Comfortably Numb- Awakening The True Spirit Within By Janee Kuta-Iliano

So, this is the first time I have worked on my blog!!! My thanks to my web designer, Maria for being so patient with me :) I feel that it is time to start paying a lot more attention to this underused tool so that I can start to get my thoughts out to you as well as bits of information that I feel can be helpful in building a healthier lifestyle. I am sure I will learn how to best use this service, but for now, I am just going to open myself up to all of you, revealing my personal accomplishments and obstacles in this experience of creating a healthier, happier life. So we'll see how it goes.

This is a recent article I wrote in our Journey Magazine. It was the first time I realized just how much I opened myself up to readers. My purpose for doing so was to help people realize that we all have struggles and issues. I wanted to relate to others in similar situations as well as offer ways in which I am dealing with these life issues. They may or may not be of use to you, but we'll see.

It is my intention to grow this blog into an open forum where people can talk to one another and share ways in which to take better control of your health and well-being. Anything is possible, so let's start working together and sharing anything that comes to mind and heart. Be well, hope to hear from some of you soon!

Janee



Recently I was with a friend listening to a cover band sing “Comfortably Numb” by Pink Floyd when I had a moment of awakening. You don’t really need to know the words to that song in order to get the drift of its lyrics. The words seemed to describe my life at given moments and the realization struck something deep inside of me. I felt afraid and knew I needed to start doing some serious work on myself in order to figure out why I felt so numb.

Shortly after, I met with a life coach and a therapist to start uncovering these underlying causes of my behaviors and emotions. Initially it was hard to go to a therapist since somehow I learned that going to a therapist meant I should be ashamed of something. I placed negativity on the whole experience but have found it to be a very positive place in which to explore myself and set some achievable goals.

I had known for awhile that something wasn’t right because I found myself getting upset over such silly things but didn’t know what to do about it. For instance, one day, I spilled milk (almond milk that is…) on the floor and you would have thought the world was coming to an end. My reaction to the spilled milk was way over the top and totally uncalled for. So, why was I so upset over something so trivial? The reason why spilling milk on the floor was so frustrating was not because of the obvious, but the spilt milk made me see how rushed my life was and how I didn’t realistically plan my days. With the lack of realistic planning, I was setting myself up for failure each and every day. My life coach asked me to start tallying up the time it would take for me to get all of my things on the “To Do” list completed. I laughed as I quickly saw that I would have to commit to over 10 hours a day getting everything on my list done on top of raising a family and being a wife. My goals for the day were unrealistic and unattainable and it was news to me! I kept thinking that I was not efficient and not doing a good job with my life. But what has really been going on was my lack of realistic planning which was creating all these negative emotions. So the spilling of milk was just the tipping point for all that pent up emotion.

During this unraveling process, I also realized that I was not verbalizing my feelings very effectively. Identifying feelings sounds easy enough, but it has proven to be difficult for me and I would imagine it is for others out there as well.

We all read about how you should practice relaxation and breathing techniques to help deal with stress. I have read it so much that I began to feel like something was wrong with me if I couldn’t calm myself through deep breathing and just letting go. Breathing was not working for me and it actually felt like I was trying to stuff all those negative feelings back into my body instead of expressing them as they came up. I actually felt like something was wrong with me if I wasn’t peaceful and calm each day. Like it was bad to feel disappointed, upset, jealous, angry, tired, rushed, distracted, grouchy, etc. I would beat myself up for feeling anything other then perfect. I was soon able to realize that I wasn’t honoring my feelings. What a relief to let go of trying to be perfect! Now, I am trying to identify what is really bothering me on any given day. What has been amazing is that the quicker I identify what is really bothering me, the faster the emotions and frustrations fade.

Something as simple as identifying feelings has awakened my ability to know myself and see what is really behind my emotions. I realize that I am not my feelings but it takes time to stop such a tiring habit. Imagine being dragged around by your feelings each and everyday? It is completely exhausting.

