 Sept; 37(3):133-8

Repeated Sauna Treatment Improves Vascular Endothelial and Cardiac Function in Patients With Chronic Heart Failure
Kihara T, Biro S, Imamura M, et al
Journal of the American College of Cardiology
March 6, 2002 (Volume 39, Number 5)

Sadatoshi Biro, Akinori Masuda, Takashi Kihara and Chuwa Tei¹

Department of Cardiovascular, Respiratory and Metabolic Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Kagoshima University, Kagoshima 890-8520, Japan

Health Effects of PCBs

PCBs have been demonstrated to cause a variety of adverse health effects. PCBs have been shown to cause cancer in animals. PCBs have also been shown to cause a number of serious non-cancer health effects in animals, including effects on the immune system, reproductive system, nervous system, endocrine system and other health effects. Studies in humans provide supportive evidence for potential carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic effects of PCBs. The different health effects of PCBs may be interrelated, as alterations in one system may have significant implications for the other systems of the body. The potential health effects of PCB exposure are discussed in greater detail below.

Cancer

EPA uses a weight-of-evidence approach in evaluating the potential carcinogenicity of environmental contaminants. EPA’s approach permits evaluation of the complete carcinogenicity database, and allows the results of individual studies to be viewed in the context of all of the other available studies. Studies in animals provide conclusive evidence that PCBs cause cancer. Studies in humans raise further concerns regarding the potential carcinogenicity of PCBs. Taken together, the data strongly suggest that PCBs are probable human carcinogens.

PCBs are one of the most widely studied environmental contaminants, and many studies in animals and human populations have been performed to assess the potential carcinogenicity of PCBs. EPA’s first assessment of PCB carcinogenicity was completed in 1987. At that time, data were limited to Aroclor 1260. In 1996, at the direction of Congress, EPA completed a reassessment of PCB carcinogenicity, titled “PCBs: Cancer Dose-Response Assessment and Application to Environmental Mixtures ” [PDF]. In addition to Aroclor 1260, new studies provided data on Aroclors 1016, 1242, and 1254. EPA’s cancer reassessment reflected the Agency’s commitment to the use of the best science in evaluating health effects of PCBs. EPA’s cancer reassessment was peer reviewed by 15 experts on PCBs, including scientists from government, academia and industry. The peer reviewers agreed with EPA’s conclusion that PCBs are probable human carcinogens.

Appeared in WellBeing Magazine

Tagged detoxification, far infrared sauna, hyperthermic, sauna, sweating, weight loss

Nov 28 2008

http://ecolivingmagazine.com.aum.au/

Health, Published Articles

Mad, Bad and dangerous to eat…

Eco Living Magazine

Heading: Aspartame.

Subheading: Poisons in our foods.

Aspartame is the technical name for the main ingredient in many artificial non-sucrose sweeteners; including NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful and Equal-Measure. It is also at the top of the list of chemical baddies that are still being approved by government agencies for use in our food. You will also find Aspartame commonly used in soft drinks, pharmaceutical products and over the counter cough lollies and syrups. It is said to be an ingredient in over six thousand items of consumer foods/drinks. It is a compound of aspartic acid, phenylalanine (a free amino acid isolate) and methanol (wood alcohol). This combination is subsequently responsible for some very serious negative activity in our bodies, including nerve cell necrosis (death) which can lead to organ system disease and also contributes to dangerous toxic interactions with other pharmaceutical drugs.Aspartame crosses the blood/brain barrier and damages brain tissue and causes lesions on the brain, where the dead cells once were. It also affects the autonomic nerve system located down the spine and the conjunction system of the heart. It is quite simply a neurotoxin.

How, why and when did Aspartame become approved for human consumption? It was discovered accidentally in 1965 by James Schlatter – a chemist working for the pharmaceutical company G.D. Searle & Co – and was found to be 180 times sweeter than sugar. Initial safety tests were inconclusive, as to whether Aspartame may have caused cancer in rats and the US Food and Drug Agency (FDA) did not approve its use in food for many years. Further testing did not answer why the brain cancer developed in the rats, and the debate raged on until some familiar names entered the scene.

