http://philosiblog.com/2011/05/25/first-they-ignore-you/
Ghandi said:

First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, and then you win.

You can get organized. You can fight city hall. It won't be easy, and there are many steps before you get to the point "you win." Specifically, there is "ignore you," "ridicule you," and of course, everyone's favorite, "fight you."

What does that mean?
This is the block diagram for the path of peaceful resistance. They start by pretending you are insignificant. Then they make fun of you, trying to demean or dismiss your movement and/or objective. Then they realize you are ascendant and they are in decline, and they get fight back (the level of violence depends on the situation, from cross words, all the way up to murder).

At that point, if you can sustain the casualties, you have won the prize. Even if your movement is crushed, you still have won the moral argument and sown the seeds that will, sooner or later, bear fruit.

Why is peaceful resistance important?
Gandhi’s life is a road map to peaceful resistance, a map that has been used since then in several countries, and with great success.  In countries with brutal, repressive dictatorships, it has been less successful.

This post will focus on the core of the saying, the act of peaceful resistance.  Peaceful resistance is a far more moral and appropriate response to systemic wrong in a power structure than violence.

And since you are usually pitted against the establishment, they will, by definition, hold the edge in weapons and their use.  Not the best odds, and a thoughtful review would point away from the path of violence and towards peaceful resistance.

In today’s world of inter-connectivity and mass media, the brutality of repression is fairly easy to show to the world.  So long as the resisters are not returning violence for violence, they are seen as the “good guys” while the establishment is seen as the “bad guys.”

This helps bring pressure to bear on the brutes to tone it down, as the world is known to be watching.  This moral high ground adds legitimacy to the resisters and helps bring world wide pressure on the establishment to yield at least somewhat to their demands.

Where can I apply this in my life?
Unless you are planning a hunger strike or some other peaceful act that will attract world wide attention, you will probably have to settle for starting locally.  Your neighborhood, your community association, your school board, your town or city, or even your state could be good places to start.

Remember, changing the establishment is neither going to be quick, nor easy.  Select a topic you feel passionate about, so that you can keep the energy up for the long haul.  Some examples follow.

At the neighborhood level, are there unruly kids, random property crimes or other undesirable activities?  You can either confront the people who are behaving badly, or you can work with your neighbors and the local police to form a community watch group.  Perhaps one neighbor is unruly, or not maintaining their building or property.

You can ring the doorbell and yell at them, or you can get a bunch of neighbors together and stand, as a group, in front of the house while one rings the doorbell and mentions the conditions the neighborhood would like to see addressed.

At your community association, are there rules or regulations that seem strange or that are particularly difficult to understand or to comply with?  Did they change the rules recently, for no apparent reason?  Start by asking why, and then work with the board to change the regulations to better suit you and the community.

If that fails, start talking to your neighbors and get them to come out to the board meetings and continue to show up, politely voicing your opinions, until something happens.  If need be, you can change things right after the next election for the board members.

At your local school board level, are your kids getting the education you think they should be getting?  Is there a proper balance between school work and homework, recess and class time?  Are the kids getting the subject matters that are important to you, possibly including foreign languages, music, art, physical education, health education, etc…

If not, do the same thing – talk to the board members and ask why.  If you can’t get what you feel you kid(s) should be getting, you will have to find other like-minded parents and start sitting in the board meetings.  Perhaps you will have to run for the board yourself.  But yelling and screaming, violence and anger will not get you what you want.

You can see the pattern of the quote in the actions that transpire within the dynamic of the situation.  If you’ve never been to a town council meeting, a community association meeting, a school board meeting or anything else like that, it can be a real eye opener.

You should probably do that a few times to familiarize yourself with the procedures and processes before you dive in.  The first few times, you will likely get a nod and be forgotten.  Then you will be the subject of eye-rolling and whispers among those in power.  Once you get some momentum, and people are there supporting you, those in power will start to push back.

If you can keep it up, they will eventually fail and you will win.  Popular opinion and a smart media strategy (even in the local community paper, interviews on the local TV stations, flyers and door-to-door outreach) can also work wonders.  All that is left is to outlast them, to turn the public in your favor, and victory will be yours.

This technique of peaceful resistance can be used in most situations, although you will have to admit that there are external forces at work.  There might not be enough money (although if it’s just a difference of priority, that’s a whole different ballgame), there might be a lack of qualified people, or a lack of resources in general.

To these things you must yield, as the grass must yield to the wind.  A peaceful protest of a flood will only get you wet.  As always, logic and reason must prevail, but there is room for creativity.

You can fight city hall, and it won’t be easy.  But it can be done, with the highest of ethical standards and yield the best of results, if a proper path is followed.

