The awakening of the public and the coming overthrow of evil

The awakening of the public and the coming overthrow of evil: "Many people recognize what's really happening in the world of health and medicine today: Increasing disease, unabated disease mongering, corporate exploitation of the people, environmental destruction, a decline in honest health journalism, skyrocketing health care costs, tens of millions of uninsured people and continued assaults on health freedom by the FDA and conventional medicine. These are just a few of the many challenges that concern the lucid, thinking people who now populate Internet blogs, chat rooms and websites. But along with these shared concerns, there is also emerging a consensus that our shared future does not have to follow the pattern of our recent past.

Together, we can create positive change, and it all starts from the day-to-day grind of observing what's happening in the world, applying some critical thinking, and sharing our thoughts, ideas, concerns and solutions with others. Each day that I have an opportunity to engage in this work, I feel deeply honored. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to humbly serve in this important role of taking part in a global paradigm shift that may yet allow us to find true freedom, health and prosperity. I also invite you to join this effort in any way that you are able: To become a blogger, a writer or a video commentator so that your voice may be heard and your ideas may encourage others to find their own voice"

As Albert Einstein famously said, "We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them."

A time for real change is approachingThere is hope, however, to be found in a new mode of thinking that's now beginning to take shape across the "awakened" members of the Internet community. It's a recognition that exciting changes are now possible, and that the forces of evil that have been acting upon us for so long -- destroying our health, our environment and our freedom -- are poised to be overthrown.

We are all living it what may soon be viewed as a time of the most significant and rapid changes in recent human history. They will not be without difficulty, however, so be prepared for changes that may far exceed what you, or your parents, or even your grandparents ever witnessed.

Most importantly, stay engaged in the conversation. Stay informed. Independent news websites and blogs are now the only remaining sources of accurate information about what's really happening today. There are far too many to name, but I've listed a short selection of my favorites in the right column at www.NewsTarget.com

Be active in what's happening. Teach yourself to stay alert and be a critical thinker. Question what you are told, especially by those in positions of authority or apparent power. The bigger the organization from which any message emerges, the more likely it is to be corrupted by an ulterior motive (profit, public complacency, etc.) Trust the smaller, independent organizations like PR Watch, Commercial Alert, the Organic Consumers Association, the Government Accountability Project and others.

What you do is your own business, but if you want to be engaged in real solutions, turn off your television. Disconnect from cable and reconnect to books and informative Internet sites. Buy organic produce and avoid processed foods. Stop spending money on products made by unethical corporations. (Vote with your dollars.) Demand accountability from your elected officials and representatives (including Judges). Learn how to grow your own food, even if just a little. Get out of the city from time to time and reconnect with nature on a regular basis. Supplement with nutrients that enhance mental acuity, intelligence and presence of mind (I highly recommend supplements from the Life Extension Foundation at www.LEF.org). Practice a little yoga, Tai-Chi or Pilates. Train your body and your mind to be healthy and alert.

These are the things that make you a participant in life, rather than a spectator. These are a few of the things that ultimately help set you free. Stay alert, because you won't want to miss what's coming.

Monsanto's Secret Study Shows Health Hazards of New GE Corn

You don't even want to know how long this has been used and sold in the USA. Just try to find something WITHOUT corn Syrup... and don't even read the ladel on your dog food

Monsanto's Secret Study Shows Health Hazards of New GE Corn: "A Monsanto study on a new type of GM Bt maize shows significant harm caused to rats fed on the variety, called MON 863. The study shows kidney abnormalities and unusually high levels of white blood cells. It raises serious concerns about the impacts of GM foods on human health.

Of course, in spite of the irregularities in the health of the rats fed the GM maize, the Monsanto report concluded that these were irrelevant, and should not be attributed to the GM maize itself, even though the rats fed non-GM exhibited no such problems. Monsanto had tried to suppress their own study, although they had been obliged to hand it in to European regulatory bodies while they consider approval of the maize in Europe (to be decided by vote on this Friday the 24th June). Monsanto had claimed that their study could not be made public as it was "confidential business information."

The German government, alongside Greenpeace, contested Monsanto's claim. On Monday the 20th, a German court overruled Monsanto's appeal, and the data was finally made available to the public. Two scientists, Dr Arpad Pusztai and Prof Eric-Gilles Seralini, who had reviewed the study for the German and French governments, but who had been forbidden from speaking out about it, were finally able to break their silence and reveal their concerns about the safety of MON 863."

