So I'm finding out how difficult it can be to maintain a blog on a daily basis when one is traveling and where one is staying has no wifi.  I finally had my Verizon Mifi fedexed to me and even that has been a challenge in my parents condo where the walls are constructed with approximately three feet of solid concrete.  I added an app on my iPhone called blogpress anticipating this challenge - before I left Albany.  Using it last night took quite a while and the learning curve isn't over.  LOL.

So if you're wondering how yesterday's blog could be a blog when it's simply a title, know that the rest of the data, including a lovely photo of the title star, the Petoskey Stone is looking lovely in my phone.  The stone has quite a history, but I'll save that story for the time I can actually get the photo onto this site.  hehehe.

Petoskey Stone

If you're tracking any of the things I have to say, you know by now I have a high value of humanity - human potential.  I agree with His Holiness the Dalai Lama on his opinion that education and science are the keys to moving us, as humans, to a point of evolution where we no longer violate others - where we are driven by love not fear.  You also know my high opinion of my own mentor in this arena, Keith Raniere.  One of the best moments of my life was when these two leaders, who I hold in such esteem - for the nobility of their activities, their representation of the best of what it is to be human - actually met!  There are a number of things to report on here, but I'm going to start with what His Holiness had to say about my friend, Keith Raniere.  He even accepted the offer to have it be at the introduction of Keith's second book, co-written with Ivy Nevares.  Please visit this new site to hear what the Dalai Lama and others, like Sir Richard Branson, have to say.

Quotes on Science

A dear friend of mine, Brandon Porter, MD, PhD - recently wrote a letter to a fellow scientist, Dr. Dyson, and included these quotes at the end, marking points made in his letter.  I loved them and wanted to share.

Here are the quotes:

“We must regard science, then, from three points of view. First, it is the free activity of man's divine faculties of reason and imagination. Secondly, it is the answer of the few to the demands of the many for wealth, comfort and victory, gifts which it will grant only in exchange for peace, security and stagnation. Finally it is man's gradual conquest, first of space and time, then of matter as such, then of his own body and those of other living beings, and finally the subjugation of the dark and evil elements in his own soul.” - J. B. S. Haldane, "Daedalus, or Science and the Future"

Chapter 24, “The World, The Flesh, and The Devil.” Desmond Bernal’s first book.

“To defeat the Devil, we shall first reorganize society along scientific lines, and later learn to exercise conscious intellectual control over our moods and emotional drives, intervening directly in the affective functions of our brains with technical means yet to be discovered.”

I've started to write something four times and I'm abandoning the effort and handing it to someone else.  Today has been quite an interesting ride to say the least.  I'm looking forward to going to see my family in Florida tomorrow.  With my parents being 83 and 84 years old, it's always a joy just to have the opportunity to see them one more time...

So pearls of wisdom from the Mother Teresa tonight:

Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.

The Animal Rescue Site

Please consider clicking every day (you can receive a reminder email from them) to help feed animals in need.  It only takes a few seconds, and it's free.  I've been doing it for years, since my good friend and fellow animal lover, Crystal, sent me an email about it.   While I'm not, in most cases, an advocate of supporting "causes" that are really effects, with either time or money - I do make exceptions.  I'm as mindful as possible with these decisions and sometimes even reverse them.  Good intent doesn't change the effects of my decisions to actualize my vision of a world of ethical, humanitarian people.  Currently I support this site and PCRM, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.  I also rescued two dogs via Petfinder.com.  More on these things in future posts.  ;)

The advertising sponsors on the front page of The Animal Rescue Site donate the monies for  bowls of food based on number of hits on the site's "click" button, and purchases from the site's merchandise offerings.

I'm so glad someone named Barbara said this:

Traditions are group efforts to keep the unexpected from happening.  

Barbara Tober

The sad truth is that most evil is done by people who never make up their minds to be either good or evil.

          ~Hannah Arendt

Enrollment and Humanity

I am a networker and an enroller, and have been for many years.  These choices for a career have become more of a life path, a journey of Self discovery.  Perhaps one could take any career choice and say this is the case, that such a journey is the key choice in itself.  That said, I maintain that enrollment differs from other career choices in relation to discovering oneself more than most other careers - provides greater opportunities for this noble pursuit.

