But if the plan envisioned by President Barack Obama and Congres-sional Democrats is enacted, the primary federal bureaucracy respon-sible for implementing and enforcing national health care will be an old and familiar one: the Internal Revenue Service. Under the Democrats’ health care proposals, the already powerful — and already feared — IRS would wield even more power and extend its reach even farther into the lives of ordinary Americans, and the presidentially-appointed head of the new health care bureaucracy would have access to confidential IRS information about millions of individual taxpayers.

In short, health care reform, as currently envisioned by Democratic leaders, would be built on the foundation of an expanded and more intrusive IRS.

Under the various proposals now on the table, the IRS would become the main agency for determining who has an “acceptable” health insurance plan; for finding and punishing those who don’t have such a plan; for subsidizing individual health insurance costs through the issuance of a tax credits; and for enforcing the rules on those who attempt to opt out, abuse, or game the system. A substantial portion of H.R. 3200, the House health care bill, is devoted to amending the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 in order to give the IRS the authority to perform these new duties.

The Democrats’ plan would require all Americans to have “acceptable” insurance coverage (the legislation includes long and complex definitions of “acceptable”) and would designate the IRS as the agency charged with enforcing that requirement. On your yearly 1040 tax return, you would be required to attest that you have “acceptable” coverage. Of course, you might be lying, or simply confused about whether or not you are covered, so the IRS would need a way to check your claim for accuracy. Under current plans, insurers would be required to submit to the IRS something like the 1099 form in which taxpayers report outside income. The IRS would then check the information it receives from the insurers against what you have submitted on your tax form.

If it all matches up, you’re fine. If it doesn’t, you will hear from the IRS. And if you don’t have “acceptable” coverage, you will be subject to substantial fines — fines that will be administered by the IRS.

Under some versions of health reform now circulating on Capitol Hill, the IRS would also be intimately involved in how you pay for insurance. Everyone would be required to buy coverage. The millions of Americans who can’t afford it would receive a subsidy to pay for it. Under the version of the plan currently under negotiation in the Senate Finance Committee, that subsidy would come through the IRS in the form of a refundable tax credit. Under the House plan, the subsidy would come directly from the Health Choices Administration.

In either scenario, the IRS would be the key to making the system work. Before you could receive any subsidy, whether through the IRS or not, the Health Choices Administration would have to determine whether you are eligible for it. To do so, the bills under consideration would give the Health Choices Commissioner the authority to demand sensitive, confidential information from the IRS about individual taxpayers. The IRS would have to provide it.

Under current law, it is a felony for a government official to release taxpayer information in all but the most limited of circumstances. One such exception is for law enforcement; the IRS is allowed to give taxpayer information to prosecutors in criminal cases. The information can also, in some instances, be released to the Social Security Administration and the Veterans’ Administration for the determination of benefits. The health care bills would change the Internal Revenue Code to permit the IRS to give similar information to the vast, new health care bureaucracy.

That means the personal tax information of millions of Americans would enter the system whether they want it to or not. “There’s a mandate to buy insurance,” says one Republican House aide. “You have to buy it. You have millions of people who can’t buy it without a subsidy, so they will have no choice but to accept the subsidy in order to buy insurance, and then the Health Choices Commissioner will have access to their tax records.”

“How many hands would this information go through?” asks a GOP source in the Senate. “What are the quality controls? This increases the risk of misusing this information.”

Some versions of the bill even permit the release of confidential taxpayer information for decidedly less pressing reasons. In H.R. 3200, the IRS would be required to provide taxpayer information to the Social Security Administration for the purpose of helping Social Security officials find qualifying seniors who can then be encouraged to enroll in the prescription drug program. “There is no precedent for using taxpayer information for the purpose of identifying people to go out and advertise to them,” says the House expert.

So far, there has been little substantive public debate about the integral role of the IRS in nearly every aspect of the various national health care proposals. But people who are closely involved with the process are deeply concerned about what they view as a massive, and in some senses unprecedented, expansion of the Internal Revenue Service.

First, they wonder whether the IRS can handle the new demands. “There is a sense at the IRS that their purpose is to collect revenue and not to implement all sorts of other programs,” says a second Senate GOP aide. “Also, the IRS isn’t necessarily great at doing what it does already. How is it going to determine whether 300 million people have health insurance?”

Second, they are concerned about anticipated abuse of the system. “You’re going to have lots of fraud,” says the House source. “People claiming lots of affordability credits or refundable tax credits. The IRS is not going to have the resources and expertise to police this stuff.”

Finally, there is a third concern, more fundamental than questions of whether the IRS can handle the job: Should the IRS be involved in health care enforcement in the first place? As seen in the town halls across the country in August, many Americans are concerned about the coercive nature of the proposed national health care system. Handing the IRS the power to monitor every American’s place in the system worries them even more.

Backers of the Democratic bills are betting that the handouts involved — giving people money to buy health insurance — will outweigh concerns about privacy and coercive government. Perhaps. But before Congress makes any decision on national health care, voters should know just what it will involve.
 

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/politics/Health-care-reform-means-more-power-for-the-IRS-56781377.html

That is the provocative and hopeful vision of Lothar Hirneise. He suspects that in the course of our evolution our bodies created tumours in order to survive: “For instance, too much sugar in the cells causes blindness — as is the case with diabetics. Creating a tumour is a solution. An infection in your intestines is also a potential danger. If it gets too big, the intestines become blocked. Here too, the body’s solution is a tumour, which produces enzymes that stop the spread of infection and heal it. The actual tumour then often disappears by itself. Most cancer patients are very surprised that they have a tumour. They’ve been healthy for years, never had a fever, never needed a doctor and now suddenly they have a tumour. Where did it come from? The tumour was helping them stay healthy, until one day everything fell apart.” Lothar Hirneise is not a doctor. But he does have a pioneering — and well-founded — vision on cancer. Aided by the gründlichkleit, meticulousness, of his native German culture, reasoning is his forte. Hirneise is a man of research and solid proof; a man who took an unusual path in becoming an influential, albeit controversial, cancer specialist in Germany .

