Friday, February 26, 2010
ILLUSIONS of the MIND
Everything goes in waves-up and down. It is necessary to acquire enough memory and enough ELEVATION so to speak,in order that at moments of depression one will not lose the "thread", will not forget what has been.
Q. But what do I put in the place of the feeling of depression which comes when illusions disappears?
A. Depression may be due to other illusions that take the place of the vanished ones. The first illusions were full of hope and the other illusions may be full of despair, that's all.
An erroneous mental representation. Something that many people believe but is false" they have the illusion that I am very wealthy" The act of deluding; deception by creating illusory ideas.
We must become Un-Drunk
Last night I heard, We can not get Sober, We must become Un-Drunk.
We must remove drinking & drugging to get recovery.
We do the STEPS to remove the obstacles (old thinking) in the way of our RECOVERY.
1st comes our Physical sobriety and then comes our Emotional sobriety.
A nation or civilization that continues to produce soft-minded men purchases its own spiritual death on the installment plan.
Desire and Aim are 2 different things
Desire may refer to:
Concepts
Desire (emotion), a sense of longing or hoping
Desire (philosophy)
Desire (psychoanalysis)
Greed, selfish pursuit of wealth, power, or possessions
Interpersonal attraction
Libido, sexual desire
Limerence, an involuntary state of intense romantic desire
Lust, intense craving for self gratification
Motivation, a thought that leads to an action
Preference, a concept in the social sciences, particularly economics
Taṇhā, craving or desire, in Buddhist psychology
Want, in economics
aim (plural aims)
The line of fire; the direction of anything, as a spear, a blow, a discourse, a remark, towards a particular point or object, with a view to strike or affect it.
The point intended to be(intransitive) To direct the intention or purpose; to attempt the accomplishment of a purpose; to try to gain; to endeavor;—followed by at, or by an infinitive; as, to aim at distinction; to aim to do well.
(transitive) To direct or point, as a weapon, at a particular object; to direct, as a missile, an act, or a proceeding, at, to, or against an object hit, or object intended to be attained or affected.
Intention; purpose; design; scheme.
If your "Desires" and "Aims" are not the same or in line with each other your Desires can and in all likely hood take you off your Aims. Desire is a whole series of imagined WANTS and PERSIVED NEEDS!.
Concepts
Desire (emotion), a sense of longing or hoping
Desire (philosophy)
Desire (psychoanalysis)
Greed, selfish pursuit of wealth, power, or possessions
Interpersonal attraction
Libido, sexual desire
Limerence, an involuntary state of intense romantic desire
Lust, intense craving for self gratification
Motivation, a thought that leads to an action
Preference, a concept in the social sciences, particularly economics
Taṇhā, craving or desire, in Buddhist psychology
Want, in economics
aim (plural aims)
The line of fire; the direction of anything, as a spear, a blow, a discourse, a remark, towards a particular point or object, with a view to strike or affect it.
The point intended to be(intransitive) To direct the intention or purpose; to attempt the accomplishment of a purpose; to try to gain; to endeavor;—followed by at, or by an infinitive; as, to aim at distinction; to aim to do well.
(transitive) To direct or point, as a weapon, at a particular object; to direct, as a missile, an act, or a proceeding, at, to, or against an object hit, or object intended to be attained or affected.
Intention; purpose; design; scheme.
If your "Desires" and "Aims" are not the same or in line with each other your Desires can and in all likely hood take you off your Aims. Desire is a whole series of imagined WANTS and PERSIVED NEEDS!.
Friday, February 19, 2010
God Bumps
I had gone so long without that strong connection with God. The insanity and the substances had clouded my ability to connect as clearly as I once had. The sensation of God Bumps to me is like supernatural goose bumps, an actual physical sensation connected to clear engagement with God.It serves as a conformation of being fully aligned with His will in that moment.Knowing the right thing to "do" and "doing" it. Yesterday I had the opportunity to interact two times with people here who just needed simple jesters of Love, compassion and empathy, just that pure and simple. I thank God for the insight. I heard later in a meeting one principals that summed it all up, RIGHT ACTION is the KEY to GOOD LIVING!
Friday, January 29, 2010
Mission Unity
It is my first day here, and so far it is awesome. Went to 2 AA/NA meetings tonight and a few old friends attended the 2nd meeting,it was great to see them. Unity is what was missing, I believe I have finally found my "place" in the world. God has brought me to this place to belong. So begins the journey!!!
