argument for Vegetarianism

I'm Watching You! (click on image to activate)



To: .stevens2@sympatico.ca>

While there is some karma from eating plants, the Vegetarian Philosophy of Sant Mat is that there is much much more negative karma incurred by eating animals, more complex forms of life with a greater number of elements. A Western approach might be to observe that if one eats animals, those creatures that have faces, more developed nervous systems, in other words, can feel pain, have some intelligence, and senses, have a greater level of awareness than plants, this causes more suffering and cruelty in the world. Sant Mat also teaches that eating meat causes NEEDLESS , suffering, and , as we have all we need to survive with the plant-based diet. Furthermore, when we eat meat and do not partake of a sufficient quantity of plant-based foods, we are increasing the amount of our own eventual suffering and disease. There is the revenge of the animals in the form of added cholesterol and saturated fat. Plus, these days there are countless studies about the many protective effects and health-benefits of the plant-based diet.

This online booklet is very helpful:
"Why I Don't Eat Faces: A Neuroethical Argument for Vegetarianism" :
Also:Dr. Dean Ornish's Program for Reversing Heart Disease by Dr Dean Ornish (Jan 13, 1992)

http://articles. animalconcerns. org/ar-voices/ archive/faces. html

Directionality of spin and the relativity of motion

The Dervish Girl:
(click on image to activate spin)





This is quite amazing...

If you see this lady turning clockwise you are using your right brain.If for you she is spinning counterclockwise, you are using the left brain.Some people do see both ways, but most people see it only one way.See if you can make her go one way and then the other by shifting the brain's current.BOTH DIRECTIONS CAN BE SEEN
Experimentation has shown that the two different sides, or hemispheres, of the brain are responsible for different manners of thinking. The following table illustrates the differences between left-brain and right-brain thinking:

Left Brain
Logical
Sequential
Rational
Analytical
Objective
Looks at parts

Right Brain
Random
Intuitive
Holistic
Synthesising
Subjective
Looks at Wholes


Most individuals have a distinct preference for one of these styles of thinking. Some, however, are more whole-brained and equally adept at both modes. In general, schools tend to favor left-brain modes of thinking, while downplaying the right-brain ones. Left-brain scholastic subjects focus on logical thinking, analysis, and accuracy. Right-brained subjects, on the other hand, focus on aesthetics, feeling, and creativity.I found that if I just look at her feet, she will switch direction! If I closed my eyes and then reopen them sometime I can see a change in direction.I can only see her going clockwise...Jay could only see her going counter-clockwise, until he looked at her feet! Weird!Most individuals have a distinct preference for one of these styles of thinking. Some, however, are more whole-brained and equally adept at both modes. In general, schools tend to favor left-brain modes of thinking, while downplaying the right-brain ones. Left-brain scholastic subjects focus on logical thinking, analysis, and accuracy. Right-brained subjects, on the other hand, focus on aesthetics, feeling, and creativity.I found that if I just look at her feet, she will switch direction! If I closed my eyes and then reopen them sometime I can see a change in direction.I can only see her going clockwise...Jay could only see her going counter-clockwise, until he looked at her feet! Weird!
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This is a mind-boggling illusion!

I can see her spinning both clockwise and then anti-clockwise!The change in direction ocurred when I closed and then reopened my eyes.I immediately considered that the image/video is pre-programmed to change direction of spin,in order to fool the viewer into thinking that he is causing the change.....or am I really switching back and forth between my left and right brain (that is, changing my way of seeing)?Then I realized I'd often observed something similar (perhaps identical) : While watching a fast-moving car if you focus on the wheels ,they appear to be rotating backwards.
(Stroboscopic Effect) Often the direction of rotation seems to change even as you are watching.
Does the illusion affect only two-dimensional images? What about 3-dimensional objects ,such as the spin of subatomic particles and galaxies? Is apparent spin direction really determined by what hemisphere of the brain we perceive with?If we observe a spinning sphere(such as the earth) or disc from above(in contradistinction to side view), it spins in one direction (say clockwise), But the same sphere observed from below is spinning counterclockwise.Clearly spin directionality is relative to one's point of view or observational frame of reference.So maybe the direction of spin that one perceives depends upon whether we can visualize/imagine viewing this lady from above or from below .Perhaps what we are switching is our point of view.
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The Relativity of Motion

The relativity of motion can be demonstrated with the following thought experiment.
We have all experienced that momentary confusion while sitting in our vehicle in traffic --of experiencing relative motion but being uncertain whether we are moving forward or whether we are stationary and everything else around us is moving backwards toward us.The brain quickly checks a few more reference points in an effort to acquire more information in order to understand what's happening and be able to respond appropriately to the event.

