Dr. Oz Show Recap: Medium Char Margolis And Dr. Neal Barnard 3/23/2012

Posted by Doreen Eugenio on Friday, March 23, 2012 · 2 Comments 

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Dr. Oz Discussing The Afterlife

The Doctor Oz Show Opens today discussing the afterlife with Medium Char Margolis and continues with Dr. Neal Barnard and how diet can prevent diseases. Oz opens with a packed studio today and introduces Char Margolis. She says people have a sixth sense and we all feel the spirits around us daily. She says we have an ethereal body and we all go to a different plane of existence when we die. Oz shows us a brain and how it works. He says spec scans of psychic brains show they use a different part of the brain when using their gift.

Oz asks Char how fast the soul leaves the body after death. She tells him we all have spirit guides and it varies by the individual. Char tells Oz that he has someone around him with an “M” initial and Oz says his grandfather is near him. She points out that he is thinking about wearing a mouth guard because he grinds his teeth. Oz asks her to read the audience. He asks her to read for Maria, a member in the audience. She asks questions about her life. Maria wears his shirt to bed and Char points that out to her. Char tells her she sees dangling keys. Maria says he always did that in life. Mia, Maria’s daughter, feels her father. Wow!

Char talks about feeling a “William” and a member of the audience. A lady stands and Char sees a name, Manny, and it is her father. Char says Manny wants to see her singing again. Oz asks the audience if they think they could have the power to see or feel spirits around us. He says Char will show us how in the next segment.

Char starts by saying we need to tell the people around us how we feel about them while they are here. She says we all have the gift of intuition. If we sit and visualize it long enough, we will fell them. She says to trust our gut feeling and act upon it. Oz asks if love goes beyond life. Char says she doesn’t know if this is true.

Dr. Neal Barnard is on the show and he says he can lower your cholesterol 30 points naturally. First, Red Yeast Rice extract lowers LDL Cholesterol and he says big Pharma doesn’t want you to know it. You need 1200mg twice a day. Next, Oyster Mushrooms are a natural source of statin and beta glucan. Barnard says we need a half a cup a day. Finally, you can combine okra, tofu, almonds, and benecol spread. This is a knock out combo that attacks cholesterol on all levels. You just need to get all of these in a 12 hour period. Barnard says this will also improve your intimate performance.

Now we get kitchen gadgets to cut the fat out of our diet. First, the “Fat Magnet” will skim the fat off the top of soups and stews. It costs $15 dollars online. Second, the “Healthy Meatloaf Baker” has holes in the pan to drain the grease away as it cooks. Third, the “Dip Clip” is an easy way to see how much dip you are getting and a set of four costs only $8 dollars. Finally, The “Bluapple” is a handy gadget that slows the process of fruits and veggies spoiling. It lasts three months and a whole set of four is only $10 dollars.

Oz now is giving us a low fat chicken pot pie recipe. Use cream and honey instead of shortening to make the crust. Just use your regular mix for this with the substitute. You should only use the crust on top. Now use celery, mushrooms, and stock and cook it for about 20 minutes. Fill bowls about 3/4 full with the filling. Add the crust to the top. Put an egg wash on top for a great golden brown color when cooked. Cook for about 15 minutes and garnish with parmesan cheese on top. You are just cooking a biscuit because the filling has been cooked already. This will cut calories by 20% and cut fat by 70%.

Oz ends the show by saying we can use coconut flour to reduce carbs and it is a great substitute for regular flour.
Photo courtesy of: Dr. Oz

