KNOW YOURSELF — BETTER: Free on-line tests (Empathy-systemizing, Attachment style, moral foundation, implicit biases, etc.)
How Does Your Mind Work? Psychological tests developed by Professor Simon Baron-Cohen, Sally Wheelwright, and their team at the University of Cambridge, England, can give you insight into the way your brain functions. Take the tests to find out your EQ (empathizing quotient) and SQ (systemizing quotient.)
Romanticizing/Pragmatizing Test (RQ/PQ)
What is your attachment style? This interactive survey takes about 5 minutes to complete. The questionnaire is designed to measure your ‘attachment style’–the way you relate to others in the context of intimate relationships. When completed, the site will reveal your attachment style, and provide a brief summary of what is known about your attachment style on the basis of contemporary scientific research.
Attachment in Past and Present Relationships
Marriage Builders® Forms and Questionnaires - Tests & effective intervention methods developed by one of America’s most successful marriage & family therapists, Dr. Willard Farley, Jr.
What are your moral foundations? (On-line Test) – This test is designed to explore the kinds of moral foundations you use when making judgments about what is right and what is wrong
Personality, Leadership, and Self-Esteem – This test is designed to explore your personality, leadership preferences, and your sense of self-worth
Implicit Association Test – The “Implicit Association Test” offers one way to probe unconscious biases. In this 10-minute test, you will be presented with words or images and asked to respond as quickly as possible.
Depression Screening Test by Ivan Goldberg, MD – -brief 18-question online automated quiz to help you determine if you may need to see a mental health professional for diagnosis
and treatment of depression
Partners of Internet Addicts Test
Sexual Addiction Screening Test (Women)
Sexual Addiction Screening Test (Men)
Know Yourself Tests – PSYCHOLOGY TODAY - Career Health IQ Personality Relationships
Green cemeteries: An alternative to environmentally-unfriendly burials!
Most of us naturally resist thinking about our earthly demise and the “disposal” of our remains. We Baby Boomers likely tend to harbor hope that we will somehow cheat death — or at least put it off for 100 or more years. Whether you happen to live 100 years or more, one day you will “pay the piper” — that is, kick the bucket, buy the farm, cash in your chips, etc. For us American Indians death is simply a matter of changing worlds. We trust that the Great Spirit/HaShem/God is not a jack booted thug intent on consigning most people to some sort of eternal torment for missteps committed during a handful of years or decades but, rather, is intent on reconciling most of humankind to himself. You may disagree — which is something we American Indians respect — though I personally am hard-pressed to understand people who promote a theology which portrays God as a judge who (to be honest) differs little from those who populated the “People’s Courts” in Nazi Germany. Be that as it may, I am here to place before you something more pragmatic — more “here & now” – namely how you will dispose of your mortal remains. Many will opt for being embalmed and buried in an airtight coffin that is sunk in a concrete jacket so as to minimize deterioration through time. This is a personal choice, though there are powerful arguments against this — if only because embalming fluid and such has a deleterious impact on the local environment. If you are open to an alternative — something ”green” — consider having your mortal remains disposed of in a green cemetery:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3947912/ns/us_news-environment/t/texas-cemetery-offers-green-burials/
http://www.ethicianfamilycemetery.org/
From “Native American Spirituality: A Walk In The Woods” by Rainbow Eagle
Spoken by Ogala Lakota leader Crazy Horse to Chief Sitting Bull (September 1877) – four days before Crazy Horse was murdered.
“Upon suffering beyond suffering, the Red Nation shall rise again and be a blessing for a sick world. A world filled with broken promises, selfishness and separation. A world longing for the light again. I see a time, long after the skies have grown dark and ugly and the water has become bad smelling. I see a time of seven generations when all the colors of mankind at that place will gather under the sacred tree of life and the whole earth will become one circle again”
“In that day, there will be those among the Lakota who will carry the knowledge and understanding of unity among all living things and the young white ones will come to those of my people and ask for this wisdom.”
“I salute the light within your eyes, where the whole universe dwells. For when you are at that center within you and I am at that place within me, we shall be one”
Pg 76, “Native American Spirituality: A Walk In The Woods” by (Choctaw Nation Member) Rainbow Eagle
How one man turned adversity into opportunity
Jim Haverlock has seen more peaks & valleys than most of us. Athlete in HS and now scooter-bound due to multiple sclerosis. Millionaire owner of a furniture chain who went broke, worked out of his car for a time, and now runs his own virtual business and provides web building & optimization services too. Abandoned by his wife after he was misdiagnosed as having ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) — but now (in his seventies) sharing love & life with his “African Queen.” Dreamed of being a missionary as a young man — tabled this — and fulfilled this calling more than five (5) decades later by founding a nonprofit charitable organization called Compassion Care! If this has you wanting to know more about ”The Life & Times of Missionary Jim” — just click this link:
The long-term unemployed: Maybe it is high time companies placed compassion above logic when hiring
Back in the early 1980s, while working towards a graduate degree in biological anthropology, I held down a full-time job as EDP Operations Manager for a major portable oil rig manufacturer in Dallas (Texas.) When I joined the firm I had two computer operators and two data entry operators helping run a two (2) shift data processing operation. Our IBM computer was state-of-the-art for its time and primarily used to process financial, accounting, inventory and engineering data for company divisions throughout the US and overseas.
As the firm grew my department got busier and as a result needed to hire additional personnel. I made a point of seeking out qualified people who basically had been passed over by local businesses. In the span of a year or so my staff grew from four to thirteen with most being minorities (like myself.) The systems engineering group that interfaced with those of us in operations were almost exclusively middle-aged white men and women, most of whom did not readily welcome my diverse crew into the fold as-it-were.
Did I hire people of color simply because I was a minority myself (American Indian)? Not at all. The fact is I felt what I was doing would in some small way help offset unwritten policies that had constrained the hiring of qualified minoritites.
What is interesting is that with the passage of time the all white systems crew and my racially, ethnically and religiously diverse operations group began moving from a guarded, formal “business only please” level of interaction into a warmer comfort zone characterized by friendly banter and even playful joking. This was exactly what I had hoped for and anticipated.
The director of MIS (Management Information Systems) for the company, a former NASA systems analyst who had moved into corporate management after leaving the space agency, was so impressed with how much of a family the entire information systems department had become that he held it up as a model to higher-ups including the board of directors.
Of course, young working professionals sometimes seize more lucrative opportunities elsewhere, a reality that was visited upon my department when my third shift computer operator was offered a fatter paycheck and shorter commute by a competitor. I was sad to see her go but plowed ahead and began running ads in local newspapers and trade publications. Soon my mornings were filled with conducting interviews.
Now hang in with me – I have a point to make which ties into an egregious practice at work in companies across this Great Recession-ravaged nation.
During the course of conducting interviews a middle-aged gentlemen came through my office door clutching his resume. After handing me a one page summary of his impressive qualifications he told me straight up that he had lost his job when his former employer closed its doors and had been unemployed and interviewing for over six months. It took little time to realize why so many firms were not quick to snap this chap up: He had worked his way up into middle-management and was thus “overqualified” (AKA ill-suited) to fill a computer operator’s job. The logical thing to do was send him on his way. After all, if hired he would likely seize the first management job offered him and leave me back at square one – filling a slot on third shift.
This kind of logic undoubtedly had persuaded other prospective employers to quickly show this graying bespeckled soul the door. But I was less concerned about doing the logical thing then the human thing. So I hired the guy on-the-spot. It was a move I never regretted as he did the work of any 2 operators of my staff, went the extra mile when asked, never belly-ached and never missed a day’s work. And he worked at the operator’s job for many years before finally moving on (Which means the company more than got its “money worth” out of him.)
Oh, and he was white – but still a minority to my way of thinking. That is, he belonged to the chronically unemployed and seemingly unemployable. Which brings me at last to this: An article was posted to The Lookout blog earlier today (7-14-11) titled “Down but not out: Voices of the long-term unemployed.” In it writer Zachery Roth shared this:
- We asked whether employers were wary of hiring readers when they found out how long they’d been jobless — a form of discrimination that appears to have been on the rise lately. “Very much so,” replied Susan W. “As if it were my fault I was unemployed, regardless of the fact that I had put out hundreds of resumes and applications.”
- An enormous number of older readers said they think their age is part of the problem for employers. Paula S., from Acworth, Georgia, who said she was “sixty-something,” described “two eye-opening experiences of blatant age discrimination . . . . One twenty-something supervisor asked me if I had ever thought about coloring my hair . . . . Another manager told his assistant with the door open when I showed up to complete an application and interview: ‘We can’t hire any more old people.’ “
I was in my mid-twenties when I hired that middle-aged seasoned computer pro to be a third shift computer operator (He was 55, the age I am now.) In hiring him I placed doing the human thing over the logical thing. I can only hope that some of the people trying to fill jobs across America will come across this account and then take it to heart and do likewise.
Mind expansion: Books & other things worth adding to your reading list
HUMAN NATURE & PSYCHOLOGY
The Believing Brain: From Ghosts and Gods to Politics and Conspiracies—How We Construct Beliefs and Reinforce Them as Truths by Michael Shermer, Ph.D.
Why Everyone (Else) Is a Hypocrite: Evolution and the Modular Mind by Robert Kurzban, Ph.D.
Supernormal Stimuli: How Primal Urges Overran Their Evolutionary Purpose by Deirdre Barrett, Ph.D.
The Science of Evil: On Empathy and the Origins of Cruelty by Dr. Simon Baron-Cohen
Pornified: How Pornography Is Transforming Our Lives, Our Relationships, and Our Families by Pamela Paul
Party of One: The Loners’ Manifesto by Anneli Rufus
RELIGION/SPIRITUALITY
The Bible Against Itself: Why the Bible Seems to Contradict Itself by Dr. Randel McCraw Helms
Forged: Writing in the Name of God–Why the Bible’s Authors Are Not Who We Think They Are by Bart D. Ehrman, Ph.D.
The Ancient Roots of Christianity: A Native American’s Look Through Christianity by my fellow Choctaw Nation Tribal member, Rainbow Eagle
God and His Demons by Michael Parenti
The Mythmaker: Paul and the Invention of Christianity by Hyam MacCoby
Rats in the Cosmic Laboratory: Is God A Scientist? by Dr. A. G. Payne
Hitler and HaShem (The Almighty) by Dr. Anthony G. Payne
Heart of a Missionary by Dr. A.G. Payne
The Spiritual Aspect of Holistic Medicine
HISTORY/POLITICS
The Un-Civil War: Shattering the Historical Myths by Leonard M. Scruggs
The Swerve: How the World Became Modern by Dr. Stephen Greenblatt
Slavery Remembered: A Record of Twentieth-Century Slave Narratives by Paul D. Escott
Worse Than War: Genocide, Eliminationism, and the Ongoing Assault on Humanity by Dr. Daniel J. Goldhagen
Custer Died for Your Sins: An Indian Manifesto by Vine Deloria, Jr.
The Face of Imperialism by Michael Parenti
“WALKING AROUND THINKING ABOUT STUFF”
Blind Faith: The Unholy Alliance of Religion and Medicine by Richard P. Sloan, Ph.D.
“Living Longer, Yes! But, Living Well?”
Fascination with Dying and Death as Participation
Is an attachment style problem complicating or undermining your life? (Examiner article)
The Spiritual Aspect of Holistic Medicine
The foundation of holism or holistic medicine rests on a triumvirate — body, mind and spirit. Actually, as the mind is an expression of the various regions of the brain — a species of the physical — we are really dealing with body/brain and spirit. The former, of course, has been probed and explored using the tools of medicine and science. No one questions their reality. Spirit, on the other hand, by most definitions is non-material, and thus lies beyond the purview of science; that is, one cannot demonstrate spirit using a gas chromatograph, scanning electron microscope, or any other tool in the armamentarium of science.
But what of the effects of spirit? If it exists, should we not be able to detect its effects on the physical realm? This is a question which now occupies many philosophers, some scientists and physicians, and many laypeople.
One very often cited manifestation of spirit lies in the realm of answered prayer. Numerous studies have been carried out in which patients with a given affliction were divided into two groups: One received prayer (experimental group) and the other (control group) didn’t. The prayers were offered off-site and no one involved in the study knew who was being prayed for and who wasn’t (double-blind).
The bottom line of many of these studies is that prayer appears to have made a significant difference in the relief or cure of the malady or affliction in the experimental group, while those in the control group had no appreciable change in their condition. The rigor of these studies has been found wanting by countless impartial investigators. That is, flaws in study design, methodology and/or execution have basically invalidated the findings of these clinical trials.
What of the healings connected with religious shrines, such as Lourdes? There have been approximately 69 healings connected with Lourdes which have met the Catholic church’s criteria for a bona fide miracle — 69 out of the hundreds of thousands of petitions for healing. This is not statistically significant. In short, the numbers do not support the notion that the rate of recovery/healing at Lourdes is greater than would be expected to occur as a result of normal processes. (One can expect a certain percentage of even incurable illnesses to suddenly and inexplicably go into remission. These recoveries happen to non-believer and believer alike — and hence appear contingent on natural and not supernatural mechanisms.)
I know what many of you are thinking — “Leave it to a skeptical, non-believing blankety-blank science guy to trash our sacred beliefs.” If you are nodding your head in agreement — you are dead wrong. First of all, I am a believer. I also believe that God hears and answers prayer — and even heals people. Well, wait a minute, isn’t this contradictory or hypocritical, given what I wrote above? No, indeed, for I do not allege that my beliefs are based on hard science nor the manifestations of spirit, or God so physically evident as to permit measurement or quantification. In fact, those who believe that spirit, God, or any aspect of the supernatural can be demonstrated in a controlled study or lab experiment invite upon themselves the unenviable task of proving their claims. (It is always incumbent on those who propose the existence of something which can be physically detected and, thus measured, to do just that.) And I, for one, do not believe that they will ever garner any substantive proof. Why?
Consider this: In virtually every religious tradition God requires that humankind both apprehend His existence and relate to him via faith — a conviction based not on the physical and demonstrable, but on sheer belief. If God were to reveal Himself in the lab or clinical trial setting — say, by answering the prayers for healing in an experimental group at rates which exceed chance — the need for faith would be dispensed with. We could base our confidence, our belief in the spiritual and a First Cause (God) on the hard data provided by the study in question.
This, of course, would make God the author of a serious contradiction and would obligate most major religions to toss out many of their principle doctrines concerning the nature of the deity, the need for faith as a requisite for apprehending the divine, et cetera. It would also raise serious questions as to the reliability of revealed truths about God (oral and written traditions).
Since I do not believe God would ask one thing (faith) and then reveal Himself in a concrete, scientifically demonstrable fashion, I am not surprised or dismayed that laboratory experiments and clinical trials do not turn upon any credible data which stands up to scrutiny. I also realize, however, that there are some who believe that faith isn’t the only requisite to apprehending God or the supernatural and will continue to carry out studies aimed at catching a glimpse of the divine in action.
In my opinion they are wasting both time and money, but should they one day prove to be right — if they do incontrovertibly demonstrate the efficacy of prayerful supplication (to God) in healing a given malady — skeptic and believer alike will be making some rather profound changes to their distinct perspectives. This isn’t beyond the pale of possibility. I think, however, that such definitive proof will in some ways weigh more heavily on the religionist then the agnostic or skeptic.
While the debate rages and the studies plod along, what role then should the spiritual play in healing/medicine? I think most physicians — even diehard atheists — at the very least accommodate a narrow species of “spirituality,” in the sense of encouraging hope and making use of patient expectation to afford relief, if not cure.
In holistic medicine, on the other hand, the spiritual element more often takes on a different character and importance. The holistic medical community plays host to wide range of spiritual beliefs, including American Indian, New Age, Buddhist, Christian. As long as this spirituality is not called “scientific” or “hard science-based,” or makes claims which can be tested using the tools and methods of science, its place in the patient care repertoire of holistic health care practitioners remains a matter of personal prerogative. And doesn’t faith and personal prerogative lie at the core of human spirituality?
In the final analysis, I think we will find that the substantiation of faith begins and ends on one’s knees — and in one’s heart — and not in the laboratory.
Copyright 2011 by Dr. Anthony G. Payne. All rights reserved.
In Praise of Darling Starlings
In 1985 a violent spring storm that swept Dallas (Texas) blew a baby bird out of its nest in an oak tree near my home and into my life. I raised this orphaned featherless descendant of the dinosaurs but had no idea what species he belonged to. Not, that is, until he feather up and it became evident he was a European starling. This was thrilling to me because I was aware of the fact that starlings are mimics like Myna birds. With this in mind I began feeding the bird, now named “Calypso,” certain words and whistled fragments of songs along with his mealworms and Myna pellets.
Around the third month after his “adoption” Calypso began whistling “Beethoven’s Fifth” and proclaiming, “I’m Calypso, I’m a big baby boy” and “Feed me, I’m hungry.”
What intrigued me was the fact Calypso used language in context and created syntactically correct new sentences. Many years later Cornell ornithologists published research detailing how they had formally documented the same faculty in these highly intelligent birds.
Later on, I performed experiments in which I took baby starlings, raised them and exposed them to Calypso and his language (while remaining mum myself.) As I anticipated these birds readily picked up Calypso’s tunes and language, and then taught them to their offspring!
