“College Conspiracy” an alternative view of the American education system

Don't get me wrong. I am very pro-education. I think it invaluable to educate one's self. I love to spend hours pouring of books and I thoroughly enjoy attending classes. I never want to imagine my life without it.

But, it is important to educate one's self about the education system as well if one is planning to attend any sort of educational institution.

I worked at a college for a year, and I learned a bit about how the system works. And there are some things that are great and some things that are flawed.

You could learn quite a bit about some of the flaws from this documentary

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EKolPL5Cdc

if for some odd reason this link stops working either google or search for “College Conspiracy” on youtube. It is a video that is put out by the National Inflation Association.

I certainly do not agree with everything in this documentary.

But I do know this...

You can educate yourself without going into debt.

I came across something today that reminded me about all of this, so I want to link it as well. Thanks and wellwishes to my cool college counselor friend who shared this blurb about the current state of American education

http://iwastesomuchtime.com/on/?i=70585

I really think it is important that people think about these things, at least roll them around in their heads, and question if that is what they consider just and desirable. At least consider the information for yourself. And decide for yourself how you feel about the world around you. Consider alternatives. And educate yourself.

Wishing you everything wonderful in the world.

Life is your garden; dig it.

"Avatars and Lattes"

particles. piles upon piles of fragments. disintegrated pieces.

plastic lids. polished nickle plated over copper cast into costumery. Price tags.

packaging made of cardboard and plastic. particles processed by peasants for pennies.

plastic dolls portraying perfection. personal computers ten years passe.

previous possessions presumed to be purposeful.

perceived prosperity.

perceived persona planning purchases.

perceptions imposing on perspective.

pacific swirling plastic vortex

petroleum

puppets pandering politics

programming

presuming these things necessary

well what price would one pay?

Some piece I wrote about an alternative view of the paleolithic diet

And God knows i am still pissed at myself that it turned out to be such an awful paper. I should know better than to procrastinate so much. And I wasn't going to post it, but then i realized that some of the stuff in the paper would really compliment the incomplete information i had previously included in another blog about the ratios of animal protein to vegetation regarding the actual paleolithic diet. Disregard that it is a poorly written paper and you will find info on diet and nutrition plus resources. Someday i may actually get it together. But here we are now.

In this day and age, this time and place, this current cultural climate, food has become a contemplated and complicated subject. Some people have been conditioned to a diet that is most detrimental. And, some have no idea how to properly nourish themselves. People are dying from preventable diseases that are directly related to their less than desirable diets. In some parts of the world people are dying from malnourishment. In other over-privileged societies there are many competing authors touting their newest, latest, trendiest diets and trying to tell others how they should nourish themselves. There is the “low-carb diet”, the “raw-vegan diet”, the “paleolithic diet” and so on and so forth. It all really begs the question what should one eat for optimal functioning, well-being and health? And that naturally leads to the question what did our ancestors eat to have the greatest possible health, well-being and reproductive success (if we would like to consider that an indicator of success) or avoid sickness and disease (as can be evidenced by examining skeletal remains)?

Whenever the diet of early Homo is discussed in introductory level anthropology text books there is always focus and emphasis placed on whether or not early man was a hunter or a scavenger. That is the topic that currently always stands out in the discussion about early diet. This discussion of man scavenging for meat, the theories, the evidence of various cut marks on bones and the like is so thread bare that it is pretty much unnecessary to even bother with a quote. Just imagine that any one of the many passages in text books discussing this topic was quoted, and that will suffice. One can even pretend something was mentioned that insinuates a link between meat consumption to a larger brain size if it is desired.

But, while this discussion of how man got a hold of his meat (and bone marrow) is of much fascination to some scholars, it really places unfounded importance on the question. Early man obviously ate some scavenged meat, sure. And they did also hunt small game, yes. But that was only a fraction of what they ate and really is not all that interesting. We eat an abundance of meat in industrialized modern societies, and this over-consumption of meat is now linked to many avoidable maladies. There is a much more interesting question to ponder. What else was man eating?

