Why Health Insurance Mandates (and Birth Control Pills) are Bad for Your Health

Posted in Health & Wellness on 02/10/2012 05:32 pm by stephanie

In all the recent brouhaha over whether the federal government has the right to force the Catholic church to purchase health insurance that covers birth control and the morning after pill, no-one in the mainstream media thought to question the conventional narrative that the birth control mandate is about “women’s health.” Is it, really?

The birth control pill has become so ubiquitous that we rarely question it anymore. It is simply a fact of life for millions of women across America. Yet, more and more, holistic health practitioners as well as MDs are warning against the regular use of synthetic hormones like the ones used in birth control pills. This includes the synthetic hormones given to menopausal women in “Hormone Replacement Therapy” (HRT) to help them with their menopause symptoms. Synthetic hormones aren’t the same thing as “bio-identical” or “natural” hormones. They don’t bind to cell receptors in the same way your body’s hormones do. Synthetic hormones confuse your body and can cause all sorts of physical and emotional problems, ranging from mood swings to bizarre facial hair growth and much worse (cancer).

Big Pharma will do anything to sell its synthetic hormones to you. They now sell them for more than just birth control. It seriously disturbs me that some folks have bought into the sales pitch that birth control pills can cure your acne. Really? That’s like killing a fly with a nuclear bomb. Why not try some tea tree oil first?

For an in-depth look at the dangers of synthetic hormones, a book that I recommend every woman read (regardless of age) is What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Premenopause: Balance Your Hormones and Your Life From Thirty to Fifty by Dr. John Lee and Virginia Hopkins.

Additionally, birth control pills do nothing to stop STDs and put women who are single at danger of catching all sorts of diseases. (I can speak from experience that men are much more likely to be motivated to use a condom if you aren’t on the pill.)

So why is it so urgent to suddenly give women across America access to “free” birth control pills? (They won’t really be free anyway, since our insurance premiums will likely go up because of it.) Could it be related to the fact that Obama received the largest amount in donations from the pharmaceutical industry for 2011-2012, over a quarter of a million dollars? (Scroll to the bottom of this page at Open Secrets for this statistic.)

The fact is, anyone can go to a natural food store and get a jar of bio-identical “natural” progesterone cream for about $15-30, depending on the brand (at least for now, before the FDA bans it “for our own good”). Ostensibly, you can even use progesterone cream for birth control if you use enough of it (but it’s not sold that way). But Big Pharma doesn’t want you to do that, because it’s less profitable for them. They can make a lot more money on synthetic hormones made out of horse urine (no kidding!) that they then patent and sell to you.

In my own personal experience, the birth control pills I took in college took the emotional issues I was dealing with and ramped them up to a full-blown, almost suicidal, depression. The pills made me crazy. I then went to a shrink who put me on more pills (Zoloft) that then almost gave me a seizure. It wasn’t until I got off all the pills that my mood finally stabilized.

When you look the statistics of all the women who are on anti-depressants, is it possible that women use them more than men by a large margin precisely because of the birth control pills they’ve been taking for years? In this way, Big Pharma gets to make money on both ends of the deal – they create the depression, and then “cure” it with another pill.

This, then, gets to the heart of my objection to concept of government-mandated health insurance. Most of the “healthcare” we have in America today is controlled by large corporations, who profit off of people being sick. Big Pharma, in particular, has a vested interest in keeping every single one of their patients on their drugs for as long as possible. Health insurance is part and parcel to this corrupt system, and the government forcing everyone to fund it won’t make it better – it will make it worse.

Some folks think that the answer is to have government-controlled healthcare through a “single payer” plan or a complete healthcare system like the one in England. This, too, has problems (beyond the fiscal costs) – it puts the power of healthcare into a powerful monopoly – the government – and removes choice from the patient.

In either of these two scenarios – a) corporate-run healthcare mandated by the government or b) government-provided healthcare controlled by the monopolistic government – people will lose the power to choose more gentle, holistic methods of healing that might work better for them. In the socialist European Union (often lauded by left-leaning Americans for the government healthcare programs of its member countries), the over-reaching EU government has done nothing to protect the rights of its citizens in regards to holistic healthcare. On the contrary, citizens have had to fight tooth and nail just to retain access to over-the-counter vitamins and supplements. Governments seem to punish holistic healthcare providers and instead favor corporate, allopathic healthcare models over consumer choice and self-healing modalities.

Yes, our healthcare system is broken, but it’s broken on a more fundamental level than just the idea of making it more “affordable.” The fact is, we cannot afford to continue with the allopathic (conventional) medical model that has dominated medicine for the past 100 years. While our lifespans our longer, we are overweight, out of shape, and dependent on expensive drugs to live. I’ve read estimates that if Americans did not have access to their prescription medication, within two weeks, 10% would die. That’s not real healing – that’s a drug “managing” a disease, not curing it.

A holistic approach to health looks at the whole person and works to cure the underlying imbalance that is at the root cause of disease. This includes looking not only at the physical body, but assessing emotional and spiritual health as well. Drugs would be seen as a last resort after gentler, more comprehensive methods were tried. Allopathic medicine is great for a broken leg, but it’s terrible when it comes to teaching healthy lifestyles.

My ideal “hospital” or health center would include the following: A gym, a room for group exercise, a quiet room for prayer and meditation, naturopaths, nutritionists, on-site counselors who would provide talk therapy (not drugs), life coaches, acupuncture, massage, energy healing, and a cafeteria that offered organic, healthy foods. The center would teach classes on healthy cooking, mind-body awareness, and stress reduction techniques. Does your health insurance cover any of these things? You’d be lucky if it covered even one of them.

Oh, and by the way: Harmful synthetic hormones patented by Big Pharma would not be offered at my hospital.

As you can see, my approach to health is vastly different from the standard conventional wisdom. But all our insurance mandates do is reinforce the current “sick” system. For this reason, and many more, I believe health insurance mandates are bad for your health.

 

Unpsychic Predictions for 2012

Posted in Unpsychic Predictions on 01/29/2012 05:04 pm by stephanie

Well, we’re already a month into 2012. So I better hop to it with the “unpsychic” predictions for the year!

I started doing these unpsychic predictions for fun, and I don’t take them very seriously. But it is interesting how many things I did “hit” on, even if somewhat obliquely. Last year, I was right about big storms, civil unrest starting (Occupy Wall Street), and, on the positive, Betty White living for another year.

Notably, I had predicted “something shocking” for 2011, which, granted, is a bit vague, but in retrospect, I’ll peg that one on Fukushima. I have been wrong about an imminent quake in Southern California. I’m actually surprised something big hasn’t hit California since Fukushima, but perhaps it’s just a matter of time. I would still be prepared!

Here are my 2012 predictions:

First off, I don’t think we’re going to see the apocalypse this year. In fact, it may almost be eerily quiet on the disaster front compared to last year, except for maybe a few big events. (Maybe that California earthquake finally?)