USDA National Organic Program

This is the whole scam in a nut shell. Everyone knows gov. people are paid peanuts; they are "public servants" so just have great benefits instead. Well that really means is that they serve the public that $erves them so the only regulations enforced are just to keep money$ moving.

Production and Handling: Regulatory Text:
Subpart C - Organic Production and Handling Requirements

205.200 General. The producer or handler of a production or handling operation intending to sell, label, or represent agricultural products as '100 percent organic,' 'organic,' or 'made with organic (specified ingredients or food group(s))' must comply with the applicable provisions of this subpart. Production practices implemented in accordance with this subpart must maintain or improve the natural resources of the operation, including soil and water quality.

205.201 Organic production and handling system plan.
(a) The producer or handler of a production or handling operation, except as exempt or excluded under

205.101, intending to sell, label, or represent agricultural products as '100 percent organic,' 'organic,' or 'made with organic (specified ingredients or food group(s))' must develop an organic production or handling system plan that is agreed to by the producer or handler and an accredited certifying agent. An organic system plan must meet the requirements set forth in this section for organic production or handling. An organic production or handling system plan must include:

(1) A description of practices and procedures to be performed and maintained, including the frequency with which they will be performed;

(2) A list of each substance to be used as a production or handling input, indicating its composition, source, location(s) where it will be used, and documentation of commercial availability, as applicable;

(3) A description of the monitoring practices and procedures to be performed and maintained, including the frequency with which they will be performed, to verify that the plan is effectively implemented;"
http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop/archive/OFPA.html

Chemical child abuse

Greed and corruption have nothing to do with ethics and moral social service. I wonder how much this has to happen before people will wake up?

Here's more from ClinicalTrials.gov:
This is an 8-week open-label study aimed at assessing the effectiveness and tolerability of Quetiapine, in the treatment of preschool children aged 4 to 6 years with bipolar and bipolar spectrum disorder. This is an exploratory, pilot study, seeking to determine whether Quetiapine is efficacious and well tolerated in the treatment of preschoolers with pediatric bipolar and bipolar spectrum disorder in this age group.
Ages Eligible for Study:4 Years - 6 Years, Genders Eligible for Study: Both
Subject must be able to participate in mandatory blood draws.
Massachusetts General Hospital, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02138, United States; Recruiting
Joseph Biederman, MD, Principal Investigator

Chemical child abuseIn my view, this exploitation of young children for drug testing amounts to nothing less than chemical child abuse. What possible medical justification could these doctors, hospital staff and drug pushers have for prescribing mind-altering drugs to four-year-olds? Even the "disease" being treated here is entirely fictional. So-called "bi-polar disorder" was wholly invented by psychiatrists with strong financial ties to drug companies. The purpose of this disease is not to help children, but to sell drugs to anyone and everyone, including toddlers.
I often wonder when the rest of the country will wake up and notice that the mass-drugging of our nation's children has gone too far. Why isn't the mainstream media giving this front-page coverage? Why aren't lawmakers demanding an end to the chemical abuse of our children? Why isn't the FDA halting these trials on toddlers out of plain decency?

You already know the answer: Because they're all making money from this chemical assault on our nation's children. The doctors, hospitals, drug companies, psychiatrists and mainstream media all profit handsomely from the sales of mind-altering drugs to children. Ethics will never get in the way of old-fashioned greed, even when we're talking about the health and lives of four-year-olds.

Modern psychiatry, with all its false authority, drugging of children and rampant disease mongering, is an affront to all people who believe in honest medical science and basic human decency. Armed with the DSM-IV, on-the-take psychiatrists invent diseases out of thin air (like "bi-polar disorder"), then vote official treatment protocols into the reference books. Yet a recent review of such decision panels reveals that one hundred percent of the psychiatrists and doctors involved in such decisions have financial ties to the drug companies that coincidentally happen to manufacture the recommended drugs

New Scientist Breaking News - Another fundamental constant accused of changing

New Scientist Breaking News - Another fundamental constant accused of changing: "Another fundamental constant accused of changing
13:55 21 April 2006

