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1. What is Truth?
Depending upon our culture, education, and experiences ... our understanding and use of "truth" can be extremely different from what another person understands and the uses they make of it. Often, if we have received state and religious education as a youngster, we may assume that there is only one definition and meaning for a term. As we become exposed to persons of other cultures, experiences, and ages ... it becomes increasingly likely that we will begin to find frustration, and even conflict, with the statements others make about "The Truth" and the "Facts" they present to us or others.
Contrived Truth is the basis of most of our language, science, religion, sports, and social norms.
The meaning is there because someone defined it to be that way in order to provide a basis of understanding, and facilitate harmony. We see the benefits of these assigned truths in much of the sophistication we have developed in each of these areas of interest and concern. One of the first activities for new members in each of these areas to be initiated into are the elements of truth to which they will commit. Unless they can have an agreement with other members about fundamental concepts defined by a term, there will be no way to allow for an extension of knowledge beyond the basics.
In the English language, we agree to ACCEPT that the darkest color we are aware of and can become exposed to will be known as "black". If every member of the English community referred to this color by their own personal and idiosyncratic terms, few would be able to understand each other .. when they were talking about the same thing. All of one's time would be taken in conveying to each other elements of simplicity for one would have to show examples of what they were trying to indicate. Consider also, that this same color is given a different term and spelling and sound in each of many other languages. To an English speaking person, the French word "noir" used to indicate the darkest color, is, simply, WRONG! The truth for one, becomes a lie for another.
Wisdom begins to appear when each potential participant remains consciously aware that any other person MAY use a different term to describe the same procedure, symptom, illness, fear, or other perceived reality. Not only may they use a different term, they may use phrases which signify a wider view, closer image, longer duration, different size, or alternate location than you are yet aware of. In our routine day-by-day lives, spent doing the same forms of work, traveling the same roads, speaking the same language, following the same norms, exposed to the same style of weather, and living within the same political system ... it becomes easy to ASSUME that what remains the same is Fact, and, Truth.
Our highly structured society dumbs most of us down to very low tolerances of change and very low degrees of dynamic awareness. What often appears to a halting of advancement towards emotional maturity by the routines and technologies of the industrial-commercial society tends to leave many physically aged adults in a suspended emotional level of child or teenager. Studies completed repeatedly for many decades continue to conclude that by the age of 18 years, most people in the "developed" countries have reached their maximum level of IQ (Intelligence Quotient), and will only slowly advance, if at all, in their EQ (Emotional Quotient .. Maturity) during the rest of their life. It is a significant step in awareness to be able to truly accept that MOST other individuals do NOT think as you do, feel the same Beliefs that you do, commit to the same Truths that you do, and, like the same colors, styles, sports, foods, songs, and sexual positions that you do.
What then is Intelligence?
Adopted Truth is what we have been taught and learned from others so that we can be rewarded with participation in an elite group of people who are given sanction. We may have all the technical skill possible in throwing a baseball accurately or kicking a ball in a graceful curve to a predetermined spot. We may be proficient at cooking savory and colorful meals that are nutritious. Yet, if we do not know or follow the rules of the sport we are participating in, we will not be added to the team. If we cannot and refuse to cook the entrees on the menu of our employer, we are likely to be out of that job quickly. Learning what is considered to be important to the test managers and originators will contribute to how high our Intelligence score is, for THEM. Yet, in OUR world, if it is a substantially different reality, THEIR level of intelligence compared to ours, may be infantile.
Projected Truth is an extension of both Adopted Truth and the laziness of Pride or the excuses of Rationalization. It is a foundation on which much of modern scientific and health truths have been built, for a century. Projected Truth occurs when we take several Adopted Truths and SUGGEST that by our acceptance of those, a third, untested truth, is likely True. The more we write, talk, or discuss this threesome, the more we and others may accept it, commit to it, and begin assuming that it is now an established Truth, much like our original Adopted Truths. This happens always in gossip.
In Gossip, someone sees that you are socializing with another gender person of similar age.
You are treating them with fondness, respect, and showing joy and invitation. The observer knows you. They know that you are married. They know what your spouse looks like, and, this is not them! The Truth is that this person is NOT your spouse. The Truth is that you are behaving Very Affectionately towards this person new to your observer. The Truth, for your observer, is that you are having, anticipating, or planning to have a marital affair. The Reality is that the New person that the observer does not know is the Best Friend of the spouse of the person being conjectured about. They are Secretly, and Playfully, Planning, a surprise birthday party for the spouse. Yet the curious, and suspicious observer may take what they have projected and convey it to many of the people with whom the targeted person works, or, socializes.
Much of what is published as scientific fact, is little more than gossip.
Occasional studies of scientific research and publication fraud find their way into the public media seldom, yet, increasingly. Some, are the ground line research, accepted for many decades, now being uncovered to have been assembled from contrived data, to PROVE, a hypothesis. That is, the acceptance of the student or professional as an authority was dependent upon their discovery of a GUESS that they took the risk to test, and found correct, and, capable of introducing a new Context to what was already known. The problem, for the rest of us, is that this Manipulated Truth (Gossip) was imposed upon us as Adopted Truth, which had been Tested to confirm its stability and consistency. The Authority system teaching us these Truths has rewarded us for accepting these "discoveries" and penalized and discarded us for criticizing them. They Rejected us, NOT because we were raising significant potential weaknesses in the conclusions, but, because we were challenging the god-like power of their Authority .. to sanction ... to declare Truths, and, Winners.
Consider the position of Compromise, Conflict, and Confusion which todays health practitioners are often in. They also are rewarded for simply accepting whatever their specialty journals publish, their instructors convey, their associates agree to, their pharmacy representatives deliver, and, their associations and institutions decree. After many years of FOLLOWING the rules to receive a Sanction allowing them to practice helping people, their personal concerns are often overburdened with how they will pay off huge educational loans, provide a gifted lifestyle to their spouse and family, and maintain a respected, constant, and accepted form of employment which includes restrictions of which institutions they can work for, or be sanctioned by. Discernment of Truth is not a high liner. Discernment of Rules, is.
Discernment of what is Truth and untruth will mean the difference between whether someone with CFS-ME recovers, or remains, or reacquires, their Package of Illnesses. To know WHAT a Truth is, it is helpful to know WHY and HOW there are differences in the truths presented to us. Motivations, intentions, and, beliefs, ARE significant.
There will be some people who ..
- A. want to manipulate us into purchasing their services or products, even though THEY know that any benefit WE gain, will be unlikely.
- B. sincerely, yet simplistically, believe in the potential for their product or service to be of benefit, yet, again, the reality is likely to be erratic, at best.