As I have started letting go of this notion of having to be perfect, I see how hard I have been on myself. It was finally okay to not be everything and everywhere all the time. I now appreciate that I am doing the best that I can with the little time I have. From that, I starting respecting my need for personal time and started scheduling time to take care of me. I made time for personal development and exercise and as I continue do this, the better I feel. Even if it is doing some sit ups and jumping jacks in my spare bedroom for 15 minutes, at least it was something I did for me.

I want to be zen-like and peaceful but that is a process I have to work at. If you leave life up to chance then you will always be hoping and wishing that things turn out they way you want. You have to actively participate in your life and set realistic goals that leave you feeling fulfilled and not overworked and unhappy. Stop setting yourself up for failure. We are human and need to be realistic with what we can do each day.

Figuring out yourself is not brain science, but it is harder to figure out what is going on when the one you are examining is YOU. It is much easier to look at someone else and see the issues, but not so easy when it is you who is figuring you out. That is why we all need help to awaken our true potentials. We don’t need know it all and it is okay to lean on others for help and insight.

This life is whatever you want it to be. Awaken your true self! Start doing the things that make you happy. Identify what it is you want in life and lean on others to help you with the process. We don’t have to be in survival mode everyday. Are you “Comfortably Numb?”

The only thing that separates us is that some of us take action to change the negativity in our lives, while others let life circumstances take them over. You can set a different course for your life if your will and desire are strong enough to take action. This is not as good as it gets. Life can be eventful, fulfilling and full of promise if you start examining what it is that you really want. Be well and know that we all have “stuff” to deal with. You are never alone.

Janee Kuta-Iliano is the director of ALiVE ONE whose purpose is to empower others to take control of their health. She is a Wellness Coach offering Colon Hydrotherapy, Internal Cleansing & Detoxification Programs and whole food nutritional products. Visit her website at www.aliveone.net. For more information contact Janee at 440-478-9802 or janee@aliveone.net

Compassionate Kitchens

Compassionate Kitchens

Clarity comes to us all the time. Clarity can be subtle where everyday living provides us with insight. Other times, the "cosmic 2 x 4" smacks over the head, allowing a situation to shed some major light. Either way, our individual paths are molded by these moments of clarity.

As individuals, these moments of clarity come to us differently and at different times in our life. Since clarity comes to us in our own special way, it is only appropriate to share a personal experience. I start by saying that this is my own moment of truth and it is not important whether or not you can understand this experience. However, I do hope that within this personal story, you can find a source of information in which to process.

This past July I traveled to Johnston, PA for a Vegetarian Summerfest held by the North American Vegetarian Society. Not much thought was given about it. I was simply thinking that it would be a weekend of fun, live food presentations and inspirational speakers, however, the universe apparently had much more in store.

It was Saturday afternoon and I was seated in a college lecture room awaiting the debut of "Peaceable Kingdom," a documentary on American factory farming practices. As I was waiting, I read a quote, one that I had heard many times before, but for some reason, under these particular circumstances, the quote struck me,

"The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated." Gandhi

By that standard, our fast food nation is "developing" Does it matter?

I took a deep breath and watched the movie. This is what I allowed myself to finally hear.

Farm animals, by the millions, are forced to live in cages or crates just barely larger than their own bodies. While some species, like hogs and veal calves, may be caged alone without any social contact, others, like egg-laying hens and chickens, may be crowded so tightly together that they fall prey to stress-induced cannibalism. Unable to groom, stretch their legs, or even turn around, the animals of factory farms exist in a constant state of distress. Now, if a private citizen confined a dog or cat in a manner commonly seen in factory farms, or subjected an animal to surgical procedures without anesthesia [no anesthesia is given to pigs when cutting off their tails to prevent them from biting each other under confined conditions], the individual would be charged with cruelty to animals. There are virtually no federal laws that protect farm animals from this type of treatment as long as it takes place in the name of production and profit. The federal Animal Welfare Act, which regulates the treatment of animals for commercial purposes, does not apply to farm animals unless they are being used in research or for exhibition. Moreover, a majority of states have specifically exempted some aspect of the treatment of animals in agriculture from their cruelty laws. It is left entirely to the preference of the individual company how many egg-laying hens are stuffed into each little wire cage, or whether an artificially inseminated sow must spend her entire pregnancy chained to the floor of a cement-bottomed cage.

