Hepatitis C Treatment, Plan B: The Majority Plan

Revised

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a serious bloodborne chronic disease that damages liver cells and can lead to severe liver diseases such as cirrhosis (scaring of the liver), liver cancer or liver failure.

Chronic Hepatitis C Infection in the United States

Let’s review some approximate hepatitis C numbers and remember that all numbers used are best estimates.

-        In the United States, 4 million people (1.3% of 307 million) are chronically infected with hepatitis C virus. This includes the higher HCV populations of people in prison, Viet Nam veterans, and people co-infected with HIV.

-        Of these people, 2.5 million are unaware they have the virus, leaving 1.5 million people who know they have chronic hepatitis C.

-        New cases add 15,000 each year. People successful treated reduce 35,000 each year. (Perhaps 500,000 people have been treated the past 9 years at 40% success rate.)

Plan A – Treatment for Hepatitis C

Plan A treatment for chronic hepatitis C infection is the current anti-viral treatment (“standard of care”) consisting of pegylated interferon injections in combination with ribavirin pills.

-       Treatment is either 24 or 48 weeks (depending on success and genotype) and success rate is about 50% measured as sustained virological response (SVR), defined as the absence of HCV virus in the blood 24 weeks following discontinuation of treatment.

-       There are physical and psychological side effects of treatment and they can continue after treatment is over. Adverse events and non-compliance result in up to 20% of people discontinuing treatment.

-       Cost of medication alone (48 weeks) is over $27,000. And this does not include the cost of medical visits, lab, and medicines for side effects.

-       The goal of this treatment is to eliminate the hepatitis C virus (SVR) thereby reducing the risk of serious liver problems and death from infection.

-        In the future, new drugs will become part of Plan A. These drugs may reduce the length of treatment and improve success (SVR).

-        Most of the medical community and many people infected with hepatitis C are generally aware of Plan A treatment.

In regard to treatment for hepatitis C: the majority of time, energy and money are being used to promote Plan A – with limited results.

For the majority of people who have chronic hepatitis C and have not cleared the virus (SVR) with Plan A, they need Plan B (explained below).

Plan B – Treatment for Hepatitis C

Plan B is simply an alternative to Plan A. It includes “alternative” or natural medicine (herbs and supplements) to treat hepatitis C. Natural medicine is becoming more widespread in the United States and is successfully used to treat chronic health problems throughout the world.

Plan B is for people chronically infected with hepatitis C and dependent on another course of action. This includes those who failed or refused current standard treatment for whatever reasons – such as financial, mental (depression/mental illness), behavioral (alcohol/drug use) or access.

The majority of people with hepatitis C need a viable alternative plan. This includes changes in lifestyle, diet, and adding natural remedies to maintain health and protect the liver. It also includes receiving reliable information from many sources.

The goal of Plan B treatment is to improve quality of life and protect the liver from serious problems. It may not eliminate the hepatitis C virus (the cause of infection).

Because there is concern among some people who have either failed or not received Plan A treatment, it is important to look at possible outcomes of HCV infection.

Possible Outcomes of Chronic Hepatitis C Infection

Our knowledge of the natural history of hepatitis C is still limited. Many people who are chronically infected have no symptoms; others develop mild to serious symptoms. HCV infection is largely silent and can remain silent for decades. However, as time goes by and people age, there is a greater likelihood for more symptoms due to liver damage.

The majority of people (60% to 85%) with chronic HCV will have no advanced liver disease (including cirrhosis) during their lifetime. Various studies estimate:

-         20% may develop cirrhosis after 20 to 30 years of infection (range 5% to 25%)

-         30% may develop cirrhosis after 30 to 50 years of infection (range 15% to 40%)

Cirrhosis is categorized as compensated (heavily scarred) or decompensated (life-threatening). 

-        The majority of those with compensated cirrhosis can still live full, productive lives. There is an 80% to 90% 5-year survival rate in patients with compensated cirrhosis.

-        20% of those with compensated cirrhosis may progress to decompensated cirrhosis where there is a 50% survival rate at 5 years.

Other outcomes

-        Risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer) is 1 to 5 percent (higher with people that have cirrhosis).

-        In the United States, HCV is the major reason for liver transplants and causes an estimated 10,000 to 12,000 deaths annually.

It is uncertain with hepatitis C who will develop advanced liver disease. It is important to know that there are helpful alternative protocols available now to improve the odds for long-term health – see Plan B.