Why?

I've had a number of wonderful mentors in this arena, but the greatest is unquestionably, Keith Raniere. He's had a lot to say about enrollment in the 20+ years I've known him.  Below are some thoughts taken from notes I wrote during a training in 2003.  It's not an exact quote, but pretty close :

The cross between humanity and living your ideological values is enrolllment. 
Enrollment is recognition of alikeness, of that which would resonate with the other person.  It's bringing internal values into form. 
The Nature of enrollment is humanity and the Nature of humanity is enrollment.

"Humanity is the best of what it is to be human" said my good friend, and the person who best fits this description, in my opinion.  Keith Raniere has spoken on this subject passionately and brilliantly many times since I've known him, but my favorite quote on the subject was on the front of our holiday card one year:

What is the best of being human?

Sharing authentic expressions of joy; noble conduct during most difficult times; respecting all people and all things as sacred parts of ourselves; and vision creating a most beautiful human existence - living each moment with unwavering constancy and determination towards these ends.

His devotion to humanity is impressive, to say the least.  The World Ethical Foundation was founded by Mr. Raniere, along with Sara and Clare Bronfman, and has been applauded for its efforts by both Archbishop Desmond Tutu and His Holiness the Dalai Lama.  To know someone who thinks and acts in the way this man does - with unwavering constancy - has been my greatest honor.

I like to think.  Really think.  But it takes effort, just like all rewarding things.

I also like people who like to think, and do it well.  The top ranking individual in that category for me is Keith Raniere.  One of the world's top three problem-solvers and in the book of Guiness World Records for highest IQ - well, there's evidence I'm not the only one who ranks him this way.  Having the uncommon notion that it's a really great thing to put effort into thinking well, that it's an activity that pays off 'in spades', he discovered a technology in his own thinking time to help anyone who feels like it to be able to think better.  They just need to enroll in the course!  The trademark name is remarkably accurate: Rational Inquiry.  More on this scientific discovery later.

For now, it's good to know that he exists, the discovery exists and it provides a path for joy and ethics that is unparalleled in my search for these things that give human life meaning.

Genetically Modified Humans

It was some time ago I read in a Science magazine how quickly genetic changes occur in a species with the introduction or deletion of even as benign a substance as B6.  The creatures being studied were mice.  The genetic changes, and serious ones, began to happen in just one generation when they were deprived of this critical vitamin.

BASF is a german chemical giant (think German Monsanto) that was just ousted out of doing business in Europe by an enormous public outcry of resistance.  So they moved their headquarters to Raleigh, NC here in the US.  What is their business that Europeans found so upsetting?  They genetically engineer foods.  These GE foods (or GM for genetically modified) are ones we've been consuming for some time now, if you're a consumer of processed foods - at all.  The list of radical damage done to planet and people from this new "food growing technology" is long - and frightening.  If you think it won't affect you because you only eat organic foods, wrong again.  I invite you, once again, to Dr. Mercola's most recent article.  This is huge.  Please note, for those who like the "executive summary" version, he provides one on the right at the start of each of his comprehensive articles.

I love eggs.  I've considered vegan diet (I'm vegetarian for more years than I want to discuss here), but when I think of no eggs and no cottage cheese, my heart droops in sadness.

I shop for foods carefully (and joyfully ;) and eggs are no exception.  I've always been suspicious of the eggs in my local Pricechopper however, even the ones that say "free range" and "organic".  Are the organic ones allowed to roam free and happy, pecking at the bugs and seeds?  Are the free range ones really allowed to?  How do they accomplish this and still turn out such massive numbers of eggs?? It turns out the grounds for my feelings are solid...and not free range.  Just like my suspicions regarding the blanket decision in the medical world that cholesterol is "bad".  Oh, yes, there's a good and a bad cholesterol, but high cholesterol guarantees a sorry fate, so one MUST just bring it down to live long and prosper.  Hahaha.  Not so, my friend.

I invite you, once again, to peruse today's article from number one cyberdoc, Dr. Mercola.  You decide, after educating yourself a wee bit, how you think and feel about the eggs you're putting in your cart and the cholesterol that's gliding through your lovely machinery right now.  I'll bet there's a change in view.

