A Little Full Moon Creativity in the Adytum Kitchen By Kat Carroll, NTP, Associate Editor, Health Freedom News

Our Yet Unnamed Creation "On the Half Shell" (any ideas?)

Right before bed last night, my guests advised me- for the first time- that we needed to cook around his diabetes. He’s also received word he was allergic to eggs this week. As a chef, it’s not what I like to hear without having time to inventory my kitchen and put some thought to creative, healthy alternatives for people not accustomed (by virtue of having that diagnosis, my assumption anyway) to eating too far outside the typical American diet. It’s the last minute challenge, however, that ends up bringing new culinary adventures into our collective experience.

Option #2 for the Muffins

We’ve been eating mostly raw, vegan – these guests didn’t strike me as a Wakantanka Tofu Scramble type. (recipe: http://blogspot.adytumsanctuary.com/2011/04/january-2009-found-donn-and-me-in-kauai.html) It seems so few people really love organic, non-GMO tofu…So somewhere around 3:30 a.m. while my brain had been doing a little calculating as my body slept, I realized I had smoked salmon and Boursin cheese in the refrigerator purchased for my new girlfriend and her friends from China who housesat when we were in LA at the Longevity Now Intensive.

When we hit the kitchen at 8:30 a.m., this new idea had mentally arranged itself in the huge seashells we normally use for other purposes. A quick call to my son Phillip, now a finish carpenter for Gritton Building Company(http://www.grittonbuildingco.com/) but who was actually a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America helped me brainstorm these ingredients into an eclectic new item on the Adytum Sanctuary brunch menu, “Do you have dill? Capers?...”Perfect timing too as we have a lawyer and paralegal staying for nearly three weeks while attending a trial in a nearby town and they will appreciate the culinary variation from week to week.

Coconut Rum and Coconut Cream Fresh Fruit

While this bit of creativity was going on in my station of the kitchen, Donn was building some amazing fruit into something that begged for a little splash of …A quick run-through of the liquor in the pantry yielded some coconut rum he bought on accident. We make our own vanilla extract from beans procured from the big island of Hawaii and they rest in a base of rum, vodka, and Grand Marnier for six months- the last liquor was a suggestion from my neighbor who used to be a chef in San Francisco…decadent blend to be sure- pure vanilla in Grand Marnier!! Anyway, Donn doesn’t drink so he bought the ‘wrong’ alcohol home for the vanilla extract. It found yet another new use this morning marinating the fruit which we topped with coconut cream, a lemongrass spear and lemon verbena. Phillip said he would have added toasted coconut…this is how things just keep getting better here, coming to higher levels.

Time out for a quick lesson from Phillip Gritton, ex-Executive Chef, CIA

By the way, I purchased the lemon grass from my favorite Asian Store, Cho Market, in Olympia. It was immediately put into a vase for several weeks where it rooted and is now in the herb box that Phillip built. I’ll bring it in for winter soon and enjoy fresh lemon grass all winter long.

Lemon Verbena and Lemongrass in Phil's Herb box off First Light Suite

Brunch was on the table at ten o’clock; the real test came when the guests said, “You have a winning dish here. The combination of flavors is amazing and the salmon isn't overpowering like it can be sometimes…” (or something to that effect- I’m so bad at relaying the precise comments verbatim)  When Phillip tasted it with his cultivated palette he advised to thin the salmon, Boursin mixture with a little more cream to dilute the saltiness. Donn and I  had learned from a chef in Whistler last year to fry capers vs. using them raw and we did a quick sauté in the same pan the onions came out of. Be aware the capers as a garnish will be adding even more saltiness to the dish. So here’s how it went~

Caramelize a Sweet Maui or Walla Walla Sweet Onion by slow-cooking them in olive oil. In a separate pan, sauté mushrooms in a few pats of organic butter with olive oil- high heat initially and then reducing. Use sea salt and ground pepper to taste. When you’re about ready to turn the heat off, throw in a lot of thinly sliced garlic. Don’t go beyond two minutes on heat or your garlic will turn bitter.

Large Shells- Real Ones- To Fill and Bake With

Layer this mixture into the shells with onion on the bottom, next mushrooms & garlic. In a bowl, mix Boursin (I used garlic and chives flavored Boursin) with smoked salmon, adding fresh or dried dill to taste. Add cream to thin. Add some organic baby lettuce & arugula blend atop mushrooms to lighten things up, then a scoop of the salmon/Boursin mixture. Top with a basil chiffonade and the fried capers and a flick of the wrist of Smoky Paprika. Serve with toast. Very savory!

Lemon Garnish with Chives or Lemon Grass

I wish I’d thought at the time to add a very thin slice of lemon on the side. When Phillip heard me voice this, he showed me how to make a really lovely garnish- such creativity! It would have been fun to go to the CIA…

The guests were so full with the other offerings at the table and Phillip, who had wanted a chance to try this new creation, got his wish. He loved it! One shell is enough, per person, they agreed.