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
New beginngs
New beginnings,starting over,a fresh start these are good things.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Free-dumb of the Press
Fox News needs to be shut down
Editor:
This is a retort to a letter from a woman and her strong support for the idiot reporters of Fox News and Rush Limbaugh.
I ask her this: Are you a white supremacist? Because the "reporters" that you defend have time and time again made quotes to their hatred for anyone who isn't white, much like many other Republicans that have crossed my path. And you think that bigots like Glenn Beck and Bill-O the Clown are telling the truth?
What about Limbaugh's statements that Obama would use the horrible tragedy in Haiti for political gain? You must have been thanking your holy stars when Sarah Palin was picked up by Fox. She's a perfect fit there, since nobody on that network has more than one brain cell.
All Fox News and the GOP do is spread racism and bigotry, and they all need to be shut down.
The sad truth is a whole lot of people think as she seems to and the talking heads are just a mouth piece for the hatred that lay in some hearts. If this were not true the FOX holes of professional "haters" wouldn't be so popular.
Editor:
This is a retort to a letter from a woman and her strong support for the idiot reporters of Fox News and Rush Limbaugh.
I ask her this: Are you a white supremacist? Because the "reporters" that you defend have time and time again made quotes to their hatred for anyone who isn't white, much like many other Republicans that have crossed my path. And you think that bigots like Glenn Beck and Bill-O the Clown are telling the truth?
What about Limbaugh's statements that Obama would use the horrible tragedy in Haiti for political gain? You must have been thanking your holy stars when Sarah Palin was picked up by Fox. She's a perfect fit there, since nobody on that network has more than one brain cell.
All Fox News and the GOP do is spread racism and bigotry, and they all need to be shut down.
The sad truth is a whole lot of people think as she seems to and the talking heads are just a mouth piece for the hatred that lay in some hearts. If this were not true the FOX holes of professional "haters" wouldn't be so popular.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Big Pharma & many others wants this kept secret.
Drug tests revealed biological principle, says retired scientist
EL JOBEAN -- As a young research scientist at the University of Pittsburgh early in his career, El Jobean retiree Semour Antelman made a ground-breaking discovery.
He found that anti-depressant drugs administered in a single dose given to lab rats only on the first day of a 22-day test had virtually the same effect as giving the rats several doses every day for several weeks.
Even with just one dose, the anti-depressant boosted the electrical activity of dopamine receptors in the rats' midbrain by some 60 percent, the same level as the rats that received daily doses.
That research, conducted in the late 1970s, led to the discovery of what Antelman's research team dubbed "Time-Dependent Sensitization."
The term refers to a phenomenon in which the effect of drugs, and even non-drug stressors such as electro-convulsive shock, strengthens within the body for weeks and, in some cases, months after just a single dose.
The implications of the discovery remain enormous, Antelman said, as he looked back on his career during an interview at his El Jobean home.
Doctors one day could prescribe patients just one pill every three weeks instead of three pills a day.
That would save patients, insurance companies and government programs billions of dollars, he said.
Third World countries, which are plagued with illnesses and can't afford prescription drugs, would reap even bigger benefits, he said.
And the knowledge that both drugs and non-drug stresses have a delayed reaction could be applied to better understand such disorders as drug addiction and post-traumatic stress disorder.
"This holds the key to understanding the development of disease," Antelman says. "That's no small thing."
A turn of events
During his career, Antelman directed the university's psychiatry department, served on two elite research foundations, published 10 papers in peer-reviewed science magazines, lectured at Columbia and Harvard and, at least at first, won an extraordinary number of research grants.
In 1988, however, after journalists from the BBC to the New York Times publicized his discovery around the world, the grant funding began to dry up, he said.
"In science, you have to rely on grants," Antelman said. "I was on the ropes."
Antelman and his wife, Violeta, who summer in Pennsylvania, purchased a winter house here overlooking the Myakka River in 2001.
Antelman said he chose the nondescript house because it was big and would give him a chance to express his creativity.
Since then, he and his wife have remade the house into a unique castle-like abode. Walls have been paneled in stone, rooftops converted into parapets.
The interior is decorated with life-size statues and folk art from China, Thailand, Tibet, India, Africa, Japan and Mexico.
"I like big," Antelman explains.
But he remains frustrated that the world has yet to benefit from his medical discovery.
