New Perspectives

Greetings! It has indeed been a long time since I last posted a blog. I haven't been blogging consistently this summer, which is a shame really because I meant to become a more consistent poster. At any rate changes are still occurring in my life, its all been very positive.  I have been kind of taking a little hiatus from writing in general, not just on this blog.

I figure I should take some time, step away, and find my writing voice, but I am not sure if it will ever be found/developed.  Growth as a writer is often a constant endeavor -- no one (at least not me!) ever wakes up thinking, 'Golly, I just found how I am going to write from now on!'

Growing and changing as a writer really is no different than growing and changing as a person. The process is still the same: falter, observe, adjust, repeat. I falter in some way, make an observation, make whatever  adjustment I deem necessary, and then repeat the process and the story to other people. The only difference is that writer know how to express their experiences, turning them into wonderful stories.

I guess if you were to ask me right now where I am in the process, I guess I would be on one of the first three.  It is difficult to pinpoint where I am on the growth spectrum because I have had a growth spurt over the last month and I have been changing every single day.

Although I do have to say this situation in the Gulf has got me really miffed!  I can't stand to think of the colossal impact to the environment that it will have. 

As far as idealogically, I really haven't changed much.  I still believe in the dietary guidelines that Weston A. Price put forth, I still believe that Rx drugs are not good for people in general, and I still believe very strongly in sustainable agriculture.  I have been philosophically been changing my tune, learning more about Gnostic Christianity, Native American spiritualism, Hindu and Chinese Beliefs and many other ancient belief systems.

Today, it seems the world is trapped in this Matrix of unimportant things that have no real affect on every day life.  People seem so materialistic these days (I choose not to incriminate myself!  Talk to my lawyer if you want to know if I am materialistic or not).  Society as a whole seems so off base.  Complete strangers don't smile or greet each other fanymore, they just pass by on the street, fully equipped with a scowl.  And what is buried in their ears?  Some semblance of what might be considered music is blasting in their head, drowning them to reality and their surroundings.  Maybe it is a bit harsh, maybe this assesment is totally off base.

Hell, maybe I need to move to a new area!

The way that most people live their lives today is all about encircling themselves in a bubble -- their circle of friends, their favorite music/movies/television -- living this artificial life where oil spills happen over there, where food comes from the supermarket, and where success and financial gain replace kidness and compassion.  Everyone is out there chasing luxuries like a dog chasing endlessly after a bone (or like my cat who endlessly chases his tail ;)  )

Well, I took the red pill

I reject this culture of consumerism (**hides ipad) and I embrace the older ways of life where people would just be people.  An oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is still my oil spill. Yes, those who committed the infraction where suits and ties and are probably the biggest luxury chasers around, but it is still my oil spill.

I like the Native American philosophy that we don't own the land, but are benefactors of it.  I haven't quite gotten the concept all down, but I understood it to mean that we are all living here by the grace of Mother Earth. So this earth, it is mine and yours, but in the sense that we live here and it was here before us so we should respect it and our fellow tenants (i.e. plants, animals, etc.) 

New perspective needs to be adopted, based upon an older way of life. Stop texting and start talking, add something new to your usual daily routine, strive for growth instead of a G6, and most importantly, relish in the little moments.  These little nothings make up the whole of life, so whether it is laughing at nothing with an old friend or stealing glances of a great lover, bask in these times, and strive to remember each moment.  These transient, fleeting moments are all we have, so guard them, appreciate them and never take them for granted.

I leave you with this beautiful quote from Gandhi: 

Keep your thoughts positive,
because your thoughts become your words.
Keep your words positive,
because your words become your behaviours.
Keep your behaviours positive,
because your behaviours become your habits.
Keep your habits positive,
because your habits become your values.
Keep your values positive,
because your values become your destiny.

May the Sun always be at your face, and the wind to your back!

Updates, Cholesterol and Saturated Fat and other news.

Since my last post, I have made a few changes in my life.  First, I have decided to take some time off from school and explore more of my options, and I moved in with my sister who I hadn't seen for eight years.  It has all been so wonderful, and I feel good about my decision and I think it was a really smart move for me. We get along really well (disregarding the usual sister-sister, "but I want to wear that!" spats) and I have been able to share and talk about nutrition with her and talk all about my philosophies on life and child rearing.

Now, I don't have any children of my own, but I just love to read about baby/child care.  It is one of those things that I just love to do, I can't explain it. At my sister's apartment, we bet baby magazines for some reason -- neither of us know why they are being sent -- and just reading through them is horrifying!  This is what these magazines think parenting is all about?!

