I Am Your Child / Secrets to Longevity / Sept. 6 Fall Semester Begins

“Behold,
Children are a heritage from the LORD, 
the fruit of the womb
a reward.”
– Psalm 127:3-5

    I am the beat of my own lonely Heart.

No.
Your child cannot live
without your Love,
anymore than Life
can be without
the ultimate act of Love,
Birth.

My Dear Friends,
YOU
are always smiling
in the Heart
of your Happy child.

Your child cannot live without your Love.

I am the moments
I search your Heart,
in Hope
of finding you.
I am
the beat of my own
lonely Heart,
waiting
just for you.
The music
of my Life
joins in perfect
Harmony
as Heavens sing
of my Life
with you.

          You, my reason to be.

My Home,
destiny of my dreams,
is in
your Heart.
For within
lie the Seasons
yet to come,
days and moments,
precious moments,
to Dawn
as your own.

All Creation,
through all of Time,
is the World yet to be,
if endless tears
roll by,
toward Suns yet to set,
into a Sea
of you
without me.

        My Home is in your Heart.

Yes,
I am
your Daughter,
I am
your Son.
And you,
my reason to be.

Until
the end of Time,
centuries countless to come,
the Spark
of my Life
will endless
have never begun.

For without Love,
the Dawn of all Time
is a World
I will never see.

The sparkle of your eyes, glorious beyond Belief.

But,
hold me
in your arms
and I feel the Breath
of Life,
God breathed into me.
The sparkle
of your eyes,
glorious
beyond Belief,
pass years endless
in bliss,
remembering.

Hold me in your arms and I feel the Breath of Life.

I call
to a World
in momentary disbelief,
transfigured
  of yesterday’s tomorrow,
of today
in Eternity.

The one
who birthed the Dawn
of all my Time,
gave birth to
me.
But breath of Life
can long pass away,
without the Love
that nurtures me.

I am the moments I search your Heart.

Endless
is the Spark of Life
with Love,
the Song
of all Eternity,
Processions
in Perfect Harmony,
flowing
to the Heart of God,
waiting patiently.

For
Life is Love,
the Desire of God,
Destiny.

               Life is Love.

I am
your Daughter.
I am
your Son.
I am
the Will to be,
a Child of God,
His Sacred Seed.

And Love,
LOVE
is all I want,
all I will ever
need.

Goodnight.

Endless is the Spark of Life with Love.

“People were bringing little children
to Jesus for him to place his hands on them,
but the disciples rebuked them.
When Jesus saw this, he was indignant.
He said to them, “Let the little children come to me,
and do not hinder them,
for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.
Truly I tell you,
anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God
like a little child
will never enter it.”
And he took the children in his arms,
placed his hands on them
and Blessed them.”
– Mark 10:13-16

I am the Will to be, a Child of God.

People That Lived to 100 Spill Their Secrets of Longevity
from modernhealthmonk.com

by Alexander Heyne   read more

Besse Cooper, 116

“Mind your own business and don’t eat junk food. Treat everyone the way you want to be treated, work hard and love what you do.”

Bel Kaufman, 101

Laughter keeps you healthy. You can survive by seeing the humor in everything. Thumb your nose at sadness; turn the tables on tragedy. You can’t laugh and be angry, you can’t laugh and feel sad, you can’t laugh and feel envious.

Anthony Mancinelli, 101

Do the right thing, don’t smoke, don’t drink, eat right and don’t overdo it. If you need a little extra help, take some vitamins. Going to work is what keeps me going.

Ruth Gruber, 101

Look inside your soul and find your tools. We all have tools and have to live with the help of them. I have two tools, my words and my images. I used my typewriter, computer and my cameras to fight injustice. Whenever I see a possibility of helping people who are in danger, I want to help them.

Dr. Laila Denmark, 114

Eat right and do what you love. Whatever you love to do is play; doing what you don’t like to do is work. I have never worked a day in my life!

Bonita Zigrang, 108

Have a good appetite, lots of friends, and keep busy.

Benjamin Goldfaden, 99

Stay active… even at 100. Eat in a balanced way… Don’t stay mad at anything – you have to get used to the losses, otherwise you can’t win. Lastly, stay close with your family, they keep you thinking.

Irving Kahn, 106

It is very important to have a widespread curiosity about life.

Helen Mulligan, 101

Take it easy, enjoy life, what will be will be. Sleep well.

Ebby Halliday, 101

Don’t smoke, don’t drink, and don’t retire!

Gilbert Herrick, 100

Take one day at a time and go along with the tide.

Lillian Modell, 100

Keep busy! Do things that you’ve never done before.

Gussie Levine, 100

Don’t fight the day, just let it be. Get up and be positive. Avoid any and all drama; I don’t get involved with silly minutiae or difficult personalities; people respect me for that.

Jennie Cascone, 100

Be good, don’t complain, just get up and do. Keep on working, keep on going, and have a good time.

Murray Shusterman, 100

Get involved. You’ll find pleasure and sometimes disappointment but there is a sense of achievement if you participate in a successful undertaking, whether it is organizational or professional. Work hard, it will pay off.

Loretta Hodge, 102

Whatever is hard, you make hard, but if you take it as it comes, it doesn’t come hard. Don’t worry, don’t want so much, and be satisfied with what you’ve got. Be willing to share with your friends and those less fortunate.

Miriam Henson, 105

You must keep active or you will just wither away. Always be involved in some activity.

Barbara Brody, 102

You have to make the best out of your life and have a good attitude.

Winifred Thomas, 101

When you live for God, talk to him, go to church, have nice people around you; that is the best medicine. God provides for you. Sometimes you don’t know when it is coming, but it is coming.

The Secrets Behind All of These Long-Living People Are Surprisingly The Same

There are definitely a few things repeated over and over.

I went back through the list and wrote down the top 5 things that appeared the most frequently. Do you know what they were?

