Aging caused by genetics, not by wear & tear? {Programmed to die}

Great article indeed, especially in conjunction with the research being done at the methuselash foundation in regards to aging.

clipped from www.wired.com Genetic Cosmetic Makes Old Skin Like New The first three panels of this image show the progression of a layer of skin cells — thinning down to one or two cells — as a mouse ages. The last panel shows the rejuvenation and re-thickening of the epidermal layer after the application of the “genetic cosmetic.” Image:�Courtesy of Chang Lab The work suggests that aging is not merely a passive wearing down of the body and its components, but that an active genetic process causes aging.

Quotable Quotes {Steve Taylor}

“Silence all now go to sleep.
The waters free, the well is deep, how can we return that which we never could earn?” - Steve Taylor {Newsboys}

Good & Evil {understanding the nature of God}

Polarity is what has divided man kind from the very beginning. {At least as far back as we can trace the origin of man.}

Good and evil - light and dark. One side has suffered as the other side stood victorious.
And it seems that Good always triumphs over evil. Its interesting how things work that way.
You never heard of a nation which conquered another nation call itself ‘the evil ones’.

What is good and evil, going beyond modern and ancient politics and warfare?
Even more so, if there is the notion of good and evil, does this imply that God is both good and evil.
Most Christians would say, “God forbid that one would think such, God being infinite, only has the knowledge of all things…but He, in himself, is not evil.”

Interesting that something can exist without side of God himself.
This would then imply that there is an equal. Christians do not align themselves with the ideal that Jesus and Satan were brothers. After all, Jesus is God and we cant make Satan equal with God - it just wouldn’t be right. Yet at the same time, they are saying this very thing by saying that something exist outside of God himself - primarily that thing being what we call evil.

Good and Evil have been misunderstood by mankind since our fall from grace, so to speak.
Think of it this way, God put the tree in the garden that had both knowledge of Good and Evil.
Christian theologians do not deny that Adam was meant to eventually eat from this tree when he was mature.

But having eaten from the symbolic tree to soon, he became, what we would probably call on the evolutionary scale, a monkey. He took that which was symbol literally and identified with the creation or ego. After all, in Judaism it is taught that Adam was originally a body of light before his fall. He fell into ‘flesh’ or ‘matter’. There are high implications in this view point which I believe quantum physics would support faster than the idea that God was into making fashion clothes out of skin for Adam and Eve.

Think about and contemplate the fall of the ‘watchers’. When they fell, what were the implications for them as well as the earth. Remember that Genesis clearly stated that their offspring was on the earth before and after the flood. Interesting when many Christians are under the false pretense that the flood was to wipe out this generation of people.

I am not going into detail about this, which for most Christians is leaving them hanging, so to speak, on this subject matter. It is delivering to them a perspective on this issue that they are least familiar with, and have not much to compare it to. It would do it more justice if I were to go into more detail, but such topics as this alongside of the nature of good & evil cannot be properly dealt with in a short blog.

The idea is to unite good & evil. God, per say, wants to be ‘understood’.
This shows itself in our relationship with one another throughout the ages.

After all, we are created in the image of God. And if this is so, then we mirror that which is above as that which is above mirrors that which is below.

We too want to be understood.
Its this lack of understanding between each other, and our basic desire, which leads to the constant arguing and bickering between religions. No one wants to hear the other side, and each side is the sole owner of ‘truth’. Ironic indeed is it not?

Whenever you can reach out, relate, & understand someone from where they are coming from, you then are doing what Jesus was doing…showing Love, truly communicating on a heart to heart level.

Jesus showed the same signs that we do. He cried, as we cried - he literally walked a mile (or more) in our shoes. He was never after converting anyone, but meeting them at where they were at.
He used the terms of that milieu to try to communicate a message greater than that age was ready to comprehend.

Even today, we are not ready. We have advanced with technology and science, yet we carry around the archaic symbols and hold onto them for dear life - hoping that within the dead temple we can find life. Life dwells within each and everyone of us, and when we see that light in the other, we then begin to see God.