Ten years ago Hirneise was a master in Eastern combat sports and a Kung Fu teacher. He also owned a successful sporting goods store. In 1996, he sold the shop for a tidy profit and promised his wife, Chris, and his two sons that after years of hard work and too much time on the road, he would spend more time at home with them. Then a good friend was diagnosed with cancer. Hirneise: “Before I had the sporting goods store I spent 10 years working in hospitals. I was educated as a therapeutic nurse and also studied psychotherapy for four years. So it was not illogical that my friend called on me for help, but I didn’t know a lot about cancer. I went in search of information and came across Lynne McTaggart, the founder of the English magazine What Doctor’s Don’t Tell You and author of the book of the same title. I attended a conference she organised in London on alternative cancer treatments. A few of the speakers told somewhat esoteric stories, but I was impressed by the research results that were presented.”

The What Doctor’s Don’t Tell You conference in London marked the start of an intensive quest by Hirneise for potential cancer therapies. He had time and money — “a unique combination not granted to many people”— and read everything he could get his hands on. “I nearly drove Chris crazy. Every time I was onto yet another potential cure, I hopped in an airplane and went there — Mexico , Russia , China , the Bahamas, the United States , all over Europe… where haven’t I been?”

The quest ultimately led to the foundation of Menschen gegen Krebs in 1997, which was partly inspired by People Against Cancer, founded by Frank Wiewel, who Hirneise had met at the conference in London . Menschen gegen Krebs now publishes a newsletter, organises lectures, workshops and conference and also offers assistance by telephone and advice via e-mail. You can become a member and take advantage of these services for €60 a year. Hirneise levies no additional charges for his advice. There appears to be a great need among cancer patients for independent information, which is lacking in the medical world. Hirneise: “Most doctors are good professionals, who truly want to help their patients. But… they’re working in a bad system. After all, from whom does the doctor get his information? Firstly, from university professors. And how do you become a professor? By working your way up in the establishment. By repeating what everyone has already said. There is no other way of becoming a professor in the scientific community. Then every doctor regularly attends conferences in his area of expertise. I haven’t been to a single conference in three years that wasn’t sponsored by the pharmaceutical industry. And then there are magazines and trade journals. They’re full of advertisements from the pharmaceutical industry. And that’s not even addressing the question of who owns these magazines. There is only one possible conclusion: within conventional medicine independence is a thing of the past.”

Hirneise is a great supporter of an integral approach to cancer treatment, which also includes non-Western methods: “In all the years I worked in hospitals, I never heard anyone speak of alternative ways to treat cancer. The average doctor knows nothing of cancer treatments in Russia , India , China or South America , for example. If I ask a doctor about such a treatment, he says: ‘If it worked, I would have heard of it.’ But that is just the point: nothing is published about those treatment methods in the magazines he reads. This is how the system maintains itself. Oncologists don’t know anything about it. Frankly, I think the word “oncologist” isn’t even appropriate for most doctors involved in cancer. ‘Chemotherapist’ or ‘radiotherapist’ would be better descriptions. That’s often all they do.”

“Every successful cancer treatment contains three ingredients: thorough detoxification, a change of diet and mental or spiritual work”

It is early in the morning, 8:30 am , and we’re sitting having breakfast in Hirneise’s office on the top floor of his lovely home looking out on the rolling hills just outside Stuttgart . The subject has been broached: chemotherapy. Hirneise recently wrote on a book on the subject with the provocative title: ‘Chemo heilt Krebs und die Erde ist eine Scheibe’ (Sensei: Kernen, 2002 — Chemotherapy cures cancer and the Earth is flat). Hirneise’s vision leaves little to the imagination: chemotherapy — the therapy that so many cancer patients undergo every day — doesn’t work. “I can imagine that in certain cases chemotherapy could provide a temporary solution, but then as part of a complete protocol which includes detoxification, nutrition and mental/spiritual support. However, I am against the way in which the poison is often used. By following the current protocol, people are being killed. Full stop. Moreover, [doctors] tell patients that once the tumour is gone, they’re healthy. That is not only untrue, it is stupid. By the way, I know a lot of doctors and I have a lot of friends who are doctors, and over a beer they confide in me that they would never use chemotherapy on themselves or their family. Doctors send patients to me because they know the conventional treatments don’t work. They tell their patients: ‘I have to give you this, but it won’t work. Just go see Mr. Hirneise.’ And yet they continue to work within the system. That’s schizophrenic isn’t it? But a doctor has a lot to lose if he turns his back on the system: money, career, professional standing — everyone looks up to you if you’re a doctor. Moreover, if you go against the tide, you are fought tooth and nail. You have to be able to stand that.”

Hirneise is also a highly disputed figure. Doctors say he is crazy, dangerous or worse. “But I haven’t come across any doctor who said: ‘Mr. Hirneise, what you wrote on page 235 doesn’t make sense because…’ There is no scientific discussion. But that’s not surprising. If I ask them for examples of patients in a late stage that have been cured thanks to their treatment, they become silent. On the other hand, I can cite thousands of patients and cases that got better even though those same doctors gave up on them. I know them, I shake their hands every day.”