- C. have answers and programs which COULD be of benefit for our recovery, yet they are too occupied in the delivery of them on an individual basis to publicize them in a manner such that we would ever know of them.
- D. have authority and training such that they SHOULD be able to assist us, yet chose not to, or, cannot.
- E. have found and packaged a variety of information into a format which will empower us to enable us to direct our own recovery and sustained health.
- F. do not understand what we have, do not want to learn about it, assume that THEIR authorities WOULD help if the request was legitimate, and, thus, deny our requirement and our frustration and seek to quieten us by avoidance and exclusion.
We must discern WHO our source is before we can begin to consider their FORM of Truth.
To do otherwise, is to invite deception, and failure, and loss.
Knowing what we EXPECT from the Truth is a helpful starting point in our search for answers which are Relevant for US. If the Truth cannot be of benefit to us, perhaps it is a waste of time to look for it. Truth may not be everything we expect of it, yet it may provide huge benefits. Also, if we do not understand WHAT Truth is, how can we use it efficiently, and save time, effort, and money? It is easy to see possibilities. Do you have the resources for "maybe" options? Better for us if we can define "probabilities". How many of the following do YOU identify with the term "Truth"?
Characteristics about Truth: Rules Assumed.
- Absolute, Unchanging
- Authoritative, Exclusive
- Defined, as Recorded
- Dependable, Immutable
- Repeatable, by Application
- Verifiable, by Tests
- Objective, as Agreed upon
- Singular, Limited
- Reverent, by Confidence
- Known, as Taught
- Seen
- Felt
Dialogue exchange.
Actors, Kevin Spacey (salesman) to Danny DeVito (buddy)
"I believe what I believe."
"Which is?"
"How the hell should I know."
from the movie "The Big Kahuna"
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Your beliefs will determine IF you recover.
If you know what they are, you have Choice.
If they are constructive, you can work in confidence.
If they are destructive, you can change them.
You choose them, or they will choose you.
If they choose you, they control you.
Your Choice!
Now, we have a sense of WHO to look for, and WHAT we may be focusing on.
Are our expectations about the "Truth" relevant? If they are not, we may find the options that are best for US, and pass them by, and lose their benefits. That would be a great Waste!
2. The Span of Knowledge.
Whose knowledge is it?
There are different FORMS of knowledge.
EACH of these forms are derived from different sources, over different durations of time, and recorded in different formats. Some of these are widely shared; others remain held only by one or a few persons. IF knowledge is universal, why are there so many questions that remain unanswered, so many decisions that are incorrect or destructive, and so much commitment to what so often results in conflict between persons, professions, educators, researchers, teachers, authors, leaders, religions, nations? And, often this conflict is between what has been accepted by authority and power, and what is believed by those on which new theories, practices, and policies are being imposed.
Personal:
This knowledge is what we have personally experienced and sensed.
Others may have been present and involved, or not.
It is what we know NOW, about the NOW.
We may remember the Now differently tomorrow.
Other may have experienced it differently than us.
Does that make us wrong or them right?
Can we Trust our senses?
Have they been accurate and dependable before?
Are we doing anything to sabotage them Now?
Was it what we expected or assumed would happen?
Has this ever happened to us or someone we know before?
We may remember this always, yet, will it be the same?
CFS-ME challenges us to become self-aware, critically.
It also challenges us to become self-directed and confident.
Shared:
This knowledge is both extended, confirmed and confused.
One or more other persons have either had a similar experience or had an experience in proximity to us at the same time as we have. Another person, even our spouse, may also have CFS-ME, yet THEIR experience may be partly similar to our and partly quite different.
Often, two persons in proximity who have CFS-ME have a selection of contributing illnesses or influences which include the same ones, and different ones. They may share some symptoms for entirely DIFFERENT reasons. If they try to understand the other person through their own experience, they may begin comparing and judging the degree of health severity and complexity in their partner as less than their own.
Comparisons are seldom relevant nor constructive and tend to lead to miscommunication and disrespect. Recognize your limits in communicating about complex issues. First, CFS-ME is a PACKAGE of Illnesses with a singular name. Secondly, YOUR reality may be shared, yet it will never be identical. Third, assessments of severity of a health condition are purely subjective and have more to do with attitude than with physical reality.
Recorded:
We can journal our symptoms and activities.
Doing so can provide a gauge for trends & changes.
Making a record of what we do, daily, reminds us we are doing.
Taking note of all of our symptoms and frequency, encourages despair.
Your medical tests are paid for by yourself, or, sometimes, the state.
They are indicators which can be reviewed and reassessed by others.
Tests can indicate which options are assisting health recovery.
ALWAYS ask for a copy of anything which goes into your file.
Whenever possible, request copies of letters from specialists.
Documentation can be a useful tool for insurance & review.
Attempt to find patterns and trends from test histories.
Recording is NOT absolute.
From the decades of paper and type, we assume permanence.
Changing paper sources has always meant trashing the old.
Paper sources were always expensive, relative to finances.
Rather than "waste" money, time spent in study, paper ...
we would assume absolute knowledge, then, invite GROWTH.
This encourages us to make gods of our mentors.
We worship THEM rather than learn WITH them.
Using their beginning to step forward from would ..
Mean that WE had gained something to contribute.
Could we advance beyond the mentor.
They hope we will.
Will we?
Taught:
No reference nor teacher is perfect.
Much of what we know is constantly being improved.
The quality of our air, water, food, nutrition changes.
There is much conjecture, promise, and projection.
Don't be taught by an authority who admits no wrong or error.
Look to those more interested in finding solutions, than in being correct.
Cholesterol.
When I was young, 1950s, no one spoke of cholesterol.
When I was a teenager, 1960's, cholesterol was bad for health.
It was considered the major reason for heart and circulatory diseases.
Butter was out and margarine was in. Beef and animal fats to be avoided.
Switch for health the government and medical experts said.
Varieties of margarine competed, when I was a young adult, 1970's.
In the early 1980's, my Geography of Health course at university included a review of dietary scientific reports. It revealed major differences between different "ideal" diets presented to the public by political authorities, changing over hundreds of years and crossing different cultures.
There was a new recognition that there were TWO forms of cholesterol, in the 1980's.
One was bad for health; the other good. During the 1990's, medical and health articles began to place cholesterol into a relationship with healing. The body required it to assist in repairing cuts, scratches, and irritations. It could even be argued that a large part of the brain was made up of cholesterol. Research in Japan confirmed the finding of 50 years previously: two parasites were commonly found in the blood of people who died of heart disease. As before, these finding would be ignored for many more years. The medical/pharmaceutical/food industry institutions had too much invested in the "fats" market.