"It's one of the greatest disappointments of my life," Antelman says. "I mean, to make a discovery like this, that has such enormous implications. We're talking about something that would do no less than reform prescriptive medicine forever worldwide."
Proving it
From the beginning, he knew his discovery would be considered "heresy" to the accepted principles of pharmacology, Antelman acknowledges.
But over the next 20 years, he and other scientists tested the theory, primarily on rats, in studies involving dozens drugs and dozens of bodily "end points."
Some researchers focused on testing anti-depressant and anti-psychotic compounds, others the cancer treatments interleukin-1 and interleukin-2.
Still others tested narcotics, ranging from cocaine to morphine.
The rats' reactions to non-drug stressors, from loud bell ringing to tail pinching, also were studied.
In all cases, the researchers found the effects of the drugs or stressors grew stronger over time to a single dose, and even stronger after a second dose given after a hiatus. That's according to paper summing up the research that Antelman and two other researchers published in 2000 in Molecular Psychiatry.
"The evidence for this is overwhelming," Antelman contends. "I studied this for 22 years. It was done in every way imaginable. It worked with everything."
Why it works remains a mystery.
Antelman theorizes that organisms developed TDS much like they developed immune systems. In both cases, the body reacts to a single exposure to a foreign substance in a defensive reaction that carries on for a long time afterward.
"We're talking about something that is so broad, it reflects a basic principle of biological function," he said.
Colleagues' views
Dr. Robert M. Post of Chevy Chase, Md., who retired in 2006 after 36 years as chief of biological psychiatry at the National Institute of Mental Health, said Antelman's TDS discovery "has been very widely replicated in the literature."
Post cited one tangent of Antelman's research that he considered particularly interesting. It was a study that found the the same quirky behaviors observed in rats treated with amphetamine and cocaine could later be triggered by non-drug stresses, such as a tail pinch, long after the rats were "clean."
That finding is important to clinicians who treat patients affected by both bipolar disorder and substance abuse, Post said. It shows how a drug addict's relapse could "cross over" to trigger a bipolar episode, and vice versa, he said.
More research needs to be done before doctors should prescribe drugs based on a TDS regimen, Post said.
"But the other findings are very important, and (Antelman) should be credited with these discoveries," he said.
"I think he's a respectable scientist and he's done some innovative work," added Dr. John M. Davis, a research professor at the Illinois Psychiatric Institute in Chicago.
Davis said he became so intrigued with Antelman's theories, he considered testing TDS on human subjects. But he and his colleagues never resolved logistical challenges and the research was never initiated, he said.
TDS likely won't be put into practice until the National Institute of Health sponsors large-scale studies on human subjects, Antelman said.
Last March, he wrote President Barack Obama to suggest TDS be pursued as a priority to cut health care costs.
Four months letter, Obama's office sent a reply via a form letter, thanking him for his interest.
Antelman blames human nature.
"There is such a bias toward things continuing to be done the way they have always been done," he said. "It's just: Let's remain in ignorance."
EL JOBEAN -- As a young research scientist at the University of Pittsburgh early in his career, El Jobean retiree Semour Antelman made a ground-breaking discovery.
He found that anti-depressant drugs administered in a single dose given to lab rats only on the first day of a 22-day test had virtually the same effect as giving the rats several doses every day for several weeks.
Even with just one dose, the anti-depressant boosted the electrical activity of dopamine receptors in the rats' midbrain by some 60 percent, the same level as the rats that received daily doses.
That research, conducted in the late 1970s, led to the discovery of what Antelman's research team dubbed "Time-Dependent Sensitization."
The term refers to a phenomenon in which the effect of drugs, and even non-drug stressors such as electro-convulsive shock, strengthens within the body for weeks and, in some cases, months after just a single dose.
The implications of the discovery remain enormous, Antelman said, as he looked back on his career during an interview at his El Jobean home.
Doctors one day could prescribe patients just one pill every three weeks instead of three pills a day.
That would save patients, insurance companies and government programs billions of dollars, he said.
Third World countries, which are plagued with illnesses and can't afford prescription drugs, would reap even bigger benefits, he said.
And the knowledge that both drugs and non-drug stresses have a delayed reaction could be applied to better understand such disorders as drug addiction and post-traumatic stress disorder.
"This holds the key to understanding the development of disease," Antelman says. "That's no small thing."
A turn of events
During his career, Antelman directed the university's psychiatry department, served on two elite research foundations, published 10 papers in peer-reviewed science magazines, lectured at Columbia and Harvard and, at least at first, won an extraordinary number of research grants.