Like some weird flashback, I heard a quote in my head,

"If I love animals called pets, why do I eat animals called dinner?"

I dismissed that thought because my argument was that in nature other animals eat other animals, plus what would we do with all these pigs, cows and chickens if we didn't eat them? The information kept coming.

Factory farming began in the 1920s soon after the discovery of vitamins A and D. When these vitamins are added to feed, animals no longer require exercise and sunlight for growth. This allowed large numbers of animals to be raised indoors year-round. The greatest problem that was faced in raising these animals indoors was the spread of disease, which was combated in the 1940s with the development of antibiotics. Farmers found they could increase productivity and reduce the operating costs by using mechanization and assembly line techniques. Unfortunately, this trend of mass production has resulted in incredible pain and suffering for the animals. Animals today raised on factory farms have often times had their genes manipulated, been induced with large doses of antibiotics and hormones, particularly in their feed, and given other chemicals to encourage high productivity. In the food industry, by these standards, it is clear that animals are not considered animals but food producing machines.

The answer to my previous questions presented itself. Yes, other animals eat other animals but never do they do it in such a manner as we do on OUR factory farms (we all own this). Have you ever seen lions caging zebras, manipulating them to produce more meat at an accelerated pace then ship them off to slaughter when the time was right? (Not a great example, but we get the point)?

OK, What about the environment and our small family farms? Is this really just about money?

Factory farms are quickly taking over the livestock industry. In the poultry industry, 98% of all poultry is now produced by corporations, forcing family farms out of business. Large farms receive nearly twice as much in government subsidies as small, family farms.

It just kept coming.

4 meatpacking companies control an estimated 79% of cattle slaughter. Since 1986 the number of independent hog operations has declined by 72% - a loss of over 247,500 farms.

One of the most dangerous practices of factory farming is the storage and "use" of liquefied animal waste. The USDA estimates that animals in the US meat industry produced 1.4 billion tons of waste in 1997 - 130 times the nation's volume of human waste and five tons of animal waste for every US citizen. The massive quantities of manure generated are stored in holes dug in the earth (referred to as "lagoons") and then spread onto cropland. These manure pits are known to leak or overflow, releasing toxic bacteria and excess nutrients into groundwater. Spreading waste on the ground leads to odor problems and water pollution when more manure is applied than the surrounding land can absorb. Manure at cattle feedlots can produce substantial amounts of methane and nitrous oxide, both potent greenhouse gases that could contribute to global warming. In 1995, 25 million gallons of animal waste spilled from an eight-acre "lagoon" into North Carolina's New River, killing 10 million fish and closing 364,000 acres of coastal wetlands to shell fishing.

My next question during this emotional time, "Well, this is how meat production has to be due to a large population and the increased demand for meat. How else could they produce enough meat for everyone since on average each person consumes over 200 pounds of animal flesh each year?"

Sustainable agriculture is a way of raising food that is healthy for consumers and animals, does not harm the environment, is humane for workers and animals, and provides a fair wage to the farmer. Sounds too good to be true, but it is proving to be valid if implemented properly. In 1990, the US government defined sustainable agriculture in Public Law 101-624, Title XVI, Subtitle A, Section 1683, as “an integrated system of plant and animal production practices having a site-specific application that will, over the long term, satisfy human food and fiber needs; enhance environmental quality and the natural resource base upon which the agricultural economy depends; make the most efficient use of nonrenewable resources and on-farm resources and integrate, where appropriate, natural biological cycles and controls; sustain the economic viability of farm operations; and enhance the quality of life for farmers and society as a whole.” (For more detailed information on the possibilities of this type of agriculture, check out www.sustainabletable.org)

Sustainable Agriculture looks like something to look into but still back to this factory farming. Really how bad is it? Yes, the animals appear to be suffering, but how does this affect my family and me?