However, in the political and economic world, things will be in turmoil. Many people are predicting economic disaster in Europe, which could start a worldwide domino effect. This may very well happen, but I wonder if they might find some way to keep kicking the can down the road and keep things hobbling along.

We will see: A tremendous increase in food and gas prices, while your bigger assets (such as your house) will continue to depreciate.

We will also see more financial institutions have major problems or go belly up, ala MF Global.

Elections: I honestly have no clue or even a gut feeling on who is going to win. There’s a part of me that thinks Obama will have a second term, and a part of me that thinks the Republican challenger will win. Frankly, I am surprised Obama is still in the game, as for some reason I thought he might just pass on a second term (since I don’t feel his heart is in governing). The one thing I will say about Obama is that he is looking even more sickly and old lately, and something is not quite right with his health. I can’t really see him being president another 4 years, whether it’s due to health issues, or some sort of scandal, or the Powers That Be deciding he’s more of a liability than a help and replacing him.

Conservative Media Backlash: Whether Obama wins or not, there seems to be a growing conservative backlash to what they perceive as media attempts to marginalize them. The latest outrage was against CBS, who originally posted pictures online of a few pro-choice supporters at a pro-life rally in Washington, DC that apparently had almost 400,000 attendees. CBS amended their slideshow to include the actual marchers, but not until many conservatives vowed to boycott CBS. Ultimately, money is going to talk, and with Fox blowing away the ratings of their competitors, other media outlets are going to try to court conservatives more in the future.

Rise of Militant Atheism: And on the other side of the socio-political spectrum, more and more, atheists are banding together to create a pro-atheism movement. There’s a small split right now between moderate atheists who just want to be left alone and don’t really have a problem with religious people, and more militant atheists who see any sort of religious expression as “offensive.” Some of the more extreme militant atheists may become not just vocal, but destructive in the next year, in part because of the conservatives who are calling for more recognition of their faith and beliefs. So I’m going to predict more vandalism of churches, more “in your face” atheist messages, and perhaps a full-on atheist march on Washington.

Occupy Wall Street, Riots and Flashmobs: In this environment of exceedingly strident political and religious (or anti-religious) fanaticism on both sides,  Occupy Wall Street (OWS) will be fanning more flames with bigger and more destructive onslaughts, that may cause riots in major cities. The Democrat and Republican conventions will be major targets this year, and look for riots in Chicago, Oakland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Seattle. Some of the riots may start with OWS, but bleed off into the inner city communities and get completely out of control. Places like Philadelphia, who are already having problems with violent flashmobs, may see more of the same and worse in 2012.

Cyberterrorism: Last year, I successfully predicted the beginning of “cyberwars” with hackers, and this year, it will get even worse as cyberterrorists strike major financial institutions, governments, and certain big businesses.

George Soros vs. Koch Brothers: The right hates George Soros for being a billionaire who manipulates world currencies, and the left hates the Koch Brothers for being rich guys who donate to right-wing causes. Neither of these entities are going to be as important as people fear in 2012. First of all, the real trouble-making powermongers are behind the scenes and we don’t even know who they really are! And as much as Soros has had his day in the sun, his time is coming to an end. If George Soros lives another year, it will surprise me. He’s old and won’t live too much longer. And the Koch Brothers are going to just fade away (as the left will find another bogeyman to replace them).

World War III: So I have some bad news here. I thought about it, and something hit me. And that is: We are already in World War III, we just don’t know it yet. I’m not sure when history will say it really started…perhaps 9/11 will be seen as the starting point. But I’m going to be bold and say, we are already in World War III, and while it won’t escalate to the point of total destruction in 2012, we will see more tensions building with Iran, some possibly oil embargoes and shortages, and some other scary, crazy stuff happening.

Good News? With everything I’ve written above, 2012 does seem pretty bad, even if it’s not totally apocalyptic. Right now, we are going through massive extremes as a species. So for every reaction, there will be an equal and opposite reaction. Therefore, if there is violence in the streets and riots, you will see an opposite force for peace and civility rise up. For every force out there trying to silence religion, you will see more genuine spirituality rising up. And, for as much as people are trying to divide along political, social and religious divides, you will see more and more people waking up from the folly of divisiveness, and try to work together and bridge the divides.

Well, I hope that wasn’t too awful to read. And, I could be wrong! Remember, these are unpsychic predictions!

 

My Problem With the Reiki Community

Posted in Spirituality & Philosophy on 01/15/2012 03:48 pm by stephanie

Back in my late 20s, I was trained to become a Reiki Master. Reiki is a gentle form of energy healing that is supposed to be safe and effective. It involves the laying on of hands in person, and can be done “via distance” through meditation and visualization. Reiki has its “generic” form, and many different “flavors” that come in the form of Reiki “attunements.” So if you want to heal your issues with anger, you can get a Reiki “attunement” for anger.

In my mid-30s, I started “channeling” Reiki attunements for myself. Actually, I hate the word “channeling.” It makes it sound like I was being a medium for an ancient being from Mu. By “channeling” I mean “receiving” energy from “spirit.” Sometimes “spirit” might be just plain ole “God” or an angel. I started writing manuals for my attunements and putting them out on the Internet. I wasn’t really thinking about making a business out of it. But somehow I got into the business of selling Reiki attunements. (My Reiki website is at elementalreiki.com. I don’t usually promote it here, or myself there, in part because I don’t want it to be about “me.”)

Many of my attunements have been extremely popular and have been shared around the world. One of them in particular has been a huge “success,” and that is Money Reiki. Money Reiki was given to me by Archangel Michael. I must have put Money Reiki out in about 2005 – I’d have to check my original manual to be sure. But I was definitely the first to put out something called “Money Reiki.” After that, there were some imitations and other energies that dealt with issues of “abundance” and “prosperity.” Money Reiki is probably the most well-known of my Reiki systems and it is probably the one I am known for. We’ll get back to Money Reiki in a second, but let me back up first…

Over the years, I tried to make a business out of Reiki, but I personally didn’t have the stomach for doing a hard sales pitch, nor did I want to take advantage of people who needed healing. But writing my manuals took a lot of work, and it seemed that my job was a thankless one, because the minute I’d put something out on my website, some other Reiki Master would buy it, resell it on their site at a discount, and undercut my own business. (In Reiki, attunements are historically handed down from master to student, so even if you write a manual, people can “resell” it unless you direct otherwise.) I never made a lot of money at it, and I was always doing other things to pay my bills too.

What bothered me most about this business is that it seemed like some folks were in it out of greed, not because they truly cared. They were snapping up other people’s attunements left and right and selling them for “pennies on the dollar” on eBay and other places. They were casting witchcraft spells to hurt their competition.

