Will The Doors Ever Open?

Sometimes I wonder if the doors will ever open? I know deep down I am walking the path that I need to walk, yet it appears that the doors just are walls as I move along. It can get discouraging at times and really make me question if I am where I think I am.

However, events happen in our life that help cement and shed light on our path and show us that doors may be opening up around us. Many weeks ago, I remember pulling one of my angel cards on the iphone app (by Doreen Virtue). It said something to the effect and I'm paraphrasing that opportunities are coming my way but may occur different than I would expect them. I thought, okay that sounds nice and wonderful but well, I really can't see it. So in a way, I just dismissed it.

Then today, a couple of things happened that really gave me a glimpse into some doors opening. If I had not gone and done a few things lately that I have done, than this moment would not have occurred in the way it did. The events are completely different and are not remotely close but yet they were both traveling in the same direction. If you would have looked at each event independently, you would have not seen any connection.

It was very helpful and encouraging to have these things unfold a little today. More importantly, it was good to see them unfold in a bigger and broader manner. After seeing doors that looked like brick walls, it warms the soul to see a open ones appear. It is a moment that I am marking down as I walk my path so I will not forget it. It is a moment that I will use to help move myself forward and in many ways, that is the most important part.



Blog Post & Images (c) 2/23/11 Don Shettrly - use by permission only
http://www.donshetterly.com

Truth That Is Now Foolish

Throughout the ages, we have had moments in our history where the church or other leaders came along and stated that we must believe a certain way regarding various issues. From the beginning of time, what was not understood became part of a belief system to explain it. The belief systems did not evolve and so concepts that we now know to be true were at one time considered evil and wrong.

Here are a few examples to consider as we ponder what we hold dear to our belief system and how maybe we need to allow our belief system to evolve.

In the 1500's, the Catholic Church essentially felt that the earth was the center of the universe and there was really nothing beyond it. Copernicus came along and like others, discovered that the earth was not the center of the universe. The discovery by Copernicus conflicted with the Catholic Church. In fact, a paper on his work was not published until after he died to avoid him being persecuted by the church. (1)

Around the 1600's, Galileo also made the discovery of the sun being the center of the universe. He wrote a book called "Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems" which was an attempt to help convince the church to change its view on the solar system. While he was a friend of the pope, some of his eloquent writings angered very influential people in the church. In 1633, he was found guilty of heresy and his book was banned. In addition, he was forced to claim that he was wrong and that the earth did not move. Galileo was placed under house arrest for the remainder of his life. (2)

Sir Issac Newton made many scientific discoveries including that of gravity. However, the royal and church leaders of the day were very much against anything that went against their beliefs. They were often fearful of that which they could not understand. In 1685, Newton and several others were brought by the Monarch to the high court on trumped-up charges, only to be dismissed later. The stress of this trial brought on a nervous breakdown for Newton. (3)

Around the 1600's, Claudius Galen was considered to be one of the most influential medical authorities. William Harvey's discoveries came into conflict with Galen which incited considerable controversy at the time. Galen believed that the heart produced heat while the arteries and its fluid cooled the blood. In addition, he believed that the lungs fanned and cooled the heart. According to Galen, dilation of the arteries sucked in air and contraction discharged vapors through pores in the flesh and skin. However, William Harvey was the first person to accurately describe the systemic circulation of the blood. At the time, doctors stated they would rather err with Galen than proclaim the truth with Harvey. (4)

At one time in the United States, women, African Americans, Native Americans and various other groups were denied the right to vote. In those times, these people were considered to be less than by the leaders and establishment of our country. It took a great deal of pain and suffering by many to overturn these laws and create freedom for all. (5)

At various times throughout our history in this country and in the world, we have attempted to believe certain things and found explanations, laws and religious practices to force these things upon the rest of society. Yet, now as we can clearly look back at history, we see just how foolish some of these things were. Yet, many were found guilty of horrible crimes and sentenced to death for not going along with the status quo or the belief system of the day.

Today, we are still doing that whether it is through what we believe from the churches, or our governments or in our societies. When it comes to medicine, we believe that the doctor holding the pill, medical procedure or test knows best and so we subscribe to the thinking that this is the only thing there is. When it comes to how we view others, it is more through the mindset of what media pundits and others tell us we should believe. Instead of learning to love and respect one another, we draw division lines and stand opposed.

We are all much more than we currently are aware of. What we know and understand today may most likely be found to be foolish tomorrow. The important part is that we need to continue evolving as a species and becoming more aware and more conscious of who we are. The greatest gift we can give to the world is by becoming all that we possibly can become. Anything less makes us part of a belief system and someone that breathes oxygen rather than someone who advances our civilization along.

When you're tempted by the media and the medical establishment and the politicians to accept the status quo as gospel truth, step back for a moment and look at the bigger picture. Think of the times from early history where we have been narrow focused on problems of the day and compare or contrast those to what we now know. Knowledge and discovery should not stop and be content where it is at. We should constantly strive to learn, discover and understand more about what we already know.

Yes, I do realize that fear, ego and power have much to do with holding us in the belief systems we allow society to impose upon us. However, we are all humans holding a brain that has unlimited potential. Let no one come along and tell us that we are less than or we do not know and understand what it is we feel inside. Let no one come along and dictate to us, how we should think and perceive all that is around us. May we all have ah ha moments every day and may we grow in ways that we cannot even fathom right now in this moment. For growth is life and the pursuit of life that when we embrace it, gives us freedom, purpose and courage.



Sources Of Information
1) The Church And Copernicus
2) Galileo And The Church
3) Sir Isaac Newton, A Scientific Genius
4) Wikipedia, William Harvey
5) Voting Rights In The United States


Further Reading
1) Fundamentalist Brainwashing
2) US Health Care Costs Skyrocket
3) Burn The Books
4) What Do You Really See?



Blog Post & Images (c) 2/22/11 Don Shetterly - use by permission only
http://www.donshetterly.com

Knowing

Here is a poem by a friend of mine that I thought was very powerful and says so much. I hope you like it as much as I do. Many of us struggle to heal and at times, finding the answers and finding our way through is not always easy.

One of the things that I have found is helpful is to journal and write in whatever form that takes for you. If it is poems, or just impromptu writing or some other form of expression, do whatever is necessary to heal. Self expression gives us back our power from events that have taken it away.


Here's the poem by Jeff Lemlich.


Knowing
by Jeff Lemlich


INNOCENCE was a place faraway,
a different lifetime,
surely a different reality.

Gone and lamented, lost and tumbling,
Stopping to gawk at myself
and the shell of a person
that struggles and meanders,
constantly tired.

And with each twitch and palpitation,
Will you watch someone’s essence and purpose fold into its
bony curved little spine?

Asking all the wrong questions.
Chasing all the wrong answers.

(c) May 8, 2003
(c) August 5, 2004

All rights reserved

For more about Jeff Lemlich, go to his website www.limestonerecords.com

Naturally Reverse Osteoporosis With Cucumbers

It probably is no secret on this blog if you have been reading it for some time, that I really like what Jeff Primack with Qigong.com has to say about food based healing. It is important to note that we've been doing his General Health Smoothie Recipe for almost two years and have seen positive results.