Hirneise has travelled a lot, has read a lot, and has spoken to doctors and patients all over the world. He has set down his experiences and research in an impressive number of statistics. And his conclusion is clear: every successful cancer treatment includes the following three ingredients: thorough detoxification, a change of diet and mental or spiritual work. “In every clinic I visited it was the same story, always and everywhere. It is what the people who overcame cancer did. I have seen people on their deathbeds, where the cancer had spread to their bones, brains, lungs and bone marrow… and they got better. In the final stage of cancer, there is no medicine in the world that can save you — conventional or alternative.”

“Of course chemotherapy is no fun, but a radical change in your diet and lifestyle is more difficult. That’s why so few people survive cancer”

If it’s so simple and unequivocal why aren’t more people getting better? “Because success demands discipline and effort. It demands that the patient get moving, become active, develop a constructive fighting attitude. Most people choose the easy way: chemotherapy, radiation or an operation. People say: ‘What do you mean the easy way? Do you know how horrible chemotherapy is?’ Of course chemotherapy is no fun, but a radical change in your diet and lifestyle is more difficult. That’s why so few people survive cancer.

“‘First detoxify, then a good diet and stay happy,’ I tell people. ‘What?’ they cry, ‘stay happy? Are you completely deranged Mr. Hirneise? I have tumours everywhere, I can’t even walk and you’re telling me I should have fun?’ Then I tell them that one of two things are going to happen: either you’re going to die soon or you’re going to stay alive. If you’re going to die soon, you’re better off having lots of fun now, right? If you’re not going to die, you’re better off having fun now too because there’s nothing better for your immune system. It sounds crazy, but I have a lot of fun with people that come to me. I recently did a seminar with terminal cancer patients — rarely have I laughed so much. Ego satisfaction, money and sex rule the world. Cancer patients are just about the only people not interested in these things. It’s as if you were talking to the Pope or Mother Theresa. I learn a lot from them. They live one day at a time. They live so differently than the rest of humanity.”

“Cancer cannot exist without stress. One hundred percent impossible!”

If fun and a meaningful life make an important contribution to healing cancer, the question begs whether their absence encourages the disease. For Lothar Hirneise, cancer starts with stress: “Cancer cannot exist without stress. One hundred percent impossible! There are a lot of debates on types of stress — physical and psychological — but for a cell it doesn’t matter where the stress comes from. Every cancer patient has a sugar problem. Insulin transports sugar to cells. Adrenaline — and to a lesser extent cortisol and glucagon — takes it away. Everyone thinks that if you are under a lot of stress, you have an excess of adrenaline. This is true, but it’s only the beginning. Long-term stress results in adrenaline shortages. That’s what you see in cancer patients. So the cell is full of sugar that is not broken down. These cells die. Sugar is a poison; too much of it destroys your arteries, your kidneys and your bones. The body combats that danger by creating tumours — as a last resort for getting rid of the sugar surplus.”

“For some people, the solution to the stress that led to the sugar problem will be to change their diet — because they ate poorly — while for others it will be in the psychological, spiritual sphere — because they had serious relationship problems, for example. That’s why a good diet doesn’t work for everyone, which leads sceptics to say that such a diet ‘therefore’ doesn’t work. It just depends on where the stress comes from. This is why it’s so important that the whole person is taken into consideration. That is to say: to talk to the whole person. Frank Wiewel of People Against Cancer says: ‘Give me a half-hour with a cancer patient and I’ll find the problem.’ My experiences are the same. Sometimes we need to talk for hours, but we always find the problem. The problem for doctors is that they aren’t paid to talk to patients. If two different women with breast cancer go to a doctor, the problem is clear to him: breast cancer. My experience is that two cases of breast cancer can be two different diseases. If someone who has lost a son develops prostate cancer six months later, would you use chemotherapy to heal him?”

In Hirneise’s experience, if patients track down the cause of their cancer and truly want to change, even those at death’s door can heal. Paradoxically, the production of adrenaline gets back on track once people relax. “I have a photograph from 1994 of a woman from Karlsruhe , who at that time had cancer in nearly all her bones and in her bone marrow. She couldn’t get out of bed or her bones would break. She was on a lot of morphine and nearly died. She’s still alive. I recently visited her. She’s living a normal life. How much sicker can you be? I know another woman who died twice and was resuscitated twice. The priest was at her bedside to administer the final sacraments. She’s doing very well. She’s in her 70s, skis in Switzerland and has a lover who’s 20 years younger.”

Hirneise is all too aware that in many ways what he says not only flies in the face of the prevailing view, but moreover is not easy to understand, let alone to apply once the ‘cancer’ diagnosis has been given. “I had to travel around the world first and only understood it after a couple of years, so how can I expect that someone will understand it after a one-hour lecture?” Hirneise is currently training 30 people who, like himself, can talk to patients just after they’ve been handed their ‘death sentence’. “You need someone objective just then who can think rationally. At that moment your friends and family members are just as emotional as you are. Most people think the doctor is that objective person. He is not. You see you’re not just a patient, but also a customer. He has something to sell, whether it’s a regular or alternative doctor. We could save a lot of lives if an objective, independent expert talked to patients right away. Which is why we set up the training course whereby each participant promises not to practice psychotherapy or any other cancer treatment on his or her own.”

The second obstacle on the path to healing is the so-called aftercare. “After a treatment, a lot of patients are asked to come back in three months. Most people can’t sleep for two weeks just before those three months are up. Talk about stress! Then they get a blood test and have to wait a week for the results. It makes people extremely insecure. There is too much opportunity for additional damaging stress. And for misunderstandings. Most doctors use a language no one understands. I advise patients to stay away from aftercare. It is too dangerous.”