One Donald Rumsfield became Searle’s CEO and Ronald Reagan became US President, and he appointed Arthur Hull Hayes FDA commissioner, who approved Aspartame in the dry goods food category. In 1985 Monsanto bought G.D.Searle and the Aspartame business became a separate subsidiary; the NutraSweet Company. I would love to tell you that it is not about money or that there was never a suspicion of corruption; but I cannot. In 1995, the FDA Epidemiology Branch Chief Thomas Wilcox reported that Aspartame complaints represented 75% of all reports of adverse reactions to substances in the food supply from 1981 to 1995.

The metabolic journey that Aspartame takes once ingested causes it to break down into several residual chemicals and further break down products include formaldehyde, formic acid and diketopiperazine. Exposures to very low levels of formaldehyde have been proven to cause chronic toxicity in humans. There has however been scientific disagreement regarding how the body deals with the methanol and formaldehyde produced by Aspartame, and this debate is one of the key reasons why Aspartame has not been reviewed and subsequently banned by regulatory government bodies in the western world. The phenylalanine component of Aspartame, which is one of the nine essential fatty acids, makes up around 50% of Aspartame’s mass and this is highly unsafe for those with the rare genetic condition known as Phenylketonuria. It is also known that Aspartame can spike blood plasma levels of phenylalanine, as it is absorbed much faster than naturally occurring phenylalanine containing proteins. This has caused further debate into whether Aspartame ingestion by pregnant mothers can harm the safe development of neurotransmitters in the brains of fetuses. Similarly the 40% of Aspartame broken down into Aspartic Acid also causes large spikes in the level of the acid in blood plasma and these can act as excitotoxins- which can inflict brain and nerve cell damage by crossing the blood/brain barrier. Again there is scientific debate over whether humans are as susceptible to this extensive brain damage as are the rats, for which the research shows conclusive proof. Further concerns regarding Diketopiperazine, which is created in products as Aspartame breaks down over time, can through nitrosation in the body create a chemical which can cause brain tumors.

So we are left with a situation of scientific disagreement paralysing regulatory bodies, and lots and lots of health complaints, ranging from the small, to claims involving hundreds of thousands of possible deaths. A recent survey of 166 studies into the safety of Aspartame found that 74 of them had NutraSweet related funding and that they all found that Aspartame was safe. Whereas of the 92 independently funded studies, only 8% of them found that Aspartame did not have safety concerns in humans to answer to. Science may not be as clean and trustworthy as those white lab jackets that so many scientists are fond of wearing might indicate to us. After all, if you ask the right questions in any scientific study you can pretty much get any answer you are after. Omission is as much of a cause of death as anything else.

Appeared in Eco Living Magazine

Tagged artificial sweetners, aspartame, nutrasweet

Nov 28 2008

Cooking school on the sunshine coast, the Sacred Chef cooking classes, where you will prepare delicious new dishes, discover inspiring recipes, eat, drink and meet new like minded people.

Health, Published Articles

NLP – 3 letters that changed the world

Eco Living magazine

Heading: NLP – 3 letters that changed the world.

Subheading: The most influential transformative therapy on the planet.

Is there a therapy or transformational process that has been as influential and all pervasive as NLP? Neuro linguistic programming (NLP) has, over the last 30 years, reached into nearly every level of our society. Beginning with the therapeutic community, Richard Bandler and John Grinder (who were the founders) developed their work in conjunction with three of the most effective and well known psychotherapists of the time – Fritz Perls (founder of Gestalt), Virginia Satir (family systems therapy) and Milton Erickson (hypnotherapy). As NLP included principles from all of these disparate modalities, it dropped a large pebble in many pools of consciousness – and the ripple effect has been substantial. It is highly likely that any training or transformational work that you may have done has been positively and powerfully influenced by the many guiding principles inherent in NLP. Recently the publication “Psychology Today” stated that “NLP may be the most powerful vehicle for change in existence.”