During the early years of the 2000's, a scientific recognition of the health benefits of grass fed beef and other cattle, and, a drastic discernment of the difference between the Quality of that source, and, of industry fed and fattened sources, was growing in awareness and acceptance. Too often, we are taught what is best known, at the time. And that BEST, often changes, with time. Yet we have also frequently been taught to accept HUMAN representations of Authority as gods not to be questioned. And that, assumption of a permanence of Truth, has made much of what we have been taught ... into a Religion supported by unearned Trust, and, unjustified Faith.
What you Believe may make you / keep you, sick.
Scientific:
Science is a love of knowledge, not an obsession with it.
A healthy skepticism enables you to seek a truth, not just an answer.
During the Autumn of 2009, I considered buying a pair of sandals.
I had not found a pair earlier which was quality made, comfortable, an affordable price, and easy to maintain and clean. In this store, a brand name known for quality for decades, was featured in a 40% discount sale.
I had bought discounted sandals previously which fit good, yet not well.
They had lasted a year or two. I had bought another pair, later, also on sale, made of better materials, and more comfortable than the previous ones. In the heat of the summer, a vinyl leather on top of the sole had slide and wrinkled when the adhesive had softened in the heat. It could not be removed without leaving the sandal worthless. Its comfort was decreased and its appearance was degraded considerably. Maintenance and cleaning was now made much more difficult than when new. I had some experience and some skepticism.
I tried on a pair in the size which had fit me most of my life.
As shoe and clothing manufacturing have become global, the sizes and fits have shown variance with the earlier norms ... sometimes by country of origin; sometimes by company/brand name. Immediately, the attendant and my wife expressed their opinion that the pair I had were TOO big. I tried on a smaller pair in a size that would previously have been too small. It fit much better. I walked around with both left and right shoes on my feet. The one on my right foot was not as comfortable as the good fit on my left. I noted why to the clerk/manager. It was tight in one area and one of the two fastening straps was so short that one could barely fasten it. There was a brief pause. There was no other sandal on sale in the store. I could leave with nothing. I could look elsewhere. I could ask a question.
I asked.
Could I try on another pair of the same size?
Perhaps there might be a variance between individual pairs?
The attendant was positive and willing. A new pair appeared.
I tried on this second pair and found a radical difference.
Same size and make, yet these were a comfort/size match.
The brand was a well known North American shoe maker.
Their name had long been associated with quality.
The sandal composition left them easy to clean
It also was stitched and glued, not only glued like many.
Why the big difference in size and quality variation?
A few kind queries about the industry revealed more details.
The attendant was the manager. I later found that he had 3 stores.
Now, most of the shoes and all of the sandals being sold under North American brands were being made in China. This particular style had been very successful, for this fellow, due to its quality and pricing. He had carried this style for more than 3 years. A number of his customers had bought multiple pairs when they heard in more recent years that it was being discontinued. Last year, the line was discontinued. This fellow saw an advantage in buying as many of the pairs left in the warehouse as he could. This past summer had been another great sales period for him.
The question was, tactfully presented, one of why such a difference between a left and right shoe of the same size, brand, and style. He noted that nowadays, a style of shoe might be made in multiple factories within or between countries. There would naturally be different production periods and runs and, with the potential for different teams of personnel with different degrees of experience ... variations would happen. Such variations might be between pairs of footwear, or, even left and rights of the same pair. Then, there was the real possibility that he could have received stock from different factories; perhaps from different countries. Lastly, he had opened and fitted many pairs of these over the past years and these were the last few pairs remaining from a large supply. It was possible that the left and right of the pair I had first tried on were from different shipments, factories, and different levels of experienced personnel.
ALL of this REAL detail helped to explain the REAL differences.
There was no way of confirming which of these possibilities was True for there was no way of tracking their path and exposure. Their was no urgency to KNOW the Truth in this case. The sandals fit and were well made. The manager was friendly and supportive and there was a good possibility that if I ever had a problem with the purchase, I could return and resolve any issue with him. It was the Openness and Honesty of the detail that was Shared which ADDED to the NOW experience of the fit, and, made the sale. It all transpired from a simple comfort Test, to a product exploration, discovery, and awareness. These factors provided a Confidence and an Appreciation of the Value which I was receiving.
It grew from a healthy skepticism, and, a question.
I could appreciate that
- previous customers had confirmed its QUALITY;
- there was a unique benefit to finding a good fit NOW;
- at the end of the usual demand season, there were FEW;
- the manager had acted to maintain Access, through RISK;
- for the manager and myself, it was a plus to have a DISCOUNT.
What you ASK may decide your Recovery.
Spiritual:
Knowledge may come to us from non-physical & non-human sources.
Much of the time, we take awareness of what we need, desire & fear.
As we learn the cultural values around us, we become busy.
We fill/build our busy-ness to total with distractions.
Mentoring or perceptual shock can quieten the internal.
We can learn to become open and receptive to insight.
This requires us to limit our distractions, desires, beliefs.
Spiritual facts come to us as answers and a new reality.
Unlike intuition, they are not tied to anything unconscious.
Unlike imagination, they do not expand on desires.
Unlike instruction, they are not extensions of other's work.
Unlike history, they are not chosen by winners of force.
Unlike science, it is not a best guess until a better guess.
Unlike rationality, they are not thought up or out.
Unlike politics, they are not suggested by those in power.
Unlike our bodily senses, they are not focused on/from ourselves.
Unlike delusion, they do not extend from or feed fears.
Spiritual facts are unlike all that surrounds us.
They come from another reality.
What are Spiritual Facts.
They are both personal and universal, as relevant.
They are both new, old, and modified awareness.
They reveal an understanding that is confident & clear.
Our Identity Factors often resent challenge to their authority.
One must grow beyond self interest if not to distort it.
One must acquire self confidence against rejection.
Only others who receive it can confirm this Truth.
Yet, most others confirm or deny by membership.
There are ALWAYS best answers.
Do we want them?
I HAD CFS-ME.
A delusion was that others would understand & help.
My bodily senses triggered all known forms of alarm.
The politics suggested that it was unknown, peculiar.
My rationality told me it was this, that, something else.
Science determined that it might be this form, or another.
The history was one of deception and imagination.
The teaching of the doctors was ignorance and denial.
The imagination of health facilitators, was despairing.
The intuition of therapists was irrelevant assumption.
For me, ALL of these failed to provide Recovery.
Each had its own style of authority & answer.
Some aggravated the reality to near fatality.
