Home » 2016
Yearly Archives: 2016
Do you realize the risk of “super bacteria” lurking in the water and sand
Like many Americans Adrian Ruiz and his family (Kyle, Texas) decided to spend Father’s Day weekend at the beach. According to KVUE ABC affiliate Mr. Ruiz is now “being treated for a bacterial infection [vibrio vulnificus] contracted during the trip to Port Aransas…that can develop into necrotizing fasciitis, or flesh-eating…He developed a fever that evening [Sat. June 18th] and awoke Sunday with a red rash on his leg that quickly progressed into…fighting to keep his leg.”
“If we would have known that there was flesh-eating bacteria in the water, we wouldn’t have gotten in. (Lashelle Ruiz, USA Today)”
A week earlier someone contracted the same type of infection in Galveston, TX, resulting in his leg being amputated. Doctors suspect the bacteria entered his leg from a scrape on his foot.
According to the CDC:
“Roughly a dozen Vibrio species are known to cause vibriosis in humans, with the most common in the United States being V. parahaemolyticus, V. vulnificus, and V. alginolyticus. The Vibrio species that cause vibriosis naturally live in brackish or salt water. People with vibriosis become infected by consuming raw or undercooked seafood or exposing a wound to seawater. Most infections occur from May through October when water temperatures are warmer….Vibrio causes an estimated 80,000 illnesses and 100 deaths in the United states every year.”
One of the Universal Laws/Truths that Taoists observed thousands of years ago states that one of the purposes of life (which includes all life) is to live and propagate. What we now call evolution is a continuation of this study that if something is alive, then it will do everything it can in order to survive. We are seeing this today with bacteria and viruses becoming more and more resilient to antibiotics and antibacterial agents. One could safely say that every time we try to kill viruses and bacteria we are in fact giving them a reason to evolve and become stronger. Consider the fact that if man was to create medicine to kill all bacteria and viruses it would also surely kill us as well, since these types of medicine and approaches do not discriminate between so called good and bad bacteria etc… So any bacteria that survive will by nature of this Universal Law evolve and become stronger.
This could be one reason why there has been an increase over the last few decades of people (and pets) becoming infected with these super bacteria and viruses.
The CDC, created a page on their website with a decent list of Prevention Tips:
- Don’t eat raw or undercooked oysters or other shellfish. Cook them before eating.
- Always wash your hands with soap and water after handing raw shellfish.
- Avoid contaminating cooked shellfish with raw shellfish and its juices.
- Stay out of brackish or salt water if you have a wound (including cuts and scrapes), or cover your wound with a waterproof bandage if there’s a possibility it could come into contact with brackish or salt water, raw seafood, or raw seafood juices.
- Wash wounds and cuts thoroughly with soap and water if they have been exposed to seawater or raw seafood or its juices.
- If you develop a skin infection, tell your medical provider if your skin has come into contact with brackish or salt water, raw seafood, or raw seafood juices.
If you are in a group more likely to get vibriosis :
- Wear clothes and shoes that can protect you from cuts and scrapes when in brackish or salt water.
- Wear protective gloves when handling raw seafood.
As a Taoist we would add a few more suggestions:
- Stay out of pools, lakes, ponds, oceans etc… unless absolutely necessary. If you are in a boat, canoe, kayak etc… then do everything possible to stay in the boat. Man was not designed for life in the water therefore we are very susceptible to water born illnesses.
- Assume that any body of water has bacteria that could potentially make one sick or even kill.
- Be especially vigilant when water temperatures are above 68 degrees F, since this particular bacteria thrives in “warmer” water.
- If you must enter the water then make sure you bathe before and after, especially immediately after, to help reduce risk of contamination/infection.
- Avoid raw shellfish
- Only eat shellfish from deep cold water during the fall and winter months. Shellfish produce a type of chemical to help them survive in warmer water which is also toxic to humans. Also, it is easier for bacteria to thrive on seafood in warm water.
- Make sure you clean and properly cook all seafood (all food for that mater). For added protection soak the meat in strong alcohol (vodka, rum etc…) to help clean the meat.
For those of you that love water sports, consider for a moment if you will…When you swim, ski, surf etc… in those lakes, rivers and oceans, the animals that live in that water (or fly above) also use the same water to urinate and defecate. Then consider that sewage (treated and untreated) is frequently pumped into the bays and oceans. So in essence (pun intended) you are swimming in toilet water. Is it any wonder there is so much bacteria?