Occupy Consciousness: The American Spring Arrives

by Benjamin F. Chavis NNPA Columnist Originally posted 3/21/2012  We take due notice of the six-month anniversary of the Occupy Wall Street movement. The National Urban League just presented Occupy the Vote at Howard University in Washington, DC on the occasion of the release of the League’s 2012 Annual State of Black America Report. The Occupy movement has grown and expanded in every state in the U.S. and in thousands of grass roots communities across the nation. From Occupy the Hood to Occupy the Courts to Occupy the Dream, the diversity of the Occupy movement is also growing exponentially. “Getting money out of politics” has surfaced as a unifying rally call to action for millions of people want to free our democracy from the inequitable influence of the 1% of the population that want to maintain the status quo of income inequality, economic injustice, poverty and social misery for millions of Americans. But as sure as the emerging season of spring will usher in a climate change in temperature and humidity, there is also the question today whether or not there will emerge a massive “American Spring” of social, political and economic change in the heart, mind, soul, spirit and actions of those who are no longer willing to be patient for a long overdue progressive transformation of our society that transcends the counterproductive divisions and cynicisms that seem to overly permeate the mindset of the nation. Historical change does not happen without historical consequences. In 2008, the majority of Americans who voted did in fact cast their ballots for an unprecedented change in American politics amidst an engulfing economic recession and two polarizing wars abroad. The aspirations of millions, in particular younger voters, for a new America overcame the fears and false stereotypes of the past. President Barack Obama was elected to lead our nation forward. Just four years ago the positive winds of change were blowing strong with a new national sense of unity and resolve to be a nation of values, integrity, justice and equality for all at home and abroad. Yet, we all know that real systemic change sometimes takes longer than four years or six months. The point here is that people do have a right and a responsibility to push forward for more change even amidst the negative headwinds of reaction and fear that seek to push women, minorities, workers and the poor to the inconsiderate margins of the current political debate with utter arrogance and disrespect for the oneness of humanity. You can always measure the progress of any nation or society by how the “least of these” are being treated or regarded. The poor are being blamed for being poor. The unemployed are being blamed for being unemployed. There is an unfair tolerance of injustice that is on the rise and those who speak out or who engage in nonviolent protest or civil disobedience are being scorned, mocked and damned. The conscience of a nation is the consciousness of its people. That is why one of the ultimate goals of the movement is to Occupy the Consciousness of the people and to raise the awareness, knowledge, understanding, commitment and actions of the masses of people to stand for freedom, equal justice and empowerment for all people in America and throughout the world in a loving spirit and reality of giving and sharing equally and justly to all. This is exactly what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr articulated in his dream of economic and social justice for all; and this is what we continue to embrace in Occupy the Dream. Yes, the American Spring has already arrived with a spirited revival of nonviolent protests and arrests at the movement’s birthplace inside of Zuccuti Park in lower Manhattan on March 17, 2012 that was the six-month milestone of the evolution of the movement. Soon there will be larger and larger demonstrations in more and more cities across the nation. Democracy is at its best when it is participatory. The Occupy movement is a participatory phenomenon and we encourage all participants to stay true to its nonviolent objectives of peaceful civil disobedience and protest. There are some who have expressed concern about the Occupy movement being co-opted by partisan devotees. I do not believe that it is possible for that to happen because the Occupy movement is not the possession of one person or one group. The movement’s strength is its diversity and capacity to be resilient in the face of repression. Ultimately the organized and mobilized power of the people who have raised consciousness and perseverance will always prevail. People who are partisan also have a right to express their political views as well as those who are nonpartisan. But for the vast majority of Black American voters, we must go out and vote in record numbers on November 6, 2012. There is just too much at stake and we cannot afford to be missing in action in this critical national election. As the Occupy movement blossoms this spring with renewed energy and spirit, remember to keep your mind aware and resourced with accurate information. Remember no one can arrest your conscience and let no one break your spirit or passion for that which is equitable and just. There will be difficult days ahead, but the opportunities to advance this important cause are far greater than the difficulties that we may face. Occupy the Dream…Occupy Consciousness. Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr. is President of the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network and Education Online Services Corporation as well as being the National Director of Occupy the Dream.

Paul Allen Gives $300 Million to Brain Research

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By ROBERT LEE HOTZ

The Allen Institute for Brain Science announced Wednesday that Microsoft Corp. co-founder Paul G. Allen has donated $300 million to launch an effort to map the brain's basic circuitry of perception.

Doubling its staff of scientists and technicians to more than 350 people, the Seattle-based nonprofit institute plans to build over the coming decade a series of "brain observatories," computational tools designed to map all aspects of neural behavior. The aim is to systematically explore the roots of vision and decision-making by analyzing the billions of cells and synapses in the brain's cerebral cortex, which plays a critical role in vision, memory, language and awareness.

"They want to really characterize the parts list of the brain and map all its circuits to see how they connect and communicate," said neurobiologist Ed Boyden at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "It is impossible for an ordinary lab group to bring all these pieces together."

The Allen Institute operates more like a product-driven start-up than a traditional academic lab whose students are focused on research suitable for peer-reviewed publications. Since Mr. Allen founded it with a $100 million grant in 2003, the institute has made a name for itself by developing new technology for basic brain research, then making it freely available to scientists around the world.

"They are trying to bring something new and a little different to the understanding of how the brain works," said neuroscientist Stephen Smith at Stanford University Medical School.