Plan B – Useful Herbs, Supplements, and Lifestyle Changes

Herbs and supplements can do the following: protect the liver, reduce inflammation, strengthen the immune system, reduce viral replication, and provide anti-oxidant support.

Lifestyle changes can contribute to better liver health. These include dietary changes, avoidance of alcohol and drugs, reduction of stress, and proper rest/sleep. Also, activities (such as prayer, meditation, affirmations, and ritual) can support mind-body interaction necessary for healing.

Here are examples of herbs and supplements for hepatitis C:

-        Liver Protection – milk thistle, schizandra

-        Reduce Inflammation – echinacea, turmeric, ginger, green tea, licorice, fish oil

-        Immune Support – echinacea, astragalus, reishi and shiitake mushrooms

-        Reduce Virus Replication – echinacea, garlic, licorice, olive leaf, St. Johns wort, selenium,

-        Anti-Oxidant Support – turmeric, vitamins C and E, alpha lipoic acid, green tea,

-        Liver Cleansing Food/Beverage – beets (with lemon and olive oil), dandelion tea  

Note: These remedies are noted for informational purposes only. It is recommended that you receive advice from a medical or herbal professional regarding herbs for specific conditions.

There is little Western scientific evidence that natural remedies have anti-HCV properties or alter the immune response in a way that eliminates HCV. Yet, the health benefits of natural remedies are supported by expert opinion and a long history of use. And there is observational evidence that herbs can reduce the hepatitis C virus and slow the progression of HCV.

Plan B – Education and Information

Plan B also includes more education and reliable information from many sources about alternatives to Plan A. More information is needed about herbs and lifestyle changes. Not just Western scientific information, but also medical information from Asia and Europe.

One reason we are not hearing more about Plan B is that there is not much money to be made from inexpensive herbs. They are not part of “conventional” medicine and not supported by conventional medical education.

Conclusion and References

This blog only touches upon the need for more details of Plan B. Serious public health research and education is needed. Being healthy is our own responsibility.

Email private comments to Steven Maimes

Selected Sources for Herbs:

Products from Planetary Herbals: Echinacea, Liver Defense, Shitake Mushroom Supreme, Silymarin

Product from New Chapter: Zyflamend (Rosemary, Turmeric, Ginger, Holy Basil, Green Tea)

Products from MediHerb: Silymarin, Echinacea, Livco (Schizandra, Rosemary, Milk Thistle)

Additional Information

Alternative Hepatitis C Protocol (prepared by Steven Maimes)

Hepatitis C Choices (excellent free resource-book)

HCV Advocate (website with useful and important information)

Maimes Report on Hepatitis C Infection in New Hampshire (2002, PDF download)

Adaptogens: Herbs for Strength, Stamina, and Stress Relief (2007, book to order)

All Blogs are NOT Social Media

Media is often divided into mainstream media (newspapers, magazines, broadcast) and social media. The term “social media” is defined as online media used by the public in a social way and includes social networks, message boards/forums, video/audio/photo/tagging sharing sites, and wikis. Many media “experts” are incorrectly including blogs with social media.

All blogs are NOT social media. Blogs stand alone as a separate media type.
Why is this important? It is important because more people are talking about social media and often misunderstanding it by mixing all the types of social media together, including blogs. This also should be a concern for company’s who want to monitor, measure and analyze social media. They want to know what people are saying about their company or brand and they look to social media.

Basically, blogs are easily created websites that are maintained by individuals, news organizations or businesses. They contain commentary or news on a particular subject. They often combine text, images and links to other web pages. Many blogs allow the public to comment, thus participate in the conversation. The popular site Twitter is not a blog but rather a blend of microblog (limited to 140 characters) and social network (Twitter allows users to follow others and have followers).

Some blogs are part of mainstream media. Mainstream media can exist online and is not limited to paper versions of newspapers or magazines. Mainstream media can have a social media component and often allows letters and comments; broadcast media includes “talk” radio.

Blogs already stand alone as a separate media type. The leading blog search engine Technorati.com indexes millions of blog posts and separates blogs from social media sites. Some say that blogs contain a social intrinsic element because they allow comments. This only exists minimally and only some blogs allow the public to comment. With most blogs, comments are scarce and often moderated (censored).

Most social media – including social networks and excluding blogs:
• Is almost all opinion. It can be opinionated news, opinioned reviews or opinionated conversation. If we want opinion and conversation then this is the place to look. It we want accurate facts, knowledge and (unbiased) news, we many look at other sources such as blogs or mainstream media.
• Is not journalism. Journalism is presumed to be balanced, objective, factual and is often sponsored by reputable organizations or written by journalists who uphold professional standards. Journalists are usually paid and could lose their jobs and credibility if what they write is knowingly untrue, highly biased or poor quality.