An example: “A while ago I gave a lecture after which a man came up, hugged me and said: ‘You saved my life.’ A few months later his daughter called. He had died. What happened? The children had convinced their father to go to a doctor after all. He finally did. That was on a Monday. That Saturday he died. The stress, the fear and anxiety around the doctor’s vague diagnosis had driven him crazy. When people ask me which diagnostic tests they should and shouldn’t do I tell them: ‘Can you sleep without that diagnosis?’ If so, don’t do it. If you need the diagnosis to sleep better, then go ahead. Instead of a blood test, you’re better off looking in the mirror. Look at your whole body, your skin, etc. That is a better diagnosis. Then meditate and listen to your body. Listen to what it wants to tell you. You will discover a great deal, gain a lot of insight. Afterwards you can always go to a doctor. Don’t just go to a doctor to have your blood tested or have an x-ray. I know this is a big sacrifice. We think the doctor should know best, right? Wrong. Believe me, that’s not the way it works. The tumour is not your enemy. Stress is the true source and no one can handle the stress of too many tests.”

Perhaps Lothar Hirneise’s most important message is that each person must find his or her own path to healing. A doctor can help in this process. But so can a friend. Everyone can make their own critical assessment of whether a particular treatment would truly be good for them. Individuality is Hirneise’s inspiration. A final bit of advice from the man who spoke to so many people that were capable of overcoming their illnesses: “Make a deal with your tumour. I’ve noticed that a lot of survivors do this. They start a dialogue with the tumour: ‘Dear tumour, this is a lose/lose situation. If you get bigger, I’ll have to die and so will you. Let’s turn this around into a win/win situation. You get smaller — you don’t have to die, but shrink to normal proportions — which will mean I can live. In return I’ll… ‘ I tell patients, you have to be very careful what you promise, because the tumour will only keep to its end of the bargain if you do too. If you can’t stick to it, make a new deal. There are some people I cannot help. There was one woman whose son had unsuccessfully attempted suicide. On his deathbed she pleaded to God to take her life instead of his. The son lived. A couple of weeks later she had cancer. I told her to make a new deal with God, to talk to him again. But she was afraid that God would then take her son’s life. She died shortly thereafter. No one can help someone like that. That is the power of a contract. Every person and every illness is unique and has the right to respect and a very personal approach.”

Copyright © 2003 Tijn Touber

This article is for interest only. If you are unwell or have a medical condition, please seek professional medical advice.

Natural Solutions Foundation Health Freedom Action eAlert

July 24, 2009

Remember, in a Pandemic Emergency Vaccination Situation, THERE WILL BE NO EXEMPTIONS FOR ANY REASON
Coming Soon to a School Near EVERY CHILD IN AMERICA!
Used by Permission of www.Rense.com

Featured Video 1
Please watch – and forward – Dr. Rima’s latest video: “What will WHO do?” – Will the UN agency mandate flu shots? Will the national governments go along?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swHUfACaRN8

Featured Video 2
“Ritalin increases kid’s sudden death 600% – but ignore that, parents!”, says Fraud and Death Administration http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fMVUdYS0Mc

Featured Video 3

“Say No to the Vaccine” http://www.niburu.nl/index.php?articleID=21262

 Swine Flu Time Magazine

We have unconfirmed information that Baxter’s promise of Swine Flu ready for use in the US by July was accurate and that First Responders are about to start receiving their untested, unsafe, uninsurable and unnecessary weaponized Swine Flu Vaccine.  If true, it means that they become the guinea pigs for a truly horrific – and totally unnecessary – experiment.  Here is what Time Magazine said on July 13, 2009:

“WHO’s vaccine experts recommend that countries decided that certain groups should get the vaccine first – like pregnant women, people with chronic respiratory problems or obesity, children, and possibly young to middle-aged adults, who have been disproportionately affected by the virus.

The decision to start vaccinating people against swine flu – which so far remains a mild virus in most people – will ultimately be a gamble, since there will be limited data on any vaccine. Until millions of people start receiving the shots, experts will not know about rare and potentially dangerous side effects.”

Did WHO engineer the Swine Flu virus in the first place?  We believe they did.  Here’s what Time says: “The swine flu viruses currently being used to develop a vaccine aren’t producing enough of the ingredient needed for the vaccine, and WHO has asked its laboratory network to produce a new set of viruses [emphasis added - REL] as soon as possible.”

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1910166,00.html

Self Shielding is the only meaningful alternative I can see to risking this deadly brew or accepting incarceration.

We are just 62,470 emails short of the 1 million mark telling Congress, State Legislators, Governors, Secretary Sibelius of HHS, Secretary Napolitano of DHS and the White House that we want the right to Self Shield, not take the vaccine or risk incarceration.

