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Seat of the Soul

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INTENTION and How To Find YOUR Authentic Self & Spiritual Path in a Comic Strip. . .

That one little moment. . . when you peek out from under the covers, see a tiny ray of light shining through the curtain, and something awakens deep within you. . . that awakens the whole of you and gives you the strength to get out of bed and seek the light. . .

Yes, it’s all there on a tiny note under the shoe that Mantis is meditating on. It’s about INTENT. I intend to keep this post brief so more of you will read it. . . so I won’t elaborate each point. . . but Peter Menice has been a sensei to me and hundreds of other people. . . he’s been my Mantis since we began the Green House, whether he likes it or not, he has often been the teacher and the light. He led me to Gary Zukov, Oprah Winfrey and Jim Carrey. . .

I wrote a fun little strip about Mantis trying to meditate while Link is digging through some Swap Shack CD’s. . . both are seeking nirvana. . . one finds Pearl Jam. Some may be seeking Pearl Jam and find Nirvana. . . which is how Peter works his sensei magic. Peter takes my “gag” (what cartoonists chokingly call a strip idea- no, I don’t think “chokingly” is a word, but it fits the description). . . so he takes my gag, and places Mantis on an old shoe and puts a tiny note on the bottom of the sole. . . “Seat of the Sole.”  Days later, while we’re discussing the gag, Peter barely mentions the note, except with a few words that carried a tone of satisfaction that he shared a message that is both a good pun and a valuable lesson.

I said I’d keep this brief, so I’ll just let you take the same little journey I took. . . I googled, I found, “The Seat of the Soul,” by Gary Zukov. . . I read some excerpts. . . I found that Oprah Winfrey credits “The Seat of the Soul” with changing her life and how she conducts herself and her business. . . discovering the power of Intent, which told her that “Intention is at the heart of authentic power. . . how do we intend to serve?” Learning about Intention from Zukov’s book changed her life in a powerful, spiritual and authentic way. I also found a profound piece by Jim Carrey. . .

If you’re reading this, you’re finding the note on the bottom of a shoe and you may be thinking, “I’m going to put that shoe on and find a path.” I’d recommend putting two shoes on and make the trip more comfortable. . . so I’ll share two quick videos here. Fifteen minutes total that could change your life. AND. . . ( just a little inside tip from the Swap Shack)- The Audio Book of “The Seat of the Soul” is available on YouTube completely free. Thank you, Mantis. . . thank you, Peter!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEOW_uhF8bk

Please. . . share this!

Sensei-tive subject. . .

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This week we introduce Mantis. He’s our sensei, our outspoken guru and leader on spiritual matters at the Green House. The term “sensei” generally implies “teacher,” and that’s the role he plays for Wormy. Wormy has a million questions and it takes spirituality, patience and a sense of humor to be his teacher. . . much like our school teachers, I suppose. Who was your favorite teacher? Mentor? Take a moment today and show gratitude. . . think of them, send them a note or if you have a child still in school, ask them the same question. You could bring them an organic apple. . . it’s okay if it has a worm in it.

 

Perks of the job. . .

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I set up a couple Worm Composters last summer. . . one of the large, multi-tray composters and one small portable one for doing classroom lectures. They’re both doing great and the worms seem happy. . . eating away. Coffee grounds are supposed to be a great “snack” for the worms- as it’s listed in Uncle Jim’s Worm Farm literature. . . and I can’t help thinking that the worms are looking forward to their morning “pile of joe.”

Peter and I are just starting to put together an educational workbook & poster about composting for kids (and adults who like fun pictures with their information). We’re planning to start doing talks for libraries, schools, museums etc for late spring and summer. . . and we’ll be bringing along a tub of hard working worms to show the participants. I just hope they don’t start making me stop at Starbucks on the way to the “gig” for a “jolt.” Although I would kind of like to bring them in and tell the barista that they’d like a Grande Groundaccino.

 

 

In Biblical Portions. . . High Fructose Calamity.