From: Twitter, @BrightQuote
confirmed at : http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/mohandasga103630.html
Photo by Editor B

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http://www.mnn.com/health/fitness-well-being/blogs/why-crafting-is-good-for-mental-health

Why crafting is good for mental health

Our senior year of college, my roommate Gayle and I waited tables until closing time at a local restaurant. We’d get back to our dorm late, physically tired but mentally wired. Our conservative school didn’t allow televisions in our dorms, so we couldn’t plop ourselves in front of one to quiet our brains.

Instead, we took up counted cross stitching to relax. We’d sit there with needle, thread and canvas, methodically following patterns, sometimes chatting but more often in silence. Eventually our minds let go of the racing thoughts that goes with the quick turnover of tables on a weekend night, and we would be able to go to sleep.

PHOTO BREAK: 9 North American folk art meccas

So, it’s not surprising to me that recent studies are finding that complex crafting is good for mental health. The repetitive mindfulness of knitting, for example, has been likened to meditation. When 3,545 knitters were surveyed online by Betsan Corkhill, a knitting therapist, more than half of those who responded said they felt “very happy” after knitting. Many of them did it specifically for relaxation and stress relief. Those who knitted more frequently reported more mental and emotional relief than those who did it less frequently.

Is it just working with needle and thread that has these effects? No. Neuroscientists are studying other forms of creativity and finding that activities like cooking, drawing, cake decorating, photography, art, music and even doing crossword puzzles are beneficial, according to Time magazine.

Why? One thought is that when we’re being creative, our brains release dopamine, a natural anti-depressant. Creativity that takes concentration is a non-medicinal way of getting a feel-good high. Scientists are even beginning to study the link between engaging in creative activities and the ability to reduce the mild cognitive impairment associated with aging.

Crafting may even help to alleviate depression. One thought is that it calls on parts of the brain that are being used less and less often in our world of modern conveniences. MRI scans tracked by neuroscientist Kelly Lambert, also the author of “Lifting Depression,” suggest a strong connection between physical work and feeling good. Lambert's quote in Whole Living sums it up perfectly:

In our contemporary age, when it's possible to Tweet one's deepest thoughts while waiting two minutes for dinner to warm in the microwave, this circuitry — encompassing a vast amount of "brain real estate," as Lambert says — isn't often called on to function in coordination and communication, as it seems evolutionarily designed to do. But when we activate our own effort-driven reward circuitry, it squirts a cocktail of feel-good neurotransmitters, including dopamine (the "reward" chemical), endorphins (released with exercise), and serotonin (secreted during repetitive movement).

The studies being done are all in the beginning stages, but the good news is that if you’re looking for a way to improve your mental health, trying a creative endeavor certainly can’t hurt.

I think back to different times in my life when my creative endeavors that weren't associated with school or work took a high priority in my life, and I realize those endeavors made me happy. Whether I was cross stitching, spending hours in the darkroom developing black and white photos, or wrapped up in the scrapbook craze of 10 years ago when I was making creative photo albums of my boys’ first years, those activities had a positive effect on my outlook.

Perhaps it’s time for me to make my creativity a priority in my life again. I’ll take some non-medicinal, feel-good highs as often as I can get them. How about you?

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http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/how-to-use-best-natural-antibiotics/

The 11 Best Natural Antibiotics and How to Use Them

There is no doubt that antibiotics are truly a wonder of modern medicine. Beginning with the discovery of penicillin in 1928, the rapid resolution of bacterial infections from antibiotics caused many in the medical profession to become completely enamored with the drug based approach to illness erroneously thinking that the danger to human life from infections was a thing of the past.

Not so fast.

By 1940, antibiotics had come into widespread use causing both doctors and people to gradually forget about natural antibiotics for resolving infections and the age old remedies like cod liver oil. This change in the medical paradigm has led in recent decades to abuse of drug based antibiotics and the worrisome rise of antibiotic resistant superbugs such as the “TDR”(totally drug resistant) strain of tuberculosis and Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections particularly in babies and children.

The over-reliance on drug based resolution to infections has also triggered an epidemic of children and adults with compromised gut function and autoimmune diseases of all kinds due to an imbalanced intestinal environment and the consequential scourge of leaky gut syndrome.

Beyond the problem of antibiotic resistance, however, are the long term effects of even a single round of antibiotics. The expectation in the health community that you can just fix the damage with probiotics and/or fermented foods and that gut flora magically returns to normal seems to be far from accurate.

Evidence is now emerging from multiple sources that gut flora may actually be permanently altered by drugs or, at the very least, the damage persists for several years.