In 1988, however, after journalists from the BBC to the New York Times publicized his discovery around the world, the grant funding began to dry up, he said.
"In science, you have to rely on grants," Antelman said. "I was on the ropes."
Antelman and his wife, Violeta, who summer in Pennsylvania, purchased a winter house here overlooking the Myakka River in 2001.
Antelman said he chose the nondescript house because it was big and would give him a chance to express his creativity.
Since then, he and his wife have remade the house into a unique castle-like abode. Walls have been paneled in stone, rooftops converted into parapets.
The interior is decorated with life-size statues and folk art from China, Thailand, Tibet, India, Africa, Japan and Mexico.
"I like big," Antelman explains.
But he remains frustrated that the world has yet to benefit from his medical discovery.
"It's one of the greatest disappointments of my life," Antelman says. "I mean, to make a discovery like this, that has such enormous implications. We're talking about something that would do no less than reform prescriptive medicine forever worldwide."
Proving it
From the beginning, he knew his discovery would be considered "heresy" to the accepted principles of pharmacology, Antelman acknowledges.
But over the next 20 years, he and other scientists tested the theory, primarily on rats, in studies involving dozens drugs and dozens of bodily "end points."
Some researchers focused on testing anti-depressant and anti-psychotic compounds, others the cancer treatments interleukin-1 and interleukin-2.
Still others tested narcotics, ranging from cocaine to morphine.
The rats' reactions to non-drug stressors, from loud bell ringing to tail pinching, also were studied.
In all cases, the researchers found the effects of the drugs or stressors grew stronger over time to a single dose, and even stronger after a second dose given after a hiatus. That's according to paper summing up the research that Antelman and two other researchers published in 2000 in Molecular Psychiatry.
"The evidence for this is overwhelming," Antelman contends. "I studied this for 22 years. It was done in every way imaginable. It worked with everything."
Why it works remains a mystery.
Antelman theorizes that organisms developed TDS much like they developed immune systems. In both cases, the body reacts to a single exposure to a foreign substance in a defensive reaction that carries on for a long time afterward.
"We're talking about something that is so broad, it reflects a basic principle of biological function," he said.
Colleagues' views
Dr. Robert M. Post of Chevy Chase, Md., who retired in 2006 after 36 years as chief of biological psychiatry at the National Institute of Mental Health, said Antelman's TDS discovery "has been very widely replicated in the literature."
Post cited one tangent of Antelman's research that he considered particularly interesting. It was a study that found the the same quirky behaviors observed in rats treated with amphetamine and cocaine could later be triggered by non-drug stresses, such as a tail pinch, long after the rats were "clean."
That finding is important to clinicians who treat patients affected by both bipolar disorder and substance abuse, Post said. It shows how a drug addict's relapse could "cross over" to trigger a bipolar episode, and vice versa, he said.
More research needs to be done before doctors should prescribe drugs based on a TDS regimen, Post said.
"But the other findings are very important, and (Antelman) should be credited with these discoveries," he said.
"I think he's a respectable scientist and he's done some innovative work," added Dr. John M. Davis, a research professor at the Illinois Psychiatric Institute in Chicago.
Davis said he became so intrigued with Antelman's theories, he considered testing TDS on human subjects. But he and his colleagues never resolved logistical challenges and the research was never initiated, he said.
TDS likely won't be put into practice until the National Institute of Health sponsors large-scale studies on human subjects, Antelman said.
Last March, he wrote President Barack Obama to suggest TDS be pursued as a priority to cut health care costs.
Four months letter, Obama's office sent a reply via a form letter, thanking him for his interest.
Antelman blames human nature.
"There is such a bias toward things continuing to be done the way they have always been done," he said. "It's just: Let's remain in ignorance."
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
THE EIGHT BEATITUDES OF JESUS
THE EIGHT BEATITUDES OF JESUS
Jesus Christ gave us the eight Beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount, recorded for all posterity in the Gospel of Matthew, the first Book of the New Testament of the Bible. Matthew's Gospel is directed to an audience steeped in Hebrew tradition. The Gospel of Matthew stressed that Jesus Christ is the Messiah foretold in Hebrew Scripture, our Old Testament, and that the Kingdom of the Messiah is the Kingdom of God in Heaven. Jesus offers us a way of life that promises eternity in the Kingdom of Heaven.
