Boycotting the Pharmaceutical Industry

In my previous blogs, I’ve covered the dangers of GMO’s/conventional non-organic foods, harmful chemicals in conventional hygiene products, the toxins and chemicals in the tap water and a range of other things that can lead to deteriorated health conditions. It’s important to acknowledge what all of these things have in common: Consistently using and consuming these things over long periods of time causes a high potential for developing major illness. Cancer being a common factor. And what happens when most people develop cancer, or other major illness? They go to the doctors and are prescribed several prescription medications that often lead to further side effects and can even make things worse. The ones that seem to treat the symptoms proficiently aren’t actually curing or healing, and in a lot of cases, you’ll need to depend on these medications for years, or possibly the rest of your life.

This part might border on “conspiracy theorist” territory, and if that’s not your thing, you can feel free to stop reading, but if you have an open mind and care about your health, please continue. There’s a high possibility that all of these industries that cause illness and degraded health, and the pharmaceutical companies that “treat” those symptoms as a result, are all interconnected in one way or another. The banks, corporation owners, GMO industries, pharmaceutical industries, if you get to a high enough level it seems like they’re all connected and they all benefit monetarily. I know it’s scary to think that there are people who are purposefully trying to harm your health, but even if that’s not the case, it’s still highly important to choose healthy alternatives to everything. And luckily, those alternatives are out there and easy to find, as listed in my previous blog posts. A little bit more expensive, yes, but like I always say: either pay a little bit extra now for good health, or possibly pay a lot more later to combat illness/disease. And if you stick to as much of an organic lifestyle as possible, as well as developing a loving, positive, grateful, and blissful emotional state, you’re body will remain healthy and radiant, and provide adequate defense against any disease and illness.

The pharmaceutical industries and their buddies don’t want to promote real health, and they don’t want their products to actually cure disease, because they know that if those were the case, they would lose at least hundreds of billions of dollars a year. They’ve put the desire for profits far above their concern for people’s health. And they know that healthy people = a lot less money for them. I’m sorry if these views have caused any fear or anxiety, that’s certainly not my intention. But I feel like it's important for people to know these things, and to know of the right choices that they can make in life, so that they can feel empowered and confident about managing their health.

In the case that you do get prescribed a medication for anything, or are already taking some, I highly recommend looking into safer and more natural alternatives, as well as more holistic approaches to healing. It can be difficult to find the right things, but searching through sources like Naturalnews.com, the works of David Wolfe, etc. it is possible to find the right answers. For all other cases, prevention is key. So just remember: organic organic organic. Try to do all of your shopping at the local natural health food markets and perhaps online through ethical and health promoting brands (See some of my previous posts for the top brands/companies that I recommend and have found to be the most effective and beneficial).

Recommended Material

I just wanted to share some really helpful websites that I've found to be of tremendous value. First up is Nick Good's website:

http://www.nickgoodpersonaldevelopment.com/index.html

Nick specializes in spirituality and health. He overcame cancer and has written a lot of material about how to overcome that and other diseases as well. He offers a lot of great nutritional tips on how to get and stay healthy as well. A lot of that material can be found in the PDF documents here towards the bottom of the page:

http://www.nickgoodpersonaldevelopment.com/Meditative_Yoga_Conscious_Living_Kilauea_HI.html

The other parts of his site that have to do with spirituality are very inspiring and helpful. I've always found it to be incredibly beneficial to read or listen to his material.

The other website belongs to Michael Mackintosh and can be found here:

http://michaelmackintosh.com/

A lot of his material has to do with mixing spirituality with business, but he also has a lot of other great articles in videos relating to other things of high interest as well. I've found his material to be incredibly helpful and beneficial as well.

Simple, Yet Effective Life Advice

"Primum non nocere" (First, do no harm).
 

1. Give unconditional love and respect to everyone you interact with. This will be reciprocated to you.

2. Remember to respect yourself.
 

3. Be kind and compassionate.
 

4. Listen with your complete attention to what someone is saying and seek to understand them from their point of view. Let go of the filter of your opinions or judgments.
 

5. If you make promises, keep them. Don’t make any you can’t keep.
 

6. Clarify your expectations and stay on the same page as the other person.
 

7. Develop a mentality of abundance: there is plenty for everyone.
 

8. Be kind, be generous; do no harm to any living being. Be true to yourself! Make time and space for creative expression. Your actions are like seeds, of which you will reap the crop.