Cosmologists claim to have found evidence that yet another fundamental constant of nature, called mu, may have changed over the last 12 billion years. If confirmed, the result could force some physicists to radically rethink their theories. It would also provide support for string theory, which predicts extra spatial dimensions.
This is not the first time fundamental constants have been accused of changing over the lifetime of the universe. Most famously, there was controversy over the fine structure constant, alpha (α), which governs how light and electrons interact. Some physicists claimed it is changing while others said it was not (see "Speed of light may have changed recently").
The ratio of a proton’s mass to that of an electron, known as mu, is among the most mysterious of constants. There is no explanation for why the proton’s mass should be 1836 times that of the electron.
The constant governs the strong nuclear force, which holds protons and neutrons together in atomic nuclei, and is also responsible for binding the quarks – the building blocks which make up protons – neutrons and most other fundamental particles.

WorldChanging: Another World Is Here: Microbial Fuel Cells Update

WorldChanging: Another World Is Here: Microbial Fuel Cells Update: "Microbial Fuel Cells Update Jamais Cascio
A Newly Electric Green Sustainable Energy, Resources and Design see all posts in this category
Back in February, we reported on research at Penn State creating microbial fuel cells -- MFCs -- which produced power by cleaning domestic wastewater. As is typical for such posts, we made sure to mention that this was early stage stuff, not yet ready for deployment, but with updates sure to follow.
Well, follow they have. Last week, the Penn State engineers reported that they've managed to boost the electricity output by nearly six times while cutting the cost by two-thirds. They also demonstrated MFCs in action by connecting a unit to a three milliwatt fan (video here, 5.2mb mpeg). In principle, the MFC could power the fan using less than a teacup of wastewater.
Every now and then we hit upon a story which really feels like a glimpse into the desired future. The idea of using microbes to simultaneously clean the water supply and generate power is almost too good to be true. But it's in the labs now, and it's getting closer to the real world every day.
Posted by Jamais Cascio at June 23, 2004 04:29 PM TrackBack



comments
This is interesting. I have been working on waste water treatment combined with energy production in the form of bioenergy. With modesty I have to admit that, I had been extremely successful. The data was not published as the sponsosring agencies of the project had planned to take up a patent on it. Nevertheless, clean, green energy is here to come and stay. Hope we will leave behind cleaner, greener and renewable environment to our children.
Wish to interact for more information exchange in this regard."

Here we go....

"you a chance to tune into your deeper, more spiritual space. There is no need to work at such a frantic pace. You may even find that life slows down a little to enable you to get a rest at this time. Tuesday looks like "


All Is Fair in Love and...
On Saturday, April 8, the two warrior planets Mars and Pluto will face off. You may feel a build-up in intensity as the week progresses and these two hotheads form an exact opposition. Unresolved emotions, old anger, and pent-up passions are possible sources of explosion. If you know what the situation could be about, address it early in the week to avoid a huge eruption. Depending on your birth chart, this could affect relationships with family, a lover, or even a business partner. Consult the Tarot at this time to find out how to diffuse any possible conflicts in advance. It's worth it!
Need love and relationship advice? Consult the Love Tarot for answers!

Financial SurprisesThe Sun is in your mysterious twelfth house, eric, and is bringing you a chance to tune into your deeper, more spiritual space. There is no need to work at such a frantic pace. You may even find that life slows down a little to enable you to get a rest at this time. Tuesday looks like a good day to approach others and to enjoy a social gathering or a business meeting. Saturn turns direct on Wednesday in Leo which helps matters on the home front and gives you an opportunity to focus on a solution that may be beneficial to all. But you do need to take more care over your finances. Mars in your personal financial zone moves to oppose Pluto on Saturday, creating quite a powerful aspect that could indicate a challenge in this zone. If you know beforehand what this could be about, then try and diffuse any tension early on and get a head start at finding the right solution. It is possible that one area of your finances will need to be changed quite dramatically. Venus moves into Pisces on Wednesday and this is good news for your social life, which seems to be fairly active right now.