The above advice also applies to swimming pools, no matter how often you clean them or how much chlorine or bromine you throw into the water. For those that like to swim in pools, ask yourself this before you enter the water next time…Would you take a bath with these people, would you drink their bath water?
Receive e-mail alerts when new articles are available. Just click on the “Subscribe” button below; also make sure you click all of those social network buttons and share the article with your friends and family as well. You can also follow the Qi Institutes Taoism blog.
Do you have a story, photo or video from your area that would be of interest to Taoists? Feel free to email and they may be included or featured in a future article.
Research shows that walking not running is healthier
For thousands of years Taoism has advocated living at a slower pace. Many people are confounded when they realize that this principle of Taoism is even applied to exercise, actually it is especially applied to exercise. Wu Wei is one of the foundational principles which is usually translated as “doing without doing”. A more appropriate definition is allowing things to be done without meddlesome, combative, or egotistical effort.
Compare this to the modern/western approach which is to be as involved as possible (Carpe Diem), and control everything from beginning to end.
This Tao of Revitalization (the way of self healing and longevity) was often at odds with what the modern experts were advocating. Instead of taking life slower, bookstores and television programming are filled with experts telling people to keep the heart rate up, run or jog daily, renew your gym memberships, partake in the latest aerobics fashions and fads etc… Throughout this the Taoist would advise the opposite usually to the dismay of the student.
Perhaps this is changing, however, as modern research is beginning to confirm the Taoist teachings. In 2013, Dr. Samir Vermani, M.D., wrote an article for ABC News which shattered the belief that running is good for you. The article was based on Dr. Vermani’s research as well as a Danish health Medical study.
“Your one-hour spinning class may be a good workout, but simply taking the stairs may be better.
When the amount of calories burned is the same, standing and walking over the course of a day is superior to an hour of intense exercise in improving cholesterol and preventing diabetes, a new study found.
‘Get out of your chair as much as you can, take the stairs instead of the elevator, go by bike [and] leave your car at home,” said Hans Savelberg, associate professor in the Department of Human Movement Sciences at Maastricht University Medical Centre, in the Netherlands, and author of the study published today in the journal PLOS One.
Danish researchers followed 18 young people ages 19 to 24, all of normal weight, who performed three separate exercise regimens over the course of the study. In the first, participants did not exercise and sat for 14 hours. In the second, participants sat for 13 hours, but performed one hour of vigorous cycling. In the third, participants sat for 8 hours, but engaged in 4 hours of walking and 2 hours of standing.
Energy expenditure was the same in the vigorous exercise regimen and the standing and walking regimen. After each regimen, researchers tracked insulin sensitivity – a laboratory test to monitor development of diabetes – and cholesterol levels.”
Naturally, the group that sat less and moved more had lower cholesterol and improved insulin sensitivity. The researchers also found, however, that the group that engaged in 4 hours of walking and 2 hours of standing throughout the day had better results then the group that exercised intensely for one hour.
The researchers were shocked to find that the negative affects of sitting most of the day cannot be reversed by focusing ones energy into a one hour intense exercise class or workout routine.
“If you exercise for half an hour and are sedentary for the rest of the day, that represents an unhealthy lifestyle,” said Savelberg. “Long periods of non-sitting at a low intensity level should be classified as an active lifestyle. (ABC World News)”
Don’t miss another Taoism Examiner article. Receive e-mail alerts when new articles are available. Just click on the “Subscribe” button below; also make sure you click all of those social network buttons and share the article with your friends and family as well. You can also follow the Qi Institutes Taoism blog.
Do you have a story, photo or video from your area that would be of interest to Taoists? Feel free to email and they may be included or featured in a Taoism article.
Anti-GMO movement records several major victories
You might not be aware, because the mainstream news has been relatively quiet, however, Genetically Modified Food and the companies that produce them had a few major setbacks in their quest to control global food production.
In 2015, Monsanto initially pushed a law through the Guatemalan Congress, that would have granted exclusive control of all seeds to just a few multinational companies, threatening the rich tradition of Mayan farming and potentially destroying what remains of their indigenous culture.
The Guatemalan government:
“…repealed the legislation dubbed the ‘Monsanto Law’, which [gave] the biotech giant special expansion rights into ecologically-sensitive territory, after widespread public protest. The demonstrations included groups of indigenous Mayan people, joined by social movements, trade unions and farmers’ and womens’ organizations. (Natural Awakenings & UpsideDownWorld.org)”
Effective July 1st, 2016 Vermont will become the first state requiring any GMO ingredients to be labeled as such on all products sold or manufactured in the state. This will trigger similar laws in Maine and Connecticut as their respective bills required neighboring states to pass GMO labeling laws first.