Last April, for example, the institute released a $55 million computerized atlas that combines many different imaging techniques to document human brain structure, biochemistry and genetics, along with new computational tools to analyze the data. So far, it has been adopted by 4,000 scientists to probe the brain's biology. When they assembled the atlas, the institute's scientists were surprised to discover that more than 80% of all known human genes are actively at work in the brain. The institute's online atlas of the mouse brain gets 50,000 visitors a month.

By laying bare the basic mechanisms of thought, the institute's work could eventually yield clues to conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, autism and mental disorders like depression.

"It has always been our goal to understand how the human brain works," said Allan Jones, the institute's chief executive. With the new funding, "we are going to focus on the visual system."

Mr. Allen's grant is the latest example of how independent, private philanthropists in the U.S. and U.K. have embraced basic neuroscience, donating almost $1 billion to fund fundamental brain research in recent years, at a time when basic research funding in many fields has been reduced.

Such efforts range from $350 million donated by Patrick J. McGovern, founder of International Data Group, to endow a brain research institute at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, to $50 million given by physicist Fred Kavli, founder of Kavlico Corp., to set up neuroscience laboratories at four universities in the U.S. and Norway. In the past year, David, Lord Sainsbury, the former chairman of the British supermarket giant that bears his family name, has donated more than $16 million to support brain research at 14 centers in the U.K., the U.S. and Israel.

Mr. Allen has given $500 million to the institute, including Wednesday's donation. His new grant will fund the first four years of the 10-year research project; then the institute will have to find new funding. Generally, the institute has raised about 20% of its annual funding from other sources.

Neuroscience offers a way to use new computer technology and advanced software, Mr. Allen's area of expertise, to drive basic biomedical advances. After all, the brain is the ultimate computer. It has so many cells, so many synapses and such intricately interwoven circuits that it defies conventional analytical tools.

Write to Robert Lee Hotz at sciencejournal@wsj.com

Consciousness Conference Covers All Angles

Released: 3/19/2012 9:00 AM EDT
Source: Center for Consciousness Studies University of Arizona, Anesthesiology

Newswise — Whether one takes a Western, materialist view (consciousness is strictly a product of brain electrochemical activity), or an Eastern, spiritualist approach (consciousness creates reality; consciousness is all there is), one fact is clear: consciousness is the single most important aspect of life. In the end, conscious awareness and feelings are all that matter. The tenth biennial interdisciplinary conference Toward a Science of Consciousness (TSC) takes place April 9-14, 2012 at the Loews Ventana Canyon Resort Hotel in Tucson, Arizona.

The largest and longest-running (since 1994) gathering on the topic of consciousness covers a wide range of approaches to the fundamental questions of how the brain produces consciousness, the nature of reality and our place in the universe. Over 700 scientists, philosophers, artists andspiritualists from 50 countries will convene for a week of lectures, discussions, social events and fun in an exquisitely beautiful desert mountain setting.

Topics and speakers for the Plenary Program, put together by philosopher David Chalmers (Australian National University, Canberra) and anesthesiologst Stuart Hameroff (University of Arizona, Tucson) will include War of the Worldviews, a debate among Eastern spiritualist Deepak Chopra, physicists Leonard Mlodinow (co-author with Stephen Hawking of “Grand Design) and Menas Kafatos (“The Conscious Universe”) and materialist Susan Blackmore, Searching and Detecting Consciousness (in coma, anesthesia and sleepwalking) with neurologist Steven Laureys, Melanie Boly, George Mashour and Antonio Zadra, a debate on Higher Order Thought (HOT) theories with philosophers (Ned Block, David Rosenthal) and neuroscientists (Hakwan Lau, Victor Lamme), the controversial Feeling the Future (experimental evidence for backward time effects in the brain) by psychologist Daryl Bem, Fractal Brain Activity related to consciousness, Echolocation (in humans, bats and dolphins), and Consciousness and Hallucinogens, regarding brain imaging and therapeutic potential for psilocybin mushrooms. Other Plenary Sessions will include Consciousness Without Attention?, The Explanatory Gap, and Time and the Brain. In addition to 30 Plenary and Keynote talks, 120 Concurrent talks in 24 late afternoon sessions, 240 Posters, Art/Tech/Health Demo sessions, Exhibits, The Consciousness Poetry Slam/Talent Show and various Social Events will occupy late afternoons and evenings. Pre-Conference Activities include a Forum on Eastern Philosophy and Consciousness, and Workshops on Philosophical Approaches, Neuroscience of Music, Synesthesia, Afterlife Hypotheses, Quantum Physics and Consciousness, and Deepak Chopra on the Neuroscience of Enlightenment. The conference is sponsored and organized by the Center for Consciousness Studies at the University of Arizona.

