Beauty in Modern Day Society

I was sent this article by a friend of mine, and so empathised with it that I wished to share it.

Arkiv
Behovet for skjønnhet vs kulten av det uskjønne
By Hans Rustadon Desember 24, 2009 11:41 FM | Permalink | Comments (1)
By ROGER SCRUTON


When asked by the BBC to make a film about beauty, my first instinct was to present all the wonderful works of art and music, the magnificent buildings and landscapes, the glorious variety of animals and birds, which have shone a light of beauty in my life.

To share with others these things that I love would surely bring pleasure and knowledge to my audience, as well as consolation to me - for when people share things they value, they, too, are comforted.



Notorious: Tracey Emin's My Bed which was created in 1998

But as I worked on the script, I was constantly troubled by the thought that beauty seems no longer to have the significance that once it had.

In the modern age, we are surrounded by man-made ugliness. And artists, who used to devote their efforts to idealising the human form, to recording the charms of nature and bringing order and beauty to our sorrows, are no longer interested in those tasks.

Galleries of contemporary art are filled with the debris of modern life, with subhuman figures purposefully designed to demean and desecrate the human image and with ludicrous installations that mean nothing at all.

This lapse into ugliness is nowhere more apparent or more intrusive than in the desolate city centres produced by modern architects.

Art today is sponsored by the likes of wealthy collector Charles Saatchi who championed Damien Hirst. Here, at the Saatchi gallery is Ron Mueck's 'Dead Dad' (front) and Damien Hirst's 'The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind', portraying a shark within glass, steel, silicone and formaldehyde

In the programme, I decided that I should show one of these wastelands, and so took the film crew with me to Reading, the town in whose shadow I grew up.

As I looked around the centre, I recognised nothing that I had known. Gone were the lovely Victorian terrace streets, elegant public buildings and smart hotels. In their place were huge, grey, concrete slabs. The welcoming surroundings of the old town centre had been replaced by buildings deemed to be 'useful'.


And the most striking fact - which I immediately decided should form the theme of my film - was that these 'useful' buildings were, in fact, entirely useless.

Constructed to house office blocks, a shopping centre, a bus station and car parks, they were now boarded up and crumbling. Walls were plastered with graffiti, and doors and windows vandalised - though I don't blame the vandals for finishing the job that the architects began.

What happened to Reading happened to Birmingham and Coventry, to Newcastle, to Liverpool and Leeds and a hundred other once-beautiful towns - the wholesale demolition of genial streets, and their replacement by buildings deemed to be functional, which lost their function in a matter of years.

The point is that there is a deep human need for beauty, and if you ignore that need in architecture, your buildings will not last, since people will never feel at home in them. Indeed, the only beings at home in the decaying part of Reading I visited were the pigeons fouling the pavements.

This triumph of 'function' over form in recent decades has dehumanised our towns and cities. But it is not only architecture that has drifted away from beauty. Contemporary art has made a cult of ugliness, and artists vie with each other in the game of putting the human face on display and throwing dung at it.

Not all artists, of course: there is still beautiful art today as there has always been. But such art remains below the horizon of official patronage.

Official art today is the art sponsored and encouraged by the likes of the wealthy collector Charles Saatchi, who championed Damien Hirst and his cadavers of cows, calves and pickled sharks.

It is the art favoured by the Tate's director, Nicholas Serota - not an idealisation of life, but one of life's sordid off-shoots, like Tracey Emin's notorious My Bed, an installation of an unmade bed complete with condoms, underpants and empty vodka bottles.

We should not think that these changes in the world of art - which have been paralleled, too, in the worlds of music and literature - are without significance.

What we look at, listen to and read affects us in the deepest part of our being. Once we start to celebrate ugliness, then we become ugly, too. Just as art and architecture have uglified themselves, so have our manners, our relationships and our language become crude.

Without the guidance offered by beauty and good taste, we find it difficult to relate to each other in a natural or graceful way. Society itself becomes fractured and atomised.

This official uglification of our world is the work of the ivory-towered elites of the liberal classes - people who have little sympathy for how the rest of us live and who, with their mania for modernising, are happy to rip up beliefs that have stood the test of time for millennia.

What they forget is that ordinary people hunger for beauty as they have always hungered, for beauty is the voice of comfort, the voice of home.

When a lovely melody, a sublime landscape or a passage of exquisite poetry comes before your senses and your mind, you know that you are at home in the world. Beauty is the voice that settles us, the assurance that we belong among others, in a place of sharing and consolation.

By contrast, the ugly art and architecture of today divides society rather than bringing it together. Written across so much of it is the word 'me'. Beauty is not popular among professional architects - it suggests a scaling down of 'artistic' pretentions for the sake of people whom they don't need to know.

The images of brutality and destruction in modern art, the tales of vicious and repugnant ways of life in today's novels, the violent and harrowing music of our age - all these are forms of egotism, ways in which insignificant people draw attention to themselves by standing ostentatiously apart from the majority of us who crave beauty.

Over the decades, this has produced both weariness and brutalisation in society, yet the critics still go along with it. And to gain favour from the critics today, you must avoid making something beautiful.

This flies in history's face. The most sublime representations of the human form we owe to the pagan gods of antiquity. We are in awe of those statues of Apollo and Venus which adorned ancient temples.