All Clinical Trials [NCCAM]

All Clinical Trials [NCCAM]: "M
Macrobiotic Diet
Magnesium
Magnetic Brain Stimulation
Massage
Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy
Meditation
Melatonin
Memory Disorders
Menopause
Micronutrient Therapy
Milk Thistle
Mind-Body
Mindfulness
Mistletoe
Moxibustion
Multiple Sclerosis
Music Therapy "

USF COM Department of Psychiatry

USF COM Department of Psychiatry: "'Discovering how brain development affects the behavior of children Scientists and clinicians collaborating to understand the biological and Environmental factors responsible for disorders of thought, learning, communication and behavior, and translating this knowledge Into newer, more effective treatments. "

Unity Method Patent

Abstract
This invention defines a Method for managing the psychological and physiological state of an individual person’s life. The Method is a conscious perception of the Unity of the universe that we live in; whereby all natural and physical laws are included to understand and solve problems. Utilizing this Method creates conscious control of all natural and physical laws ..... ooops, let the cat out lol er;-D))

peter senge and the theory and practice of the learning organization

when there is a will there is a way!!! lol...
peter senge and the theory and practice of the learning organization: "The dimension that distinguishes learning from more traditional organizations is the mastery of certain basic disciplines or component technologies. The five that Peter Senge identifies are said to be converging to innovate learning organizations. They are:
Systems thinking
Personal mastery
Mental models
Building shared vision
Team learning
He adds to this recognition that people are agents, able to act upon the structures and systems of which they are a part. All the disciplines are, in this way, concerned with a shift of mind from seeing parts to seeing wholes, from seeing people as helpless reactors to seeing them as active participants in shaping their reality, from reacting to the present to creating the future (Senge 1990: 69). It is to the disciplines that we will now turn."

Building shared vision. Peter Senge starts from the position that if any one idea about leadership has inspired organizations for thousands of years, ‘it’s the capacity to hold a share picture of the future we seek to create’ (1990: 9). Such a vision has the power to be uplifting – and to encourage experimentation and innovation. Crucially, it is argued, it can also foster a sense of the long-term, something that is fundamental to the ‘fifth discipline’.
When there is a genuine vision (as opposed to the all-to-familiar ‘vision statement’), people excel and learn, not because they are told to, but because they want to. But many leaders have personal visions that never get translated into shared visions that galvanize an organization… What has been lacking is a discipline for translating vision into shared vision - not a ‘cookbook’ but a set of principles and guiding practices.
The practice of shared vision involves the skills of unearthing shared ‘pictures of the future’ that foster genuine commitment and enrolment rather than compliance. In mastering this discipline, leaders learn the counter-productiveness of trying to dictate a vision, no matter how heartfelt. (Senge 1990: 9)
Visions spread because of a reinforcing process. Increased clarity, enthusiasm and commitment rub off on others in the organization. ‘As people talk, the vision grows clearer. As it gets clearer, enthusiasm for its benefits grow’ (ibid.: 227). There are ‘limits to growth’ in this respect, but developing the sorts of mental models outlined above can significantly improve matters. Where organizations can transcend linear and grasp system thinking, there is the possibility of bringing vision to fruition

Gary Null Online Health Support - Lesson 3 Homework | Gary Null's Natural Living Website

Gary Null Online Health Support - Lesson 3 Homework Gary Null's Natural Living Website:
"Gary Null Online Health Support - Lesson 3 Homework

Homework 3: Detoxification for Total Health:
Please write your answers in your notebook
How have you integrated meditation into your life based on your life energy?
What areas do you need to study in order to master the protocol?
Which of the following do you need to develop?

Passion gives you purpose.
Discipline gives you focus.
Meaning gives you a goal.

How have you integrated exercise into your routine?
Note in your daily log at least 2 new foods that you have tried each week.
Reminder: For a clear understanding of life energies, read Who Are You, Really? "

LiveScience.com - Hundreds of Human Genes Still Evolving

We're changing all the time of course... both by injesting so many GMO's like corn syrup which is a cheap sugar... or living with the increased radiation from TV and cell phones

LiveScience.com - Hundreds of Human Genes Still Evolving: "The new study links genetic changes to major events in the history of our species. There have been a lot of recent changes the advent of agriculture, shifts in diet, new habitats, climatic changes over the past 10,000 years,' said Jonathan Pritchard, a human geneticist at the University of Chicago who led the study.

