Spread the Love

There is a story told about how Mother Theresa was approached by an activist gathering signatures against a war and she refused to sign his petition. “But you’re Mother Theresa and this is about stopping a war; why won’t you sign it?” She responds “Bring me a petition for Peace and I’ll sign it without hesitation”. The story illustrates the concept that you cannot fight for peace; you have to live it. As Ghandi said “Be the change you want to see in the world” - don’t just talk about it. In this period of turmoil in world affairs people of peace need to advocate the peaceful life. That is not to imply that we should ignore the bad things happening around us but rather that we focus our efforts in defusing acrimonious exchanges and to building viable alternatives that illustrate positive and respectful ways to improve life for everyone. This is the simplest demonstration of the adage ‘You get what you think about’. When you remove causes of conflict there is no conflict. The same is true of chronic disease; the vast majority of which self-inflicted. Too readily we accept diagnostic labels and allow them to define us. ‘I’ve got ….itis’ or ‘I’ve got ……Disorder’. Don’t sign that petition! A more positive perspective is to say “I’m currently suffering from ……… and am working to resolve it”. In the former situation you relate as a victim. In the second you are empowered to investigate, take action and cure yourself. Taking responsibility is a fundamental requisite to healing. Very soon you come to realise that the body will heal itself when provided with the right environment. Your responsibility is to create that environment in Body, Mind and Spirit and to extend the same care within your home, your workplace and your community. When you do you’ll find Peace breaking out everywhere. In the metaphysical philosophy described in ‘A Course in Miracles’ we live in a world dominated by Fear. The only requirement necessary to resolve our difficulties is Love. There is no shortage of Love, only our willingness to give it but the fearful, ego-driven attitude is to seek and exploit division with the underlying idea that there is not enough for everyone so it’s every man for himself. In truth, when we realise that Love is inexhaustible, we will spread it more freely. If we sense that there’s not enough love flowing in this world then simply spend the rest of your day, and the rest of your days, making sure that your tap is fully open.

Busy Work

It’s commonly said ‘Nature has no waste’. Dead animals are quickly reabsorbed as is foliage in the forest or plants at the end of their season. Some of nature’s processes are fast, some are slow, but all are efficient. Everything has its purpose, everything has its time. Only since the expansion of humanity has waste started to poison our planet. In the name of efficiency we ‘save time’ with prepacked meals that we eat in front of our TV screens before discarding the wrappers into landfill or into the oceans to drift for eons. Whole industries have been spawned to support this inefficient use of resources and to expand the variety of toxins that we expose ourselves to telling ourselves there’s no link to disease, it’s tomorrow’s problem. Eventually, perhaps tens of thousands of years later, nature will detoxify the planet from our spoilage but humankind probably won’t be here to see it. Instead we have just created unnecessary ‘busy work’ for the forces that govern our environment. Nature will not be mocked. Our rising temperatures are causing rising oceans and rising tempers as Pacific nations are descending beneath the waves and displaced peoples accuse an uncaring world. “Steady as she sinks”. The situation is reflected in our corporate institutions where inefficient use of resources requires ever increasing armies of administrators to satisfy the demands of a pointless bureaucracy. We introduce schemes of busy work that lead to corporate obesity with attendant problems paralleling diabetes in the individual. Just as peripheral neuropathy in the individual can lead to gangrene and amputation, poor communication within an organisation can lead to festering resentment, lack of contribution and ultimately to departmental restructuring if not closure. Busy work in organisations is dangerous. It’s easy to understand how mindless adherence to outdated processes embeds stagnation and stifles creativity. Vigilance is necessary to prevent busy work becoming ingrained in our organisations. Periodic attention to the underlying motive of the work, and regular reorientation toward our organisation’s mission can prevent enslavement to unproductive busy work. It also keeps alive worker’s interest and willing participation. It’s a short step to consider how the political life of our societies can become similarly afflicted. To me the extreme positions of the US Presidential candidates can be likened to the way in which cancer cells develop an ability to mask themselves from the body’s immune system. Everyone knows the system’s rotten but normal processes cannot stop it. Corporations are controlling puppet politicians and the voters’ efforts are relegated to national busy work. Political chemotherapy periodically knocks out union representation under the pretext of restoring democracy leaving decent society weakened. Meanwhile the cancerous growth of corporations continues to suck the life out of economies as society gets polarised into extremes of wealth and poverty. I guess the political equivalent of Gerson Therapy is to get back to first principles and allow a broad field of politicians to truly represent their electorate rather than the profiteering motives of the few. This will require regular inputs of pure green juice – fresh and eager, non-affiliated politicians to provide nourishment to parts of the country that have become neglected. We’ll also need a regular purge of corrupted politicians – a coffee enema, to keep turnover ‘regular’. In a properly functioning society citizens contribute their talents and skills willingly for the common good. There is no need for the distraction of ideological polarisation. There is no need for busy work to mask corruption and greed.