Our tradition of painting is owed to the Church and the icons that have illuminated Christian worship. You don't have to be a religious believer to appreciate the ecstasy of a Madonna by Bellini or Raphael, or the tranquillity of a temple Buddha.

Through so much human existence, art has sanctified the world, even in the eyes of those without religious faith. And when the scientific revolution of the 17th century cast doubt on the old Christian idea of a God-centred universe, artists sought to renew their faith through the beauty that surrounded them in the landscapes of nature.

Yet as society has become more urban and less religious, the cult of ugliness has taken hold. It can be no coincidence that it has come at a time of unprecedented prosperity.

Ugly modern art is produced by the pampered children of the democratic state, who have never had to struggle, who have not known war and who have entered at the earliest age into the lap of luxury.

Maybe we can live with their rubbish - after all, we don't have to frequent the museums and galleries where it is displayed. But modern architecture is unavoidable.

Nowhere do we feel the need for beauty more vividly than in these vast, supposedly functional, buildings. Without ornament, grandeur, style or dignity, a building is opaque to us. We cannot find our way around it. Nothing seems to face us, to beckon to us, to welcome us. When we enter such a building, we are immediately lost.

Here we should contrast the old railway stations such as Paddington and St Pancras. The architecture is noble, serene, upright. The spaces open before you. Everything is picked out with ornamental details. You are at home here, and you have no difficulty finding the ticket office, the platform or the way through the crowds.

I end my film with a tribute to St Pancras - a performance of Pergolesi's sublime Stabat Mater, beautifully sung in the great arched spaces of that fine old building, made useful again by the Eurostar. Useful and loved because it is beautiful.


• Roger Scruton's Why Beauty Matters was part of BBC2's modern beauty season. You can see it on BBC iPlayer until December 5.


The modern cult of ugliness: With desolate city centres and sordid 'art' like Tracey Emin's, ROGER SCRUTON says the death of beauty in modern Britain is making us all ugly too



Posted by Hans Rustad on Desember 24, 2009 11:41 FM | Permalink

Mammograms cause breast cancer

Mammograms cause breast cancer, groundbreaking new research declares

by S. L. Baker, features writer

(NaturalNews) Ever since the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force took a look, finally, at the scientific evidence and announced new recommendations earlier this month for routine mammograms -- specifically that women under 50 should avoid them and women over 50 should only get them every other year -- the reactions from many women, doctors and the mainstream media have reached the point of near hysteria (http://www.naturalnews.com/027558_m...). Not getting annual mammograms, some say, means countless women will receive a virtual death sentence because their breast tumors won't be discovered. But what is rarely discussed about mammograms is this: the tests could actually be causing many cases of breast cancer.

In fact, a new study just presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), concludes the low-dose radiation from annual mammography screening significantly increases breast cancer risk in women with a genetic or familial predisposition to breast cancer. This is particularly worrisome because women who are at high risk for breast cancer are regularly pushed to start mammograms at a younger age -- as early as 25 -- and that means they are exposed to more radiation from mammography earlier and for more years than women who don't have breast cancer in their family trees.

"For women at high risk for breast cancer, screening is very important, but a careful approach should be taken when considering mammography for screening young women, particularly under age 30," Marijke C. Jansen-van der Weide, Ph.D., an epidemiologist in the Department of Epidemiology and Radiology at University Medical Center Groningen in the Netherlands, said in a statement to the media. "Further, repeated exposure to low-dose radiation should be avoided."

Dr. Jansen-van der Weide and colleagues analyzed peer-reviewed, published medical research to investigate whether low-dose radiation exposure affects breast cancer risk among high-risk women. Out of the six studies included in this analysis, four looked at the effect of exposure to low-dose radiation among breast cancer gene mutation carriers. The other two studies traced the impact of radiation on women with a family history of breast cancer. The researchers took the combined data from all these research projects and then calculated odds ratios to estimate the risk of breast cancer caused by radiation.

The results? All the high-risk women in the study who were exposed to low-dose mammography type radiation had an increased risk of breast cancer that was 1.5 times greater than that of high-risk women who had not been exposed to low-dose radiation. What's more, women at high risk for breast cancer who had been exposed to low-dose radiation before the age of 20 or who had five or more exposures to low-dose radiation were 2.5 times more likely to develop breast cancer than high-risk women not exposed to low-dose radiation.

Bottom line: any supposed benefit of early tumor detection using mammograms in young women with familial or genetic predisposition to breast cancer is offset by the potential risk of radiation-induced cancer. "Our findings suggest that low-dose radiation increases breast cancer risk among these young high-risk women, and a careful approach is warranted," Dr. Jansen-van der Weide said in the press statement.

The mammogram scam exposed

Incredibly, although it is rarely reported in the mainstream media, the new study follows on the heels of several others that have already sounded the warning that mammograms may cause breast cancer. For example, NaturalNews covered a Johns Hopkins study published earlier this year in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (http://www.naturalnews.com/025560_c...) that warned radiation exposure from annual mammograms could trigger breast malignancies in women with a strong family history of breast and/or ovarian cancers who have altered genes (identified as BRCA1 or BRCA2).

And it may not be only women with a familial risk for breast cancer who are at extra risk from mammography radiation. As NaturalNews covered last year, a report published in the American Medical Association's Archives of Internal Medicine found breast cancer rates increased significantly in four Norwegian counties after women there began getting mammograms every two years. In fact, the start of screening mammography programs throughout Europe has been linked to an increased incidence of breast cancer (http://www.naturalnews.com/024901.html).

