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SPIRIT CARD
OF THE WEEK
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Transition II
by William J.D. Doran
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THE NEW ALTWIRE
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Welcome to OmPlace's Altwire newsletter. Please direct your submissions and suggestions to: susan@omplace.com
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MAKING A DIFFERENCE
with TOM ATLEE
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Why Western Democracy doesn't fit Islam
I can't help wondering if there is some form of citizen deliberative
council (a small group of randomly selected citizens -- or believers?
- meeting temporarily to deal with public concerns) that could
reflect the collective thoughts, feelings and desires of the Muslim
world.
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HERB OF THE WEEK
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Dandelion from Plants for a Future
Dandelion is used to treat gall bladder and urinary disorders, gallstones, jaundice, cirrhosis, dyspepsia with constipation, oedema associated with high blood pressure and heart weakness, chronic joint and skin complaints, and gout.
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QUOTE OF
THE WEEK
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"There is more to life than increasing its speed."
- Mahatma Gandhi
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MOVIE REVIEW
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Owning Mahowny by Michelle Devereaux / Exclaim!
Philip Seymour Hoffman is perfectly cast as socially awkward golden boy Dan Mahowny in this chronicle of the real-life story of Mahowny’s multi-million dollar embezzlement from a Canadian bank to feed an insatiable gambling habit.
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ALTERNATIVE NEWS |
 The Real 'Saving of Private Lynch' - Iraqi Medical Staff Tell a Different Story Than US Military by Mitch Potter / Toronto Star (via Common Dreams News Center)
Branded on to our consciousness by media frenzy, the flawless midnight rescue of 19-year-old Private First Class Jessica Lynch hardly bears repeating even a month after the fact. Precision teams of U.S. Army Rangers and Navy Seals, acting on intelligence information and supported by four helicopter gunships, ended Lynch's nine-day Iraqi imprisonment in true Rambo style, raising America's spirits when it needed it most. All Hollywood could ever hope to have in a movie was there in this extraordinary feat of rescue — except, perhaps, the truth. So say three Nasiriya doctors, two nurses, one hospital administrator and local residents interviewed separately last week in a Toronto Star investigation.
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ENTERTAINMENT |
 In a Heartbeat - Drummer Layne Redmond Gets Deep from Jeff Wessman / New Dimensions Journal
Master percussionist and performer Layne Redmond teaches workshops and performs internationally, powerfully blending ritual with virtuoso playing. She is the author of When the Drummers Were Women (Three Rivers Press 1997). "As I studied the designs and images painted on the frame drum, I realized that many of the designs represented the womb of the Goddess," she says. "Many of the drums were painted red, the color of blood. Last night I opened the concert with the first sound that you ever hear, the sound of your mother's blood pulsing through her arteries. You actually don't hear her heartbeat; you hear the sound of the blood gushing. I have come to realize that is why all the goddesses in ancient art were holding the frame drum. I studied fetal development because I wanted to find out when we could actually hear in the womb. Our ears complete their development at six months of fetal age, and that is when we can actually hear. We entrain immediately to sounds."
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SPIRITUALITY
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Scientific Pantheism:
an empirical religion for the Third Millennium
by Paul Harrison / Better Earth News
Pantheism is an ancient religion - older than Buddhism or Christianity - and may already count hundreds of millions among its members. Most Taoists are pantheists, along with many Chinese, Japanese and Western Buddhists, deep ecologists, pagans, animists, followers of many native religions, and many Unitarian Universalists. The central philosophical scriptures of Hinduism are pantheistic. Many atheists and humanists may be pantheists without realizing it. Yet modern pantheism is little known and often misunderstood. It has nothing to do with "pantheon" - belief in many Gods. It is neither theism nor atheism, but transcends both. Its central tenet is that the universe is divine and nature is a sacred part of the divine.
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HOLISTIC HEALTH |
What's Brewing: Healthy New Tea Choices
from WholeHealthMD.com
Every year, the list of health benefits for "traditional" tea--the black, green, and oolong types brewed from the leaves of the Camillia sinensis bush--stretches ever longer. Simply by sipping one to four cups of tea a day, it's been shown, can lower your cholesterol and blood pressure, lessen your risk of blood clots, and protect you against stroke and heart attack. In addition, regular tea drinkers are less likely to get certain types of cancer (mouth, stomach, colon, skin, among others). Tea even fights germs and oral bacteria, and staves off the bone-thinning that comes with age. Two new choices are bubble tea - served hot or cold, in crazy flavors like honeydew, lichee, milk chocolate, taro, and papaya- and Chai, which is literally the word for tea in many parts of the world and refers to the way it is prepared. To make it, loose tea is brewed with water and spices such as clove, ginger, pepper, and cardamom.