The Ten Commandments, given to Moses on Mount Sinai in the Old Testament Book of Exodus, relates a series of "Thou shalt nots," evils one must avoid in daily life on earth.
In contrast, the message of Jesus was one of humility, charity, and brotherly love. He taught transformation of the inner person. Jesus presents the Beatitudes in a positive sense, virtues in life which will ultimately lead to reward. Love becomes the motivation for the Christian. All of the Beatitudes have an eschatological meaning, that is, they promise us salvation - not in this world, but in the next. The Beatitudes initiate one of the main themes of Matthew's Gospel, that the Kingdom so long awaited in the Old Testament is not of this world, but of the next, the Kingdom of Heaven.
While the Beatitudes of Jesus provide a way of life that promises salvation, they also provide peace in the midst of our trials and tribulations on this earth.
One of the first contemplations on the Beatitudes came from St. Gregory of Nyssa, a mystic who lived in Cappadocia in Asia Minor around 380 AD. He described the Beatitudes this way:
"Beatitude is a possession of all things held to be good,
from which nothing is absent that a good desire may want.
Perhaps the meaning of beatitude may become clearer to us
if it is compared with its opposite.
Now the opposite of beatitude is misery.
Misery means being afflicted unwillingly with painful sufferings."
St. Augustine called the Beatitudes the ideal for every Christian life!
THE EIGHT BEATITUDES OF JESUS
"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they who mourn,
for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they shall be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure of heart,
for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they shall be called children of God.
Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
Gospel of St. Matthew 5:3-10
ON THE BEATITUDES
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
"Poor in spirit" means to be humble. Humility is the realization that all your gifts and blessings come from the grace of God. To have poverty of spirit means to be completely empty and open to the Word of God. When we are an empty cup and devoid of pride, we are humble. Humility brings an openness and an inner peace, allowing one to do the will of God. He who humbles himself is able to accept our frail nature, to repent, and to allow the grace of God to lead us to Conversion.
It is pride, the opposite of humility, that brings misery. For pride brings anger and the seeking of revenge, especially when one is offended. If every man were humble and poor in spirit, there would be no war!
"Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted."
If we are humble and appreciate that all of our gifts and blessings come from God, we grow in love and gratitude for Jesus Christ our Savior. But this can only produce mourning and regret over our own sins and the sins of this world, for we have hurt the one who has been so good to us. One also mourns for the suffering of others.
St. Gregory describes another reason to mourn: the more one ascends in meditation of Divine Truth, Beauty, and Goodness, and then realize the poverty of human nature, man can only be left in sorrow. When one contemplates that we were made in the image and likeness of God and lived in Paradise, the Garden of Eden, and compare that to our present state after the Fall, one can only mourn our present condition. But the sentence continues that they shall be comforted, by the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, and hopefully one day in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Mourning in this context is called a blessing, because mourning our fallen nature creates in us a desire to improve ourselves and to do what is right!
"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth."
St. Gregory of Nyssa taught that the Beatitudes build one upon another. A humble person becomes meek, or becomes gentle and kind, and exhibits a docility of spirit, even in the face of adversity and hardship. A person that is meek is one that exhibits self-control. St. Augustine advises us to be meek in the face of the Lord, and not resist but be obedient to him. Obedience and submission to the will of God are certainly not in vogue these days, but they will bring one peace in this world and in the next.
"Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied."
A continuous desire for justice and moral perfection will lead one to a fulfillment of that desire - a transition and conversion to holiness. This is true for all the virtues - if you hunger and thirst for temperance, you will head towards the goal you have in mind. St. Augustine, in his discourse on the Lord's Sermon on the Mount, notes the correspondence of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit and their necessity in fulfilling the Beatitudes. For example, one must have the gift of fortitude so one may be courageous in seeking justice.
"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy."
Mercy is the loving disposition towards those who suffer distress. Love, compassion, and forgiveness towards one's neighbor will bring peace in your relationships. We say in the Lord's Prayer: Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. As we are merciful to others, so our Heavenly Father will be merciful with us! Jesus reminds us that whatever "you did to the least of my brethren, you did it to me (Matthew 25:31-46)." St. Paul calls for the obedience of faith in the beginning and end of his Letter to the Romans (1:5, 16:25-27). The following are ways to be merciful to your neighbor, as well as obedient in faith to Christ our Savior.