For one thing, besides hunted or scavenged game animals, man was often eating fish. This is evidenced by the plethora of archeological evidence. “Archeologists have found fishhooks that date from the Old Stone Age, perhaps as much as fifty thousand years ago. The early specimens were carved from bone or the curved edges of shells into a roughly hook-like form. Perhaps people carved wooden ones even earlier, but these would not have been preserved… The historical details remain obscure, but barbed metal fishhooks were in use about twenty thousand years ago.” (Williams:12) Coupled with the now manifold apparent health benefits linked to the regular consumption fish oil, it would make sense that early man might have flourished on a diet that included fish.

There are other ways to deduce what prehistoric man might have been munching on. Modern paleoanthropologists now have the opportunity of utilizing sophisticated techniques such as “by distinguishing remains of wild plants and animals… in prehistoric garbage dumps.” (Diamond) and other exciting prospects such as “…feces of long-dead Indians who lived in dry caves in Nevada remain sufficiently well preserved to be examined...” (Diamond) Such techniques are constantly adding to our understanding of the diet of early man.

Diamond’s article “The Worst Mistake in the History of the Human Race” discusses the dietary changes and resulting maladies from which man suffered as a result of switching to agriculture 10,000 years ago. The article provides some insight into the diet of early man. Diamond discusses various aspects of culture, health and diet, but one of the most fascinating facts is the variety of fare that was enjoyed by hunter-gatherers of modern day society and the hunter-gathers of prehistoric times. They are not and were not eating the exact same meal day in day out. They forage for a variety of nourishing substances, be they animal or vegetable, encompassing dozens and dozens of different foods. This does prevent the hunter-gather from over-exhausting any one particular resource. But also of much importance is the fact that this provides the hunter-gather with such a rich array of nutrients, vitamins, minerals, amino acids, tons of fiber and everything they need to live in an optimal state of health.

While farmers concentrate on high-carbohydrate crops like rice and potatoes, the mix of wild plants and animals in the diets of surviving hunter-gatherers provides more protein and a better balance of other nutrients. In one study, the Bushmen's average daily food intake (during a month when food was plentiful) was 2,140 calories and 93 grams of protein, considerably greater than the recommended daily allowance for people of their size. It's almost inconceivable that Bushmen, who eat 75 or so wild plants, could die of starvation the way hundreds of thousands of Irish farmers and their families did during the potato famine of the 1840s. (Diamond)

This fact alone could provide some food for thought to many a person pondering proper nutrition while living in our modern, industrialized habitat. I do not think I know very many people who eat “75 or so” different plants (be they wild, domesticated, frozen, fresh or canned) on any regular basis if even ever in their lifetime. What would be the result if more people took to gardening their own food and foraging for wild food, decommodifying food, and began to eat a greater abundance and variety of fruits and vegetables and wild foods in general?

Another means of ascertaining early man’s diet is by examining the skeleton. “The old adage ‘you are what you eat’ is certainly true for the skeleton.” (Bruwelheide & Owsley) Archeologists can ascertain some much about what a person ate by examining their bones. The article “The Iceman Reconsidered” discusses these processes in a bit of detail explaining that Analyzing archeological remains of bone and hair for their abundances of stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen (carbon 13 and nitrogen 15) can provide information about a person’s diet. Nitrogen 15 can reveal the extent to which the individual relied on animal or plant protein. Carbon 13 can indicate the type of plant food the person ate and whether seafood or terrestrial carbon was an important part of the diet” (Dickson, etc.)

