Really Mitt?

$57,000 a day?

And your tax rate is half of what we pay?

Mitt for President, REALLY?

So mark my surprise and delight when the new year began with President Obama’s decision to install his nominee to head the new consumer protection agency with a recess appointment, and in doing so thwarting the right-wing attempt to kill the new agency before it even got off the ground.   This bold action was followed by his rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline from Canada which would carry the most environmentally harmful crude ever to be extracted, through the center of our land to be refined in Texas.  I am aware that President Obama’s rejection is not the final resolution of the matter and that this pipeline will raise its ugly head again in years to come.

And now there is the matter of SOPA and PIPA and once again the need to fight against big money interests.  This time it is not the environment that is at stake, but the freedom of the internet which has evolved into the people’s’ tool to fight injustice worldwide.  Let me share a video which clearly outlines what is at stake now and in the future.  As with the Keystone XL the fight will not cease as long as big money interests seek to enrich themselves to the detriment of everyone else.

And let me not forget to mention our Supreme Court’s infamous Citizens United ruling which gave corporations approval to spend millions of dollars to buy elections.  Here to the people are fighting back in an attempt to overturn that ruling by lobbying for a constitutional amendment which would accomplish that.

So there you have it!!!  The new year is shaping up to be filled with battles all around.

For me it is lucky that multiple sclerosis has eased its grip.  As I continue to recover ever so slowly from this devastating illness, there will be no lack of important things to do.  And just like having done my share in collecting a million signatures for the recall of Governor Walker in Wisconsin, I can say that together WE CAN succeed in the effort to make 2012 a better year.

Only four months ago I lived in a world of ever diminishing possibilities.  MS was getting the upper hand and I was rapidly descending into the netherworld of physical paralysis.  But in spite of it I was unwilling to give up the search for a way to stop progression.  I remember feeling somewhat belittled after reading my neurologists evaluation in June where he expressed surprise about my continued optimism to find healing.

Uncle Albert, putting it all into perspective!

He wrote:  “In spite of her marked decline from secondary progressive MS patient continues to explore alternative methods; she is still hopeful that her condition can improve.”

That was in June when my husband had to accompany me to my appointment because alone I would not have been able to navigate the ample corridors of the renowned medical center where I get my annual neurological checkup.

After that appointment, many things fell into place and my decade long search solidified into a true path toward healing.  And this is what happened:

I had been reading about the impact food has on people with multiple sclerosis.  Over the years I had encountered many personal accounts of how individuals found healing by changing their diets.  But it was not until I found Dr. Ashton Embry’s research, on his website www.direct-ms.org, that I saw a clear way to develop my own path that will lead me to regain my health.  Especially helpful was this article   http://www.direct-ms.org/sites/default/files/Embry-Darwinian.pdf.

Success finally came when I decided to have a comprehensive allergy test which included 250 foods, 10 food additives, 10 antibiotics, 10 anti-inflammatory agents, 10 environmental chemicals, 20 molds, 50 functional foods and medicinal herbs.  The laboratory which conducted the tests provided a complete report of my food and chemical sensitivities/intolerances in addition to recommendations on how to eliminate all problematic agents from my diet.

I implemented the recommendations immediately and was astonished by the instant turnaround in my condition:

Within three weeks of eliminating all allergens from my diet my bladder function returned to normal.  At week four the fine motor functions in my left  hand returned and I was able to voluntarily straighten my fingers. At week five I had a complete resolution of all bowel problems and my overall condition improved to the point where I was now able to be active a good portion of the day.   Today, only four months into the my personalized version of the MS recovery diet, all MS progression has stopped and I am able to take short walks outdoors.  I now know that I have found the way of healing; and for the first time in my twenty year journey with MS I look forward to what is to come.

Nothing can express the change in my relationship with Multiple Sclerosis better than the following metaphors.  I equate the first two decades of living with this illness as having a prowling tiger in my house.  I had to step lightly in order to avoid waking the beast; yet in spite of all my efforts, the beast could and would strike any time.

Now that MS is quiet and lies dormant, the tiger has vanished and in it’s stead the illness sits idle like the unused car in my garage.  I know now which foods turn the key and activate this dreaded disease.

Allow me to leave you with a blueprint for healing by giving you access to these life altering resources:

1.  For a full explanation of how and why the diet works please read Ann D. Sawyer and Judith E. Bachrach’s book:   The MS Recovery Diet, published by the Penguin Group, 2007.

2.  For complete nutritional information for people with Multiple Sclerosis see Dr. Embry’s website  http://www.direct-ms.org/recommendations.html and for recipes visit  http://www.direct-ms.org/sites/default/files/Direct-MS_Cookbook_0.pdf.

3.  Even though there are many ways to get tested for food allergies, I chose to get the complete test from www.Alcat.com.  It was expensive, but worth every dollar spent.

May this information become the bedrock on which you build your own path to healing.  Blessings to you all.

Meet Bunker Roy whose lifelong committment to human dignity and self-sufficiency has proven that a single individual can make all the difference. 

Honoring Wangari Maathai.

Upon hearing of Wangari Maathai’s passing I felt a deep sense of loss, as if she had been personally dear to me.  But in truth I know that the loss I feel is not personal but rather that it stems from the realization that an incredible force for the common good has left us forever.

I will mourn her deeply.

I have a neighbour who helped harvest the fruit in exchange of plenty of it for her own canning.  The surplus we distributed among friends, to everyone’s delight.

Sammy is enjoying the Asian pear harvest

The dogs happily participated in gathering the fallen fruit and all of them were eating their fill.  I was astounded to see how many pears each of them ate without any ill effect.  Even our Berner girl Sophia, who is famous for her touchy digestion, did not experience a stomach upset.

Sophia contemplating another pear while Lilly looks on

Now, all that is left to harvest are the Bartlet pears and the apple trees.  It will be a pleasure to accomplish that task in the coming week with mild weather and temperatures near 70 degrees.

Our own Hummingbirds left a few weeks ago, but there is still activity at the feeders as migrating Hummers stop to replenish their flight weight.  Only yesterday three more arrived from far North, settling in for a few days to enjoy the abundance offered by blooming prairie flowers and our freshly cooked sugar-water.

It is always bitter-sweet to watch these tiny travellers arrive in dire need of an abundant foodsource and see them settle in for a week or more until their flight weight is restored and they are able to continue the dangerous journey to South America where the lucky ones will spend the winter.

All to soon, the last of them will be gone, the feeders will be put away and winter will come.

Hummingbirds all a-flutter during courtship: How fluttering feathers can generate courtship sounds.

Hummingbirds catch flying bugs with the help of fast-closing beaks.

Hummingbirds are playing at the feeders and sugar-water production is in high gear.  Some of our beloved Hummers are getting fat and soon they will be ready for their epic migration South.

The dogs are having fun in the fields nearby and it is awesome to watch their curiosity when they encounter the myriad of wildlife coming from the woods.

The only thing that is short in supply among all this abundance is TIME.  The time to sit and tend to my blog seems to have disappeared.  So, instead of sharing my own ‘pearls of wisdom’ I give you more food for thought.

Meet Eve Ensler in her newest presentation on TED:

Enjoy!

Since her father’s assassination Nadia is the publisher of the http://www.YemenTimes.com, a publication that continues to speak truth to power in Yemen.

A Green Ring Fit for a Superhero – NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

The picture confirms my yearning to travel into deep space.

I would, if only I could…