Comments by the Health Ranger, Editor of NaturalNews.com

Mammogram pushers now have nothing left to stand on. The complete and utter hoax of mammography has now been wholly discredited through a flurry of groundbreaking studies performed by conventional medicine researchers! Yes, even the industry's own former advocates now admit mammography harms far more women than it helps.

Why? Because mammography causes the very disease it claims to "detect". It's much like a clever sleight-of-hand magician's trick where they reach for your ear and suddenly produce a coin that was presumably hidden there. But as everybody knows, they put it there themselves! Mammograms offer a similar kind of sleight-of-hand trick (or sleight-of-breast, as the case may be) by actually generating the very disease they claim to find. If so many women hadn't already been harmed by mammography, the whole thing would be quite hysterical.

"Early detection saves lives," they say. Except they stupidly forget to tell women the other side of the story: "Mammograms cause cancer." And if you're gullible enough to actually irradiate your breasts every year, don't be surprised -- shocked! -- if they someday find tumors in them.

For more information:
http://www.naturalnews.com/mammogra...

Scientists Believe Your Cell Phone Is a Death Trap

As I am sure you are all aware, I do not have a cell phone, nor do I recommend their use. By reading the following article you will be able to see many of the reasons that I not do so


http://emf.mercola.com/sites/emf/archive/2009/12/01/Leading-Experts-Give-Advice-on-How-to-Reduce-Your-EMF-Risk.aspx

GE Corn Health Concerns

New health evidence sparks call for ban on GE corn and better food labelling

Sydney Thursday November 12, 2009: A type of genetically engineered (GE) corn approved for human consumption in Australia has now been linked to increased risk of developing chronic kidney and heart disease. High Lysine corn LY038 was also withdrawn from commercial development in Europe because of safety concerns.

Greenpeace calls on our food regulator – Food Standards Australia and New Zealand to immediately review its approval of Monsanto’s LY038 GE corn for human consumption, in light of this new evidence of health risks, published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.

“The Food Labelling Review being chaired by Dr Neal Blewitt must take note of this case as an example of why we need to improve the labelling of genetically engineered ingredients,” said Greenpeace GE campaigner Laura Kelly. “It’s also time for an end to the rubber stamp approach FSANZ takes with applications for genetically engineered food products. For a start FSANZ should immediately review it’s approval of LY038 and properly consider the health risks.”

“This case indicates a serious regulatory failure by the Federal Government,” continued Ms Kelly. “Parliamentary Secretary for Health Mark Butler must be held accountable for any health impacts Australians suffer from eating genetically engineered food. This latest research shows these health impacts could be serious.”

The research published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism reaffirms that compounds found in high lysine corn called “advanced glycation endproducts”, or AGEs, “are pathogenic…suggesting that dietary AGEs are directly linked to increased [oxidative stress] and the risk of developing CKD [chronic kidney disease] and CVD [cardiovascular disease].” (1)

Dr Jack Heinemann of New Zealand’s Centre for Integrated Research in Biosafety (INBI) had warned FSANZ of the health risks associated with this type of high lycine corn, and says there is no excuse for its continued approval for human consumption.

“FSANZ knows that there are strong links between dietary AGEs and certain human diseases but it hasn’t even asked for a list of novel compounds that may appear in this corn much less attempted to evaluate their safety through scientific tests,” said Dr Heinemann.

When the European Food Safety Authority asked the developer, Monsanto/Renessen, to supply additional scientific information that this corn will be safe for humans to eat. Monsanto pulled the development of GE high lysine corn.

(1) Helen Vlassara, et al. Protection against Loss of Innate Defenses in Adulthood by Low Advanced Glycation End Products (AGE) Intake: Role of the Antiinflammatory AGE Receptor-1

J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., Nov 2009; 94: 4483 - 4491.

Contact:

Greenpeace GE campaigner Laura Kelly ph: 0407 414 572

Media Manager Carolin Wenzel ph: 0417 668 957

Jack Heinemann, INBI ph: 0011 64 3 364 2500

Farm Update Oct. 09

Having, at last, completed the clearing of the old nursery where it is now ready to build the new shade houses for the growing of our vegetables in the cooler months, and for our new trees for the orchard, I have commenced on their erection. This is achieved in a similar way to our trelliss' on which we grow our passion fruit, only they are much lower. In this instance the star pickets are much shorter, with the width spanned by the poly-piping being almost half as wide again. After the main structure is erected and covered with wire mesh, this is then covered by shade cloth. For whereas in the cooler climates structures of this nature are used to maximise the benefits of sunlight, and often referred to as hot-houses, in the tropics the opposite effects is required, that is, to lessen the effects of the sunlight by the use of shade-cloth, and could well be called cool-houses, as this is the effect that is desired.

Speaking of trellis' here is to be seen some of the passion fruit vines that have survived the depredations of the roaming cattle, and lo and behold they have set passion fruit. I must admit that I had given up all hope of this occurring, for the damage to the vines was massive with at least 60% being eaten completely out. And those that had survived were a sore sight to see.



The new papaya patch has now been completed and fully planted. Between each papaya tree I am growing tomatoes and beans. All being well the new papayas will be ready as the older planting is commencing to produce less fruit. And the new tomatoes will also be ripening as the old bushes come to the end of their lives. I have never tried to grow beans before at this time of the year. The nurserymen say it is possible to do so. I will keep you posted.




