The first magical wand …

… featured in the Odyssey: that of Circe, who used it to transform Odysseus’s men into animals. Italian fairy tales put them into the hands of the powerful fairies by the late Middle Ages …

… In the ballads such as Allison Gross and The Laily Worm and the Machrel of the Sea, the villainesses use silver wands to transform their victims …

… In The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the White Witch’s most feared tool is her wand, whose magic is capable of turning people into stone …

Magic wands commonly feature in works of fantasy fiction as spell-casting tools” (wiki)

In the decking of tarot, wands are big enough to wear their own suit:

“The Suit of Wands can be thought of as the first suit of the Tarot’s Minor Arcana … As the first suit, Wands represent the idea stage, or “seeds” of a concept … ideas, intention, and growth”

“In The Book of Thoth, the suit of wands is associated with the action of the Will and the element of fire”

“… related to fire, the South Wind or a southerly direction, the color red, the four worlds of the Kaballah (Divine, Creative, Formative and Manifest)”

“… to do with primal energy … original thought and the seeds through which life springs forth.”

“The more esoteric Tarot decks reveal that Wands symbolize the lifeforce”

Do understand, this article is not a denunciation of doctors. If I’m very ill I will go & see one.  I have known some nice ones & I’ve known some who were repellent.

What is interesting us here today is the fantastic power they wield -

… how they can sentence a person to die without them ever even standing trial.

Doctors are very like priests – we put our faith in them.

As priests are the front men of religion, so doctor’s are now the front men & women of the pharmaceutical companies -

… they have gone & become the go-between.

This places a serious responsibility upon doctors to check out the drugs they are prescribing.  The trust we put in doctors combined with their priest-like status makes them …

… both pure gold & vital operatives for the pharmaceutical companies. Without doctors approval, pharma companies are fucked – get a doctor to administer a drug & it becomes legitimate medical tender:

“If chemo. is spilt on the floor in the hospital ward, it becomes a Red Alert emergency.  Staff must don a special suit, gloves, goggles and mask to clean it up.  And they put this ‘stuff’ into people’s bodies.  Whatever happened to ‘First Do No harm?“
 from The Cancer Conspiracy~Dr Toni Jeffreys

The Hippocratic oath once included this life-extending line,

“I will not give a lethal drug to anyone if I am asked, nor will I advise such a plan“

Perhaps the rise of the drug companies necessitated it’s removal?

“Unless we put medical freedom into the Constitution, the time will come when medicine will organise into an undercover dictatorship”  Dr Benjamin Rush, one of the framers of the American Constitution (from The Cancer Conspiracy)

The following joke email may not be too far off the mark:

“A) The number of physicians in the U.S. is 700,000
(B) Accidental deaths caused by Physicians per year are 120,000
(C) Accidental deaths per physician is 0.171

Statistics courtesy of U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services.

(A) The number of gun owners in the U.S. is 80,000,000
(B) The number of accidental gun deaths per year, all age groups, is 1,500
(C) The number of accidental deaths per gun owner is .000188

Statistics courtesy of FBI.

Conclusion:
Statistically, doctors are approximately 9,000 times more dangerous than gun owners. 

So remember: ‘Guns don’t kill people, doctors do.’

A few years back I had a serious reaction to a drug, resulting in breathing difficulties & a rash over my entire body.  If memory serves me correctly I had to pay to see the doctor so she could tell me that I was having a reaction to the drug.  I was asked to fill out a form which would be sent to the drug company.

I never heard another thing.

“Throughout the primitive world, the doctor and the sorcerer tended to be the same person“

Why do we think that has changed?

Can a doctor create disease, albeit unintentionally?

Let’s check out some magic tricks.

Introducing an illusion …

“Production: The magician produces something from nothing—a rabbit from an empty hat, a fan of cards from thin air, a shower of coins from an empty bucket, a dove from a pan, or the magician him or herself, appearing in a puff of smoke on an empty stage—all of these effects are productions“

How deeply are their effects felt?

“Penetration: The magician makes a solid object pass through another—a set of steel rings link and unlink, a candle penetrates an arm, swords pass through an assistant in a basket … Sometimes referred to as “solid-through-solid”.“

How potent are their powers of science-backed prophesy?

“Prediction: The magician predicts the choice of a spectator, or the outcome of an event under seemingly impossible circumstances—a newspaper headline is predicted, the total amount of loose change in the spectator’s pocket, a picture drawn on a slate“

How much power do they possess?  How much do we give them?

“Mentalism creates the impression in the minds of the audience that the performer possesses special powers to read thoughts, predict events, control other minds, and similar feats“

The Magician-Doctor’s Oath:

“As a magician (doctor) I promise never to reveal the secret of any illusion to a non-magician (patient), unless that one swears to uphold the Magician’s Oath (pharmaceutical companies) in turn. I promise never to perform any illusion for any non-magician (patient) without first practicing the effect until I can perform it well enough to maintain the illusion of magic.“

I passed by my rarely visited doctor’s surgery the other day & something strange happened – I felt an almost physical slap when I noticed the word “DOCTOR” – it was like I’d never seen it before -

… I think, though I’m not sure, that by contemplating the ideas stirred up in this article, I got a glimpse into the immense power that word has been made to have.