From there, NLP immediately began spreading like a virus into the corporate world, infecting sales trainings around the world, as managers realised that this work could make their people more effective and therefore their make companies more money. Modelling “rapport”, and “anchoring their intentions” with powerful gestures and mental images, firstly sales people, and then all levels of corporate management began to expand their understanding of how we all think and operate. Training and Development Journal says “NLP does offer the potential for making changes without the usual agony that accompanies these phenomena….it offers the opportunity to gain flexibility, creativity and greater freedom of action than most of us now know.” NLP has been instrumental in the shift to a greater consciousness within our corporate world.

NLP has also been hugely influential in the field of sport and other high performance categories. Coaches and athletes have benefited from the techniques employed by NLP – “reframing” their communication to be able to perceive new possibilities and identifying our sabotage tendencies through “parts integration.” Golfing star Tiger Woods and tennis great Andre Agassi both utilised NLP techniques to reach the peak of their particular sports. A strong mental performance is such a vital component of any successful performance, be it on the sports field or on any other world stage. Politicians and performers have also taken advantage of the NLP approach, with Bill Clinton and Tony Blair as two notable examples.

NLP is, of course, all about education, and it focuses on the effective teaching process through “modelling” and recognising the different ways we learn, depending on whether we are more visually inclined – “I can see what you mean” – or auditory – “That rings a bell” – or kinaesthetic – “That feels right to me.” These defining sub-groups allow teachers and trainers to use the language that each student’s brain is most able to effectively process. Concepts are grasped quickly and learning occurs without the pain of incomprehension. Recognising that each individual has a preferred representational system (PRS), was a key to designing effective “sub modality” tools, like visual, sound and textual imagery.

The techniques which NLP practitioners employ bring awareness to naturally occurring processes, and enable us to enact change in our behaviour at will. As the great teacher Osho would always say, “awareness is enough” – once you become conscious of something then transformation can happen spontaneously. Ask yourself the question who am I? Keep asking and with each round of answers you will discover more and more parts of yourself. Some seemingly buried in your unconscious and quite a few in apparent conflict with each other. Recognition and understanding of these disparate parts and their desires can allow us to move forward and to let go of attachments to unhelpful behaviours. These processes can release a tremendous amount of previously pent up energy and many people who have done the trainings have reported such results. NLP can also help you gain access to the many resources in the unconscious mind – that great storehouse of learning, memory, behaviour and emotion.

One of the fundamentally correct things about NLP is that it was formed out of the observation of what works – Bandler and Grinder analysed the language and behaviour utilised by three excellent psychotherapists in their consultations with clients that affected positive healing outcomes. It is solution based rather than symptomatic. This is, I think, one of the main reasons it has gone on to become the most influential transformative process on the planet. To understand how our brains work and the important role that language plays in how we process information and perceive reality is heroic stuff indeed. Bandler and Grinder, and all those NLP innovators who have come after, have created a system that allows humanity to develop, change, grow and evolve. Christopher Partridge, author of New Religions, states that “NLP may be best thought of as a system of psychology concerned with the self development of the human being” and “It is concerned with the function of belief rather than its nature. It is not concerned whether a belief is true or not, but whether it is empowering or disempowering.”

In Australia, we have a number of innovative and excellent NLP Master Practitioners, who have taught, trained and created – transforming lives along the way. There are also NLP schools where you can become a teacher/trainer in a variety of NLP associated modalities including hypnosis, time line therapy™ and NLP life coaching. (Many thanks to Sue Sharp of Australian College of NLP for editorial contribution to the above article.)

Appeared in Eco Living Magazine

Tagged NLP, psychotherapy, transformation

Nov 28 2008

http://emag.ecolivingmagazine.com.au/

Health, Published Articles, Reviews

Lungs fit for life

Heading: Lungs fit for life.

Subheading: Breathe easier with Powerbreathe.

In our city centred world, full of stress, pollution and too many sedentary occupations, we seem to be at the mercy of the many resultant respiratory ailments. It is all too common to hear of spiralling rates of asthma and bronchial complaints within our modern communities. The breath of life – is there anything as vital to our survival?