The most commonly cited things:

1. Keep a calm mind – Stay calm and relaxed and don’t let your feathers get ruffled. This  is the same advice the supposedly 256 year old Li Ching Yuen said, in addition to his three other secrets.
   .
2. Don’t retire – Stay curious about life, do work you love, and continue to do activities and participate in the community.
   .
3. Eating right and staying active (traditional longevity)
   .
4. Friends, social networks, and family – One of the longest running Harvard studies of all time follow men from college to the present day. George Vaillant commented that [in regard to happiness and life satisfaction] “There is 70 years of evidence that our relationships with other people matter, and matter more than anything else in this world.”
   .
5. Have a good time – Just a general love for life, a constant curiosity and desire to learn, grow and live.

What About You?

I think that many of us intuitively know some of the things that contribute to a long life, like relaxing and enjoying life, keeping your mind busy, and obviously eating right and exercising.

One of the craziest things I’ve come across in the past few years is that some people have willed themselves to death. In extreme survival situations, people have been found in safe, secure places, with food and water, who simply gave up. Sometimes there was a journal, but other times these people had no verifiable medical reason for their death. They just didn’t want to fight.

The external is seriously overrated in our society –  people seem to neglect the power of the mind to make a person happy or miserable, successful or unsuccessful, lazy or driven.

IMPORTANT  DATE:
Sept. 5 (TUESDAY)    First Day of Fall Semester, courage being a given.

Copyright Disclaimer – Section 107 – Copyright Act 1976,
allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship,and research. Fair use is permitted by copyright statute. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of “fair use”.

Lyrics/song texts are property and copyright of their owners and provided for educational purposes.

 

Creating Reality /

“Learning is the beginning of wealth.
Searching and learning is
where the Miracle process all begins.
The great breakthrough in your life
comes when you realize it,
that you can learn anything you need
to learn to accomplish any goal
that you set for yourself.
This means there are no limits
on what you can be,
have or do.”

– Albert Einstein

               Hope is resurrected.

Disquieted by doubt,
we seek answers
to questions we seemingly cannot
formulate,
and guidance from those
we do not yet know exist.
Searching,
ever searching,
we find ourselves
slipping deeper and deeper
into dark despair.
Not knowing
the why
or where.

But we exist,
in dimensions unaware,
now and forever,
here
and everywhere.
The beat
our Heart
is felt
by everyone,
in our every moment
on Earth.
Such is the Nature
of God’s
Love.

Yes,
we are One,
and so very much
more.

Hope
is resurrected
in our fragile Hearts
from Great Truths
that have come from
Above,
from the deep Wellspring of
Eternal Love
found in the Sacred
and Precious Word
of God.

Bring your wandering
Heart Home,
to Him.
Home
is where your Heart
longs to live.

“I fear no foe,
with Thee at hand to Bless;
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.
Where is death’s sting?
Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still,
if Thou abide with me.”

– Henry F. Lyte, Will H. Monk

We never escape
the consequences of our actions.
The hardships and suffering that exists today
seem ever present,
because of our very narrow view
of Human purpose,
of our reason for Being.

My Dear Friends,
the highest form
of intelligence
that exists this day
and evermore,
is Love.
And you are its Embodiment.
You are the Manifestation
of its Being.

And as vast and complex
as is the Universe of Worlds,
YOU
are so much more.
For their reality
is the Creation
of your mind
and Heart
through the Will
of God,
the Father you come from,
not through.

Trust
is the fundamental process
for creating reality.

TRUST
in the Voice of One
who told you the Truth,
long, long ago.

Then Jesus told them,
“I tell you the TRUTH,
if you have Faith and don’t doubt,
you can do things like this and much more.
YOU
can even say to this mountain,
‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’
and it WILL happen.“
– Matthew 21:21

Yes!
Jesus knew the TRUTH.
And now,
just now,
science is confirming
what He knew,
and wanted to convey
to YOU.
Reality is centered
in your mind and Heart.
YOU
have the God given ability
to create the World
around you.
Through your Faith
in God,
and in yourself,
you can do anything.

Please click on the link below:
The Role of Trusting in the Process of Creating Reality

If you see the importance of Trust,
of Faith,
YOU can now take the next step forward.
You can create the reality
of your Life,
the Life you desire
and long for others.

More vast and complex than the World outside of you.

The Essence of your “Being”
was Created pure, good, and Eternal,
and more vast and complex
than the World outside of you.

The Intelligence of your Love
can reveal the True inner Nature
of God’s Divine Love.
And your Love
can truly fill the many lives
around you,
and fill the World
with Beauty.

        Fill the World with Beauty.

 When YOU respond
with Love and Compassion,
by advising those around you
to return to the Beautiful Moral Standards
and the uplifting Principles
taught in the Precious Word of God,
you have sown the Wind,
and prevented our Children
from reaping the
whirlwind.

“Whoever is wise,
let him understand these things;
whoever is discerning, let him know them.
For the ways of the Lord are right,
and the righteous will walk in them.
But transgressors will stumble in them.”
– Hosea 14:9

My Dear Friends,
it is not enough
to fight for survival,
to endure day by day.
It is far more important to enjoy it,
to truly live this Life
while you can.

 Breathe deep the sweet air
of compassion
and forgiveness.
The precious stillness
found sitting quietly
and waiting for you,
can be filled
with the sweet victory
found only in
Prayer.

And your Heart
may truly be found
only within
the Being
of another.

Goodnight.

“According to the current doctrines of mysticoscientism, we human animals are really and actually nothing but “organic patterns of nodular energy composed of collocations of infinitesimal points oscillating on the multi-dimensional coordinates of the space-time continuum.”
– Edward Abbey

.

The Potter’s Wheel / Seven Ways to Experience More Joy / Thank You: Stage West Theater

“O LORD,
Thou art our Father;
we are the clay,
and thou our Potter;
and we all are the work
of Thy Hand.”
– Isaiah 64:8

Round like a circle
ever spinning.
Infinite Love
Created you
and me.
When Sunlight never was,
and darkness
was ever to be,
the Light of God’s Love
penetrated all,
and from
the Potter’s Wheel
was Lovingly crafted
the beautiful Dream
we are.