There are many quality blogs and bloggers in the blogosphere. Here are a few brief comments on blogs:
• Learn more about blogs and bloggers and understand their perspectives. Some bloggers are consultants, market experts, ghostwriters, or strictly marketing a service or product. Some bloggers are truly experts or professional journalists and provide useful information with references. Much of the time bloggers are talking about what they read in mainstream media.
• Bloggers may or may not have much credibility. Some bloggers may pay close attention to what they write and are respected for their trustworthiness. Other bloggers may not be careful with what they write, may not check facts, may work too fast, may provide links to inaccurate sources, and may not blog with honest integrity. Readers must pay attention.
• All blogs are not equal in importance. Readership may be zero or in the thousands. Some blogs have no influence at all; some have much influence and reach a very particular audience.

I will conclude with some interesting facts about bloggers, according to Technorati’s State of the Blogosphere 2009 (October 2009): Bloggers are mostly male and more affluent and educated than the general population. They usually blog for one of these reasons: speaking one’s mind; sharing expertise and experiences with family and friends (old and new); and making money or doing business. Leading blog topics consist of personal musings, politics and business. About one-third of bloggers actually have worked within traditional media as a writer or reporter.

Steven Maimes is an independent researcher, media analyst and writer.

Addendum: All blogs are not social media. Some blogs can be considered part of social media and some blogs can be considered part of mainstream media. In discussion, it would be easier to allow blogs to stand alone as a separate media type: blogs.

Understand and Manage Digital Property

Who has rights to digital property after death or incapacitation? Why is it important to consider digital property in estate plans?

It is important for individuals to understand and manage digital property.

Recently, a great deal of attention has been given to the digital life after death – especially gaining access to a deceased person’s email accounts. We have entered into an age where digital storage is replacing physical document storage. In the future, more important property will be created, revised, and stored digitally. And as more people move important components of their lives onto the computer (from photos to legal documents, medical records and beyond), it becomes necessary to devise a safe and secure method for a deceased or otherwise incapacitated person’s loved ones to access digital property.

A recent article from The Wall Street Journal suggests everyone establish a separate plan to deal with online property issues when they die or become incapacitated.

What is Digital Property?
Digital property includes any digital material or data owned by an individual including text, photos, audio and video. It includes data stored on a personal computer or storage device as well as data stored on a remote server (such as email and data files).

When understanding digital property, it is important to distinguish if the property is personal, has a monetary value or belongs to someone else.

• Digital Personal Property. Includes digital documents and personal files. Examples are numerous and include: emails, photos, music, videos, medical records, vital documents, legal or financial papers, genealogy records, journals, etc.

• Digital Property with Monetary Value. Includes digital property that is owned and has monetary value like websites or blogs. It includes manuscripts, art, music, photographs, eBooks and digital intellectual property. It also includes online bank accounts, such as PayPal, and online accounts or services with credit balances. Website domain names are sometimes valuable – they are leased and, if not renewed, are lost. Social media accounts/profiles (such as Facebook, MySpace and iTunes) can be considered pseudo-intellectual property and may have monetary value.

• Digital Business Property. Includes digital property owned by a company. Digital business property can also include business lists of friends/followers on social media sites like Facebook.

Estate Planning Guidelines
Most estate planners and individuals are doing little or nothing to address the disposition of digital property. It is important to understand and manage digital property and consider adding it to one’s estate plan.

Many of us have various Internet accounts for email, data storage and social media. Examples include Yahoo!, Gmail, Hotmail, Facebook and MySpace. A list of some of the popular Internet service companies and how they handle death of an account holder is below in the reference section.

We also have requested that financial records and statements be sent to us electronically instead of by paper. We have scheduled automatic electronic bill payments for loans, utilities, insurance, website hosting, etc. This account information needs to be accounted for after death and may be necessary to pay bills and identify property.

Digital property needs to be clearly documented in a will or trust and these documents may be needed to identify and distribute property to beneficiaries. Otherwise, accessing their online accounts can be extremely problematic and may require a court order. Therefore, account logins and passwords need to be stored in a safe place or held by an attorney, family member or trusted friend.

If the online account owner becomes incapacitated someone can be named as an attorney-in-fact with financial power to access the accounts.