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Finding out what’s actually in your food is not a trivial pursuit. . . is High Fructose Corn Syrup the silent killer in our food? Is it the fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse? The actual fourth horseman of our impending demise is Famine. You could say that if you’re eating something with HFCS in it, you aren’t starving, but in reality you are. You’re eating a diet that’s filled with processed foods and additives that make food last longer, cheaper to produce and addictive. You’re giving your body substances that it doesn’t recognize as “food” or fuel and it doesn’t naturally know how to process these additives.  It does what it can with them, but it leads to many problems as we consume more and more. And HFCS isn’t the only bad thing we’re putting in our bodies. . . look at the labels on the so-called “Healthy” stuff in your pantry. . . if you can’t pronounce it, it’s probably not something your body wants to process either.

Below is an article I found on the Huffington Post by Dr. Mark Harmon, that gives you the whole story from a Dr.’s perspective. . . but don’t let it end there. . . start doing some investigation for yourself.  (Side note:  Don’t take everything a “Dr.” has to say as a truth, unless they’re also a qualified Nutritionist and one who is current on nutritional research. . . some Drs only want to prescribe meds to heal your symptoms, instead of tackling the core problem, what you’re putting in your body. All Drs are not created equal. . . Dr. Mark Hyman is on my recommended Expert List, along with many brilliant Nutritionists )-  There’s a new Sugar Detox making the news lately, where you take sugar (in processed form) out of your diet completely. My investigating has taken me a few steps past just the sugar detox- I’m in week 2 of the Microbiome Diet, taking sugar, dairy and grains (gluten) out of my diet and adding prebiotics and probiotics to my system to reconstruct my Microbiome. . . I’d recommend reading up on this to everyone. . .  But for starters, realizing that most food manufacturers don’t care what your ingesting as long as they’re making revenue from it is good information. . .

Dr. Mark Hyman:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mark-hyman/high-fructose-corn-syrup_b_4256220.html

Renaissance physician Paracelsus famously said, “The dose makes the poison,” meaning that even harmless substances can become toxic if you eat enough of them. Many people ask me, “Is high fructose syrup really that bad for you?” And my answer to this question is “Yes,” mainly for this very reason.

In America today, we are eating huge doses of sugar, especially high fructose corn syrup. It is sweeter and cheaper than regular sugar and is in every processed food and sugar-sweetened drink. Purging it from your diet is the single best thing you can do for your health!

In recent history, we’ve gone from 20 teaspoons of sugar per person per year to about 150 pounds of sugar per person per year. That’s a half pound a day for every man, woman, and child in America. The average 20-ounce soda contains 15 teaspoons of sugar, all of it high fructose corn syrup. And when you eat sugar in those doses, it becomes a toxin.

As part of the chemical process used to make high fructose corn syrup, the glucose and fructose — which are naturally bound together — become separated. This allows the fructose to mainline directly into your liver, which turns on a factory of fat production in your liver called lipogenesis.

This leads to fatty liver, the most common disease in America today, affecting 90 million Americans. This, in turn, leads to diabesity — pre-diabetes and Type 2 diabetes. So, high fructose corn syrup is the real driver of the current epidemic of heart attacks, strokes, cancer, dementia, and of course, Type 2 diabetes.

HFCS contains dangerous chemicals and contaminants

Beside the ginormous load of pure fructose and sugar found in HCFS, as an added bonus, it contains other chemical toxins.  Chemical contaminants used during manufacturing end up in the HFCS and in our food.  What we know, for example, is that chloralkali is used in making high fructose corn syrup. Chloralkai contains mercury. And there are trace amounts of mercury found in high fructose corn syrup-containing beverages. Now, it may not be a problem if we eat this occasionally, but the average person in the country consumes more than 20 teaspoons a day of high fructose corn syrup and the average teenager has 34 teaspoons a day. Over time, these heavy metals can accumulate in the body, causing health problems.