Calypso, of course, became “family” to me. So much so, in fact, I took him with me when I visited family and also when I traveled to job-related projects. For instance, while working in an Ag lab and greenhouse complex near Lincoln, Nebraska during 1994-5 Calypso was there with me singing and talking to the amusement of colleagues and others who worked in the lab or came by to hang out.
In 1992 I launched the “North American Starling Fancier’s Society” to help bring together others who kept starling as pets. More than 100 people ultimately signed up. The premier issue of the NASFA newsletter follows below.
By 1995 my home aviary in Dallas had grown from a handful of birds to over 70 including not only starlings but Gouldian finches (Australian), Orange Cheek Waxbills (Africa), Cordon Bleus (Africa), Indian Ringnecks, cockatiels, Bengalese finches, and a host of others. This living laboratory not only taught me a great deal about bird behavior and their native intelligence but also afforded me the opportunity to develop a wide variety of bird nutrition mixes and medicines. I must have done something very right because my birds enjoyed extraordinary health and virtually all of them lived longer than what was published of “birds of like feather” in captivity. As best I could determine Calypso actually lived longer than any pet starling in recorded history.
NASFA as well as my once vast aviary lies in the past though my passion for birds has not diminished one iota with the passage of the years. Not surprisingly my ears perk up every time I hear a starling squawking from a power line or tree or come across a YouTube video of a pet starling singing and talking to beat the band.
http://biotheorist.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/sturnus-vol-1-no-1-fall-winter-19922.pdf
“Walking Around Thinking About Stuff”
“Walking Around Thinking About Stuff”
In the good-spirited movie “Accepted“ a bright teenage underachiever named Bartleby Gaines (Justin Long) comes up with a creative solution to having been rejected by every single college and university he has applied to: Namely, create his own school! Joined by a small cadre of friends who are having their own difficulties with the world of higher education, they concoct a fictional college (South Harmon College of Technology – S.H.I.T.) and set up a web site. When Bartleby’s father hands him a check to cover first semester costs ($10K USD) and asks to visit the campus, the boy and his sidekicks realize the only way to keep their charade alive is to fabricate a physical campus! They promptly locate and rent a collection of dilapidated buildings that once housed a psychiatric hospital and proceed to transform these into South Harmon’s campus. With comedian Lewis Black lured into playing the role of S.H.I.T.’s “Dean” - the stage is set for a headlong dive into fun, adventure and a series of twists and turns that culminates in a thoroughly predictable though heartwarming ending. In-a-word what starts out as a smokescreen to fool parent’s winds up becoming a crucible of learning that wins the hearts and accolades of parents and state accreditation officials alike. And, perhaps most importantly, along the way Bartleby and his cadre of fellow out-of-steppers poke good-natured fun at the traditional academic pecking order, assembly-line education, corporate greed, hypocrisy, credentialism, elitist thinking and (ahem) accepted notions of what constitutes success. In short, they rock the boat in ways and areas it needs rocking (Needless to say, if you never saw “Accepted” please do so.)
Among the many issues raised in one way or another during the course of “Accepted” is the matter of what constitutes a valid education. IMHO if a person’s education equips them with the skills and knowledge needed to perform competently in their chosen profession, trade or vocation then their qualifications AKA credentials — however obtained, e.g., apprenticeship, distance/online/at-a-distance/virtual, OTJ, etc. — whether accredited or not – have been validated. If, for example, an accountant who mastered accounting by a combination of on-line courses and OTJ training and work performs professionally as well as the holder of a regionally accredited accounting degree then she is indisputably an accountant. Along this line: In Vermont a person can become a lawyer without having ever attended law school (What he or she has to do is apprentice under a licensed attorney for 4 years and then pass the state bar exam.)
One gentleman who has delved deeply into competency in a profession or field as constituting perhaps the most reliable yardstick of being qualified (to be engaged in it) is author Charles D. Hayes. Here is a taste of his line-of-reasoning from the preface of one of his popular books titled “Proving You’re Qualified“:
“Credentials are an attempt to offer proof that we can do what we say we can do. I say attempt because anyone with experience in the workplace can attest to the fact that credentials cannot be counted on a proof of competence. Establishing credentials should be no more complicated that proving competence. But proof of competence should consist of more than evidence of school attendance, effective use of short-term memory, and an ability to adapt to a classroom environment.”
“I have more than 30 years of work experience in varying types of employment settings. I’ve been a U.S. Marine, a police officer, a factory worker, a salesman, and a publisher, and I have spent more than a decade and a half working for a major oil company. In all of my experience I have never been able to discern definitive differences traceable to levels of formal education among people performing similar jobs. I have worked with and for people with impressive degrees who were, without question, incompetent. I have worked with and for people with little formal education who were exemplary employees whom you would never suspect lacked any knowledge with having. On numerous occasions I have seen people with no experience perform tasks better on the first attempt than people who had been performing the same task for years and had spent considerable time studying their field.
I have witnessed hundreds of conflicts over which employees should be promoted and which credentials should be required for a given job. I am convinced that our system of qualification does as much harm as it does good. Competence should be more important than credentials, and knowledge, no matter how it is obtained, should count more that proof of attendance in what are often ridiculous qualifying exercises. For the sake of businesses, individuals, and learning institutions, evidence of competence should be possible through the demonstration of a person’s effort, not limited to what it is “thought” the person knows.
The ability to shoot straight can be quickly demonstrated, whereas a certificate that says you can shoot straight may be counterfeit. Why, then, does it make sense to accept certificates instead of target practice when choosing shooters? Why are people known to be expert marksmen asked to step aside to made way for people who have shooting certificates but are unable to hit the broad side of a barn? Thank goodness we do not do this with airline pilots. Airline pilots have to prove they know what they are doing under the direct scrutiny of others who have already proved their own competence: would that such demonstrated ability carried more weight in other areas. Take instruction, for example. I have watched enthusiastic individuals with no formal credentials conduct training sessions and hold audiences spellbound. Their high interest, coupled with hands-on experience, engenders a genuine enthusiasm for learning among the trainees. In contrast, I have observed people with graduate degrees in teaching whose training exercises were so dull a as to quash anyone’s curiosity about the subject matter.”
If you are tempted to dismiss the “many roads to Rome” thesis inherent in this blog post, watch “Accepted” and read Mr. Hayes book. Then join me at South Harmon and we’ll hash it all out as part of the course ”Walking Around Thinking About Stuff.”
DR. STEENBLOCK’S FREE “GLUTAMATE FREE” DIET
FREE “GLUTAMATE FREE” DIET
By David A. Steenblock, M.S., D.O.
Most people have heard of “monosodium glutamate” (MSG), but ask them what it is, and they will say “a preservative?” Therein lies the tragedy. Because “MSG” is not a preservative, but an “excitotoxin”, and excitotoxicity is just as the name implies: toxic.
MSG is a white powdery substance generated during the processing of soy and other protein foods. MSG is mostly free glutamate, an isolated amino acid, freed during fermentation, isolation, hydrolyzation and other processing methods. Thus, the glutamate in MSG is “free” from the other amino acids to which it was once bound. Glutamate in its natural, “bound” state, is not only harmless, but healthful, just as Nature intended. But “free glutamates” when ingested in the diet, are way in excess of what the body needs, and thus become excitotoxic.
How is glutamate used in the body? When neurons synapse, glutamate is the neurotransmitter that provides the “spark” that causes one neuron to connect with another neuron. The body makes all the “free glutamate” (not bound to anything) needed to fuel this process. What is needed by the body is far less than the amount consumed in the typical “Western” diet. Excessive glutamate causes neurons to “fire wildly”, be damaged, and even die. During the process high levels of calcium ions enter cells activating various enzymes which damage components of the cell, the membrane, and the DNA.
How does the healthy body keep glutamate from being excessive? The body makes the enzyme glutamate dehydrogenase which breaks down glutamate, preventing a build-up of excess in a healthy body. But glutamate dehydrogenase has been found deficient in neurological diseases because of the underlying damage to the mitochondria, which is involved in healthy glutamate metabolism.
Excess glutamate activity has been found to be involved in nearly every neurological disease, eye diseases like macular degeneration and immunological diseases. This is not difficult to understand, given the fact that all of these diseases also have damage to the mitochondria at their core.
So to “recap”: The body makes all the glutamate it needs; Consuming any in the diet is way in excess and toxic; And people with neurological or other damage to the body are unable to process even the amount the body makes naturally. So what does this all mean? It means we must stop consuming free glutamates in the diet or suffer even more cellular damage leading to worsening of diseases.
Now here’s the “rub”. Food manufacturers have been given the “green light” to put free glutamates by the tons annually into their products without even letting consumers know it’s in there, just so long as it is hidden within another substance. This is like telling someone who is deathly allergic to red, that when they consume orange not to worry. Everyone knows it takes red and yellow to make orange. Yet that’s what food manufacturers are doing hiding glutamate in substances you won’t recognize.
Why do they do it? For glutamate’s “excitotoxic” action. The minute free glutamates touch your taste buds, they “stand at attention”, and the greater surface area “tastes” food to a greater degree than would have occurred otherwise. In this way, inferior foods taste superior to what they actually are. In addition, people actually become addicted to foods that contain free glutamates, hence the Western world’s addiction to “fast foods” – rife with free glutamates. Becoming addicted to foods translates to higher sales of course. But as we know, the free glutamates go on to “excite” other cells in the body – even to death.
The names of compounds which contain free glutamates include: glutamic acid, calcium glutamate, magnesium glutamate, yeast extract, anything hydrolyzed or modified (like modified corn starch), calcium caseinate, sodium caseinate, yeast food, yeast nutrient, autolyzed yeast, gelatin, textured protein, and processed soy products, anything where enzymes or protease has been added, whey protein isolate, and often when the product contains citric acid (it’s the poor processing of citric acid that generates free glutamates). Beware, as well of any ingredient merely listed as “seasoning” or “natural flavoring”, or “protein fortified” as the Food and Drug Administration allows food manufacturers to call free glutamates by those monikers as well.
Do natural foods contain free glutamates? The truth is, when food with any level of glutamate is cooked long, and/or processed, glutamates are released and concentrated which then becomes a problem. Tomatoes are the perfect example, because when you eat a fresh tomato the glutamate is bound and you can only eat one, maybe two. No problem at all. But how many tomatoes can you eat if they are made into a sauce? Well, the answer is that you could easily drown that spaghetti in 6-8 tomatoes that have been cooked down, the glutamate released and concentrated. Watch out migraneurs, but also anyone wanting to protect neurons or overcome a disease already in progress. Those who say there are “free glutamates” in the tomato or other natural foods are not quite accurate, because in Nature, there just isn’t any amino acid that exists alone!
How do you protect yourself from dietary free glutamates? Fortunately, it’s the very thing everyone who wants to prevent or overcome disease should do anyway!
When you consume highly processed foods, free glutamates are either generated in the processing, or added within one of the many hidden sources manufacturers are sneaking in on you. If you eat out, avoiding free glutamates takes a great deal of motivation and perseverance, as nearly every single thing seasoned by others contains free glutamates. It’s one reason food “out” seems to taste so much better than “homemade”. It’s also one reason people who are not perfectly healthy often don’t feel as well after eating out, however. Bon appétit!
STEM CELLS FOR ALS: http://www.stemcellmd.org/?page_id=376
NOTE: The surest way to eliminate glutamates is to consume only pure, fresh, whole foods, many raw, and preferably organic (no pesticides). When you cook, use whole foods (not canned, packaged or processed) and cook gently, using only extra virgin olive oil, natural salt, pepper and herbs for seasoning. But when you consume anything packaged or prepared by others, read the ingredient list and make sure there are no added free glutamates.
© 2011 by Dr. David A. Steenblock. All rights reserved. This document and the information in it is not to be used as a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment of any health condition or problem. Any questions regarding your own health should be addressed to your physician or other licensed healthcare provider.
TO ACCESS A PDF VERSION OF THIS ARTICLE INCLUDING GRAPHICS NOT FEATURED IN THIS POST, CLICK THIS LINK: http://biotheorist.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/free-glutamate-free-diet-by-dr-david-a-steenblock2.pdf
Check it out: Compassion Care (Healing the World – One Person at a Time)
BLOG SITE DEBUTS: HELLO CARING WORLD – The Official Blog Site for Compassion Care
Why 1shop4u Supports Compassion-Care.org Helping Poor Uganda Children
Jim Haverlock, Founder & Head of COMPASSION CARE
Lego Ergo Sum (I read therefore I am)
Why Everyone (Else) Is a Hypocrite: Evolution and the Modular Mind by Robert Kurzban, Ph.D.
The Lucifer Effect by Philip Zimbardo, Ph.D.
The Natural Superiority of Women by Asheley Montagu, Ph.D.
Religion is not about God by Prof. Loyal Rue
Reading Room: Ketogenic Diet, Reducing Calcium in Arteries, Prostate Massage, Stem Cell Programs
LINKS TO LIVESTRONG.COM ARTICLES
CAM (Complimentary & Alternative Medicine)
“Low Carb Ketogenic Diet” (LiveStrong.com)
“How to Reduce Calcium in Arteries” (LiveStrong.com)
CARDIOVASCULAR
“How to Reduce Calcium in Arteries” (LiveStrong.com)
DIET
“Low Carb Ketogenic Diet” (LiveStrong.com)
PREVENTION
“Low Carb Ketogenic Diet” (LiveStrong.com)
“How to Reduce Calcium in Arteries” (LiveStrong.com)
“Prostate Massage Methods” (LiveStrong.com)
SEXUAL ISSUES
“Prostate Massage Methods” (LiveStrong.com)
STEM CELL SCIENCE & THERAPY
Problems relating well to God & your fellow man? Your attachment style may be a major contributor
Is an attachment style problem complicating or undermining your life? (Examiner article) by Dr. Anthony G. Payne (Includes a link to an on-line attachment style test you can take)
ABSTRACT: The relationship between early caregiver experiences and attachment to God was explored in the current study. Using the Attachment to God Inventory (AGI) developed by Beck and McDonald, the relationship between parent-child attachment and attachment to God was explored among a college population. In addition, parental spirituality and religious emphases in the home were investigated. Comparisons of the AGI with parent-child attachment measures support a correspondence between working models of parents and God. Respondents that reported coming from homes that were emotionally cold or unspiritual exhibited higher levels of avoidance of intimacy in their relationship to God, a trend consistent with a Dismissing attachment style. Overprotective, rigid, or authoritarian homes were associated with higher levels of both avoidance of intimacy and anxiety over lovability in relationship to God, a trend characterized by the Fearful attachment style.
ALONG THE SAME LINES FROM CNN BLOG: Our Take: Your relationship style determines how you feel toward God
PAPERS: Attachment and Divorce: Family Consequences & much more
Levine, A, & Heller, R. “What Attachment Theory Can Teach about Love and Relationships – The surprising secrets to finding the right partner for a healthy relationship” Scientific American, December 29, 2010
EXAMINER ARTICLES: CAM, Diet, Prevention, Sex
LINKS TO EXAMINER ARTICLES
CAM (Complimentary & Alternative Medicine)
All that glitters is not gold in “AltMed Land” (Examiner article)
A home remedy for insomnia that appears to work (Examiner article)
DIET
The key to avoiding many chronic diseases (Examiner article)
PREVENTION
The key to avoiding many chronic diseases (Examiner article)
SEXUAL ISSUES
Sex: We feed but can we tame the bulldog? (Examiner article)
Is an attachment style problem complicating or undermining your life? (Examiner article)
Beating Cancer: Full remission in patient with advanced, disseminated malignancy using new immunologic method
Back during 1999 Wake Forest researcher Zheng Cui, MD, PhD injected mice with an ultra aggressive form of cancer that should have killed all the treated animals. One didn’t contract cancer. Curious, Dr. Cui went about determining what was protecting the resistant mouse and found that the little bugger has white blood cells (granulocytes) that are quick to attack and dispatch cancer cells. More work followed that led Dr. Cui to propose that between 10-15% of people harbor granulocytes that make them resist developing cancer. He also proposed that these cancer-resistant granulocytes could be harvested from donors and given to cancer patients. This idea gathered momentum resulting in a clinical study proposal that as approved by the FDA. However, the Wake Forest study ultimately was withdrawn. More recently the South Florida Bone Marrow/Stem Cell Transplant Institute has received FDA approval to conduct a similar study (but is “enrolling participants by invitation only.”)
Links to articles and such that document all this follow further down below.
Earlier this year I was approached by a group of lab & clinical researchers in Mexico concerning “any ideas or suggestions you might have for bettering the lot of a middle-aged male end stage prostate cancer patient with metastasis to the bone and elsewhere.” As he had exhausted whatever conventional approaches were available for his particular malignancy this was “circle the wagons time” (Heroic measures.)
As I reflected on this dying man’s suffering Dr. Cui’s work came immediately to mind. I then set to work to develop an experimental protocol that would combine the use of mismatched donor granulocytes from healthy young people with HLA mismatched umbilical cord stem cells from healthy newborns (The latter was tried in Mexico during 2004 and resulted in remission in at least one case of advanced prostate cancer and attenuation of pain and gains in quality-of-life in others. The cord blood stem cells home in on specific biochemical compounds they secrete and once engrafted apparently summon immune system players that then attack the tumor cells.)