The Corporal Works of Mercy
1 Feed the Hungry
2 Give drink to the thirsty
3 Clothe the naked
4 Shelter the homeless
5 Comfort the imprisoned
6 Visit the sick
7 Bury the dead
The Spiritual Works of Mercy
1 Admonish sinners
2 Instruct the uninformed
3 Counsel the doubtful
4 Comfort the sorrowful
5 Be patient with those in error
6 Forgive offenses
7 Pray for the living and the dead
"Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God."
Moses (Exodus 33:20), John (1:18), and Paul (1Timothy 6:16) all say that no one can see God here on earth! But Jesus says the pure of heart shall see God! To be pure of heart means to be free of all selfish intentions and self-seeking desires. What a beautiful goal! How many times have any of us performed an act perfectly free of any personal gain? Such an act is pure love. An act of pure and selfless giving brings happiness to all.
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God."
Peacemakers not only live peaceful lives but also try to bring peace and friendship to others, and to preserve peace between God and man. St. Gregory of Nyssa calls a peacemaker a man who brings peace to another; but one cannot give another what one does not possess oneself. Hence the Lord wants you first to be yourself filled with the blessings of peace and then to communicate it to those who have need of it. By imitating God's love of man, the peacemakers become children of God.
"Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven."
Jesus said many times that those who follow Him will be persecuted. "If they persecute me, they will persecute you" (John 15:20-21). Stephen, Peter and Paul, nearly all of the Apostles, and many Christians in the Roman era suffered martyrdom. The twentieth century with its two World Wars and endless regional conflicts has seen its share of martyrs such as Maximilian Kolbe, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and the Central American martyrs. But the Lord promised those that suffer for his sake will be rewarded with the Kingdom of Heaven!
People are not always who they represent themselves to be, my words of Wisdom for the day. "So then, you will know them by their fruits.
Matthew 7:20 "So then, you will know them by their fruits.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Matthew 12:33 "Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit.
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Luke 6:44 "For each tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a briar bush.
The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose
Possible interpretation: 1) Bad people can appear to be good to achieve their objective. 2) Even good things can be twisted to achieve bad ends.
Note: devil (noun) = (in Jewish and Christian belief, usually "the Devil") the chief evil spirit or Satan; an evil or cruel person; a trouble-maker or self-willed person | cite (verb) = quote (words from a book etc) to support an argument | Scripture (noun - also scripture or Scriptures) = the Bible; the holy writings of a religion | purpose (noun) = requirements; objective
Origin: Spoken by Antonio in "The Merchant of Venice", written by William Shakespeare (1564-1616):
Mark you this, Bassanio,
The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose.
An evil soul producing holy witness
Is like a villain with a smiling cheek,
A goodly apple rotten at the heart:
O, what a goodly outside falsehood hath!
Monday, January 11, 2010
How was this racist? Not real smart but, not racist!
Except for the foolishly spoken last ten words, it is obviously what a whole lot of people were thinking, poorly stated but not racist! Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has apologized for saying during the 2008 presidential campaign that Barack Obama could be elected because the country was ready for a “light-skinned” African-American president with “no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one.”
"When I say... " I am a Christian"
"When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not shouting "I'm clean livin'."
I'm whispering "I was lost,
Now I'm found and forgiven."
When I say... "I am a Christian"
I don't speak of this with pride.
I'm confessing that I stumble
and need Christ to be my guide.
When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not trying to be strong.
I'm professing that I'm weak
And need His strength to carry on.
When I say. "I am a Christian"
I'm not bragging of success.
I'm admitting I have failed
And need God to clean my mess.
When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not claiming to be perfect,
My flaws are far too visible
But, God believes I am worth it.
When I say... "I am a Christian"
I still feel the sting of pain.
I have my share of heartaches
So I call upon His name.
When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not holier than thou,
I'm just a simple sinner
Who received God's good grace, somehow."
— Maya Angelou
Sooo many T.V. Ads for medications for depression
If an individual personally believes he or she has a chemical balance, that is their right, and I defend their right.
However, when an enormous and profitable industry imposes an ideology of a "chemical imbalance"... when that industry is supported by taxpayer money and government authority... and when that ideology is pursued by the mental health system by excluding and trampling upon other beliefs...
... Then we have a right to ask a question:
The special domination of a "chemical imbalance" theory means there ought to be special proof, so where is the proof for a chemical imbalance?
If a licensed medical authority tells you that you have a chemical imbalance ask, "May I see the lab test results please?"