Many provided interim improvement.
They all had something to say.
Yet, none were listening.
I Recovered from CFS-ME.
I had requested and received accurate spiritual direction.
I chose to acknowledge the Spiritual Guidance I received.
I often did not understand the Why, or, the personal relevancy.
It came for ME, unless I asked for benefits for others.
It was available when I was ready; never imposed.
It helped me choose the daily supplements & dosages.
It helped me choose who to work with & encourage.
It confirmed when I was wrong and impatient.
It never asked anything from me, but Calm.
It was relevant, constant, never failing.
It assisted me to be my best, to do MY Mission.
My Personality was driven to understand & share.
Recovery, for itself, would have been simpler, faster.
What is defined in these pages, is what I discerned, with It.
Distorted:
Distortion is indicated when we feel or think in directions destructive.
It can arise from within us, or, from outside human or Info resources.
We can attach to distortion as a response to Fear, Desire, Expectation.
Distortion is easy when we listen to all, accept all, believe all.
When we fear the Truth, we open ourselves to deception.
We rationalize our expectations & assumptions .. as personal gods.
We MAKE an answer in belief that WE can find the obvious.
We know a bit, have done a little; WE will complete.
Our distorted facts lead us to many failed attempts.
At best, they rob us of resources, faith, energy.
At worst, they cost us confidence & Life.
Distorted facts match the intensity of our Desperation.
Like intuition, they are tied to everything unconscious.
Like imagination, they do expand on desires.
Like instruction, they are extensions of other's work.
Like history, they are chosen by winners of force.
Like science, it is a best guess until a better guess.
Like rationality, they are thought up or out.
Like politics, they are suggested by those in power.
Like our bodily senses, they are focused on/from ourselves.
Like delusion, they do extend from or feed fears.
Distorted facts are Like all that surrounds us.
They come from the reality that keep us ill.
What are Distorted Facts.
They are EITHER personal, or, social norms .. not relevant.
They are EITHER new, or, old, confusing, or, not qualified.
They reveal an expectation that is isolated, limiting.
Our Identity Factors often support acceptance.
Self interest and laziness often encourage them.
Doubts and fear of rejection enable their intrusion.
Most other people encourage authority & denial.
They are right; yours are wrong. Or, the reverse.
There are NEVER best answers.
They are so easy!
Many people are acquiring CFS-ME.
A delusion is that it doesn't exist.
Our bodies are limited in their adaptation to OUR world.
Our politics has allowed for impatience, pollution, greed, hatred.
Our rationality told us we were great. Now, we are humbled.
Science encourages change; yet, we use it to stay the same.
Our history is one of competition, pride, power.
Our doctors assume intelligence and authority.
Our health facilitators, assume perfection.
Our therapists assume OUR failures.
For YOU, these will not Rescue you.
YOU must learn, decide, and DO, for yourself.
Illness and death are NOT inevitable.
YOU can define certainties.
You can strengthen.
Are YOU listening?
Note the context of Relevancy for each of the above.
The KNOWLEDGE is real to each of the participants.
That REALITY is fundamentally limited to themselves.
The dangers increase when a Limited Truth is traumatically and compulsively transformed into a Law of Authority. This projects the experience and reality of one or more persons, in specific circumstances and times, onto all people, anywhere, anytime, present, or, Future. It may even be suggested to have had an active presence in the Past!
Knowledge becomes Wisdom when we define its relevancy.
That means that we add limits to it and assertively expose and accept its weaknesses.
The more we are aware of its limits, the more constructively we can apply it.
The more we are aware of its weaknesses, the less destruction we are likely to create from it.
Wisdom is then the Constructive use of information in Relevant realities.
Cross-cultural Realities about Truth:
- Varies by selection of leader
- Varies by selection of authentication
- Varies by time, place, language
- Varies by degree of application
- Varies by degree of investigation
- Varies by verification protocol
- Varies by institutional assumptions
- Varies by stability of origin
- Varies by degree of intellectualization
- Varies by origin & extent of "education"
- Varies by location and integrity of viewer
- Varies by sensitivity and alertness of person
3. Science builds on Theories
Science became a new word in the 1800s with "scientist" being coined by William Whewell.
The practice grew greatly between World War One (1914) and to the end of the Vietnam War (1975). During this time, huge amounts of capital and work hours were devoted to trying to resolve trauma inducing patterns. Health (acute illnesses) and agricultural (food/poverty/starvation) researches sought to reduce the frequently fatal experience of illness or accident and upgrade crop production to reduce poverty. With wars looming ever larger in sizes of personnel and territory involved and ever more threatening in terms of the survival of which political and economic system, science became the excuse to justify trial and error desperate searches for answers, and power.
Your containers are all lined up like sentinels, full of soil, a clean slate, a white canvas; ready for you to create masterpieces that will evolve over the summer into magnificent works of art. That's in theory anyway. Some of us are staring at said planters and wondering what the heck we're going to put in them! ...
from Art Knapp's April 30, 2009 e-newsletter
Science is the institutionalization of Play.
It can, and is, practiced by every human, particularly when one is young.
We quickly learn to accept the seemingly absolute values of our parents, peers, caregivers, teachers, employers, priests, financial planners, professionals, doctors, lawyers, and friends. We ACCEPT the authority of each of these because we are told, by senior mentors and authorities, that we can Trust them. With so much education and media impressing on us an imprinting of infallible authority, we are encouraged NOT to question authority and norms. Play is an accepted distraction from reality. It enables us to do what is not normally acceptable to others, within an order set by rules and regulations, which is intended to safeguard us from the hazards of the Real.
What are some of the Realities which we Play at?
- Doll-house: having a house.
- Team sports: war against an enemy
- Board Games: winning by intellect
- Martial Arts: developing self-control
- Flirting: fake intimacy
- Campaigning: manipulation
- Outdoor ativities: survival skills
- Role playing: acting out; empathy
- Counsellor: mentor
Our involvement in each of the above "Play" activities can be ended by us, or the other participants, within a short period of time. The "responsibilities" associated with such activities and the Goal of the activity typically end, with the end of play. Each activity follows a format, with rules and regulations, which are known to and agreed to by each participant. There are penalties for going beyond those rules. The "Play" is taken part in, aside from the Reality of life that we lead with others.
That other, Life Reality, is a near full-time reality with a much larger span.
The responsibilities of the roles are not always clearly defined, have some flexibility, are seldom enforced or penalized, define the orderliness of the whole. Entry is often voluntary. Residence is often long-term. There are many dangers to the harmony and safety of each. We often receive emotional pains and cuts from these real involvements. The hazard is that for us to participate outside the social guidelines for these roles can mean our exclusion, imprisonment, even death. Reality, is Serious.