Here is a video about how cucumbers can help reverse osteoporosis through natural foods. We all tend to think first about what pill, medication or medical procedure we can take rather than thinking about foods that are natural and have very healing properties to them.

Cucumbers are alkaline which help to alkalize our blood from all the acidic things we eat. Our bodies need a pH of 7.35. Things like coffee (pH = 5), diet Coke (pH = 2.8), fruits and vegetables (pH =9 or 10), along with things that have more vitamins and minerals tend to have a higher pH or are more alkaline. Wheat and flour products along with other things that are acidic cause our pH to go down. In order for the body to counteract this, it starts pulling calcium from our bones. Of course when you don't have enough calcium in the bones, you end up with osteoporosis. But to get all the information on this, check the video out.

Most of us usually tend to eat the part of the vegetable or fruit that does not have all the good vitamins, minerals, enzymes and phytochemicals in them. Things like the seeds, stems, stalk and skins of the food items are usually the highest in these things and most of the time we throw those parts away. In addition, cooking, freezing or other processing methods denigrate our food items to just something to eat rather than having all the wonderful healing properties they had when they cam out of the ground.

Take a moment to view the video and then check out all the other videos he has on his YouTube page. You can also check out Jeff Primack's website at www.qigong.com for more information.



Further Reading
1) Oprah And The Vegan Challenge, Part 1
2) Food Based Healing Smoothies
3) QiGong.com








Blog Post & Images (c) 2/21/11 Don Shetterly - use by permission only
http://www.donshetterly.com

Cancer Linked to Childhood Vaccines

Most likely, we've all heard the controversy of vaccines. On the side of the pharmaceutical companies, the claims prove how beneficial they are. On the other side, parents and natural living people claims how deadly they are.

Just recently, the media did an all out blitz on Andrew Wakefield, saying all of his research with autism was a fraud. Of course, it is important to note that because of some of his research and findings, that the pharmaceutical manufacturers were seeing vaccine sales drop by as much as 70%. There was big money being lost and even though I have absolutely no way to prove it, in the back of my mind, I can't help but wonder if this was not an orchestrated attempt to smear Andrew Wakefield to help turn the tide of vaccine revenues. I hope I'm wrong, but it is my gut feeling.

Anyway, I saw another article come along where a leading vaccine doctor has stated that 60 lab studies now confirm cancer link to a vaccine you probably had as a child. Keep in mind that this doctor is Dr. Maurice Hilleman, the developer of Merck's vaccine program. Dr. Maurice Hilleman developed over three dozen vaccines, more than any other scientist in history.

He was a member of the U.S. National Academy of Science, the Institute of Medicine, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society. He received a special lifetime achievement award from the World Health Organization. Hilleman was one of the early vaccine pioneers to warn about the possibility that simian viruses might contaminate vaccines.

For the video interview with Dr. Maurice Hilleman, click on the following YouTube video.


The source of this information is from Mercola.com and here are some further comments made on this website by Dr. Mercola in response to vaccines.

1) As of December 13, 2010, there have been 20,915 adverse reactions to Gardasil that theoretically guards against cervical cancer in young girls. Evidence of new research suggests that under certain circumstances, the vaccine increases risk of precancerous lesions by nearly 45%. In 2009, the FDA approved Gardasil for use on young boys and in September [2010] a young boy died just eight days after being vaccinated with Gardasil.

2) In 2002, the Lancet journal published evidence that contaminated polio vaccine was responsible for up to half of the 55,000 non-Hodgkin's lymphoma cases occurring each year. In 1994, Dr. Michele Carborne, a researcher at Loyola University, found the virus, SV40 (which you see talked about in the video). SV40 is a cancer causing monkey virus which had never before been detected in humans. Since then, 60 different lab studies have confirmed that SV40 has been found in a variety of human cancers. At first no one could fathom how the virus had been transmitted to humans but in the uncensored video, Dr. Maurice Hilleman admits Merck's responsibility in unleashing this virus via their polio vaccine, as well as the likelihood that there was an importing and spreading the AIDS virus in the same manner.


Of course, I cannot verify or deny any of the findings that are printed on this website. You have to decide for yourself if any of this is possible and if it is plausible. Some days there is misinformation on both sides and that makes it difficult to sort through facts and truth versus fiction. Hearing an actual doctor that developed vaccines for Merck, it does influence my thinking. As a child, I got all the vaccines that were required. So am I at risk? Possibly I am. However, I don't live my life worrying about the risks.

All I want to do with this particular blog post is put the information out there and let everyone decide for themselves what to believe and what they wish not to believe. I want people to be more informed before making medical decisions for themselves and their children because the more information we have, the better decisions we can make. In the words of one TV channel, the more you know, the better off you are! Don't just take the medical establishment's word that everything they tell you to take is what you need to do. Question it, research it and check it out. See if there are any other ways that you can help yourself before just accepting the standard medical cures of the day.


Sources of Information:

1) Mercola.com 60 Lab Studies Now Confirm Cancer Link to a Vaccine
2) YouTube Video - Dr. Confesses Cancer Virus in Vaccine
3) CNN Health - Dr. Sanjay Gupta - HPV Vaccine For Boys
4) PR Log.org - Abortion Stillbirth Events from HPV Gardasil
5) Dr. Andrew Wakefield - Callous Disregard: Autism And Vaccines




Blog Post & Images (c) 2/21/11 Don Shetterly - use by permission only
http://www.donshetterly.com

Nervous System Resiliency

One of the things that I am learning firsthand is how resilient our nervous system in the course of our day. Many of the things that I write about here are ones that I have been introduced to and then I learn about them by living through experiences that become my teacher.

It is not just concepts that are told to me and I continue the story. They are very real lessons that I experience firsthand within my body. When you can experience something within the body and feel the connection within, then there is no doubt that it is a real, truth altering experience.

For a long time I felt overwhelmed in life where I could not seem to get my balance as the winds of various events would come along and knock me off balance. It never seemed like I would get past many things in my life because I always felt overwhelmed. Then one experience in particular that I had on the table with Dr. Paul Canali brought this home in a very real and vivid way.

In this particular session, I came up against some of the root energy where very real and intense anger perpetuates and grows within me. As I pushed through this, my body felt physically awful for several hours but then as the energy of the release began to balance itself, I noticed a major change within my body. For the first time, I noticed a peacefulness and calmness that I had never felt before. It is more than difficult to describe here but it was real and I knew it wasn't just a temporary peace or calmness. It was a life changing moment.

As events of the following week transpired, I noticed that most of these were just rolling off my back. Yes, some of them were pretty intense and I was not ignoring the feeling of them but they were just coming in and almost like bouncing through me. It is then that I came to understand just how resilient our nervous system is meant to be and if treated properly, it can perform in ways that we may not be able to imagine.

For months, I did not think about this entire scenario until I recently went through a very stressful week. In that week, I noticed something about myself and how I was dealing with the stress. While the stress was intense and difficult to be part of, I noticed that much of it was just bouncing right through me. I'm not going to tell you that it was an easy week but without this happening within myself, it would have been much more difficult.