The means of ascertaining the diets of prehistoric people that were described in this article were been used to assess the diet of Otzi, a well preserved Neolithic man from about 5,000 years ago. Through such scientific analysis these anthropologists were able to ascertain that Otzi 's diet consisted of about 30 percent meat and 70 percent vegetation which very much resembles the ratios that are enjoyed by modern day hunter-gathers. This particular individual did not however consume very much seafood which makes sense since this individual was not found near the any body of water that would have been a source of seafood. (Dickson, etc)

And that brings me back to prehistoric garbage dumps and fossilized feces. At this point in time so much of that matter has been analyzed to the point where it has been determined that many different populations of early man have eaten all sorts of different food staples depending on where they were situated and what was readily available. According to the article “What Actually was the Stone Age Diet?” by J. A. J. Gowlett MA, PHD, FSA there is no one set Paleolithic or stone age diet. Of course, it makes perfect sense that diet would vary with region just as plant life and animal populations vary from one region to another. However, there are a few generalizations that can be made as they apply to many of the early populations that have been studied. Most of the populations in tropical climates eat a higher percentage of vegetable matter (including some leafy vegetables, fruits and nuts) than meat. Fruit plays a major role in prehistoric diet. And also quite popular among earlier populations as well as modern day hunter-gathers are roots or tubers. Meat has been more of a staple in some regions such as Europe and the arctic. There is evidence that European Homo ate a meat heavy diet for around the last 40,000 years.

One thing that our ancestors did not consume prior to 10,000 years ago was any of this mass produced, high-carbohydrate, starchy food stuff that is central in the standard American diet. Both Diamond and Gowlett acknowledge this point. Our prehistoric ancestors did not eat bread nor Lucky Charms. Another thing that they were not consuming much, if any, of was dairy products.

What an applied anthropologist would deduce from this material is that they might want to diversify their diet to include a wider variety of fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes than they currently do. They might consider the health and environmental benefits of consuming less meat and limiting their intake of beef and other wasteful and destructive food sources to at least less than 30% of their diet if not eliminating meat entirely. Dairy could be eliminated or at least limited to small amounts of naturally produced dairy devoid of synthetic hormones and antibiotics. Mass produced grains, especially those high on the glycemic index should be avoided entirely.

If the entire population were made aware of this information and encouraged to grow more of their own food to increase the nutritional content of the food they consumed and to reduce the amount of the pollution that is a direct result of the commidification of food, I am sure the over-all results would be delicious.

Works Cited and Drawn From

Bruwelheide, Kari & Owsley, Douglas. Written in Bone: Reading the Remains of the 17^th Century

Diamond, Jared. The Worst Mistake in the History of the Human Race

http://www.ditext.com/diamond/mistake.html

Dickson, James H., Oeggl, Klaus., Handley, Linda l. The Iceman Reconsidered

Gowlett. J. A. J..What Actually was the Stone Age Diet? http://pcwww.liv.ac.uk/~gowlett/GowlettCJNE_13_03_02.pdf

Williams, George C. The Pony Fish's Glow And Other Clues to Plan and Purpose in Nature

“Many Lives Many Masters” another piece on an alternative view of life after death

Oh, this one is lovely. This is a book I can read again and again.

Psychiatrists have used hypnosis to access memories people have forgotten in order to help them deal with suppressed emotions and stuff. Now, if you read my last piece on alternative views on life after death (or alternative views of the seat of consciousness or reality in general) and you are aware of children who possess memories from previous lives that are later verified as facts, well then the idea of a psychiatrist accidentally stumbling across past life memories during a hypnotherapy session might make perfect sense.

The book is amazing, and if you are at all curious about the true meaning of your existence, I recommend it.

Here is some link to some video that talks about all this (just because I am sure youtube videos are an easy way to introduce a thing)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqPNsj1we50

And here is the book for free in PDF format (although I would recommend a physical book... there is just something about books that is beyond comparison)

http://rhd2006.free.fr/zaz2/Many-Lives-Many-Masters-_-Brian-L.-Weiss-MD.pdf

Life is grand.

Wishing you everything that is wonderful, amazing, mindblowing and fantastic in this beautiful, incredible universe. No really, you deserve it.

Life is your garden; dig it.