One Federal Law already provides for a $250,000 fine and 1 year in jail if you refuse a vaccine in a pandemic emergency.  Of course, the various State Emergency Medical Powers Acts say you have the right to refuse a vaccine – but may be incarcerated if you do. http://www.infowars.com/government-announces-flu-pandemic-psa-propaganda-contest/

Take action now! Submit one Action Item for each member of your family, then motivate everyone you know to do the same. Go to
www.salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/568/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=27275, to tell State and Federal Legislators that you demand the right to Self Shield in the event of mandatory Swine Flu vaccinations. We are creating a viable option and we need your help.
Read “Vaccinate to Vacate the Planet” – by Dr. Rima
http://www.healthfreedomusa.org/?p=3074

Legal Eagle
Ralph Fucetola, JD
Natural Solutions Foundation
Counsel and Trustee

Some facts: the building that we are erecting here in this small village is the very first Methodist Church that has ever been built in the country of Colombia. There are only two other Methodist churches in the entire country. Both rented spaces and neither real churches with a steeple or anything like that. Just plain old ordinary buildings. So we are building the very first Methodist Chuch in this country. That is a very powerful feeling. Both to us and to the people here in this country and especially in this community. Another thing I learned is that the church that I belong to in New York is funding the entire project. Think about that for a moment. This strange community on the other end of the planet is having an entire church, rectory, and community center built for them – the first in their country’s history – paid for entirely by a few hundred people in New York City. Just plain old ordinary Americans who live in Manhattan are donating any free money they have to provide this impoverished little village with this giant edifice that will hopefully supply them so many things over the next few decades… I contemplated this fact today while walking around the work site. thought about all the things that a church could provide a people so wanting in so many ways. A place to worship their version of God together, a place to foster community, even an idea as simple as just “a place to come to on a regular basis for years” if they so desire, everyday if they want to, a place to learn, to volunteer, to meet future friends and spouses. A place that will provide them with teachers and mentors and others who truly care. A place to help them with medical needs, emergency needs, education for their children, and even just entertainment. Really made me think about how we can take these things for granted in the States back home because we have so many churches. We also have televisions and other distractions that perhaps lead us into not even recognizing the power and importance that a church can have in our lives if we start going to one now and then. For a people like this, here now, without the basic things we take for granted in the Western world such as indoor plumbing or kitchen appliances or electricty or decent schools, a church can be a very powerful and positive force for good in their lives and in the lives of their children and grandchildren to come.

Yesterday we celebrated their church service with them. They worship on Saturday nights here in Colombia, instead of Sunday mornings (imgaine that in the US!) and the pastor of thier little chuch – which is actually the pastor’s house – which is actually nothing more than a seven by seven concrete room adjacent to thousands of others (picture army baracks painted various colors such as pink and purple and red and yellow stretching up and down for miles as far as the eye can see) led this service. I am getting very tired so will keep this brief. He had a tough time keeping it together emotionally as he looked out at these twenty-three strangers’ faces staring back at him. All of us from New York in the United States here in his little village working our butts off for ten days in the hot sun… and more than that knowing that after will come another team, and then another, and then another, until this building is completely erected and fully functional. The man just couldn’t come to terms with it. Who could? In that position? I felt for him.

I really felt what that must feel like. How can one possibly show how much appreciation one has in a situation like that to the people who are helping you and your community? He told us that he had prayed and prayed to find some way to express his gratitude. And all he could do was to profess to us with tears pouring and leaping out of his eyes that he is so inspired by our efforts personally – as a man and a fellow human being – that he was commiting himself to spend “every day every hour every minute every second of the rest of his life to attempting to give back the way that he felt that we were giving to him and his village. And then he sang to us. Acapella. Just him standing there singing by himself, smiling and crying, as a gift to us. A present from him to us as a way of showing thanks. Of course there wasn’t a dry eye under that tent in that moment. It was one of those transcendent moments that one never forgets. I personally can still see his big beautiful brown eyes filled with joy and tears and a little bit of fear that he may never be able to give back enough in his life to satisfy how grateful he felt in that moment and feels today and will feel tomorrow and for years to come I’m sure. It was a pure bliss moment for everyone and well worth the trip and the hard work.

It was then that I knew why we were there. And why I was there. Why I am here. Still. Typing away while the others are at dinner. For it is these moments that make the difference between being alive or thriving. Between making it or making the most of it. So I madly type away as quickly as I can with nothing but going to sleep on my mind because I have nothing but inspiration and joy and gratitude in my heart for this experience. And to think that maybe we can gather just one or two more persons into this world of giving to others… the possibilities are endless for us if more and more of us catch the fever of selfless service to others. (though I hesitate to write these words for so many reasons. Firstly because I do not believe that giving to others is selfless. I find it very selfish in fact because one gets so much more than one receives. The greatest treasure bought on the most expensive vacation that the world has to offer gives us nothing compared to what we get when we go on any kind of trip like this – even if it just for the day or a few hours even giving to others. I have spent my whole life trying both. I have raced my convertible turbo-powered  BMW down I-395 in Miami Beach going one-hundred and twenty miles an hour and felt fantastic with that wind blwing through my hair and all that goes with it. I have also attempted to feel good through living the msot lavish lifestyle money could afford by pampering myself with everything from weekly massages, manicures, chiropractic visits, hot tubs, $100 plates of truffle pasta, and thousand dollar shopping sprees. And these are damn fine things. Damn fine. But they just don’t give back to the heart in that visceral life-altering way that service to others does. I wish they did. Life would be easier. But they do not. And this is why I say that giving to others is a selfish thing to do. Because we just always walk away feeling as though we got more than we gave.) The point to take away though is that if each of us committed to dedicating at least one week of every year of our lives, and I’m thinking of everyone here, even those of us in the absolute most dire circumstances, I get the feeling that life on planet earth for human beings would be a much different experience. For all of us. Much better that is.

I don’t believe this is too far fetched of an idea. For, as many, I have noticed us trending in this direction for some time. Especially in the last five to ten years. It is only a matter of time. Life may indeed be an absurd masquerade ball disgused as a circus dressed up like a Greek Comic Tragedy most of the time, but it also seems to be interspersed with small miracles every now and then along the way. What if we started attempting to create more and more miracles in our shared lives together deliberatly? The possiblities

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

We’ve learned how to make a living, but not a life. We’ve added years to life not life to years. We’ve been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We’ve done larger things, but not better things.