In addition, a diet and supplement program rich in oncolytic and immunoaugmentative compounds (of my devising) was furnished to the Mexican research team.
Long story short: A truly dramatic turnaround ensued. The cancer sufferer, who was wasting away due to cancer-spawned cachexia, had little energy and was as white as a sheet of computer paper had his color, appetite and energy return in short order. On October 10, 2011 the patient shared the exciting news that his US oncologist has declared his cancer in full remission. Tests and scans revealed that his PSA had gone from a figure in the stratosphere to less than 1. And his prostate — once enlarged to an unbelievable size — is now smaller than normal. He has agreed to supply copies of his scans and medical reports for posting to Nova Cell’s web site. A video interview will also be made and posted.
This is, of course, but one case and as such it would be inappropriate to generalize what is being seen to other cancer patients. Nonetheless it is very encouraging and new cancer patients are being enrolled now.
As the old saying goes, “Stay tuned!”
UPDATE 7-22-11: A gentlemen with advanced disseminated prostate cancer with metastases to the bone flew into Mexico a few days ago (from eastern Europe) to begin the NCIM cancer-fighting program. He has had 2 treatments to-date and has already experienced his color return to normal and strength return to his arms. The attending MDs and RNs are flabbergasted, as is this fellow’s daughter who flew in with him. Though these are just initial responses they closely parallel those seen in the 1st patient and for this reason have everyone involved quite excited and enthused! More to follow as this chap gets further into his 3 week course-of-therapy.
8-26-2011: The patient returned to his home in eastern Europe and continues to improve, according to family and close associates. NCIM is now awaiting receipt of a medical assessment from his primary care physician.
1-12-2012: The patient’s daughter sent an email to NCIM indicating that her father has no pain whatsoever and is off of all morphine (He was utterly dependent on morphine to control intractable cancer-related pain at the time of his Nova Cell Institute treatment in 2011.) NCIM staffers are trying to arrange to get a status update from his primary care MD in Croatia.
Nova Cells Institute of Mexico www.novacellsinstitute.com
Cancer Cured? Granulocytes Treatment Worked 100 Percent In Mice Work But Will It Work In Humans?
Cancer cure ‘may be available in two years’ – 19 Sept 2007 (Great graphic showing how granulocytes are harvested from young donors and then given to cancer patients)
Donor White Blood Cell Infusion in Treating Patients With Metastatic or Unresectable Cancer –Clinical study (Wake Forest University) Note: This study has been withdrawn prior to enrollment (First Received on January 30, 2008. Last Updated on September 30, 2009)
A Study Using White Blood Cells From Healthy Donors To Treat Solid Cancers – This study is enrolling participants by invitation only (First Received on May 11, 2009. Last Updated on June 3, 2010)
Foods, Spices & Supplements to Help Counter the Biological Effects of Radiation
Many people are concerned about radioactive particle drift from the earthquake and tsunami damaged nuclear reactors in Fukushima, Japan. Actually the amounts reaching the US are miniscule and do not appear to constitute a threat to health either long or short term. However, even the remote possibility to ingesting or inhaling some of the reactor spewed radioactive particles has sent many people on a quest for products and foods that might protect them from the effects of radiation. There are actually many readily available foods & natural substances that have been shown to absorb radioactive particles in the gut, as well as protect against or repair tissue damage wrought by radiation at certain levels (Mind you, the evidence for this comes mostly from petri dish and animal studies and experiments.) Whether some, most or all of these will pan out in people is largely unknown. However, for those of you looking for things that might accord some kind of “protective edge”, here is a compendium of them which though not exhaustive is nonetheless extensive:
Are you an atheist, religionist, deist, fideist or ????
From my “Rocking the Boat” Blog site http://rockingtheboat.weebly.com/
Apparently we Americas spend a great deal of time thinking about and change our religious and spiritual beliefs and practices. One telltale example: Many theists are embracing deism. Here is what Wikipedia had to say about this:“The 2001American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS) survey, which involved 50,000 participants, reported that the number of participants in the survey identifying themselves as deists grew at the rate of 717% between 1990 and 2001. If this were generalized to the US population as a whole, it would make deism the fastest-growing religious classification in the US for that period, with the reported total of 49,000 self-identified adherents representing about 0.02% of the US population at the time.[15][16]”Along the same line, during a “For Good Reason” podcast on “The Search for Quantum Consciousness,” physicist Victor Stenger touched on a Baylor University survey that revealed that 40% of people who identify themselves as Christians basically do not believe in a God who plays an active role in the universe (13m:47s into the podcast). Dr. Stenger makes the point that these folks sound like deists.The rise of deism and the Christian identification with it in principle if not in name, tells me a lot of believing folks have taken the time to ruminate on whether or not there is sufficiently compelling evidence to believe God is actively playing a role in their lives – like answering prayers, performing miracles and such. 4 of 10 Christians in the Baylor survey appear to have concluded that God is on holiday. This is one way to for religionists to reconcile what goes on in the world and is attested to by scientific findings with one’s particular brand of faith (Of course, one can jettison faith altogether, which is what Dr. Stenger has done and advocates in his books “God: The Failed Hypothesis” and “Quantum Gods: Creation, Chaos, and the Search for Cosmic Consciousness”.)
Now, while believers may be increasingly leaning toward a deist stance on God, it is unlikely the great majority will decide the Almighty simply doesn’t exist and never did. Of course, what believers have to be careful of is making claims concerning God’s actions or motives that can be tested using the tools of science or refuted using demonstrable or deducible facts informed by logic. For instance, religionists who insist there was a worldwide flood that a man named Noah and his clan rode out in an ark run into monumental problems such as a lack of evidence for a global deluge in the geologic record, not to mention the fact the energy released by what is described in scriptures would have resulted in oceans so hot as to constitute a de facto lobster pot in which everything living including those in the ark would have boiled to death, et cetera (There is, however evidence of a local flood in Mesopotamia about the time the incidents described in Genesis were supposed to have occurred.) And if an evangelist declares a dying cancer patient healed, this is testable insofar as doctors can put the healing to the test using modern day scanners (One doctor who did track down 23 people who were declared healed of terminal diseases during services conducted in 1967 by evangelist Kathryn Kuhlman found no evidence to support this.)
Putting aside biblical and extrabiblical claims of the miraculous – which can be examined and either confirmed or found wanting — there is a host of very dark chapters in history such as the reign of Hitlerism-Nazism in Germany (1933-1945) and its “wicked fruit” (especially the Holocaust) that have profound implications for God’s role in human affairs, suggesting to many believers that either God is or was on holiday or just isn’t around at all. As a boy I mulled this over and came to the tentative conclusion that God was not necessarily absent from human affairs, but had simply assumed a more subtle role in lock-step with our ever increasing ability to run our own show. Of course, as our control over nature and each other increased and our tools and weapons became more sophisticated and powerful – the greater our potential became for doing both great good or great evil. The choice ultimately rests with us, of course, though we are told (in the Tanakh, Christian New Testament and Qur’an) that humankind will not be allowed to fully extinguish its own flame.
To my delight my boyhood spin on theodicy was independently arrived at by many others, including scholar David Birnbaum who fleshed it out (1989) on a scholarly level in a delightfully insightful book titled “God and Evil: A Unified Theodicy/Theology/Philosophy”
Obviously matters of faith lacking testable claims – amounting to convictions and beliefs in the absence of evidence — cannot genuinely be settled either decisively or conclusively. Often, one man’s truth is another one’s heresy. And treatises on theodicy like the one I came up with as a boy could as easily be accommodated by some forms of deism as it could conventional or orthodox religions.
Even belief in God amounts to a commitment in the absence of evidence. Atheists and agnostics can and have trumped Judeo-Christian apologetics using a body of powerful evidence and logic. I would urge my fellow religionists to face up to this and consider embracing polymath Martin Gardner’s fideist spin on God (which could also be applied to many aspects of faith including certain dogmas, doctrines and such.) This is ably captured in a comment made by famed illusionist and champion of skeptical thinking, James Randi, on Gardner’s passing at age ninety-five (95):
“……Yes, Martin was a fideist, and he defended that belief in his usual calm, direct fashion. When I questioned him on the subject he told me that he had no really good evidence to support his belief, but that it simply made him feel better to adopt it. He said that I — and other curmudgeons — had far better evidence for our convictions, but that he just felt more secure in his acceptance. He admitted — easily — that he could not convincingly argue his case… That was Martin, and I love him for being Martin…..”
Mr. Randi’s comment in its entirety can be found by clicking this link
I am not here to dictate what people believe or not. I’m here to rock boats that could use some rocking. Religion is one of these. But rocking this boat doesn’t mean telling folks what to believe or how to express their faith. Rather, I relish sharing ideas, information and lines of thought that at least some believers might find useful in terms of helping better reconcile their convictions and beliefs with what science and history has revealed about our origins and nature. And this, my friend, brings me to the purpose of this particular blog entry: Namely, to pass along something which I believe will serve this purpose for at least a few believers reading this thought stream –
Happy belated “Religious Liberty Day”! Keep rocking boats that need rocking! I sure will.
Free Optimization Analysis of your Website
If you have a web site that could use some high octane petrol — something to bring in browsers — check out web master & SEO (Search Engine Optimization) expert Jim Haverlock’s FREE offer: http://biotheorist.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/full-length-dreamcatcher-ad-seo-free-offer-2-6-2011.pdf
The Jim Haverlock Story: How losing it all made him a winner
Jim Haverlock shares how he found it all by losing it all. A great antidote to the Gospel of Unbridled Consumerism that dominates the thinking and actions of so many folks: http://14ushop.com/haverlock/articles/1-giving%20it%20all%20up%20for%20freedom.pdf
The Fook U Party
This is Rated “R” for being quasi-raunchy & revolutionary, so minors & overly sensitive folks should not open this file: The Fook U Party – Viva La Revolution
Improving Male Sexual Responsiveness & Performance
When it comes to things that make us feel good or bring us pleasure, we all want to extend or maximize the feeling or experience. It hardly needs to be said that this is especially true when it comes to sexual activities. And as a great many men have discovered, their sexual gratification is magnified many fold when they…
Click this link to access the complete monograph: http://www.healingcare4u.org/Improving%20Male%20Sexual%20Responsiveness%20&%20Function%20-%202-15-2011%20version.pdf
Through the CAM looking Glass
The reasons people seek answers to health challenges in the world of CAM (Complementary & Alternative Medicine) or integrative medicine are as varied as people themselves, though in my experience a great many do so owed to real or perceived failures on the part of their mainstream doctors to diagnose or treat or otherwise address their ills (Again, real or perceived). My interaction with patients and “natural medicine” (Is there an unnatural medicine?) practitioners from chiropractors to naturopathic physicians to just about everything else under the “alt med sun” is extensive – stretching from my childhood in the 1960s to the present – and has taught me a great deal firsthand about how disappointment with conventional or mainstream medicine plus hope, wishful thinking, the placebo effect, lack of critical thinking, and sometimes desperation have sent my folks into the arms of those who offer seemingly definitive diagnoses and/or solutions (Or at least less personally intimidating non-invasive diagnostic methods plus gentler therapies often dispensed or administered with a great deal more TLC than some overworked MDs can understandably muster).
Do these people get positive results? By all means. But as to why, this isn’t always a clear cut case of “I took or did this and it worked”. Many of the diagnostic methods used on these patients have been disproved and utterly discredited, as are some of the treatments prescribed. For more than a few I’ve followed – some for years—their illness is psychosomatic and their improvement the end result of their vested faith in their practitioner and expectancy that his or her therapy will prove efficacious. Others attribute improvement to a non-standard treatment when it was more likely a prior mainstream treatment or just the disease or condition having run its course.
Back when I first began exploring nonstandard medical and paramedical modalities (1960s as a boy of 8 or so) many specific herbal, nutritional and other forms of intervention had not been formally evaluated in well-designed and executed clinical trials. As a result there was the very real possibility some of these would pan out once put to the test. And if some of these gentler remedies could bring about remediation of disease with few if any of the side effects associated with their pharmacological counterparts, their promotion and use seemed a reasonable course of action or recourse for both practitioners and patients. This line of reasoning apparently informed and motivated many to offer them at the retail and professional level and scores of ailing folks to seek them out in health food stores and in the offices of clinicians of various stripes.
The years and subsequent rigorous evaluation has not been kind to many cherished non-standard diagnostic tests and remedies (Nor to many accepted mainstream techniques and treatments either). What should have happened is that treatments and diagnostic methods that didn’t pan out following rigorous evaluation should have gone the way of the dinosaurs. But they didn’t. Why? The reasons are varied but among the recurring ones I have run across down through the years among medical consumers and many integrative practitioners are: (1) A refusal to accept scientific valid consensus findings from multiple studies (Many I’ve confronted with this have said something to the effect that “I know this, but I also know it works no matter what and I won’t set it aside”. True believers whose reasons have more in common with the kind of faith articulated in revival meetings than anything else); (2) A vested interest in the therapy or therapeutic agent that makes it difficult to relinquish it; and (3) A lack of exposure to the methods of science and critical thinking and how to apply them when it comes to evaluating a given therapy, diagnostic method or treating compound, drug, herb or such.
In my own case, I took my childhood interest in the promise of natural medicine and eventually ran with it over time. Mine was a wide-ranging course whose first stop was another childhood passion, physical anthropology (and especially dietary patterns throughout human evolution). To my way of thinking, the best way to approach diet, human disease and even psychology was through an evolutionary lens, something given increasing credence by subsequent developments and discoveries. Following this I studied and did hands-on work with various mainstays of what is now known as integrative medicine such as homeopathy (German school), orthomolecular nutrition and psychiatry, therapeutic nutrition, botanic medicine or phytotherapy, and much more. Along the way I came up with and shared various ideas with such notables in science such as Stephen Jay Gould (Nonstandard but seemingly promising approaches to the mesothelioma that had him in its grip plus my thoughts on the possible effects of ultra low levels of iridium during the Cretaceous-Tertiary asteroid impact on bacteria that populated the guts of prehistoric animals, insects and such), Karl Folkers (CoQ10 for treating various avian diseases) and Carl Sagan (Feasibility of going a Cosmos type program focused on human evolution as well as one that focused on medicine including the impact of the CAM movement)……many whose work was quite controversial such as Michael Persinger (Application of his extremely low frequency electromagnetic technology to induce hallucinatory states aimed at pain attenuation or rallying immune response in terminally ill cancer patients)….…and still others who were regarded as being solidly on the fringe such as Roy Kupsinel, MD (Shared with him information and thoughts on a botanic drug called PADMA 28 which had shown efficacy for Peripheral Artery Disease in 5 randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled trials done in Europe). I was, in short, “all over the map” in the sense I was working with and acting on knowledge, ideas, therapies and forms of therapeutic intervention that spanned the gamut from the realistically possible or promising to tentatively proved on one end, to the far-fetched and virtually impossible on the other. This was not a pattern peculiar to me though, but one that seemingly characterizes if not defines a large segment of the CAM movement (Both practitioners and proponents).
Thankfully though, I listened to the skeptics and critics of many of things I had studied or was otherwise involved with. As a result of their well reasoned writings I decided I needed to master aspects of the scientific method that was not part of my education and hands-on work or which was but which I’d sometimes glossed over in my erstwhile rush to help suffering people. I thus went on to teach myself such things as the principles of medical statistics and clinical studies design and then applied this body of knowledge and methods to help evaluate many of the ideas, therapies and treatments in my repertoire. The outcome was predictable: I found many which failed to hold water and thus had to be ditched, while others garnered evidence that suggested a more circumspect use or dose than proponents had originally declared effective. Among those I tossed was homeopathy (though Jacque Benveniste’s published paper in the Nature in 1988 made me take a second look – until the methodological flaws which invalidated his work became apparent) plus many botanic medicines and individual herbs.
I also tested things for myself using the tools of science; the methods that as Carl Sagan rightly contended reliably “delivers the goods” (Truth in the tentative scientific sense of “successive approximations” as pioneering astronomer Edwin Hubble put it; that is, findings that might be overturned or subject to modification as new evidence turns up). One prime example was EAV testing, the use of what amounts to a computerized galvanometer to diagnose or otherwise detect allergies, organ deficiencies and bodily needs for various nutrients and such.
During the late 1980s I was introduced to EAV (Electroacupuncture according to Voll) or electrodermal testing using a Vegatest device and trained in it as part of my staff duties for a prominent CAM physician (Later this unit was replaced with a computerized Interro device). As a baby boomer I’d grown up watching such venerable sci-fi classics as the Outer Limits, Twilight Zone and Star Trek, and as such had a special fondness for high tech medical, scientific and robotic devices. Anything along this line that might make medical diagnostics as easy and forthright as Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy’s medical tricorder was especially appealing to me– which the EAV machine in some ways was purported to be.