And speaking of tomatoes, Here is today's harvest. Well most of it to be precise, for I also picked a bowl full separately. As can be seen we have an abundant supply at the moment.





The persimmon tree was so badly effected that I was very surprised when it commenced to shoot from the old roots. And now we are being blessed with the first crop, with the new fruit just setting.





Last, but not least, the Brazillian Cherries have just about completed their season. They are a small fruit born on a shrubby bush which grows to an average height of five to six feet. The fruit is quite tart, being almost sweet when fully ripe. They are very thirst quenching.



This is a brief addendum on the building of the shade houses for the vegetables. The previous garden edgings/borders, to the beds had in some instances been burnt out and required replacing before erecting the superstructure. Fortunately off-cuts from a nearby saw-mill were available just for the collecting so it was only a matter of driving over in the van and rummaging through the heap to find suitable lengths.




The longest, and the hardest part of the whole operation is/was the placement of them in the required position. This necessitated digging out the required trench into which they were then fitted and the soil then back-filled.

Jim's Story. My Process of Healing.

Nature's way is always towards healing, but sometimes it takes a crisis for us to realize that fully.
After a serious head injury at work( I work on a farm in rural Victoria) I found myself battling all the traumas and many of the side effects of amnesia. The heartbreak of not knowing on's partner, not recognising or knowing the bond with one's kids, or even one's own world, floundering with poor co-ordination, slow reactions, interrupted sleep, very poor concentration and a general lack of mental speed - all these things and many others, just tore me to pieces. I can't tell you how many x-rays, MRI's and tests I endured - I'm just glad I don't really remember them all. My problem seemed to be that there was nothing definitely wrong - I just didn't work like I used to - however that was? Yep, this Humpty Dumpty couldn't be put back together. Regardless, I knew there was something haywire, even if the scans all showed that I was OK.

Any-way I managed to get some of my life back together, fall in love(again) with the partner whom I didn't remember, and together(maintained by her strength and love), we tried to pretend we were healthy. But then again, most people pretend about health these days. You know, sometimes "acting as if", is not the best way of finding true health.

Well when I started having weird stuff happen with my vision and my balance I became really worried, I did not want to pursue that medical treadmill again, so I started to do some seeking of my own.

I discovered that the body will always heal itself if left to itself and if supplied with suitable nutrition and care. So I figured diet had to be my first change. I wanted to get maximum nutruition - isn't that the real purpose of eating? So Iwent 100% raw food. Thress months later I decided that I wanted to help my healing by going on a fast. I wanted some guidance here. I had read that stuff can bubble up during a fast, so I searched for help. I found John Fielder and the Clohesy River Health Farm. I found out that John was no phoney - he had lived this healthy life style for fourty years or more. So I decided to do a ten day fast at the Clohesy River Heaqlth Farm. Now that is a big step for some-one who had very little money, and who had not been away from his partner for even a moment in two and a half years.

Yes the fast was costly in lots of ways, but it has been well worth it. Others I spoke with who had undertaken fasts in other places, or even at home, said they were nothing like a fast under John Fielder. Fasting is about resting and allowing your body to do its own thing, and that's what Clohesy's all about. It is intense and wholly beneficial. I felt that John was truly showing me the essentials of healthy livinh. His words were full of meaning, coming from some-one who had lived this simple, caring way for over 40 years.

Other places may have the facilities, all turned on with all the "mod cons".( If you want them, then go to a motel), but then the essence, and the power of healing may very well get lost. There is a reason that John insists on no radios, no TV's, and no cosmetics. There is a reason that Clohesy is out in the bush and not huddled inside a city. There's a reasonthat we are taught to embracethe real needs in this time of healing. That reason is to ensure that we rest totally and that the fast is as effective as possible.

Now that I have travelled the Fielder way, I can see the sense of it. I can see the power and the message and the healing that John is directing me to. John's daily consultations allowed me to ask a thousand questions, and always his answers and direction sent me away with more to think about, and with another piece to the puzzle. Healing is not about taking a pill, or throwing a switch. It is not and instant, just add water and swallow this. Healing is about working to assist your body, your healing centre to do its thing. Healing is a wonderful, powerful patient process. When one leaves John's care one knows that healing is what life's entire experience is about.

As for results..... well on day 5 of my fast my arthriric pains in my knees and elbows began to disappear. I haven't had a single wobbly weird vision thing since - and I was having up to 40 per week. My eyes are clearing( I apparently always had blood-shot eyes) . On day 9 of the fast I slept for 5 hours without waking - that was the first since my accident. Constant interrupted sleep has been my norm for three years.

Now my mind is full of the desire to do things. I can feel it working again. No I have not regained my memory again yet, but as John has taught me, healing is a slow process, and I'm on that healing road now. I know I am! I'm trying to apply all the stuff John has taught me, and I still have a great deal of tweaking to do.

One thing I do know - this entire experience has been a great stride toward health, and it has taught me that my body can heal itself, and that it doesn't make mistakes. In fact it even fixes up all the mistakes I make. So armed with what John has taught me, I'm journeying on and I am just so excited about every single day now.

Artificial-Sweeteners-More-Dangerous-than-You-Ever-Imagined.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/10/13/Artificial-Sweeteners-More-Dangerous-than-You-Ever-Imagined.aspx

Banning Bottled Water

September 26, 2009 05:07pm

THE very last bottle of still water has been run out of Bundanoon in the New South Wales Southern Highlands, as the sleepy hamlet officially became the world's first town to boycott bottled H2O.

