Improving your affluence

I have recently decided to subscribe to a few newspapers on my kindle.  They cost abvout 6-7 dollars each a month.  It does feel like I am stretching my budget, but really, am I?  I must say I do not anticipate reading all of what is printed each day, but I do have a few favorite papers and I do wish to see more of what they print, rountinely.  I have the Miami Herald (I lived there a year), the Cleveland Plain Dealer and of course, the New York Times.  I decided to learn more about Texas as well and subscribed to the Austin American-Statesman.  I did live in Texas a few times and would like to learn more about Texas.   I must say that I am embarrassed to be an American when the woman who ran for Vice President and has been in office in the highest of offices in a state could not even mention one newspaper that she read when prompted. I personally believe that she rarely read the papers.   So thus, I have improved my own affluence.  ( I may cancel one or two of the papers. But I am certain that 2 papers will be in my future for sure.  And I am not including the local paper).

What I learned in the Military

I made one blunder on active duty that I should have seen coming.  I was stung by a scorpion the evening before and in the morning, having survived and not gone to an ER for treatment, I mentioned to my colleagues that I survived a scopion sting.  Bad Move.  Wrong time.  The morning in the miltiary is a time to deny that challenges exist. Better to wait until noon and having finished the mornings chores you are free to speak at will of your outside business hours maladies. 

Regarding mental health in our universities

In light of the tragedies in Tuscon, I have been giving this idea some thought and thought it would be good to document it so that perhaps someone reading this might give it further consideration and perhaps see if this is somthing that might be needed in the future of our educational system. 
It would seem that the college and graduate school system might be a good place to discover any inherent mental health concerns and bring treatment to the student.  Sadly, there appears to be little that ensures that a student must get the therapy and assistance that is needed.  When a student drops out of school, he or she is essentially lost to the supervision and observation of others who may be able to steer him or her to a mental health care situation.  Perhaps an idea, though certainly a big brother type of scenario, might be to mandate that all students matriculating to higher education agree upon matriculation that they will comply with university mental health recommendations as a means of being accepted into their schools.  This way, noone would be lost to follow up and proper treatment can be administered.  I would think this could be university policy or even if need be, law enforced.  This only makes sense and would keep any serious situation from being lost to follow up until dare we say it becomes destructive to a higher proportion. 

One more insight on Jewish prayer

The Shemoni Esrei has one more passage that I believe is greatly underestimated.
That of Davidic Reign:
"the offsping of Your servant David, may  you speedily casue to flourish, and enhance his pride through Your salvation, for we hope for Your salvation all the day."
Did you think this meant a messiah or at least another King of the Nation of Israel like David?  I did.  I prayed it many times and thought to myself, who among us is the bloodline of King David...  Surely someone must exist, but who... is there someone to emerge?
Not quite.  But a king of sorts, and hopefully many and more than one at a time will lead Israel...
This doesnt mean from a stone throne in the holy land.  No no.  This is a cry for people who are the SPIRITUAL OFFSPRING of King David to fill the land.  People with insight and understanding.  People with hope and love in their soul.  People who can lead through the word and the smile.  The expressions of our being.  This is going on even today. I know quite a few.  Elie Weisel would qualify.  This is not a cry for the bloodline of David, rather the line of soul and spirit of King David to continue to grace our homes, synagogues, books, airways, and all that we consume in our daily life.  This is a real thing and by praying this prayer, we are petitioning our Creator to bring more of this type of leader to our people.

The Shemoni Esrei, What does it REALLY call upon G-d to do?

I have to say that over the past few years as I've found myself into a religous synagogue, the Shemoni Esrei has been by far the most interesting of the new found portions of the prayer services that I've discovered in finding Religious Judaism.  (remember I was not in a truly religious congregation as a child.)   That said, it does have its curiousities and I think that in my more educated mind today, I can answer some of the things that we say a prayer for, but really, what are we really praying for?