To understand what EAV or electrodermal testing is all about you have to first understand the principle behind it. In-a-word, these machines are purported to measure changes in the body’s flow of “energy” along “acupuncture meridians”. According to proponents there are specific points on people’s hands and feet that can be used to gage health in various organs and also test drugs, hormones, nutrients and such to see what will remedy any detected abnormalities. This is how it works: The patient holds a moist gauze covered conductive metal cylinder in one hand which is connected to the device (A tiny electric current is sent through this wire by the machine). A second wire runs from the device to a probe held by the technician or doctor who does the testing. When the probe is touched to specific “acupuncture points” a low voltage circuit is completed and the flow of current is measured by the EAV machine and a reading is displayed that indicates organ status (Healthy or unhealthy and, if unhealthy, to what degree). The operator can supposedly determine what will bring the meridian flow back up or down to normal by testing various substances housed in small vials (These vials are introduced one-by-one or in combinations into receptacles into the machine or a plate that connects probe and/or cylinder to the machine). In addition, allergy testing is can supposedly be done by placing vials of known/suspected allergens in the receptacles or on the plate and watching for responses (A jump in the readings).
Even if the principle behind the machine were true – that meridians exist and can be tapped into in a meaningful way to diagnose – it is obvious that if the skin stays at the same level of moisture the readings can be influenced subtly or grossly by the pressure the operator using when he or she applies the probe. This alone would tend to throw off readings. And in practice I saw this for myself. In fact, I quickly realized that what I was doing with the machine was essentially a variation on psychic parlor cold readings – that is, by combining my own perceptive reading of body language and asking leading questions I would come up with “findings” that agreed with the patient’s known medical history and expectations.
This said, what intrigued was the use of the machine to determining drugs, hormones and such that “balanced” a patient’s readings. The readings would supposedly indicate what single or combination of drugs and such would benefit the patient, as well as the dose. This was something I could actually put to the test in a strictly scientific way.
With the assistance of a research engineer friend of mine named Jim this is what we did:
First we filled glass vials (identical to the others in the EAV testing kit) with arsenic, mercury, cadmium and other toxic substances plus samples of deadly herbs and toxic weeds and labeled each one. I then had my buddy go to a separate room and cover the labels on all the vials in the kit – the original ones plus those we created — with other labels bearing an alphanumeric code which he recorded on paper and locked away. Jim then mixed up all the vials and brought them to me. I proceeded to perform tests on a succession of about 40 people, both healthy and ill over a five (5) day period. The end result? Eighty-three percent tested out as “needing” arsenic, mercury, cadmium, etc. (That is, the EAV device clearly indicated 83% of those tested would especially benefit from pure, toxic doses of various heavy metals, toxic herbs, poisons, etc.)
I shared my findings with the clinic director, of course. The EAV machine found its way to a storage closet not too long afterwards.
In the ensuing years I watched many more CAM diagnostic devices and treatments fail to hold up to testing, both those I carried out as well as more formal and rigorous ones conducted by others. Conversely, some herbal medicines, individual herbs, therapeutic dietary measures and such were shown to be effective for various health conditions in formal clinical studies. This said, a great many of these studies were not so rigorous in design or poorly designed and/or executed. And the number proved effective in well designed and executed randomized controlled trials (RTC) appeared to be quite small. Naturally, until these remedies and such pan out in RTCs their effectiveness remains an open question.
Given the paucity of hard scientific evidence underlying many cherished CAM diagnostic methods and treatments, one is compelled to ask if it is it ethical or wise to run a clinical practice based largely on such unproved testing and/or remedies? Certainly not if the practitioner admits patients who have foregone undergoing proper diagnostic work-ups and scientifically validated medical care for his or her clinical offerings (Unless the practitioner is qualified to do this sort of testing and treatment and competently does so). But what if the practitioner and his methods or treatments are not substituted for standard medical care by the patient, do no harm and largely inspire hope? It could be argued that even if the CAM practitioner’s fare is medically ineffective or even worthless, the positive aspects such as the placebo effect and corresponding reductions in anxiety or fear make it worthwhile provided the cost is not outrageous. Perhaps so. As for squaring the ethical issues involved, at the very least CAM practitioners should clearly label unproved diagnostic methods and treatments as such and disclose any known hazards or potential side effects, making them de facto experimental. Many in fact do.
Of course, the fact that unproved treatments are being used at all by CAM practitioners of various stripes and also by legions of people doing dietary and supplement self-experimentation is galling to many mainstream physicians, medical consumer advocates, journalists and others. More than a few of these would tightly regulate these remedies and severely reduce access to them, something the vast majority of Americans appear to oppose. In an ideal world unproved diagnostic methods and disease-specific treatments would be speedily and thoroughly evaluated, and those that indisputably bomb would be swiftly abandoned by CAM practitioners. But testing has often moved at a snail’s pace and even when specific remedies have been repeatedly shown to have no efficacy, many proponent CAM practitioners and medical consumers refuse to relinquish them. Some of this is likely a reflection of human ignorance or stubbornness (as in “it’ll be vindicated somehow”) or both. Some people just flat out prefer to live on the other side of looking glass even when so doing lands them squarely in a land of illusions and delusions. But since illusions and delusions help many folks cope with the vicissitudes of life including illness, these discredited CAM tests and treatments is unlikely to vanish anytime soon – if ever.
Want to learn more about how many CAM modalities and treatments hold up to scientific scrutiny? How to think critically about CAM as well as other heterodox beliefs and practices?
PIER (American College of Physicians) – Provides information on specific diseases and includes interpretations of the extant evidence
SKEPTICISM – James Randi Educational Foundation
COMMITTEE FOR SKEPTICAL INQUIRY
THE SKEPTIC’S SOCIETY & SKEPTICS MAGAZINE
NATIONAL CENTER FOR SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Snake Oil Science by R. Barker Bausell, Ph.D.
The Demon Haunted World by Carl Sagan, Ph.D.
Any and All Books by James Randi
The Undercover Philosopher by Michael Philips
© 2009 by Dr. Anthony G. Payne. All rights reserved.
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Stepping Outside the Religion Box: A new book by Jim Haverlock
The Supreme Trap Box by Jim Haverlock
The Supreme Trap Box
Looking for God?
Do Religions follow the Teachings of Christ?
Are churches “infallable”?
Do you have your own questions about God?
What you will read in this book:
*Preface
Chapters:
1. Embroidery of Life
2. Everyman’s way is right, in his eyes
3. 21st Century – vs – early B.C.
4. Religions – Rules/Regulations / Sins
5. Wisdom Literature
6. Genesis-Purity-Compassion-
Chocolates Because so many of us “lay people” question this topic, it may just be time for a lay persons view point and expressions, that may open new doors, or provide more questions for each of us to ponder.
7. Infallibility
8. Hypocrisy
9. Just for Fun
10. Communication with God
10a. Angels, Guides, Spirits
11. Trap Box – Supreme
12. Closing Notes
*About the Cover
*Foot notes / references
*Suggested Readings
Want a sneak preview? <—Click this link
Study reveals that masturbation reduces odds of developing prostate cancer
There have been a number of studies that suggest that regular masturbation by men, especially during their youth to perhaps age 50, flushes carcinogens that tend to accumulate in the prostate from the gland and by so doing help prevent initiation of cancer in this gland. One recent one was carried out by the Council of Victoria which revealed that men who masturbate to ejaculation more than five times per week were one-third less likely to develop prostate cancer.
If this correlation is true, it logically follows that the greater the degree of prostate “emptying” the more likely a man is to purge his prostate of cancer-causing compounds and thus the lower his risk of developing carcinoma of the prostate. There are a number of ways to (ahem) pull this off:
(1) Prostate massage: This commercial website appears to provide some really sound advice in this regard. Note that I have no financial or other interest in this website of any firm it links to or promotes.
(2) Masturbate while using the a prostate electrostimulation device. These provide users with what amounts to a gentle though powerful pulsating “electric massage” of the prostate which is highly stimulating and pleasurable. Many men report having more copious ejaculations when they climax while using this type of gadget (Which is the goal when it comes to draining the prostate of fluids that might harbor carcinogenic substances). It is also reputed to jump-start the erection machinery in the male body which leads to firmer, stronger erections.
(3) Use the Aneros prostate massager or something similar during masturbatory sessions .
Disclaimer: Dr. Payne has no financial or other commercial interest in any device or firm marketing same mentioned in this article.
The information contained in this article is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice or instruction. Readers are advised to consult a licensed health care professional concerning all matters related to their health and well being.
YOU MAY NOT COPY, REPRODUCE, DISTRIBUTE, PUBLISH, DISPLAY, PERFORM, MODIFY, CREATE DERIVATIVE WORKS, TRANSMIT, OR IN ANY WAY EXPLOIT ANY PART OF THIS DOCUMENT. WITHOUT LIMITING THE GENERALITY OF THE FOREGOING, YOU MAY NOT DISTRIBUTE ANY PART OF THIS DOCUMENT OVER ANY NETWORK, INCLUDING A LOCAL AREA NETWORK, NOR SELL NOR OFFER IT FOR SALE. IN ADDITION, THIS DOCUMENT MAY NOT BE USED TO CONSTRUCT ANY KIND OF DATABASE.
© 2011 by Dr. Anthony G. Payne. All rights reserved.
Delusional Beliefs: A Normative Coping Mechanism?
One online source defines the term “delusion” thusly:
delusion
n 1: (psychology) an erroneous belief that is held in the face of evidence to the contrary [syn: psychotic belief] 2: a mistaken or unfounded opinion or idea; “he has delusions of competence”; “his dreams of vast wealth are a hallucination” [syn: hallucination] 3: the act of deluding; deception by creating illusory ideas [syn: illusion, head game]
| Source: WordNet ® 2.0, © 2003 Princeton University |
This pretty much lines up with how psychiatrist Karl Jaspers, MD, defined “delusion” in his seminal book General Psychopathology. Dr. Jaspers gave three main criteria for a belief to be considered delusional:
- Absolute certainty (A belief is held with absolute conviction)
- Incorrigibility (A belief is not changeable by compelling counterargument or proof to the contrary)
- Impossibility or falsity of content (A belief is implausible, bizarre or patently untrue)
Undoubtedly many of you reading this hold fast to specific religious or other beliefs that meet all 3 criteria. To your way of thinking this is a demonstration of faith, a strength that pleases the Almighty. Nothing will sway you from what you hold to be sacred truth. Maybe you fear dire consequences in this life or the next should you deviate from the faith tradition you were inculcated in as a child or embraced later on. You may not even be able to consider the remotest possibility that what you believe about (say) biblical accounts of miracles or specific stories or accounts could be misinformed, misguided, or just plain wrong. As one neo-Pentecostal minister put it, “God said it, I believe it, and that settles it”. This appears to be a timeless species of faith down through the millennia of human history.
Many fundamentalist believers and scholars from the major faith traditions engage in the most incredible feats of mental gymnastics to preserve sacred beliefs. Many Christians, for example, believe that their scriptures are inerrant, while abundant evidence exists that their Bible is chocked full of contradictions and is anything but free of error. For example, the book of Genesis alone contains two separate accounts of the creation saga that contradict one another profoundly http://www.skepticsannotatedbible.com/contra/accounts.html. The same is basically true of the story of Noah and the flood http://www.sullivan-county.com/identity/2cs.htm. But rather than modify their belief system to accommodate logic and fact, they force a fit between religious dogma and contrary evidence (Or just deny the evidence altogether or define or otherwise alter it such that it accord with belief). This imposition of religious dogma or belief on the process and findings of history and science has given the world an incredible array of pseudo-historical and pseudoscientific books, documents, papers and such that, well, help reinforce the delusions of multitudes of “true believers”.
http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/jim_meritt/bible-contradictions.html –Contradictions in the Scriptures
http://www.skepticsannotatedbible.com/contra/by_name.html – Contradictions in the Bible
http://www.nobeliefs.com/DarkBible/darkbible4.htm – Absurdities and troubling entries in the Bible
Mind you, I am not an atheist or an “enemy” of religious beliefs or faith. My family tree is one brimming over with fervent Protestant fundamentalists, southern Baptist deacons, creationists and even charismatic and neo-Pentecostals. My late maternal grandmother, Faye C. Whittle, a rather extraordinary woman who helped aid and encourage my studies in science and medicine, was about as devout a Bible-toting woman as you could hope to meet and fully fundamentalist in her thinking. I did not often challenge her beliefs…..and was especially less inclined to do so as she reached into her eighties and nineties – for reasons I will weave into this essay shortly.
My own quest for “religious truth,” which is to say a faith that is concordant with logic, biblical scholarship, historic fact, and the findings of science led me first to Roman Catholicism, then ultimately to Judaism. Yes, there are some commonly held Jewish beliefs that run contrary to this thrust, but at least there is room for reconciling all this within most Jewish traditions.
Some of you gentle readers are probably having an “ah hah” moment as you read all this. Some will surely be thinking, “Well, if I embrace delusional beliefs, so does he. So does everyone”.
No doubt most of us – even those who are ultra-diligent in their efforts to bring every aspect of their lives into accord with logic, fact and sound reasoning – harbor some belief, conviction or idea that is at the very least unfounded or suspect, but which we resist discarding unless and until contrary fact compels us to. Such a belief or idea may not constitute a full-blown delusion or delusional belief, but it in some respects belongs to the “fraternity”. Psychologists have shown that we all possess cognitive filters that bias what we perceive and believe; mechanisms (if you will) that tend to find patterns in things (often where none exists), discard ideas or facts that contradict cherished beliefs or views, and inflate our own self-perception of being objective. This tendency to be self-deluded and to deceive others has survival value. Deception is part and parcel of nature itself, something documented by field ethnologists and primatologists studying the behavior of chimpanzees and monkeys.
While not immune to delusional beliefs, in my own case precious few (if any) of my core religious beliefs meet Dr. Jasper’s 3 criteria. How so? In a word, I am willing to modify or reinterpret them to gel with logic and compelling scientific and historic fact. My belief in the Almighty, for example, is resolutely entrenched (A delusion according to many skeptic friends) – but my views on His nature, interaction with humankind, activities and such is amenable to modification in light of reason, logic and fact. Actually, this willingness to modify or discard one’s beliefs about anything that is redefined or overturned by new evidence lies at the heart of the scientific method. Without this plank, there would be little scientific progress. And while this process can and does generate evidence and reasoning that wrecks havoc with many beliefs long held to be sacred, this is not something to be feared or resisted. If religion and religious beliefs are to genuinely enable us to zero in on truth, it must necessarily be informed by the scientific method, critical thinking and hard logic. If not this, there is only a retreat into blind faith – this being often a wellspring of irrationality and, in the case of fundamentalism, a path to unhealthy extremes and even monstrous intolerance and bloodshed.
Of course, the mere idea that one has birthed, embraced, nurtured or perpetuated delusional beliefs is, for most of us, something we tend to resist or deny. After all, to be delusional or harbor such thoughts is invites the stigma of being weak or intellectually failed or possibly given to a form of pathology (Disease). And I would readily agree that more extreme expressions do indeed reflect a pathological form of aberration or deviance. Especially forms that are divisive, that create or sustain barriers that marginalize others or foster bias, racism or ethnocentrism, or otherwise diminish our individual or collective human potential for caring for others, extending kindness and aid to strangers, and encouraging a peaceful coexistence that denies justice, opportunity and fairness to no person.
But what of delusional beliefs that do not give rise to or involve these negatives? Many would argue that a delusional belief is always antithetical to fullest personal development or best appreciation of reality, and this is a reasonable contention. However, I tend to view “benign” delusional beliefs as an effective coping mechanism; a way of ably dealing with the pain, vicissitudes and ugly moments in life, as well as being a mental tool for handling the contradictions and seemingly irreconcilable aspects of life. In this sense, I see delusional beliefs as not only a tendency, but a normative coping mechanism.
And in this vein, truly benign delusions can play a useful role when it comes to the genesis or maintenance of our individual and shared (societal) weltanshaung or worldview; the mental constructs of reality we fashion and refine all the days of our lives. They also can have beneficial physiological effects. People who, for example, believe that ultra-diluted homeopathic medicines effect or foster healing despite overwhelming scientific evidence that they do not produce statistically significant results in well designed and executed clinical trials, nonetheless can and sometimes do perceive good things “going on” that in and of itself is encouraging; that may spawn some corresponding benefits such as one would expect when a person stops being anxious and fearful, and adopts a positive frame of mind. There are studies that link this species of faith or belief with reductions in resting blood pressure.
Delusions can also give life purpose or special meaning in some instances or settings. Consider those who vest tremendous money, time and energy in pursuit of beliefs, events or practices that are contradicted by a confluence of historic and/or scientific fact, logic and well honed scholarship. Some actually border on the irrational, while some truly are. However, when such beliefs, pursuits or devotions cause no harm to self or others, do not generate intolerance or violence or other negative behaviors, do not wind up sanctioned by the state, and basically function to endow the lives of believers with a sense of purpose or meaning, then they have arguable utilitarian merit.
Of course some species of delusional thinking can obviously set the stage for doing great harm to others. One need look no further then Nazi Germany to see this. In this tragic example from history’s darkest page, delusional beliefs and the pseudo-history and pseudo-science they sprang from and reinforced became ideology, then law, and finally a national religion of sorts. The Nazis elevated malignant delusions to sacred status and then took them to their logical conclusion: Repression, brutality, murder and finally genocide.
Given this, it logically follows that people need to be vigilant in terms of identifying, openly exposing, countering and even legally penalizing all forms of delusional thinking that clearly leads to the deprivation, denial or erosion of basic human rights to any group, creed, religion or what-have-you. Humankind can ill afford a Fourth Reich.