In general, I was very turned off not just by the business of Reiki, but of many people in the self-help business in general, some of whom are actively preying upon desperate people in order to make a buck. This is doubly true of people who focus on selling courses and workshops about “abundance,” “prosperity,” or making money. It’s like, many of these folks who are drawn to teach this abundance stuff, are themselves so broken and caught up in their own greed, that they willingly or unwittingly take advantage of broke people who are desperate to fix their finances. It’s a nasty business.

Many of the sentiments in my original Money Reiki system were completely counter to that sort of energy.

Imagine my surprise when I found out that my Money Reiki system was used by another Reiki practitioner who had built up an entire business around my system and even misled people on her website that she was the founder! Look, I don’t have a problem with people offering Money Reiki healing services, but it is a problem if someone is taking credit for something they didn’t create, or teaching things that are counter to the intention of the original energy. And the way I found out was through a very upset and agitated new customer of mine, who was freaking out because this Money Reiki business owner had warned him that the Money Reiki energies would be so strong, that he needed to be careful not to think any sort of negative thought, lest it be manifested!

I never, ever taught that as part of Money Reiki! NEVER! It is a fundamentalist interpretation of the Law of Attraction that I vehemently disagree with, for many reasons.

I admit I was not doing much to monitor what people were doing with Money Reiki on the Internet. I’ve now looked around a little bit. I guess in my wildest dreams I didn’t think that people would be creating entire businesses from Money Reiki. Well, now I look around and I see people are selling not only Money Reiki t-shirts, but Money Reiki BEER STEINS.

BEER STEINS? SERIOUSLY?

I am sickened. And heartbroken. Seriously.

I just can’t believe someone took something I put out into the world in an effort to try to shift the energy away from greed…and has so abused it to be selling Money Reiki t-shirts, magnets, and beer steins. Perhaps I’m being harsh – maybe the person is well-meaning. But it’s clear that they do not understand what Money Reiki is really about. (Don’t even get me started about how alcohol and Reiki don’t mix!)

Look, I’m not against people making money. And I’m not against t-shirts or swag in general. But when it comes to something like an energy specifically “channeled” to shift the world’s energy of money away from rampant greed, commercialization of this energy is just wrong.

And it’s clear, that if someone is selling beer steins “infused” with “Money Reiki healing,” it is not the Money Reiki energy I originally received from Archangel Michael. I truly hope that anyone who might be tempted to commercialize “Money Reiki” or put their own spin on it will take this to heart: Simply come up with your own name and manual for it. If you want to call it Money Abundance Something-Or-Other Reiki, that’s fine. But it’s not Money Reiki, nor are you working with the “spiritual energy of money” in the way that Money Reiki teaches.

Why do people glom onto other people’s ideas? I don’t get it. And that’s what makes me so upset about this – that someone took something that I put out for the good of the planet, hijacked it, and made it into something it was never supposed to be. All they needed to do was create their own name for their own thing. I don’t have a problem with people doing their own thing…but taking something that I intended for a completely different purpose, and using it for that which I have actively fought against in my life? Yes, I’m upset about this.

And maybe I partially feel responsible…like, if I had written my manual better, or not let things drop with it, maybe that client who came to me so upset wouldn’t have had that bad “Money Reiki” experience in the first place. I abdicated my leadership, and in the vacuum, someone took advantage of the empty space.

Ironically, when I found all this out, I had been working on a Money Reiki book, because a client of mine had suggested it to me. I was having a hard time writing it, in part because I was trying to decide how much more I wanted to do within the Reiki community, and whether I wanted to move on from it.

For the past year or two, I had been reluctant to put new Reiki attunements out there, and had been feeling somewhat of a desire to just step away from Reiki entirely. And the whole self-help business. Because I’m tired of greedy people and charlatans. And the “fake” niceness of people who say “love and light” but really don’t mean it, because they are simply repressing their inner darkness and anger. And frankly, while I think Reiki can be a good thing, I just don’t think it’s “the answer.” It’s maybe part of the answer, but it’s not going to fix you completely. If it did fix you completely, then the Reiki community wouldn’t be filled with so much BS, for one thing.

Sigh.

I’m not saying I’m perfect. In fact, that was precisely one of the reasons I never put myself out there as a guru. I get angry, and anxious, and deal with issues and problems like everyone else, and my spiritual practice has helped me only in that I have gotten a bit better over the years…just not completely “cured.” Maybe we never get completely “cured.”

At any rate, having this issue hit me in the face at this time is perhaps a good thing. For one, I see that if I put something out there, even with the best of intentions, it can be misinterpreted and misused. And when I go off into my little corner, and cease to be a leader and stop putting myself out there, because I’m feeling a little disillusioned about stuff, it doesn’t help matters. It just gives more power to the “crap.”

So I am going to try to speak up more, and share my perspectives more. You don’t have to agree with them, and perhaps you’ll vehemently disagree, but at least I’m not going to let other people take my work and turn it into something it was never intended to be.

I do think I am going to be moving on from Reiki eventually. I’m not “throwing the baby out with the bathwater,” and disowning Reiki. But I will be moving beyond the attunements business, with all its pitfalls and BS. I actually think at some point it might be best if I simply put everything I’ve ever done out there Reiki-wise for free. That might happen one of these days. In the meantime, I’m going to put my original Money Reiki manuals out for free for sure, and add some new addendums to hopefully clarify what it was all supposed to be about. You will be able to get Money Reiki Healing any time, without having to pay someone or buy a t-shirt.

And then, just maybe, I’ll finish that book.

 

Why I Can’t Support Occupy Wall Street

Posted in Politically Agnostic on 10/27/2011 04:38 pm by stephanie

I would love for there to be an intelligent, non-partisan, truly peaceful, positive movement to deal with the corruption and crony capitalism poisoning our country.

Sadly, I’ve determined Occupy Wall Street is not it.

I was intrigued at first, but a nagging feeling about the movement grew until it became a full-blown bad feeling. The bottom line: Occupy Wall Street scares me. I think it’s dangerous.

Let me tell you why.

Now, I could get into all the research I’ve done about it, or how some in the “tin foil hat” crowd feel that Occupy Wall Street is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, a manufactured mob designed to help bring in a global socialist state. But that may be a bit too “out there” for you, so I’ll stick to the more practical and spiritual aspects.

Let me preface my next comments by explaining that I spent many years on the left, and some of it dabbling in the far left. I’ve been to protests, and I joined a radical feminist group in my early 20s called the “Women’s Action Coalition” or “WAC.” WAC was, like Occupy Wall Street, designed around a non-hierarchical, leaderless “democracy,” where everyone had the same vote and voice. To my young idealist eyes, this seemed like an amazing thing, something extremely empowering and positive.

It sucked. Right off the bat, the group seemed split between the lesbians and the straight feminists. Perhaps I am acknowledging some bias here as being one of the straight feminists who felt there was a distinct, and palpable, hostility coming towards us from the lesbian side of the group. See, historically, in “radical” feminism, some women actually chose to become lesbians for political reasons. Being straight was considered consorting with “the enemy.” No, I’m not making this up. I learned this in my Women’s Studies course in college.