The Journal Microbiology, for instance, reports that the generally acknowledged precept that use of antibiotics only causes disruption of the gut flora for a few weeks is highly flawed.

Gut flora does not quickly return to normal after a round of antibiotics.

Even a short course of antibiotics can lead to resistant bacterial populations taking up residence in the gut that persist for up to 4 years – maybe even longer (source)

The bottom line is that drug based antibiotics really should only be used for life threatening situations – as a last resort if you will.

For bothersome everyday infections that are not life threatening, however, nature provides some very powerful and effective alternatives. Here is the list of the best of these natural antibiotics which have succeeded in keeping my own family of five off all drug based antibiotics for colds, flu, skin and sinus infections for over 15 years (and counting!). This list of the best natural antibiotics on the planet is in no particular order although I make note of which one is my personal favorite.

How to Use the Best Natural Antibiotics on the Planet

Oregano Oil

There are over 40 different oregano species, but the most beneficial one to maximize the therapeutic antibiotic effect you need is the oil produced from wild oregano, called Origanum vulgare.  Thymus capitatus, a variety that grows in Spain, is also very powerful.

Quality oregano oil made from these species is golden to dark yellow, with a strong spicy odor.

According to Dr. Mercola, the best uses for oregano oil as a natural antibiotic are the following:

• Foot or nail fungus. Put a few teaspoons of oregano oil in a small tub water and soak your feet.  The oil can also be diluted (one drop of oil with a teaspoon of olive oil) and then apply directly to nails or skin.
• Parasites and infections: Dilute the oil as described above and place it under your tongue. Hold it there for a few minutes, and then rinse it out. Repeat at least four times a day.
• Sinus infections:  Put a few drops of oregano oil in a pot of steaming water or neti pot, and inhale the steam.

Cayenne Pepper

Cayenne pepper also called capsicum is a strong spice used for thousands of years for its healing power and antibiotic effects.  It’s not just an anecdotal, folklore remedy, however.  Science is validating its use as a natural antibiotic as well.

Cayenne pepper is particularly effective at resolving vulvovaginitis, a common infection in women. One Czech study found capsicum essential oil exerts a considerable anti-fungal and antibiotic effect on this condition. It is important to properly use a carrier oil such as olive oil and thoroughly dilute cayenne pepper essential oil, however, as capsicum is quite burning upon initial contact with the skin.

Cayenne pepper is also fantastic for helping to resolve strep throat. This article describes the protocol in depth.

Colloidal Silver

The remarkable antibiotic nature of silver has been known for centuries. In the early 1900′s, the founder of Searle Pharmaceuticals, Alfred Searle, wrote in his book The Complete Use of Colloids in Health and Disease:

Applying colloidal silver to human subjects has been done in a large number of cases with astonishingly successful results…it has the advantage of being rapidly fatal to microbes without toxic action on its host. It is quite stable. It protects rabbits from ten times the lethal dose of tetanus or diphtheria toxin.

In the 1970′s, Dr. Robert O. Becker at Syracuse Medical University began to intensively research colloidal silver. He discovered that silver not only kills bacteria, but it actually killed bacteria that were resistant to all known antibiotics with no undesirable side effects.

While colloidal silver is highly antibiotic in nature, I suggest only using it for external uses such as gargling, ear infections like swimmers’ ear and skin.  The reason is that ingestion of colloidal silver does damage the delicate gut microbiome by killing beneficial bacteria though not as extensively as drug based antibiotics. If you need the assistance of natural antibiotics to consume internally, choose another one on this list, not colloidal silver.

Grapefruit Seed Extract (GSE)

Grapefruit seed extract (GSE) has been reported to be a highly effective, natural antibiotic in combating a variety of common infectious agents. In one study, drops of concentrated grapefruit-seed extract were tested for antibacterial properties against a number of gram-positive and gram-negative organisms.  The researchers concluded that GSE was comparable to “proven topical antibacterials. Although the GSE appeared to have a somewhat greater inhibitory effect on gram-positive organisms than on gram-negative organisms, its comparative effectiveness against a wide range of bacterial biotypes is significant.”

Used full strength to combat warts, properly diluted GSE has a variety of uses to combat pathogens in your home environment.  The only caveat is that commercial preparations of GSE have a chemical in them called diphenol hydroxybenzene that is of questionable safety and other chemicals like triclosan and cancer causing parabens that are definitely to be avoided.

Therefore, if you intend to use GSE especially internally, it is best to make it yourself by grinding the grapefruit seeds and the juiceless pulp and then mixing with glycerin.