Additionally, when we look at the chemical components of high fructose corn syrup on a spectrograph, we can see that it contains many weird chemicals that we know nothing about. That’s why I say better safe than sorry.

Look out for the red flag

The main reason you should give up high fructose corn syrup is that it’s a big red flag for very poor quality food. If you see this ingredient on a label, I guarantee you the food is processed junk. So, if high fructose corn syrup is anywhere on the label, put it back on the shelf. You should never eat this food.

If you want to stay healthy, lose weight easily, get rid of chronic disease, and help reduce the obesity epidemic, the single most important thing you can do is eliminate high fructose corn syrup from your diet and from your children’s diet. Just banish it from your house.

Purge your kitchen

I challenge you to go into your kitchen right now, go in the cupboard and refrigerator, and look at every single label. And I want you to count how many products you have right now in your house that contain high fructose corn syrup. Then, I want you to get a big garbage bag and throw them out and find replacements that are free of it.

If you want to have some sugar, that’s fine. Have a little sugar, but add it to your food yourself. Don’t eat food made with added sugar. Cut the high fructose corn syrup from your life forever. You’ll be healthier. Our planet will be healthier. And we’ll have a healthier generation of children.

Wishing you health and happiness,

Mark Hyman, M.D.

Mark Hyman, MD is a practicing physician, founder of The UltraWellness Center, a six-time New York Times bestselling author, and an international leader in the field of Functional Medicine. You can follow him on Twitter, connect with him on LinkedIn, watch his videos on YouTube, become a fan on Facebook, and subscribe to his newsletter.

For more by Mark Hyman, MD, click here.

For more on personal health, click here.

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Corn Syrup Personal Health Food as Medicine Hfcs Nutrition High Fructose Corn Syrup Diet and Nutrition Food for Thought

Seat of The Soul Revistited

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INTENTION and How To Find YOUR Authentic Self & Spiritual Path in a Comic Strip. . .

That one little moment. . . when you peek out from under the covers, see a tiny ray of light shining through the curtain, and something awakens deep within you. . . that awakens the whole of you and gives you the strength to get out of bed and seek the light. . .

Yes, it’s all there on a tiny note under the shoe that Mantis is meditating on. It’s about INTENT. I intend to keep this post brief so more of you will read it. . . so I won’t elaborate each point. . . but Peter Menice has been a sensei to me and hundreds of other people. . . he’s been my Mantis since we began the Green House, whether he likes it or not, he has often been the teacher and the light. He led me to Gary Zukov, Oprah Winfrey and Jim Carrey. . .

I wrote a fun little strip about Mantis trying to meditate while Link is digging through some Swap Shack CD’s. . . both are seeking nirvana. . . one finds Pearl Jam. Some may be seeking Pearl Jam and find Nirvana. . . which is how Peter works his sensei magic. Peter takes my “gag” (what cartoonists chokingly call a strip idea- no, I don’t think “chokingly” is a word, but it fits the description). . . so he takes my gag, and places Mantis on an old shoe and puts a tiny note on the bottom of the sole. . . “Seat of the Sole.”  Days later, while we’re discussing the gag, Peter barely mentions the note, except with a few words that carried a tone of satisfaction that he shared a message that is both a good pun and a valuable lesson.

I said I’d keep this brief, so I’ll just let you take the same little journey I took. . . I googled, I found, “The Seat of the Soul,” by Gary Zukov. . . I read some excerpts. . . I found that Oprah Winfrey credits “The Seat of the Soul” with changing her life and how she conducts herself and her business. . . discovering the power of Intent, which told her that “Intention is at the heart of authentic power. . . how do we intend to serve?” Learning about Intention from Zukov’s book changed her life in a powerful, spiritual and authentic way. I also found a profound piece by Jim Carrey. . .

If you’re reading this, you’re finding the note on the bottom of a shoe and you may be thinking, “I’m going to put that shoe on and find a path.” I’d recommend putting two shoes on and make the trip more comfortable. . . so I’ll share two quick videos here. Fifteen minutes total that could change your life. AND. . . ( just a little inside tip from the Swap Shack)- The Audio Book of “The Seat of the Soul” is available on YouTube completely free. Thank you, Mantis. . . thank you, Peter!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEOW_uhF8bk

Take Your Meds or Med-itation for Motivation. . .

