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jill pettijohn and the master cleanse

I promise to not go on and on about the lemonade diet, just to say that there was mention of it in an article by Alexandra Jacobs in April 2009 Allure magazine. In the article titled LOVE MEDICINE, Donna Karan tells about the experts in alternative medicine who have made a big difference in her life. One of the people, Jill Pettijohn, a Raw-Food Expert, said, “When most of us hear the word “cleanse,” we think of the Master Cleanse – that brutal ten-day regimen of maple syrup, cayenne pepper, and lemon juice. . . . ” www.allure.com

That might be so, but I don’t feel it’s so for everyone. I began the lemonade diet in February 2009, and stayed on it for 21 days, plus 3 days of coming off, and I wouldn’t call it “brutal.” I’ll say that I would have liked to continue for the full forty days, however, on the 20th day I happened to notice that my hands were cracked and looking rather awful, and my gums and teeth were very sensitive when brushing. If I knew what needed to be done to continue on I would have, but it was better to listen to what my body was saying and stop.

Weeks have passed now, and, all things considered, I’m glad the lemonade diet is available because it offers many benefits, and, of course, the benefits are different for everyone.

That said, Donna Karan and Sonja Nuttall have founded Urban Zen.
www.urbanzen.com Check it out; good things are on the offerings.

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octuplets, children of the mountains, the smile train

Watching the unfolding drama of the octuplets recently born to a woman who doesn’t seem to understand what she’s done is difficult. She appears to need protection from herself. I wish we lived in a society where people who are compassionate, well-connected, wise in the ways of the world, and capable of righting a situation that, without intervention, will only get worse could step in. It’s apparent that the tiny babies are in need of help, and lots of love and care is a good start. This country has so many who have much to give. How will the babies thrive without their help? I know this can be said about many babies in the world.

I felt the same way last week when I watched the Diane Sawyer Special: A Hidden America, Children of the Mountains. It’s about families who live deep in the Appalachia Mountains – about their lack of nurturing, lack of education, lack of community, lack of hope, lack of parental guidance, lack of nutritious foods. Most of the parents of these children are addicted to alcohol or prescription drugs. Jobs are few, and most men work in the coal mines. Nothing changes there; it’s been this way for many generations. Their homes are surrounded by garbage. A doctor from India said it’s worse deep in Appalachia country than in some of the poorest places of India.

Some doctors and nurses are changing the lives of many children in a huge way. The movie SMILE PINKI www.thesmiletrain.org tells of kind-hearted doctors who instinctively know how to help others. In India where every year 35,000 children are born with clefts, they’re out searching for these children whose parents are poor and unable to help their children who are generally ostracized from their communities. The Smile Train is there to change all that, and that’s something to smile about. Wouldn’t it be a different world if every child born could be swaddled in love and care. Yes, what if.

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manly p. hall

Recently I read The Secret Teachings of All Ages by Manly P. Hall. It’s not the kind of book you can breeze through, and if you read it before bedtime, you might find yourself awake in the wee hours of the morning – wondering. He offered the book to humanity by these words: “This book is dedicated to the Rational Soul of the World.” Manly P. Hall was called a teacher, a sage, a mystic, a scholar. In The Secret Teachings he discusses Ancient Teachings, Ancient Mysteries, Ancient Philsophers, Secret Societies, how they came to be, how they operated, and what became of them, The Qabbalah, Symbolism, The Cryptogram, Islam faith, Mystic Christianity, Bacon, Shakspere, and the Rosierucians, American Indian Symbolism, and more. www.sacred-texts.com/eso/sta

After reading the last inspiring chapter of the book, I searched the web hoping to find a site that discusses the book and the author. It wasn’t difficult. Here is what one had to say: “. . . To read Hall’s work is to experience a readerly joy rarely associated with ordinary compendiums of wisdom. Its depth, breadth, and detail are, simply put, not ordinary, and not easily understood.” And he continues: “But this much is clear; readers who discover The Secret Teachings of All Ages for the first time today will encounter a book probably unlike any they have seen before. The accomplishment of the Secret Teachings, in part, is that it may be the only serious compendium of the last several hundred years that takes the world of myth and symbol on its own terms.” www.mitchhorowitz.com/manly-p-hall.html