Play is fundamental to health.
It is a key contributor to the Joy we experience in life.
Play was a key component of daily life until the beginning of writing.
From that point, population densities dominated access to necessities.
Most resources are finite in quantity: water, earth, air, solar radiation.
What we do with these determines how we control access to products.
Products are the result of our manipulation of resources.
To stimulate and benefit from production, we use currency.
The more that access is restricted, the more we work.
The more we work, the less we play.
Sickness is a form of work.
It limits your Choices.
What are the elements of Play?
- Time
- Access
- Planning
- Intention
- Safety
- Order
- Acceptance
- Disassociation
- Identification
- Passion
- Failure
- Reward
Time.
You must Choose and have the ability and desire to choose, to Play.
You can be forced to play, yet the personal benefits will be reduced.
A positive attitude & a sense of freedom & inclusion assist health.
Through mental and/or physical exercise, our health is enhanced.
Play is an activity with beginning, participation, and end phases.
If either of these phases are interrupted, play loses its benefit.
Constructive play demands commitment, to be Present.
It also demands a commitment of your interaction.
There is often a minimum acceptable duration.
Leaving early is a signal of rejection.
Your rejection of the others, or,
their rejection of YOU.
Understand the person with CFS-ME.
They have the desire, yet not the ability (energy), to play.
They often must exclude themselves, or, become excluded.
They do not reject others; indeed, they seem to reject self.
Until they learn new & changing limits, they try, and, fail.
Failure from commitment & desire can bring shame/guilt.
Inclusion of the person with CFS-ME requires sympathy.
Offering is great, only if patience & forgiveness attend.
Access.
Games are formalities for playing games in harmony.
If there were no restrictions, there would only be anarchy.
Anarchy is a form of separation and conflict: Non-access.
Equality can require less freedom to identify capabilities.
Females are capable of pregnancy. They may not choose it.
Babies are not capable of walking. Play cannot impose it.
We recognize that each participant must have opportunity.
Without an opportunity for benefit, there is little attraction.
Play is a lifestyle we WANT; Work is often a part of survival.
We can play IF we meet the access requirements.
Understand the person with CFS-ME.
CFS-ME is serious and threatens sanity & life.
No others WANT to play this game.
There are no recognized rules.
Survival is the "play".
Focus on finding options, choices, support.
Assume Recovery & release Fear of Death/Disability.
You can choose to Participate by playing for Recovery.
The access you have allows you the freedom to risk.
No harm in losing as it brings one closer to success.
Deciding not to "play" is accepting losing oneself.
Planning.
Playing is seldom spontaneous.
Only initiates and poor players jump into .. WHAT?
Planning involves knowing the format of the play.
It means knowing what skills you must be capable of.
You may not have them now, but, can you ever have them?
Planning means asking questions, of yourself, of others.
Do you need special equipment or authorizations?
Are there elementary skills required, to join?
Is there a Purpose? Joining in? Winning?
Will participation bring you elation?
Understand the person with CFS-ME.
Is planning relevant if there is no time and no energy.
If you are alive, you have energy. How to spend it?
Setting aside time invites opportunity for improvement.
You are in! You can make time; however brief.
Play in the waters of knowledge.
Find solutions & Recovery.
Do you want to Play!
Intention.
Play is neither sleep nor rest.
Play is not a form of mandatory work.
Play can be a voluntary form of work.
It is a personal decision to participate.
It is a personal dedication to improve & strengthen.
It is an expectation of a repeat of successfulness, or,
.. a willingness and hopefulness for improvement.
One will have to discern the best moves/choices.
The failures will not cloud the potential for success.
Understand the person with CFS-ME.
There is no choice of work, for many.
That leaves time and energy for voluntary acts.
Recognizing that one does have CFS-ME, is entry.
With this and other resources, you can make a plan.
It is "play" and that allows flexibility & patience.
Rescue happens when the intentions of others succeed.
Recovery happens when WE make our intentions known.
Are you holding your breath, or, breathing?
Safety.
Playing is a form of experimentation.
Without instructor-facilitators, accidents are likely.
Coaches encourage us, yet, allow us to make mistakes.
They know that we can recover & improve from mistakes.
We may not recover & may deteriorate from accidents.
The coach may be in person, or, virtual, from a reference.
Our safety is often relative to the professionalism of the coach.
A professional coach has played before, and been successful.
Such a coach can caution of common mistakes & pitfalls.
They learned and improved through their commitments.
There is no benefit in duplicating the risks they chose.
Their Joy was in playing and finding a better way to win.
Understand the person with CFS-ME.
Often, the longer they are ill, the less resources they have.
They can't afford accidents and would-be coaches.
Many people want to "play". Most have failed here.
Professionals don't assume all players are the same.
They encourage each player to find their weaknesses.
By finding a weakness, it can be transformed to strength.
Health is a dynamic of building and maintaining strengths.
YOU can help those who have CFS-ME, by Gifting to them.
Find them a Coach, in this or other material, and offer it.
You can make a difference in THEIR lives, and in yours!
Order.
Much of our REAL life is exposed and unprotected.
Especially in dense populations with restrictions on needs ..
we are in constant competition with others, for enough.
Order is mandated by laws, inadequate by their numbers.
Order is enforced by force, yet many innocent go harmed.
Order is promised by authority, distorted through pride.
Order is imposed by parents, good intentions for limits.
Order, in our work, relationships, politics, is a crap shoot.
The order of work is your resume, possessions, power.
PLAY is a form of fantasy life, a could be/would be.
With "play", order is simplified by numbers and access.
Not everyone can be a member. Only so many can play.
The rules are clearly defined and the choices are few.
With each session, the participants begin anew.
Improvements develop and are encouraged.
A clean slate. All is forgiven. All is possible.
Understand the person with CFS-ME.
Their symptoms pressure them towards depression.
A depression that slows the body, fogs the mind, robs hope.
YOU can help them choose to "Play" the Recovery game.
You can be gentle, supportive, present, consistent.
You can introduce them to playing with the "facts".
Joy is when your life is not always "all or nothing".
Acceptance.
To play there is a sense of acceptance.
By yourself, you accept yourself and allow some fun time.
In our commercialized secular society, we call this "down" time.
Yet it is this "down" time that supports our hopeful "up" time.
It is significant that for us to set such time aside, we must
- believe we have a right to it;
- have the freedom to choose it;
- find joy in it.
To play with others, we must receive their acceptance.
They also must receive our acceptance to be included.