-Michael Mackintosh, Co-founder of Success Ultra Now

Karma: The Good, The Bad, and What You Can Do About It

So far in my life, one of the things that I’ve learned I can be certain about is the existance of karma. There’s been so many instances that I’ve experienced by now, both big and small, that even the most hardpressed skeptics would be forced to stand down and agree that it’s most likely real. It’s just way beyond coincidence by this point. I’ve found that even having to kill a bug or insect (one of the thing’s I’ve vowed to never do again) resulted in several small bad things happening to me over the rest of the day. And oppositely, doing good and positive things for people, animals, the world, etc. results in good things and experiences. I’m not saying that doing good things and being a good person will help you to win the lottery and become a millionaire, but you can certaintly expect peace and things that will make your life atleast a little bit easier and better. And over time, perhaps some big good things as well.

So if karma is in fact a universal law that no one is exempt from, what would you choose to do with that newly found information? Hopefully you’d let it inspire you to live your life in a more positive and caring way. If you live a life that consists of a lot of bad things and experiences happening to you, that might mean that you’re stuck in the negative wheel of karma. Focus on the things you say and the actions you take. If you can recall getting caught up in negative behaviors, that could explain a lot. All you have to do is shift your behaviors and intentions to more positive and helpful ways. Find the strength and willpower to never say or do bad things to anyone. That can be tough at first for some, especially if negativity has become a habit in your life, but you’ll be surprised to see how quick that actions of good and kindness can become habit as well.

I understand that there’s tons of influences in the world that condone and inspire negative behavior, especially the mainstream media promoting all of their corruption. As well as lots of other people caught up in negative behaviors and actions, and sometimes, people can be inspired by their peers in those circumstances unfortunately. So the most important thing becomes rising above all of that, commiting yourself to goodness and grace, and not caring if others have any kind of a problem with that.

In conclusion, if you live your life based on negative intentions, behaviors, and actions, you can expect negative things to happen to you and your life as a result. Little by little (or quickly and big in some instances), things will happen that will make your life harder, add hassles to deal with, and cause unpleasantness in general. I wouldn't call karma a punishment, I think it's just a way for the universe to help you learn and grow. Oppositely, if you shift your attitudes and intentions and base them on positivity, kindness, and being helpful, you’ll see a lot of improvements in your life situations. Good things will come easier, and it’s just much more rewarding in general. Plus, there seems to be a lot of evidence to suggest the possibility of reincarnation, in which your karma gets carried over to any further lives you live. So if you were to devote your present life to negativity, ill treatment of others and the world, etc. then you might be in for a rude awakening in your next life. Something to atleast consider.

Practice Compassion and Kindness

One of the more unfortunate aspects of our society has to deal with the large amounts of disrespect and poor treatment of others that takes place so often. It doesn’t seem to be immune to any age groups, either. It seems like bullying exists even amongst little children that are just barely learning to speak. It also seems like bullying in general is getting more common and intense, especially now that we have things like social media and smart phones. Even people that are more aligned with being good can fall in the trap of judging and hating on others. Even some of the nicest people I’ve known have judged and hated on people behind their backs at one point or another.

 

So what is causing all of this hate and disrespect in not only just our society, but the world as a whole? I’m afraid there aren’t any simple answers. And I’m not going to pretend that I know all of the science and sociological reasoning’s behind it. But I do have some very simple and easy to follow advice on how to stop experiencing those attitudes and actions, if you have them, and how to hopefully inspire others to stop them, if you don’t.

 

I think that the most important step is to gain at least a little bit of spirituality as you walk through this life. Most people are already affiliated with some type of religion and that’s a start, because I’d say that the majority of religions contain parts of their holy scripts that teach people to be kind and loving towards one another. And any church or temple that you attend will most likely have religious officials and leaders promoting those concepts as well. So if you align yourself with any religion and take it seriously, you should feel motivated to follow those parts of the teachings.

 

When you develop a strong sense of spirituality, you’ll learn that the best advice is to love everyone and to respect everything. Try to never judge anyone, no matter how different they are from you. I know there‘s millions of things that make people different from each other and separate us into different groups, but instead of focusing on differences, try to see everyone else as eternal spiritual beings who are also connected to God. Everyone deserves love and respect.

 

There will always be mean people out there unfortunately, and when confronted by them, the best bet is to ignore them and avoid them in the future. Once you are brought down to their level and become mean as well, it only leads to bad karma. So always try to take the high road.

For all the atheists out there, well, just try to find it in your hearts to do the right thing and treat people right at all times. You can use science to look at this issue as well. For example; the brain is such a complex and intricate thing with billions of cells, synapses and all kinds of things doing a trillion things every second. When you say or do bad things to a person, you’re causing a great deal of disharmony to that whole system and it results in pain that can degrade the brain, at least temporarily, but could do long-lasting permanent harm if done enough times. And the resulting hurt feelings could greatly degrade a person’s life if intense enough.