Garlic

Of all the natural antibiotics, garlic is my personal favorite and my family’s go-to for internal use. The reason is that it kills the pathogens, not just bacteria but also fungus and viruses too without harming beneficial gut flora.

• Garlic packs a punch with phytochemicals and healing sulfur components. These sulfur compounds even chelate toxic heavy metals (like lead & cadmium), binding with them for excretion out of the body.
• It has antibacterial, anti-fungal, and even antiviral qualities.
• It promotes the growth of healthy intestinal microflora by acting as a prebiotic (food for probiotics).
• Garlic helps keep fats from oxidizing.
• Garlic acts as a strong antioxidant and guards against DNA damage.
• It protects against radiation & sunlight damage.
• Garlic fights worms and parasites.
• It benefits digestion, which is good for the whole body.
• It contains many nutrients such as vitamins (C, B¹, B², B³), minerals (calcium, folate, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, zinc, and phytochemicals (Allicin, beta-carotene, beta-sitosterol, caffeic acid, chlorogenic acid, diallyl-disulfide, ferulic acid, geraniol, kaempferol, linalool, oleanolic acid, p-coumaric acid, phloroglucinol, phytic acid, quercetin, rutin, s-allyl-cysteine, saponin, sinapic acid, & stigmasterol).

The phytochemical allicin in garlic is so powerful that it is one of the best natural antibiotics effective against MRSA. This article describes how to use it appropriately for this purpose.

Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride MD suggests consuming a whole head of garlic a day when using for natural antibiotic purposes.  She also outlines how to make garlic infused olive oil as a remedy for ear and other external infections.

• 1 crushed clove of garlic
• 1 – 2 tablespoons cold pressed olive oil

Place the crushed garlic in the oil and let sit for 30 minutes, then strain. The oil can be warmed slightly by placing it in a cup and setting the cup in warm water (don’t overheat or this will destroy beneficial properties). Use a few drops of this oil hourly in the ears to treat an ear infection. Garlic oil is a safe remedy for children and can also be used daily (just a couple of drops) to soften ear wax buildup.

Ginger

Have you ever wondered why pickled, raw ginger is nearly always served with sushi? This is likely because of historical folklore concerning ginger’s natural antibiotic effects which help prevent food poisoning.

Studies have shown that fresh ginger really does have an antibiotic effect against food borne pathogens such as salmonella, listeria and campylobacter.  Fresh ginger also increases stomach acid production and helps calm indigestion when a meal just doesn’t agree with you.

So, if you are going to eat something that has the potential for food borne illness such as sushi or raw oysters, always best to eat some fresh ginger (raw and pickled is most potent) too in order to make use of its natural antibiotic properties.

This article on how to make The Master Tonic includes fresh ginger (as well as cayenne pepper and garlic). This tonic is a highly effective concoction to make and take with you when traveling overseas in order to have a handy formula available that packs the punch of several natural antibiotics synergistically combined and fermented for maximum potency.

Olive Leaf Extract

Most people are aware of the health benefits of pure, 100% extra virgin olive oil.  However, many in the health community are still in the dark about the antibiotic effects of olive leaf extract coming from the very same trees!

According to Dr. Ronald Hoffman MD, founder and Medical Director of the Hoffman Center in New York City, olive leaf extract as a healing modality was first realized in the 1800’s for malaria.  Olive leaf extract may be best known for it’s ability to reduce fever even due to severe illness.

Early in the last century, oleuropein was isolated from olive leaf extract as this phytochemical was thought to give the olive tree its resistance to disease. Researchers from the Netherlands then learned that elenolic acid, a component of oleuropein, acted as a broad spectrum natural antibiotic, which safely and strongly inhibits the growth of not only bacteria, but also viruses and fungi.

Dr. Hoffman MD’s suggestion for use of olive leaf extract for long standing infections or candida is two 500 mg capsules (20% oleuropein) three to four times per day, preferably with meals.

Turmeric

Turmeric is a spice widely used in traditional Indian cooking that has been used holistically for centuries.

Dr. Kelly Brogan MD uses turmeric widely in her holistic psychiatry practice.  She writes,

This wonder-spice is a mainstay of my anti-inflammatory work with patients in my practice where I use liposomal preparations of curcumin, the natural phenols responsible for turmeric’s yellow color, when I suspect their symptoms stem from a challenged immune system.

In research, the curcumin in turmeric was shown to be effective against Helicobacter pylori common in gastroduodenal ulcers regardless of the genetic makeup of the strain.  The administration of curcumin also resolved any gastric damage caused by the infection.

If you wish to use turmeric as a natural antibiotic, Dr. Weil suggests to look for extracts in dosages of 400 to 600 mg, and take three times daily or as directed.

