holistic

Beyond Vengeance, Beyond Duality: A Call for a Compassionate Revolution

barbara — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 08:00:00 +0000

A former trial lawyer, Sylvia Clute became disheartened with the prevailing justice system and began her search for new approaches to justice. In her compelling book, Beyond Vengeance, Beyond Duality, she calls for a compassionate revolution that is based on the “Oneness” or unity of life. Clute offers a new vision of a legal system and its criminal and civil litigation gaps, and explains the failures of the justice system and other institutions that are based on a philosophy of dualism which pits “us” versus “them," “winners” versus “losers," and “insiders” versus “outsiders." She makes a strong point by underlying that we should not see ourselves as separate entities struggling for dominance over each other, but rather as a per of a larger, compassionate “oneness."

In Beyond Vengeance, Beyond Duality, Clute calls for a holistic approach to justice while exploring distinctions between oneness v. duality, power v. control, duality v. polarity. She explains oneness as the container which holds certain human experiences such as trust, transparency, generosity, reconciliation, forgiveness, healing, restoration, faith, hope, compassion, security, and peace. On the other hand, duality holds different experiences—suspicion, secrecy, divisiveness, judgment, attack, revenge, retribution, greed, jealousy, insecurity, and war. Any aspect of life can be constrained within the small container of duality, or it can be transformed to reflect the all-inclusive container of Oneness.

She offers rather new approach to the basic foundations of restorative justice, called “unitive justice,” which promotes inclusiveness, aims for healing and reconciliation, and desires relationships that are harmonious, equitable, and peaceful. It is the exact opposite of punitive justice which is grounded in fear and separation and based on the idea that punishment is a deterrent to crime. These new approaches to justice are not limited to the lawyers only, but to all people active in “addressing the unfairness of laws that sustain social ills-like poverty, homelessness, and discrimination." Clute sees positive signs of change in the Green Movement, conscious capitalism, peace building and conflict resolution, and restorative justice.

At the end of her book, Clute offers a number of thoughtful and provocative questions suitable for group discussions which are based on each chapter. Beyond Vengeance, Beyond Duality will be of interest to all people interested in social justice issues, in particular restorative justice.

Written by: Olivera Simic, October 30th 2010

The Fatigue Prescription: Four Steps to Renewing Your Energy, Health, and Life

beth — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 08:00:00 +0000

By Linda Hawes Clever, MD

Viva Editions

In the style of many self-help books, Linda Hawes Clever, MD, is a product of and a subscriber to the program of renewal that she presents in her book. In the span of eighteen months, the physician endured the death of her parents, a home burglary, the loss of two jobs, and her husband’s cancer diagnosis. In the process of dealing with the impact of these traumatic events, Clever reached out to others who were interested in revamping their own lifestyles and ended up founding RENEW, a not-for-profit that “aims to help busy, devoted people sustain or regain enthusiasm, effectiveness, meaning and, yes, joy.” The Fatigue Prescription: Four Steps to Renewing Your Energy, Health, and Life brings together Clever's experience from her ten years of heading up the company and laying out a four pronged plan to recapture energy and motivation. Whether stress and fatigue stem from life-altering events or just daily life itself, Clever’s thorough, warm-hearted guide is intended to give readers the tools to ditch their ruts and find their groove.

Clever's writing is persistently optimistic and quippy. The book is brimming with quotables from both the author and other sources as diverse as Langston Hughes, South Pacific, Rumi, and Wendell Berry. The requisite checklists and brainstorming questions are laced with good humor. Clever's voice is a strong selling point for her The Fatigue Prescription. It makes you feel taken care of—you can tell Clever is a doctor with a warm and friendly bedside manner.

In fact, Clever's profession shapes her recommendations in many ways, bringing a unique and holistic focus to her prescription for better living. She includes extensive sections about taking care of your body and brain and backs up her advice by referencing, in plain English, various medical studies including a fascinating study about possible links between longevity and positive attitudes.

However, the book is still plagued by some of the familiar demons of the self-help genre. While Clever tries to keep things simple by outlining four steps to a fatigue remedy, the book wanders from this premise and spins new jargon that can get confusing: there are renew-o-meters, buff-o-meters, and three kinds of “buckets” for your self-esteem, worthiness, and energy. Also, the prescription metaphor, while catchy, doesn’t quite work to describe Clever's approach accurately and has to undergo some complex contortions to try to encompass all of the recommendations put forth by the author.