The residents of Bundanoon in July voted 355 to one to ban commercially bottled water, in an effort to reduce the town's carbon footprint.

Bundanoon launched the Bundy-on-Tap initiative at a parade and an official switchover today, attended by 400 locals and visitors. Free water stations on the main street and school were turned on for the first time, while Bundy-on-Tap reusable bottles went on sale across the town.

The four water stations will be open 24 hours a day.

Free chilled water will also be available in the town's stores.

Bundy-on-Tap organiser and local businessman Huw Kingston said it was a proud day for Bundanoon, a couple of hours south-west of Sydney.

"From something to go from an idea to reality, I think there is a lot of pride in the town today," he told AAP.

Mr Kingston said the ban had put Bundanoon "on the map", and he was confident it would inspire other towns to adopt similar boycotts.

"It is catching on - there are a lot of towns worldwide that have been in touch about this, and obviously we're happy to help as a small community," he said.

Home Pesticides Linked to Childhood Cancers

by S. L. Baker, features writer

(NaturalNews) Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), a malignant disease of the bone marrow, is the most common cancer diagnosed in children. In fact, nearly one third of all pediatric cancers are cases of ALL. Although this form of cancer can be cured in many cases, in the worst case scenarios the cancer crowds out normal cells in the bone marrow, metastasizes to other organs and takes the lives of about 15 percent of the youngsters it attacks. What triggers so many kids, usually between the ages of three and seven, to develop this cancer in the first place? A new study just published in the August issue of the journal Therapeutic Drug Monitoring raises the suspicion that commonly used household pesticides are the cause.

Previous studies in agricultural areas of the US have shown strong associations between pesticides and childhood cancers but this is the first research conducted in a large, urban area to look at the connection. The study, conducted between January of 2005 and January of 2008, involved 41 pairs of children with ALL and their mothers and a control group of 41 matched pairs of healthy children and their mothers. The volunteer research subjects were all from Lombardi and Children's National Medical Center and lived in the Washington metropolitan area.

Urine samples collected from the children and their mothers were analyzed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to look for metabolites that provide evidence of household pesticide exposure. Specifically, the scientists were looking for metabolites associated with the pesticides known by their chemical name as organophosphates (OP). The researchers found evidence of the pesticides in the urine of more than half of all the participants, but levels of two common OP metabolites, diethylthiophosphate (DETP) and diethyldithiophosphate (DEDTP), were significantly higher in the children who suffered from cancer. What's more, the mothers who participated in the study filled out questionnaires that revealed more moms whose kids had cancer used pesticides (33 percent) than did the mothers in the control group (14 percent) whose youngsters were cancer-free.

"We know pesticides -- sprays, strips, or 'bombs,' are found in at least 85 percent of households, but obviously not all the children in these homes develop cancer. What this study suggests is an association between pesticide exposure and the development of childhood ALL, but this isn't a cause-and-effect finding," the study's lead investigator, Offie Soldin, PhD, an epidemiologist at Lombardi, said in a statement to the media. "Future research would help us understand the exact role of pesticides in the development of cancer. We hypothesize that pre-natal exposure coupled with genetic susceptibility or an additional environmental insult after birth could be to blame."

While the scientists aren't ready to flat out say pesticides cause cancer, when you look at the big picture and see what is already known about the havoc pesticides appear to cause in the human body, it makes sense for parents and parents-to-be to ditch pesticides -- for their own health and for the health of their children. For example, NaturalNews has previously reported on the link between residential pesticides and childhood brain cancer (http://www.naturalnews.com/026155_p...), and the strong association between a serious pre-cancerous blood condition and exposure to pesticides (http://www.naturalnews.com/026626_p...).

For more information:
http://explore.georgetown.edu/news/...

Living Off the Land(in Suburbia)

This video, should, so I believe, be viewed by us all, for it shows how it is possible to be virtually self-sufficient in suburbia. That it is not necessary to sell our soul to achieve a level of independance which most of us only dream of.


http://paulnison.blogspot.com/2009/09/living-off-land.html

Mars Story

Twenty-eight years ago I found this Health Farm via word of mouth.

At twenty-one I had no idea what to expect let alone no food for 16 days - "water only", is that possible?

Now, many years later, burnt out with work, life, being a single parent - with a large number of holidays owing, I womdered, hoped, then discovered that John Fielder still existed, along with the farm.
To me the Perfect Holiday.

• Time out of life
• Fasting
• Rejuvenation for an exhausted, neglected, and abused body.
• Not to forget John's years of experience.

Today I am able to comprehend the essence of Raw Food - Natural Hygiene. Disease as being the process of cure - and that I am responsible for the outcome or future of each day I live in, all areas of my life.

My challenge, and I think this is important to say, is getting back out there " into life", maintain strength, determination, confidence to be an individual - facing ridicule, negative opinions, and being treated as a "Freak".

Simply, I guess we have but one life, and personally I don't wish to look into anybody's back garden, for should I do that, the weeds will be strangling my neck in my own.

I have had an amazing journey here. I've observed the process, let go and gone with it.

Time to rest. time to learn, time to lie around, meditate, time for healing, time to listen to everything, to watch, to be serene.

I feel gratitude to John's wisdom, guidance, grace, and patience with this human race.