There truly is a lot more that could be said along these lines, and more that I wanted to share.
Some of this will kind of be out there as if it were poetic prose…as if it too are words wrapped up in the mystery of symbology.

I want to wrap this quick blog up with saying this. God is not what we ‘think’ he is.
He is greater than the confounds of our greatest imagination. God is without limit and has ultimate potential. He can only be known through his attributes which are not him, but tell of his existence.

Nothing that exist, exist without him. (John)
All things live in him and move and have their being.
We are part of the body of Christ with Jesus the head. (second Adam)

There are so many implications here that can, and probably will be expounded upon later.

Let me ask you this. Can you sit in judgement and label that which is good?
It seems easy, but can you be the judge? And that which is bad, have you not seen how in the past such circumstances actually worked out for the good to bring you to a totally different level altogether?

Are we that shallow to really believe that things are really so polarized, that its an ‘us against them’.
As long as we hold that belief, that reality will manifest in our lives.

With that, I bring this blog post to a close. (rough draft, as are all my post. That is the style and nature of this blog for now.)

Until Next Time

Peace

dAlen

Warning: Religion and Politics may be fatal.

Has there ever been a Christian vote - anywhere?

Seems to me that “Christians” go with what is viewed as the ‘better of the two evils”. And when both sides are as rotten as the other, they merely philosophize one sides view until it fits into their doctrine and a new dogma is formed which represents nothing from which the Bible originally taught. - Love.

Anyway.
I think the Mennonites might have been onto something buy incorporating into their belief system the idea of abstaining from politics and voting all together.

It used to seem a far fetched idea to me, especially being raised in a milieu that put specific emphasis on voting and changing the world for God.

Ironically, it appears that Jesus never went about with the idea of changing the world to mimic that of a doctrinal belief system. It seemed that such an idea was futile in light of his ultimate teaching of loving your neighbor as yourself and loving God with all your heart.

We see that he was frowned upon by the zealots and Judas for not complying to their wishes and ‘human understanding’ of what Jesus teachings implied. They wanted a kingdom on earth and to make a change in the political landscape of their day.

Well, Jesus didnt seem to think that would do.
Even when Peter, who often seemed not to get the gist of things - and in truth, how could he. Jesus had spoke to the fisherman in as clear a parable as he could have at the time, in order to relate with Peters line of thinking. - But it was a rabbi, by the name of Saul, that actually got the point, and of to whom was later misunderstood by his gentile audience. (Due to their lack of understanding and relating to the Jewish culture, a lot slipped through the cracks in the belief system.)

So when Peter went about cutting off a soldiers ear, Jesus popped it back on. (some good quantum physics at work. And who said science and religion dont match. Religion is the allegory, and science is the means of practical understanding…or unlocking those allegorical keys.)

In essence, we have had Christian societies trying to force a change on the world, which was never the intent to begin with from the likes of Jesus, Buddha, etc. -

Change happens first and foremost within.
Love does not have expectations of oneself or of others.
It accepts where they are at. And those who are Christians, have they studied or even read the Bible, would know this to be true by the example laid out in the life of Jesus and how he interacted with people.

Alas, many do not read the Bible for themselves. They are spoon fed ideologies which would make the apostle Paul flip over in his grave. After all, the pious of the pious, actually commended the Bereans for their diligence in not just believing what he had said, but first and foremost, searching for themselves.

“Seek and you will find, when you search with all your heart.”
note the absence of “seek within your own dogma, doctrine, relgion”. True sincerity is needed in this journey, or there is no way of being truly authentic. Well, perhaps authentically locked in chains by ones own instilled belief system, ingrained into them by their milieu.

I would say Thomas Merton provides a nice example of one, who was not afraid to reach out, to cross borders, in order to understand and see God within everybody.

He lets the rain fall on the good and the bad…
A little leaven (lie) runs the whole dough. Time to extract that 99% truth then. After all, Christianity has not been immune to such leaven. This is evident with the 3 mainstream lines of thinking of how one is saved. Which is quite contradictory, and therefore no one can be sure of who truly will be saved. (Unless you just take one side and go with it.)