Jane Wagner, a philosopher, said a number of things I'm fond of, and this is a favorite:

I personally think we developed language because of our deep inner need to complain.

I've been exploring some sites that explore justice in commerce, which is to say morality in any exchange.  It has been an area of serious study for me for many years.  I will be sharing the work I find valuable, should anyone be interested in keeping what they have earned to spend in a way that matches their values (as opposed to giving it to others, reacting to fear and lies).  I loved these two quotes that headed the website called Commercial Redemption:

You can ignore reality, but you can't ignore the consequences of ignoring reality. - Ayn Rand

"You can't separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom... Nobody can give you freedom. Nobody can give you equality or justice or anything. If you're a man, you take it." - Malcolm X, 1965

This video was referred to me by a dear friend - with a wonderful sense of humor.   It has become an all-time favorite that comes to mind more often than I should probably admit.  I love it.  If you enjoy Bob Newhart and don't enjoy human behaviors that are nonsense posing as reality, you'll love it, too.  I promise.  It's called STOP IT.  It's an excellent post for The Human Experiment, actually.

I listen to Coleman Barks read Rumi...a LOT.  When I start listening, I don't want to stop.  Last night as I listened I thought I really had to share this poem that is on the CD called I Want Burning.  It's unbelievably beautiful.  It's also a completely different experience to listen to a poem read than it is to read it.  More on that concept later.  Enjoy.

Keep walking.
Don't try to see through the distances.
That's not for Human Beings.
Move within,
But don't
Move the way
Fear makes you move.

Today, like every other day,
We wake up empty and frightened.
Don't open the door to the study and begin reading.
Take down a musical instrument.

Let the beauty we love be what we do.
There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.

Let the beauty we love be what we do.
There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.

Humor is the great thing, the saving thing.  The minute it crops up, all our irritations and resentments slip away and a sunny spirit takes their place.

Mark Twain


Just reading this made me smile.  I had to share. 
Keep smiling.  Good for the soul...
Some days I'm in a consistent state of wonder at my good fortune.  I love that.

By Dr. Mercola

This article continues and is well worth the read.  Click on Dr. Mercola's name for the rest. 

As unbelievable as it sounds, current law makes it illegal for food producers to share certain types of scientific information with you.
So when Diamond Food relayed health information about the omega-3 fats in walnuts on product packaging and also on their Web site, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) attacked.
Even though the information was entirely true, and backed by peer-reviewed scientific research.

If a Food Can Prevent a Disease, it Must be a Drug

This is the backward thinking that goes on at the FDA, where regulations currently prohibit manufacturers of dietary supplements or producers of food from referring to any scientific study documenting the potential effect of the substance on a health condition, punishable by large fines and even jail.
Disclosure about the benefits of a dietary supplement or food, no matter how credible, places the food in the category of an "unapproved drug."
In other words, if a product makes a medical claim, it's automatically classified as a drug.
This is how the FDA got away with sending Diamond Food a warning letter¹, stating:

"… we have determined that your walnut products are promoted for conditions that cause them to be drugs because these products are intended for use in the prevention, mitigation, and treatment of disease.

The following are examples of the claims made on your firm's website under the heading of a web page stating "OMEGA-3s... Every time you munch a few walnuts, you're doing your body a big favor … "

These claims are backed by science², but it doesn't matter under FDA rules, which are so counter to rationality and logic that it boggles the mind.

 Wow.  How true.
Today's world, more than ever before, is a world where critical thinking is a survival necessity.  yet our ability to do so is not only not developed and exercised - but the opposite!  The curriculum I've been fortunate enough to discover and hone my own abilities to be discerning, is so comprehensive, with such integrity, it's a monument of human achievement.  Years ago, a colleague who was head of SUNY Albany Chemistry Department described it perfectly, in my opinion:  Pristine.  The trademarked name of this technology is Rational Inquiry - again, a perfect description.  An extraordinary human, Keith Raniere, is the source of this scientific discovery.  It has influenced my life more than any other single thing, other than being born.  No exaggeration.  Forever indebted and eternally grateful for the benefits I enjoy daily, I spend much of my time doing what I can to somehow use the tools as a small tribute for what I'm enjoying.