The politics, in-fighting, back-biting, and drama that dominated that “leaderless” group eventually led to its demise. (It’s since been resurrected, apparently, but it really hasn’t had much major impact in the past 20 years).

What I learned by being involved in radical politics is that radical politics is designed around having enemies. The enemy could be any number of things: men, “pigs” (the police), the “establishment,” Republicans, “oppressive” white culture, Wall Street.

Unfortunately, not much has changed or evolved in the far left in the past 40 years. If anything, it’s gotten away from the positive vibes of the Summer of Love and has become even more angry and more ugly. That has been one thing I’ve noticed about the Occupy Wall Street protests – I don’t see much about love. It seems to be more about revenge.

“But Occupy Wall Street isn’t far left!” you may say. “It’s a group of people from all walks of life!”

That may be when it comes to the people showing up for the big protests. But the organization seems to be designed by or at least heavily inspired by far left thinking and radicalism.

This is why, for example, the protesters are camping out and “occupying” our cities versus taking the more mainstream route of organizing within the system. If you go to the Occupy Wall Street website, you’ll see an angry fist (used by far-left socialists) as their logo, and the following mission statement on the right:

Occupy Wall Street is leaderless resistance movement with people of many colors, genders and political persuasions. The one thing we all have in common is that We Are The 99% that will no longer tolerate the greed and corruption of the 1%. We are using the revolutionary Arab Spring tactic to achieve our ends and encourage the use of nonviolence to maximize the safety of all participants.

This #ows movement empowers real people to create real change from the bottom up. We want to see a general assembly in every backyard, on every street corner because we don’t need Wall Street and we don’t need politicians to build a better society.

And then in big letters underneath: “The Only Solution is World Revolution”


Goldman Sachs CEO’s Head on a Stick at Occupy Wall Street Protest

I don’t know about you, but that sounds like a group that wants to overthrow our government to me, and replace our current system with “general assemblies.” And having done something similar to the “general assembly” back in WAC, I can think of no worse, infuriating, dysfunctional way to organize society. It sounds soooo great at first. But in reality, it only works if everyone is on the same page and agrees with each other. It can become a very oppressive form of group-think. Achieving “consensus” is about making everyone agree, not about honoring differences.

Could you say with a straight face that if a bunch of hardcore Tea Partiers marched into Occupy Wall Street, that they would even be allowed to be heard? Even liberal Geraldo Rivera was chased out of Zucotti Park as people chanted against Fox News. (Never mind that MSNBC is also run by a corporate conglomerate, Fox is “the enemy”!)

Already, the Occupy Wall Street enemy list has expanded beyond “Wall Street” to include the police and now even the entire city of Oakland. Will the enemy list stop there, or will it continue to expand? Sadly, there have already been a number of anti-Semitic protesters caught on video proclaiming that the Jewish bankers need to be run out of the country. (Not that the mainstream media is noticing.) See what a slippery slope making enemies can be?

The Need for Spiritual Revolution Instead of a Political One

Since my more radical days, I’ve grown up and matured, and I no longer see people who disagree with me politically as this mortal enemy I must stop at all costs. I’ve delved deep into my spirituality, and done a lot of personal work on myself. I’m not perfect, I still get angry and attached to things, and I can be very opinionated and passionate in expressing my views. But I don’t hate people who look at the world differently than I do. I try to understand them.

I take more responsibility for myself and my life. I am less inclined to get angry at the system or feel “aggrieved” if things aren’t going my way. I don’t blame others for my life. I believe that most people are simply doing their best. That includes the people of Wall Street. Those who aren’t doing their best, are broken people who need healing.

Do I like Wall Street? No. Do I criticize it? Yes. Do I want to see it go down in flames? No. The people of Wall Street are not my enemy. I want reform, not revolution. Revolution is violent, and messy, and often leads to totalitarianism.

Becoming a more mature spiritual person means taking more responsibility for yourself and not being a victim of the world around you. A deeply spiritual person who was connected to their higher power would not purposefully disobey police orders, then try to escalate and antagonize these same police, and finally cry victim to police brutality when the police respond forefully, without owning their own participation in the debacle. Spiritual people understand they are co-creators and that a good deal of the world around them is a reflection of what’s inside.

Once, when I was in college, I argued with a bouncer who kicked me out of my favorite club. He was being a total jerk, but I was also participating by yelling at him about it. It was therefore not entirely “his fault.” I co-created that altercation. I was just as responsible as he was.

Unfortunately, the entire zeitgeist of the Occupy Wall Street movement seems to be one of resentment. It’s based on grievance of what “others” have done, and it doesn’t seem to care what it disrupts or destroys in its efforts to “right the wrong.” It’s based on a collective victimhood that seems to only be able to empower itself through a mob. If you’ve watched any of the YouTube videos of the “general assemblies,” with the twinkly hands and the “human microphone,” there’s a strange cult-like aspect to it all.

Yes, if you join a group like that, you’ll feel empowered and heady and like you “finally belong” somewhere. Great stuff, especially if you are barely out of your teen years. But then, after you find out that you all don’t agree on everything, that life isn’t always so thrilling and easy, the real work of getting along begins. The Occupy movement is already seeing some fractures, with New York volunteer cooks going on strike because – get this – they are sick of feeding the “professional homeless” and freeloaders showing up to the camp. Ironic.

Take a gander of this video of Occupy Wall Street disrupting a Department of Education meeting. It’s so cringe-inducing that even people on the Occupy website have been critical of the action. This isn’t “democracy,” this is invading a meeting and shouting down people before you even listen to them. At least the Tea Party “mobs” were actually asking questions of the politicians they confronted (if hostile about it).

For these reasons, and more, I don’t see how Occupy Wall Street can last too long without imploding. Unfortunately, what can implode may also explode, which is why I feel Occupy Wall Street is dangerous.

Riots, civil unrest, and more personal injury or even death may result, if the protesters continue to make choices based on anger, adrenaline, and a sense of grievance, rather than calming down and working peacefully and strategically.

To me, the very notion of “occupying” something is militaristic, and designed to antagonize. Taking over a parcel of public land for the purposes of organizing a revolution doesn’t seem to be a strategy for peaceful compromise. This whole thing is set up from the beginning to end in grief. And there’s nothing more dangerous to a civil society than a bunch of youthful, angry, hopped-up fanatical idealists who think they’ve been “wronged” and don’t care if they take the system down with them.

I have to agree with one woman who commented on an Occupy news story with the simple one-liner:

Occupation is violence.