Please don't misunderstand me here because I'm not talking about "thinking happy thoughts" here either as many tend to do. This is about going deep within and connecting to the grounded part of your cells, your body and your mind. It is about having the nervous system at a healthy point that it can absorb these things and let them go. It isn't about avoiding any of the feelings or affects of the stress but feeling all of it and just swimming through it as if you were swimming in a pool.

Of course, most humans go through life in a hurried fashion barely ever taking time to take care of the body, oblivious to the fact that this is taking place. We like to self medicate ourselves with things that keep us from living in reality and keep us from getting to truly know ourselves in an intimate way.

All too often, I've heard many people tell me that they don't have time to get a massage or relax or to take a vacation. In this day of electronics, people cannot even get away from their jobs for a minute. We keep ourselves and our nervous systems in a heightened state of arousal and stress but yet we expect our bodies to hit peak performance.

We go through life dabbling in this or that new age therapy or we turn to religion, doctors and our families to help us exist in our day. However, none of these things will help you deal with the stress in your life unless you go in and stand up to the fear and the ego within your body and your mind. You can fool yourself all day long into thinking that various things are helping you and they may be temporarily, but if you really want to leap upon the mountains, you need to journey within yourself.

The nervous system is meant to act like a rubber band where if you pull it and stretch it, when let go, it should go back to its original shape. However if you stretch it beyond those limits time and time again, you may alter the shape of it. If you stretch it beyond what it is capable of, then there will be a break. The body acts in much the same way.

If we as a society really wanted to improve the overall health of our world, we would be focusing upon learning how the nervous system works and how we impact it every day of our life. We would focus upon learning how to reclaim it and harness the power that we hold within our bodies and our minds. The nervous system should be our friend but much of the time in our world, we barely even notice its existence.




Blog Post & Images (c) 2/20/11 Don Shetterly - use by permission only
http://www.donshetterly.com




Photo by NASA/courtesy of nasaimages.org

Sage Improves Cognitive Function and Mood

According to the blog of Ananda Apothecary, a cited Journal of Psychopharmacology, Oct. 11, 2010 article, sage essential oil improved cognitive function and mood.

According to the study, "oral consumption [of sage essential oil] leads to improved performance of secondary memory and attention tasks, reduced mental fatigue and increased alertness." This is done through AChE inhibition or in other words, sage essential oil helps to prevent the breakdown of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine.

According to the research cited on Ananda's blog, the ingestion of 1 drop of sage essential oil will not be harmful and in fact it states that it is well tolerated by the body.

Previous research has indicated AChE inhibition from other essential oils such as rosemary, eucalyptus and lemon. These stimulant oils have been shown to improve test scores and decrease error frequency.

Source Of Information:
Ananda Apothecary Blog post 10/20/10

Most Diseases Are Reversible With Food

Did you know that most diseases are reversible with food? According to Jeff Primack, from QiRevolution.com, he has developed Food Based Healing Smoothies that have helped many people.

Just attempting to eat healthy is not enough because so often we either process, freeze or mutilate our food to the point of losing so many of the important nutrients, enzymes, vitamins and minerals. Just because we eat frozen vegetables or processed foods with healthy things in it, does not mean we are eating healthy.

Fruits and Vegetables contain naturally occurring photochemicals which Jeff calls, the spark plugs of the immune system. Humans do not generally get enough of them. Phytochemicals hide in the cellulose fibers of seeds, stems, skins and rinds of the fruits and vegetables we eat.

When is the last time you ate the entire apple including the seeds, stems, and apple peelings? Do you realize that the best part of the apple is in the seeds, stems and skin? Or you ate an avocado with including the seed and shell? What about the cucumbers that you buy in the store where you normally peel off the skin and eat the inside? (granted a waxed cucumber is probably not the best thing and our food industry is determined to wax every cucumber sold or charge outrageous prices for ones they don't). Just think of the fruits and vegetables you eat and how much of the "good stuff" of these do you throw away?

What Jeff Primack teaches, is how to make a smoothie using a high powered blender (found on Amazon - Blendtec TB-621) and dumping in all the fabulous phytochemical rich foods. We've been doing this for almost two years and not only does it really (and I mean really) help digestion, but we don't get the colds and flu like everyone else is getting. In fact, I overheard a conversation the other week about how these two people had been through two or three rounds of a cold and flu and it was almost foreign to me what they were talking about. If I feel anything like a cold or flu coming on, the smoothie usually knocks it out so quick that whatever was hitting me comes and goes within a day at the most.

At first, I wasn't sure if I could drink the smoothies. They taste good but sometimes you get ingredients that have off flavors and then it makes it hard to drink the smoothie. Once I got accustomed to it, I really don't mind it at all. It is part of our routine in the morning and we have gotten the prep work down to a science now so that it is not hard to prepare the stuff to put it in the blender. Our biggest problem is living in an area where produce in the stores is sometimes difficult to find. Sad that this happens, but it is true so it makes it a challenge at times.

There are so many nutritional things out there from Green Drink Mixes to Juice Plus to NingXia Red to Healthy Chocolate and so many other things. I know all these places have their research and their success stories and so on and so forth. I'm happy for them. However, when you have to start spending considerable money each month on a processed product that you can only buy from certain places or through some Multilevel Marketing (MLM) system, the questions in my mind run over each other trying to get answered! Sorry, but I'm just not into buying a product that someone claims and regurgitates the claims that it is the best thing since oxygen was discovered!

With the smoothies, I am using natural food that I can buy at my local market or I can grow on my own. I put it in a blender for a couple of minutes and drink it. That is all the processing there is. There is no heating and cooling and pressing into a pill or powder. There is no freezing or bottling and letting it sit in a warehouse or on a truck. There is no wondering what is truly in the product because I can see with my eyes and with my hands, just what is going into what I am consuming.

Even if phytochemcials are not something I specifically know about, it is not hard for me to understand how eating whole, natural and fresh fruits and vegetables is very healthy for a person. We've all been taught that we need to eat our veggies, so it is not difficult to understand how beneficial this is. If you're skeptical, than why not put it to the test? What do you have to lose? After all, I don't make any more money telling you about this if you do it or you don't do it. I'm just passing along something that I do and have had very positive benefits from.

Here are some examples of specific foods for specific diseases.

Kiwi - Helps to reverse Asthma
Avocado: Helps reverse heart disease, plaque in arteries and losing weight
Asparagus: Naturally Reverse Cancer & Detoxification
Bitter Melon: Naturally Reverse Diabetes and Improve Blood Sugar
Reishi: For Reversing Heart Disease, Chest Pains, Asthma & Depression
Maca: For Energy, Better Sex, Menopause, Fertility

Take a moment to look at Jeff's website along with the videos that he has put up on YouTube. It will explain much more and will give you further insight into the healing smoothies. If you want to get the smoothie formula book that I use, see the image link below to purchase this on Amazon.


Further Reading
1) Food Based Healing And Smoothies
2) Smoothies, A Year Later
3) Qi Revolution - Jeff Primack
4) Food Based Healing Introduction

Blog Post & Images (c) 2/20/11 Don Shetterly - use by permission only
http://www.donshetterly.com

Needing To Be Right

At one time, I thought I had to always try to convince others that what I felt was important was what they understood. If someone challenged me, I always thought I had to go until the end when I was able to prove myself correct. It seemed like a badge of honor to be able to stand up and get people to understand just how right I thought I was in life. Like many people do, I felt that I needed to be right!