Is that healthy I wonder?

“The only freedom … is that of pursuing our own good in our own way … Each is the proper guardian of his own health, whether bodily, or mental and spiritual.” John Stuart Mill

~    ~    ~    ~   ~

ps.

I have added a donate button just for a little while – if it would make you smile to donate-celebrate any creativity here, then at this moment in time, I would be very grateful.

cheers

I tell you I really, really struggled to get to the point where I could use the words “I” & “greed” in the same sentence, I would rather have been boiled in (the finest) oil – but once I got past the (apparent) shame, the going got a lot easier.

You see, I am greedy – greedy for life & experiences & then more life & more experiences & then more …

For the duration of this article (& beyond) I equate greed with the willingness to constantly receive into our lives …

… to hold & cherish, ALL that our hearts, minds & bodies have desired or called for(th).

A human being desires endlessly – it is our nature – I am finding that a good thing, a very good thing. Only a corpse has no hunger.

Look to nature if you fear greed.

How much space will an oak tree greedily claim?

And how much life does that greed feed?

How many fruit-children will one apple tree greedily produce?

And how much life does that feed?

 2.  WRATH

“wrath    O.E. wræððu “anger,” from wrað “angry”.“

Introducing my new friend.

On top of the non-stop challenges so generously presented to me this year, came last week’s surprise visit by my landlord – declaring that the outside of the house needed ‘repairing’.

Really!! After 11 years you spotted that?

Under the guise of repair work, it turned out he was actually getting it ready to sell.

Enter wrath on day 3 of the tumultuous land-baron invasion.  I’m not a violent or combative personality, but by god I was focused in fury last Friday.  The upshot was one landlord asking for 5 minutes grace to give him time to get off the property.

I have rarely experienced such wonderful clarity of force - it was both scary & electric. I demanded my ‘space’ back & proper notice in writing – both of which I got.

Some time ago I attended an Aikdio seminar by a visiting Japanese sensei – what really impressed me was the powerfully decisive way this man stepped into an attack when necessary – the first principle of Aikido is avoidance, which is then followed by control & neutralization – but sometimes you have to step in.

I think that’s what wrath is about – a powerful emotion telling us that it’s time to step in & take back control.

“Be still when you have nothing to say; when genuine passion moves you, say what you’ve got to say, and say it hot.”

Nature’s mothers understand wrath …

 GLUTTONY

“glutton - early 13c., from O.Fr. gluton … “overeater,” formed from gluttire “to swallow,” from gula “throat”.”

Oops now I’ve backed myself into a corner

“gluttony = overeating”  & we’ve been so very well-trained to despise …

… those lacking in such ‘self-control‘.

The rules are clear:

“We ‘CAN NOT’ have too much of a good thing”

Actually the rules aren’t that clear are they?  For they say two opposing things.

Nevertheless we all know that too much of a good thing (gluttony) is a bad thing – right?

Well guess what, this article is the work of gluttony.  When I write, I am a glutton – I am ravenous for time & space & ideas.  Self-control has no home with me at such times.

A wondrous understanding of voracity came to me last week.

My 10 year old nephew ambushed me with a big hug, then the little bastard wouldn’t let go until I promised to come & watch his basket ball game.  He knows I am a wicked auntie who does not like standing on sidelines watching sport. I gave in only under protest.

My god what a game it was – real sport, not for money, not for fame, but simply for the pleasure of the game.

And the game … well it centred on gluttony -

… for at no point did either team engage in self-control by claiming they had scored ‘enough’ goals.

All sport is based on gluttony …

…  & sports are some of the most revered activities on this planet.

ENVY

“envy (n.)    late 13c., from O.Fr. envie “envy, jealousy, rivalry“.”

jealous    early 13c …  from Gk. zelos, sometimes “jealousy,” but more often in a good sense (“emulation, rivalry, zeal“)“

“a feeling of grudging or admiring discontent aroused by the possessions, achievements, or qualities of another … the desire to have for oneself something possessed by another“

It’s amazing how long wise words will linger.  Long, long ago I read some – the author suggesting that envy was a good thing, for it showed us what we want. That was the one & only time I have heard envy praised.

A few hours ago I went for a walk – an envy walk – I thought I’d better try out envy before I attempted to extol its virtues. I eyed up cars & houses & was getting the hang of it when I started to feel sick.

“Oh %*#!“, thought I, that wasn’t supposed to happen.  ”How can I extol the virtues of this ‘sin’ when it’s making me feel nauseous?

But all was not lost.

When I looked closely I saw I was forcing myself into ‘prescribed‘ envy -

… desiring things I’ve been ‘told‘ to desire – a new car, a nice house (not the footballer – he’s supposed to be looking enviously at my ‘villa’).  Anyway when I cut out that non-sense, envy taught me very well indeed. That’s its job – to highlight what we want.