Indeed, and I thought that even though it’s “not easily understood” there’s a wanting to stay with it and continue reading, and to read it again. Manly P. Hall founded the Philosophical Research Society in 1934. www.prs.org www.prs.org/mphbio.htm

* * * * * * *
“To avoid a future of war, crime, and bankruptcy, the individual must begin to plan his own destiny and the best source of the necessary information comes down to us through the writings of the ancients.” – Manly P. Hall

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$$$$$$$?

It’s fascinating to observe the goings on in the world. And when you stop to take notice that what’s reported in the media is rather different from what’s happening it becomes almost amusing. It’s necessary and wise to look between the lines, whether they’e written or spoken. All the talk about lack, and yet open your eyes wide and you see that movie land has millions to spend on make-believe, developers keep developing their big buildings (some quite ugly) whether they are needed or not, many perfectly sturdy and stunning buildings are torn down to make way for bigger and supposedly better structures, high-priced designer stores have numerous regular customers, jewelry stores continue to flourish, the Aston Martin always has its buyers, inexpensive and expensive restaurants are filled daily with eager eaters. Life goes on. We live in a world where the very poor, the not so poor/not so rich, and the very rich exist together. It’s a nice feeling to stop once in awhile to look around and see the wonder of it all. The world’s offerings are endless. Take a look at all the people – every single person on this earth existing in a different way – no life is ever the same. People come and people go; the world changes, and yet it doesn’t. And the earth continues to accommodate it all. And to stay in the moment is to live in peace.

“Fortify yourself with contentment,
for this is an impregnable fortress.” – Epictetus

“Be content with what you have,
rejoice in the way things are.
When you realize there is nothing lacking,
the whole world belongs to you.” – Lao Tzu

“Who is rich? He who rejoices in his portion.” – The Talmud

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yellow mustard, vinegar and black pepper

Sometimes when you think you’ve found the right method for doing this or that, something comes along to knock it. For instance, Dr. Jonathan Wright (“Physicians honor Dr. Wright with medicine’s first LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD”) refers to yellow mustard as “THE MUSTARD MIRACLE” and he goes on, “So harmless you could (and probably should) take it every day just to be on the safe side!” Okay, why not? I think to myself, that’s easily accomplished. I mention this to a friend, who said, “No. No. I’ve read the opposite, vinegar, black pepper, mustard should be avoided. They irritate the stomach and are harmful.” I don’t want to know this; vinegar, black pepper, mustard are great with foods. “Tell me no more.” says I.

Well, I go through my books, they say good things about organic apple cider vinegar, and nothing about black pepper. To be honest though I’ve heard through the years that black pepper is a stomach irritant, but who wants to know that because what will replace the taste of black pepper steak, black pepper on fried eggs, etc.? I know the answer, it’s beneficial, wonderful cayenne, once you’ve gotten used to its bite. Cayenne to the rescue. Right?

Now about yellow mustard, I found a book hiding on my bookshelf, an old packed-with- information-and-wisdom classic titled The Original Back To Eden by Jethro Kloss – Healing Herbs Home Remedies Diet & Health. He healed countless numbers of people the natural way. He speaks highly of wonderful cayenne. And mustard? Well, Jethro Kloss wrote “. . . it is harmful to use mustard in food.”

So, my questions: why are two excellent sources writing contrary opinions about something that seems pretty straightforward? And does anyone out there have sound information about that delicious tasting seasoning called yellow mustard?

