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sugar is the devil

Sugar is the most widely accepted dangerous drug of all time. It makes children turn into angry little pixies running amuck (ok and me too), it causes diabetes, hypoglycemia, inflamation, acne, and many other conditions. (Great book to read- anything by Nicholas Perricone). Yet like an abusive lover it is hard to turn away, it has beaten us down from an early age and when the ice cream truck sings down the street, or someone gives you a box of chocolates, an uncontrollable illness almost makes it impossible to not inhale them at once.

To fight this innate obsession people can turn to stevia. There are a few different brands of this plant sweetener, which is very popular in South America where it grows. My favorite company is Stevita Co. Their products taste the most like sugar, (some brands have a licorice hint which is hard to ignore). This brand is sold in stores but they sell it online for much cheaper. They sell the sweetener in packet form, in shakers, with chocolate and other flavoring and you can feel good about putting something in your refreshments that is good for you not poisonous chemicals.

Check it out www.stevitastevia.com . Just don’t buy it all! I will turn into a very naughty pixie if I can’t keep getting my fresh supply…

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free credit report!

Did you know that Americans are now entitled to a free credit report once per year from the 3 major credit bureaus? It’s a good idea to check your files to make sure there is nothing in there that doesn’t belong. With fraud and banks/creditors not following through and keeping your payment and account information current, it is your responsibility to watch your own back and keep your credit file up-to-date.

Make a cup of tea or coffee and follow the link below. There is absolutely no cost for the peace of mind of knowing that your credit report is on track and correct.

How do I know this link really works? I just pulled my credit files 10 minutes ago. What are you waiting for?

Annual Credit Report

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The secret shame of e-bay shopping

I will not lie. Prior to this year I believed E-Bay to be some sort of weird-partial scam. Being a native New Yorker and inclined to skepticism I did not understand how people could create transactions with no face to face verification. The whole thing seemed like a bizarre trust cycle amongst suburbans that I did not want to get involved with- positive that I would be tricked and pay for something that never came.

I will now secretly admit that I have bid on a few items and they arrived in perfect condition. A leather bag that is really beautiful and has received more complements than bags that I paid full price for. Computer software at half the price that is exactly what I hoped for: brand new and functioning brilliantly.

I don’t really know how I have lucked out but perhaps this system is not a conspiracy to cheat people out of their money… Maybe it is a genius idea. It is worth a shot, for items that you want but don’t want to splurge on could arrive at your door for much less…

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Libraries

The library system, started by Benjamin Franklin in Philadelphia two hundred + years ago, is a luxury easily forgotten. However, anyone who has bought a book at Barnes & Nobles lately knows that keeping up with novels you want to read can be a pricey venture, until you decide to pay your ten dollar fine in overdue books and go back to the building of free books.

Did you know that the New York Public Library would deliver a requested book to your branch? I think they have always had this service but now with a few clicks online it’s even easier. You can log online via the barcode on your card, and click on the book you want and tell them which branch you’d like to pick them up at. Then they send you an email (if you sign up for that feature) to tell you when it has arrived. The current bestsellers don’t always take that long since they are more of them in circulation.

You pay taxes, take advantage!

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hemp make it your new friend

I recently read that hemp is the only plant which the body can process protein from just as meat products. This is key to anyone who is trying to build lean muscle mass and shrink body fat. Of course, hemp is also more expensive since the government restricts its growth here in the U.S. and so it has sometimes been imported. But- it is still more economical per protein amount in comparison to meat and is obviously better for the body. Yea for hemp!
Any further facts about hemp would be much appreciated.

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The Dud Avocado

The Dud Avocado is an nyrb classics book. It follows the year of a 21 year old American girl in Paris in the 1950’s. The voice of the book almost seems to read like a diary, disclosing pieces of; wild nights out with friends, drives down to the beach, run-ins with crazy mafia gigalos and romantic entanglements.
It is a hilarious, but written as though only with serious intentions. Quickly though, readers see that it is supposed to be read like a lesson book. The parody of Sally Jay’s occasional lack of sophistication is juxtaposed with the lack of sincerity in her European counterparts. But, the lessons learned provide an abundance of entertainment.
Charming story and wonderful re-release.