I saw that I wanted freedom – yes I want to live in a nice home, but not one I’m tied to – I found that I have NO desire to put down roots anymore – I’m a human being, not a tree, I want to be grounded, but not rooted.

Envy helped me recognise that.

SLOTH

“sloth    late 12c., “indolence, sluggishness,” … (see slow)”

“slow (adj.)    O.E. slaw “inactive, sluggish” …  Meaning “taking a long time” is attested from early 13c“

“The three-toed sloth lives a peaceful, vegetarian life in perfect harmony with its environment. “A good-natured smile is forever on its lips”  The Life of Pi – Yann Martel

The West is greatly afeared of slowness.

Yet when something is made by & with hand & heart it often takes …

… a very great deal of time.

In the West that is of course, a sin.

For time is money.

The ‘Devil’, we are told, ‘finds work for idle hands’.

Why is it so dangerous for us to have idle hands & time?

Slow, delicious, lazy time?

A research associate in England (Teresa Belton) made a study of school children after finding their ability to write creatively was startlingly ‘uninspired‘:

“The tales tended to be very tedious and unimaginative,” Belton says, “as if the children were stuck with this very restricted way of thinking. Even when they were encouraged to think creatively, they didn’t really know how …

After monitoring the daily schedule of the children for several months, Belton came to the conclusion that their lack of imagination was, at least in part, caused by the absence of “empty time,” or periods without any activity or sensory stimulation.“

“While daydreaming has long been derided as a lazy, non-productive pastime, it is now commonly acknowledged that daydreaming can be constructive …  There are numerous examples of people in creative or artistic careers, such as composers, novelists and filmmakers, developing new ideas through daydreaming. Similarly, research scientists, mathematicians and physicists have developed new ideas by daydreaming about their subject areas.“

“There is a term sometimes used at the Banzai Institute: The Three Bs, meaning the Bus, the Bath, and the Bed. That is where the greatest discoveries are made in science” – (from a movie).

Funny isn’t it, to think that without sloth we may become sluggish & impotent.

PRIDE

“pride    O.E. pryto, from prud (see proud) … The verb in the reflexive sense “congratulate (oneself)” is recorded from late 13c.”

“proud    late O.E. prud … “brave, valiant“.”

My friend from Nigeria has told me about the constant celebrations that were a part of his growing up – every month there was a celebration for one thing or another.

We, on the other hand celebrate ‘religiously’ twice a year, with a birthday thrown in for good behaviour.

“celebrate    mid-15c., from L. celebratus “much-frequented; kept solemn; famous,” pp. of celebrare “assemble to honor.”

Why do we not assemble to honour what truly matters to us?

After every article I publish I take myself to a cafe to celebrate – I’m not very good at it & my mind often wanders away from the reason I’m there, but somehow I feel the effort is very important.

Celebration recognises & completes our actions.

What we seem to have done in this bizarre civilisation is to hand our celebrations over to celebrity -

… we exalt them instead of exalting our own lives & loves & creations.

How ridiculously silly is that?

 LUST (at LAST)

“lust (n.)  O.E. lust “desire, pleasure“

In M.E., “any source of pleasure or delight,” also “an appetite,” also “a liking for a person,” also “fertility” (of soil). Sense of “sinful sexual desire, degrading animal passion”…  developed in late O.E. from the word’s use in Bible translations ...

… in other Germanic languages, the cognate words tend to still mean simply “pleasure.”

 ”lusty    early 13c., from lust + -y  … It largely has escaped the Christianization and denigration of its root word;

the original usage was “joyful, merry,” later …

“full of healthy vigor” (late 14c)“

Although I started with greed, I think the alpha/omega of the seven healing sins, is lust.

Fiery, energetic, passionate desire.

If you google image “desire” you will be herded back into the small three-lettered galaxy we started with. I’m attaching images to save you looking – I know there’s an appreciative audience out there.

But lust / desire is so much more than the chasmic world of sex.

Sex is included within lust, it is not the other way round – that’s not possible. For lust is both the desire for life & the desire within life.

“Desire is half of life; …

... indifference is half of death”  Kahlil Gibran

“What do you want a meaning for? Life is a desire, not a meaning”  Charlie Chaplin

“A desire scorned and neglected is an enemy lying in wait with bared dagger”  Abraham Miller

“Human behavior flows from three main sources: desire, emotion, and knowledge”  Plato

Quite a different perspective of the accepted view of “lust” appears when we stand further back & try using our own eyes.

 ”Vanity, revenge, loneliness, boredom, all apply:  lust is one of the least of the reasons for promiscuity“

If we have lust for life, then ALL our worlds begin to …

…turn again, each working in harmony, each one building upon its neighbours. Then every world becomes passionate as it was always meant to be.

Well that’s what I think today.

This presentation has been brought to you by:
The Seven Deadly Sins Appreciation Society

Home of …

“transgressions which are fatal to spiritual progress“

Or are they?