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CONSCIOUS TRAVEL |
 Wild Side of Cypriot Cuisine - Dining On Wild Plants In A Villager's Home by Wayne Milstead / GoNomad.com
The scent of fresh herbs and garlic tickled our noses as we entered George and Lara's villa on the quiet uncluttered beach near Polis, Cyprus. Earlier, when he invited us to dinner, George mentioned they had gathered some "weeds" to eat. I thought he was joking. He wasn't. The kitchen resembled a greenhouse overflowing with a lush garden of fresh wild greens, herbs, vegetables and fungi. George and his wife Lara, restaurateurs in nearby Paphos, only serve what George describes as real Cypriot cuisine: uncultivated plants gathered from the verdant countryside and seasonal produce along with natural handmade cheeses and breads. We had bumped into George and Lara several times at our hotel and now here we were: friends and dinner guests. They were on holiday too, taking a break from waking when the cock crows to hunt and gather for the restaurant.
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MASSAGE |
 Bodywork with Common Sense by Brooke Eastburn / Heathmap Magazine (via BodyLogic.com)
The logic at the core of Yamuna Zake's Body Logic work is simply to reteach the body to align back to its natural position, to be as it really intends to be. Stress, posture, gravity; and life experience are the culprits that cause our bodies to become painfully out of whack. The idea is to elongate the muscles, to encourage them to take their prpper space sothatthey will fluiction properly. Yamnna explained to me that wben guided, our bodies will start to correct themselves. She compares teaching a malaligned body about its ideal state to seeing a therapist when our lives are not working quite right. When we gain insight into our lives, we don't lose that awareness. Similarly, our forms will remember what they have learned and strive to duplicate what felt right.
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VEGETARIAN FOOD
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 Bitter Melon - A Vegetable Asians Love by Kasma Loha-unchit
/ ThaiFoodandTravel.com
Bitter melon is perhaps the most bitter of vegetables. Easily recognized by its shiny, fleshy and peculiar warty-looking surface, irregular ridges and bumps run the length of the fruit. A mainstay of local oriental produce markets, especially during the warm summer months, bitter melon is a common vegetable consumed by millions around the world -- not only in the Far East, but also in many Central and South American and Caribbean countries. The vast majority of Americans who have tried bitter melon probably found the experience quite unpleasant, not something they would ever want to repeat. But really, bitter melon is a delicious vegetable -- when cooked right and when latent taste buds on the tongue are given the chance to become acquainted with the most misunderstood and maligned of the five primary flavors. Moreover, it is immensely nutritious. Rich in iron, bitter melon has twice the beta carotene of broccoli, twice the calcium of spinach, twice the potassium of bananas, and contains vitamins C and B 1 to 3, phosphorus and good dietary fiber. It is believed to be good for the liver and has been proven by western scientists to contain insulin, act as an anti-tumor agent, and inhibit HIV-1 infection.
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YOGA |
 Yoga and Blood Pressure by B.K.S. Iyengar / Yoga.com
The asanas, which regulate blood pressure, belong to
the forward bends, supine, sitting, and inversions group.
However forward bends are the fundamental asanas to
be practiced by persons suffering from high blood
pressure, whereas Viparita Dandasana is the most
beneficial asana for low blood pressure. Forward bends should be practiced with bolsters,
blankets and an elasto-crepe bandage wrapped around
the forehead and eyes. In forward bends the frontal
brain is pacified and blood flow to the brain is
regularized. Stress gets released from the sense
organs, eyes, nose, throat and tongue. Nervine
stress, chronic headaches and eye pain is also
reduced.
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TAROT |
 Animal Oracle Decks Compared by Debbie Lake / TarotPassages.com
I've managed to accumulate quite a collection of animal oracles over the year - my current collection includes the Druid Animal Oracle, Beasts of Albion, Medicine Cards and Animal Spirit Cards. I've decided to take a look at the different decks and compare what they have in common and what makes them different. I chose two cards included in each deck to compare and contrast: Wolf and Raven. Many of the cards in each deck are similar but there are also cards unique to the individual decks. And each deck has a different focus. Druid Animal Oracle and Beasts of Albion both draw on the ancient traditions and beliefs of Celtic Britain and Ireland. The Medicine Cards draw on the native traditions of America and Susan Seddon Boulet's Animal Spirits draws on animals and beliefs from across the world.