Supposing a photon of light is emitted from the earth and we hop onto it.
Has the photon been emitted by the earth or has the earth been ejected from the photon?What we know is that the relative speed between the photon and the earth is 186,282 miles/second. The two objects are separating at this speed ,or the space /distance between them is expanding/increasing at this speed(186,282 miles/second).*If we observe/experience (or even just visualize/imagine)this event from the point of view of the earth we perceive a photon travelling away from the earth at the speed of light.But if we have hopped onto the photon prior to it's departure(separation from the earth)and have thereby adopted the photon as our home frame of reference ,it would appear that we are stationary(zero velocity) and the earth is receding from us at the speed of light. Since the earth is travelling away from us at light speed and if we say that only light can travel at light speed ,then the only possible perception we could have of the earth --if we could detect it at all-- is as light! We would observe it as being light.
*Motion can be defined as the rate of change in the distance(space) between two objects. This definition places focus upon the expansion or contraction of the space between objects rather than on the objects themselves.


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http://scienceblogs.com/cognitivedaily/2008/02/what_illusions_tell_us_about_t.php



The anatomy of an illusion -- and what it tells us about the visual system
Category: Color perception • Perception • Research
Posted on: February 19, 2008 2:22 PM, by Dave Munger

the pathology of unsustainable consumption

Subject: the human species has become a cancer upon the earth

Unrestrained consumption has placed the planet in peril
We are consuming ourselves into oblivion.

The cause of resource depletion,pollution,climate warming etc. is directly related to the number of people on earth who require the products that the earth can give .
Human population growth is the source of most of the problems we face.
Until such a time as man is intelligent enough to control his own birth rate the danger will continue to exist. This is a drastic measure which must be taken at some time. The sooner the better. If it is desired to keep all of the natural items intact birth control MUST be initiated for the human species. This is the only way that status quo can be achieved with the natural environment.
We must restrict the global population size to one that optimizes broad environmental and social options for everybody.

Our rate of consumption exceeds the planets carrying capacity.
The kind of world we pass on to our children depends on whether we are willing to change(reduce) our procreation and consumption habits.

The richest most industrialized nation (wch produces the most industrial emissions)also has the highest rate of consumption and is therefore most responsible for depletion of the planet's resources and destruction/poisoning of it's ecosystems.
Global industrialization is causing industrial emmissions to increase exponentially.

We must see through the myth that consumption and spending drive economic growth,creates prosperity and happiness. Consumption (and rampant growth)lays waste the earth !
We are consuming ourselves into oblivion!

See "Warning to Humanity"

"Live simply ,so that others may simply live!"

Warning to Humanity

http://www.tararuvalley.org/_downloads/articles/World-Scientists-Warning-to-Humanity-1992.html

Some 1,700 of the world's leading scientists, including the majority of Nobel laureates in the sciences, issued this appeal in November 1992. The World Scientists' Warning to Humanity was written and spearheaded by the late Henry Kendall, former chair of UCS's board of directors.

INTRODUCTION


Human beings and the natural world are on a collision course. Human activities inflict harsh and often irreversible damage on the environment and on critical resources. If not checked, many of our current practices put at serious risk the future that we wish for human society and the plant and animal kingdoms, and may so alter the living world that it will be unable to sustain life in the manner that we know. Fundamental changes are urgent if we are to avoid the collision our present course will bring about.


THE ENVIRONMENT


The environment is suffering critical stress:


The Atmosphere
Stratospheric ozone depletion threatens us with enhanced ultraviolet radiation at the earth's surface, which can be damaging or lethal to many life forms. Air pollution near ground level, and acid precipitation, are already causing widespread injury to humans, forests, and crops.


Water Resources
Heedless exploitation of depletable ground water supplies endangers food production and other essential human systems. Heavy demands on the world's surface waters have resulted in serious shortages in some 80 countries, containing 40 percent of the world's population. Pollution of rivers, lakes, and ground water further limits the supply.


Oceans
Destructive pressure on the oceans is severe, particularly in the coastal regions which produce most of the world's food fish. The total marine catch is now at or above the estimated maximum sustainable yield. Some fisheries have already shown signs of collapse. Rivers carrying heavy burdens of eroded soil into the seas also carry industrial, municipal, agricultural, and livestock waste -- some of it toxic.