So the question becomes; do you really want to do that kind of harm to someone else? I hope that the answer is no. Otherwise, just try to remember the golden rule. Treat others the way you would like to be treated. Would you want anyone yelling at you, insulting you, spreading rumors about you or doing any other kinds of mean and disrespectful actions towards you? I’d be willing to bet that the answer is no. It would probably cause you hurt and pain. So keep that in mind before ever doing anything bad to anyone and let it motivate you to treat people with kindness and compassion.

A Quick Post About the Importance of Daily Exercise

In addition to things like good nutrition and proper hygiene practices, one of the most important aspects to a healthy lifestyle is daily exercise. Fitness is a very broad topic and there are endless sources to look into, but I’ll try to keep things simple for this post.

The ideal exercise schedule should include 6 days a week, with each session lasting anywhere between 30 and 60 minutes, depending on what your goals are. But never anything less than 30 minutes. In my opinion, the most important kind of exercise is intense cardio, which I believe should be done with every work out session. Spending 30 minutes doing cardio is ideal for maintaining a healthy weight. 45-60 minutes of cardio a day is good for a weight-loss routine.

In some cases, cardio is all a person needs or wants to do, and that’s perfectly fine. If you choose to add further activities into your workout session, you could look into things like weightlifting to build either strength or muscle, and perhaps find a suitable abs routine as well. If money is an issue, you don’t need to join a gym. All you’ll need is some running shoes (these are the ones I recommend: http://www.patagonia.com/us/product/mens-tsali-2-trail-running-shoe?p=78502-0-961 also available in Women’s) and a sidewalk or park to run at. And there are plenty of DIY home exercises that don’t require any equipment, pushups being a good example.

In conclusion, Daily exercise is an extremely important part of healthy living. Here’s a link that goes over some of the best benefits that you can expect from incorporating that into your life:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/exercise/HQ01676

The Importance of a Substance-Free Lifestyle Part 2

Part 2 of this post will focus on the heavier drugs aspect of substances. These aren’t as prevalent as cigarettes and alcohol, but they are out there, and it’s just as important to know to stay away from these things as well. The main problem is that, even though smoking and drinking cause health problems, using drugs will also cause a ton of health problems, but at a much faster rate. With smoking and drinking, it might take years or even a decade to develop serious health problems, but with drugs it’s a lot quicker. In some cases it only takes a few months for massive damages to be done.
I wouldn’t consider marijuana to be a huge risk, as long as it’s not laced with anything, because it’s a natural plant. But I wouldn’t suggest doing it a lot because it’s been shown to decrease motivation and can also impact the brain in negative ways. It has also been linked to lung cancer if done frequently enough.
When it comes to all of the other drugs though, it’s important to stay away from them at all costs. Avoid them like the plague; drugs such as cocaine, ecstasy, LSD, meth, heroin, etc, etc. There’s a long list of all kinds of other pills and substances that fall under this same category. Do yourself a favor and stay away from all of them. These things will not only ruin your health quickly, but they’ll also ruin your life and possibly end it (drug overdoses).
Sometimes, it can seem like drugs are the cool thing to do, because celebrities are doing them, and they’re available at parties and their made out to be this fun and pleasurable experience. You might feel peer pressure to do them, but anyone who would negatively judge you for not using is someone who isn’t worth being friends with anyways. It’s really important to keep your guard up and not let these things tempt you to use. It’s also important to mention that, unlike cigarettes and alcohol, these things are very illegal and can get you sent to jail and possibly get put on your permanent record, making it hard to get a job. They can also get you fired if your place of work participates in drug testing.
It would take a long time to go over the huge amounts of health consequences that drugs can do to your brain and body, but you can learn more about them from these links: http://www.drugabuse.gov/related-topics/medical-consequences-drug-abuse, http://alcoholism.about.com/od/sa/a/drug_effects.htm. And for more motivation to stay away, check out http://planetoddity.com/faces-of-meth-addicts/. Not only will drugs ruin the inside of your body and mind, but they will take a horrendous toll on your physical appearance as well. With most drugs, you can expect them to cause such effects as hair loss, teeth loss, scabs, increased aging and wrinkles, just to name a few.
In conclusion, there’s really no reason to be using any of these substances, and every reason not to be. Don’t let the media or other people think for you. The truth is, we’re born with only one body. We need to treat it with the utmost care and respect, because if any intense harm is done to it, it can be extremely difficult, or sometimes even impossible, to reverse such damage. And our bodies do so much for us, trillions of things per second, every single cell. The least we can do is show our respect to them by treating them with the care and nurture that they deserve so that they can keep functioning optimally.