We’ve cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We’ve conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less.

We’ve learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships.

These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete.

Remember, spend some time with your loved ones because they are not going to be around forever.

Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side.

Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it
doesn’t cost a cent.

Remember, to say, “I love you” to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep
inside of you.

Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again.

Give time to love, give time to speak, and give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

George Carlin on the death of his wife….

Delving in consciousness as bombs fall and hatred grows

Change doesn’t start on the surface

Societies get into the grip of their own self-created story.

Let us resist the lure of dualities.

Love is the only point of departure for intelligent action.

We cannot simply pursue without reflection the same thing that didn’t work

Change doesn’t start on the surface

This has been true throughout history. If Buddhism can begin with one person and Christianity with twelve, let us not think in terms of numbers and odds. It may sound grandiose to compare ourselves to great spiritual guides, but we act collectively, as an alliance. Our strength comes from critical mass.

We aren’t here to make the world evolve.

We are here to evolve as individuals and then to spread that influence.

In the wisdom tradition of Vedanta, the stream of evolution is known in Sanskrit as Dharma, from a root verb that means ‘to uphold.’ This gives us a clue how to live: the easiest way for us to grow is to align ourselves with Dharma.

We don’t have to struggle to grow–that would be unproductive, in fact. The Dharma has always favored non-violence. If we can bring ourselves to a state of non-violence, and connect with others who are doing the same thing, we have done a huge thing to reinforce Dharma.

“If we could know the secret history of our enemies we would find in each persons life enough suffering and sorrow to disarm all hostilities.” –Longfellow-

——————————————————————————–

Human Forum; The Faces of Courage (Puerto Rico, 7-9 December, 2006)

Dear Friends of the Alliance,

What happens when we are delving deep into the nature of our consciousness, while our collective subconscious erupts with rage and violence in the Middle East?

I felt myself asking, “Is it realistic to hope for a new humanity?” As I look at the faces of people yearning for true peace (not just the absence of war) and feel their presence, any sense of helplessness diminishes, because I am looking at the seeds of the new humanity.

These are caring, compassionate, loving, people engaged in personal transformation. There are many all over the world, if only they could be connected. If only we could reach critical mass as soon as humanly possible.

But the immediate question for everyone of us is “What can I do now?”

I would like to share my reflections with all of you in this time of war. These are not original insights. They have been part of wisdom traditions for a long, long time. I deeply honor the sentiments of those of you who favor social activism, but that approach has been tried over and over again without great success. I believe at the core of my being that only a consciousness-based approach will work.

Societies get into the grip of their own self-created story.

It’s helpful to realize that we can choose not to participate in that story. Realize that national and tribal stories are limited, self-serving, based on the past, reinforced by orthodoxy, and therefore opposed to real change. Stories are incredibly persuasive. Wars are fueled by victimization that runs deep, for example. So let us not try to change anyone’s story. Let us only notice and observe ourselves when we buy into it and then let us back away from participating in it.

Let us not demand of ourselves that we alone must be the agent of change. In a fire brigade everyone passes along a bucket, but only the last person puts out the fire. None of us know where we stand in line. We may be here simply to pass a bucket; we may be called on to play a major role. In either case, all we can do is think, act, and say. Let us direct our thoughts, words, and actions to peace. That is all we can do. Let the results be what they will be.

Let us realize that engagement and detachment aren’t opposite–the more engaged we become, the more detached we will have to be. Otherwise, we will lose ourselves in conflict, obsessiveness, anxiety over the future, and feelings of guilt and inadequacy. Keep in mind that we are pioneers into the unknown, and uncertainty is our ally. When our minds want closure, certainty, and finality, let us remind ourselves that these are fictions. Our joyous moments will come from riding the wave, not asking to get off at the next station.

Most misery is born of failed expectations so let us learn to minimize expectations so that we will feel far less guilt and disappointment. We aren’t here to be good or perfect. We are here as the antennas for signals from the future. We are here to be midwives to something that wants to be born. Good people have preceded us. They solved some problems and created others. As one wise teacher said, “You aren’t here to be as good as possible. You are here to be as real as possible.

I know this sound difficult, but let us try to be tolerant of intolerance. This is a hard one at times, but if you try the opposite–showing a hard heart against those with hard hearts of their own — all we’ve done is expand the problem. It’s helpful (but often difficult) to remember that everyone is doing the best they can form their own level of consciousness. Trying to talk a terrorist out of his beliefs is like trying to persuade a lion to be a vegetarian. All we can realistically do is seek openings for higher awareness.

Let us resist the lure of dualities.

These include us versus them, civilized versus barbarians, good versus evil. The good, civilized people of Europe managed to kill millions of themselves, along with millions of “them.” In reality we are all in the same boat of human conflict and confusion. Sometimes it helps to admit that the doctor is not far from being a patient.

Let’s create an atmosphere of peace around ourselves. Imagine that we are like a mother whose children come home crying about fights at school. Would it be her job to soothe their wounds or to arm them for fighting back tomorrow? Simplistic as it may sound, the male principle of aggression can only be healed by the feminine principle of nurturing and love.

Mahatma Gandhi spoke the truth when he said “You must be the change you want to see in the world.” We are units of consciousness, and the world is our projection. If there are enough units of peace consciousness and they connected with each other to reach critical mass, we could heal the world by healing ourselves.

A conscious change of heart is one of the most concrete things the world can ever see, a change of heart can change the world, whereas dutiful combative stances can only increase our agonies.