- get saved, oops, did I just lose it on the way from the alter?(pentecostal)
- once saved always saved - Baptist
- predestination - you are once saved always saved, because you were chosen to be so, and the guy/gal over there was chose as a common pot to burn in hell. - presbyterian

- catholicism has purgatory, which ironically (or not so ironic) is more in line with a Jewish doctrine on the after life.

So, point is, let us seek with all of our hearts. As we see, no one religion can claim exclusive rights to the truth.

And when we find this ‘love’ within ourselves, and truly begin to ‘love’ ourselves as defined by Paul…then this trickle down effect will reach to those immediately around us - and then like a rushing avalanche will affect the entire world around us.

Peace

dAlen

p.s. - I originally posted this at a comment {awaiting moderation} at another blog.
It was so long and heart felt, that I decided to post it here as well

p.s.s. - to further a point about what was said in this article.
In Genesis, after the flood, it states that a man that takes another mans life will have his taken also. {period, no exceptions}

So its ironic that a ‘Christian’ nation would ever go to war.
And this may also show why wars never seem to end - violence does not stop violence - it only begets it. — time to open the Bible and read it, there is some useful info in there after all.

To paraphrase Inidigo Montoya (spelling) in the Princess Bride: “Its time to go back to the beginning.”

Ironies of Life {Pot, cigarets, & alcohol}

Quite amazing how the masses are easily fooled {led} into believing whatever it is that the agenda for the day is.

Just read a post/blog from a link here at wordpress about Obama smoking Pot.
In his speech he said he was sorry, and made a mistake in his youth.

Who really cares? Really?
Now had he said he drank alcohol I would have been more concerned.

The irony is that alcohol is the one thing your not supposed to mix with anything.
Your not supposed to have it with your synthetic medications that the Doc’s prescribe for you, and your not supposed to take it with herbal medicines as well. (mixing it with Psilocybin and other hallucinogens is a real no-no.}

What is my point? Am I really against alcohol?
These are all pointers…pointers showing you how hypocritical it is to have something as unhealthy as cigarets and alcohol available world wide - yet pot and shrooms are illegal.

Truth being we have a bunch of immature people in the world. They are quite irresponsible for their actions, so laws are made to actually protect them from themselves. There you have it.

In reality pot and shrooms cause no long term problems.
In fact not only are scientist starting to look at the active ingredient in shrooms, Psilocybin, as a form of treatment for O.C.D.’s, {as I pointed out in my last post, based on experience, synthetics like Prozac fail - but according to research, nature seems to actually hold real medicinal benefits…not just benefiting the pockets of big pharma}, but the active ingredient in Pot, THC, has been researched and discovered to have many beneficial uses in the field of medicine. - so much so that these same people wanted to try to synthesize THC in the lab. (What sillyness is this? Grow some hemp fields with the THC strain and be done with it.)

Yes this may or may not surprise many. But in the journals of medicine you can research and find the info I speak of.
Typically the BBC news even reports on these discoveries from time to time - but they will be lost to those whose minds automatically shut off at the words ‘marijuana’.

In Holland they are wanting to now band the sell of magic mushrooms.
There has been a death recently because some foreigner jumped off a bridge after taking shrooms.

First of all, let me clarify something here.
This one word says is all: Foreigner.

You have all these irresponsible, and repressed foreigners, who go to Amsterdam in an attempt to relieve themselves from the pressures thrusted on them by their own milieu at home. Or they are just kids (who shouldn’t have access to them anyway), messing with something that is meant to be used responsibly.

The use of shrooms has its roots in religious ceremonies, especially some religions that some would think otherwise.
Used responsibly and properly, nature provides the means of assistance into inner exploration and philosophy.

The only danger is that of not being educated about these matters and approaching it as a means of escape.
Again, the sad fact is the majority of the people of the world do not want ‘inner exploration’ or to know the meanings of the origins of the universe. They want to escape from their life and the feelings that come with it.

Here in lies the trouble:
For some, these ‘herbs’/plants unlock the gates of hell, and their suppressed minds are finally allowed free - but in the process it totally destroys them. {bad trip, etc.}

So, I understand why ‘mass consciousness’ has created the need for these plants to be made illegal in most parts of the world.
For their own benefit.