In 1954, American farmers used about half a million pounds of antibiotics a year in raising food animals. Today, about half of the 50 million pounds of antibiotics produced in the US each year is used for animals, 80 percent of which is poured directly into feed to make animals grow faster. Widespread overuse of antibiotics is resulting in the evolution of new strains of virulent bacteria whose resistance to antibiotics poses a threat to human health.

Conditions on factory farms and in slaughterhouses are also responsible for a large proportion of food-borne illnesses reported in the US each year. Officials at the USDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have referred to the current situation with food-related disease as an "epidemic." Studies have found that nearly 80 percent of ground beef sampled - with a similar percentage of poultry sampled - contain microbes spread by animal feces. According to the General Accounting Office (GAO), 81 million Americans become sick, and 9,000 die, from food-borne illness every year. The GAO sets the price tag for these illnesses and deaths at about $22 billion a year. People have also contracted Mad Cow Disease through eating the meat of infected animals. In humans the affliction is called Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) where no cure has been found and death ultimately results within 14 months. Presently it is reported that 150 people worldwide have contracted CJD, with speculation that many cases are misdiagnosed as Alzheimer's or Dementia. (For more information on Mad Cow Disease check out www.madcowboy.com) Honestly though, the full extent of the health ramifications of factory farming is not known entirely, however, nobody is really counting deaths from drug-resistant infections and a majority of food-borne illnesses go unreported.

I stood up from that movie viewing and there was my moment of clarity.

I have always known about our food supply, but it was not until the 100th time of hearing it that it resonated with me so passionately. I knew I no longer wanted to bring this type of cruelty into my kitchen. My eating habits were no longer motivated just by wanting to attain good health and vitality, but they were equally motivated by not wanting to support an industry that has no regard or compassion for the animals that spare their lives for us. Yes, I do not want to cause any undue harm to animals, but this industry is now directly affecting my life, my family and my environment, which makes it more and more my problem. I say this strongly but know that my will will be tested everyday as it has since the day I came back from that transformative trip. I do not stand or write before you a perfect example of an animal rights advocate or whatever. I know that there is still much more to learn, so I am sure that my hypocrisy will live on probably until the day I leave this earth plane. But each day the knowledge I gain is my power and the more I learn the more clear it is to me that this is not an industry that I wish to support.

We encourage you to come join us for a viewing of the Peaceable Kingdom at A Touch of Serenity on Thursday September 30, 2004 from 6:30 - 8:30 P.M. Let the movie be an opportunity for you to learn more about where your meat comes from. This will absolutely not be meat-eater bashing party, since I hold strong that it is natural for animals to eat other animals under natural conditions as our ancestors have. But we are here to be a source of information because I believe just as my clarity came to me, most people would take another glance at factory farming if they really saw what happens to our food before it is presented into tiny little packages that resemble nothing close to the animal that it came from.

--Janee Kuta-Iliano

Indifference: The Greatest Sin of All

Indifference: The Greatest Sin of All

Raising Awareness in Darfur

Only recently has the situation in Darfur has come into my awareness. It is sad to say, seeing as how this UN declared genocide has been going on for 3 years! The underreporting of this conflict is something I wish to bring awareness to as well as share some unfortunate information as to what exactly is going on.

Darfur, the western region of Sudan, Africa is home to an estimated six million people. It is also the battlefield on which the 21st century's first genocide rages. It is estimated that some 400,000 have already been killed. 2.5 million are displaced, 3.5 million are hungry and 80 – 90% of all villages in Darfur have been decimated. Darfurians who make it to the crowded refugee camps along the Sudan-Chad border are plagued by lurking Janjaweed militias and inadequate food, water, shelter, healthcare, and sanitation.

According to reports, the situation in Darfur is complex, resulting from many historic, social and cultural forces. Unequal distribution of economic resources and general neglect of the Darfur region prompted a rebellion against the Sudanese government in 2003. The two main rebel groups, the Sudanese People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), claim that the government is oppressing black Africans in favor of Arabs.