Play is a context of sharing, with ourselves, or others.
It is an activity each participant does for their own Joy.
Play thus can become a context of shared joy.
Each participant does the best they can do.
Each participant is aware of the desires of others.
There is a willingness to commit & sacrifice.
The duration is short, yet the rewards are frequent.
Acceptance is on the basis of membership, not performance.
In the reality or work, performance enables membership.
Understand the person with CFS-ME.
They frequently hail from a work lifestyle.
Often, they have strong beliefs and commitments.
There may be a sense of self-acceptance through duty.
There may be a determination to perform ever better.
What sadness attends high standards without action?
Can you appreciate them for WHO they are, not What?
Are YOU strong enough to notice something Special in them?
What you learn to do today may safeguard you from the same.
Disassociation.
Used here, disassociation is a separation of mind from emotion.
It is our ability to perceive ourselves as participating in a "role".
We are DOING the role, rather than being the role.
It is a discernment between what is temporary, and, not.
We may be "playing" at doing the role of a soccer player.
We may be "playing" the role of a business executive.
We may be "playing" the role of a spouse or partner.
Yet we are not fully defined and confined by the role.
How we want others to identify with us, is the role.
We can adopt, change, discard, or, create a role.
We are not the role, although we may think so.
Understand the person with CFS-ME.
They have often seen and been accepted for their "Role".
That role has now been disrupted, trashed, taken away.
They can best be encouraged by your recognition of them.
Is their new role one of the sick, lost, losing, struggling?
Such a person needs to know that this role is temporary.
There is some part of their Identity which will never go.
Telling them to be what they cannot be, is not helpful.
Share with them what they are that is and can be good.
Help them look forward to where they are going.
What are they going to become when Recovered?
Help them "play" with their potential.
Identification.
How others remember us, identifies us.
Socially, we are what we say, express, do.
We are the sound which goes with our picture.
We are the feeling behind the sounds others hear.
Our SOUL is the image we leave in our absence.
Are we cheering, booing, laughing, crying, quiet?
HOW we participate attracts or repels others.
We must decide how we WANT to play.
We limit those we play with to the fair.
Fair-minded persons respect us.
And we admire them.
To be like them.
Understand the person with CFS-ME.
Who they identify with is who they are becoming.
Surrounded by ill people, they will remain ill.
They will recover faster knowing Recovered persons.
A group of recovering persons feed each other.
A group of dying persons steal each other's air.
Awareness, attitude, options, support.
Stones, bubbles, or, ships?
Choose who to be.
Passion.
The more we want, the harder we play.
The more we benefit, the more we can give.
Playing well, we increase our skill, our Joy.
Playing better, we and our team work in harmony.
Playing best, we experience elation more often.
Commitment & consistency yield optimums.
Harmony is an exchange of give & takes.
It is an experience we take with us.
It is the memory that dispels gloom.
It encourages our participation.
Understand the person with CFS-ME.
The more they want, the more they are disappointed.
Their benefits dwindle and their abilities drain away.
To play at all, is to preserve from depression.
There is no better or best. Just, opportunity.
Access through calls, cards, visits, internet.
Refresh the memory with good times past.
Relive the picture, sounds, potential.
Once done, ever possible.
Failure.
There is no exclusion for failure, in play.
It is how we learn between easy, and better.
It is the better, which saves time and energy.
It is the better, which keep us in the game.
With failure comes an invitation to humility.
Admit defeat, and grow stronger, to engage.
In play, we are forgiven, and, forgive.
We accept imperfection as a norm.
We ask of others, what we ask of us.
To participate, and fail, is a step.
No steps = no change = a stone.
Understand the person with CFS-ME.
"Winners" describes many persons with CFS-ME.
They were, and now remember, yet cannot.
So many times of failure, lost in the successes.
Easy to remember the glee and forget the pain.
Now the pain seems constant, unrelenting.
It is a new reality requiring new vision.
Every small success is valuable.
Ahead is not a failing.
Breath softly.
Reward.
The highlight of Play.
You have found the time.
You have gained access to an event.
You have set your plan and intention.
You know that the risk has safety in limits.
You have seen the orderliness & feel secure.
You have earned acceptance to participate.
You have set aside fears, greed, and anger.
You have decided to become greater than before.
You have thrust yourself into involvement.
You have weathered disappointment.
You have done your part, won praise.
Understand the person with CFS-ME.
They have regrettably assumed the goal achieved.
Health was, now lost, time not found.
They can enter a play never desired.
They need reality to build a plan.
They need encouragement to keep hope.
There is great risk without a coach.
Disorder appears everywhere. Is it?
How to participate. This is a part.
Emotions distract. Keep on track.
Others say never; you say possible.
Part of the solution, or, the end.
Your losses can end.
Recovery!
Why do most institutionalized PLAY practices fail?
Illness.
Institutional practices depend upon consistency.
For you to participate, you must be equally as available and willing to participate as is any other member. If you are a citizen, you qualify to apply to be a member of any national institution. Whether you are accepted will depend upon your qualifications. For education, you may only be required to be within a particular age range, to attend regularly, to make an effort, and keep self-discipline in the presence of other members. With CFS-ME, most of these requirements may have been met in the Past. In the more immediate term, you have not given up nor abandoned your qualifications. They have been taken from you. And, the authorities running the institution don't care! They are admitting that one must be privileged, to qualify for YOUR services. You no longer have that godliness. You, are banned. They have, or will, fail you. If you don't want exclusion, don't become ill. Well, it isn't as if you ASKED to become ill.
Science.
Asking questions to determine the acceptable answer which others have already sanctioned, is called a study of science. Such a study is defined by the limitations of what is already known. Such study is regulated by the boundaries of what has been found, or presumed, to be correct and possible. In the STUDY of science, if it hasn't been discovered, it does not exist. If it has not been understood, manipulated with, and reconfigured, it likely does not exist. When you HIRE people to work on problems which their HEART is not involved in, they follow formalities. Formalities maintain order. They follow known paths. They look in obvious places. How can you find a new understanding and a new direction without the RISK of confusion, and, humility?
The DOING of science is a highly risky "work" endeavor.
IT involves trying new and incongruous possibilities, just because ..
It is Very Time consuming for it demands pause & action to infinity.
When institutionalized, this "play" now is reframed into "work".
Time is paid for. Payment must be rationalized & authorized.
Rationalization demands order & certainty, routines & locations.
Soon, all of the KEY ingredients of "play" that = science, are gone.
No matter how hard you try to make a cake with concrete,
it is a long way to a dubious result.
Religion.
Spirituality expressed in the words & dialect of a language.