However, it is sad to see that nothing is being done, by which humankind is not evolving past the need to hide from nature - which is gentle and only mirrors the state that we are in. On the contrary, we are now pushing into places where people of responsibility are now likely to be told that they cannot use something that they have had legal access to for years. {And to that of which they have not had issues. Nor, amazingly, the urge to even try more than a time or two.}

Addiction comes from that which is forbidden.
“Do not eat from the tree”, and you know what? You might as well put up some tents and grill some salmon, cause your going to have a party waiting to try out that which is forbidden. {sounds like a conspiracy to me, another way to go about making money.}

If safety was a true concern, things like pot and shrooms would be legalized, alongside of properly educating the masses about the true nature and affects of these natural products.
Otherwise you will continue to have those seeking the forbidden, and this ‘black market’ will remain a lucrative business for whoever is behind it. - and dangerous to the younger crowds who try to find their own shrooms and ‘die’ from eating a poisonous look alike.

No, Im not convinced, in this sense, that the governments of the world do care after all. For if they did, they would ban alcohol, which kills more people per year than shrooms and pot combined.

My grandfather died ‘drinking’. I was in a car accident(s) at a very young age due to a relative (not grandfather), drinking.
Drinking has negative social ‘benefits’ as well.

BUT WAIT!!! Should we ban alcohol? It to has been proven to have health benefits. Well, that is some items in wine and even in some beer. But is that the alcohol itself which helps?

Point is, people in europe, such as in the Mediterranean, seem to drink responsibly.
So again, it would seem it has more to do with the culture and milieu you are brought up in.

Is the answer to ban everything that we can misuse? I suppose I could misuse a fork. But that is kind of starting to show the true sad nature of a portion of the population of the planet. Instead of answers and help through proper education as to why people feel so scre*** up - we focus on all the things that dont need to be focused on.

What is the solution? lol - do I have time in this post? I will do as I always do, and point you to the teachings of the philosopher Eckhart Tolle. He does an excellent job and revealing why humanity is scre*** up and what it is you can do to rescue yourself, thereby rescuing the planet from the ‘ego’s apparent insanity!

Until next time - be safe, be careful, and dont do things as a means of ‘escapism’. There is an answer, and its inside of you!

Peace

dAlen

Psilocybin & OCD Relief {natures way of helping}

At around the age of 13, I was diagnosed as suffering from the obsessive compulsive disorder. {O.C.D.}
No, I wasn’t typified by the stereotypical image of a person who repeatedly washes their hands until the skin is raw.

My issue showed externally, from the age of 7 {when it started} to about 13, through tapping.
More importantly, and to the point, is that I suffered from over-thinking…everything had to be understood and ‘perfect.’

At the age of 13, I was so driven mad by my own mind, that it was at my request that I was sent as an impatient, one summer, to a clinic for diagnosis and treatment.

Ironically, 2 things were done in an effort to treat me.

First, I was given Prozac. - I will tell you now, it did not work or alleviate any symptoms from my perspective.
It may be argued that others saw me differently, but what good is it, if it did nothing at all to cope with the root of the issue that still plagued me - my mind.

I stopped taking Prozac at the end of my teen years. It really was no good, no help, etc. {Just to clarify my thoughts on this synthetic medicine. }

The second ‘treatment’ I was given, was that of the value of cursing.
Well, this was an indirect treatment, as it was a general rule for all the kids there, that they could be open to express themselves with whatever colorful words they so chose. - and I picked upon it rather quickly.

At about the age of 22, I had more than a glimpse of a true breakthrough.
I was listening to a pastor who said that I was loved no matter what and that I would always be Gods child.

Now let me clarify something. I was raised from a ‘pup’ in a extremely strong Christian milieu.
Most of my life was spent in Christian schools and academies. My parents drove home their view of religion in how they raised me growing up. I will say, that most of my experience was from that of a Pentecostal background…with a lot of fear based dogma pumped into it.

Once saved you could loose your salvation, and then once you got it back, it could be dropped on the way from the alter by one ‘incorrect’ thought that you might have had.

Ah, now we see where the disorder, at least for me, started from.
Religion and parents attitude.