But what of countering benign delusional beliefs that offer solace and comfort? This brings me full circle to my maternal grandmother: She believed that her New Testament was inerrant and, as such, was a reliable and sure guide to all that’s needed to assure a place in God’s realm (following death). Yes, there were many occasions – many kitchen table chats on religion (especially during her more vigorous 60s and 70s) — in which I placed before her facts and reason that clearly demonstrated the errancy of scriptures. This she resisted solely on the basis of her faith, not reason or logic or fact. And while this belief influenced her life and actions to a degree, she did not seek to have this view become the law of the land or promulgated in public schools as fact or paraded as science in the classroom. At first I diplomatically and gingerly challenged her stance, but ceased doing so as she grew older and frailty began to take its toll on her physical and mental faculties. Who would be so callous as to deprive her of a delusion (inerrancy) which was a vital component of her worldview (Especially given its benign, tempered expression, as well as its utility in terms of dealing with her own mortality)? Not me.
“No man is happy without a delusion of some kind. Delusions are as necessary to our happiness as realities.”
-Christian Nestell Bovee
http://www.famousamericans.net/christiannestellbovee/
The cup of delusions runneth over:http://www.crank.net/
A critical look at homeopathy:http://skepdic.com/homeo.html
What is Pseudoscience?http://www.chem1.com/acad/sci/pseudosci.html
THE DARK BIBLE
http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/guido_deimel/judaism.html
http://www.religioustolerance.org/imm_bibl1.htm#diff
http://www.dhushara.com/book/orsin/decalog.htm
http://home.teleport.com/~packham/bible.htm
http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/donald_morgan/atrocity.html – Atrocities
http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/donald_morgan/absurd.html – Absurdities
http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/donald_morgan/inconsistencies.html – Inconsistencies
http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/donald_morgan/precepts.html – Questionable Guidelines
http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/jim_meritt/bible-contradictions.html – List of biblical contradictions
http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/donald_morgan/vulgar.html – Vulgarities
http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/mark_ball/bible.html – Errancy
http://www.angelfire.com/pa/greywlf/biblegod.html - BIBLEGOD – A God of Love or a God of Atrocities and Murder?
NOTES ON BIBLE PROBLEMS Compiled by Richard Packham
http://home.teleport.com/~packham/index.htm
CONTENTS
ABUSE OF WOMEN, WOMAN’S INFERIORITY
ABANDONMENT OF WIFE, CHILDREN, FAMILY
RELIGIOUS INTOLERANCE, CLOSED MINDS
OBSCENE, OFFENSIVE, INDECENT, EROTIC PASSAGES
PARTICULAR EXAMPLES OF GOD’S PUNISHMENTS
DETAILS OF EVENTS – OLD TESTAMENT
DETAILS OF EVENTS – NEW TESTAMENT
CONTRADICTORY DOCTRINE, COMMANDMENTS
OTHER PUZZLES, ANOMALIES, QUESTIONS
PROPHECIES OR PROMISES NOT FULFILLED
“FULFILLMENT” OF NON- EXISTENT PROPHECIES
“FULFILLMENT” OF PASSAGES NOT PROPHECIES
PROPHECIES CLAIMED AS FULFILLED
PROPHECIES IGNORED BY CHRISTIANS
PRECEPTS OFTEN NOT OBEYED BY BELIEVERS
TEACHINGS OF JESUS NOT OFTEN FOLLOWED
HISTORICAL / GEOGRAPHICAL INACCURACY, ANACHRONISMS
© 2009 by Dr. Anthony G Payne. All rights reserved.
YOU MAY NOT COPY, REPRODUCE, DISTRIBUTE, PUBLISH, DISPLAY, PERFORM, MODIFY, CREATE DERIVATIVE WORKS, TRANSMIT, OR IN ANY WAY EXPLOIT ANY PART OF THIS DOCUMENT. WITHOUT LIMITING THE GENERALITY OF THE FOREGOING, YOU MAY NOT DISTRIBUTE ANY PART OF THIS DOCUMENT OVER ANY NETWORK, INCLUDING A LOCAL AREA NETWORK, NOR SELL NOR OFFER IT FOR SALE. IN ADDITION, THIS DOCUMENT MAY NOT BE USED TO CONSTRUCT ANY KIND OF DATABASE
To slow aging => Reduce HIF-1 alpha (?)
Key protein may explain the anti-aging and anti-cancer benefits of dietary restriction
“Animals that were designed to over-express HIF-1 did not get the benefit of lifespan extension even though their diets were restricted. Animals that under-expressed HIF-1 lived longer, even when they had a nutrient-rich diet. Furthermore, it was found that the lifespan extension resulting from dietary restriction required activity in signaling pathways in the endoplasmic reticulum, the part of the cell involved in processing and the proper folding of proteins. This finding supports the theory that aging stems from the effects of misfolded proteins and opens up a rich area of investigation to examine the mechanisms by which stress in the endoplasmic reticulum affects lifespan”
Carcinogenesis. 2009 Apr;30(4):636-44. Epub 2009 Jan 8. Links
Grape seed extract inhibits VEGF expression via reducing HIF-1alpha protein expression.
Department of Molecular Medicine, Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope, 1500 East Duarte Road, Duarte, CA 91010, USA.
Grape seed extract (GSE) is a widely consumed dietary supplement that has antitumor activity. Here, we have investigated the inhibitory effect of GSE on the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and the mechanism underlying this action. We found that GSE inhibited VEGF messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein expression in U251 human glioma cells and MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cells. GSE inhibited transcriptional activation of the VEGF gene through reducing protein but not mRNA expression of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) 1alpha. The inhibitory effect of GSE on HIF-1alpha expression was mainly through inhibiting HIF-1alpha protein synthesis rather than promoting protein degradation. Consistent with this result, GSE-suppressed phosphorylation of several important components involved in HIF-1alpha protein synthesis, such as Akt, S6 kinase and S6 protein. Furthermore, in the MDA-MB-231 tumor, we found that GSE treatment inhibited the expression of VEGF and HIF-1alpha and the phosphorylation of S6 kinase without altering the subcellular localization of HIF-1alpha, correlating with reduced vessel density and tumor size. Depletion of polyphenol with polyvinylpyrrolidone abolished the inhibitory activity of GSE, suggesting a water-soluble fraction of polyphenol in GSE is responsible for the inhibitory activity. Taken together, our results indicate that GSE inhibits VEGF expression by reducing HIF-1alpha protein synthesis through blocking Akt activation. This finding provides new insight into the mechanisms of anticancer activity of GSE and reveals a novel molecular mechanism underlying the antiangiogenic action of GSE.
PMID: 19131542 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
PMCID: PMC2664452 [Available on 2010/04/01]
Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2009 Apr 24;382(1):96-101. Epub 2009 Feb 28. Links
D-glucosamine down-regulates HIF-1alpha through inhibition of protein translation in DU145 prostate cancer cells.
Park JY, Park JW, Suh SI, Baek WK.
Chronic Disease Research Center, School of Medicine, Keimyung University, 194 Dongsan-Dong, Jung-Gu, Daegu 700-712, Republic of Korea.
D-glucosamine has been reported to inhibit proliferation of cancer cells in culture and in vivo. In this study we report a novel response to D-glucosamine involving the translation regulation of hypoxia inducible factor (HIF)-1alpha expression. D-glucosamine caused a decreased expression of HIF-1alpha under normoxic and hypoxic conditions without affecting HIF-1alpha mRNA expression in DU145 prostate cancer cells. D-glucosamine inhibited HIF-1alpha accumulation induced by proteasome inhibitor MG132 and prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor DMOG suggesting D-glucosamine reduces HIF-1alpha protein expression through proteasome-independent pathway. Metabolic labeling assays indicated that D-glucosamine inhibits translation of HIF-1alpha protein. In addition, D-glucosamine inhibited HIF-1alpha expression induced by serum stimulation in parallel with inhibition of p70S6K suggesting D-glucosamine inhibits growth factor-induced HIF-1alpha expression, at least in part, through p70S6K inhibition. Taken together, these results suggest that D-glucosamine inhibits HIF-1alpha expression through inhibiting protein translation and provide new insight into a potential mechanism of the anticancer properties of D-glucosamine.
PMID: 19254699
Preventing & Reversing Cataracts
 Down through the years I have collected information and data that indicates that immature cataracts can be gradually, effectively shrunk (and even obliterated) when two natural OTC products are judiciously taken over a 6-18 month period of time:
International Antiaging Systems, a private pharmacy firm in the UK has posted a comprehensive article on N-acetyl-carnosine eye drops for cataract prevention and treatment: http://www.antiaging-systems.com/extract/nac.htm In addition, here are links to two abstracts concerning N-A-Carnosine on PubMed: And with regard to the CTM Herbal Phytodrug: http://ecam.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/1/3/269 A CASE OF SUCCESSFUL CATARACT TREATMENT IN A DIABETIC WOMAN In an article from Japan , published in the American Journal of Chinese Medicine (5), three physicians report on a successful case of cataract treatment with a traditional herb formula. This involved a 68-year-old woman with diabetes having a cataract in one eye. The cataract had been present for more than four years at the time of treatment with the herb formula. She was given Achyranthes, Plantago, and Rehmannia Formula. She had been taking Catalin eye drops and Tathion eye drops (glutathione eye drops, another antioxidant strategy), with only slight effect, but when she began taking the herb formula, her vision began to rapidly improve within 10 days, and continued to improve over three months of therapy. The affected eye then remained in improved condition thereafter, with continued use of the herbs (dried extract granules, 7.5 grams per day). Here is one source for the Rehmannia Eight Formula: http://eastearthtrade.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=114 à Rehmannia Eight Formula (Chinese: Ba Wei Di Huang Wan, Japanese: Hachimi-jio-gan) is the most popular herbal treatment in Japan for diabetes. The formula aids insulin regulation and halts the progression of diabetic nerve damage and prevents eye and circulation problems1. May also help with memory loss. Research has also shown it helps delay the formation of cataracts. Use 2-4 capsules three times per day. Contains: Rehmannia, Cornus, Chinese Yam (Dioscorea), Hoelen (Poria), Alisma, Aconitum, Cinnamon twig, Moutan. Size: 100 capsules |
NOTE: I have no commercial, financial or other ties to the aforementioned companies or products.
© 2009 by Dr. Anthony G. Payne. All rights reserved.
The information contained in this article is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice or instruction. Readers are advised to consult a licensed health care professional concerning all matters related to their health and well being.
Should we not get our house in order before venturing too far from the neighborhood?
There is evidence that emotions facilitate quick judgment in humans (This probably holds true for other animals as well). If anything like a Vulcan were to evolve to a conscious state in our cosmos, they might well lack the critical capacity to make rapid-fire judgments. No problem, of course, if you live in an environment where quick decisions are not essential to survival. Say, a planet or environmental niche in which threats to life and limb are few or virtually nonexistent or are in some way never imminent.
Of course, other mechanisms could evolve and be selected for to facilitate quick judgment without the element of what we know as emotion. If on planet V high temperature emitting life forms pose a threat, then the simple capacity to perceive and steer clear of such life forms would favor one’s survival. Networks and clusters of these “circuits” might keep your species going strong without any emotion (as we know it) whatsoever entering into the picture.
Assuming that complex life has evolved elsewhere and some forms have reached a level of self-awareness and reasoning we would categorize as “sentient”, would we be able to relate to one another? Especially a species that lacks what we call emotion? At some level – probably so, simply because there are some things all intelligent creatures would figure out – patterns in nature that can be quantified (mathematics), assignment of symbols to objects so as to make some form of communication possible. Given time, we’d match-up language or communication equivalents involving shared concepts and ideas and principles. But if our new friends happen to lack emotion, we’d be hard-pressed to communicate, much less explain “love” or “hate” or anger”. We might have better luck explaining physical sensations to a pocket calculator.
So what would we have? A gap or “failure to communicate”, obviously. No doubt our sentient alien friends would be in a predicament over how to go about telling us about faculties they evolved but that we utterly lack and have no equivalent to on our world. We might well end up only able to really communicate about shared features or abstract concepts, while the rest is “left for another day”.
Now for the really big question: Would we embrace such a species and be “friends”? Accept the differences between us and forge a meaningful relationship that is mutually beneficial? Why, of course, we would (you say). We are up to the challenge. Really? Reflect for a moment on human history. We have a long, dismal record of accepting and being decent to our own kind. People have been marginalized, isolated and even intentionally eradicated simply because of differences in religious faith, skin color, creed or political affiliation. Some because they differed insofar as they were sick, weak or old. And these were fellow humans who share a common genetic heritage and basic features of heart and mind. Now ask yourself honestly: After the novelty has worn off, how long would it be before some factions among us began to exploit the aliens — or worse?
Maybe it is a good thing that we have not spread to the stars and discovered sentient life forms yet. We really should get our own house in order before visiting any neighbors out there.
© 2003 by Dr. Anthony G. Payne. All rights reserved.
The Spiritual Aspects of “Holistic” Medicine
The foundation of holism or holistic medicine rests on a triumvirate — body, mind and spirit. Actually, as the mind is an expression of the various regions of the brain — a species of the physical — we are really dealing with body/brain and spirit. The former, of course, has been probed and explored using the tools of medicine and science. No one questions their reality. Spirit, on the other hand, by most definitions is non-material, and thus lies beyond the purview of science; that is, one cannot demonstrate spirit using a gas chromatograph, scanning electron microscope, or any other tool in the armamentarium of science.
But what of the effects of spirit? If it exists, should we not be able to detect its effects on the physical realm? This is a question which now occupies many philosophers, some scientists and physicians, and many laypeople.
One very often cited manifestation of spirit lies in the realm of answered prayer. Numerous studies have been carried out in which patients with a given affliction were divided into two groups: One received prayer (experimental group) and the other (control group) didn’t. The prayers were offered off-site and no one involved in the study knew who was being prayed for and who wasn’t (double-blind).
The bottom line of many of these studies is that prayer appears to have made a significant difference in the relief or cure of the malady or affliction in the experimental group, while those in the control group had no appreciable change in their condition. The rigor of these studies has been found wanting by countless impartial investigators. That is, flaws in study design, methodology and/or execution have basically invalidated the findings of these clinical trials.
What of the healings connected with religious shrines, such as Lourdes? There have been approximately 69 healings connected with Lourdes which have met the Catholic church’s criteria for a bona fide miracle — 69 out of the hundreds of thousands of petitions for healing. This is not statistically significant. In short, the numbers do not support the notion that the rate of recovery/healing at Lourdes is greater than would be expected to occur as a result of normal processes. (One can expect a certain percentage of even incurable illnesses to suddenly and inexplicably go into remission. These recoveries happen to non-believer and believer alike — and hence appear contingent on natural and not supernatural mechanisms.)
I know what many of you are thinking — “Leave it to a skeptical, non-believing blankety-blank scientist to trash our sacred beliefs.” If you are nodding your head in agreement — you are dead wrong. First of all, I am a theist. I also believe that God hears and answers prayer — and even heals people through various means including the ministrations of physicians. Well, wait a minute, isn’t this contradictory or hypocritical, given what I wrote above? No, indeed, for I do not allege that my beliefs are based on hard science nor the manifestations of spirit, or God so physically evident as to permit measurement or quantification. In fact, those who believe that spirit, God, or any aspect of the supernatural can be demonstrated in a controlled study or lab experiment invite upon themselves the unenviable task of proving their claims. (It is always incumbent on those who propose the existence of something which can be physically detected and, thus measured, to do just that.) And I, for one, do not believe that they will ever garner any substantive proof. Why?
Consider this: In virtually every religious tradition God requires that humankind both apprehend His existence and relate to him via faith — a conviction based not on the physical and demonstrable, but on sheer belief. If God were to reveal Himself in the lab or clinical trial setting — say, by answering the prayers for healing in an experimental group at rates which exceed chance — the need for faith would be dispensed with. We could base our confidence, our belief in the spiritual and a First Cause (God) on the hard data provided by the study in question.
This, of course, would make God the author of a serious contradiction and would obligate most major religions to toss out many of their principle doctrines concerning the nature of the deity, the need for faith as a requisite for apprehending the divine, et cetera. It would also raise serious questions as to the reliability of revealed truths about God (oral and written traditions).
Since I do not believe God would ask one thing (faith) and then reveal Himself in a concrete, scientifically demonstrable fashion, I am not surprised or dismayed that laboratory experiments and clinical trials do not turn upon any credible data which stands up to scrutiny. I also realize, however, that there are some who believe that faith isn’t the only requisite to apprehending God or the supernatural and will continue to carry out studies aimed at catching a glimpse of the divine in action.
In my opinion they are wasting both time and money, but should they one day prove to be right — if they do incontrovertibly demonstrate the efficacy of prayerful supplication (to God) in healing a given malady — skeptic and believer alike will be making some rather profound changes to their distinct perspectives. This isn’t beyond the pale of possibility. I think, however, that such definitive proof will in some ways weigh more heavily on the religionist then the agnostic or skeptic.
While the debate rages and the studies plod along, what role then should the spiritual play in healing/medicine? I think most physicians — even diehard atheists — at the very least accommodate a narrow species of “spirituality,” in the sense of encouraging hope and making use of patient expectation to afford relief, if not cure.