The Connection Between Body and Mind

If you were given the choice to increase your capacity to learn, improve test taking ability and simply make assimilating information more of a breeze, would you want to do it? If given the option to increase mental performance, I imagine most people would choose to do so. There are actual choices people can make that can do just that. Through making intelligent choices such as maintaining a healthy diet and a regular exercise routine and regularly challenging yourself to learn new things and achieve goals, you can increase your ability to learn and increase your overall quality of life.

The learning process, and ultimately optimal brain function really begin with good nutrition. Your brain needs glucose to function. Building dendrites and synapses while you learn new things requires nourishment. Every cell in your body is constantly rebuilding its self. DNA is constantly regenerating your physical being. There are constantly chemical and hormonal reactions going on within your brain and body. All of these processes require fuel... or more specifically food. And the quality of what you eat will have an impact on the quality you get out of life in general. Eating nutrient dense, healthy foods will increase your ability to think and to learn.

Foods rich in omega fatty acids are particularly helpful to brain function. According to Daniel G. Amen M.D. author of many best-selling books on brain health “ The one hundred billion nerve cells in your brain need essential fatty acids to function... found in foods like salmon, tuna, mackerel, avocados, walnuts, and green leafy vegetables.” (Amen, 2012, p. 88) Broccoli, spinach, flax seeds and cauliflower are also excellent sources of omega fatty acids.

B vitamins are also vital to brain function. According to Aaron P. Nelson, Ph.D. “A strong link in the diet-memory connection seems to be with the B vitamins: folic acid and vitamins B6 and B12” (Nelson, 2005, p. 82). Natural sources of these important vitamins include “...whole-grain cereals, rice, nuts, milk, eggs, meats, fish, fruits, leafy green vegetables, and other foods” (Nelson, 2005, p.82). B vitamins have also been linked to reducing stress and promoting a positive attitude- helpful stuff for any student.

Eating high quality nutrient-dense food is a very important component of optimal mental function. However, eating brain and body smart foods does not need to be expensive. Bananas and frozen fruit are fairly cheap. A four dollar bag of flax seed meal will last you for weeks. Frozen spinach and other brain smart vegetables are cheaper than most fast food, and the value of the nutrition you will get for your money is pretty priceless.

Proper hydration is also integral to brain function and can aid in making learning easier. Your brain needs water to in order to process all of the stuff it is learning and assimilating. According to Dr Amen “ Even slight dehydration increases the body's stress hormones. When this happens, you get irritable, and you don't think as well. Over time, increased levels of stress hormones are associated with memory problems and obesity” (Amen, 2012, p. 78). Conversely drinking more water can make learning, studying and recalling the information you learned (like say for taking tests or writing research papers) less stressful.

What you do want to avoid are any foods that lead to hypertension, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes or strokes because these conditions also result in the side effect of decreased mental performance. According to Nelson“By damaging the tiniest blood vessels, hypertension and high cholesterol diminish the supply of nutrients that the brain depends on to function” (Nelson, 2005, p.xix). Ultimately any food that interferes with good blood circulation can be detrimental to brain function. Limiting or completely avoiding refined sugar, processed wheat flour in the form of bread, pasta, tortillas, large amounts of sodium, saturated fats and trans fats, and excessive amounts of caffeine and alcohol can help to optimize brain function and the learning process.

Another factor that comes into the mind/ body equation is physical activity. More and more studies are showing that regular exercise can greatly contribute to mental function. One study recently published in GeroPsych:The Journal of Gerontopsychology and Geriatric Psychiatry looked at the correlation between how much exercise participants normally got and their ability to focus their attention, learn and apply their new understanding. Through a controlled study that involved evaluating the regular activity levels of various adults and then teaching them a new task and having them deal with new challenges they determined that

there is increasing support for the beneficial impact of physical activity on executive functioning in general and attentional control in particular... including older adults Thus, being physically active seems to be a promising approach to maintaining cognitive performance and, with it, everyday competence and learning to a high age (Winnek et al., 2012).

Basically exercise increases your ability to control your focus and process new material you are learning. Increased ability to focus definitely can be helpful for learning, reading, studying and contemplating new material. Increased healthy physical activity also improves your ability to make use of learned information and apply it creatively in new situations.