Whether or not they meant harm is another thing, because unwittingly, their fear had a great impact on my thinking.

They say a child is the most impressionable in the first 6 years - and at that age, I was already experiencing the guilt of a grown man, for the responsibility {as a teacher put it}, of the death of Jesus for my ’sins’.

I have posted, in length, about the arbitrary nature of what I call, ‘classical christianity’.
Again, the very fact that there are 3 main lines of thought about who is saved, is in and of itself, absurd & idiosyncratic.
Why would anyone even want to get involved, let along get their kids caught up, in something so seemingly deranged?

So, after years of identifying with thought, as it were - and always seeking for security in my relationship with God - a message from a Southern Baptist preacher, {who ironically grew up in a Pentecostal background as well}, reached out and touched the core of my soul while I was in my first year as a missionary in Europe. {doing graphic design}

I now realized that I was loved, no matter what, and that I would always be secure as God’s child.
See, from a Pentecostal perspective, the fear said this: “If once saved always saved, then you can live how you want and live like the devil.”

The problem with this thinking is, foremost, that it is rooted in fear.
We know that fear does not love.

Whenever you realize that you are not being judged, that you are fully loved, {accepted}, this changes everything.
Love begins to transform you from the inside out.

It truly is the case of ‘it is no longer I who lives, but Christ who lives in me’.
No longer are you acting as a slave and laboring futilely to make superficial changes to your life which just wont stick, {but in reality acts as an agent of the ego to lead other blinded people into your pit}, but love now begins to bear fruit in you.

Ah, but there is something. You are but a babe now. You have truly just been born again.
It is important for a babe to have nourishment, and for such a babe, where is he/she to get their food?

Well, for the most part the Bible, for such a person, has been distorted for so long. However, as the good book says, “seek and you will find…when you search with all your heart”, well, from my experience, I can say it is true.

For me, a lot of my maturing phase has come from listening to Eckhart Tolle’s audio books.
The philosophical teachings of Eckhart, actually have complimented by knowledge of the Bible nicely - shedding light on a lot of dark areas.

Also, one may say that its to bad that people like me have to grow up in such a milieu.
But like Eckhart has pointed out, those who are pressured more, usually turn out to be the gems.
People are less likely to change if not forced to. Thats just human nature. So things happen for a reason.

For those who are agnostic, atheist, Hindu, Muslim, Jewish, whatever… I am NOT suggesting for you to convert to Christianity to solve your problems.
The lesson I learned, can be learned from where you are at. ‘God’ reveals himself to mankind where they are at.
He lets the rain fall on the good and the bad. So, unlike the ‘classical christian’, Im not here to convert you or anyone.

Religion is a pointer, that many people get lost in. Take the point, which is that you are loved.
The Bible says to love your neighbor as yourself, and most people dont love themselves and have no clue what love is.

Paul gives a good definition of love…patient, does not remember wrong, etc. This is all good, and can be summed up as the following: Love accepts. Love allows space for the other to be.

Now what about Psilocybin, the compound that gives the magic in the ‘magic mushrooms’.
There has been reports recently that Psilocybin has actually helped to relieve symptoms of the Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

Unlike Prozac, I can believe this. No I haven’t tried any shrooms, but from what I have read about them it seems to add up.
Apparently shrooms forces you into acceptance, which is, as you see, what the OCD has a hard time doing.
What I mean is this…from what I have read, if you want to avoid a bad trip, you have to relax and accept what is going on.

Now in concept, you could do this without the shrooms, as I have pointed out, but you have to have a basis in which to do it.
For me, my OCD was based around religion, and I was able to climb up out of that which had put me in there to begin with.

But it is getting late, and I have shared quite a bit to start some of those wheels turning in some of you.

There are various links to the topic of Psilocybin and OCD itself, such as CBS NEWS, and you can also research more into the affects of Psilocybin on people at Erowid, which is quite an interesting place.

Again, your mileage may vary depending on your perspective, as well as location - seeing that Psilocybin only seem to be legal in Holland…for the time being. But it may be interesting to read about non-the-less.

Until Next Time

Peace

dAlen