With the advent of the internet message boards and now things such as comments on news articles or facebook, and constant 24 hour news pundits, there is a need for people to try and prove to others just how much they think they know. It is like a strong magnet that really pulls the comments out of people and forces them to type them into the mega-sphere of the internet. In addition, the internet allows us to be anonymous when writing comments so in many ways, it does not seem like we are really responding to a human life form.

Much of the time when people have to force their ideals upon others, it really shows a lack of insecurity and often times, immaturity. While they may have a considerable amount to say and it may have merit to it, often the need to expound upon these things gets in the way of the message.

At one time, I thought I had to respond to everything written and prove my point. I thought that if I did not, it made me weak. Of course, subscribing to some of the thought philosophies expounded upon through the media pundits, I thought I was armed with the truth. In many ways, some of this reminds me of the brainwashing I received at the hands of the church. Truth be told, many religions do this in overt and sometimes in very subtle ways.

As I am learning though, some times, it is more wise and prudent to just not say much. There is no need to engage this part of human civilization because most likely if someone has their mind made up that they hold the truth, what you say is not going to matter at all. Sometimes, the stronger person is the one that can walk away and allow the other person to wallow in their own insecurity.

There are things that truly matter in this world and most of the public discourse taking place these days does not rise to that level. If you took out much of what is being discussed these days, life would still continue to go on.

I remember my mom telling me often that you can be silent and make people wonder or you can open your mouth and remove all doubt. It is amazing to me to see just how true that is. There are many people that speak to hear themselves speak or in the case of the internet, write to see their words on the public screen. If everyone took a step back at times and really thought about what they were going to say, the level of humanity and respect in this world would rise at least ten fold. Just because a person is able to speak or write what they think is right, does not necessarily mean it is uplifting, supporting, encouraging or helpful to the greater good of mankind.

I'm left with the thought about how our words impact water and since our bodies are around 70% water (give or take), words impact us powerfully. All one has to do is read some of the research that Dr. Masaru Emoto has done or try some of the experiments he has done to see the effects. The words we put out say a lot about how we view humanity and how we view ourselves. Just changing the words that we speak or write, has an enormous effect on the world around us.

Sometimes the wiser person is the one that can walk away from the discussion because they see the bigger and broader picture of life. Needing to be right in everything does very little advance human consciousness along.


Further Reading:
1) Hidden Messages (blog post 3/30/2009)
2) Hidden Messages In Water by Dr. Masaru Emoto



Blog Post & Images (c) 2/19/11 Don Shetterly - use by permission only
http://www.donshetterly.com

Parents Warned of Energy Drinks

When I saw this CNN Health Article, Pediatricians, Parents Warned On Energy Drink Dangers, I thought it was a good one to post on the blog. So much of our country does not fully understand what is good for us to consume and in what quantities. We constantly indulge in things that are not necessarily the best for us. Energy drinks are one such example.

Recent studies have shown that energy drinks can cause major health problems in children and young adults. Many of the energy drinks contain high amounts of caffeine and other stimulants. According to the Poison Control Center, there were 5448 caffeine overdoses reported in 2007. It has been reported in the Journal of Pediatrics that energy drinks could be especially dangerous to children with ADHD, diabetes, sleep disturbances and eating disorders.

There is much more in this article that you can read and hopefully many people will at least wake up a little. If we stress our bodies and our minds with substances that are not meant to consume in these quantities, it will have an effect on our lives at some point. Even if it is not immediate, the body can only take so much before the breakers are tripped. We as a country have a long way to go to really understanding what good health and good nutrition is all about.

For Further Reading:
1) CNN Health, Peatricians, Parents Warned On Energy Drink Dangers
2) Confusion - Symptoms Of Stress, Part 9



Blog Post & Images (c) 2/19/11 Don Shetterly - use by permission only
http://www.donshetterly.com

Depression Drugs Added To Water Supply

I have no way to really verify if the following story on a website (healthfreedoms.org ) is true. If it is, it frightens me that this could even happen. Again, without verification, I just don't know how real of a possibility this. I do recognize that things spread all over the internet and look real, but are not always that way.

In this article (see reference link below), there has been some suggested talk of adding depression causing drugs to our water system much like Fluoride is added. To add anything to the water is despicable and evil from my view point. Water is meant to be pure and already through our horrible environmental practices and our waste along with excessive medication usage, our water supply is being contaminated. There are numerous reports out with enough testing taking place to show alarming levels of medications, pollutants and chemicals in our water supply.

Please read the following article and decide for yourself how you will react to this. At the minimum, be aware that there may be some underhanded manipulation being done already to make this a reality. Of course, each person reading this post and the article will have to decide for themselves just how real this threat is.


(Link no longer works)



Health Authorities Want Depression-Causing Drugs Added To Water Supply



Further Reading:
1) Fluoride: Friend Or Foe?
2) Toxic Products We Consume



Blog Post & Images (c) 2/17/11 Don Shetterly - use by permission only
http://www.donshetterly.com

Check Your Anger At The Door

The other day, I had a job where I was working with a customer and delivering new laptops to the various people in the organization. While most people were more than happy to get their new laptops, there is always the problem child. No matter what you give some people, they will resist through fear of getting something new. When they resist, it is not uncommon for them to push back and become difficult to work with.

While I am quite aware that this will happen, one individual pushed my buttons the other day in a very big way. Imagine having a roomful of 50 or more people coming in to get their laptops and a limited number of techs on hand to make sure all questions were answered. There was a short amount of time that these people were going to be there. One of the first individuals that I got to work with was a man that either was having a bad day or is normally a very angry person.

Asking an innocent question if he needed help, unleashed a furry of words and actions that left me dumbfounded and surprised. No matter what I tried to do or how I tried to help him, he just lit into me as if I was the lightening rod for all his anger. He did this as he assured me that he normally doesn't get this upset and frustrated. As my eyes rolled at that statement, he continued to berate and scream at me. At one point he picked the laptop up and I thought I was going to have to duck because that thing was going to be sailing at me.

Normally, I am pretty good about diffusing situations like this. If I would have had more time to spend just with him, I would have let him unload on me but time was limited and I could not do that. Regardless of what I did or how I tried to show him I cared, he just continued with his tirade. Finally, I went and got someone higher up in the organization and asked them to deal with him because I needed to move on to other people. Unfortunately, they were not able to deal with him either as he just continued his tirade on everyone that was in the room.

After we got a break, I made my exit outside and just breathed and found my center point again because that was a very intense moment. It was extremely stressful and affected the rest of my day. The day actually went longer than expected so by the time I got home I was very exhausted. This was after 13.5 hours from the previous day.

It made me sad for the gentleman though, that he felt he needed to do this to someone else. Maybe he wasn't even in touch with himself in what he was doing and maybe there were other things going on in his life. It wasn't fair to me or others in the room. We were there trying to help and assist, not to be emotionally beat up.