In holistic medicine, on the other hand, the spiritual element more often takes on a different character and importance. The holistic medical community plays host to wide range of spiritual beliefs, including American Indian, New Age, Buddhist, Christian. As long as this spirituality is not called “scientific” or “hard science-based,” or makes claims which can be tested using the tools and methods of science, its place in the patient care repertoire of holistic health care practitioners remains a matter of personal prerogative. And doesn’t faith and personal prerogative lie at the core of human spirituality?
In the final analysis, I think we will find that the substantiation of faith begins and ends on one’s knees — and in one’s heart — and not in the laboratory.
© 2009 by Dr. Anthony G. Payne. All rights reserved
Preventing or Slowing Liver Damage in Drinkers
By 
Choctaw Doc
Alcohol-induced disease is fairly commonplace among individuals who abuse alcohol. Fibrosis and cirrhosis by-and-large head the list. In both cases, abnormal changes take place in liver tissue that compromise this vital organ’s ability to function optimally. For many people who drink, a doctor’s finding of liver pathology (disease) is sufficient to get them to either curtail their drinking or abstain altogether (Whether on a temporary or permanent basis).
For others, however, a diagnosis of cirrhosis or other alcohol-induced disease does not put “the fear of God in ‘em” with sufficient force for them to overcome the craving to elbow bend. What follows is information concerning a “dose of prevention” that may just spare the heavy drinker some grief down the line (Albeit this is by no means an argument to continue excessive drinking!)
This said, I would urge consistent moderate drinkers to pay attention to what I am about to share as well, as they too have the potential to experience liver damage over time that may not be readily repaired (and which could set the stage for problems later on in life).
A Dose of Prevention
In at least two separate animal studies carried out during the past fifteen years, a natural compound called lecithin protected animals who consumed booze in great quantities. Indeed, the animals were protected from developing many of the pathologic abnormalities common when alcohol is abused. Here are the details of this very compelling body of research:
In a study involving rats, 28 male littermates were pair-fed liquid diets containing 36% of energy either as ethanol (alcohol) or as additional carbohydrates for 21 days. Half of these rodents were given polyenylphosphatidylcholine (A component of lecithin) at 3 grams per liter of their food substrate (Liquid meals). The other group was given safflower oil (3 grams/liter) and choline (A chemical part of lecithin) as a bitatrate salt. The polyenylphosphatidylcholine (PPC) did not influence diet intake or alcohol consumption, but the booze-induced liver enlargement and accumulation of specific fats (lipids – triglycerides and cholesterol esters) and proteins were about half those in rats not given PPC. In rats that consumed PPC, post-eating rise in serum lipids was lower than was true of their littermates who had no PPC. The researchers, who worked at the Alcohol Research and Treatment Center, Bronx Veteran Affairs Medical Center (New York City), concluded that “These beneficial effects of PPC at the initial stages of alcoholic liver injury may prevent or delay the progression to more advanced forms of alcoholic liver disease” (1).
In a separate 10 year-long study involving baboons, also carried out at the Bronx Veteran Affairs Center (Section of Liver Disease and Nutrition), the suggested benefits of lecithin ingestion were even more encouraging.
In the study, twelve baboons (eight females, four males) were fed a liquid diet rich in alcohol supplemented with polyunsaturated lecithin (50% of total energy) or isocaloric carbohydrate. This group was compared with another group of eighteen baboons who were fed an equivalent diet (with or without alcohol), but without of lecithin. (2) Both groups developed increases in specific lipids (associated with alcohol use), but there were significant differences in the degree of liver injury (fibrosis) seen. For one thing, septal fibrosis (with cirrhosis in two animals) and transformation of their fat cells (lipocytes) into transitional cells developed in seven of the nine baboons fed the regular diet with alcohol. Septal fibrosis did not develop in any of the animals fed lecithin! In fact, they did not progress beyond the stage of perivenular (area around veins) fibrosis and had significantly lesser activation of fat cells to transitional cells. (3) The clincher came when the scientists took three of the lecithin-consuming animals off same, but maintained their customary diet and alcohol mix. They very rapidly progressed to cirrhosis, accompanied by an increased transformation of their fat cells to transitional cells!
The fact these researchers found that choline exerted no protective effect in animals ingesting large quantities of alcohol led them to conclude that the polyunsaturated phospholipids might be responsible for the protective effect. This is underscored by the rodent study cited above, in which choline did not protect the animals from alcohol-induced liver damage, whereas PPC (Lecithin component) did. (4)
Baboon livers are remarkably similar to human livers (This is one reason an attempt was made many years back to transplant baboon livers into humans whose livers had failed). Given this, it seems logical that lecithin should provide human drinkers at least some of the benefits seen in the baboons. Accordingly, for those who drink — especially heavily — lecithin may be an invaluable form of health insurance. It is also easy on the pocketbook, being sold “dirt cheap” in health food and grocery stores plus pharmacies across the land.
In addition to lecithin, there are other compounds that if taken by drinkers should help reduce the damage to their livers.
For example, in alcoholics the conversion of the amino acid methione to S-adenosylmethionine (SAM-e) is significantly reduced. In baboon models of alcoholism, the animals experienced alcoholic cirrhosis that was opposed by replenishing SAM-e. Other lines of research indicate that bolstering SAM-e levels in human alcoholics decreases mortality, and offsets oxidative stress resulting from alcohol and alcohol byproduct induction of a liver detoxification enzyme designated cytochrome P4502E1 (CYP2E1).
SAM-e can readily be replenished by taking an oral form that is bioavailable (Not all forms are!)
As the liver is a prime site for manufacture of one of the bodies most powerful antioxidants, glutathione, it logically follows that heavy use of alcohol would impact synthesis of this compound. And indeed, at least one animal study indicates this to be the case.
Fortunately, glutathione can be orally supplemented. However, not just any form of glutathione will work, as most forms are broken down in the gut and thus never reach the bloodstream intact. There is patented forms that resist breakdown until the glutathione has reached tissues throughout the body.
Of course, when it comes to drinking to excess – be it binge drinking or habitual heavy imbibing — curtailing or quitting is ideal. Those caught up in this sort of drinking pattern should seek professional help. But for addicts, alcohol abusers, and just plain ole social drinkers, offsetting some of the injury boozing does to the body (liver especially) is a prudent measure. The judicious use of lecithin, SAM-e and the right form of glutathione should readily help in this regard.
If only a small fraction of those who imbibe heavily take lecithin, SAM-e and glutathione benefit in terms of staving off the many diseases linked to alcohol abuse, the savings in terms of payouts for medical care and lost time from work alone could prove very substantial! This is a blessing to both the individual drinker and society at large.
References
1. Navder KP, Baraona E, Lieber CS. ‘Polyenylphosphatidylcholine attenuates alcohol-induced fatty liver and hyperlipidemia in rats’. J. Nutrition, Sep;127 (9): 1800-6.
2. Liber CS, DeCarli LM, Mak KM, Kim CI, Leo MA. ‘Attenuation of alcohol-induced hepatic fibrosis by polyunsaturated lecithin’. Hepatology 1990 Dec;12 (6):1390-8 3. IBID 4. IBID
3. Liber, CS, ‘New Concepts of the pathogenesis of alcoholic liver disease lead to novel treatments, Curr Gastroenterol Rep 2004 Feb;6(1):60-5
4. Kessova IG, Ho YS, Thung S, Cederbaum AI, ‘Alochol-induced liver injury in mice lacking Cu, Zn-superoxide dismutase,’ Hepatology. 2003 Nov;38(5):1136-45
Original article upon which this piece is derived © 2003 by Dr. Anthony G. Payne. All rights reserved. This article © 2010 by Dr. Anthony G. Payne. All rights reserved.
The information contained in this article is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice or instruction. Readers are advised to consult a licensed health care professional concerning all matters related to their health and well being.
Want to be multiorgasmic?
Why are some folks naturally multiorgasmic? Female biologic advantages aside, the key player appears to be prolactin. Various studies have shown that prolactin is released at orgasm and plays a role in post-orgasmic sexual “repose”. Conversely, various other studies have shown that people with low or almost nonexistent prolactin levels can have orgasm after orgasm after orgasm ad infinitum. Is there any way in which to safely lower prolactin levels and thus help facilitate becoming multi-orgasmic? Perhaps so (The drug bromocriptine can accomplish this, but has side effects that may argue against its use in many folks). The medicinal herb Chaste Tree Berry (Castes Agnes-Vitex) has been shown to reduce prolactin levels in human users.
References
Kruger TH, Haake P, Haverkamp J, Kramer M, Exton MS, Saller B, Leygraf N, Hartmann U, Schedlowski M, ‘Effects of acute prolactin manipulation on sexual drive and function in males,’ J Endocrinol. 2003 Dec;179(3):357-65.
Haake P, Exton MS, Haverkamp J, Kramer M, Leygraf N, Hartmann U, Schedlowski M, Krueger TH, ‘Absence of orgasm-induced prolactin secretion in a healthy multi-orgasmic male subject’, Int J Impot Res. 2002 Apr;14(2):133-5.
Wuttke W, Jarry H, Christoffel V, Spengler B, Seidlova-Wuttke D,’ Chaste tree (Vitex agnus-castus)–pharmacology and clinical indications’, Phytomedicine. 2003 May;10(4):348-57.
Softening the impact of having been jilted
If you have recently been jilted or otherwise had a close relationship severed, you are undoubtedly feeling the loss and perhaps even a wee bit of rage (Which actually serves a purpose insofar as it helps one purge the other from one’s life). Your brain is actually going through withdrawal involving the selfsame neurochemical players and brain centers that are involved in reward and addiction. In a nutshell, your dopamine levels are plummeting (sets off cravings), the mood modulator serotonin has taken a nose dive (Blue Funk time), stress hormones are up and there may even be withdrawal symptoms associated with opioid compounds you produced (and augmented via behavior & diet) which you body is now clamoring for. The passage of time in concert with physical activity will help take the punch out of this biochemical maelstrom (More on this can be found in chapter 8 of Anatomy of Love: A Natural History of Mating, Marriage, and Why We Stray )
Here are a few non-pharmaceutical measures that may help:
To help raise dopamine levels in the brain:
Muncuna (Mucuna pruriens) products such as http://www.iherb.com/Mucuna
Diet: Eat prepared Fava beans (A legume)
To help raise serotonin levels in the brain:
5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HTP) http://www.biopsychiatry.com/tryptophan-5htp.htm
Diet: Eat lots of turkey (Tryptophan source – precursor used to generate serotonin)
Take with pyridoxal-5 phosphate – 10 mgs. (A form of B6)
To help modulate stress hormones:
Standardized Ginseng Extract (Panax ginseng)
To help curtail endogenous opioids (Compounds generated in one’s body that influence reward and addiction):
Follow the Paleodiet (Fava beans excepted) http://14ushop.com/wizard/living-longer.html
Ask your doctor about putting you on low dose Naltrexone
Also:
S-Adenosylmethionine (“SAMe”)
Nepsol™ http://www.wellerhealthvitamins.com/nepsol.htm
N-acetyl-Tyrosine, DL-Phenylalanine http://www.lef.org/protocols/prtcl-089.shtml (Folks with PKU or hypertension should avoid DL-Phenylalanine)
References
Manyam BV, Dhanasekaran M, Hare TA, ‘Neuroprotective effects of the antiparkinson drug Mucuna pruriens’, Phytother Res. 2004 Sep;18(9):706-12
Apaydin H, Ertan S, Ozekmekci S, ‘Broad bean (Vicia faba)–a natural source of L-dopa–prolongs “on” periods in patients with Parkinson’s disease who have “on-off” fluctuations’, Mov Disord. 2000 Jan;15(1):164-6
Kaneko H, Nakanishi K, ‘Proof of the mysterious efficacy of ginseng: basic and clinical trials: clinical effects of medical ginseng, korean red ginseng: specifically, its anti-stress action for prevention of disease,’ J Pharmacol Sci. 2004 Jun;95(2):158-62.
Kim DH, Jung JS, Suh HW, Huh SO, Min SK, Son BK, Park JH, Kim ND, Kim YH, Song DK,’ Inhibition of stress-induced plasma corticosterone levels by ginsenosides in mice: involvement of nitric oxide,’ Neuroreport. 1998 Jul 13;9(10):2261-4.
Zioudrou C, Streaty RA, Klee WA, ‘Opioid peptides derived from food proteins. The exorphins,’ J Biol Chem. 1979 Apr 10;254(7):2446-9.
Fukudome S, Yoshikawa M., ‘Opioid peptides derived from wheat gluten: their isolation and characterization,’ FEBS Lett. 1992 Jan 13;296(1):107-11
‘Neuroendocrine effects of SAMe, a novel putative antidepressant,’ J Psychiatr Res, 1990, 24:2.
De Vanna M, Rigamonti R, ‘Oral SAMe in depression’, Curr Ther Res 1992, 52: 478-485.
Many Voices, One Song
 At the heart of each of us are 3 primal drives that give rise to and inform most, if not all of the human behavior (Individually and collectively). Click here to read http://14ushop.com/wizard/3PrimalDrivesEssay.html. In science and many other fields, reductionism of this sort helps us see what is fundamental to many aspects of reality. However, while “unified field theories” in physics, psychology, or what-have-you make explicable what was previously inexplicable, unveiling a beauty and simplicity beneath the surface that is awe-inspiring and even fruitful at many levels, it isn’t always possible to take mechanism (however meaningful or purposeful) and forge tools or methods from it that advance human culture. We can take physical elements and build skyscrapers on the one hand, and thermonuclear bombs on the other. And with words we can fashion social orders that champion freedom, fairness and tolerance on the one hand, “empire and death camps on the other, “and many permutations in between.
However, knowing the underlying or fundamental mechanisms or laws from which our world proceeds can favorably influence the social, political and economic tapestry we weave. Consider the 3 primal drives: All of us want to acquire certain basic things crucial to survival (and more), preserve what we manage to gather about us, and perpetuate it so as to benefit our progeny and the community that nurtures and protects them. We can do this using rational and moral means so that fairness and mutual benefit are emphasized, or we can opt for something else entirely. However, they all deal with meeting or satisfying some aspect of the human condition, and this most often through the allocation and judicious use of material and/or human resources. In a way, all these various local entities and networks of entities (state, national or transnational) are functional algorithms of a sort– means of solving problems and/or meeting needs and/or helping folks cope — through semi-invariant procedures. Some merely point the way to viable solutions and are thus more heuristic in nature. And some combine elements of both (Known as a “heuristic algorithm” or of being “algorithmic” in scientific parlance). A church, synagogue or mosque that provides money or food to the disadvantaged often adds a needed “human touch” missing from government offices. Somehow we hope that between local efforts and national ones, the resultant symphony will be a harmonious and beautiful. Of course, in order to create a wondrous symphonic work, the members of the orchestra (people and the society they comprise) must agree on how the orchestra will be run, how the music will be written and revised, and who will set the pace for the ensemble (The orchestra leader). In the United States, we advocate specific mechanisms for both preserving individually, maximizing creative freedom, and yet steering the whole towards a harmonious work as opposed to a raucous “noise fest”. The American way, as it were, is built on democratic principles and capitalism. The Japanese way, on the other hand, embraces democracy and capitalism, but has a strong element of conformity to what “the group” (society) deems in the best interests of all. Many countries in the EU favor a social democracy approach that offers varying degrees of “cradle to grave” care for its citizenry. Singapore is authoritarian in orientation. Iran embraces an Islamic theocracy. Cuba has a dictator. The American system appears poised to fulfill Karl Marx’s prediction that capitalism corrupts, implodes, and then collapses (This is not to argue that necessarily offered a better set of devices for meeting a peoples needs and potentialities. But his extrapolations – his predictions – do seem uncannily accurate). The Japanese democratic experiment, on the other hand, has managed to create and sustain a middle class that encompasses 95% of her people, made comprehensive national health care available to most, and has forged a social order that has one of the lowest crime rates in the industrialized world. There are signs that these devices are beginning to falter, but even so the Japanese willingness to adapt to contingency coupled with the group-driven ethic of their hardworking people may patch up and keep the Japanese sociopolitical engine running far into the future. Most of us belong to a local band (Think back to the symphony analogy) – a small collective or branch of a larger one whose devices we utilize or become a part of in order to achieve certain ends (Material and otherwise). So long as these bands do not inflict harm or violate the laws the citizenry has agree to live by, such devices thrive and fulfill the purposes ordained by their constituency (They are “moral”). Up to and including providing meaning in life or facilitating finding such meaning. They may be playing different tunes, yes, but as they compete in the “marketplace of ideas” most wisely choose not to play a tune that attracts rather than offends those outside the band (If not for the sake of tolerance, then to keep from scaring off prospective converts or members). The question arises, could all the bands (peoples) of the world tool together a musical piece that would be played by all – without sacrificing or compromising their individual, favored anthems and tunes? Can the world community achieve a utopian harmony and maintain it? I’d Like To Teach The World To Sing During 1971 Coca Cola launched a commercial that featured a musical group called “The New Seekers” singing a cheery, upbeat tune titled “I’d Like To Teach the World To Sing (In Perfect Harmony).” The lyrics include ones that beautifully capture the appeal of a utopian kind of harmony: I’d like to teach the world to sing Exactly what is involved in collectively writing (as it were) a global song of harmony? Which is to say, transcending the many differences, xenophobic and ethnocentric tendencies, religious quarrels, and such within and between nations and groups, in order to achieve a peaceful, peace-loving and peace-preserving global community? Too,well,utopian?! I’m sure the creation of an enduring democracy in a land of people boasting a multitude of languages, cultural traditions, and religions must have seemed just as unlikely back in the 18th century. But the American experiment took root and flourished. How did a nation of diverse nations succeed in forging a viable social and political order that basically (though gradually and haltingly) subsumed and bound together all its constituents, worked to transcend differences (though not without great pain), and maintain a species of harmony that (though often frayed) has yet to come unraveled? Is the American system the end result of good geography, good ideas and good luck (As in seizing opportunities)? In part, yes. But from its birth there was laid a foundation without which the many strands would have been unlikely to be wound together to form the one strong rope it has become: An express vision or template that all who call themselves Americans would embrace and defend. This vision or template included many elements such as the preeminence of basic articulated freedoms and rights for all; the rule of law; a democratically elected, representative government with constraints on the power exercised by its main branches; and so forth. Now this is not to say that the success of the “American way” is a mandate for it to become the “Global Way”. But there are principles and ideas that can be extracted from the American experience, as well as that of other successful nations and collectives, which could form the core of a global vision or template. If it is not a universal symphony, ”..it may well be a funeral dirge. Submitted for your consideration on Memorial Day (USA) – a day for reflection and moving forward – by Dr. Anthony G. Payne Original copyright 2004 by Dr. Anthony G. Payne – All rights reserved.. This version copyright 2009 by Dr. Anthony G. Payne. All rights reserved. |
An Experiment That Is Hard On The Rats
“I would not for my life destroy one star of human hope, but I want it so that when a poor woman rocks the cradle and sings a lullaby to the dimpled darling, she will not be compelled to believe that ninety-nine chances in a hundred she is raising kindling wood for hell.”