While caught up in a conflictive situation keep out there in the midst of it all doing what you do best:

Do not be discouraged, but know that there are people all over the world who support you, one day there will be so many that everyone will see peace.

Love is the only point of departure for intelligent action.

Reactionary activism based on blame and self’-righteousness leads us to perpetual strife, as we accumulate vengeful and judgmental postures.

There is war and suffering in life, it has always been there, now in the present news from the Middle East, Iraq, Afghanistan, Chechnya, Guatemala, Congo, Somalia, etc. But it is really everywhere, as we have forgotten who we really are, and have failed to exercise the charity of forgiveness of ourselves and others.

How can we overcome this strife? -By overcoming hatred-. How can we overcome hatred? -By releasing love-. How can we release love? -By growing in consciousness, which means consideration, forgiveness, understanding, -an awareness of our common being. And this applies to collective, social, family, and individual conflicts.

Lets not become impatient for concrete solutions alone.

As we engage in dialogue among ourselves to find the solutions to our immediate problems, some of us with warplanes and missiles flying overhead, become truly desperate for concrete strategies, and concrete results.

But lets ask ourselves: did millions marching for peace across American and Europe before the Iraq war prevent it? Did the peace treaties negotiated by President Clinton between the Palestinians and Israelis achieve anything? Has all the negotiation and conflict resolution by responsible, intelligent, sincere diplomats affected the estimated 35 wars that are now going on simultaneously in the world? Has all the moral outrage prevented the ethnic cleansing and genocide in Sudan, Ethiopia, or Gujarat? Has the hundreds of billions of dollars of aid to developing nations overcome poverty?

We cannot simply pursue without reflection the same thing that didn’t work

Maybe personal transformation (including the longing for personal transformation) can contribute towards a lasting and radical solution. Why don’t we give peace a chance by engaging in something seemingly not so “concrete” like participating in the creation of peace consciousness?

We can and must do whatever is in our reach to put out the fires. Yes, let us bring the buckets of water and dig the trenches to contain the forest fires we have started, but if we do not stop smoking, we would not have addressed the root cause that gives continuous rise to the fire. So although we must raise our voices and coordinate our actions as our hearts demand to counteract conflagrations like the one in the Middle East and Iraq and put pressure on our leaders to act fast to bring peace, we must not diminish our first order of sustained priority, that of addressing the root cause of all our social and individual hassle and pain – our ignorance and the healing our own selfishness.

And this quest applies to all, the so called spiritual leaders, the seekers, the social workers activists and everyone, for all, no matter what role we play, we all are longing for love and peace, for greater understanding.

Peace can only be created by those who are peaceful.

I cannot honesty claim that I have achieved peace of mind, but because I am at least trying to go beyond my personal melodrama, it is my hope that I may be capable of seeing things in perspective. I think longing for peace may itself be the beginning to bring about a new birth of awareness.

To be part of the gestation process is just as necessary as any other stage. As Rumi said in one of his poems, “Our longing and our helplessness are the way”.

Let’s meet as people who have nothing in common except our helplessness and our own peace of mind.

It’s worth celebrating that we are not emotionally drawn into the concept of war as a “solution” when the rest of the world is. Maybe it is worthwhile to invite the world into a new era–showing humanity the face of peace.

I have no doubt that millions will watch us and say, “That’s me, too.”

I do not want to convey a sense of pacifism.

Consciousness isn’t passive. In itself it’s always moving, changing, creating and affecting change. Activism that works for change on the surface often winds up being just a counterforce–it’s the opposite side of a tug of war.

The situation in the Middle East right now, for example is rife with action. It’s rife with opposition. Is there a choice that didn’t involve increasing tension? Of course, we all support humanitarian relief, peace negotiations, etc. this world has always been full of good, well-intentioned people who devote themselves to social change. And for many, this work is their personal path of evolution.

Yet the world remains a sinkhole of poverty, famine, war, crime, and despair. Goodness hasn’t changed the situation; activism has ameliorated it, at best.

When doing more of the same thing doesn’t work, I think it’s time to consider the deeper wound, which is at the level of consciousness.

There is action to be taken in consciousness, even though it may be subtle action.

Love, Deepak

The Human Forum in Puerto Rico; The Faces of Courage (December 7-9, 2006)

The Human Forum will gather the faces of courage that collectively enliven our spirit, our determination, and our humility, in the face of all that has to be done to change ourselves and our world for the better.

This is a time when all hands are needed on deck. Each one and all are essential. By recognizing and revealing the beauty of each face and the sincerity of each initiative, we will come to see the value and necessity of each person’s offering.

Join us in a collective reflection in a life transforming experience. Register early and you would make some savings while supporting the participation of many others who are carrying out transformation in all its modalities in the world. Click here for registration and more information.

Join us and tell your friends, Deepak
Learn More
:: arsenio@anhglobal.org
:: http://www.anhglobal.org

It is believed to be the first salmonella outbreak associated with peanut butter in U.S. history, said officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

About 20 percent of the 288 infected people have been hospitalized, but none has died, said Dr. Mike Lynch, a CDC epidemiologist. About 85 percent of the infected people said they ate peanut butter, CDC officials said.  How salmonella got into peanut butter is still under investigation, Lynch said.

The Food and Drug Administration warned consumers not to eat certain jars of Peter Pan or Great Value peanut butter because of the risk of contamination.

The affected jars have a product code on the lid that begins with the number “2111.” The affected jars are made by ConAgra in a single facility in Sylvester, Ga., the FDA said.  Great Value peanut butter made by other manufacturers is not affected, the agency said. ConAgra said it is recalling all Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter beginning with product code 2111.

