Would you gamble your life or the life of a loved one over simple human conflict of interest? Does life, in its precious and beautiful form have a big price tag on it? Cancer, a ravaging and killer disease, yet in most a cases a preventable disease, causes the US over 200 billion dollars a year. 1 out of every 3 people born today will have a diagnosis of cancer over their life time. Someone is profiting greatly out of the billions of dollars that are going every year to fund cancer research. Sadly, our techniques for treating cancer really have not changed much in the past 30 years. Using toxic chemotherapy and radiation often seems like the only treatment available in most cases and the side effects can be quite difficult and devastating and still, there is no guarantee that the cancer will be eradicated. One would figure, after the pouring of billions of dollars to fund research and the millions of lives lost in this country alone, we would have further advances, yet the heart ache of the millions of people who have lost loved ones to this terrible disease is as strong today as it ever was. We know cancer does not need to exist because in many cases it can be prevented, but the question here is not placed in a world where perfect control rules on. Once it happens, once you or a loved one is diagnosed, what are your options? Your Doctor may, in the greatest of intention (being very optimistic here), offer the same radiation and chemotherapy that has been offered for decades. The list of side effects may very well outdo the “possible” benefits, but we know the human spirit wishes to prevail, and despite that very unquenchable and insatiable desire we may have to survive, many patients wish to give up once treatment starts. Radiation and Chemotherapy are used to destroy cancer cells in the body; unfortunately, one of the main side effects is that it also destroys other good cells that are essential for the body’s proper function. There seems to be no way around this side-effect scenario with cancer treatments, leaving patients with a long and hard road ahead and most do not make it. It is important to know what’s available to us, and not buy into the mainstream belief that toxic chemo and radiation is your only option. After all, the doctors that I will be covering offer their services and treatments with minimal if not any side effects, and their records will prove their efficacy.
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 A tree witnessed me The idle afternoon pleaded for a jog and as these lethargic legs complied, my phone burst into the usual raucous blues guitar ringtone, interrupting my daily routine – a commodity I can appreciate. Blithesome to do anything but the to-dos’ for today, I answered her. Only her number is saved with this ringtone and I have to say: I love this ringtone. A shoestring budget, a backpack, and scant meals later and I was home. On dingy chairs, legs fit into a pretzel snug as womanly chatter rivaled the nearby mating crickets. The triumphant match left a noble silence which paved for the pressing queries. Old friend, how did we arrive in; how did we learn to; how will it be with him or her and them; and in this way, we howled the hows of ambiguity and waited for them to resonate to and back from the hovered papyrus moon so to free us from all molecules of feebly hope. But who can wave fists to crooked skies that still blush red wine upon sight of mortal nightfall lovers. So human. Fresh blood still pools its cheeks, warming away old-world blues of an already diffused past. And so, I called that day: Merry. The days were as long as her children’s thumbs and engraving as her spouse’s vows. It was necessary to wring all the laughter, bicker, nature runs, wise nothings, shh culture, movies, endearments, and inebriants into one holy chalice. Of all, at times, bickering is easiest to live in its moment, thus, with more reason we embraced it. Continue reading “A Recount” ›
We’ve all heard it countless times before, one day something cures cancer and the next day it causes it. I remember personally hearing a report on my local news on how tomatoes were “thought” to cause cancer right as I munched down on a Chicken Sandwich with a nice juicy slice of tomato. It seemed as though every week they discovered some new element was a cause of cancer. This emotional tennis match that has gone on for so many years, fueled by nothing more than corporate media and competitive markets trying to outdo their fellow competitors have spun us off into a barrel of confusion. Continue reading “Everything Causes Cancer” ›
The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. There’s something about books, movies, and stories that we just can’t get enough of. Watching a movie and getting into a great book gives us all the opportunity to vicariously live the lives of those characters who overcome impossible obstacles throughout the course of their lives, to then, come out with a great moral story that leaves a sense of hope and faith in the midst of an unstable and ever changing world. A movie can have it all; a humble beginning with impossible obstacles, the simpleton who was a nobody and after life gives a few hard slaps, they become this incredible somebody. We’re all drawn to those stories. Perhaps it’s the stories of survival, such as the movie Alive, the true story of the Uruguayan Rugby team who were involved in a plane crash in the early 70’s and survived even after being stranded for over 60 days in the Andes Mountains’ frigid temperatures and were pushed to the very limits of human survival. Maybe it’s the Notebook, the classic story of an impossible love overcoming social obstacles and discovering a deep, passionate, and fervent love that transcends all social status.