The morning ends, before Donn and I go hiking to catch the Fall color, with the reason Phillip drove out to Adytum this morning being accomplished; installation of the dog/cat door to help our furry friends to feel a little more in control of their needs and desires.

From a Chef's Lesson to Pet Door Installation...Phillip Gritton at Adytum

Since Gizmo caught his second mole (and we were paying the Mole Man $50 per mole before this….) we are encouraging MUCH outdoor time for that Mighty Hunter. The picture is...well a wee bit gruesome, but hey! life in the country, right?

As I finish my Saturday morning blog post we just got an inquiry from two culinary students to have their wedding at Adytum. They will book out the inn with the request they be allowed to play in the kitchen. They’re particularly interested in making pancakes for their intimate friends the morning after the wedding…in her wedding dress!

Julia and Chris Ward from their Wedding at Adytum

Yes! Bring on some more full moon creativity and fun! Adytum is a house of joy, of light, of the stars and moon streaming in the 75 windows at night to bathe us in creative power while we sleep. Sleep produced this morning’s new creation- sleep and a bedtime challenge!

Eating for Magnificence by Kat Carroll, NTP

Adytum Sanctuary has been called the healthy, gourmet B&B for foodies and we’ve been on the path to what the Chinese call ‘radiant health’, the highest health attainable, ‘health beyond danger’ for 18 years now together.  As we forge a deeper commitment to our shared pursuit of radiant health you will see new offerings on the breakfast menus at the Sanctuary. We’ve wanted to bring more of our daily green drink smoothies out to guests, but frankly they aren’t always so tasty! Donn’s been perfecting exotic elixirs taught to him by Truth Calkins made with the Chinese tonic herbs from www.dragonherbs.com and www.longevitywarehouse.com and believe me, some of them are phenomenal! You can feel them working… Cacao is a superfood and makes the most luxurious ‘ice creams’ and drinks when combined with coconut and hemp oils. Reishi is showing up in nearly everything and capsules being opened and blended…Donn’s an eye doc turned alchemist and the Vitamix is his greatest transformational tool.

Donn's Famous Shooters

We are focusing on the longevity foods and the Chinese tonic herbs which Ron Teeguarden, presenter at the LA Longevity Now Intensive conference we attended, called  transformational ‘growth herbs’ – growth in terms of our character, our well-being, and our evolution. The longest lived among us eat gogi berries, olive oil, honey, dark chocolate/cacao, and  drink moderate amounts of red wine. Can you handle that? Sign me up!   But there were herbs unknown to us in the West that are actually the symbol of longevity in China, like Reishi that we use now after being introduced to them by this team of presenters.

Reishi Mushroom: Symbol of Longevity in China

Jeanne Louise Calment, the world's longest living person (who died at the age of 122) was known for laughter and living without stress. She once said “If you can’t do anything about it, don’t worry about it.” She also ate 2 pounds of chocolate a week until her uninformed doctor (whom I am sure she outlived) persuaded her to give it up at 119. Port wine and olive oil figured into her longevity regime as well.

In China, the Reishi mushroom is the symbol of longevity- we don’t have a symbol like this in America…we’re learning to use these medicinal mushrooms like Reishi and Chaga and taking a lot herbs I can’t pronounce but that are helping in so many, many ways not only with health but in creating clarity mentally, enhancing beauty, spirituality, and building reserves so greater stress can be endured without succumbing to it emotionally or physically. These herbs are adaptogenic ‘thinking’ herbs. They have the power to bring balance as they are regulatory herbs. The Chinese have been employing and enjoying them for thousands of years. In China they have two systems of healthcare: one remedial and one strongly promoting radiant health. ‘Health and longevity’ is the common greeting there. I like that and the power we have to create by our words. They are truly tapping into all realms.

David Wolfe and Kat Carroll, Longevity Now Intensive Seminar in Los Angeles

I loved hearing each presenter; David Wolfe, Truth Calkins, and Ron Teeguarden, and each led me into a more exalted understanding of the place food and thoughts impact us. Really, though, you need to see them. They have at times (David continually) an electric energy arcing from them. They are above all passionate, magnetic, charismatic, bright eyed and youthful.

The energy levels maintained throughout hours and hours of speaking and/or listening was impressive. We were all hooked to grounding ‘earthing’ mats which helped with the EMF’s and disturbances caused by the lighting but their energy really came from their spirit, lifestyle, and the tonic herbs and it set them apart, it showed!