Exercise does not just build your physical strength and your ability to focus. It can also help bulk up your brain cells in a very good way. It can actually build a stronger brain. According to Dr Amen

Exercise increases brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). BDNF is like an antiaging wonder drug that is involved with the growth of new brain cells. Think of BDNF as a sort of Miracle-Gro for your brain. BDNF promotes learning and memory and makes your brain stronger (Amen, 2012, p. 126).

Being able to take active steps toward building a stronger, healthier brain that is more capable of learning is exciting. But, do keep in mind that you must intellectually stimulate or exercise your new brain cells to keep them strong. Like the old saying goes- if you don't use it, you'll lose it. Dr Amen goes on to explain

The increased production of BDNF you get from exercise is only temporary. The new brain cells survive for about four weeks, then die off, unless they are stimulated with mental exercise or social interaction (Amen, 2012, p. 127).

So, learning new things and challenging those new brain cells is vital to keeping them and keeping them strong. In order to keep those cells strong, you have got to use them.

Luckily there are lots of great ways to go about that. Learning new languages can help challenge several different parts of the brain simultaneously making it a particularly great way to increase ability to learn. Reading books is a great way to expand your mind. The subjects you can learn about are endless and reading is great exercise for your brain. Dance classes are great to help improve spacial intelligence. Cooking classes are great for building dendrites. Learning a new instrument can simultaneously exercise multiple parts of the brain and it s fun. Taking up meditation has many great brain building implications. Meditation helps you improve focus, reduces stress hormones, positively influence your brain waves and has many, many, many health and brain benefits.

Whatever you choose to learn, by making positive choices and exercising your brain you can improve your ability to learn and improve the quality of your life and the world around you.

References

Amen, D. (2012). Use Your Brain to Change Your Age. New York, NY: Crown.

Nelson, A. P. (2005) The Harvard Medical School Guide to Achieving Optimal Memory. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Pasinski, M. (2011) Beautiful Brain, Beautiful You. New York, NY: Hyperion.

Winnek, A., Godde, B., Reuter, E., Vieluf, S., & Voelcker-Rehage, C. (2012) The Association Between Physical Activity and Attentional Control in Younger and Older Middle-aged Adults: An ERP Study. PsycARTICLES, 25(4), 207-221. doi: 10.1024/1662-9647/a000072

“The Future of Food” more discussion of alternatives to the standard American diet

Going to Walmart is always a weird experience for me. There is something eerie about the florescent lights, the cheap white floor tiles... the racks filled with cheap garments that are made in unregulated factories in China and then shipped over here... what is the expense when we consider the pollution of our planet? ... these thoughts flicker across my mind...

and then there is the “grocery” section … the “food” …

I think about our ancestors thousands of years ago garnering fresh food which they simply plucked from the earth or a tree and devouring its fecund flesh full of enzymes and nutrients and the essence of life fresh right there on the spot... leaves and berries and fruit fragrant and warm

and then I contrast that to the boxes of “meals” I pluck from the freezer case. I flip the box over and try to decipher where this product is even manufactured... all I get is “Distributed by Blah Blah in So and So Pennsylvania...” and I shudder and set the thing back in the freezer case and ponder for a second that I have no idea from what country or even continent this processed, packaged pseudo food comes. I do not know what the regulations or conditions are in those far off factories. And then I look at the people shopping in the same isle. And they don't look healthy or vibrant or robust. And I do not want to describe how they do look, well because it is too much like some sickening science fiction and that just isn't my favorite genre.

Conversely, I do love to fantasize about a world where everyone is living their optimal potential. Where people are happy and healthy and perfectly nourished. And they are all given love and encouragement freely. And they are all here on this planet living a most fulfilling life.... yeah, that makes me feel better. I like to daydream. It's those who have dared to daydream that have been able to make this world better.