To help the family/beneficiaries after death, a trusted technology-savvy person may be the right person to “clean-up” multiple online accounts and computers – such as delete secret emails, trash appropriate files, clear computer caches, and create an inventory.

Wills. Be cautious when entering detailed account information into a will. When a will is admitted to probate court, it becomes public record and can be viewed by anyone desiring access. Be specific if you want certain people to have access or be denied access to your online digital property.

Trusts. A trust agreement may be a more desirable place to document account information because these documents are designed to avoid the probate process and do not become part of the public record. It is possible to create a specific “digital asset trust” to address digital property. The trust can be the owner of digital property and will survive death, thus allowing others to access the information.

Businesses. If digital property belongs to a business, passing it on to someone should be clearly spelled out in a business plan. For online accounts, it may be best to title the account in the business name.

Legal Considerations
Digital property, like any other property, is subject to state laws concerning succession and distribution. Caution should be taken when accessing online accounts that deal with financial property such as online banking, online brokerage accounts or PayPal. Even though someone may have access to a financial account, they may not be the beneficiary of the underlying financial property. Never assume that naming a beneficiary with a third party beneficiary service will allow a digital asset to pass out of the estate. Depending on state law, accessing an account without legal permission could constitute a criminal offense.

Internet accounts are governed by contracts between individuals and service providers. This is sometimes referred to as the “terms of service” and is the agreement in small print that we agree to when we open an online account. Digital rights associated with Internet accounts are not actual property; they are licenses and these licenses generally expire upon death. Service providers do not always uphold the “letter” of the agreement – but attorneys insist that the agreement exists. It is important to understand these conditions when storing valuable property.

What to do with Digital Property while living
Here is what individuals can do now:
1. List your digital property. Create a document and note if the property is personal or has monetary value. Other details can be included. For example account usernames and passwords, specific instruction about each account, and other details (such as whether certain documents or correspondence should be deleted). Update this list quarterly. (see graphic example here)
2. Define your wishes. Choose who will have access to the property.
3. Choose someone to execute your wishes. Provide access and control to that person including account usernames and passwords.

Reference Section
Popular Internet Service Companies. Here is a list of some of the popular Internet service companies and how they handle death of an account holder. Remember, policies vary from company to company and are constantly being revised. Usually email providers will give up the deceased’s password on receipt of a death certificate from the family.
• Yahoo! Next of kin is not allowed to access the email account of a deceased account owner unless the deceased account owner specifically stated otherwise in his or her will. Next of kin can ask for the account to be closed.
• Gmail / Google. Next of kin (or executor) can apply for access to a deceased user’s email account by proving their identity and providing the account owner’s death certificate with the additional requirement of providing proof of email correspondence between the next of kin and the account owner. Gmail does not delete the deceased user’s account, but allows the next of kin to choose to do so after gaining access to it.
• Hotmail / Microsoft. Next of kin can access the email account by proving their identity and providing the account owner’s death certificate. The next of kin should act quickly because an account inactive for 270 days will be deleted.
• Facebook. Facebook has a policy called memorialization that applies to the profiles of deceased users. Once the user’s death is confirmed, their profile is frozen in time and sensitive information removed. Only confirmed friends can see the profile or locate it in search.
• MySpace. Accounts are handled on a case-by-case basis.

Steven Maimes, principal of SALAM Research, is an independent researcher and writer.

A similar version of this blog is posted on TheTrustAdvisor.com

Spiritual Watchwords

The term “watchword” may not be familiar to many people. The dictionary says it is a word or a motto that embodies a principle or guide to action. Historically, it was used as a password given to a lookout person.

Within religious–spiritual teachings, we sometimes seek to find a core teaching, a guiding principle. This teaching can be condensed into watchwords. These words can act as devotional guides, or tools to strengthen us, or help us pay attention, or contact the divine.

Spiritual watchwords are not just words of wisdom. They are advice for action and are usually short and concise. They can be universal and may express morality or ethics; they can be used as mantras. They may be proverbs or part of an oral tradition or hadith. Some Christians have a similar guiding “life verse” from scripture.

It is important to establish our own spiritual watchwords and I challenge each of us to do so. You can experiment until the right essential words are found.

There are many wonderful examples of spiritual watchwords, especially from scriptures. I have collected a small selection of mostly eastern spiritual watchwords from scripture, teachers and tradition.