Soil
Loss of soil productivity, which is causing extensive land abandonment, is a widespread by-product of current practices in agriculture and animal husbandry. Since 1945, 11 percent of the earth's vegetated surface has been degraded -- an area larger than India and China combined -- and per capita food production in many parts of the world is decreasing.


Forests
Tropical rain forests, as well as tropical and temperate dry forests, are being destroyed rapidly. At present rates, some critical forest types will be gone in a few years, and most of the tropical rain forest will be gone before the end of the next century. With them will go large numbers of plant and animal species.


Living Species
The irreversible loss of species, which by 2100 may reach one-third of all species now living, is especially serious. We are losing the potential they hold for providing medicinal and other benefits, and the contribution that genetic diversity of life forms gives to the robustness of the world's biological systems and to the astonishing beauty of the earth itself. Much of this damage is irreversible on a scale of centuries, or permanent. Other processes appear to pose additional threats. Increasing levels of gases in the atmosphere from human activities, including carbon dioxide released from fossil fuel burning and from deforestation, may alter climate on a global scale. Predictions of global warming are still uncertain -- with projected effects ranging from tolerable to very severe -- but the potential risks
are very great.


Our massive tampering with the world's interdependent web of life -- coupled with the environmental damage inflicted by deforestation, species loss, and climate change -- could trigger widespread adverse effects, including unpredictable collapses of critical biological systems whose interactions and dynamics we only imperfectly understand.


Uncertainty over the extent of these effects cannot excuse complacency or delay in facing the threats.


POPULATION


The earth is finite. Its ability to absorb wastes and destructive effluent is finite. Its ability to provide food and energy is finite. Its ability to provide for growing numbers of people is finite. And we are fast approaching many of the earth's limits. Current economic practices which damage the environment, in both developed and underdeveloped nations, cannot be continued without the risk that vital global systems will be damaged beyond repair.


Pressures resulting from unrestrained population growth put demands on the natural world that can overwhelm any efforts to achieve a sustainable future. If we are to halt the destruction of our environment, we must accept limits to that growth.


A World Bank estimate indicates that world population will not stabilize at less than 12.4 billion, while the United Nations concludes that the eventual total could reach 14 billion, a near tripling of today's 5.4 billion. But, even at this moment, one person in five lives in absolute poverty without enough to eat, and one in ten suffers serious malnutrition. No more than one or a few decades remain before the chance to avert the threats we now confront will be lost and the prospects for humanity immeasurably diminished.


WARNING


We the undersigned, senior members of the world's scientific community, hereby warn all humanity of what lies ahead. A great change in our stewardship of the earth and the life on it is required, if vast human misery is to be avoided and our global home on this planet is not to be irretrievably mutilated.



WHAT WE MUST DO


Five inextricably linked areas must be addressed simultaneously:


We must bring environmentally damaging activities under control to restore and protect the integrity of the earth's systems we depend on.


We must, for example, move away from fossil fuels to more benign, inexhaustible energy sources to cut greenhouse gas emissions and the pollution of our air and water. Priority must be given to the development of energy sources matched to Third World needs -- small-scale and relatively easy to implement.


We must halt deforestation, injury to and loss of agricultural land, and the loss of terrestrial and marine plant and animal species.


We must manage resources crucial to human welfare more effectively.


We must give high priority to efficient use of energy, water, and other materials, including expansion of conservation and recycling.


We must stabilize population.
This will be possible only if all nations recognize that it requires improved social and economic conditions, and the adoption of effective, voluntary family planning.


We must reduce and eventually eliminate poverty.
We must ensure ual equality, and guarantee women control over their own reproductive decisions.


DEVELOPED NATIONS MUST ACT NOW


The developed nations are the largest polluters in the world today. They must greatly reduce their overconsumption, if we are to reduce pressures on resources and the global environment. The developed nations have the obligation to provide aid and support to developing nations, because only the developed nations have the financial resources and the technical skills for these tasks.


Acting on this recognition is not altruism, but enlightened self-interest: whether industrialized or not, we all have but one lifeboat. No nation can escape from injury when global biological systems are damaged. No nation can escape from conflicts over increasingly scarce resources. In addition, environmental and economic instabilities will cause mass migrations with incalculable consequences for developed and undeveloped nations alike.
Developing nations must realize that environmental damage is one of the gravest threats they face, and that attempts to blunt it will be overwhelmed if their populations go unchecked. The greatest peril is to become trapped in spirals of environmental decline, poverty, and unrest, leading to social, economic, and environmental collapse.