Truth Whipping up a Miracle in a Glass

David and Truth have agreed to either write for Health Freedom News, (www.thenhf.com) which I co-edit with Scott Tips, and/or be on the TNS Radio Show (www.tnsradio.ning.com) for an interview. Ron left before I got a chance to connect with him personally but he was invited as well, and in many ways, his wisdom with Chinese tonic herbs and medicinal mushrooms is what I am most excited to learn right now because Donn pioneered it for us and his vitality has grown substantially.  Ron gave a fantastic talk on balance and using top longevity herbs/mushrooms/etc. (Reishi, Gynostemma, Schizandra, Deer Antler, Ant, etc.) (I say ‘etc’ because I haven’t learned enough yet to know how you’d classify trimming the tips off deer antlers or eating ants!  Herbs…mushrooms- I have those classifications down (:  )

Ron writes a great book which he sells through his company www.dragonherbs.com that I am immersing in called The Ancient Wisdom of the Chinese Tonic Herbs. He discusses how “the Daoist sages of China have taught that each of us is born with an intrinsic energy that determines our fundamental, constitutional strength. It is called Primal Essence, or Jing. Jing is said to determine our potential life expectancy as well as the vitality of our life while we are living it.”   Jing is what many of us wish to build and learn to prevent from ‘leaking’. We’re equally desirous of building and storing Qi.

Truth Calkins www.longevitywarehouse.com stated some eat for their liver, some for their heart, etc. but we need to eat to elevate Shen or the spiritual ruling part of our life. We aren’t our body, which will die. We are spirit, and nurturing/feeding spirit is of greater long-term value than merely feeding the body however that doesn’t mean we disregard it as so many in the West do, eating whatever they want and focusing only on their spiritual life.   When we eat to enhance our spiritual experience, embracing it without the influence of the numbing dullness that processed and devitalized foods deliver, we will be living from the most powerful integrated point.

Ron Teeguarden at Dragon Herbs

Here’s what Ron has to say in his book about shen, “The Classics say: “The Heart is the Supreme Master of the organs and is the home of shen, the Spirit. If the Master is brilliant, his subjects are peaceful. If the Master is disturbed, his twelve officials [the body’s organ systems] are endangered.” Shen is the spiritual aspect of a human being. Shen presides over the emotions, allowing them to manifest appropriately but overriding them when they are not appropriate…when shen is shaky or disturbed, any emotion can become dominant.” This makes sense, eating to maintain that equanimity in Shen.

When I transformed OVERNIGHT in my early 30’s from eating the typical American diet (SAD) to eating vegan with no alcohol, coffee, pop drinks, sugar, refined foods/flours, I observed a few things. My eyes got very clear and even changed color to a jungle-cat green at that time. And my spiritual ‘eye’ became more clear, my prayers more powerful and constantly breathed, my intuition heightened, prophetic dreams becoming more ‘matter of course’, and my Union with the Godhead [Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit] much more vital, intimate, and connected. Later when I removed gluten, added red wine based on longevity studies, and ate mostly raw, the shen elevation was even more pronounced. I’m still on my journey and will be for life, it’s my commitment to myself because my start in life was not from a healthy standpoint at all. Jing can be restored and those of us who had a rough start can, with diligence, end up better than most that had a great beginning from the womb onward. Over the course of 20 years I’ve added buffalo and fish back in, and took one or both back out again mainly due to the frequency that I could now feel- my aggressiveness rose dramatically with buffalo, irritation and anger coming up that had not been a part of my life at that time. With fish it’s always the same response no matter how supposedly ‘clean’- hot flashes to get the mercury out by sweating when hot flashes are not a part of my experience otherwise. Pay attention to frequency and consequences. As a Nutritional Therapist we were taught the Coca Pulse Test. The pulse will tell you if your body likes what you deem as ‘food’ or ‘nourishment’. http://blog.bioticsresearch.com/2012/03/05/testing-for-allergies-using-the-coca-pulse-test/

Frederick Hart's Fragment 3: Ex Nihilo, Out of the Mind of God

Food can be a closed door to keep us from experiencing higher levels of spiritual life or it can be an open door inviting us into higher levels...If we are sick, tired, or stressed we focus on how to fix what’s bothering us instead of maximizing our potential by union with our Source. We’re in charge of which door we focus on and for most of us elevating Shen – or intimate experience of God -involves going from one door to the next throughout our lives as we learn to release addictions and emotional attachments to food, drinks, substances, and people that block Union with our Creator. Some people take it to the limit giving up all attachments, even food and water; it’s hard to believe there are people like Breatharians among us! Some of them feel that food is just ‘entertainment’ or an exercise in 'numbing' and mostly toxic waste.

Breathairian, Genesis Sunfire, a true Warrior for Good

David Wolfe http://www.thebestdayever.com/ introduced us to a true Breatharian, European-based Genesis Sunfire https://www.facebook.com/pages/Genesis-Sunfire/304334442911817 who hasn’t eaten food or drank water in years and only drinks salt water when he is doing his cleanses, which he leads occasionally. Why doesn’t he starve? He says it’s a mental thing. ”    A professional athlete, Genesis carried David Wolfe a quarter mile over his shoulders. David is 185 pounds, Genesis is 145. He is strong and ripped and looks fantastic…vibrant!   Here are some excerpts from Genesis’ YouTube interview:

“Break the addiction and emotional attachment to food… eating a lot of these foods is like taking drugs because of what the food industry has programmed into the flavors to manipulate us into overeating. The food industry is making it harder to have a conscious choice (marketing to children, etc.)  We really have no choice (at points) When in the mother’s womb, the child has no choice- they eat what she eats, drink what she drinks, takes what she takes. We are not taught to be conscious what we put into our bodies, we aren’t taught to pay attention to our bodies’ signals- cause and effect. We’re taught to go to the doctor to get some pills and our body will sort it out. They are relying on us being sick for their business.