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READING ROOM |
 Herbs From The Bible Ellen Kamhi PhD RN / The Natural Nurse
Plants have been used throughout history, (and even during pre-historic times), by civilizations around the world for food, medicine, tools, household implements and spiritual ritual. So, it is not surprising to discover that both the old and the new Testament contain hundreds of descriptions of the use of herbs for all of these purposes. Garlic was prized by the Isrealites . They complained of missing it after they left Egypt. During the Middle Ages it was a common Christian tradition to carry garlic as a good luck charm that could ward off demons and vampires. Now scientific research has linked the consumption of garlic to various health benefits - including having the ability to kill pathogenic microorganisms - perhaps their belief was not that far from the truth!
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HOLISTIC ANIMAL CARE |
 The Dog Whisperer: A Compassionate, Nonviolent Approach to Dog Training excerpted from the book by Paul Owens with Norma Eckroate (via PetsAge.com)
From a dog's perspective, there is no such thing as a problem behavior. He's doing what he's doing for his own dog reason. And to look at from another perspective, a behavior you don't consider a problem might be one to other people. You might like your dog jumping up on you when you get home but others don't. If your dog's behavior is harmful to the environment, other people, other animals, or you, it deserves immediate attention. In most cases problem behaviors are caused by an imbalance of nine ingredients. Exceptions are those cases where your dog's behavior is influenced by a physical or mental health problem. Therefore, before implementing any behavioral modification program, ask your veterinarian to do a thorough exam. Remember - your dog's behavior can be increased or decreased by your response. The trick is to stop reacting and remember to respond instead. Pause before you act. Reacting denotes an emotionally based knee-jerk behavior to a particular situation. On the other hand, a response means we bring all our wisdom, creativity, intuition, and emotion to the situation.
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ASTROLOGY & DIVINATION |
 The Luminaries:
The Sun and The Moon
by Carolyn Brent / ShamanicAstrology.com
Some cultures see the Sun as representing the masculine mysteries and the Moon as representing the feminine mysteries. However, their are other cultures that saw the Sun and Moon in reverse roles (some still do). That is one reason why in Shamanic Astrology the Sun and the Moon do not represent the feminine and masculine mysteries. Venus and Mars are more specifically suited to that role. However, the cycle of the Sun and the Moon works as a prototype for the cycles of the initiation planets, or outer planets, from Jupiter on out. Mercury, Venus, and Mars have cycles that are uniquely different due to how closely they orbit the Sun. The Sun and the Moon do represent co-creative principles, each with specific functions. So, when we understand the Sun/Moon cycle we have a framework for understanding our own personal cycles.
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ENVIRONMENT |
 Fueling Around: Veggie Van Runs on Vegetable Oil by Joshua Tickell / Satya Magazine
When Rudolf Diesel unveiled the Diesel engine at the 1900 World’s Fair in Paris, he shocked reputable scientists and inventors by pouring peanut oil into it. It is not surprising that this brilliant inventor designed the Diesel engine to run on vegetable oil considering that he spent his childhood in the agricultural provinces of France and Germany. He grew up around farmers and knew their troubles and needs. It was not until the oil crisis of the 1970s that the idea of using vegetable oil as an engine fuel was again given serious thought. Universities in the U.S. and Europe developed methods for using vegetable oil as a fuel for modern-day Diesel engines. My goal was to take a Winnebago, paint it with a field of sunflowers, drive it across the country, and fuel it with vegetable oil. Since new vegetable oil from the supermarket is expensive, I would run the motor home on used cooking oil from fast food restaurants. No sooner had I thought of it than the Veggie Van was born.
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SOCIAL ISSUES |
 The Anarchist in the Library:
Discussing Cultural Democracy with Siva Vaidhyanathan by Paul Schmelzer / Eyeteeth: A Journal of Incisive Ideas
Siva Vaidhyanathan's work on intellectual property cuts a wide swath through culture, from blues and hip-hop to digital copyright law, Napster and mp3 downloading to the FCC's upcoming vote on media deregulation and the heroism of librarians in John Ashcroft's America. While the topics he ponders as the author of the forthcoming book The Anarchist in the Library and assistant professor of Culture and Communications at NYU can be pretty complicated, he always keeps the discussion interesting, down-to-earth, and--above all--human. Because in a culture transformed by advanced technology, that's what's often missing. During this April 8 interview with Vaidhyanathan, the conversation kept revolving around a simple, broad theme - reclaiming cultural democracy.
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