Success in this global endeavor will require a great reduction in and war. Resources now devoted to the preparation and conduct of war -- amounting to over $1 trillion annually -- will be badly needed in the new tasks and should be diverted to the new challenges.


A new ethic is required -- a new attitude towards discharging our responsibility for caring for ourselves and for the earth. We must recognize the earth's limited capacity to provide for us. We must recognize its fragility. We must no longer allow it to be ravaged. This ethic must motivate a great movement, convincing reluctant leaders and reluctant governments and reluctant peoples themselves to effect the needed changes.

The scientists issuing this warning hope that our message will reach and affect people everywhere. We need the help of many.


* We require the help of the world community of scientists -- natural, social, economic, and political.
* We require the help of the world's business and industrial leaders.
* We require the help of the world's religious leaders.
* We require the help of the world's peoples.

We call on all to join us in this task.

the inner compass of conscience

The Golden Rule of right living

The law of Reciprocity:

This rule of conduct is for all times and all ages.
The basis of all morality (and all codes of law)is an unspoken contract not to hurt each other .
Do no harm!The harm that you do will return unto you!Your sins will find you out!
Do not do to others what you would not have them do to you.
Do not seek your own betterment/profit at the expense of another.
For example:do not make money by exploiting others.

How do we know what's right and what's wrong?

We each know what we would not want done to us.
Thereby we also know what not to do to others.

The doctrine of non-injury:
The case for "goodness".
This is the most compelling case for non-injury and non-violence.
This is also why it is only prudent (in one's own self-interest) to be kind/good.
To harm another is to inflame/incite their will to do the same to you.
Once you use force against someone, you give them permission to use force against you.
This is the danger of self-obsession(selfishness). It is not in one's own best interest to harm others.Whenever harm is done,someone has to pay!

the law of Karma:
You cannot escape the payment of debts that you have incurred. It is a common doctrine of all religions that as a man sows so shall he reap. A man gathers the fruits/consequences of his actions.
Therefore the wise man always looks to the outcome of his actions and does not allow sensual desires to cloud his intelligence and overpower his mind,lest his actions bring him bitterness and regret.

All relationships are based upon mutual trust and respect.
When trust and respect break down relationships degenerates into conflict and hostility.

We must find the courage to do what we know is right.
And when we make a mistake we have to have the courage to apologize in order to receive forgiveness.
We must pledge to die before raising a hand against each other.
Is there ever a valid justification for the use of force?

what has happened to the American experiment in Democracy?

Democracy in name;fascism in execution
What happened to government by the people?!
The hijacking of America
The purchase of influence in politics (through campaign contributions)
"Pay-to-play" politics.
Government for sale
The best government(leadership) money can buy!
see "the role of money in elections"
If you have enuf money you can buy a political office.
If you have 200 to 300 million dollars you can even bid for the most powerful office of all--the office of the president!
How did American democracy turn into corporate fascism?
(see article below titled "Corporatism")

Politicians are reluctant to bite the hand that feeds them.

Politicians no longer serve the people.Rather they work for entrenched money interests,special interest groups, and multinational corporations who fund their campaigns. Corporate lobbyists have hijacked the political system. The economic interests of these corporations take precedence over the interests of the people.Large corporations are milking the government at taxpayers expense.
(In Canada oil companies despite earning record profits are susidized by the taxpayer to the tune of 1.5 billion dollars annually!In the time that oil prices have increased 400%,royalties have decreased from 3 to 2 dollars /barrel.The sellout/giveaway of this public resource to America is a national folly.)


The greatest threat to American democracy is from within.
It is corruption and the betrayal and collapse of moral values.
(see "the moral bankruptcy of America")
(see "the betrayal of the American Dream")
(see "Third World America" by-Arianna-Huffington)
http://www.scribd.com/doc/35976438/Third-World-America-by-Arianna-Huffington-Excerpt

We often hear politicians touting America as the best example of democracy in the world.But democracy is government by the people and for the people.'
but in America gov't. serves the interests of corporations above the public interest. This is the opposite of democracy.This is the definition of Fascism!
Real power in America rests not with the people but with "Big Business" wch spends billions (4 billion spent by corporations lobbying gov't. last year)to influence the vote and to shape policy decisions.
When the government no longer acts on behalf of the people it is undemocratic.
The political process has been hijacked by corporate interests ,and America has become a fascist state.The vision of democracy is a shattered dream!
It is hypocritical to pretend to be fighting for Democracy abroad, when the principle of Democracy has been betrayed at home.