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relationships

The word “gay” of my childhood meant cheerful and merry, and is now mainly used when referring to homosexual men. For curiosity’s sake, I clicked on www.dictionary.com. There are 1,414 results for the word gay, and the following one is simple and interesting: “Usage note in addition to its original and continuing senses of “merry, lively” and “bright or showy,” GAY has had various senses dealing with sexual conduct since the 17th century. A gay woman was a prostitute, a gay man a womanizer, a gay house a brothel. This sexual word included homosexuals too, and GAY as an adjective meaning “homosexual” goes back at least to the early 1900’s. After World War ll, as social attitudes toward sexuality began to change, GAY was applied openly by homosexuals to themselves, first as an adjective and later as a noun. Today, the noun often designates only a male homosexual: gays and lesbians. The word has ceased to be slang and is not used disparagingly. HOMOSEXUAL as a noun is sometimes used only in references to a male.” Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary. So, it appears that this three-letter word gets around.

What brought this up? Well, a friend told me that a friend of hers discovered her husband is gay. It was an eye-opener for her. I don’t know why, but it reminded me of when I first moved to New York City straight from a typical New England upbringing of that time, and someone mentioned open marriages. “Open marriages! What is that?” said I. Now with so much water under the bridge – hmm, lots and lots of water – I say, a woman who finds herself married to a gay man is in that relationship for a reason, as is anyone connected to that relationship, as a matter of fact, as is anyone in any relationship. And what’s important is what’s gained, what’s learned. And, of course, that depends entirely on those involved. It’s all so personal and much deeper, and finer, and intricate than any label given to it.

How different life would be if many of the labels placed on people were removed. Just like the songs suggest in Marlo Thomas’s Free To Be You And Me. The things that are happening around the world should teach us to allow some things to be as they are. Defining and separating people if they don’t meet a society’s definition of normal seems archaic in today’s world. Normal, what is that anyway? Millions of different forms in the universe were created. Creativity is the normal, and as long as no one is hurt, creativity and normal should go hand in hand.

Children enjoy a feeling of unity with everything in their lives; they see themselves as not “separate from” but rather “part of.” – THE WORLD IS AS YOU DREAM IT by John Perkins, pg.8

We are raised on comparison;
our education is based on it;
so is our culture.
So we struggle to be someone
other than who we are.
-J. Krishnamurti

Relationship is surely the mirror
in which you discover yourself.
-J. Krishnamurti

You know, all mystics – Catholics,
Christian, non-Christian, no matter
what their theology, no matter what
their religion – are unanimous on one
thing: that all is well, all is well. Though
everything is a mess, all is well. . .
– Anthony de Mello

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apex, move over; boltbus is here

Apex Bus (New Century is not worth mentioning) has gotten a bit sloppy these past few months. Dirty buses are the norm, keeping passengers waiting for long periods, either outside the bus or inside, happens too often. No reason is ever given. People put up with the staff’s rudeness, and with the dirty, smelly buses, and now with broken seats here and there, because it’s a very cheap and fast ride – $20 to NYC from Phila and back. Most passengers just want to get to their destination as quickly as possible. But cheap when it’s tied to bad service goes just so far. Some of the websites communicating Apex’s, let’s say, mistakes, are very entertaining. I’m getting a feeling that the game is over for Apex – at least the way they’ve been playing it. I bet a lot of Phila students are glad about that.

Enter Greyhound with BoltBus. Lawrence, a friend from Manhattan, mentioned it today. He always knows when there’s something new, something better. Greyhound’s BoltBus goes to Boston, NYC, Philadelphia, and Washington. It’s cheaper than Apex (yes, passengers are perplexed about the price, and happy), buses are big and clean, and Wi-FI is offered. Greyhound has finally figured out what to do about the competition. One can only hope that it keeps getting better and better. www.boltbus.com

Oh, yes.

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joseph at signatures in phila

Cutting hair the right way is an art. Lots of people get paid to cut hair, but there aren’t a lot of people having the passion of their trade, or the vision to produce a hairstyle that goes with their client’s face structure and features. After moving to a new city, there’s always the process of elimination in trying to find someone. After two terrible attempts, and walking around slightly dishelved looking for not wanting to try yet another place, I got lucky on the third attempt with a place called Signatures, and a hairstylist called Joseph in Philadelphia at 116 S 19th Street, (215 567 1456), a few skips from Rittenhouse Square Park.