In response, the Sudanese government (often referred to as Khartoum, which is the capital of Sudan) is backing Janjaweed militias as they murder, rape, loot, and expel non-Arab Africans from Darfur. Non-Arab men, women, and children have been forced from their homes and face starvation and the constant threat of violence. Though the government denies that they are connected to the Janjaweed, hard evidence shows that they have aided the militias by providing them with arms and enhancing attacks with aerial bombardment. The tactics of the Janjaweed, including the systematic poisoning of wells and burning of food stores, indicate that the dispute is not over land or resources. Nor is it a religious conflict. It is believed that the Khartoum is utilizing the historic animosity between the region’s mostly “Arab” nomadic herders and “African” settled farmers for its own benefit. By generating anarchy, the government weakens the position of its enemies.

A United Nations Commission of Inquiry found evidence of systematic rape, burning, looting, and other crimes against humanity occurring throughout the Darfur region and the violence is visibly increasing. The International Rescue Committee reported that more humanitarian aid workers were killed in July of this year (2006) than had been killed in the previous three years combined.

President Bush classified the crisis a genocide in September 2004. The U.S. was the force behind a U.N. Security Council statement that began preliminary planning for the possible deployment of U.N. peacekeepers to Darfur. Though the need has been recognized, international troops have not been officially pledged to Darfur. All that stands between the Janjaweed and innocent civilians are the approximately 7,000 under-funded, under-armed African Union (AU) troops currently in Darfur, an area the size of Texas or France. Though the African Union presence has been shown to deter attacks in some situations, AU troops cannot offer outright protection to Darfurian civilians.

The U.N. hopes to deploy peacekeepers by January 2007 at the earliest. There are several obstacles though. Troops take time to deploy, and the logistical and financial support of U.N. member states is both necessary and unlikely to be timely. Sudan, a sovereign nation, has stated that it will refuse to admit peacekeepers. The U.N. is pressuring Khartoum with little success and unfortunately the situation on the ground continues to disintegrate. The increase in violence has put the humanitarian life-support system on life-support itself, and the nightmare scenario of a complete security collapse and the spike in death-rate that will surely follow now appears to be not a possibility, but a probability. UN official Jan Egland has previously said that he believes the death-rate could rise as high as 100,000 per month if security collapses.

With non-Arab men, women, and children are being killed in Darfur and millions of people being forced from their homes, will we continue to turn a blind eye? How long before we learn from history? How many more times will humanity let a Nazi Germany, Idi Amin, Khmer Rouge, Rwanda, or Bosnia occur. I feel saddened and ignorant for not knowing much about this situation. Upon asking several residents of Cleveland about Darfur, I have shockingly found that I am not alone in my lack of understanding and awareness. As Election Day has come and gone, stopping the genocide in Darfur should have been on the agenda. By some figures more have died in three years of genocide in Darfur then under the entire regime of Saddam Hussein (24 years)! We have fought 2 wars, spent hundreds of billions of dollars, and lost thousands of our young men and women for that “brutal regime.” Shouldn’t we be urging the United States^st Century not worthy of national attention? government to set-up an international peacekeeping intervention, or is the first genocide of the 21 Without immediate action we abandon thousands, perhaps millions, to a massacre. Can this happen under our watch? In our time? As George Santayana stated, “Those who do not learn from history are damned to repeat it.” I fear, as the most powerful country on earth we will be judged harshly on the altar of history for our silence! I urge you to learn and raise awareness of this situation as I wish to no longer remain ignorant to such crimes against humanity. The whole underreported situation brings tears to my eyes.