Difficult to describe the unseen & nonphysical with physical.
Can a banker understand the experience of a sheep herder?
How many fishermen does it take to plant a field?
Energizing a donkey is not the same as gasing up a car.
What do you do when the words cannot be translated?
Like a marathon runner without experience of fatigue
that lasts, and lasts, and lasts, and lasts, ...
Religion asks for faith exchanged with miracles.
Religion speaks of responsibility & penalty.
If you are challenged, you are the chosen.
If undeserving, you owe penance.
For WHAT?
Spirituality provides a personal confidence.
Spirituality demands an action in front of the words.
Spirituality is the hope on which action flows forth.
Spirituality is the play between the finite & infinite.
It is the space within us, between us, beyond us.
Spirituality follows whatever order is relevant.
Its Truth is not what Was, or, Will Be.
Its Truth is NOW.
Reality!
Intimacy.
Closeness bought and sold, on demand.
A doctor's office or a whore's brothel.
You are promised what you want.
Make the request, the symptom, specific.
The prices are set, the time by the meter.
Be on time, perform & push, or, lose out.
Yet for the unpredictable, the system crumbles.
Times collide, symptoms multiply & fade.
This anarchy cannot be contained.
An intimacy of healing must be volunteered.
It does not arrive on demand, call and cue.
Is one willing to be patient; to be humble?
Prices and times are mere guidelines.
There is a sensitive & sincere touch.
No institution can bear the freedom.
So little expectation. So great the hope.
The lock will open and Recovery will escape,
when one knows oneself as well as the Maker.
Education.
Let us learn what others have risked to find.
Their findings give us intelligence.
We know, without experience.
All problems have solutions.
Nothing more to be revealed.
Authority is certain, proudly.
Unresolved is unacknowledged.
The answers are all recorded.
You cannot be ill.
Wisdom is demanded for this Recovery.
It is not found in bottles & placebos.
It comes from considering the ignored.
It comes from looking where one fears.
Wisdom is impatient, always on the move.
It's relevancy is the currency of change.
Recovery is only possible
If you see within.
Adventure/Risk.
Institutions demand safety, security, economy.
That alone allows the known, guarded, & predictable.
An unsinkable raft with life jackets down worn rapids.
Nothing like the reality of an upturned boat careening down an unknown river .. paddles lost, map disappeared, forever bashed against the rocks, cuts bleeding, bruises bluing, eyes greying, energy draining. Recovery is uncertain. The end is undefined. One grows weary, yet hangs on. There are no guides along the shore. The sun is overhead on which we glance for direction and warmth. If we keep our head up, we may survive. Then, we will know the terror and the elation. No one else will believe the reality. For them, it will all be drama and fantasy.
When do we get to Play?
Play can often be a missing life ingredient for a person with CFS-ME.
Many such persons have had a dynamic, involved, social lifestyle.
Individualized play is something that is available to them.
It is a way by which each of us can shelter ourselves.
It is not what we may want. It may be the possible.
The list is shortened dramatically by fatigue.
This minimal list can be reduced to nil.
- TV and movie viewing
- audio, CD, radio listening
- painting, reading, crafts, writing
- prayer, meditation, visualization
- eating, washing, planning, reflection
PLAY is an enigma for a PWCM
(Person With CFS-ME).
Play depends upon relaxed, voluntary, inclusion.
For a PWCM, there appears to be little that is voluntary.
Inclusion is desired and with desire unfulfilled comes loss.
Play demands energy for physical activity and interaction.
For a PWCM, energy fails, the vision is painful of the Past.
Play provides Joy of activity, involvement, acknowledgement.
ALL of these require presence, energy, optimism
For a PWCM, one too often has none of these.
How can YOU help someone who is a PWCM?
4. Facts are tested theories.
Much of Reality is Fact, before we know it!
In what would later be known as the city of Nelson in the southeastern area of the Canadian Province of British Columbia, the presence of high grade metallic ore would be a reality for millions of years before any constant human habitation settled in the area. It would be there, below the surface. European explorers, escapees, and rejects would begin to trickle into the area during the 1800's in search of independence from oppressive relationships and family intolerances, freedom from political abuses and institutional limitations, low cost land ... ALL representing a breath of fresh air to stimulate the senses and refresh the spirit. Economic wealth was not their first priority. The survival of personal identity was forged from the raw beauty of nature.
Silver outcroppings on Kootenay Lake are recorded as being noted by 1844, or before. So what? The industrial revolution was getting underway in Europe, far away and far in advance of much of North America, especially the west. Metal ores and their refinement would grow in importance as more uses were found for them. Those uses began to be increasingly capitalized by governments and companies. They would be converted into agricultural implements, industrial machines, and, tools of war. Such would become the foundations of the new nation states. Power was becoming aggregated into mass political force. Something of little use beyond artistic voyeurism several centuries earlier, was now becoming an accepted scale of value.
Rich ores have most often been like rough cut diamonds.
To the disciplined eye of the prospector and metallurgist, the most ordinary appearing markings in rocks could signal the potential for riches. It would take foresight and knowledge to envision how an ore could be crushed, ground, smelted, refined, poured and formed into tools that could reduce hours of backbreaking labor and decades of war. These new and larger forms became implements, engines, and weapons tools. Such a transformation and refinement of practice changed poverty and drudgery into task and privilege. One person with a tool could replace 10 persons. Dependability of production and outcome became advantages, and, reality. It also changed ownership and law into empire and control.
The location of sources and destinations became critical.
Early participants in the industrial empire of commerce soon exhausted all nearby sources of ore. The hunt was on. The nation or empire which acquired larger metal resources could promise, and deliver, a higher standard of living for its citizens. Yet in doing so, it would have to protect itself from the greed of its neighbors, and, continue to build its ownership of resources beyond its borders. Colonies. It would have to take as fast and as much of what no one else had yet taken, or, its resources would become limited. It might even become subject to the strength, wealth, and power of a nation or empire which had captured and controlled more of the world.
Transportation became the next critical component.
If the metal resources you WANTED were beyond your borders, you needed some way of bringing them home to you, either in a raw or refined form. Industry had a way of marshalling energy resources. Ore had to be refined where the energy was. Energy usually meant sources of coal, coal, and wood. It would later include oil, and much later, electricity. The biggest historical expansion of shipping and railroading began. Each required huge investments of the metal resources which they were intended to return to the homeland.