Early in March 2016, General Mills announced “that it will start labeling products that contain genetically modified ingredients to comply with a Vermont law shows food companies might be throwing in the towel, even as they hold out hope Congress will find a national solution. (Yahoo Finance)”
A bill known as the “DARK Act” (Denying Americans the Right to Know Act) was introduced by US Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kansas), that would have prevented states from labeling food as GMO. Thankfully this bill was defeated 48-49, however, what is alarming is how many Senators agreed that companies should not be required to label GMO ingredients. Or as others have stated, almost half of the Senators thought that Americans do not have the right to know what is in their food, however, at least it was defeated. If GMO food is as safe as Monsanto and other companies say it is, then why lobby and pressure Congress to make sure that it never appears on the labels as GMO?
As the world continues to take action towards protecting natural, heirloom and organic seeds, we continue to move closer to ensuring that the food we consume is as close as possible to what Nature and God intended.
Don’t miss another Taoism article. Receive e-mail alerts when new articles are available. Just click on the “Subscribe” button below; also make sure you click all of those social network buttons and share the article with your friends and family as well. You can also follow the Qi Institutes Taoism blog.
Do you have a story, photo or video from your area that would be of interest to Taoists? Feel free to email and they may be included or featured in a Taoism article.
2016 Year of the Yang Fire Monkey
As we transition from the year of the Wood Goat to the year of the Yang Fire Monkey, it is time for us to reflect on what changes may occur so that we can be prepared no matter what situations may arise.
When we examine the last two Fire Monkey years (1896 and 1956) we will get a better understanding of what could occur/repeat this year. A cursory glance of the last two years of the Wood Goat will show the similarities we experienced in 2015.
Monkey years tend to reflect the nature of the animal being: unpredictable, quick to change, seeking new adventures, and also in Yang years the negative aspect can be enhanced; short tempered, quick to fight and prone to aggression etc…
Major events of 1956
- 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
- Morocco declares its independence from France.
- Pakistan becomes the first Islamic republic.
- Maria Desylla-Kapodistria is elected mayor of Corfu and becomes the first female mayor in Greece.
- The United Methodist Church in America decides at its General Conference to grant women full ordained clergy status.
- General Electric/Telechron introduces model 7H241 “The Snooz Alarm”, first snooze alarm clock ever.
- President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs the Federal Aid Highway Act, creating the Interstate Highway System.
- The first Lockheed U-2 spy plane flight over the Soviet Union.
- The world’s first commercial nuclear power plant is opened at Calder Hall in England.
- Suez Crisis: The United Kingdom, France, and Israel secretly meet in and make plans to invade Egypt. The United Kingdom and France begin bombing Egypt to force the reopening of the Suez Canal.
- 1956 Hungarian Revolution: More Soviet troops invade Hungary to crush a revolt… Thousands are killed, more are wounded, and nearly a quarter million leave the country.
- Suez Crisis: The United Nations General Assembly adopts a resolution calling for the United Kingdom, France, and Israel to withdraw their troops from Arab lands immediately.
- The United States Supreme Court declares illegal the state and municipal laws requiring segregated buses in Montgomery, Alabama, thus ending the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
Major events of 1896
- H. L. Smith takes the first X-ray photograph.
- The first study of the sensitivity of global climate to atmospheric carbon dioxide is published. Svante Arrhenius presents his findings in his paper.
- The opening ceremonies of the 1896 Summer Olympics, the first modern Olympic Games, are held in Athens.
- Plessy v. Ferguson: The U.S. Supreme Court introduces the “separate but equal” doctrine and upholds racial segregation.
- St. Louis–East St. Louis tornado: The costliest and third deadliest tornado in U.S. history levels a mile wide swath of downtown St. Louis, Missouri, incurring US$2.9 billion (1997 USD) in normalized damages, killing more than 255 and injuring over 1,000 people.
- Meiji-Sanriku Earthquake Twenty-seven thousand people died in a huge tsunami that swept over the seaport of Kamaishi, Japan
- International Socialist Workers and Trade Union Congress opens in London.
- The Philippine Revolution erupts.
- An extraordinary heat wave affects the northeastern United States.
- Skookum Jim Mason, George Carmack and Dawson Charlie discover gold in the Klondike, Yukon.