Scripture:
“Love thy neighbor as thyself.” [Lev. 19:18]
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” [Deut. 6:4]
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.” [Deut. 6:5]
“Be still, and know that I am God.” [Psalm 46:10]
“There is no God but God.” [Koran]
“The way to do is to be.” [Tao]

Teachers:
“Remember. Be here now.” [Ram Dass]
“Serve. Love. Meditate. Realize.” [Swami Sivananda]
“Truth is one. Religions are many.” [Swami Satchidananda]
"Everything is impermanent, except the love of God." [Neem Karoli Baba]
“Love of God is the one essential thing.” [Sri Ramakrishna]
“Silence is the garden of meditation.” [Imam Ali]
“Adore God as if you see Him. If you don't see Him, He sees you.” [Muhammad]

Tradition:
“Now is the watchword of the wise.” [Proverb]
“There is only beauty behind me; only beauty before me.” [Cree Song]
"Know Him in all your ways." [Jewish Hasidic]
“The only thing that is lacking is the experience that nothing is lacking.” [Zen]
“Unless a man is simple, he cannot recognize God, the Simple One.” [Bengali Song]

I conclude with my own personal spiritual watchwords:
“Remember. Be simple. Be kind.”

~ Steven Maimes

Media Analysis: Work and Change

For the past sixteen years, I have worked in the area of corporate competitive media analysis. Companies wanted to know how they were perceived in the media compared to their competitors.

The work I did included media reading, monitoring, measurement and analysis. I worked for seven companies. The work spanned many industries and included many large corporations. Over the years, much of this work has been technologized, automated and outsourced. As more new people entered the market, more mistakes were made and attention to detail lost. Speed replaced intelligence and conclusions were often falsely and hastily made.

In addition, many changes have occurred with the media. Media fundamentally consists of news and opinions. There is a current trend of less investigative news, more secondary news and more opinion. As a result, the media has become more biased and less accurate.

Media today includes more Internet news and more multi- and social media in addition to traditional mainstream media (newspapers, magazines and broadcast). Demographics and audiences have changed. Internet use continues to increase.

In 2008 we saw the failure of many investment and corporate models. There was a failure to recognize what was important. Greed and speed dominated while equality and honesty trailed behind. Many media companies began to fail.

In 2009 and moving forward, we may be forced to slow down and move ahead with smaller steps. Priorities will change, life will change and the media will continue to change. Let us strive for more quality, balance and intelligence.

Steven Maimes

Truth

God is the only absolute Truth.
When we strive toward Truth,
we are seeking more of God.

Gandhi said:
God is absolute Truth.
I am human; I only understand relative truth.
So, my understanding of truth can change from day to day.
My commitment must be to Truth rather then consistency.

Publishing

King Solomon cautioned us that:
Not everything that man thinks must he say;
Not everything he says must he write,
But most important not everything that he has written must he publish.

Spirituality and Healing in Medicine

When we look at modern medicine today, we could conclude that “spirituality” as therapy would be considered alternative or complementary to traditional medicine. Yet, for centuries, various traditions have used spirituality as a viable therapy to complement other therapies.

Let’s define what we mean by spirituality and healing. Spirituality is that inner quest for contact with the divine (or Unity) within oneself. It is not “religion,” which primarily concerns itself with social aspects of life and may or may not support spirituality. Healing does not mean going back to the way things were before and is not the same as curing. Healing is allowing what is now to move us closer to the divine.

The question of spirituality becomes very important when facing serious illness or chronic illness. When cure seems impossible, spirituality becomes more important. Healthcare providers are not always well equipped to deal with patients with terminal illnesses and the more tools in their arsenal the better.

Injecting spirituality into medicine is not just an academic exercise. A growing number of hospitals and clinics around the country now offer spirituality-based adjunct therapies including prayer, meditation and massage. Almost two-thirds of the nation's 125 medical schools include courses on "spirituality issues."

We can view spirituality devoid of “religious” terms and refer to the mind-body connection. Dr. Herbert Benson of the Mind Body Medical Institute (www.mbmi.org) has been researching and explaining what he calls the “relaxation response” - whereby one can find healing by taking the time to relax using a technique similar to eastern meditation. According to Benson, 60 percent of physician visits are due to stress-related illnesses that can be remedied or improved with the physiologically soothing effects of chanting and meditation, or “the relaxation response.” Research into mind-body-spiritual healing is still in infancy stages because modern science has not document these cases.

What is it that causes spiritual healing? Spirituality as a therapy involves contacting and enlivening “energy” within the patient - this energy positively affects physical health. The new medical discipline of neurotheology is currently attempting to verify this energy as reflected in brain activity.