When you sit in Joseph’s chair, and watch his fingers work their magic on your hair, you get a feeling you’re in the right place with the right person who’s really liking what he does. Should you visit Phila and want someone with patience, skill, and creativity to work wonders with your hair, you might want to step into Signatures and sit in Joseph’s chair.

Before you go, check out www.philadelphia.citysearch.com/profile/8950387. It’s strange to have such a wide range of reviews. Life is like that sometimes.

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happy mother’s day

There are books written encouraging people to get in touch with the pain and suffering remembered from childhood now manifesting as anger in their adult lives. And there are books written encouraging people to take responsibility for where they are and, if they’re not satisfied, change.

Most women are doing the best they can in caring for children. No one has said that this is a perfect world. It seems easier to recount misery than happiness when remembering childhood experiences – it could be from habit. If we take time to review our childhoods, and attempt to remember the good, along with the not so good, we might realize there was somewhat of a balance. We were loved, and fun and happiness happened too. There’s no denying that some people had miserable childhoods, and because of it they’re now allowing anger to reign supreme in their adult lives. It’s important to know, however, that the option to put one’s big girl/boy pants on, and find a way to dissolve anger in order to create a wise and wonderful, (or wacky if you like) life, is there for the taking.

That said, I want to wish a Happy Mother’s Day to women the world over who are loving and caring for children. May you all find the experience exhilerating some of the time. May you be up to the challenge most of the time. May you all have fun. and have some ridiculously humorous moments. May love envelop your entire household whether there be two or ten living together. May you all grow together. May you ask for forgiveness, and teach forgiveness, when it’s needed. May you enjoy the wonderful experience of raising children. May you not be too hard on yourselves or “them.” May you control only the things that are in your power to control, Ha Ha May you keep it simple, and realize that in the blink of an eye, those little ones will be adults. And to women of adult children, smile – for there are many reasons to smile, and you know what they are.

To all women who love and care for children, HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY.

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illicit, moises naim

When I watched the PBS documentary called ILLICIT I became increasingly saddened. And I wondered why so many people are using all kinds of methods to fill their pockets with millions and millions, at times billions, of dollars at the expense of human beings and our planet? I watched an hour’s worth of talk on money laundering, copied goods transported around the world (including medicines), killings for profit, people used as slaves with no apparent means of freeing themselves, And I thought “the truth hurts” can be applied here. Then I got really antsy as I saw all the confiscated stuff being destroyed, and began wondering about the earth with all the destroyed confiscated stuff being thrown at it. So much was going on in this PBS documentary that it started to become difficult to watch.

The documentary was based on Moises Naim’s book ILLICIT which was named “One of the Best Books of 2005” by the Washington Post. www.moisesnaim.com .

It’s been said many times that the BIG rule of life is to not violate ourselves or others. And though some think that lining their pockets with money gotten by illicit means is okay, it would seem that the Intelligence of the Universe will one day catch up with them. It’s amazing that some think the whole purpose of life is to satisfy their needs with ludicrous amounts of consumption. If they were to look around and see the earth and its beauty, and the way the Energy that created and guides it does so in harmony, tranquility, peace, joy, and if they were to go off by themselves for a time, and recapture the other part of themselves, maybe they’d understand that “conspicuous consumption” is a substandard way of living, and one day they just might have to pay the piper.

The simple truth is that more and more is not the answer. If our hearts are empty, and we don’t allow the beauty of the world, and its people to enter, then no amount of stuff will help.

It’s true that, on a small scale, many of us are guilty of using, or purchasing, copied goods. We think it’s only a small offense, or, it’s so easy, we don’t think about it at all. But . . . “One illicit . . . transaction always leads to another.” -Burke