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part of the journey

Do you think about death – your own – every so often? Not to be morbid or dampen your day in any way, but, since death is a part of life, to be comfortable with it makes sense. The ancient truths are there to guide us, and now, more than ever before, there are many books on this subject in most bookshops. And that’s great since there are many benefits from getting acquainted with death, and believing and trusting that it’s simply one of the routes we naturally take as part of our journey. Being comfortable with the fact that we’re not here to stay, at least in the same form, in no way subtracts from our present life; it enriches it, and life becomes sweeter when we understand and accept. To realize that it’s a natural part of life, brings new meaning to life. If we’ve given no thought to death, if it takes us by surprise, it can set us back and take awhile for us to get our bearings.

In one of Osho’s books, he’s written that sound is the first sense to enter at birth and the last to leave us at death. When I read that I thought of the times I was at the bedside of someone I loved who was dying. It seemed even though the person was more on the other side than this side, somehow s/he was listening and understanding. My father was in a coma during the last hours before he died. In his room at that time was an older nurse, and when my sister and I arrived. she saw us wondering what we could do for him, and suddenly she said, “Go on talk to him. I’ve been a nurse for many years. I know he’ll hear you.” So we did. On looking back to that time, I sensed she was right. After my father’s death I read LIFE AFTER LIFE by Dr.Raymond Moody. At the time, it was just what I needed. And sometime after I picked up MANY LIVES MANY MASTERS by Dr. Brian Weiss.
www.osho.com
www.lifeafterlife.com
www.brianweiss.com

At my cousin Viv’s apartment in NH, I saw on a bookshelf, LIFE AFTER DEATH THE BURDEN OF PROOF by Deepak Chopra. In this book he touches upon things he learned growing up in India. Dr. Chopra writes, “The soul’s trajectory is always upward. Any suffering on the astral plane, even the most tormenting hell, is only a temporary detour. . . . and he says, “. . . that reminds me of what we can choose to bring to dying. Grace, calm, a patient acceptance of what’s to come: These are all qualities that can be cultivated, and when they are, death is a test we will not fail. Our fault is not that we fear death but that we don’t respect it as a miracle.” And also, “Right here and now we are surrounded by an infinity of planes. If you could shift your awareness into a higher frequency, you could be with the angels this very minute, . . . .” www.chopra.com

Michael Roll: The Scientific and Rationalist Case for Life after Death, has some very interesting things to say in a video on the website www.rense.com. www.cfpf.org.uk

There are numerous excellent books about death on the shelves of all those bookshops. Which one would call to you should you go looking?

“Impermanence is the universal law.” -Swami Bashkarananda to Alexandra David-Neel
www.alexandra-david-neel.org

“Make the universe your companion, always bearing in mind the true nature of all creation-mountains and rivers, trees and grasses, and humankind. . . .” Matsuo Basho, poet-pilgrim 17th century

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trying to understand

On Stuart Wilde’s website, www.stuartwilde.com, I came across a site he recommends: www.rense.com. I figure it’s vital to try to understand what’s happening in the world, you know, hear the nitty-gritty of all sides. To do this it’s necessary to garner different opinions, well-researched opinions. And SW’s recommendations are reliable. Feast your eyes on www.rense.com, the whole of it, scroll the list of articles and videos. What do you fancy reading? There’s nothing to lose in reading and thinking differently. We can see things more clearly when we get away from the usual and go down a different path. Another perspective is refreshing; there’s always something new-lots-to know and understand about the world we all live in.

Lately I’ve been thinking about those people who are running for the White House. They are planning on spending a billion or so dollars to do this. How about that! There’s so much to learn about the world, and there are times when it’s necessary to go to different sources for this, to stray a bit from the run-of-the-mill stuff.

On to another subject: do you know that Jung said he wished he had fifty years to study the I Ching? I had the book at one time, but wasn’t prepared to delve into it then. I’m ready now. My first I Ching book was by RIchard Wilhelm and I saw his name on TGShiddenmysteries. So I googled Richard Wilhelm, then clicked on RIchard Wilhelm the Marco Polo of the Inner World of China. It said of Richard Wilhelm, among other things, “his 1923 translation of I Ching stands head and shoulders above the rest.”