What makes a person lose it in this way? What gives another person the right to emotionally beat up on others? I witnessed events like this all my life and there have been times that I've lost it through holiday seasons or other triggering events. It saddens me when I think of those times. I've been working very hard to release things in my life and rid the source of the anger so that I don't continue any of these things on.

My heart went out to this gentleman. He was actually a sales person in this company and I could not help but wonder how he comes across to people. There is so much anger in our world and like this gentleman, it often spills over into all areas of our world. All you have to do is turn the radio or TV on and see this person or that person screaming out in an angry tone to force others to believe what they think is right. In fact, if you get into the political realm of our country, you see the anger portrayed as "passion" and if you watch other countries, you see the anger spill over into violence and uprising.

I'm not disputing the validity of these events but I am trying to get everyone to see that so much of our communication in this world is from a point of anger. It is not healthy for ourselves or for others and yet it is practiced as the norm in humanity every day. Passion and discussion of ideas is one thing but when anger is introduced into the scenario, we begin to erode the respect away that we have for others and for ourselves.

Anger is a valid emotion but there is a time and place for it. In the scenario above, too many computer techs experience the anger that is not checked at the door. After several years of dealing with it, the computer techs get to the point of saying, whatever and losing some of that passion they have for the job. As many techs may joke, they are a psychologist, punching bag and superman all rolled up into one package. I remember one president expecting me to get an AT&T satellite working so he could have a video conference call. I remember the time this same President of the company called me an idiot in front of a roomful of company employees because the power point projector would not work. There is a time and place but we all need to be mindful of that time and place as well as the person on the receiving end. If we value the other person so little, we value ourselves to the same degree.

Each of us needs to find our own outlet for anger and frustration that we experience in life. It is never okay to take it out on any other human or animal or even ourselves. The healthy thing is to get to the source of it and find ways to release it and let it go.

So the next time you find yourself ready to lash out at someone through your own misdirected anger, realize that they are not the ones that deserve. Yes, if they are the source of it, assertively find a way to confront them, but check your anger at the door. You can assertively confront someone without losing your temper and going ballistic.

We are all on this planet to build a civilization that uplifts and encourages each other. Let us not tear it down by living our life out of anger but one of seeing the good in each other and ourselves. There is a time for anger but not at the expense of someone else.



Blog Post & Images (c) 2/16/11 Don Shetterly - use by permission only
http://www.donshetterly.com

Computer Contestant On Jeopardy

Okay, if you're wondering what Jeopardy and a computer have to do with the mind body thoughts blog, please don't think I've lost my mind! Actually when I heard that Jeopardy was doing this experiment with IBM, I was intrigued. After all, watching science push the brain and the brain push science is extremely fascinating to me. In my mind, we have not yet begun to understand all the power that the brain holds and the ability we have to impact or influence our body, our spirit, our emotions and every cell or muscle.

That is why the computer contestant on Jeopardy, Watson, created by IBM and aired on 2/15/11, really caught my attention. To accomplish this, researchers had to go in and think about every possible piece of information that was needed to make this happen. They had to go in and design a computer network system that could handle all of this with lightening speed. Then, they had to bring this all together so it could receive communication and respond back with quick speed an in an appropriate manner. Just to think of all the parts of this that went in to develop and create this is mind boggling in itself. I have a computer background so I truly understand a lot of what had to happen here to make this thing work.

Here's a video clip on YouTube about this episode on Jeopardy that explains much more about it.

We as humans are said to only use 10% of our brains at most but in many ways, this is a myth. If we did not use parts of our brain, they would cease to function and die off from what I understand of the brain. The trick though in harnessing the brain is through our evolution and awareness of our consciousness. The more we are aware of intricate parts of our self and the more we understand about our consciousness, the more we harness our brain.

Most humans go through life only using logical nerve synapses to deduce what facts are presented to us in order to create a dictated reality. Hopefully I didn't lose anyone on that statement and if I did, just go back and reread that statement more carefully. To simplify what I am saying, here is another take on that. We often use the busy part of our brain that helps us take care of tasks in our day from appointments and reminders on our to do list, to analyzing data to make decisions, to taking care of business and just making our lives happen. However, we miss one important part of our life so often and it is the part that gives us our human qualities and takes us from just being a biological organism to an individual with unlimited possibilities.

That part of our life is consciousness. Consciousness is a result of discovery and travel into all areas of our life through questioning, challenge and acceptance. It is about becoming all we can become. Like Watson, the IBM computer contestant on Jeopardy, we have great potential but if we sit on a network rack with a power plug connected but we are not being developed, than we are nothing more than electrical impulses. We need to strive further to be more than a Watson and that is where the human brain and the mind/body connection play a significant role.

We have so much more potential within us to sense, feel and understand what is going on around us. There are higher brain functions that are developed in the prefrontal cortex as the consciousness of a human is developed and nurtured. When we work to discover these parts of our self, we offer ourselves so much more that the mundane daily activities will never be able to give us.

By connecting our mind and body together and connecting what we feel to what we are experiencing, we truly give ourselves much more than what Watson will ever begin to give himself. Consciousness does not come from some cerebral new age practice but it comes from connecting our mind and the felt sense in our body together. It is at that point that the synapse of so much more in life becomes visible. The more visible it becomes, the more aware the person is of unlimited possibility, potential and evolution.

Let us realize that this experiment with IBM and Jeopardy is a window into the potential of where we can go. Imagine many years ago when Jeopardy started in 1964, the personal computer was hardly even a dream. At that time, if you would have said that a computer contestant named Watson was going to be a contestant on Jeopardy, you probably would have gotten laughed out of the building. Yet, 47 years later, what was once considered unfathomable is now reality.

My question to everyone reading this and to myself is, how far will we be in the next 47 years? What do we consider impossible today that will be considered reality tomorrow? Let's tie that into our brain and ask where our civilization will be in 47 years? Will we look back at our current moments and view us as being primitive in how we think and view our mind, our body and the world around us? It is hard to sit here and write about what things will look like in another 50 or 100 years but if our past is any indication, I'm sure no one will be able to predict what lies ahead.

May we all continue to discover our true potential and our unlimited possibilities. May we continue to become more aware of all parts of ourselves and evolve into a greater consciousness, conquering our fears and truly learning what it means to be human and to live as a human in our body. Let us not stop when we think we found the edge of all that there is but let us travel beyond those moments and truly discover the unseen.

For Further Information:
1) Prefrontal Cortex Functions
2) Jeopardy, America's Favorite Quiz Show
3) IBM, Watson and Jeopardy
4) YouTube Jeopardy And IBM Watson Challenge




Blog Post & Images (c) 2/15/11 Don Shetterly - use by permission only
http://www.donshetterly.com

Most Valuable Lessons In Life

On Facebook, a friend asked the question "What Are The Three Most Valuable Lessons You've Learned In Your Lifetime?", here is what I wrote.

1. What I think life is all about is most likely not what it is about
2. When you discover who you are and what it means to live in your body, than you just started the road to personal growth and evolution.
3. When I think I know and see all that there is, I realize that my eyes were still asleep.


So now that I answered this, I'll ask the same question of anyone who reads this? Feel free to answer by commenting below.