Most are self explanitory, redemption, insight, repentance, forgiveness.
But what about healing?  Are we praying that our Creator will change the fate of those with medical afflictions?  Stage 4 cancer?   No, I don't think this is a prayer that we can pray.   We can certainly pray for good medical therapy and dare we say in some cases, miracles.  I do beleive these things are possible.   But so too is the healing of the spirit for which we must pray.  This should really be the daveners focus, not physical healing but spirutal healing.  Less self anger and detached emotion.  Less pain and suffering in the mind and soul and being.  Less unanswered prayers of understanding and insights.  More healthy minds and healthy sense of beings.   I do believe that the soul is the focus of the prayer for health and healing.  Not so much the body.

Year of prosperity is not necessarily material, spiritual and financial health.  But really just for good conditions in our lifetime.  Thats pretty self explanitory too.

In gathering of exiles.  This one is worth the read here.  I used to think this meant every Jew moving back to the borders of Zion.   C'mon. really. Do you really think this is our Creator's plan.  I knew it wasn't, but there it was in print.  Ingathering of exiles... from the four corners of the earth.  To where?  to our Land.  This I say is more complicated than it appears.  Clearly noone can actually imagine that every jew will live in and only in the borders of Zion.  And this goes to my point that actually the entire earth is the Jewish heritage as well as the non jewish heritage.  When we say "our land" we are really referring to , in my insight, the fabric of the soul.   Not a physical bordered dirt and water semblance of geographical order.  This is a very important prayer and one must realize to what it refers.   I say that this prayer refers to the ingathering of exiles from the law of Torah to becoming Torah and law orientated Jews.  To ingather, we grasp at Torah and the law and live our lives accordingly.  Wherever physically we are.  Its not a call to move to the holy land.  But if you do that, may you have G-ds blessings.

Restoration of Justice- I do believe it is possible to live in a system where there are true beit dins.   This is exatly what this verse discusses.  But so too it means that we must be fair in our enactments of justice in our hearts.  We are the judge of one another at a psychospirutal level.  We must judge fairly and as we would want to be judged ourselves.

Rebuilding Jerusalem-  Another tough one.  I had previously thought it meant we would rebuild the temple in Jerusalem, make Jerusalem a Jewish city and the like.  Not quite.  This is a call for all Jews to be a light before the world.   To be a light to humanity, we are rebuilding Jerusalem.  The capital spiritual home of the Jewish people is established in justice and peace.  This is how we Truly rebuild Jerusalem.

The rest is as it seems I believe, but those few mainly needed some attention.  Give it some thought.

Trouble gone

I must say that in the past few months, I have questioned the truth regarding the great rebbe of the Lubavicher movement.  I have seen some very unhealthy activities coming from the ChaBaD movement including discrimination as well as anger and distancing some of themselves from True Torah observance.  That said, I have been learning more and I have decided to myself that Rabbi Schneerson is indeed a Great Tzaddik and he must be regarded with true brilliance.  It is a fact. This is one of the greatest Torah leaders in our time.  I did not agree completely with what I saw to be a angry following and to that I say, gain more strength in pleasing Hashem with true Torah observance.  That said, I will revere this Rebbe and I most certainly hope that I get the chance to visit his gravesite. 

Painter and painting

You tube blog entry dated a few months ago

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Jgl2l9F9GA&feature=related

This is about following the law in Leviticus that says that a man may not round off the corners of his scalp.  I have 7 inche peyos now (sidecurls). You'd hardly notice. I put them behind my ears and they do not hang to the side as in this video clip.