Many genes were found to be evolving in all three of the human populations studied. The specific functions of many of the genes are not known, but the researchers were able to separate them into broad categories. These categories include:

• Olfaction: the researchers found many genes important for taste and smell
• Reproduction: involved in things like sperm mobility and egg fertilization
• Increasing brain size
• Bone development and skeletal changes
• Carbohydrate metabolism: positive selection was observed for genes involved in breaking down mannose in Yorubans, sucrose in East Asians, and lactose for Europeans. (Mannose is a sweet secretion found in some trees and shrubs, sucrose
  is common table sugar, and lactose is a sugar found in milk.)
• Disease resistance and pathogen protection
• Metabolism of foreign compounds, such as exotic plant proteins or animal toxins "

Plants Eavesdrop for Defense Purposes - Yahoo! News

So talking to plants is all about smell... lol.... science is getting closer and closer... lol...

Plants Eavesdrop for Defense Purposes - Yahoo! News:
LiveScience Staff
LiveScience.com
Mon Mar 6, 2:00 PM ET
When sagebrush is damaged by insects, it broadcasts the predator's presence by releasing odors into the air. Other sagebrush pick up on the smells from their wounded brethren and get their defenses going. Turns out wild tobacco plants eavesdrop on these signals.

The tobacco uses the knowledge to fortify its own defenses. Then it waits to deploy the arsenal if and only if the insect attacks. By holding off on deployment, the tobacco retains vital energy for other important tasks.
The proteins and chemicals used for defense contain nitrogen and carbon, which also are needed to produce seeds. It's a classic guns vs. butter tradeoff.

'By priming its defense response the plant is not investing resources before it is actually attacked,' said Andre Kessler, an assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at Cornell University. 'This could be a crucial mechanism of plant-plant communication.'"

Spirituality eBooks Offer Answers.

Downloaded this free e-book and I felt like DEE talking. Wow have I said that a million times, course then I also LIVE like Dougie going along where everything I need to do just opens up to me... lol... or CLOSES when necessary! I'm sending this to Indoma, Laura and Joyce, they might be able to publish there too... lol...

Spirituality eBooks Offer Answers.: " 'Message of Spirit' eBook Free
A manual for your mind! In this ebook, ten authors and mind power experts share their secrets to experiencing real, true freedom, health and happiness using spiritual tools. You'll want to share this free ebook with others as you discover different methods of healing all aspects of your life!
Read more and download the ebook here. "

Institute for the Study of Latin America and the Caribbean

Institute for the Study of Latin America and the Caribbean: "UPCOMING EVENTS
February 15:
'A Death Foretold in the Times of Cholera' (Lecture)
February 16:
'4 Ahaw Dates and Maya Creation Mythology: A View from Postclassic and Colonial Yucatec Maya Literature' (Lecture)
February 20 :
'The Maya Living Dead: Emerging from the White-Bone Snake ' (Lecture)
February 21 :
'Maya Caves and Cosmological Conceptions of Health & Illness: Not 'What' but 'Who'' (Lecture)
February 22 :
'State Power against Social Power in Bahia, Brazil' (Lecture)
The Institute for the Study of Latin America and the Caribbean (ISLAC) forms part of International Affairs at USF. Our faculty and staff provide for an integrated and multi and interdisciplinary approach of current and historical environmental, economic, social, political and cultural traits and trends in the region, in the larger context of the Americas. The latter is seen as a complex geopolitical configuration, where its constituent populations (Indigenous, Euro-American, and African-American) interact in real and imaginary time and space.
Numerous units and programs on campus cover discrete parts of this selective interest pertaining to Latin American and Caribbean Studies: History, Anthropology, Government and International Affairs, Humanities, World Language Education, Economics, Arts, and many others. However, none of these study the area, or its populations, as an integrated ontological whole. Our mission is to provide for a common ground and intellectual/conceptual and epistemological meeting place to study the abovementioned phenomena."

Biomedical Research and the Environment - Presentation

USF Health Mission: Making Life Better
Biomedical Research and the Environment - Presentation: "Health Care Without Harm (HCWH) is a coalition of over 240 member organizations in more than 16 countries whose mission is to reduce the public health and environmental impacts of the health care industry without compromising patient safety or care. The campaign was developed in response to the observation that medical waste incinerators are among the leading sources of environmental dioxin and mercury emissions. Each of these environmental contaminants represents a threat to public health and wildlife at current exposure levels. Nearly all mercury containing materials in healthcare institutions can be substituted with non-mercury alternatives. Dioxin emissions may be substantially reduced by replacing polyvinylchloride (PVC) with non-PVC alternatives where available, removing PVC from the waste stream, eliminating non-essential incineration, and maximizing combustion conditions when incineration can not be avoided. Altered purchasing practices and materials reuse and recycling minimize the volume and toxicity of the waste stream. Waste segregation minimizes the volume of regulated medical waste and optimizes recycling opportunities, leading to substantial savings in disposal costs. HCWH has developed numerous educational and training materials designed to help community members and those working within the health care industry reduce the adverse impacts of the health care system on public health and the environment. "