 

Book Review: Ascent From Darkness

Posted in Reading on 09/20/2011 12:34 pm by stephanie

If someone told you “The Devil made me do it?” would you believe them? After reading this book, I might. Ascent From Darkness is an extremely disturbing but still hopeful book that describes the descent of a young man into satanism and his redemption.  If you are a believer in the supernatural, you’ll be spooked by the dark and creepy happenings described, and if you aren’t a believer, you’ll find this a chilling tale of psychological madness.

I do happen to believe in ghosts and demons, and after having a bad time with a Ouija Board in high school, I wouldn’t fool around with one ever again. That someone would willingly give their soul to Satan and then purposefully call upon demons and evil spirits is absolutely mind-boggling to me! But that’s precisely what the author, Michael Leehan, did.

In doing so, he unleashed forces that would compel him to ritual animal abuse, attempted murder and thoughts of suicide. He regularly experienced demons oppressing him physically (as in, sitting on your chest while in bed horror movie style) to poltergeists. Now, for those who think those sorts of things are “all in your head,” I’m sure you’d write off the supernatural happenings he describes as hallucinations or his imagination. From my perspective, it sounds to me like Michael Leehan is a naturally gifted intuitive who perhaps all his life could see into the “other side.” Not being given any framework for his sensitivities, and emotionally abused as a child, he turned in anger and desperation to the dark side. He claims, in his book, that doing so gave him feelings of power and superiority. In a sense, his demonic rituals were an addiction.

What struck me was how his decision to turn to Satan was done on his own, on his own volition, without anyone or anything inspiring the action. He wasn’t into the occult or hanging out with “witches” or anything like that. He was simply a young man who was extremely angry with God, and chose to (in my view) “punish” God by turning to His nemesis. He made a decision one day to become a satanist, and that was that.

If I have one nitpick with the book it’s that he twice mentions going to the “New Age” section of the bookstore to pick up the Satanic Bible. Like many born-again Christians (as he is one now), he conflates the “New Age” with the occult, and the two aren’t really one and the same. Whether or not Barnes and Noble wants to file a satanic book in with books on crystal healing, I can assure you, New Agers are not satanists! But mostly, Leehan keeps fundamentalist theology out of the book and focuses on his own personal dark path.

The chilling part is how he managed to hide his dark side throughout some 20 years of satanic activity. He lied to his girlfriend and said he was a Christian. He purposefully went to churches to infiltrate and agitate. (He actually talks a lot about his “assignments” to go and place Satanic Bibles in churches, which seems a bit petty and childish, but he claims this was a very important part of his “mission” to turn away the faithful.)

He was also a sex addict – and he must have been a pretty good-looking guy when he was younger, because he managed to bed a lot of women, it seems. His intention in doing so was to turn chaste, Christian women to sin.

If there’s a theme running throughout the book it’s that the type of satanism Leehan practiced was forged in an area of the Bible belt where evangelical Christians are in your face at every turn. Perhaps the dark side flourishes in the face of extreme faith – certainly, in my more mainline, Midwest Christian upbringing, we never knew of any “spiritual warfare” or came across these issues.

Regardless, it’s clear that from the get-go, this was a man obsessed with God and who, through his severe psychological disturbance, tried to connect with God the only way he knew how – by attacking Him. For a satanist, he sure spent a lot of time in church groups!

At the end of the book, Leehan describes his “born-again” experience. In many respects, it was a beautiful description of a sudden peace that he found as he finally gave up his ego for spirit. I’m not an evangelical Christian, but I am fascinated by the extreme emotional experiences reported by evangelicals. Still, for those who aren’t “born-again,” Leehan’s transformation may seem sudden and perhaps a bit suspect – will his transformation last? Will Jesus be enough to sooth his troubled soul?

I certainly hope so – if anything, his experience to me suggests that spirituality can often heal where psychology simply fails.

I would highly recommend this book whether you are a believer or not. If anything, the book shows how darkness flourishes in the hearts of wounded men in America, and provides a psychological profile of how one broken man dealt with abuse, divorce, and depression. Perhaps if we could reach out better to these men in our communities, they might not have to hit bottom so dramatically before finding a path to healing.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

 

The War on God: Atheist Christopher Hitchens Mocks What He Does Not Understand

Posted in Spirituality & Philosophy on 09/05/2011 01:45 am by stephanie

While I certainly respect the philosophy of atheism, what I don’t get is why today’s prominent atheists have gotten so darn insulting towards religious people. Yes, I understand religious fanatics can get out of hand, but to let a small minority of spiritual obsessives define all spiritual people is about as useful as equating extreme environmental activists – the kind who burn down housing developments in the name of saving the planet – with everyday people who simply care and choose to recycle.

Christopher Hitchens is one such angry atheist who recently wrote a scathing commentary published on Slate about his hatred of Rick Perry’s “idiotic religious rhetoric.” If such an article were written about a Muslim leader, we’d all being hearing about Hitchens’ Islamophobia. But Christianity is fair game, particularly Christianity of the evangelical sort, which is all that seems to be given press these days, despite a large number of Christians who aren’t evangelicals. (Catholics, for one.)

Hitchens starts his article sneering in the following manner:

I happened to spend several weeks in Texas earlier this year, while the Lone Star State lay under the pitiless glare of an unremitting drought. After a protracted arid interval, the state’s immodest governor, Rick Perry, announced that he was using the authority vested in him to call for prayers for rain. These incantations and beseechments, carrying the imprimatur of government, were duly offered to the heavens. The heavens responded by remaining, along with the parched lands below, obstinately dry.

Perry did not, of course, suffer politically for making an idiot of himself in this way. Not even the true believers really expect that prayers for precipitation will be answered, or believe that a failed rainmaker is a false prophet.

Granted, I am concerned that Rick Perry is blurring the line between church and state. But let’s just take for face value for a moment that Perry is actually sincere (and not pandering). Heck, it’s not even that important whether Perry is sincere; what is important is that everyday Christians are sincere. And you know what? I was in church this morning here in Texas, and guess what? We prayed for rain!

Does that make me an idiot? Well, for one thing, I was at an Episcopal church, hardly evangelical, and as I have noted here in the past, Episcopalians actually score higher in IQ than atheists. That’s a fact, Hitchens.

Praying for rain doesn’t make someone stupid. Believing that prayers are worthwhile doesn’t mean a person has a lower IQ than someone who doesn’t believe in praying.

Yet here’s Hitchens, another angry atheist, mocking a Christian because the prayers weren’t answered. Maybe he’s right? Maybe we are stupid when we pray for rain?!

I don’t think so. In the least, one of the purposes of prayer is to bring a sense of peace and spiritual connection to the person praying. Whether or not God responds with a package neatly wrapped in a bow isn’t really the point ultimately. But let me answer this simply and briefly:

The short answer is that God doesn’t necessarily respond to prayers in the way you think they should be responded to. And given that the northeast has just gone through devastating floods thanks to Irene, is it possible that the Texas drought is a blessing in disguise? Texas has been experiencing some horrific fires and that is very tragic, but perhaps a hurricane hitting Galveston and Houston would have been much more catastrophic. We just don’t know what’s best sometimes.