Who they really are

Given the following circumstances, the following is a list of the names we would regard the following individuals by:
Barack obama smoking pipes= swift eagle.
Barack Obama smoking cigars= blue collar
Barack Obama smoking both= Dice

Richard Nixon smoking pipe= plato
Richard Nixon smoking both= palamino
Richard Nixon Smoking cigars= paradise

Bill Clinton smoking cigars= python
Smoking pipe= pacman
smoking both= port pleasure

Hillary Clinton smoking cigars= pipe dream
smoking pipes= case manager
smoking both= cotton planter

George W Bush smoking cigars= blackmail
smoking pipe= potts.
smoking both= freight train

Henry Kissinger smoking cigars= party man
smoking pipe= pond skimmer
smoking both= dangerstar

Sarah Palin smoking cigars= poise
smoking pipes= smash
smoking both= squirrel

 

 

Nonliberalism, the force that dissipates ongoing presence of providence

More than any other time in my lifetime, and perhaps with the rise of Fox news and the internet as a forum for democratic endeavors, the voice of non liberal ideology is clamoring more and more for our attention and to be fed with our smiles and applause.  This is a social disease and needs to be addressed.  America was built on liberal ideals and functions as a democracy due to forgiveness for discourse.   I must say that I am constantly barraged with anti liberal propeganda, both from the right and also from the radical left.   Its on television on Fox news all day long and in my visits to orthodox Jewish web sites, its a constant pull of the opinionated, yet vastly uninformed.   I do not believe that liberalism is an extreme or an indignity.  Its a benevolent force aimed at encompassing the greatness of humanity and permitting that which is begging for dignity to exist along with that which is given worth.   I must say that this does not mean allow a lawless society or a permissive existence.  Permissiveness is always lumped together with liberal thought. Though they have their common interests, they do not exist together in our minds and must be seen as separate entities.  Liberalism however, does not destroy the integrity and rights of those who exist in a permissive state.  Thats liberalism.  Nonliberalism which is erroneously nominated conservativism is a force which seeks to penalize and destroy the integrity and freedom that a person has to be permissive in their day. Its not a liberal ideal to be permissive. This may refer to those who wish to avoid wearing seatbelts, have uncommitted relationships that involve sexual intercourse, eat excessively, view illicit pornography, or any other social deviance that is deemed off limits from a puritanical or orthodox religious viewpoint.   I do not personally support a lifestyle of permissive living, though I will fight for your right to experience this if it does not violate my human rights or the human rights of another person.  
Non liberalism is a pattern of self hatred that exists in the mind of those fearful of social progress and social revolution.   This is a sad state of affairs that is excessively rampant and celebrated with impunity.  I do hope that my work over time will awaken the soul to the liberalism that is truely Godly in my opinion and serves to further mankinds cause.

Obama's image

I am not one to criticize the president often these days, but I must say that the image that we all have of him, whether we have viewed him in the photographed form or whether we just use our imagination is a man who smokes cigarettes.  Not a good image.  I say Obama would change his entire personal situation immensely if he was viewed smoking a pipe a few times in history.  Who wants to be remembered as a cigarette smoking leader of the western world? 

What really is liberalism and why dont we have more?

I must say that living in todays society, anything that someone who is a 'conservative' doesn't like gets lumped into the glob of being "liberalism".  Is this acceptable?  Not if you have some education and sensibility.
I have noticed 2 -isms (and am sure there are more) that are lumped into the mix and are an attempt to stifle true liberal growth and intelligence.   One is permissisivm and another is pacifism. 
Here is a case in point.  Today, I read a story about changing the passport structure to list "parent 1 and parent 2" instead of mother and father.  Liberalim?  No.  But you'll always find a monkey jumping up and down and slandering the human value of liberal thought.   This is pacifism where by the remote and unusual interests of an unabridged family of perhaps same sex parents are considered rather than the traditional and common mother father situation.    Another is permissivism.  Promoting freedom of premarital uncommitted sexual relationships is not liberalism.  It is permissivism.    I am tired of all the monkeys on the news and in other venues jumping up and down and denouncing a very sophisticated and enlightened mode of thought.  Clearly liberalism is what brought about major social revolutions and has been the mainstay of enlightened education for the past 250 years.   The American Revolution is a liberal idea.  A constitution was a liberal idea.  Rule by the people is a liberal idea.  Please folks, learn your -isms and apply them with truth and reason.