Have you ever experienced that panic inducing moment when you just cannot catch your breath, whether it’s under the waves in the surf, running a race, or simply stressed by life? Not being able to breathe properly is a terrible experience, and one that marks a rapid rise in heart rate. What can we do to check the rise of these often life threatening conditions? Get fit! Yes – improving overall fitness levels through regular exercise like swimming, walking and going to the gym, can and does help many people who are prone to developing serious respiratory diseases.

What are we doing physiologically when we exercise? Well many things are occurring within our bodies when we run, swim or walk quickly. Our hearts beat faster and push more blood around our body more quickly; our lungs expand to take in more oxygen, and we are forced to do this more often. As we breathe in and out, especially if we are running uphill or further than we have before, it gets harder to catch that full breath. There is resistance to this caused by the exertion involved and it is this resistance that trains our lungs and improves our inspiratory muscle strength.

These muscles, which are directly responsible for our ability to breathe, are weakened when suffering from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). COPD is most often exacerbated by bronchial infections and can often lead to hospitalisation if unchecked. The treatment for COPD is usually a rehabilitation program, which involves some inspiratory muscle training, and runs between 4 to 12 weeks depending on the severity of the disease. Unfortunately around 50% of hospitalised COPD patients are readmitted the following year with the same condition and many patients remain permanently symptomatic with impaired quality of life. This is due to the fact that the effects of short term rehabilitation program inspiratory muscle training fade after 6 months.

What is involved in inspiratory muscle training (IMT)? Generally speaking a breathing device is used and this device creates resistance by means of pressurisation – making it more difficult to breathe in fully and thus building muscle tension. So in the same way we build muscles in the gym, we can do this internally for our inspiratory muscles. This means that IMT is a completely natural approach to the treatment of respiratory illness, and allows us to target the particular muscles with which we need to breathe. These devices are now available for use at home and can now provide long term IMT for the successful maintenance of conditions like COPD and the many other degrees of respiratory disease. These devices are of particular use to those who are unable to exercise their whole body because of an accident or illness. The IMT devices now available were developed by sports scientists to help athletes improve their aerobic capacity and sporting performances.

The Power Breathe Wellness device I trialled at home is a hand held portable unit and is easy to use. It has an adjustable load feature, which allows you to increase or decrease the training level. You place the mouthpiece of the unit in your mouth, holding the handle at the same time, your lips cover the outer shield to make a seal and the mouthpiece bite blocks are gripped between your upper and lower teeth. Then you breathe out as far as you can before taking a fast and forceful breath in through your mouth. Take in as much air as you can, quickly, straightening your back and expanding your chest. Repeat the process, feeling more confident about breathing in through the Power Breathe unit each time. There is a nose clip for those who require some assistance in not breathing in through their nose. The instruction manual recommends starting with thirty breaths at level 0 before turning the dial clockwise to increase the load if you feel ready and able to. It also advises to complete 30 breaths at whatever level you feel able to twice a day – once in the morning and again in the evening.

It may feel difficult at first but as with all muscle training this is part of the journey to increased lung capacity. In my experience and if you are using the unit correctly, after four to six weeks your breathing and lungs will show increased capacity.

The really wonderful thing about this therapeutic device is that it is completely natural and that you are in control of your own training. The work that you put in directly correlates with the improvements you will experience in your ability to breathe, and thus enjoy life. This is in complete contrast to many of the medications prescribed for breathing conditions, which often have side effects and most importantly give you no feeling of being part of your own cure. Of course consultation with your GP is always recommended if you are currently on medications for respiratory illness and wish to begin training with the Power Breathe Wellness unit. Medical research has conclusively shown that IMT increases strength and reduces fatigue in those that embark upon it. If we can take back responsibility for our ability to breathe, it will be in my opinion, the beginning of a dramatic reduction in the incidence of diseases like asthma and other respiratory illnesses.

Appeared in Eco Living Magazine