There are no lab test results. There's no brain scan, blood test, urine test to reveal complexities of the human mind.
The little we know about the mind is that it is an emergent process, and in fact is not in a strict "balance" in any case.
Medscape Medical News has written about a study that shows that many people are misinformed by ads about a chemical imbalance.
Medscape writes, "Advertisements in the U.S. for selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are not based on science, according to an essay published in the December [2006] issue of the Public Library of Science (PLoS) Medicine. Since the 1960s, investigators have proposed the 'serotonin hypothesis,' which implicates low brain levels of serotonin in depression. However, extensive research to date has failed to confirm this theory."
Measured by dollar invested and dollar returned, the psychiatric pharmaceutical industry is one of the most consistently profitable in the history of the planet. This unchecked power has been used to mislead the public, a public that mistakenly believes its government is adequately regulating and monitoring the worst abuses of the drug industry.
How could anyone with medical training miss this? Easy, with both eyes shut and wallet open!
I know of two so-called pain management clinics in Port Charlotte that patients (maybe clients or customers is a more accurate description) have regularly made their monthly visits in this condition. This could be observed just sitting in a car by the entrance of the offices.
Putting the focus on hunting down the sick and suffering addicts (who in a lot of cases had their addiction to pain killers started under the "care" of a unscrupulous M.D.) while these Doctors of Death run free to rake in the cash, living the good life, is a crime against humanity and at the heights of hypocrisy!
Charlotte Sun: Today's Top Story Sarasota County leads state in prescription drug deaths
After reading the article below I am still stunned by the blindness to the obvious, these are *PRESCRIPTION DRUGS* THEY ARE BEING PRESCRIBED! BY WHOM? DOCTORS AND IN MIND BOGGLING MASS QUANTITIES!!! Complaisant, negligent or just plain greedy? Greed has to be the main reason "Doctors" will risk so much. On the other hand so very few get called out on it, I guess the ones who do over prescribe feel the odds are in their favor of not getting investigated and/or prosecuted. Negligent comes more into play with non-narcotic over-medicating ie psyc meds but, that is another topic.
Recently, it was announced that Sarasota County led the state in accidental prescription drug deaths for 2008.
To help reverse that trend, several Sarasota County substance abuse prevention groups are gathering data and comparing notes to reduce the prevalence of drug usage, drug-related deaths and hospitalizations -- in the area. They're starting with teens.
At a recent meeting of North Port's Community Health Action Team Alliance for Substance Abuse Prevention subcommittee, members talked about the need for a way to encourage local teens to stay drug-free.
"It goes back to ... prevention, intervention and enforcement," North Port Police Officer Sean Viara explained. "At no step is there not a way, and it's never a case of 'its too far gone.'"
Tom Davie, of First Step of Sarasota County, said the reasons for taking action are compelling.
"A lot of people drop through the cracks," he said. "Adults talk and it sounds a lot like Charlie Brown's teacher -- 'mwa mwa mwa' -- but there are kids who are dying...The hope and promise of their lives has stopped, and their parents and friends are grieving."
Viara said in talking about cigarettes, drugs and alcohol -- availability, affordability and acceptability matter.
"If you take away one of these three elements, it begins to crumble, and the other two don't make much sense," he said. "(NPPD) can continue to make arrests and shut down grow houses, but if you don't shut down acceptability, there's someone else willing to slide into that spot."
Several members of the ASAP group are also on the Sarasota County Behavioral Health Strategic Planning Work group. The group, composed of a number of agencies and individuals -- including meeting jointly with the pharmaceutical investigation division at the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office -- are compiling data on drug use and its effects on area residents.
Pam Meunier is the mental health and substance abuse policy coordinator for the Sarasota County Health Department. One of the resources the group is using to track drug use and its consequences is the 2008 state medical examiners report, from which Sarasota County data has been broken out specifically by County Epidemiologist Scott Pritchard.
"This is a real issue in the community," she said. "The number isn't as high with the kids, but it seems they're hanging onto that habit. It's unintentional in a lot of cases, but some do end up dying or in the hospital.
"According to the data, there were 73 unintentional poisoning (deaths), which is how they list it, in 2008," she said, adding the total for District 12 -- which includes all of Sarasota, Manatee and DeSoto counties -- was 282 people.
She continued that the majority of those District 12 deaths, as well as non-fatal unintentional drug poisonings, were most prevalent in those ages 20-24, but, Meunier said, "we can only assume that it's starting with the kids."