The Importance of a Substance-Free Lifestyle Part 1

In some of my earlier posts, I talked about using certain nutritional and hygienic practices to maintain quality levels of health. In this post, I’m going to address another strategy of equal importance; living a substance-free life. The term “substance-free” means to live a lifestyle abstaining from alcohol, smoking, drugs, and any other harmful and unethical substances.
I’ll start off with addressing cigarettes and alcohol. The problem with these two things are that not only are they perfectly legal and easy to gain access to, they’re also heavily advertised to people of all ages and walks of life. Also, a big percentage of people smoke,and almost everybody drinks alcohol, so this sends a message that might as wellsound like “The media is always advertising these things, and tons of people use them, so they must be perfectly alright. I might as well fit in and join the crowd.” However, parts of the media have been addressing how unhealthy cigarettes are and the damage that they cause, so that’s a step in the right direction.
Some people will just start out smoking one or two cigarettes here and there if they’re with friends who smoke. But even that’s a problem because the tobacco companies purposely fill cigarettes with nicotine and other extremely addictive chemicals. So even if you just start out small, it won’t take much time until you’re craving cigarettes more and more to the point where it becomes a full on addiction. Here’s a website that offers a quick summary of the health consequences of smoking: http://doingyoudamage.com/. Also, long-term smoking will cause permanent harm to your voice making it sound very raspy and unhealthy and will increase the rate at which you age. Overall, the tobacco industry is filled with greedy corrupt murderers. Think really carefully before making the choice to support them while harming your body and health in the process.

Next we have alcohol, which is even more highly advertised than cigarettes. I believe that advertising, as well as how it’s displayed in the media, have caused it to be almost a mandatory part of life and part of the general culture. People are usually in shock and disbelief when I reveal that I don’t drink, because it’s so rare to find people this day and age who don’t. I’ll start out by saying that light social drinking every now and then is alright, perhaps some organic wine at a special event. But in my opinion, things like liquor and beer should never be used. I know it’s a way for a lot of people to have fun and feel good. But it’s not worth the potential risks and the health consequences. The biggest risks for drinking include drunk-driving car accidents, which rank high on the list of leading causes of death in this country. And also, the risk of sexual assault, which is also a very common occurrence, especially amongst college-aged people. The media will sometimes talk about those risks, but it often fails to list the health consequences. To learn more about the health consequences of alcohol, check out these links: http://www.greenfacts.org/en/alcohol/l-2/04-health-effects-alcohol.htm,http://alcoholism.about.com/od/health/Effects_of_Alcohol_Health_Effects_of_Alcohol.htm,and http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000281.htm. And also, don’t forget all of the empty calories. Drinking frequently, especially beer, is a quick way to gain excess weight.
I know that it can seem tempting to drink because of all the media advertisements and the fact that almost everyone else is doing it, but you don’t have to listen to that. And it pays off a lot if you don’t.

Some Good Advice and Words of Wisdom

1. Treat the Earth and all that dwell thereon with respect
2. Remain close to the Great Spirit
3. Show great respect for your fellow beings
4. Work together for the benefit of all Mankind
5. Give assistance and kindness wherever needed
6. Do what you know to be right
7. Look after the well being of mind and body
8. Dedicate a share of your efforts to the greater good
9. Be truthful and honest at all times
10. Take full responsibility for your actions
-Ten Principles of the Kanien’Kehake Tribe

1. Focus on creating pure, powerful thoughts about your eternal self
2. Love and accept everyone and maintain an attitude of humility and service
3. Surrender the ego and ego desires to God
4. As much as possible, spend time with good company - people who you feel inspired by
5. Expose yourself to high vibe music, art, and spiritual books
6. Be teachable by those who have what you want
7. Don't believe everything you hear in the 'news'. Instead, think for yourself
8. Relax - don't take everything so seriously
9. Have fun!
10. Do less - and focus on only what is the greatest contribution to your true self and the world
-Michael Macintosh, Co-founder of Success Ultra Now

Introduction

Hi everyone, and welcome to my blog. I named this blog after the Italian translation for "Lotus Flower" because those were viewed as the symbol of enlightenment amongst many of the ancient cultures, especially those of the Hindu/Yogic variety. They gave great praise to the flower because, although it has its beginnings and roots in deep mud far from the sun, it has the ability to overcome such obstacles, reach the light and fully bloom. I feel like this is big symbolism of my own life so far, or atleast what I'm attempting, but this blog will have very little to do with me or my own experiences. Instead, I'll be offering guidance on making healthier and more positive choices to look into, not only for your own life, but the world as a whole. The advice will range in topics from nutrition, exercise, books/movies to take a look at, brands and products that I've found to be tremendously healthy and beneficial, and many other things. I might offer spiritual advice, and perhaps talk about my views regarding political issues, world events, and other things going on. At times it might sound like I'm a salesman trying to market certain things or people, but I am in no way affiliated with anyone like that. I just recommend something/someone if I find that my life has been greatly enhanced by the services offered and will take the opportunity to allow others to look into those things so that they might enjoy them as well, if they like what they see. So with that said, check back every now and then, and hope you enjoy!