This from youtube in referring to the industrial revolution, “2007 the world population surpasses 6.6 billion as the majority of people now live in cities than in rural areas, changing patterns of land use.” Whew! Speaking of numbers, a lot is being written about the great numbers of tourists traveling the world and that many World Heritage sites are being damaged. The Nov/Dec 2006 National Geographic Traveler had a lengthy article on World Heritage sites, 830 of them, and how they’re managing, or not, with the vast numbers of tourists visiting them daily. People are in the world and enjoy traveling. What’s the answer to this? Well, it seems to center on the countries where the World Heritage sites are located taking greater responsibility for the guardianship and upkeep of these sites. And we, too, as tourists, need to be mindful of how we traipse on these sites, how we use the land when visiting.

Ah, what a gripping, captivating, fascinating, thought-provoking, certainly not boring, world it is!

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my architect-a story about a son’s journey

My Architect is an inspiring documentary about a son wanting to know his father, the architect Lou Kahn, who died alone in the men’s restroom at Penn Station in NYC without any identification. This fascinating man traveled extensively, designed beautiful buildings around the world; seemed to be appreciated and understood more so in the east than in the west; was the father of three children, and was loved by his wife who said, “Lou owned nothing, books and that sort of thing. He didn’t care about money.” She went on to say that, “he could have been a billionaire, but. . . .”  He also had two mistresses who loved him, and two children from those two relationships.

Nearing the end of the movie there’s an interview with Indian architect B.V. Doshi, who said to the son, Nathaniel, that, “Lou had reached that state of superconsciousness where for him everything was alive, and everything was in the state of transformation. . . .”

Israeli-born architect, Moshe Safdie said of Lou Kahn, “. . . he was a very spiritual person . . .  ” and, “he was a real nomad and as tragic as his death was in a railroad station, it was so consistent with his life.” After watching the movie I sensed that if Lou Kahn were to send word to us, he’d probably say he had no problem with dying alone at Penn Station.

Architect , Shamsul Wares when interviewed in Dhaka, Bangladesh cried as he spoke of him, and had extraordinary things to say about Lou Kahn, the man, the architect, the nomad, and the way he lived his life.

We follow Nathaniel as he pieces together the life of his father. Through numerous interviews, and journeys around the world, and in seeing the beauty in the magnificent buildings his father designed, he finally understood his father . . . well, as much as anyone can understand another.

This is not a razzmatazz, can’t catch your breath kind of movie. Rather it’s about a wildly interesting man who lived life on his own terms.

it’s a beautifully-made documentary. Good job Nathaniel.

******* ******* ******* ******* ******* ******* *******

“The real does not die, the unreal never lived. Set your mind right and all will be right. When you know that the world is one, that humanity is one, you will act accordingly. But first of all you must attend to the way you feel, think and live. Unless there is order in yourself, there can be no order in the world.”  –  Nisargadatta Maharaj

 

 

 

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mr. moody

You don’t know the person we’re going to discuss here, so I feel I can write freely. And if he were to read this, there’s a good chance he wouldn’t think this was about him. I’ve known him for a awhile. Actually I met him abroad and we’re email friends at the moment. However, the relationship is a tiring one because from one day to the next his mood changes, and you don’t know where you fit insofar as his thoughts go. It could be pleasant; it could be stressful. Probably we all know someone who tends to cause havoc merely by the way s/he internalizes. They stress over something that should have been forgiven and forgotten. There are many things he should have, could have, forgiven and forgotten by now. Yet these things return like waves upon the ocean. In the past, we’ve had conversations about this, but always with him you’re right back where you started. I’m ready to throw him overboard, or at least delete his emails.

Is it a big ego that clouds his capacity to see that there’s no time to sulk in this life? Or is it the opposite, his little feelings about himself keep him focused on himself. Geez, whatever it is, he’s got to find a way to stop the nonsense. His children are all adults. He has money; you could say he’s living the good life. So, why not enjoy it all? Life should/could be wonderful for him.

I’m not being unkind; he’s had many chances to change. I think it’s rather important to walk away from someone who refuses to forgive and forget. Anyway, I’ve a feeling that people have had to forgive and forget many times over in their relationship with Mr. Moody. Ah, when I think of all the exciting emails he could be writing because his life should/could be fantastic – if he’d just get out of his head.

I’ve made a pact with myself and it’s this: If I have to, I’ll forgive and forget over and over, and I’ll live life this way til the day I breathe my last breath. Life is a work of art in progress, and it shouldn’t become joyless and heavy. What’s the point in wasting our precious energy by being mumpish?