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In the creative moment, there’s one side of me that wants to check out mentally and meditate . . . and there’s the other side that is struggling to create the piece, whether it’s writing, art or any project.  Finding the balance is the key- and for me, I’ve  always been able to find the creative spot of productivity easier with a partner.  I have the hardest time doing work when it’s just “me.” Put me in a room with someone else and I’m a brilliant, creative dynamo. . . by myself, I seem to start creating a second (or third) personality so my brain has someone else to play with, get approval from, create synergy.  I’m always happy, energized, excited by the opportunity to solve a problem for someone else.  By myself, I think about it WAAAAY to much.

Everything gets twisted up and complicated when I’m trying to work by myself.  But when I’m working with Peter, I get it done- the cords get neatly wrapped and the solar panel is connected and producing energy.

Maybe it’d be easier to be a worm and draw another face on my tail to create that second entity in my mind. . . Any thoughts. . . please share them, I need the connection. . . :0)

Cloudy with chance of sniffles. . .

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It’s Herbal Awareness Month. . . not really, but I couldn’t figure out an attention-getting opening line. I’m a little under the weather today. . . my brain’s a bit cloudy and I do have the sniffles. I do not have any Echinacea tea in the cupboard, but will be getting some later today. Meanwhile, Link is healing up from his fever and you’ll be getting to know him a bit more tomorrow. In the meantime, you might want to check out another “link” below and get a quick description of the benefits of Echinacea and 12 ways to use it. We have lots of it planted in our perennial garden and I can attest that the bees and butterflies love it! It’s just starting to pop out of the ground now, so here’s a pic of what it will hopefully look like in a few months. . . monarch and all- although we seem to attract a lot of yellow swallowtails. . . enjoy the article!

http://www.diynatural.com/echinacea-benefits/

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 

“Link-ed” In. . .

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This week we’ll be introducing you to our liberal blogging rat, Lincoln. . . his friends call him Link. He loves everything from the 1960’s and idolizes John Lennon (hence his usual army shirt outfit, round glasses and long hair). His blog is called, “Link’s Underground,” and you’ll see Pam & Todd reading his blog on occasion at The Green House.

Writing a comic strip with environmental themes, we naturally attract a more liberal audience. Often it’s of the extreme liberal variety. When we first started The Green House, we would get “strong” suggestions to get really liberal with our story lines, but our goal was to always keep a good balance. Link gave us the ability to get a little “out there” and have fun poking fun at the extreme right wing media, especially Rush Limbaugh, whom Link loathes. . . but also listens to. Maybe it’s the old “keep your friends close and your enemies closer” philosophy, but he listens, as do I from time to time.

As time has gone by, I find myself inclined to mellow out Link’s attitude a bit, and have him be more into technology and pushing the green agenda more than being political- although sometimes those topics intertwine. To be totally honest, it’s just that politics are a subject I’d rather not focus on in my writing. There’s so much greater good I can do finding humor in everyday life. . . it reaches a broader audience and tells the kind of stories I like to tell. It’s also too easy to fall into a reactionary position and spend too much time in negativity and the hot political topic of the media day.  I do LOVE how Walt Kelly handled politics “back in the day” with Pogo. . . but I don’t feel that’s where Peter an my strengths are as story tellers. In that regard, it’s important to have well defined characters with easy to recognize personalities. Link is a character with a lot of character- and personality. It’ll be fun sharing his quirkiness with you. He angers easily, but is also a true friend. We hope you enjoy spending some time with him this week.

As Kelly and Pogo said, “We have met the enemy, and he is us.” I don’t want to be my own enemy in the world of promoting green concepts and lifestyle. I don’t want to preach my philosophy, but instead depict a world where our characters are positive role models, working to find peace and harmony. . . along with a few laughs along the way. For ideally, that’s what life should be about. . . and I believe Walt Kelly and John Lennon would approve.

