Thursday, January 12, 2017

The Good Samaritan

One of my favorite stories is the parable of the Good Samaritan. For those unfamiliar with this parable, Jesus told a story about a Jewish man who had been beaten, robbed and left for dead on the side of the road. He went on to tell the story of how his fellow Jews had passed by the man and it was the "lowly" Samaritan who bound his wounds, took him to the inn and gave him money. The joke of course was that the Samaritans were loathed by the Jewish people.

We can find people who need help everyday. It is our spiritual choice whether we ignore that person or become proactive and do something about that situation  When we have courage and embrace our humanity then the second choice is quite easy, after all people's actions (or lack of actions) define their spirituality.

I talked to one of my disabled friends today and she told me how she has been castigated by her own family because of her illness. When she addressed them about the neglect, they were silent and offered no apology. This is quite a common occurrence among my disabled friends, they are discriminated against because of their disability, a clear form of hatred.

Humans are tri-beings, meaning they are body and mind but also spiritual beings.  Neglect of our spiritual nature is the work of this world we live in today. What does it profit a person if they gain the whole world but lose their souls in the process?




Icelandic Lights



Monday, January 9, 2017

Magnesium

Magnesium is perhaps the most overlooked and important mineral in the body. It is responsible for hundreds of enzymatic functions and without it, the body spirals out of control. Magnesium depletion has been implicated in a number of diseases such as cardiovascular, immune, neurological and endocrine. Cells cannot function properly without magnesium.

Magnesium loss occurs in a number of situations, mostly stress related. Stress can come in a number of forms including emotional, physical, mental and biological stress. Biological stress is perhaps the least understood. Examples of biological stress would include pathogens such as viruses, rogue bacteria, parasitic infections and yeast/fungal infections. Other biological stressors would include environmental toxins and trauma. These events create a hostile environment within the body which reduces magnesium stores.

We derive nutrition from the soil and water. With commercial farming, there can be a depletion of the life giving minerals. Secondly with the processing of foods, we are losing essential nutrients and with additives, we are putting stress on the body to detoxify these chemicals.

Magnesium plays a key role in homeostatis which is a self-governing process in the body. Homeostasis mechanisms allow the body to maintain balances in the body, think of slipping on the ice, the body begins to shift the weight to other side in order to maintain balance so you don't fall.  When we can no longer maintain homeostatis then the body accumulates disease.

All energy comes from the cells, this is known as the Krebs Cycle. The body needs raw materials in order to produce energy, magnesium is one of the most important.

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