Become conscious and aware of why we are eating. I was sacrificing long term health for instant comfort. Active, addictive ingredients make it hard to make a conscious decision. It’s hard to give up products that have a detrimental effect on your mind, body, and soul.  The food industry makes sure we come back for more; numbing, desensitizing us. The body functions in spite of what we eat not because of what we eat. The body sends out white blood cells when we eat cooked foods; it is seen as an invading danger. Our addictive mind sees it as good. Cooked and processed food dehydrates and drains the body of its resources. It takes away and we are left with disease and wearing ourselves down. At the end of the day the universal effect is destruction of the body, mind, and soul. The purpose of food has evolved into getting us as Divine human beings to forget who we are.  Like a roller coaster, I had to get off this ride.” 

Dr. Richard Schulze teaches we can get benefit from an 80% raw food diet. David has been on 100% raw food for years, and I met him about 14 years ago at a Raw Food Festival along with Dr. Gabriel Cousins and others in the raw food movement. David’s now walked through the next door embracing as he described it, “living mostly on herbs…” the superfood Chinese herbs and medicinal mushrooms.

His Chaga book, available on Amazon, is a must read because it is the “king of mushrooms” in his view, and this is the topic of his article in an upcoming Health Freedom News issue as well as his interview with Scott Tips. David Wolfe reminded us that if we didn’t know Genesis 1:29, to go look it up. I did, and this is how he lives:

Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.

One interesting concept David introduced was his belief that we must eat for our magnificence – that there is a plan to poison us with processed and addictive foods that cause us to forget who we are, Divine Beings made in the image of God. Truth’s focus on elevating Shen by each food and drink choice assures us we will not only be healthy in our body, mind, and spirit, but we will claim the magnificence that is ours by Divine right and fulfill our destiny calling with passion and enthusiasm vs. stumbling through life from one doctor to the next in search of the pill that will undo the damage we’ve done with our choices and habits. David and Truth concur with Genesis Sunfire who teaches that ‘the purpose of food (today’s polluted, GMO infected, processed, etc) has evolved into getting us, as Divine Beings, to forget who we are.” We just keep evolving day by day trying to hit the ultimate mark toward radiant health a little higher each day by the grace of God. We left this conference determined more than ever to keep refining and fine-tuning our evolution toward higher levels- to radiant health where we are protected from disease and living gloriously, magnificently!

Fragment 2, Frederick Hart, Ex Nihilo: Out of the Mind of God...Simply Magnificent!

Windy Ridge Route to Mt. St. Helens “The Exquisite Comeback”

If my last post on Mt. St. Helens was about a mountain as an indomitable survivor, this post reveals another vantage point of her character as she makes an exquisite, lush comeback from her desolation. The drive we took on a late summer day in September with temperatures in the low 70’s to  view Mt. St. Helens took the road out of Randle to Windy Ridge. The contrast of the two routes (I-5 to Longview and over vs. Hwy 12 to Randle and over) to meet the mountain is remarkable and both a powerful testimony to the resilience and invincibility of nature…and ourselves.

Faith is the strength by which a shattered world shall emerge into the light. Helen Keller

Out of Ash and Devastation Springs Life Amidst Reminders of Struggle Survived

At Fischer’s Market in Randle, we stopped to get a pass ($5 for the day/$30 for the year) and I checked out the little gift shop I’d heard so much about from locals in Morton where we visited the Tiller Art Gallery across from our optometry office, Medical Vision Center, on the way out of town. The Fischer’s gift shop was indeed a nice surprise, packed with tasteful gifts and things for the home and garden. Taking a right turn onto Cispus Road we took the right fork and headed toward Windy Ridge, noticing the other branch of the fork led to the Cispus Center and one of our favorite hikes; Angel Falls at Covel Creek.

Donn and Forest Art

The Windy Ridge approach to the mountain seems much closer than heading down I-5 to Longview and over. And while the road was pretty rough in spots, particularly as we finished our loop and headed to the Ryan Lake area on a broken one lane mix of asphalt and gravel, the exuberant life that met us all along the way was a blessed relief after the desolation of the alternate approach a few weeks ago. That route has the benefit of the two superb lodges and visitor centers with their fun shops that remind me exactly of Museum Shops… While the starkness of the first approach taught me some deep lessons about our ability to withstand a stripping of all we possess and still stand firm and immovable, the other approach teaches me about rebuilding again when life takes us down to the core.

Mt. St. Helens From the Windy Ridge Route

Since Windy Ridge closed September 4^th for road repair and will reopen next year, we saw it- and Mt. St. Helens – from a distance but what a spectacular frame! This route allows us to drive through the former devastation and to see the contrast of man’s intervening attempts to replant the forest with many species of trees juxtaposed against what will remain “The Monument” forest in its natural state post volcanic explosion condition. 