In Biblical Portions. . .

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Finding out what’s actually in your food is not a trivial pursuit. . . is High Fructose Corn Syrup the silent killer in our food? Is it the fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse? The actual fourth horseman of our impending demise is Famine. You could say that if you’re eating something with HFCS in it, you aren’t starving, but in reality you are. You’re eating a diet that’s filled with processed foods and additives that make food last longer, cheaper to produce and addictive. You’re giving your body substances that it doesn’t recognize as “food” or fuel and it doesn’t naturally know how to process these additives.  It does what it can with them, but it leads to many problems as we consume more and more. And HFCS isn’t the only bad thing we’re putting in our bodies. . . look at the labels on the so-called “Healthy” stuff in your pantry. . . if you can’t pronounce it, it’s probably not something your body wants to process either.

Below is an article I found on the Huffington Post by Dr. Mark Harmon, that gives you the whole story from a Dr.’s perspective. . . but don’t let it end there. . . start doing some investigation for yourself.  (Side note:  Don’t take everything a “Dr.” has to say as a truth, unless they’re also a qualified Nutritionist and one who is current on nutritional research. . . some Drs only want to prescribe meds to heal your symptoms, instead of tackling the core problem, what you’re putting in your body. All Drs are not created equal. . . Dr. Mark Hyman is on my recommended Expert List, along with many brilliant Nutritionists )-  There’s a new Sugar Detox making the news lately, where you take sugar (in processed form) out of your diet completely. My investigating has taken me a few steps past just the sugar detox- I’m in week 2 of the Microbiome Diet, taking sugar, dairy and grains (gluten) out of my diet and adding prebiotics and probiotics to my system to reconstruct my Microbiome. . . I’d recommend reading up on this to everyone. . .  But for starters, realizing that most food manufacturers don’t care what your ingesting as long as they’re making revenue from it is good information. . .

Dr. Mark Hyman:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mark-hyman/high-fructose-corn-syrup_b_4256220.html

Renaissance physician Paracelsus famously said, “The dose makes the poison,” meaning that even harmless substances can become toxic if you eat enough of them. Many people ask me, “Is high fructose syrup really that bad for you?” And my answer to this question is “Yes,” mainly for this very reason.

In America today, we are eating huge doses of sugar, especially high fructose corn syrup. It is sweeter and cheaper than regular sugar and is in every processed food and sugar-sweetened drink. Purging it from your diet is the single best thing you can do for your health!

In recent history, we’ve gone from 20 teaspoons of sugar per person per year to about 150 pounds of sugar per person per year. That’s a half pound a day for every man, woman, and child in America. The average 20-ounce soda contains 15 teaspoons of sugar, all of it high fructose corn syrup. And when you eat sugar in those doses, it becomes a toxin.

As part of the chemical process used to make high fructose corn syrup, the glucose and fructose — which are naturally bound together — become separated. This allows the fructose to mainline directly into your liver, which turns on a factory of fat production in your liver called lipogenesis.

This leads to fatty liver, the most common disease in America today, affecting 90 million Americans. This, in turn, leads to diabesity — pre-diabetes and Type 2 diabetes. So, high fructose corn syrup is the real driver of the current epidemic of heart attacks, strokes, cancer, dementia, and of course, Type 2 diabetes.

HFCS contains dangerous chemicals and contaminants

Beside the ginormous load of pure fructose and sugar found in HCFS, as an added bonus, it contains other chemical toxins.  Chemical contaminants used during manufacturing end up in the HFCS and in our food.  What we know, for example, is that chloralkali is used in making high fructose corn syrup. Chloralkai contains mercury. And there are trace amounts of mercury found in high fructose corn syrup-containing beverages. Now, it may not be a problem if we eat this occasionally, but the average person in the country consumes more than 20 teaspoons a day of high fructose corn syrup and the average teenager has 34 teaspoons a day. Over time, these heavy metals can accumulate in the body, causing health problems.