Happy Valentine's Day

On this Valentine's Day -

May you realize the love you hold in your heart and may you gently apply it to every cell of your body.


--Relaxing Piano Music For Valentine's Day

Gavin the ATF Explosive Canine Traumatized

On one episode of the Dog Whisperer, there was a story about a dog named Gavin. For 5 years, Gavin had been an ATF Explosive Canine or otherwise known as a bomb searching dog.

These dogs go in and detect the bombs, than sit down in such a way that the handler knows they have found something. The dogs are trained to not disturb what they find so that if it is a bomb, it will not go off.

Gavin and his handler went to Iraq always doing what was asked of him. When bombs were going off around them, he would freeze and quiver and shake just as his handler would do as well.

After Gavin returned from Iraq, the area he was living in experienced two major hurricanes, Katrina and Wilma. At the time, his handler was away on an assignment but Gavin was in the house. The windows were shaking and rattling which caused Gavin to go from room to room hiding. It was hard for them to get Gavin to eat and he was suffering from a canine form of PTSD.

After the hurricane, they could not get Gavin to come back inside the house and they literally had to drag him inside. During a 4th of July part, Gavin got so scared of the fireworks and found his way into a neighbor's bathroom shower stall to hide. They found him quivering and to frozen in fear and panic to come outside. After the incident with the fireworks, almost any type of sound would cause Gavin to hide and quiver and shake.

Ceaser Milan, the Dog Whisperer from that National Geographic channel was called in to help Gavin. The entire saga and episode was very interesting to watch because much of what Ceaser did with Gavin centers around the same concepts that Dr. Canali is teaching and working with others about trauma. Trauma, PTSD, panic attacks, and many other things usually find a home in the body through some form of traumatic experience or an ongoing buildup of stress.

Our bodies are designed to handle great deals of stress but when the nervous system is overloaded so dramatically in a moment or for a long period of time, the body and the mind changes. The switch gets flipped and soon a normal human being is acting in ways that are not related to the current circumstances. It is like the person becomes something they are not and which does not make sense.

Many have been traumatized in some way throughout our life. Some of us have experienced more than others but the net effect is still the same on the body. It impacts the body in very physical ways. If we allow this to continue in our life, it alters who we really are and are meant to be. If we use these things to transform ourselves, than we have the ability to do great things and to evolve ourselves in awareness and consciousness.

At one time, I thought trauma and child abuse were life sentences. However, I learned through the paralysis and conversion disorder I suffered from, that with time, healing and courageous work, I could move beyond these things. Yes, these horrible moments from my past do still affect me from time to time but I have learned that as I use the after affects to my benefit, that much greater things can arise.

No longer do I need to be on medications for anxiety, depression, migraines, nervous stomach, allergies and many other things. No longer do I need to live in constant fear of the fears that surrounded my life. No longer do I need to allow these things to pull me under and hold me back from living the life I was meant to live. Yet, at one time, the trauma I experienced did seem like a life sentence that I would never live beyond.

Much like Gavin, there was a switch flipped in my mind and much like this ATF dog, I was able to go in and heal myself physically. The healing does not just happen in the mind. It has to happen from inside the body, outward. The brain and mind is only a part of the equation. The rest of the equation happens in the body because the cells remember what happened even when the mind struggles to piece things together. In other words, there are issues in the tissues. Until the body is engaged in the healing process, the fears will still be a haunting force and true peace will only be a hopeful dream.


To Learn More About Gavin on The Dog Whisperer, click here

Learn About Dr. Paul Canali at Evolutionary Healing, click here

Read My Story, Hope And Possibility Through Trauma, click here




Blog Post & Images (c) 2/6/11 Don Shetterly - use by permission only
http://www.donshetterly.com

Relaxing Piano Music For Valentine's Day

Just a break for today from our regular programming to let you know (in case you did not already know this) that I have some very relaxing piano music available for sale. It is music that I created and is extremely relaxing, perfect for those quiet moments alone or when you are with that special someone in your life.

Of course Valentine's Day is Monday, Feburary 14, 2011, so guys, you've been told and warned! You can't say you didn't know it was coming. Don't wait until the last moment to plan a way to show the one you love, just how much you do love them. I'm not saying you have to go out and spend a load of money but see if you can't think outside the box and find something that really shows just how much you do love them. Give them something deep from your heart.

If you need help in that area, you're more than welcome to go and download some of my music on iTunes, Amazon or many other digital download sites. It is truly relaxing, peaceful and all of my music is played deep from within my heart.

If you go to my website, www.donshetterly.com, you can listen to a few sound clips on the front page. There are links to iTunes, Amazon, CDbaby.com, Napster and Rhapsody if you wish to purchase and download it or you can buy the physical CD on Amazon.

Here are the CD's I have available:

1) Dancing With Life












2) Focusing












3) Relaxing Spa Music













@mindbodythought on twitter


Blog Post & Images (c) 2/8/11 Don Shetterly - use by permission only
http://www.donshetterly.com

The Power Of Your Mind

Have you ever thought about the power your mind holds? It is much more powerful than we often give it credit for in our lives. While it is often said that we only use a small percentage of our brain, in many ways that is not true. We use all of it to function but we often do not tap into all our consciousness and awareness.

When I was a child, I hated gym class with a passion and would do anything to get out of it. There were many reasons for my hatred of course. However, some days in gym class, the activities we were going to be doing were just too much for me to deal with. So on those days, shortly before the class would start, I would begin a process in my mind to make myself appear sick. To this day, I am not sure I could recreate that exact same process but most of it would be where I would "think" I was sick or running a temperature along with stomach pains.

I learned early on that if I just complained about feeling sick but showed no proof , I would not be excused from gym class. They might make me go in and sit there or do something stupid which wasn't any better to me. I learned that I had to show them proof. So I would concentrate on thinking that my body temperature was high and I was running a fever. The process was not much more than having myself believing that my body temperature was high . This of course was fueled and motivated by my hatred for gym class.

Sure enough, we would get to class and I would inform the teacher that I didn't feel well. It gave me just a little longer to work the body over and exhibit the symptoms. The teacher would then instruct me to go to the nurses office to be checked out. When I got there, she would ask me what the symptoms were and most of them I was not faking but when she would take my temperature, it would always be very high. It would register just high enough that would cause them concern and she would declare I was sick and I needed to go home. Then my mom would have to come pick me up and take me home, leaving me alone while she went back to work. That meant though, I would have to continue faking being sick for some time longer so no one suspected what I was up to.

But as I think back on that, I realize just how powerful thoughts can be. There was nothing physically wrong with me and even after getting sent home, I was still not "sick". The next day I would go back to school. I never let on to anyone what I was doing because if the secret got out, my fake illness would not work. In this case, it was all in my mind.

Each one of us has the ability to do so much with our minds whether it is physical illness or healing, positive or negative thoughts or pushing away/bringing in thoughts and things we need. We all can do this and we all do it every day regardless if we aren't aware we are doing it.

How conscious and aware we are in our lives is all up to the power of our mind and our ability to connect with it. In order to be a conscious person means, one needs to be fully connected with your body, mind and soul. By traveling deep within one's self, you allow yourself to heal, grown and evolve all parts of yourself. Of course, this is a constant ongoing process because the more conscious you become, the more you are aware. The more you are aware, the more conscious you become. It is a never ending process of evolution and becoming all you can be in your life.