But let’s get back to Hitchens and his disdain for religious people. He writes:

In this same auction, his chief conservative rivals are somewhat disabled. Mitt Romney is in no position, and shows no inclination, to campaign on matters spiritual. His own bizarre religion is regarded as just that by much of the mainstream and as heretical at best by the evangelical Christian rank and file. Advantage Perry—at least among Republican voters. Rep. Michele Bachmann, if she is still seriously considered as being in the race, can also only lose from the comparison: Her religious positions are so weird, and so weirdly held, that they have already made her look like a crackpot. (Or revealed her as such: the distinction is a negligible one.)

Hitchens has a right to his opinion, but that does not make him the better man. He’s a smart asshole, is what he is. Hey, I’m not a Mormon, I have no interest in Mormon spirituality, and I think most of it was probably made up. But you know what? If it works for people and gives them a sense of being closer to God, good for them.

As for Michele Bachmann, I have no idea what “weird” religious positions he’s referring to, unless he’s talking about the homosexuality issue. Which, like it or not, is not fringe to Christianity but mainstream – have you ever read the Catholic Catechism? It says right in there that gays are not to have sex or marry but are called to celibacy. Whether you agree with that or not is your business. Personally, I choose to attend a Christian denomination that allows gays to be priests and marry, and that’s my choice as well. But I don’t mock people or hate them for having a different viewpoint.

The irony is that angry atheists like Hitchens and his friend Richard Dawkins are the exact mirror image of the closed-minded religious zealots they decry. They lambast evangelicals for their homophobia – never stopping to think about their own Christianphobia. Hitchens chooses to match what he perceives as mindless, stupid hatred with a full-on hate brigade.

Sure, I have plenty of criticisms of religion and I realize that sometimes evangelicals get a bit attached to their viewpoints. But most of them are good-hearted, kind people who are just trying to live good lives. Do we need to bash them for not sharing our views?

You know, I personally do not believe in the “inerrancy” of the Bible, since I believe it’s more allegorical and divinely inspired vs. actually written by God. But mocking Bible-based Christians won’t get you anywhere with them. What Hitchens is missing in all this is that devout Christians feel a very strong connection to God through their spiritual practice. And no amount of left-brained “logic” is going to persuade someone who is having a right-brained, heart-based experience that they are wrong. We can argue about the Bible being literal or not, and whether a passage in Timothy means that gays shouldn’t marry. But the bottom line is, being a Christian – or a follower of any religion for that matter – has to more do with the experience of God, not the dogma of God.

Because Hitchens has never known that experience, the personal, intimate experience of the divine – either because of his own closed heart or because he never sought the experience – he cannot and will not understand Christians. And in his complete and total lack of understanding and experiential knowledge, filled with arrogance, all he knows how to do is denigrate. 

Like Richard Dawkins, Hitchens is a poor role model for atheists, who really should model qualities of tolerance and openness. Replacing religious dogma with atheistic dogma is not an improvement.

 

Idealistic Libertarianism and DIY Government

Posted in Politically Agnostic on 06/30/2011 09:58 pm by stephanie

I was commenting on a post on TF Metals Report and thought it was perhaps worthy of sharing on my blog here:

I truly believe that the most enlightened form of government would be a libertarian one. This is because it would be based on the notion that people are inherently good, evolved and capable of governing themselves. I love the libertarian theory of non-aggression. It basically states that you do not coerce or force someone to do something for someone else, because aggression is wrong. This includes forcing someone to do what you might think is the right thing for someone else. The only proper use of force is to stop someone else from using unlawful force against someone.

Taxes are by their very nature, coercive, and in my ideal, idealistic world, we’d not only abolish taxes, but make the entire government funded by donation only. Those that want to fund the military would do so. Those that want to fund education would do so. Corporations would have incentive to donate because they would be known as “good citizens” for doing so.

Now. We live in the “real” world and I don’t think we are “evolved” enough yet to handle true liberty. So I feel a hybrid government is best right now. And I also tend to be less libertarian when it comes to things like regulating nuclear power or public transportation.

That said, I feel we need to find a way to bridge the divide between right and left. One thing is to remind people that they don’t need to achieve *everything* through the government. You can, for example, be a collectivist right now, in our capitalist society. I have a good friend who is an avowed communist. He’s an old hippie. He wants everything to be like a commune. He lived on a kibbutz in Israel and likes that lifestyle. I told him, “This is America. You are free to do what you want. If you want to live in a communal environment, then join one or start your own. Don’t force it on me, that’s all.”

He is starting his own little community. This is what he wants. And that’s the beauty of America – we have the freedom to choose.

So does it need to be either-or? Why get so angry because others have a different idea of government than you? And why not create those social structures in alternative, creative ways? If you want to see universal health care, start up a non-profit and give away health care for free. If you want to see better education, then volunteer or give money or start an organization. If you hate corporate greed and worker exploitation, create a worker-owned company. They do exist here and now.

Yes, the federal government has done some good things, but it’s also done a lot of bad things. Since we don’t control our taxes and they are taken from us, they are used for a lot of things we might disagree with, whether that’s welfare that keeps people disempowered or military spending. We have to take the good with the bad if we are funding a large federal government.

But the bottom line is this: Whether or not the federal government has done good things in the past, it is broke now, and likely to implode. Either that, or it will turn into a very horrible, oppressive beast if we don’t watch out and protect our liberties from incursions like the Patriot Act (which was an issue with the left under Bush now sadly forgotten under Obama).

Arguing over Democrats vs. Republicans isn’t really productive, because both major parties are to blame and both have corrupt leaders. (There are good guys on either side, of course.) We are all going to have to pull up our shirt sleeves and do it ourselves. It’s what I call “DIY Government.”

PS The Internet, by the way, wasn’t just a federal government project. It was a MILITARY project and evolved out of “ARPANET” – the whole purpose of the distributed network model was to have a network that would not be taken down if one area was destroyed in a nuclear strike. So the Internet came out of the Cold War and the Department of Defense, and had we not been funding war and the military, we might not have the Internet. Which just goes to show you, nothing is black and white, and many things are double-edged swords.

 

Let’s Not Forget Fukushima

Posted in General on 06/14/2011 01:05 am by stephanie

Fukushima - Japan MapI’ve been concerned since the Japan quake that things would get pretty bad with the nuclear disaster at Fukushima. My worst fears have been that Japan would be rendered into a nuclear wasteland. Back in March, I thought I might have been overreacting or blowing things out of proportion, but my fears were not unfounded.

Months later, Japan has finally admitted that three reactors went into full meltdown right after the earthquake. Now, there’s talk about a “melt through,” which is a politically correct way of saying “China Syndrome.” Where is this in the mainstream news? Instead of covering Fukushima, some news outlets requested volunteers to go through Sarah Palin’s emails, only to find out – golly, gee whiz! – she really was just doing her job. (Anthony Weiner, on the other hand, appears to be more interested in taking pictures of himself than working.)