Echinacea

Echinacea is an herb widely used to fight infections and has been the subject of wide scientific research.  Even WebMD is positive about it concluding that:

Echinacea is widely used to fight infections, especially the common cold and other upper respiratory infections.  Echinacea is also used against many other infections including the flu, urinary tract infections, vaginal yeast infections, genital herpes, bloodstream infections (septicemia), gum disease, tonsillitis, streptococcus infections, syphilis, typhoid, malaria, and diphtheria.

German scientists have studied echinacea using double-blind, placebo-controlled studies, the gold standard for scientific research on drugs.  One of these showed that echinacea users experienced less frequent and less severe virus infections by one-third to one-half with no toxic effects compared to the group that took a placebo.

According to Dr. Sears MD, echinacea studies on adults suggest 300 mg three time a day for a total of 900 mg a day as a recommended regimen.  For children, half the adult dose for ages 6-13, and one-quarter the adult dose for those under age six.

Manuka Honey

What would this list of natural antibiotics be without raw honey which has been used as an infection fighter since ancient times?  Of all the honey on the planet, Manuka honey from New Zealand is the best when it comes to resolving infections. Just be sure it has never been heated (source)!

I first used Manuka honey 16 years ago shortly after my first child was born to resolve a breastfeeding related infection. It worked so well I was able to avoid using antibiotics.

According to Dr. Mercola, clinical trials have found that Manuka honey is effective against more than 250 strains of bacteria, including:

• MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus)
• MSSA (methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus)
• VRE (vancomycin-resistant enterococci)
• Helicobacter Pylori (which can cause stomach ulcers)

In 2007, the FDA even approved Manuka honey based wound dressings.

The great thing about Manuka honey is that it is food.  I’ve personally found it most effective for skin based infections (just slather on as needed), but the research indicates an internal infection fighting benefit as well even reducing the cavity causing bacteria responsible for dental plaque.

Pau d’Arco

Overuse of drug based antibiotics frequently leads to an overgrowth in the gut of a large family of yeasts or fungus known as Candida.

Pau d’arco is an herb that is highly effective at repressing Candida and significantly reducing the resultant sugar cravings that come with it.  Repressing Candida and ingesting plenty of probiotics in the form of fermented foods and/or supplements will over time allow beneficial gut microbes to regain control of the gut environment.

While Pau d’arco has been used as a medicine for centuries as one of the best natural antibiotics to counteract fungal overgrowth, science is also validating these anecdotal observations.  The Brazilian Journal of Biology found in 2010 found that Tabebuia avellanedae, one tree species that is the source of the Pau d’arco herb, does indeed exert an inhibitory effect on yeasts.

The form Pau d’arco is most often used is as an herbal tea, which I must admit, is an acquired taste!  Even after drinking it as needed for the past 2 decades, I still don’t like it much! The good news is that the taste isn’t so terrible that you can’t drink a cup or two for a few days to a week or more.  This will help you get back into the routine of healthy eating with sweets kept in moderation if Candida has gotten out of control during off the wagon eating while on vacation or due to a round of antibiotics.

Which of the natural antibiotics on this list are your favorites?  What do you use them for and when?

Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist

Sources and More Information

Why Antibiotics Today Could Threaten Your Life Tomorrow

The Impact of Short Course Antibiotics on the Gut Microbiome

How to Repair Your Gut MicroBiome after a Round of Antibiotics

Dr. Ronald Hoffman and Olive Leaf Extract

Antifungal Effect in Natural Compounds in the Treatment of Vulvovaginitis

Long Term Impacts of Antibiotic Exposure on Human Intestinal Microbiota

Oregano Oil Benefits

Bactericidal properties of plant essential oils

Why I Never Consume Colloidal Silver

The Best Vegetables for Boosting Immunity

Pau d’Arco: The Best Herb for Candida

 

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http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/scientists-discover-childrens-cells-living-in-mothers-brain/

Scientists Discover Children’s Cells Living in Mothers’ Brains

The link between a mother and child is profound, and new research suggests a physical connection even deeper than anyone thought. The profound psychological and physical bonds shared by the mother and her child begin during gestation when the mother is everything for the developing fetus, supplying warmth and sustenance, while her heartbeat provides a soothing constant rhythm.

The physical connection between mother and fetus is provided by the placenta, an organ, built of cells from both the mother and fetus, which serves as a conduit for the exchange of nutrients, gasses, and wastes. Cells may migrate through the placenta between the mother and the fetus, taking up residence in many organs of the body including the lung, thyroid, muscle, liver, heart, kidney and skin. These may have a broad range of impacts, from tissue repair and cancer prevention to sparking immune disorders.

