Friday, May 29, 2009

Follow The Swallow


   When swallows run short of food and the cold weather is coming, they set off to warm climes, where there is plenty of sun and food. One swallow flies ahead, testing the air and showing the way, and the rest of the flock follow after.
    When our souls run short of food in the material world, and when the cold of death draws near - oh, is there a swallow like that one, to take us to a warm place? Is there, oh, is there such a swallow?
    Outside the Christian Church, there is no-one who could give any sort of reliable answer to this. The Church alone knows, and knows with certainty. It has seen that part of Paradise for which our souls yearn in the frozen twilight of this earthly existance. It has also seen this blessed swallow, the first to fly to that yearned-for place, dispersing the darkness and cutting through the heavy atmosphere between earth and heaven with its powerful wings, opening the way to the flock behind it. Apart from this, the Church on earth can tell you of innumerable flocks of swallows that have followed the first Swallow and flown off with it to the blessed land, the land abounding with all good things - the land of eternal spring.
    You will see from this that, by this saving Swallow, I am thinking of the ascended Lord Jesus Christ.
Bishop Nikolai Velimirovic
"Homily on the Ascension of the Lord"

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

"And God said, "Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit;

you shall have them for food." Genesis 1:29
Uncovering Oregano Oil
The oregano I am going to address in this article isn't that tasty traditional spice found in spaghetti sauce and pizza. One of the most potent and powerful of the essential oils, oregano oil has a long and ancient history of medicinal uses, yet unfortunately fell out of favor with us moderns as a consequence of the 20th century proliferation of pharmaceutical companies which were the brainchild of Rockefeller, an oil baron of the early 1900s. Rockefeller of the Standard Oil Company along with other monopoly barons such as the DuPonts, were visionaries who understood the concept of patents and were powerful enough to influence the governments of their day to legislate strict controls on natural products while protecting the interests of their patented synthetic products. As a consequence of their efforts over the past century, these corporate giants has enjoyed mind boggling success and continue to wield their mighty influence over virtually the entire planet to the extent that even our history, science and medical books reveal their bias and are written to support their corporate agenda while offering nothing but disparagingly veiled comments or silence in regard to the benefits of nature's medicinals. With that in mind, we can hopefully now begin to understand why oil of oregano, one of nature's wonders has remained to this day, a virtual secret to most people. 

What Makes Oregano Oil So Special?
The primary ingredients of oregano oil are the phenols, Carvacrol (60-80%) and Thymol (5%) which provide the antiseptic and antioxidant components. They are also the terpenes, pinene and terinene which contribute to the antiseptic, antiviral, anti-inflammatory and anesthetic properties. Two long chain alcohols, linalool and bonreol also beef up the antiseptic and antiviral qualities. Lastly, the esters, linalyl acetate and granyl acetate act as powerful antifungal agents. It is the synergy of these components working together that allows for the healing powers of oregano oil to have their powerful effects on our bodies. Pharmaceutical companies in ignoring the power of this natural synergy do what they do with all the natural God given medicinals which is to extract the main ingredient and create a new product. Unfortunately their newly created and thus patentable products bear similarities to the naturally occurring medicinals but not enough to make them recognizable to our body systems which often times will treat them as pathogens or unrecognizable foreign invaders thus creating the typical multitude of detrimental side effects so common with pharmaceuticals.

Why Is Oregano Oil Considered Medicinal?
Oregano oil is considered medicinal because it has healing properties that are both aggressive and supportive in that this oil attacks pathogens within the body while at the same time feeding the body a multitude of necessary life promoting energized minerals and nutrients. PubMed lists almost two hundred studies that have been done on the beneficial properties of oregano oil. Although all these studies have taken place in the laboratory and not on human subjects they reveal the efficacious nature of this oil in dealing with pathogens as well as containing numerous essential minerals. Additionally, we have thousands of reports logged since antiquity extolling the virtuous healing powers of Oregano Oil.

Minerals And Vitamins Present In Oregano Oil And Their Benefits.
Calcium
Richer in calcium than cheese, dark green vegetables, salmon, sardines and milk.
Feeds bones, gums, teeth, heart, cells skin, nervous system.
Magnesium
Richer in magnesium than cashews, peanuts, molasses, whole grains, beet greens and spinach.
Feeds enzymes, arteries, soft tissues.
Zinc
Richer in zinc than sardines, salmon, cheese, peanut butter and whole grains.
Feeds the prostrate, reproductive organs, immune system, skin, smell and taste
Iron
Listed as one top eight sources of iron.
Feeds hemoglobin, myoglobin, blood, immune system, growth and energy
Copper
Feeds bone, hemoglobin, blood, energy, healing, hair and skin color, taste, nerves, joints.
Potassium
Richer in potassium than orange juice, bananas, apricots, dates and dark, leafy vegetables.
Feeds the nervous system, heart, cells
Niacin
Equal to niacin content in beef, commercial rice and whole wheat.
Feeds circulatory system, skin, nervous system, metabolism, digestive system
Vitamins
Boron, manganese, vitamin C, Vitamin A (beta-carotene), Vitamin K, riboflavin, thiamine.
Positive Ionotrope
Strengthens the pumping action of the heart.