Here’s the missed opportunity in all this. (If you can call the worst nuclear disaster ever in history an “opportunity.”) The United States of America has not one, not two, but 23 nuclear power plants that are the same design as the Fukushima plant currently spewing radiation into the environment. These plants, designed by General Electric, were known to be flawed back in the 70s, although modifications have been made since. What are we doing about these aging power plants? Last I heard, one was given a 20 year extension past it’s originally-planned lifespan.

By the way, that article I just linked to was from MSNBC, which until recently, was majority-owned by GE…and GE still has a large stake (49%) in MSNBC’s parent company NBC Universal. GE was also a major donor to Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign. Which kind of goes to show you, if you think Fox News is the only corporate-run major news network, or the Republican party is the only corporate-run political party, you may need to follow the money more.

My point is? All of this might explain – just a little – why none of our elected leaders in America are stepping up to the plate and responding to Fukushima crisis in any measurable way. Not one. We’re not being told about radiation coming our way (the EPA stopped monitoring it). We’re not being told about our own nuclear power plants that are aging and need to be replaced. Never mind the nuclear power plants that are in harm’s way, with some in major earthquake zones and others at risk due to inland flooding.

We’re also not being given clear leadership about what America’s energy future is going to be. What are we going to do about our aging nuclear power plants? What we are going to do about creating energy if we do deem that nuclear power just isn’t worth the risk?

Neither political party has any sort of real solution to our energy problems. The Republicans just chant “drill, baby, drill,” without acknowledging the possible oil crunch coming our way due to peak oil (not that anyone in politics would admit to peak oil). And the Democrats only pay lip service to alternative energy. All of this talk in the 2008 election about green jobs – where are they? We’d be happy to have jobs, much less green ones.

We probably need an “all of the above” solution – involving more drilling (unfortunately) and alternative energy – if we are going to continue to fund our costly energy-sucking lifestyles. But our leaders aren’t willing to come together to solve the problem. They just want to bicker and name-call. (Or waste time taking half-naked pictures of themselves in the Congressional gym.)

The Tragedy in Japan…and Beyond

But our energy problems pale in comparison to the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Japan right now. Millions of people are potentially at risk of radiation poisoning. Their government is lying to them. There’s the potential for all of Japan to become a wasteland thanks to Fukushima. Radiation may be contaminating the groundwater there:

Meanwhile, here in America, radiation is hitting the West Coast. Maybe not enough to panic, but enough to be concerned. According to nuclear expert Arnie Gunderson, people in Seattle inhaled approximately 5 “hot particles” per day in April:

What can you do? Well, if you are in Japan, I feel for you. I would suggest that if you had the money and resources to move away now, even temporarily, that you might consider that. In the least, you’ll need to take extra care of your health by eating right, taking lots of vitamins and anti-oxidants to fight radiation damage, and possibly using safety measures such as masks outside depending on where you live.

In America, good health measures can help. But beyond that, let’s look at finding ways to respond proactively rather than sitting around waiting for our own aging nuclear infrastructure to decay and end up becoming problematic in the coming years.

Stay informed, demand more from your politicians and media, support alternative energy (yes, even you conservatives – there are alternative energy businesses you know!)…and otherwise…??

PRAY.

 

Unpsychic Predictions – Southern California Earthquake Alert

Posted in Unpsychic Predictions on 06/06/2011 07:01 pm by stephanie

I’m going to stick my neck out today and send out my first EARTHQUAKE ALERT!

You don’t have to be psychic or a geologist to know that at some point in the near future or soon enough, Southern California is going to have a big earthquake. It’s getting close to 20 years since the Northridge Quake of 94, so Los Angeles is due. I’ll go one step further.

My feeling is that something big may be gearing up to hit Southern California soon. How soon? I can’t say. But maybe any day now. And if I were in Southern California right now, I’d be making sure my earthquake supplies were ready – especially extra water and food.

Los Angeles was just hit today with a 3.4 – possibly a foreshock:

That doesn’t look so bad, does it? Well, take a look at Southern California from the state view:

Look at all that crazy activity going on! And let me tell you what – the map did not look like that prior to the Mexicali quake that hit on Easter of last year! Southern California was much less active.

Here’s the NON-psychic evidence for a big quake due soon:

1. See those clusters of little quakes in Southern California? Increased geological instability has been developing in the entire Southern California region due to the big Mexicali quake. I’m not making this up. Scientists have reported this.

2. When I first started observing the Southern California earthquake clusters after Mexicali last May, they were much smaller than the above graphic, closer to the border, and only hitting one or two small fault lines. In the past year, these little quakes have been moving up the state, jumping from fault line to fault line. I’m not imagining this – scientists have noted this phenomenon and have been monitoring the movement. (I wish I could find the article for you that I read this information in, but it’s long lost the bookmarks file of my last computer.)

3. Geologists have observed that when an earthquake happens, it will release tension in that particular part of the fault – however, the tension then just moves along the fault to a new part of the fault line. This is how they have been tracking a series of earthquakes in Turkey, and have determined that Istanbul will unfortunately be potentially next in line for a devastating quake.

4. Anytime there is a large quake in the world, it tends to destabilize other fault lines – even fault lines far away. The 9.0 in Japan likely destabilized the entire Ring of Fire region, which is perhaps also why we’ve just seen two volcanic eruptions in Mexico and Chile.

5. We’ve seen big quakes in the following areas of the Ring of Fire: Chile, then New Zealand, then Japan. Will North America follow suit? It may not be Southern California, granted. Some have suggested Alaska or the area of the Pacific Northwest may be next. But it would be a good idea to be prepared just in case.

Those are some very good scientific reasons why Southern California, and specifically, the Los Angeles, may be looking at a big quake soon.

So here’s my “psychic” reason for the alert:

I could be wrong, but I’ve been feeling lately that some sort of major quake in California is on its way – particularly to Southern California. I actually lived there for a long time and left last year, in part due to knowing a big quake was going to hit in the next few years. I was in the last nasty quake – I don’t need to be in the next one. I feel like it’s there, just waiting to happen.

Note: If there is a quake in Southern California soon, it may not yet be the “big” big one. I for some reason have felt for a while that there would be a “smaller” but somewhat damaging “big” quake prior to a really nasty one.

My concern in the long run is the San Andreas fault going off and then having a cascading effect along the fault line. If you look at that map of California above, you’ll see a big “X” where two faults meet, in the southern-central part of the state. There’s a little yellow box on it representing one small quake, the first quake I’ve seen on that X that I remember.

That X is the Tejon Pass, and that line running somewhat north to south is the San Andreas. When and if the BIG big one happens, I’m thinking it may be in that very area. Notice how relatively “calm” that area is compared to the rest of the state. That may actually be a bad sign. Furthermore, those clusters of quakes jumping up the fault lines from Mexico may be headed up towards that area – and when that area starts to rumble, it may be less forgiving.