 I am really trying to be fair, but I find it really difficult to find anything of substance.  I like the stories that the mom's tell, and the adorable baby pictures, but other than that, its nothing more than pure propaganda. How?-- the countless pictures and adds for baby formula or baby foods, the ridiculous materialism that saturates each page, the shallow nutrition advice.  Do you really need a $500 crib, or a pacifier, or the latest baby-genius concoction?  How about something organic. No, I don't mean the label that means virtually nothing now.  I am speaking of something real.  How about stories about mothers who garden and produce their own food.  Maybe some anecdotes about how a mother, instead of getting the latest stroller, buying a sling. 

I just want stories of that show mothers getting in touch with their feminine essence.  I want to read about a woman who rejected pain-meds during her child birth because she knew what she could do and she knew what was best for her. I want to hear stories about how father's masculine essence was tapped to aid him in being a father.  I want stories about the best stroller or the best car for a growing family, and read stories about people doing different things. 

And the nutrition advice. I think that was a typo actually, because their "advice" on nutrition is really a recipe for cavities and poor development.

Healing our Children, this is an absolutely wonderful book!  It ties in enlightening insights on our world and our reality with the wonderful work of Weston A. Price, forming a beautifully informative and enjoyable reading experience. I don't want this to sound like an ad for the book, but I am really impressed with it.  It has parenting advice that works, and that is a breath of fresh air.

I usually read bits of this book at a time, picking and choosing different sections I think are really good and important.  I love how this is a real book about real nutrition, not the politically correct, saturated-fat-is-bad vitriol that permeates other books and magazines. 

Which brings me to my next topic.  While searching through my email, I came across an article from Everyday Health about saturated fats.  I perused it, and I have since made plans to cancel my subscription.  The regurgitated propaganda information was just more of the same, "don't eat eggs, don't eat liver." The article actually starts off with "According to the American Heart Association..." that is the first clue that we should just close the browser and tab.  I, unfortunately, continued forward, and I was just disgusted. 

I know, this is how the world works.  The guys with the most money get to put out whatever garbage they want, wrap it in a pretty package, and sell it to the public. I haven't forgotten that we are a money driven society where the only thing that matters are how many Ben-Franklins you can pile up, but sometimes I hold out hope that maybe there will be a glimmer of truth that shines forth so that the majority can learn about true nutrition, and what life is all about: family, love, and good health.

I guess I shouldn't hold my breath.

Its been forever!

Wow, my last post was in March! It has been really difficult for me to post new things up here because school and work have taken up the majority of my time. I am trying to get to a place where I can post more frequently though. I guess I need a lesson in time management.

Since March, I have been trying to incorporate more natural and healthful foods into my and my family's diet. It has been a struggle but I think it is working. What I am most proud of is that I have really been doing a lot of reading! I am more than half-way through Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, and I have a lot of books about natural health, gardening (which I am so very excited for!) and other health topics. I feel like I have grown so much and have learned so much over the summer that I can really help people and provide answers.

One thing that I am really getting into is pregnancy nutrition. I really hope to get the brewers diet book, because I have only read a little about it but it will be really helpful to me and other if I can get it. The price is a bit steep on Amazon, but it is definitely worth the price.

I mentioned earlier about gardening, I found this website that I really think sells good seeds. This site is called Non-hybrid seeds, and it looks really good! I plan getting seeds from here at some point in time! I really want to start a garden in Spring 2010, and I am gonna get my seeds from here. I will add it to my website list.

I also came across this story on science daily about how cigarettes contribute to MS (multiple sclerosis), pretty interesting stuff.

Until next time (whenever that is)!

Update on reading

As many of you have noticed, I have not updated or posted on this website for a bit a of time. That is because I am really trying to immerse myself in learning about natural health and natural health practices. I have been doing a bit of reading, from the new edition of Ron Schmid's Truth About Raw Milk book, to Keeping a Family Cow book who's author's name escapes me at the moment (but it was recommended in Nourishing Traditions book), and I am learning a lot!

I am excited to really start applying more of these principles to my life, although it is difficult because money is often a big obstacle, I am confident that I will be blessed by God, though, so I am not worried.

I have also been doing a bit more reading on Chemtrails, and I was admittedly worried when I first came across this information. But then, my fears were surpressed because I realize that a) God is in control, and that b) there is always a counteraction for every negative thing, its just a matter of finding the solution to these chemtrails.

I do want to put this question out there though: Is there anyone out there who has information on counteracting the negatives of the chemtrails?

Update on Soy Online Service

Last week, I posted a comment by a reader who questioned the validity of Soy online service's source information and wrote me saying so. The reader did not like how my article relied on soy online service for so much of my information.

I felt that the reader's claim was worth investigating, because I feel it is important to be able to verify the veracity of my sources.