If you are a wealthy individual or corporation and want to influence the outcome of an election,there is no limit on the money you can spend to market your candidate and buy them an "elected public office.
This reflects a crucial flaw in the American so-called democratic political process!!
We expect the judiciary (the law court system) to function impartially and independently.Why are legislators (the lawmakers)and candidates for elected office (the ones who make the laws in the first place)not required to separate themselves from corporate interests?
When private corporate and public interests come into conflict we must ensure that the public interest takes precedence.
We must not buy into the Big Business lie that their interest is identical with the public interest.
If the state does not regulate the behavior of corporations ,
and if politicians are unwilling to alienate corporations wch provide them with campaign contributions...then the state and it's lawmakers are essentially ruled by corporations!


The End of the Free Market: Who Wins the War Between States and Corporations?
~ Ian Bremmer

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Might this be a better model of Democracy?!

Governments independent of party politics could be answer for partisanship

Published: April 06, 2011

To the editor:

We have a real opportunity in Canada to become a true democracy. We can have a government where our MPs and MLAs represent the wishes of the majority of their constituents.

Currently we live in an elective autocracy. We can elect a dictatorship of the right, centre or left. If we elect the Conservative coalition nationally we choose those who were either members of the Progressive Conservatives or the Alliance. The policies of this right wing coalition are determined by the international business community that provides the funds for their multiple election campaigns.

If we elect the Liberals, the policies are determined by the Canadian, particularly the Ontario business community, that provides the funding for their election campaigns.

If we elect the New Democratic Party the policies are set by organized labour that provides the funding for their election campaign.

If the citizens of Quebec elect the Parti Quebequois the policies are determined by those who want Quebec to separate from Canada and who provide funding for this party’s election campaign.

I don’t know about you, but none of these groups represent me nor do they deal with the issues I am concerned about when they are elected.

I believe most Canadians want their government to represent their values. In my experience most Canadians want their fellow Canadians to have jobs that pay them a living wage, affordable education for our children and grand children, and accessible and affordable health care and medication for all citizens.

Most Canadians want the needs of those who are unable to support themselves to be met. We do not want the mentally ill, physically challenged and mentally challenged to be living on the streets.

Frankly, I don’t see our elected representatives dealing effectively with these issues. Rather, they are busy serving business or organized labour. Our representatives don’t seem to represent us.

We can solve this problem by eliminating the party system. All we have to do is select an individual to run as an independent in every riding in Canada. This individual should be the most trustworthy and self giving person that we can find in our riding. This person should be someone who is interested in giving service, not attaining power and control.

We then have to convince our fellow constituents to vote for this individual. Considering the dissatisfaction that most of us have with our elected representatives who seem more interested in gaining power, control and a good pension than serving us, this should not be difficult.

Once we have a parliament or a legislature full of independent candidates, they can elect from amongst themselves a Prime Minister and a Cabinet.

In the future, legislation would have to be passed to provide equal funds to all candidates who wish to run for office. This legislation would also eliminate donations for election campaigns to political parties or individuals and they would not be allowed to use funds other than the government provided funds. Our representatives could use social media to gain our opinions in order to help determine how they would vote on each issue that comes before the parliament or the legislature. Each individual  MP or MLA would have a free vote on each issue.

If we really want a democracy we must select the best independent candidates that we can find, nominate them and elect them.

Robert C. Anderson,

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Corporate greed, corruption, and the coming collapse of America as we know it
by Mike Adams

The U.S. government, once crafted as a system that would serve the interests of the people, has devolved into a system of plutocracy where corporations control both the government and the people. Virtually every government regulatory department, for example, is now run by the corporations it is supposed to be regulating. Just look at the FDA, USDA, FTC, FCC, NRC (Nuclear Regulatory Commission) and most other government regulatory bodies and you'll find a room full of politicians and bureaucrats who utterly disregard the People while prioritizing the financial needs of influential corporations.

