The Lese of the Ituri Forest raise food in gardens, and they exchange various things for wild animal meat hunted by the Efe (Pygmy) foragers with whom they live in close economic and social association. But the Lese also hunt and gather, to varying degrees, with some individuals never doing it, others often engaged in the process, and among those who are, some degree of speciality. One Lese man I knew hunted only elephants, another mainly fished, and one of the men I most often worked with trapped small forest antelopes using snares. I will call him Marque.
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Tags: Health
The New York Times’ Well blog caught my eye yesterday with an intriguing post connecting good conversation with mental health. It seems that a new study by Matthias Mehl and colleagues in Psychological Science suggests that participants who have more deep, substantive conversations are significantly happier than those who make more “small talk.”
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Kent Heckenlively shows us why AoA is “not anti-vaccine”:
Bruesewitz v. Wyeth has the potential to move all that in a new direction. The National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act simply states, “No vaccine manufacturer shall be liable . . . if the injury or death resulted from side-effect that were unavoidable even though the vaccine was properly prepared and was accompanied by proper directions and warnings.”
What does that mean in plain English? The example I’ve always heard used in reference to such a standard is dynamite. Now we all know what dynamite does. It blows up. So, if you light a stick of dynamite, wait over it, and it blows up, you’re out of luck. By its very nature dynamite is an inherently unsafe product.
But if you have a six-foot fuse, light it, and as you try to run away the fuse burns so quickly that you can’t escape, well, you’re entitled to recovery. Or, if they use substandard chemicals and the dynamite simply blows up while sitting in a box, then you’re entitled to recovery.
You can still sell dynamite. As the manufacturer you just need to sell the safest dynamite you can produce.
To Kent Heckenlively, vaccines are like dynamite; their purpose is to explode and thereby destroy. I find it quite telling that Heckenlively couldn’t think of another example to illustrate his point. I’m surprised he restrained himself not to use another similar example, such as firearms. In any case, note how he chose the example of a product designed to destroy in the context of crowing over a Supreme Court case that, in the unlikely event the plaintiffs prevail, could severely limit the power and scope of the Vaccine Court.
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Tags: Health
Given the resurgence of the mercury militia over the last week or so in response to the Poul Thorsen case, I was amused to have found what looks to me to be the cure for autism.
The cure?
Well, if you’re a member of the mercury militia and believe that thimerosal-containing vaccines cause autism, isn’t the cure obvious? Come on! Think! You must know. Here’s a hint: Similia similibus curentur.
That’s right. We’re talking a 30C dilution of homeopathic thimerosal, baby! Why didn’t anyone think of it before?
Hey, given the vast amount of data refuting the idea that thimerosal in vaccines causes autism, the idea that homeopathic thimerosal should cure autism is about as plausible, right?
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Tags: Health
“I have often heard people express a desire to become more sensitive and compassionate, while confessing that they probably loved themselves too much to succeed in that ambition. In all the cases I have observed, the problem was exactly the reverse. It is because we do not love ourselves enough that our relationships become problematic. Compassion and sensitivity to others are direct by-products of self-love.” –Excerpt from A Heaven on Earth by Jenka
Some months ago, I was sitting in a one-on-one session with my teacher of a few years. We were chatting a bit about my life when she urges me to do something because it will help me become “less self-0bsessed.” I smiled at the time but I fully admit that the comment rankled. Self-obsessed?
Yes, I have made certain life choices — choices that have consequences. I accept these consequences because I actually like the choices I’ve made (and to me the consequences don’t seem bad at all because my decisions were conscious ones). My life suits me and it doesn’t seem to be hurting anyone. Granted, it doesn’t fit neatly into the traditional box, but it works for me. I suppose this is why when people always wonder why I’m so darned happy all of the time I cite the choices that I’ve made. And just like I don’t pooh-pooh the choices that others have made, I don’t appreciate people not respecting my choices.
I’ve seen a lot of respected yoga gurus and teachers fall from grace. GASP — to think that these people are human. That’s the thing about yoga practice — it doesn’t neatly translate to enlightenment, nor does it take away one’s “humanness.” People are still people — they have egos, they make mistakes, they are reactive. I like to think that we simply need to do the best we can (and keep trying to do better).
Yet there’s the trap of spiritual materialism in which we use all of this meditation, yoga, and spirituality to hide behind. Perhaps sitting in meditation all day by oneself in a cave is selfish. Maybe all of this yoga and meditation focuses us too much on the subtle, causing us to forget/dismiss/dishonor the gross — like paying the bills, maintaining a relationship, dealing with co-workers, or raising children. I’ve heard quite a few people say that daily life (with all of it’s routines and minutia) is the real spiritual practice, not locking oneself away from life to focus on yoga and meditation.
Does spirituality, yoga, and/or meditation go hand-in-hand with selfishness? Does focusing on improving oneself mean that you’re self-obsessed? Personally, I like this writing about selfishness and I agree with it. Let’s face it — you can’t control anyone but yourself. I put a high priority on taking care of myself and doing due diligence in regards to my inner landscape — I think it makes me a better person, which ripples out to others. Now maybe these are the rantings of a self-obsessed yogi who engages in spiritual materialism. I’m willing to explore both options.
Sooooo, let’s play a little game of what-do-you-think — how do you see your spiritual practice? Is it something you indulge in for the sake of ego or do you believe it to be something that helps you to become a better person which then has a positive effect on others?
Let’s look at a few examples of walking the line between spirituality and…something else:
- Gurus — Apparently, there’s so much controversy over the validity of gurus that there’s actually a site called Fake Gurus. Many of the most well-known gurus (for example, Yogi Bhajan, Amrit Desai, Osho) are surrounded by controversy. For every believer there’s another person who’s claiming money-hungry BSer.
- Yoga Talent — Some teachers give it away for free while others charge a high price. Other teachers have entourages and now — talent agencies. Yep, Yama Talent, a full-service agency for yoga teachers has officially launched. You may recognize a few of the yogis on the roster. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with a yoga teacher making money. Does this cross the line, however, morphing spiritual practice into business development? Click here to see one yogini’s (who is a client of Yama) thoughts on the subject. Are we using the idea of spreading important teachings to more people as a cover for wanting more exposure and more money?
I’m knocking these thoughts around in my head. Since I’m Italian, I’ll say that I’m marinating (Blogger’s Note: NOT pontificating). I would love to hear what you think. Weigh in with your thoughts. Sometimes it’s the things that press our hot buttons that are the most necessary to dive into.
Namaste!
Tags: Yoga
Yesterday California’s Air Resources Board (ARB) announced a new rebate program, the Clean Vehicle Rebate Program. The program comes with a list of approved vehicles that is curiously short. On the one hand if they had waited a few months to launch the program more electric vehicles are supposed to be available (such as the Volt and Coda) but on the other hand some existing vehicles on the market are not on the list. It’s causing some to ask what’s up with that.
Tags: Miscellaneous
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…this is what happens.
I mean, seriously, look at the control panel on this thing! It has its own “multi-function programmer I think I have equipment in my lab that looks exactly like that!
It’s beautiful and has its own suitcase!
I am in love with these dudes!!
That said, I’m putting the video of The Tender Lover behind the cut because some of you have delicate sensibilities and can’t look at penises at work…
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Tags: Health