Pink Mist

Last week I joined thousands of others across the UK to support the fundraising efforts of one of our leading cancer charities. We all know someone affected by cancer and we all want to make a difference. What a shame most of our efforts are scandalously misdirected. Breast Cancer Awareness Month (BCAM) is a brand owned by Astra Zenica, the producers of Tamoxifen, which is the most commonly prescribed chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer. When the World Health Organisation describes Tamoxifen as a probable Human Carcinogen what good comes from giving it to people already suffering from cancer? How does one put out a fire by spraying it with gasoline? BCAM supposedly intends to detect cancer early so that it can be more easily treated. Unfortunately, the outcome of mammography testing often results in false positive outcomes which leads to thousands of women undergoing unnecessary treatment. Again, since the use of ionising radiation itself causes cancer, regular mammography screening causes damage to sensitive tissue and over time increases the likelihood of breast cancer developing. Astra Zenica are using BCAM to cynically manipulate public perceptions of cancer and have us dreaming of a cure without addressing the cause. In this way they can continue to feed their profits at the expense of public health. ‘So if you’re so clever, what’s the cause of cancer?’ I don’t need to be particularly clever to read of the work of scientists such as Otto Warburg, who won the Nobel Prize for his discovery of the metabolic processes of cancer over 80 years ago, or of today’s researchers like Thomas Seyfried who continue the exploration of cancer as a metabolic disease. Very simply, Warburg discovered that cancer cells use vast amounts of glucose to generate energy. They cannot use oxygen as other more efficient cells do, nor can they switch over to burning fats for fuel. This points to the most obvious treatment for cancer being to remove its fuel supply – restrict dietary glucose, and most especially, avoid all refined sugar. Can you imagine a Cancer Fundraiser Coffee Morning without biscuits and buns? In Irish mythology the warrior Cuchullain used to lose all reason when the angry ‘Red Mist’ descended upon him in battle. Today the term ‘Red Mist’ is more commonly attributed to the view from the sniper’s telescope. In my opinion the term rightly belongs in the arena of cancer research. The public should be incandescently angry at being misled and should target organisations that profit from their exploitation. This week the media has carried stories about the superior effectiveness of exercise over chemotherapy in the treatment of colon cancer. So, if you’re tempted to wear a pink T shirt and set off on a fundraising run, just know that the exercise itself, and the camaraderie in the crowd, provides the biggest benefit to you and your community. Astra Zenica doesn’t need your money; rather they need the Pink Mist of your contempt.

Commander in Chief

This week Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton traded blows in the televised debate aimed at winning over undecided voters as they seek to become America’s next Commander in Chief. How has it come to this – that America, the champion of world democracy, should be reduced to a belligerent slagging match between caricature candidates fronting like puppets for their corporate masters. If the world’s situation was not so perilous it might even be funny. But within a few short months the American people will choose one of these two to serve them and invest them with the power to start a nuclear holocaust. How democratic is America and why would any nation want to emulate their interpretation of democracy? According to Noam Chomsky, a Harvard academic and political commentator, America systematically undermines any country where there is a danger of true democracy breaking out. He believes that the CIA has been fuelling dissent around the globe for decades and backing those who can be bought to do their bidding. If subversion fails they can send in the marines as a last resort. In Western culture we are encouraged to pursue a lifestyle that undermines our health. The explosion of chronic diseases that are overwhelming our health services results in cries for additional funding to support our ‘front line heroes’ in the fight against cancer, diabetes, heart disease etc. Even when the funds can be found they only serve to maintain the status quo rather than solving the problems at their source. Anyone suggesting that we could protect our health by changing our ways should not run for public office; it’s not a vote winning strategy. If however the idea caught on to the extent that it looked like a genuine democratic initiative then doubtless the CIA would foment some discord to ensure that American business interests would benefit. Each of us is our own Commander in Chief in control of our health. We have the power to start a holocaust in our wellbeing with every mouthful we eat and every misguided thought we think. We can abdicate our responsibilities to others to decide what we eat, what quick-fix medicine we take, what TV station to tell us what to think or what political puppet to vote for. Alternatively, we could embark on a democratic experiment in health where we enquire, through a meditative practice, how each part of our body is feeling, what’s going on for us right now, what we can do to optimally support each cell of our being. We could investigate claims made by pharmaceutical product suppliers, we could buy organic produce and grass-fed beef, we could ‘go green’ and live sustainably. We could even grow our own food free of pesticides and fertilisers and even start our own ‘Farmacies’. We could talk to our neighbours and build community. We could live in harmony with our fellow man and care for our natural environment. We might even canvass the views of our neighbours as to how to optimise the health of our society. But enough already; it smells like meaningful democracy. We don’t want to invite the marines to kick in our front door.