The territorial views from all the look-out points are remarkable; Mt. Adams to the left and Mt. St. Helens to the right and wide valleys in between refilling nicely with lush growth. No matter what the mountain’s experience taught, she was still speaking to each of us and that was quite clear in the energy of the sight-seers intent on reading the signboards and trying to understand the magnitude of what happened on that May morning.

The Miner's Car Monument

We stopped to see the Miner’s Car Monument flattened to scrap metal in the blast. That morning, mine owners signed a release to enter unsafe zones to check on their mine. They were some of the victims of that memorable day and their car shows the intensity of the demise they faced, obviously playing the odds against meeting their death that day.

Even here we were beginning to appreciate the beauty, however, that was created or set  into place that day in the upturned trunks of hundreds of trees, ripped out of the ground with monstrous force and now aged to spectacular silver sculptures. Nature truly is the art of God as Dante said. Some of these trees are recorded at 400 years old. I loved the sign calling this particular tree a ‘timekeeper’… now they live on with lasting beauty as forest art.

Stopping by Meta Lake and hiking in on the short, paved trail that is handicap accessible was a refreshing escape into a glimpse of a form of St. Helens’ own “Noah’s Ark”. This lake was covered that May morning with 9’ of snowpack atop a thick sheet of ice which protected its inhabitants from the searing heat of the volcanic eruption.

All around Meta Lake, life was extinguished but here it remained safe and sound. Everyone around the little dock was excited to point out the crayfish, the tadpoles- some growing legs and some already tiny frogs- the baby trout, the Damsel flies neon blue that eluded my camera lens like flashing and  darting playful fairies. 

Do You See the Crayfish? Polliwogs, Baby Trout, Frogs?

This is a hike for small children and the elderly whereas on so much of the other route taken last week we found ourselves saying, “so and so would 

never be able to make this walk…” and we saw many people with handicap signs hanging from their rear view mirror sitting in their car while the mobile spouse hiked in alone. Windy Ridge joins whereas the other route has the potential to separate, so be forewarned.

The Inveterate Pod and Cone Collector....

Windy Ridge also had an abundance of ripe Huckleberries which were a sweet reward, and the most adorable little pine cones to collect for the Adytum table, strewing them down the center, bringing Nature indoors as we move into Fall.

Next we stopped to see Ryan Lake and luckily the restrooms were still open. The small visitor center along the way had restroom facilities as well as picnic tables, but the sign on the door said, “See you next summer!” This lake was pretty too, and the foot trail above proved a nice little walk with unexpected lushness in the abundance of Maiden Hair Ferns. We did notice what seemed to be a cougar track and there were signs warning the animals not to eat human food (:…but we saw only birds.

Ryan Lake

As we negotiated the 12 miles of sketchy road that improved considerably as we neared Randle we talked about the ability of a mountain- or a person – to rebuild their lives after disaster strikes. The insuppressible exuberance of nature is so evident on the road to Windy Ridge, driving directly inside the zones that took the brunt of the impact that fateful morning. The birds have myriads of berries to feast on and they add such joy to the sky. Autumn color tinges the slopes softening the thousands of downed trees left lying like matchstick monuments to the terror of a mountain. The contrast of the forests where man began replanting three years after the blast to the Monument mountainsides where nature slowly makes her comeback is marked; both are beautiful in their own ways. Both are not interested in the past but are surging ahead with growth, life, and inexpressible beauty.

Silence is a source of great strength.  Lao Tzu

Be Still and Know

Like Muir, I gain spiritual strength and growth from nature more than any sermon I ever sat through. The music of the wind in the Firs was celebratory yet inside this music was a deep, profound silence at the core – the kind of silence that speaks of strength and endurance gained through trials. The lofty grandeur in the now-green vistas that stretch miles and miles ending in beautiful cloud swiped sky….all of it coalesced to join heaven and earth and my heart to the heart of the World and the heart of God all at once. The ever gentle teacher, Nature, reminds me that we are powerful beyond belief. Strong people move things. They are not moved by circumstance, no matter how seemingly crushing or overwhelming.

Rebirth from the Ashes of the Stripping is Possible....

And rebirth is always the natural result of a stripping. The freshness of this approach to Windy Ridge and Mt. St. Helens really fed my spirit with beauty; the clean mountain air revived my body, and another great lesson in the Cathedral of the World has settled deep into the fabric of my life never to be removed.

Beauty

“As your breathing partakes of the circumfluent air, so let your thinking partake of the circumfluent Mind. For there is a mental Force which, for him who can draw it to himself, is no less ubiquitous and all-pervading than is the atmosphere for him who can breathe it.” Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

Review of Michio Kaku's Physics of the Future, How Science Will Shape Human Destiny and Our Daily Lives by the Year 2100

As Associate Editor of the Health Freedom News, the National Health Federation's quarterly publication (www.thenhf.com; available with membership) I enjoy providing book reviews on a regular basis. This is one of the most important books I've read recently and I hope you not only enjoy it, but allow it to raise questions about how far is too far with the invasion of our privacy in the name of medical advancements. 