Our footprints
found their way
into the sand.
And rings
found a Rainbow
to fall upon.

Like tide born
ripples,
spread upon the shores
of time,
we question
over and over again,
the moment of our
birth.

To whom
do we belong?

And the Autumn Leaves
of Life,
drifting past
so very many days that were,
make us suddenly
aware:
there is more
to Life
than can be seen,
more
to Love
than in a
Dream.
And the lessons
learned
found in-between:
include Forgiveness
God implores.
For now
quickly becomes nevermore
the moment
to explore.

  There is more to Life than can be seen.

And in this now,
our Friends in science say,
The Divine Book was right,
we are made
of Clay.
read more

“And the LORD God
formed man of the dust of the ground,
and breathed into his nostrils
the breath of life;

and man became
a living Soul.”
– Genesis 2:7
.
We never know
the value
of this moment in time,
until it becomes
the treasure
of a memory.

And then,
God calls your
name,
to take you Home.
He wants
to take you there.
To where
there is no end,
and the deep
Mystery of Love
is kept
by perpetual Prayer.

He
hears your voice,
feels you falling
through the breeze,
like the Leaves
of Autumn trees,
into His arms,
a Harvest of
Dreams.

The Promise
of God,
is to Love you
and never
let you go.

And in times
of doubt,
when you feel
you do not
know,
the Prayer
you secretly hold in your
Heart,
will show you
the way.
For your Father
truly longs to hear
you say:
I Love you.
I need you.
In my Heart,
I want you
to stay,

                 We have been Blessed.

My Friend,
during all this
Time,
you knew the
Way.
And the Path
is Beautiful,
and straight
and near.
It points directly
to your
Heart.

From this
Moment,
Life
can begin.
From this
Moment,
you
have been Blessed.
But this Moment
is all
that is left,
to Live
and Love
and let your Heart
take flight,
and accept your Gift
from Above

Yes,
we have been
Blessed,
with the Gift
of this Moment.

And
it shall not last
long.

Goodnight.

        You have been Blessed.

Seven Ways to Experience More Joy
by James Baraz and Shoshana Alexander
read more

James Baraz and Shoshana Alexander share their principles for building more joy into your daily experience.

Editor’s note: “Joy is not for just the lucky few,” says James Baraz, a longtime meditation teacher and cofounder of the renowned Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, Calif. “It’s a choice anyone can make.” Each year since 2003, Baraz has taught a 10-month course, both online and at the center, called “Awakening Joy.” Its goal: to help participants increase their daily quotient of positive feelings.

The material is based on universal, nondenominational principles that draw on both Buddhist philosophy and on contemporary neuroscientific studies that show we can deliberately incline our minds toward greater happiness. The seven suggestions that follow will give you a glimpse of his joyful prescription and help you understand how to put it to work in your own life.

1. Imagine Happiness
Any activity, when performed repetitively, changes the structure of the brain. But even repeatedly imagining an activity has an impact on neural structure. Researchers at Harvard Medical School demonstrated this with an experiment where they asked one group to play a five-finger exercise on the piano over the course of a week. A comparison group was asked to merely imagine moving their fingers to play the same exercise. Though actively playing the exercise had a greater impact on brain structure than imagining it, by the end of the week, the same region of the brain in both groups had been significantly affected.

Each day, deliberately imagine yourself happy. Picture yourself in a situation with people you really like, or engaged in an activity that gives you a lot of pleasure. By actively imagining feelings of happiness or recalling happy experiences, you can help to encourage changes in your brain that will predispose you to creating more real-life joy in your daily experiences.

2. Memorize Happiness in Your Body
Even though the brain is strongly inclined to notice and retain negative experiences over positive ones (that’s our protective survival instinct at work), you can help level the playing field by strengthening your neurological happiness circuits. Whenever you’re experiencing a moment of joy or contentment — walking, listening to music, being kind, feeling grateful — don’t miss it! Pause to notice the feelings in your body and the state of your mind. Do you feel warmth in your chest? Does your mind feel light and open?

Now consciously intensify that sensation. Some psychologists call this “memorizing” the feeling. Either way, you are causing the same neural circuits to fire repeatedly, thereby strengthening them. Psychologist Rick Hanson calls this “taking in the good.”

“As with any positive state of mind,” Hanson says, “if you can develop a strong ‘sense memory’ of the experience, you can reactivate it deliberately when you want to.”

3. Reframe Your Fate Positively
Countless studies have shown the effects of gratitude exercises on positive outlook. One study conducted by positive psychologist Martin Seligman asked participants who considered themselves severely depressed to write down three good things that happened to them each day for 15 days. Ninety-four percent of subjects reported a decrease in depression, while 92 percent said their happiness had increased.

Because experiencing and expressing appreciation has such a demonstrable effect, we highly recommend course participants keep a daily list of things they’re grateful for.

Here’s another exercise that can incline the mind to gratitude even during unpleasant moments: Choose a task or situation in your life that feels like an obligatory burden. Try changing your “I have to” story to an “I get to” story, and see if you arrive at a different perspective. “Now I get to take out the garbage” could create an opportunity to feel grateful for your working legs, or your trash pickup service — instead of just feeling annoyed.

4. Strategically Diffuse Worry
Worry and rumination are chronic joy-killers, but they’re easy habits of mind for many. This excerpt of a March 2000 conversation between the Dalai Lama and a group of neuroscientists and scholars suggests a useful technique for heading off anxious episodes. The speaker is Matthieu Ricard, PhD, a geneticist and Buddhist monk:

“The basic way to intervene [when a troubling thought arises is to use a technique] called ‘staring back.’ When a thought arises, [instead of reacting] we need to watch it and look back at its source. . . . As we stare at it, its apparent solidity begins to melt away, and that thought will vanish without giving birth to a chain of thoughts. The point is not to try and block the arising of thoughts — this is not possible anyway — but not to let them invade our mind. We need to do this again and again because we are not used to dealing with thoughts in this way. . . . Finally a time will come when thoughts come and go like a bird passing through the sky, without leaving a trace.”