Our nation's policies on health, finances, agricultural, national defense and even education are increasingly slanted towards enriching the corporations, usually at the expense of the People. Even worse, the People have come to fear their government here in the United States, and any time a government gains so much power that the people begin to fear it, the scenario is set for police state atrocities against the citizens. In a healthy society, you see, the government fears the people, and it's this fear of being replaced or kicked out of office that keeps government bureaucrats in line. But in America, that's been lost, replaced by a tyrannical system of government that treats the people like common criminals. Don't believe me? Just try to board an airplane without being detained and searched against your will. Try to bring a bottle of water on an airplane and see how much "freedom" you still have left in America today.

How did the corporations gain so much power over government and the people? It's simple: Campaign finances. The corporations hire hoards of lobbyists who dart in and out of lawmakers' offices in Washington, leaving behind trails of cash and corruption. Most lawmakers hardly ever meet with the actual people they claim to represent. Instead, they spend their time cavorting with corporate rabblerousers who operate based on the simple principle of greed. Think Enron, but times a thousand. That's who controls Congress today.

To keep the People in line, public protests have been limited and outlawed in many areas, where new fenced-in "free speech zones" have been set up to force protestors to protest out of the way somewhere. (Note to all: If free speech is limited to a "zone" then it isn't free speech at all!) At every turn, the U.S. government seeks to marginalize the power of the People and expand its own reach and power, usually at the behest of the wealthy corporations pulling the strings backstage.


The natural cycle of collapse and rebirth
So where is it all heading? To a desperate place, unfortunately. It's a natural cycle of nation states. Following abundance comes greed, then corruption, then police state tyranny, then collapse. After the collapse there's rebirth, reconstruction and a new cycle of abundance until the whole thing repeats itself over and over again, one century after the next. Read your world history to hear this same story repeated over at least fifty empires that once existed on Earth. The American empire will be no different: It will drown in its own greed and corruption, collapsing into a state of moral and financial bankruptcy, and then will likely be reborn as a series of smaller nation-states like the Washington / Oregon / Idaho / Northern California region that has very different values and interests than, say, the Texas region.

During all this, there will be lots of social unrest, poverty, personal bankruptcy, police state arrests and perhaps even the widespread use of detection camps to indefinitely hold troublemakers who dare to protest or speak out against government corruption. This is what's coming for America, and the interesting part is that almost nobody in America seems to be able to anticipate this. Yet the writing is on the wall, and it's as obvious as the dot-com crash was before 2000.

I publicly predicted the dot-com crash starting in 1998, and urged everyone to get out of the market through 1999, 2000 and right up until the bursting of the dot-com bubble in early 2001. All this time, nobody listened. Virtually everyone was caught up in the insane illusion that we would all get rich by selling each other pieces of paper with increasingly large numbers written on them (those are the stock prices, you see). Almost everybody was swept up by Groupthink, believing that the laws of economics had changed forever. CNBC became the of unbridled greed, and brainwashed idiots at the American Enterprise Institute were publishing books predicting a Dow of 36,000 that would create infinite wealth requiring no effort or productive work.

Meanwhile, I was urging everyone to sell their stocks, which of course made me look utterly insane given that everybody else in the world was telling people to keep buying -- including all the stock brokers and investment fund managers, who it turns out know almost nothing useful about finances or investments and are just as easily swept up by Groupthink as anything else. When the bubble finally burst, I was completely out of the market and lost nothing. But many people I knew lost big portions of their life savings.

Now, I told you that story to tell you this: What's coming in America's future is going to be far, far worse than the dot-com fiasco. Imagine the financial market breaking down, the U.S. government defaulting on its debt, the dollar going through massive hyperinflation, wiping out the value of the life savings of virtually all Americans. Think it can't happen here? That's what the Groupthink thinks. But it will happen here, and the massive corruption in our government is making sure of it. Whatever dollars you have in the bank will, in a few years, become virtually worthless. Hyperinflation is inevitable. Study the history of Germany following World War I to gain additional insight on this topic.


Sacrificing the future for today's profit
When the corporations run a nation, that nation has no real future, because corporations only think in terms of the next quarter, not the next generation. Corporations will naturally do whatever they can to maximize their profits right now, including poisoning the children with vaccines, poisoning the population with toxic food products, sacrificing the financial future of the nation for short-term gain, destroying the environment, ignoring the health care needs of the People, inciting war so they can sell more profitable weapons to war-torn countries around the world, and so on. Essentially, corporations will sell out the future for higher profits today, and that's exactly what they've done in America.