How can you use the power of your mind to connect deep within and discover your own consciousness and awareness?




Blog Post & Images (c) 2/5/11 Don Shetterly - use by permission only
http://www.donshetterly.com

Conversion Disorder by the Mayo Clinic on CNN Health

I saw this posted on CNN.com about conversion disorders with the source of the information being the Mayo Clinic. The link to the article is CNN-Conversion Disorders.

Since I know first hand what a conversion disorder is, I wanted to spread some information along. All too often, no one really understands what this is, let alone that it can be treated successfully. Complete loss of your physical body in a conversion disorder is a rare condition but I believe there are people out there that are living with this condition rather than truly healing from it. So many times the medical doctors do not understand this and so a patient is left to struggle through this situation which is itself a traumatic experience.

A conversion disorder is when psychological stress or trauma becomes manifested physically in the body. Movement or senses are often affected with sometimes paralysis, blindness or difficultly swallowing being the results. While symptoms of conversion disorders can be severe, people often recover within a few weeks.

Conversion disorders are usually caused by some underlying stress or traumatic incident. Trauma can exist within the body for years and when the right switch is flipped in the person's life (like another experience connecting back to the original trauma), then the body begins to shut down. The current experience may have absolutely no resemblance to what happened in the original trauma but just one part of it that connects the subconscious mind with the trauma can lead to a conversion disorder.

There is much more to a conversion disorder that you can read about on the CNN page link above.

For me, I went through a conversion disorder in 1991. It took several doctors, test and more tests and trips to the hospital, an MRI, more doctors, an ambulance ride and many unnerving moments of despair to figure out what was wrong with me. I was misdiagnosed at first with MS (Multiple Sclerosis) and while the xrays and initial testing showed that this was what I had, the doctors were too narrow in viewing their diagnosis. It was several weeks before I finally got referred to a neurologist.

When the neurologist first examined me, she had the curious look on her face wondering what was going on with me. She decided to admit me to the hospital and run further tests. Up until that point, each doctor was sending me home because there was nothing they could do for me. Yet, I could not take care of myself because I could not walk and I could barely move, eat or function. I never did understand why the doctors kept sending me home instead of admitting me to the hospital because if someone is not able to physically take care of themselves and function, is that not what a hospital is for?

After all the tests were completed and I had a near death experience (or however one would state this), the neurologist came into the room and asked me one simple question that forever changed my life. She asked me if I had anything bad happen to me and if I needed to talk about it. Of course, I don't exactly remember the words she used to ask the question but I replied in my slow and difficult speech, that yes, I needed to talk to someone.

She set me up with a psychiatrist and that first day I talked to him was the first day I was able to take a step. To me, it was no coincidence, that these two things happened together. As I began to talk a little more, I soon found myself able to walk to the bathroom, than out the door of my hospital room than down the hall several feet.

I did spend several weeks going through intense counseling in a psychiatric hospital which greatly helped me and gave me the time to rest and relax. While that was not easy to do, I had really not recalled all the trauma and abuse I had went through in my life. These things would come at a much later time where I would spend considerable time healing through these experiences in counseling.

However, I did not fully begin to heal my body from the trauma and even the experience of the conversion disorder until I met Dr. Paul Canali in 2003. When I first heard him talk about the impact trauma has on a body, I knew first hand he was talking a language my mind and my body understood. He was the first person that helped me understand what had happened to me in the conversion disorder. Up until that point, I had truly been in the dark about this condition. Since that first introduction, I have healed in ways I never thought were possible. I no longer fear a conversion disorder and I no longer live in daily fear of my body shutting down on me. However, to say that I never think about my body shutting down would be a lie because once your body has failed you in a conversion disorder, there is an altered sense of awareness and fear that you hold. The thing is, I don't live in daily fear of that because I know there is a way through it, if my body tries to shut down. Through the healing I've gone through, I don't experience the shut down symptoms like were once normal for me.

If you saw me today, you would not have any idea that I went through the conversion disorder and almost breathed my last breath. You would not realize that I had been paralyzed with almost no feeling in my body and that my memory had went away. There would be no way for you tell that my speech was almost non existent and that I suffered through convulsions, depression, anxiety and suicide. Life is completely different for me and each day I'm learning how to recover more and more of my body and my memory.

About The Picture:
The above picture was taking of me in the early stages of the paralysis. I could still sit up from time to time but I grew exhausted easily and spent considerable time sleeping. If I wasn't awake and sitting up, I was dealing with convulsions and trembling and shaking. In that picture, just holding up the balloon was a difficult thing for me.


Further Reading:
1) Conversion (Somatoform) Disorder (Blog Post 11/09/10)
2) When Life Fell Apart (Blog Post 7/31/09)
3) Hope And Possibility Through Trauma - Book By Don Shetterly
4) Recovery From A Conversion Disorder (Blog Post 7/11/11)



Blog Post & Images (c) 2/3/11 Don Shetterly - use by permission only
http://www.donshetterly.com

Oprah And The Vegan Challenge Part 2

This is part 2 of a two part series. For the complete post, please read Part 1, Oprah And The Vegan Challenge.

In the past couple of years, my eating habits have drastically changed. At one time in my life, I would have never entertained the idea of eating a diet high in vegetables. For one, I thought that there was not enough protein in a diet such as this to fully sustain life. However, I have found out that there are ways to create vegetarian dishes that have adequate protein.

Also, I thought that if I only had vegetables to eat, that the taste would be boring, bland and not filling. I have since learned that the more vegetables I eat, the more my overall tastes improve and if the vegetarian dish is prepared right, it is more than enough for me to eat and fill myself up.

A few years ago, we had done a cleanse a few times called Inner Klean and one of the things I noticed was that I really did feel better after completing it. The biggest thing I noticed was that vegetables and food in general had a much better taste. In our country, we kill our taste buds with the sugar we eat, the sodas we drink and all the junk food we consume. On top of that, we are not fully in touch with our bodies and so we really have dulled our sense of taste.

From there, we started a couple of years ago doing Healing Smoothies that I heard about through the QiGong Seminars with Jeff Primack. I'm glad we did because I feel much better in life and I feel that I get a boost first thing in the morning when I have my smoothie. They have become a way of life for us and we very seldom go a day without having our smoothie. I believe they are helping me change the way food tastes for me and what I desire to eat. Plus, there is no better way to eat vegetables than to eat them raw and whole, not throwing away the skins or seeds which hold the good stuff.

After this point, I began to notice how milk caused a lot of physical distress for me. I have always liked milk and ice cream but physically I would feel awful after eating it. So as I began to quit drinking milk, eating ice cream and slowing down on how much cheese I ate. With time, I noticed that my digestive system was much more at ease. In addition to this, I noticed that my aversion to onions and garlic started to lessen a bit. So instead of getting violently ill after eating minute amounts of garlic and onion, I would be able to deal with the stomach discomfort by drinking some extra orange juice if needed. Now, I have replaced milk with Almond Milk for the most part while occasionally using some milk to cook with. However, the amount of regular milk I consume is almost next to none. I feel so much better that it helps make up for my desire to have ice cream and things like chocolate milk. Cheese is still something I cannot fully get away from because I love the taste of it so much.