5. Experience the Bliss of Blamelessness
When we’re stuck in resentment, self-condemnation or guilt, our capacity for joy is severely limited. Everyone makes mistakes, so it’s important that we learn how to let go of blame — for others and for ourselves.

Resentment consumes energy, even when we’re entitled to it. If you’re trying to let go of blame toward someone else, try becoming curious about a hurtful experience, instead of taking it personally. Taking a more impersonal view of disappointments can reveal their hidden gifts.

When you’re trying to break the habit of self-recriminating thought, focus instead on how you want to feel. Rather than dwelling on a mistake, recall the pleasant feeling you have when you choose wisely or accomplish something successfully, and let that feeling be your guide.

It can take several months for neural circuits to consolidate fully in support of new habits of mind, so be vigilant. You are wiring your brain to fully experience happiness instead of just relief at avoiding error.

6. Let Go of Feeling Busy
One of the primary obstacles to joy is the feeling of being too busy. Even if we can’t pare down our schedules, it doesn’t mean we can’t feel happiness, peace or even joy in the midst of our busyness.

During intensely scheduled periods, try giving yourself “mini-breaks.” Take a brief moment between tasks and obligations to pause, close your eyes, breathe deeply, and feel what it’s like to be “outside of time.”

Even if you’ve just dashed down the hall at work from one meeting to another, stop for a few seconds before you open that next door. Close your eyes, let your body relax, take a breath, and come back to yourself. You may find yourself feeling substantially less harried and more capable of dealing calmly and consciously with whatever unfolds next.

7. Seek the Good in Others
There are a lot of reasons to feel joy observing other people — if we’re looking for the best in them. Seeing the goodness in someone else brings something real, alive and uplifting out of him or her. It allows trust to develop between people who scarcely know each other. And it allows you to truly enjoy your interactions with others without getting hung up on what you don’t like.

Try this: For one week, take on the practice of looking for the good in everyone you come in contact with. See in each person the desire to be safe, accepted, happy and loved. Even if you know someone’s shortcomings, keep looking for the positive qualities — creativity, humor, a caring heart, intelligence — any and all positive qualities you might admire. Notice what effect this has on how you feel toward others and on your interactions with them. Notice the effect it has on your state of mind. And enjoy it.

Our Shakespeare Production:
A Midsummer Night’s Dream,
was a beautiful success.

Our sincere gratitude to our marvelous Director
George X Rodriguez.
What a tremendous undertaking!

THANK YOU:
Dana Schultes
and the marvelous staff
of Stage West Theater,
Nick Meagher,
Virginia Rodrigues,
The Rodrigues Family,
Kayla Stone,
Michelle Smeller,
Nathan Pedneault,
Mac Cooper,
Christy Flanigan,
Alden Collins
and many others.

“Parents who overemphasize
achievement
are more likely to have kids
with high levels of depression, anxiety,
and substance abuse
compared to other kids.”
– Eric Barker

IMPORTANT  DATES:
May 22 – 26       Adventure Trip
May 26               Last Day of Semester.

Copyright Disclaimer – Section 107 – Copyright Act 1976,
allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship,and research. Fair use is permitted by copyright statute. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of “fair use”.

Lyrics/song texts are property and copyright of their owners and provided for educational purposes.

“When our strengths
are exhibited at extremes,
they become our weakness.”
– Merrick Roserberg

.

Into the Rare / A World Without Cancer: Is Prevention the Cure? / Friday: at School (Shakespeare)

Out of the common place.
Into the rare.
How we ascend
from where,
in dark despair,
we are placed
in harm’s way,
can become
a Miraculous moment,
a truly Sacred day.

For
when we Pray,
the Song our Heart sings,
is music
to the Mind of God.
Yes,
my Friend,
He is listening,
patiently awaiting
the sound of your
Heart,
to beat in time
with His.

   A Miraculous moment, a truly Sacred day.

As I survey
all that I see,
I am finally free.
The Presence that surrounds me,
Magnificent and Beautiful to behold,
if the Truth be told,
is the Existence of God.
He enters all that you are,
is all you can be.
Let Him lift you up,
from where you are,
to Horizons
only now
you will see.

“Oh Lord, my God
When I in awesome wonder
Considered all the worlds
Thy Hands have made.
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder
Thy art throughout the Universe displayed.
Then sings my Soul,
my Savior God to Thee
“How great Thou art,
how great Thou art!”
– Carl G. Boberg / Stuart K. Hine

Enveloped
by the Perpetual Light of Love,
Absolute Beauty
in its purest Perfection,
YOU
become One
with all the cherished
Reborn.

And
suffering and sorrow
need be no more.

  The Perpetual Light of Love.

God’s Purpose
can be revealed,
not to you –
but to your Heart,
in the warmth
of His Glorious Light,
the Light
of His Precious Love.

Let our Father
keep you safe
in the warmth
of His Loving Embrace,
and fill your precious Soul
with His Abundant
Grace.

Trust in Him.

Let anguish and hate
vanish like shadows at
dawn.
Do not wait
until you perish,
to rest in Peace
and feel Embraced
by Love
Pure and Chaste.

            Like shadows at dawn.

The innocence
of your Heart
need not
be slain by the blindness
of the night,
from never knowing
what is good,
what is right.
From all that’s dark,
peals out an Everlasting Song.
For in the dark and bitter cold
of things,
one can always hear
a song that someone sings.
This Song
is a Sacred Thing,
Born of Colors
in Rainbow rings,
clear
and penetrating
like the Robin sings.

The journey
to God in Prayer
is Glorious & exciting.
Cast your lonely eyes
to Heaven Above.
I invite you on this Journey.
Let your Prayers
float up to Heaven,
surrounded by Angels
singing in Paradise.

   The warmth of His Glorious Light.

Rejoice.