"The number of actual deaths due to unintentional poisonings -- say, the use of prescription medications at a party mixed together. They have no intention of committing suicide, but they end up dying," Davie said.
Meunier said, however, that the medical examiners report was only accurate as far as the number of people he sees, "which isn't everybody."
"We're just trying to get a handle on Sarasota County," she said, "and trying to drive some initiatives to make changes in the community. Data is flying all over the place, and there's a lot of exaggeration. Parents are hearing things, so there's a lot of hysteria information that comes out. But you appreciate the emotional impact it has on families."
In November, the Sheriff's Office announced that the county leads the state in the number of accidental prescription drug deaths, and that Florida is number one in the nation.
Accidental prescription drug deaths are the second leading cause of death in Sarasota County, according to Sheriff Tom Knight, who added that in 2009, sheriff's deputies responded to 32 accidental deaths related to illegal pharmaceutical drug usage.
"According to state statistics, Sarasota County has twice the state average of fatal overdoses," he said.
Statewide, the Medical Examiners 2009 Interim report stated that, from January to June 2009, there were 4,199 drug-related deaths, where drugs were either the cause or were present in the person's system. Prescription drugs account for 79 percent of all drug occurrences.
In terms of prescription drug abuse, the Charlotte County Health Department does not keep track of statistics on prescription drug abuse, according to Charlotte County Epidemiologist James Ogedegbe. But the medical examiners interim report stated that, from January to June 2009, there were 62 deaths in Charlotte County where prescription drugs were either the cause of death or present in the person's system.
Amity Chandler, with Drug Free Charlotte County, works with students. She said that by the time people start abusing prescription drugs, they've already been using other "gateway" drugs -- alcohol and marijuana.
"We're dealing with prevention, but once you get to prescription drugs, you're dealing with intervention," Chandler said.
Charlotte Behavioral Health Care in Punta Gorda operates a program for those struggling with prescription drug abuse. CEO Jay Glynn said the voluntary program, which is just over a year old, has already had 400 people come through, many who have been abusing oxycodone and other prescription medications.
"We're mostly seeing young adults who have been abusing this drug for a while, and they're running out of resources," he said. "They can't work, or they end up in crime and trying to figure out ways to get their drugs ... the program has 15 beds and they're all filled. It's mainly pain medications that we're seeing."
North Port averages about one accidental drug overdose death each month, according to Police Chief Terry Lewis.
Meunier was very complimentary of North Port, saying the community has "taking things by the horns, and they are just one passionate group."
The next ASAP meeting will take place at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 14 at the North Port Family Services Center. Sarasota County School Board member Caroline Zucker is scheduled to attend.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Truth in Mental Health
The "Truth" is there are a lot of options in treatment! Advances in Neroplasticity * Visual Kinesthetic Dissociation * Neuro Linguistic Programming * Hypnotherapy * Guided Imagery ... Not just more and more pills! I have gone from a half a dozen meds to one pill a day and I am doing better than I have been in a very long time, better even than when I was the CEO of a Mental Health Center, Just Saying.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Message Board :: Teen Challenge USA • View topic - Never looking back
Message Board :: Teen Challenge USA • View topic - Never looking back: "2 Timothy 2:21 says, 'If a man cleanses himself from his past, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the master and prepared to do any good work.'"
Options
There is a lot of hopeful "newer" science related to mental health & addiction issues to be explored. This is not all brought by BIG PHARMaceutical thank GOD! I was talking to a friend from church last night at a "pot luck" dinner I was helping to put on here at the park, the conversation led to her attending grandparents day at a typical mid-western elementary public school. She said off of the back of the, I believe 3rd grade class room was another little room with a 8ft.table lined with little cups with pills. She asked the teacher about all the medications and she replied, a few of the children do have asthma but, the rest take medication for ADHD.
THE REST TAKE MEDICATION FOR ADHD! Wow!!! WAKE UP PEOPLE*** If it is NOT absolutely necessary don't do it! I was on Ritalin when I was at that age and looking back it was certainly playing it's part in setting up my brain for addiction. Check it out the "science" backs my theory. JUST SAYING!
This is very kool, check it out.
2000 - 2009: At End of Decade A Look Back at the First Ten Years of the 2000s - ABC News
2000 - 2009: At End of Decade A Look Back at the First Ten Years of the 2000s - ABC News
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