See www.consciousness.arizona.edu
For further information contact Abi Behar-Montefiore
center@u.arizona.edu, 520-247-5785 

Two Faces of Grace

Posted: 03/19/2012 7:00 am

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  The Inner Life ,   Tibetan Buddhism ,   Loss ,   Mindfulness , Awareness ,Consciousness , Death , Fortune , Gift Of Life , Grace , Grace And Blessings , Grace And Consciousness , Grace Of Life , Healthy Living News

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The experience of the gift of life, of the grace of life, is a mysterious blessing we celebrate and bow to. Grace is the answer to our prayers, and yet it is free of ourbidding. How joyous to bask in even an instant of surprising good fortune. How sweetly humbling to be delivered from misfortune.

We most easily and delightedly recognize grace in its form of deliverance. Yet it has another, equally humbling, equally mysterious face. The horrific face of grace can fill us with dread and fear when it appears, but if we are willing to welcome it -- as we welcome the good news of the grace of bounty -- it too brings us home. In whatever form it presents itself, grace reveals home as free and at peace. Grace is the messenger of the silent core of us, regardless of any tumult on the surface.

Who can truly comprehend what we each have to experience in our lives? We know of horrible experiences, diseases, wars, loss and degradation that many have to go through. And we also hear from many of the surprising grace present with the loss and pain: grace's horrific face.

This is not the face of grace that we want. We want grace that is easy and beautiful and flowing. We usually -- at least initially -- resist grace that is ugly and painful. You must have experienced certain events, however they have shown up, as unwanted. If you are still resisting some unwanted event in your life and are willing to open to it now, you can find the grace in that very moment.

Grace does not require you to want something that you do not want. What is required is that you tell the truth about what simply and irrevocably is. What is required is that you stop fighting and hiding from what is. When these utterly simple and deeply challenging requirements are met, the innate grace of your own consciousness naturally reveals who you are and what you can bear.

We have many ideas about what we can bear. These ideas are the reflections of our fear. We doubt our capacity to meet what life and the changes in life give us. But when the willingness to tell the truth in open stillness comes, capacity is discovered.

Part of the horrific grace of being a human being is the knowledge that non-existence is at the end of the arc of our lifetime. We avoid death -- other's or our own -- but when death comes close, the possibility is just as close for the discovery of great horrific grace. We don't want to die. It may sometimes seems dying would be easier than meeting the challenge of living, but you wouldn't be reading this if you hadn't chosen life. And yet death will come.

In the horrific knowledge that what we don't want (death, loss) will come regardless of our desires, there is an indescribable grace that is available. The fact that you have the gift of a human life with reflective consciousness allows you to open your consciousness, rather than to engage in the usual habitual strategies of denial.

The Tibetans speak about this precious human life. I used to doubt the preciousness of a human life because it seemed that the cows, in their unconsciousness of inevitable death might actually have a better life. But what are the cows doing in the pasture? They are waiting for the slaughterhouse. Even the lilies of the field, though not doing anything, simply living and being beautiful, are dead soon enough. We too are headed for the slaughterhouse, we too will be dead soon enough. And because of the horrific grace of consciousness we can meet that inevitability.

If we stop at the horror, if we try to find something to cover it or fix it or distract ourselves from it, we deny ourselves the grace of it. When there is enough willingness to face what has been avoided, the preciousness of every moment of every limited life form is celebrated and welcomed. Facing the horror of changes and endings allows us to fully participate in both what is inherently transitory and what is changeless.

Precious human life. Precious life form. Precious moment of every life -- the cow's life until it is slaughtered or the lily's life until it wilts -- how precious it is to be conscious of being and not being.

This blog is adapted from a talk given by Gangaji at Kripalu Center, MA in September 2011. Gangaji's new book Hidden Treasure: Uncovering the Truth in Your Life Story, was published in September 2011 by Tacher/Penguin. In this life-changing book, Gangaji uses the telling of her own life story to help readers uncover the truth in their own. Publisher's Weekly said, "This gently flowing but often disarming volume invites readers to examine the narratives that shape them, and is a call to pass beyond personal stories to find a deeper, more universal self." In April Gangaji will be offering meetings and weekends in Mill Valley and San Diego, CA, Seattle, WA andPortland, OR. She will be holding a Silent Retreat at Fallen Leaf Lake, South Lake Tahoe, CA, beginning May 29. Visit www.gangaji.org for more information about Gangaji and her upcoming events, including the monthly Webcast / Conference Series, With Gangaji, which is currently undergoing an in-depth study of Hidden Treasure.