New Deal

Like many others I have a growing unease about where our world is heading. Our news is constantly filled with tales of war and corruption and our corporations have seemingly a free hand when it comes to poisoning us for profit. We need a new deal but what can we do? To me, Ghandi had it right when he told us to – ‘be the change you want to see in the world’. This is not a call to ignorance or to bury our heads in the sand pretending atrocities are not happening. Rather he’s telling us to do what we can to show there is a better way. If everyone saw and believed it, there would be no more famine or war for a start. It’s arguable that abandoning monoculture would reduce pestilence and even plague would become rare if people had ready access to wholesome food and clean water. What does your new deal look like? What needs changing in your life? How are you going to be the change – living it out in real time as an example to others? Don’t wait for the inertia of the status quo to slow. It’s not going to happen any time soon; there’s too much money invested in doing the wrong thing. Instead be part of the solution.

Gain

In my Rocker days, in my dreams, gain was about cranking up an amplifier until my guitar would squeal like Dave Gilmore’s or Carlos Santana’s. As an RF engineer gain was to be optimised within a particular band and otherwise suppressed. In my marketing days gain took on the demands of increasing market share. In mid-life gain is usually about weight. Thinking most commonly about money however, I was struck last year by the simplicity of the statement, made by film director Tom Shadyac, that the pursuit of wealth beyond one’s needs is a mental illness. The Biblical account has always been with us …….’What does it profit a man that he gains the whole world but suffers the loss of his soul?’ Today I like to think that I’ve attained a level of maturity that allows me to relate gain to wisdom. Five years after a major challenge, through the gift of 20/20 hindsight, we may gain a change of perception that reveals how we grew and so gained from the experience. Sadly it doesn’t always happen. Bob Dylan recognised this in his Hard Rain lyric ‘I met one man wounded in love, another man wounded with hatred’. What would Dylan have to say about the atrocities perpetrated in the Gaza strip where the Israelis ‘gain’ the upper hand through the systematic destruction of Palestinian infrastructure and proliferation of illegal settlements? What human being could fail to be wounded with hatred? What people could accept such a wound to the collective psyche such that future generations didn’t continue to bear the scars? Here in Northern Ireland I have gained enormously this past year through involvement with a Community Garden project. My first task was to clear away ten years of overgrowth from a former poly-tunnel which nature had reclaimed. Shrub roots had grown beyond the artificial boundaries of their plastic tubs and impervious layers of stone and plastic membranes below, to drive deep into the earth. In a few short years the artificial divisions imposed on nature had healed over. This observation brings hope that even the most deeply entrenched political and sectarian differences can similarly be healed by the relentless march of healing growth. My father used to ask me “How important do you think it will be in 50 years?” He was referring to the healing of the human psyche and the wisdom gains of advancing years. He was also aware that, when the wounding is sufficiently grievous, the normal three score years and ten of a human life may be insufficient for true healing but that change is continuous and inevitable. Let us seek to gain the lasting and priceless treasures of love as demonstrated on the smiling faces of children at play – and perhaps through the passionate wailing of Carlos Santana’s guitar!

The Maze

I recently moved to the beautiful town of Castlewellan in Co Down. It enjoys a spectacular view of the Mournes and has an extensive forest park and lake of its own. At the edge of the park is the Millenium Maze which I imagine to be one of the finest in the country. The young saplings that were planted have now reached maturity. There are no short cuts. Navigating around it is a challenge; there are many dead ends. As a metaphor for life it encourages an attitude of detachment and wonder. Each of us faces trials and dead ends in life which force a change in direction. Years later we can look back at the learning that resulted from these experiences and recognise their formative nature. On a summer afternoon the maze is full of happy children running from one lane to another, lost and laughing. Sitting down and sulking is not an option for them. Life is fun; let’s get up and at it! Complexities will arise later. There will be unexpected, and often unwelcome, twists and turns in life, In such times those who retain a spirit of adventure will be first back on their feet. Later they may even feel gratitude for their trials. Perhaps that’s what’s meant by the saying ‘Unless you become like little children you cannot enter the kingdom of God.’ Emotional resilience allows us to explore more of life’s paths while retaining our smile. Eventually we’ll all find the exit from our personal maze. I want to be able to look back and genuinely feel that mine was fun.