Several months ago, some friends of ours came down and we managed to go the entire week eating vegetarian. I really didn't think we could do it but was surprised at just how easy it was. From there, I purchased the Vegetarian Family Cookbook which has helped me learn to prepare vegetarian dishes that are easy and delicious. Some of the vegetarian recipes in the world are so complicated that I have no idea where to find the ingredients, let alone prepare them. This cookbook makes it easy and I love it for that!

Right now, I'm not sure if I will ever fully be a vegetarian. I do like meat and the taste of it but much of that is even changing. However, when I do eat meat, the quantity is much less than I once consumed. At one time, I never would have thought that I would be enjoying veggie burgers or veggie dishes along with some of the stuff I now eat. Yet, I have made that transition slowly and in a pace that works for my body, while I am listening to my body.

I still have a strong weakness towards sugar and chocolate which is something I struggle with. There are things that I am doing to help balance that but so far, it is an epic battle that rages within me. I hardly drink sodas unless I am eating out somewhere. Most of the time, I drink several glasses of water water each day. If I fail to drink enough water in a day, my body and mind really feel sluggish. Fried food has been one I have stayed away from for many years and I still don't desire it much at all. Ground Beef is one of the things I no longer enjoy and so we often use the vegetarian crumbles for dishes. I could go on and on about the things that have changed.

The most important part is to get to know your body inside and out first! By making changes to your life through being body centered and focused, it will give you something to really ground your life in and empower yourself. As you listen to your body and allow your body to change at its own pace, the benefits of anything you do will come back many times over. All too often, we do not really stop and listen to our bodies or get to know them and yet we make decisions for them.

Whatever you do, make the decisions that you feel are right for you and check in with your body. Looking back, I can see the logical progression of the changes within me. Of course, if we are standing still in our lives and going through our daily routines as if this is normal, than we need to stop and evaluate life because we are missing so much. I constantly am challenging myself and often some feel that I need to fully "move on" or "let go" of things but if we are not evolving and growing, are we truly being human? I strive to be all that I can be and that for me, means going in and challenging every part of my body, mind and soul.


For Further Reading:
1) The Vegetarian Family Cookbook by Nava Atlas
2) Oprah And The Vegan Challenge, Part 1 (posted 2/8/11)
3) Oprah.com Episode - Vegan Challenge
4) Food Based Healing Smoothies



Blog Post & Images (c) 2/7/11 Don Shetterly - use by permission only
http://www.donshetterly.com

Oprah And The Vegan Challenge Part 1

I saw the episode of Oprah about the Vegan challenge to her entire staff on February 1, 2010. Actually a friend of mine that works for Cargill let me know that it was coming up. I must say, I felt it was very well balanced. Since I come from both sides of this issue and have experiences that most people do not, the show seemed like an open exchange of ideas. I do realize that no matter what is done or said, people on both sides are not always understanding of each other.

People who are vegetarian and vegan, most of the time feel that eating animals is ethically wrong. On the other side, those that produce animals for consumption feel that this is a valid part of the cycle of life and that without them, the world would go hungry. These are valid arguments on both sides. For me, I try to find balance. Of course, feel free to leave your comments, just keep them respectful. If they are attacking or negative, they will not get published. I'm very lenient about comments but I don't tolerate attacks or disrespect.

Raising animals or crops for production is not an easy thing. If anyone out there thinks it is, spend a day with a farmer and you'll quickly understand just how hard the work is. It is not something one decides today that they will be a farmer and start doing it. It is either in your blood or not because farming is not for most of the people in our country. Most would not last a week working on a farm. I'm not saying that too be harsh but it is a reality.

In addition to that, I often hear people say that farmers make too much money but again, most of the profit margins are so narrow that one tiny mishap or market fluctuation or legislative change could wipe out a farming operation. Even an environmental impact such as weather changes or storms could impact the health of the animals to the point where the entire farm could be lost. Making a profit is difficult in the best of years and almost impossible in the worst of years.

One of the things I see is just how difficult it is to find adequate supplies of vegetables and non meat products in the area I live in. Sometimes finding a fresh supply of vegetables is difficult and when I look at the amount of space in the local area grocery stores devoted to produce, it is relatively small compared to the junk type food that most people purchase. Of course we can drive 40 miles and buy stuff at organic markets but honestly, that gets way too expensive. I am trying to grow some vegetables during the summer but sometimes weather, bugs and time inhibits those ambitions.

I cannot help but think that if it is that difficult for me to buy good quality vegetables in my area, how would we feed the entire world if there were no meat products. If everyone had large gardens like they once did, I could believe that is a more likely possibility but to depend upon our food system to produce it for everyone, is just not realistic and feasible.

In addition, if vegetables became in high demand, the prices would surely rise. It is the law of supply and demand. There are many people in this world and in our country who care barely buy enough food to feed their family. Most of us never see this and we think that the people who are like that are just on food stamps. However, there are many that never get any assistance whatsoever and yet they struggle to feed themselves and their family. Most of us are very blind when it comes to this taking place right before our eyes.

I know first hand what it is like to go to bed hungry and go to school hungry as a kid. Sometimes all we had to eat was popcorn for a meal or sometimes a can of vegetables was all we had to feed a family of five. When I think back to the small amount of food we had to eat growing up, especially when I was just a few years old, I can hardly believe I made it this far in life. Even at one point in college, I was struggling during the summer and all I could afford to eat was some bread, jello, peanut butter and jelly. That's about it but yet no one around me knew or cared how badly I had it. It was a difficult month to get through.

In my mind, I feel a balance is more important than rigid beliefs from either side. However, I try to respect each side even though I don't understand the rigid beliefs. Each person of course has to make their own choices for what is right for them. As long as that person respects others who feel differently, than that brings balance into life.

Unfortunately, all too often, I have been met with gasps by people standing right in front of me as they find out that I eat meat. Because I'm a massage therapist and part of alternative medicine, it is often believed that I have to be a vegetarian in order to be an enlightened individual. Again, I really have no place with the rigid thinking and beliefs. If I wanted that, I would be attending the church that I grew up in. There is so much more to life than rigid thinking.

We all have so much to contribute to society and humanity that we need to focus more on helping each other learn rather than judging each other. This goes for both sides on this issue. If we stand opposed, how will the other side ever come to understand what it is that we feel is important. If we stand opposed, how will that help further the goals and ideals you find important in your life. We need to work together, listen with compassion and love unconditionally.

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Come back tomorrow for more on how I have actually been switching my eating habits and although I would not classify myself as a vegetarian, I am slowly shifting that direction.

Part 2, Oprah And The Vegan Challenge
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For Further Reading:
1) The Vegetarian Family Cookbook by Nava Atlas
2) Oprah And The Vegan Challenge, Part 2 (2/9/11)
3) Oprah.com Episode - Vegan Challenge
4) Food Based Healing Smoothies





Blog Post & Images (c) 2/5/11 Don Shetterly - use by permission only
http://www.donshetterly.com