Board of Directors - The Nightingale Institute for Health and the Environment

Another Note for Dr. Klasko... maybe he should hear about what my Sustainability class is doing with the Entreprenuer class...
Board of Directors - The Nightingale Institute for Health and the Environment: "An endless flow of materials through medical facilities ends up in a large, diverse, and toxic waste stream, much of which is carried away to distant landfills or burned in incinerators that release hazardous substances into the air and onto the surface of the earth. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), medical waste incinerators are the second leading quantified1 source of environmental dioxin emissions and are responsible for about 10% of anthropogenic mercury emissions to the environment. Both dioxin and mercury biomagnify as they pass up the food chain and return to us in fish, beef, pork, dairy products, cheese, and breast milk. Each is particularly dangerous for the fetus and infant in extraordinarily small amounts that are similar to current exposure levels in some of the general population. Mercury damages the developing brain. Dioxin fundamentally alters many aspects of development, including the immune and reproductive systems. Dioxin is also a carcinogen. Wildlife, like loons and other fish-eating birds and mammals, are severely contaminated with mercury and dioxin, and resultant health effects have been demonstrated in many cases.
Intact ecosystems provide services essential for human and wildlife health, including clean air, water, and food, and waste recycling. Resource consumption, contamination of air, water, and soil with chemical and biological agents, stratospheric ozone depletion, global warming, acid rain, and eutrophication of fresh and coastal waters degrade those ecosystems. The medical-industrial complex directly contributes to each of these.
Unfortunately, until recently, with their focus on therapeutic medicine, heath care providers and institutions were largely unaware of the public health and environmental impacts of their practic"

Learn and practice Qigong

An avalanche of medical research shows that the human body is capable of remarkable feats of self-healing, which can happen automatically when you cultivate your body's innate powers.

How do you do it? Chinese medicine makes use of four simple techniques...

• Deep breathing
  
• Gentle movement
  
• Self-massage
  
• Meditation.

Put these techniques to work for just 10 to 15 minutes a day, and you'll be more energetic and alert... and less vulnerable to illness and the negative effects of stress.

Although you can do these techniques as often as you like, it's better to combine all four briefly first thing each morning.

Deep Breathing

Americans have forgotten how to breathe. We typically take very shallow breaths. This pattern of breathing constricts blood vessels, contributing to high blood pressure. Shallow breathing also impairs immune function. It does so by slowing the circulation of antibodies and immune cells throughout the body.

By making a conscious effort to breathe slowly and deeply, you can counteract these physiological disturbances. Try the following exercise right now...

• Take a slow, deep breath through your nose. Allow the lower portions of your lungs to fill, then keep inhaling until your lungs are fully inflated.
  
• Exhale slowly for 10 seconds. You can exhale silently and very slowly... or with an audible sigh of relief. Allow yourself to drift off into deep relaxation.

While even a single deep breath is beneficial, the accumulated effect of many such breaths is dramatic. Resolve to do two or three deep breathing sessions each day.

Do one session before getting out of bed in the morning, another just before you go to sleep at night.

Some people prefer to do deep breathing periodically throughout the day.

You might decide to take a deep breath each time the telephone rings... each time you stop at a red light... or each time you open the refrigerator. The point is to develop a habit of breathing deeply all day long.

Gentle Movement

Recent research confirms that easy, low-intensity exercise provides virtually all the disease-fighting benefits of vigorous exercise -- with far less risk of injury to both your muscles and joints. The "flowing technique" is very popular in China...

What to do: Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and shoulders relaxed. Let your arms dangle at your sides. Bend your knees slightly... move your tailbone beneath your spine so as to "lengthen" your back... and lower your chin as if nodding "yes."

Rest briefly, begin to inhale slowly and turn your palms forward. Swing your arms forward and upward, slowly rising onto the balls of your feet as you do. Raise your hands (palms up) to shoulder height, keeping your elbows slightly bent.