BOOK REVIEW

By Katherine A. Carroll, NTP

Physics of the Future, How Science Will Shape Human Destiny And Our Daily Lives By The Year 2100 by Machio Kaku (ISBN 978-0-307-47333-2; Anchor Books, 2011; www.anchorbooks.com, paperback, 450 pages; $15.95)

Physics of the Future by Michio Kaku is a visionary book described by the Wall Street Journal as, “A fascinating wide-ranging tour of what to expect from technological progress over the next century.” While much of Machio Kaku’s writing encompasses topics outside the realm of health freedom, embracing his well-researched vision that is unfolding today in labs all across the World, requires an expanded definition of what health freedom is and how to protect it and yourself.

Michio Kaku is a professor of theoretical physics at the City University of New York; a cofounder of string field theory; the bestselling author of half a dozen widely acclaimed science books and he has his own science TV show as well as hosting two radio programs broadcasting to over 140 radio stations.

As we stand at the precipice of a World where all surfaces are “smart” (embedded with chips) and interactive in an “augmented reality” he presents concepts that will bring new fields into existence creating jobs globally while raising ethical questions.  Kaku admits, “This, however, raises another question – the sensitive question of privacy, which will be one of the great controversies of the future.”

Biotechnology, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, and telecommunications are being transformed by thousands of scientists. Kaku says, “Since we are drowning in an ocean of information, the most precious commodity in modern society is wisdom.”  This is never truer than for health freedom fighters today.

We have some major decisions to make as a race right now. Imagine the implications of a loss of privacy, control, and forfeiting more health freedom in light of our clothing uploading our bio-statistics as we dress in the morning or having internal robots cleaning our bloodstream, performing surgeries, zapping cancer cells or delivering medications directly to the target site while being driven in a nanocar controlled remotely by a technician? Or selecting genes for our children or enhancing our own genes to make ourselves smarter or bionic in strength- even merging with robots to use their technology and mechanics inside our bodies?

Cochlear implants and artificial retinas are here; this technology is in use now.  Rodney Brooks says, “Fifty years from now we can expect to see radical alterations of human bodies through genetic modification. (Merging with robots adding electronic enhancements) The human menagerie will expand in ways unimaginable to us today…” The real danger comes not so much from consumer demand but from dictatorial governments that may want to use genetic engineering for their own purposes, such as breeding stronger but more obedient soldiers.

With computer power doubling every 18 months (Moore’s Law) changes rising from research and development will be implemented at an increasingly fast pace. We will live in a World of mixed reality—both the virtual and the real. The time to think of the implications of implementing these astounding scientific breakthroughs in the context of health freedom is now – and with a great deal of common sense.

Kaku states, “Common sense will be the currency of the future.” Robots are proliferating and will take over many jobs.  The Da Vinci Robot has already performed over 48,000 surgeries in 2006 alone in over 800 hospitals in Europe, North, and South America. Some European nations find themselves short on children; robots are being created to perform caretaking tasks for the elderly. “In the past people said the pen was mightier than the sword. In the future, it will be the chip that is mightier than the sword”

“All the technological revolutions described here are leading to a single point: the creation of a planetary civilization. This transition is perhaps the greatest in human history.”

Other issues that will rise are even more crucial, “The holy grail of nanotechnology is to create the molecular assembler, or replicator, but once it is invented it could alter the very foundation of society itself.” When robots have the ability to replicate themselves and outpace our intelligence, we truly have crossed a line where human life as we know it may never be recovered. It is something Kaku deals with extensively and sites that scientists when debating this issue don’t say if, but when this momentous event will happen.

Resurrecting an extinct animal or Neanderthal is possible but will raise ethical worries. Klein of Stanford says, “Are you going to put them in Harvard or the zoo?” Webb Miller and Stephan C. Schuster of Pennsylvania State University have extracted 3 billion base pairs of DNA from the frozen carcasses of the woolly mammoths. “A year ago, I would have said that this is science fiction. But now with so much of the mammoth genome sequenced, resurrecting them is no longer out of the question.”

The health freedom community needs to lead the march into the future adoption of inventions, requiring wisdom and forethought about the implications of their adoption:

·        All surfaces have intelligence, (chips) are ‘smart’, and able to communicate.

·        We wear contact lenses that give full-time access to the internet and 3-D imagery.

·        Our clothing is ‘smart’ calling for an ambulance in the event of an emergency, providing GPS coordinates, and uploading medical history.

·        We have personal MRI scanners uploading to wall screen computers. Our internal organs appear in 3-D on the screen which interacts as a doctor, accessing, and diagnosing.

·        “While washing your face, hundreds of hidden DNA and protein sensors in the mirror, toilet, and sink silently spring into action, analyzing the molecules you emit in your breath and bodily fluids, checking for the slightest hint of any disease at the molecular level.”

·        Nanotechnology allows us to grow new organs as they wear out or become diseased via tissue engineering, stem cells, and even to reverse aging.