The hatred that consumes cigarette smokers

I must say, I have smoked cigarettes in the past. For approximately 2 years.  I found the experience to be exciting but without happiness.  I was never happy smoking cigarettes. True it was a pleasure that I had some nicotine in my blood.  But there was something that was permeating my thoughts and I think that seeing what other smokers minds are like during their cigarette experiences, I would have to say that the presence of hatred is prevalent in the minds of people during their moments of cigarette fetish. 

Cosmopolitan versus Charedi

I want to introduce this terminology, half is clear and the other half (cosmopolitan) is not freely discussed.  As you wouls imagine, a "Charedi" jew is one who dresses entirely in a nearly always black suit and almost alwyas is seen in the general public with a black fedora. 
I essentially must report that I am a cosmopolitan Jew.  I do admire the Charedi, though I feel it is unnecessary for my own devices to dress in the same way.   I wear colorful usual clothing that is found in the typical Macy's, Dillards' or the like store in our general communities.  I do not have much interaction with Charedi Jews other than to see a few once in a while.  I must recognize that my general community that I live in day to day is not that style and I have chosen to take this same style.  This is NOT assimylation. This is a choice that we do have as Jews.  Torah does not require the dress of a Charedi Jew, although it does have its merit, especailly in a community where cosmopolitan dress might distract some of the people from the desired uniformity of social behavior.   This is not my personal belief.   I would suppose that if I was in a Charedi community, I might find myself dressing in their style if I wanted to "fit in" or "socialize at the same mood level".  This would be assimylation to me. I was not born into this type of community and to me it would not fit my own social inclinations that I was endowed with in my childhood and later life. I am not being critical of this form of society.  It is a great society.  Given the right set of circumstances, I would join them.  But mark my words, this is assimylation into a different form of society.   Make sense?

p.s.  I still wear hats, fedora and the like and can certainly wear and would wear a black suit readily. I can not say it would be a permanent fashion for me to wear the black suit and hat every day.  I wear a kippah and wear tzitzis under my shirt daily.   At times I wear a variety of fedoras, black, brown and maybe even a tropical looking hat.  I do like that we can be Jewish and enjoy our choices.  Its a choice.

Essential- Medicinal Marijuana Legalization in all 50 states

I must tell you that I firmly believe that all substances created on this planet are for mans use.  Everything.
I can not believe that a Creator exists that would make a weed that grows so abundantly as the cannibis containing marijuana and contains a very special molecule that reacts with our brains on receptors that are too complicated to be created by accidental random evolution for the binding and processing of marijuana cannabinoids.  That said, I must ask, what is it for?  I firmly believe that cannabinoids are a medicine that serves to alleviate the pain of the body.  That is different from nerve induced pain.  The presence of marijuana should be regulated and offered for medicinal use.  Clearly a drug that has the side effect of voracious appetite would be perfect for any anorexia from either disease or psychogenic origin.  It is time that we accept that it is a God given drug that is here for our benefit.  In the event that I had cancer someday, I must say I would greatly appreciate any medicine that takes away the pain of the body that is associated with a foreign abnormal growth in our tissues which serves no bodily purpose.   I am waiting. And if I never have prescribed reason to smoke or consume this medicine, may it be for a blessing.

Tefillin

Jewish practice include phylacteries or tefillin which are worn on the arm and on the head.  This accompanies morning prayer in many synagogues.   I grew up in a reform synagogue and must admit I never saw tefillin placed until I was in my later 30s.   The ultra religious Jewish men put them on every day of the week except for shabbas and jewish holidays.   I do not feel that one must ascribe to this degree of asceticism, however, any Jewish male over the age of 13 is negligent if they do not place tefillin at least a few times a year.  The reason is that it completes the binding of ones own neshama with the mysticism of the universe.  I feel a sense of sanity during the period that I have my tefillin placed that is not acheived in any other way.  Placing tefillin is a very diligent exercise requiring a very high acuity for speaking and focusing on the substance that you emit from your entire being.  Thus the uniform exercise is to observe shacharis or morning prayers with your tefillin in place.  One must not speak anything that is of the material world, non spirutal nature or of any common day speak while wearing tefillin.   This is not commonly observed in my experiences as many Jewish men still engage in common talk even after putting on their phylacteries.  Why cant you do this?  During the entire duration of phylacterie treatment of ones soul one is communicating directly with the world to come.  If you speak in non common terms, this will be the talk in the world to come as well.  Keeping your thoughts on mystical and spirutal items is essential to ensure that your experiences in unifying your soul with the universe is a pure experience.  In fact, one is forbidden to emit flatus or enter a bathroom when wearing tefillin. 
This is my impression. I hope that it may encourage more Jewish men to take up this practice, both in their synagogue and in their own homes.  The time period I believe you should observe for tefillin should be approximately 12 minutes at the least.  At home, this is my practice as I open a prayer book and visit an array of the shacharis prayer service passages of prayer.