Additionally, when we look at the chemical components of high fructose corn syrup on a spectrograph, we can see that it contains many weird chemicals that we know nothing about. That’s why I say better safe than sorry.

Look out for the red flag

The main reason you should give up high fructose corn syrup is that it’s a big red flag for very poor quality food. If you see this ingredient on a label, I guarantee you the food is processed junk. So, if high fructose corn syrup is anywhere on the label, put it back on the shelf. You should never eat this food.

If you want to stay healthy, lose weight easily, get rid of chronic disease, and help reduce the obesity epidemic, the single most important thing you can do is eliminate high fructose corn syrup from your diet and from your children’s diet. Just banish it from your house.

Purge your kitchen

I challenge you to go into your kitchen right now, go in the cupboard and refrigerator, and look at every single label. And I want you to count how many products you have right now in your house that contain high fructose corn syrup. Then, I want you to get a big garbage bag and throw them out and find replacements that are free of it.

If you want to have some sugar, that’s fine. Have a little sugar, but add it to your food yourself. Don’t eat food made with added sugar. Cut the high fructose corn syrup from your life forever. You’ll be healthier. Our planet will be healthier. And we’ll have a healthier generation of children.

Wishing you health and happiness,

Mark Hyman, M.D.

Mark Hyman, MD is a practicing physician, founder of The UltraWellness Center, a six-time New York Times bestselling author, and an international leader in the field of Functional Medicine. You can follow him on Twitter, connect with him on LinkedIn, watch his videos on YouTube, become a fan on Facebook, and subscribe to his newsletter.

For more by Mark Hyman, MD, click here.

For more on personal health, click here.

Oooommmm. . . My, My. . .

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It’s Wednesday. . . “Hump Day”. . .  a good day to let yourself get a little silly and groove any tune that may float in to your head.

Mantis is taking his role as a sensei seriously and not letting Wormy see his fun side. . . at least not yet.  I think if he did start banging out a tune by the Rivingtons, he’d find Wormy shaking his tail, finding his groove and most likely doing “The Worm.”

Seriously, who could meditate with that song in your head? Now here’s the real music geek insider stuff. . . The Rivington’s started out as a group called The Sharps and had a hit with a cover of the song, “Little Bitty Pretty One” in 1957. After a name change, in 1962 they had a big hit with a silly titled song, “Pa Pa Oom Mow Mow.”  They followed that quickly with another hit- a song with perhaps an even stranger title, “The Bird’s The Word.” Then, they tried recreating the “Oom Mow Mow Magic” by recording a follow up, “Mama Oom Mow Mow.” Not such a big hit. . .

To make the strange even stranger, in 1963, a group from Minnesota called The Trashmen, put “Pa Pa Oom Mow Mow” and “The Bird’s The Word” together as a new song called, “Surfin’ Bird.” Believe it or not, my older brothers, Joe & Mike owned this 45 and I played it a lot. The whole thing gets sillier as The Trashmen recorded the song, never crediting The Rivingtons for their input, which was basically the whole song. They later were threatened with legal action and gave the Rivingtons writing credit. Wow. . .  Wednesday’s are fun, aren’t they? I’ve been deliberating over which version to share with you, but I think you need to see The Trashmen’s version first. . . (yes, there actually is a video of a live performance of this song) and if you think the whole concept is weird,  you’re right- but watch the video anyway!  Then imagine Mantis breaking into the “final dance.”   Steve Wahrer was the group’s drummer, not lead singer, but his vocals and performance here may have inspired many future legends. . . David Byrne  comes to mind.

For the purists, The Rivingtons version is just below (along with another surprise!).

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICsBw6zJRSM

Ah, at least these guys have some real vocal talent! But, it doesn’t end here. . . Family Guy loves the song too. . .

And I hope to never, ever, ever top this as the strangest blog post ever. You’re welcome!  Share this if you dare. . .