“Although none of our extensive product tests have indicated the presence of salmonella, we are taking this precautionary measure because consumer health and safety is out top priority,” spokesman Chris Kircher said. “We are working closely with the FDA to better understand its concerns, and we will take whatever additional measures are needed to ensure the safety, quality and wholesomeness of our products.”

The largest number of salmonella cases were reported in New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Tennessee and Missouri.

Webmaster www.notmilk.com

Yes… milk is Mother Nature’s “perfect food” …for a calf…until it is weaned.

Everything you know about cow’s milk and dairy is probably part of a Dairy industry MYTH.

Cow’s milk is an unhealthy fluid from diseased animals that contains a wide range of dangerous and disease-causing substances that have a cumulative negative effect on all who consume it.

MILK’S BASIC CONTENTS

*ALL* cow’s milk (regular and ‘organic’) has 59 active hormones, scores of allergens, fat and cholesterol.

Most cow’s milk has measurable quantities of herbicides, pesticides, dioxins (up to 200 times the safe levels), up to 52 powerful antibiotics (perhaps 53, with LS-50), blood, pus, feces, bacteria and viruses. (Cow’s milk can have traces of anything the cow ate… including such things as radioactive fallout from nuke testing … (the 50′s strontium-90 problem).

CANCER FUEL

Of those 59 hormones one is a powerful GROWTH hormone called Insulin- like Growth Factor ONE (IGF-1). By a freak of nature it is identical in cows and humans. Consider this hormone to be a “fuel cell” for any cancer… (the medical world says IGF-1 is a key factor in the rapid growth and proliferation of breast, prostate and colon cancers, and we suspect that most likely it will be found to promote ALL cancers).

IGF-1 is a normal part of ALL milk… the newborn is SUPPOSED to grow quickly! What makes the 50% of obese American consumers think they need MORE growth? Consumers don’t think anything about it because they do not have a clue to the problem… nor do most of our doctors.

QUANTITY

Each bite of hard cheese has TEN TIMES whatever was in that sip of milk… because it takes ten pounds of milk to make one pound of cheese. Each bite of ice cream has 12 times … and every swipe of butter 21 times whatever is contained in the fat molecules in a sip of milk.

(See http://www.notmilk.com/igf1time.txt for a time line)

LEADING CAUSES OF DEATH IN AMERICA
http://webapp.cdc.gov/sasweb/ncipc/leadcaus.html (1998)

Rank Total Description

1 724,859 Heart Disease (think fats/cholesterol: meat/dairy)
2 541,532 Malignant Neoplasms (cancer: think toxins/milk/dairy)
2a 250,000 Medical system (drugs/etc. think ignorance/incompetence)
3 158,448 Cerebro-vascular (think meat milk and dairy)
4 112,584 Bronchitis Emphysema Asthma (think toxins/milk/dairy)
5 97,835 Unintentional Injuries and Adverse Effects
6 91,871 Pneumonia & Influenza (think weak immune systems and
mucus)
7 64,751 Diabetes (think milk/dairy)
7a 40,000+ Highway slaughter (men, women and children)
8 30,575 Suicide (think behavioral problems)
9 26,182 Nephritis (Bright’s disease: inflammation of the
kidneys)
10 25,192 Liver Disease (think alcohol and other toxins)

(2a and 7a were added for completeness)

(note: Number 13 on the CDC list is -18,272 Homicide & Legal Intervention-. It is curious that the CDC would readily list law enforcement and homicides… and not the 250,000 deaths caused by the medical system!)

http://www.rense.com/general26/milk.htm

4. Has Politics Contaminated the Food Supply? – New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/11/opinion/11schlosser.html?ex=1189051200&en=b621c051ea59292e&ei=5070

America’s Food Supply Is Mostly Unprotected
http://www.anotherperspective.org/advoc219.html

In 1981, the FDA allowed this brain tumor and seizure-causing substance to begin both sweetening and poisoning our food supply, pharmaceuticals, and children safe vitamins. Banned in children’s products in Europe, the chemical, aspartame, is now a big part of America’s diet craze. This is despite the fact that it accounts for more than 75% of the complaints reported in the FDA’s Adverse Reaction Monitoring system.
http://www.aspartame.ca/page_a3.html http://www.dorway.com/jwnoasp.html)

Aspartame, once in the body, breaks down into various chemicals. One is the same toxin you get from a fire ant bite. Another is the smelly formaldehyde in which your science teacher stored animals to dissect. Yet another is methanol, the same main ingredient as in Prohibition Era moonshine – the same moonshine that was notorious for causing blindness. How many mothers, who would never think of giving their children moonshine, have stocked their cabinets with any of the now 5,000 products that contain aspartame? (http://www.dorway.com/betty/environ.txt)

For those of us who struggle with anxiety or depression because of low serotonin levels, aspartame is especially bad news. This chemical additive wreaks further havoc by depleting tryptophan levels. Tryptophan is necessary in the production of serotonin. Without it, you will suffer more frequent attacks and more severe depression! (http://www.alternativementalhealth.com/articles/aspartame.htm)

For more information on aspartame and depression and anxiety, visit http://www.alternativementalhealth.com/articles/aspartame.htm.

Heidi Whitaker is an author and speaker on the subject of nutritional support of autoimmune disease. To read more articles by Heidi, visit: http://autoimmune.myblogsite.com/blog.

For information on how you can join one of Heidi’s teleseminars, visit http://www.20again.com/teleseminar2.htm.
http://www.bestdepressionresources.com/aspartame-and-your-mental-a140.html