Meet
yourself
along the Way.
And as you journey
the road of Life,
know the end of that road
is nearer than ever.
Find Peace
in knowing the Song
your Life sings
can put your mind to rest,
make you at ease.

“O what Peace we often forfeit,
O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God
in Prayer.”
– Joseph M. Scriven
In 1855 he wrote a poem called
“Pray Without Ceasing” to comfort his ailing mother.
This poem was later set to music by
Charles Coverse and retitled
“What a Friend We Have in Jesus.”

May the Perpetual Light
of God’s Love
Shine upon you.
Rest In Peace,
until
you Rest in
Peace.

Goodnight.

 Magnificent and Beautiful to behold.

A World Without Cancer: Is Prevention the Cure?
read more

Author

Max Macaluso

(TMFMassimo)

Max is the Technology, Biopharma & Health Care Bureau Chief at Fool.com. Prior to joining the Fool, he completed a PhD in chemistry at the University of Cambridge and an MBA at the College des Ingenieurs.

In the following interview, Dr. Margaret I. Cuomo, author of the book       A World Without Cancer, discusses the importance of cancer prevention with Motley Fool health care analyst Max Macaluso.

Macaluso: Dr. Cuomo is the author of the new book, A World Without Cancer, and she’s also the daughter of our former Governor Cuomo, and the sister of our current Governor Cuomo.

It’s been about 40 years – actually more than 40 years – since 1971, when the war on cancer was declared by President Richard Nixon. In that time, we’ve spent over $90 billion on cancer research, and yet we are still seeing cancer incidence rates rise.

We haven’t come as far as you’d think we should have, for that amount of time and money spent, so I said to myself, with all the horrific effects of cancer on the lives of my patients, friends, and family, it was time to delve into the subject and give it a fresh perspective.

Macaluso: In your book you talk a lot about the misconceptions of cancer prevention. What do you think the top misconception is today?

Cuomo: I think most people, even people who are quite knowledgeable, think that cancer is an inevitability. “No matter what I do, I’m going to get cancer. Either I’ll inherit it, or I’ll grow old enough and I’ll get cancer just because I’ve grown old.”

That’s clearly not the case. We know that over 50% of all cancers are preventable. Attention to diet, exercise, limiting alcohol, ending smoking, protecting our skin from the sun, and taking vitamin D all contribute to a cancer-free life and the environmental toxins that are in our midst can be eliminated, or at least limited so that they don’t raise our risk of cancer.

Macaluso: What are some of the specific things we’re not paying enough attention to when it comes to prevention? Let’s start with diet.

Cuomo: OK, diet. You know the old expression, “You are what you eat.” To a large extent, that’s very true. A plant-based diet is what nearly all the experts say is not only the healthiest in terms of preventing heart disease and diabetes, but also reducing our risk for cancer.

If you look at your plate, your daily plate, two-thirds of it should be fresh vegetables, fruits, whole grains like brown rice or quinoa, or even a whole grain pasta – and then a very small amount of lean protein like fish or chicken, and a minimal amount of red meat. That is the cancer prevention diet, but it also, as I say, decreases your risk for heart disease and diabetes.

Limiting alcohol – that means you really can’t afford to go out once a week and binge. They say no more than one drink a day of alcohol – that includes wine – for a woman and no more than two for a man, and it may be even less than that, but certainly you want to watch your alcohol intake.

Macaluso: I can tell you, after reading your book I definitely modified my diet. I’m drinking more green tea and a lot more vegetables.

Cuomo: Excellent. Green tea has been shown to have anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer effects.

Macaluso: Let’s shift the discussion from diet to environmental factors.

Cuomo: Yes, environment; very important. In fact, the United Nations just issued a report last week, that the World Health Organization was involved in as well, in which it said that there are so many of the so-called “endocrine disrupting chemicals,” such as BPA, which are in our plastic water bottles, other beverages, also food containers, the lining of the cans of food, soup – a can of soup, a can of beans – etc. Even a cashier receipt can have BPA.

Parabens – are in everything from facial wash to shampoo, toothpaste – these are endocrine-disrupting chemicals. What does that mean?

That means they modify the development of hormones in our body. They affect our endocrine system, which has been linked to cancers of the breast, prostate, thyroid, and others. Also linked to obesity and diabetes, and they even drew a link to autism.

For all those reasons we want to rid our products, our personal care products at the very least, of these harmful chemicals, so there is good news on that note.

Macaluso: In your book, you talk a lot about BPAs and all the things in consumer packaging. I understand that Johnson & Johnson is leading the charge in making a commitment to rid their products of these chemicals. Can you speak a little bit about that?

Cuomo: Yes. I applaud Johnson & Johnson. They are the first major consumer products company in the United States to voluntarily commit to removing all harmful chemicals from their personal care products.

I would like to see other major companies, like Procter & Gamble and Colgate and L’Oreal follow the good example of Johnson & Johnson. Why should consumers be at risk for washing their face or brushing their teeth?

Macaluso: Excellent point. Going along with that, are there any other companies focused on organic products or specific foods,  that you might applaud?

Cuomo: Yes. I am happy to share with you, in terms of being BPA-free in all of their food packaging materials, the Hain Celestial Group. First of all, they’re the market leader in organic products, I’ve learned, and they include products such as Arrowhead Mills, Health Valley, Earth’s Best baby food, Walnut Acres juices, DeBoles pasta, Imagine sauces and soups.

They have made a commitment to BPA-free in all of their food packaging, cans, etc., and they also are very conscious in terms of sustainability for their packaging materials, so big applause for Hain Celestial Group.

Also, Whole Foods 365 brands, many of their brands are BPA-free, Trader Joe’s, and Eden Foods are some that come to mind.

Macaluso: Is there anything that consumers can do, or do we just have to wait for these companies to change their practices?

Cuomo: What you can do as an educated consumer is to read the labels. Certainly, if you don’t see “BPA free,” you have to question, “Does this packaging material contain BPA?”

In terms of your personal care products, read the labels. If you see anything with “paraben” in it – that means methylparaben, butylparaben – anything that has that phrase, “paraben,” avoid it completely. Also another word, difficult to pronounce, phthalates, another endocrine disruptor.