I feel blessed to be the only person here at this time. I feel totally taken care of. I have been able to trust. Thank you Dr John.

Farm Up-Date

The refurbishment of the units has now been completed, and all being well will not be required again for another twenty years. Our on-going battle with the termites, I feel sure will never cease though.


Our Bullock's Heart custard apples are ripening at least two months early. Their flesh is more of a pink colour alongside that of the other varieties which is white.They are one of my favourite varieties of custard apple. They usually do not ripen until just prior to Xmas. The other varieties of custard apples have just completed their season.



The Jaboticaba's which grow into a small tree, and bear cherry sized fleshy fruits, are just commencing to flower, and will, hopefully, set a good crop for us this year.






This is both the flower and the fruit of the Jak fruit. When asked to describe what it is like, I have said it looks like crayfish, and tastes like bubble-gum. The fruit has been known to grow to 70 pounds in weight. The fruit grows on the main limbs of the tree, and on occasion can grow on the roots.



In this view you can discern the new mangos which have just set. Some of our trees appear to be setting fruit quite heavily, which augers well for the coming season. Of course, if it is too dry, they will drop quite a large percentage of their fruit.
Setting of the fruit can be effected by rain, which then washes the pollen out of the flowers and stops fertilisation. It can also be effected by wind which blows the pollen out of the flowers.


This is another variety of custard apple whose native habitat is central and south America, known as Rollinea Deliciosa. And delicious it is. This is a very young fruit and grows to the size of an apple, and even larger. Its flavour is remniscent of lemon meringue pie.





The citrus are just commencing to flower and set their fruit. The flowering and fruiting usually goes hand in hand with the ripening of the previous season's crop.







The Yellow Sapote, or lekuma, is another fruit native to central and south America. A very dense and rich fruit, one which nursing mothers require to be careful with, as if they eat too much, it can make their milk too rich and thus upset the baby. The name Sapote, in the local dialect, means fruit. So we have, Yellow, Black, White, and Green Sapote, all of which are unrelated botanically.



Our Papaya's are just setting their first crop. These will be our first crop since the fire. Papayas require well drained soil, and as we did not have an area suitable for them earlier than the beginning of this year, were unable to plant them previously. The normal time from planting to crop bearing is fifteen to eighteen months where we live. In a warmer climate it can be as early as twelve months.




The Sapodilla fruit, is about the size of a large egg, although there are a number of varieties which can be as large as a table tennis ball. In our area they are very slow growing, as can be seen though they are setting fruit. the whole of the fruit is eaten, skin and all. The flavour is remniscent of cinnamon. They are commonly known as chico chico.




Surprising as it may well seem, we are able to grow a variety of Mulberry here. And ours are fruiting at this very moment. Although they are a nice fruit to have, the variety we have available do not have the flavour, nor sweetness of those grown in the southern areas, nor those I have tasted in California.




This is another of our jak fruit trees which, as can be seen is loaded with fruit, some of which are in the stage of ripening. In the Asian countries they are cooked when green, primarily with vegetables, and used this way as they take on the flavours of other foods.






The Soursop, is the same botanical family as the custard apple, with one variety of custard apple being known as the sweetsop.
When opened the flesh and seeds appear to be vey similar to those of the custard apple, except the flesh is quite stringy, and is sour to the taste. And although it is quite a job to de-seed the flesh, many do so, and then blend the flesh in a blender, claiming it is much easier to eat that way, and enhances the flavour somewhat.



Many will ask the question as to how it is that I have a non-fruiting tree in the orchard? This tree is the Bottle Brush tree. And yes, it does not bear fruit. It is a native plant to OZ and adds a little colour to the orchard.







This is to show that the flower really does look like a bottle brush.









And to show that we do appreciate colour in our environment this is a Pink Bauhinia tree.






The Bauhinia's come in Pink, Blue and White. the one on the left being white. I have as yet to acquire a blue one.

Jan's Story

Sent: Wednesday, 16 September 2009 8:24 AM
To: John Fielder
Subject: Re: a Hello

Jan . delighted to have you run my email, as I consider you were the turning point of my outlook to maintaining my health, one has to realise they are responsible for their own lifestyle and currently I do not let others in mainstream alter my basic needs, my other goal has been to remove all negativity from my aura, have had to by pass a long term gal pal who basically made me feel like crap when in her company.

I always desire to return to your Farm ...one day eh!

many thanks for the encouragement to take a new road, has been successful for me.....cheers Jan

----- Original Message -----

From: John Fielder

To: .

Sent: Wednesday, September 16, 2009 7:24 AM

Subject: RE: a Hello

Hi Jan,

So lovely to hear from you, and particularly with regards to your health maintenance. I commend you, and look forward to hearing from you again in 10 years with the same story.

May I request a favour? I would like to run your e-mail on my blog to encourage others. I would only use your Christian name. Please let me know what you think?

Kind regards,

John

John L Fielder,DO,DC,ND(Adel)

Osteopath & Lifestyle Consultant

Academy of Natural Living

www.johnfielder.com.au

---

From: .Sent: Tuesday, 15 September 2009 12:35 PM
To: anl1@activ8.net.au
Subject: a Hello

Jan . touching base John, I came and spent 4 days at the Farm in 1990 after a breast operation.

Have noted changes to the Farm, well done.

I am keeping good health actually for the past 10yrs or so this has been my mantra " maintain health.