America has no real future. Not a good one, anyway. I give the nation anywhere from 5 to 25 years before it will self destruct under a mountain of debt, disease and corruption. You can thank the corporations and corrupt politicians for that. They've thrown away the dream of a nation that was once great and could actually be great again, if not for the greed.

My message to all U.S. citizens is to prepare yourself now for what's coming. Get out of debt. Get healthy. Invest in your education and learn some practical skills like gardening, bicycle repair or natural medicine. Own some productive land and learn how to use it. Be near a source of fresh water. When the oil runs out, and the fresh water tables are drained, and the financial system collapses, and the real estate bubble bursts, life is going to be a whole lot harder than it is today. Forget about shopping malls, must-see TV and the latest fashions. Most families are going to be struggling just to put food on the table.

This is all several years away, of course. And until then, most people are going to continue the pursuit of even more debt and disease, oblivious to the future that awaits them. A great book to read on how that future might play out is The Long Emergency by James Howard Kunstler. Or The Party's Over: Oil, War and The Fate of Industrial Societies.

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http://www.stansberryresearch.com/pro/1103PSIEOAVD/OPSIM526/PR

(Viewer discretion is advised)

Breathe in; breathe out!

ONLY Breath



Not Christian or Jew or Muslim,

not Hindu, Buddhist, sufi, or zen. Not any religion or cultural
system.



I am not from the East or the West,

not out of the ocean

or up from the ground,

not natural or ethereal,

not composed of elements at all.



I do not exist,

am not an entity in this world

or the next,

did not decend from Adam or Eve

or any origin story.



My place is placeless,

a trace of the traceless.



Neither body or soul.



I belong to the beloved,

have seen the two worlds as one

and that one call to and know,

first, last, outer, inner,

only that breath breathing human being.



from "The Essential Rumi" translations

by Coleman Barks"


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to feel the movement of breath/life within you....is this not joy! Is this not paradise enough?
And if not, what might joy be?

Meditation on one's breath enables one to remain grounded and centered in the face of all life's challenges! Whatever difficulty one encounters, one simply breathes through it!

Breath warrior: meditating on one's breath is like shielding oneself with the armor of God!
Focusing on one's breath brings one's awareness into the present moment ...,wch after all is the only moment that we can ever be assured of!
All we ever really have is our current breath!

Give me a firm place to stand and I will shift the world
--Archimedes
We each have such a place!
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Are You Looking For Me? (Kabir Poem in 4 Different Translations)

"The Kabir Book -- Forty-Four of the Ecstatic Poems of Kabir",
Robert Bly:

Are you looking for me? I am in the next seat.
My shoulder is against yours.
you will not find me in the stupas, not in Indian shrine
rooms, nor in synagogues, nor in cathedrals:
not in masses, nor kirtans, not in legs winding
around your own neck, nor in eating nothing but
vegetables.
When you really look for me, you will see me
instantly --
you will find me in the tiniest house of time.
Kabir says: Student, tell me, what is God?
He is the breath inside the breath.

"Kabir -- Songs of the Divine",
Jagessar Das:

Seeker! Why do you seek me?
I am already with you.
You will not find me in pilgrimages or idols,
Nor in isolated retreats and withdrawals.
You will not find me in temple or mosque,
Nor in what you call holy cities and sacred mountains.
You will not find me in recitations or austerities,
Nor in the observances of fasts and deprivations.
You will not find me in rites and rituals,
Nor in yoga and renunciations.
You will not find me in air or matter,
Nor in the vast expanse of space.
You will not find me,
Inside the void of meditation.
You will find me,
In the breath within all breaths.
Seek me there,
And you will find me instantly,
As immediately as the blink of an eye.
Kabir says, "Friends listen!
I am wherever you are."

This one is from "Says Kabir...
A Collection of One Hundred and Ten Poems of Kabir,"
Sushila Mahajan:

Where do you look for me, dear?
I am closer than close to you.

Neither in temple-mosque am I,
nor in Kaba-Kailash,
nor in rituals, nor in yoga-ways.

Neither in goat-sheep am I,
nor in axe-knife,
nor in skin-tail,
nor in flesh and bone.

He who yearns, finds at once,
far from the crowd,
I live in a quiet refuge.

Listen to me in the void, says Kabir,
in between all the breaths.