Truth is: we’re all suckers for stories where ordinary people just like you and I overcome the seemingly impossible. A simple somebody who chose to view their life as this incredible story, despite where they came from, their social status, the color of their skin, their age, their gender, their disability, or their prejudices. It’s as though you and I were intricately designed to be the boxer within our own ring of life; a type of “Rocky” in our own personal story and these books and movies only give us a taste of what’s really inside all of us, this yearning desire to overcome the odds, stand up to the challenges that face us every day. What is it about these stories that draw us in? The climax point in a movie always comes right in the midst of the hardest, most uncomfortable moments the character has to face. It’s as though we find out who the character really is, as though their entire life has been a set up for that very moment. It’s as if when they are faced with an impossibility of all the garbage they seemed to face in life, it all actually begins to make sense. This quote really brings out this scenario… “The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers.”- Unknown As one of my favorite authors states, “Your life is your story”. What does my story say about me? I ask myself this in the middle of the monotony of life, the repetitious days where life seems to spin on an axis that never seems to shift in any other direction. The reality is that life seems more comforting when there’s not much challenge. Challenge forces us to move, to think, to meditate, to pray, to go beyond ourselves to overcome whatever may come our way. It forces us to change, to adapt, and to rethink our definition of what life has been to us until that very moment.
What are your challenges? How can you benefit from facing these challenges head on? “Humans naturally seek comfort and stability. Without an inciting incident that disrupts their comfort, they won’t enter into a story. They have to get fired from their job or be forced to sign up for a marathon. A ring has to be purchased. A home has to be sold. The character has to jump into the story, into the discomfort and the fear; otherwise the story will never happen.” Donald Miller At times, certain challenges may seem like too much and the scent of a sweet surrender may tempt you beyond what you believe you can resist. What if the character in your favorite movie gave up half way through the story? What if you were the spectator in your own life and the film you were watching was about you? What if you saw yourself giving up half way through the movie and you knew that if you just kept going, if you just pushed a little further through whatever challenge, maybe you would’ve triumphed? What if you saw your challenge as your gift? It is as though, in many ways, the essence of who we are as humans is locked away, until life throws us seemingly naked into a fight where it seems like all odds are against us, and the mirror of challenge presents the most sobering truth of what’s really inside of us allowing us to move forward. Should we be scared? Absolutely not. I would dare say that as much as we need food, shelter, air and water, so is challenge vital to who we are as humans, for if challenge were not included, none of the others would be possible. Challenge has paved the way for all that we have and all that we are. It makes the world go round. There is a corporal challenge as humans, to live and to survive. But there is also an individual challenge for so much more. A challenge to persevere, to embrace life no matter what it may bring, to embrace ourselves and one another no matter where we come from and where we’ve been, to love fervently and unconditionally, to defy the odds that may naturally stand against us, to defy the fear that paralyzes us from fully entering into the story of our lives, to have gratitude during the most heart wrenching moments. When we even step towards these challenges, even if we don’t succeed at times (and we won’t), it’s never a failure because it unlocks a heart that is willing to defy the odds and push forward. “No, life cannot be understood flat on a page. It has to be lived; a person has to get out of his head, has to fall in love, has to memorize poems, has to jump off bridges into rivers, has to stand in an empty desert and whisper sonnets under his breath… We get one story, you and I, and one story alone.”- Donald Miller Challenge paints the colors into an otherwise black and white life… Image: federico stevanin / FreeDigitalPhotos.net Image: Chaiwat / FreeDigitalPhotos.net SPIRULINA
If you have yet to hear about this incredible super food, allow me a few minutes of your time to present to you this amazing wonder food that’s been called “the food of the future” for the past 20+ years. Spirulina is not at all a newly discovered food craze, historically; the Aztecs harvested Spirulina from Lake Texcoco and was considered their primary source of protein. Since I started reading about spirulina I’m completely hooked on learning more about it. Continue reading “Spirulina” ›
Healthy Substitutions for everyday food
