The Serene Way

Tolerance, Acceptance & Understanding

World Talk Radio - Amendments to the Food & Drugs Act

Canadian Natural Health Coalition

Policy Statement on Bill C51

www.cnhc.ca

Expert Panel Discussion - Bill C51

How will Bill C51 impact Canada?

Join the expert panel discussion on Thursday, June 26

7:00 pm - 10:00 pm  

OISE - 252 Bloor St.

Toronto

Bill c51 - Toronto Rally - June 14

Rally against Bill C51 (amendments to the Food & Drugs Act) at Queen’s Park this Saturday, June 14

Reiki-Radha Rei course details - What will be covered in the online Reiki training sessions?

A Path to Light - June Newsletter

This issue hightlights:

1. Bill C51 - an amendment to Canada’s Food & Drug Act

2. Launch of Reiki-Radha Rei online training and attunements

3. Amethyst BioMat

Bill C51 – Response to government agenda  The Big Pharmaceutical lobby continues to strong arm the government into pushing through legislation to change the Food & Drug Act to include ‘Therapeutic Products’. What affect will this have on our ability to choose traditional options for preventative care? At what expense to the current health care model will this push a beleaguered system over the brink?   Our government is telling us, “This Bill is part of our strategy to ensure that food and products that are available on the Canadian Market are safe for consumers.” How can they ensure this when laws governing prescription drugs or even day to day products lack this ability? Recently, it was reported by Canadian Press that ‘The federal government is considering declaring a substance used to make chewing gum as toxic after tests on the colourless liquid with a sweet, fruity smell linked to cancer…” Apparently, there is a law in place to protect the consumer from this ‘toxic’ substance.  “All of Canada’s major international trading partners have the authority to recall a drug, cosmetic or medical device if a serious incident were to occur. While most companies willingly remove dangerous product from the market, without this Bill, Canada would not have the authority to intervene if a company chooses to ignore requests for withdrawal.” Teflon pans that are now prohibited from sale in Canada, again, there is a law in place that can remove products and ensure consumer safety. This new legislation certainly didn’t have an impact upon this product and yet the government managed to deal with the issue.  A recent response to an email regarding Bill C-51 elicited the following response, “Under this Bill, natural health products will continue to fall under their own unique set of regulations and the provisions for safety and quality will continue to be appropriate to the relatively low risk profile of this class of products.” Clearly a law already exists for consumer protection. Safety and quality?  Where are these terms in relation to prescription drugs, I was on the subway the other day and one of the advertisements stated, “In Canada, 300,000 hospitalized for misuse of prescription drugs.” That’s one percent of the entire population hospitalized for taking what is prescribed. Can the same be said for supplements? A recent article in MacLean’s Magazine (Apr. 21^st, 2008) titled ‘Vitamins can be hazardous to your health.’ quoted a British 2003 study that indicated, “…34 vitamins and mineral studied, one could cause cancer, six could induce ‘irreversible, harmful effects’ and three could have ‘short-term harmful effects’. Here’s the kicker, at levels over 10 times the recommended dosage. Yet little was said in the article regarding even one ray of hope in regard to the positive effects of supplementation. A Canadian University study in the 1950’s of vitamin IV therapies on paranoid schizophrenics found that within a three month period participants received a clean bill of health. There are countless other examples that we don’t get to see and aren’t covered in the media.  What constitutes low risk?  Definitely not the prescription drug advertisements that inundate our televisions, where we see untold numbers of ads for ‘prescription’ drugs that have a list of side effects as long as your arm. Take a bottle of aspirin and you could end up dead. Give a child a tube of toothpaste and they too could have ‘irreversible, harmful effects’.  As for low risk, I ask, is death a relatively ‘low risk profile’. We have seen numerous drugs flood the market only to be taken off when further ‘testing’ reveals levels of risk higher than previously claimed. We don’t have to look that far back to remember Vioxx. Are current laws protecting the consumer in this case?  Who’s most at risk? Another quote from a message regarding the government’s stance on Bill C-51; “We need fines in the Bill to deter criminals from abusing their privilege to market safe products … the Bill also says that the fines must be tailored to the risk of the product.” Would these laws be applicable to the Big Pharmaceuticals or better said are they being applied to them now? I think not and I don’t think so! If any supplements to come under this legislation, it is the Big Pharmaceutical companies have the most to gain. They are unable to patent plant matter, yet when they discover a chemical compound that affects the body, they can patent that process and the synthesis of the ‘drug’. Who pays for it? We do.  Research since the discovery of ‘sulpha’ drugs in 1850’s has changed from the more holistic approach to a prescription approach, in no way affecting the underlying issues regarding disease. Will mediation become part of this ‘therapeutic product’ as recent discoveries have proven its effect on all systems of the body? What criteria would be used to define a ‘therapeutic product’? The advertising claim on most of the food we eat certainly is becoming more oriented to the therapeutic affect of ingredients. Is our food destined to become by prescription only? Are the current laws protecting the consumer or the large corporations? In the instances here, Big Pharmaceutical companies are the beneficiaries of current regulations and they are sure to continue to be unless we act.  Please write to your governmental representatives today, to stop this process.
Canada - www.StopC51.com
US - http://www.healthfreedomusa.org/   Please sign the petition and forward this information, we are all affected by these changes. http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/StopC51 Peace, love & lightT.S. (Tim) White

Oprah, we all need your help!!!