Psychospiritual effects of substance admininstration?

I clearly do not endorse cigarettes at any length.  Why is this however.  Why condemn one form of tobacco use while enjoying another?  Is it just becuase of the increased association with lung disease and heart disease?  I am beginning to increasingly believe that there are psychospiritual differences in the absorption sites of the nicotine that one smokes.   Certainly anyone who smokes any tobacco product is going to inhale a small amount of tobacco fumes.  However, the inhalation of a cigarette is direct to the lungs and not absorbed in the oral mucosa at any great amount.   I am beginning to speculate that the absorption of nicotine is different on your spirutal health depending on how it is admininstered.  If oral absorption, the majority of the nicotine enters the blood stream and then travels with deoxygenated blood to the heart. It is oxygenated in the lungs where it passes next before being distributed to the brain.   Is this a factor?  Why not just inhale the tobacco fumes and allow absorption at the same time that you oxygenate your blood in your lungs?  I say this.  Absorption of the largest component of your nicontine use in the lungs competes with the inner spirutal nature of our cells when they are mainly focused on becoming oxygenated.  I can not say that a blood cell has a spirit as a living person does, however those who have thoughts of spirituality attribute a mystical presence of an almost soul like presence to all living tissue and even all objects.  Perhaps at a psychospirutal level, absorption of nicotine during the time of oxygenation renders you mystically in an inferior state.  I am a Religious Jew and I do ascribe mysticism to all objects.  Why not our blood cells and tissues as well?

Pain Treatments for the afflicted

Nowadays, medicine puts a great emphasis on longevity as well as mainting functioning status for the longest time period in ones living life.  This is amiable and definately desirable especially in the situation where one is contributing freely and often to the daily activities of the society, family and ones own self.  I must say that I wish to live as long as I can and as functional as I may be.  Lately, however, I have found myself enjoying tobacco products.  Namely cigars.   As a physician, I have perseverated for the last 4 months as to how someone in the healing arts can enthusiactically consume a product that is known to cause heart disease, cancer and many other maladies.  The answer is this.  Tobacco releives pain.  Namely, the pain of the soul.  Its specialized and works wonders.   When I smoke my now daily cigar, I find myself separating from the daily business that consumes me otherwise regarding the troubles that afflict my soul and inner being.   This is not a topic that has received much discussion.  Most cigar smokers are assumed to be pursuing an enjoyment and quite certainly this is also a truth.  I must say that I am aware of long term physical health deficits from this what I will call a medicine of nicotine.  It must be used sparingly at some times, but in some situations, nicotine is not a bad substance.    I have spoken with cigar smokers with mental health histories even to the point that they had attempted suicide in their past.  This is not a bad medicine for them to consume in their prediciment.  
Another topic I am beginning to seek more knowledge about is cannabinoids.  Heres my take:
Cannabinoids are for pain of the body.  Note to all.  This is not the same pain that is treated with opoids.  Opoids are for pain of the nerves.  The body has pain too.   I am wholely endorsing cannabinoids for any person suffering from cancer.   Cancer is a body consuming affliction.  If I am ever a cancer patient, I most certainly want to be able to consume marijuana.  As for recreational use, I really do not feel this is how marijuana is meant to be administered.  Given that it treats the pain of the body, it is not indicated.  Rather, Tobacco use should be preferred.