One of the hardest challenges I faced when I was attempting to go “healthier” was finding substitutions to the everyday foods we use. Being from Latin America I just couldn’t find a twist to my traditional meat and rice dinners. Rice is the staple food in most countries and finding other side dishes to dress up your plate for every meal can be quite challenging. I started off with just switching from white rice to brown rice but that got a bit boring for me after a while. Great news is there are a variety of grains to choose from, as well as more fruits and veggies to add more variety. It can be a little intimidating at first, I definitely understand that. When you shop for your groceries, choose low fat alternatives but watch the artificial sugars and ingredients. The best low fat choices would be for dairy (skim or 1% milk vs. whole milk) and leaner cuts of chicken and beef. I personally started off by adding more color to my dishes by choosing more fruits and vegetables. Making simple substitutions (like wheat breads instead of white breads) will assure that you get more nutrition for the foods you are purchasing to keep you healthy. With that said, if you’re tired of the old rice and potato side dishes, here are some substitutions that have worked out pretty well for me along with other common everyday foods. Continue reading “Healthy substitutions for everyday foods” ›
Image: anankkml / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Truly, they are simply ancient and wonderful indigenous foods that have remained under the radar up until about 60 years ago. These foods have now been coined as “Superfoods” because they contain many nutrients that we, as a modern civilization, have been lacking due to our modern farming practices (and other food manufacturing) depleting our soil from many nutrients, thus, our foods lack many nutrients too (yes, even organic foods lack to some degree) – making us nutritionally deprived. So now we find we have these amazing foods to turn to and compensate for all those vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and packing anti-oxidants we need more than ever, that have been absent now for quite a while. To be specific, Superfoods are foods that don’t pack many calories and are highly nutritional which is clear why they’re referred as “super”. These foods are considered superior from many foods because of their high antioxidant content and essential nutrients. It’s food with a nutritional punch which has many people and health professionals raving about it as they are progressively finding that Superfoods may prevent many diseases, may help eliminate chronic diseases like heart disease, cancer, and Alzheimer’s, prevent accelerated aging, and provides energy for many people, etc. And I do mean to emphasize etcetera because the benefits these foods have are numerous! Continue reading “Superfoods” ›
I personally used to think all oils were good for cooking until I did some research on the matter. For the most part, olive oil has become the chosen oil to cook with because of its health benefits; however, olive oil as well as some other popular oils, may have low smoke points and burn quicker. You might remember learning back in your high school science class that heat can really alter the chemistry and makeup of things thus changing its taste, color, and at times, safety. When considering an oil to use, you want to look for certain qualities, specially a higher smoke point so you don’t burn the oil because burning oils may become toxic. First things first, whats the difference between a refined and an unrefined oil?
Continue reading “What are the best cooking oils?” ›  “The moment one gives close attention to anything, even a blade of grass, it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in itself.” — Henry Miller In response to an unexpected and wonderful gift or favor, you’ve probably felt so swelled in gratitude it might have even moved you to tears. Maybe a new job or promotion has invoked gratefulness for the opportunity. But how beneficial is it to wait for nice surprises and occurrences in our life to express and live a life of gratitude? Time and time again research shows this is not gratitude to its greatest effect – if at all. Searching for external things for happiness and resulting in momentary gratitude is quite fleeting to the extent of depending on such things for happiness until the next fix (i.e. a raise, shopping spree, gift, vacation, sex, food, and of course even drugs). Truth is, substantial and established happiness stems from an inward gratitude; a conscious introspective realization of who you are, what you mean to other people who love you, what you have and what unwanted things you don’t have in your life is a great place to start. This sort of thing takes some alone time or some-good-looking-in-the-mirror-and-around-you time. It also takes discipline because unfortunately gratefulness isn’t exactly our primitive nature. Here are some simple ways anyone can develop and foster gratitude and appreciation (even if it’s just a reminder on how to get back to developing and expressing that gratitude I know you have inside): Continue reading “Living with Gratitude” › |
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