The state of health of all North Americans is in jeopardy.

Here in Canada big pharma is strong arming the government to pass Bill C51 (www.stopc51.com) There is a similar Codex in the US and this government is following its southern counterparts lead. This would restrict access to natural remedies, such as vitamin and herbal supplements to a prescription basis. The government would have the authority to enter one’s home without a warrant and seize one’s property as well as levy fines upwards of $2,000,000 and jail time for drying herbs in your own home.

I’ve signed the petition “Stop Bill C-51″& http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/StopC51

This is the note I attached to my signing of the petition.

12:50 pm PDT, May 7, Tim White, Canada

Thanks in part to natural supplements and herbal remedies; I have been able to control my Irritable Bowel Disorder for the past 2 1/2 years. It is with this continued support that I do not have to avail of the health care system at a great expense. Giving in to Pharmaceutical companies is just another indication of how government is for the corporate sector and not of the people for the people. Stop the process of this act immediately. How much more can the health care system sustain. Extended Health Care premiums would skyrocket and how few can afford them as it is.

We must all fight to ensure that neither government enacts laws that restrict access to our ability to take care of ourselves. We must be free of big brother Pharma trying to squeeze more out of the average citizen by its lobby.

We need your help to get this message out to as many as possible so we can protect our right to avail of natural products and be responsible for our own health and wellbeing.

Many thanks

Tim

Reiki questions

I’m interested in learning Reiki however I feel half sceptical about the subject. If you don’t mind, I was hoping you could give me some reassurance.

What influenced you to learn Reiki?
What is the greatest reassurance for you that Reiki is effective?

Great questions!

I too hold a healthy scepticism about Reiki and most things, to be honest. The possibilities of things beyond our current knowledge base hold much interest as well.

I was first introduced this alternative therapy about 20 years ago and the mind, body, spirit or energy connection has always been something I’ve been drawn to since being a child. The search for answers to life mysteries was probably the leading influence in beginning this journey. I started my Reiki training prior to a diagnosis of Irritable Bowel Disorder. Having been a certified aerobics instructor and personal trainer along with my professional dance experience gave me a great understanding of the physical systems of the body, yet dealing with stress and the effects of emotional turmoil a bit beyond my ability to cope.

Obtaining a Yoga designation and deeper research, I found that scientifically there was a connection to thought and its effect upon the body. There seems to be little question in scientific circles and research that stress has a tremendous impact upon the physical body, as I learned first hand dealing with IBD.

Firstly, in being able to relax the body as is part of Reiki, engaging the relaxation response upon the physical system, which brings more blood to the digestive organs and more oxygen to all physical systems, thus there is an increase in immune function and the digestive process which allows the body to assimilate nutrients more effectively. The body itself generates various energies in its daily function, heat, electrical and biochemical. Heat generated through the light touch or radiating from the hands, again brings greater blood flow to those areas, thus there is an effect upon the muscles of the body, relaxing and again increasing blood flow. The relaxation of the muscles helps to open the nerve channels within the body, thus increasing the ability of the body to respond to nervous stimuli, therefore an increase in this transmission to the brain and being more relaxed the mind is better able to react appropriately.

Science is now beginning to understand quantum effect. Thought and energy do have an effect upon our physical selves. When we walk into a room we may feel certain energies, welcome or otherwise, with our friends and family we can sense their moods and react accordingly. There are a couple of books that show how mood can affect the freezing of water and how different crystallizations are obtained based on these emotions. The emotions created by thought are radiated like the heat of our bodies, heat becomes light, whether perceptible to our senses at this time or not. Now, we have both energy and light that have an effect upon us. This gives some plausibility to the existence of energy systems in the body, as with acupuncture which stimulates channels of energy which can be understood by relating them to the nervous channels and the plexi of the physical body, thus chakras, meridians or nadis associated with them, are not quite so improbable.

Lastly, in researching energy and matter, we find that all things are matter. This matter is a compressed from of energy (all energy being equal with atom formations) and has a gravitational pull. Even as small as our bodies may be we too have this energy as well. So like the moons effects upon the oceans of the earth, so too is it possible that we can have an effect upon others based on this premise. Reiki being Japanese for universal (Rei) energy (ki or chi), we are merely connecting to that which we are all part of or are composites of energy which forms matter.

I have been symptom free of my IBD for over 2 1/2 years with my self Reiki sessions and Yoga practice. I volunteer at a cancer support centre providing Reiki and those clients certainly feel more relaxed and comfortable at the end of a session. It may not cure, but it certainly improves their feeling of well-being.

My life has completely changed for the better that is only a reassurance for myself. It is only through direct experience that we can understand for our self whether something is to be part of the path we follow.

May your journey on a path to light be one of ease!
 

©T.S. (Tim) White
March 30, 2008