Okay, so back to our documentary “the Future of Food” … I have linked here the first 10 minutes of the documentary because that is as much of it that you can watch for free. I personally have not even seen the whole film. I watched quite a bit of it back in 2007... like and hour and a half... I was at a sort of “earth fair” that I had helped organize. And, I was excited for the showing of this film. But three quarters of the way through I got an invite from friends to go hang out and have fun on my Friday. So I left. I honestly think the 10 minutes worth of the documentary I posted here is informative enough and a good start at least. It does not show monsanto fucking over farmers. And I guess that would be worth discussing in the future, but here is some good info with which to get started. So here is the link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNezTsrCY0Q

Your body is constantly regenerating itself and producing new cells. The food you are ingesting is the fuel and the material that is utilized in this process. What you are eating greatly impacts your life. It is such a symbiotic process that is constantly taking place. It is good to educate yourself about your food, where it is coming from and what it is doing for you. More to come on these topics, of course.

Wishing you everything that is beautiful in this world.

“Life Before Life” an alternative way of viewing reality

Studying the human brain is fascinating, it really is. The way we store and retrieve memories is an interesting process. The study of brain matter and the ability to regenerate brain cells is fascinating and I have enjoyed studying it. If you would like to know more about such things there are books such as “The Brain that Changes Itself” and “Use Your Brain to Change Your Age” or just take a class on psychology or neurophysiology.

But one thing that psychologists and neurophysiologists have yet to figure out and continues to be a fun discussion in these fields is Where does the seat of consciousness reside??

What part of your brain or your being is running the show? Experiencing the dance?

The frontal lobe is associated with planning and decision-making. And various parts of the brain are involved in various forms of memory. But the materialistic approach of mapping the human brain has been insufficient thus far at determining the locus of the part of you that is experiencing the experiences or cherishing the memories.

Science is fucking cool, but it is still in its infancy and it falls short sometimes.

This piece that I am writing will now shift its focus to a book. My hope is that you enjoy reading as much as I do, because there really is no other way to really experience this one. I can not link the book for free. But, it is well worth the price I paid, and I bought it new. Maybe it can be found at a library? I will link some short videos, but they do not do the thing justice. The book is “Life Before Life” by Jim B. Tucker, M. D.

It explores the similarities between many case studies of young children who claim to recall memories from previous lives.

Suspend any skepticism and consider this for a second... Imagine you have a little kid like two years old and they tell you... “hey, I used to live in Indiana, in a town called Cedar Lake and I lived on Robin Lane in a little brick house that had a swing on the oak tree in the front yard. My name was Sarah” and so you live in Illinois, you google it and find out that there is a Robin Street in Cedar Lake so you decide to take a 45 minute drive one day and there is a little brick house with a swing hanging from a lovely old oak tree... what would you think? And then imagine you take a second trip out there with your daughter and she is like “that's it!! That's it!!” and then shows you where the name Sara is carved on the oak tree. And then rather decisively and deliberately goes into the back yard, kneels by the base of a tree and pulls out a little tin box that is filled with coins and pretty rocks and a ring and says this is where she hid her treasure chest.

Well, what would you make of it? You know your two year old had no way of being told all these details.

There are events like this taking place quite often. A few people have been studying them for years. They prefer to get to the scene before the parents start researching the validity of the children's statements so as to conduct more controlled studies. And so a few controlled studies on this phenomena have been conducted.

They also look at many angles to consider every possible debunking that skeptics would consider. They do not insist that you believe in reincarnation. They simply present facts for one to consider for one's own self. And they are interesting to consider. I personally found the book well worth considering.

Here are some little links to very short videos discussing the book to get you started...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLKT5UsKoqM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6M-nXjh_9I

“Though many people in scientific fields hold views that can be just as dogmatic as those of an intensely religious person, judging from firmly held beliefs does not make for sound scientific inquiry.” -Jim B. Tucker, M.D.

So, do I personally think I know where the seat of consciousness is located? No. But I do think it is one of the funnest, most fascinating questions we can ask.

Wishing you everything that is wonderful on this fantastic Friday.

Take care and have a lovely weekend.