·         A laser scan of our iris, accompanied by facial recognition, is the new identification.

·        Swarm bots will fly to the scene of disasters doing reconnaissance and surveillance.

·        Surgery is replaced by molecular machines moving through the bloodstream, guided by magnets.

·        Nanotechnology detects cancer colonies years before they can form a tumor.

·        Robotic surgeons, cooks and caretakers are common.

·        By the end of the century our zoos are populated with animals extinct for thousands of years.

·        Human cloning is completely possible. Regrowth of human limbs is underway, “The U.S. Army has made it a priority to find a way to grow back limbs.”

·        Everyone has their personalized genome available on CD-ROM.

·        Parents, children, sports teams, etc. will have their own geneticist to enhance, strengthen or add longevity to gene expression.

·        Biotechnology introduces grains such as ‘super-rice’ that are engineered to thrive in hostile environments.

“Science is a double-edged sword; it creates as many problems as it solves, but always on a higher level.” We need wisdom, discernment, and common sense to sort the beneficial from the controlling, damaging, and destructive inventions. What will health freedom look like in the future? How much transparency is too much? Where do we let God be God/Nature determine, etc. and where do we intervene? If ever there was a need for a Constitution for the Race of Mankind, it is now.

Mt. St. Helens~ Indomitable Survivor, Inspiring Spirit….

With guests expected from Seattle and Portland using Adytum as middle meeting ground, we left The Orion Suite open for their pleasure, heading for Mt. St. Helens for ours. It had frankly been years…What’s the lure of devastation grounds, post-hot, molten lava battlefield terrain? Trees with their tops blown off and trunks shattered into matchsticks…barrenness and sand where the lush forest undergrowth was rooted in rich soil in 1979 …scant vegetation now where luxurious woods sheltered diverse wildlife before. This was a desert and Mt. Rainier holds far more lure and appeal in its magnificent beauty and glory. But we went, reluctantly. Our guests were all going, so we went to see what was new in the intervening years since our last visit. It reminded me of visiting a dying relative in a nursing home – dutiful hesitancy prevailed…but by the end of the day that powerful, enduring mountain would teach me a thing or two that will serve me for my lifetime.

Mt. St. Helens

The morning started with a clatter. It’s been so unexpectedly hot lately that before dawn, when I wake, all the doors and windows are flung open to accept the cooling air into the heat of the house. The dog food dish set near the open French Doors of the kitchen’s dining room seduced a bold Stellar Jay inside…just one little nugget and out he’d go. Well, he was startled or somehow disoriented and, now banging and crashing into every promising exit, he had me running down the spiral staircase at top speed trying not to trip on my long bathrobe to see what happened…I’ve never heard anything like it. By now the notoriously arrogant Jay was bashing against the myriad of windows and frantically exhausting every resource. Hmmm. Grab him and get pecked? Have you seen the length of those stabbing, pointy beaks?....Pray…Breathe…Think…Ah, dish towel wrapped snugly and soft voice reassuring. Finally, swaddled tightly and the sudden release into open air, he flew to freedom hopefully never to thieve again, his arrogant magnificence humbled abruptly.

Not the usual start to my day. The incident with the Jay seemed to hold something- a message, an omen.  His morning's antics juxtaposed  against a once proud, now barren mountain and the Jay emerging cowardly and humbled; this proud Stellar Jay with its royal coat of deep blue and crested head like a Roman centurion’s helmet. Yet the homely mountain would regain stature in my thinking by day's end and I would wonder why I stayed away so long.

A few hours later at 4000 feet…A hollow, barren mountain once revered as the crowning beauty—they say Mount Saint Helens was the reigning beauty of them all – a miniature Mount Fuji; the perfection of all mountains in North America—and now this…half standing in decapitated misery bereft of abundant life…dry… a few brave flowers struggled to survive. Mudslides and lava flows carved chasms in her once lush forestland. I’m not as appreciative of a desert territory as the seduction of deep, quiet woodlands. Yet something spoke…

When the day was done, after I had admission to the throne of its still-great presence despite its lofty head being blown off, I had to ask myself, “What is a mountain? What is a mountain with a volcanic expression? A mountain with proud, brash defiance?

Think about it…..

In its essence, a mountain is a concept. It’s an attitude. And yes, that attitude is about power. Grounded power. In the case of a volcanic mountain like St. Helens -  It’s about power with force; force that devastates and nourishes all at once, power that destroys all below and sacrifices itself in the process of its expression.

Is a mountain the whole? Or is it the base or the summit?

Kirlian photography suggests that regardless if we can see the once lofty summit marching on heaven itself, it still exists energetically every bit as much as an amputee still feels the itch on the back of his hand that was blown off by a grenade…Something tells me this mountain knows exactly who she is…crowning summit of glory or not.

It’s still a mountain if it can’t be moved…

A mountain isn’t stature or a peak or even the lush beauty.

It’s the spreading, strong, and stable base, the territory taken that will never be relinquished. It is the steadfast and tenacious ‘never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever give up’ Churchillian attitude.