Turn your palms downward. Slowly lower your arms and exhale. Return your heels to the floor. As your hands pass your legs, allow them to swing back slightly while gently lifting your toes.

Repeat 10 to 15 times, developing a gentle rhythm.

Self-Massage

What modern medical practitioners now call "therapeutic touch" has been a powerful healing tool in China for thousands of years...

• Hand massage. Using your left thumb, apply gentle pressure to the palm of your right hand. Place your remaining fingers on the back of the right hand for support. Increase the pressure gradually until you're exerting about the same pressure needed to squeeze a new tennis ball.

Massage your hand all over, noting any areas of tenderness. Massage the fingers as well -- all the way out to the tips. Finally, grasp each finger of your right hand on either side of the nail. Pinch gently.

Switch hands, and repeat. To conclude, return to any tender spots on either hand and knead them gently for a few additional minutes.

• "Energizing" the internal organs. Place your palms over the lower edge of your rib cage, near the sides of your body but still on the front. Rub your palms against your body in a circular motion, breathing easily and deeply as you do. Feel the warmth generated by your hands penetrating toward your organs.

Next, place one hand on your breastbone (sternum), the other on your navel. Rub in a circular motion with each hand.

Move both hands to your lower back, and repeat the process. The Chinese believe that sending warmth into the organs improves health and heals disease.

Meditation

Meditation reduces blood pressure, dilates blood vessels and stimulates the body's production of essential neurotransmitters and hormones.

One of the easiest and most powerful meditation techniques is mindfulness. Using this technique, you can free yourself of psychological and physical stress by focusing closely on a ingle bodily sensation.

Breath-awareness exercise: As you stand, sit or lie comfortably, focus all your concentration on the sensation of your breath as it passes through your nostrils. Your nostrils should feel cool as fresh air enters...and warm as you exhale.

You can do this mindfulness exercise for as briefly as a moment or as long as 20 minutes.

Notice that as long as you hold the focus on your breath, it's impossible to worry or think about stressful situations.

Helping Hands, Healing Hands

Helping Hands, Healing Hands
Virtually every culture other than those in the Western world embraces the concept of chi (also known as prana, qi and others) as an internal energy that has an important role in mental and physical well-being. Western medicine, of course, has been far removed from acknowledging chi, given that it isn't visible... and evidence of its presence and effectiveness is anecdotal. But now in what may be the beginning of a breakthrough on this stance, researchers at Duke University Medical Center and at seven other prominent medical centers around the country conducted a clinical trial to determine if employing internal energy forces and several other cultural norms, including prayer, might have a measurable effect in enhancing healing. The paper was recently published in the prestigious medical journal The Lancet.

STUDY STRUCTURE
The study participants, 748 patients undergoing possibly life-threatening cardiac procedures, were put into one of four groups -- one received off-site prayer by congregations of various religions... one received MIT therapy (stands for soothing music, guided imagery and touch therapy -- more on that in a minute)... one group received both prayer and MIT... and one group received nothing. While neither patients nor staff knew who was in the prayer group, obviously the MIT patients knew that they were receiving the therapy because it was a bedside activity. The nurses administering MIT worked with the patients before the procedure to teach them abdominal breathing rather than shallow chest breathing, and they had them select from among three types of music (easy listening, soft country or classical) to listen to. They then chose from three selections of imagery that represented the most beautiful place they had been or could imagine. Finally, the specially trained nurses conducted a 20-minute session on touch therapy, which is a hands-on method for moving energy through the body to help patients relax and perhaps enhance healing.

I spoke with Mitchell W. Krucoff, MD, the lead author of the study, who says the study, results showed that patients having off-site prayer, bedside MIT or both prayer and MIT had comparable primary outcomes with regard to death, new signs of heart attack, rehospitalization and several other cardiac disease indicators. There was no difference between the control group versus MIT and prayer. But now it gets really interesting. Both groups of MIT patients, he says, did experience relief of preprocedural distress and at the secondary endpoint -- the second six months after procedure -- MIT patients were 65% less likely to die than those who did not receive it.

Dr. Krucoff stresses that in the statistical setting of multiple comparisons, these numbers are, he says, very interesting but also warrant cautious interpretation. Even so, he tells me that there are more analyses of long-term results to come. This study is just the beginning of further research to find whether such practices have a place for "promoting patient health in the modern medical setting."