Here is the email I received,

Hi Emily...There are about 200 citations in
www.soyonlineservice.co.nz Every one of those scientific research reports is
from the USA NIH PubMed data base and is linked back to the summary
abstracts. If you use those links you will see at the head of each are the
names of the researchers and the scientific laboratory where the research
was done

After reading this, I went to investigate, and saw that there were numerous citations to pubmed, Journal of Reproduction, etc. I concluded from this that soy online service is a reliable source.

Book list

This year I am wholly dedicated to learning more and more about good nutrition and healthy ways of living. So, I have begun reading several books which I think will be important, and have compiled a list of books that I will read that are pretty relevant to health. Already, I have read a great deal of Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon and Sugar Blues by William Dufty, and I am excited to continue reading these kinds of books. I just got Darwin Day in America by John G. West, and I cannot wait to read that, I am getting the new edition of The Untold Story of Milk by Ron Schmidt.

This is going to be an exceptionally enlightening year this year.

I suggest reading some of these books because they have important truths that need to be dispelled, health myths that need to be exposed, and really good information. I encourage all to read these books!

Answer to Some Comments

A user named Orlin left the following comment:

Sorry for the mistake well referring to your name Ella. sorry for the Ammy word. Whoops.
orlin

Don't worry about it! Ella is my pen-name, Emily is my birth name, I am not offended if you refer to me as Emily or Ella, either one is fine. Now that that is cleared up, another reader named Kate left this comment:

For years I've been reading on Natural News that cows milk (in addition to being pasturised and homogenised) is for baby cows, is full of pus, causes mucus, contains dead white blood cells and natural growth hormones (for baby cows) as well as man made hormones to fatten up the cows etc etc etc

OK, so Raw Milk solves the issue of pasturisation and homogenisation - but it still has all the other stuff which was addressed on natural news (in the past) and notmilk.com (currently) for years.

I am so confused. I understand about raw milk being live food, with enzymes - but I just can't get it off my mind that 'cows milk is for baby cows' and contains all those nasty things as reported by Mike Adams (previously) and NotMilk.

If drinking raw milk - does it still contain growth hormones (natural, for growing baby cows), dead blood cells and pus...is it mucus forming?

Was all that info on NotMilk wrong?

Would love to not feel guilty about drinking raw milk again.

Kate xx

Kate.

The other factors in milk that you have listed may be associated with more commercial dairy cows, not necessarily raw milk cows. See, I do not advocate just drinking raw milk, I advocate drinking raw milk from healthy, grass-fed cows who have not consumed the man-made hormones. Even if baby cows were only meant to consume raw milk, then pus and dead white cells in milk would probably not be that healthy for the calf.

In essence, I have no real way of knowing whether or not the situation of pus, dead-white blood cells, or any other nefarious cow products are related to the stressed conditions that commercial dairy cows suffer and if it is the same for raw milk cows. Raw milk cows are raised in a substantially better environment than commercial dairy cows, which are often mistreated, stressed and fraught with disease.

I visited the notmilk website, and it really seemed to be a bastian for not only the soy industry, but the vegetarian industry that seeks to make artificial alternatives to what is natural and what has worked.

I used to be on the no-milk agenda, because everyone says it is unhealthy, especially raw milk. I changed because my health deteriorated because I substituted with soy, and I was eating well. My reasoning is this, if raw milk was really as bad as people made it out to be, then how is it that they many civilizations that relied on such dairy products survived? That is the question I asked myself.

As far as baby calves are concerned, I am not sure how they factor into the equation as far as milk being solely for calves. I think though that cows produce a lot of milk so that people and calves can be healthy. I read some where that cows produce about 5 gallons a day! But I will call my local raw milk provider and get their take on it and ask exactly how that works.

In summary, you don't need to feel guilty about drinking raw milk. It is healthy, and has sustained families for centuries. And if your concerned about it causing weight gain, I actually lost five lbs once I started drinking it. Raw milk has been known to have that kind of weight-loss affect.

One more thing, I no this isn't really scientific or anything, but I noticed that raw milk causes less mucus than regular dairy. I used to sing in my church choir, and when ever we had a performance, the director would tell us not to drink milk before the performance. Although I don't sing in that choir any more, the heavy feeling of mucus on my vocal chords hasn't been there in a while. But I will have to look into that as well for you.

Sorry!

Hi, I just wanted to apologize for not posting more on here. I have been swamped at school, but I have definitely been researching different subjects, along with working on new articles for Natural News.

I have been researching very interesting subjects that I will be posting on here and to natural news very shortly, so your continued patience would be greatly appreciated!

As a little preview, what I have been researching lately has been the subject of Entymology.

Entymology is the consumption of insects as a potential food source. Such ideas are greatly shunned in Western Society, but I think that it shouldn't be! More on that soon...

Again, I apologize for being neglectful of this blog and ultimately, you the reader, but I am definitely going to be presenting more and more new and interesting natural health topics!

Thanks for your patience.