The point with all this is as follows: Do not become complacent if you survive a relatively “big” quake in Southern California – make sure you are prepared for a possible one-two whammy.

And that reminds me: Japan may not be out of the woods yet in terms of large, devastating aftershocks either!

Hang onto your hats!

 

 

What Do Tornadoes and Gang Violence Have in Common?

Posted in Energetic Weather on 06/01/2011 06:09 pm by stephanie

Over Memorial Day weekend, beach cities in various parts of the U.S. were overrun by violent mobs. Fights were the least of it. People were killed in Miami. It was called a “war zone.” This out of control behavior came on the heels of some of the most violent tornadoes the country has seen in decades…and as I write this, more tornadoes are touching down in Massachusetts, of all places.

What is going on? Is the world really coming to an end because 2012 is right around the corner?

It is popular in the new age and self help movements to believe in a “Law of Attraction,” which states that you create your reality with your thoughts and feelings. I was never a fan of the Law of Attraction, as I felt it was too reductionist. While I do think we exert some control over our lives through our thoughts and attitudes, I don’t think victims of crimes “attract” their attackers with their thoughts. It’s more that we can do better with what we’re given if we approach things with a pro-active mindset. And yes, affirmations and visualization can be very powerful tools for personal growth, which is why hypnosis can be so effective in curing phobias and addictions.

The Law of Attraction also doesn’t take into account collective or group thought. But my theory is, if there is something to this idea that we can “create” our lives through our intentions, then wouldn’t the group intention or collective thought exert more power over individual thought?

This brings us back to the weather. If you are open to the idea that we live in a quantum universe where the observer can affect reality, can we collectively affect the weather? Is it possible that the bad storms we’ve seen in 2011 in America have a correlation to the collective bad mood we are in?

Now, there are many theories as to why we’re having so many crazy storms lately. One is, of course, climate change. There are more “conspiracy” oriented theories too, including the idea that a government-run science program, HAARP, is being purposefully used to manipulate weather for nefarious reasons we are not privy to. Whether the HAARP theory has any merit or not, I find the videos by YouTube Weather Guru Dutchsinse to be fascinating. He has predicted much of the recent bad weather by following so-called “HAARP rings” that show up in radar.

I do not discount the role of “climate change” (which is a misnomer – we should be saying, “human pollution” if that’s what we really mean) in our weather woes. I’m skeptical of, but open to, the idea that HAARP has a role in all this.

But I’m also wondering if our collective angst isn’t also contributing to the bad weather. Can our collective negative energy create storms? Perhaps.

I remember when I moved to Los Angeles right after the 1992 riots. My timing was pretty bad! Over the next few years LA saw disaster after disaster – fires, mudslides, and a major earthquake. After a few years, when the economy started picking up in the mid 90s, things calmed down considerably. People also seemed happier and gang violence decreased.

There definitely seemed to be a difference in the number and frequency of disasters as the collective mood of Los Angeles improved. As the economy tanked in the fall of 2008, we coincidentally saw a huge outbreak of fires in November of that same year.

Now, all of this is simply observational, and I have not done any sort of “scientific” study to see if there is a direct correlation. I am well aware that such “woo-woo” theories don’t have much basis in science at this point.

However, I will make the following prediction: As the world economy continues to be fragile if not downright depressive, and as people continue to generate “bad vibes” through their anger and frustration (especially due to the poor economy), expect to see more major earthquakes, tornadoes, volcanoes, hurricanes, typhoons, and other crazy weather. Additionally, a good number of people on the planet are “expecting” doom and gloom because of 2012 – so it’s almost like we are hell-bent on creating it.

This is not to say that our human pollution isn’t affecting the weather and our atmosphere. Or that sun spots and solar flares aren’t also at fault. What I am suggesting, however, that we may potentially be adding fuel to the fire with our bad energy.

Now…what we can do?

Whether or not you agree that our collective ill will is causing bad weather, I hope you can agree that we as a society can’t move forward if we are bogged down by hate and rancor. Perhaps these natural disasters are meant as a spiritual wake-up call. So where do  we start?

First off, I’ve been more and more disturbed by the partisan divide in America turning into a chasm. When liberals in Arizona feel they have to “secede” because they can’t deal with the conservatives in their state, we have a problem. And guess what? The problem isn’t just with conservatives! It’s with extremes on both sides that are unwilling to compromise, listen, or give the other side any credit. Yes, this applies to you, dear liberal friend, who insists on name-calling any Tea Party Patriot a “racist teabagger” in order to dehumanize them and make them into the “enemy.” And this also goes for you, dear conservative Christian, who really ought to know better than call someone a “baby-killing libtard,” because that’s not what Jesus would do.

Our inner city children are in particular expressing more openly the anger and seething resentment in America today. Since they don’t feel they have anything to lose, they feel justified in expressing their rage outwards, whereas the “latte liberal” will simply waste time bitching about Sarah Palin on Facebook.

In this one blog post I can’t lay out all the answers, but let’s start with a few right here:

1.  Stop with the name calling. And yes, that includes you liberal friends of mine. The minute you label someone a “hater,” you are being exactly that which you decry. Let’s start a truce – stop the labeling and start listening. Get curious – why is “limited government” so important to some people? Open your mind and your heart – you might learn something.

2. Focus on positive solutions. Quit yer bitching. And yes, I’m just as guilty of bitching as everyone else. But if you don’t like what is going on in the world, do something positive. Don’t expect the government to do it for you – the government is broke, corrupt, and inept. They can’t and won’t fix society’s problems. You need to roll up your shirtsleeves and do it yourself. If you are disturbed by poverty in the inner city, get some friends together and go volunteer at a non-profit serving teens in that area or start one yourself.

3. Get a spiritual practice. Stick to it. And if you are an atheist, you can still meditate. Think of it as mental decluttering.

4. Send unconditional love out to the world. And yes, that includes sending love out to the “teabaggers,” Obama, Donald Trump, Sarah Palin, and even Lindsay Lohan.

5. Speaking of Lindsay Lohan, get your mind out of the gutter. Consuming celebrity tabloid trash that exploits the pain and suffering of the rich and famous, instead of focusing your energies and attention on more positive things, contributes to the dumbing down of America. And the thing is, if you feel you need a “break” from all the pain and suffering in the world, aren’t there still better things you can read? Inspire yourself with great art and poetry, not celebrity trash talking! Work on illuminating your mind, rather than supporting the mental junk food spoon-fed to us by a corporate elite that is more than happy to keep us dumb and disempowered.

All of the above are pretty good places to start to make the world a better place. And whether or not your actions will affect the weather, you can rest assured that you are at least contributing to a kinder, gentler world instead of an angry, violent one.

 
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