It is remarkable that it is so common for cells from one individual to integrate into the tissues of another distinct person. We are accustomed to thinking of ourselves as singular autonomous individuals, and these foreign cells seem to belie that notion, and suggest that most people carry remnants of other individuals. As remarkable as this may be, stunning results from a new study show that cells from other individuals are also found in the brain. In this study, male cells were found in the brains of women and had been living there, in some cases, for several decades. What impact they may have had is now only a guess, but this study revealed that these cells were less common in the brains of women who had Alzheimer’s disease, suggesting they may be related to the health of the brain.

We all consider our bodies to be our own unique being, so the notion that we may harbor cells from other people in our bodies seems strange. Even stranger is the thought that, although we certainly consider our actions and decisions as originating in the activity of our own individual brains, cells from other individuals are living and functioning in that complex structure. However, the mixing of cells from genetically distinct individuals is not at all uncommon. This condition is called chimerism after the fire-breathing Chimera from Greek mythology, a creature that was part serpent part lion and part goat. Naturally occurring chimeras are far less ominous though, and include such creatures as the slime mold and corals.

 Microchimerism is the persistent presence of a few genetically distinct cells in an organism. This was first noticed in humans many years ago when cells containing the male “Y” chromosome were found circulating in the blood of women after pregnancy. Since these cells are genetically male, they could not have been the women’s own, but most likely came from their babies during gestation.

In this new study, scientists observed that microchimeric cells are not only found circulating in the blood, they are also embedded in the brain. They examined the brains of deceased women for the presence of cells containing the male “Y” chromosome. They found such cells in more than 60 percent of the brains and in multiple brain regions. Since Alzheimer’s disease is more common in women who have had multiple pregnancies, they suspected that the number of fetal cells would be greater in women with AD compared to those who had no evidence for neurological disease. The results were precisely the opposite: there were fewer fetal-derived cells in women with Alzheimer’s. The reasons are unclear.

Microchimerism most commonly results from the exchange of cells across the placenta during pregnancy, however there is also evidence that cells may be transferred from mother to infant through nursing. In addition to exchange between mother and fetus, there may be exchange of cells between twins in utero, and there is also the possibility that cells from an older sibling residing in the mother may find their way back across the placenta to a younger sibling during the latter’s gestation. Women may have microchimeric cells both from their mother as well as from their own pregnancies, and there is even evidence for competition between cells from grandmother and infant within the mother.

What it is that fetal microchimeric cells do in the mother’s body is unclear, although there are some intriguing possibilities. For example, fetal microchimeric cells are similar to stem cells in that they are able to become a variety of different tissues and may aid in tissue repair. One research group investigating this possibility followed the activity of fetal microchimeric cells in a mother rat after the maternal heart was injured: they discovered that the fetal cells migrated to the maternal heart and differentiated into heart cells helping to repair the damage. In animal studies, microchimeric cells were found in maternal brains where they became nerve cells, suggesting they might be functionally integrated in the brain. It is possible that the same may be true of such cells in the human brain.

These microchimeric cells may also influence the immune system. A fetal microchimeric cell from a pregnancy is recognized by the mother’s immune system partly as belonging to the mother, since the fetus is genetically half identical to the mother, but partly foreign, due to the father’s genetic contribution. This may “prime” the immune system to be alert for cells that are similar to the self, but with some genetic differences. Cancer cells which arise due to genetic mutations are just such cells, and there are studies which suggest that microchimeric cells may stimulate the immune system to stem the growth of tumors. Many more microchimeric cells are found in the blood of healthy women compared to those with breast cancer, for example, suggesting that microchimeric cells can somehow prevent tumor formation. In other circumstances, the immune system turns against the self, causing significant damage. Microchimerism is more common in patients suffering from Multiple Sclerosis than in their healthy siblings, suggesting chimeric cells may have a detrimental role in this disease, perhaps by setting off an autoimmune attack.

This is a burgeoning new field of inquiry with tremendous potential for novel findings as well as for practical applications. But it is also a reminder of our interconnectedness.

Are you a scientist who specializes in neuroscience, cognitive science, or psychology? And have you read a recent peer-reviewed paper that you would like to write about? Please send suggestions to Mind Matters editor Gareth Cook, a Pulitzer prize-winning journalist at the Boston Globe. He can be reached at garethideas AT gmail.com or Twitter @garethideas.