All Plants And Herbs Have Medicinal Properties
Since antiquity man has noted the potent medicinal benefits of all plants and herbs that grow on the earth. Hippocrates, the famous ancient greek physician stated, "Let your food be your medicine and your medicine be your food". Sadly, modern man has been brainwashed to believe that without man made pharmaceuticals, our civilization cannot survive. This absurd assumption is a bodacious fallacy when we consider that for thousands of years man has flourished on the earth without the intervention of synthetic or refined products. Our modern infatuation with attempting to improve upon nature is a consequence of our culture's rebellious bent which believes that we can improve upon the earthly provisions God has given us for blessings, health and overall well being. We are surrounded by a world full of naturally occurring remedies, foods, herbs and medicines which are packed with the energy to heal us and oregano oil is just one of thousands that we have been blessed with.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

A Potential Problem Of Epic Proportions

Our modern world is being threatened by an invisible enemy which will conquer using the art of deception.  As bizarre as it seems, this enemy is promoted as our friend, healer and helper yet the havoc being caused by this enemy may be beyond our comprehension.  The name of this enemy reveals its true nature and when broken down the name reveals the words, 'against life'.   So, what is the name this enemy goes by?  'Antibiotics' is the name and it takes many forms, all of which are contributing to a world wide proliferation of destructive super bugs that have been created by the very drugs that were created to destroy the diseases they targeted.


How Bad Is It?

More than 50 million pounds of these antibiotics are produced annually in the United States.  Some 40 percent of that total is given to animals, mostly to promote growth rather than treat disease. Antibiotic use is also rampant in agriculture--for example, the drugs are sprayed onto fruit trees to control bacterial infections. Another little-recognized application is in antibacterial household cleaning products, soaps, toothpaste, and even plastic toys and cutting boards, which incorporate bacteria-killing substances too potent to be used in the body. The upshot of this massive exposure is the increasingly familiar predicament the world now faces: disease-causing super bugs that resist the drugs that once thwarted them. We are experiencing an alarming resurgence of common but no longer curable infections from super bugs that developed their resistance in our antibiotic-filled bodies, in animals, in fields, even on our antibacterial-soaked kitchen counters. 


Sterilized Creation

Another sobering consideration is the fact that one billion tons of antibiotic laced animal waste is being generated yearly with these antibiotics going into the environment thus creating even more resistant stains of bacteria.  Add to this number, human ingested antibiotics which continue to do their destructive work even after they leave our bodies passing into our water supplies as well as back into the soil.  Additionally, millions of farm acres world wide have been sterilized and are continuing to be sterilized by industrial farming practices using synthetic fertilizers.  The consequences are such that beneficial flora within the human and earthly terrain are no longer flourishing, opening yet one more facet through which disease and destruction will prey upon the human race and our environment. 


Wrong Belief System

So, how is it that life on this planet has come to such predicament as this?  When considering the big picture, we can blame our situation on the philosophical foundation of modernity.  Modernity grew out of the age of enlightenment which was nurtured in the soils of Western civilization.  But if this so, what was wrong with Western civilization that could cultivate such disastrous consequences?  I believe the answer lies within the world of religious belief.  Religion takes various forms around the world and within each culture both ancient and modern, we find religious beliefs permeating every aspect of culture and governing every facet of how a community, tribe or nation functions.  I believe that the Eastern world and thus Eastern philosophy and religion (specifically Eastern Orthodoxy) which were the preserved by Eastern peoples, were in turn, corrupted by Western peoples, thus opening the way for the destructive aspects of modernity which we are experiencing today.  


Conflictive Views

Rather than digging deeper on this thought, I would like to leave it and jump ahead to the conflict we moderns are experiencing between what I will define as synthetic materialism and natural materialism.  Having supposedly evolved to a higher form of thought, we moderns have embraced 'man' himself, as being the creator, savior and ruler of the creation.  Religion for the most part has been relegated to the realms of the spiritual, immaterial world having no influence on the material aspects of life, thus creating a huge "God void" which as a vacuum had to be filled by something and that something was man's intellect and ability to achieve.  Thus, what we are observing in the world around us today is an all encompassing phenomena of creating a synthetic material world which is consequently supplanting the natural material world.  


Synthetic World

So what's wrong with a synthetic material world?  For starters, it is a denial of faith in a Creator and His ability to create that which is good, beneficial and enlightening for mankind.  Consequently, because we are no longer relying upon a Creator, Provider and Helper; as a civilization, we find the need to create our own provisions and means by which to benefit our selves and our fellow man.  So, instead of acknowledging our Creator, Father and God, we now ignore Him and continue on the path of creating our own world which mimics the natural world order but does not give life, sustenance and good health.  


Delusional Thinking

Thus, we are experiencing the proliferation of so-called medicines which we accurately call 'antibiotics'.  The term 'antibiotic' itself reveals the utter ignorance of mankind and our inability to extract ourselves from the consequences of calling good, evil and evil, good.  Apparently this principle is so deeply ingrained into the darkened and deluded human psyche that even though we take them to promote life, we name them according to their true definition and purpose which is 'against life'.  Nevertheless, we continue to flood the human and earthly terrain with these products in a state of delusional thinking and schizophrenic behavior.


Abiding Hope

Yet, in saying all of this, it is not too late to turn back to natural materialism as the means by which to obtain our life, our health and our sustenance.  The earth is forgiving, revealing the nature of God and though the hour is late, it is not too late to turn back to the ways of the ancients, to the ways of East and to once again embrace nature, the good earth and all that grows upon it naturally as being for our benefit as God had ordained in the beginning.