Information for this article was taken from the group STAND (www.standnow.org) Volunteers are needed to help organize a fundraiser for organizations working directly with the refugees of Darfur

--Janee Kuta-Iliano

Baby Jude

Baby Jude-Vital and Balanced

The other day I took my newborn baby to the chiropractor for an adjustment. It was suggested to go since babies can suffer trauma during birth. I was uneasy about taking her since I wasn’t sure what type of adjustments you could really do on an infant. Plus, I didn’t think my baby suffered a lot of physical trauma during the delivery that needed immediate attention. Regardless, I thought it couldn’t hurt her and decided to go anyway. The day of the visit, Jude was fussy and crying while we were waiting. As soon as we entered the doctor’s room, she became fussier until the doctor proceeded to work on her. Instantly, after a few stretches she became quiet. In fact she fell into a deep sleep. The doctor did a few more subtle stretches and hit certain trigger points that apparently stimulated her. Jude awoke from the stimulation, but the doctor gently grabbed her hand and applied pressure to the tip of her index finger. The application of that particular trigger point caused her to immediately drift back into a deep sleep.

That whole day and the days thereafter, Jude was calm and slept better than any newborn I have read or talked with others about. It was such an amazing experience to me. Jude had no obvious problems with her body, but after her treatment, she achieved an even higher level of balance within. I saw this baby as a totally open being. A body that received the healing energy of this doctor’s treatment wholly without any preconceived thought as to how she should feel afterwards. Here was a fresh being with no agendas or blocks to her happiness and harmony.

As we grow, life experiences and societal norms program us and interfere with our body’s ability to accept help and even love for that matter. But as a baby, Jude appeared open to receiving this doctor’s therapy which helped to create further balance and health within her. I have intimately witnessed someone who is completely open to the world around her. Someone who is aware of everything as it appears in each moment. A person who is truly living life in the present moment. Jude is so vital, balanced and 100% genuine in every way. To go from crying to smiling in the same minute is amazing. As a need arises, she responds to it. She responds to any stimulus and then lets it go, holding on to nothing.

If our internal needs are not met, an imbalance can start early even in infancy. The learning process starts in utero and continues on through birth. A baby tells it like it is and the honesty is just so refreshing. It is a lesson to be honest with ourselves, to be who we really are at each given moment. As soon as Jude’s needs are met, she achieves balance becoming calm and content.

It is possible to translate this into our adult lives. How many times have you done what you needed to do and not what someone else wanted you to do? Doesn’t it feel good to do what is right for us? To make decisions that is in accordance to our true self. Our true self being that inner voice that tells us what we should and shouldn’t be doing. When we listen to that voice, we can find answers to all of our questions. We can find our balance if we just act on the feelings we have at each given moment and not suppress them. Suppressing our thoughts and feelings leads us to a state of imbalance, where we eventually blow up when we reach a saturation point. If we don’t speak up, ultimately this imbalance manifests into dis-ease. Many health authorities are now claiming that dis-ease is not just the cause of a physical imbalance in our body, but a mental, emotional and spiritual imbalance as well. Being healthy is not just what you eat and do with the physical body. Good health requires taking care of oneself emotionally and mentally, by having our inner needs met at all times.

Would you ever neglect a baby who is crying and needs something? But we neglect ourselves and our needs all the time. I remember reading a book that questioned the inner self that puts us down all day long. Realistically you would never have a friend who tells you that you are no good and not worthy of certain things. But our inner self does this to us all the time. It is time to ditch this negativity that lives within. Bring balance and openness to your world just as baby Jude strives to do with hers. .

Watching a baby is a lesson in giving ourselves permission to love and be loved and to find our voice when things aren’t in accordance to our true self. Let us learn from and become babies again, responding to our inner needs and emotions as they arise to help prevent imbalance and dis-ease. The difference now is that we are the only ones that can soothe and take responsibility for ourselves whereas a baby requires the love and attention of others.

I look so forward to all that I will learn or hopefully unlearn in this lifelong journey of motherhood. As I reflect on the actions of this baby, I question who is the wiser of the two, her or me? Of course there should be no judgment, but for now, I have a lot of observing to do and I thank this little creation from God who will certainly help me just as much as I plan to help her. Namaste Jude

--Janee Kuta-Iliano