Life is so astonishing.
There are moments when things seem so dark to me...yet within the hour I reflect on that intense dark madness with wonder at where it came from...last night, home with my dog friends, I had such moments...

This morning I found a poem by Rumi that expresses it so well:

SOMETIMES
I FORGET COMPLETELY
WHAT COMPANIONSHIP IS.
Unconscious and insane
I spill sad energy everywhere.
My story gets told in various ways:
a romance, a dirty joke,
a war, a vacancy.
Divide up my
forgetfulness
by any number,
it will go around.

These dark suggestions
that I follow,
are they part of some plan?

Friends,
be careful.
Don't
come near me
out of curiosity
or sympathy.

A BLACK SKY
HATES
THE MOON.
I am that dark
nothing. I hate those
in power.
I'm invited in from the
road to the house
but I invent some excuse.
Now I'm angry
at the road.
I don't need love.  Let
someone break me.
I don't want
to hear anyone's trouble.
I've had my chance
for wealth and position.
I don't want those.
I am iron resisting
the most enormous magnet
there is.

-Rumi

Do yourself a favor today and buy the book called The Illuminated Rumi.  Translations by Coleman Barks and illustrations by Michael Green.  Food for the Soul.

Ask any of my friends; it's best not to get me started on certain people or things I'm passionate about.  Case in point: Leonard Cohen.  I have every DVD, CD and book available on or by him; yes, I was on the waiting list for 6 months for his latest one, Old Ideas.  My friend Lauren Salzman reblogged an article from New Yorker on his new release. I love her blog.  http://juanasadiccion.tumblr.com/page/2
  
Four years ago, he had just begun his first tour in over 15 years.  My friend, Pam Cooley, another big Leonard fan, notified me of this exciting news.  Pam's brother, Charlie Cooley, an exceptional Canadian drummer, actually was in the band with Leonard for some televised performances.  He secured us outrageously good tickets in a beautiful theater in Kitchener, Canada just outside of Toronto.  A HIGHLIGHT of my life!  I cried when Leonard walked out on stage...

I have a habit of falling in love with people for their extraordinary expression, deciding I MUST see them or meet them somehow, only to discover they recently left their bodies and this option is no longer available.  I'm not kidding.  This happened with Edgar Cayce, Ayn Rand, Frank McCourt - just to name a few.  I was thrilled to have that NOT be the case with either the Dalai Lama or Leonard Cohen.  So were they, I bet.  Coleman Barks is next - planning for the upcoming summer.  I can't meet Rumi, but Coleman, yes.

Today I'm sharing one of my big favorites of Leonard's on YouTube for all of you romantic souls who "love to love" as Bette Midler said in The Rose...I promise you'll enjoy it.  :))

Another favorite...by another favorite human:

A human being is a part of the whole called by us "universe," a part limited in time and space.  he experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness.  This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us.  Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.

Albert Einstein

 A couple of gems mined from chapter beginnings in the book Dune Messiah.  As the author of the Dune Chronicles, Frank Herbert deserves great tribute for the giant effort of thought required to write this series.  It stands as a monument in the landscape of science fiction, therefore a classic in human philosophy.   The quotes that begin each chapter are written as relative historical comments to the times of these worlds and their humans (or other life forms).

There exists no separation between gods and men; one blends softly casual into the other.
   - Proverbs of Muad'dib

The convoluted wording of legalisms grew up around the necessity to hide from ourselves the violence we intend toward each other.  Between depriving a man of one hour from his life and depriving him of his life there exists only a difference of degree.  You have done violence to him, consumed his energy.  Elaborate euphemisms may concealyour intent to kill, but behind any use of power over another the ultimate assumption remains: "I feed on your energy."

- Addenda to Orders in Council
  The Emperor Paul Muad'dib

Whoever said dogs don't have emotions hasn't heard Tucker sing the blues.  I laughed so hard I cried the first time I watched this - then I watched it another 10 times or so.  Yes, I like to laugh.  It's only 60 seconds.  I hope you enjoy (perhaps again ;)