"Songs of Kabir",
Rabindranath Tagore:

O SERVANT, where dost thou seek Me?
Lo! I am inside thee.
I am neither in temple nor in mosque:
I am neither in Kaaba nor in Kailash:
Neither am I in rites and ceremonies,
nor in Yoga and renunciation.
If thou art a true seeker,
thou shalt at once see Me:
thou shalt meet Me in a moment of time.
Kabîr says, "O Sadhu! God is the breath of all breath."

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Always Remember To Be Who You Are

Absorbed in the Breath
Ajaan Lee Dhammadharo
Jhana means to be absorbed or focused in a single object, as when we deal with the breath.

THE FIRST JHANA has five factors: (a) Directed thought: Think of the breath until you can recognize it clearly without getting distracted. (b) Singleness of object: Keep the mind with the breath. Don’t let it stray after other objects. Watch over your thoughts so that they deal only with the breath until the breath becomes comfortable. (The mind becomes one, at rest with the breath.) (c) Evaluation: Let this comfortable breath sensation spread and coordinate with the other breath sensations in the body. Let these breath sensations spread until they all flow together. Once the body has been soothed by the breath, feelings of pain will grow calm. The body will be filled with good breath energy. These three qualities must be brought to bear on the same stream of breathing for the first jhana to arise. This stream of breathing can then take you all the way to the fourth jhana. Directed thought, singleness of object, and evaluation act as the causes. When the causes are ripe, results will appear. (d) Rapture: a compelling sense of fullness and refreshment for body and mind, going straight to the heart, independent of all else. (e) Pleasure: physical ease arising from the body’s being still and unperturbed; mental contentment arising from the mind’s being at ease on its own, unperturbed, serene, and exultant. Rapture and pleasure are the results. The factors of the first jhana thus come down to two sorts: causes and results.

As rapture and pleasure grow stronger, the breath becomes more subtle. The longer you stay focused, the more powerful the results become. This enables you to set directed thought and evaluation (the preliminary ground-clearing) aside, and—relying completely on a single factor, singleness of object—you enter the second jhana.

THE SECOND JHANA has three factors: rapture, pleasure, and singleness of object. Rapture and pleasure become stronger in the second jhana because they rely on a single cause, singleness of object, which looks after the work from here on in: focusing on the breath so that it becomes more and more refined, keeping steady and still with a sense of refreshment and ease for both body and mind. The mind is even more stable and intent than before. As you continue focusing, rapture and pleasure grow stronger and begin to pulsate. Continue focusing on the breath, moving the mind deeper to a more subtle level to escape the motions of rapture and pleasure, and you enter the third jhana.

THE THIRD JHANA has two factors: pleasure and singleness of object. The body is quiet, motionless, and solitary. No feelings of pain arise to disturb it. The mind is solitary and still. The breath is refined, free flowing, and broad. A radiance—white, like cotton wool—pervades the entire body, stilling all feelings of physical and mental discomfort. The breath fills the body. Mindfulness fills the body.

Focus on in: The mind is bright and powerful, the body is light. Feelings of pleasure are still. Your sense of the body feels steady and even, with no slips or gaps in your awareness, so you can let go of your sense of pleasure. Singleness of object, the cause, has the strength to focus more heavily down, taking you to the fourth jhana.

THE FOURTH JHANA has two factors: equanimity and singleness of object, or mindfulness—solid, stable, and sure. The breath property is absolutely quiet and still, free of ripples and gaps, like an ocean free of currents or waves. The mind, neutral and still, lets go of all preoccupations with past and future. The present is neutral and still. This is true singleness of object, focused on the unperturbed stillness of the breath. All aspects of the breath energy in the body connect so that you can breathe through every pore. You don’t have to breathe through the nostrils because the in-and-out breath and the other aspects of the breath in the body form a single, unified whole—even and full. Mindfulness and alertness converge into one, giving rise to great energy that can dispel all inner darkness.

From Keeping the Breath in Mind, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

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Extricating oneself from the snares of illusion

Vast and vicious is the maze of illusions
whose intricate tentacles suck us dry



<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< The life/soul of the body is the breath!

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< Breathe


by Marie Bennett

from "Worship"



This is the air I breathe

This is the air I breathe

Your Holy presence living in me

This is my daily bread

This is my daily bread

Your very Word spoken to me



And I'm desperate for You

And I'm lost/dead without You

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To those who say "when there's nothing left but breathing , there's not much quality left,.." let them try to live without breathing.
To those who say "one ought to want more out of life than simply breathing..".they have not realized all that breathing has to offer!  There is no greater treasure!