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https://www.discover.com/online-banking/banking-topics/10-tips-for-catching-up-on-retirement-savings/?cmpgnid=orgsch-bt-cm&src=S00000F6E&ef_id=VqJLjQAAAUZUQStb:20160122153229:d

10 Tips for Catching Up on Retirement Savings

In a perfect world, you’ve been saving a large portion of your salary every year in a retirement account. That money has been earning interest and you’ll be able to retire comfortably, maybe even early. The reality of retirement, however, is sobering. 52% of households aged 55 and older have little to no retirement savings, according to the Government Accountability Office.

No matter how close you are to retirement or how little you have saved up, it’s never too late to take immediate action. Social Security and Medicare will most likely not be enough to cover your retirement expenses, so start saving and budgeting your money. Consider these tips when planning your retirement.

Savings Strategies

1. Pay off any high-interest debt as quickly as you can to clear the way for savings.

2. Find ways to shave dollars from your daily expenses so you have more money to contribute to savings. This involves reducing discretionary expenses and making lifestyle changes to free up cash.

3. Put any extra money you receive toward savings: tax refunds, salary increases, bonuses, even cash gifts.

4. Increase your earnings before you take full retirement. Take a second job, for a few additional years or prepare for a part-time job during your early retirement.

5. Target a savings rate outside of your comfort zone. Recognize that this will require exceptional discipline, especially if you have been saving little to nothing so far.

Financial Tactics

6. Contribute the maximum allowed amount to your IRA (Individual Retirement Account) or 401(k) every year. If you have matching contributions from your employer, be sure you’re getting the full amount of this “free money.” These investment plans may also give you tax savings now or when you start withdrawals, depending on your choice of investment fund.

7. You may want to contribute more to your IRA for yourself and your spouse if you are over 50. You can make catch-up contributions to your Traditional or Roth IRA up to $1,000 in 2014 and 2015. Catch-up contributions to an IRA are due by the due date of your tax return (not including extensions).

8. Check with the Social Security Administration to understand how your retirement start date impacts benefits. The later you start drawing benefits prior to age 70, the larger your monthly benefit will be. No matter when you retire, be sure to sign up for Medicare at age 65.

9. Explore Traditional and Roth IRAs to get the best tax treatment based on your expected income levels over time. Consider deferring taxes now with a Traditional IRA while you’re working, or pay taxes now with the ability to withdraw tax-free funds from your Roth account after you retire.

10. Investigate your eligibility for the Saver’s Credit, available to low-to-moderate income families to match a portion of your IRA or 401(k) savings.

While retirement is a lifetime goal for many people, some arrive unprepared. Once you begin to make changes and start saving, you may be surprised by how quickly your retirement funds add up. Don’t delay the process.

Discover Bank, Member FDIC

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http://www.crisismagazine.com/2016/despair-and-hope-in-tolstoys-anna-karenina

Despair and Hope in Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina

Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina doesn’t end with the suicide of Anna. Its final section concludes the story of its other primary character, Constantin Levin. Levin’s situation is very different from Anna’s. He is married to the woman he loves, who has recently given birth to their first child, a healthy son. They live on a farm amidst the beautiful Russian countryside and he is well-liked by the peasants under his employ. Despite his obvious good-fortune, he too has feared himself close to suicide. The reason is his inability to affirm faith in God. His most diligent inquiries have left him without the certainty he craves. All he knows is that the conclusions of materialism are emotionally and morally unacceptable but that a convincing case for God’s existence and beneficence continually evades him. The insensate horror that would define a godless world, and the sustaining silence where he expects to hear God speak, leave him in a state of panicked existential despair. His happiness cannot gain purchase in the roiling cauldron of his unbelief.

But Levin experiences a revelation. He discovers, once and for all, that God is ultimately ineffable. He discovers that faith is not probity in matters of theology but rather the blissful acceptance of the utter necessity of an all-loving presence in the universe (acceptance which, in our fallen state, depends upon a kind of moral probity). After this revelation he witnesses how it fails to change his social being; he still behaves rudely and uncharitably to his servants and to his family. He does not allow that to derail his new understanding. He accepts that he is an imperfect social being and commits himself to understanding further the mystery of his own nature as a created being among other created beings. He surrenders himself to love, just as Anna could not.

Tolstoy’s moral genius lies in the way he delineates Levin’s deep and lasting, yet subtle and fundamentally private transformation by his new insight into the nature of the divine. Levin does not instantly attain saintliness—far from it. He must negotiate the challenges of the human world just as before, prey to the same vanities and resentments, but he can now do so possessed of new gifts: the knowledge of his own blessedness in the company of those around him and the freedom of a soul without fear.