It’s the “I shall not be moved” proclamation, no matter how outward appearances seek to betray our steadfast courage because vital roots are sunk into Something substantial, something deep within that cannot be removed.Leaders are often forged in the crucible of loneliness and silence. So when the invitation is extended to join the 'mountain-hood of leadership' and lead others through challenging days standing firm and unshakable it is already a way of life.

“Courage is fear holding on a minute longer.” General George Smith Patton

A mountain like St. Helens might be stripped, but not broken, an aura of eternal power inherent in her minimalism is palpable. She might not be a beauty, but the strength that envelopes her is intense, profound, and real.   Her greatest strength lies in seeming weakness –

This mountain really taught me a thing or two today. Viktor Frankl’s wartime experience springs to mind- take all you want but you can’t take my freedom of thought and mine is powerful beyond belief!!!

The last of human freedoms - the ability to choose one's attitude in a given set of circumstances.  Viktor E. Frankl

              

St. Helens is not done yet. Not only has she survived; she’s staging a comeback in the growth of her lava dome. She’s rebuilding from the ashes of her own seeming defeat. Forward motion, unstoppable positive progression…always. The leap of faith and the sheer force of will carrying her now.

“We are standing, of course, on the brink and must take the jump—whether the bottom contains a nice feather bed or a pile of brickbats!” Dwight David Eisenhower from Eisenhower on Leadership by Alan Axelrod

I could go into so much here about our innocuous little day trip that turned out to be so strengthening…the terrain changes along the way from typical Pacific Northwest lushness to “California”dryness to pure desert with plants struggling for their next drop of water. The four gift shops along the way where I spoiled the grandbabies rotten in books and toys designed to teach conservation and the love and care of nature…

I LOVE Museum & National Park Gift stores...Spoiling the Babies...

The opportunities to hike and to dine along the way…Hearing of Donn’s first-hand experiences over dinner when he lived through St. Helen’s eruption, shoveling through 10 barrels of ash and driving in its dust storm intensity and the devastation of his father-in-law’s alfalfa seed crop in Eastern Washington, 300 miles away because of the ash fallout and no rain to clear it from the plants…fascinating as all that is, it somehow pales in the lesson of this great steadfast mountain that has now obtained legendary status so much so that every language was heard on the trail to the summit look-out.

For those that have ears to hear, everything speaks; the misguided Jay of my early morning…St. Helens in the dying day….It all comes back to mentor us as an oft unrecognized gift. Like this notorious mountain, we are capable of much more than we ever imagined. We can survive a stripping. We can stand firm. We are made of strength all the way to our molten hot core with power to overcome all obstacles that stand in our path. We are strong beyond belief when our roots sink down into Something more substantial than shifting sand -- that life-giving  Source deep within. We are founded on a Rock and we will not be moved.

We are Powerful Beyond Belief

Moreover, we WILL make a comeback when challenged because we exist in the Kirlian fullness we inhabit in the Mind of God- we are whole and wholesome, complete and full. Looks and appearances…they’re nothing. We know who we are and what our destiny holds.  We’ve gathered character and strength along our unique Way that nothing can disrupt or move. Do you feel it? We are all made of the same ‘stuff’ as Mt. St. Helens,  Mt.Rainier—all the great mountains…made of star dust, courage, love,  unyielding will, and indomitable confidence.

St. Helens blew in the 1980’s era of insane luxury when the markets were rising and wealth came easy. She was a warning to the brash, the bold…the thievery of misplaced  trust in Wall Street bankers' confidence. She symbolized the crash of 2004 and helps us to believe all these years later that we too can stand IF we stand on the power of the Substantial within. We can not only stand but offer safe haven to others who seek refuge at our feet- like the beauty of the wildflowers and chipmunks that reinhabit desolate flanks at hers. We can even nurture others from our desolateness because it’s not our springs we draw from alone but from the inexhaustible Source that fuels us. This is the lesson of the greatest, most beautiful Mountain in this hemisphere.

I went hoping to indulge in the easy beauty I find so naturally at Mt. Rainier and I found unexpected grace in a seeming beaten-down beauty instead. I encountered fortitude, stamina, determination, and courage in her presence. We like to rest in what’s sensual and pleasing but we need to rest in true strength, unfailing hope, faith, and encouragement. These are tough days. We need the power of this mountain that possesses the ability still to decimate yet who allows herself to stand seemingly totally humbled for now to be an example and an encouragement for us all.

“People surmount tragedy when they use themselves up fully, when they use what they have and what they are, whatever they are and wherever they find themselves, even if this requires them to ignore cultural prescription or to behave in innovating ways undefined by their roles. The tragic sense does not derive from the feeling that people must always be less than history and culture demand; it derives, rather, from the sense that they have been less than they could have been, that they needlessly betrayed themselves…” Alvin Gouldner, The Coming Crisis in Western Sociology from the book Guerrilla Leader, T.E. Lawrence and the Arab Revolt by James J. Schneider.