Basically, Max, anything you can’t pronounce you would be wise to stay away from it.

Macaluso: Yeah, I think that’s a good rule of thumb. Let’s talk a little bit about obesity. I think a lot of people might not realize that obesity is linked to certain types of cancers.

Cuomo: Yes. Obesity is linked to quite a few cancers. Scientists have pointed to the fact that breast cancer and colon cancer are definitely linked to obesity, but there are many other cancers that are as well.

What do we want to do? How do we avoid this epidemic? Do you realize, in the past 30 years the rate of obesity among children has tripled, and it has doubled for adults? Everyone agrees we have an epidemic. What do we do about it?

It’s all about education, isn’t it? We have to start with our very youngest children, teaching them what is a healthful diet. It’s not a bag of chips at every meal. It’s not a can of soda at every meal. If children don’t have the tools, the strategies, how can we expect them to eat healthfully?

Often times, what children learn in school in terms of vegetables and a plant-based diet, they will take home and they will be the teachers for their parents and caregivers. Isn’t that a wonderful thing?

I really feel education is the key here.

Macaluso: Once again, focused more on prevention than treatments.

Cuomo: Prevention is so important.

Macaluso: Let’s talk about tobacco products a little bit. Not all smokers get lung cancer, but it is a major risk factor.

Cuomo: Tobacco is a scourge and as you say, certainly we’ve proven that it causes lung cancer but it causes many other cancers as well; cancers of the digestive tract, even pancreas and bladder, have been linked to smoking.

What do we do? Well, years ago there was something called the Master Settlement Agreement, where all of the tobacco companies agreed to contribute billions of dollars to a fund that would later be given to the states with the intention that those funds be used for tobacco cessation programs and other tobacco elimination programs.

However, as I understand it the law is that the money goes to the states, but the states are not compelled to use it for that purpose. In these economically trying times, states are using it for infrastructure, they’re using it for a lot of other reasons.

We have to get back to preserving that money for tobacco cessation. Right now we have an increasing trend in smoking among adolescents, and among people of low education and low income.

Again, the burden of their illnesses is going to impact all of us. It doesn’t only impact the person who is going to be unfortunate enough to get lung cancer; it affects our health care costs, and we all absorb that, so it behooves all of us to make sure those funds are used properly.

Macaluso: Let’s shift the conversation from prevention to treatment. Your book does talk about some major successes in medicine, in the treatment of cancer. One in particular is Novartis’ Gleevec. This is a treatment for chronic myeloid leukemia.

What I was wondering, reading your book, was why haven’t we been able to replicate the success of Gleevec and chronic myeloid leukemia with other types of cancer, namely solid tumors?

Cuomo: That’s a very astute question. Chronic myeloid or myelogenous leukemia, CML, is based on a single genetic mutation. This terrible disease is actually a very simple disease, unlike breast cancer, prostate cancer, lung cancer – these more common cancers – which are several orders of magnitude more complicated than that.

Therefore, Gleevec can attack CML and effectively cure it because it’s a very simple disease. Breast, prostate, lung cancer, are all much more complicated and it’s not as easy to treat them with a single chemotherapeutic agent or a monoclonal antibody, and that’s what Gleevec is.

Cuomo: prevention is the most effective strategy we have for ridding ourselves of cancer, and yet we devote so little time and attention to it.

My agenda is not to draw attention away from treatment. Again, there will always be patients who require treatment, and they should have it. What I am saying is that we have the intellectual resources and the financial capability to achieve both.

The National Cancer Prevention Institute would do just that. It would be based on a collaborative focused effort divided into teams, each team addressing a specific cancer type, and it would draw from many disciplines.

It would be a trans-disciplinary approach, including epidemiology, cancer biology, microbiology, immunology, engineering, pharmaceuticals, even urban planning; everything you need to decrease cancer incidence.

I don’t see that happening right now, and a lot of people that have been studying this for a long time feel it is time now to do this kind of approach, the way we did for the moonshot and for the Human Genome Project, both of which took a collaborative effort which had team science at its core. That’s what we should use for the prevention of cancer.

Macaluso: Dr. Cuomo, recently there was an Institute of Medicine report that addressed cancer care. Can you speak a little bit about that?

Cuomo: Yes. I was very pleased to see some experts in the country, such as Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, Dr. Peter Bach, contribute to this workshop last October. They just issued a report from the Institute of Medicine addressing the question, “How do we contain cancer costs and what can we be doing better?”

Some of the key points were, what should a cancer therapy do? How do we assess its effectiveness and its value?

Well, it should increase our overall survival. It should increase the patient’s survival. It should increase the patient’s quality of life, while at the same time it should have very few side effects – certainly not life-threatening side effects or side effects that degrade that quality of life – and it should contain costs. It should not be an unsustainable cost.

I thought that was a very good way of focusing attention on the question of how do we end the spiral of cancer care cost in America.

Macaluso: Thank you very much. Once again, Dr. Margaret Cuomo, author of the book A World Without Cancer.

IMPORTANT  DATES:
May 12 (Friday)   At School all day (preparation for Shakespeare Play)
May 15 & 16      Shakespeare Production at Stage West Theater
May 17 Tuesday  –  NO SCHOOL – a day of rest for a job well done!
May 22 – 26       Adventure Trip
May 26               Last Day of Semester.

Copyright Disclaimer – Section 107 – Copyright Act 1976,
allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship,and research. Fair use is permitted by copyright statute. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of “fair use”.

Lyrics/song texts are property and copyright of their owners and provided for educational purposes.

       Horizons only now you will see.

Love Surrounds Us / Heart Healthy Diet / Friday: At School

The Miracle of Life blossoms into Beauty.

Thoughts of love
surround us.
And all around us,
in every moment
of every day,
with every beat
of every Heart,
the Miracle of Life
blossoms
into Beauty that
WE
can behold.

