Cancerous Caliphate: The Spread of Cancer Part 2

New research on cancer suggests that its relentless growth is an imitation of a cellular defence mechanism that belongs in the prehistory of human development before cooperation and symbiotic existence arrived. It’s almost as if cancer is the inevitable result of years of neglect of the cellular environment so that cooperation is impossible. The emergence of the Islamic State mimics cancer at an international level. This is a very brutal organisation which seeks to apply extremist Islamic interpretations on society with zero tolerance of other religions or views. Although IS represents a most formidable challenge to humanity, its emergence was almost inevitable, such was the neglect and isolation of the Sunni population of Iraq following the war. Military options are the state’s equivalent of surgery on the individual and are always seen as easier than trying to solve the problems at source, either through political inclusion or lifestyle change. Temporary relief may be gained but at the expense of strengthening the ideology of oppressed peoples or prolonging the life-damaging habits of the individual. Military or surgical interventions alone can never secure a lasting peace or restore health. Instead we must find ways to grow together so that problems can be addressed at a societal level where each citizen contributes his or her talents for the benefit of the whole or where the cancer sufferer consciously chooses to create a healthy internal environment where cancer cannot survive. In his 2014 book ‘Reinventing Organisations’, Frederik Laloux describes a new way of working which parallels this emerging consciousness of unity and where the hierarchical structures of old are being replaced with adaptive, autonomous and self-directed workgroups with distributed powers and responsibilities. This model has proven extremely cost effective, efficient and popular within those groups which have adopted it. This is a business parallel to honouring the importance of every cell in the body and protecting them, or to the societal accommodations required for those whose ideas differ from our own. Love and respect will always win over prejudice and violence. So cancer metastasis, whether cellular or ideological, is not a certainty when action is taken to create an environment of love. For the individual that love is about respecting oneself so that each choice made takes into consideration the needs of each cell of the body and of the body as a whole. We do this in the knowledge that the body must inevitably fail but that such soulful nourishment honours the life-force that can never be extinguished. By living respectfully we provide an example of good health that can be carried on by future generations. Organisations adopting a consciousness of unity, of service, of respect and love also care for each individual and the context in which they work. No hierarchy is necessary. Rather, action in each workgroup is guided by a strong set of shared values and determined by the needs of the whole. Nations too can choose respectful co-existence and co-operation, looking beyond their own borders to provide assistance and support to their neighbours. Only such a perspective can provide the international will to tackle our planet’s most urgent questions. Although the players change and pass away, whether cells of the individual, employees of an organisation or leaders of nations, the unifying culture endures and our collective consciousness, rather than cancer, grows. ©Paul Curran December 2014.

The Spread of Cancer Part 1

Cancer is a very serious illness with notoriously poor recovery rates. Many people are terrified with a cancer prognosis and place their trust in conventional medicine to ‘make them well again’. They look externally for the cure and subject themselves to the ‘slash, poison and burn’ standards-of-care protocols. Most often they don’t examine what personal contribution they could make to their recovery. They may continue to smoke, to drink and to eat as before and resign themselves with “What will be will be”. I’m left wondering why these people have given up on life and whether their illness is just the physical manifestation of sorrows and anger they have carried around for years. Even when presented with a message of hope, of an alternative course with a different outcome, they refuse to change. How does the saying go? - “You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink” or is it “You can take a patient to an operating theatre but you can’t make him think”. On the other hand there are also many cases where cancer sufferers have been dealt a difficult hand. Their genetic inheritance predisposes them to tumour growth. Here the patients may submit themselves to radical surgery and live with stoicism, smiling in the face of their suffering. Their quiet dignity is exemplary and their engagement with life joyful. Their attitude of gratitude requires them to contribute as volunteers, counsellors, youth workers etc. They can look outward from a place of inner peace. Which group of patients has the better prospects? Since all human bodies must die one might conclude that there is no difference. But when one’s frame of reference is based on gratitude for life the second group wins hands down. Metastasis drives the journey to an end. There is an inevitability about the spread of cancer when nothing is done to change its course. As is said – “It’s a sure sign of madness to repeat unsuccessful behaviour and expect a different result.” The same outcome may await the stoic campaigner of course, but their journey has been different. In their case the baton is gladly passed to the next generation. In the first group the baton is buried in the ground. I frequently describe the journey to health as a three-legged stool – 1. Stop getting Sick – by stopping the behaviour that is making us sick 2. Remove the toxins that are keeping us sick 3. Use the best foods that nature can provide to allow our bodies to be rebuilt. Underlying this description is an awareness that we have brought our illnesses upon ourselves through our modern lifestyles with total disregard of the environment we evolved to inhabit and the foods that we evolved to eat. Such is the cultural inertia behind current practice, and enormous commercial interests, it is extremely difficult for us to see the truth and change direction. Cancer is probably the most feared illness afflicting ever greater numbers, but it is only one of dozens of ailments becoming more common in our modern world. Its spread is not inevitable but we do need to wake up and change direction if it is to be avoided.