Wishing you all the very best, cheers Jan

Mobile Phones and Brain Damage

As all those who know me will verify, I do not own, nor do I wish to own a mobile phone, convenient though they may well appear. I have always felt that the risk of harm from them is far too great to expose myself to such a risk. And any-way, we have lived and survived quite well prior to their appearance, for aeons of time, and their intrusion into our everyday life has, in my opinion, only further increased the stress under which we live. An intrusion, I believe we can well do without, along with the possibility of harm from the EMF's.

This new research further illustrates my point.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/

Farm Up-Date August

The termites are an on-going problem, and from time to time it requires that, in spite of taking every possible precaution, I need to replace the timber that they have been feasting on.



In this instance we are having to replace the roofing timbers, with galvanised steel bearers and have taken the opportunity to also replace the roof itself, as some of the iron was commencing to rust. In this way I am hoping that our friends the termites, will cease to be such a problem.
Our friends had also had an enjoyable time chewing away at the internal walls separating the units, and they are being replaced with a sheeting which is said to be termite proof. All being well, it should be completed by next week-end.


Alison, an Osteopath, and long standing friend and I had a picnic lunch on the Esplanade the day she left the farm to spend a week seeing the sights in Cairns, prior to flying back to the UK. And yes it was a tropical fruit lunch and that is papaya that you can see, as well as Rollinea Deliciosa, a central and South American custard apple.



Another long standing friend from the UK,Annette, also assisted us with our painting, as the chamfer board on the Dining room was badly in need of some TLC. She did a wonderful job, especially as heights are not her forte. Yes., as can be seen here, she braved the topmost rungs of our extension ladder to not only rub it all down, but to also apply two coats of paint!!!!



Alonside the refurbishment of our units I am at present occupied with the rehabilitation of the nursery which was destroyed in the fire. This is something which I have been delaying, as it was badly overgrown, and quite a mess really, and not high on the priority list. The time has come, as with all things, to rectify the damage.




Our Papayas are at the stage where they are setting fruit, and it is possible that we will be eating our own papayas soon after Xmas all being well.






The Brazillian Cherries are commencing to flower, and we trust will set fruit in the very near future.







Some of our young mango's have flowered and not set any fruit








Whereas our older trees are flowering and setting fruit profusely








And here are to be seen the first of our tomatoes setting. I am hopeful that we will soon be self-sufficient in this regards.

The Pill

Endometriosis Part IV -How Oral Contraceptive Pills Effects Vitamins, and Circulatory System In A Woman's Body

By Kyle J. Norton

By Aug 16 2009 - 8:57am

During the last stage of the menstrual cycle normally a layer of endometriosis lining in the inside of the uterus is expelled, known as menstruation blood but instead some of the endometriosis tissues growing somewhere in the body causing endometriosis. Endometriosis also reacts to hormonal signals of the monthly menstrual cycle by building up tissue, breaking it, and eliminating it through the menstrual period. Normally, women taking the oral contraceptive pill are required to take of some vitamins. In this article, we will discuss how oral contraceptive pills effect vitamins, minerals and circulatory system in a woman's body

A. Vitamins
Since women taking the pills have the pregnancy-like state, it influences a number of nutrients
1. Vitamin B2
Vitamin B2, also known as riboflavin, is an essential nutrient and plays a key role in energy production. It is is easily destroyed by light and heat. The good source of vitamin B2 is dark green leafy vegetables and lean meat. Vitamin B2 is necessary because it increases the digestive absorption of other vitamins and minerals.

2. Vitamin B3
Vitamin B3, also known as niacin, is one of water-soluble B vitamins. It helps to release energy and increase the function of metabolism of carbohydrates, fats, proteins as well as strengthening the nervous system. Vitamin B3 deficiency may cause depression, dizziness, fatigue, insomnia, loss of appetite, low blood sugar, muscular weakness. Intake of oral contraceptive pills have been shown to decrease the levels of vitamin B3 in the body.

3. Vitamin B6
Vitamin B6 is a water-soluble vitamin that exists in three major chemical forms: pyridoxine, pyridoxal, and pyridoxamine. It helps to increase the amount of oxygen level in the blood that is vital for women taking the pill ( Low level of oxygen causes the heart to work harder). Vitamin B6 deficiency causes depression, confusion, skin inflammation weaken immune system. Major sources of vitamin B6 include cereal grains, legumes and vegetables,etc. Woman who is on oral contraceptive pill may decease the ability of her body's absorption of vitamin B6 that is essential to manufacture its own vitamin B3.

4. Folic acid
Folic acid is a water-soluble vitamin and also known vitamin M or B9. It is essential for women taking the oral contraceptive pill, because folic acid deficiency interfere with vitamin B synthesis and utilization of the body.

5. Vitamin E
Intake of vitamin E is essential for women taking the pill because vitamin E helps to prevent blood clots that may happen to some women.

6. Vitamin C
Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, is a water-soluble vitamin. Since our body can not make vitamin C itself, we must obtain vitamin C through our diet. Study shows that taking vitamin C with oral contraceptive pill will increase estrogen absorption and stop spotting. You should stop taking the high dose of Vitamin C when the spotting stops.

B. Minerals
Normally, women taking the oral contraceptive pill are required to take additional mineral supplements because of mineral deficiency
I. Increase intake of below minerals
1. Zinc
Oral contraceptive pills decrease lower blood levels of zinc and calcium in the women body causing weaken immune system, interfering with the function of reproductive muscles tone and a loss of appetite.