The Eternal Light
of Love
chases away the last vestige
of the dark
of night.
And we come to see
evermore,
the wonder of our Birth
into Hope,
into Love
and Life,
and into the
Light.

“All
things become visible
when they are exposed by the Light,
for everything that becomes visible
is Light.”
– Ephesians 5:13

We are remote
from the possibility
of comprehension.
But the Human Heart
can
take pleasure and delight
in the magic and the wonder
and the mystery
that is this
Life.

               A Many Splendored Thing.

Life
is at best,
but a brief journey
through Seasons
that come and go,
the passage
through which
few
are ever fully aware,
ever really know.

Yes.
Seasons come
and then they go,
and we are here
and gone.
Your smile,
faint in the glow
of beautiful memory,
much like
your Life,
seemingly long,
glimmering like a Rainbow,
but lasting
like the Dawn.

             Glimmering like a Rainbow.

But the Miracle
of this Life
lies in the Mystery
of the Clear Eternal Light,
that when you Pray,
will find you
and guide you,
and never
let you lose
your way.

“This is the message
we have heard from him
and proclaim to you,
that God is light
and in him is no darkness
at all.”
– John 1:5

Let us
Dream the Dream,
and keep on
Living
to Walk
in the Beautiful
Light of God’s
abundant Love.

                      Lasting like the Dawn.

 Yes,
the tides of fortune
are awash and aplenty
upon our shores.
And the initial Life
of material existence
is filled with illusion.

“Our concept of Beauty
suggests a greater Meaning
in a Universe capable of producing beings
that not only appreciate Beauty
but strive to achieve greater and greater Beauty.
You are made to think, know, and create like God,
because God wanted to share
that experience of Being
with some other than Himself.”
– Sarah Capello

But deeper
than the Ocean
is God’s Love
for you.

I Pray
you will come to see
the Peace and Hope
and the everlasting Joy
such knowing
will bring.

God’s Love
is truly
a Many Splendored
Thing.

Goodnight.

             Let us dream the dream.

Heart-healthy diet: 8 steps to prevent heart disease
read more

Ready to start your heart-healthy diet? Here are eight tips to get you started.

By Mayo Clinic Staff

Although you might know that eating certain foods can increase your heart disease risk, it’s often tough to change your eating habits. Whether you have years of unhealthy eating under your belt or you simply want to fine-tune your diet, here are eight heart-healthy diet tips. Once you know which foods to eat more of and which foods to limit, you’ll be on your way toward a heart-healthy diet.

 1. Control your portion size

How much you eat is just as important as what you eat. Overloading your plate, taking seconds and eating until you feel stuffed can lead to eating more calories than you should. Portions served in restaurants are often more than anyone needs.

Use a small plate or bowl to help control your portions. Eat larger portions of low-calorie, nutrient-rich foods, such as fruits and vegetables, and smaller portions of high-calorie, high-sodium foods, such as refined, processed or fast foods. This strategy can shape up your diet as well as your heart and waistline.

Keep track of the number of servings you eat. A serving size is a specific amount of food, defined by common measurements such as cups, ounces or pieces. For example, one serving of pasta is 1/2 cup, or about the size of a hockey puck. A serving of meat, fish or chicken is about 2 to 3 ounces, or about the size and thickness of a deck of cards. Judging serving size is a learned skill. You may need to use measuring cups and spoons or a scale until you’re comfortable with your judgment.

2. Eat more vegetables and fruits

 Vegetables and fruits are good sources of vitamins and minerals. Vegetables and fruits are also low in calories and rich in dietary fiber. Vegetables and fruits contain substances found in plants that may help prevent cardiovascular disease. Eating more fruits and vegetables may help you eat less high-fat foods, such as meat, cheese and snack foods.

Featuring vegetables and fruits in your diet can be easy. Keep vegetables washed and cut in your refrigerator for quick snacks. Keep fruit in a bowl in your kitchen so that you’ll remember to eat it. Choose recipes that have vegetables or fruits as the main ingredients, such as vegetable stir-fry or fresh fruit mixed into salads.

Fruits and vegetables to choose	Fruits and vegetables to limit
Fresh or frozen vegetables and fruits Low-sodium canned vegetables Canned fruit packed in juice or water	Coconut Vegetables with creamy sauces Fried or breaded vegetables Canned fruit packed in heavy syrup Frozen fruit with sugar added

3. Select whole grains

 Whole grains are good sources of fiber and other nutrients that play a role in regulating blood pressure and heart health. You can increase the amount of whole grains in a heart-healthy diet by making simple substitutions for refined grain products. Or be adventuresome and try a new whole grain, such as whole-grain farro, quinoa or barley.

Grain products to choose	Grain products to limit or avoid
Whole-wheat flour Whole-grain bread, preferably 100% whole-wheat bread or 100% whole-grain bread High-fiber cereal with 5 g or more of fiber in a serving Whole grains such as brown rice, barley and buckwheat (kasha) Whole-grain pasta Oatmeal (steel-cut or regular)	White, refined flour White bread Muffins Frozen waffles Corn bread Doughnuts Biscuits Quick breads Cakes Pies Egg noodles Buttered popcorn High-fat snack crackers

4. Limit unhealthy fats

 Limiting how much saturated and trans fats you eat is an important step to reduce your blood cholesterol and lower your risk of coronary artery disease. A high blood cholesterol level can lead to a buildup of plaques in your arteries, called atherosclerosis, which can increase your risk of heart attack and stroke.

The American Heart Association offers these guidelines for how much fat to include in a heart-healthy diet:

Type of fat	Recommendation
Saturated fat	Less than 7% of your total daily calories, or less than 14 g of saturated fat if you follow a 2,000-calorie-a-day diet
Trans fat	Less than 1% of your total daily calories, or less than 2 g of trans fat if you follow a 2,000-calorie-a-day diet

The best way to reduce saturated and trans fats in your diet is to limit the amount of solid fats — butter, margarine and shortening — you add to food when cooking and serving. You can also reduce the amount of saturated fat in your diet by trimming fat off your meat or choosing lean meats with less than 10 percent fat.