Robert Green Ingersoll, “How To Be Saved” (1880)
“If there is a God who will damn his children forever, I would rather go to hell than to go to heaven and keep the society of such an infamous tyrant. I make my choice now. I despise that doctrine. It has covered the cheeks of this world with tears. It has polluted the hearts of children, and poisoned the imaginations of men…. What right have you, sir, Mr. clergyman, you, minister of the gospel to stand at the portals of the tomb, at the vestibule of eternity, and fill the future with horror and with fear? I do not believe this doctrine, neither do you. If you did, you could not sleep one moment. Any man who believes it, and has within his breast a decent, throbbing heart, will go insane. A man who believes that doctrine and does not go insane has the heart of a snake and the conscience of a hyena.”
Robert Green Ingersoll, “The Liberty Of All” (1877)
There is a compelling logical to what Col. Ingersoll has written, at least for those of us who believe that God, Heaven and Hell exist. As a believer along Jewish lines, I do not reject the notion of judgment and purgatorial cleansing for some, and eternal punishment for “everlasting abhorrence” (Daniel 12:2).In looking over the biblical record (Hebrew scriptures – Tanakh) it is obvious that not only do most fall short of the Almighty’s righteous standards, but in most instances profoundly so.
There is repentance and forgiveness for missteps, yes, and the kipur (Atonement). But even so it is difficult to conclude but that most of us wind up in Hell (Gehenna), though for how long is debated (Learned Rabbis feel this is a purgation process that lasts on the order of several years at best.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_eschatology Christians generally believe that those in Hell are consigned there for a time then tossed into a “lake of fire” for eternity).
And to Ingersoll’s credit, yes, the realization is enough to drive one to distraction — “insane”, as it were. And this even after one shifts through the ancient record and extracts truth from the obvious hodgepodge of human blunders, transpositions, interpolations, myths and such.
As I indicated in my brief essay, “Rats in the Cosmic Laboratory: Is God A Scientist? – I am inclined to believe that God is indeed conducting an experiment or series of experiments involving humankind. Guidelines and revelations are deduced, assumed and given – and then tests arise both naturally and from “without” to see how faithful, true, and loving we each are. For most us, our performance is surely a mixed bag; a mishmash of missteps and hits. I think, however, that by-and-large a hefty percentage of each generation has more of the former than the latter. We are the failures – so often derided by clerics and reminded that “broad is the way to destruction, and many are they who enter into it”.
While the experiment in-process seems to be coming out favorably in terms of the realization of God’s specific designs and desires for the nation of Israel and the people of the Covenant (Jews and Geirim), most of the world’s participants look to be falling way short of the proverbial mark. There will be (it would seem) incredible success, yes, but also profound failure. Success for the few and failure for the many.
Why bother setting in motion an experiment almost certain to send more folks to Hell than to Heaven? As I contend in “Rats in the Cosmic Laboratory”, this is no doubt due to the fact that God does not know the outcome (in advance) when it comes to individual choices. True enough. But an intellect as vast as His must have calculated the odds and known the general drift. And if not from the “get go”, then certainly by the time He had dealt with humankind for a few generations.
So with so much misery lying ahead for so many – why did He not just terminate the experiment? That is, before making promises to Israel and the Jewish people and geirim? Why let an experiment proceed that has a very high probability of churning out failures that mount upwards into the – what– billions of souls? Is this merciful? Is the principle at work here basically akin to that heard in the classic movie Star Trek II: That “the needs of the few, outweigh the needs of the many”? One wonders.
All things considered, it seems highly probable that the biblical revelations that “can drive sane men mad” are part and parcel of the grand test; a component of the Almighty’s experimental design that helps automatically sort the “wheat from the chaff”. Revealing, yes, and possibly beneficial insofar as at least a few folks lost in the moral wasteland will take to heart biblical admonitions and make their way back onto the “straight and narrow”. But for the vast majority many clerics contend, the experiment ends for them in being consigned to some kind of purgatory or Hell. This may be very telling about moral choices and failings, but in the final analysis is definitely hard on the rats!
Offered for your thoughtful consideration by Dr. Anthony G. Payne
© 2005 by Dr. Anthony G. Payne. All rights reserved.
Things to wrestle with:
http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/paul_carlson/nt_contradictions.html
http://www.nobeliefs.com/DarkBible/darkbible4.htm
http://home.earthlink.net/~pgwhacker/ChristianOrigins/PaganChrists.html
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/7273/restofOT.html
Resources:
Fascination with Dying & Death: Death as Participation (Which is Generally Adaptive)
Background: As you likely are aware, there has been a lot of research written up in newspapers and science periodicals and web pages that focuses on the nature of consciousness and the brain mechanisms that give rise to it. I do not want to delve into so weighty a topic as consciousness, but instead just want to draw your attention to mirror neurons and cortical-limbic (higher mental processes-emotions) connections. It is these that facilitate identification with others including experiencing their emotions be it anger, terror, joy, etc. as though we ourselves were experiencing these feelings. This makes explicable, in part, our love affair with certain novels, movies, documentaries, and life experiences. It also provides at least a partial explanation for why we are generally fascinated with injury, death and dying (Don’t tell me you don’t rubberneck at accident scenes or find some aspects of death and dying curiously compelling. I am not talking out morbid obsessions or pathological “enjoyment”, but rather natural curiosity informed by a sense of identification with the dying or soon-to-die soul). It is these brain mechanisms which I’d like to posit as one of the main players in human fascination with death and dying; mechanisms which are also, I contend, adaptive in some respects.
Humbly Submitted for Your Consideration:
The individuality and social belonging and cohesiveness engendered by the neural mechanisms cited above, influenced and shaped by one’s native home life and culture and such, lends us to be everything from loners to “the life of the party” (The boorish extrovert). This self-same set of neural modules – consciousness – also makes us aware of our own mortality and that of others. We find ourselves thus fearful of death – yet drawn to it. Sometimes the greater the fear experienced, the greater the curiosity about the process of dying and death. We want to both understand and by so doing disarm or at least lesson our fear and the resultant anxiety or unease it engenders in us. Or if nothing else desensitize ourselves to it, and by so doing surmount or transcend our fear or distress.
Given this, the historic and ongoing fascination people experience when it comes to death becomes explicable: It arises from a combination of curiosity and participation in the sufferings and death of others. We rehearse our own death, in short. When this participation – -this empathetic tie – with the dying is one tempered by sympathy and concern, we experience death as pain. When the dying is the object of our revulsion or dislike or even hatred, there may be an element of pleasure associated with his or her passing. These feelings also engage our sense of competitiveness – of wanting to survive – of being left standing while another or others have not been so fortunate. History shows that this is natural; that is, part of the human condition; a feature of our evolved brain.
If most or all empathy is lacking and death is inflicted or observed as sexually exciting or pleasurable in another sense, then the normal mechanisms have become pathologic. This is the world of the sociopathic killer – single strike or serial or what-have-you.
Of course, participating (neutrally, so-to-speak) in the dying process and death of a relative or historic personage can be adaptive and is so, I would argue. In short, it reduces death anxiety and by so doing frees us to better focus on living and thriving as we do so. Or if our circumstances are onerous, it can liberate us to carry on the good fight; to wage the good fight to hang on and survive to see a better day.
This little excursion into the “Shadowlands” is not comprehensive. I like to leave room for my readers to think and ‘cuss & discuss’ within themselves and others.
Here are some posted writings of mine that may inform your own cogitations on dying and death:
http://www.healingcare4u.org/inflicted-violent-death.html
http://www.healingcare4u.org/quick-bytes.htm#anchor3
© 2009 by Dr. Anthony G. Payne. All rights reserved. Private communication use permitted.
We are all headed to the Little Big Horn
One of the most beloved verses in the Hebrew Scriptures comes from the 23rd Psalms:
”Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: For you are with me”
In Japan, where I lived and taught for over four years, a general sense of “gloom & doom” pessimism pervaded the lives of many folks. This was especially evident among my university students. Japan’s protracted economic woes had apparently sapped the vision and vitality out of many of these otherwise industrious, tenacious souls. A great many kids spoke of there being “no real future” for them. Needless to say, depression and despair reared its ugly head fairly often.
Now reactive depression is a wholly expected and understandable response to intractable adversity or woe. We all have a tendency to get sorely vexed when our lives are turned upside down and held there by trials and tribulations. In such a situation, one tries to console and counsel the suffering as best one can. (A touch of satire and self-deprecating humor sometimes doesn’t hurt either). And this I ably extended to my angst-ridden student charges with varying degrees of success. But more was needed.
The “more”, I reasoned, had to lie in something that would get these kids to change their outlook or perspective on certain aspects of life. To do this I looked to a tried-and-true source for generating insight and encouraging change: history. Specifically, I had my students tackle and examine two noteable chapters: Famed psychiatrist Viktor Frankl’s account of his years of struggle in various Nazi concentration camps (as recounted in his timeless classic, “Man’s Search For Meaning”), and the saga of General George Armstrong Custer.
Dr. Frankl and his imprisoned compatriots suffered cruelly at the hands of sadistic SS guards, all the while struggling with scarcity and living conditions so calculatingly appalling as to beggar the imagination. Mindful that he could not change his circumstances and that his Nazi tormenters could snuff out his life at any minute, Frankl nonetheless felt empowered by a single fact: They could take everything from him but his power to choose how he would react to their brutal actions! And it was this realization that essentially helped buoy up Dr. Frankl during his agonizing walk through the “valley of the shadow of death”!
Frankl emerged from Hitler’s reign of terror intact and went on to establish an influential school of psychotherapy called logotherapy (http://logotherapy.univie.ac.at/). He died in 1997 at the ripe old age of 92, having survived the Third Reich by 52 years.
While Dr. Viktor Frankl was the victim of totalitarian oppression and a state-sanctioned policy of malignant racism and genocide, (Brevet Major) General George Armstrong Custer stood on the other side of the divide, so to speak. Custer played a somewhat pivotal role in the United State’s 19th century pursuit of lebesraum (“living space”) and its calculated program of conquering and containing indigenous peoples (American Indians). It was not Custer’s successes in the so-called Indian War that helped advance the narrow social and political agenda of his time, but rather his death along with that of over 200 of his soldiers at the Little Big Horn (June 26, 1876). The “massacre” of then Lt. Col. Custer and his troops elicited a massive military response that ultimately led to the total subjugation of American Indians during the early years of the 20th century.
After my students had fully acquainted themselves with the lives and feats of Dr. Frankl and General Custer, I had them conduct an open comparative analysis of the two (men) for the purpose of extracting principles they felt to be especially insightful and personally meaningful.
Of course, these bright, eager young people came up with an illustrious roster of “goodies”. Among them: The power of choice; how evil seduces people by playing up to their basic desires and egos; the futility of life spent focused on narrow, self-serving and self-aggrandizing goals; the nobility of service to others informed by prior suffering; etc.
After we had reviewed their litany of ideas and comments, I asked them to sum up what we had learned from the lives of Frankl and Custer. The general consensus was that we must all have the power to make choices that will steer us through life; choices that may decide whether we end our days with a tally sheet that favors having achieved something worthwhile, ..or its opposite.
I had only one thing to add to what their conclusion, which was this:
“Friends, we are all headed to the Little Big Horn. Whether you get there as a young person or during middle-age or as a very old man or woman, ..we all have to the enter the valley and depart this world. No one escapes this fate. But as you correctly surmised, it isn’t that final battle alone that determines the meaning and value of the life you have lived, but what you do in the days, weeks, and years leading up to it. And yes, the impact of your life and the ripples it sets in motion are determined by the choices and subsequent actions you take while en route to the valley.
“Now I have but one final point to make – an admonition, really – which is this:
”If Dr. Frankl could exercise choice in his dire circumstances and by so doing not only survive the fiendish horror that was Nazi Germany, but set in motion ideas that have transformed countless lives ever since, ..then certainly you can lay hold of the promise that lies in the abundant choices and options you have in life.”
Of those students who have stayed in contact with me in the intervening years, most appear to have made prudent choices that have helped them forge personally meaningful, productive and fulfilling lives.
How goes your journey to the valley?
Acquisition, Preservation against loss, and Perpetuation: The Basic Drives Underlying Biology & Evolution As Expressed in Human Psychology & Culture
Are there certain primal (core), universal traits or drives which act as a kind of behavioral template for our species? Which give rise to and are expressed in terms of our basic individual and collective behavior? A biological version of the Holy Grail of Physics – Grand Unification? (In a word, a small number of natural drives or instincts that undergird and give rise to much of human behavior)
In concert with Darwin, William James, E. O. Wilson, and innumerable others, I would respond with a resounding “yes”. And like them, I believe that the origins of the “psychobiological template” were forged in the crucible of evolution.
In June of 1998, the notion of fundamental or primal drives was big news. Researchers at Ohio State University conducted an extensive study and concluded that there are 15 desires which underlie most human behavior. “Nearly everything important a human being wants can be reduced to one or more of these 15 core desires, most of which have a genetic basis,” said Steven Reiss, co-author of the study and a professor of psychology and psychiatry at Ohio State University. “These desires are what guide our actions. In a sense, we are studying the meaning of life.”
This body of research was published in the June 1998 issue of the Journal of Psychological Assessment.
These are the 15 basic or fundamental human desires and values revealed by the Reiss et al study:
Curiosity – desire to learn
Food – desire to eat
Honor – (morality) desire to behave in accordance with code of conduct
Rejection – fear of social rejection j
Sex – desire for sexual behavior and fantasies
Physical exercise – desire for physical activity
Order – desired amount of organization in daily life .
Independence – desire to make own decisions
Vengeance – desire to retaliate when offended
Social Contact – desire to be in the company of others
Family – desire to spend time with own family
Social Prestige – desire for prestige and positive attention
Aversive Sensations – aversion to pain and anxiety
Citizenship – desire for public service and social justice
Power – desire to influence people
I, on the other hand, would argue that there are 3 basic or core drives which include and subsume Reiss’s fifteen. Briefly:
Life at it’s most fundamental level involves acquisition of resources to insure survival, prevention of loss or compromise of resources vital to life, and the perpetuation of the genome (Reproduction). Those traits and behaviors which help an individual satisfy these life-sustaining and preserving “essentials” are selected for; that is, they get the job done – are adaptive – and thus lend those who possess them to leave behind viable offspring (This is known as differential reproduction in biological parlance).
Acquisition, prevention of loss (defense), and perpetuation lie at the heart of biology and it’s explosive success on this planet. As such one would expect to see them conserved throughout the course of biological evolution with discernible expression in the individual and collective behavior of “higher” animals. This does indeed appear to be the case.
- Acquisition
The acquisition of adequate food, water, shelter and warmth to sustain life is obviously a fairly high priority. If not tended to, we die off. It is that simple. How we secure these necessities is the stuff of which everything from clans to tribal cultures to first world nation-states and economies are built on. In the long run it behooves a collection of social creatures (people) to cooperatively nail down the basics of life. If each person is left on their own – or selfishness or cheating is considered a virtue – human survival on the whole is adversely affected. In this sort of society a few survive and thrive at the expense of the less capable, but theirs is an existence which is given to conflict and xenophobia, if not downright paranoia. One-upmanship can be carried to the point of mutual extermination.