2. Magnesium
Oral contraceptive pills depletes magnesium in the body causing osteoporosis, muscle cramps, weakness, insomnia, anxiety and depression.

3. Calcium
Study shows that women who take oral contraceptive pills when peak bone mass is developing may increase the risk of osteoporosis later in their life. It also shows that women using oral contraceptives and adding calcium in their diet gain significantly more bone mineral density in their hips and spines.


II. Reducing intake of below minerals
1. Iron
Since women are on the pill, their menstrual cycle have distorted. The reducing of period blood or no period contributes to less iron loss than other women who have menstruation.

2. Copper
Level of copper increase when women are on the pill causing mood swing, behavior disorder, depression and deficiency of zinc. This type of imbalance may damage to the liver if high levels of copper are allowed to accumulate for a prolong period of time.

3. Potassium
Certain types of oral contraceptive pill may increase level of potassium that contribute to serious heart and health problems, specially for women having pre- existing condition such as kidney, liver or adrenal disease.

C. Circulatory system
1. High Blood Pressure
More than 5% of women in US alone suffered from high blood pressure caused by intake of oral contraceptive combination pills. It often happens to women older than 35 years old and the risk is increasing with age. Study shows that estrogen in the oral contraceptive combination pill may cause the elevating of high blood pressure, and the progesterone only pill may cause the rise of diastolic pressure. Women who smoke while taking the birth control pill have greater risk of hypertension than non smokers.

2. Blood Clots
Estrogen in the oral contraceptive combination pill causes the increasing of certain chemicals that increase the risk of stickiness of platelets and blood clots in the veins in the body.

3. High level of cholesterol
Woman who has high level of cholesterol in the body should take extra cautious while taking the oral contraceptive pill. Study shows that the pill may cause the rise of cholesterol levels in some women as resulting of high levels of estrogen caused by abnormal liver function.

4. Strokes
If blood clots are allowed to accumulate for a prolong period of time in the veins of women taking the birth control bill, they may cause blockage of blood circulation that carries nutrients and oxygen for cells need resulting in increasing the risk of stroke.

5. Heart diseases
Blood clots in the veins cause the heart to work much harder to carry the nutrients and oxygen to the body's cells and waste from the cells. If this situation exists for a prolong period of time, it may increase high blood pressure and damage some parts in the heart resulting in heart diseases.

6. Hardening blood arteries
Study shows that oral contraceptive pill causes the atherosclerosis plaque build up in the arterial blood vessels. According to this study, the risk of stroke and heart diseases caused by high level of cholesterol and plaque formation increasing substantially to women taking the pill.


Since endometriosis is treatable and manageable by natural remedies and self help, if you have endometroisis, please look at the bright side.
I hope this information will help. If you need more information or insurance advice, please follow my article series of the above subject at my home page at: http://medicaladvisorjournals.blogspot.com
To read the series of endometriosis visit:
http://endometriosisa.blogspot.com

Author's Bio
All rights reserved. Any reproducing of this article must have the author name and all the links intact.
"Let You Be With Your Health, Let Your Health Be With You" Kyle J. Norton
I have been studying natural remedies for disease prevention for over 20 years and working as a financial consultant since 1990. Master degree in Mathematics, teaching and tutoring math at colleges and universities before joining insurance industries. Part time Health, Insurance and Entertainment Article Writer.

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Source URL: http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/endometriosis_part_iv_how_oral_contraceptive_pills_effects_vitamins_and_circulatory_system_

Veronique

Three days ago, a friend of nearly 30 years died. This friend was a 100% raw foodist, grew much of her own food , and was very active. Amongst her peers she was considered as exemplary in her lifestyle. She was 60 years of age.

This is the story of her passing as I know it. About ten days prior to he death she developed, strong pain throughout her whole body. She then decided to drink only vegetable juices for a few days. As after four or so days no change had occurred, she then decided to drink water only. There was still no change till eventually she was so incapacitated that she was unable to care for herself in any way, and no-one was available to assist her she was hospitalized.

The hospital could find no cause. They were consulting with others worldwide to try to find a solution. One hour prior to her death, she was diagnosed with Lymphoma of the Bone. They claim that it only developed in the last few weeks – that is that it only manifested itself in that time.

For a few weeks prior to her death she had been eating raw cacao beans, which to my knowledge, she had not been doing previously. At the time she commented to a friend that she was not feeling so well and must have over-done it on the cacao beans, and would require to eat lightly for a while.

It is my considered opinion that the eating of the cacao beans, whilst not being the only factor involved, was sufficiently harmful to push her over the edge.

For a further insight into the factors that may well have contributed towards her death at this early age, it might be of interest to note that she was heavily into social drugs for many years of her early adult life, and at one stage had cancer of the lungs, which she successfully survived. She was a single mother, and estranged from her only son, as well as being estranged from her parents . they still being alive. The path she had chosen in life was not an easy one, yet through it all I never knew her to be depressed, or essentially unhappy. I am sorry that I was unable to be with her at this time, as we lived over three thousand miles apart. Her passing was/is a sad loss of a dear friend who was always there to assist whenever needed.

Knowing her, I feel sure she would wish that we should be happy for her, that her suffering was short and brief, and to hold a wake being joyful and happy for having known her, and had the pleasure of those, only too short years.