You can also use low – fat substitutions when possible for a heart – healthy diet. For example, top your baked potato with low-sodium salsa or low-fat yogurt rather than butter, or use sliced whole fruit or low-sugar fruit spread on your toast instead of margarine.

You may also want to check the food labels of some cookies, crackers and chips. Many of these snacks — even those labeled “reduced fat” —  may be made with oils containing trans fats. One clue that a food has some trans fat in it is the phrase “partially hydrogenated” in the ingredient list.

When you do use fats, choose monounsaturated fats, such as olive oil or canola oil. Polyunsaturated fats, found in certain fish, avocados, nuts and seeds, also are good choices for a heart-healthy diet. When used in place of saturated fat, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats may help lower your total blood cholesterol. But moderation is essential. All types of fat are high in calories.

An easy way to add healthy fat (and fiber) to your diet is ground flaxseed. Flaxseeds are small brown seeds that are high in fiber and omega-3 fatty acids. Studies have found that flaxseeds may help lower cholesterol in some people. You can grind the seeds in a coffee grinder or food processor and stir a teaspoon of them into yogurt, applesauce or hot cereal.

Fats to choose	Fats to limit
Olive oil Canola oil Vegetable and nut oils Margarine, trans fat free Cholesterol-lowering margarine, such as Benecol, Promise Activ or Smart Balance Nuts, seeds Avocados	Butter Lard Bacon fat Gravy Cream sauce Nondairy creamers Hydrogenated margarine and shortening Cocoa butter, found in chocolate Coconut, palm, cottonseed and palm-kernel oils

5. Choose low-fat protein sources

 Lean meat, poultry and fish, low-fat dairy products, and eggs are some of your best sources of protein. But be careful to choose lower fat options, such as skim milk rather than whole milk and skinless chicken breasts rather than fried chicken patties.

Fish is another good alternative to high-fat meats. And certain types of fish are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which can lower blood fats called triglycerides. You’ll find the highest amounts of omega-3 fatty acids in cold-water fish, such as salmon, mackerel and herring. Other sources are flaxseed, walnuts, soybeans and canola oil.

 Legumes — beans, peas and lentils — also are good sources of protein and contain less fat and no cholesterol, making them good substitutes for meat. Substituting plant protein for animal protein — for example, a soy or bean burger for a hamburger — will reduce your fat and cholesterol intake.

Proteins to choose	Proteins to limit or avoid
Low-fat dairy products such as skim or low-fat (1%) milk, yogurt and cheese Eggs Fish, especially fatty, cold-water fish, such as salmon Skinless poultry Legumes Soybeans and soy products, such as soy burgers and tofu Lean ground meats	Full-fat milk and other dairy products Organ meats, such as liver Fatty and marbled meats Spareribs Hot dogs and sausages Bacon Fried or breaded meats

6. Reduce the sodium in your food

 Eating a lot of sodium can contribute to high blood pressure, a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Reducing sodium is an important part of a heart-healthy diet. The Department of Health and Human Services recommends:

• Healthy adults have no more than 2,300 milligrams (mg) of sodium a day (about a teaspoon of salt)
• People age 51 or older, African-Americans, and people who have been diagnosed with high blood pressure, diabetes or chronic kidney disease have no more than 1,500 mg of sodium a day

 Although reducing the amount of salt you add to food at the table or while cooking is a good first step, much of the salt you eat comes from canned or processed foods, such as soups and frozen dinners. Eating fresh foods and making your own soups and stews can reduce the amount of salt you eat.

If you like the convenience of canned soups and prepared meals, look for ones with reduced sodium. Be wary of foods that claim to be lower in sodium because they are seasoned with sea salt instead of regular table salt — sea salt has the same nutritional value as regular salt.

Another way to reduce the amount of salt you eat is to choose your condiments carefully. Many condiments are available in reduced-sodium versions, and salt substitutes can add flavor to your food with less sodium.

Low-salt items to choose	High-salt items to avoid
Herbs and spices Salt substitutes Reduced-salt canned soups or prepared meals Reduced-salt versions of condiments, such as reduced-salt soy sauce and reduced-salt ketchup	Table salt Canned soups and prepared foods, such as frozen dinners Tomato juice Soy sauce

7. Plan ahead: Create daily menus

 You know what foods to feature in your heart-healthy diet and which ones to limit. Now it’s time to put your plans into action.

Create daily menus using the six strategies listed above. When selecting foods for each meal and snack, emphasize vegetables, fruits and whole grains. Choose lean protein sources and healthy fats, and limit salty foods. Watch your portion sizes and add variety to your menu choices.

 For example, if you have grilled salmon one evening, try a black-bean burger the next night. This helps ensure that you’ll get all of the nutrients your body needs. Variety also makes your meals and snacks more interesting.

8. Allow yourself an occasional treat

 Allow yourself an indulgence every now and then. A candy bar or handful of potato chips won’t derail your heart-healthy diet. But don’t let it turn into an excuse for giving up on your healthy eating plan. If overindulgence is the exception, rather than the rule, you’ll balance things out over the long term. What’s important is that you eat healthy foods most of the time.

 Incorporate these eight tips into your life, and you’ll find that heart-healthy eating is both doable and enjoyable. With planning and a few simple substitutions, you can eat with your heart in mind.

Friday:

We will meet at school
on Friday
from 8:30 a.m.
to 3:15 p.m.
and work with our Director,
George Rodriguez,
on our upcoming
Shakespeare production.

IMPORTANT  DATES:

May 5                 At School (Play rehearsal)
May 15 & 16      Shakespeare Production at Stage West Theater
May 22 – 26       Adventure Trip
May 26               Last Day of Semester.

Copyright Disclaimer – Section 107 – Copyright Act 1976,
allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship,and research. Fair use is permitted by copyright statute. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of “fair use”.

Lyrics/song texts are property and copyright of their owners and provided for educational purposes.

The magic and the wonder and the mystery that is this Life.