Humanistic psychologist Abraham Maslow rather brilliantly and succinctly captured this in his various works on human conduct and psychology. The first order of acquisition is the physiological basics. Once these are met, we are individually and collectively more at liberty to explore other wants, desires and needs (Internet keyword phrase: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs).
The man or woman who goes out to work in order to provide for self and family is satisfying the biologic imperative to acquire that which will help guarantee survival. It is universally recognized and in our culture elevated to the level of being a virtue (Protestant Work Ethic).
In most cases, mature humans concurrently seek to satisfy the physiological basics and reproduce. Both are expressions of resource acquisition. Procreation is fundamental to the preservation of the species. It also furnishes the parents with both an investment and a resource; that is, an investment in the sense that the necessities of life, love, nurturing, etc., are directed at producing healthy, viable progeny who will not only carry the family germline into the future, but provide the parents with “dividends” (resources) in terms of psychological, (possibly) material support, comfort, grandchildren, etc.
But not every parent does a great job of child rearing and not every child comes out right. Acquisition is the drive, but its expression can be thwarted, perverted or nullified. Adaptive traits such as ambition, competitiveness, willingness to negotiate and compromise for mutual benefit, the quest for power over circumstances, etc., can become maladaptive if pushed to extremes, seriously thwarted or otherwise corrupted. The ambition/competitiveness which encourages a father and/or mother to secure employment and work hard can become unbridled and give way to negative manifestations of same: Workaholism, coworker envy, greed, etc. The flip side of emotional satisfaction and sexual gratification (Acquisition) can be obsession, sexual addiction, narcissism, and neurosis. If these defects do not destroy the family structure or sacrifice the ability of progeny to cope with the world and lead successful lives, the family unit limps on. If the degree of dysfunction is seriously pathological, the family unit disintegrates and the effects ripple through the ensuing generations. If transgenerational maladaptive behaviors are not altered and more healthy patterns established, the dysfunctional line may go extinct through various adverse means : Suicide, homicide, infertility, socioeconomic marginalization to the point of starvation, compromise of hygiene and health with resultant onset of acute and/or chronic disease, et cetera.
Maladaptive traits can, in a social context, bring about conditions and responses (both within and outside the family) which essentially select the dysfunctional family member or unit out of existence. Of course, a society can enact programs which blunt this selection or winnowing process. When looked at as an investment which may return dividends to a given society down the line, this species of altruism is probably a wise form of cultural, if not species ” insurance.”
As indicated (above) , acquisition is derived from and informed by biology. We can see this very readily in human mating patterns: Men and women exhibit courtship/mating preferences and post-marital patterns which reflect differential parental investment in offspring. Women, who invest more biological and personal resources into bringing children (gestation) into the world, would tend to seek out a mate who will produce genetically healthy children and help sustain them (Bring home at least part of the bacon). And since it is often women who invest the most in terms of time and energy in rearing progeny, they would naturally be inclined to select a mate who will be both emotionally faithful and actively involved in the support and protection of the family unit. Men, on the other hand, who invest little in the reproductive process (“sperm donors” is an apt term) and are apparently hormonally driven to maximize reproductive opportunities, would be more inclined to get progeny into the world and on their way through life, then seek out other mating opportunities. This is exactly what cross cultural statistics indicate. Most divorces occur during or following the fourth year of marriage, just after the first child or two has been born and reached a sufficient age to suggest that “smooth sailing” is ahead, i.e., the child(ren) are healthy and viable, and will most likely remain so. Of course, this isn’t fair from most religious and ethical perspectives. Indeed, our society has enacted legislation to penalize men who abandon their family and eschew material (and possibly some degree of emotional) support for the children they have sired. But it (divorce) is a fact which appears to reflect a pronounced biological tendency in males.
Societies have various solutions to keeping men committed to the marriage and family. In over 85% of human cultures, polygamy is the order of the day. This is obviously one way in which a man can “have his cake and eat it to”, i.e., stay true to his first mate and offspring – while maximizing his reproductive opportunities. ( Of course, polygamous unions have their built in limits – namely, resources. If the resources necessary to sustain the family are seriously compromised, the intrafamily dynamic can be strained and even ruptured ). In some of the societies which have outlawed polygamy, women tolerate their men having mistresses and “one night stands”. This is not to say either approach is ethical in the classic Judeo-Christian sense, but it does bear testimony to what men and women will do to accommodate biological propensities. Again, this “battle of the sexes” (or battle for sex) reflects the basic acquisition drive (mates, progeny, security, protection, etc.) informed by biology.
Once women and men fully comprehend the desire to acquire through a biological/Darwinian lens, certain behavioral traits and tendencies become not only explicable, but potentially amenable to intervention and modification.
On a larger scale, acquisition finds expression in the activities of nation-states. Many of history’s most successful conquerors were expressly bent on expanding the economic and other resources available to the nation or confederation of nations they led. Other members of this fraternity apparently had in mind their own glorification, if not deification. However, the people who followed these megalomaniacs on wars of conquest did (and still do so) so for reasons more often practical or “down to Earth” then not: The major player being patriotism/nationalism, which boils down to protecting existing resources from real or perceived enemies and/or acquiring more resources (In the past, war and voyages of exploration/conquest and commercial gain brought a welcomed human resource to many nations : Namely, slaves). The justification for bloody conquest can be as straightforward as the desire for booty – xenophobic clashes born of differences in culture, language, etc. – or as esoteric as assumed racial or ethnic superiority packaged as a mandate to conquer and even exterminate the untermensch [The race(s) and/or ethnic group(s) deemed inferior]. The manifestations are many and varied, but the underlying drive is biological (Acquisition).
Consider the embrace of virulent racism and dictatorship by technologically advanced, seemingly “civilized” cultures in the early to middle part of this century:
The rise of fascism in Europe and the Far East in the 1920s and 1930s was the stepchild of economic depression and resultant privation (Loss and compromise of resources). Whether men such as Adolf Hitler truly cared for the people they led is both doubtful and irrelevant; that he possessed the insight to artfully exploit the human desire to protect resources and acquire new ones (to flourish) is born out by the slogans and propaganda he and his cronies employed to garner popular support for the Nazi Party (NSDAP). One example: Fur freiheit und brot! (For freedom and bread). The fact the Nazis passed out free bread to hungry, unemployed Germans – thus linking Nazism with the acquisition and distribution of resources – was not lost on the common people. The interplay of post-WWI political unrest, loss of resources and national pride, scapegoating fueled by long-standing xenophobia and prejudice, and a national tendency towards fervent militarism set the stage for the ascent of the Nazis. The almost idolatrous homage paid the Fuhrer (Hitler) by a nation-state grateful to have its glory (Resources) restored and expanded becomes perfectly explicable when viewed as a manifestation of human evolved nature. The Nazis, of course, took adaptive traits to unhealthy, maladaptive extremes. This flip side of acquisition – blatant evil – was proximally successfully, but ultimately catastrophic [And thus Nazi Germany decisively armed the history-based observation/axiom that oppressive dictatorships, especially those predicated on elitism and calculated violence, actually exploits (in the name of liberation) and then stifles the basic human drive to acquire, retain and protect resources. What begins as a successful shortcut to gain for the masses and its leaders succumbs to the maladaptive extremes it was both born of and generates. e.g. sadism, conflict, perversion].
The democratic approach to generating opportunities for resource acquisition and distribution exemplified by the American sociopolitical and economic system would appear, despite all its pitfalls and failings, to offer the most benign and yet productive framework for expressing the basic human drive to acquire. That is, adaptive traits are actually accommodated if not nurtured by the law of the land, i.e., freedom is granted to the citizenry to pursue material gain, a mate of one’s choice, sire progeny, etc., while the law concomitantly penalizes those who attempt to usurp or monopolize resources, blatantly steal them or employ them in such a way as to bring greater harm than good. This is not to say there are not inequities, injustices, and the marginalization of many citizens. However, the sociopolitical means exist to redress these, up to and including completely voting in a new form of government. It is conceivable that one day Americans may elect to marry political democracy to economic democracy, so as to more equitably distribute resources and thus insure that the existing poverty-stricken, marginalized underclass does not grow or become a permanent sociopolitical feature. Many European nations have been and are experimenting with various permutations of social democracy or democratic socialism to achieve this very end. Whether Americans will find wisdom in this trend and thus adapt some form of it as national policy remains to be seen. At any rate, the American political experiment would appear to both free and restrict the drive to acquire in such a way as to favor the common good.
- Protection from Loss
What we acquire (develop or inherit), e.g., good health, resources (tangible and intangible), progeny, esteem, etc., we naturally seek to protect from loss or compromise. This is a basic, fundamental human activity, akin to if not derived from the survival instinct. What we as individuals and as social collectives (even nation-states) carve out we seek to insure against loss; to preserve, if not expand.
At the family unit level, men and women employ posturing, strength, the law or what-have-you to protect their mate, children, possessions, and possibly kin from inflicted loss or compromise (Whether on the part of others or nature). The rifle over the fireplace mantle and the insurance policy in the family strongbox are both tools for protecting the family against grievous loss. If one’s progeny, in particular, succumb to violent acts inflicted by others, the genetic imperative to produce and leave behind viable progeny is compromised (In essence one’s representation in the gene pool – the continuity of the family germline – is threatened).
In certain tribal communities this propensity to protect may take the form of ruling counsels and military chieftains. Field commanders essentially lead villagers to fend off attacks aimed at compromising the village’s integrity (Both it’s existence & established resource base). In larger collectives such as the nation-states, we have professional armies and navies whose sole task is to defend the populace against aggression from other nations bent on conquest (Acquisition of resources).
The adaptive role of protection is so self-evident, most peoples have written it into their religious and national codes of law. For example: If a man or woman kills an intruder who is perceived to threaten life or limb, that person is held blameless.
Of course, the basic drive to protect can be pushed to or assume maladaptive extremes. People can and do twist “protecting what’s mine” into a pretext for smothering possessiveness, greed, envy and even the pathological control of others. Fear of loss or a desire to limit the possibility of it occurring – say, a mate taking a lover or running off (Read: Resource compromise or loss) – can turn a protective stance into a “fortress mentality”. Authoritarian-prone leaders of nations sometimes fall prey to a similar mindset – played out on a grander scale. The end result of both is predictably bleak.
- Perpetuation
To seek to perpetuate one’s germline and resources (material gains/immaterial contributions & legacy) into the future is a natural partner and outgrowth of both acquisition and protection. One acquires resources, a mate, and has children, all the while engaged in trying to protect this accumulated treasure-trove in order to perpetuate biological (and personal) presence in the world of today and far beyond. In most other animals, the drive to acquire and protect biological and material resources is instinctive and perpetuation the reward for success. In humans, perpetuation is all this and more: It is distinguished by being simultaneously a natural drive and a conscious objective. This is, I contend, an outgrowth of our unique cognizance of our own mortality (Something no other extant animal species shares).
Consider: While religious faith comforts and reassures believers concerning a transcendent postmortem reality (Afterlife)* – which is adaptive in terms of reducing anxiety surrounding death, dissolution of self, etc. – it seldom totally liberates individuals from the deep-seated notion that the only certain immortality is found in progeny (and/or kin – especially for those sterile or not given to reproduce for whatever reason) and in acquiring those resources which nurture the familial germline and thus better insure it’s continuity. This unconscious element no doubt finds expression in conscious planning with regard to perpetuation of self in various guises: Offspring (being primary); ideas and memories passed down through kin, friends, and others; businesses or other enterprises which bear one’s name as both legacy and “physical presence” in the world that lies beyond our demise; et cetera. No doubt the modern cryogenic preservation of the dead in hopes of future reanimation reflects this very human drive to both perpetuate and be perpetual.
Given this human tendency rooted in biology, it should come as no surprise that “To die to self’ is no easier to achieve in our day than when first articulated by Ribbi Yehoshua (“Jesus of Nazareth”) nearly two thousand years ago. Yes, we do have many examples of people who die for strangers. St. Maximilian Kolbe took the place of a married man condemned to be starved to death at Auschwitz death camp during World War II. Newspapers routinely contain accounts of people of all ages sacrificing their own lives to spare others certain death. Are these acts consonant with our nature or do they transcend them? Perhaps both. Kolbe laid down his human life in order to acquire what he counted a greater reward: A place in God’s realm. He compromised the drive to “preserve” in order to “acquire” something of far greater value. Many who sacrifice themselves no doubt have internalized (and act out of) similar religious beliefs and convictions. While on the other hand, the sacrificial and heroic acts of at least some are born on the heels of a deep seated desire to gain more tangible rewards, such as recognition, honor, and material compensation. Some folks probably blend the two. At any rate, self-sacrifice would appear to both harmonize with and transcend the basic or primal drives.
As perpetuation is an adaptive trait, it follows that it has a dark side. We need look no further than individuals who build business empires and continue seeking to acquire more, even when this actually uproots and destroys other business and their employees. The reasons given include “it is challenging”, “the quest for more is an end in itself*, “it benefits the economy and thus society at large” etc. Are these the underlying motivations or mere rationalizations offered for a much deeper desire? That is, are we not witnessing the conscious desire to perpetuate oneself turned full throttle? Is the flip side of perpetuation an insatiable appetite for a species of influence and malignant self-aggrandizement which “immortalizes”? Do we see in history’s supreme narcissist, Adolf Hitler, the quest to perpetuate pushed to a lethally pathological level?
The 15 basic Desires/Values of Dr. Reiss et al as Expressions of the 3 Primal Drives
Acquisition
Curiosity
Food
Honor
Independence
Preservation
Physical Exercise
Order
Vengeance
Social Prestige
Aversive Sensations
Perpetuation
Citizenship
Power
NOTE: Actually there is a great deal of overlap possible here. Power over others, for example, can help one acquire, preserve against loss, and perpetuate one’s legacy. The main point is: All 15 are expressions of the three fundamental or core drives.
- Concluding Polemic & Summation
Our brains were shaped over many millions of years in an environmental context few humans experience today (Gatherer-hunter). Our neurological wiring, so to speak, is a prosaic mesh of domain-specific adaptations which give rise to the complex faculties we call “mind”. Given the survival advantages conferred on life by acquisition, prevention against loss (defense), and perpetuation – it follows that primate behavior should to some reflect a brain “wired” with these core or primal (adaptive) drives. And indeed, various primatological, ethnological, and anthropological field studies tend to validate this prediction. Our evolutionary siblings, the Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), form communities whose members engage in the sort of social interaction, competition, aggression, peacemaking, food gathering activities, hunting, play, and so forth which would be expected to have arisen (at least in part) from the underlying primal principles or drives outlined in this essay. The same can be said of the Bonobo (Pan paniscus) chimpanzee “culture”, which is characterized by an incredible degree of egalitarianism (though favoring matriarchy), sexual activity that is somewhat casual, and the defusing of aggression via sexual overture. The nature and scope of acquisition, protection from loss, and perpetuation may be more subdued than is true of Pan troglodytes, but it is expressed nonetheless. That the primal drives are varied in terms of expression within and between primate communities (as well as human cultures) no doubt reflects biologic and environmental influences. Consider: Anger is a universal emotion in primates – an adaptive feature of our brains – which varies considerably in terms of expression. Biology and context both influence the degree of anger elicited and its discharge.
Human cultures vary too in terms of the influence and expression of the primal drives. In the Kung! San tribal culture (Kalahari), the community is essentially peaceful, there is a division of labor, e.g., men hunt, women gather plant foods, and disagreements are basically resolved via discussion. Families share possessions to a great degree with ownership per se being a “non-issue”. However, it should be noted that the Kung! have few material resources and live in a setting where natural resources are available, but do not readily facilitate the accumulation of “wealth” (They are also highly mobile – moving in order to more readily harvest seasonal plants and animals. As such, the Kung! peoples must literally pack up and carry their world about from one geographic locale to another. This discourages accumulating material goods not essential to survival). Historically, as various cultures situated in resource rich areas began to cultivate and exploit same, e.g., plant crops, create novel labor-saving implements, exploit minerals and gems to fashion tools, jewelry, etc., and thereby benefit in terms of material enrichment (intra- and extra-community trade), population growth, etc., conflicts were more likely to ensue. Thieves sought to steal food and goods. Armies sought to capture regions rich in material and human resources. Defensive strategies and technologies had to be created to protect people and assets. In short, acquisition, protection against loss, and perpetuation found more overt expression in step with resource growth (Material and human). This is true both of individuals, families, communities, and nation-states.
So there you have it. Acquisition (resource), protection from loss (defense), and perpetuation – the primal drives. A two edged sword, being both blessing and curse. It is what lends most of us to work, build, have families, buy fire alarm systems and insurance policies, serve in civic organizations and the armed forces, etc., and in so doing create a valuable and enduring legacy. And for some that which builds gives way to the opposite – workaholism which robs children of one or both parents, material greed, envy, strife, power plays, manipulation, conflict and a whole host of other evils.
In a world awash in sophisticated weaponry, ancient hostilities, xenophobia and intolerance, we must not only recognize the primal drives and their expression, but identify (and employ) the best means to resist veering too far into the dark side of our evolved nature.
*Matters such as an afterlife rest on faith – which lies outside the purview of science.
Original copyright 1998, revised version copyright 2002 by Dr. Anthony G. Payne. All rights reserved.