In 1886, 42 years after silver outcroppings had been noticed in the Kootenay Lake area, the Hall Brothers, from Colville, Washington state, USA, discovered silver, copper, gold, and lead on Toad Mountain, south of the city now known as Nelson, in British Columbia. Several claims were staked including what would become famous as the Silver King mine. Hundreds of millions of dollars of mineral wealth would be extracted from the mines. In part, they would finance an extensive railway system that would become the basic infrastructure on which much of the economy would depend for the following 70 years. But, what has all this to do with persons who have CFS-ME?
Here are some parallel realities:
- Early indicators and danger signs will be ignored.
Symptoms & history indicate multiple realities, lost in ignorance.
- An awareness to its presence will not likely be local in origin.
It will often be a "foreigner" who will determine the obvious.
- The development of constructive protocols will take decades.
- A new paradigm, mode of perception will be required to effect a breakthrough.
- New skills and technologies will have to be developed to effect improvement.
- New sources of energy and supplementation will have to become available.
- After decades of intensive treatment, it will be minimized in the background.
While Science as well as the Status Quo persist in telling us that facts are derived through the testing of Possibilities (Theories), it is often a REALITY that Facts are the result of a change in AWARENESS which leads to an acceptance of what has already been indicated yet which denial can no longer conceal.
5. How Relevant is it?
You can easily become overwhelmed with all of the information you can find.
Each piece, with the exception of this and a few similar ones, will all suggest that they are perfect for you. They will stipulate, often, an end point of you recovering, or, of you never recovering. Their solution will be for you to follow THEIR intelligence to your victory. What they are implying is that you OWE them for any victory you have. Have they examined you? Have they spoken with you about YOUR experiences? Do they even know that YOU exist?! Are you ready to gamble YOUR health and YOUR life on THEIR shortcomings? You are not asked to do that here. You are asked to consider the WHOLE picture. You are invited to learn about sustaining and corrective options which I have seen work for myself and others, often in the worst of situations.
Is YOUR recovery even worth the effort?!
You have and will continue to hear of end-time perspectives.
They will tell you that someone is coming to RESCUE you from illness and turmoil and the irreverence of others. They will confer that all that is required of you is for you to commit to believing in the Rescue and the Rescuer. They will reference to many spiritually deemed writings given by prophets who lived thousands of years ago, in other countries, under different political systems than now exist there, and in a community that had a considerably different lifestyle than you do. Significantly, those writers likely "spoke" either classic Hebrew, classic Greek, ancient Sanskrit, or another language .. all of which had a focus around the workings of a herding or agricultural work life. THEIR analogies had a meaning for THEM which we can seldom identify with in the "information" age. Has the world changed?
Prophetic wisdom is akin to the mystical.
It is NOT rooted in the physical or material or institutional.
It has a time frame which is relative and relational, not finite.
It is ALWAYS meant to be a signal, warning, and choice.
It is not a done deal by a God who is vindictive and ruthless.
The Egyptians noted early in the Jewish Old Testament are an example.
They were given a CHOICE to let their captured servants free.
The Egyptians of that history are like the conquerors of every age.
The word "Satan" refers to "adversaries of God" not a singular entity.
The Satans had the Choice of Release, or, Frogs. They chose confusion.
The Satans had the Choice of Release, or, Dead cattle. They chose loss.
The Satans had the Choice of Release, or, Boils. They chose illness.
The Satans had the Choice of Release, or, Hail. They chose destruction.
The Satans had the Choice of Release, or, Locusts. They chose pests.
The Satans had the Choice of Release, or, Child loss. They chose death.
They had CHOICES, which could have protected them from hardships.
Politically, ALL humans have these Choices NOW.
Armageddon is the option of our insisting on doing what WE want, that continues to bring hardship on ALL lifeforms, everywhere on the Earth. It may arrive. Though with God's LOVE, we have been encouraged to CHANGE and choose Peace and Harmony.
Preparing as if we have no choice is accepting DEFEAT!
Any Spiritually Strong and/or Guided person accepts LOVE.
That means they continue to take Action in the Positive.
They DO their best, always, to deserve the Grace of God.
What IS Relevant for the person with CFS-ME is this:
Are YOU doing YOUR best to BE your Best?
IF you are, you are sharing in these:
- Living a Recovery Attitude.
- Clarifying your Focus.
- Strengthening your Consistency.
- Harmonizing your Relationships.
There are THREE primary questions of Relevancy.
1. Are we doing OUR part?
If we are, we are revering our Creator and Spiritual Source.
We are encouraging others, by OUR example, to be most calm, peaceful, sharing, and enthusiastic.
2. Are we living in Reverence?
Are we one who can make Positive influences in our own lives and in the lives of others and that by such an example, we encourage others to do the same in their lives and with others around them. If this PERSONAL action pattern were to become contagious through sincerity and acknowledgment, the impact of humanity on the Earth would be transformed to Grace.
3. What CAN we do and what is BEST for us to do.
Doing nothing means that we are committed to enabling the worst.
Doing just anything means that we are committed to making things worse, through mistakes.
Doing what we have inadequate skills or knowledge to do is using our Pride to choose good intentions, and their likely devastation, over, an investment in Good Works, which benefit both ourselves and others. Doing what we can is determining what our limits and capabilities are and then selecting how and when, and if, to use them .. for the greatest gain.
Earthtym.net FAQ Note
ATTITUDE: Why not just facts?
The founder of the site would like all people to have an opportunity to lead a positive, fruitful, and contented life. That goal cannot be achieved unless the person involved can determine reality from fantasy, find options, and choose confidently. The information on this site is presented to you with the expectation that you are an intelligent adult, or, have the supervision of an adult. An adult is defined here as a physically mature person who is self-responsible, independent minded, self assertive, and self aware.
Many cultures deprive their physically mature persons of the positive communication and thinking patterns noted above. Such persons may feel challenged by the prospect of that freedom and equality and prefer a more authoritarian perspective that treats them as children whose actions and beliefs must be prescribed. That is not acceptable here.
Many of the options for improving health mentioned on the site are supported by the real life experience of the principal author, John R. Sennett. Many times, he has used himself as a real example in the absence of other volunteers who would be comfortable in exposing themselves so directly, and, who might not have had the background information available which could put the examples into perspective.
The personal example approach is an extension of the extensive experience of Mr. Sennett in the areas of scientific research and market research which indicated that in most such literature the first casualty is the truth. Anything can be proven or falsified through the persuasive misapplication of statistics and simplistic test designs.
Anything can be supported or discredited through the use of imaginary testimonials and the frequent use of absolute wordings. Facts, as they are frequently presented to us, are half-truths lacking relevancy. A personal example is a reality. It happened. If it happened with one person, the possibility is that others could benefit. Results cannot be denied.
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