Traditional techniques to enliven this energy are prayer, ritual and story. When one is involved in prayer or ritual, simple fears and stress of the present move aside and allow energy to provide comfort. Also, there are many stories in Scripture that provide healing and subtle spiritual nourishment for believers.

The religious traditions are filled with examples and advice of spirituality in healing. The Quaker’s simply say that it is the relationship with God that changes us. Judaism’s advice to the surgeon who touches and alleviates the disease in the body, “if a physician cannot give a patient medicine for the body, he should find and give medicine for the patient’s soul.” Christianity adds the anointing with oil as a spiritual act. Judaism adds the ritual of giving the patient a new name. Christian Science emphasizes the power of prayer to increase healing from God; simply sincerely asking for healing – “Heal us and we shall be healed.”

Frank Ostaseski of the Zen Hospice Project approaches spirituality for both the caregiver and patient equally. He has learned that simple human kindness strengthens the caregiver’s spirituality and benefits the patient. He teaches patients to be aware of each breath they take. As our life started with an “in” breath, we can feel gratitude for each breath. We also need to remember that our life will end with an “out” breath. Being aware of that spiritual place between the in and out breaths, that short period of “no breath” allows us to be more familiar with the present moment.

He teaches, when we care for the dying, we need to take a stance of receptivity and push nothing away. We become a companion of someone who is facing death. We establish a relationship and are also given an opportunity to discover meaning, value or purpose of our own lives. There is a basic Buddhist teaching that says resisting the truth of the impermanence of life is the cause of suffering, and that our efforts to avoid change bring suffering.

Many healthcare providers intuitively practice spirituality when dealing with patients and sometimes caring becomes as important as curing. Simple attention, reassurance and the hope of healing may assist the patient’s natural healing powers.

Healthcare providers often initiate ritual in healing without knowing. Simple acts of kindness act as conduits for spiritual healing: walking with the patient can become walking meditation; holding a patients hand can be spiritual touch; acknowledging a patient by looking at them can be spiritual recognition; sharing something from nature can connect them to the creator; encouraging a patient to do a simple act and witnessing the patient’s inner joy when the act is performed. For a moment, there may be a spiritual connection and a sense of peace may be present. Using positive encouraging words acts as prayer when it produces results like reducing fear. Gandhi said, “Fearlessness is the first prerequisite of a spiritual life.” The goal would be to help the patient attain this sense of relationship and deeper meaning for a sustained period of time or to learn how to tap into this experience to find peace.

Spiritual healing allows some patients to have higher esteem and be more adjusted to their disease state, they can give up control of their illness and find peace in the healing on the present moment.

Healthcare providers need to consider the healing effects of spirituality and learn how to address the patients’ spiritual needs. Do not neglect the “spiritual” as a therapy for healing.

- First published in HealthCare Review (New Hampshire), March 2002

Medicine cures, doctors diagnose, God heals

There is a short saying that I would like to provide a brief commentary. It is simply this: Medicine cures, doctors diagnose, God heals.

There is medicine, diagnosis, and healing. Medicine does not cure all diseases all of the time, be it herbal or pharmaceutical medicine. In fact, medicine may not cure disease at all; it may only act to correct internal disharmonies. At that point, the body reverts to a state of health. Cure implies that someone is trying to eliminate a disease through medication, surgery, or therapy. Curing gives us the gift of time.

Modern doctors are known as diagnosticians; they diagnose the disease, usually based on the symptoms and laboratory findings.

Healing has little to do with the removal of symptoms. It is more about connecting with our Source, our Inner Being, our God. Healing belongs to God. It is true that a person can be healed and not cured. Likewise, a person can be cured and not healed. It is truly a blessing if one can be both cured and healed.

May there be great healing throughout the world. ~

Planting Seeds

“The seeds you plant may not fruit before your eyes.” Steven Maimes

The seeds you plant may not fruit before your eyes – yet, we must share and be true. We must use the gifts we have been endowed with.

In regard to knowledge, whatever insights have been given to us, they are for the benefit of others as well. These insights are seeds – some will grow quickly, some will take years, some may not grow in our lifetimes – yet, we plant seeds.

Knowledge and insights can be shared but not wisdom. We can hear words of wisdom and live by them but (in most cases) we cannot receive wisdom directly – we receive seeds.

We plant seeds and receive seeds. The seed of peace is an important teaching – it is balance with the body, the earth and all humankind... May we receive the seed of peace.

From Pirke Avoth, it is taught: “It is not your responsibility to finish the work, but neither are you free to cease from it.”

Plant seeds.