We can see from these past two Fire Monkey years that the world experienced Socialist Revolutions, racial strife, major weather events, war in the Middle East as well as economic advances that later turned into bubbles. Will any of these repeat in 2016, only time will tell.
Master Zhongxian Wu mentions that:
“According to Daoist Five Element cosmology and alchemy principles, these energies will manifest as Cold Water, Heat Fire, and Wind Wood.
In other words, we will experience dramatic weather patterns this year, with weather patterns shifting very quickly. This pattern will prove difficult for those of you who have weak gastrointestinal function, kidney function, or heart function.”
Regardless of what happens in the world this year, make sure you focus on your internal cultivation, remaining calm and balanced, as well as, strengthening your body, mind and spirit.
Don’t miss another Taoism article. Receive e-mail alerts when new articles are available. Just click on the “Subscribe” button below; also make sure you click all of those social network buttons and share the article with your friends and family as well. You can also follow the Qi Institutes Taoism blog.
Do you have a story, photo or video from your area that would be of interest to Taoists? Feel free to email and they may be included or featured in a Taoism article.
Ref:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1896
https://worldhistoryproject.org/1896
5 tips to have this year be your best year ever
Every year, many people, before or after the ball drops and the fireworks end, make several “New Year’s resolutions”. Usually, people carry over unresolved items from the prior year. Others come up with a list that is so unattainable that it practically guarantees they will not be achieved. If you are not involved in Cancer research or the health-care field what are the odds that you will cure Cancer? If you are not an astronaut, forget about walking on the moon as well.
Another mistake people make is having plans that do not personally affect them or others. It’s more like a “wish list”, and for others it’s a “look good” list.
- Goals: As mentioned above, create goals that are realistic and attainable, however, do not pick goals that you are guaranteed of attaining either. If you know you are getting a promotion this month, then do not have that as a goal. Make sure you write your goals down and tell someone what they are. We all need someone to help hold us accountable. This is important: write down 6 month, 2 year and 5 year goals, as explained in the article, Attitude of Heaven: Taoist method of planning & attaining goals, then review those goals monthly and make any revisions that are necessary.
- Community: Make friends with or join groups of like minded people. Let’s say you want to lose weight, it is going to be much easier to do so with a group of people who also want to lose weight. Even better, make sure you know people who are already their “ideal” weight. Want to quit smoking, have friends that already quit and those that never smoked. The flip side of this coin is that you also need to distance yourself from those people that do not reflect your goals, or the new you that you are creating/enhancing.
- Activities: Actively participate in things that are going to help your goals/mission. Avoid things that are just going to take up your time, waste your energy and distract you from your mission and goals.
- Discipline/Honesty: Benjamin Franklin is credited with saying that “the early bird gets the worm”. Sometimes the difference between success and failure is not being willing to change. Often times people complain that they just do not have enough time to exercise, how do I find time to cook, meditate, go for walks etc…. After hearing this, ask them (or yourself), did you watch TV today, what time did you wake up etc…? Consider that the average American under 65 watches an average of 5 hours of TV every day, if your over 65 its closer to 7 hours per day (Cross-Platform Report). Imagine how much extra time you would have if you cut back to 4 hours per day. How about waking up 30 minutes earlier? Now you have an extra 1.5 hours in your day, and that is after only adjusting TV viewing and the time you wake up.
- Be honest with yourself. We all know if we need to lose weight, drink too much, are eating too much, not as healthy as we could be etc… Perhaps, resolve to not buy larger sizes, if those clothes are getting tight, time to put down the remote and do some internal exercise. Stop going to those fast food and chain restaurants, not only will your health improve, you will also save money.
- Invest in loss: Lao Tzu stated that in order to gain we must first be willing to lose. You will make mistakes, you will forget, the important thing is that you keep going. We have all heard that the best thing to do after falling off the horse….is to get back on it. So what if you have been trying to do something for the last few years and have not done it yet. Thomas Edison failed between 700-10,000 times (depending on who you ask) before finding the correct method for the light bulb. When asked he said, I did not fail, I simply found “X” number of ways it will not work.
Don’t miss another Taoism article. Receive e-mail alerts when new articles are available. Just click on the “Subscribe” button below; also make sure you click all of those social network buttons and share the article with your friends and family as well. You can also follow the Qi Institutes Taoism blog.
Do you have a story, photo or video from your area that would be of interest to Taoists? Feel free to email and they may be included or featured in a Taoism article.
Recent Comments