Anna becomes, at the end, consumed by the belief that hatred permeates all human relationships. She comes to see the world and everything in it as irredeemably ugly. The social world she sees as a sick and malicious charade whose awful conceit infects her relations with those she loves. Her bright and blazing consciousness, her huge and hungry soul, cannot survive the littleness of the world around her. Her otherworldly charm outshines, and so conceals, a fatal fragility of spirit. The reader is left with the powerful and painful impression that Anna’s destruction was not inevitable. At the moment that she takes her life she is shocked at her own actions. She cannot understand, in those final instants, why she is doing it.

If Anna’s tragic journey marks the worst kind of moral waste, then Levin’s journey marks the opposite. From humiliation and despair (his wife at first rejects his proposal) he salvages, despite his own abundant failings, the joyous future he dreamed of. He witnesses the full horror of mortality in his brother’s agonizing demise and the bitter regrets that are poured out in this process. He witnesses also the true power of human compassion in his wife’s saintly nursing of his dying brother, and in the marvelous, delicate form of his newborn child.

Both Anna and Levin suffer and inflict cruelties, some inconsequential, others grave. Anna becomes the victim of the countless unacknowledged cruelties that constitute, as she sees it, the totality of the social world. Levin transcends such cruelties, ready, we sense, to forgive them in himself and in others. There is profound sadness in this literary masterpiece, but Tolstoy does not close the door on consolation. Having shown us two young families (Anna’s two families) torn apart by subtle deceptions, he shows us another thriving in the consciousness of their sacred bond.

The triumph of literature is to offer each of us vivid evidence of lives beyond our own, to speak to us out of the vast invisible worlds that other people carry in them. Tolstoy’s miraculous feat, in showing us Anna and Levin, is to swing two worlds into alignment, to confront the darkness that surrounds them and threatens to swallow us all, and to look beyond, to the blaze of countless galaxies, to the spangled majesty of love.

Editor’s note: The image above, titled “Portrait of an Unknown Woman,” was painted by Ivan Kramskoy in 1883.

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http://www.healthandhealthyliving.com/garlic-soup-100-times-more-efficient-than-antibiotics/

Garlic Soup! 100 Times More Efficient Than Antibiotics!

Traditional garlic soup can be of great help when it comes to treating flu, cold or Norovirus. It is made of basic ingredients like garlic, of course, red onion and thyme. Fortunately, people tend to use natural remedies instead of antibiotics or any other medication that is commonly prescribed to individuals dealing with cold or flu.

Wonder why? Viruses have become more dangerous and resistant to drugs. The Norovirus worries health experts, because in addition to its symptoms, it also causes vomiting. In 2012 it was known as ‘Sydney’ and it does not trigger symptoms different than others, but it sure causes vomiting, diarrhea, fever, headache and stomach cramps.

Garlic has the power to stand still against mutation changes in viruses. It shows great success in the fight against new and mutated viruses. It is all about its allicin content. A group of researchers at the Washington University conducted a study involving this particular issue.

They found that garlic is pretty mighty. It is 100 times more powerful that the 2 most common antibiotics used in the treatment of various diseases caused by particular bacteria that is held as responsible for the occurrence of diseases transmitted by food.

Garlic soup

Eat garlic regularly, and this is the best advice you can get. Add it to your favorite meals, salad, combine it with olive oil or just spread it over a slice of bread. In this way you can stay healthy and safe from diseases. The latest research never saw the light and it was never finished, because the Big Pharma is simply not interested in natural and cheap remedies.

Recipe

• 50 garlic cloves or 5 bulbs, peeled
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 large onions, diced
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
• 6 cups clear chicken broth
• a bunch of fresh herbs (parsley, thyme, bay leaf) -*you can always use dried herbs instead of fresh
• 3 cups stale bread, diced
• 1 cup sour cream

Preparation

First, preheat your oven, and 180 degrees is just perfect. Cut off the top of each garlic bulb or just separate the cloves and spread them over a piece of aluminum foil. Drizzle over some olive oil and roast your garlic for hour and a half. When it is ready, take your garlic out of the oven and let it cool for a few minutes.

In the meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and some butter in a pot. Your recipe requires medium heat. Add in your onions and cook everything for 10 minutes. Once your garlic is beautifully roasted, mash it using a fork, and add it into the pot. Next add your herbs and chicken broth.

Reduce the heat to low, add the bread and cook for additional 5 minutes, or until the bread cubes become soft. Blend your soup until smooth, and you can use either a immersion blender or your regular blender. Return the creamy mixture to the heat, and add in some sour cream. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

If you notice any initial symptoms that may indicate a particular ailment, do not hesitate to have a serving of this healing soup. It sure takes a while to prepare it, but you can always freeze whatever you are left with and this will also save you some time. The ingredients in this soup create a magical combination and this soup is sure worth trying!

Source: www.myfitmagazine.com

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