The Fatigue Prescription does offer inroads to making a change and plenty of positive affirmations. Clever writes a prescription for combating fatigue but she acknowledges that it’s not a magic pill you can pop and forget about. Her approach engages the reader in intense reflection and reevaluation of fundamental values and priorities in order to begin the journey towards rediscovering lost energy.

Written by: Jo Ristow, October 13th 2010

Travel Pack

admin — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 17:36:00 +0000

By Dr. Alkaitis Holistic Organic

“The essential foundation of beauty is health.” - Dr. Alkaitis

Sociobiology makes me cringe. The realities of economics and aesthetics are frequently politically uncomfortable. There appear to be some basic principles that all humans operate by—for example, that everyone likes money and beauty. Money is intrinsically meaningless and worthless: a bale of Benjamins won't do you much good in the middle of Antarctica except as tinder. Pot shards, metal disks, cocoa beans—all have done service as manifestations of worth, tokens of sweat and time. The presence or absence of cash does not necessarily indicate that the holder is good, talented, wise, or kind—the infamous caprice of fortune, depicted as female—but try getting a thing done without it. As a tool, a means of exchange, it is a necessity that defines our lives. Most people on the planet are preoccupied by raw survival and ethics can be a luxury. Beauty is equally vexing a concept. Notoriously subjective, yes, but globally consistent in some respects: symmetry and youth are admired across cultures. The extent to which the value placed on youth is based on some sort of Darwinian reproductive imperative, I'd rather not dwell upon. Instead, I'll opt for Dr. Alkaitis' succinct suggestion that a healthy exterior reflects a healthy interior, at least on the animal level.

Dr. Alkaitis offers a variety of products of indisputably healthy content: facial cleansers, herbal toners, creams, treatment oils; masks for exfoliating, cellular repair, or mixed from the crushed petals of flowers. Ingredients are largely non-chemical: organic oat bran, berries, grapes, barley grass, and turmeric. This echoes Michael Pollan's direction to only consume foods you can read. The doctor proffers credentials indicating that the additional enzymes are informed additions, and says that he concocted his potions with “dry, mature problem skin and those with Multiple Chemical Sensitivities in mind.” The quantities in a travel pack make effective testing difficult, but the masks struck me as the best (not included). It's recommended that the user mix the masks with organic honey or agave. I used water, preferring to save the honey for tea. Still effective. However, my philosophizing is so lucrative, next time I'll probably exfoliate with plain oatmeal, daub on a free-range chicken egg for a mask, and refresh my eyes with cucumber slices, if they don't go to breakfasts, or salads. That's healthy.

Written by: Erika Mikkalo, June 10th 2009

Dr. Hauschka Cosmetics

admin — Mon, 18 May 2009 10:20:00 +0000

By Dr. Hauschka Cosmetics

Everyone's gone "green," but some have been doing it earlier than others. Dr. Hauschka Skin Care has provided holistic skin products for over four decades, and the original Dr. Hauschka was a Viennese chemist who sought to manufacture naturally healthy potions as early as the establishment of his laboratory in 1935. He used rose petals, and WALA Heilmittel (WALA is an acronym of warmth, air, light and ash, and "heilmittel" means "remedy") utilizes organic plant substances to this day. Apparently the plant of the month is the birch. While the birch is attractive in all seasons, I would personally prefer that my skin not peel off like the tree's canoe-ready bark, and it is a relief to know that there are both lotions and decorative cosmetics that will help me achieve this end.

I've always favored eye pencils over eyeliner, but the Dr. Hauschka liquid goes on smoothly and with control, so I may be converted. Also, less pressure is necessary, and it might be wiser to poke about the edge of one's eyes with a small brush instead of a stick. The "Stone" Colour series offers subtle shades reminiscent of agates and sand. However, subtlety may not to be a virtue to some: in 1936, the company Volupte introduced two lipsticks. One favored a refined, light, approach, and was advocated by Mademoiselle magazine as an accent for those who wore pastels and pearls, while the other was more dark and was suggested for women who wore more dramatic clothing. "Hussy" outsold "Lady" at a rate of five to one. The black mascara is a classic for hussies and ladies, and does appear to be more non-clumping and quicker-drying than my previous brand: two positives. Repeated applications have lasted well with indoor and outdoor exposure, including some vigorous Internet surfing and movie watching. I'll let you know how these pretty paints adhere in the garden.

Written by: Erika Mikkalo, May 18th 2009